Signs Of His Imminent Return

SIGNS OF HIS IMMINENT RETURN

BY

FESTUS A. EKENYERE

Copyright © 1996 FESTUS A. EKENYERE SIGNS OF HIS IMMINENT RETURN All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other without the written prior permission of the publisher. National Library of Nigeria Cataloguing in Publication Data EKENYERE, Festus Asopuruchukwu, 1959 Signs of His Imminent Return 1. Second Advent I. Title

BT 886. E34 1996 236.9 ISBN-978-32046-0-2

CONTENTS

PREFACE 1. HIS FIRST ADVENT 7 2. WE ARE NOT IN DARKENESS 24 3. THE SIGN 28 4. A WORD OF ADVICE 45

PREFACE Jehovah-Elohim, the Creator of the universe has a purpose in mind which nothing, (absolutely nothing) can defer. The Prophet Isaiah prophesied and said – “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” – Isaiah 14:27. When God created the world and everything therein, the Bible remarked – God saw

everything that He had made, and behold it was very good.” – Genesis 1:31. Very good indeed! All things were pure, holy and blameless. What a beautiful world to live in. The conditions that characterized that dispensation were indescribable and God purposed it to be like that in all eternity. If this is actually God’s purpose for creation, you may ask, why is creation not so today? Does it mean that the purpose of God is defeated? Creation started in innocence, it must end in innocence. God’s purpose must be fulfilled. It is important to note that the plans of God can never be overtaken by events. Satan has from ages past, been trying to destroy the good works of God. May be you do not know that. God drove him from heaven due to his pride (read his account in Isaiah 14:12-15 carefully) hence he vowed to destroy the handiwork of God. Bear this in mind – Satan is the arch-enemy of God’s creation. Genesis chapter one describes the creation of man and the authority God bestowed on him as follows: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Verse 28. What a blessing? Unfortunately man lost this wonderful dominion to the devil. What happened? You may ask. Well, God gave man a simple command which man must obey if he must remain a friend to God. But Satan, in his usual craftiness, caused Adam and Eve (our first parents) to disobey God’s clear command thereby stealing their allegiance. By so doing, Satan succeeded in introducing sin and all kinds of wickedness into the beautiful, pure, holy and blameless universe of God (read the account of the fall of man in Genesis 3). Nevertheless, that did not defer the purpose of God for His creation. God knew that man would fall from glory hence He made adequate plans for our restoration. I assume you know that Adam’s disobedience brought every human being under condemnation. We are all the offspring of Adam and Eve. The Bible says: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6. “There is none righteous, no, not one. … For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:10, 23. From the foundation of the world, God planned that His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ will bruise the head of the serpent (Satan) and redeem mankind from condemnation (I Peter 1:18-21). The apostle Paul writing to the church in Rome says – “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.” Romans 8:1. For this work of redemption to be accomplished, Jesus must have to be offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. John the Baptist says of Jesus that He is “The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1”29 Jesus paid the full price for our sins on the cross of Calvary over 2000 years ago to reconcile us to our Creator. Receiving Him makes one a child of God – John 1:12. Rejecting Him means rejecting life – John 3:36. After his resurrection from the dead (for He arose from the grave after three days); He talked with His disciples. He ate and drank with them for forty days. Then, He ascended into heaven where he sits at the right hand of the Father according to Scripture. But before Jesus ascended into heaven, He made another surprising promise. He said that He would come back again to this earth. As He was taken up to heaven two angels of God standing by His disciples said – “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11. This gives us an idea of how He would come. He is not going to be born by a woman again. He is going to come with the same body as He left. The prophet of old and Jesus Himself prophesied some events that will characterize the days of his preparation. We do not know the day or hour of His return – Mark 13:32. But a careful study of these prophecies and predictions shows that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent.

When Jesus comes, He will defeat Satan and all his ungodliness and then usher in the kingdom of God wherein righteousness dwells. This is the exact purpose of God and His kingdom is forever and ever. I pray you will be part of this kingdom. As you turn to the pages of this book, May God grant you insight into the time we are in.

CHAPTER ONE HIS FIRST ADVENT

For us to fully appreciate the message of the second coming of Christ, it will be helpful if we consider His first advent carefully. Did Jesus Christ ever dwell bodily on this planet earth? Did He ever walk and minister to the needs of the people in the land of Palestine? Was His first advent prophesied in the Old Testament? Is He still alive? etc., etc. The answers to these questions will prove the authenticity of the prophecies concerning His Second Advent. As I pointed out in the preface to this book, Jesus was born into this world in order to take away the sin of the world. He was the perfect sacrifice. The Lamb without blemish, slain for the sins of many. When our first parents (Adam and Eve) disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, God passed His righteous judgment upon them and the serpent (Satan). God said to the serpent - "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3: 14-15. This is the first prophecy concerning the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ministry. This prophecy was directly from God. Jesus is known here as the SEED OF THE WOMAN. This means He shall be born of a woman. His ministry will be to bruise the head of Satan. I like the N.I.V. rendering of this statement - "he will crush your head ..." Nevertheless, the devil will strike his heel in the process. We will soon discover the fulfillment of this prophecy in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As a result of Adam's disobedience man lost contact with his Creator because God cannot dwell in the midst of unrighteousness. Satan took control of man's heart "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Genesis 6:5. At this point all the nations of the earth forsook God. After the generation of Noah which God destroyed by flood except Noah and his family. God began to raise for Himself a nation through which His plans for the redemption of mankind will be fulfilled. God called Abraham and asked him to leave his father's land and in total obedience to the voice of God Abraham moved without knowing where he was going to. What a great contrast to the garden experience. Because Abraham obeyed and trusted God, "He (God) counted if to him for righteousness," - Genesis 15:6. Also God said to Abraham - " ... in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." - Genesis 12:3. Now how can the earth which has just been polluted by Satan be blessed? What will make God to change His mind and be a friend to man again? We will get these answers very soon in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His works. All through the Scriptures, God referred to the offspring of Abraham as "Thy seed and not thy seeds as unto many yet, God said that Abraham's descendants shall be as the sand of the seashore and as the stars of heaven. The apostle Paul teaching on this subject says "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." Galatians 3:16. God also made it clear to Abraham that Sarah his wife would bear him a son indeed; and that he shalt call his name Isaac: that God will establish His covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him:" Genesis 17:19. What God is saying here is that through Isaac (the Child of promise) His plans for the redemption of mankind will be fulfilled. The blessing of the whole earth is getting clearer as we read Genesis 26: 4-5, God says to Isaac - "And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Note that the blessings of all the nations shall come from "THY SEED" not directly from Abraham or Isaac but from "THY SEED". Now think of any other blessing a lost world needs more than salvation - coming back to God from whom all blessings flow. As we meditate over this, we will understand who this seed is. In Genesis 15:13, 14 we read - "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance." This prophecy was literally fulfilled when Joseph, one of the sons of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham to whom the prophecy was given was sold into Egypt. After some years, there was a seven-year famine in Egypt and environs, Because of the wise counsel of Jeseph after he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, there was food in Egypt throughout the famine period - Genesis 39-41. "Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die." Genesis 42: 1-2.

The children of Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel - Genesis 32:28) went to Egypt according to the words of their father and bought corn. On their next trip to Egypt, Joseph revealed himself to his brethren and asked them to go to his father (Israel) and say unto him - "Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither." Genesis 45:9-13. Before asking them to go and bring Israel to Egypt, Joseph said to his brethren "And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. {to preserve...: Heb. to put for you a remnant} So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." vv. 7-8. Posterity in the earth according to the plans of God. Genesis 46 recorded the movement of Israel with all he had into the land of Egypt. Little did they know that they were going to serve the Egyptians for 400 years or more. As soon as this generation passed away, "there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we ... Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens." Exodus 1:8, 9, 11. The children of Israel were tortured under cruel taskmasters in Egypt. They sought for a deliverer. They cried unto God day and night. They wanted to be set free from bondage. It was in the midst of this affliction that Moses was born. And because the king of Egypt issued a decree to destroy every Hebrew male child as soon as he was born, Moses' mother could not hid him after three months so, "she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him." Exodus 2:3-4. The Scripture says that Moses grew up in the house of Pharaoh because his daughter adopted him to be her son. Moses was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt yet he knew he was a Hebrew. When he was forty years of age, he thought that he could deliver the children of Israel by his human power and wisdom. Unfortunately for him, his attempt let him into exile, "Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian." Exodus 2:15. In the land of Midian, Moses sat and learned under a priest of God called Jethro (who became his in-law) for another forty years. At the time appointed, God called Moses out of a burning bush which was never consumed and said - "And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.... Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of

Egypt." Exodus 3:7, 8, 10. God used Moses tremendously. Confirming every step he took before Pharaoh with signs and wonders. Through Moses, God delivered the Children of Israel from that great bondage. Moses also led them through their wilderness experience for forty years and finally he said to the household of Israel - "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." Deuteronomy 18:15-19. This is another prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and His ministry. As Moses delivered the children of Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, so Jesus was sent to deliver us from the hand of the devil. Again, we will discover how He accomplished this as we proceed but before then, let us consider the preaching of the apostle Peter in Acts 3:19-26 - "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having risen up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." In this passage, he pointed out clearly that Moses was referring to the Lord Jesus Christ when he said - "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of my brethren like unto me." In essence, Moses and the said Prophet must have similar mission to fulfill DELIVERANCE. Let us now turn to the books of the prophets and see a clear picture of the Lord Jesus Christ from birth to death. We will in parallel look for the fulfillment of every prophecy concerning Him in the New Testament. 1. HIS BIRTH The prophet Isaiah says – “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. “ Isaiah 7:14. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7 FULFILLED This is the fulfillment of the prophecy on the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ -

“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. … And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:26, 27, 30-33. See also Luke 2:4, 5, 7 below. 2. PLACE OF BIRTH The prophet Micah prophesied thus - “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. ” Micah 5:2. FULFILLED “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. … And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:4, 5, 7. 3. FLIGHT TO EGYPT “When Israel was a child, then I loved him and called my son out of Egypt.” Hosea 11:1. FULFILLED “When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.” Matthew 2:14, 15 4. DECLARED THE SON OF GOD “I will declare a decree, the LORD hath said unto me, thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee.” Psalm 2:7. FULFILLED “And Lo, a voice from heaven saying. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17. (for an exposition on this prophecy and its fulfillment, read my book titled – “IS JESUS THE SON OF GOD”) 5. HIS MINISTRY “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” Isaiah 61:13. This prophecy is an interesting one considering its fulfillment. Note that when Jesus read this passage in the synagogue, He did not read some part of verses 2 and 3. This is because this aspect of His ministry will be fulfilled at His second advent.

FULFILLED “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Luke 4:18-21. 6. REJECTED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. {we hid...: or, he hid as it were his face from us: Heb. as an hiding of faces from him, or, from us}” Isaiah 53:3. FULFILLED “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” John 1:11. “And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas.” Luke 23:18. 7. TRIUMPHAL ENTRY “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. {having...: or, saving himself}” Zachariah 9:9. FULFILLED “And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.” Mark 11:7, 9, 11. 8. BETRAYED BY A FRIEND “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.” Psalm 41:9. FULFILLED “And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?” Luke 22:47-48. 9. SOLD FOR THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER “And I said unto them, if ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.” Zachariah 11:12. FULFILLED “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.” Matthew 26:14-15. 10. ACCUSED BY FALSE WITNESSES “False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.” Psalm 35:11 FULFILLED

“ And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.” Mark 14:57-58 11. SILENT TO ACCUSATIONS “ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” Isaiah 53:7. FULFILLED “And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.” Mark 15:4-5. 12. SPAT UPON AND SMITTEN “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” Isaiah 50:6. FULFILLED “Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, {the palms...: or, rods}” Matthew 26:67. 13. VICARIOUS SACRIFICE “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5. FULFILLED “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. {in due time: or, according to the time}. … But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6, 8. 14. CRUCIFIED WITH MALEFACTORS “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12. FULFILLED “And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.” Mark 15:27, 28. 15. PIERCIED THROUGH HANDS, FEET AND SIDE “I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced …” Zachariah 12:10. FULFILLED “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” John 19:34 “Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.” John 20:27. 16. SCOORNED AND MOCKED “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, {shoot...: Heb. open} He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver

him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. {He trusted...: Heb. He rolled himself on} {seeing...: or, if he delight in}” Psalm 22:7-8. FULFILLED “And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.” Luke 23:35. 17. GIVEN VINEGAR AND GALL “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Psalm 69:21. FULFILLED “They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.” Matthew 27:34 18. PRAYED FOR HIS ENEMIES “For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.” Psalm 109:4. FULFILLED “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” Luke 23:34. This text also fulfills Psalm 22:18. 19. NO BROKEN BONES “He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.” Psalm 34:20. FULFILLED “Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: … For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.” – John 19: 32, 33, 36. 20. RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION TO GOD’S RIGHT HAND “For thou will not leave my soul in hell: neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy one to see corruption. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.” Psalms 16: 10; 68:18. FULFULLED “And he saith unto them, be not affrighted: ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you … … So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” – Mark 16:6, 7, 19. “Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” Ephesians 4:8. These prophecies and many others concerning the first advent of the Lord Jesus Christ were in the Old Testament. Why then did the religious leaders of Jesus’ day fail to recognize Him as their Messiah? There may be so many answers to this question but IO have always thought of summarizing them under one sentence – the Pharisees and Scribes did not handle the scriptures accurately. OR, they lacked discernment. Does that make sense to you? Listen to Jesus carefully – (let us take it this time from the New International Version) – “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘if you, even you, had only known on this day WHAT WOULD BRING

YOU PEACE – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, BECAUSE YOU DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE TIME OF GOD’S COMING TO YOU.” – Luke 19:41 – 44 (Emphasis mine). They never recognized Him indeed. These were a bunch of people who were wise in their own eyes – Proverbs 3:7. They felt they knew the law of Moses yet, they were blind to spiritual matters. They found it difficult to maintain the deep meaning of Scripture passages. Note that they were not ignorant of what the prophets wrote. They were people who devoted their lives to Scriptures – yet, they mishandled it. Take a closer look at their understanding of the Sabbath and the response of Jesus in Matthew 12:1 – 8. In verse 3, Jesus says to them – “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.” This shows that they were committed to Old Testament Scriptures but they read it without understanding hence – “if ye had known”. They arrested the people who were breaking the letter of the Law while they themselves omitted the Spirit of the law. They did not handle the Scripture wisely that is why they never knew the time of their VISITATION. There are so many examples in the gospel where Jesus rebuked them because of their lack of spiritual insight. What about this generation? How do you handle the Bible – God’s voice? In the New Testament we find people who failed to maintain the meaning of Scripture. Some of them were professional clergymen – the Pharisees and Scribes. People in the first century who took the Scriptures seriously. People who were filled with enthusiasm. One fact remains clear – except we submit to the tutorship of the Holy Spirit, we are prone to the same mistakes our forefathers made – mishandling the Scripture. Today we ought to be more knowledgeable than the Pharisees and Scribes because we have both the Old and New Testaments with us and above all, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

CHAPTER TWO WE ARE NOT IN DARKNESS Today we have a lot of churches and para-church organizations springing up with different tenets of faith. Someone said – “Wao! Which one do we follow?” My suggestion is: Follow the Bible – God’s Voice. There is nothing as controversial as future events – the Second Coming of Christ. Every school of thought draws support from the same Bible. Then I ask – “Is there contradiction in the Bible? God forbid! Can’t we find a basis for agreement? Did our Lord and Saviour leave us so empty handed without a guide? Are we walking as people without hope in a dark world as this? Our good Lord is a loving and caring Father who said – “I will not leave you comfortless: I WILL COME TO YOU:” – John 14:18 (emphasis added). In verse 3 of the same chapter He says – “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,

and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” I get excited when, in the midst of life’s troubled sea, I remember that my Lord Jesus Christ went to prepare a mansion for me and as soon as He finished it, He will come to receive me unto Himself. Is that not exciting? By this the issue of His coming is settled. But the question remains – when and how is He coming? His disciples were troubled also, they wanted to have an idea of the time at least through some signs. They said to Jesus – “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? – Mark 13:4. Do you realize that it is not only the present day church that is eager to know when He shall come? As early as the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the disciples wanted to know the signs of His coming. They thought He would come in their lives’ time. Jesus predicted some signs that will characterize the days of His preparation and finally said – “But of that day and that hour knoweth not man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he finds you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, watch.” – Mark 13:32 – 37. Firstly, Jesus likened the period of ascension and return to “a man taking a far journey.” This is an important piece of information which the first century Christians did not understand. Secondly, Jesus made it clear that He Himself did not know the very day or hour of His return; only the Father knows. So we do not bother ourselves with that neither should we take anybody serious who tries to predict the day of Christ’s return (many had done that and failed. Some are still predicting the day of His return). Thirdly, Jesus sounded a warning against spiritual slumber or shortsightedness. Most unfortunately, after some years of His ascension, the church went to sleep. Today, I strongly believe that the church of Jesus Christ is not on her guard either. Christians are not at alert. You will discover that in the way and manner so many Christians lead their lives. The condition of the church today (I mean the body of Christ in general) is not better than the church in Rome when the apostle Paul wrote and said – “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” – Romans 13:11 – 12. In I Corinthians 15:34, he calls the church to “Awake to righteousness and sin not.” To the church in Ephesus he said – “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” – Ephesians 5:13 – 17. The cause of spiritual shortsightedness is sin. Sin hinders the flows of the anointing. The anointing cannot be separated from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit interprets the Scriptures – “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” – I John 2:22, 27. When we make righteousness our watchword, we abide in the light. Sin blinds men to the truth and keeps them in perpetual darkness. The apostle John went further to say “that God is light, and in him is no

darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” – I John 1:5, 6. There is no jumping over the fence. If we say we are Christians then are we the children of light. But if we are in the church and allow sin to rule over us, then we are deceiving ourselves. Period! Finally, let us go through this long text with the apostle Paul considering carefully verses 2 and 4. – “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” – I Thessalonians 5:1 – 8. God has not hidden the times or seasons from His children. As many that have constant fellowship with Him are spiritually awake. Please note that we do not address physical sleeping here. Naturally, we must rest the body. God even promised us a good night rest. What the Bible teaches is that when we allow sin to rule our lives, we lose our spiritual position in God. We lose sight of the value of His Word and mishandle Bible prophecies and predictions. Now it is clear that a true child of God is not in darkness and as such the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ should not overtake him as a thief. With this assurance in mind, let us approach the next chapter without prejudice and discover the signs of His coming.

CHAPTER THREE THE SIGNS When we talk about the signs of His coming, note that we are addressing the issue of Christ’s revelation i.e. His literal coming to the planet earth with the church. This is different from the “Rapture of the church (for a clear understanding of the concept ‘Rapture’, the reader is referred to the book” – Rapture and the Great Tribulation by the author). The second advent of Christ will be in two parts. The first is the rapture

of the church while the second is the return of Christ with the raptured church to take over the earth and establish the millennial reign. All signs in the Scripture point to the second part of His Second Advent. There is no sign that points to the time or season of the rapture. That is more reason when the church must be ready at any time. It is the most sudden event that will happen on this planet any moment from now. The disciples asked Jesus and said – “… Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” – Matthew 24:3. What an important question every Christian would have asked the Lord as well. In other words, they were asking – “Lord, what event will occur on this earth to prove to us that your coming is at hand?” but unfortunately those who asked this question had all fallen asleep. Thanks for the preservation of Scriptures otherwise we could have been like sheep without a shepherd. The answers to this question and Old Testament prophecies concerning the Second Advent of Christ which have fulfilled are enough proof of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So let us start our discussion with Christ’s predictions before going into the Old Testament prophecies. THE EVENTS 1. THE SIGN OF FALSECHRISTS AND FALSE PROPHETS. “And Jesus answered and said unto them. Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ: and shall deceive many … Then if any man shall say unto you, lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.” – Matthew 24:4, 23-25. Sometimes I ask myself ‘why did Jesus start answering this question with this sign and not from one of the Old Testament prophecies? I have come to understand that it is because the mission of Jesus was to deliver hopeless mankind from the hand of satan and to give man eternal life. Jesus knew that after His ascension, the devil will raise counterfeit christs to draw men back to his camp deceitfully. Right from the first century to date we have heard and seen so many false chriss – saviours or messiahs – with different kinds of proofs and “lying wonders”. Some of them had millions of converts but their end declared who they were. In Nigeria for instance, we have heard of Jesus of Oyinbo. He reigned and perished. O. O. Obu was another false Christ who deceived people with his satanic powers. He convinced his followers that he will never die. We heard that the original Olumba Olumba Obu died in 1974 and his next-in-command took over the mantle. In the Brotherhood of Cross and Star, it is a law that whosoever emerges the spiritual leader of the organization must denounce his name and bear the name of Olumba Olumba Obu. We also have the self acclaimed “Perfect Master” Guru Maharaji. He has also made converts and they have great regard for flowers. This man like O. O. Obu, has led so many souls to hell. There are so many others. Most of them use “holy water, candles, incense” and some other strange things in worship. Before I go to the next sign, I would like to denounce the existence of one of such christs among others, residing in New York City, born in Korea. He has also like others, made millions of converts and they call him “True Father” and his wife – “True Mother”. There converts address both of them as “True Parents”. This man is also known as the “Lord of the second advent”. His organization is known as “The Unification Movement”. Are you surprised? They reluctantly read the Holy Bible as “one of those books” but believe strongly in the “Divine Principles”. The “Divine Principles” are in levels. The self acclaimed Lord of the Second Advent is called – Rev. Sun Myung Moon. My advice for Unification members is that they should accept the Holy Bible as their Final Authority and not their “Divine Principle”. Contrary to the teaching

of their divine principle level four, Jesus will not be born the second time by a woman neither is He coming back again through Korea. For more information on the issue refer to Acts 1:9-11; Zachariah 14:4; Matthew 24:26, 27 and Revelation 19:11-16. These scriptures and more are enough proof that Jesus will not come in Korea neither will he be born again by a woman nor married to a “true mother”. Any day I hear of a counterfeit messiah somewhere, I get ever ready for the coming of my King. This afternoon I read in a newspaper of one “Black Messiah” in Lagos, Nigeria. He said he has a message from God also. I think we will stop here in order to have some space for other signs. 2. WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS SIGN “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all thses things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom …” – Matthew 24:6, 7a. There is no need to expand on the fulfillment of this sign in our world today. So many of us have at one time or the other been victims of war. The rate at which people kill one another in wars today is a certain sign that the time of His coming is at hand. 3. THE SIGN OF FAMINES AND PESTILENCES “… and there shall be famines and pestilences …” Thanks to technological advancement and scientific discoveries. However, as preparations to fight against various kinds of plagues are discovered, cultures of deadly germs are also prepared in the laboratories of various nations. Some of these diabolical agents are new weapons of war. Man producing plagues to destroy others. Until recently plagues were not directly produced by human agency. Plagues were act of nature. Take for instance the ‘Black Death’ which occurred about the year 1347. History has it that this pestilence did reach worldwide proportions. We learnt that black spots appeared on human bodies causing bleeding under the skin. Sometimes very painful hard lumps were formed on different parts of the body. The rate of death was almost one hundred percent. Again over 12,000,000 people died during the closing months of World War I as a result of the influenza which struck the world. There has been one plague or the other in various parts of the world. You remembered that which occurred in India and Zaire recently. Famine is not a new phenomenon either. Of recent this monster has been crippling many nations. The rate of economic uncertainties and lack of basic essentials of life is alarming. A family of three or four finds it difficult to take two square meals a day. The worst is that there is no hope that tomorrow will be better off. Friend, your only hope is Jesus in you. Tomorrow will never be better than today economically. We must be sincere to ourselves. Ecclesiastes 7:10 says – “Say not thou, what is the cause that the former days were better than these? For thou does not enquire wisely concerning this.” What we are seeing today is mild because the church of Jesus Christ is still on earth. After the rapture, the prophecy of famine and pestilence will be completely fulfilled. (for details see the book – Rapture and the Great Tribulation by the Author). 4. THE EARTHQUEKE SIGN “And great earthquake shall be in diverse places, …” – Luke 21:11. This is another event that has been in the increase for the past five hundred years. Here in Nigeria, we may not appreciate the destructive nature of this monster. The data we have at hand shows that for the past five hundred years, earthquakes have been in a steady increase with more destructive effects. Look at the rate of increase – • Fifteenth Century 115 earthquakes • Sixteenth Century 253 “ • Seventeenth Century 378 “ • Eighteenth Century 640 earthquakes

• Nineteenth Century 2119 earthquakes There have been more earthquakes with severe annihilative records in recent years. Over the news we have heard what we thought was the most disastrous earthquakes in various nations. We read of the earthquake that shook San Francisco, California, that practically destroyed the city on April 18, 1906. In 1908, about 75,000 persons perished in Messina, Italy as a result of this terrestrial convulsion. The same monster visited Kansu, China on January 13, 1920, and claimed the lives of over 180,000 persons. In 1923, Tokyo received its portion and lost 143,000 lives. Since then, we have been hearing of this powerful earth tremor occurring and reoccurring in India, Turkey, Japan, Egypt, China, America, Greece and so many other countries. I still repeat, after the rapture of the church, the planet earth will experience the worst kind of earthquake in human history. May be Nigeria will receive her portion then. In fact the increase of earthquakes is a sure sign of the extreme nearness of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 5. THE FLYING SAUCERS SIGN “… and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” – Luke 21:11b. There is a mystery in the history of mankind which the world of science has not yet uncovered. Since some years now we have heard reports of some strange objects appearing in the heavens. These are entirely different from aircrafts known by the inhabitants of this earth. Initially they were referred to as – “Unidentified Flying Objects” (UFO) and later were called “Flying Saucers” because of their general appearance. In an attempt to solve the mystery of the “Flying Saucers”, a lot of things have been said by those officially connected with military intelligence. In some cases, people have mistaken “flying saucers” for sky hook balloons and other such objects. Apart from all possible suggestions, the United States Air Force admits that there are still many sightings that cannot be contributed to them nor to the natural phenomenon such as mirages or atmospheric inversion. I hereby advice the world not to panic at the sighting of these strange objects. There is only one answer to this mystery – they are of supernatural origin and of immense scriptural significance. They are one of the events marking the soon coming of Christ. 6. THE SEA AND THE WAVES ROARING SIGN “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;” – Luke 21:25. I do not intend to discuss the first part of this text here for two reasons: because it will be fulfilled after the rapture of the saints and more importantly because it has been discussed in my book – Rapture and the Great Tribulation. In the last part of this verse, Jesus spoke of the “roaring of the sea and waves”. By this He meant that in the days of His preparations, the seas will overflow their banks. This prediction seemed impracticable in the early centuries. Today all the accumulated knowledge of engineering had been put to use in creating series of great dikes in Bar Beach, Lagos, to prevent the ocean from breaking through to Victoria Island. Man cannot stop it! We learnt that in the early months of 1953 there was an unprecedented combination of the forces of nature operating in the North Atlantic. The coast of England and some other countries experienced winds of terrific ferocity carrying with them waves of great size. The ocean broke through the protective dikes inundating about one sixth of England. Thousands of peop0le lost their lives and multitudes made homeless. Properties worth millions of pounds were lost. Holland also experienced the same disaster in those days. In the year 1994, I preached and taught on this subject virtually everywhere I was invited to speak on the Second Coming of the Lord. I never knew I was going to practically experience flood until the last week of September, 1994, when I and my family became refuges in our own land as a result of flood taking over our home.

Almost all the states in Nigeria suffered the same disaster. In fact, 1994 was a year the whole world would have taken the words of Jesus more seriously as the spring tides were at their greatest height in all the continents. The last of this event will be during the great tribulation when an object like a great mountain burning like fire will be cast into the sea, destroying one third of sea creatures and ships. Also one third of the sea will be turned into blood – Revelation 8:8,9. Since I am a living witness of the fulfillment of this prophecy, I urge you therefore to be prepared to meet your God. It can be any moment from now. Some of the Lord’s prophecies concerning His Second Advent will be fulfilled during the great tribulation, i.e. after the rapture of the saints. I wrote extensively on them in my book titled: “Rapture and the Great Tribulation”. Let us consider some Old Testament prophecies before turning again to the pages of the New Testament. 7. INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE SIGN “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: … and knowledge shall be increased.” – Daniel 12:4. What interests me most in this prophecy is the phrase – “even to the time of the end.” We are all witnesses to the fulfillment of this prophecy. It is fulfilled in your own home today so you cannot deny the knowledge of the coming of the Lord. Think about the rate of technological advancement coupled with our day to day scientific discoveries. I always give example with our children. Today a child of five years old discusses intelligently; asks and answers questions brilliantly as against his mate when this prophecy was given or even twenty years ago. You do not need any statistical data to prove this. A lot of new vocabularies have been added to our dictionaries. Man has devised a means of going to the moon and other planets. These are the result of increase in human knowledge and they point out to us that we are in the last days. 8. THE INCREASE IN HUMAN TRAVELLING SIGN “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the end: many shall run to and fro, …” – Daniel 12:4. Here is another sure sign of the time we are in. if Daniel were to be alive today and see the rate with which people travel from one end of the world to another, he would be astonished. In the days of Daniel, people travelled about in carriages. There were nothing like cars, trains, airplanes, or even ships as we have them today. So it was not possible for one to travel from Nigeria to the country of Australia and come back in a couple of days. But because of the increase in knowledge, there is an unprecedented increase in human travelling, by sea, land and air. This introduces us to the next few sign in prophecy. 9. THE AUTOMOBILE SIGN “The chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken. The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightings.” – Nahum 2:3,4. This is another remarkable prophecy in the Old Testament that cannot be possibly misinterpreted. In the days of prophet Nahum when everybody was used to chariot or donkey as means of transportation, he saw motor vehicles in his vision but for lack of proper identification, he called them chariots. Let us consider the characteristics of these chariots Nahum spoke about and compare them with modern motor vehicles. a) “the chariots shall be with flaming torches.” – This is an allusion to the flashing head lamps of modern motor vehicles. b) “and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken” – This speaks of the up-rooting of trees as modern high ways and express ways are constructed for these vehicles. c) “the chariots shall rage in the streets” – This speaks of heavy traffic which roars down the arteries of our major cities. Take for instance the city of

Lagos, Nigeria where the increase in traffic has constituted a menace to life generally. The Federal Government built giant freeways, express ways and bridges yet to no avail. A time came when the Government introduced the “even” and “odd” number system in order to check traffic, yet in the words of prophet Nahum – “the chariots raged in the streets.” d) “they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways” – In the days of prophet Nahum, I wonder whether there was anything like chariot accident. Yet he saw modern motor vehicles smashing one another on our broad, dual carriage express ways, the rate of motor accidents on our roads increases day by day despite tremendous efforts made by the Road Safety Commission to minimize road accidents. e) “they seem like torches, they shall run like the lightings” – No chariot can literally match this description. Some of our modern motor cars have had their powers stepped up until they can cover one hundred and twenty miles per hour or even more. As they stream down the highways in the night with their head lamps on, they seemed to the prophet as lightings. The most important aspect of this prophecy is the time element – “in the day of his preparation.” This means that all these things would come to pass in the days the Lord is preparing to return to the planet earth. 10. THE AIRPLANE SIGN “As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem, defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.” – Isaiah 31:5. This prophecy was given about 2,700 years ago when man has not dreamt of anything like airplane. The prophet has no other word to describe the object he saw than to the one (birds) he was familiar with. As he saw this object, he imagined what else could have the ability to fly across the air space of Jerusalem but birds. But the most remarkable aspect of this prophecy is not that man will one day fly, it is its involvement in the deliverance of Jerusalem. How did it happen? In 1917, when Jerusalem was in the hands of the Turks, the British Government desired to capture the Holy Land by conquering and probably eliminating the Turks who were prepared to defend Jerusalem to the last man. Then Allenby was the British General in Egypt who was asked to contest the possession of Jerusalem. Being a devoted Christian, General Allenby did not want the sacred and historic Jerusalem to be destroyed by shell-fire so, he knelt down in his tent and prayed that God would make the battle unnecessary. After his prayer, he set up his scouting planes from Egypt to scout the land of Jerusalem. By this time, many of the Turks had never seen a plane before so, they quickly evacuated the city without any bloodshed. Thus did the Lord deliver Jerusalem and defended it even with birds (planes) flying. We learnt that when General Allenby finally settled in the Land, he asked all Jews to return home and occupy their Land. The question you may ask now is the relevance of this prophecy to the Second Coming of the Lord. That is an important question. The invention of airplane is significant to the end-time events. The Jews must occupy their land if the Lord is to come back to this earth. Of course the invention and development of air plane contributed immensely to the restoration of Israel. 11. RADIO AND TV SIGN “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city … And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in grave.” Revelation 11:8,9. A lot of questions have been asked about the fulfillment of this prophecy. Have you ever thought about the daily development of our Television and Radio industries? Is it not wonderful the way our satellite systems work today? God in his omniscience knew about it all. Look at Job 38:35 – “Canst thou send lightings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?” This speaks of the possibility of sending words and pictures by means of electromagnetic waves through space at

the speed of light. By the invention and development of radio and television in the last century, the possibility of the whole world seeing the corpse of the two last prophets lying in the street of Jerusalem for three and half days is not questionable. This is one more indication that the coming of the Lord is imminent 12. THE REVUILDING OF JERUSALEM SIGN “When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.” – Psalm 102:16. “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall then go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more forever.” – Jeremiah 31: 38-40. Before Jesus was crucified, He predicted the destruction of Jerusalem because of its wickedness and shedding of innocent blood. At one occasion, His disciples admiring the temple showed Him how magnificent the building was. “Jesus said unto them, see ye not all this things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” – Matthew 24:2. See Luke 21:24. To the Jews who felt secured in their land under the Roman Government, this prophecy cannot be fulfilled. But in A.D. 70, the armies of Titus surrounded the city. Already the Jews had been deceived by false prophets so they fanatically resisted the armies of Titus. The result was the destruction of the city. In an attempt to remove the gold with which the temple was built, the soldiers set the temple ablaze. The gold melted and afterwards the soldiers away with it. This literally fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus – “there shall not be left here one stone upon another.” The city was wasted and the people led into captivity. However, in the following centuries, at one time or the other, the city was rebuilt only to be destroyed again. It was not only the Romans that overran the city but Arabs and Turks as well. As we discovered in the airplane sign, when General Allenby conquered the Turks without firing a shot, he invited the Jews from all over the nations to come and rebuild their city. Thus gradually Jerusalem was rebuilt on the exact beacons as was prophesied by Prophet Jeremiah. Today, Jerusalem is the major city of the nation Israel which was born in 1948. Do not forget that “when the Lord shall build up Zion (Jerusalem) he shall appear in his glory.” 13. LABOUR STRIKES SIGN “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and bowl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your richness are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped up treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of labourers who have reaped down your fields, which are of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton, ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.” – James 5:1-6. There is no need to interpret these verses of scripture to you. Labour strike is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria. The most significant aspect of this prediction is the cause of labour strikes and the time element. I have taken my time to investigate the root causes of most labour strikes we experience in the country today. Not until recently I discovered the hand of this demon called FRAUD in it. Why fraud? Because of the uncertainties of tomorrow. Our leaders are heaping treasures against the uncertainties of tomorrow thereby starving the poor who did the work. Today what we hear is the popular African slogan of “Monkey dey work; Baboon dey chop.” So when the labourers could no longer bear the pain they resort to strikes.

Remember, as the day of the Lord draws nearer, the struggle between the rich oppressors and the poor gets fiercer. 14. SCOFFERS OF HIS SECOND ADVENT SIGN “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, working after their own lusts, and saying where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” – II Peter 3:3, 4. I still remember some years ago when I wrote the book – “Understanding the Book of Revelation” and as I taught from place to place on the subject of his second coming, I received challenges that could have silenced me forever. But for God on my side, I live to prove my critics wrong. There is no subject as controversial as eschatology. Not only that there are various schools of thought but the most disheartening is their ridiculous approach to the subject. Some people laugh at you to scorn when you tell them about the Second Coming of Christ. Somebody asked – “If you were He, will you come back again to this earth?” You could instantly ascertain the degree of flippancy in this fellow as per his question. However, one thing these scoffers fail to understand is that they are unwillingly fulfilling one of the outstanding signs of the Second Coming of Christ. 15. PERIOUS TIMES SIGN I would like to round up this chapter with this scripture which I encourage you to meditate deeply on as you consider carefully the generation we are in. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: From such turn away.” – II Timothy 3:15. Are these vices not prevailing in our society today? Note that these fifteen signs are not comprehensive. We can go on and on discussing some more interesting signs with outstanding significance. Those of you who have been opportune to listen to my teaching life have recorded more than twenty signs. I discussed some of the signs which will take place after the rapture in my book – “Rapture and the Great Tribulation.”

CHAPTER FOUR A WORD OF ADVICE My dearly beloved, I praise the Almighty God for His grace upon your life. I also hope that you have gained more insight into the events of the last days. I would not like this book to be a judgment against you on the last day; rather my aim is for this book to benefit you. The former will be the case if you fail to act on my advice immediately. On the other hand, you will live a happy, purposeful life here on earth and in the world to come if you give heed to the words of this page. Do not be deceived, one day Jesus will come. Your relationship with Him now determines your eternal position. Have you made Him the Lord of your life? If not, please ask Him to come into your heart now and take control of your life. I assure you, you will never regret this. Let us look at some passages of the Scripture together. Take your time to meditate on them; they will bless your heart. 1. Ac 17:30 – 31 - “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now

commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. “ 2. Joh 3:16-17 “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” 3. Ro 5:8 – “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” 4. Ro 3:23 – “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” 5. Isa 64:6 – “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” 6. 1Jo 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 7. Ro 10:9-10 – “ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 8. Eph 2:8-9 - “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” 9. Tit 3:5 - “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” 10. 2Co 5:17 – “ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” After going through these ten life-changing texts meditatively, you may feel the need of accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour. Then, pray this prayer out of your personal conviction. Dear Father, I thank you for sending Jesus Christ your only begotten Son to die on the Cross Calvary for my sins. I acknowledge my sins today and ask for your forgiveness. I believe with all my heart that Jesus died for my sins and on the third day you raised Him up from the dead; He ascended into heaven and is sitted at your right hand side, from where He will come any moment from now to take me home. Write my name in the Lamb’s Book of Life and baptize me now with your Holy Spirit. I thank you for answering my prayer. In Jesus name I prayed. Amen! Now if you sincerely prayed this prayer, I happily welcome you into God’s family. Write to me today and tell me about your new found love in Jesus. I want to hear how this book blessed your soul. I promise to reply you immediately and send you some good materials for your spiritual growth. God bless you forever! Write to: Chaplain Rev. F. A. Ekenyere, The Faith Builders Ministries, P. O. Box 1803, Maiduguri. Borno-State. Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Websites: http://www.thefaithbuildersministries.org http://www.tfbm.net23.net