Humble Hero

Signs in the Heavens

The Savior gives signs of His coming and sets the time when the first of these signs will appear: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” HH 295.3

At the close of the great papal persecution, Christ declared the sun would be darkened and the moon not give her light. Next, the stars would fall from heaven. And He says, “When you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” Matthew 24:33, NRSV. Christ says of those who see these signs, “This generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” These signs have appeared. Now we know with certainty that the Lord’s coming is near. HH 295.4

Christ is coming with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will come with Him. He will come to raise the dead and to change the redeemed who are living, to honor those who have loved Him and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. When we look on our dead, we may think of the morning when “the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52. The King will wipe all tears from our eyes and present us “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” Jude 24. “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” HH 295.5

But Christ stated plainly that He Himself could not reveal the day or the hour of His second appearing. The exact time of the second coming is God’s mystery. HH 296.1