25“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”Luke 21:25-28
The second coming of Christ is a picture of salvation on a grand scale! in order for an individual to receive Christ's free gift of salvation he or she must come to the end of themselves, so too must the world come to the end of itself in order for the Lord to make a new heavens and a new earth! There is no doubt that we are living in a time when advancing technology has, and is currently showing us signs in the sun, moon and the stars just as Jesus prophesied. But now we are in uncharted territory on the earth as we are globally and progressively experiencing "distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring".
It is amazing that no sooner have we entered the 21st century and become a post 9/11 world that the global connections and systems of politics, commerce and finance are suddenly starting to disintegrate, along with an increasing amount of ecological instability accompanied by excessive tsunami, earthquake and tornado damage around the globe. The result of this is what Jesus describes as "distress of nations, with perplexity". This distress and confusion is now being expressed by the outbreak of public demonstrations in the Middle East known as the "Arab Spring" and now here in the USA we are observing similar demonstrations known as "Occupy Wall St" that are now rapidly spreading to other cities. These demonstrations are a massive expression of frustration that loudly declares that the systems of our world are failing, they are broken with no apparent solution thus the acceleration of distress and perplexity as we head towards another global recession!
So what does this all mean? The Bible doesn't tell us when the Lord will return, but it does tell us what things will be like when he does return. I would submit that the current global scenario is a sure sign of the second coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory just as the Bible says! For the believer in Christ this is a sign of hope and should serve as a catalyst to stay close to God on a daily basis. Jesus himself exhorts us "Now when you see these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." Unfortunately, for the person who does not know the Lord and is of a secular worldview, this is a painful time because their hope is rooted in systems that are broken and failing the very world that they try so hard to rationally and logically uphold. It is good to be reminded that God has given us a solution!It is obtained through faith and an open hearted relationship with our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever! He doesn't have a system, he has a kingdom; and there is a standing invitation for anyone who would put their trust in Him to come and be part of His Kingdom and family, because the price of admission and eternal membership was paid in full at the Cross!
