We do not know when the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will be. The Bible describes it as being like a thief in the night.
1 Thessalonians 5:2 says, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.”
Still, Jesus gave us signs through His words so we would not be caught unprepared.
We must stay watchful and ready at all times, because the coming of our Lord Jesus is near.
Here are some signs that point to His return.
1. The Church will be ready
Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. Five were wise and brought oil for their lamps. Five were foolish and unprepared.
In the story, the groom delayed his coming and when He came, only those who were prepared went in with him.
The reason for the delay points clearly to the bride’s lack of readiness. It reminds us that the Church must be fully prepared for Christ’s return.
In Revelation, we read that the bride of Christ will be ready when He returns:
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).
Jesus is returning for a Church that is holy and mature. Paul wrote, “That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27).
The Bible says God wants us to be united in what we believe and how we live. In Ephesians 4:13, Paul says, “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
2. The increase in evil
Before Christ returns, evil will grow stronger in the world. Lawlessness will reach its peak.
Paul wrote, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ… that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3).
This time of great rebellion and lawlessness will expose the Antichrist before the final return of Christ.
3. A harvest of Jewish souls
The Bible speaks of a time when Israel will turn to the Lord. This will happen after the full number of Gentiles have come to faith.
Paul explained, “I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery… that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob’” (Romans 11:25-26).
God is not finished with Israel. His promises remain, and many Jewish people will come to know their Messiah in the last days.
4. World evangelization
Before Jesus returns, the gospel must be preached to every nation. Jesus clearly said this in Matthew 24.
When His disciples asked, “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3), He described many signs. He spoke of wars, famines, earthquakes, and pestilences. These are like birth pains, increasing as the end draws near.
Then Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).
This verse makes it clear that global evangelism is part of God’s timeline. The message of salvation must reach all peoples before the end.
Today, there are still many unreached tribes and people groups who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ.
God is patient. He is not delaying out of hesitation, but out of mercy.
As Scripture says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise… but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
His return will come suddenly. Let us be among those who are ready, watching, and faithful. May we live each day in the light of His soon return, sharing the gospel and growing in the likeness of Christ.
