"What Shall be the Sign?"
As soon as they were alone on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city,
the disciples came to Jesus, saying:
"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy
coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:3.
Replying to this question, the Saviour spoke first of the fall of
Jerusalem; He foretold in a sentence the experiences of His church
through dark ages to follow; then He described the events of the latter
days, the signs showing His second advent near at hand; and, finally, He
pictured the scenes of His own glorious appearing in the clouds of
heaven. The fullest record of the discourse is found in the
twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew.
A Striking Parallel
The first portion of the prophetic discourse (verses 4-14) deals with
general conditions that were to prevail both in the last days of the
Jewish state, and on a yet larger scale in the course of history leading
to the last days of the world. There was so close a parallel between
these times that Christ, in one description, answered both questions
asked, When shall these things come upon Jerusalem? and, What shall be
the signs of the end of the world?
The prophetic word foretold the rise of false Christs, the coming of
wars, famines, and earthquakes in "divers places.
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