Matthew 24:23-31.

²³ At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.

²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will emerge and perform great signs and miracles, so as to lead off course, if possible, even the chosen ones.

²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

²⁷ Because like the lightning which comes from the east and shines as far as the west, that is how the coming of the Son of Man will be.

²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ “Immediately after the misfortune of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the sky will be shaken.

³⁰ At that time will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will express grief, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

³¹ And he will release his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

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lightning and vultures

Every generation there is a new teaching cropping up that insists that we are living in the very time the Lord will return. Jesus told us not to believe any of them. There will be NO SIGN before the coming of the Lord. The only signs Jesus mentioned in specific answer to that question were lightning and vultures.

1. Lightning speaks of the sudden, unexpected nature of the coming. Before you know what is going on, Jesus will break through the clouds.

2. Vultures show up after the prey is dead. Likewise, the sign of the Son of Man is the Son of Man himself.

3. The point is that there will be no getting ready just before the event. We have to be ready now.

LORD, prepare us for your coming by giving us the wisdom to represent you to a world that needs you now.