My wife knows that I like to stay informed on weather reports for our area. It’s good to know if rain is in the forecast. In fact, we can see when a thunderstorm is looming. We see black clouds rolling across the horizon. We see the wind pick up. We hear thunder in the distance. Besides, we have the weather channel on TV!

Our first thought may be, “I hope we don’t lose five trees in our backyard like last time!” Or, “I hope our power stays on.”

The truth is, we’re quite good at predicting the weather and knowing when a storm looms. Our professional weather forecasters can even tell us if we can expect rain a week from now!

Jesus commented about this in Matthew 16: “‘When it is evening you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red”; ‘and in the morning, “It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.” Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times’” (Matthew 16:2-3).

The Signs of the Times

In Luke 21, Jesus gave a detailed prophecy of what things would look like when the end of this age is very near, and when the Kingdom of God is about to take over mankind and Satan’s rule of this planet. It’s a very interesting read through verse 28—and a few scary verses in there too! Note what He says: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening [mentioned above in this chapter], know that the kingdom of God is near” (Luke 21:29-30).

And then notice what He says next: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

So, Jesus told us to discern the signs of the times. And He told us to watch therefore.

What to Watch For

As we enter the new calendar year, here is a brief summary of things to watch for as we draw ever closer to the end of mankind’s age of rulership, and prepare for the Kingdom of God upon Jesus Christ’s return. This is just a brief summary. You can listen to a full sermon that goes into more depth on our video sermon page titled “Seven End Time Events to Watch For.”

These are signs that will show us the spiritual weather forecast for our day. If we’re watching carefully we’ll see when the spiritual fig tree is blooming and we can expect the Kingdom of God to be very near.

The continual decline of modern-day “Jacob”—Biblical prophecy portrays the decline of the United States, Great Britain and the English-speaking nations. This decline could be caused by a combination of war, a financial collapse, or social breakdown as a result of national and individual sin.

The rise of new world powers—The new “world order” of globalization has resulted in the creation of new powers in the place of domineering superpowers. Even smaller nations hold hostage the greater powers of our day. Much smaller terrorist organizations wreak havoc and fear upon their giant enemies.

The Rise of 10 European nations into an international superpower—An analysis of history, along with specific prophecies of the Bible, show that just prior to the return of Jesus Christ there will be another end time event to watch for. It is the formation of a 10-nation superpower north of Jerusalem.

The prominence of a powerful church over the European superpower—As the new European political power develops, an influential religious leader will arise to provide leadership and unity to this regional power. The book of Revelation refers to this church as the “great whore” and the leader as the “false prophet.”

The creation of a powerful Asian superpower—The Bible reveals the creation of a great Asian regional power whose massive armies will attack Europe in the latter days. An attack on the European armies by an Asian colossus is the 6th Trumpet plague in Revelation.

The Church of God completes its mission—The complete gospel message of the Kingdom of God must be preached to all the nations of the world. This is the great commission given to God’s Church. We in the United Church of God take this imperative very seriously.

The Bride of Christ prepares for His return—The end time Church of God prepares itself spiritually and mentally to serve with the living Christ upon His return to earth. This preparation time to become ready is necessary to prepare the saints to rule in the Kingdom of God. These are a people filled with God’s Spirit, who believe the purpose of their lives is to serve others and develop the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit within themselves.

The Kingdom of God arrives—It’s the end of this present evil age and the world enters a new age—a new beginning, where peace and true religion will prevail—a time when all of humanity will be offered salvation and eternal life. This world will become a wonderful place with Jesus Christ as our King and world leader.

So, I know that you like to stay informed on weather reports for your area. It’s good to know if rain or sunshine is in the forecast. We are quite good at forecasting tomorrow’s weather.
But how good are you at discerning the signs of the times?

Jesus told us to watch therefore. If we’re watching carefully and staying close to God, we’ll see when the spiritual fig tree is blooming and we can expect the Kingdom of God to be very near.