Every generation has believed it was the last one.
And every generation has been wrong about the timing.
That pattern is itself a warning worth taking seriously.
Jesus told His disciples plainly that no one knows the day or the hour of His return, not even the angels, not even the Son in His earthly ministry.
What Scripture does offer is not a calendar but a landscape: a set of conditions and developments that together indicate the season is drawing near.
This post walks through seven of those signs, drawn directly from Jesus’s own words and the writings of the apostles.
No dates are claimed here.
No current events are mapped onto prophecy as though the timeline is settled.
What this post offers is what the Bible actually says, and where faithful Christians across different traditions agree and sometimes disagree.
A Note on Reading Prophetic Language
Before the seven signs, one important clarification.
Biblical prophecy often uses symbolic language alongside literal description.
When Jesus speaks of the sun being darkened and stars falling, some scholars interpret this cosmically and literally.
Others understand it as prophetic imagery in the tradition of Old Testament prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel, who used the same language to describe the fall of nations and the judgment of God.
Both premillennial and amillennial readers agree that Christ will return.
They interpret the details of when and how differently.
This post holds those details carefully, presenting what the text says without forcing a single interpretation where Scripture itself leaves room for different readings.
Sign 1: The Rise of False Christs and False Prophets
Jesus named this sign first in the Olivet Discourse, which suggests it carries weight.
Matthew 24:4-5 records His warning:
“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” (Matthew 24:4-5, NKJV)
He returned to this theme later in the same passage:
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24, NKJV)
The emphasis here is not just on people claiming to be Jesus.
It is on the sophistication of the deception. Signs and wonders. Credible performances. Movements large enough to mislead even those who know the Scripture.
The biblical warning is: the closer to the end, the more convincing the counterfeits.
Sign 2: Wars, Conflicts, and Instability Among Nations
Matthew 24:6-7 addresses the global disorder that will precede Christ’s return:
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” (Matthew 24:6-7, NKJV)
Jesus did not say wars are a new thing.
He said the scale and pattern of conflict, nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom, characterizes the period leading to the end.
Importantly, Jesus issued a pastoral command alongside the prediction: “See that you are not troubled.”
The sign is not designed to produce panic. It is designed to orient believers so they are not caught off guard.
Sign 3: Famines, Earthquakes, and Natural Disasters
Matthew 24:7-8 continues directly and adds a second category of signs:
“And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:7-8, NKJV)
The phrase “beginning of sorrows” translates the Greek word odin, which means birth pangs.
This is deliberate. A woman in labor does not experience one contraction and deliver.
The contractions increase in frequency and intensity before the child arrives. Jesus was describing not isolated events but a pattern of escalating disruption across the natural world.
Luke 21:11 adds to this picture:
“And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.” (Luke 21:11, NKJV)
No specific earthquake or famine should be read as the definitive trigger. The sign is in the pattern, not in any single event.
Sign 4: Persecution of Believers and Widespread Departure from the Faith
Matthew 24:9-10 describes what will happen within and to the church as the end approaches:
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” (Matthew 24:9-10, NKJV)
Persecution from outside and defection from within are presented together.
Paul expanded on the internal dimension in 2 Timothy 3:1-5:
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy… having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, NKJV)
The phrase “having a form of godliness but denying its power” is particularly striking.
This does not describe those outside the church. It describes those who remain within it while abandoning its substance.
The sign includes a moral and spiritual departure that wears the costume of Christian faith.
Sign 5: The Gospel Preached to All Nations
This sign is different in character from the others.
Matthew 24:14 frames it as a completion, not a catastrophe:
“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, NKJV)
Jesus did not say the world would receive the gospel universally.
He said it would be preached as a witness to all nations. Every people group having had the opportunity to hear.
This sign is simultaneously a mission and a marker.
It means that global evangelism is not just the church’s calling but a prophetically significant event.
When the last unreached people group has been given a witness, something has been fulfilled that Scripture said would precede the end.
Sign 6: Cosmic Disturbances in the Sun, Moon, and Stars
Matthew 24:29 records Jesus’s description of what immediately precedes His visible return:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” (Matthew 24:29, NKJV)
This is the sign over which interpreters differ most sharply.
Some understand it literally: actual astronomical events that will occur before Christ returns.
Others interpret it as apocalyptic imagery, rooted in Old Testament prophetic language where similar language described the collapse of earthly kingdoms in Isaiah 13:10 and Ezekiel 32:7.
What both interpretive traditions agree on is this: whatever these signs are, they are dramatic, undeniable, and they immediately precede the return itself.
Luke 21:28 gives the pastoral response to this sign:
“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:28, NKJV)
Sign 7: The Visible, Unmistakable Return of Christ Himself
Matthew 24:30 describes the culminating event:
“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30, NKJV)
This is not a secret event.
Acts 1:11 records the angels’ words to the disciples at the ascension:
“This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11, NKJV)
He left visibly. He will return visibly.
Revelation 1:7 confirms the universal scope of this visibility:
“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.” (Revelation 1:7, NKJV)
The return of Christ will require no announcement, no interpretation, and no insider knowledge to recognize.
Every eye will see. That is the final sign, because after it, there are no more signs left to wait for.
What These Signs Are Not Meant to Do
Jesus did not give these signs so that His followers would spend their lives calculating a date.
Matthew 24:36 makes this plain:
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (Matthew 24:36, NKJV)
The signs are not a puzzle to be solved. They are a posture to be maintained.
Luke 21:36 summarizes what the signs are actually for:
“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, NKJV)
The purpose of prophetic awareness is not anxiety. It is readiness.
A Prayer in Response
Father, I do not know the day or the hour, and I am not trying to calculate it. What I ask is simpler: that I would be found watching, that I would be found faithful, and that I would not be so caught up in this present age that the return of Your Son finds me unprepared. Let the signs You gave not produce fear in me but focus. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Questions Readers Ask About the Signs of Christ’s Return
Did Jesus say we cannot know anything about when He will return?
He said no one knows the exact day or hour, as Matthew 24:36 records. But He also gave signs and said they would signal that the season is near. The distinction is between knowing the precise moment, which He prohibited, and recognizing the general conditions He described, which He actively encouraged.
Do all Christians interpret these signs the same way?
No. Premillennial, amillennial, and postmillennial readers understand the sequence and nature of these signs differently, especially regarding the tribulation and the cosmic disturbances. All three traditions affirm that Christ will return bodily and visibly. The details of the sequence remain areas of ongoing theological discussion.
Are wars and earthquakes today proof that Christ’s return is imminent?
Not on their own. Jesus specifically said wars and earthquakes are the beginning of sorrows, meaning early indicators, not final ones. These signs gain their significance as part of a broader pattern, not as isolated events. Scripture cautions against treating any single news headline as definitive prophetic confirmation.
What is the falling away mentioned alongside the signs of the end?
Paul calls it apostasy in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, a departure from the faith by those who once professed it. Jesus described it in Matthew 24:10 as many being offended and betraying one another. It is an internal spiritual collapse, not merely external cultural change.
Why does Scripture use cosmic imagery like stars falling if it may be symbolic?
Because biblical prophecy communicates truth through imagery as well as literal description. Old Testament prophets used identical language in Isaiah 13:10 and Ezekiel 32:7 to describe national judgments. Whether the Matthew 24 signs are literal or symbolic, they describe real, unmistakable disruption immediately preceding Christ’s return.
Bibliography and Sources
Walvoord, J. F. (1990). The prophecy knowledge handbook. Victor Books.
Sproul, R. C. (1998). The last days according to Jesus. Baker Books.
GotQuestions.org. (2020). What are the signs of the end times? GotQuestions.org. Got Questions Ministries.
Keep Believing Ministries. (2024). Seven signs of the second coming. KeepBelieving.com. Keep Believing Ministries.
Crossway. (2024). 10 key Bible verses on the second coming of Christ. Crossway.org.
Christianity.com. (2023). What are the signs of the second coming of Jesus? Christianity.com. Salem Web Network.
Renner, R. (2025). The ultimate sign of Jesus’ return. Renner.org. Renner Ministries.
BibleInfo.com. (n.d.). Signs of Jesus’ second coming. BibleInfo.com. Amazing Facts.
Beliefnet. (2017). 7 signs of Jesus’ second coming. Beliefnet.com.
Precept Austin. (n.d.). Signs of the second coming Matthew 24 commentary. PreceptAustin.org.
