Are there not, however, signs that reveal the approach of Christ’s coming?
It is important to understand, first, that the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in AD 70, as the Lord had prophesied, stands as a type of the end of the age. The question of the Apostles combined both events: “‘Amen, I tell you: not one stone will be left standing on another; all will be thrown down.’… ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?’” (Mat 24:2–3; see Q235, Q442).
The signs given in the Holy Gospels have their primary application to the destruction of Jerusalem; yet they remain valid figures of the final consummation, and the Lord admonishes us: “You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times!” (Mat 16:3).
Among the signs announced in the Scriptures are: the decrease of faith and love (Mat 24:12; Luk 18:8: “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”); the increase of iniquity and calamities, wars, famines, earthquakes (Mat 24:6–12); the preaching of the Gospel to all nations (Mat 24:14); and the coming of false christs and false prophets (Mat 24:23–24).
Writing before AD 70, St Paul teaches:
Do not be troubled by a prophecy, report, or letter allegedly from us, saying that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way! For it will not take place unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself over all that is called God or is an object of worship, so as to take
his seat in the sanctuary of God, presenting himself as a god… The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. (2Th 2:1–7)
