5 Signs of Jesus’ Return… and More

I’ve heard some people say, “I believe the Lord is coming back but that doesn’t change anything.”

Are you kidding me? If you really believe the Lord is returning soon to the planet, it changes everything. You live differently. You are kinder, gentler, and more merciful. You get rid of bitterness and animosity. You determine without a doubt what God wants you to do in life, and you get busy doing it. All the “Mickey-Mouse” stuff that used to bother you drops off because you know you are about to see the King. Come on!

New signs are added often in this hour of the last-days Church, and each sign is remarkably distinctive for our generation, our lifetime. Jesus has said you will see and know of His return, and here are 75+ ways He’s showing you. Jesus isn’t hiding anything. He wants you to notice these signs! As we’ve said before, they are very intentional. So much had already happened, and even more is unfolding right before our eyes. Get a clue! Jesus is coming soon!

1. Israel Made A Nation in 1948—Luke 21:29-33 // Jeremiah 30:1-31 // Jeremiah 40

Israel’s declaration of independence, proclaiming the State of Israel, was delivered on May 14, 1948. It came just under the wire—one day before the expiration of the British Mandate, which formalized British administration of territory conceded by the Ottoman Empire in a peace treaty ending World War I.

Centuries before, God declared this day would come.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘…For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it’” (Jeremiah 30:1-3 NKJV).

In Luke 21, Jesus pointed out that Israel being made a nation is a timepiece central to Bible prophecy.

Then he gave them this illustration: “Notice the fig tree, or any other tree. When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that the Kingdom of God is near. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear” (Luke 21:29-33 NLT).

Let me explain the importance of these verses by asking this question: Do you wear a watch? Why? You wear it to know what time it is. If you don’t have an appointment, you don’t have need of a watch. But if you don’t want to miss an appointment or be late, you better keep track of the time. Likewise, Jesus said to look at Israel to keep track of time because you have an appointment.

In Acts 8, we read how a great wave of persecution began and swept over the church in Jerusalem. All the believers except the apostles were scattered. This certainly was true of the Jews. But in 1948, God regathered Israel—the fig tree—as He said He would do. What a miracle!

God moved the Jews back to their land so He could court them. We know from Bible prophecy that right after the Rapture of the Church, the spirit of supplication will come upon that land. The Jews will turn to Jesus, and we see the setup for that now. God is smart enough to work with them as a nation and bring them back by courting them.

2. Jerusalem Won Back in 1967— Luke 21:24 // Amos 9:14-15

History tells us that in AD 70, Jerusalem was overthrown and remained overthrown until 1967, when Jerusalem was won back in the Six-Day War. Boom. The war was fought between Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. A ceasefire was signed June 11, leaving Israel in control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

Notice what Jesus said about this.

And they [the Jews] will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Luke 21:24).

In other words, Jesus was saying, “Hey, when you see Jerusalem won back, time is up. Buckle up.” What a bold and radical statement!

From beginning to end, it’s incredible to hear how God supernaturally helped during this war. You can Google amazing miracles that occurred during the six-day period. The media has interviewed many of the Israeli soldiers in that war. Most of them didn’t even believe in miracles but testified to them anyway. Several of these interviews can be found on YouTube.

I heard a couple of soldiers tell this story. One guy said, “Against all odds we won. I don’t know what happened, but something happened that day!”

Another guy said 88 Egyptian tanks were coming down on his one Israeli tank, and he began firing with all he had. “If I’m going out, then I’m going out with a bang!” he said.

The Israeli tank fired shells all night until eventually the Egyptian commander came out waving a white flag and yelling, “Where is your commander? I surrender to the highest-ranking officer.”

“It’s just me here,” the lone soldier said who had been firing all night. “There’s nobody else!”

“There have to be more soldiers!” the Egyptian commander answered. “The whole night the countryside was filled with tanks and men dressed in white. You fired at us all night, and we can’t take anymore!”

Another miracle during the Six-Day War involved a regiment of Jewish soldiers who each only had three or four bullets left as the Syrian army bore down on them. The Jewish soldiers talked among themselves. “I got three bullets. How many you got?”

“I got four bullets.”

“Well, it’s been great serving with you guys, but it’s all over now. We’re about to die. No big deal, I guess.”

All of a sudden, the Syrian army stopped in their tracks. They looked up and screamed, “Father Abraham.” I think they saw Jesus. They just didn’t know who they were looking at. Then they shrieked and took off running.

Later, the media interviewed the soldier who screamed, and it was pretty cool to see and hear from the actual soldier in battle. He said, “It wasn’t Father Abraham that scared me so bad. It was all those angels with flaming swords. We knew we couldn’t defeat them.”

I recall yet another story about the Six-Day War where a division of the Israeli army was completely surrounded by a minefield on one side and the enemy on the other. The troops looked at each other and said, “There’s nowhere we can go. We’re outnumbered a hundred to one. What do we do?”

There was no way through the minefield. It was a pure deathtrap. Suddenly, a huge wind blew through exposing all the mines. The Israeli soldiers walked right down through the middle of the minefield, easily avoiding every explosive. It was such a miracle—like you read about all through the Old Testament. God did some amazing things during the Six-Day War because the times of the Gentiles are pretty much up, and the dispensations are bumping up against each other.

God helped the Israelis fight that battle during the Six-Day War to fulfill His Word. It was divine intervention in the ordinary course of nature for Jerusalem to be won back, and it was right on time—exactly one Jubilee,1 or 50-year period, from 1917 to 1967.

Remember, everything points to that prime and pivotal piece of real estate called Jerusalem. For the most part, if you live west of Jerusalem, you read left to right. If you live east of Jerusalem, you read right to left. Everything comes back to that one location, and no wonder. Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives where He was beaten, mocked, and crucified. But He will come back as the King of Kings to reign forever, and the earth is getting ready for His arrival.

Both end-time signs #1 and #2 powerfully tell time for us.

Read a little further in Luke 21.

When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer [harvest] is now nigh at hand (Luke 21:30).

This scripture is telling us that when Israel was made a nation and Jerusalem was won back, we can see and know. In other words, we won’t have to be told what’s coming next because it will be obvious. Likewise, in the spring of every year, we don’t have to be told that summer is coming—we know it because trees bud and grass turns green. This past year, did anyone say to you, “Hey, I wonder if summer will come this year?” Of course, not. It would be crazy to ask something so obvious, which is the whole point here.

Jesus said in the same way that you are bold about seasonal temperature changes you’ve experienced year after year, you can be bold about what will happen when you see Israel made a nation and Jerusalem won back. Jesus summarizes His point in the next verse.

In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that the Kingdom of God is near (Luke 21:31 NLT).

I hear people say all the time, “You cannot tell when Jesus will return.” You can if you can read. Jesus has given us sign after sign after sign. The next verse is the real kicker.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled (Luke 21:32).

Wow! That’s pretty amazing! Jesus said “this generation.” What generation is that? The one that sees Israel made a nation. That’s your generation.

I don’t see how Jesus could have been any clearer. He said when you see Jerusalem won back, buckle up. Time is up. Israel became a nation in 1948, and Jerusalem was won back in 1967. Jesus said when you see these things come to pass, you will know that this generation will not pass away until all is fulfilled.

People often ask me, “How can you be so bold about Jesus’ soon return?” Because you and I can do the math and add up the generations from then until now. A generation in the Bible is how long man’s life span was at the time. In those days, it was 40 years; today it’s 70 to 80 years. So, when we figure this up from Adam to Jesus, the average generation was 55 years. But no matter how you do the math, we are the generation when Jesus returns.

Folks, when it comes right down to it, don’t we all have a witness in our spirits that Jesus is coming soon? The Holy Spirit is not witnessing to us, “Hey, take your time. We’ve got all the time in the world.” No, there’s an urgency about what He is speaking to us in this hour.

These signs bless us, push us, encourage us, and buoy our faith in God’s flawless accuracy as they come to pass before our eyes, but they don’t really surprise us because we see and know. We should have a song in our hearts and a radical joy among us as we watch it all unfold.

3. Revival of the Roman Empire in 1957—Daniel 2:40 // Daniel 7:23-24 // Revelation 13 & 17

This sign is significant because it is the platform for the Antichrist. It is the European Union (EU) that will bring him to the forefront. In other words, the Antichrist will come from revived Rome.

In 1957, the Treaty of Rome, which extended the earlier cooperation within the European Coal and Steel Community and created the European Economic Community, established a customs union. The EU came together in the 1990s as a politico-economic union of 28 member states located primarily in Europe.

4. Hebrew Language Restored—Zephaniah 3:9

Never before in your lifetime has there been a language lost and recovered in this way. The complete revival of the Hebrew language took place in Europe and Palestine toward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century. There is no other example of a language becoming a national language with millions of “first language” speakers.

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, a Jewish writer, said 115 years ago in Israel, “Hey, we need to speak Hebrew here.” Yehuda went on to lead a language revival movement until modern Hebrew was born. He’s considered the father of modern Hebrew and came out with new words, edited the first dictionary, and successfully restored the language to public use.

5. Ethiopian Jews Brought Back to Israel in 1991—Zephaniah 3:10 // Exodus 37:2 // Isaiah 43:6 // Ezekiel 36:24-28

In Ezekiel 36:24, speaking to the Jewish people, God said, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.” God did exactly what He said. Operation Solomon was a covert Israeli military operation to airlift Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 1991. Non-stop flights of 35 Israeli aircraft transported 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 34 hours and 4 minutes.

Lucifer’s plan was to separate and annihilate the Jews and prevent Bible prophecy from coming to pass, but he failed big time. Jews from all over the earth said “something” drew them back to Israel. We know that “something” was God.

As Jews were brought home to the Tel Aviv airport, they would fall on their knees and weep. They were not even born again, but God led them back to their homeland where He will ultimately deal with them for the seven-year Tribulation in His great mercy.

More Signs

There are 70+ more signs that confirm that Jesus is coming back—and He’s coming soon! In my book, you can read them all and more evidence hidden in Bible prophecy and current events.