Interpreting Signs 

We are currently seeing many Biblical signs of birth. If you are unfamiliar with please use the SIGNS menu above. The most impressive is: The Revelation 12 Sign of 2017. There are more.

The question arises, how should we interpret these signs?

Unfortunately there are some notable differences of opinion even among good Christian friends. The confusion and complexity can sometimes cause an excellent conversation to be ended prematurely.

We will consider a few reasons for this difficulty, but so that you understand my own method of interpretation I’ll give a brief introduction to my view.

Introduction

True signs, and true prophecy always point to Jesus. By looking at the testimony of Jesus, and seeing how signs were revealed in his life we may understand how to interpret the signs we are seeing today.

“The Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev 19v10).

To state very simply what I believe is coming:

Jesus was born with a sign in heaven that the wise men followed to Bethlehem, but then he needed to escape a nasty conflict, King Herod and the slaughter of the innocent. This event is seen in Bible prophecy.

The recent Revelation 12 sign, and the sign of the dragon, (the Eclipse Reversal of 2015) appear to point to a moment of birth for the final generation mentioned in Matthew 24.

  • BIRTH: Signs of birth are pointing to world war three in approximately 2024, but it will not be the end. We may be prepared so that many lives may be saved.

  • LIFE AND MINISTRY: The journey of the final generation will be life long (Mat 24v34), with blessings and curses.

  • DEATH AND RESURRECTION: The end will involve a moment of the cross. God’s people will be given glorious victory when Jesus returns.

Sharing the message about the end times birth with Bible believing Christian leaders is currently my greatest passion in life as I believe the wisdom God gives in the birth of Jesus will help us to save many lives during the war that is coming.

The coming war will give us a powerful opportunity to act with God given foresight to help many people escape the destruction. It will bring great glory to God for the advancement of the gospel.

If the concept of an end times birth and journey is new to you it is explained in more detail on the following pages:

The message in these pages is of urgent importance.

Interpreting Signs

Birth is not the end

Some well meaning Christians object to looking at signs, often stating, 'We don’t know the time of the end…’

That is true. But signs of birth do not signal the end.

Signs won't tell us when the end will come. Not even Jesus knew, (Mat 24v36). But Jesus did claim to know when the end would NOT come, and he described the signs and circumstances that relate to a moment of birth.

  • Signs of birth mean that mean the end is NOT yet.

Jesus explained when the end will NOT come, and he described birth pains:

“You will hear of wars and rumours of war, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” — Mat 24v6 (NIV).

The same appears in Mark 13v7 and Luke 21v9.

Common translations say;

  • “but the end is not yet” — ESV, KJB, NKJV, CSB, HCSB, ASV, ERV, LSV, NRSV, WBT, WNT, WEB, YLT.

  • “but that is not yet the end” — NASB, LSB, AMP.

  • “but the end is still to come” — BSB, MSB, NET Bible and NIV.

  • (I mostly use the NIV, and sometimes the ESV)

Jesus emphasised war as he spoke about “birth pains” saying,

“Nation will rise against nation, and Kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earth quakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of birth pains.” (Mat 24v7-8).

In his parallel account, Luke adds to the list of signs;

“…pestilences in various places. And there will be fearful events, and great signs from heaven.” — Luke 21v11.

We see from Jesus’ personal example that heavenly signs point to birth — the Magi followed the star to Bethlehem when Jesus was born, (Mat 2v2).

The Revelation 12 sign also depicts the birth of Jesus, but we need to bear in mind that prophecy has multiple times of fulfilment. There were many special moments of birth in the past that revealed Jesus typologically (or symbolically), but Jesus himself only has one incarnation.

The signs we are currently seeing give us reason to expect that a final apocalyptic (or symbolic) revelation of Jesus will be fulfilled in his people during the lifetime of the final generation, who it seems are being born at the moment.

Instead of expecting the end, we should be alert to the King Herod moment, a terrible conflict and slaughter of the innocent which prophecy shows God’s people are blessed to escape. God always does miracles to care for his people at the vulnerable time of birth.

  • The end will be different.

Paul says the end will come during a time of peace, and with no sign:

“the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly…” — 1 Thess 5v2-3.

At the end of Jesus’ life he was arrested by men who came like thief’s in the night to the garden of Gethsemane while the disciples were sleeping.

Similarly, death can sneak up on anyone at any time, so we always need to be ready to meet Jesus.

There was a sign in the sky as Jesus died, but that was after his end had come while he was hanging on the cross.

“From the sixth hour to the ninth hour darkness came over the land.” — Mat 27v45.

There will be a similar events at the end of time, immediately after the great tribulation. People will see “the sign of the son of man”, and they will mourn (Mat 24v29-30).

Luke describes these same things to come after the great tribulation, and he says, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up our heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21v25-28).

This is the final moment of the cross. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

As in the example of Jesus, the final sign will not come as a warning of the end. It will come with the end itself.

A longer article on these matters: No Sign of the End

A Provocative Message

Today we do have signs, and they are signs of birth, or birth pains, especially pestilence and rumours of war. The Revelation 12 sign of 2017 clearly represents birth in the sky.

As I meet Christian leaders to present the concept of an end times birth most people respond well, expressing appreciation, and agreeing that the concept is worth testing. We are told to test all things, (1 Thess 4v19-21).

But sometimes the message provokes a challenging response. With God’s help I want to act with love to resolve the matter in a God honouring way.

DIFFICULTY with SIGNS

When there is strong disagreement it is often focused on the interpretation of signs.

Due to time constraints I often present the Revelation 12 sign of 2017 fairly early in a conversation, even within the first five minutes while a person is still trying to grasp what is meant by ‘an end times birth’, so an initial perplexed response is quite understandable.

A misunderstanding on what Jesus taught about signs can contribute to a comment like this:

  • ‘But didn’t Jesus say not to look for signs?’

There can be deeper reasons for this sort of comment, but lets take it at face value.

There were occasions when Jesus rejected a request for a sign, but he was talking to the Pharisees. They even wanted a sign from heaven (Mat 16v1). The context is important.

Jesus refused to give the Pharisees a sign because although they had seen many signs they were still unbelieving. They were hard hearted, blind and just trying to test him. 

“A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” — Mat 12v39

The sign of Jonah is the sign of death and resurrection, (v40).

The sign of Jonah may also be known as “the sign of the Son of Man.” (Mat 24v30).

Those who reject Christ will mourn when they see this sign because by then it will be too late to be saved.

Jesus also rebuked the Pharisees for not being able to interpret the signs of the times. (Mat 16v1-3). The life and ministry of Jesus was in progress!

Evidently true believers do see signs, and with the help of God’s Spirit we interpret them correctly, and respond appropriately — with faith and repentance.

After refusing to give signs to the Pharisees, Jesus continued doing miracles with his disciples for those who had faith. Jesus also told us that signs would accompany those who believe, (Mark 16v17-18).

This was certainly true for the first generation of the church, and we have reasons to believe it will also be true for the final generation of the church in special ways.

However we are currently seeing some very unique signs of birth, so we need to consider an apocalyptic moment of birth as the final generation is born.

We need to understand how signs relate in the example of Jesus because “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” — Rev 19v10. It is explained on the Home Page — MESSAGE

After being born with a sign in heaven Jesus needed to escape a terrible conflict — the King Herod moment. Today that kind of extreme rage would probably look like nuclear war.

The signs of birth that we have recently seen are associated with a Seven Year Warning. Please be alert to a climax of conflict in about 2024. Birth generally comes on time, and it is not the end. So we need to be ready to care for each other.

Please study the birth and pray about it. We need to prepare. We must trust God, he promises his family a successful escape from the calamity at the time of birth. Prepare.

  • The Rapture Mindset

A deeper reason for some Christians not wanting to discuss the signs is an expectation of an imminent pre-tribulation rapture of Christians straight to heaven. For these people, talk of signs can provoke a fear of being ‘left behind’.

Often that the most helpful approach is to bring the attention back to the birth of Jesus. The main concept is that prophecy begins with birth, so it is interesting to see that Jesus had a kind of ‘rapture’ as a baby. We could call it ‘the rapture foreshadowed’.

In Revelation 12v5 as the woman was giving birth in front of the dragon, Jesus was “snatched up to God and his throne”. The latin word here is ‘rapture’. It means ‘snatched up’, or ‘caught up’.

But this wasn’t the end for Jesus. It happened when Jesus was only a baby as he escaped King Herod. Symbolically Herod was the dragon waiting in front of the woman to devour him the moment he was born. (Rev 12v4)

So this wasn’t the rapture that took Jesus to heaven. It took him to Egypt, and then ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’ — A symbolic picture of repentance as the journey of life began.

Spiritually we escape the power of the dragon when we come to faith in Jesus, and by acting in repentance. The dragon is Satan, or the devil (Rev 12v9). It is sin, which leads to death.

For Jesus the dragon was symbolic, because he had no sin to present from. King Herod, and also Egypt were dragons to Jesus when he was little. Egypt’s nick name was “Rahab” - the sea monster / dragon. “Out of Egypt I called my son.” — Mat 2v15, a symbolic act of repentance.

Because of sin we were dead, but “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” — Ephesians 2v6. In this sense we are ‘snatched up’ or ‘caught up’ to God — when we are born again, a victory allows us to live victorious lives in Christ Jesus.

Our spiritual life and ministry begins with a dramatic birth. It is the new birth, when we are ‘born again’, and we escape the power of the dragon. In prophetic imagery this can be presented as a rapture, but because it’s only the beginning of a testimony in the life long journey of faith, the spiritual resurrection of new birth is a kind of promise. It serves to foreshadow the ultimate resurrection when Jesus returns.

Today it looks increasingly likely that world war three will happen before Jesus returns, and the signs are pointing to an end times birth. So we can expect to see another moment of ‘rapture foreshadowed’ as thousands, and hopefully millions of Christians leave the cities before the war becomes nuclear.

We will escape this dragon by God’s glorious grace as we act with wisdom to prepare like Noah for the flood, or Joseph for the famine.

How will we know if this is true? The key Scripture to watch is Daniel 11v36-44 — A war at the time of the end.

We must test the prophecy to see if it comes as expected — about seven years after the Revelation 12 sign of 2017. Many lives will be saved.

  • Christian Caution and Common Doubts

Sometimes Christians refuse to look at signs out of an abundance of caution, or perhaps plain disbelief. They say it raises false hope, and that it only makes us look silly when nothing happens. They say looking at signs is a distraction from more important matters of the gospel.

Certainly there have been many erroneous interpretations in the past, and it is wise to be cautious. I commend such people for healthy caution, and for having a good focus on the gospel. However if causes a refusal to listen, that’s not healthy.

“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” 1 Thess 5v19-21

By showing patience, and speaking with gentle humility many cautious or doubting people will eventually listen.

Isaiah had this kind of difficulty with King Ahaz, the king of Judah in Isaiah 7 at a critical time of birth while a fearful war was looming in the north.

Isaiah was trying to warn and encourage the king, saying, “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart…” Isaiah 7v4

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”

Again the Lord said to Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”

Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. — Isaiah 7v9-14

The sign that King Ahaz didn’t want to accept is the same as the Revelation 12 sign of 2017 — the virgin giving birth in front of the dragon of war. It was about seven years later that the land was destroyed by the king of Assyria, but Judah escaped just as God had promised.

It was a true sign and a moment of birth for the faithful remnant who survived. So perhaps King Ahaz did eventually pay attention.

Jesus was born in the same way, with a sign in heaven, and then needing to escape a nasty conflict — King Herod and the slaughter of the infants. Immanuel means, “God with us”.

Now we have seen the sign of birth again, and the threat of war is building. We are facing the same scenario again, but if we pay attention to the signs that God is giving us and act appropriately he will be with us, and we will be blessed to have shelter from his wrath.

Lets seek God’s wisdom on what to do. Many acknowledge that a nuclear war is certainly possible. The signs are very convincing so it would be foolish to ignore them.

When people live in bush fire zones they have bush fire plans. It’s sensible. It saves lives. It would be negligent not to have a plan. So today as we see that the war clouds are darkening, the sooner we begin preparing an ark the better. God is with us — Immanuel.