Una grave advertencia para los creyentes
Aunque en la Biblia se nos dice con toda claridad que nadie conoce el momento exacto del retorno de Jesucristo, tanto Jesús como Pablo indicaron que los verdaderos creyentes podrán reconocer las señales que lo precederán.
¿Habrá algunos advertidos de lo que va a suceder?
“Vosotros, hermanos, no estáis en tinieblas, para que aquel día os sorprenda como ladrón” (1 Tesalonicenses 5:4).
“De la higuera aprended la parábola: Cuando ya su rama está tierna, y brotan las hojas, sabéis que el verano está cerca. Así también vosotros, cuando veáis todas estas cosas, conoced que está cerca, a las puertas” (Mateo 24:32-33).
Aunque en la Biblia se nos dice con toda claridad que nadie conoce el momento exacto del retorno de Jesucristo, tanto Jesús como Pablo indicaron que los verdaderos creyentes podrán reconocer las señales que lo precederán. Numerosas profecías nos dan detalles explícitos que nos ayudarán a reconocer que el tiempo se acerca. Esta es la razón por la que es vital que usted estudie estas profecías en su propia Biblia (leerlas en diferentes versiones puede ayudarle a entenderlas más claramente) y medite en ellas. También, no deje de leer y reflexionar acerca del recuadro de la página 8: “¿Nos indican las profecías cuándo volverá Jesucristo?”
¿Cómo debemos prepararnos ante estos trascendentales eventos?
“No durmamos como los demás, sino velemos y seamos sobrios. Pues los que duermen, de noche duermen, y los que se embriagan, de noche se embriagan. Pero nosotros, que somos del día, seamos sobrios, habiéndonos vestido con la coraza de fe y de amor, y con la esperanza de salvación como yelmo. Porque no nos ha puesto Dios para ira, sino para alcanzar salvación por medio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, quien murió por nosotros para que ya sea que velemos, o que durmamos, vivamos juntamente con él. Por lo cual, animaos unos a otros, y edificaos unos a otros, así como lo hacéis” (1 Tesalonicenses 5:6-11).
“Mirad también por vosotros mismos, que vuestros corazones no se carguen de glotonería y embriaguez y de los afanes de esta vida, y venga de repente sobre vosotros aquel día. Porque como un lazo vendrá sobre todos los que habitan sobre la faz de toda la tierra. Velad, pues, en todo tiempo orando que seáis tenidos por dignos de escapar de todas estas cosas que vendrán, y de estar en pie delante del Hijo del Hombre” (Lucas 21:34-36).
“Mirad, velad y orad; porque no sabéis cuándo será el tiempo. Es como el hombre que yéndose lejos, dejó su casa, y dio autoridad a sus siervos, y a cada uno su obra, y al portero mandó que velase. Velad, pues, porque no sabéis cuándo vendrá el señor de la casa; si al anochecer, o a la medianoche, o al canto del gallo, o a la mañana; para que cuando venga de repente, no os halle durmiendo. Y lo que a vosotros digo, a todos lo digo: Velad” (Marcos 13:33-37).
“Acuérdate, pues, de lo que has recibido y oído; y guárdalo, y arrepiéntete. Pues si no velas, vendré sobre ti como ladrón, y no sabrás a qué hora vendré sobre ti” (Apocalipsis 3:3).
En la Biblia se nos exhorta repetidamente a que estemos preparados espiritualmente ante esos acontecimientos: “No durmamos . . . velemos y seamos sobrios . . . [Vestíos] con la coraza de fe y de amor, y con la esperanza de salvación como yelmo . . . Mirad también por vosotros mismos . . . orando que seáis tenidos por dignos de escapar de todas estas cosas . . . guarda [lo que has recibido y oído], y arrepiéntete”.
El apóstol Pablo describió vívidamente la actitud y la manera de ver las cosas que predominarían en la sociedad de los tiempos del fin: “También debes saber esto: que en los postreros días vendrán tiempos peligrosos. Porque habrá hombres amadores de sí mismos, avaros, vanagloriosos, soberbios, blasfemos, desobedientes a los padres, ingratos, impíos, sin afecto natural, implacables, calumniadores, intemperantes, crueles, aborrecedores de lo bueno, traidores, impetuosos, infatuados, amadores de los deleites más que de Dios” (2 Timoteo 3:1-4).
En los tiempos del fin los hombres y las mujeres serán egoístas en extremo y centrados en sí mismos. No verán las señales de peligro a su alrededor y serán tomados por sorpresa. Si no tenemos en cuenta las advertencias de Dios, y permanecemos sobrios, vigilantes y alerta, correremos el riesgo de dormirnos espiritualmente y no estar preparados. Entonces sufriremos las consecuencias de nuestra negligencia
¿Pensarán algunos que, al fin y al cabo, Jesucristo no volverá?
“Sabiendo primero esto, que en los postreros días vendrán burladores, andando según sus propias concupiscencias, y diciendo: ¿Dónde está la promesa de su advenimiento? Porque desde el día en que los padres durmieron, todas las cosas permanecen así como desde el principio de la creación” (2 Pedro 3:3).
¿Cuál es la perspectiva de Dios respecto al momento del retorno de Cristo?
“Mas, oh amados, no ignoréis esto: que para con el Señor un día es como mil años, y mil años como un día. El Señor no retarda su promesa, según algunos la tienen por tardanza, sino que es paciente para con nosotros, no queriendo que ninguno perezca, sino que todos procedan al arrepentimiento” (2 Pedro 3:8-9).
El apóstol Pedro nos dice que algunas personas van a interpretar mal las condiciones previas al retorno de Jesucristo porque tendrán una estrecha perspectiva humana en lugar de la perspectiva de Dios. Él, quien es inmortal y eterno y que siempre ha existido, no ve el tiempo como nosotros lo vemos.
Cuando las tendencias y los sucesos no se realizan de la forma como nosotros creemos que deberían pasar, o si Jesucristo no regresa en el momento que esperamos, hay quienes caen en la trampa de suponer que las promesas bíblicas y las profecías de Dios no se harán realidad. Estas personas, escribió Pedro, cometen un error fundamental. Se equivocan al no reconocer que Dios es paciente, dándonos el tiempo necesario para que nos volvamos a él en verdadero arrepentimiento. Porque Dios “ahora manda a todos los hombres en todo lugar, que se arrepientan; por cuanto ha establecido un día en el cual juzgará al mundo . . .” (Hechos 17:30-31).
Will some assume that Jesus Christ will not return after all?
“Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
What is God’s perspective on the timing of Christ’s return?
“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (verses 8-9).
Peter tells us that some will misunderstand the conditions leading up to Christ’s return because they view time from a limited human outlook rather than from God’s perspective. The Eternal God, who has always existed and always will, doesn’t look at time the same way we do. When trends and events don’t develop as anticipated, or when Jesus doesn’t return within an expected time frame, some fall into the trap of assuming that the biblical promises and prophecies are proved to be unreliable for accurate knowledge of what is to come.
These people, said Peter, make a fundamental mistake. They fail to recognize that God is patient, allowing time for us to turn to Him in repentance. God “now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world” (Acts 17:30-31).
Does Bible Prophecy Tell Us When Jesus Christ Will Return?
“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” With these words, Jesus’ disciples urged Him to tell them what events or conditions would mark the time of His return (Matthew 24:3).
Jesus explained that some signs that His return was imminent would be unmistakable. He noted that just as a fig tree leafing out is a sure sign of the coming summer, “so you also, when you see all these things, know that it [His return] is near—at the doors!” (verses 32-33).
God in His Word gives us a broad outline and sequence of prophetic events. Some details are still beyond our view at this point in history. However, among the many prophecies of events leading up to Christ’s return are major events and conditions that can be confirmed and identified historically.
First condition: man’s ability to annihilate life
The first of these certain prophecies deals with a specific condition that would be present only as the end time draws near. Christ said to His disciples that the end time “will be a time of great distress; such as there has never been before since the beginning of the world, and will never be again. If that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive; but for the sake of God’s chosen it will be cut short” (Matthew 24:21-22, Revised English Bible).
Jesus warned that a time would come when the destructive capacity of mankind would be so awesome that all life could be obliterated from the earth. This is why the time of “great distress,” or “great tribulation” in some translations, is so terrifying, unequaled in history.
People have warred since the dawn of history but never before had the ability—with rocks and clubs, bows and arrows, cannons and automatic weapons—to wipe out all humanity and fulfill this prophecy. This situation changed after 1945 with the detonation of the first nuclear weapons. Since then, with the production of thousands of nuclear warheads, mankind developed the frightening ability to destroy human life from the planet many times over.
This circumstance never existed in history until the latter half of the 20th century. Never before could mankind actually destroy itself. Christ foretold that, left unchecked, mankind would do exactly that. This is one of the reasons He must intervene to save mankind.
Second condition: modern Israel
The second condition that will exist before Jesus Christ’s return concerns the modern Jewish state of Israel.
Prophecies in Daniel, Joel, Zechariah and other biblical books require an organized, significant Jewish presence in Jerusalem before Christ’s second coming. Daniel 12:11 implies that sacrificial rituals will be renewed and then disrupted before Christ’s return. Jesus Himself warned, “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place . . . let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16).
The abomination of desolation, described several times in Daniel 8–12, deals with the defiling of the sacrifices and the holy place in Jerusalem. For such prophecies to be fulfilled, there would need to be an altar with a designated sanctuary area. It could include a fully rebuilt temple, but one in early stages of construction—even with just the foundation area laid out—would be sufficient.
In Ezra 3 we see that, after the destruction of their first temple, returning Jews offered sacrifices in the location of the former altar on the Temple Mount before the foundation of the new temple was laid. A modern revival of the sacrificial system would, therefore, be possible without requiring that a temple be fully constructed. But it should be recognized that the sacrifices in Ezra 3 were part of the temple restoration effort. It is highly unlikely that an altar would be set up independent of such an effort. And it seems even more unlikely that one would be set up in the original location while a Muslim mosque sits where the Jewish temple was. This leads to the conclusion that, somehow, that shrine will not remain atop the Temple Mount.
Of course, a restoration of Jewish sacrifices in Jerusalem may still seem unlikely given the hurdles to it, including fears of the firestorm that would ensue. But before the 20th century the notion of reviving the sacrifices seemed like an impossibility. The Jewish people had been scattered for almost 2,000 years, and the Islamic Ottoman Empire was in control of the whole region. Jews did not have the military power, unity or backing to return to their former homeland. Yet it happened. Once the fledgling state formed in 1948, it still appeared the Jews would never control all of Jerusalem. But then, in the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel took possession of the divided city.
What Christ foretold could not be fulfilled while the Arabs and Turks held dominion over the city. The Jews’ regaining of control over Jerusalem in 1967 helped set the stage for this prophecy, too, to come to pass.
Some of the circumstances necessary for fulfilling Christ’s prophecy are still not yet in place. The Israeli government, to defuse further religious tensions, decided that the Temple Mount was to be under the control of Muslim authorities. Since 1989, however, organized efforts have begun to prepare for the building of a temple. Several Jewish groups have publicly organized to carry out this plan.
Moreover, while rebuilding the temple was considered a fringe idea among the Israelis not too long ago, it has gained immensely in popularity in recent years as part of a rise in religious fervor following the Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.
How soon it will be before there’s enough public will to restore the temple or sacrificial system, time will tell. But conditions can change rapidly in the volatile political climate of the Middle East.
Third condition: a new power on the world stage
The third condition deals with the end-time revival of the Roman Empire, prophesied extensively in the books of Daniel and Revelation.
The prophet Daniel, in interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a colossal human image, spoke of a series of “kingdoms” to arise on the world scene. The first of these kingdoms was the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar himself (Daniel 2:28-38). It was to be followed by three other kingdoms (verses 39-40). These four kingdoms were, in order, the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greco-Macedonian and Roman Empires.
Speaking of the fourth kingdom, Daniel said that it would be “strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others” (verse 40). Rome indeed proved to be more domineering than its predecessors, swallowing up their remnants in a reign that lasted for centuries.
However, Daniel revealed other fascinating prophetic details about this fourth kingdom. The part of the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream representing the final stage of the Roman Empire, the feet and toes, was composed “partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron.” This was to portray the fact that “the strength of the iron shall be in it,” but also that it would be “partly strong and partly fragile.” Furthermore, “just as iron does not mix with clay,” the components of this kingdom would not adhere firmly together for long (verses 41-43).
Then, says Daniel, “in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed . . . ; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (verse 44). This is clearly a prophecy of the Kingdom of God, brought into reality on the earth by the coming of the Messiah.
But is something wrong with this sequence of events? Surely the Kingdom of God wasn’t established in the days of the ancient Roman Empire. Jesus Christ is not yet enthroned as the supreme ruler of the world (1 John 5:19). Was Daniel wrong about the timing of these events?
Understanding Daniel’s prophecy
The answer is to be found when we examine other prophecies that speak of the fourth kingdom. We learn that the Roman Empire, far from being forever gone and forgotten, is destined to rise again!
The apostle John was given a vision of events that would take place during the remainder of human history. Like Daniel, God inspired John to write of the events leading up to Christ’s second coming. Revelation 19 describes His glorious return to the earth, culminating in the overthrow and destruction of “the kings of the earth, and their armies,” a great false religious leader, and something called “the beast” (verses 19-20).
This “beast” corresponds to the fourth kingdom, the Roman Empire, seen in symbol by Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted by Daniel. Both the Beast seen by John and the image explained by Daniel will exist and be destroyed by Jesus Christ at His return. Through comparing prophecies and world history we learn that the Beast and the Roman Empire are one and the same.
An empire to rise again
Revelation 17 gives us additional details to help us understand the nature of this empire and how it could exist both in ancient times and at Christ’s return. This chapter describes a “scarlet beast . . . having seven heads and ten horns” (verse 3). It is described as existing, then not existing, then existing again (verses 8, 11). This gives us the key to understanding these sometimes-puzzling prophecies. The Roman Empire existed in the past, it does not exist now, but it will rise to exist again.
The image interpreted by Daniel had feet and toes of iron mixed with clay. In Revelation 17 we see what the 10 toes of mixed iron and clay represent. They correspond to the 10 horns of the Beast seen by John. “The ten horns . . . are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings” (verses 12-14).
Now the picture becomes clearer. Just before Christ’s return 10 “kings”—the original Greek indicates rulers, not specifically kings—will unite in a political, economic and military alliance. Some will be stronger than others, just as iron is stronger than clay. Representing various nationalities and cultures, they will be divided in ways other than in their allegiance to the Beast. The power and authority that come from their confederation will last only a short time before they make the fatal mistake of resisting Christ at His return, at which time they will be crushed and destroyed.
Some question whether the European Union is related to this prophesied power. It is interesting to let history show the roots of this superstate. Michael Elliot of Newsweek reported: “In January 1957, six nations signed a treaty on the site of the ancient Roman Capitol, and brought into being the European Economic Community . . . An aide to Paul-Henri Spaak, the then Belgian foreign minister, remembers that his boss said, ‘Do you think that we have laid the first stone of a new Roman Empire?’ Recalls the aide, ‘We felt very strongly we were Romans that day’” (“Don’t Spoil a Success,” Newsweek, international edition, Jan. 29, 1996, p. 40).
At the least, the idea of beginning a new Roman Empire was on the minds of the founders of this organization of nations. It has grown in power and influence as barriers to integration have tumbled one by one, with increasing cooperation in political, economic and military affairs. Yet there is much dissatisfaction with the union, with some desiring to leave and others calling for different tiers of integration—a two-speed Europe, as it were. Time will tell where these trends will lead—and how quickly.
Where does this leave us? With mankind possessing the capacity to destroy life in several ways, with Israel in control of Jerusalem and a desire among a few Israelis to restore the temple and sacrifices, and with determined efforts to advance European power and integration, we would do well to heed the warnings of biblical prophecy and not ignore its connection to world conditions.
However the various prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are actually worked out on the world scene, the Bible remains the inspired Word of God. These prophecies will come to pass regardless of whether we understand all the details.
To learn more, request our free study guides The Book of Revelation Unveiled, The Final Superpower and Are We Living in the Time of the End?
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