Many people believe there is nothing that can be known about the timing of the Lord’s return because Jesus said He would return like a “thief in the night” (Matthew 24:42-44).
But Paul makes it clear in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 that Jesus’ statement does not apply to believers: “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief…” He then proceeds to explain why: “for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” Paul is referring, of course, to the light of the Holy Spirit who indwells all true believers and who can enlighten us through our study of Scripture to know the season of the Lord’s return (1 John 2:27).
God’s Attitude
As a matter of fact, God is obligated by His character to warn the world of the imminent return of His Son. The reason is that Jesus is returning in great wrath to “judge and wage war” (Revelation 19:11), and God never pours out His wrath without warning.
God does not wish that any should perish, but that all should be brought to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, God always warns before He executes His wrath. He warned the world through Noah for 120 years. He warned Sodom and Gomorrah through Abraham. He sent Jonah to warn the pagan city of Nineveh, and He sent Nahum to the same city 150 years later.
Likewise, God is warning the world today that His Son is about to return. He is calling the world to repentance. The message of the hour to unbelievers can be summed up in these words: “Flee from the wrath that is to come by fleeing into the loving arms of Jesus now.”Jesus came the first time as an expression of God’s love; He came to die for the sins of Mankind. But when He returns, He will come in vengeance to pour out the wrath of God on those who have rejected God’s love and grace.
The soon return of Jesus also carries with it a message for believers. Lukewarm Christians and carnal Christians are being called to commit their lives to holiness: “The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:12-14).
God’s Method of Warning
God is alerting believers of the soon return of His Son through what are called “signs of the times.” These are prophecies concerning world events that we are told to watch for, prophecies that will identify the season of the Lord’s return.
The Bible is full of these signs. There are about 500 prophecies in the Old Testament that relate to the Second Coming of the Messiah. In the New Testament, one out of every 25 verses is concerned with the return of Jesus.
In fact, there are so many signs that it is difficult to grasp all of them. The best way I have found to do this is to put them in categories:
1) The Signs of Nature — We are told to watch for earthquakes, famine, pestilence, and signs in the heavens (see Matthew 24:7 and Luke 21:11).
This is the least respected category of signs for several reasons. For one thing, many people simply shrug their shoulders and say, “There have always been natural calamities, so what else is new?” Note that Jesus says these signs will be like “birth pangs” (Matthew 24:8) — that is, they will increase in frequency and intensity as the time draws near for His return. In other words, there will be more intense earthquakes and more frequent ones. That is exactly what is happening today.
Another reason these signs are given little respect is because most Christians are so rationalistic that they do not really believe in the supernatural, and they therefore find it difficult to believe that God speaks to the world through signs of nature. Yet, the Bible teaches this principle from start to finish.
God dealt with the world’s sin through a great flood in the days of Noah (Genesis 6). He called the nation of Judah to repentance through a terrible locust invasion (Joel 1). In like manner, He called for the nation of Israel to repent by sending drought, wind storms, mildew, locusts, famine and pestilence (Amos 4:6-10).

Manchester United fans “have had enough” of Jose Mourinho’s tenure in charge at Old Trafford, according to United We Stand editor Andy Mitten.

Mourinho’s charges suffered their fifth Premier League defeat of the campaign against Liverpool on Sunday as Jurgen Klopp’s side returned to the top of the league table and stretched their gap over their rivals to 19 points.

Leading stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos State are gathering today to take briefings from party leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu amidst apprehensions on the intentions of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.
It was yet unclear as at press time yesterday if Tinubu, the undisputed leader of the party in Lagos, nay, the Southwest would dwell on the mutterings by some party leaders that Governor Ambode is halfhearted, if not, funding the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship campaign as payback for the way he was stopped from seeking a second term. Close associates of the outgoing governor, however, deny the claim and allege a conspiracy by the mainstream of the party to paint the governor black for whatever purpose. Governor Ambode’s associates say that despite collapsing his campaign structure into that of Sanwo-Olu and professing loyalty to the party that the outgoing governor is still held in suspicion over his intentions. It is also reported that the governor’s invitations to the Sanwo-Olu camp for harmonization of campaign had remained unheeded until last week. The mutterings and suspicions in the party follow the October primaries in which Sanwo-Olu, the anointed candidate of Tinubu and the mainstream of the party outwitted the incumbent governor for the party’s governorship ticket. It was the first time since the advent of the Fourth Republic, nay since the creation of the state that a sitting governor in the state would be denied a return ticket. Following the declaration of Sanwo-Olu as the party’s candidate, Governor Ambode had done a volte-face and openly endorsed him and pledged support for him and the party to win all elections in the state.