Saturday, April 6th, 2024.
On Monday, where I live you can see a total solar eclipse in much of the state.
Even though total solar eclipses can be seen every few years somewhere on Earth (15 times since Y2K), some Christian leaders say this event is a sign of coming judgment.
Others say it is a sign of the return of Jesus. Many say it is a “sign of the times” in some way though they cannot articulate what it signifies or why the time is now.
The only time “sign of the times” is found in the Bible is when Jesus is rebuking hypocrites for not knowing how to discern the times.
“O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” – Matthew 16:3
The times God reveals in the Bible must be discerned.
There was a time for the Lord to be born in Bethlehem under the law.
There was a time for him to raise from the dead.
There was a time to reveal the mystery of Christ about the church in this dispensation.
There will be a time of his return to the earth in signs and wonders.
These times must be discerned and separated.
There is still a problem with discerning the times for those looking for the coming of Christ.
Jesus gave a sign to the nation of Israel concerning his coming to judge and make war before establishing the prophesied earthly kingdom (Matt 24:3).
The Jews require a sign because God made a covenant of signs with them (1 Cor 1:22).
That sign must necessarily come after the events of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 (which have not occurred yet).
When we discern the times in the Bible, we can see what traditional dispensationalist knew all too well years ago:
“In this dispensation we do not look for the signs of the times, because this is not the time for the signs.”
In other words, that sign was not given to the church the Body of Christ and will not occur in this dispensation where God is dispensing grace to the world. It will come in a later time.
Unless the church meets the Lord in the air between now and Monday, the total solar eclipse will only be a sign of the many people who cannot discern the signs of the dispensational times.
For rightly dividing the word of truth,,
Justin “totality” Johnson