What does the bible say about the end times and being unable to distinguish one season from another?

Answer 1

This is an enormous question, but we will simplify as much as possible and give a brief answer. The "end times" is somewhat vague, but for purposes of this article, everything from now on will be considered the end times.

the Bible describes specific events and conditions that will occur in the final days. In Revelation 11:1-2 an angel reveals to the apostle John how long gentiles will control the city: "And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months"-the equivalent of 3 1⁄2 years.

It will also be a time of intense persecution of God's people. Jesus warned of troubling trends that He called "the beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8). Then, He said, "they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (verses 9-13).

In the book of Revelation, John sees a vision in which some of God's people, depicted as a woman, are sheltered from Satan's persecution and "nourished for a time and times and half a time"-for 3 1⁄2 years (Revelation 12:14). Furious at being unable to attack these people, Satan will "make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (verse 17).

Thus we see in three prophecies of the end time that the focus is on a culminating 3 1⁄2 -year period of worldwide distress so terrifying and threatening to human survival that God will never allow such to occur again. Such prophecies help us understand the conditions and events that will mark the beginning of this crucial period. he Bible speaks of "the time of the end." But exactly what will come to an end?

Many think the reference is to the end of the world, especially since the King James Version of the New Testament has Jesus' disciples asking Him about "the end of the world" in Matthew 24:3. But the word translated "world" in this passage is the Greek word aion (from which we derive the English word eon), signifying "a period of indefinite duration … marked by spiritual or moral characteristics" Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985, "Age"). The New King James Version correctly renders the word as "age."

The Greek aion and its English derivative eon mean essentially the same thing-an age, an epoch, an era. Jesus' disciples were not asking about the end of our physical planet, the earth. Rather, they were inquiring about the end of this era of man's rule on the earth. They well knew the many prophecies of the Old Testament that foretell the coming age of the rule of the Messiah in the Kingdom of God.

Paul contrasted the age "which is to come" (Ephesians 1:21) with the world we know, which he called "this present evil age" (Galatians 1:4). Spiritually and morally, this age and the age to come are opposites.To properly understand the two, we must realize that this is not God's world. God is not the author of the broken homes, shattered marriages, violence, racial and ethnic hatred, governmental corruption, greed, pollution, depression, disease and persecution and the resultant suffering we see around us. Paul pinpoints the cause of these sorrows as "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), none other than Satan the devil.

How great is the influence of this being? The apostle John tells us that "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). All of humanity is influenced by the thinking, attitudes and actions of this wicked being and his evil cohorts, the demons. John further warns that Satan's deceptive power is so great that he "deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9).

Satan's influence is as powerful as it is pervasive. Odd as it may sound, one of Satan's greatest areas of influence is religion, where his ideas-not God's-dominate. Paul warns Christians of Satan's deceptive power even within Christianity: Just as "Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light," so do his representatives masquerade as "ministers of righteousness" and "apostles of Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Paul warns those who would live godly lives that they must constantly struggle against unseen spiritual influences dominating the world around them. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).

Under Satan's influence, the world has its own "wisdom" (1 Corinthians 1:20-29), a way of thinking that considers the God of the Bible and His way of life as "foolishness" (1 Corinthians 2:14). As a result, mankind does not recognize that it is man's collective rejection of God and His ways that has brought the suffering and sorrow that permeate the world.

When Scripture mentions "the time of the end" or "the end of the age," it is referring to the coming end of the present evil age. This age-in reality the age of Satan -will draw to an end, replaced by the age of God's rule over and guidance of all of humanity.

This age to come-often referred to in the Bible as the time the Kingdom of God will govern the earth-will be ushered in by Jesus Christ at His return.

Answer 2

In a private conversation up on the Mount of Olives, Jesus was asked by His disciples WHEN He was going to reveal Himself to the world as the long-awaited King of God's promised Kingdom [Matt.24:3]. For 3 1/2 years they had followed Him around, expecting Him to set it up... but He never did. Jesus had promised them that they would each sit on a throne in that Kingdom [Matt.19:28]... and they had ridden the rollercoaster of human emotion, of anticipation and frustration, as Jesus constantly seemed on the verge of establishing the Kingdom, only to pull back again.

And so, in Matthew 24 Jesus revealed to them a chronological list of THINGS [SIGNS] to look for... visible world events... that would SIGNAL the moment He would be revealed to the world as its King. Finally -- Jesus came to that moment in His talk:

"And then at last, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the nations of the earth. And THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN ARRIVE ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with Power and Great Glory." (Matt.24:30 NLT New Living Translation)

It was at this point in His chronology that Jesus paused to comment on the "seasons."

NOT that "people wouldn't be able to tell one season from another"... but:

"'Now LEARN A LESSON FROM THE FIG TREE. When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, YOU KNOW WITHOUT BEING TOLD THAT SUMMER IS NEAR.

"Just so, WHEN YOU SEE THESE EVENTS I'VE DESCRIBED BEGINNING TO HAPPEN, YOU CAN KNOW HIS RETURN IS VERY NEAR, right at the door. I assure you, THIS GENERATION [the generation that sees these events happening] will not pass from the scene before ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE.'" (verses 32-34)

It's not that men won't be able to tell the seasons... but that each season has its own "tell" whereby we automatically KNOW when each one is coming! It's in the air. We know. The SIGNS ARE UNMISTAKABLE!

Jesus Christ, the Creator God of the Old Testament [John 1:3], established and maintains these seasonal changes and all the other "laws of nature" in the world. The change of the seasons are "faithful, reliable" SIGNS that tell men what's happening without anyone having to tell them.

And Jesus was simply comparing these "obvious signs" of a seasonal change with the "obviously visible global signs" He described regarding the time of His return. Not that men won't be able to tell the seasons... but that the obvious, visible, unmistakeable signs of His coming will be as reliable as the change of the seasons.

Jesus compares the signs of coming global events [like the signs of the seasons] as MANKIND'S TELL... when the whole world will KNOW THAT HIS RETURN IS ABOUT TO CHANGE THE WORLD!

Answer 3

It seems you are asking about this Scripture:
Matthew 16:2-4

New King James Version (NKJV)

2He answered and said to them,“When it is evening you say, ‘It will befair weather, for the sky is red’;

3and in the morning, ‘It will befoul weathertoday, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites!

You know how to discernthe face ofthe sky, but you cannotdiscernthe signs of the times.

4A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet

Jonah.”

And He left them and departed.