Signs of His Coming—War Preparations.
1. When the Saviour foretold His second coming, what did He include among the signs of that event? “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. . . . For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” Matt. 24: 6, 7. 2. What last-day condition did the prophet Joel describe? “Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” Joel 3:10. 3. To how many is this said? “Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together.” Joel 3:11. At the time when Jehovah will “sit to judge all the nations round about,” when “the harvest is ripe,” when “the day of Jehovah is near.” Joel 3:12-14. “The harvest is the end of the age.” Matt. 13: 39. 5. How did Jeremiah describe this time? “My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I can not hold my peace; because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is laid waste: suddenly are my tents destroyed, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?” Jer. 4:19-21. 6. With what event is this associated? This is just before the time when the earth is made “waste and void” at the coming of Christ, “broken down at the presence of Jehovah, and before His fierce anger.” Jer. 4: 23-26. 7. To what great war do all the preparations of war materials, battle-ships, and men lead? “I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.” Rev. 16:13, 14. 8. As with the other prophecies noted, what event immediately follows this war? “Behold I [Christ] come as a thief”—to those engaged in war. “Blessed is he that watcheth.” Rev. 16:15. NOTE.— From these scriptures it is clearly evident that just before the second coming of Christ, the world is to be engaged in warfare. Considering that so nearly all of the many other signs of His coming have been and are being fulfilled, is it not patent that the unparalleled war agitation and preparation of the present day are tokens of His soon appearing? Never was there such a spirit of rivalry among nations in the matter of organizing and training armies, in developing and manufacturing arms and ammunition, and in building colossal navies, all of which but emphasizes the words of the prophet: “Let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. . . . For the day of Jehovah is near.”