As Christians we do hear often the words from the Bible about believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Son of God and the Son of Man, but Jesus also gave us another warning: “Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it” (Matthew 24:23 ESV).

Why should we be skeptical of these declarations? He told us, “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” (Matthew 24:28 ESV). I take that as a rather colorful word picture telling us that those who belong to Christ won't have to be told by someone else where Christ is. When he comes, he is coming for us, not expecting us to guess or look to a “prophet” for his whereabouts (Matthew 24:30-31).

In Matthew Chapter 24 Jesus gives an overview of the condition of the world from the beginning to the time of his return as King of kings. We are told to be ready whenever he returns. Only the Father knows the time of Jesus' return, anyone who tells you differently is not speaking in agreement with Jesus.

Jesus tells us: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour“ (Matthew 25:13 ESV).

Troubles of war, famine, earthquakes, persecution, and breakdown of society through lawlessness and hatred will increase and decrease, stalking the earth from one culture to another through the centuries. As Christians, our responsibility is to remain faithful to Christ, loving God, one another, and even our enemies no matter what is going on around us while we wait eagerly for Jesus to come to earth to claim his kingdom (Revelation 19:11-16).