There Will Be Signs... • Luke 21:25-36 • Sunday, November 16, 2025

When Warning Signs Point to Glory: Finding Hope in the End Times

Have you ever driven past those bright yellow diamond-shaped warning signs on the highway and thought nothing of them? The deer crossing signs, the tractor warnings, the falling rock alerts—we see them so often that they become background noise to our daily commute. We assume the danger won't materialize when we're passing through. "It won't happen to me," we tell ourselves. "Not today."

But what happens when we ignore those warnings? What happens when the tractor actually appears on the highway, or when a deer bounds across our path at dusk? Suddenly, what seemed like an unlikely possibility becomes an immediate crisis.

This same pattern of warning and response plays out in our spiritual lives, particularly when we consider what Scripture tells us about the end times. In Luke 21, Jesus offers us perhaps the most important warning signs we'll ever receive—yet how often do we treat them with the same casual indifference we show those highway signs?

The Warning We Cannot Ignore

Jesus doesn't mince words when describing what's coming: "There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves."

This isn't abstract poetry. Jesus is describing cosmic disruption on an unimaginable scale. The sun will stop shining. The moon will cease to glow. Stars will fall from the sky. And when these celestial bodies fail, the earth itself will experience catastrophic consequences. Consider this: what controls the ocean tides? The moon. If the moon disappears, what happens to the seas? Chaos. Disaster. Destruction beyond our comprehension.

The response to these events will be universal terror: "People fainting with fear and foreboding of what is coming on the world." If the fear we witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic—when people were afraid to leave their homes, afraid to be near others, paralyzed by uncertainty—if that was overwhelming, imagine how much worse this will be.

This is the warning. This is the reality that's coming. And Jesus tells us plainly: it will happen when we least expect it, "suddenly like a trap."

Why the Warning Matters

But why does Jesus warn us? Why give us these terrifying details about cosmic collapse and worldwide panic?

The answer is simple yet profound: **to prepare us**.

Warning signs exist to help us get ready for what's ahead. They focus our attention. They give us time to adjust our course, to brace ourselves, to make the necessary preparations before danger arrives.

Spiritually speaking, preparation means something very specific. It means creating and maintaining a relationship with Jesus Christ through faith. It means hearing God's Word regularly, gathering with other believers, receiving the sacraments, and living in genuine repentance—not just giving lip service to Christianity, but truly believing that Jesus suffered, died, and rose again for our salvation.

This preparation isn't about earning our way into heaven or trying to impress God with our spiritual résumé. It's about being in a relationship with the One who has already secured our future, about anchoring our hearts in the truth before the storm arrives.

The Advantage of Knowing

Here's where the Christian perspective radically diverges from the world's response to these end-time events.

Yes, we know that terrifying things are coming. Yes, we understand that the world as we know it will experience unprecedented distress. But we have a crucial advantage: we know the end of the story.

We have a Savior who has already won the battle. We have a Savior who has already suffered and died to take away our sins. We have a Savior who has already risen from the dead to promise us everlasting life. We have a Savior who has done all this so that when we go through these things, we will see Him when He comes again.

And this is the stunning reversal: "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory."

While the world faints with fear, believers can respond with joy. While others are overwhelmed with dread, Christians can look up with hope. Why? Because Jesus has come. Because heaven in its fullness awaits. Because we can look forward to experiencing all that He has prepared—a place of beauty, glory, peace, comfort, and joy.

The Patience of God

But if all this is true, if Jesus has already secured our salvation and prepared our eternal home, why the wait? Why hasn't He returned yet? Why do we continue to live in this broken world with all its pain and suffering?

The answer reveals the very heart of God: He's being patient. He's waiting because He wants to take as many people as possible with Him into eternity. Every day that passes is another opportunity for someone to turn from their sin, to recognize their need for a Savior, to believe in Jesus and receive the gift of everlasting life.

God's delay isn't indifference—it's mercy. It's not that He's forgotten His promise—it's that He's remembering every person who hasn't yet come to faith. His patience means more souls saved, more lives transformed, more people rescued from eternal separation from Him.

No More Snooze Button

But here's the sobering truth: we cannot treat the end of the world like an alarm clock, hitting the snooze button again and again, assuming we'll always have another chance to get serious about our faith.

We don't have unlimited opportunities. The warnings are real. The day is coming. And when it arrives, it will be sudden, unexpected, and final.

The question is: Will we heed the warning? Will we prepare our hearts, minds, and souls? Will we move beyond casual Christianity into genuine, life-transforming faith?

From Dread to Joy

The beauty of the Gospel is that it transforms our perspective on the end times. What should be a message of dread becomes a message of hope. What should fill us with terror instead fills us with anticipation.

When we believe in Jesus—truly believe, not just intellectually acknowledge—we can face the future without fear. We can experience joy instead of dread when He comes again. We can look at the warning signs not as threats but as promises that our redemption is drawing near.

So today, consider the warning signs in your own life. Are you prepared? Have you truly repented and believed? Do you have a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, or just a passing acquaintance with His name?

The warnings are before us. The gift has been given. All that remains is to believe it, receive it, and experience the joy of knowing that when Christ returns, we'll be ready—not because of anything we've done, but because of everything He has done for us.

(Content generated by PulpitAI from sermon transcript)