Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
As for every month on the Roman calendar, March 15, was called the Ides of March, which was last Friday. On the Ides of March in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated by as many as 60 conspirators, many of whom he counted among his friends and led by two of his closest friends. They all took a stab at killing him (you have to know the history or read Shakespeare to get that one). Caesar was warned by a seer harm would come on or before the Ides of March, and on that very day, Caesar mocked the seer as he approached the place of his assassination. While the seer was fairly clear Julius was destined for harm, he wasn't very specific about the timing of the event.
Sometimes it's difficult to know whether what we're seeing is a sign and, if so, to what it refers. The Bible says Jesus came to earth to die, taking the punishment for our sins so we could be on good terms with God, and he'll come back for those who obey God's terms (Luke 19:10; Matthew 20:28; John 14: 15-21, 1-4; Hebrews 9:27-28). We hear much about biblical prophecy and signs of the times indicating the end of the age (Jesus' return and the destruction of the world - 2 Peter 3:3-13), but the only sign (proof) the world has that Jesus was who he claimed to be and he'll come back is he came in the first place, which is widely accepted even by those who don't believe he's God's son (Matthew 16:1-12; Luke 11:29-32). Christians also have been given the Holy Spirit as proof and as the deposit guaranteeing Jesus' return for them (Acts 2:38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:15-17).
Jesus stated the only sign for all generations of his return was the sign of Jonah, which has two meanings. First, as Jonah was in the great fish for three days and three nights, Jesus was to be in the tomb for three days and nights after which he'd come back to life (Matthew 12:38-41). After his resurrection, those who demanded the sign knew he'd risen from the dead, though they denied it (Matthew 28:1-15). Second, the men of Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching is a sign of Jesus' return. That is, because the word of God is living and active and people are still responding to it as God intended, we can know that all of what the word says is true and the prophecies will come about (Hebrews 4:12; Isaiah 55:10-11).
We don't need any other signs Jesus is coming back, and when he does, everything else the Bible says is going to happen, has happened or will happen; we just don't know the timing of any event (Matthew 24:1-14, 24-51).
Have you responded to God's word so you can have the hope of a bright future for eternity being among those for whom Jesus is returning (Jeremiah 29:10)?
Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan who writes about faith for the Quay County Sun. Contact him at