Signs?

In 1st Thessalonians 4, we can read a passage containing the wonderful promise of God's faithfulness to send His Son to take them home to be with Him:
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

The events that we see occurring on the earth: geopolitical turmoil, disasters around the world, even a departure from the ways of God, can be regarded as signs of our Lord's soon return.  Considering all that we see in the Scriptures and with our eyes, it can create a sense of anticipation and hope that Jesus will be coming to retrieve His people from this earth.  We also have to develop a sense of readiness in our own lives and urgency to communicate His truth.

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In Matthew chapter 24, near the conclusion of the Olivet Discourse, in which Jesus lays out some of
the signs of His return and the end of the age, we read this:
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

August 21 was the date of the solar eclipse.
On August 25, Hurricane Harvey hit Texas.
And, on the following day, the 26th, it flooded Houston.

Take 21, 25, and 26, mix in a reference to Luke, and according to The Express of the U.K., you have Bible prophecy.  The passage, Luke 21:25-26, describes elements of the end times scenario.

Then, blend in a heavenly alignment, extrapolate it to Revelation 12, and you have another piece in the puzzle that somehow yields the conclusion that the Rapture will occur this Saturday, September 23.  Again, from The Express:

The passage 12:1–2 reads: "And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth."

Conspiracy theorists claim the woman in question is Virgo, and on September 23, the sun and moon will be in Virgo, as will Jupiter, now being said to represent the Messiah.

This happens every 12 years, but they claim because of another planetary alignment, representing "the Lion of the tribe of Judah", it is an unprecedented event foretold in scripture.

Plus, you have a teaching out there that there will be a "mythological planetary system known as Planet X or Nibiru will appear in the sky on September 23." According to the theory, this planet, which NASA rates as a hoax, "will then pass the Earth in October, causing the start of the Rapture with huge volcanoes and volcanic eruptions due to its gravitational force."

There are indeed strange times in which we live!

The article says that Jonathan Sarfati wrote that this alignment had happened four times in the last 1,000 years, and quotes him as saying: "As usual with any astrology (or Christian adaptations of it), one cherry-picks the stars that fit the desired conclusion"  He continues:

"There is nothing to suggest that 23 September is a momentous date for biblical prophecy, and Christians need to be careful about being drawn into such sensationalist claims.

"We won’t know the day or the hour—so we should be prepared at all times!"

Sarfati is with Creation Ministries International.

Danny Faulkner is an astronomer with Answers in Genesis and writes for the ministry's website: "for a day or two each September or October, the sun appears in Virgo with the moon at her feet, so this is not that remarkable."  He continues:

It was more than 15 years ago that I first heard the suggestion that this annual event might be a fulfillment of Revelation 12 in some particular year. Since then, interest in this idea has increased, with some people speculating or even predicting that “this is the year,” only to forget about it when nothing significant transpired before moving on to the next year’s occurrence.

He says that the addition of Jupiter to the mix may have contributed to this year's speculation.

His piece concludes with this:

Clearly, most people promoting this have in mind the Lord’s return. Some explicitly state this, but others, mindful of the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:36, are hesitant to make that claim, though their implication is clear enough. These sorts of claims or intimations have been made many times before. For instance, the four lunar eclipses during 2014–2015 caused many people to anticipate the Lord’s return then, but of course this did not happen. I suspect that the same will be true on September 23 this year. People who get excited about supposed signs miss the point that Jesus made (Matthew 24:36–51). Instead of setting dates, we ought to be ready for His return at any moment. Are you ready?

Matthew 24:36, of course, is the Scripture passage about no one knowing the day nor the hour of our Lord's return.  So, those predictors of dates for the Rapture of the Church or the return of Christ seem to ignore this passage.  Our first takeaway obviously is centered around that passage: we have no business trying to set dates for when Jesus will return.

But, another thing is that we can recognize the signs.  Based on what Jimmy DeYoung says about the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, this could be the day when Jesus returns to take His Church home to be with Him, when true believers are caught up in the air to be with Him.  The signs are occurring, the nations are aligning, and since we know what will happen following our departure, we have to reason that the departure is close at hand.

The Old Testament prophets wrote about, with specificity, what was to come.  Jesus talked about the signs on the earth - nations in conflict, natural disasters, and other things which must occur.  He pointed in Matthew 24 to the fig tree, saying, in verses 32 and 33: "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near--at the doors!"  In verse 42, he says, "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming."  Our charge is to be ready, to develop a sense of urgency, and to watch with great anticipation for His return.