The Warning Signs of Christ's Return

Sermon by Pastor Wataru Sugawara, Kobe Christ Glory Church (神戸キリスト栄光教会), July 20, 2025. Translated from Japanese.

Introduction: The day of the Lord is drawing near

For more than thirty years, Pastor Sugawara has preached every month, in his church in Kobe, on the return of Jesus Christ and the end of the world. Forty years, twelve sermons a year, that comes to nearly five hundred times he has returned to this theme. Few churches keep such a regular appointment with this exact subject. He doesn't boast about it, he simply observes: reading Matthew 24, watching the world, he senses that the day of the Lord is near.

Do you sense it too? Political crises are multiplying, love is growing cold in many households, climate disasters are becoming the new normal, earthquakes are statistically more frequent. What the Bible announced two thousand years ago, the raw data of the twenty-first century now confirms. This shouldn't make you tremble in panic: it should anchor you more deeply in the cross.

Outline of the sermon

1. Six reasons to celebrate the blood of the cross

2. Matthew 24: The destruction of the Temple foretold

3. The warning signs of Christ's return

4. The promise: the one who endures to the end will be saved

1. Six reasons to celebrate the blood of the cross

Before opening Matthew 24, the pastor recalls the previous Sunday's sermon, given by Pastor Kitayama on the power of the blood of Jesus. That's the foundation. Without the cross, no prophetic word means anything for you.

a) The forgiveness of sins

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses" (Ephesians 1:7). The Son of God, without stain, carried your guilt. That is the story of salvation. No human achievement comes close.

b) Deliverance from the Father's judgment

God is holy. He hates sin, even a single stain. You and I are covered in it. But when you come under the cross, the Father looks at you through "the lenses of the cross": whatever the stain, he sees you as white as snow. If you step away from the cross, he sees you as you really are. Stay under the cross.

c) The reconciliation of all creation

"Through him to reconcile to himself all things" (Colossians 1:20). All creation had been subjected to futility because of the fall of humanity. Restored in Christ, it awaits its final restoration.

A sister, about ten years ago, came in tears after the death of her beloved cat. "Will my cat go to heaven?" The pastor, resting on this promise of the restoration of all creation, answered her: "Sister, be at peace. You will be able to see Tama again in the Kingdom." Isaiah 11 speaks of the wolf with the lamb, the lion eating straw: prophetic images of a restored world.

d) Free access to the Father

The moment Jesus breathes his last, the curtain of the Temple tears from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). It is God who tears it. The access once reserved for the high priest is now open to anyone who comes through Jesus. You can say, "Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15).

e) A change of identity

You were a slave to sin, unable to do the good you wanted to do. By faith in the blood that was shed, you become a child of God (John 1:12). Your identity changes. To walk according to this new identity, God gives you the Holy Spirit and the Word.

f) The Lord's Supper

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life" (John 6:54). Many disciples abandoned Jesus that day. But he was pointing to the Supper, that monthly memorial where you receive by faith the broken body and the shed blood that give you eternal life.

2. Matthew 24: The destruction of the Temple foretold

"As Jesus went out and was going away from the temple, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he said to them, You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1-2)

This Temple, known as the Second Temple, had been rebuilt after the Babylonian exile. In Jesus's day, it had become magnificent. The disciples, full of admiration, point out its stones. Jesus, at thirty-three years old, declares: not one stone will remain.

Thirty-six years later, in the year 70, the Roman general Titus burns Jerusalem to the ground. The Temple goes up in flames. The gold that covered its walls melts, runs down the columns and seeps into the foundations. The Roman soldiers, to recover that metal, dismantle every single stone down to the ground. Jesus's prophecy is fulfilled to the letter.

3. The warning signs of Christ's return

"He sat on the Mount of Olives, and the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3)

From the Mount of Olives, you can see all of Jerusalem. Jesus looks out over the city. The disciples ask the question you're asking yourself too.

Deception: "Watch out"

"See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray." (Matthew 24:4-5)

The first sign is deception. And not a small deception: "many." Today, with social media, ChatGPT, generative AI, deepfakes, you can no longer tell truth from falsehood. Someone could create a video where Pastor Sugawara says absolutely anything, looking as real as life. And once a first impression takes hold, it's nearly impossible to undo. Jesus knew this two thousand years ago.

Wars and rumors

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet." (Matthew 24:6)

Rumors are not the truth. Wars come. Don't panic. This is not yet the end.

Famines, earthquakes, disasters

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains." (Matthew 24:7-8)

"The beginning of the birth pains." In Greek, this refers to labor pains. They point ahead to the Great Tribulation, those final three and a half years described in Daniel. What you're living through today (the frequency of earthquakes, climate instability, famines) is only the beginning.

Persecution

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake." (Matthew 24:9)

"For my name's sake" refers here mainly to Christians. In North Korea, the faith is crushed. In China, it depends on the province. Just two weeks ago, in a church in Damascus, Syria, a suicide bomber walked in during the service and detonated his explosives: about twenty believers died in the middle of worship. This is current events, not ancient prophecy.

Betrayals and false prophets

"And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray." (Matthew 24:10-11)

There have always been false prophets, but at the end they multiply.

Lawlessness and the cooling of love

"And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold." (Matthew 24:12)

Japan is considered safe in the eyes of foreigners. Those who live there know that crime is rising. Elsewhere, it's worse. But the cooling of love doesn't just affect society, it affects families too. Pray for yours. A short, complete prayer: for your family, ask for the salvation of souls, health, security, peace, and prosperity.

4. The promise: "The one who endures to the end will be saved"

"But the one who endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:13)

At eighteen years old, when his faith was still fragile and temptations were abundant, Pastor Sugawara came across this verse. That was sixty-four years ago. This verse has sustained his faith right up to today. Hold on to the end. Don't stop halfway through the race. Don't say, "I held on well until fifty" only to let go at fifty-one.

This is the promise he passes on to you this morning: endure to the end.

Key takeaways

1. The blood of the cross is the foundation of your faith: forgiveness, deliverance from judgment, reconciliation, access to the Father, a new identity, eternal life through the Supper.
2. Jesus foretold the destruction of the Temple thirty-six years before it happened. His prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. His other words will be fulfilled too.
3. The warning signs (deception, wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution, the cooling of love) are only the beginning of the birth pains.
4. Your first defense against deception is to stay under the cross and in the Word. The Holy Spirit gives you fresh insight into the Scriptures every time you read them.
5. The final promise: the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Personal application

1. When you come across troubling information online, do you take the time to verify it, or do you let the first impression settle in?
2. Where in your life have you drifted away from the cross? What would it take to come back today?
3. Can you name, for your family, the pastor's five requests: salvation, health, security, peace, prosperity? Pray them out loud this week.
4. Where do you feel your love growing cold? Toward whom? What concrete step can you take to revive it?
5. What biblical promise do you lean on when fatigue tempts you to give up?

Verses cited

• Matthew 24:1-13
• Matthew 27:51
• John 6:54
• John 1:12
• Romans 8:15
• Ephesians 1:7
• Colossians 1:20
• Isaiah 11:6-9

FAQ

Are we already in the Great Tribulation?

No. Jesus describes the events happening now (wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution) as "the beginning of the birth pains." The Great Tribulation, the final period of three and a half years identified in Daniel, will come afterward.

How can I recognize a false christ or a false prophet?

He turns people away from the Jesus of the Gospels, he leads "many" astray, he plays on fear or emotion, and he often relies on doctored images or videos. Your protection is the Word read with the Holy Spirit, and fellowship in a healthy local church.

What does "endure to the end" mean?

Holding fast in the faith, not giving up halfway. God's faithfulness is complete: yours, over the long run, rests on his Spirit and his Word, not on your own strength.