Jesus said, "As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be; for as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" Matthew 24:37-39.  Throughout Matthew chapter 24, Jesus described to His disciples the signs that would prevail in the last days and signal His return.

Many of the same signs detailed in Matthew 24, were also described by Luke.  In Luke's account, he quoted Jesus as saying, "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near" Luke 21:28. 

Both Apostles described perils in the last days, such as earthquakes, famines, pestilences, signs in heaven and on the earth.  It is very noteworthy that Jesus said, "...they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark..." Matthew 38.  By looking at these chapters, Matthew 24 and Luke 21, it appears that the world is in great distress and perplexity before the Lord's return, and in fact, it is in such a state when the Lord returns with His saints. 

Jesus said, "When these things BEGIN to come to pass, look up...your redemption draws near" Luke 21:28.  This is indicative of the fact that we, the saints of God, will be redeemed when the signs of the tribulation begin.   People will be eating, drinking and marrying, because the full scale of the great tribulation and wrath of God has not yet fallen upon the earth when we, God's children, are raptured, or "caught up" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).  When we see the perils begin to come upon the earth, as we do right now, with record-breaking earthquakes, record-breaking storms, famines throughout Asia, Africa and other parts of the world, we are to look up, because our redemption is near - His return for the saints is imminent, not His return to the earth with the saints after the seven-year tribulation period. 

It will only be the wicked who are left here to endure the wrath of God and the great tribulation period, not the saints of God.  We will return with Christ at the end of the seven years of great tribulation (Revelation 19:11-14) - Amen!  Are you prepared to escape what is coming, or will you be left behind?  If you aren't ready, please visit the How Can I Be Saved page of this website.  God bless you.