ARE YOU LISTENING TO THE SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS? by Jeff Wingo

The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. Wilhelm von Kaulbach, 1846

And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven (Jesus Christ, Luke 21:11).

Before Jerusalem fell to the Roman army in A.D. 70 several historians took note that the skies over the city were filled with strange sights, and the Temple complex was also affected by unusual lights and eerie ghostly voices coming from the area near Great Altar. According to several ancient chroniclers that I looked at, the events Josephus wrote about in the following quotes took place during the year A.D. 66. Church historian Eusebius says these signs preceded the coming of the Roman war against the Jews. I believe it can be said that the Romans began to surround Jerusalem shortly after these signs were produced.

Yosef ben Matityahu, also known as Josephus

“Thus there was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year. Thus also before the Jews’ rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war, when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth day of the month Xanthicus, [Nisan,] and at the ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright day time; which lasted for half an hour. This light seemed to be a good sign to the unskillful, but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to portend those events that   followed immediately upon it.”

“Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner [court of the] temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night. Now those that kept watch in the temple came hereupon running to the captain of the temple, and told him of it; who then came up thither, and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies. So these publicly declared that the signal foreshowed the desolation that was coming upon them.”

“Besides these, a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the temple,] as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, “Let us remove hence.”                    Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 6: 5:3. William Whiston translation.

Portrait of Tacitus, based on an antique bust.

The Roman historian Tacitus also commented about these strange signs as well:

“13. Prodigies had occurred, but their expiation by the offering of victims or solemn vows is held to be unlawful by a nation which is the slave of superstition and the enemy of true beliefs. In the sky appeared a vision of armies in conflict, of glittering armour. A sudden lightning flash from the clouds lit up the Temple. The doors of the holy place abruptly opened, a superhuman voice was heard to declare that the gods were leaving it, and in the same instant came the rushing tumult of their departure. Few people placed a sinister interpretation upon this. The majority were convinced that the ancient scriptures of their priests alluded to the present as the very time when the Orient would triumph and from Judaea would go forth men destined to rule the world.” (Histories, Book 5, v. 13).

The church historian Eusebius reiterates the main sign: For before the setting of the sun chariots and armed troops were seen throughout the whole region in mid-air, wheeling through the clouds and encircling the cities. (Eusebius Church History, Book 3, chapter 8).

THE SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS

What are we to make of all this. If you are like me, I find it absolutely intriguing. Lets take another quick look at the signs.

• A star that resembles a sword.
• A comet that lasted for a year.
• A strange bright light shining for a half hour around the altar and the Temple complex.
• Heavenly chariots seen gathering over Jerusalem and the surrounding area among the clouds of the sky.
• Heavenly beings with the appearance of human soldiers clothed in armor marching among the clouds over and around the city.
• These heavenly chariots and armored soldiers appearing in the clouds of heaven over Jerusalem and many other cities in Israel.
•  Tacitus adds that the soldiers in armor seemed to appear to be like armies gathered for a war or conflict in the sky.
• An earthquake like shaking .
• A loud noise, and a noise like a multitude of voices speaking at once.

Are these signs the very signs that Jesus spoke about? One thought that ran across my mind is that in the infinite mercy and grace of God he will send warnings of impending judgment. As I state in my book, Alien Antichrist, I do not believe God would set such a severe judgment in motion (in reference to the Tribulation and the Antichrist Beast), without warning His people, and the people of the Earth. God has indeed already warned the people of Earth through His Word, the Bible, but He also has a way of warning through various types of signs–strange signs.

Lets look at the prophecy of Jesus again:

And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven (Luke 21:11). 

The part of this verse I want to focus on are the words, fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

• Fearful sights, Strong’s G5400 – phobētron: that which strikes terror, a terror, (cause of) fright. Fearful sight.

The word phobētron only occurs one time in the New Testament (KJV). So it is not a common word. It is derived from another word phobeō (Strong’s G5399), which means to terrify or frighten; to be afraid, be struck with fear; to be seized with alarm. It is used to describe those startled by strange sights or occurrences.

• Great signs, great (megas) signs, (Strong’s G4592 – sēmeion), referring to: a sign, prodigy, or portent, i.e., an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature; of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen.

By these definitions it is easy to see that when prophetic signs in the heavens do begin to occur they are intended to get everyone’s attention; the sights and sounds, by their very nature something unusual, in other words, something so startling that it strikes terror in the heart of those who see it.

Luke 21:26: Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

The powers of heaven refers of course to the fallen powers that dwell in the heavens around the Earth, the satanic powers or fallen angels. We could also say that the powers of heaven shall be moved, or put in motion. In this case it is possible the fallen powers will be agitated to gather for war, possibly just like the powers were shaken, or called to arms during the intervening period of time before God sent the human armies of Rome as judgment against the rebellious nation of ancient Israel because they rejected their Messiah.

Luke 19:43-44: For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,  And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

What about us? The day of our visitation is here now, at this time, and has been since the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended like a mighty rushing wind that filled the house where the disciples were staying; He also visually manifested as cloven tongues of fire, resting upon the disciples.

What signs will we see in the heavens? Will we see armies gathered for war? Will we see chariots of fire running among the clouds of the sky? Will we see signs in the heavens such as the flaming sword that was seen by the citizens of Jerusalem?

Will we see armies and chariots of fire in the heavens, or are we already seeing these things with the modern manifestation of UFOs? Will these signs intensify and become more aggressive in the future? What about the strange noises people are hearing all over the globe? Will this intensify as well as we move forward into prophetic time?

I think we should realize that we are seeing all kinds of signs, but are we really seeing? Are we really listening?

Matthew 13:14-16:  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

It is interesting to note that before the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem, Christians living in Jerusalem, and the surrounding area, actually left. According to historical writers, Eusebius and Epiphanius, they went to the other side of the Jordan River to a city named Pella.

“For when the city was about to be taken and destroyed by the Romans, it was revealed in advance to all the disciples by an angel of God that they should remove from the city, as it was going to be completely destroyed.”

“From there it took its beginning after the exodus from Jerusalem when all the disciples went to live in Pella because Christ had told them to leave Jerusalem and to go away since it would undergo a siege. Because of this advice they lived in Perea after having moved to that place, as I said.”