I appreciate your enthusiasm for the return of Christ. I'm certain both diego and I share that same enthusiasm.
However, there are a couple of errors you've made in your philosophy from a biblical viewpoint.
You said "a wicked generation seeks after signs" which implies that anyone who tries to discern the signs of the end are doing something they shouldn't. But that's not what Christ meant at all.
Mat 16:1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.
Mat 16:2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
Mat 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them, and departed.
The pharisee's and sadducees wanted Christ to show a sign that he was the messiah. All the signs were already there, but they couldn't see them. The only sign Jesus would give to show them he was the messiah was this:
Mat 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah:
Mat 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
So your statement doesn't match the meaning Christ attached to the same words.
As far as the signs of the times, Jesus was quite clear that we are to be diligent and to discern them. Matthew 24 is a summation of end time events. In it Christ tells us a number of signs and events to watch out for. He then says:
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
As far as deception and Christians, the biggest deception will be played on those who DO NOT know scripture. Those who do not know the signs that God revealed to his servants and rely on men, tradition, or their own human reasoning to determine the signs of the times.
At the same time, the return of Christ *could* be imminent. End time events can happen rapidly. God can slow down or speed up his prophetic timetable for his own purposes. So I don't think there's a contradiction between end time prophecies that need to be fulfilled and the imminent return of Christ.
No Doug,
That is the entire problem. There are only three people on Earth. Those not looking for anything because they don’t know anything. Those looking for SIGNS. And those looking for CHRIST.
You cannot BE in two or more camps on this one. This is WHY this False Doctrine is SOOOO BAD!!
You are telling people “Christ ain’t coming yet because X Y & Z haven’t happened yet”
And the Bible is clear on that:
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of His coming?... II Peter 3:3-4
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36)