I grew up on a fairly large family farm in North Carolina. One day, my parents, my four siblings and I were picking cucumbers. It was a nice, clear day and we were all having fun while we worked.
Suddenly, my dad shouted to everyone, “Everybody go get in the pickup! Right now! Let’s Go!
We were all puzzled. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. No danger anywhere that any of us could see. Never ones to question it any time Daddy called us off our work, we sprinted and all seven of us crammed into the cab of the pickup truck as quickly as we could.
It wasn’t fifteen seconds after we got both doors closed that the bottom fell out of the sky above us. A dusky darkness overtook the landscape under a smothering black cloud as the monsoon saturated the field from which we’d just fled. Thunder cracked and rumbled and lightning interrupted the dimness in flashes and bolts.
We were all entertained by how quickly this magnificent electrical storm came about, but, mostly, we were amazed that Daddy could detect it before anyone else sensed any sign at all. We all questioned what wisdom he used to discern this veiled, looming storm.
“Any time you see wind blowing the tree leaves upside down, run for cover.” It seemed pretty simple when he said it, but it was a new nugget of wisdom for us all.
Secret signs aren’t so secret anymore once the secret gets out. I’ve shared the upside down leaves secret with many people since that day in the cucumber field. A lot of secrets about the weather and such have been gathered over history, but what I really love is when those secrets serve as a metaphor with a greater application than itself.
Jesus, when asked to provide a sign from heaven, replied by quoting an old saying about the weather. It was, essentially, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning.”
It’s true. (Of course it is! Jesus said it!) Just pay attention and you’ll realize that any time you see a red sunset, you’ll have nice weather the next day; and any time you see a red morning sky, take the clothes off the line and try to stay in if you can, because it’s gonging to be a nasty day.
Knowing these little secrets that help prepare for upcoming weather is really cool. But God has shared secrets with us to help us prepare for more significant upcoming phenomena than atmospheric conditions.
Jesus was pretty perturbed at the Pharisees’ and Saddusees’ request. If it was really proof that He was the Messiah they wanted, all they had to do was open their eyes; He’d been performing public miracles more than long enough to make them jealous, which is really why they were confronting Him, hoping He’d say something contemptable for them to leverage against Him.
But for those who genuinely do want to know the secret signs, Jesus shed some light on what to look for. Not that we need another sign validating His identity. He settled that long ago, by appearing after risen and giving His Spirit to reveal Him to our hearts. But to help us recognize when the end of this age is near, He revealed that the tell tale sign that the end is very near is when the gospel has been shared throughout the whole earth.
Once that has occurred, my understanding is that the rapture of the believers in Christ will take place, after which a chain of epic end-of-the-age events will unfold.
So if you’re like I am, this age (the church age) has gone on surprisingly long. And every time someone learns about the salvation offered through faith in Jesus, we’re one step closer to its end.
So our job, as followers of Jesus, is to do whatever we can to make Him known and to be ready for His return. That means we stay faithful in believing in Him and doing His work.
So the secret’s out. It actually has been for a long time. We just need to remember it. The not-so-secret sign we have the power to help bring about.
We may not be able to blow the tree leaves upside down, but we can tell the story of how Jesus saved us.
And this gospel will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. – Matthew 24:14
