St. Luke adds that there shall be "upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." (Luke 21: 25, 26).
That all these things shall be signs of His coming is to be understood from what the Savior adds:
"When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." (Matthew 24: 33; Mark 13: 29; Luke 21: 31).
ANCIENT PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE LAST DAYS.
More than twenty of the ancient prophets and apostles whose writings are in the Bible predict events that shall happen in the last days, or near the time of Christ's second coming. Many of them prophesy concerning the gathering of the Lord's chosen people, the descendants of Israel. They not only foretell the gathering of the Jews but also the whole house of Israel. Some of the other tribes as well as that of Judah are scattered among all nations. The Prophet Jeremiah says concerning this gathering:
"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." (Jeremiah 16: 14, 15, 16).
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people. . . . . And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." (Isaiah 11: 11, 12).
The Prophets Isaiah and Micah declare:
"It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2: 2, 3; Micah 4: 1, 2).