He answered and said to them, When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous (marital term) generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. And He left them and departed.  Matt 16:2-4

Ever wonder why Jesus the Messiah was so upset with the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees when they asked Jesus for a sign of His Messiahship?  Was it really that big of a deal for Him to do a Messiah song and dance for them? Let's try to understand His frustration from His point of view.

The fact of the matter is, that God did tell the Jewish people exactly when Messiah would come, and be cut off, and then come again the second time through the prophecy of Daniel. And not only that, in numerous places, He prophesied of the "signs and wonders" of His coming that the upper classmen of Israel were not willing to accept. Jesus' frustration with the Jewish leaders could be likened to a husband walking in the front door of his home and his wife saying, "Hey, first prove it to me that your my husband, never mind that we have been married for millennia!" 

The coming of Messiah was the whole point of their religious activities and devotion, Jesus’ frustration was rooted in that they weren’t even looking for Him when He had already told them when He was coming!  Thus, the accusation of them being wicked and adulterous.  The only sign Jesus gave them was the sign of Jonah -- after Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the whale, and then went and prophesied salvation to the gentiles! By missing Messiah's first coming, Jesus would 

It was from this confrontation with Israel's leaders, that Jesus' disciples then privately asked Him in Matthew 24, what are the signs of your coming?  

So let's jump in and from the get go, adjust our scope to why He pointed back to Daniel's prophesy to understand the future signs of His coming! 

Daniel’s prophecy was both direct and detailed, revealing both Messiah's first and second coming! In fact, the Book of Daniel in its entirety reveals both the big picture and emerging details of the end. 

This is a very important observation for the present Jewish population in the earth today -- once the nation of Israel was reborn in 1948, the Jewish people would have to come up with an entirely different timeline of the last two millennia to not recognize Messiah in His first coming. Once Israel became a nation in 1948, it revealed the ticking clock of prophecy.

Just as Jonah after three days and night in the belly of the whale, so Jesus after three days and nights in the belly of earth, was resurrected and the Gospel went to the Gentiles! The Lord was revealing both present and the future of God calling the Gentile nations, which the Bible calls the Age of the Gentiles. Once the Age of the Gentiles nears its end all prophecies will culminate and climax at the end of the age. It's within this time, that Daniel prophecies the restoration and final redemption of the Jewish people!

Jesus answered His disciples, with the big picture timeline from the Book of Daniel and the equation of time and context so that those who are looking for His second coming could discern the end-times within the timeline of Daniel as well as the context of signs surrounding the end. While we will not know the day or the hour, He has required us nonetheless to discern the season and eve of His Coming according to His description and counsel given with an added admonishment "...see that you are not deceived..."

Bene is the Hebrew word for discern.  It means to perceive, observe, consider, mark, heed, distinguish and to grow in understanding by virtue of these actions. We are given the equation of time coupled with signs (…when you see this then you know that…).

It is good to know that prophecies throughout Scripture have a predetermined time release, some multiple in nature.  As the saying goes, timing is everything!  It is also good to temper our speculations with the understanding that anything can be read, spoken, or done out of context and distort its original intent and purpose!

Note: I am a HUGE fan of reading the Bible contextually!  In fact, my understanding and learning of the end-times grew exponentially by just marinating in His word! Rather than reading Scripture to support of certain view-point, I realized The Lord was teaching me His view-point! 

Understanding God’s heart and plans comes naturally when reading whole passages all the way through and within their original context.  If we reduce our exposure of God's Word to a popcorn here a Scripture, pop, there a Scripture, pop, then we most likely have a popcorn hit and miss, random understanding of Him and His plans! I am amazed of the clarity and confidence received by just simply reading the text!

This study is written as a extremely preliminary basic guide in understanding how God measures time as well as historical, present and future contextual signs --  so that we can discern and judge for ourselves!

…and a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment,  because for every matter there is a time and judgment, though the misery of man increases greatly.  Eccl 8:5, 6