He Wins
Opening Prayer
Jesus, You have overcome death and in You, the faithful will overcome. Let me be found among those who stand true.
Read Matthew 24:26-35
[26] “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. [27] For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [28] Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. [29] “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ [30] “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. [31] And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. [32] “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. [33] Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. [34] Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. [35] Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Do you anticipate Jesus' return?Jesus said some difficult things in his teachings. He talked about hell; he criticized the religious; he prophesied dark days to come. But in every case, his warnings also contained a lining of hope. Hell can be avoided; the hypocrite can be redeemed; after things get worse, they will get better, at least for God’s people.Having spoken at length with his disciples about the difficulties ahead, Jesus now describes an even more earth-shattering event (29). He does this by using prophetic imagery from Isaiah (Isa. 13:10, 34:4) that would have resonated with his Jewish audience and which sounds to us like the stuff of science fiction. Here’s what the future holds: just as the darkness has risen to its peak, the light of God will break through, this time permanently. This is Jesus’ promise to his “generation” (34), including us today: He will have the victory. He wins. While verse 35 reminds us that earth and even heaven have an expiration date, Jesus’ promise to us is that our place is with him in eternity, in a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1).
Apply
Consider how you spend your time. Will you be glad of your choices when the events described here are transpiring?
Closing prayer
Lord, make me ever more aware of the hope that will be revealed in Your coming.
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