Matthew 24:29-35
“Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
“Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
COMMENT & QUESTIONS
This is very symbolic language which meant a lot to Matthew’s Jewish readers but is hard for us to understand now. But all of these things Jesus promised he says would happen within the lifetime of those listening to Him.
There are many religious people who are obsessed about the end of the world. People are constantly trying to predict it and find signs for it. Why do you think people are so interested in it?
People don't like uncertainty. They want to know what happens next and they want to be one step ahead of the rest. Some people also have had such a bad experience with the world that they desperately want it to end so that they can escape.
If you knew when the end of the world was, how would you live differently?
Jesus says that if you know when a thief is coming to rob your house, you will stay up to catch them at that time (Matt 24:42-44). If we knew when Jesus would return, we might live like a prodigal until the time came for His return. Many people forget about God until they grow older and then think about death. Jesus is telling us to always be ready (Matt 24:45-50).
PRAYERS
Thanks that we can trust in the words of Christ which are always true Thanks for the peace in the world at the moment.