Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Sabbath, February 6, 2016

This Week’s Devotional Focus is, “The Second Coming of Jesus Christ.”

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:30–31).

The revelation need not be televised! We have been scratching the surface this week about the event that will forever change the universal landscape. Jesus is soon to come, the restoration of peace, and the renovation of heaven and earth will begin.

I love today’s focus text because it provides two vital contrasts: The first can be found in the immediate context of Matthew 24. When the disciples asked Jesus when certain events would occur, and what would be the sign of His coming and the end of the world, He said that they must not be deceived. There will be false prophets preceding the end of the world who will deceive many. There will be false Christ’s and false Christ’s making appearances in various and sundry places. In order to be deceived, we would have to ignore His counsel and seek out and embrace those Christ’s. Our theme text provides a stark contrast. Jesus will not need town criers to announce that He is in this place or that. He will not need popular news media to aim cameras at Him gallivanting about the place making fanciful or apparently humble proclamations. He will not need to utilize word of mouth marketing to spread the news of His appearing. No! The Bible says that His sign will be in heaven and that all peoples shall see Him coming. He will come with great power and great glory. He will come with a retinue of angels and the sound of a trumpet. Upon His arrival, the angels will gather all of God’s saints from every quarter of the world to meet Him simultaneously. Amen. What a contrast.

The second great contrast is related to Jesus’ first coming. When He came to grace this world with His presence and ministry more than 2,000 years ago, His arrival was discreet. He was born in a tiny town, in a stable. He was wrapped in swaddling clothing and lay in a feeding trough. Although the angels proclaimed His glory, peace, and good will toward humankind, astonishingly few discerned the proclamation or His star in the night skies. Astonishingly few traveled to find their newborn King. This time, however, nobody will need to follow a star to find Him. He will not be discreet. He will not keep silent. He will not be a helpless baby. He will not be embarking upon His mission of mercy. All will have been accomplished, and in a round of triumph, Jesus will finally capitalize on all the work He has done to save people from our sins.

When Jesus finally does come, will He find faith on the earth? When He arrives, will He find faith in you?

—L. David Harris (www.DavidWritesaLot.com)