Matthew 24: 29-31
My mother was a Golden, and the Golden’s had a family
gathering each Summer that included all of my mothers family plus their cousins
and it was something we always looked forward to. As a child, I can remember my grandfather,
and his brother Sam and all of their kids, plus some from the other brother’s
family; it was the best of times. It
mattered not your status in life, you were a member of the family, and it was
the best time of the year, one that I, as a child, looked forward to. I do not recall anything that ever caused me
to fear at those reunions, I was with my family, and I was loved; with this one
exception, I did fear not getting a second serving of my Aunt Violets homemade
yeast rolls.
Now Matthew 24:29-31 is telling us about a great gathering,
and this gathering is like none the world has ever seen. The world has been going through an unbelievable
time of trials, wars, and rumors of wars, of famines and earthquakes in some of
the most unusual places, and both Christian and Jews are hated by most of the
people in the world. And there are many
false preachers, some claim to be prophets of God, but all they are doing is
telling the people they need to worship little gods who have no power, and yet
many are running to those little gods.
These are the words of Jesus from Matthew 24:29-31, “Immediately
after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens
will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of
Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son
of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they
will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” The Golden reunions were
great, but in light of this gathering they were not even an insignificant light,
in that before His appearance the light will be turned out, no sun and no moon
and even stars will fall from the heavens, and the powers of the heavens will
be shaken. Then the light of the world,
His name is Jesus, will shine through the darkness and the world will see the
Son of God. Those of us who have been awaiting
His return will recall these words spoken by Jesus in John 8:12, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows
me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Much
of the world will mourn when they see Jesus, they will have clarity of mind of
who is and who is not God. Many of the
Jews will also mourn because they clearly understand it is Messiah, the one
they rejected. But this is the coming,
not the return of our Lord, for it is clear that Jesus will send out his angels
with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other.
Many
in the Christian faith believe this will be the rapture of the church, both the
living and the dead and once the Church is removed, so will the Holy Spirit of
God. What will happen to a world without
the influence of the Church, keep reading, the world is going to see things it
cannot imagine. If you think it is dark
now, wait and watch a world without hope.
But also in these times many will come to Christ.
From
the Back Porch,
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