Matthew 24:29-35 Mark 13:24-32 Luke 21:25-33
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29 “But
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
the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 “And then
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of
the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE
CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. 31 “And He will
send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL
GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky
to the other. 32 “Now
learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become
tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too,
when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at
the door. 34 “Truly
I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place. 35 “Heaven
and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
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24 “But
in those days, after that tribulation, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND
THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, 25 AND THE
STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the
heavens will be shaken. 26 “Then
they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great
power and glory. 27 “And
then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from
the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of
heaven. 28 “Now
learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become
tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 “Even so,
you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is
near, right at the door. 30 “Truly I say
to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place. 31 “Heaven
and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 32 “But of that
day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the
Father alone.
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25 “There
will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among
nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting
from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world;
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 “Then they
will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and
great glory. 28 “But
when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 Then
He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as
they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves
that summer is now near. 31 “So
you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of
God is near. 32 “Truly
I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take
place. 33 “Heaven
and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
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The persecutions during the tribulation are all leading to
the return of Jesus. No matter how bad
things might become, Jesus is coming!
Those who live in the days of the tribulation will face such tremendous
suffering. Fear will be a constant
companion of those who face this reality.
However, Jesus wants to give them hope.
The purpose of this passage is to provide meaning, purpose and hope to a
generation of believers that will desperately need them. Jesus reveals to His disciples that His
coming will be unmistakable and unavoidable.
This should be a source of hope to us, because we can be assured of God’s
control over the events of the past, present and future. We have a hope that is secure in Jesus. However, these words will be of even greater
comfort to those who see these signs happening in the midst of a tribulation
the likes of which this earth has never seen before.
THE SIGN OF THE SUN AND THE STARS: Besides the intense
persecution that will occur during the tribulation, there will be catastrophic events
in nature. The sun and the moon will be
darkened, and stars will fall from the sky.
The book of Revelation describes numerous world wide plagues that will
happen during these dark days of the history of the earth. This time of darkness, persecution, injustice,
war, famine and plagues is designed to demonstrate just how terrible the rule
of Satan on this planet has been. This
world seems to be descending into a level of sinfulness that permeates every
level of society. Sin always has
consequences. There are the natural
consequences that a sinful life will produce.
There is also the wrath of God against sin. Both consequences will be on full display
during this period of history. We need
to be fully aware of the price of sin in our own lives.
THE SIGN OF THE SON IN THE SKIES: The most obvious sign of
the coming of Christ is Jesus in the sky with great power and glory. The first coming of Christ was announced by
angels to a few people in miraculous ways.
We continue to announce the first coming of Jesus to the nations. Some people believe our testimony other
people don’t. There is clear evidence of
the first coming, but people can easily reject or reinterpret that coming. The second coming will be undeniable and universally
recognized. All who have believed in the
sacrifice for sin Jesus accomplished in His coming will be supernaturally
gathered at His second coming. His power
and His glory will be on full display. He
will establish a kingdom that will be a stark contrast to the reign of Satan on
earth. This kingdom will be full of
peace, prosperity, righteousness, justice and worship of Jesus. This kingdom will never end. We must faithfully announce the first coming
of Jesus so that all nations and our neighbors might have the joy of
experiencing the second coming of Jesus.
THE SIGN OF THE SAVIOR IS SOON: One of our biggest questions
and the question the disciples were constantly asking Jesus was: When? We want to know when the return of Jesus will
take place. The answer to that question
cannot be found in Scripture. God has
reserved this for His exclusive knowledge.
He is patiently waiting for those who will repent and trust Jesus from
every tribe and tongue. Our job is to
work to that end. However, Jesus informs
that the generation that sees the signs of the sun and moon going dark and the
stars falling from the sky will not all pass away before the second coming of
Christ. Daniel’s indication that the
tribulation will last seven years supports that. This passage indicates that these days will
be shortened. There are many signs today
that the days of tribulation are approaching.
I believe those days will be proceeded by the rapture of the church
which could happen at any time. After
the rapture, the ensuing chaos will facilitate the reign of Anti-Christ which
will usher in the times of wars, idolatry and plagues seen in this text. The generation that sees these things happen
will also see the second coming of Christ.
We don’t know when it will happen, but we know it will happen “soon.” Our job is not to discover when. Our job is to work faithfully to spread the name
of Jesus to every tribe and tongue until He calls us to be with Him. Maybe it will be today!!!
APPLICATION: God has a plan for this earth and the way it
will all end. Jesus will reign supreme
for all eternity. Before that happens,
things will get significantly worse. We must
be very careful not to be distracted by the world and the pleasures of
sin. Discouragement will be a frequent
battle that we need to face. The timing of
Christ’s return can never become our focus.
The priority of our lives must be to tell others about Jesus. As we wait we need to work for His glory and
the growth of His kingdom.
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