St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 23; Behold, here's Christ!

 Our paragraph topic is: (The sign of the last day) Part 1.  

We don't think about the last day.  Why?  Probably because we don't believe that we will be around on that day.  We will be dead and gone before it comes around, or so we think.  Who knows when it will happen?  Christ is telling his disciples that it will happen and what to look for.  He is warning them of all the wrong things that will happen that may lead them astray.

This is the paragraph of signs.  It is the paragraph to his disciples then and to believers today of what to know when the last day comes.  It is important to know for all.  We do not know when that day will come.  It may be tomorrow, or the next, or next week, or next year.  In our minds, in our consciousness, we do not consider it happening, but Christ has given us the prediction of the coming of the last day.  And this is what he tells us: "Then if anyone say to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or, 'There he is,' do not believe it."

Don't believe what you hear others say to you, Christ tells us.  Don't believe the rumors and the lies and the scandals that will come from the fear and anxiety of the coming of the last day.  There will be many false prophets and false rumors floating about to lead many astray.  Do not believe.  Do not follow.  Do not be led astray by those who would use you for their own selfish desires of power and glory.

Two thousand years ago Christ warns those who believe in him and the Father who sent him, of the end days.  He told his disciples so that they would know.  He told those who would listen and those who believed.  He laid the foundation for his church that his work would continue into the future for those who did not know him, those who did not see him, those who did not hear his voice but who would believe in his words.  These are the elect, the chosen ones who believe in him and know the truth of his teachings.

He came to give life and to give it more abundantly.  Anyone who believes in him and repents of their sins will be saved.  He gave his life that we might have life, if we choose it.  The choice is ours if we want it.  The life is ours if we know it.  Today, tomorrow, next week, we can have it if we know it.  It is within us.  The light of life comes from Christ.  He is the Savior from which we receive life from the Father, the source of life.  Ask and you shall receive.  God is rich in love and forgiveness for each of us who believe.  

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself.  Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.

St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 22b; For the Sake of the Elect.

Our paragraph topic is: (The destruction of Jerusalem) Part 11.  

Christ continues to talk about the destruction of Jerusalem and how life would end.  He knows what the Father wants.  He knows the anger and the frustration of the Father.  So many times the Father has been merciful and patient with his creation.  He has waited centuries for mankind to become the family, the people, the community of love and understanding that they are capable of becoming.  Yet the world tempts and taunts the people to do evil, to be led astray from the love that the Father has for his people. 

Christ tells the people, pray, that they do not have to experience the great tribulation that comes in winter or on the sabbath.  For on those days such destruction will be seen as man has not witnessed since the beginning of time nor will be.  Jerusalem will be torn asunder.  Many will suffer.  There will be much pain and death.  When you see the signs do not turn back, run for the hills for there will not be time to save anything except yourself.  Christ tells them had those days of destruction not been shortened no living creature would be saved:  "But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."   

All is not lost.  The elect will save some.  For their sake the world will not be lost, all living creatures will not be destroyed.  Thanks be to God that there are those who are chosen.  Thanks be to God that there are those who meet his favor, who are special to him and worth saving from destruction.  They are the ones who save mankind.  They are the ones who show the best of who we are.  They are the ones who do not yield to the temptations of the world, who do not fall prey to the traps of evil.  

We all are just human, weak and frail, struggling daily, attempting to know his will for us in this world.  We yield to temptation, but do we get up, ask for forgiveness, and repent of our sins.  Seeking forgiveness and repenting is our salvation.  Try and try as we might, we must continue to fight the struggle to live the life of love and trust and faith that Christ has given us to live.  And believe that as long as we believe with all our hearts and minds that he is our lord and savior and that we will be saved.  Believe that those days will be shortened, and we will be part of the elect of God. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself.  Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.

St. Matthew, Chapter 24, verse: 22a; Saving living creatures.

Our paragraph topic is: (The destruction of Jerusalem) Part 10.  

Again we have a look into the wrath of God.  In his anger in the past when he destroyed the earth before with the rain, his anger was complete.  40 days and 40 nights nonstop the rain filled the earth covering the entire planet with water, leaving no living creature alive except the chosen family of Noah.  Since that time, we have not seen nor heard of such natural destruction happening upon the earth.

Yet Christ makes his prediction to his disciples of the coming destruction of Jerusalem in which there will be such as man has not seen or heard of since the beginning of the world.  The wrath of his father is complete and unforgiving, and it is coming upon the city of Jerusalem.  He is telling the people to pray that they do not see this destruction.  For he tells them:  "And unless those days had been shortened, no living creature would be saved." 

So Christ is telling his disciples and the people that all life would be destroyed.  He is saying that all life on this planet would be eliminated and only plant life would be left.  What a sober thought to consider.  A second time in history mankind has been considered for extinction by our God.  What does that mean?  What are the consequences of end of life on this rock?  Are we meant to exist forever or does life end at some point in the distant future?  What is life?

We are born, we grow, we learn, we live in this ever-changing world, we grow old, and at some point in our lives, we die.  Life, however, continues on, it does not end.  Christ, however, is saying, in that time in the life of Jerusalem, it was considered that life on earth would end completely.  

Christ came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  He came and paid the price for our sins to free us from death.  We die individually, daily, but we live in him because he gave us life, if we choose to believe, in him.  He has life because he is of the Father and the Father is life.  We have life within us because Christ has given us life through his sacrifice if we believe in him.  Though we die physically, though the whole world ends, we continue to have life because he has given us this precious gift of life from the Father.  He loved us even before we knew him.  What can a man give in value equal to the value of his eternal life?    

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself.  Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.