Monday, July 20, 2015

Matthew 24:23-28

Matthew 24:23-28
Then if anyone should say to you, “Behold, here is the Christ,” or “Here!” you all should not believe.  For false christs and false prophets will rise up and they will give great signs and portents in order to cause people to wander off the path – if powerful enough – also the chosen ones.  Behold!  I have warned you all.  Therefore, if they should say to you all, “Behold, He is in the wilderness” you all should not go out.  If “Behold, He is in the inner room” you all should not believe.  For just as the lightning comes from the east and while shining as far as the west, in this way will be the coming of the Son of Man.  Wherever a corpse should be, there the eagles will be gathered.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Here is a scary thought.  The fact that a person performs incredible signs and portents is no indication that they are from God. Think about that for a moment.  If a person came to town and you saw them raise someone from the dead, would you not be more inclined to believe them when they claimed to be close to God?  Or if a person came and was able to tell you great things about yourself – things you’ve never confided in anyone else – would you not be inclined to think that they were from God?  The truth is that Jesus often calls Satan the “prince of this world.”  Satan is not without His power.  Jesus is careful to make sure that His disciples understand that outward appearances are a horrible means for judging a person and their relationship with God.  We should listen to them.  We should weigh their teaching with the Word of God.  We should be in the habit of evaluating people by their person and their character, not by what they can accomplish and who they can impress.

Do you ever get caught up in the show and forget to look at the person?  How is this actually related to the common attributes of common thieves?  Why is it dangerous to become infatuated by people who can do incredible and unbelievable things?

Second Thought:

Once more that we are warned that those who come to deceive will target people who confess to know God.  The most powerful of the false christs and the false prophets will be able to pull people away from God if we are not careful.  It is foolish to think that we are above such a fate.  The prudent man hears this warning and prepares for it – just in case it comes during his time.  Jesus tells us purposefully that we have been warned!  He does not warn us for our knowledge.  He warns us so that we may be prepared and stand firm in our faith.

How prepared are you to stand firm?  How might you be deceived into wandering off of the path?  What benefit might there be in knowing your temptations?

Third Thought:

So how are we to know the coming of Christ?  Jesus tells us that His coming will be like lightning.  It will be sudden.  It will be flashed across the planet from horizon to horizon, much like lightning covers the sky.  Jesus is basically telling us that He is not coming again in the manner that He came the first time.  He came as a human in order to die on the cross and be the perfect sacrifice that we as regular humans can never be.  But having died, there is no reason for Jesus to come again as a man.  He will come like lightning: suddenly and unexpectedly and with an impossibility to predict.

Are you prepared for the coming of Christ?  If He were to come 3 minutes from now, would those three minutes be filled with anticipation or panic?  How does knowing how Jesus will return actually help us avoid being trapped by charlatans?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 24:29-31


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