devotional post # 2052
Luke 21:7-11
Luk 21:7 And they responded to him by asking, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”
Luk 21:8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. Because many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is now!’ Do not go after them.
Luk 21:9 And when you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be startled, because these things must first take place, but the end will not be immediate.”
Luk 21:10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Luk 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and epidemics. And there will be holocausts and great signs from the sky.
overwhelmed with signs
Jesus had just predicted the unbelievable. He said that the temple in Jerusalem would be demolished. His listeners could only imagine such a thing happening in conjunction with a worldwide apocalypse. So, they asked a complicated question. They asked about signs. Well, there would be specific signs that the temple would be destroyed, and Jesus would get to them later (vss. 21-22). But first he uses the opportunity to talk about that worldwide apocalypse at the end, at his return. He teaches that during the long age before his return, we will see so many signs we will be overwhelmed with them. That is why he cautions his listeners (and readers) not to take the signs too seriously.
We are living in the age before the end. Great signs from the sky continue to show themselves. But none of these indicate that the end will be immediate. They merely show that history is marching to the final battle. Christ’s coming could be in our lifetime. But it is the message of his first coming, and the gospel of his coming kingdom which we must focus on.
LORD, you are the sign from the sky that we are most interested in.
devotional post # 2054
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