December 13 | Future Hope
Matthew 24:15-31 (NLT)
15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) 16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 18 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.
23 “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. 25 See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.
26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it! 27 For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. 28 Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.
29 “Immediately after the anguish of those days,
the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
What a scene! Honestly, it can be a bit draining and hopeless to imagine the affairs Jesus describes to His disciples here about the end of days. Yet I don’t believe His intention is simply to have us cower about future events. Instead, it reveals that our hope must be in Christ alone.
Our future hope in Christ is not about a celestial retirement home, but about His return and ultimate restoration of all things. While we face sin, darkness, and brokenness now in this life, Christ will eventually usher in His divine kingdom.
Christmas is a time where we not only look back at what God has done for us by becoming flesh, but is also a time we look ahead with eager anticipation about His soon return and redemption of all things.
Where have you placed your hope instead of in Christ? Perhaps it is in political change, an influential figure, your intellect, ability to provide, capacity to control, financial security, how long you’ve been a Christian, or finding solace in fleeting pleasures. These false hopes are the deceptions that Christ speaks of.
Today, identify areas that you’ve placed hope in other than Christ, and confess this to the Lord. Then thank Him that He will return soon, that He will rescue us from the darkness of this world, and that He will make all things new and beautiful. That is the hope of every Christ-follower, and it is the hope of you and I this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas!
—Pastor Matt