Matt.24:25-27 – Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
I am convinced that the Lord has quite a sense of humor. Years ago I was assigned to do daily evangelism in the French Quarter, I have quite a few stories from those months when that was my assignment. I would catch a bus near our house on Hawthorne Blvd and get down to the Quarter quite early. My habit was to carry a sack lunch with me and take a lunch break around noon and enjoy my lunch somewhere in the Quarter. This day was like most others until I decided to sit on the pavement in Pirate’s Alley literally leaning up against St. Louis Cathedral. Just as I began to enjoy my sandwich a Hare Krishna devotee approached me with some incense asking for a donation. I knew this cult followed a man by the name of Prabhupāda. This first thing that popped in my head was today’s scripture about false prophets that I shared with this cult member, “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be’. I had not even gotten the words out of my mouth when lightning literally struck the Cathedral and started it on fire. It was quite a shocking moment. The nearness of the appearing of the Lord hit me like that lightning bolt, the Krishna guy lifted up his robe and ran for his life, and the firemen showed up quickly and put out the fire. Hopefully the Krishna guy (I found out later his name was John) realized the Lord was calling out to him.
The signs of the coming of the Lord are intensifying and coming more rapidly as the day draws near. What should be my response? I want to keep that sense of fear and expectancy on me as the day draws close. Like Jesus said, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming”. That lightning bolt from heaven is about to strike, I hope you are ready.
Amen 🙏🏽