Daily Devotional For Friday, February 20, 2026
Good day Southside. As we are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew for these devotionals, we come now to Matthew 24:29-30:
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” (NLT).
We started looking at this yesterday and let’s continue today. As the 7-year Tribulation period comes to an end, there will be nothing much of the earth left that is habitable due to all the global and cataclysmic wars that have taken place. If nuclear weapons have been used as this text could indicate, then the land is a waste. Everything is radioactive and contaminated. Death is everywhere and all of this will be by the hand of the devil’s right hand man – the antichrist.
When we read verse 30, as Jesus told His disciples this, He is still with them. Soon the angels will give them a promise in Acts 1:11. The phrase “all the nations” is an Old Testament reference to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. These nations will mourn because they will realize they have chosen the wrong side but it will be too late for them. This phase refers to Zechariah 12:10-12, which focuses on the repentance of Jerusalem. To the shock of the atheists, the scoffers, the doubters, the unbelievers, Jesus appears in the clouds for all to see – not just to the believers – but to everyone to see. Can you imagine how drop dropping this will be?
Jesus will send His angels out to gather the “elect” from all over the world. This all comes from prophecy in Psalm 50:3-5, Isaiah 43:6, Isaiah 66:18, Jeremiah 32:37, Ezekiel 34:13, Ezekiel 36:24, Ezekiel 37:9, Daniel 7:2, Daniel 8:8, Daniel 11:4 and Zechariah 2:6. The gathering of God’s elect will signifies the triumphant enthronement of the Son of God, who in the clouds will be revealed in all His glory and power. Again, can you imagine what this is going to look like to all the skeptics? Jesus’ second coming is the pinnacle of our Christian hope. Jesus' use of the imagery of the trumpet would remind the readers of the same imagery in the book of Isaiah in Isaiah 27:13.
All through the Old Testament the trumpet was used to call God’s people to worship God as well as to battle. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this last trumpet call in 1 Corinthians 15:52 as well as in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. When Jesus returns the whole world is going to know that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. So, we can add some qualifiers to this as well from a different perspective than we did on February 17, 2026:
- Pretribulationists would say that this “gathering of the elect” refers to the gathering of Jewish saints (also as in Matt. 24:24), not the church. Meaning the “rapture” has already occurred for the church.
- Midtribulationists would say this verse is about the rapture of the church and refers to Jewish saints. Since the Tribulation lasts 7 years, this would occur 3.5 years into the 7 year Tribulation.
- Posttribulationists would say this verse is about the rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus is at the end of the 7 year Tribulation. Meaning, Jesus will come to gather His elect, both the elect prior to the tribulation and those who came to Christ and survived during the Tribulation.
Finally the phrase “from one end of heaven to other” combines two phrases from the Old Testament found in Deuteronomy 13:7 and Deuteronomy 30:4. The point being is that when Jesus returns, none of His elect will be overlooked, left or forgotten. God will keep His word as He has always done through Scripture and History.
Reflection Assignment: It is so easy to get worked up about when the rapture will occur, but the main thing we all need to be concerned about is this: if Jesus appeared right now in the clouds, are you ready for Him? If you say you are, what is the proof? There is a lot of interest in the last days currently, but there is very little interest in discipleship these days. I wonder why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Revelation 11:15, “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: ‘The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever’” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, give me Your heart to be a disciple maker, not a person who is more interested in when the end will be. When Your own disciples asked You when, You told them it was not for them to know but instead to be busy with the purpose You gave them. Lord, help me to do that as well. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly