Daily Devotional For Thursday, February 19, 2026
Good day Southside. As we are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew for these devotionals, we come now to Matthew 24:15-28. Due to the length of this passage, we are going to take several days to work our way through it. Here is the whole passage below:
“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), (16) then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. (17) Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. (18) Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. (19) But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! (20) But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. (21) For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. (22) Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. (23) Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or There He is,’ do not believe him. (24) For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (25) Behold, I have told you in advance. (26) 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. (27) 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. (28) Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” (NASB).
We are picking up where we left off yesterday. Jesus is warning His followers about the end times. The phrase “of those days” signaled that Jesus was talking specifically about the end times (see similar wording in the Prophets: look at Isaiah 34:4, Jeremiah 3:16,18, Joel 3:1, and Zechariah 8:23. We see that the Apostle Paul in Romans 8 and the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3 discuss how all the universe and nature will be changed due to our fallenness. There is such a change that is visible to everyone.
All these changes in nature will come as a result of the fake and false “signs and omens” of the false messiahs as seen in Matthew 24:24. These signs are the sun going dark, the moon will not be visible, stars will be falling and heavenly bodies will be shaken. If “stars” are falling, it is possible that God has pulled back His hand of protection on this planet and will allow meteors to strike it uncontrollably. Jesus was well aware of the words He had inspired prophets of old to foretell this in their books (see Isaiah 13:10 and Joel 2:10-11. What Jesus described here, the Apostle John wrote about in his book called Revelation in Revelation 6:12-14. Jesus is talking about events occurring at the end of the Great 7-year Tribulation. We see the same agreement in Mark 13:24-26 and in Matthew 24:29-31.
These coming persecutions will cause global sorrow, pain, death and disasters worldwide. The reference to the sun going dark and the moon not being seen, could be a reference to some kind of global nuclear event due to “black rain” – dark colored precipitation, heavily contaminated with radioactive fallout, soot, and ash, that fell 1-2 hours after the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. Such attacks create firestorms rising from the atmosphere causing this type of “rainfall.” It is highly dangerous and deadly and its impact on the environment lasts for years.
Those who have come to Christ during the Tribulation should take comfort that Jesus will come at the end of this 7-years to to end the devil and his demons full free reign of sin, terror on this earth. Jesus will set up His 1,000 year reign here. I believe the church has already been taken out of the world prior to this great 7-year Tribulation. This reference to Jesus returning I believe is a reference to His millennial reign at the end of the 7-year Tribulation.
Reflection Assignment: If Jesus were to return today, in the next few minutes, are you ready to meet Him? Why or why not? When have been some of the darkest moments of your life? Did you first turn to the Lord or someone else or something else? Why? If the Lord is not always your first choice when in a “radioactive zone or moment,” why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, I do not want to be caught off guard when You return. I want to be found faithful when I die and when You return, whichever may come first. I praise You that in this passage, You remind us that one day You are going to right all wrong and return this planet to the way You intended from the beginning. One day, You are going to come to us and walk in the cool of evening to talk to us just like You did with Adam and Eve. I can’t wait for that day. Come quickly Lord Jesus. Maranatha. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly