The Lightning From The East (Matthew 24:27)

 

Saturday, 15 November, 2025

Psalm 37:1-17

2 Kings 18:17-37

Matthew 24:15-31

The Lightning From The East (Matthew 24:27)

“For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

We’ve been getting some pretty good thunderstorms recently, but they seem to be coming from the west and moving east, so when I read these words from Jesus, I have to remember that, as an Australian, I have to think upside-down compared to the rest of the world.

Even so, there is nothing like a good sub-tropical thunderstorm. There’s no missing it! Wind howls, rain spatters, thunder cracks – and the lightning lights up the sky. Clouds roil with shades of colour you never see otherwise, and we remember: Jesus is coming back one day.

But how do we think of the return of the Son of Man? Will we, like the tribes of the earth, mourn at his coming? Or will the blast of the trumpet be the sweetest sound of all?

Jesus compared his return to universally recognisable imagery: lightning. Perhaps we could stretch it a bit further, and factor in the enormous build-up of unbearable humidity we get before our own thunderstorms. It is such a relief when the humidity breaks and the heavens open. In the same way, the unbearable oppression of sin and death will finally break at the return of Jesus when he comes to make all things new and gather his elect into his eternal kingdom.

How do you manage the patience required to be faithful in your waiting for the return of Jesus? Where do you see glimpses of his return in the small blessings of the day-to-day?

Lord Christ Jesus, whose first Advent opened the way to life, and whose second will destroy death once and for all: give us spiritual eyes to see the first fruits of your new creation, and the patience to labour faithfully until you make all things new. Even so, come Lord Jesus.