SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/2/2024 11:52 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “Severe Calamity”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
24:21-22
Message of the verses: “21 for then there
will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of
the world until now, nor ever shall. 22 “And unless those days had been cut
short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days
shall be cut short.”
I mentioned in yesterday’s SD that I would talk
about the word “elect” found in verse 22 as I begin today’s SD. The following is from Strongs Greek Lexicon:
1) picked out, chosen
1a) chosen by God,
1a1) to obtain salvation through Christ
1a1a) Christians are called "chosen
or elect" of God
1a2) the Messiah is called
"elect," as appointed by God to the most exalted office conceivable
1a3) choice, select, i.e. the best of
its kind or class, excellence preeminent: applied to certain individual
Christians
In
his commentary MacArthur states “The elect could represent the nation of
Israel, which is often referred to in the Old Testament as God’s elect, or
chosen, people (see, e. g., Isa. 45:4).
It could also include those who become Christians during the Tribulation
(see Rev. 17:14). Both applications seem
appropriate, because God will preserve a redeemed remnant of the nation of
Israel as well as some redeemed Gentiles.
He will shorten the daylight hours so that the Antichrist cannot
complete his massacre of Jews and saints.
“It
should be noted that this is the first use of the term elect in the New
Testament, and through it Jesus introduced a new concept concerning those who
belong to Him. They have been divinely
chosen and called out as His own people and indeed His very own children. And when God chooses people for Himself, He
will restructure the entire universe if that become necessary to protect them
and to fulfill His promises concerning them.”
Now
speaking of total darkness it is well known that this could not last very long,
and the reason is that nothing could grow because it takes light to have things
grow. Another reason is that little work
could be done, and temperatures all across the earth would rapidly drop to
unendurable levels. I think that there
will be a lot of anguish during that time because of the darkness. So a lot of different things would happen
without the light from the sun during those very difficult times during the
tribulation period. “10 Then the fifth angel
poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became
darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, 11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because
of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds” (Rev.
16:10-11).
1/2/2024 12:10 PM
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