On the Mount of Olives, Jesus painted history in broad strokes as He responded to the questions of the disciples: “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).

Jesus’ famous sermon, recorded in Matthew 24, covers the uninterrupted, historical timeline from His days until the Second Coming and beyond.

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Jesus wanted to give His people throughout the ages a rough sketch of the divine schedule for end-time prophecies, so that those living at the end of time could be prepared for the ultimate event. He wanted us to be able to rest confidently in His love, even when everything around us was falling apart.

Adventists know well Daniel’s description of “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation” (Daniel 12:1). Jesus wants us to be prepared for this event, which precedes His Second Coming.

What will His coming be like? How can we avoid being deceived? Read Matthew 24:4-8, Matthew 24:23-31.

Jesus’ coming will be a literal event at the end of time. Considering the space given in prophecy to His return, and even in Jesus’ sermons, this is a big deal.

The last time there was a worldwide climactic event only eight people in all the world were ready for it. Jesus compares the unexpectedness of the Second Coming to that event — the Flood (Matthew 24:37-39). But although no one knows the day or hour of the Second Coming (Matthew 24:36), God has given us a prophetic countdown that we can watch happening in the world around us.

We have been given a role to fill in this prophetic drama. What is our part? Focus on Matthew 24:9-14.

In this cosmic conflict, we are more than just observers. We are to be active participants in spreading the gospel to the ends of the world, which means that we, too, will face persecution.

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The oldest surviving disciple actually to have been with Jesus sat on a rocky prison island far from everything that was near and dear to him. What must have been going on in John’s mind as he found himself stranded on this desolate island? How did he wind up here, and like this, too? After all, he had seen Jesus leave, and he had seen the two angels standing there, saying: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

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That, however, had been years and years ago, and Jesus had not yet returned. Meanwhile, the other apostles present on that day already had died, most of them martyred for their witness about Jesus. The young church had undergone a generational change and was now facing horrible persecution from the outside and strange heretical movements from within. John must have felt alone, tired, and restless. And then, suddenly, he was given a vision.

What comfort can you imagine that John got from this vision? Read Revelation 1:9-19.

Jesus had told His followers, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20), words that, no doubt, must have encouraged John as he faced his lonely exile. Surely this vision, this “revelation” of Jesus, must have been a great comfort to Him, knowing that Jesus, “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” was now manifesting Himself in a special way to the exiled apostle.

What followed from these verses are visions about the future of this world. An awesome panoramic view of history would be portrayed before him, basically what’s to us the history of the Christian church but was to him its future. And yet, amid the trials and tribulations that would come, John was shown how it would all end. “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” ( Revelation 21.1-2, NKJV).

The great apocalyptic vision John has recorded in Revelation helped John confidently to rest in God’s provisions and promises.

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