As the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be

 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.  Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

- Matthew 24:15-31

Yesterday we read that Jesus went out and departed from the temple in Jerusalem, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes."  Daniel's prophecy of the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:23) was fulfilled in AD 70, when the Roman general Titus entered the Most Holy Place and had a statue of himself erected in the temple, before having the temple destroyed.  My study bible explains that the Lord's phrase when you see indicates that many of the disciples  would still be alive at that time.  It adds that the words whoever reads, let him understand are commonly understood to have been inserted by Matthew as an encouragement to his early Christian flock, who may have witnessed this event.

"But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!"  My study bible cites Luke 23:29 here, as a similar reference by Christ to what is coming in Jerusalem.  It's an expression and acknowledgement of the pain endured at seeing one's children suffering.  A nursing mother's life is concerned with care for her child, but an inability to save the child is understood here by Christ in its terrible pain.  One cannot help but consider the knowledge of His own mother's experience that is soon to come.

"And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened."  The severity of winter weather or respect for the Sabbath would prevent many people from quickly fleeing in a time of desperation. Jesus' emphasis here is clearly on the desperate need for escape at this time, and the terrible reality of the circumstances.  My study bible notes that there is a patristic spiritual interpretation given to this passage, which sees the Sabbath as symbolizing idleness with regard to virtue, and winter as indicating fruitlessness with regard to charity.  Therefore, the person who departs this life in such a spiritual state, it says, will suffer judgment.

"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together."  Jesus speaks here about His return, the Second Coming.  He does this chiefly for clarity in the terrible circumstances under which they experience suffering and will be susceptible to those who falsely claim His return.  My study bible says that the manner in which He states He will come back clearly suggests an event that will be unmistakable to the whole world -- and that is there is any question or doubt, this alone is evidence that He has not returned.  As Christ's return will shine from the east, so Orthodox and other Christians worship facing eastward whenever possible, in symbolic hope and anticipation of His second and glorious coming.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."  Here Jesus continues to speak about the time of His return.  According to patristic commentators, the sun will not be destroyed but rather darkened in relation to the glory of Christ.  In other words, the sun will appear to be dark by comparison when Christ returns in the fullness of His splendor.

"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."  My study bible says that the sign of the Son of Man is the Cross, which will be revealed as the standard for Christ's impending judgment.  While at His first coming, Christ came in humility and mortality, at His second coming, He will be revealed in power and great glory.  (See also St. Paul's description at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

What will it be like when Christ returns?  I don't think we can have a way of understanding that, save to say that what we are given here is the understanding that it will be unmistakable, instant, and clear to everyone.  These are the clues that we have been given. But it is also important to understand the context in which these descriptions are given.  Jesus is first of all intent upon enforcing to His disciples that they should not be fooled by false christs, false reports of His return, or false prophets.  He gives them an understanding of His return so that they are not deceived in desperate circumstances in which they face great hardship.  Secondly, we are to understand this critical warning of what is to come in Jerusalem.  He is emphatically urging them to flee at the first sign of the wars that are coming, and to pray that this does not come at particular times which will cause even greater hardship.  There are those who teach that it is because of His warnings that many survived from the early Church at Jerusalem after the destruction of the city.  But there is a deeper truth here we can read into the text.  The Siege of Jerusalem will mark not simply the end of one age, but the beginning of another which in itself is the "end time."  It is, in spiritual perspective, all of a whole.  We remain in this time, and we await His return.  We live with the problems today that He names, with uncertainties and seemingly ever larger and more widespread warfare even as we progress industrially.  As such, He gives us a kind of roadmap for our faith in the time in which we live:  we await His return but we live in the here and the now.   Our focus should be on following His commands and living the life He has taught, and not on when exactly that will happen.  His assurance to us that it will happen in an unmistakable way gives us the freedom to consider how we best live out our faith even in the midst of difficulties.