Lightning
By Dan Maines
"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. Matthew
24:26
"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. Matthew 24:27
"For just like the lightning, when
it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of
the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. Luke 17:24
Matthew
24:27; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28
Lightning from the east and
west is visible as will the coming of the Son of Man.
When
God came on the clouds in judgment in the Old Testament, the spirit
of the Lord was pictured riding dark storm clouds accompanied by
rumblings of the earth, thunder and lightning.
In Matthew
24:27, Jesus promises to return in a like manner. The fact that Jesus
links His return to "lightning that comes from the east"
illustrates the fact that when Christ was expected to come on the
clouds in judgment He was to do so as the Lord had done in the past
riding on dark storm clouds accompanied by lightning. Matthew 24:27
was fulfilled both literally and symbolically in the Jewish War.
Historian Tacitus writes: In the sky appeared a vision of armies in
conflict, of glittering amour. A sudden lightening flash from the
clouds lit up the Temple.
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