Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me. At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. So when you see standing in the Holy Place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel–let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back for his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”
– Matthew 24:9-21
Devotion
Jesus goes on to give more details surrounding His second coming and the end of the age. Some of these events would happen in the disciple’s lifetimes while others would be in the future long after the disciples had been martyred. Two of the signs Jesus gave were “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world” and “the abomination that causes desolation”. The latter is first found in Daniel 9:27. This event would signal the onset of the “Great Tribulation” (or the final labor).
The Big Question
What did Jesus have in mind when He mentioned “the abomination that causes desolation” in verse fifteen? What was Daniel referring to in Daniel 9:27? How do these two passages compliment or agree with each other? Does Revelation 13 offer any insight into this event? What are you doing to declare the gospel to the whole world?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.