Sabbath Flight
Sabbath Flight
20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
Matthew 24:20
As time passes and the Second Coming fails to arrive, several groups are formed. There are those who believe that the church has strayed from the original early church teachings, claim that we are currently Babylon, and push towards a return to the way things were before.
At the same time, as the Second Coming fails to arrive, there is another group who believes that we are lost in the past, holding onto outdated beliefs and who push towards a modernization of church beliefs and laws.
Both push in opposite directions and cause a rift within the church. Those left in the middle, either because they simply follow what they are being told or because they disagree with both groups, end up trying to keep everything together.
Although it may seem as if things are getting worse, in fact there is nothing new, as Solomon repeats several times in Ecclesiastes. There is nothing new under the sun.
What does all this have to do with Matthew 24:20? The verse shows that while arguments and debates rage on within the pews, the world keeps spinning and God’s plan continues on as God deems fit. We like to think that by being in the church, we will somehow avoid the problems or pitfalls of the last days but this verse shows the exact opposite.
There will be many within the church, true Christians who worship and love God but who spend more time in politics and debates than in preparation of their own lives and futures. Many will be caught in shock as events unfold quickly around them and will have to suffer needlessly as someone who tries to fly in the middle of the winter or by not having Sabbath peace because they’re rushing off in haste.
God gave us all brains, some better than others granted, but still all working enough to make our decisions for what is best. Some will be dead on and find relative peace in the middle of the storm while others will be left being tossed to and fro and left naked and bruised but thankfully still saved.
We all want to save the world but remember that the world is already doomed to be lost. We all want to save the church but remember, the church is not under our protection but God’s and He’s much better at protecting it anyway.
Let’s do what we’re actually supposed to to.
God bless,
Pr. Steven Couto