Matthew 24:1-8

Matthew 24:1-8 
The Message (MSG)

  Jesus spends a lot of time teaching the disciples about the end times.  There were a lot of questions about it then, and there are a lot of questions about it now, 2,000 years later.  Everyone wants to know what's going to happen, when it's going to happen, and what it's going to be like.  Jesus teaches the disciples, giving them a big picture overview, but the details are a bit fuzzy.  He's emphasizing to them that the big worldly things, the structures and empires that seem to hold so much power, aren't going to be standing in those end times.  Those aren't what will last. 
  Jesus is pointing towards a future which is oriented around the God who exists outside of time and space.  That God, the one who loves us enough to enter into our world in the person of Jesus Christ so that we might experience salvation and have the door opened into eternity, is the one who will still be reigning in power after this world concludes.  That is the God who loves us, who reigns in power for us, who prays for us.  Jesus invites us into a trusting and loving relationship where maybe we don't know all the details of exactly how things go, but because we deeply trust the one who is in charge, we can rest secure in what God has in store for us.