Daily Verse
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Christ's Return
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Saturday's Reflection
Acts 1:11 — Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
This week we looked at the certainty and the hope of Christ's return. William Miller's earnest study of Scripture reawakened a whole generation to the blessed hope, and even through the disappointment that followed, the longing for Christ's coming was kept alive. The story of Halley's comet reminded us that a promise can be utterly certain even when it takes longer than a lifetime to be fulfilled — and if the heavens keep their appointments, how much more will the Lord keep His. And the Scriptures showed us the manner of His coming, the great reunion of the resurrection, the call to be always ready, and the hope that purifies us even now.
The thread through all of it is that Christ's return is both sure and near, and that this changes everything about how we live. The same Jesus who ascended will come again, personally and in glory, to raise the dead, gather His people, and make all things new. He has told us to be ready, not by calculating the day, but by walking closely with Him each ordinary day so that we are never caught unprepared. And He has given us this hope not merely to comfort us, but to purify us — to pull us toward His likeness while we wait.
On this Sabbath, rest in the blessed hope. The Sabbath has always pointed forward to a greater rest still to come, and the coming of Christ is when that rest will be fully ours. Whatever this week held, lift your eyes from the ground where the disciples once stood gazing, and set your hope on the certain promise: this same Jesus is coming again. Rest today in that hope, and let it steady you, comfort you, and make you ready. He who promised is faithful, and He will not delay beyond the appointed time.
"The coming of Christ to inaugurate the reign of righteousness has inspired the most sublime and impassioned utterances of the sacred writers. ... To the meek and lowly His coming is as the dawn of a new and better day." (Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 299)
Prayer: Father, thank You for the blessed hope of Christ's return — sure, near, and full of comfort. As we rest this Sabbath, we lift our eyes from the ground and fix them on Your promise. Keep us watching, keep us ready, and bring us at last to the day when we shall ever be with the Lord. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.