Moment of Meditation: Angels Gather (Matthew 24:31)

''And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:31).''

While Jesus descends toward the earth, He will send out His angels into the world to gather and harvest the souls of the righteous. Earlier in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus speaks of the angels as harvesters going out into the field of the world to gather the righteous into the barns of Heaven and the unrighteous into the fires of Hell (Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43). Later in the same chapter, He speaks of the angels as fishermen gathering the good fish into containers and throwing the bad fish away into a fiery furnace (Matthew 13:47-50).

Also, in His parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Lazarus "was carried by the angels to Abraham's side" (Luke 16:22). The angels gather the righteous into Heaven. And the righteous will come from all over the world. From all denominations. Because the elect aren't the members of one denomination or another. You are one of the elect if "confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). In your true confession and faith, you firmly believe that you will be gathered by the angels to join your Father in Heaven. And this faith and confession causes the elect to say with St. John, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). Amen.