👑 Soon the King is coming – hope beyond the end
📅 January 5 – The Cross and the Second Coming
Monthly theme: The blessed hope – living in expectation
Year theme 2026: “Soon the King is coming – hope beyond the end”
📖 Central Bible text of the day
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
— John 12:32
🌅 Devotional thought for the day
At the beginning of every year, it is healing to direct our gaze first to the cross.
Because whoever understands the cross also understands the Second Coming.
The cross is the promise; the Second Coming is its fulfillment.
On the cross Jesus cried:
“It is finished!” — John 19:30
With that, he sealed the victory over sin.
And the same Jesus who was lifted up on the cross will soon appear lifted up in glory as King.
Ellen G. White writes:
“The cross of Christ is the center of this earth’s history.
From that place light flows into the past and into the future.
From there we look toward the day when the Lord will come to redeem His own.”
(The Desire of Ages, p. 758)
So when we contemplate the cross, we see not only suffering,
but the source of all hope.
The crown of thorns points to the royal crown,
the death on the wood to the eternal victory of life.
✨ The price of redemption – the assurance of His coming
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
— Luke 19:10
The purpose of His first coming was redemption.
The purpose of His second coming is the completion of that redemption.
Between Golgotha and the Second Coming lies the great arc of divine love.
Ellen White writes:
“Christ came to begin the work of redemption,
and He will come again to complete it.
His return is the glorious crowning of the cross.”
(The Great Controversy, p. 301)
Therefore, our hope is not directed only toward a future event—
it is deeply rooted in what has already happened:
Jesus died, He rose, and He lives to come again.
🌿 The love that transforms us
“We love because He first loved us.”
— 1 John 4:19
Whoever beholds the cross cannot remain indifferent.
This love calls us into a new life—
in purity, humility, and devotion.
So it prepares us for the Second Coming.
Ellen White says:
“Contemplating the cross awakens a deep love for Christ in the heart
and the desire to become like Him.
Thus the cross prepares us for heaven.”
(Steps to Christ, p. 67)
So the cross is not only remembrance,
it is renewal—
a daily invitation
to live under grace and serve the coming King.
🕊️ The Lamb and the King
“And I saw, and behold, in the midst of the throne stood a Lamb as though it had been slain.”
— Revelation 5:6
In the heavenly scene of Revelation, the Lamb stands at the center.
It is the same Jesus who once suffered on the cross.
But now He bears the marks of His victory,
and the angels cry:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
— Revelation 5:12
Ellen White writes:
“The cross will be the theme of contemplation and the song of the redeemed throughout eternity.
In Christ, the Crucified One, they see the glory of the Coming One.”
(The Great Controversy, p. 651)
So the cross is not a symbol of the past—
it is the banner under which we look toward the Second Coming.
Whoever follows the Lamb will also see the King.
🙏 Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
You were lifted up for us,
so that we may find life and hope in You.
Teach us never to forget the cross,
and let us live in the light of Your love.
When the world is restless,
remind us that You have already won.
Let us be transformed by Your love,
so that we are ready when You come in glory.
Amen.
💭 Thought for the day
“The cross and the Second Coming are inseparably connected.
Whoever lives daily at the foot of the cross
will joyfully await the appearing of his King.”
— Ellen G. White, Maranatha, p. 249
💡 Personal application
-
Read John 19 today – the chapter about the cross.
Write down which words of Jesus touch you most. -
Pray: “Lord, help me not only to understand the cross, but to live it.”
-
Think during the day:
“Because Jesus came for me, I may hope in His Second Coming.”
🌺 Closing verse
“Behold, He is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see Him.”
— Revelation 1:7
