We were told about this in advance.
Knowing doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to experience. But we shouldn’t
be confused by it, or by what’s coming next.
What were we told? Racial hostility,
economic turmoil, diseases, natural disasters, offenses and hatred. What’s
coming next? More of what’s been named already, and even more; plus persecution
of those who follow Jesus.
When were we told? Before anyone
who’s reading this was born. Approximately 2000 years ago. Where we were told?
The telling is recorded in the Bible. You’ll see that in a moment. Who told us?
None other than Jesus, Himself.
“For nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,
and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then
they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by
all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one
another, and will hate one another.”
-Matthew 24:7-10, NKJV
“And because lawlessness will
abound, the love of many will grow cold.”
-Matthew 24:12, NKJV
What is the context here? In the
preceding verses, Jesus’ disciples came to Him privately and asked what would
be the signs of His coming (into His kingdom) and of the end of the age (of the
time before His kingdom). Jesus spends the rest of the chapter answering them.
From verses 4-12, He speaks of the times leading up to the end of the age. From
verses 15-30, He speaks of the end. The rest of the chapter speaks about
different things related to all this. But in verse 6, He says these things He
is immediately speaking on must come to pass, but are not the end yet. We see
these things happening around us now.
Verse 7: “For nation will rise
against nation,” The original Greek word here for “nation” is “ethnos” which is
the origin of the word ethnicity in English, and can also be translated as
tribe or race.
Verse 7: “And there will be
famines...” The original Greek word here for “famines” is “limos,” which also
can mean scarcity (of harvest or food), hunger, or dearth; and has as its root
the idea of destitution. Not only could the word be translated scarcity or
destitution, but frequently famines aren’t necessarily caused by lack of food
production, but due to distribution, supply, or economic considerations. In
other words, this could just as easily be financial or economic destitution
leading to lack of sustenance, as much as anything else.
Verse 7: “...pestilences,” The
original Greek word here for “pestilences” is “loimos” which can be translated
as pest, plague, or disease.
This passage is not about the United
States. But the United States is a microcosm of the world; and what’s happening
in the United States, and the world at large, is stunningly parallel to what’s
being described in this passage.
Nation against nation: Racial
tension.
Famines: Economic troubles and
destitution.
Pestilences: Covid-19
(Coronavirus)—and more.
Earthquakes: Natural disasters.
Verse 10: Offenses and hatred.
Verse 12: Lawlessness and unloving.
If these troubles don’t describe the
state of America and the world in 2020, I don’t know what does. It’s happening
across the globe, and it’s happening here. And freedoms are being lost;
surrendered even, in the face of fears and accusations.
And what about verse 9? Persecution
(tribulation, hatred, and killing) of those who are of Jesus’ namesake.
Christians have been persecuted all over the world for millennia. It is coming
here too. Followers of Christ in the United Stares are not exempt from the
persecution Jesus warned would come.
“If the world hates you, you know
that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would
love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the
world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A
servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also... He who hates
Me hates My Father also.”
-John 15:18-20 and 23, NKJV
The world hates those who don’t
conform to its ways. By standing in contrast and being different, followers of
Christ act as a mirror—reflecting back to the world an image of itself as it
really is: Lawless, unloving, cold; dark, and separated from its Creator. The
world hates to see itself as it is; and those who are of it prefer to live in
denial, and justify themselves in their own hearts and minds, rather than admit
the truth they know, and humble themselves in surrender to Christ. They
persecuted and killed Jesus. They have persecuted and killed His followers
since. It very well may happen here before the time of the end. After all,
protestors in Portland, Oregon have burned Bibles right alongside the US flag.
Matthew 24:7-12 describes the
“beginning of sorrows” (verse 8 ). Matthew 24:6: “And you will hear of wars and
rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come
to pass, but the end is not yet.” (NKJV) All these things described happen
before the end of the age. So we should not expect to avoid persecution, even
if we believe we won’t be present in the days of the very end of the age.
And we know it is worse at the end
of the age. So we should expect these things to escalate and accelerate. More
of these things will happen, and they will be worse. One only needs to read the
book of Revelation to see that. The actual time of the end of the age will be
far worse. More frequent and extreme lawlessness, hatred, offenses, natural disasters,
pestilences, famines, human in-fighting, and wars. But I don’t expect that we
(those who surrender their will to Christ and accept His gift of salvation now)
will be here for those final days. I have written about this elsewhere. See my
three-part blog post titled “Caught Up.”
What is the solution? These things
will come. They are happening now. They “must come to pass” before the end. But
there is a blessed hope for those who follow Jesus. Yes, He was killed by the
world. But He rose from death, and thereby conquered death and sin. His
followers will rise from death too, if they aren’t “caught up” before the end.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you
believe in God, believe also in me.”
-John 14:1, NKJV
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
-John 14:6, NKJV
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I
give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
-John 14:27, NKJV
“But as many as received Him, to
them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His
name.”
-John 1:12, NKJV
“For ‘whoever calls on the name of
the LORD shall be saved.’”
-Romans 10:13, NKJV
Now, of course there will be those
who would argue that these prophecies of Jesus (from Matthew 24) are so vague
and generalized In nature that they can’t help but be self-fulfilling. And in
some regards, they wouldn’t be completely incorrect. But they are coming to
pass, and they are happening all at once, and they are happening everywhere,
and they are happening right before our eyes. The precision and the parallels
to what we see unfolding before us daily are too notable to ignore. Of course,
some will simply not believe at all. This is no surprise either. 2 Peter 3:3-4:
“knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking
according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?
For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning
of creation.’” (NKJV)
But clear prophecy is being clearly
fulfilled. There is clear application and relevance to our lives. And our
response to our Creator and the Savior whom He sent will determine our eternal
destiny.
Grace and peace to you.
