4And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. 6You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”
Prophecy over the years has been the subject of much speculation as well as much sensationalism. Many teachers claim highly detailed and imaginative interpretations that supposedly line up with current world events. Some even claim to be the manifestation of Christ. Jesus warned that these things would happen and that His followers ought not to be frightened.
When our children were pre-teens, we began preparing them for the teen years, with all the emotional upheaval and peer pressures. When those years did arrive, our children were better prepared because of their “foreknowledge.” By analogy, that is what Jesus was doing in this sermon on the Mount of Olives.
Jesus, of course, was right. In the last 100 years things have gotten worse: two world wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and now conflicts across the Middle East, not to mention the innumerable reports of many nations’ internal wards. We see HD reports of “natural disasters” increasing: earthquakes and tsunamis in Indonesia, Haiti, Peru and Japan; hurricanes and tornadoes wreaking havoc. Paul put it this way, “… the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:22).
Jesus said all these things are only the “beginning of birth pangs,” which will lead to the advent of God’s consummation of all things. Yet, events like these have been going on for 2000 years, ever since Christ predicted them. How then are they warning signs when the return of Christ has obviously been so far off? What reasonable expectation can we have that Christ is returning soon?
Some will be skeptical, “… in the last days mockers will come with their mocking … saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:3-4). Yet, God’s judgment is a terrible thing, not something to be looked forward to. Jesus’ point was that being aware ahead of time is meant to be an encouragement during times of suffering. We don’t rejoice in the judgment itself, but we worship and praise our Lord who is Just and will make all things right. His coming judgment is inevitable! Let us follow Him more closely.
Lord, when difficult times come, help me not to be surprised, so as to be knocked off the path of following You, even through hardship.
0 Comments