Matthew 24:6-8 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. (KJV)
The world we live in today can be a pretty scary place. We look around at what the weather is doing and what is going on in politics, and the fact that we are as close to a nuclear conflict as ever we were during the cold war, and it is mind numbing. Even the things going on in culture are so anti-christ in nature that it has us looking up for Christ’s return. But what does all this really mean, especially for a believer in Christ? Will He be back any day or are we just hoping for the unrealistic? Trying to get a grasp on world events and what it all means is a very difficult task indeed. Just go to YouTube and you can find just about any explanation you want and then some. But what does it really mean? Is there real reason to fear or is it just a lot of hype put out there to control a population through fear of the unknown. Should we be looking up or looking around as christians? Let’s look at the short answer on this issue and what the Scriptures say about it.
When we look at the beginning of Matthew chapter 24 we see that there are signs given that point to Christ’s return. These signs you may say are natural and normal occurrences, however, Jesus was not talking about new things occurring but natural things occurring at unnatural levels. Like birth pains (contractions) in a pregnant woman which increase in volume and strength as the birth nears so shall these things be. The scripture says we can not know the day or the hour but I believe we should be able to discern the time in which we live. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Also Jesus criticized the Pharisees for lack of discernment, Matthew 16:2-3 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? Jesus also tells us in Matthew that it is more than nature where the signs are. Matthew 24:36-39 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. He tells us it shall be as the days of Noah. What were the days of Noah like? Genesis 6:11-13 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. I believe the flood is an old testament picture of the future judgement that will come. Our world will be like the world that existed pre-flood, and instead of a flood the judgement will be the return of Christ. One of the points that Jesus made in the verse is that life is going to be normal in the sense of our daily routines. In other words, people will not be looking for Christ, they will be going along with daily routines. Until the judgements begin most people will be unaware that anything is about to happen other than what they are accustomed to.
So how does all this apply to the follower of Christ? I believe we need to be ready but steady. What I mean by that is that we will see the beginnings of all this, but we will not see the true fruition of it. We must remember that these are signs of His 2nd coming, not signs that precede the rapture of the church. Jesus can come back at any time for His church and many of these things intensify after the church is removed. The Bible gives no indication what will come to pass before the rapture occurs. The rapture does begin the countdown to the end. What we need to do is look for His coming as it could be anytime, but live our lives in service to Him in case He tarries. As the world gets worse, and it will, we must not allow that to take us away from serving God. Studying and watching these things come to pass may be exhilarating or terrifying; however, we must be about the Father’s business. God has called us to reach the lost and that is what we must do, whether we have hours, years, or decades, we must carry on as we have in the Lord.
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