Have you noticed that whenever a threat of war arises in the Middle East, many Christians begin to talk of The End Time and prepare for the Second Coming of Christ? Jesus did warn that wars would be inevitable, but He also said that they would not indicate The End. In fact, the wars that Jesus warned about would be “the beginning” – not The End (Matthew 24:8).
“The beginning of sorrows” is how Old Testament scriptures describe birth-pangs: labour pains that precede the birth of a baby. The question that naturally arises is What “baby” was about to be “born” when nation would rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes would occur in many different places?
The destruction of Jerusalem could better be described as a death than a “birth” — more a “death”, since nine hundred thousand Jews were killed and more than one hundred thousand were taken away into lifetime slavery.
A New Age would then become apparent, one which had begun forty years earlier, when Christ ascended into Heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit was poured on the Day of Pentecost.
After the Roman “eagles” had sacked Jerusalem, a spiritual Holy City, The New Jerusalem, would take its place. Those in Jerusalem would suffer terribly at the hands of the Romans, but during the siege itself, many Jews wanting to surrender would be murdered by Jewish fanatics inside the city. All this would be but “the beginning of sorrows”.
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.” (Matthew 24:9) The disciples of Jesus would first be persecuted by their fellow countrymen, and thereafter by the Romans after the fall of Jerusalem. A decade or so later they would become known as “Christians”.
“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” (Matthew 24:10) Many believers would buckle under pressure and betray their fellow Christians. Love would turn to hate in the face of torture or death. The present world would be seen by some as preferable to martyrdom, and acceptance by the authorities as preferable to stoning, crucifixion, or beheading.
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11) Lies, anxieties, conflicts, shortages, upheavals, offences, betrayals: ideal conditions for false hopes to arise among Christians. And, as in the past, false prophets would prey on the weak and the fearful (Jeremiah 29:8).
“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24: 12) Iniquity is lawlessness. Where there is no law, there can be no love, only lust. Lawlessness would weaken the love of many Christians, to the point where their moral fibre would be destroyed. They would be caught up in the zeitgeist, the spirit of the age, instead of the Spirit of God.
“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13) In reply to the disciples’ enquiry as to “the end of the age”, Jesus had started with “the beginning of sorrows” and had listed them in detail.
The word “endure” comes from a NT Greek word which means “to patiently persist”. It does not mean to grit your teeth and exhibit a stoical expression! Nor does it mean to keep your anger below boiling point.
Luke puts it this way: “In your patience you shall possess your souls.” (KJV) This can also be rendered: “Patient endurance will enable you to master yourselves.”
Jesus was telling His disciples that the way out is through! Not under, not around, not over — and clearly not out of because they had a job to do and had to be around to do it!
Will the church go through the Tribulation? My answer is, “Yes, it did!” But most believers in Jerusalem escaped its intensity by fleeing from the city and east over the Jordan River, as instructed by the Lord, who had earlier told them, “In this world you will have tribulation”.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14)
Many Christians today, especially those in Western nations, think of a “witness” as a word in the ear of a fellow worker or classmate, and that is so. But the disciples would be witnesses for the prosecution, in that their countrymen had crucified the promised Messiah.
Stephen’s witness was accusative, and it reminds us of our Lord’s long polemic to the Jews, recorded in Matthew, chapter 23. Those who heard Stephen’s bold accusation gnashed their teeth! (Acts 7:51-53)
The Apostle Peter’s witness to the assembled Jews on the Day of Pentecost was equally spirited. At the instigation of their leaders the “wicked hands” of Roman soldiers had seized Christ, flogged him, and then crucified Him (Acts 2:23).
Those hearing Peter were “cut to the heart” — deeply convicted of the sin they had committed. He called on his countrymen to save themselves from their wicked generation. Years later, he referred to those who had done so as “a chosen generation” (1 Peter 2:9).
So, the gospel of the kingdom was preached in all the [then known] world for a witness, and then the end [of the Jewish era] came. But not the end of the world as we know it. That End, the end of the Church era, is now upon us!
Never in my almost 85 year lifetime have I seen such human disruption or so many geologic upheavals as those which now appear daily in the media. No one knows what terrors lie ahead. I would not miss the Second Coming of Jesus for the world!