The beginning of Sorrows. Jesus said it gets worse
The beginning of sorrows is just the start of the scary end-time scenario which Jesus unveiled in his Olivet Discourse.
In the last article on this subject, (here) I limited the topic to one verse, Matthew 24:4. In that verse, Jesus warned his disciples against being deceived. With this next article, I’ll pick it up at that same verse but cover several more, ensuring we keep the context in mind.
Besides keeping the context in mind, I also want to continue stressing some points about interpretation. Many books, thesis statements, and sermons have been preached on the subject of this chapter in Matthew. Many of them are based on a false understanding that the primary focus of the Lord’s prophetic word was intended to refer to the eventual fall of Jerusalem to Rome in A.D. 70. The life and death of Jesus, his resurrection, the birth of the Church, and the dissolving of the Israeli nation conclude most of Bible prophecy. At least that is what many teach.
A false storyline
That is a false understanding of God’s prophetic storyline. Most who teach that fall into the prophetic category known as ‘preterism.’ Those who adhere to that doctrine suggest that much, if not all, of prophecy, was concluded during the first century. It is taught that Israel was judged for their sins against Jesus and His Heavenly Father. This doctrine also teaches that the Jews have fallen away and the Old Testament promises first given to the Jewish people have been transferred to the Church. All of the blessings promised to Abraham are seen as fulfilled in God’s blessings to the Church.
This indirectly claims that God was unable to fulfill his promise to Israel because of their sins. He gave up on them and will now try to fulfill his promises by way of the Church. If one were to compare the sins of Israel with those of the Church little time would be needed to come to an obvious conclusion. The sins of the Church and Israel are great. The human frailty of both institutions leaves both of them incapable of serving as worthy instruments or examples of God’s grace. They are both unworthy of God’s mercy. If God gave up on Israel because they sinned, then He should, in turn, give up on the Church because her sins are also great.
God’s grace
That is not how the grace of God works. He will fulfill his promise to Israel and the Church. The Lord’s remarkable plan involves the use of failed nations, people, institutions, and individuals. It’s God who is truly good, all others are failed sinners.
Only God can accomplish the work the prophets foretold. And He will do so in His timing. In the future Israel will return to good standing with the Lord and the Church will be purged of its own massive pile of sins.
Individuals can have their sins purged sooner. 🙂 See here
Matthew 24:4 The great lie
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.”
The Lord gave his small audience of friends an important warning. Don’t be fooled by deceptive teaching. This has been and still is prevalent today. The Apostle Paul warned believers in all his writings to beware of false teachers and bad doctrine. Some in the Church of Thessalonica were told the end of the age was already upon them and many had missed the chance to inherit eternal life.
It was a lie.
Paul also warned that the Antichrist would bring about a final bold lie that would deceive most of the world. Some of these same lies are buried in the well-intentioned sermons by the preterist teachers. They insist that many of these things have already taken place. The Jewish people have no hope of redemption and the final Millennial rest that the prophets foretold is just a fantasy. That’s a deceptive lie.
Matthew 24:5 The beginning of sorrows includes false Christs
“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many.”
In this verse, I will avoid the temptation to run through a long list of people who have claimed to be the Messiah or Jesus. There are far too many to list and the numbers grow every year. The Apostle John wrote about these and gave them all one name–Antichrist. There have been many since the days of Jesus. There will be a final antichrist in the concluding years before Jesus returns.
Many Antichrists or just one?
I published a short book on the subject of the Antichrist. It’s unlike most of the works done by a lot of authors. And to be fair I can’t take any credit for the important work in the book. That credit goes to the Lord and His Word. In the work, I pulled from the writings of an early Church Father. His name was Hippolytus.
He wrote extensively on many subjects, his most important work being on the subject of false teachers. He also wrote very insightfully on the subject of the Antichrist. I took two important facts from his writing. He believed there were many Antichrists leading to one final lawless one in the last days. He also poured over the scriptures to find proof for what he believed. That is missing among today’s prophecy novices. Most just look at the news and find a verse to support their latest claim about who they think is the Antichrist. See for yourself and come to your own conclusions.
Matthew 24:6 war
“And you shall 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.”
An unseen war was on the horizon for the Jewish people. They were living in relative peace at the time Jesus spoke these words. They were in subjection to the rule of Rome but they weren’t in open war. That would change when zealous Jews rebelled against the state. Eventually, Rome was forced to crack down on the rebellion. That led to the fulfillment of many prophecies found in the Old Testament. That continued rebellion of the Jews would lead to their expulsion from the land. The 70 years of captivity in Babylon was a small sample size of what the Lord had in mind. But it was all prophesied. Find some examples here and here.
The end is not yet.
Jesus gave an important lesson to every Bible student. He said, “The end is not yet.” The prophecies didn’t end around A.D. 70, and it isn’t over now. Recent history has seen horrible wars on a worldwide scale. Never in the history of civilization had anything of that scale taken place. Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, and Rome never brought the armies of the world into conflict like Germany did in the 1900s. And they did it twice.
More horrific wars lie ahead. Just ask Syrian citizens if they’ve seen enough of war.
Matthew 24:7 Famine and earthquakes
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”
Wars will combine with larger wars and lead to great famines and disease. Unrelated but even scarier are the earthquakes. It’s one thing when a lethal military force sets upon a city. But It’s quite another when the ground underneath the city trembles and shakes, leveling the entire city in a few minutes. Sometimes large cracks or crevices open in the ground. That can lead to dormant volcanoes coming to life, exploding, and sending fiery rock, gases, and molten lava spewing forth. The Mount Saint Helens volcano gave the world an awesome reminder of what can happen. Currently, other volcanoes are stirring back to life.
Matthew 24:8 This is the beginning of sorrows
“All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
This is possibly the scariest part of Jesus’ prophecy. This is just the beginning of sorrows. The world wars were a warm-up. The tens of millions of lives lost to the Communist revolutions were just a sample of the death and torture to follow. The beginning of sorrows– Really? The American Civil War was brutal and the worse loss of life for the nation. A future world war will surpass anything in the past. The center of the powder keg is the Middle East. The Book of Revelation makes stunning claims about death totals. A short time of peace is on the horizon, but after that, a mind-numbing series of wars will follow in which the hearts of mankind will fail because of what is coming upon the world.
That’s the bad news so enjoy the calm while we have it.
When it begins again, it could lead to the final race toward an amazing climax and the return of Christ.
Let me know what you think.