7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”
8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”
10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 By your patience possess your souls. Luke 21: 7-19
Luke 21: Signs of the Times
V 7-9 Do not be terrified - Picking up here where we left off in the prior post, that this age, the rest of the time of the gentiles, the time between Christ telling them this till the time when He returns, will be marked by imposters (false Christs, gurus, cult leaders). He says, "don't go after them." So anyone who claims to be the Messiah or a type of Messiah, a Spiritual expert, anyone that wants you to follow them rather than point you towards Jesus, call them out, warn others, but don't follow them. When you hear of wars and commotions, do you freak out? No, because the real Jesus said, "do not be terrified", for these things must come to pass. In other words, the age between Him speaking and returning will be marked by wars, rumors of wars and false prophets. There will be disasters, but the believer belongs to God eternally, so don't be afraid of what eternity will erase, trust what Jesus said not what false prophets wish to be true, not your hopes and feelings, bring those into submission to Christ's actual word. Is His word reliable? Well, has the age since He said this looked the way He said? How many false Christ's, Jim Jones, Mohammad, Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Fidel Castro and Haile Selassie types have we had? How many "look at me, follow me," Yoga instructors, self professed enlightened ones, "truth seekers and Scientists" have we had tell us they no the way, the Bible is wrong, but they have it figured out? I would say Christ described this age perfectly.
V. 10 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom - In verse 9 we leave off with the end not coming immediately. All these things are going to happen, the temple destroyed in 70 A.D., then nations will rise against each other, Rome would continue to clash with those it wanted to bring under it's rule, and wars have broken out all over the world throughout history, but again, we are not to be alarmed. We are not to look at everything as a sign, not to run out to the desert because we hear there is a Messiah there, but instead we stay grounded in God's word and the knowledge that when Christ does return it will be unmistakable.
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Unknown
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Matthew 24: 30-44
V. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places - Historically this has been the case, and before this the image of birth pains was used showing that this will increase as it gets closer to the end of the age, but again, for the grounded believer, no worries. There will also be famines an pestilence, and this has happened throughout this age, but again, it will be worse towards the end. History tells us about Bubonic plague which killed an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Europe and N. Africa back in the 1300s. Malaria and other mosquito born illnesses have taken millions, and there have been scares from various pox outbreaks, Ebola, Wuhan, etc. When people migrated from Europe to the Americas, they brought small pox and other diseases that they had grown herd immunity to, but the indigenous people had not and again this wiped out millions.
i. In some sense, there were wars preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, because the Romans were frequently at war with the Jews, the Samaritans, the Syrians, and others during this period. In the broader Roman Empire there were notable earthquakes before Jerusalem was destroyed. There were famines, such as the one mentioned in Acts 11:28. In the greater Roman Empire there were fearful sights such as the destruction of Pompeii, only seven years before Jerusalem was destroyed. There were signs in the heavens, such as a comet that looked like a sword in the sky over Jerusalem before its destruction.
b. For these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately: Yet Jesus specifically said that none of these things are the specific signs of His immediate coming. Matthew 24:8 described these things as the beginning of sorrows, more literally the beginning of labor pains. Just as is true with labor pains, we should expect that the things mentioned – wars, famines, earthquakes, and so on – would become more frequent and more intense before the return of Jesus – without any one of them being the specific sign of the end.
i. These things must come to pass first: “These things must happen because they are part of the prophetic programme of the End-time in general, and so are divinely decreed; but they do not usher in the immediate end. The fall of Jerusalem and the events leading up to it were morally, though not chronologically, of an eschatological character.” (Geldenhuys) - E Word
V. 12 They will lay their hands on you and persecute you - He warns them, and in so doing warns us, that telling the truth is not going to win everyone. Not everyone is going to embrace you as a friend when you tell the Biblical gospel. This corresponds with what the Apostles experienced leading up to the events of 70 A.D. They were beheaded, hung upside down on a cross, beaten and imprisoned. The same treatment is described preceding Christ's second coming as well, and this has been the case in various places, in various times throughout the age. Read Fox's Book of Martyrs, many Christians have died as sport in the arenas of Rome, in prisons in China for refusing to deny Christ at the command of the Communist party, at the hands of Islam for converting, and even at the hands of people who called themselves Christian but were actually Roman Catholic, an apostate group that sees Mary as someone to pray to, and honors popes as though they are Christ here on earth. So many wars, many false Christs, many natural disasters and persecution. As the time of Christ's second coming approaches it becomes more world wide and the most severe. During the time of Jacob's trouble, the Great Tribulation, both the Jews and those who come to Christ under the preaching of the two witnesses and those spreading the gospel, will become enemies of the global religion and the Antichrist. He will set up the abomination of desolation, like Antiochus Epiphanes did when he tried to Hellenize Jerusalem during the Intertestamental Period, the time after the last OT prophet spoke till the rise of John the Baptist, about 400 years. Antiochus is an early type of antichrist, and Jesus references back to Daniel's writings which see well beyond that period to another antichrist who becomes renown during Daniel's 70th week. Antiochus can be studied as a prototype, a talker, a picture of what is to come and there would be and will be many more up until the end. The lesson, don't put your hope in fallen humanity, look to the only way certified and provided by God, His Son, Jesus Christ. Even the Jews during the beginning of the tribulation will like the antichrist until he gives the sign that the end is close, and that is when he sets up the abomination of desolation.
14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. 15So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.… Matthew 24: 14-16
V. 13 It will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony - When they send you to the principal's office don't let fear take hold of you, don't fall into the grips of anxiety. Listen, God saw you there before it happened and nothing occurs in this world outside of His sovereignty. Whether king, president, mobster, warlord, whatever, it doesn't matter. Instead of being overcome by the presence of such evil, instead of being overwhelmed by the injustice of the moment, remember, all things work together for good, to them that love God and to those that are called according to His purpose. If you are standing accused before a court of worldly men then give testimony. Don't plan out how it's going to go, just study your Bible and pray everyday, and when the time comes God will bring to remembrance what is needed for that moment. Have pity for your accusers, for those who wrong you, it is a bleak outlook for them, one bearing the most horrific, eternal implications. You think of the testimony that Stephen gave right before he was stoned and then right before he died.
14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.” 15But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ.… 1 Peter 3: 14-16
…43You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.… Matthew 5: 43-45
…59While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7: 59-60
V. 18 But not a hair of your head will be lost - He makes it clear before that some of them will die, but this shows there is more to come, more than just this life, and there you will be in your perfection, so hold on.
…51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.…
…54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55“Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15: 51-55
By your patience possess your souls: The word for patience here is the great Greek word hupomone. It speaks of a strong endurance, not a passive waiting. We endure, trusting the promise of Jesus that ultimately, in eternal perspective, not a hair of your head shall be lost. - E Word
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.