Beloved, I am glad to share with you today on the important coming of the Son of man: “ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.”. We read it in Mat 24.5. His disciples come to ask him the question when his return will arrive, and what will be the sign of his coming and the end of the world? Then the Lord gave the necessary instructions to the disciples during the difficult times that would elapse between his departure and his return in glory. And this time which elapses between the rejection of Christ and his return is characterized by trials of all kinds for the disciples of the rejected Messiah.
He goes on to say: You will hear of wars and rumors of wars: beware of being confused, because these things have to happen. But that will not be the end yet. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All this will only be the beginning of the pains. Then you will be delivered up to torment, and you will be put to death; and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. So also many will succumb, and they will betray one another, will hate one another. Many false prophets will arise, and they will deceive many people. And because iniquity will have increased, charity of the greater number will be cooled. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
Events of this kind, which are repeated so often nowadays, generally produce a certain fear, for men feel that we are on the way to a crisis. If they let themselves be taught by the Word, they would know it and would seek a way to find safety. This fear could be salutary, and it is for some, but the devil seeks to calm anxious spirits, by reassuring them after each catastrophe or cataclysm, by saying that very similar and even more considerable and more terrifying facts have occurred, have taken place in past centuries, that there is nothing extraordinary in what is happening, that nothing should be seen in it as quite natural. Remember the serpent’s lies to Eve. Then the impressed souls calm down, become indifferent, harden themselves and blindly go to meet their loss, “For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it(Job 33.14). Let’s be careful.
Despite all opposition from the devil, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the entire inhabited earth as a witness to all nations; and then the end will come. All nations that have not had the privilege of hearing about the gospel of grace, will be able to benefit from the gospel of the kingdom, that gospel which announces the coming of Jesus Christ as king from heaven.
Then the Lord, in his concern for his loved ones, gives them special teachings for those days. He shows them how they will know its beginning and tells them what to do: When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, of which it was spoken by Daniel the prophet, established in the holy place, then those who are in Judea flee into the mountains; let him that is on the roof not come down to take what is in his house; and let him that is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. Woe to the women who will be pregnant and to those who breastfeed in those days! Pray that your escape does not happen in winter, nor on a Sabbath day. For then the distress will be so great that it has not been like it from the beginning of the world until now, and never will be. And if those days were not shortened, no one would be saved; but, for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. If anyone then says to you: Christ is here, or: He is there, do not believe it.
The persecuting rage of the Antichrist will suddenly worsen when the idol is established in the temple, that those on the roofs will have to flee, without going down into the house. For whoever is in the field and takes off his garment to work will not even have time to run and look for it. The Lord thinks of anything that might be an obstacle to flight. He says to pray that it does not take place in winter, so that the fleeing will not be stopped by the bad weather of the season, nor on a Sabbath day, because these pious Jews would not want to go beyond the path permitted by law. that day, and would thus be killed.
So, this characterizes the time of the testimony of the disciples: false Christs, false prophets among the Jews, the persecution of those who bear witness and who are delivered to the Gentiles. There will be wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes. The disciples should not be troubled because the end has not yet come. These things will only be the beginning of pain. There were other events that will test the disciples even more. For they disciples will be delivered up to be afflicted, killed, hated by all nations. The consequence will be that among those who profess to be disciples, many will be scandalized and will surrender one another. This is why all these things give rise to the exercise by every person of a proven faith, that whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.
The following verses are compiled for your edification and to facilitate your understanding.
- Prophecy about the antichrists
-False Christ: Mt 24.5,24 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect; Mark 13.22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
-Divine encouragement: Ex 14.13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again; Mt 17.7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” Ac 27.22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.
-Christ is the theme of the preaching: Acts 8.5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there; Ac 8.35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 2 Co 4.5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
-The promised salvation: Ps 91.16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Isa 45.17 But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting; Mark 16.16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
-The need for stability:
# to endure difficulties: Mt 10.22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth; Heb 12.7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father.
James 1.12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him;
# to persevere until the end: Jn 15.9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love; 1 P 1.13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
-Prophecies concerning the Gospel: Isa 2.3 Many people will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem; Isa 29.18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Mt 24.14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
-War: Ps 27.3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident; Mt 24.6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come; Rev 6.4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
- Conditions in the last days: Isa 19.2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
-The prophesied famine: Gn 41.27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. Mt 24: 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
-War announced as a judgment of God: Is 1.20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken; Jer 5.17 They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust. Ez 32.11 For thus saith the Lord GOD: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.
-A pestilence foretold in the form of a menace: Deut 28.21 The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess; Jer 27.13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the LORD has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? Ez 6.11 “ ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the people of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague;
-Earthquake: Ex 19.18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently; Mt 27.51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split; Rev 11:19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
-Distress is part of the human experience: Deut 4.30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him; Mt 24.21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again; Jn 16.33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”; Acts 14:22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said;
-Sadness: Pr 14.13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief; Isa 53.3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem; Jn 16.6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
-Hatred towards Christians: Isa 66.5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: “Your own people who hate you, and exclude you because of my name, have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy!’ Yet they will be put to shame. Luke 6.22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man; Jn 15.19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you;
-Suffering for Christ: Acts 5:41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name; Rom 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory; Heb 11:25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
-Betrayal of men given over to their enemies: Ps 41.9 Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me; Mt 10.21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death; Luke 22:22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!”
From all of the above, we note that the time of the disciples’ testimony is characterized by false Christs, false prophets among the Jews, the persecution of those who bear witness and who are delivered to the wicked. There will be wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes and the disciples should not be troubled because the end will not yet have come. These things will only be the beginning of sorrows, for there will be other events that will test the disciples even more. This is why all these things will give rise to the exercise by every person of a proven faith, whoever perseveres to the end will be saved. Our prayers support you all as you walk in perseverance and faith in Christ Jesus our Savior.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me as follows:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my Lord and personal Savior. I acknowledge that you died on the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me each day to eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal to me and strengthen my heart and my faith so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me in your divine family so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power, and glory, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be glad to respond to your queries and comments if necessary, before sharing with you next week on the parable of the ten virgins: “Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered: Truly I tell you, I do not know you ”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you profusely.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.