The Beginning of Sorrows

“And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?”  Matthew 24:3

We certainly live in interesting times, not the best of times, but certainly not the worst.  Both are still to come.  The disciples had a question in response to Jesus’ statement that the temple would be destroyed.  (We know from the Old Testament that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had his army destroy the original temple around 587 B.C., and it was rebuilt beginning in 536 B.C.  That one was destroyed in 70 A.D., about 40 years after Jesus’ resurrection, by the Romans and has not been rebuilt yet.)  Since Jesus pointed out that the temple would be demolished, that made them curious about the sign of His return and the end of the world.

I have read this chapter many times, but missed this before: why would the disciples ask Jesus about His return if they didn’t believe, as He had told them at least three times (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; and 20:18-19), that He would be killed, but rise again?  In Matthew 16:22, Peter had rebuked Jesus for saying such a thing, and in Acts 1:6, just before Jesus ascended to heaven, they wanted to know if He was about to restore the kingdom to Israel, implying His conquering of the Romans.  Jesus also told them in John 14:2-3 that He was going away to prepare them a place for them, and that He would come again and get them, but I think that went right over their heads at the time.  It could be that since Matthew wrote the book of Matthew 10-15 years after Jesus’ resurrection, he wrote it after knowing the truth about Jesus’ mission.  Those years gave Matthew and the other disciples time to gain knowledge from the Holy Spirit.

Jesus began to answer the disciples’ enquiry by listing signs that would appear in what He called the beginning of sorrows.  He said there would be those who would claim to be Christ.  There have been a few who have claimed to be a god.  Sun Yung Moon comes to mind.  There have been cult leaders who have presumed to be a god and have led people away from the truth and some to their death.  The antichrist will set himself up as god, but I don’t think he has come on the scene yet.  There is a radio personality who calls himself Charlemagne tha god which seems awfully arrogant.  Some of our politicians act like they believe they are gods.  People do not fear God anymore.

Wars, rumors of wars, nations rising against other nations, famines, diseases, and earthquakes are also signs that Jesus listed, but these things have been occurring for 1,000’s of years.  However, we have experienced over the last two years a pandemic like no other which has caused many deaths and widespread interruptions in the daily lives of folks.  We are being told to expect food shortages, and those with babies are having a difficult time finding formula.  There was a video online in which a man, whose father has been in agriculture for 40 years, said that the government is forcing farmers to destroy crops under the threat of financial penalty.  For those who are farming, there is a fertilizer shortage.  Food manufacturing facilities are being destroyed or damaged across the nation at an alarming rate.  Inflation is out of control in all areas of commerce.  What happens when the truckers can’t afford the gas to deliver food to the grocery stores?   Since the U.S. is a major supplier of the world’s food needs, it wouldn’t take much to bring on a worldwide famine.

Jesus continued to list signs of the end times.  He said that those who are His followers would be persecuted and killed.  We haven’t seen this on a grand scale yet, but we all remember when ISIS beheaded Christians overseas.  In our nation, there are people who would outlaw Christianity if they could.  They have already taken God out of the schools, the courthouses, and the government, and mayhem has filled that void.  Jesus said there would be offenses, betrayals, and hatred.  I think that if a Rip Van Winkle type woke up after 20 or 30 years, he wouldn’t recognize America.  Many false prophets will appear and deceive those who are not sold out to Christ.  Recently I wrote about a poll that was taken that indicated that only about one third of pastors have a Biblical worldview while the remainder of pastors mix false doctrine in with scripture deceiving many from the truth of God’s word.  Jesus also said that people would grow cold in their love for Him and for others.

So, what’s the verdict?  Are we living in the beginning of sorrows?  If so, how long will this time preceding the tribulation continue?  Weeks?  Months?  Years?  No one except God knows.  His plan was set in motion from the time of creation.  There is nothing that we can do to alleviate these sorrows that are part of His plan.  However, we can be prepared by trusting the Lord to see us through whatever trials we face until He comes to gather us home.  The world may be oblivious to God’s plan for the future, but we know that He is up to something.  Jesus said in Luke 21:28, “And when these things BEGIN to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”