Matthew 24:6-8
6 And you will 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. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
The beginning of sorrows (v.8). Has it only just begun, or has it been going on since Christ first spoke these words over 2000 years ago? According to world history, it appears this prophecy began to unfold soon after Christ spoke these words.
In all things being equal, does it really matter more than the fact this prophecy is coming to light? It may not have come to pass in fulfillment. But you cannot deny that what we have seen over the past two millennia, that we are surely headed towards the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophetic statement.
To note, we have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of wars and rumors of war, famines, pestilences (like COVID-19), and earthquakes in various places. These are signs Jesus told His disciples to be watchful for, but not be troubled by, because this world will go through periods of tribulation, and they must come to pass. But He caveats with the promise that the end is not yet.
So, the question begs, if the signs given are not the end, but point to the end, how close or we to the end? How long will this world have to suffer these tribulations before the end comes?
Well, the truth of the matter is… no one knows. The end, as Jesus describes, is not the rapture of the church, but rather His second coming. In verse 3 it states the question the disciples posed, “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?””
As we see time pass by the minute, we are closer to the end and the second coming of Christ. But that does not mean that all that is going on like the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the China dilemma, the apparent signs of the Ezekiel 38, 39 war coming to Israel, the destruction of Damascus (Isaiah 17), the instability of world economics, are necessarily the conclusion to the signs of the end times prophecy.
It’s quite plausible and probable that we could see the end and the coming of the Lord in our lifetime. But then again, God could tarry another 1000 years before the Lord returns to set up the Kingdom on earth.
How close are we to the end? You might want to think of it this way… with every tick of the clock we are closer to the end and the Lord’s imminent return. We ought not to view this as a doom and gloom prophecy, but we ought to rejoice and as Jesus said in Luke 21:28 “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
The closer to the end we come, the more it is imperative to get right with God. Therefore, it is critical to repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord to forgive you of your sins now. The bible says He will come like a thief in the night when you least expect.
To wait only puts your hope of any salvation at great risk. Waiting on something to happen when you don’t know when it will happen is like putting your hope in a rowboat with a hole in while you are out in the middle of the ocean without a life vest.
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