Beyond the Signs of the Times: The End Is Not Yet

Scriptural Reading

The NET Bible (Chapter 24)

24:4 Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you. 24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many. 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come. 24:7 For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 24:8 All these things are the beginning of birth pains.

The NET Bible (Chapter 24)

24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name. 24:10 Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 24:11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive many, 24:12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. 24:13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Introduction

In the year of 1967, a prolific preacher from Atlanta addressed a congregation of 3,000 in the midst of a war in Vietnam that was producing chaos within global community because of the unjust nature of war during his day. Before Dr. King made his address, he was deeply contemplative and agonized after viewing images of the inhumanity of war. Rightly and Prophetically, King condemn the government in whom he loved that he stand up for truth, peace, and justice in a fever pitch of political, religious, and social issues of his day.

Can I be transparent with you, Greene Bethel? I, too, sense that we are at a fever pitch in history.... for as I viewed videos and images:

Israeli civilians being targeted in act of terror.

Palestinian children, families, community especially Christian communities becoming “casualties” of this war breeding genocide.

Unceasing war in Ukraine.

Families in Sudan and Congo being killed and displaced from their homes.

Mass shootings ravaging our communities here at home.

A fever pitch in which the community of God must stand up against the evils of our day with a prophetic hope of the coming age of Christ Jesus. For this coming age of Christ is already as we walk with Christ but not yet for we see yearn the time when all things will be made new and the day of peace, righteousness, and deliverance will come.

As Minister Starr proclaimed we are called to be buttress of truth as the body of Christ. In missiology class, my professor, Dr. Casino, taught us that: Our presence as a body of Christ is to be apostolic, prophetic, priestly, pastoral, and incarnational.

Let us be encouraged that this fever pitch of societal, religious, and political times are not anything new. For during the times of Jesus, in the Gospel narrative of Matthew, before the trial of betrayal, the passion of crucifixion, and the revealing hope of resurrection, we encounter Jesus’ final discourse in Matthew. Can I teach the text?

Teach the Text

A discourse is major section of teaching of Jesus to his disciples. In the midst of fever pitch of Jesus’ day, he taught his disciples to be alert of present passing age as the hope of coming age of Christ draws near.

(In Context) After Jesus and his disciples leave the temple, the disciples remark on the beauty of the temple which was a result of the beautification project of Herod the Great. Yet Jesus was not enamored by the beautiful building structure and prophesied its destruction.

Like the disciples, how many of us have been enamored by the external things of life yet fail to see the corruption that is happening from within.

Jesus pronounces judgment on the temple for within the temple were the religious (Pharisees), social (Sadducees), and political (Herodians) leaders that privately rejected Him and will conspire to kill Him but only publicly challenged Him.

On the Mount of Olives, the disciples asked Jesus a couple of questions privately:

How many of us know that it is alright to ask Jesus questions?

How many of us have been wrestling with thoughts, with our own perspectives of reality when considering what God has to say about the matters of life?

Let me give us a history point real quick:

The Siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple happened in 70 AD.

The Gospel of Matthew was either written in the late 50s, early 60s, or even later like 80s or 90s.

24:4 Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you. 24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many.

Jesus warns the disciples to be watchful for there will come a time when people will claim to be the Messiah (The Anointed One)

There is a great danger, my brothers and sisters, when too eager jump to conclusions especially perilous times.

Before the destruction of the temple and siege of Jerusalem, there Jewish nationalist rebels who claimed themselves to be leaders of God’s people, seizing the name of Messiah that rightful is Jesus’s name.

In KB’s beginning verse of New Portrait:

Christ to the culture

Christ to the vultures

Committed genocide with a cross and oldster

Christ of America

Christ of the system

That is not my Savior that’s a politician

Christ that the Lord knows

Christ that was foretold

Christ that’s sure to come back in His war clothes

Which Christ do you believe?

You gotta know before you leave.

24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come. 24:7 For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

War is a characteristic of a fallen, broken world. Biblically, wars are sometimes justified and sometimes not. Wars are sometimes commanded by God and sometimes are forbidden by God. Wars are sometimes used as a divine judgment.

Yet as we know, war is horrific and caused by sin.

Chris Blattman gives five reasons to war: unaccountability, obsessions of ideologies, biases led by overconfident and undervalued consequences, uncertainties, and unreliability.

While unreliability of human nature is evident, notice that there is totality reliability in God.

Rumors are insubstantial information, frequently not factual and leads to groundless fears.

Illustration: President Biden’s misinformed statement of seeing beheaded children by Hamas.

“During times of war, hatred becomes quite respectable, even thought it has to masquerade often under the guise of patriotism.”- Howard Thurman

As the present age of sin passes away, we wrestle with words of Jesus that these troubles are necessary.

“Without the crucifixion, there is no resurrection. Sometimes the pain and dark place is necessary.”- Min. Edward Young

“How much longer must we play at deadly war games before we heed the plaintive please of the unnumbered dead and maimed of past wars?- MLK

The often result of war is famine, living in a short supply of the necessity to live. Physical and natural chaos will occur. Yet, be encouraged that there is divine endurance in the midst of struggle.

24:8 All these things are the beginning of birth pains.

Birth pains are referred to as the external conflicts that precede the coming hope of the age of Christ. Jesus claims that these events are normal in the present age that is passing away.

24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name. 24:10 Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 24:11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive many, 24:12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold.

Jesus’ Jewish Christian audience would have understood that as present age is coming to an end, there would be persecutions, murder, and apostasy from external and internal community. In the global world, our Christian brothers and sisters under immense persecution:

The Holy Scriptures being redacted in China.

Palestinian Christian journalist being shot and killed by an Israeli soldier.

The rise of Christian nationalism in the US.

Love of God and neighbor from the Body of Christ will be like a “spiritual energy blighted or chilled by a malign or poisonous wind.”

24:13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Yet, there is hope that in the midst of persecution, betrayal, false teachings, and external chaos in the world that deliverance is near.

illustration: Palestinian Christian fighting to stay on the family land against Israeli occupation:

“We must refuse to hate but we must accept the bad actions that people doing against us. We must keep knocking at the door of justice.”

“Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works. He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.”

Conclusion

It is with this faith that as the Body of Christ, we must continue to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to all nations.

For it is not the Pax Romana or Pax Americana that able to convict us, cleanse us, deliver us, and sustain us in this world, it is the Eirene of God, Shalom of God through the Grace of God by faith in Christ Jesus that makes us whole.

For it is not God’s will that war shall continue on but there will come a day when the nations will cease from warfare.

There will come a day when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream for the Lord says, “Vengeance is mine.”

There will come a day when sufferings of this world soon pass away. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”