We continue our daily meditations on what Jesus taught concerning the signs leading up to the Second Coming of Christ, found in Luke, chapter twenty-one. The first sign Jesus spoke about is a period of great deception, a time that this writer believes we are in. Secondly, Jesus warned us of those who will come claiming they are the Messiah or Christ. We must not be deceived about this person arriving on the world scene, for he will offer many worldly benefits if we follow him into hell. Jesus told us that this is just an early sign along with wars and tumults:
9And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” 10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (Luke 21:9-10).
Deception, false leaders, wars, and revolutions are early warning signs. Jesus warned us that nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom (v. 10). The statistics for those who died in the First World War is 31,508,200. For the Second World War, those who died amounted to 52,199,262.[1] Over eighty-three million people died from just those two world wars in the Twentieth Century; that's without the many other wars fought by various nations against one another. In our lifetime, leaders of countries have more efficient ways of reducing the population of a billion people every nine years (Now at 8 billion).
Revelation 6:5-8 says many will die at the opening of the third seal due to famines and plagues. This writer believes we are not yet at the first seal, let alone the third. Luke 21:11 refers to famines and pestilences that are manipulated to cause many to fear and be easily controlled. Along with that time, there will be fearful events and great signs from heaven. We don't know if the virus that’s run rampant in 2020 is the pestilence mentioned by Luke, but it could be a sign from God to wake us up to the reality that this world is not all there is and that we are to prepare ourselves for the coming of King Jesus. Pestilence comes from the Greek word "loymos," which means plague, a fatal epidemic disease. This writer believes that the events of 2020-21 are allowed by God to shake us, get our attention, and focus our hearts on what is above rather than earthly things.
Matthew adds more words about the signs that should wake us out of spiritual slumber. He wrote of Jesus saying that the signs of the times mentioned are the beginning of birth contractions:
7“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:7-8, Emphasis mine).
What do you think the Lord refers to by using the analogy of a woman in birth pains? (v. 8). When a pregnant woman begins birthing, the pain is not severe, and the birth contractions are several minutes apart. The closer she gets to the child's birth, the more frequent the contractions are, with the pain level much more significant. In using this analogy, Jesus was saying that the closer the world gets to the end of the age, the more frequent and traumatic the wars, revolutions, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes will be. As a woman's contractions get more painful, so will the level of pain, anguish, sickness, and death. Matthew also records Jesus saying:
If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened (Matthew 24:22).
It will be cut short by the appearance of our Lord Jesus. He will come for the elect, those who belong to Him. What does all this mean for you and me? It is time to make sure that we have a relationship with Christ so that when He comes, we will have hearts attuned to His. We are living in incredible days, and believers in Christ need not be afraid. We should look forward to the time when the Lord returns. Confidence and peace belong to all believers in Christ, and they understand that Jesus alone holds all world events and our lives in His hands. Considering this, don't hold tightly to the values or things of this world. God is in control, and we must remind ourselves of this. Keith Thomas
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A more detailed study of these prophecies is found by going to the All Studies box on the Home Page, clicking on the series, The End Times, and then clicking on Study 4, Signs of Christ’s Coming. Also, there are 23 studies in the Book of Revelation. All studies are free to access.
[1]Statistics are taken from the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2854730
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