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9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” 10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. ~ Luke 21:9-11
It is now Wednesday evening during the Lord Jesus' last week on earth. He sits down with His disciples on the western slope of the Mount of Olives and He tells them that He will return in the future to establish His kingdom. At that time He tells His disciples about His Second Coming. He is responding to their question: "When will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"
According to v.9 of today's text, wars, disasters, distress, and persecution will increase at a noticeable rate. The Lord Jesus knew what was going to happen before it happened. It is not that He makes these things happen, He knows Satan and man will do these things. Remember, the Lord has made Satan "the god of this world." Satan and man are on a leash and God will allow them to do certain things. Sadly, their rejection of God and His rule in their lives will bring about the end of this world.
Now, the Lord Jesus is careful to say the end is not coming immediately. In Matthew 24:8, a parallel passage to today's text, we read, "All these are the beginning of birth pains.” Birth pains are an increasing sequence of contractions that finally become intense, fiercely intense and result in the big event, birth. The contractions, or the birth pains, start out light and they increase till they reach a point of excruciation before the big event. The Lord Jesus uses this common event on earth to describe the nature of the end.
The Lord Jesus warns in v.9, there will be "wars and uprisings." Wars and rumors of wars have always been around, however, during the first half of the tribulation, these events will multiply and intensify. Matthew 24:1-14 lists them in detail, and if we compare Revelation 6, we see the parallel.
In fact, Revelation 6-19, describes the tribulation period in detail and follows the outline of Matthew 24: (1) first half of the tribulation (Revelation 6-9), (2) middle of the tribulation (Revelation 10-14), and (3) last half of the tribulation (Revelation 15-19.)
Next, the Lord Jesus reminds us, "do not be frightened." This means believers in Christ have nothing to worry about as long as we walk with the Lord. You see, when we deliberately avail ourselves to the forces of darkness by doing those things that are in direct contradiction to God's word, we avail ourselves to the influences of the forces of darkness. We do not lose our salvation. How can we lose something we never earned in the first place? Of course, this doesn't guarantee that believers will not suffer, but Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 3:17, "For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." In addition, this is largely why the Lord gave us His teachings on the armor spoken of in Ephesians 6.
In v.10 we read, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." The whole of human history is the history of war. Nothing is more characteristic of humanity than war. The word "nation" is "ethnoi" in the Greek. It is the word from which we get our word "ethnic." This is different than nations like the USA and Russia. This is speaking of different ethnicities rising up against one another. We see a lot of this in our day today. And, the Lord Jesus says a sign of the end is the increase of this kind of ethnic trouble.
Then in v.11 we read, "There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven." Again, these are nothing new, it is just that these occurrences will increase with time. Pestilences are epidemics, like incurable diseases. These great signs in heaven are described in the book of the Revelation 6-16.
Finally, as I have mentioned before, the Rapture of the Church will happen before the Tribulation happens. I believe we are on the brink of the Rapture. It could happen today. For those who will not be a part of the Rapture, they will have opportunities to become believers during the Tribulation, but it will be most difficult to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ during that seven year period.
This is why I urge you to make sure you have entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, right now. Simply pray this prayer: "Lord Jesus, I confess I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite you to come into my heart and life right now. I want to trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior." If you prayed that prayer tell someone of your decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ, today. And, by the way, welcome to the family of God.
