“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many." (St. Matthew 24:10,11)
Before, diving into today's passage, let's examine a familiar passage recorded in chapter 5 of St. Matthew, where Jesus, on a mountain side where thousands gathered to hear His teaching, Jesus began His message with the immortal words of what have been called the Beatitudes. In verses 10-11, He declares a truth to which He is referring in today's passage.
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (St. Matthew 5;10,11)
The word translated Blessed are those is one word in Greek, μακαριοι, which is best translated as, to consider oneself fortunate or happy. Although it is counter intuitive with every concept of human ‘happiness’ in this present age, we are encouraged to rejoice and be glad when we are insulted, persecuted and falsely accused for the sake of righteous in His name. Why? Because we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven and our reward is great in our eternal home. One of the most important truths that Jesus revealed in His ministry was the absolute contrast between the kingdom of heaven and earth, the new age and the current age, the eternal kingdom and the temporal one. In short, this world is not our home. Beginning with the Beatitudes and continuing throughout His ministry, Jesus defines the eternal values of the kingdom of heaven as contrary to the temporal values of the kingdom of earth. It is critical to understand this distinction in order to comprehend the full magnitude of what He is describing as the future for His disciples as He continues to remind His children of their eternal home in the kingdom of heaven.
In our passage today, verse 10 begins with the word, then, which means that the following events will take place after the wars, famines and earthquakes that will continue throughout:
· They will deliver you to tribulation
· They will kill you
· They will hate you by all nations because of His name
· Many will fall away, betray and hate one another.
· Many false prophets will arise and mislead many
· Lawlessness will increase
· Most people’s love will grow cold
· The one who endures to the end will be saved
· The gospel will be preached in the whole world as a word of testimony to the unbelievers
· Then the end will come.
In this edition, we will examine the first 5 events predicted by Jesus. From the overall context of the passage, they can be identified as the nations (unredeemed peoples) and the you are believers . Although most of these predictions are occurring in variously places today, these 5 events predicted by Jesus will be worldwide, severe, and more difficult to endure.
WORLDWIDE ARRESTS
"Then they will deliver you to tribulation..."
Jesus describes a very dark picture for believers during this time which includes tribulation, death and hatred. The first event uses the word παραδωσουσιν, translated deliver which means to hand over, arrest or deliver up. This describes a process of being handed over to authorities. Jesus is predicting that during this time, Christians will be arrested and handed over to the authorities. The word translated “tribulation” comes from the word θλιψιν which means trouble, distress or suffering. Indeed, it will be a time of distress and suffering for believers through out the world.
In the 1980’s there was an organization called, “Underground Evangelism” which ministered to Christians who were persecuted in Communist countries. They came to our church and showed films of Christians who worshipped in secret to avoid being arrested and incarcerated. Pastors were arrested on a regular basis and never heard of again. Although what Jesus is describing occurs now in certain places of the world, He is predicting that, during this future time, it will be worldwide and many Christians will be arrested and suffer in prisons.
WORLDWIDE MURDER
"...and will kill you..."
In addition to suffering, Christians will be killed for their faith in Christ. The word translated kill is αποκτενουσιν which means, put to death or murder. Not only will Christians be incarcerated, they will be murdered because of their faith. Again, many Christians are murdered today for their faith, especially in Muslim and Communist countries, but Jesus describes an even larger pattern of killings then those occurring now which is astounding considering current the circumstances in Africa and the Middle East. In fact, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity has estimated that 90,000 Christians were killed from mid-2016 to mid-2017 for religious motives. “Today we observe a terrifying picture: the two-thousand-year Christian presence in the Middle East and Africa is rapidly disappearing.” Don’t expect this to get better, but rejoice because people can kill the body but they can’t kill the soul that is consecrated to and filled Jesus.
WORLDWIDE HATRED
"...and you will be hated by all nations because of My name."
All of this will be occurring within a context of worldwide hatred of Christians. The word translated hated is μισουμενοι which is a very strong word meaning to despise, hate or disregard. In stark terms, Jesus is predicting that all Christians will be despised by all nations which will result in arrests and murder throughout the world. Although this bigotry will become worldwide there is no doubt that widespread hatred of Christians exists in 2020 even in Europe where many Christian church buildings, artifacts and congregations are being attacked regularly. Websites like Intolerance Against Christians report acts of hatred towards Christians in places that used to be centers of faith in Europe. Indeed, it has already begun, and will get worse, but, in the end, we will be more than conquerors in Christ when He returns.
WORLDWIDE APOSTASY
"At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another"
Jesus describes 3 devastating events that will occur in His Church during this time.
Many will fall away.
The word translated fall away is the word σκανδαλισθησονται from which we get our word, scandal that is best translated to reject or deny the faith. Indeed, it will be scandalous times for the Church when many will give up their faith and reject Christ. Over the centuries, and in various places, Christians, when faced with death for their faith have recanted their faith in order to stay alive. In this time, it will become worldwide with drastic consequences for many believers who choose to remain faithful.
Many will betray one another
The word translated betray is the same word used in the previous verse to describe being handed over or delivered to the authorities.. Sadly, during these days, Christians who have deserted the faith will betray their former Christian brothers and hand them over for arrest. During the 1930's when the NAZI's were persecuting, arresting and murdering Jews it was sadly common for some to betray their Jewish neighbors and friends in exchange for their "freedom". Incredibly, some even became "kapos" or prisoner functionarys (German: Funktionshäftling) in Nazi concentration and death camps who were assigned by the SS guards to supervise forced labor or carry out horrific tasks that included leading their fellow Jews to the gas chambers and moving the corpses to and from the incinerators. When faced with death, Jesus is predicting that many believers will deny their faith and betray their brothers and sisters to stay alive.
Many will hate one another.
As incredible as it may seem, Jesus uses the same word, μισουμενοι, that He used to describe the nations' hatred of Christians to depict apostate Christians hating one another. Not only will believers be hated by the unbelieving world, they will also be hated by some who used to call them brother or sister. In reality, it is not a huge jump for a former Christian who has denied the Faith and betrayed their brothers and sisters to the authorities to maintain an attitude of hatred towards them as well. It is important at this point to note one of the themes of Revelation; The unbelievers refusal to repent and worship God throughout all the judgements that He brings on the earth before the glorious return of Christ, and at the same time blaming Him for all the suffering in the world. Significantly, these apostate believers will not only hate Christians but God Almighty to their ultimate demise.
WORLDWIDE DECEPTION
"Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many."
Once again, Jesus predicts that many false prophets will arise and will mislead many people. The word translated as false prophets is one word in Greek, ψευδοπροφηται, transliterated, pseudoprophetai,which literally means pseudo prophets. Most of us recognize that many pseudo prophets exist even now and some have many followers. As stated earlier, many people get led astray because they are ignorant of the truth and follow any charismatic leader who eloquently promises health, wealth and a better life on earth. The truth is that Jesus promises life in eternity teaching us that life on earth is difficult, at times unfair and very often unjust. He commands us to be light and bring hope by living a righteous life of love and mercy toward others. It is important to remember that false prophets, wars, famine and earthquakes will continue throughout the final phase of this age.
In the midst of this worldwide suffering, hatred, death, apostasy and deception, we are encouraged to rejoice because we have the hope of eternal life in heaven where there is no suffering, hatred, death or deception.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? (Romans 8:31)
Don’t Worry, Be Happy.
This was fabulous! I will share the blog with some friends and family.