THE BEGINNING OF THE END

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple. Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?

Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pangs.’ (Mark 13: 3-8).

What a golden opportunity for Jesus to give His disciples a timetable of the end times – but He didn’t. He could have, had He wanted them, and us, to have a countdown of events to the end of time. His response to His disciples is puzzling if we do not understand what He was telling them and why. He answered and yet He did not answer His disciples’ question. He told them what would happen, but He did not tell them when it would happen. Why?

Had He given them a timeline, it would have given them, and those who followed them an excuse to live carelessly and only come into line as the events took place that heralded His return. Jesus was wise. Instead, He gave them principles and warnings because His people had an assignment – to follow Him and to be replicas of Him and citizens of the kingdom of heaven in the midst of the darkness of a fallen world.

Deception is a formidable enemy – and we humans are very good at falling for the deception of others and deceiving ourselves as well. ‘Watch out for false messiahs.’ Jesus warned. Why do people fall for their deception so easily? Surely they are easy to detect? How can we protect ourselves from falling for deception?

God gave us an infallible test – prophecy! Remember John the Baptist’s question? ‘Are you the Messiah or do we look for someone else?’ What was Jesus’ response? Check the database. God had given a “database” of prophecies to His people of messianic “fingerprints” in their sacred Scriptures. All John had to do was to check Jesus against the fingerprints and he would have his answer.

How can we check the claims of those who insist that they are followers and representatives of Jesus? Jesus gave us the answer – examine their fruit. Do their lives measure up to their profession? Who do they represent – themselves or Jesus? There is a database of evidence in the Scriptures to help us identify true followers of Jesus.

The second warning – don’t get excited when natural disasters happen. These are what Eugene Peterson, in “The Message” paraphrase of the Bible calls “routine” disasters. They have always happened and they will always happen because the earth was corrupted by Adam’s disobedience. Jesus called them “the beginning of birth pains”. Nature is in labour. This is nothing new. Paul observed and wrote about it in his letter to the Romans.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Rom. 8: 22).

Wars are another phenomenon which have been going on since the Fall. Human greed was born in the hearts of men when Adam chose his own way over the will of God. Man is at enmity with God and men. He wants what is not his and he will take it when and where he pleases at the expense of others. Wars will continue until the end of time, as long as fallen man pits himself against fallen man.

It is true that there is an escalation of both natural disasters and human conflict, with warfare becoming more sophisticated and destructive of human life. Just as a woman’s birth pains increase in frequency and intensity, so the earth’s “birth pains” are likewise becoming more violent and intense, a sign that her labour will soon have its end result. Nevertheless, there is no way in which we can or should predict the time of His return.

Like the bridegroom whose return for his bride is set by his father when he is satisfied with his son’s preparation for the consummation of his marriage, so Jesus awaits the Father’s time to return for the church and to restore everything that was broken by the Fall.

The role of the bride is to prepare for His return so that, whenever the bridegroom comes, she will be ready. When He returns is not as important as that He will return, for He has promised. In the interim she has a task to do – to prepare her wedding gown so that she may take her place with Him in the beauty of His holiness.

Are you ready for Jesus’ return or will you be caught, like the five foolish virgins, unprepared for His coming, and left out in the cold?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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