How Did They Miss This?
Matthew 24:7-14 ESV
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
I have openly admitted that eschatology, the end-time prophecies, is not my strong suit. My reasoning is that I am more concerned with how to live in the now, not the end of the age. That is not necessarily a good reason or a valid excuse, but it's the current state of things. I do know enough to discern that what Jesus is talking about in our verses for today is definitely an end-time prophecy.
We could make a valid argument that we are experiencing some of the things that Jesus predicted. Nation rising against nation. Famines and earthquakes. People being put to death for their faith. This is happening right now in other countries. People falling away from the faith and false prophets leading people astray, I am looking at you, internet. Lawlessness causing the love of many people to grow cold. Any of this coming as a surprise?
What Jesus said next is what the apostles missed. That the gospel of the kingdom would be proclaimed throughout the whole world. The end is not coming until the gospel is preached in all the nations. But with technology developing at an increasingly rapid rate, the ability to preach the gospel to the entire world is happening. How did the apostles miss the whole world part of these words from Jesus? It took years for the gospel to move out of Israel into the surrounding nations. In fact, it took persecution for the church to stop camping out in Jerusalem and go to the regions beyond. Pressure forced the church to scatter, and the gospel went with them. I have to wonder what would have happened if the apostles had recognized on the day of Pentecost that they were to take Jesus to the nations. But in any case, they finally went, and we can be grateful.
Application
We must be wise and not assume we "get" everything the Lord is speaking to us. It is a good thing to ask for clarity. As in, Lord, what are You saying, and what am I missing? We don't want to settle for half of the message. We are living in a rapidly changing environment. We need to know what the Lord's plan is for His kingdom and where we fit inside that plan.
I am not bold enough to predict when Jesus will come back and how the end-times events will shake out. But I know whom I believe and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day.