Copyright © 2006 by The Voice of Prophecy

P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

The Beginning of Sorrows

The late Ronald Reagan, ever the optimist, once told a story of a little boy who on Christmas morning found nothing but a pile of manure under the Christmas tree. Now, you’d think the kid would be somewhat disappointed, right? Coming down for Christmas and finding a pile of, well, yuk! under the tree. But, no. Instead, he jumped up and down and shouted with glee: “There’s gotta be a pony around here somewhere!”

Yes, it’s better to try and look on the bright side of things, to try and see a glass as half full instead of half empty. It’s often so much better to be optimistic about the future, if we can.

You know, there was a time around the beginning of the 20th century when a great optimism pervaded the Western world. After all, according to Darwin, humans were evolving, getting better and better as the years progressed. As we have entered the 21st century, I don’t hear the same kind of optimism. Between 9/11, the tsunami, terrorism, wars, pollution, and crime, things can look pretty bleak.

But--I’m optimistic. I really am! Not because of anything we can do. On the contrary. I’m optimistic because I see all these things as signs that Jesus is, indeed, coming back as promised.

Today I want to look at some predictions Jesus made almost two thousand years ago, predictions about what the world would be like after He left and before He returned. I want to look at some world events, events that are terrible in and of themselves and yet that shouldn’t take us by surprise because Jesus predicted them. Indeed, these events point to the hope of Jesus’ return, and the promise that when He does return, all of our suffering will be over--once and for all.

So what exactly did Jesus say the world would face during the time He was gone? What should the world have expected over these long centuries before His return? And how accurate have His predictions been?

Well, for starters, one thing that Jesus said was: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6 KJV) .

Wars and rumors of wars? Please! All through history, there have been treaties and conference and unions, all in an attempt to avert war. And with what results?

It has been estimated that in the 20th century 160 million people have been killed directly as a result of war. 160 million!

I think Jesus was dead right with that prediction, don’t you?

But let me finish the verse: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6).

See that ye be not troubled? Not troubled by wars? What Jesus is saying is don’t let these things discourage you, or make you lose faith in Him or the promise of His return. These bad things have to happen. But despite them, He is still coming back--so don’t lose heart.

What else did Jesus say we should expect before His return?
"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:7,8).

Again, Jesus clearly didn’t share the hope that somehow humans would be able to conquer the great scourges of war, hunger, sickness and disease. Jesus knew the future, and He’s not only showing us He knows the future, He’s giving us some hope and security amid it.

“Nation will rise against nation.” We’ve already seen how accurate that prediction was.

But now, besides the tragedy of war, He’s talking about natural disasters, famines, pestilence, earthquakes. Whatever great strides we’ve made in science, they haven’t been able to spare us from these things either. In our century alone, amid all our plenty and technology, who can forget the pictures from Africa of those starving children: the swollen bellies, the gaunt eyes, the frail limbs?

You know, every year in America they have the Annual Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island New York. Last year, the reigning champion held the record of eating more hot dogs faster than anyone else in the world. 50 1/2 hot dogs--plus buns-- in 12 minutes! I can’t believe I ate the whole thing, huh?

The point?

In a world with so much abundance, with such overindulgence, there are still people starving in famines.

But should we be surprised, or discouraged, or tempted to lose our faith? No, because Jesus warned us beforehand that this would happen.

And He said that there would be pestilences too. In the early decades of this century, the horrific Spanish Influenza devastated the planet. Believed to have originated in China, the disease spread to Japan, then Europe, then America, then Africa, and before it was done an estimated 20 million to 40 million people died in about a year! 20 to 40 million!

Meanwhile, HIV AIDS afflicts about 40 million people world-wide. 37 million adults and 2.5 million children under 15. And the problem is getting worse.

Measles, yes, measles still kills hundreds of thousands of children every year.

And then there’s STDs, or sexually transmitted diseases, infecting about 400 million adults every year.

Again, Jesus warned about pestilence almost two thousand years ago, long before the rise of modern medicine and the hope that one day humans would be able to wipe out disease. Those hopes, so far, have been wrong while Jesus, speaking centuries ago, was right.

And there would be, Jesus said, earthquakes. Such as the one that led to the tsunami last Christmas that killed more than 200,000 people. Or the one in Algeria in 1980 that killed 2,590. Or the one in Mexico in 1985 killed 9,500; or the one in India in 1991 that killed 160, and on and on.

Yes, I’d say that two thousand years ago, Jesus had a pretty good grasp of what the world would be like before His return, wouldn’t you?

But do you know what? After describing such horrific events, Jesus said, “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8).

The beginning of sorrows? What did He mean?

Well, I guess what Jesus was saying is that no matter how bad war, famines, pestilences and earthquakes were, we should expect other bad things as well before He returns.

Was He right? You tell me. You can read the newspaper or listen to the news as well as I can. You know the horrible litany of crimes, of terrorism, of pain and of suffering that infects our world. Jesus gave us an incredibly accurate picture of what our world would be like before He returns, right?

But Jesus also said one other thing, and we mustn’t miss it. Amid all these terrible events to occur, Jesus says: "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near" (Luke 21: 28).

Lift up your heads? Your redemption draws near? What does this mean?

It means that Jesus is telling us not to get discouraged. He is telling us that none of these terrible things we see and hear about or even experience have taken Him by surprise. On the contrary, He has warned us beforehand about them, and He saying that they won’t last forever, but that one day He will come and end it all.

That’s why we shouldn’t lose faith. We shouldn’t believe, as many do, that the tragedies of war, or sickness, or death, prove that there is no God. No, after what Jesus said, they only help prove that we can trust in God and the promise of Christ’s return.

Yes, the world can be very discouraging. We all know that. But what we have in these words of Jesus is Him telling us, essentially, I know all these bad things are happening, but don’t give up, because I am coming back and it will all stop.

Yes, that’s what the Second Coming is about. It’s about Jesus coming back and once and for all ending all these tragedies, forever.

But what about you, friend? Fearful for the future? How could anyone not be in this world of ours? Left on our own, the situation can get, it seems, only worse and worse.

But the good news is that we are not left to our own. No, not at all. The words of Jesus helps prove that. They show us that He knows about all these things, and that despite them, we can have hope. Indeed, we can see these things as signs of His coming!

Discouraged? Fearful? I say, look to Jesus. Look to His promises. Look to His assurances. Look to his Him and His love for us even amid the tragedies that He warned would unfold around us even to the end of the world. And if you give yourself to Jesus, if you claim Him as your Savoir, if you claim His promises of forgiveness and salvation, then when you see all these things, you can lift up your head, for your redemption draws near. `

This is Lonnie Melashenko reminding you that it’s always true, friend, God loves you.