"Beware!"
Notice had been provided about
false messianic prophets. Jesus now tells his followers to be ready for what could
be considered much worse.
Not only would they have
to be on guard against those wishing to deceive and direct others astray with misleading
and empty promises; there would be gruesome suffering beyond the pale because
of disasters (wars, earthquakes and famine). "Oh, my!" is right.
With this latest warning, Jesus
painted a picture which was part and parcel of Jewish heritage. What he added
was emphasis and heightened impact. Everything they knew would change.
People of the land were
aware of the language which echoed prophetically -- in this moment and well
before it.
* Ezekiel 7:25-27 -- "When anguish comes, they will seek
peace, but there shall be none. Disaster comes upon disaster, rumor follows rumor;
they seek a vision from the prophet, but the law perishes from the priest, and
counsel from the elders. The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and
the hands of the people of the land are palsied by terror."
* 4 Ezra 13:31 -- "And they shall plan to make war
against one another, city against city, place against place, people against
people, and kingdom against kingdom."
* 2 Baruch 27:2-13 states
there will be commotions, slaughtering, death, famine, withholding of rain,
earthquakes and terrors, attacks of the Shedim (evil spirits), fire, rape,
violence, oppression, injustice and unchastity. And… "In the twelfth part, confusion from the mingling of all those
things aforesaid."
* 2 Baruch 70:8 -- "And it shall come to pass that
whosoever comes safe out of war shall die in the earthquake; And whosoever gets
safe out of the earthquake shall be burned by the fire; And whosoever gets safe
out of the fire shall be destroyed by famine."
The last part of verse 14
from 2 Baruch 27 is certainly potent: "Hence,
those who live on earth in those days will not understand that it is the end of
times."
Interesting that "it's the end of times" versus
what Jesus states as a caveat -- "this
is but the beginning of the birth pangs."
Did You
Know…?
After Jesus was crucified,
the trifecta of doom as predicted by the Christ did occur, which was
experienced by many of his disciples and followers.
* War -- The First
Jewish-Roman War began in 66 AD (also known as The Great Revolt).
* Earthquakes --
Around 61 AD, the tri-city area of Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis was
devastated by a massive earthquake. In 79 AD, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried
Pompeii and Herculaneum under volcanic rock and ash.
* Famine -- As
stated by Josephus in his Antiquities of
the Jews, in the days of Claudius Caesar, a famine oppressed the people of
which many died.
However a question begs to
be asked, "How long would the birth pangs last?" For the followers of
Jesus (in that day), it was thought the birth pangs would begin in short order
and be over sooner than later.
Norma * asked, "But
what does this mean to me today? It's troubling. Do I have to personally experience
this (what is intensely described in the apocalyptic texts)?" While we may
not have to go through all that is mentioned in 2 Baruch 27:2-13, as Leah *
stated, "Unfortunately, these things still exist. It's challenging and
it's painful."
Case in point -- this
recent article was published -- "Hunger
consumes life in suburb of Damascus." The devastation
of wars, earthquakes and famine are still being experienced worldwide. We are
an imperfect people who live on/in an imperfect world, which continues to
evolve over time. We continue to evolve over time.
As Marc * shared, Jesus'
underlying message to his followers was "The Sanhedrin are on a path of
destruction." The religious establishment wanted to serve two masters,
placing more emphasis on the Roman government as well as their own selfish
desires than on God.
In essence, Jesus was
saying, "For love, mercy and forgiveness to be in the hearts and minds of
those in this world, you'll have heed these warnings. Be on guard, and keep
your focus on God. Spread the Good News far and wide so it may be known by
all."
What follows the trifecta
of doom prediction? From Mark 13:24,25 -- "…after
that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will
be shaken."
The poetic language
expressed in these terms of "darkened sun and moon" are written in Amos 8:9, Joel 2:10
and 3:15, Ezekiel 32:7-8,
Isaiah 13:10.
Unknown [to us] may be verse 5 from The Assumption of Moses -- "The horns of the sun shall be broken
and he shall be turned into darkness, and the moon shall not give her light,
and be turned wholly into blood, and the circle of the stars shall be
disturbed."
And then…? Something prayed
for, dreamed of, believed in -- the day when Jews return to Palestine, extending
from the four corners of the earth. The prophets of old shared these words as
well: Isaiah 27:13
and 35:8-10; Micah 7:12; Zechariah 10:6-11.
"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and
come to Zion with singing." [i]
What a joyful moment!
Imagine the intense emotion of such a return, the over-the-top celebration, the
poignant rejoicing.
And this happens when?
When they see "the Son of Man coming
in clouds." Again these are not unfamiliar words: Psalm 68:4
and 104:3; Daniel 7:13;
Isaiah 19:1.
These "clouds" describe the supernatural "glory"
representing God's presence.
Also, 4 Ezra 32 states "When these things come to pass and the
signs occur which I showed you before, then my Son will be revealed,…."
Prophetic passages,
predictions without precise order, actual events occurring which mirror
prophecy. A map of eternity was not laid out by Jesus with a timetable. Yet it
is a promise of a return.
Jesus promises he will
come again -- use of imagery or not. It is then when peace will be established
among the nations. "They shall beat
their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall
not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
[ii]
It is then the words from Isaiah
9:2 become even more meaningful:
"The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined."
NEXT
How soon is
"soon"? Familiar words are spoken.
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