The Beginning of Sorrow

Matthew 24:6-8 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

As we study "The Rapture" I'm led by the Holy Spirit to read Matthew, Chapter 24, which tells us great deal about the return of our Lord Saviour. I believe that we're closer now than when we first believed. In verse 6, the bible tell us about "Wars and rumors of wars" will take place, “But the end is not yet”: False teachers, preachers and prophets, as well as wars and rumours of wars, characterize the whole of the present age, but will escalate toward the end (2 Tim. 3:13). There have been wars raging ever since Jesus made this statement. Wars have been on the increase in the last few years, especially in the Middle East. Right now, there is conflict going on, on every continent. Young people are being killed every day in Israel. The Arabs and the Jews have been in constant conflict. The war in Ukraine is still being wage with no end in sight. There is conflict in many of the streets of major cities in many countries of the world. The whole world is like a stick of dynamite about ready to explode. There are enough bombs already made to blow the whole world up, several times over. It is possible for some maniac to push a button and start an (all out), nuclear war. So certainly, this part of the prophecy is already fulfilled.

The bible tells us that “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”: At Caesarea, the Jews and Syrians contended about the right to the city, and twenty thousand of the Jews were slain. Sedition and civil war spread throughout Judea. Italy was also thrown into civil war by the contests between Otho and Vitellius for the crown.

“And there shall be famines”: There was a famine foretold by Agabus (Acts 11:28), which is mentioned by Tacitus, Suetonius, and Eusebius, and which was so severe in Jerusalem. Josephus says, that many people perished for want of food. Four times in the reign of Claudius (41-54 A.D.), famine prevailed in Rome, Palestine, and Greece. Currently, there's a global food crisis in approximately 10 countries. Countries, like Africa Afghanistan, Haiti, Myanmar, and Yemen, where millions of people are already experiencing famine-like conditions. Pestilences – Raging epidemic diseases. These plague are sweeping off multitudes of people at once. It is commonly the attendant of famine, and often produced by it. I saw a movie not too long ago, and it discussed how many thousands die every day from the famines around the world, Ethiopia and India are both plagued with famine right now. It seems that the countries with the famine are those who are worshipping cows and other objects of the Creator, and not the Creator, Himself.

“Earthquakes” – In prophetic language, earthquakes sometimes mean political commotions. Literally, they are tremors or shakings of the earth, often shaking cities and towns to ruin. The earth opens, and houses and people sink indiscriminately to destruction. Many of these are mentioned as preceding the destruction of Jerusalem. Tacitus mentions one in the reign of Claudius, at Rome, and says that in the reign of Nero the cities of Laodicea, Hierapolis, and Colossae were overthrown, and the celebrated Pompeii was overwhelmed and almost destroyed by an earthquake. Others are mentioned as occurring at Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, and Samos. Luke adds, “And fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven,” (Luke 21:11). Josephus, who had probably never heard of this prophecy, and who certainly would have done nothing designedly to show its fulfillment, records the prodigies and signs which He says preceded the destruction of the city. Every day, earthquakes in various locations of the world increase, but people don't want to hear this and would rather hear about something that appeases their "itching ears." In the 20th and 21st century, things have gotten much worse. Even in World War II, many people believed that this was the fulfillment of this “nation shall rise against nation”. Everyone in the United States has been concerned about a large one hitting around the St. Andreas fault that goes through California. Here again, we could say that this part of the prophecy has been fulfilled.

Pestilence is another problem. Even here in the United States, pests are producing at an alarming rate. There have been tremendous amounts of insecticide used to stop pests. Some insecticides have been banned, because they have gotten into the water system, and humans have a great amount of them in their blood. We cannot say for sure, but many believe that so much use of insecticide has brought on large percentages of cancer incidents today. This too, seems to have been fulfilled. Finally, Matthew 24:8 tells us “All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.” Famines, earthquakes and conflicts have always characterized life in a fallen world; but by calling these things “the beginning” of labor pains, The writer indicated that things will get totally and remarkably worse at the end of the era as these unique tribulations signal the soon arrival of Messiah to judge sinful humanity and set up His millennial kingdom (1 Thess. 5:3; Rev. 6:1-17; 8:1 – 9:21; 16:1-21). As I said, it seems that all of the above are already happening. So we can assume from that we are already in the beginning of sorrows.