Theme: WHERE COULD SAFETY BE FOUND?
Text: “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.” – Matthew 24:7, 8.
Comment: Jesus Christ made this statement, when the disciples asked him the signs of the end of the world. (Matthew 24:3) After warning his disciples, Jesus Christ spoke of the events that will mark his second coming and therefore of the end of the world and, as clearly expressed in the text for today.
The text does not refer, as some contend, to the dissensions, insurrections and wars among provinces that occurred in the Roman empire shortly after the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rather, it fulfilled in the World War 1 of 1914-1918 when for the first time the whole world was engulfed in a global war. There was also the Spanish influenza which ravaged the world after the war and many persons died. There have been other diseases, coupled with earthquakes and food crises plaguing mankind till date, all in fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus Christ. From that time the world has been marching into harder and harder times, hence Christ added: “All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
A good understanding of these physical facts which are fulfilling Bible prophecies will make the children of God not to panic but to continue to believe in the word of God and give themselves to prayer coupled with spiritual vigilance by the grace of God. – Luke 21:34-36; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9.