The End is Not Yet
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 [various] places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows [odin (o-deen’); pain, travail, birth pains].
Because the disciples believed the prophetic words of Jesus, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, came to the Lord and asked Jesus privately when were the events of which He spoke to happen? Would there be any sign of His coming in judgment, and of the end of the age (Mark 13:3,4)? In grace, the Lord answered His disciples…
Wars and Rumors of War
6 …you 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.
The Annals of Tacitus, covering the historical period of Rome from AD 14 to the death of Nero in AD 68, lists many disturbances and uprisings in Germany, Thrace (Turkey), and Gaul (France), There was war in Britain. In North Africa, there were rumors of war. There were territorial conflicts with the Parthians in Asia.
The Roman Empire
From W to E
- United Kingdom (England and Wales)
- Ireland (partially)
- France
- Belgium
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands (partially)
- Germany (western part)
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Italy
- Slovenia
- Hungary
- Croatia
- Bosnia
- Herzegovina
- Serbia
- Montenegro
- Albania ‘
- Greece
- North Macedonia
- Bulgaria
- Romania
- Turkey (European part)
- Cyprus
- Syria
- Lebanon
- Israel
- Jordan
- Tunisia
- Algeria
- Morocco (N parts)
- Libya
- Egypt
- Iraq (N parts)
- Saudi Arabia (N parts)
247 – 224 BC
The Parthian Empire was never conquered by Rome
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Georgia
- Iran
- Iraq*
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
- Turkey (parts of)
- Pakistan
- Syria *
- Lebanon *
*Contested with Rome
There were wars, and rumors of wars, from one end of the Roman Empire to the other during the apostolic era and for a simple reason, Nationalism. The people in the 34 nations Rome dominated wanted their own land, language, religion, traditions, and culture. The innate desire for nationalism is by divine design. The Bible teaches two important facts.
First, it was God who confused the tongues of men at Babel in order to create nations. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech. (Gen. 11:7) The reason for the divine movement to separate people and create nations is given.
In the land of Shinar (Iraq), individuals decided to build a city and a tower whose top would reach into heaven… “lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Gen. 11:4)
The attempt to be united as one people, and build the Tower of Babel, was a direct attack on the known will of God.
In Genesis 1:28 the Bible says God blessed Adam and Eve and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
From the beginning it was the will of God for the whole earth to be populated. In the land of Shinar, the people openly defied God’s mandate by centralizing everyone around a religious monument. To prevent this from happening, the Lord confused the tongues of the people by creating new languages. The confusion caused by the new languages compelled people to separate, spread out, and begin to fill the earth.
Second, not only has God created the languages of the earth in order to form different nations, He is the one who establishes the boundaries of each nation. This is taught in Acts 17:26, which emphasizes God’s sovereignty over nations. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.
A primary reason why there were wars and rumors of wars in the days of the apostles was because Rome was determined to conquer the nations of the world, which violated the known will of the Lord. The Roman Empire was destined to disintegrate because Internationalism, as a political ideology, will always fail.
Internationalism, be it through a monetary policy, such as the Common Market of Europe, a political ideology of socialism or communism, or through military conquest, will never work because Open Borders in the name of Internationalism is an assault on the known will of God. Individuals yearn to keep their own cultural identity, and that is by divine design. When people refuse to assimilate in a country of choice, society must not look to government first for guidance; the country must look to God, for the Lord has spoken on this matter.
For a long time, the Roman Empire ruled over nations with an iron fist, and yet the empire declined and slowly fell apart. In his definitive work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, historian Edward Gibbon selected the year AD 476 as a termination date. In AD 476, the Western Roman Empire officially fell. This significant event marked the deposition of the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer. Though the disciples of Jesus would hear of wars and rumors of war, they were not to be troubled, “for all these things must come to pass,” but the end of the Jewish era was not yet (v. 6).
Third Sign
Famines, Pestilence, and Earthquakes
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diver’s [various] places.
Famine
We read of a famine in Acts 11:27-29 which demonstrates the fulfillment of this prophetic utterance of Jesus. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar [AD 44]. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea. The famine in Jerusalem was so severe the church as far away as Corinth was moved to help relieve the suffering (1 Cor. 16:1-5; Rom. 15:25-28).
Besides the famine in Judea, there were other famines that appeared during the reign of Claudius, the fourth Roman Emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. One famine was located in Greece, and two in Rome, according to the Roman historians, Dio Cassius (AD 165 – 235), and Tacitus (AD 56 – d. 120). Suetonius (AD 69 AD – 122) also records famines during that period.
During the reign of Nero, in AD 62, 30,000 people died of starvation due to poor grain supply, beauacratic mismanagement, and political instability. In AD 68, there would be famine in Judea. The hunger would be so severe people would resort to cannibalism. God had warned Israel through Moses, the time would come when cannibalism would occur. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters (Lev. 26:29).
Pestilence
The Roman Empire faced various health crises, including outbreaks of diseases like typhus, smallpox, and the bubonic plague. The word for pestilence (loimos) refers to a plague. In retrospect, some historians have associated the Plague of Justinian, and the Antonine Plague with the period AD 30 – 70.
Earthquake
An earthquake took place at the crucifixion of Christ (Matt. 27:54), and another at His resurrection (Matt. 28:2). In Philippi, there is the record of a great earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison house (Acts 16:26). In Italy, in AD 62, the city of Pompeii was almost destroyed by an earthquake. Seventeen years later in AD 79, Pompeii was buried under 13 to 20 ft. of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
View of Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius
During the reign of Claudius, earthquakes occurred in Crete, Smyrna, Miletus, Chios and Samos. Tacitus mentioned earthquakes at Rome, writing that, “Frequent earthquakes occurred, by which many houses were thrown down” (Annuls of Tacitus).In AD 54 on the day Nero assumed the toga, there was an earthquake. Another is recorded as occurring in AD 60 in the city of Laodicea. That prosperous city was devastated, along with its neighbors, Hierapolis and Colossae.
Seneca wrote in AD 50, “How often there have the cities of Asia and Achaea fallen with one fatal shock! How many cities have been swallowed up in Syria! How many in Macedonia! How often has Paphos become a ruin! News has often brought to us word of the demolition of whole cities as one.”
The city of Pompeii was destroyed in AD 63 by an earthquake. Josephus recorded a major quake in Judea” (Wars, Book 4 Chapter 4:5). “… for there broke out a prodigious storm in the night, with the utmost violence, and very strong winds, with the largest showers of rain, with continual lightnings, terrible thundering, and amazing concussions and bellowing of the earth, that was in an earthquake.
These things were a manifest indication that some destruction was coming upon men, when the system of the world was put into this disorder; and anyone would guess that these wonders foreshowed some grand calamities that were coming.” And Jesus said, “Peter, James, John, and Andrew…All these are the beginning of sorrows. (v. 8)
As attention is rightfully given to the
Second Sign of
Wars and Rumors of War
and the
Third Set of Signs of
Famines, Pestilence, and Earthquakes,
it is important to understand the important reasons Jesus gave these signs.
First, the signs were given because four disciples were wise enough, and curious enough, to ask for more information. The curiosity of Peter, James, John, and Andrew, is a reminder that questions are important. We wonder, “What if?” the disciples had not been curious. Would this body of information have been given in a different setting? Questions are important.
Second, the signs were given because Jesus did not want His disciples to be deceived (v.4). In some areas, such as salvation, the elect of God cannot be deceived, or no one would be saved. Unfortunately, there are some areas whereby the elect can be deceived. Nevertheless, there is good news. If we study the words of Jesus, and if we know the Bible, we can avoid being deceived by false prophets and teachers.
Third, the signs were given because Jesus does not want His disciples to be troubled, or worried about what is going on in the world (v. 6). “See that you be not troubled.”
God is still on His throne and rules over His creation.
Fourth, the signs were given because the disciples of Jesus must tell others of the wrath to come. There is a temporal wrath of God whereby He deals with individuals and nations when sin reaches a saturation point. There is an eternal wrath of God which falls on those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The eternal judgment of the unbeliever is called the Second Death (Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14-15; 21:8).
Christians must warn others.
Fifth, the signs were given because grace precedes judgment. Prior to any form of divine judgement, God gives a fair word of warning. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were warned not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of God and Evil. Prior to the Flood, God gave humanity 120 years to repent. Before Jerusalem fell, there were warning signs of God’s judgement to come. Grace always precedes divine discipline.
Sixth, the signs were given because the Lord does not want His disciples to worry about the end of the world. “Peter, James, John, and Andrew, the end is not yet.” (v.6). No one should ever be worried about living in the last days. To every generation that looks for signs, the word of the Lord is this. “The end is not yet. Do not worry about the last days. There is nothing you can do about them. Therefore, live well. Warn others. But do not be deceived. Do not be troubled.”
Why do we stress that Jesus is a Prophet? The reason is simple.
To the artist He is the One altogether lovely, and to the educator He is the Master Teacher. To the philosopher He is the Wisdom of God, and to the lonely He is a rother; to the sorrowful, a Comforter to the bereaved, the Resurrection and the Life. And to the sinner he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin from the world. ~John Gerstner
One proof for all this being true is that Jesus is trustworthy, a virtue reflected in His office as a Prophet. What Jesus said would happen came true within the timeframe He established for His veracity. This is the teaching of the Lord.
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