Matthew 24:6 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various place.”
Famines, most of us today already know about this. The WFP already warned that 2020 would be a devastating year for many countries. Ravaged by war and poverty with 135 million people facing crisis levels of hunger or worse, and their updated projections doubled that number. And now with covid-19, the United Nations said the pandemic will cause global famines of Biblical proportions.
Famines and earthquakes, you know about all the earthquakes, we hear it all the time over the news. Even back in 2014, NBc News said the annual number of great earthquakes nearly tripled over the last decade. Between 2004 and 2014, 18 earthquakes with magnitude of 8.0 or more rattled subduction zone around the globe.
Matthew 24:7-8 “And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”
The beginning of the birth pains. Of the end time, is getting closer and closer, and you need to be ready.
Matthew 24:9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.”
Prosperity preaching teaches, that we as Christians will live in luxury. We will have a lot of money, we’ll have a nice life here on earth, but that’s not what the Bible teaches. It says that things will get worse for the world as we get closer to the end of times, especially for Christians that are persecuted. Jesus say that we will be put to death and hated by the world for His name’s sake. There is a cost to follow Christ, but you know it’s better to have nothing in this temporary world, no possessions, but have Jesus than to have everything, but not Him, not Jesus.
Mark 8:34 “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it.”
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
You don’t know when you will die. It can be tomorrow, can be next week, can be next month, can be in years, but you will die, and so will I. And you know, you won’t take anything with you. Everything that you’ve gained in this world, all the possessions, you won’t take anything with you to the next life, but the decisions you made in this life will determine where you will go when you die.
Mark 8:37 “For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with Holy Angels.”
You need to make sure that you are living your life for Jesus Christ and not your own selfish desires, because time is running out.
Matthew 24:10 “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophet will arise and lead many astray.”
We know that this is happening today. Many Christians are just fighting each other with certain doctrines and small things. Just fighting each other, and don’t realize that our fight is not against each other but against Satan and his demons. Many are led astray by false prophets, teachers. Why? Because people don’t know the Bible. They don’t know the truth, and if they don’t know the truth, how will they be able to discern a false prophet, a false teacher, if they don’t know Scripture?
And then there are even some preacher who teach lies because they don’t know Scripture themselves. You should not believe every Christina or teacher, or prophet, or whatever they call themselves. Don’t believe just anyone, but test what they are saying with Scripture to see it is the truth so that you won’t be easily misled.
Matthew 24:12 “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”
We don’t even have to talk about this because you know it just as good as I do, you see it on the news every day, all the lawlessness, the corruption, all the government all over the world. It’s sick, we are sick, our sinful nature in us is sick, and the cure was, is. And will always be Jesus.
People are growing more selfish and cold, and that is also why marriages these days don’t even work because it’s not about the other person, or trying to lift them up, or to see what they need and meet their need, to have empathy. It’s all about me, but as a Christian, we are different because we have God’s Spirit in us, and God is love.
To be continued 2/3
