Roaring, Distress, and Perplexity
We continue to watch developments that we believe mark this time as the one Jesus spoke of when addressing His immediate disciples on the Mount of Olives.
We are indeed “nearing midnight,” the time near the very end of the Church Age (Age of Grace) and the beginning of history’s darkest era, the Tribulation (Daniel’s seventieth week).
Jesus, the greatest of all prophets, because He is God, gave the most definitive overview of how things will eventuate as the end of this age nears. He spoke specifically during the Olivet Discourse of how things would be as the time of His return draws closer.
He said there will be great deception when the end of the age draws near (Matthew 24).
We’ve often looked at the deception in every direction on the end-times horizon. We have only to consider the political goings-on to know that the prince of the power of the air is at work deceiving people. America’s mainstream news conglomerate is a prime example of the lies Satan perpetrates in the hourly news cycles. We’ve watched numerous attempts by a political party, aided and abetted by the mainstream news and entertainment industry, doing all within their considerable deluding power to bring down a president, then to keep him from becoming president a second time.
But this is minor deception when thinking on the cultural and societal evil that continues to foist anti-God wickedness on people across the globe.
The Sodom-level debauchery presented as an alternate lifestyle or even as preferable to God’s order in living life has gone from illegal (sodomy laws in various states) to being legislated into legal affirmation, with punishment meted out to those who would come against those who practice homosexuality. Think on the bakers that have had their business destroyed and their owners suffering punitive legal actions for refusing to bake same-sex wedding cakes.
Consider people who have protested the murder of babies in their mothers’ wombs in front of abortion mills being arrested and fined, while those who riot and destroy for the supposed cause of gay rights are considered not to be prosecuted by liberal city administrations and judicial auspices.
Good is now called evil, and evil is now called good, just as God’s Word has forecast.
The mainstream media does all it can to ignore broadcasting and publishing riots like the deadly carnage that took place during the George Floyd death, upon his being arrested for perpetrating a crime. Yet when rage takes place because of people wanting a return to sanity, it is covered worldwide in every detail.
It is surprising that a global news outfit quasi-fairly reported one such recent massive protest that took place in Mexico in which ordinary citizenry became fed up with the drug lords and other bad guys constantly inflicting their destructive evil against them and their children. The following account by a global news organization makes the point, I think.
At least 120 people – 100 of them police officers – have been injured in clashes during anti-government protests in Mexico City, police said.
Thousands of demonstrators marched in the Mexican capital on Saturday to protest against violent crime and President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government.
Sheinbaum said the marches, which also took place in other cities, had been funded by right-wing politicians who oppose her government.
The rally was organised by Gen Z youth groups, drawing support from citizens protesting against high-profile killings, including the assassination just weeks ago of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo – who had called for tough action against cartels…
Demonstrators dismantled parts of a barrier protecting the National Palace, where Sheinbaum lives. Police protecting the compound used tear gas on the crowds.
Authorities have arrested 20 people for crimes including robbery and assault, Mexico City security chief Pablo Vazquez told reporters.
Protesters waved banners displaying messages including “We are all Carlos Manzo,” while others wore cowboy hats in tribute to him…
Manzo was shot on 1 November while he attended a Day of the Dead festival.
He was known for speaking openly about drug-trafficking gangs in his town and cartel violence.
He had been demanding tough action against armed cartel members who terrorise the country.
Sheinbaum has been acting against cartels but resisting calls for another all-out war on drugs. Previous attempts by her predecessors have ended with bloody results.
(“Thousands protest against government in Mexico as clashes leave 120 injured,” Ruth Comerford and Ethirajan Anbarasan, Global Affairs reporters, BBC News, https://www.bbc.com)
This brings us to the point of the title of this commentary.
The tremendous restlessness of the masses across the world–including that here in America—is a key to understanding where we must stand at this time on God’s prophetic timeline.
Here are Jesus’ words describing a key indicator of the end of the age and the beginning of the Tribulation:
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring” (Luke 21:25).
The “distress of nations with perplexity” and the “seas and waves” of peoples across the planet “roaring” cannot be missed by those who are “watching” as Jesus commanded (Mark 13:37).
It is almost certain that we will see this roaring grow in frequency and intensity, as will be the case for all other signals making an impact in these days.
We must warn those who don’t know Christ for salvation of the danger to their immortal souls, particularly as we watch this prophetic stage-setting.
Here is the message to give as we witness to the saving grace God offers all who will believe in His Son:
“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
—Terry
The Bible Predicts It
The Bible has an amazing track record of fulfilled prophecy; it’s one hundred percent accurate all of the time about everything it predicts. Scripture precisely predicted many aspects of Jesus’ birth, life, ministry, betrayal, death on the cross, and resurrection.
No book from the myriad of world religions makes such bold predictions or stakes its integrity and legitimacy on the precise fulfillment of its prophecies. The Bible stands alone as the true record of God’s unfailing revelation.
Amid the lawlessness, corruption, and nonstop threats of war and economic devastation, the perfect fulfillment of God’s Word in the past confirms our trust in the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy for our future. The Lord’s promise of deliverance from the future Day of the Lord wrath on the earth (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11) means exactly what the text says. Jesus will come for us before the sudden destruction that will mark the start of this terrible future time on the earth. This promise encourages our hearts just as it did for the Thessalonians long ago.
Since Christmas is rapidly approaching, let’s examine this pattern of exact and literal fulfillment of the key prophecies regarding Jesus’ birth.
Bethlehem
The Old Testament prophet Micah, whose ministry lasted from 750-700 BC, wrote that the Messiah would be born in the town of Bethlehem.
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2).
When the magi came to Jerusalem after Jesus’ birth, the chief priests and scribes cited this verse in response to their question regarding the birth of the “king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:1-6). Even though they were aware of this prophecy, they stayed behind when the wise men went to Bethlehem.
House of David
The Old Testament said that the Messiah had to be of the house of David (Jeremiah 23:5). Not only did Scripture predict that the Christ come from the tribe of Judah, but it also predicted that He come from the line of King David. The genealogies in both Luke and Matthew identify both Joseph and Mary as descendants of David (Luke 3:23-38; Matthew 1:1-17). Jesus receives his right to the throne of David through Joseph and his blood lineage to David through Mary.
Virgin Birth
Seven hundred years before Christ’s birth, Isaiah wrote,
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Both Luke and Matthew provide the details of how Jesus’ birth fulfilled this amazing prophecy (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38). Because of the unusual circumstance of Christ’s birth, angels appeared to both Mary and Joseph assuring them of the virgin birth, of the child’s conception by the Holy Spirit.
The name “Immanuel” means “God with us,” a clear indication that this prediction went far beyond anything in Isaiah’s lifetime. It pointed to the One named Immanuel who would be born many centuries later (Matthew 1:23).
The Massacre of Children
Matthew 2:16 records the horrible massacre of male children under the age of two in Bethlehem following Jesus’ birth. When the wise men did not return to Herod as he instructed, he ordered the killing of all the young boys under two in the town so as to make sure he eliminated the one who was “born king of the Jews.”
Jeremiah prophesied regarding this tragedy centuries earlier when he wrote:
“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more” (Jeremiah 31:15).
Escape to Egypt
How did Jesus escape the ravages of King Herod? The Lord warned Joseph in a dream, and they escaped to Egypt before Herod slayed the young boys in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:13-15). If you are thinking the prophets also spoke of this, you would be correct. Hosea, an Old Testament prophet who lived in the eighth century BC, wrote, “. . . and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1).
The Comfort for Us
The comfort for us comes from the fact that we can trust what Scripture says about both our faith and future. Our hope of eternal life rests on what the Bible reveals about Jesus’ death and resurrection and what it promises because of our belief. We can confidently proclaim, “The Bible says!”
For our future, we rest on the same assurance. Jesus spoke this comforting promise to His disciples as representative of us, His church:
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Meeting Jesus “in the air” and returning with Him to glory is our future (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18); the Bible predicts it. There’s no greater assurance than that.
-Jonathan
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