End Times: The Blueprint of His Coming Return
In Matthew 24:5-13, Jesus predicts a special period at the close of this age, what Bible commentators sometimes call “the period of the end time.”
This stage will be marked with unique pressures and dangers. Here is what Jesus says about this significant moment in history:
For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet (Matthew 24:5-6).
Wars and rumors of wars by themselves are not the only indication of the approach of the end. In the next verses, Jesus continues with other events that will indicate the approach of the end. As you read this, you may want to ask yourself how many of these conditions are conspicuously present in our current world situation.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows [literally, “birth pangs”]. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved (Matthew 24:7-13).
Birth Pains
Jesus describes all these occurrences as the beginning of birth pangs or labor pains. Such “pains” are the indication that a birth is about to take place. What is going to be born? A new age. The age of the Messiah’s kingdom on earth. The troubles and turmoil the world is experiencing are the birth pangs which mark the coming of that new age. It is very important for us to recognize this truth.
If we want to experience the coming of this new age, we will not object to the labor pains. A husband who wants his wife to present him with a beautiful little baby is not distressed when his wife’s labor pains begin. Both have been longing for this beautiful baby that is on the way. If that husband has any sense at all, he will rush his wife to the hospital, all the while saying, “Praise the Lord! Now that we are seeing the labor pains, we know the baby is on the way.”
Every Christian should respond in the same way to the labor pains in the world. Our response should be: “Thank God! The birth of the new kingdom is now at hand.” As unpleasant and difficult as these labor pains may be, these are the birth pangs of a new kingdom age that is being born. Any mother who has given birth in the natural will testify that once the labor pains begin, they will become more frequent and more intense until the baby is born.
I believe it is going to be the same with the end of this age. We are not going to experience a period of relaxation and peace. Rather, I believe the labor pains are going to become more frequent and more intense. This should not alarm us. Why? Because it signals a new age which is going to be born. All of us must realize that there is no way for that age to come except through labor pains leading to its birth.
Jesus used a fig tree as an example. He said that when the fig tree begins to bud and put on leaves, you know summer is near (see Matt. 24:32-33). Summer corresponds to the coming of God’s kingdom. We do not need to go to a university or even to a church seminar to understand what is happening. We simply need to look around and see the fig tree putting on its leaves. When we make this observation, we can say, “Praise God! Summer is soon going to come. The kingdom of the Messiah is at hand.” This should be our continuing prayer.
Distracted by the World
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus depicts another aspect of conditions at the close of the age:
And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed (Luke 17:26-30).
The event referenced in this last sentence is the Lord’s appearing. Jesus remarks that in certain ways, the conditions just prior to His return will be very similar to what they were in the days of Noah and Lot.
The Lord listed what people were doing in those days, specifying eight different activities. They were eating, drinking, marrying, being given in marriage, buying, selling, planting, and building.
Take a moment right now to ask yourself the following question: Is there some great sin in any of those activities? No. The problem is not that they were doing something sinful. Rather, the problem is that they were totally immersed in those activities, and had no awareness of the judgment which lay ahead. The word I would use for their condition is “materialism”—and this is certainly a conspicuous feature of our present age. None of the activities listed are wrong in themselves; they are normal and natural. But it is wrong to be so wrapped up in them that we do not see what is coming.
A Different View
In Luke 21, we see another prophetic discourse in which Jesus outlines the events which will precede His return. He describes the different types of problems, pressures, and evil that will come upon the world as His return draws near. However, instead of telling us to hide in a cave or to feel gloomy, Jesus says, “When these things begin to take place, stand up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28 NIV).
We who are believers in Jesus Christ have a different view of world affairs from those who are in lockstep with this world. The world is continually agonizing over mounting problems. No sooner have world leaders solved one problem, they are immediately confronted with two more. Right now, for example, the two problems that seem to be occupying everybody’s attention are terrorism and climate change. As we will see in our next section, Jesus gives us some answers for such intense challenges.
Avoiding the Traps
In the same part of Luke 21 where Jesus tells us to look up, He also provides some very specific instruction about our prayer life. Let me offer an initial, general comment: we will never get beyond the scope of our prayer life. Our prayer life ultimately will determine just how much of a Christian life we really live.
In Luke 21:34, Jesus urges us to guard against despair and have a different, more prayerful perspective:
Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunken-ness and the worries of this life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap (NASB).
Most professing Christians are not really in danger of dissipation or drunkenness. But the worries of this life are another matter for most of us. Corrie Ten Boom once said, “When I discovered that worry could keep me from being ready for the Lord’s return, I had a very different attitude toward worrying from that time onward.”
We may say, “Well, it’s natural to worry.” Yes, it is natural—but God’s Word still tells us not to. There are approximately 350 places in the Bible where we are told not to worry! Falling into that trap is something the Word of God warns us against very seriously.
What is so wrong with worrying? For one thing, worrying indicates we are living in this earth, wrapped up in the matters of time, having lost our vision of eternity. Too often we give too much importance to issues that are purely temporal, and Jesus warns us to be on our guard.
Then Jesus goes on to say if these attitudes of worry deaden your spirituality, “that day” will come on you suddenly like a trap. “That day” is the day of the closing of the age and the Lord’s return. Jesus adds this statement to His comments about “that day.”
For it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth (Luke 21:35 NASB).
The difference between us and the world is the address of our permanent residence in heaven. Paul refers to this in Philippians 3:20:
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
For all the people whose residential address is on earth, the end is going to come upon them with the suddenness of a trap. The writer of Hebrews says that in this world we have no continuing city, but we are looking for one that is to come (see Heb. 13:14). For you and me, it is our attitude toward the things of this world that makes all the difference. That attitude will determine whether you and I are caught by surprise by what is coming on the whole earth, or whether we will survive to welcome the Lord.
