Automatic Transcript Generated
Speaker 1
So Thomas is asking, are we living in the end times? Why does God allow COVID?
Speaker 2
All right, my friend Thomas. So what I would say to answer both of those questions is the answer is actually all found, I would say in Matthew chapter 24. Now, if you look really quick in Matthew 24, verses two and three, it says something very interesting. So Matthew page 24, verses two and three read says and Jesus said unto them, being his disciples, see you not all these things verily I say unto you. He’s speaking about Jerusalem, that there shall not be here 1 st upon another that shall not be thrown down. So his disciples got very interested in what Jesus was saying. And so in verse three you see them asking him and as he sat up on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately and saying tell us, when will these things be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? So basically when Jesus gives a prophecy of chapter of Matthew 24, it’s a dual prophecy because Jesus was speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem. So they’re saying, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of your coming and the end of the age or the end of the world?
Speaker 2
So basically when you go through the chapter, it says something very interesting. And if you read in verses six through eight, so keep going in the chapter in verses six through eight and it says so Jesus is telling his disciples, you shall hear wars and rumors of war. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. So Jesus is saying, there’s going to be some things coming to pass, but the end isn’t quite yet, but it’s coming. And verse seven goes on to say, for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. And verse eight says, and these things are the beginning of sorrows. So basically the beginning of birth pangs. So when you see that word pestilences, that’s disease, that’s a widespread disease or pandemic. So basically the Bible is saying that before the coming of Jesus there’s going to be widespread diseases and pandemics. So COVID is just one of many things that must come to pass. It’s just beginning of sorrows. It’s one of the signs of Jesus coming, but it doesn’t mean it’s the end quite yet.
Speaker 2
Now, if you’re saying, well, when will Jesus come? The answer is in verse 14. So Matthew 24, verse 14, which says, and this Gospel so Jesus talks about all these signs of his coming, but then he gets to verse 14. He says, and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come. So the end doesn’t come until the gospel is preached into the whole world. Now we do see that rapidly happening, thank God, in this world today, especially as technology increases, we see the gospel going to all the world in areas that have never been reached before. People were like, how are you going to reach people in this tiny corner of the world? People are getting reached that nobody ever thought would be reached. And just to prove again that this is we are in the end times, jesus lists all these things, wars, rumors of wars, all these pestilences, things that are going to happen. I mean all these things have happened and it says, like it said earlier, these are the beginning of sorrows. And that word sorrows means birth pangs.
Speaker 2
So like when a woman is going into labor, the pain gets shorter in between and more intense as the time approaches for the baby to come. And so you see wars, rumors of wars, all these things happening in greater scale and closer together in time as the end approaches. But Jesus says in verse 33 of Matthew 24, Matthew 24, verse 33, he says so likewise, when you see all these things, know that it is near even at the doors. So Jesus is saying that when you see all these things happening, these pestilences like COVID, I mean, this is a worldwide scale pandemic that happened. We’ve never seen anything like this in our history. And so all these sort of things going on, these are pointing us, God’s trying to get our attention. Hey, I’m coming soon, get ready, get ready, get ready. So are we living in end times? I would say yes. And I think COVID is a sign of the second coming of Jesus. I don’t think it is the second coming of Jesus or it’s not the number one thing that’s going to cause it, but I think it just plays a part in one of the things like wars, rumors of wars, all these things, scary things that happening.
Speaker 2
But Jesus do not fear because obviously Jesus is in control and as long as we’re right with him, we can have salvation and assurance that our eternal salvation is secure. Any other thoughts, guys?
Speaker 3
Yeah, and I just add to me something that I’ve really come to realize much more in the past couple of years is one of the most repeated warnings in the New Testament is don’t be deceived. And in fact, in Matthew 24 that Tina was talking about, the very first thing out of Jesus’s mouth when he’s giving his answer about what the end times would be like is he says, do not be deceived, don’t let any man deceive you right there. Deception, lies, falseness, that is a sign of the last times. We are in this time now where we’re so confused what is truth, what’s not? And Paul talks about people are going to be, god’s going to allow people to enter a strong delusion because they do not have love of the truth. We have to love truth. We have to desire wherever truth is, where it takes us. We can’t let our pride get in the way. We can’t let smart sounding people get in the way. We need to find truth. And the Bible says it’s truth. And we could believe it’s truth, have faith it’s truth. And if we do as the Bible says, it’s like you’re having an anchor and you’re not going to be blown one way or another by every wind of doctrine, that’s the only way to not be deceived is solid foundation in the Bible.
Speaker 2
Amen. 100% agree with that. And I think that that’s probably one of the biggest signs of the coming of Christ is how much deceit has gone forth in this world. I mean, especially like you see it on the Internet. You can’t trust anything that you’re looking at or reading these days. And when it comes to studying Scripture, you really need to read it for yourself that you’re not deceived just because someone’s a pastor or preacher. No disrespect to pastors and preachers, I respect them, but that doesn’t mean that you have to believe everything that they say blindly. You have to study it for yourself, like the Bible says, to be a good Berean and study these things to see if they are so. So anything we say, any answers we give, study the Bible for yourself. Don’t believe it just because we said it. Believe it because you read it for yourself in the Bible and God is convicting you through His Holy Spirit. Exactly.
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In His Service
BibleAsk Team