Jack Kinsella

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours 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
places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:5-6)

The verses quoted above were part of Jesus' response to the question,
"What will be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the age?"
(Matthew 24:3)

The Lord's reply to the question is known to Bible scholars as the
"Olivet Discourse" because, 1) Jesus was standing 'upon the Mount of
Olives' at the time, and; 2) His answer, which is contained in the three
Synoptic Gospels, fills the entire chapter. It is one of the most
lengthy teaching discourses in the New Testament.

The Olivet Discourse focuses its attention on events that take place
DURING THE TRIBULATION, but begins by describing the events that
conspire together to bring it about.

The period of wars and rumors of wars has been ongoing now since 1914
with the first truly global war in human history. It was followed by a
second global war in 1939, whose conclusion brought about the ultimate
'rumor of war' between the West and the Soviet Empire.

There are two different entities under discussion, 'nations' and
'kingdoms'. The word 'nation' is translated from the Greek word 'ethnos'
and describes an ethnic state, like Israel or one of the ethnic states
of the Arab world. Or North Korea.

The world translated 'kingdom' 'basileia' means "royal power, kingship,
dominion, rule" and it describes a national entity bound together by
economic/social interests, rather than ethnic relationships.

America would fit the Biblical understanding of a 'kingdom' in the sense
Americans are not bound together by blood or ethnicity, but rather by
common social and economic benefits. The same could be applied to the
member/states of the EU. Individually, some European countries might be
ethnic in origin, but the Common Market exists for economic reasons.

The collapse of the Soviet Union uncorked a new round of ethnic unrest
and international conflict, but, as Jesus was careful to note, "the end
is not yet."

Ethnic or economic strife have been responsible for all the wars of
modern times. The world wars were wars aimed at conquest for economic
reasons. Hitler's Nazis sought both ethnic purity and
"liebensraum"(living space) for Germany.

Japan's Imperial government set out to conquer Asia to ensure a steady
supply of raw materials and to establish ethnic Japanese rule over
Greater Asia.

Skeptics might argue that wars, ethnic unrest, even famines, earthquakes
and pestilences, all have been part of the human condition since the
Fall of Man at the Garden of Eden. (Or since the first amoeba turned
into a person . . . for the skeptic who can't bring himself to believe
in God, but finds no conflict of faith in a frog turning into a prince).

Note that Jesus said "all these are the beginning of sorrows." The word
'sorrow' first appears in Scripture in Genesis 3:16 when God tells Eve,
"I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou
shalt bring forth children." "Sorrow" is translated from the Hebrew
"itstsabown" and refers to labor pains.

The Greek word 'odin' translated as 'sorrows' in Matthew 24:8 also
refers to labor pains.

Every parent who has ever lived could instantly grasp the meaning of
this metaphor -- that is why Jesus chose it. As the birth of a child
approaches, the mother begins to experience labor pains, which, having
once begun, continue to increase in both frequency and intensity as the
moment of birth approaches.

Prospective parents in Jesus' day did exactly what I did with each of my
kids -- timed the interval between the contractions. It was a carefully
chosen metaphor designed to resonate with all people, of all cultures,
in all generations. But, to the generation to whom those signs were
addressed, the meaning would be unmistakable.

When one compares the accuracy of the Bible's account of the unknowable
future to the ever-changing scientific 'explanations' for the distant
past, doubts melt away. The skeptic has multiple explanations for static
events that have already happened.

The Bible gives a single explanation for a fluid, changeable series of
events predicted to happen thousands of years in the future -- the
events that define our present day. Which is more convincing?

Bible prophecy proves Jesus was the Son of God, regardless of the latest
scientific, archeological or historical discovery. No matter what else
might be offered as 'evidence' to the contrary, there is no other
explanation for Bible prophecy. It is our generation's unique miracle.

It proves that He remains in charge of the affairs of men. Scripture
records His Promise in all three Gospel accounts, "Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Matthew 24:35. Mark
13:31, Luke 21:33)

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day
dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:" (2 Peter 1:19)

Bible prophecy is proof positive that God remains on the Throne, that
His Word will NOT return to Him void, and that all the chaos and terror
of the world notwithstanding, all continues to go according to His plan.

Given the unbeliever's explanation of uncontrolled chaos, Bible prophecy
isn't all that depressing, after all. What WOULD be depressing would be
to be among the lost, not knowing what this world is coming to, and
believing the world is in a state of uncontrolled chaos.

For the believer, Bible prophecy can be pretty encouraging, which is
what the Lord intended for the last days' Church all along:

"But these things have I told you, that WHEN THE TIME SHALL COME, ye may
remember that I told you of them." (John 16:4)

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