Look up!

I'm going to interrupt my regular posts on prayer to post on Matthew 24. The Lord has laid it on my heart to take this passage apart verse by verse and comment on it. I will post links to articles relevant to some of the verses, and comment on others.

Matthew 24:3-14 (NKJV):
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

With all of what was going on, the disciples thought that the end was near. But Jesus told them that it wasn't. The question "Tell us, when will these things be?" actually refers to verses 1 and 2 where Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple, which took place in 70 A.D.

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

The Cult of Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda

Maitreya

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all[a]these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

World War I and World War II would certainly fit these verses, along with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

7b And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

Famine in Africa

More famine articles

Pestilence - Swine flu - Dictionary.com defines "pestilence" as "an epidemic disease causing a high rate of mortality." This newest strain of swine flu certainly qualifies as a pestilence.

Earthquakes in various places - This web site shows all the places where earthquakes occurred that were at least 4.5 on the Richter scale.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

As scary as all this stuff is, according to Jesus, it will get worse, especially during the Tribulation period.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

Persecution Part 1 - A website listing areas of the world where Christians are being persecuted.

Persecution Part 2 - Another website listing areas of the world where Christians are being persecuted.

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

No news articles needed for this verse - it happens in everyday life all the time.

11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

False prophets - a nice website with a list of false prophets and why they're false prophets.

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

There are plenty of examples of this, but click here for just one example. There is another example here.

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Good news from Jesus! There is hope for those who endure all these things and make it to the end.

14 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.

Wycliff Bible Translators want to have Bibles in all languages by 2025. Here is an interesting paragraph:

592 new Bible Translation programs have been started in the past eight years. Wycliffe is involved in 490 of these (83%). This is an increase never before experienced in the 2,000-year history of Bible translation. Just this has reduced the timeline for reaching remaining language communities by 112 years.

Don't let all that's been written bring fear to your heart, for if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He will be with you and you will not need to fear.

If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and wish for Him to come into your heart and clean it up and make you a new person on the inside, all you have to do is repent for your sins (or confess that you have sinned). This is called "being born again" or "saved." Here is a simple prayer that you can pray:

"Lord, I know I am a sinner, and I need Your forgiveness for my sins. I believe that You died for me on the Cross. Please come into my heart and make me new. I want you to be my Lord and Savior. I give my life totally and completely to You. Thank you for forgiving my sins and making me new."

Did you say the prayer? If so, congratulations! You are now my brother or sister in Christ. Your first step should be to purchase a Bible. Start by reading the first four books of the New Testament, also known as the Gospels. They will tell you about Jesus. The second thing you should do is find a Bible-believing church where you can learn about being a Christian and you can meet other Christians. I would love to know if you prayed to receive Jesus. Please enter a comment to let me know.

Thanks for reading! Have a blessed day!

Diane