Deceivers and Catastrophes
Jesus began his final discourse on the Mount of Olives with a sharp warning - Beware of the “many deceivers” who would come and use his authority to spread misinformation about his imminent return based on common occurrences such as wars, earthquakes, and other calamities. They will “deceive many.” Contrary to their claims, the “END IS NOT YET.” Likewise, “False Prophets” will propagate lies about the whereabouts and coming of the “Son of Man.”
This
is a phenomenon the church has witnessed since its founding, but especially so in
recent decades as supposed “experts” in end-time prophecy point to wars in the
Middle East and elsewhere, along with earthquakes, plagues, and famines, as
evidence that we are living in the “last days.”
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[Photo by Josep Castells on Unsplash] |
However, Jesus provided his disciples with a list of events that are NOT signs of the end, some of the very “signs” to which many “false prophets” point to prove that the “end is near.” In his repeated warning, the stress is on what his disciples will “HEAR” from deceivers.
- (Mark 13:5-8) – “And Jesus began to say unto them, ‘Beware that no man deceives you. Many will come in my name, saying, I am he, and deceive many. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not troubled; these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These things are the beginning of travail’.”
His
point was NOT whether such disasters do occur, but that they are NOT
“signs” by which anyone can calculate the proximity of the “end.” They are
NOT keys for decoding prophetic timetables or predicting the arrival of
the “Son of Man on the clouds.”
Ironically,
the very types of calamities listed by Jesus as events that do NOT
portend the “end” have been used time and again by deceivers, false
prophets, and prophecy “experts” as “signs” of his soon arrival. To date, ALL
such predictions and calculations based on Christ’s list of natural and manmade
disasters have failed.
What
distinguishes one war, earthquake or plague from another, prophetically
speaking? Unfortunately, wars occur frequently, and multiple earthquakes occur
daily on the Earth. Moreover, Jesus said nothing about any increases in the
intensity or frequency of such events as the “end” drew near.
His
warning is placed first in the Discourse because it is pivotal to the overall picture
painted by Jesus. If his disciples hear and remember anything from what he says,
this exhortation is by far the most important part of the ‘Olivet Discourse.’
According
to Jesus, “Many will come upon the basis of my name.”
The Greek conjunction gar or “for” introduces the
explanation of what just preceded it. Many disciples will be deceived BECAUSE
OF the claims of false prophets made “on the basis of (epi)” his
name.
Deceivers
will claim his authority for their predictions and teachings. Their intended
victims are not men and women in general, but the disciples of Jesus in
particular. The goal is NOT to deceive the already deceived mass of
humanity, but instead, to mislead the followers of Jesus.
NOT YET!
Jesus
continued: “Moreover (de), you will hear of wars and reports of
wars.” The conjunction de signifies further
development of the subject, and the Greek term rendered “rumors” points
to something that is heard.
The
stress falls on the content of what his disciples will hear from deceivers,
and the clause, “reports of wars,” reiterates the point – what they will hear – “reports”
about wars, famines, and earthquakes occurring in different places.
Whether those reports prove accurate is NOT the issue. Rather, deceivers will point to those things as proof that the “end is near,” but they prove no such thing one way or the other. “False prophets” and other deceivers will spread rumors about wars, famines, and other catastrophes that raise false prophetic expectations among God’s people.
Jesus
affirmed that catastrophes would occur. Earthquakes, wars, political upheavals,
famines, plagues, “terrors and great signs from heaven,” and the like,
but his disciples must “not be alarmed since The end is not yet.”
Chaos
and violence have characterized every era of human history and cannot be used
to calculate the “end.” At most, they constitute a “beginning of
birth pains,” harbingers and proof that the present age will end one day. Jesus
does not classify these events as “signs” by which anyone can ascertain the
proximity of his return.
BEGINNING OF THE END
His
words, “These things must come to
pass,” allude to Daniel 2:26-28 when the Babylonian king
received a troubling dream. The astrologers and monthly prognosticators of Babylon
failed to disclose the contents or the interpretation of his dream. Only Daniel
succeeded in doing so, and only through the intervention of Yahweh. The prophet
prefaced his remarks to the king:
- “There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries; he has shown the king what things must come to pass in later days” - (Septuagint version).
The
verbal allusion links Christ’s description of the “beginning of labor pains”
to the “later days” in the passage from Daniel. In the New
Testament, his death and resurrection marked the start of the “Last Days.”
With his exaltation, the final phase of History commenced.
The
image of “birth pains” is used in Scripture to represent the suddenness
and inevitability of destruction, NOT the frequency or intensity of the
event – (Isaiah 26:17, 66:8, Jeremiah 6:24, 13:21, 1
Thessalonians 5:1-3).
Luke’s
version of the Discourse adds an interesting element - “Many will come in my
name, saying, I am he, and The season (kairos)
is at hand” - (Luke
21:8-9). What “season” did Jesus mean?
He
warned that no one “knows of that day and hour” when the “Son of Man”
will arrive except “the Father ALONE.” Therefore, his disciples must “watch
and pray always since you know not when the SEASON (kairos) is”-
(Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32-33).
Once
more, his words allude to a passage in Daniel, this time, when an angel
commanded the prophet to “seal up the words and the book, even until the season (kairos) of
the end” (Septuagint).
Thus, deceivers and “false prophets” claim to know what not even the “Son of Man” knew. Jesus was very explicit. Only the “Father” has this information, period - (Matthew 24:23-27).
The
purpose of the ‘Olivet Discourse’ is not to provide us with the “signs
of the times” whereby we can calculate the “end,” but to warn us NOT to
heed deceivers and “false prophets” who all too often point to natural
and man-made catastrophes as “signs” of the rapidly approaching end.
Precisely
because no one except God “alone” knows the “day,” the “hour,”
or the “season” of the Son’s return, constant vigilance and preparation are
vital for every disciple of Jesus. What matters when he arrives is not our
accurate knowledge of timetables, times, seasons, and “signs,” but whether we
are faithful in our walk with him and busy doing his business.
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