Matthew Chapter 24
VERSE 6-8 “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. 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.”
“Thus briefly did our Lord summarize SECULAR HISTORY, and teach the disciples not to expect very soon his second coming and glorious Kingdom. And how aptly: surely the world's history is just this--an account of wars, intrigues, famines and pestilences--little else.” (D566)
Verse 6 “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.”
“Down through the Gospel Age, actual wars and rumors of wars occurred. These also had to precede the end of the age. Thus, later, after the Holy Spirit had been given and these words of Jesus were meditated upon, the disciples realized that much time had to elapse before the end of the age could come.
Basically, the Holy Spirit is the spirit of remembrance, the remembrance of spiritual things (those things taught of the Lord). It calls to mind the words of Jesus, the apostles, the prophets, and of course the Father in His Word. John 14:26 reads, “But the Comforter ... shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Thus when the disciples later thought back on what Jesus had said in Matthew 24, they realized that the Kingdom was a distance away and that they probably would be off the scene. Peter especially realized this and so did Paul, who had a vision of the third heaven. However, the apostles did not realize that almost 2,000 years had to pass first.”
Verse 7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”
“Many use Verse 6 to describe conditions since World War 1 (Our day, viz. the 19th and 20th centuries), when the world became involved in conflict, plus the “famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” of Verse 7.
Today the news media and television make us more aware of these kinds of occurrences, whereas, in truth, such troubles have taken place endlessly down through the Gospel Age. Even in the Old Testament there was a seven-year famine in Israel at the time of Joseph versus a five-year famine in Ethiopia in recent times. The Apostle Paul took collections on his missionary journeys to send back to the Jewish brethren who were in famine in Israel and elsewhere during the years of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. (In fact, it would have been natural for those Christians living in the first century to consider the famine that occurred after Jesus’ death and resurrection to be a precursor to his Second Coming and the establishment of the Kingdom.) Then, too, a tremendous earthquake destroyed Pompeii, Italy, in A.D. 79.
Therefore, Verses 6 and 7 describe the story of the human race ever since the First Advent until our day. “In diverse places” does not mean everywhere, but (“various places”) here an earthquake, over there a threat of war, or there a famine and etc. This has been the history of the Gospel Age.”
Verse 8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
“Mark 13:8 says, “These are the beginnings of sorrows.” Sorrows: (plural) representing a SERIES of spasms (birth pangs) of a woman in travail.
In contrast, 1 Thess 5:3 refers to the singular birth pang: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” (See Diaglott Interlineary, which has “the birth-pang” for “travail.”) This text refers to the (singular) birth: the beginning (death) pain of the present order.
Here in Matt 24:8 the same Greek word odin is used in the plural form, signifying a SERIES of travail spasms.
Verse 8 is a flashback to Verses 6 and 7. Wars, rumors of wars, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places are all the “beginning of sorrows,” for “the end is not yet.”
In Verses 4–8, Jesus is saying, “Be careful! Do not be deceived! From my day on, there will be many false Christs, many wars and rumors of wars, many pestilences, etc. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
In other words, Verses 4–8 are a synopsis of the Gospel Age not including the end time, for “the end is not yet.” Thus we are getting a picture of the Gospel Age up to the end period but not including it.”
Before we proceed on to the next verse we would like to present a few interesting questions in regards to Verses 6-8 in our next post.
VERSE 6-8 “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. 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.”
“Thus briefly did our Lord summarize SECULAR HISTORY, and teach the disciples not to expect very soon his second coming and glorious Kingdom. And how aptly: surely the world's history is just this--an account of wars, intrigues, famines and pestilences--little else.” (D566)
Verse 6 “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.”
“Down through the Gospel Age, actual wars and rumors of wars occurred. These also had to precede the end of the age. Thus, later, after the Holy Spirit had been given and these words of Jesus were meditated upon, the disciples realized that much time had to elapse before the end of the age could come.
Basically, the Holy Spirit is the spirit of remembrance, the remembrance of spiritual things (those things taught of the Lord). It calls to mind the words of Jesus, the apostles, the prophets, and of course the Father in His Word. John 14:26 reads, “But the Comforter ... shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Thus when the disciples later thought back on what Jesus had said in Matthew 24, they realized that the Kingdom was a distance away and that they probably would be off the scene. Peter especially realized this and so did Paul, who had a vision of the third heaven. However, the apostles did not realize that almost 2,000 years had to pass first.”
Verse 7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”
“Many use Verse 6 to describe conditions since World War 1 (Our day, viz. the 19th and 20th centuries), when the world became involved in conflict, plus the “famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” of Verse 7.
Today the news media and television make us more aware of these kinds of occurrences, whereas, in truth, such troubles have taken place endlessly down through the Gospel Age. Even in the Old Testament there was a seven-year famine in Israel at the time of Joseph versus a five-year famine in Ethiopia in recent times. The Apostle Paul took collections on his missionary journeys to send back to the Jewish brethren who were in famine in Israel and elsewhere during the years of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. (In fact, it would have been natural for those Christians living in the first century to consider the famine that occurred after Jesus’ death and resurrection to be a precursor to his Second Coming and the establishment of the Kingdom.) Then, too, a tremendous earthquake destroyed Pompeii, Italy, in A.D. 79.
Therefore, Verses 6 and 7 describe the story of the human race ever since the First Advent until our day. “In diverse places” does not mean everywhere, but (“various places”) here an earthquake, over there a threat of war, or there a famine and etc. This has been the history of the Gospel Age.”
Verse 8 “All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
“Mark 13:8 says, “These are the beginnings of sorrows.” Sorrows: (plural) representing a SERIES of spasms (birth pangs) of a woman in travail.
In contrast, 1 Thess 5:3 refers to the singular birth pang: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” (See Diaglott Interlineary, which has “the birth-pang” for “travail.”) This text refers to the (singular) birth: the beginning (death) pain of the present order.
Here in Matt 24:8 the same Greek word odin is used in the plural form, signifying a SERIES of travail spasms.
Verse 8 is a flashback to Verses 6 and 7. Wars, rumors of wars, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places are all the “beginning of sorrows,” for “the end is not yet.”
In Verses 4–8, Jesus is saying, “Be careful! Do not be deceived! From my day on, there will be many false Christs, many wars and rumors of wars, many pestilences, etc. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
In other words, Verses 4–8 are a synopsis of the Gospel Age not including the end time, for “the end is not yet.” Thus we are getting a picture of the Gospel Age up to the end period but not including it.”
Before we proceed on to the next verse we would like to present a few interesting questions in regards to Verses 6-8 in our next post.
