Matthew Chapter 24
VERSE 6-8 continued, “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.”
Some questions in regards to these verses.
Question:
Have these things occurred ever since the apostles went off the scene until the Harvest, or will these things continue and increase in intensity right up to the great Time of Trouble?
Answer:
These things will not necessarily get worse and worse, for the great Time of Trouble involves other factors. It will be of a completely different nature than just these things occurring in greater and greater degrees. For instance, the mass materialization of the fallen angels will have to take place, as in Noah’s day. The fallen angels are held in bondage until the judgment of the great day (Jude 6). Then they will be released as a test, that is, to see what they will do. The Scriptures show that they will inundate the earth, and certainly that is not a cumulative trouble but a unique experience.
Before the Flood the evil angels materialized and had children, who became great men in violence and brutality. The population was evil and grew increasingly so day by day. But the Flood itself was the GREAT trouble, and it wiped out the evildoer.
The presence of the fallen angels on earth was a period of terrific trouble, but the Flood was far worse and completely different, for it was a divine judgment whereas the materialization's were not. The angels materialized because they wanted to. Through self-choice (free will), they left their first estate and preferred to be here on earth rather than in heaven. In contrast, the Flood was built into the structure of the earth and its atmosphere (preordained). It was designed by the Creator to occur when the last of the rings of water eventually collapsed. The collapse was perfectly timed to occur as a divine judgment.
Question:
Sometimes Verses 6 and 7 are applied to the Harvest period but not to the very end of the age. For example, the frequency of earthquakes has greatly increased recently hasn’t it? Wouldn’t that be a factor?
Answer:
No one can make such a statement with certainty. Today we can (with modern devices) measure earthquakes of all intensities worldwide, but up until a few years ago, man could not do that. In fact, past earthquakes were far more severe than those we have today. Entire civilizations were destroyed, as on the Isle of Crete in 365 A.D. Moreover, when scientists examine evidences of earthquakes that occurred in the past and look into the history of various nations, their attempts to assign a year to a particular quake can be quite inaccurate because their chronologies are way off.
And consider the pestilences. Pestilences have been greatly reduced in the Harvest period through medications, antibiotics, etc. For example, the Black Plague was devastating. In Oxford University, England, two out of every three students died, and half of the population of that nation expired. We have had nothing like that pestilence in the last 100 years. Right after World War 1, one out of ten died from influenza, but those figures are far lower now. Also, in the past the mortality rate in time of war was much higher than it is today.
Our media—collecting news items from around the globe—make things sound much worse today, whereas past civilizations suffered considerably more. A higher percentage of the population was affected. Ever since the flu outbreak which followed World War 1, the casualty rate for this particular (pestilence) has decreased.
Verses 4–8 provide a thumbnail sketch of the history of the Gospel Age from the time the apostles asked Jesus the questions (Verse 3) up until the beginning of the Harvest. The Harvest is the end of the age, and that is Matthew’s point (Matt. 13:39). However, based on what the other Gospels say, there is an extension into the Harvest period of wars, rumors of wars, etc. But Matthew’s account is written a little differently. Matthew gives a picture of the history of the Gospel Age, whereas Mark and Luke include other things to bring us through the Harvest period to its end.
Verses 6–8 speak of the problems that would exist PRIOR TO the Lord’s Second Coming.
Verse 8 indicates the Gospel Age would be a period of great sorrows that would precede the answer to the two questions: “What shall be the sign of thy presence? What shall be the sign of the end of the age?” These sorrows (the series of troubles) are only the beginning, not the ending.
“Travail” is a period of suffering. The suffering of the Gospel Age has been caused by war, famine, earthquake, etc. The travail of Verse 8 is a series of spasms, but in 1 Thess 5:3, “travail” is an improper translation. The thought is of a “birth pang” (singular). It is unusual for that word in the Greek to be in the singular.
In regard to the “famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” of Verse 7, some feel that the word “pestilences” is omitted in the oldest manuscripts. This is true in
Matthew, but the word is found in Luke 21:11. The omission in Matthew 24 is probably due to a transcriber’s oversight. Also, in Mark 13:8, although “pestilences” is not used, the word “troubles” is there, thus broadening the picture.
Actually, the translators did not know whether to use “plagues” or “pestilences,” for although a disease is a plague, a plague is not necessarily a disease. For example, plagues include monsoons, sandstorms, floods, and other outstanding troubles. The broader meaning was intended, although “pestilences” were a common form of plague down through the Gospel Age.
Ancient manuscripts were written on lamb or goat skins that were dried and stretched. The Sinaitic was written continuously—that is, without punctuation or verses—and in all capital letters in Greek. Either a brush or a flat pen was used for the characters. A problem is that with age the letters tend to flake off or fade, making those portions difficult to read. “A,” “D” and “L” in the uncial Greek look very similar, so that fading and flaking cause real confusion in certain instances. Only diligent study of grammar, context, etc., will straighten out the confusion.
In the Greek the words “famine” and “pestilence” are almost identical, the former being limos and the latter loimos. Furthermore, kai is used very, very frequently. A fatigued copyist could easily mix up the two words. And that is what happened in Matt 24:7 in the Sinaitic Manuscript—a whole line was omitted: kai loimos.
We will move on with our study to Verse 9 in our next post.
VERSE 6-8 continued, “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.”
Some questions in regards to these verses.
Question:
Have these things occurred ever since the apostles went off the scene until the Harvest, or will these things continue and increase in intensity right up to the great Time of Trouble?
Answer:
These things will not necessarily get worse and worse, for the great Time of Trouble involves other factors. It will be of a completely different nature than just these things occurring in greater and greater degrees. For instance, the mass materialization of the fallen angels will have to take place, as in Noah’s day. The fallen angels are held in bondage until the judgment of the great day (Jude 6). Then they will be released as a test, that is, to see what they will do. The Scriptures show that they will inundate the earth, and certainly that is not a cumulative trouble but a unique experience.
Before the Flood the evil angels materialized and had children, who became great men in violence and brutality. The population was evil and grew increasingly so day by day. But the Flood itself was the GREAT trouble, and it wiped out the evildoer.
The presence of the fallen angels on earth was a period of terrific trouble, but the Flood was far worse and completely different, for it was a divine judgment whereas the materialization's were not. The angels materialized because they wanted to. Through self-choice (free will), they left their first estate and preferred to be here on earth rather than in heaven. In contrast, the Flood was built into the structure of the earth and its atmosphere (preordained). It was designed by the Creator to occur when the last of the rings of water eventually collapsed. The collapse was perfectly timed to occur as a divine judgment.
Question:
Sometimes Verses 6 and 7 are applied to the Harvest period but not to the very end of the age. For example, the frequency of earthquakes has greatly increased recently hasn’t it? Wouldn’t that be a factor?
Answer:
No one can make such a statement with certainty. Today we can (with modern devices) measure earthquakes of all intensities worldwide, but up until a few years ago, man could not do that. In fact, past earthquakes were far more severe than those we have today. Entire civilizations were destroyed, as on the Isle of Crete in 365 A.D. Moreover, when scientists examine evidences of earthquakes that occurred in the past and look into the history of various nations, their attempts to assign a year to a particular quake can be quite inaccurate because their chronologies are way off.
And consider the pestilences. Pestilences have been greatly reduced in the Harvest period through medications, antibiotics, etc. For example, the Black Plague was devastating. In Oxford University, England, two out of every three students died, and half of the population of that nation expired. We have had nothing like that pestilence in the last 100 years. Right after World War 1, one out of ten died from influenza, but those figures are far lower now. Also, in the past the mortality rate in time of war was much higher than it is today.
Our media—collecting news items from around the globe—make things sound much worse today, whereas past civilizations suffered considerably more. A higher percentage of the population was affected. Ever since the flu outbreak which followed World War 1, the casualty rate for this particular (pestilence) has decreased.
Verses 4–8 provide a thumbnail sketch of the history of the Gospel Age from the time the apostles asked Jesus the questions (Verse 3) up until the beginning of the Harvest. The Harvest is the end of the age, and that is Matthew’s point (Matt. 13:39). However, based on what the other Gospels say, there is an extension into the Harvest period of wars, rumors of wars, etc. But Matthew’s account is written a little differently. Matthew gives a picture of the history of the Gospel Age, whereas Mark and Luke include other things to bring us through the Harvest period to its end.
Verses 6–8 speak of the problems that would exist PRIOR TO the Lord’s Second Coming.
Verse 8 indicates the Gospel Age would be a period of great sorrows that would precede the answer to the two questions: “What shall be the sign of thy presence? What shall be the sign of the end of the age?” These sorrows (the series of troubles) are only the beginning, not the ending.
“Travail” is a period of suffering. The suffering of the Gospel Age has been caused by war, famine, earthquake, etc. The travail of Verse 8 is a series of spasms, but in 1 Thess 5:3, “travail” is an improper translation. The thought is of a “birth pang” (singular). It is unusual for that word in the Greek to be in the singular.
In regard to the “famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places” of Verse 7, some feel that the word “pestilences” is omitted in the oldest manuscripts. This is true in
Matthew, but the word is found in Luke 21:11. The omission in Matthew 24 is probably due to a transcriber’s oversight. Also, in Mark 13:8, although “pestilences” is not used, the word “troubles” is there, thus broadening the picture.
Actually, the translators did not know whether to use “plagues” or “pestilences,” for although a disease is a plague, a plague is not necessarily a disease. For example, plagues include monsoons, sandstorms, floods, and other outstanding troubles. The broader meaning was intended, although “pestilences” were a common form of plague down through the Gospel Age.
Ancient manuscripts were written on lamb or goat skins that were dried and stretched. The Sinaitic was written continuously—that is, without punctuation or verses—and in all capital letters in Greek. Either a brush or a flat pen was used for the characters. A problem is that with age the letters tend to flake off or fade, making those portions difficult to read. “A,” “D” and “L” in the uncial Greek look very similar, so that fading and flaking cause real confusion in certain instances. Only diligent study of grammar, context, etc., will straighten out the confusion.
In the Greek the words “famine” and “pestilence” are almost identical, the former being limos and the latter loimos. Furthermore, kai is used very, very frequently. A fatigued copyist could easily mix up the two words. And that is what happened in Matt 24:7 in the Sinaitic Manuscript—a whole line was omitted: kai loimos.
We will move on with our study to Verse 9 in our next post.
