Wars and Rumors of War: The Beginning of Sorrows

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 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 24:4-8

Has the world entered into a period the Bible calls the beginning of sorrows?

When asked by His disciples how they would know the time before He returned to earth, Jesus spoke of a time He called “the beginning of sorrows.”

This time, Jesus went on to explain, could be known by several types of events which would be taking place. Some commentators have described these events as “birth pangs.”

So has the world entered into that time known as the beginning of sorrows? How can one be sure?

THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS

“And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.

Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”
–Luke 21:8-11

How can one be sure when the beginning of sorrows commences?

After all, there’s always been the various component parts which Jesus described. There has always been wars, deception, rumors of war, false Christs, famine and earthquakes.

What will differentiate this particular time from those which came before it?

Any number of commentators over the last 2000 years have seized upon any of these events to forecast “The End is Near!” What makes the time before Jesus any more special than any of these other periods?

Like always, the answers are to be found in God’s Word.

Before He returned, Jesus said here would be

1. deception,
2. false Christs,
3. wars,
4. rumors of war,
5. famine
6. earthquakes in divers places.

In case the reader thinks this series of events is a haphazard one, Jesus sent word to the apostle John about sixty years later reaffirming the order of some of these events.

In the Revelation, Jesus showed John the vision of the four horsemen. These horsemen were messengers from God. They provide a bit more information about the events Jesus described for the apostles before His resurrection. The four horsemen are released in a specific order.

THE WHITE HORSE

“And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.”
–Revelation 6:2

There has been great disagreement among famous Bible commentators on the identity of the rider on the white horse. Some say it’s Jesus; some say it’s a figure they call “the antichrist” or “the beast.”

As is usual with the choices offered by famous Bible commentators, neither answer is correct. The answer is not Jesus, because after the first horsemen is gone, Jesus is still in heaven unloosening the seals of the scroll. The answer is not “the antichrist” because one beast is seen rising “up from the sea;” the other is seen “coming up out of the earth.”

The white horse rider is the false Christs and deception.

THE RED HORSE

“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”
–Revelation 6:4

The second rider on the red horse is war.

THE BLACK HORSE

“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.”
–Revelation 6:5-6

The rider on the black horse signals famine and scarcity of food.

THE PALE HORSE

“And when he had opened the fourth seal…And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
–Revelation 6:7-8

The rider on the pale horse represents death: death from the events unleashed by the previous riders and other events described elsewhere as well. Death will claim one-fourth of all who are then alive.

CONCLUSION

So, false Christs, war and famine and death are represented in the four horsemen. The signs Jesus detailed in His description of the beginning of sorrows are already present to one degree or another.

1- Great deception, the first of the signs of the beginning of sorrows, come first. For a number of false Christs to appear and to mislead many, deception has to already be rampant upon the earth. Deception is not only present, it is ubiquitous.

2- False Christs? A great number of men have claimed to be “anointed” [Christ means “anointed one”; Latin Chrīstus < Greek chrīstos anointed, translation of Hebrew māshīaḥ anointed, Messiah]

Even many local churches have men who claim (or others claim in their name) to be “anointed.” The white horse will no doubt release a number of men claiming to be Christ Himself.

3- Presently, there are many wars: Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen are but a few. But the wars are not yet worldwide in scope.

4- Rumors of war is a daily event now with a worldwide communication network and the Internet. Anyone who follows closely the daily news knows of the many “rumors of war.”

5- Famine

• North Korea tells its citizens to prepare themselves for famine
• Famine threatens parts of sub-Saharan Africa
• Drought triggers fears of humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia
• The international community must act to prevent famine in Somaliland

6- The last event spoken of by Jesus, “earthquakes in divers (many) places”, has been taking place. The number of locations of these earthquakes has increased exponentially over the last 10 years.

Jesus told his disciples they would not know the day or the hour of His return, but they would know the season by watching for the signs. While the world will be clueless, the followers of Jesus would not be.

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 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.

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
–1Thessalonians 5:1-4

The world is–has been–in the beginning of sorrows.

The first sign the reader may easily recognize is the release of the red horse: worldwide war.

“And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.”
–Mark 13:5-8

Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation

There’s still yet time to leave the kingdom of darkness and be transformed into the kingdom of light.

Tender Mercies of the Lord: Will Not Always Be Available

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:”
–2Corinthians 4:3

THE GOSPEL

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-8

“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
—John 20:31

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16

RELATED ARTICLES

• False Prophets: Forerunners of the False Christs
• Do You Know if You are Going to Heaven? Be Sure!
• End Times Choice: Mercy or Wrath?
• Snaring Souls in the Church of the Dragon
• America’s Occult Heritage: From Colonial Abominations to End Times Antichrist World Power
• BEWARE FALSE PROPHETS: An End Times Sign
• Anointed 2016 Candidates: Ted Cruz Not the Only Candidate Anointed to Rule
• Return of Jesus Christ: What are You Looking For?
• 35 Most Important ETPR Articles

by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier

images:
1- ETPR/africa, FreeDigitalPhotos.net/ETPR
2- ETPR/pd
3- Stuart Miles, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

© Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report, 2012-16. © Mondo Frazier and End Times Prophecy Report, DBKP 2007-2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeremiah J. Jameson and End Times Prophecy Report with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Link Disclaimer: inclusion of links to other blogs/websites is not necessarily an endorsement of all content posted in those blogs/websites.