The Beginning of Sorrows Matthew 24:4-8

The past is the key to the present and the future The covenants have aspects yet to be fulfilled The land is yet to be fully provided to Israel The throne of David is to be filled by Messiah The nation is to be saved & enter the kingdom The church is an interim and separate entity

There are some major predicted events yet future The Church is to be raptured There will be a time of tribulation There will be a literal return of Christ There will be a physical, millennial kingdom There will be specific resurrections/judgments There will be a new heaven and a new earth

So, when will these things be? What should we know about the timing? How does the demise of the temple and Jerusalem relate to the coming of Christ? What will signal the coming of Christ?

What sign? “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30, NKJV)

Jesus had just alluded to His departure and return… “See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” (Matthew 23:38–39, NKJV)

The disciples asked, “When will these things be?” “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.” (Luke 21:20, NKJV) “Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” (Acts 1:6–7, NKJV)

I. The Significance of the Birth Analogy “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:8, NKJV)

A. The birth analogy gives a timing insight The conception and growth are not immediately obvious There is pain and distress immediately before birth The birth is a new beginning with much more anticipated

Important observations: The Kingdom will not be delivered until after the Tribulation The Kingdom will not come until the King arrives The Tribulation will not come until after a gestation period

B. The birth analogy gives an encouragement insight There is warning that tribulation will come There is encouragement that the Kingdom is coming There is encouragement that the Kingdom’s coming is soon once the tribulation intensifies There is encouragement that the tribulation is limited in time and intensity

C. The birth analogy has prophetic insight The phrase “birth pains” had its metaphorical origin in the OT This corresponds to Daniel’s seventieth week Mt 24:4-8 refer to the 1st half of the tribulation Verses 9-14 refer to the 2nd half [hard labor]

II. The significance of the King’s Anticipated Arrival “And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” (Matthew 24:4–5, NKJV)

A. The danger of Deception The nature of the 2nd advent lends to fraudulent imitation -This text has a far interpretation (in future) -It has a near application (for the present) The timing of the 2nd advent lends to fanciful speculation

There are three common views regarding the timing of Mt 24… Preterism (Past): Most prophecy including all of Mt 24 & Rev 4-19 was fulfilled in AD 70 Historicism (Present): Most prophecy including all of Mt 24 & Rev 4-19 is being fulfilled in the inter-advent age, between the two comings Futurism (Future): Most prophecy including Mt 24 & Rev 4-19 will be fulfilled in the future

Matthew 24:6-7 “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.” (NKJV)

B. The indication of trouble The nature of the predicted events -Political instability -Natural catastrophes The timing of the predicted events -The first seal judgments of Revelation 6 seem to correspond to this text

The beginning of birth pains (Matt 24) 5 False messiahs who will mislead many 6-7 Wars, rumors of wars, nation against nation 7 Famine 7 Death through famine, pestilence, earthquakes

The first four seals (Rev 6) 2 First seal: Rider on white horse, false messiah 3-4 Second seal: Rider on red horse takes away peace from the earth 5-6 Third seal: Rider on black horse holds balances, represents famine 7-8 Fourth seal: Rider on pale horse, represents death through famine, pestilence, wild beasts

Summary chart…

Concluding thoughts: In the context, all these things (4-8) will happen during the period of the beginning of birth pains The place and value of studying prophecy… Prophecy is to give hope Knowledge of the future encourages us to holy living We look forward in hope to the return of Christ