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 24:6-8)
What does the Bible say about the beginning of sorrows?
When we read these scriptures, we see that the beginning of sorrows has started a long time ago. These things have already taken place, for more than hundreds of years or we might even say for ages. However, lately, we see a significant increase, and things become worse.
When we look at the wars, we see an annual increase of 2% since 1870. We see that nation rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Even within nations, we see chaos and disharmony and people standing up against each other. There is an increase in violence, even within families. And let’s not forget terrorism, which has sown a lot of fear in the world. And all these things will only get worse.
Earthquakes, famine, and pestilences
Now, let’s have a look at the pestilences. In the Roman Empire, pestilences already existed. Between the 14th century and the 19th century, many people suffered from pestilences in Europe. Nowadays, there are still pestilences, like for example, Cholera, Malaria, influenza, SARS, Covid-19, Mexican flu, Ebola virus, etc.
Every day, (small) earthquakes take place. Is there an increase? We cannot tell, because we now have measurement equipment installed in many more countries and in many more places.
About 50 years ago, the equipment to measure earthquake activities was installed in only 500 different places. Today, it is installed in approximately 8000 places. That’s a huge difference!
Famine is an ongoing thing. Famine is still a problem and is present in diverse places. Although famine has decreased, it’s still there.
But despite the fact that we see all these things happening around us, Jesus gave us a command.
Jesus commands us, that we should not be troubled. Because these things have to take place. Jesus says, that these things are just the beginning of sorrows.
The important thing is, that you should not become fearful. Don’t allow fear to enter your life. Don’t be troubled, but trust Him. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Let His words be in you and obey Him so that you abide and remain in His peace.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
