Not Yet

“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
“But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win life. Luke 21:7-19


Jesus' statement about the destruction of Jerusalem had the disciples in a bit of a dither. Other gospels indicate that they thought that would be the end of the present world and the beginning of the eternal kingdom, which they expected to happen very soon. They didn't realize, just as the old testament prophets didn't, that there was to be a great interval between the two advents of Jesus, as well as between the two coming great judgments.

He didn't tell them when it would be. He told them instead that it would NOT be, until certain things were manifested in the world and in the believers' experience.

1. There will be many false Christs, proclaiming "I am he. The end is near." Don't believe them. There are other things to be fulfilled first, beginning with the destruction of Jerusalem. Having been so warned, His disciples were therefore not deceived by the impostors, who did come on the scene very soon.
2. There will be wars, talk of war, upheaving of nations, declines of empires, risings of new ones.
3. There will be what we call natural disasters. Over and over again. These are signs that the end is not yet.
4. Persecutions. Oh, yes. "Christians must undergo a discipline of hatred among the nations because of the Name they bear" (A.B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve). These charges that will be brought against the Christians will give opportunity to publicly witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some will betray Him, but others will persevere in the faith, to the glory of God.
5. Jesus will give the persecuted ones the words they need to speak in their hour of testimony. It will be such a powerful witness, there can be no credible contradiction. Even so, members of ones own household will often betray the believers. Some will be martyred for the faith because of this. The hatred for the believers will be "because of Me (Jesus)."

Nevertheless, God's provision for His own is always perfect. Whatever evil we receive from the world, God knows about it and has provided for our peace and our spiritual strength throughout the ordeal. Our position is permanently IN CHRIST, and that means we have eternal life right now and forever.

There is much more to this eschatological discourse (things to come--last things) in the following verses, and we will examine those teachings very soon. Suffice it to say right now that those of us who believe the Word of God and take its teachings literally have our times of excitement and despair regarding the prophecies of the end times. We, like the disciples in those few days before the passion of the Christ, have lots of questions, lots of expectations, sometimes we foolishly misinterpret current events to mean more than face value. One thing genuine Bible believers know very well: when some deluded preacher or false prophet tries to fix a date for the rapture of the Church, he's either sadly confused, or lying. Either way, we are not deceived. We know the end is not yet. And we know we will know when the end IS. Meanwhile, we wait and watch, and conduct our daily lives as unto the Lord.