Mathew 24 paints a vivid picture of what will happen during the end times. Verse 9 takes a turn from what will happen in the world, to focus on what will happen amongst those who proclaim Christ. I’d like to focus on verses 9-13 and its reality for us now. As I share, I want you to keep in mind, that as a child of God, we don’t have to live in fear. God doesn’t want us to be afraid, but He does want us to be prepared. He wants us to know that He is faithful to His Word; and His Word promises that those who endure until the end will be saved.
I’ll never forget taking my son Elijah to the dentist when he was about 10 years old. He was returning to have a cavity filled for the first time. Before we went, I knew it was my responsibility as a parent to prepare him. I said, “Elijah it will be ok. They will give you a shot and honestly, it will hurt a little, but then you won’t feel any more pain. You may feel pressure when they drill but you will get through it.” I could tell he was a little concerned, but relieved at the same time, knowing what to expect. When we got to the dentist, he said to the nurse, “Is it time for my shot?” She said, “There are no needles today. Don’t worry about it.” I was sitting in the room with him and thought to myself, “I guess it’s such a tiny cavity, they aren’t going to numb him.” Then the nurse proceeded to turn her back to me and I hear Elijah give a cry of pain. We were both shocked to discover she had lied to us, thinking that ignorance was better. Instead of peace, however, this caused my son greater agitation.
People of God, we can’t bury our heads in the sand. Ignorance is not bliss. We must know the TRUTH, speak the TRUTH and walk in the TRUTH at all times; and God the perfect parent, is equipping us to do so.
Let’s read verses 9-13.
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Matthew 24:9-13
This portion of Matthew 24 makes 3 statements about what we as Christians can fall prey to, if unprepared in these end times. In fact, he prophesies that MANY actually will fall prey to these things. With that in mind, we must take seriously what he is saying.
In this blog post, I’ll just discuss the first one and then continue next week.
1. OFFENSE
And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Matthew 24:10
Offense is talked about a lot these days. So much so, “I hear people say all the time, “I’m not offended,” which is usually an indicator that they are. People leave churches because they are offended. They cut off relationships because they are offended. But as the saying goes, “We ain’t seen nothing yet!” The offense we are in danger of as things grow darker, will have greater repercussions on our life if we are caught off guard.
The NIV says “MANY will fall away from their faith,” in place of the word “offense”. This is because the Greek word for offense “skandalizo” also means to “cease believing” The offenses committed against us will be designed by satan, to pierce and break our very hearts, to the point of being tempted to cease believing and walk away from our faith. Wow. How will this happen?
The offense to come will not be from petty things like, “Well, Jane didn’t say hello to me in church today.” Or “I don’t like what John said to me.” Or even “I don’t agree with Mike’s political stance.” These offenses, are minor, compared to those that will come from the deep wound of… BETRAYAL
Just the sound of that word is ugly, isn’t it?
The reason betrayal is so deep and painful, is because it doesn’t come through casual relationship; but rather through people we are in close relationship with. People we have trusted. People we thought we could count on. People we would never have expected it from. That’s the whole motive of the spirit behind betrayal – to wound deeply.
It’s important to realize that people that betray you, most likely began with being offended, and that offense became unforgiveness, which turned into bitterness, which led to hatred. The Bible says, bitterness defiles many. There’s that word again. Bitterness distorts the mind of the person dealing with it, and causes their every word and action to be influenced by it. (Hebrews 12:15) The truth is, hurt people, hurt other people. But don’t be naïve; we may begin as the one being betrayed, but can also become the betrayer, if we allow offense to set in our own hearts. It’s a vicious cycle the enemy loves.
People of God, we must guard our hearts. We must choose to become unoffendable. We must not just talk about it, but be about it. We must deal with offense as soon as it threatens to grip our hearts. We must also be aware, that betrayal will happen. If it happened to Jesus again and again, it will happen to us. Does this mean we shouldn’t trust anyone from this point on? No. It means we must walk closely with the Lord, and hear who God is calling us to walk closely with. We are to love everyone, but not always agree or align ourselves with them. What hath light to do with darkness?
Then when betrayal does happen, we must remember that Jesus overcame great betrayal, and so can we. We must take the very real pain of betrayal, and lay it at the foot the cross, knowing God can supernaturally heal our hearts. It means following Matthew 18:15-17, all the way up to the last verse, where it says if the person doesn’t receive it, to treat them as a heathen. I emphasize this part, because as Matthew describes in Chapter 24, many who once called themselves “Christians” will turn away from the faith, and we must treat them as heathens. How do we treat the heathen? We love them as we love the unsaved, recognizing their condition and praying fervently for their salvation.
Church, now that we know the truth, let’s hold onto it. Let’s be prepared. Let’s be sober and vigilant as we know our enemy is looking for the perfect moment to devour us. Being armed with truth is half the battle. Stay closely connected to the Holy Spirit in this season. He will make us aware of the pitfalls satan sets up for us and help us to overcome every trap of the enemy. We will overcome.
Next week we’ll continue, but for now, let’s pray:
Father, I ask that our hearts would be unoffendable. Let that be a determination in our Spirit right now. Help us to walk in your love towards everyone, but have Your wisdom to walk in agreement with only those you have called us to for Kingdom purposes. Give us the discernment and foresight to see betrayal coming, so that we are not blind-sided. Even then, it can still hurt and disappoint us, so help us to take that pain to the cross immediately, knowing you are the Healer. Protect our hearts from the deep wounds the enemy would love to inflict upon us. Help us to raise our shields of faith and quench every fiery dart. And finally, strengthen us, so that we do not grow weary in doing good, or become discouraged by the evil we see, knowing that as we endure, we will reap a harvest of righteousness in our lives for your Glory. In Jesus Name. Amen.
