Who Is Jesus? Part 4Sample

It’s the End of the World

In today’s chapter, Jesus says a lot about topics that may inspire doom and gloom. And unfortunately, many people have picked up wrong ideas about what He really meant. So, let’s clear up some misconceptions.  

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. … But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Matthew 24:4-6, 36 NIV

See, unfortunately, many people read chapters like this about the end times and quickly fall into one of two traps. Either the pitfall of fear, or that of misplaced anticipation. The point of apocalyptic passages is not to try to predict the end of the world or to get caught up in anxiety about what is to come. The point is to teach us to remain faithful and committed to following Jesus through the inevitable hardship we will experience. 

As followers of Jesus, we can walk into the future with confidence because we know the end of the story. Our King defeated death, hell, and the grave, and the same Spirit who raised Him from the dead lives in us. So, no matter what comes our way, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. In John’s Gospel account, Jesus spells it out clearly: 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV

What Jesus reveals to us is not to freak us out or send us into a craze of calculations to predict the end of the world. It’s actually so that, in Him, we would have peace. Let that sink in for a second. Clearly, we will experience hardships. Following Jesus is NOT the easy way out. It’s not just a “get out of jail free” card. It’s an invitation to partner with God in bringing His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus declared war on hell and won the ultimate victory with His death and resurrection. But there is still intense resistance throughout the clean-up process. And it won’t be finished until Jesus comes again. But in the meantime, we have a job to do. And it’s not predicting the end of the world—not even Jesus knows the exact moment He’s coming back! Our job is to continue the restoration process that our risen King has started. 

So instead of letting chapters like this scare us, let’s realize that they are actually intended to prepare and propel us to live our lives with faithfulness, peace, and hope. Because we know the end of the story.