Matthew 24 - Part 12

In our examination of Matthew 24, we have arrived at verse 7, which states: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” 

Nation [ethnos:G1484] Shall Rise [egeiro:G1453] Against [epi:G1909] Nation  [ethnos:G1484] 

The three terms, “nation shall rise against nation” are only found together in this verse, as well as the parallel verses in Mark 13:8, and Luke 21:10. Wars have been numerous and commonplace throughout history up to our present day and beyond. However, the “warfare” that God has in view spiritually has to do with only two very specific nations that we read about back in Genesis 25:21-23, “And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she [was] barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. {22} And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If [it be] so, why [am] I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. {23} And the LORD said unto her, Two nations [are] in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and [the one] people shall be stronger than [the other] people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”  The two boys were Jacob and Esau who exemplify the only two “nations” or kingdoms that God is concerned with spiritually: the Kingdom of God, and the kingdom of Satan. Romans 9:10-13 provides a commentary on Jacob and Esau: “And not only [this]; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, [even] by our father Isaac; {11} (For [the children] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) {12}  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. {13} As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”

During the period of the Great Tribulation (May 21, 1988 - May 21, 2011) the warfare between these two spiritual nations reached its greatest intensity, culminating in the defeat of Satan, the fulfillment of the Great Commission, the end of salvation, and the beginning of a prolonged “day” of judgment, in which the entire world has been under the wrath of God, as we learn from Revelation 19:15, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

Famines [limos:G3042] And [kai:G2532] Pestilences [loimos:G3061] And [kai:G2532]  Earthquakes [seismos:G4578]

The next three terms, though present in the world in varying degrees throughout history, have to be understood spiritually. Remember, the Bible is first and foremost a spiritual book, and that particular level of meaning is the most difficult to ascertain, beyond the basic historical facts or moral application that might be in view as well. This is why God gives us His methodology for “comparing spiritual with spiritual”  (according to 1 Corinthians 2:13) and we can include the very letters of both the Hebrew and Greek alphabets that make up those words), as Matthew 5:18 underscores, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”  These three “disasters” only surface together in the parallel verse in Luke 21:11, “And great earthquakes [seismos:G4578] shall be in divers places, and famines [limos:G3042], and pestilences [loimos:G3061]; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”  Amos 8:11-12 help us to discern the spiritual “famine” that God is concerned with: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: {12} And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find [it].”  

Lord willing, in our next installment, we will investigate the terms, “earthquakes” and “pestilences.”

Summary: During the Great Tribulation the battle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan intensified as never before; it was a time of spiritual “famine... of hearing the words of the LORD.” 

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