When we look at Matthew chapter 24, Jesus pointed to the Temple in Jerusalem and said, “Assuredly, not one stone that form the Jerusalem Temple shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” The disciples heard this and asked two questions: “When will these things be?” and “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

The Lord always prophesies the things He will do in the future by using the real things of this world as an illustration. He says that not one stone that forms the Temple of Jerusalem shall be left here upon another. Through this, the Lord is telling us how the world will be destroyed He said those words with such implication, and the disciples asked the Lord with consecutive questions “When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

The Lord uses reality manlike this to illustrate the work He will do in the future. The Lord speaks of the beginning of the disasters, saying, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:4-.

The beginning of sorrows that the Lord talks about means the disasters that announce the beginning of the Seven-year Tribulation. He is saying that before the Great Seven-year Tribulation, there will be nations rising against nations, famines, and earthquakes in various places. The Great Seven-year Tribulation will begin after many people appear and say they are Christ.

Let’s look at the Revelation 6:5-6. It says, “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.””

It says that when the third seal is opened, the period of the black horse will arrive, and it will be the period of famine. What the period of famine means, as we have read in today’s Scripture passage, there will be famine and earthquake in various places and nations will rise against nations. After this will be the period of the pale horse, when the anti-Christ will appear and the killing of the Israelites will occur. Then we who have received the remission of the sin among the Gentiles will be martyred.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 also talks about this is this manner, “Who opposes and exalts Himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” It means that, in the end times, a leader, under the guise of serving the Lord, will go against God and proclaim that he is the Messiah. The Apostle Paul continues to say, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

NATION WILL RISE AGAINST NATION, AND KINGDOM AGAINST KINGDOM

What else did the Lord say would happen in the time of the Great Tribulation? He said, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”

Recently Russia has seen a surge of extreme nationalism. It is calling for the expulsion of all nonRussians and demanding that foreigners, including the Jews, give up all their commercial and economic interests in Russia and return home. In the years to come, Jewish people all over the world will have to return to Israel. At the present time, Jews scattered throughout the world have a dominant commercial presence. But nations are now rising against nations. Nationalism is surging ahead, just as God said it would in the end times. Because of this, when we look at these events, we realize that everything is coming to pass exactly as the Lord had said.

With the end of World War II, many independent, nationalist states were formed. More recently, when the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, a number of independent states were formed. The Soviet Union had been a federal state formed by sixteen republics, tightly controlled by the central government in Moscow. With its disintegration under President Gorbachev, each republic became an independent nation-state. These republics have now formed independent states. But there still are many ethnic groups engaged in civil war, and struggling for independence. Just like this, every nation is actively seeking to form its own social community.

The problem is that a struggle for independence often leads to ethnic conflicts. The prevalence of racial supremacy is often followed by ethnic cleansing to suppress and rout out other ethnic groups. Just as the Lord taught us that nations would rise against nations and invade each other, some of these events have already occurred throughout the world. Many countries all over the world saw a surge of nationalist movements with people gaining their independence. In the years to come, we will continue to see nations rising against nations. Weak countries like Korea will be swallowed up by the great powers, while the great powers will struggle against each other for supremacy. Since God said that this would happen, it will happen exactly as He said.

The European Union (EU) is now moving ever closer to full integration. European states now form a massive economic community using a single currency called Euro. When powerful countries integrate with each other like this, small countries are overwhelmed. When there is a clash concerning national interest, war is inevitable. That’s how nations rise against nations. The Lord taught us that when nations stand against nations, when war breaks out, and when natural disasters such as famines and earthquakes occur, then that is the beginning of sorrows.

When this happens, we all must remember clearly in our hearts that these events will happen in the end times. The Lord said that these events will unfold in the end times. There is nothing strange here in today’s Scripture passage. Everything will come to pass exactly as the Lord said. Simply put, there will be no peace in the end times. The Lord taught us that the world will turn into an unlivable place, filled with chaos, confusion, disorder, and madness.