"3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
5 And JESUS answering them began to say, TAKE HEED LEST ANY MAN DECEIVE YOU:
6 For many shall come in MY name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, "BE YE NOT TROUBLED": for such things MUST needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows."
Many times I sit down to study GOD's Word in a rush to get my day started, thinking GOD is obligated to reveal HIS truths to me because I took three to five minutes to share my "wish list" with HIM! These four disciples were inquiring of JESUS what to expect in the future and how they should react to what was coming. One thing that stands out to me is they took time to ask JESUS "privately" and then they listened for an answer. They didn't do like I have been known to do....ask and expect to receive on the run! They waited to hear from JESUS like a child waiting on a bedtime story!
And JESUS did not disappoint! HE began by saying "Take HEED lest any man deceive you". JESUS wanted HIS disciples, the ones HE had hand-picked, to realize they needed to be aware the enemy (the great deceiver) would be trying to trick them into believing "any lie" to frustrate their walk in the TRUTH! The enemy is still up to his schemes and deceiving. He wants to be focused on "any lie" he can so we will not be focused on the TRUTH! We must "take heed" not to be caught in a pace that we are deceived!
When we are focused on the evil that exists in the world, we can't focus on how good GOD is and how much HE has done for us. The enemy is quite deceptive, or beguiling (Genesis 3:1), and he will do anything to draw attention away from GOD and HIS goodness. In verse seven JESUS tells us the key to living a strong life for HIM. "BE YE NOT TROUBLED" is not a suggestion or something to fall back on. It is a command! According to JESUS the times will continue to be perilous in the future, but we should "BE YE NOT TROUBLED"!
It is interesting to me that JESUS did not tell HIS disciples that everything will be smooth and rosy. No, JESUS told them that nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. In other words, the dissenting parties (kingdom against kingdom) doesn't mean that the dissension will be limited to "nation against nation"! Yes, perilous times are headed our way (2 Timothy 3:1). But be assured, "BE YE NOT TROUBLED" was meant for us also. The enemy has ALREADY been defeated! We are just waiting for the VICTOR to be declared!
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