Keep proclaiming the gospel – 15 September 2022
By Ben Fourie
Se(di)ngolwa (t)sa Bibele
MATHEU 24
MATHEU 24
From time to time, important things happen on the world stage, for example, a war that catches everyone’s attention, pandemics, storms and earthquakes. Every time something like this happens, someone will see it as a sign that the world will come to an end very soon. They usually base their ideas on passages in the Bible, for instance, what Jesus said in Matthew 24 and 25.
Both these chapters are prophetic announcements about the end of time and I would recommend that you read both of them. Of all things that Jesus pronounced as signs of the coming end, we are going to concentrate on world politics. Throughout history, this is the one thing that brought the most danger, adversity and disruption to mankind. Earthquakes, storms, pandemics like Covid-19, the black death of the Middle Ages and the Spanish flu of 1918 can wreak havoc and kill many people, but it is usually limited to a year or so. Wars that are directly linked to world politics are always present. Statistics that I got from the internet show that since 1900, there was not a single year where there was not a war being fought, somewhere in the world.
In our Bible reading for today, Jesus is also talking about war between nations and kingdoms. He wants us to see that the world is a very violent place, but in the midst of this violence, the kingdom of God will endure for ever. In the first three centuries after the church came into being, there was constant war against the followers of Jesus, but the message still went out into the world.
Without this message of love and peace, the world would have been an even more violent place. With all the wars that happened over the past hundred years, many people ask if the end of time is near. We just don’t know. Maybe, there are still millions of unborn people who have to hear the gospel. Our job is to keep on sowing. Only God will know when it will be enough.
Prayer: Our prayer is that you, Lord, will please help us to keep bringing your message of peace to our violent world. Amen
