The Begining of Sorrows (study) (Update)

The tribulation period will be a very scary time for all of mankind. There have been throughout history, since the time of Christ, men saying that the tribulation period has begun, but all seem to have been proven wrong by the fact that we are all still here.  However, there are many signs that believers should be able to point to for the purposes of discerning these times. Believers should be able to see what is going on around them, and thus KNOW that the tribulation has begun. There are more end times prophecies in the Bible than any other type of prophecy, even those concerning the birth of Christ. My objective is to show what the tribulation will look like, how to tell if it has begun, and what man should expect to endure during the last days.

Beginning of Sorrows

Now that we have it established that everyone will be here during the entire tribulation period, let’s figure out just what will take place during those times. The Book of Revelation discusses these times, in depth, but let’s start in the Book of Matthew.

-          Matthew 24: 5-8

⁵ For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. ⁶ And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

            So let’s break this down to a list

1.      False Christ’s

2.      Wars and rumors of wars

3.      Nations against nations

4.      Famines

5.      Pestilences (Fatal disease of epidemic proportions)

6.      Earthquakes in many places

            During the beginning of the tribulation I can see False Christ’s playing out in two ways. The first being, we will see false prophets that will claim that Yeshua is the Christ, but they will teach doctrine that holds no standing in the Bible. This could mean twisting the Word just enough to make it false, but still sounds very true to those believers that do not take the time to study the bible themselves. We can see this happening in many areas of the church today. They all claim Yeshua is the Christ, but they all have different ideas on what is supposed to be done or not done. For instance, dispensationalist groups believe that the church and the Jews (Israelites) are two separate entities in the body of Christ. However, there are other groups that believe that all believers are part of the same family. The latter seems to be the truth in my opinion based on this verse.

-          Romans 11: 17

But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.

The second way is this verse may also be referring to men claiming themselves to be Christ. José Luis de Jesus Miranda is one of these men. He is gaining more and more popularity throughout the state of Texas. This verse could be taken in either context, and I think that both ways are very possible, and both ways will in fact take place, if they have not already begun. However, the closer we get to the second coming of Yeshua, the more the false gospels will be taught. We will get into that a bit later.

            There will also be many wars and rumors of more. There have always been wars and rumors of war, so the wars that are being discussed here may have some significance. As of right now, there are several countries threatening to invade Israel. These nations are Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Hezbollah, and Syria.

Psalms 83: 2-8

Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies?
    Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up?
³ They devise crafty schemes against your people;
    they conspire against your precious ones.

“Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation.
    We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”
⁵ Yes, this was their unanimous decision.
    They signed a treaty as allies against you—
⁶ these Edomites and Ishmaelites;
    Moabites and Hagrites;
⁷ Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites;
    and people from Philistia and Tyre.
⁸ Assyria has joined them, too,
    and is allied with the descendants of Lot. 

These countries today are

Edomites – Palestine and Southern Jordan

Ishmaelites – Saudis

Moabites – Palestine and Central Jordan

Hagrites – Egypt

Gebalites – Hezbollah and Northern Jordan

Ammonites – Palestine and Northern Jordan

Amalekites – Arabs of the Sinai Area

Philistia – Hamas of the Gaza Strip

Tyre – Hezollah and Southern Lebanon

Assyria – Syria and Norther Iraq

            Just turning on the world news you will no doubt see that all these very countries want Israel gone. Some of these countries have themselves on film claiming they plan to destroy Israel, or at minimum they plan to invade. This may be more significant than other wars because the bible was written by Hebrews from the perspective of the Israelites. So it seems to only make sense that the end times wars and rumors of wars would somehow involve them.

Famines have been and continue to occur in many parts of the world. California is the producer of much of the United States crops. They have been in a severe drought over the last three years. According to the San Francisco Gate News, “After three consecutive years of below-normal rainfall, California faces its most severe drought emergency in decades. Governor Jerry Brown has called for Californians to reduce water use by 20 percent voluntarily, and mandatory rationing could be ordered soon so that homes, businesses and farms don’t run dry over the summer. Wildfire danger is unusually high.” If this continues, there may be a famine here in the U.S. Furthermore, I believe that the more a country turns there ways away from YHWH, the more that country will suffer under similar situations.

Epidemic diseases will break out in many countries. This one really scares me. I am somewhat concerned that an epidemic may be linked to the mark of the beast form the end times. I say this for two reasons. The first is I believe the mark of the beast will be some sort of genetic alteration that will make humans no longer humans. I link this to an epidemic because of what we find in revelation concerning the mark.

-          Revelation 16: 2

 So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue.

The second is, a disease could break out, and it could be so bad that people are dying off left and right, massive populations dead within hours or days. Then there could be a miracle cure that the world governments just so happen to have. But not only will this cure stop the disease from spreading to you, it also prevents any further illness, and grants you a false immortality. How else would man desperately search out death, but be unable to achieve killing himself?

-          Revelation 9: 6

In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!

I have also taken into consideration, the idea of a disease so horrid that it would potentially wipe out all of mankind. Think of it this way, a virus breaks out in some small third world country and utterly destroys every man, woman, child, and animal. After that the virus begins to spread to other nations, eventually reaching first world countries. It just so happens that these countries have a vaccination for this specific virus. I say this because there just may be something like this during the last days. No flesh shall be saved, except those days were shortened. Yeshua swoops in and puts an end to the disease and stops His elect from taking the mark of the beast.

-          Mark 13: 20

And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

We will also hear of many earthquakes, possibly in areas of the world that they do not normally occur. There seems to be many reports of earthquakes over the past two to three years that equal more than we are normally used to. I decided to look into this and I came across a lot of secular articles that deny this claim. They seem to be saying that we are not having any more than normal, but rather we are better equipped to be aware of them than we ever were before. I’m not sure if that means anything, or if just knowing about them is enough, especially since some of these earthquakes are happening in places we previously didn’t know felt their trembling shake.  

These things will only be the beginning of the treacherous times ahead.

            After He speaks of the wars, Yeshua goes on to say….

-          Matthew 24: 9

⁹ Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

            This quote not only suggests that believers must deal with persecution, but also, because they believe in Christ, they will be hated and killed. In order for believers to stand strong throughout the tribulation, they must hold a strong core belief that the word of God is true. Unfortunately, Christ says that many will be deceived. Presumably meaning that they will either believe the many lies of those that are teaching false doctrine, or they will reject the word in order to save their lives. Christ has something to say about that as well.

-          Luke 17: 33

³³ If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.

            This must be true during the tribulation period. When the day comes that the mark of the beast is given to us and we must choose whether to accept whatever this mark is, or possibly lose our life by denying it, that is the day that this verse should ring in your ear. By attempting to save your life and accepting this mark, you will be condemning yourself to an eternity in Hell.

            Concerning the false teachers the Book of 2 Timothy gives us a little insight as to what to do when we encounter them. This book also gives a little detail on what it is they may be saying and what will become of them.

-          2 Timothy 3: 5-9

⁵ They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!⁶ They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of^] vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. ⁷ (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth...).  ⁸ These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. ⁹ But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.

The fact that these men will “act” religious tells me that they will be preaching the gospel in a twisted way or they will have their own version of a gospel message to share with everyone. These men will oppose the word of God. The definition of depraved is the suffering of a severe and damaging lack of basic material and cultural benefits. Meaning these men will have no clue of the meaning of the Bible and therefore could not be teaching its truth. The very next statement seems to confirm this. They will have a “counterfeit faith.” This counterfeit faith will most likely “look” really good. It will probably have a nice, everyone is equal and we all need to get along feel to it. No doubt, these things will lead to the one world government, and religion of the tribulation.  We are told to “stay away from people like that,” so that believers do not fall victim to the lies being spread.

There are signs that we can look to right now that may suggest that the tribulation has already begun, if not the tribulation then at least the beginning of sorrows. I am again referring to the Book of 2 Timothy, it reads…

-          2 Timothy 3: 1-4

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. ² For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. ³ They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. ⁴ They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 

 Without any doubt I suggest that people today are very boastful and proud. From my own personal experience I know of men and women that scoff of God, they claim atheism and some think that we are our own gods. These people attack me on social media sites whenever I post anything concerning my belief in Yeshua. Children today are very disobedient and ungrateful. I cannot think of another time in our history that children were able to get away with being lazy, inconsiderate, or disrespectful as they do today. Things that used to be held sacred, such as virginity, or the sanctity of marriage, are sadly no longer sacred. Children are giving away their virginity younger and younger. I have heard confirmed stories of how middle and high school students perform sexual acts at school during school hours. Sexual relations are supposed to be between a man and his wife, and they are supposed to be sacred. Unfortunately, there is a appalling lack of understanding in this area of children’s lives. Those that are married are having extra marital affairs, without any regard for the vows they gave to their spouse. These vows were not only between themselves and their spouse, but also a third party. YHWH. The three of them came together to be joined as one in the eyes of YHWH. Not only that, but more and more state and federal governments are pushing and allowing for homosexual marriages to take place legally. This just shows that not even marriage is held as sacred in our society.

One of the biggest verses that stand out here is, they will “be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.” I have noticed the word pleasure has also been translated as money; this seems very plausible as well considering that in today’s world one needs money in order to obtain pleasurable things. I see this more and more. The love of pleasure and/or money has reached epic proportions. Many people with the means to help the less fortunate would rather allow those people to suffer in order to obtain pleasurable things. Even though many times they could afford to help AND take their vacation.

It is not hard to see that we could be living in at least the beginning of sorrows today. Men are boastful and proud, there is nothing held sacred. Men certainly love money more than God. Children are very disobedient. Men do act religious even when there is no truth in them. There are wars, rumors of wars. Famines, pestilence, and earthquakes have been occurring in different places all over the world. We need to start preparing for what happens next.