(February 18, 2022) In the movie Miss Congeniality, Sandra Bullock plays an FBI agent who poses as a Beauty Contestant to help solve a crime. One of the many comedic moments of the movie occurs during an interview of Sandra Bullock’s character, Gracie Hart, by the Master of Ceremonies, played by William Shatner:
Stan Fields: (William Shatner) “What is the one most important thing our society needs?”
Gracie Hart: (Sandra Bullock) “That would be… harsher punishment for parole violators, Stan.”
Gracie Hart: “And world peace!”
Her last comment gets a laugh from the audience because beauty pageant contestants are portrayed as somewhat naïve, and everyone knows that “world peace” is just too fantastic to ever happen.
According to Family Times, in over 3580 years of recorded history, there have only been 286 years of peace. The prophet Isaiah was right. Man does not know the way of peace! (Isaiah 59:8)
WW1 was supposedly the “War to end all wars!” Of course, it did not. Since WW2 there have been hundreds of wars all over the earth. Jesus said war would be a “sign” of His second coming. (Matthew 24:6)
“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.”
After visiting the Temple, several disciples came to Jesus and asked Him what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3)
After listing deception, Jesus first statement about the timing of His return would be war upon the earth. But since there have always been wars, what are we to make of Jesus’ statement? There have been wars constantly since 31 A.D. — nearly 2,000 years!
The same is true for the other signs Jesus gave — “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, . . . famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.” (Matthew 24:7)
The disciples wanted to know what would immediately precede Jesus coming.
Christ first mentioned deception (Matthew 24:4), but since Jesus’ death, the Christian world has been filled with deception, with conflicting versions of Christianity, with customs, traditions and celebrations far different than the early New Testament Jerusalem Church. Like war, the world has experienced nearly 2,000 years of religious deception since Jesus gave this prophecy.
Since war, famine, sickness, and earthquakes have always been around – WHY WOULD JESUS SPECIFY THESE CONSTANTS AS SIGNS JUST PRIOR TO HIS COMING?
Did he want His followers to be on edge for 2,000 years, always supposing the “end of the age” was just around the corner? If knowing the general time of the end of the age wasn’t important, then Jesus wouldn’t have given any clues.
Three Keys of the Olivet Prophecy
Sometimes those who know prophecy get excited because there is a preponderance of earthquakes that take place around the world. Other spectacular events in nature like Tsunamis or volcanoes also give rise to speculation about the fulfillment of Bible Prophecy.
Let’s face it — wars, famines, pandemics and earthquakes are part of man’s existence. How do you separate them from the actual signs of His coming? The answer lies in 3 factors that must coincide with events that have always been part of man’s history.
In the private conversation with Peter, James, John and Andrew (Mark 13:3-4), Jesus said; “this gospel will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations. . .” (Matthew 24:14). “Gospel” means “good news,” but very little of the Olivet Prophecy is really good news. Jesus indicated that the nations of the world would be warned that man’s government and systems would be coming to an end — to be replaced by the righteous government of God! Micah, among many other prophets, foretell this wonderful time when man finally learns of God. (Micah 4:1-5) Mankind will be prosperous, successful and happy! The Good News of God’s coming Kingdom should be well received. But other prophecies, such as Revelation 11:18 show us that the news the governments of man will be replaced by God’s government will be met with hostility.
Jesus said this announcement would go out to all the world. It makes sense, doesn’t it? The Bible also tells us that God reveals His plan through prophecy (Amos 3:7). The principle of Ezekiel 33:1-11 helps us understand the responsibility for human messengers to proclaim a message of warning and encouragement. Revelation 11:3-7 show the work of two witnesses, who will proclaim God’s message of warning and hope for 3 1/2 years, and Revelation 14:6-7 show angelic proclamation that will take place at the same time! The world will not be deprived of God’s warning of impending doom and punishment for disobedience!
The second key to understanding the timing of this important prophecy is that at a future date, Jerusalem will be “surrounded by armies.” (Luke 21:20) Matthew and Mark both refer to this event as being similar to historical events of the past — also mentioned by the Prophet Daniel, as “the abomination of desolation.” (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14, Daniel 12:11) Nearly 40 years after Jesus’ meeting with His disciples, Jerusalem was surrounded by Roman legions, and the Temple was razed to the ground, in fulfillment of Matthew 24:2. In the mid 6th century B.C., Daniel’s prophecy projected events nearly 400 years into the future, of the ruler of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus Epiphanes. He placed a statue of Jupiter in the Temple in Jerusalem in 167 B.C. This ancient event would be a type of future prophetic fulfillment. What happened in Jerusalem in 167 B.C. and 70 A.D., were types of what will happen at the “end of the age.”
In modern times, since the establishment of the nation of Israel, the Jewish state has successfully repelled hostile nations in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973. Israel is always on war preparedness footing, yet in the future, foreign armies will surround the city of Jerusalem, and a bold and charismatic religious leader will become a future “abomination of desolation.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
The final key to understanding the timing of the Olivet prophecy is found in Matthew 24:21-22. Jesus said there would be such turmoil on earth that if it were not cut short by His return, “no flesh would be saved.” If God let man continue on his current path, then annihilation of all human life would be the conclusion. This could only be possible in a time when man has the sophisticated weaponry that could accomplish this task. A holocaust that could envelope all humanity has technically been possible since the mid 1950’s with the combined nuclear weapon arsenals of all nations.
The Olivet Prophecy of Jesus Christ covers a lot of ground. The disciples were well aware of the ancient prophecies and types that Jesus referred to. The major signs of deception, war, famine, pestilence and earthquakes, combined with the gospel message, the occupation of Jerusalem and the potential of the destruction of human life help the reader to understand that these events will all happen concurrently.
Do not prematurely react to single events, no matter how spectacular, such as wars and rumors of wars.
Or, famine, disease outbreaks or earthquakes – if they are isolated events, as if they were specific signs of Jesus’ coming. Since these have always been part of man’s history, they ONLY become signs of Jesus imminent coming when they are coupled with extreme deception, tribulation, the gospel of the Kingdom being preached, and Jerusalem becoming the focal point of world affairs such that armies are surrounding it.
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