Do Not Fear the Future

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you...”
(rf. Matthew 24:3-4)

“But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.”
(rf. Mark 13:32)


Earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. Civil war in Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain. Economic turmoil throughout the known world breeding uncertainty as to the future. Many are running to the Scripture to find not only comfort and peace amidst troubling times, but also reasons for the things that are happening. They believe that what was written so long ago is as determining as the newspaper headlines printed for today. Added to that are the harbingers of woe from the secular world telling us that, according to the prophets of the Mayan culture predominantly along with the foretelling of Nostradomus of the 16th century, the world will undoubtedly come to an end in December of 2012.

However, if we are to be Biblical Christians and follow the words of Christ specifically, we should be a people of hope and not despair. After all, as the Apostle John tells us in I John 4:18-19, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.”

Fear of the future should not be a part of our pedigree. We should trust in our God without question. He has promised to take care of His people...period. Therefore, we should live our lives in perfect peace, knowing that we are totally secure in Him. Whether we live or die, we are His and He will never leave us nor forsake us ever. He has promised to provide for our every need regardless of the circumstances. So, again, we should not fear the future.

Therefore, having such an encouragement, let us look at what the Scriptures actually state above so we will not fall prey to foolish nonsense that desires to captivate the unsuspecting and ignorant among us. Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 24 in answering the two questions of His disciples that He wants no one to mislead them as to what the signs of His coming and those of the end of the age, two separate events, will be. To correctly interpret this passage, we must understand that Jesus is speaking to His disciples in the first century, not the twenty-first century. We must never look at the passage first through the lens of our own time, but through the time period in which the passage was originally spoken or written in order to correctly exegete or grasp the meaning.

Secondly, Jesus’ use of “coming”, especially in reference with clouds, power and glory (vs. 30) is an Old Testament pseudonym for judgment (rf. Psalm 97:1-6; 104:1-4; Nahum 1:2-3). If that were true, then His “coming” to the disciples would have been understood as judgment to Jerusalem and to the Jewish people for rejecting their Promised Messiah, a judgment foretold in Matthew 23:37-39 in the same context. Indeed, Jesus spends the first thirty or so verses of Matthew twenty-four simply warning His disciples to flee from Jerusalem when these signs appear because the judgment that He brings will be so severe (rf. Matthew 24:5-31).

Jesus goes on to state (rf. Matthew 24:32-25:30) what the signs of the end of the age would be by virtue of parables, a feature common to the teaching style of Jesus. He shares the parables of the fig tree, the thief in the house, the ten virgins and the talents to give different dynamics of what to look for as signs that the end of the age is coming, of how his followers are to prepare themselves for when He returns to bring all things to their final culmination. He then provides the capstone of this discussion with His disciples by disclosing what the last judgment will look like (rf. Matthew 25:31-46) with Christ separating the people into two groups, His sheep into one with all the rest as the “goats”.

Why am I sharing this brief synopsis of Matthew 24/25 with you? For the very same reason Jesus shared with His disciples: “See that no one misleads you.” The only way that we as believers can safely navigate through troubled times like these is to hold on tightly to God’s Word rightly understood. There are too many folks out there who are trying to profit from the fears of others, exploiting turmoil, and, yes, using God’s Word as a tool to accomplish their ends. Do not be fooled by them! Remember Jesus’ words in Mark: “But of that day or hour no one knows”. If anyone makes a prediction concerning the end of the world or the coming of Christ, etc., mark them down as a false prophet regardless of their credentials!

Make no mistake. Jesus will return in His own time according to the Father’s will. When He does, He wants us to be about the Father’s business. That is what should be our primary concern. We should be ready to welcome Him here nor wringing our hands about when will He be coming! If our hearts are pure, it will not matter when He returns after all. Will it?