The beginning of sorrows

In my previous message, Not one stone, I wrote about Jesus’ prophecy that the temple would be torn down so completely that not one stone would be left upon another. This statement from Jesus led to His following discussion with His disciples.

The Olivet Discourse and the Seal Judgments

Jesus sat down on the Mount of Olives and the disciples came to Him privately and said: “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”(Matthew 24:3)

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 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. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Matthew 24:4-8

As you’ll see in a moment, the sequence in which Jesus mentions these events corresponds with the sequence of the first six Seal judgments of Revelation. The seals are the first of a three-part series of judgments that will be poured out upon the Earth during the tribulation, which is why Jesus calls them “the beginning of sorrows”. In this context, the word sorrows are also referred to as birth pangs. This informs us that each judgment will be more intense than the last and they will become more frequent as the end of the tribulation comes to a close.

Let’s take a look at the sequence of events now. I’ll cover the judgments of Revelation in greater detail in a later message.

Matthew 24:5 and the First Seal

Jesus warned that there will be many who claim to be the Christ and many people will be deceived by them.

For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
Matthew 24:5

This corresponds somewhat with the First Seal judgment which introduces the arrival of the ultimate deceiver, known as the Antichrist.

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Revelation 6:1-2

The identity of the final Antichrist will be revealed at the midpoint of the tribulation when he will sit in the temple of God and claim to be God. John MacArthur wrote “the white horse represents a time of world peace – a false peace that is short lived. This peace will be ushered in by a series of false messiahs, culminating with the Antichrist”. The bow in the Antichrist’s hand (with the absence of arrows) represents a bloodless coup in which the Antichrist will become the ruler of the one world government. You can learn more about the Antichrist in my earlier message, Twelve ways to identify the Antichrist.

Matthew 24:6-7 and the next five Seals

In just two verses, Jesus summarizes the remaining judgments that complete the beginning of sorrows.

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. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
Matthew 24:6-7

Wars and rumors of wars

There have been wars and rumors of wars for thousands of years. The past 100 years have brought two world wars in addition to many others. It seems that the world has constantly been at war, but all the death and carnage that the world has seen will pale in comparison to the wars that will come in the last days.

Matthew 24, verse 6 and the first part of verse 7 correspond to the first part of the second seal judgment.

When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.
Revelation 6:3-4

In stark contrast to the rider on the white horse who has a bow without any arrows, the rider of the red horse carries a large sword that empowers him to enact war worldwide. As horrible as this judgment is, this is only the beginning of sorrows. War and slaughter will become much worse before the end comes.

Famines

The next part of Matthew 24:7 mentions a time of severe financial crisis. This corresponds to the third seal which introduces the rider on the black horse.

When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
Revelation 6:5-6

The Roman denarius was a silver coin that's the amount of money an average worker makes in a day. A quart of wheat or three quarts of barley provide just enough food to survive for one day. So, this verse is saying that the average worker will have to work all day long just to make enough money to eat. He won’t have any money left over to spend on anything or anyone else. This crisis may be the result of global economic collapse or a world-wide famine or both.

Pestilences

The next part of Matthew 24:7 mentions pestilences, a word which is most commonly associated with infectious diseases but can also mean anything that causes destruction, or great harm. This corresponds to the fourth seal.

When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
Revelation 6:7-8

The color of the rider’s horse is interesting because the original Greek word that was translated as pale is chloros, which literally means green or yellowish pale. Some Bible scholars take this to mean that the rider of this horse represents Islamic jihad. I don’t know if this is a correct interpretation or not but it does line up with what we see happening in the middle east and all around the world. Of course, this verse also mentions hunger, which would be caused by famine. A lack of seafood would also contribute greatly to world hunger, especially in countries that depend upon the sea for much of their food.

Notice that it also mentions death caused by the beasts of the earth. Interestingly, there was a recent report of a sea lion that attacked a girl on the beach recently. The cause of that unusual attack is thought to be due to a brain virus in the animal. Of course, if animals are hungry enough, they'll overcome their fear of humans and attack to feed their bellies.

As a side note, the riders described in the first four seal judgments are commonly referred to as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Earthquakes

The last part of Matthew 24:7 mentions earthquakes which correspond to the sixth and seventh seals.

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
Revelation 6:12

The earthquake described in this verse is not a typical earthquake but a great one. The sun becoming black and the moon becoming like blood indicate that this earthquake is so severe that it puts so much smoke and ash in the atmosphere that it blocks the sun. Most likely this earthquake triggered one or more volcanoes to erupt. Having large amounts of smoke and ash in the atmosphere could block all of the light rays that reflect off of the moon at night, except for the red spectrum, which would make the moon appear blood red.

Seventh Seal

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
Revelation 8:5

The sixth and seventh seals are not even the worst of the earthquakes that the inhabitants of the earth will endure in the last days. If you read to the end of Revelation, you'll see that it gets much worse.

Why is all of this important?

We’ve all experienced or heard about wars, famines, and earthquakes during our lifetime. They’re nothing new but here’s the point. They will intensify in magnitude and become more frequent in the last days. So much so, that at some point everyone will recognize they are experiencing judgments from God (Revelation 16:9).

Jesus gave us these signs so we could be ready for His return. You’ll want to be ready so that you don’t miss the rapture because if you do, you’ll be here on earth instead of in heaven when God pours out His wrath upon the Earth.

If these judgments come to pass in the order they were mentioned in the Olivet discourse and the seal judgments, that would be a clue for the people who are still on the Earth during that time that they are living in the very last days before the return of Christ. God wants His people to be ready for His Son’s return. I pray that you’ll be ready when the Lord returns for His church and that you’ll help others to get ready too.

I look forward to seeing you face-to-face in heaven,
Daniel

Related messages

The Rapture and the Second Coming
The abomination that causes desolation
Twelve ways to identify the Antichrist
Final 7 years: How we can know when the tribulation has begun