Our paragraph topic is: (Christ warns them not to be led astray) Part 12.
We can read between the lines. We can understand the sign of the times. There was much more being said than what was written in these short few lines of text. It all started out with the pride of the disciples with the beauty and grandeur of the Temple grounds of Jerusalem. They wanted to show Christ all the wonderful majesty of what Israel had built. They were proud to be Jews, proud to be a part of what their religion had built. But Christ saw beyond the surface, underneath the beauty. He saw the true nature of the foundation of what the nation of Israel was built upon and how it was falling in decay.
They could not see what was happening right before their very eyes. The disciples could not understand how the joy and majesty of their beloved nation would fall into decay. So Christ had to open their eyes and show them what was happening, show them what was to come and what would be the ultimate outcome of the beauty they saw. He wanted them to know so they would not be led astray like so many by the forth coming fear that would take hold of the people. So he told them all the things that would take place. And he said: "But all these things are the beginnings of sorrows."
There was more to come. More pain, more suffering, more unnatural events, more deaths to come that would cause the people of Israel to run from their belief in the one true God. They would search for reasons, meaning, answers, search for causes that would satisfy their beliefs only for a moment until the next disaster occurred. They would follow this leader or that one, anyone that had an explanation to the why and wherefore of what was happening.
Was the end coming? Can we stop it from coming? What do we do? Do we offer gifts to a god or sacrifice to appease it? What can we do? Does the government have a solution to all that is happening? Can they stop the problems? The people will be in a panic and will not know what to do or where to go, who to believe or who to follow. Leadership will be in a panic also without any viable solutions. It will be doomsday for all.
Do not be led astray by all this. Hold fast to that which has kept you safe. Believe in the Lord and he will protect and provide. We are his children. Christ has already given us his words to guide us during those times of sorrows. We know what will happen. We know what will come. We know not to panic and not to be led astray by the fear that will sweep over the land. He is our rock and our salvation. He is our place of refuge in the midst of the storm and there we will find peace. Be strong. Be safe. Keep your faith. Trust in what has been given you. Know that he is with you always and he will see you through.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ . The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
