Many believers hear about wars…
earthquakes…
economic collapse…
…and immediately say,
“Matthew 24 is happening right now.”
But slow down.
Open the Bible.
Rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Because everything Jesus spoke in Matthew 24 is not written to the Church, the Body of Christ.
And if we confuse prophecy with mystery…
we trade peace for panic.
▪️What did Jesus really mean by “beginning of sorrows”?
In Matthew 24, the Lord described:
• wars
• famines
• pestilences
• earthquakes
Then He said,
“All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
Those events are not random history.
They are not “general bad news.”
They belong to a specific prophetic timeline.
They are the birth pains of the Day of the Lord —
Israel’s coming time of judgment and tribulation.
▪️That timeline has a name: Daniel’s 70th Week
Daniel 9 speaks of a final seven-year period still future.
Seven literal years.
Divided into two halves.
3½ years… then 3½ years.
It begins when:
• Israel makes a covenant with the coming world ruler
• the Antichrist rises to power
• false peace comes first
Then suddenly…
• war
• famine
• death
• persecution
And halfway through?
The covenant breaks.
The mask comes off.
And Great Tribulation explodes.
That’s the real “beginning of sorrows.”
Not today.
Not the Church age.
But Israel’s prophetic future.
▪️So where are we now?
Here’s the part many miss.
The prophetic clock stopped.
God interrupted the program.
Not canceled —
paused.
Why?
Because of something hidden before the world began.
“The revelation of the mystery.” (Romans 16:25)
God saved Saul of Tarsus…
made him Paul the Apostle…
and revealed something brand new:
A new body.
A new agency.
A heavenly people.
The Church, the Body of Christ.
Where there is:
• neither Jew nor Gentile
• no covenant signs
• no prophetic timetable
• only grace
This is not prophecy.
This is mystery.
This is the dispensation of the grace of God (Ephesians 3:2).
▪️What about the chaos we see today?
Wars?
Natural disasters?
These are not “tribulation signs.”
They are simply life in a fallen world.
Jesus said those signs belong to Israel’s future.
Paul never told the Church to watch for earthquakes or Antichrist.
Instead he said:
“Looking for that blessed hope…” (Titus 2:13)
Not signs.
Not seals.
Not the Beast.
But Christ.
▪️Our next event isn’t Tribulation — it’s Rapture
Before prophecy restarts…
Before Antichrist appears…
Before Daniel’s 70th week begins…
Something else happens first.
The catching away of the Body of Christ.
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
We are caught up.
Delivered from wrath.
Taken to heavenly places.
Not appointed to the Day of the Lord.
Not appointed to judgment.
Appointed to grace and glory.
▪️So what should we do?
Not fear.
Not speculate.
Not chase headlines.
Instead:
• Rest in grace
• Stand in sound doctrine
• Preach the gospel clearly
• Live faithfully
• Look upward
Because this age is not wrath.
It’s Amazing Grace.
Salvation is simple.
Not signs.
Not works.
Not rituals.
Just:
Christ died for our sins
was buried
and rose again.
(1 Corinthians 15:1–4)
Believe that — and you’re saved.
Don’t let Matthew 24 steal your peace.
That chapter belongs to Israel’s future.
But today?
Today belongs to grace.
And our hope isn’t the “beginning of sorrows.”
Our hope is a Person.
And He could come at any moment.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
