August 10: TRADING SORROW FOR JOY
Christ’s prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem was the first of several “landmarks” to benefit His followers. The incredible force brought by pagan Rome against the unfaithful city should not have been a surprise to the unbelieving Jews, yet they were totally unprepared. They too had heard Jesus’ words. In addition, the Romans had already brutalized the Holy Land for well over 200 years by the time the Roman troops showed up to “stand in the holy place” (Matthew 24:15). The Jewish leaders who had ignored, denied, and ordered the crucifixion of Christ actually aligned with their persecutors—by their own choice—to silence this Man whose message posed a threat to their authority over the people.
It’s a long-standing principle in the Scriptures that persistent disobedience to the true Authority, the LORD God of Israel, brings judgements by the hand of an enemy. The instructions given by the LORD were always for the safety and happiness of His people, that they could thrive in a close relationship with Him, conveying a winsome message to the world of salvation only in the LORD. His Providence has consistently been for their protection, and His words reveal the conditional nature of His promises: “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).
In the days after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the message of salvation spread like wildfire. Pagan Rome attempted to crush the message and the messengers, but the more these were persecuted, the more new converts were added to the church. The persecution had a cleansing effect upon the church, as those who were “hangers on for bread and fish” fell away, while those who had gained an eternal perspective remained.
By the year 313AD, the church began its descent into apostasy. Compromises with pagan beliefs and practices were allowed by the church (see Revelation 2:12-24). From there, we move into the next warning provided by Jesus: “Then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world…” (Matthew 24:21) Jesus was pointing toward the great tribulation that would be inflicted upon His followers by the Roman church during the Dark Ages. The faithful remnant was forced into hiding, but 50 to 100 million—over a 1260-year period—were hunted down and subjected to sword and flame, captivity and plundering (Daniel 11:33).
These fulfillments of the warnings of Jesus are also foreshadowing last-day events. All who know the Lord Jesus personally and live by His word shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1), know[ing] Whom [they] have believed (2 Timothy 1:12). Countless other souls will be frightened and terror-stricken. But God’s people will instruct them to put their faith in the Lord. Many will—by their own choice—do so and will trade their sorrows for the joy of the Lord!
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Philippians 4:4-5