Matthew 24: 10-13 “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
Most pastors have touched on Matthew 25 in one form or another from the pulpit or in a Bible Study. Most stop at the end of chapter 24 as though the complete thought of Christ was translated; but, this is not true. To understand Matthew 24 is to read all of it, 25, and stop at chapter 26 verses 1. Of course there are many other passages we need to confer with as well but for now, I want to concentrate on Matthew 24.
I also want to look at the passage now from a different perspective. We know from the Word that there will be wars and rumors of wars in the last days. We know that there will be pestilences and famine around the world and earthquakes in many different places. But, what we don’t acknowledge is the outright ‘quackery’ and heretics we will face in the form of godliness but denying the power thereof.
The above scripture teaches that because sin will abound or be blatant, the love of many will grow colder and colder. We must remind ourselves that we are in but not of the fray of this world. Just as we are on the water and not in the water! The adversary will do what he can to steal your peace, joy, and love through straight on and oft times frivolous interaction designed to steal what God gave you and hand off to you the shear fear, hate, greed, and contempt that belongs to him and his followers. II Timothy 1: 7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control]. We have sound minds, calm, and personal discipline! I love the amplified Bible version!
Jesus taught that in the last days a great deception would fool even the elect if those days were not shortened! Don’t allow the enemy to render your heart cold, hard, and defeated like his. Rise up like the eagles! When the weather and winds start to get rough the eagle spreads its wings and uses the force of the assault to propel high above the raging winds!
You can too through Christ! Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. Keep your eyes on the prize our redemption draws near. Blessings