A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 9 -- Matthew 24:6-7a(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)
"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom..." (Matthew 24:7-7a)
The wars and rumors of wars described by Christ in the Olivet discourse correspond with the second horseman of the apocalypse in Revelation 6:
When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come."
And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. (Revelation 6:3-4)
In our most recent study, we saw how the first horseman (Revelation 6:1-2), on the white horse, and wielding an empty bow, is symbolic of Antichrist initially emerging as one who will be reputed to be a peace maker. The second horseman, on a red horse, carrying a great sword, shows Antichrist's true colors: Antichrist will be a man of war! The final world empire under the authority of Antichrist will crush every opponent in its path. Included will be an agenda to destroy believers in Christ and to annihilate the Jewish race.
The warfare of Antichrist will eventually lead to the Campaign of Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16; Zechariah 12:2-9). An early stage of this campaign is described in Zechariah 14:
Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. (Zechariah 14:1-2)
Notice that all the nations will be gathered in battle (verse 2). Preterists, who believe that that this prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem, have a hard time explaining Zechariah's phrase: all the nations. They'll try to get off the hook by telling you that this is an exaggeration, a common feature of apocalyptic literature. But in the next verse, the Preterist runs into another problem:
Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle (Zechariah 14:3)
Preterists generally agree that the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was the fulfillment of the many prophecies which predict God's judgement against Jerusalem. In fact, many Preterists believe that "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory," in Matthew 24:30, is symbolic of the Lord's judgment on Jerusalem through the Roman army. But Zechariah 14:3 describes the Lord fighting the nations attacking Jerusalem. Yes, fighting the nations, plural, and fighting the nations attacking Jerusalem, not fighting Jerusalem! By any stretch of the imagination, this passage could not have already been fulfilled. This is a phase of a final campaign, in which the "kings of the whole world" will be gathered together "for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty" (Revelation 16:14).
Furthermore, at the conclusion of this campaign, the Lord will restore the wealth of His covenant people and will gather all the nations and take them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat to judge them:
"For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all the nations
And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
Then I will enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
And they have divided up My land." (Joel 3:1-2)
Because of the ruthlessness of Antichrist, "the son of destruction"(2 Thessalonians 2:3), the world will suffer unprecedented carnage from the ravages of war. However, Antichrist will meet His end in the lake of fire (Daniel 7:11; Revelation 19:20). Although the Antichrist will initially disguise himself as a man who will bring peace to the world, it is only Jesus Christ who is able to bring genuine and permanent peace to mankind. Until He does, there will be wars and rumors of wars.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/
