Woe to the Earth
The Bible discusses a time that is coming that it the 'Great Tribulation'.
Matt 24:21
KVJ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
American Standard Version for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.
The Emphasized Bible For there will be then Great tribulation, Such as hath not happened from the beginning of the world until the present time, Neither in any wise shall happen.
NW Translation for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.
I've heard a LOT of rhetoric around what that means. But Jesus was pretty specific in Matthew 24 about how matters would transpire.
In the opening verses of Matt 24 he tells his disciples to look for:
wars and reports of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.
Then people will hand you over to tribulation (Note, NOT the great tribulation) and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations on account of my name. Then, too, many will be stumbled and will betray one another and will hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and mislead many; and because of the increasing of lawlessness, the love of the greater number will grow cold. But the one who has endured to the end will be saved. And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
It is only then that we see him introduce the idea in verse 21 of the 'Great Tribulation' that befalls all humankind. A global circumstance that is worse than anything man has seen before.
That means, look at history, all the worst stuff we've done to each other? Just the warm up.
Just the horrible horrible warmup.
What will get us through that? Faith. A relationship with the Creator, with God. IDK what atheists will make of the situation. My guess is the perception of aliens will somehow play in. A plausible explanation as to why the world is going to hell in a hand basket.
Not that it isn't already there.
But wait, there's more!
Its sometime during this period that the Book of Revelation discusses the idea of the 'harlot' (false religion) being destroyed by the world's governments.
It is an incredible development. Monumental. We think mankind has has some landmark events, but they'll be footnotes in history. Humanity will NEVER forget what Jesus dropped in that discussion at Matt 24:21.
what's wrong with me?
As with all things hypocritepoet, I want to make it about me. Maybe you too.
This isn't new information. if it's new to you, google great tribulation what is is wol.jw.org and get informed. Study God's word the Bible. This isn't a drill and it isn't a joke.
My question is, 'what's wrong with me?'. I've been a serious student of the Bible for more than 40 years. I lived my entire life like it was going to trigger tomorrow. Any day of the week for more than 2100 weeks, that's 15,000+ days, I lived like it could start.
That's not hyperbolic.
It's true, there were times when it felt more immediate than others. But rarely did more than a week go by before I began to feel that sense of urgency.
So, why, dear dear reader, is it that as I face the doorway to old age, does it finally feel on an emotional level that it could be decades away?
this Isn't an intellectual matter. I KNOW it can't be far off. Matt 24 has been largely fulfilled in my short life, but the emotion of it is different.
I an only say it must be relate to a weakened faith or that somehow my hope in a better future is tarnished. For so long, no matter how bad things got, how dark the day became, I could imagine things getting better. I saw myself make real progress emotionally and spiritually.
For the first time, I feel stuck. Stuck in time, stuck in location.
There's been 10 years of family tragedy involving deaths, suicides, disablements, sickness and disarray. That is definitely adding up, taking it's toll. I was able to live past it for a long time. As in: keep my face to the wind and endure.
But along the way, something broke in me. I lost my balance and when I reached out to regain it, all i found was vacuum. a tipping chair that when you realize you're going over and you grab, all you get is air until you clatter to the floor.
And like falling over, it hurts, but it isn't life-ending. Which is why i'm supremely confident that God's word is true and that the promises in it will be fulfilled.
I no longer feel the certainty that I am in line with His standards and have a place in his Kingdom, but that's okay. I trust His son, Jesus to make the right call, all things considered and accept whatever judgment comes from that.
I guess what i'm saying is, I don't mind where I came from, I don't mind where I'm going. What frustrates me is, where I am.
But, as they say, this too shall pass. I'm serving some kind of purpose here in Dust Meridian. I'm not sure what it is. But for whatever reason I'm here and I intend to use my time in the best way possible. There are a lot of minds that are set in stone, no changing them. Instead, i'll put my energy into helping shape the soft clay to be better teachers, more attentive shepherds and better friends.
Friends.
Jehovah says he'll be there for us. and I think in large part they way he does that is through our friends.
Worry
Worry distracts us and doesn't fix anything. But we can't help but do it.
Another thing Jesus said was that it would come as a surprise. So, maybe, just maybe the shift in emotion of desperate expectation to quiet surrender is an indication that I'm getting ready to be surprised.
Let's hope that's true. And that tomorrow, we both wake up shocked and a little bit scared.