Matthew 24:14

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

My dear mother confided to me once that she took seriously this statement of Jesus concerning the “end.”  As I recall at that time many people were predicting the end of the world based on what was going wrong or on some esoteric revelation. Some of the scenarios they presented made sense in light of what was happening in our culture. But dear Mom, bless her, saw how the end times will be realized when the gospel is preached in all nations. So she was not unduly disturbed by the dire news and predictions of calamity.  I need to heed the advice of my Mom.

Before thinking about end times, we do well to remember the woes Jesus predicted will come.  Seven of them.  They are signs that the time is not yet but all points to that day. I suppose we could say that signs of judgement as we read them here encourage us not to lose hope, but to press on and to remind us that we must act with faith and humility.

As I read these woes and the Sermon on the Mount I see a seismic gap between the values of the kingdom of God and the values of this world.  It is clear that Jesus has little hope that the nations will accept Christian values without themselves being converted.  The two kingdoms will not merge but will be increasingly at odds.  When “the age” is over the kingdoms of this world inherit nothing. The kingdom of God will prosper forever and ever.