Jesus did not say many will be "offended"
Matthew 24:10
And then [after the birth pangs begin] shall many be entrapped and shall betray one another and shall hate one another
Matthew 24:10 does not say that many will be offended. The Greek text says that many shall be ensnared. The words snared, trapped, or caught, are not synonymous with the word “offended.” This is yet another case of what this writer calls English-translation-theology.
The Bible says people will be trapped on planet earth. What on earth does that mean? And what could cause such a thing?
Luke 21:34-36 describes a terrifying time that is yet future, that explains some of the reasons people might betray and hate one another. Even now, in the time period Jesus called the “green tree,” people out of fear and envy will betray and hate one another. Jesus was betrayed. He asked what will be done in the time period he called the dry? What will happen to people’s loyalties after the birth pangs begin Matthew 10:21-23, Matthew 24:7-8, Luke 23:21-31?
Yahweh spoke of the same time period when he said, “If you have run with the footmen and they have wearied you then how can you contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the swelling of Jordan?” Jeremiah 12:5.
Jesus said that after the birth pangs begin, something terrifying enough to cause mass betrayal will happen.
The terror will be caused by events that happen during the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, also known as The Great Tribulation; and this writer believes people are trapped on planet earth because they failed to heed Jesus’ warning in Luke 21:25-36, where he said, “And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity the sea and the waves roaring The hearts of many failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.”
Jesus clearly stated that, “as a snare” these things would come unawares on all that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
He didn’t stop there. He warned his followers to watch and pray that they would be found worthy to escape all those things and stand before him at the judgment.
The messenger in Revelation 3:10 also said there would be those who would be kept from the terrors coming on the earth.
What will precipitate the beginnings of the birth pangs? The events known as the resurrection and the harpazo (rapture).
Paul describes both in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18: For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout with the voice [of the] archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first Then we the living, who remain together with them, shall be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in [the] air and thus always with [the] Lord we shall be, so encourage one another with these words.
Jocelyn Andersen is the author of several non-fiction books, including, Redemption: Bible Prophecy Simplified, a Study of HOPE.
Note from the editor: I read my Bible every day, always picking up today where I left off yesterday. I call this my “on-track” Bible reading. I have been doing this for over 44 years. It was the best advice I was ever given, and it changed my life. If you are not presently doing the same, I invite you to join me. How much you read on a daily basis isn’t important. It only matters that you read, feeding your spirit with a prayerful dose of the living and powerful Word of God.
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Read more about this commentary HERE.