Endure.

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 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. —Matthew 24:1-13

There will come a day when the people of this world will witness and experience the very things Jesus spoke to His disciples about in this passage. But for any season, there are three important statements Jesus tells His disciples that will help us today:

1. Take heed that no man deceive you. When troubling times come, so does the fear of man and events and panic. People will rise up to deceive the hearts of the many who are fearful, unaware, or insecure. Some will come saying they are Christ or at least someone presenting themselves as one who can provide comfort or substance from the external pressures and events surrounding them. Their words will be carefully chosen and possibly be filled with a bit of truth, but their motives will be filled with deceit.

Ephesians 5:6-10–Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

In these times, you must continue to walk as children of light, providing what is acceptable unto the Lord. The way you accomplish this is by presenting yourself as a living sacrifice unto God and being transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is the way you provide what is acceptable unto the Lord, as stated in Ephesians 5:6-10. Remain in His Word and keep your heart and mind still in the Lord’s presence.

Romans 12:1-2–I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

2. See that you be not troubled. When troubling times come, people also begin to worry about their future. They might take drastic measures in an effort to ‘protect themselves,’ which only leads to being caught in snares and traps by evil and deceitful people (Proverbs 1:11-19). Put your trust in the Lord so that you can remain safe (Psalm 56:3-4, 118:6; Proverbs 29:25; Matthew 10:28).

2 Timothy 1:7–For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

3. He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. No matter the events, circumstances, or statements that are made. No matter the destruction that might come. No matter what anyone does or says, we must endure. We must continue to stand on the right foundation and properly equip ourselves so that we can weather any storm, test, or trial that may come our way (Matthew 7:24-27; Mark 13:13; Romans 5:3-5; Galatians 6:9-10; Ephesians 6:10-18; Philippians 3:13-14; Hebrews 3:6, 10:36, 12:1-3; James 1:2-4).

Hebrews 11:22-30-Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Endure.