JUL 3

Matthew 24:3-14
Memorise Revelation 8:1-13
“there shall be… pestilences, and earthquakes”

WHAT IS THE ECOLOGICAL SIGN?

Matthew 24-25 records for us the Olivet Discourse, in which Jesus responded to His disciples’ questions regarding “what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world” (Matthew 24:3). In the next few days, we shall be studying more about these signs, which can be divided into four main areas of human life.

First is the ecological sign. Ecology means “the study of the interaction of people with their environment”. Under this heading are mentioned pestilences and earthquakes (v 7). Synonymous to pestilences are plagues, epidemics, pandemics etc. Immediately we think of the SARS outbreak in 2003 that hit our tiny island and claimed so many lives. H5N1, H1N1 and H7N9 are not just random strings of letters and numbers, but deadly strains of flu that so terrorized the world in the past decade alone. Even right now at the time of writing, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is causing no small amount of fear across the globe that another pandemic may be waiting to strike.

But a worse pestilence is the mowing down of millions of human beings by AIDS, a modern curse from God, unknown to us before 1980. In the 30+ years since AIDS was first diagnosed, it has claimed 30 million lives according to latest UN statistics. Another 34 million people are said to be infected. Sub-Sahara Africa has been by far the hardest hit by the pandemic although statistics show it is spreading quickly through Asia.

As to earthquakes, we are no stranger to its devastating effects in recent years. Flip open the newspaper on any given day, and you will likely read of an earthquake or some other natural disaster, somewhere in the world. Earthquakes became bigger and more frequent by 20 times in the 20th Century, compared to the 19th. Now we are in the 21st Century, and it can only get worse. The Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 (9.0 on the Richter scale) that claimed close to 300,000 lives is a case in point.

Dear teen, when you hear about these signs being fulfilled, what is your response? Do you scoff and deny, or do you realize that these are actual fulfillments of God’s prophecies? Will you remain willfully ignorant, or will you take earnest heed?

Thought: Where are your treasures, on earth or in heaven?
Prayer: Lord, I want to have eternity’s values and treasures in view.