“Do not think that I have come to bring calm on earth. I have not come to bring calm, rather a sword”….

Something hit me hard today on Shabbat, while cruising around Facebook seeking like-minded believers who were busy discussing God and the Bible….

Matthew 10:34. Do not think that I have come to bring calm on earth. I have not come to bring calm, rather a sword. (AENT)

It hit me this is exactly what has been happening "in spades” ever since the arrival of COVID-19, which happened around the same time the Black Lives Matter group were in an uproar and not only protesting, but rioting and looting, and generally trying to destroy the entire United States!

Fact is, people have been at each other’s throats with their various, respective beliefs – which have included the ludicrous notion that the virus is a hoax, and/or that it’s “not really dangerous” and/or that “it’s all a huge government conspiracy designed to control us.”

Greasing the squeaky wheels of dissent over the virus, has been the added problem that every “armchair expert” has been crawling out of the woodwork to provide the world with all their personal opinions about why masks aren’t necessary; and that being forced to wear them in public somehow violates their Constitutional rights.

People have been verbally (and in some cases, physically) tearing each other apart over these issues, with NOBODY giving an inch.  Instead of recognizing that all these  horrific events are simply part of the end times scenario, and that they MUST happen before Yeshua’s return, they ALL seem bound and determined to cater to their carnal natures!

Matthew 24:5-7 - You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. (CJB)

2 Timothy 3: 1-2 - But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy.... (CJB)

Mark 13:7. But when you hear of wars and rumors of revolutions, do not have fear. This is bound to happen, but is yet not the end. 8. For nation will arise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be earthquakes in various places. And there will be famine and uprisings. These things are the beginning of sorrows. (AENT)

So, let’s get back to Matthew 10, where Yeshua describes exactly what is going to happen BECAUSE of our carnal natures:

Matthew 10:35. For I have come to divide a man from his father, and a girl from her mother. And a daughter-in-law from her mother-in-law. 36. And the adversaries of a man will be his household.[1] 37. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.[2] 38. And anyone that does not take up his staff [3] and come and follow me is not worthy of me. 39. Whoever finds his soul will lose it, and whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it.

40. Whoever accepts you, accepts me, and whoever that accepts me, whom I send accepts him. 41. Whoever accepts a prophet in the name of a prophet a reward of a prophet will he receive. And whoever accepts a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, a reward of a righteous man will receive. 42. And anyone who gives only a cup of cold water to drink to one of these little ones, in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you that he will not lose his reward. (AENT)

[1] Refers to Micah 7. Please take one minute to read Micah 7 right now….

[2] Compare the phraseology in verse 37 to Luke 14:26 "he who comes to me and does not hate his father or mother is not worthy of me". Matthew's version is literal while Luke's version is idiomatic. To enter into the Kingdom of Heaven we must love Messiah Yeshua more than anything or anyone else. This does NOT mean that we fail to love and honor our parents. Rather, it means that however much love is lavished upon one's parents; more should be given to Yeshua.

Our love for the Kingdom of Heaven brings eternal life to both ourselves and potentially to our family members. By comparison, earthly love "looks" like hatred. YHWH is the Author of love, as we devote our love to Him, and give Him our time to worship Him and study Him and His Word, only then are we better able to love ourselves and those around us.

[3] Take up your staff and follow means to exercise your personal authority. A staff is a symbol of authority that is used for mobility and protection (see B'midbar/Numbers 17:16-25. Christian versions insert "cross" here which does not appear in either Aramaic or Greek texts.

Referring to Matthew 10:34-42, at first glance it would seem Yeshua wanted to bring war onto the earth, but upon closer examination we can see that he was merely referring to the Prophet Micah!  (If you haven’t read  Micah 7, please do so now!)

Both Micah and Yeshua were simply stating facts: Belief in YHWH would cause all kinds of problems for mankind because humans, in general, have a hard time with obedience! The earth's inhabitants would ultimately be viewed as demonic in the "end times" with people turning against each other even in closely-knit families.

This is happening today in a world where "tolerance" for all things evil reigns and where satan has been allowed to run amok!

The first time we saw people turning against each other in the Bible was when Adam accused Eve of causing him to stumble (Genesis 3:12). The proverbial envelope was pushed even further when Cain killed Abel, and later when Cain's offspring, Lemech, also killed someone (Genesis 4).

By the time of Noah in Genesis 7-9 the earth's inhabitants were so evil, YHWH destroyed everyone except for Noah and his family! And by the time we got to Genesis 19, we saw mankind had already begun another "downhill slide" that caused YHWH to send the righteous Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gemorrah just before He destroyed those cities....

Throughout the Tanach we see one king trying to steer his people to Torah (YHWH's Divine Instructions in Righteousness) while the next one sends them back into "the world." Mankind has been through various ups and downs, and today, we are as bad as back in the days of Lot and Noah!

It is obvious today that YHWH has removed His Mighty Hand from the world, as is evidenced by the fact that we are beginning to experience natural disasters of "biblical proportions."

The only thing we can do is to "get ourselves right with God" so that if we don't make it through these terrible tribulations, at least we can know that we have eternal life!