Matthew 24:9-12 - Many will turn away from the faith

24:9

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me”. These are very serious and sober words. We need to do two things with them. The first is that they are part of the truth, not the whole truth. The church is not perpetually persecuted. In Acts 9:31 speaks of the church enjoying a time of peace. In history there are times when the church is not actively persecuted. In the West the church has enjoyed favour for a long time, but this period has now come to an end. So we need a balanced view. The second thing is that it is part of the truth and one we must not ignore. There are many parts of the world today where they know the full reality of this. Also, it is not our job to be loved by the nations. We are to speak and live the truth of God’s word. Sometimes this will be welcomed, sometimes it will not. Whatever the case, we continue to speak the truth, we must not go along with the lies of the world. Sadly, many seem to think that going along with lies of the world is a good idea.

24:10-12

A clear message from throughout the New Testament is that there will be false prophets and false teachers, and they can have devastating results. Here we read that in the time of persecution many will turn away from the faith. They will harm not only themselves, but others, for they will betray and hate each other. This is not a comfortable picture. False prophets will deceive many. 

“Because of the increase in wickedness the love of most will grow cold”. The picture does not get any easier. In times of great evil there can be some who respond with great virtue, but this is not the dominant effect. In general it brings out the worst in people. In Nazi Germany ordinary people went along with the worst aspects of the regime, the same happens in communist countries. This is a harsh reality of life.