Text: "Matthew 10:21 "And the brother
shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the
children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put
to death.
Mark 13:12 "Now the brother shall betray the brother
to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their
parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.
13 And ye shall be hated of all men for
my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be
saved."
Luke 21:16,17
"16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents,
and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause
to be put to death.
17 And ye shall be hated of all men for
my name's sake."
When we read scriputes about the end times, we find a scripture that says we will be betrayed by our family members in the last days. How should we understand these words? Are these words a parable of something? Or should we accept these word as literal? Today, we will give this subject a look.
When we read this passage, we realize one fact. That is to say, the word "brother" is used first as compared to parents or children. It says, "the brother shall deliver up the brother to death." If it is about the church, it is not funny if the word "brother" is used first. But, when we talk about the relationships in our family, we never bring a brother relationship first. Because usually it is not most important relationship. If we are married, the wife-husband relationship will have first priority. If we have children, the parent-child relationship will have an important priority. In Japan, after we have grown up, we usually have different homes apart from our brother or sister. Therefore, our relationships with our siblings are not so close after we get married. Usually, we live in separate houses. So, sometimes, we see our brother maybe once or twice per year.
However, scripture talks about "betrayal by brother" first as though this was the most important relationship in the family. In addition, there is no written description about the husband-wife relationship in these scriptures.
It is not described as "a husband betraying his wife." Why is that? Maybe because a "husband-wife" relationship is the stronger relationship. But, scripture also talks about the betrayal that could occur in a "parent-child" relationship. This is also a strong relationship. If a child betrays his or her parents, there is a possibility that some "husband-wife betrayals" may happen. But the scripture does not pick up this theme. Why not? I'll get to that, but first, I think that actually there is a strong possibility that we will be betrayed by a member of our household in the end times. Now, since these scriptures are parables, there is a deeper meaning. What is that meaning? We can imagine easily enough. This may be the parable of betrayal by a brother from the end time church.
Concerning the parent-child relationship, it may be the parable of the parent-child relationship in Christ. The apostle Paul puts it like this:
1 Corinthians 4:15
" For though ye have ten thousand instructors
in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten
you through the gospel."
The reason why scripture does not talk about "a husband-wife" relationship is that there is no "husband-wife" relationship among Christian relationships in the church, though there are brother relationships or parent-child relationships in it. If we dare to talk about "husband-wife" relationship in the church, it is about the relationship between Christ and us. But, Christ would never betray us. Some may say, "We can not imagine the betrayal between Christian brothers and sisters!" But, there is a scripture that says:
2Thessalonians 2:3
" ¦ Let no man deceive you by any means: for
that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that
man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."
"Falling away" means Christians fall away from the faith. Why are they to fall away? Because it will be a difficult time and the son of perdition will stand up on the holy place or the church, and the persecution of Christians will start. Even in former communist countries, there was betrayal between Christian brothers and sisters. A similar situation may happen on a much larger scale. And if we read the scriptures carefully, this matter is actually suggested. For example, we find in other scriptures expressions similar to the expression of "the brother shall betray brother." In particular we find it in the scripture about Christ being betrayed by Judas Iscariot.
Matthew 26:23 "And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me."
That is to say, we can imagine the betrayal done by Judas will happen
again in the church in the last days.
Let's prepare for the end time in prayer.
end.