Question: In regards to Matt. 24:19 – how does this apply or affect Christian families today and family planning? This scripture scares me about having a baby because what if while I’m pregnant or nursing the Great Tribulation starts? Does this scripture only affect those who are living in Jerusalem?

Tricia

Answer: Dear Tricia,

There are many ways to understand Matthew 24 – one of which is the dispensational, premillennial view, to which you have reference. This view would see this chapter as never having been fulfilled, that it is all future, etc.

However, there are other possible views. Without going into a deep and prolonged explanation, impossible for this brief answer, one view would call our attention to Jesus’ words, "this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened" (24:34). Those who believe that this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled explain that passage by saying "this generation" means a time when the horrible things mentioned earlier in the passage began to be possible, by new means of weapons, etc. However, this meaning does not seem to be what Jesus meant.

The horrible war which concluded with the destruction of Jerusalem included all of the elements Jesus foretold in this chapter – the Jewish historian Josephus has a detailed account.

Regardless of the view one takes on this passage, God promises always to protect and take care of, in his sovereign will, those who are his own. We need not fear the future, for God will never forsake us.

Hope this helps.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht