It’s one of those many verses...that can give you pause when you come across them as you read through the Bible. This one is found in Matthew 24 where Jesus had been asked by His disciples...”Tell us what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age” (3), (which Paul seems to suggest is ‘already upon us’ (1 Cor. 10:11).

Jesus began with a serious and repeated warning to be on guard against widespread deception (4-5). He goes on to spell out other ‘signs’ that would be unfolding and how there would be much division as ‘nations would be pitted against nations’ as well as various kingdoms. (7). Interesting side note here, but that word ‘nation’ come from the same Greek word that we get ‘ethnicity’ from; just saying.

But it’s the somber warning found in verse 19 that always catches my attention: “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!” At first glance, you have to wonder what He is trying to convey here; does God have it in for pregnant women and nursing infants?

What is that all about? Is it possible this has other ‘layers’ to it, since we know that ‘women’ can oftentimes be a ‘type’ of the church, and we know Revelation speaks to the ‘offspring’ of a woman who the serpent makes war with (Rev. 12:15,17), which are the saints who “keep the commandments of God...”!

Is Jesus expressing concern for ‘babes in Christ’ here, by chance? One of the many things that we know about babies is how vulnerable they can be and how dependent they are on others to nurture and care for them in those early seasons of their existence. Peter gives us a beautiful illustration that as ‘newborn babes’...we are to ‘lay aside ALL malice, ALL deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and ALL evil speaking...and to ‘desire the pure milk of the word that we may grow thereby”. (1 Pet. 2:1-2)

Are you familiar with that statement made by Jesus, in Matt. 18:6: “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to 'fall into sin', it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” He sounds pretty serious about this, don’t you think? And look what He rebuked the Pharisees with when He accused them of going out of their way to win new converts...but them ‘made them a two-fold child of hell...as they were” (Matt. 23:15). Care to guess how they did that (and continue to do so today?). They forgo teaching the commandments of God and instead promote the doctrines and traditions of men that does not lead them to true life (Mark 7:8-9,13)

That might be the reason James warns us to not be too quick to want to be ‘teachers’, for with it comes great responsibility (James 3:1; Ezek. 33:6-8).

Which leads us to those ‘babes in Christ’ at Corinth that I promised yesterday to address today. Paul called them out and accused them of being ‘carnal’, even pointing out some of the traits or ‘fruit’ they were exhibiting there in their local church, things like ‘envy and strife and being divisive’ (1 Cor. 3:1-3)

Two points we should establish here up front: The first one being the fact that Paul was not ‘cooing’ over those ‘little darlings’. He’s actually rebuking them since he couldn't even discuss ‘spiritual’ things with them yet because they are unable to receive them. And the other point I need to address is this: Being ‘carnal’ or ‘carnally minded’ is NOT... a good thing, since it means you remain ‘hostile towards God’, will ‘not subject yourself to His law’ unable to please God...and that if you continue to live that way, you will ‘surely die’ (Rom. 8:7-8,13).

Are you starting to get the idea that maybe God is serious about us putting to death this ‘old man’, this carnal, sinful flesh nature? I mean...when Paul makes it clear that those who continue to practice such things will NOT...inherit the kingdom of God...how much plainer can he make that (Gal. 5:19-21)? And what, according to Gal. 5:24, are we told those who do ‘belong to Christ’...have done? Yes...go look that up again, and make sure it is marked in your Bible.

Let me tell you one way we can lead young converts astray, if not make them a ‘two fold child of hell’. We do that when we spend more time coddling them, enabling them, wanting to reassure them over and over with words like: “Oh...don’t worry...you are always going to sin but you're still ‘saved’ and nothing can ever change that!”. When you spend more time trying to convince them of what you think is truth...instead of calling them to repentance, like Paul did...you are on thin ice. Oh...they’re just ‘carnal Christians’, (which seems to excuse their ongoing sins) which if you think about it...is an oxymoron. Do new converts or ‘babes in Christ’ mess up and stumble early on? Of course they do...and they will be ‘chastised’ by God for it as well, given the love He has for them (Heb. 12:5-12). But take a look at Paul’s follow up letter to them as found in 2 Cor. 12:20-21. He’s simply echoing what Jesus told us in Luke 13:3,5...’but unless we repent, we will all likewise perish’.

And friends...what did Jesus tell us would happen at the 'end of the age', there in Matt. 13:41-43?