Wars and Rumors of Wars
“And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Mathew 24:4-8
Yesterday, another new war started. I am already seeing posts on social media of pray for the Ukraine. We should honestly be praying for both sides as I am sure there are Russian soldiers and citizens that are just a distressed over this as there are Ukraine soldiers and citizens. Whatever the case may be, whatever the outcome of this new war, whatever one’s political opinions about what led to this conflict may be, there is one thing that does not change, that is Jesus.
When Jesus gave the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 He warned us that these things would take place. Please read that Scripture again. We will hear of wars, rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms, there will be famine, pestilence, earthquakes and more, these are just the beginning of sorrows. Let me explain, all of this tells us we are in the last days, which means Jesus is coming again soon. For those who know Jesus as Savior, this should give us hope and encouragement. For those who don’t, this serves as a warning to come to know Jesus as Savior. He died on the cross for your sins, He rose again proving He is God by conquering sin and death. When we turn from our sin and place our faith in Him we are saved! Knowing that the Bible predicted these things and that the Bible teaches us that “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” So that is the first thing we should be doing, seeking God, lifting up our heads and our hearts to Him, knowing that our redemption, our eternal salvation is getting closer. This is only the beginning of sorrows because things will get worse especially when we study what will take place during the tribulation after the church has been raptured. If you want more on this, I encourage you to check out my Revelation study on my YouTube page Beware the Caffeinated Pastor. There are other aspects this passage that we need to look at.
First - Jesus told us to take heed that we are not deceived by those who are false. There are many competing voices in the world today, all trying to distract us from the truth of God in Jesus revealed in His Word. So my encouragement to you is to take heed that you are not deceived by these false voices. The best way to do that is to be in the Word of God and be in a church that faithfully teaches the Word of God so you know the life-giving truth of the gospel and cannot be deceived by the false voices in the world.
Second, we are told to not be troubled because these things must come to pass. When Jesus told us to not be troubled, the word for troubled means to wail, clamor, or be frightened. Why should we not be troubled when the world is being plunged into another war, when inflation is rising at an alarming rate, when our nation is in political upheaval, and we have been dealing with a pandemic for the last two years? The answer is simple, the answer is Jesus. Our hope is in Him, our trust is in Him. Psalm 37:39 states, “But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.” God is our strength in these troubling times, He is our salvation, we have His promise that He will return for us and He will set all things right in the end. I know that I am struggling with the state of the world today and when I do, I turn to the Lord in prayer knowing that He hears me and that He is my peace and comfort. I will leave you with a scripture that promises us peace when we pray and I hope you take it to heart and let the God of all peace, who gave us His Son out of His great love for us, give you peace in these times.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Image Borrowed from: Commentary Magazine
