War & Rumours of War

The entire text I read for today: Matthew 21:33-24:36

Matthew 24:3-11, 23-27, 36

3) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4) And Jesus answered unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5) for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6) And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7) For nations shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. 8) All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9) Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10) And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11)And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

23)Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24)For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch, that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25)Behold I have told you before. 26)Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27) For as the lightening cometh out of the east, and shineth even into the west; so shall also be the coming of the Son of man be.

36)But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.


Hollywood has taken off on the public's fascination with the end of the world through movies like Armageddon, The Knowing, and 2012. Lots of attention is given to the Mayan calendar as the year 2012 approaches. Some might think this curiosity surrounding of end times is fairly recent, and that in "the olden days" no one thought of such things. However, that is not the case.

The disciples asked Christ when the end was coming. They figured if anyone would know it would be Him. He gives them a list scenarios that make CNN and MSNBC look like prophecy revealed:

Wars and rumours of war? Who is not warring and/or threatening to war?

Nations against nations? Middle East, Africa, South America...

Famines? Check.

Earthquakes? Check again.

Then Christ talks about false prophets and those doing such wondrous things that even politicians and heads of churches will fall for their tricks and believe their lies. However, He instructs us that when Christ returns there will be no doubt, like lightening that flashes across the sky. All the world will see it and know.

So, what does this mean? The fact that the Bible written years and years ago and all these things He told us will happen has and continues to come to past. As such, we should not place grave concern on the final day. It is good to be informed and knowledgeable of current world events, but the fear of what we see on the news should not control our lives.

Christ tells us no man knows the time but God. So forget Nostradamus, do not fear 2012 or any other story that you may happen across. But live in the knowledge and peace that God knows what will happen and He is ultimately in control.

In Christ's Love,
Phoebe Jane