In one of his last great discourses, Jesus told his disciples, “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars.” Just in my lifetime, and since World War 2, America has been in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, The Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan. Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has seen the Seven Day war, the Yom Kiper war, and now the war with Gaza.
But Jesus continued his statement with these words, “See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end (Mt. 24:6). No war is a sign of Jesus’ return. Jesus added other things that would happen in the world: disciples would be killed, there would be famines, tribulations, false prophets would arise, and hate and increased lawlessness (Mt. 25:8-13).
But here was the point of Jesus’ lesson, as he concluded: “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved” (Mt. 24:13). We live in a troubled world, true. These are difficult times for Christians around the world, many of whom are suffering and dying in these wars. We cannot end the killing, the famines, the hate, all of which we see on the evening news. But we can remain faithful to the Lord! We can be victorious over this troubled world if we endure to the end!
-Dennis Doughty
