Wars And Rumors Of Wars
Dear Foothills Family and Friends,
This morning I read several updates about the Israel-Hamas Conflict and its fallout:
At least 199 people are being held hostage by Hamas, according to the Israeli military.
Israel has begun evacuating 28 communities within 1.2 miles of its northern border shared with Lebanon, where its military has exchanged fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran and Hezbollah to stay out of its conflict with Hamas. (Hezbollah and Israel went to war in 2006).
The death toll in Gaza has risen to over 2,800, with at least 10,500 people injured.
The death toll in Israel stands near 1,400 (most of which occurred during Hamas’ initial attach). About 3,900 people have been injured.
Hamas claims at least 22 hostages have died as a result of airstrikes.
Separately, U.S. officials opened a federal hate crimes investigation into a 71-year old landlord accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year old Palestinian-American boy outside Chicago. The attack was reportedly motivated by the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
This is a terrible time. War always has unspeakable and unacceptable consequences.
In Matthew 24:3 Jesus’ disciples asked him: “Tell us…what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus responded (24:6), “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.”
Because of Jesus’ words in this passage, whenever there is an explosion of conflict, especially in the vicinity of Israel, many people begin to wonder if the new war is a sign of the end times.
It’s important to read the rest of Matthew 24:6 where Jesus told them to not be alarmed, “for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”
Understanding Jesus’ statement about “wars and rumors of wars” to mean that warfare is a certain sign of the end times is the exact opposite of what Jesus intended! He was instructing us to not allow wars or rumors of wars to alarm or concern us because “the end is not yet.”
Similarly, Jesus spoke of false Christs (Mt. 24:5), famines and earthquakes (Mt. 24:7), warning that “all these are the beginning of the birth pains” (Mt. 24:8).
I’m not suggesting that wars and rumors of wars are completely unrelated to the end times. When the Bible speaks of the end times it describes some intense warfare. But Jesus’ point seems to be that there always has been war, and, until He establishes peace, there will always be war.
Whether it is a civil war in Africa, strife between Israel and its neighbors, or the ongoing war on terror, no conflict today is necessarily a sign that the end times are imminent.
No matter what wars and rumors of war are going on around us, our mission is the same. And that mission is what Jesus says is a reliable predictor of the end times, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Mt. 24:14).
I hope you’ll join us this Sabbath as we learn more about the signs of the return of Jesus Christ. To better understand His return, we will sit at His feet and hear Him speak about it.
Peace!
Pastor Duff
