Continuation of Subtle things happening in world today. Number 11 will be posted on granpswhatshappeningman.blogspot.com Saturday Jan 30
Jesus began his dissertation of the signs of the times by
giving us a warning: ‘See to it that no
one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Christ (he
Messiah) and will lead many. You will be
hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See
that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not
yet the end” (Matt. 24:4-6).
Hey Gang: I want to
start this epistle with a very important point that I neglected to get to in
the last blog. As you know or would know,
if you brought up the last blog on What’s Happening Man, my lead in Scripture
was Daniel 9:24-27. It is my sincere
opinion that Daniel gives us the most complete overall prophetic picture; many
of the other writers zero in on specific things to come.
It is also my opinion, and the opinion of such writers as
Dwight Pentecost, John Walvoord and H.A. Ironside, who dedicated large portions
of their lives to studying the prophetic word, that Daniel 9:24-27 is the most
concise, complete and condensed overall picture of what has been, what is, and
what is to come. If you want a
comprehensive overview picture of what is to come, you need to get this
Scripture firmly planted in your mind and heart-but be careful, for there are
many interpretations of what God is saying through Daniel, but- much of it is
of questionable credibility.
In the beginning of this series, I told of a meeting of
twenty-two prophecy gurus who were asked what was the most profound single fulfillment
of prophecy since the birth of Christ.
It was a given that the answer would be “the reestablishment of the
nation of Israel. But, attached to that
question was “what is number two?” They
listed several things, but all agreed that “Convergence” was, without much
doubt, second. Jesus also talked about
convergence when He said, “When all of
these things come into view”, your name best be recorded in the Lamb’s Book
of Life and be prepared to fly, “for
your redemption is drawing near”
(Luke 21:28).
Now, all of that intro to prepare you for my seventh
prophetic sign. I will warn you ahead of
time, placing this sign in a separate category is not possible, for where you
have war you have pestilence and famine. First we need to understand "What does it mean
that there will be wars and rumors of wars before the end times?" Was Jesus referring to wars in and around
Israel only or in the world? If in the
world, there has never been a time on earth when there has not been a “war,
rumor of war someplace.
The disciples asked, “What will be a sign of your coming and the
end of the age” (Matt. 24:3). Jesus
responded, “There will be wars and
rumors of war” (Matt. 26:6). Is
Jesus saying anytime there is a conflict in the world, especially in the
vicinity of Israel, that we should be concerned that this is it - Jesus is
coming? But to believe that way you must
take Jesus’ words out of context, without seeing how this declaration fits with
the rest of the passage and ignore the end of the verse, “but the end is not yet” (Matt
24:6). God’s chosen people have been
under attack almost since the dawn of time.
Understanding Jesus’ statement about “wars and rumors of wars” to mean that
warfare is a sign of the end times is the exact opposite of what He intended.
Jesus was instructing us not to allow wars or rumors of wars to alarm or
concern us, because “the end is not yet.”
Similarly, Jesus spoke of false Christs (Matthew 24:5),
famines and earthquakes (24:7), persecution (24:9), apostasy (24:10), and false
prophets (24:11), warning that “all
these are the beginning of the birth pains” (24:8).
Sadly, all of the things Jesus pointed to as not necessarily being signs of the end times are precisely the things most people look at as signs of the end times. It is kind of like having a pile of trusses, studs and wall paneling in one pile, cement blocks for foundation in another, plumbing and electrical supplies in yet the third pile and calling it a house. Some is missing!
Now, this is not to say 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 in the Millennial
Kingdom, there will always be war.
Whether it is the civil war in Syria, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, or the war against ISIS/ISIL, no conflict today is a stand-alone issue or 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 it just so happens that the 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” (Matthew 24:14, emphasis added).
Again, for the sake of your
time, I will restrain from going down another road that I feel we need to look
at with the wars and rumors issue, pertaining to Israel. Good Lord willing, and if the creek does not
rise, we will look at this issue in the next blog. By the looks of what is happening in our
country in the catastrophic weather sectors, we have no guarantees we will have
a tomorrow - so best be ready immediately if not sooner!
Blessings,
Gramps
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