Matthew 24:4-6
"4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people. 6 And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end."
How often we hear the voice of Messiah and His servants saying, "do not be afraid." In fact, it occurs so many times throughout the entirety of scripture that we could almost call it the standard greeting of the Heavenly Host. So should it surprise us when we hear Him say, "do not be afraid" when it comes to our view of the future?
We know full well what is coming, Scripture has prepared us for it if we have been both diligent and honest in our study. We understand that the World is going to accelerate towards a final conflict, and that along the way there will be one war after another after another, and that there will be famine and calamity after famine and calamity. It is clearly written there...
Or do we think that that part of the Scripture does not apply to us?
I'm not saying that, "the end is nye," but what I am saying is that every day that we come closer to it, the more and more of the conflicts and disasters we will witness. This should not alarm you, but rather it should comfort you, as strange as that sounds.
If it were not happening, then it would call into question the veracity of Scripture. After all, if the Bible says that things are going to get worse, and things are only getting better, then we might be inclined to ask how the Scripture got it so wrong. Instead, we see the opposite. Each generation has had their version of calamity, with all of it coming faster and faster as we speed off into the early middle of the 21st century.
In the end, the key to Spiritual peace is always the same, trust and faith in the One who already knows the beginning and the end. Remembering that no matter what happens here, this Earth, and this life, are not our final destination. We who are redeemed by Messiah have so much more to look forward to on the other side of all of this tragedy and loss.
We just need to ensure that we bring as many with us as possible.
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