At one point, Jesus talked about wars and rumors of wars. He did this in connection with the end times. This devotion looks at how disciples are to experience peace even during those troubled times.
Nuggets
- Jesus’ disciples would have understood what Jesus meant when He said, “You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars …” (Mt. 24: 6 CSB).
- This world is going to be divided.
- God does not want us to be afraid – He wants us to experience His peace.
- The destruction of Jerusalem is not the finale.
Devotions in the What I Believe series
Devotions in the Peace and War category
Wars as a Sign of the End Times
Unfortunately, war is a part of this world. In fact, we are told by Scriptures that wars and rumors of wars is a sign of the end times.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all recount the discussion Jesus had with His disciples when they asked about the end times.
Let's Put It into Context
I am entitling this category Peace and War – but we are only going to touch on the peace as being the opposite of war.
I am doing this because we have had many discussions about peace. We’ve said peace is an inward tranquility resulting from a balanced life with spiritual order, equity, and truth.
Glossary
War, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations.”
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Wars and Rumors of Wars
“You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet” (Mt. 24: 6 CSB)
First off, we have to remember the times in which Jesus lived. Israel had been conquered by Rome – which was not a peaceful nation. It was known for its violence. While things might have been relatively peaceful when Jesus was here on earth, I would hazard a guess that was because Rome wasn’t on the warpath to conquer and those already conquered weren’t resisting much.
So, Jesus’ disciples would have understood what Jesus meant when He said, “You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars …” (Mt. 24: 6 CSB). I would think that rumors of wars is not only those that are uncertain occurrences but also those that are avoided.
The New Living Translation and the Contemporary English Version use the word threats instead of rumors. While a threat is a statement of intent, we know of people who use threats as control and manipulation. They don’t really intend to follow through with the threat – they just want us to think they do.
Henry noted that there are three types of wars – not all that we are going to hear.
- Law wars where we tangle with those around us.
- Book wars – what is the saying? The pen is mightier than the sword???? That is where media intersects.
- Sword wars – and all the other weapons we’ve created in the intervening time.
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You Are Going to Hear
Oh, yes. We are definitely going to hear about them these days. With the media focused on reporting division on a 24/7/365 basis over a variety of platforms, it is hard not to hear. Plus, wars are noisy.
Bengel made an interesting observation. If the disciples were just going to hear, that doesn’t mean that they are going to participate in the wars.
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We have to hook this verse to some other things Jesus said in this passage. “Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you” (Mt. 24: 4 CSB). “Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” (Mt. 24: 11 CSB).
Bottom line, this world is going to be divided. There will be troubles. We have a Heavenly Father Who will provide peace in troubled times.
Don’t be Alarmed
“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed; these things must take place, but it is not yet the end” (Mk. 13: 7 CSB)
I’ve read that some version of don’t be afraid is in the Scriptures 365 times. I have also ready that is not correct.
The count really doesn’t matter. God does not want us to be afraid. He wants us to experience His peace. Remember, peace is an inward tranquility resulting from a balanced life with spiritual order, equity, and truth.
God wants us to trust in Him. He wants us to believe that He is in control – because He is – even in times of war.
Jesus is stressing in this passage that we don’t have to be afraid because He is telling us beforehand – and there is no way around them. Calvin wrote, “He adds this, not for the purpose of assigning a reason, but of warning them that none of these things happened accidentally, or without the providence of God, that they may not uselessly kick against the spur; for nothing has a more powerful efficacy to bring us into subjection, than when we acknowledge that those things which appear to be confused are regulated by the good pleasure of God.”
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The Scriptures are full of prophecy. Cambridge did make an interesting point, though. He wrote that prophecy is “…in the necessarily condensed and varying reports of the Evangelists, sometimes the primary fulfilment (which is shewn most decisively and irrefragably by Luke 21:32 to be the Fall of Jerusalem), sometimes the ultimate fulfilment is predominant.”
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Okay, Elaine-speak. Prophecy isn’t going to give us chapter and verse. Yes, we will specifically see how prophecy plays out – like we did with Daniel.
But it isn’t going to give us a blow-by-blow account. That would be sight. We are to work on faith. Faith is the belief that the doctrines stated in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them.
Glossary
War is part of the society that Satan has fostered. That doesn’t mean God isn’t in control – He is. We, as believers, have to accept Satan will do anything he can to create division that escalates into wars.
The End
“When you hear of wars and rebellions, don’t be alarmed. Indeed, it is necessary that these things take place first, but the end won’t come right away” (Lk. 21: 9 CSB)
What is meant by the end in this verse? Barnes wrote that it is “… the end of the Jewish economy; the destruction of Jerusalem …” So, the destruction of Jerusalem is not the finale.
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Ooo, baby. Aren’t these things bad enough? But they are not the end????
Ouch.
Calvin warned that what Jesus was saying is that “those events which were in themselves truly distressing would be only a sort of preparation for greater calamities; because, when the flame of war has been kindled in Judea, it will spread more widely …”
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Yeah, things are going to get really bad.
Jesus wasn’t really stating the reasons why the wars were happening. Yeah, there probably wasn’t enough ink in the world between then and now to list all the reasons.
Instead, Jesus was warning that things do no happen for no purpose. There is a reason behind everything.
And God knows that reason. God allows that reason to come to fruition.
Calvin reminded us that, “true, indeed, God himself never wants proper causes and the best reasons for allowing the world to be disturbed; but as believers ought to acquiesce in his mere good pleasure, Christ reckoned it enough to exhort the disciples to prepare their minds for endurance, and to remain firm, because such is the will of God.”
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Hmmm. Divine way of saying, “Suck it up, cupcake.”
Jesus wanted them – and us – to be prepared so that we can endure. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me” (Jn. 14: 1 NIV).
We’ve going to have to be prepared, and we will have to endure. The end times are not going to be pretty. And all these wars and rumors aren’t it – yet.
Making the Connections
How many times have disciples thought they were in the end times? Don’t we think that now?
Why do we think that? Well, we think we can’t handle much worse than this.
We are called to handle whatever is on our plan. If it is a war, we deal. If it is a pandemic, we deal. Whatever next, we deal.
We not only deal, we endure in peace.
Think of all the end-times signs we listed in a previous devotion. In my way of thinking, a lot of things have to come together to identify that it is the end.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
It is logical that war is a major end-time sign. The conflict between God and Satan is coming to a head. Satan is the master of conflict. Conflicts cause wars.
Woo hoo. Fun times.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
Ooo, baby. Explaining end times to a non-believer is going to be interesting. We have to do it. Their future depends on it.
We’ve been looking at defending our beliefs when we are witnessing. That means we have to be secure enough to convince someone to accept our beliefs.
Our questions should still serve us to determine on what we need to focus.
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
Henry told us three things that we could do when we hear about wars and rumors of wars.
• Have sympathy for those impacted by the wars.
• Determine the sin that caused the war.
• Keep the faith and pray when it appears God’s institutions are under attack.
Resource
Yeah. Wars are nasty, but they are a sign that Satan is ruling this world. He is going to try to make his rule known before God shuts him down.
Loving Father. Even though before You even made us You knew we were going to sin, we are sure You would rather we had never disobeyed You. Our disobedience let sin and its consequences and results into this world. You will use even them to show us You plans. Help us to be ever watching for Jesus’ return. Amen.
What do you think?
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