April 22, 2015
"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars ..... " ... (Matthew 24:6) ... Toward the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus' disciples asked Him a direct question .... "What will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?" .. Jesus proceeded to list off several specific occurrences to watch for. .. (See Matthew 24, Mark 13 & Luke 21) ... 'Wars & rumors of wars was one of them. ...   Certainly there have been wars and rumors of them since the dawning of mankind, but nothing compared to what is going on today. ... We know, like 'birth pains,' that the signs of the end will only increase as we draw ever nearer to the actual moment. ... Just take a quick glance back to the last century. ... World Wars 1 & 2 alone claimed some 75 million lives, not to mention all the other conflagrations just this nation alone was involved in. ... And today? .... The rumors are non-stop!   So, is World War 3 just about to explode? ... Right now, there is a strange mix of media, religious and political pundits all uttering the unthinkable. ... There seems to be a sense that 'something ominous' is just around the corner. ... Foolish speculation? ... or truth?   Let me list just a few statements that point directly to this very issue ...   *Radio host Mark Levin - "I believe World War 3 has begun, and I believe we are going to be attacked."   *Pope Francis - "A type of piecemeal World War 3 may have already begun with the current state of crimes, massacres and destruction."   *Former U.S. Rep Michele Bachmann - says she believes the nuclear pact with Iran, brokered by the Obama Administration, heralds World War 3.   *Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev - warns that the Ukrainian crisis could evolve into World War 3 and, if it does, Vladimir Putin might find it 'unavoidable to launch nuclear missiles.'   *Former Ukrainian Ambassador Yuri Shcherbak also says the Ukrainian crisis could trigger World War 3.   *Glenn Beck - "World War 3 is coming and nobody will recognize it yet."   *King of Jordan - says he wants to wage World War 3 on ISIS.   *Author Noah Beck - says Obama's nuclear talks with Iran will lead to World War 3.   Let me now list just a few of the world news headlines from just the last couple of days ....   *Daily Mail/UK - "Scientists warn world must prepare for global catastrophe .... Top concerns are volcanoes, comets & Nuclear War"   *Telegraph/UK - Europe faces real threat from Russia, warns U.S. Army Commander - USA moves missiles to Warsaw"   *Daily Mail/UK - "Putin warship & nuclear bombers menace the UK: Navy frigate & RAF Typhoons are sent to head off latest incursion from Russia"   *Washington Examiner - "Netanyahu warns of 2nd holocaust from Iran"   *Jerusalem Post - "Putin warns Israel against selling arms to Ukraine"   *Reuters - "China to build 5 nuclear facilities in Iran - North Korea delivers missile goods to Iran during nuke talks"   *The Hill.com - "Showdown: Iran sending Armada of ships toward Yemen"   *The Hill.com - "U.S. sends Aircraft Carrier to Yemeni waters as tensions with Iran escalate"   *Washington post - "Iraqis flee as ISIS gains ground"   ...... and this is just some of them ......   We can speculate and debate all this stuff until the cows come home .. but that is just what it is ... speculation! ... So let us now go to the only source of the real truth in this universe ... the Holy Bible. .. As the opening verse said .... "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars" ... but then it goes on to say, "See that you are not troubled. For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."   Yes, it is a biblical fact that we will witness wars & rumors increasingly as we draw near ... but let's look at some of the actual prophesied wars. ... We see in Psalm 83 that Israel will be assaulted by many of her neighbors, and the specific nations mentioned are the closest Arab/Muslim ones .... Syrians, northern Iraqis, Jordanians, Lebanese, Palestinians,etc. ... In fact, I believe this may be the next big war in the Middle East that will result in an Israeli victory, which will give them back much more of the land that was originally covenanted to them by God. ....   Then there's the coming Gog/Magog War mentioned specifically in Ezekiel 38 & 39. ... Here we see an alliance of the King of the North (Magog - which is Russia & her northern allies) and Persia (modern-day Iran) that will take place, I believe, shortly after the Psalm 83 wars. ... This war will be settled by none other than our Almighty God! ... He will intervene supernaturally to protect His chosen people ... (It is very interesting also to note that none of the countries mentioned in Psalm 83 are involved in the Ezekiel war. ... and why? ... because they've already been defeated by Israel!)   The last one I will address will be the final one ... the one the world will recognize as World War 3 ... Armageddon! ... You can read about this in the Book of of Revelation, culminating in chapter 19.   ... In short, this will be the final war mankind will witness. ... This is when the Lord Jesus Christ Himself comes with His armies of Heaven and defeats the anti-christ and his armies and sets up His Kingdom here on Earth. ... Hallelujah!   There's so much more, but it would be literally impossible to address all of it right here ... right now. ... So yes, there will be wars and rumors of wars, and it's going to get much scarier out there as we march ever closer to the day of judgement. ... But here is what I want each of you to remember. ... YOU DON"T HAVE TO BE AFRAID! ... All you have to do is put your complete trust in Jesus Christ, and He will set you free! ... Hallelujah! ... All this craziness will be over soon and He will come back to rule this Earth .. and think of this ... it will be a place where there will be NO sickness or disease, NO sadness & tears, and yes, NO wars & rumors of wars! ... It will be a place that only knows love & kindness ... a place where each and every one of you will be safe and unafraid. ... and the only price of admission? ... Faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior! .... That's it! ..... Hallelujah!   OK ... will visit with all of you again soon with whatever the Lord puts on my heart ... so .......   Until next time,   Red`