Matthew 24:6
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.”

If any of you know me personally or follow me on facebook you know my passion for politics. You also know in the last few weeks i have listened to so much media that i lost my mind for a minute an allowed fear to overwhelm me. I’ll be the first to admit we are living in scary times for our country. Honestly; i never thought i would see what is happening in our country; happening. The spiritual bailouts, ecological turmoil, and worldwide persecution. I know Jesus told us things will only get worse…but i just never imagined i would see the day.

Matthew 24:4-14
The Message (MSG)
4-8 Jesus said, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming.

9-10 “They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other’s throat, everyone hating each other.

11-12 “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.

13-14 “Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.

So things are going to get bad, really bad, before they get better. And when conditions worsen, Jesus said to do not get alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. He said Don’t freak out when bad stuff happens.

He also said Don’t be mislead. Don’t be deceived. For many will come in my name, claimimg, I am the christ and will deceive many. There is a twofold appearance of MANY in this verse. Many deceived and many deceivers. Churches are a petri dishes for self serving egomaniacs who masquerade as ministers of God. God warns us to be careful of the spiritual gurus claiming a special status, a superior spirituality. They boast of insider information and adorn their teachings with “God told me”…Some even claim they are Christ. Don’t be mislead, Jesus warns. Don’t be wooed by their slick appearances, silver tongued oratory, or performances. Matthew 24:24
New International Version (NIV)
24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Multitudes and miracles. Large audiences and spectacular deeds. Throngs of people. Displays of power. When you see them, be careful. High volumes doesn’t equate with sound faith. Dont be impressed with numbers of tricks. Satan can counterfeit both. Filter all messages and messengers through this verse. 1 John 2:22-23
New King James Version (NKJV)
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
False prophets always minimize the role of Christ and maximize the role of humanity. Stick to one question. Is this person direceting listeners to Jesus? If the answer is yes, be grateful and pray for them. If the answer is no; get out while you can!

Along with heresy we can expect calamity. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There will be famine and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginnings of birth pains. Matthew 28:6-8 niv
Christians will suffer the most. Matthew 24:9-12
New International Version (NIV)
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.

America, proud as she is of religious freedom, suffers of increased anger toward Christians. Professors publicly mock bible believing students. Talk show host denigrate people of faith. We can expect the persecution to increase. When it does, fragile convictions will collapse.( The love of many will grow cold.) Spiritual stowaways will jump ship. The halfhearted will become cold hearted. A great many church attenders will be disclosed as faith pretenders. They will not only leave the faith; they will make the lives of the faithful miserable.
Don’t freak out at the heresy, calamity, and apostasy. Don’t give in or give up, for you will soon witness the victory.
Matthew 24:13-14
New International Version (NIV)
13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:6 says these things must come to pass. Must is a welcomed word that affirms that all events, even the most violent, are under a divine plan. Every trial and trouble has a place in God’s scheme. “The reason why we ought not be terrified is not because wars are not terrifying. Quite the contrary. It is because above all chaos reigns a divine plan.” All things, big and small, flow out of the purpose of God and serve his good will. When the world appears out of control; it isn’t. When warmongers appear to be in charge, they aren’t. When ecological catastrophes dominate the day, don’t let them dominate you. God is in control. We can trust him. “Everything will work out in the end. If it’s not working out; it’s not the end.”

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