Wars and Rumors of Wars

Pastor Robert  Miller

  Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives when the disciples came to Him asking what they believed were very important questions. People today are still asking these same questions and seeking answers.  Having been in Jerusalem, I can picture this scene. I believe Jesus was looking at the most prominent structure in all of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount.  The picture next to my office portrays this exact scene.  We find the questions that were asked in Matthew 24:3, “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" 

 Jesus answered these questions without hesitation.  In Matthew 24:6-8, Jesus said, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.”  Clearly Jesus gave some things to look for that will characterize the end of the age and the sign of His coming.  Notice there will be wars and rumors of wars (this is happening now) and nation will rise against nation (this is occurring right at this very minute).  As these circumstances manifest in the earth, the “when” is revealed.  Jesus encouraged us not to fear when these things take place.  He says they must come to pass.  Interesting isn’t it.   This is certain proof that we are living in the end of the age.  The war with Iraq is a sign of the end times.

  The Book of Revelation is what most people look to for information regarding the end times.  Revelation 1 opens with a significant statement in verses1-3, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants -- things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near”.  This time is upon us now and we are not to fear when the signs of the end such as war manifest.
 
  Written in Revelation 18:1-3 is a prophecy of the destruction of Babylon (now called Iraq), “After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.  And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!” Certainly, the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein against the Iraqi people bear this out. This prophecy of the destruction of Babylon (Iraq) is a fulfillment of the questions Jesus addressed in Matthew 24 and is a sign that we are living in the end times. There is a scriptural basis for the war we are currently fighting not just a political one.  Hearing the news broadcasts and political opinion can distract us from perceiving what are really the driving influences behind “Operation Iraqi Freedom”. 

  Revelation 18:5 tells us that Iraq’s sins have reached to heaven and that God has remembered them. On September 11, 1999 the Jewish teachers in Israel declared that the judgment of the nations had begun. On September 11, 2000 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon prayed at the Western Wall prompting Islam to declare Jihad against Israel and the United States.  Middle Eastern Muslims are taught that the United States is the great Satan but they are wrong.  Revelation 18:3 teaches us that Iraq (Babylon) has become a dwelling place for every foul spirit and in Revelation 18:8 scripture reveals it is the Lord who judges her for that.  Revelation 18:10 tells us that Iraq’s judgment takes place in a short span of time.  We can see that this war has spiritual significance and reflects God judging the nations. Certainly the prediction of Iraq’s destruction coming quickly is also coming to pass.  We, as Christians, should take heart for this means God’s plan is prevailing. The United States is being used as a tool to bring about God’s judgment of Iraq (formerly Babylon). 

  Revelation 18:3,9 makes an interesting point about the nations who participate with Iraq by drinking the “wine of the wrath of her fornication.”  This “wine” could be oil and v 9 goes on to say that these other nations will lament (complain) about her destruction.  Maybe this will give insight into why France, Germany and Russia (all anti-Israel and pro–Iraq) who have made lucrative oil deals with Iraq could not find it within themselves to support the United States.  Thus these nations have aligned themselves against God’s judgment of Iraq.  In Isaiah 14:23 the Lord expresses His feelings about Iraq (Babylon).  In that scripture the Lord says He will sweep the broom of destruction. 

  Rather than getting caught up in the natural, we as Christians need to see the spiritual significance of the war that is taking place. It is truly, as President George Bush suggested, a war of good against evil.  I am so thankful that we have a President who sought the plan of God and who has resolved to see that plan come to pass.  The best thing we can do is to pray for our President and our Troops who are representing the Word of the Lord in this battle.  Do not be fearful; these things must take place for they hasten the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.