“And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass.” Matthew 24:6
Why is it that “wars and rumors of wars” must come to pass in the last days? As in the case with every nation that has fallen under the judgement of God because of its ungodliness, and defiance of God, God has either removed His hand of protection from the nation, or brought against it calamity of a sort, and force, that the nation’s will would be broken. This brokenness does not have as its objective to destroy the individual or nation, but to save it. How?
In the economy of God, or rather in His Kingdom, He reigns absolutely. There is no other king or standard, or righteousness that is acceptable from heaven’s standpoint. If man will not submit to the authority of God, or rather, the Lordship of Christ, then there is the working of God to bring that person to a brokenness from his own will and way. This applies to a nation also. It is only as the will of the person is submitted to the will of God, that the blessings of God can be known and received. It is only by faith that individuals can know God, and this means, to submit to His authority, or as Jesus put it, to take His yoke, and to learn of Him. (Matt. 11:29) Our enemy, Satan, knows that if he can persuade anyone to not follow Christ by manipulating, seducing, or deceiving the individual to follow him, as opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ, then he knows that God will judge, not just because it is the thing to do, but because the sinner is opposing the very nature, and person of God. God offers in Christ to every individual on the face of the earth, true, eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, and the power by the Holy Spirit to live free of sin, Satan, and the world. God, in His goodness, works in circumstances to bring men to repentance, that He can freely give them life. Sometimes this requires floods, earthquakes of soul and mind, winds of adversity, so that man will be awakened to his need. And yet, all of these exterior pressures upon men, though designed to direct one’s attention to God, cannot take the place of the convicting power of the Spirit according to the word of God. If God is going to save an individual, or deliver a believer from deception, setting him free from the lies of the enemy, there must be the response of repentance and faith, to the convicting work of the Spirit. So, why will there be “wars and rumors of wars?” They will come because of the rejection by man of the living God. God never intended that men should war one against the other, but when a person, or a nation, becomes war-like, seeking to dominate and rule over others by oppression and force, it is an indication that they have turned their backs on God. Both those who are faced with war, and those who are the cause of it, are brought by God face to face with the reality, and the sobering truth of the desperate need of man, who will destroy himself unless God intervenes. The question then becomes, will man truly seek God at that point, for His saving work to become operative in the life?
In the book of Habakkuk, it is recorded that God gave to this very sensitive, and compassionate prophet, a vision of what was coming upon Israel. The flood of the Chaldean invaders was coming to conquer the nation of Israel. The nation had forsaken God, and nothing would turn her back, except the brutalness of the invasion. Habakkuk’s prayer was for revival, “in the midst of the years.” This was a plea for the quickening of God, a stirring up of the people, a conviction of sin in such a manner that would lead them to repentance and God’s mercy.
Dear Father, Rule in us today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.