Rumors are Rumors
As we approach and then move pass the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001, let us take comfort and instruction from the 24th chapter of Matthew:
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 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. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
These are the easiest words of this chapter. Where Jesus foretells of what will come and what will NOT come as the end. These days many are afraid to openly discuss these passages for fear of being called a “fanatic” or troublemaker.
The GOOD news is that we are not there yet – according to this Scripture and when we DO get to this point there will be no question as to Jesus’ arrival. This Scripture refers to happenings just before the great flood when Noah told others to prepare.
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
Clearly, the way that man-made trucks and buildings have been tossed aside like toys should be indications of the power and authority above and beyond our capabilities and imaginations. Jesus Christ has given the warning. It’s a choice we must make to believe or be cynical. I choose to remain in awe and in belief of the Word of God.