Matthew 24:6-8 6And you are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. Pay attention, do not be alarmed, for it is necessary to happen, but this is not the end. 7For people will rise against people, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8But all these are but the beginning of birth pains.
There have always been wars and rumors of wars because of the deep human problems of selfishness and sin. The idea of “survival of the fittest” could be paraphrased into survival of those who can fight the hardest and beat everyone else. As the population of the world gets larger, the numbers and types of conflicts have increased. The hope is always for peace, but there is only one source of peace: the Prince of Peace. The world often seems on the edge of destruction as rogue nations develop weapons of mass destruction, warlords commit genocide, and battles wage in every nation. These battles do not always use weapons like guns and bombs but can use politics and morality, which can be just as destructive.
Jesus tells his disciples not to worry about these troubles. Sadly, many believers have been victims of wars, so Jesus’ words need to be interpreted in the context of his assurance that he will always be with us (28:20). Following Jesus does not free one from the troubles of the world. No matter what happens to us physically, we must keep our faith in Jesus firm.
The wars and battles are only a sign of deeper social conflicts between people groups (ethnos) and nations. Nature itself will turn against humanity with famines and earthquakes. Like war, there have always been hungry people and movements of the earth’s crust. What makes these phenomenon worse is that with the rise of population (now at over eight billion), famines and earthquakes affect more people. It becomes more difficult to feed billions than it did when there were billions. Population centers such as cities take away farm land and water for growing crops. An earthquake that may have affected thousands now affects millions. Jesus warns his disciples that this is only the beginning. When we see these things, we should take note and prepare ourselves for the end. We should not live in fear but in readiness. Jesus will continue to develop this theme in the following verses.
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