When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.

Mark 13:7

War and the rumors or reports of war are terrifying particularly for people caught up in it like Ukraine, but also for us all. War has been pervasive throughout human history so what is it about war and the rumor of war that qualifies it as a sign of the end times? How do we tell if nations with narcissistic leaders triggering war is the sign Jesus speaks of or just more of the same as has been for thousands of years?

Could it be implicit in the prophecy that there is world-wide access to information about these signs? The Lord was telling his disciples signs to look for but information flow in the first century was slow for obvious reasons. The Lord, later in this revelation to his disciples, will define the context of these prophecies as world wide. There is also an additional detail that is identified in the Gospel of Luke – an important detail that we see unfolding in many places around the world today.

When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.

Luke 21:9

The Greek word translated “disturbances” is defined as “instability, a state of disorder, disturbance, confusion”. One translation even uses the word “rebellion”. So the prophecy about wars includes active war, rumors of war, and rebellions or conditions of disorder, chaos. The word used in the media today is “unrest”. So this sign is world-wide in scope and includes wars, reports or rumors of war, and rebellion. We also must remember the “birth pang” aspect of rapidly increasing intensity. If the data from our observations meet these criteria, then we can deduce with reasonable confidence that this qualifies as a birth pang sign Jesus referred to.

Nobody can doubt the ever increasing intensity and frequency of war and unrest that began after the turn of the 19th century. On 2 November 1917, the Balfour Declaration was made by the government of the UK supporting the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. This would ultimately result in the nation of Israel established in a day just as spoken of in biblical prophecy. How does this connect with the wars and rumors of wars prophecy by Messiah?

Could it be that the spiritual forces of darkness could see the convergence of events prior to the first world war and through the second world war leading to fulfillment of that prophecy about Israel becoming a nation in their historical land once again? Clearly the advance of history towards the fulfillment of all prophecy to include Israel as a nation established and sustained forever by the God of Israel would be opposed by rebellious spiritual entities. Could it be that such forces were behind the second world war to not only block the fulfillment of biblical prophecy but to destroy the Hebrew people and their supporters in the UK and the United States once and for all?

Never has the world seen such a growing intensity of war as has happened in the last 100 years, most particularly since the establishment of the nation of Israel. Even today, the nation of Israel is threatened by demonic forces working among its own people to tear the nation apart and cause its downfall. On 26 March 2023, the Palestinians were proclaiming “Israel has fallen” with the symbol of a broken Star of David.

Jewish people driven by demonically energized, godless crowds instigated and funded by evil people behind the scenes take to the streets by the tens of thousands in an attempt to bring down the national government. Since its inception, it has been the national unity of the Jewish state and the purposes of the God of Israel that has kept the state despite the hostile forces surrounding it.

The enemies of Israel smell “blood in the water” as they prepare for what they see as a golden opportunity to destroy the Jews once and for all. They see weakness in the resolve of the Jews to maintain national unity and defense, and so they prepare for war. Could the enemies of the Jews soon begin what they believe will by the final assault on Israel that will destroy the Jewish state?

Jesus in his warning about the ever increasing frequency and intensity of war and unrest tells his disciples to not be terrified because such things must take place and the end will not come immediately as a result. Could it be possible this is all leading to the the fulfillment of the Ezekiel 38 war in which God intervenes to supernaturally fight for Israel? We’ll see. Certain prophecies have been made about the end times related to the nation of Israel and it would seem that fulfillment is near. The end will not come until these things happen.

I believe all of the criteria for war, rumors of war, and unrest in increasing intensity and global scope are met.

• Ever increasing unrest and moral chaos in the United States as we turn our back on God and the nation of Israel. We have become so reprobate in our minds that we don’t even know which bathroom to use anymore.
• Unrest and ever increasing threats and rumor of war against the nation of Israel.
• On-going war in Ukraine with the continued threat by Russia against NATO countries regarding the use of nuclear weapons.
• Continuous threats against the west by North Korea, backed up with vastly increased military capability.
• The ever increasing threats of China against Taiwan including its warnings to the USA about any interventions.

I have not even included the never ending wars in African nations. Clearly unrest, war, and rumors of war are pervasive and global with no end in sight as the entire world turns away from the Lord.

Does what we see in regards to this sign meet the criteria of a birth pang?

What do you think?

What do you fear about war and unrest? If you are a believer, remember that the Lord says specifically about this sign, not to be afraid. Such things must happen.