Do Not Be Troubled

 "And Jesus answered and said unto them: take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. 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 shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginnings of sorrows." Mat.24:4-8

Let anything happen in the middle east and it is a sure sign that Christ is returning. Except it seems clear by the words Jesus spoke that we may be a little premature in our assessments. That the return of Christ is closer than it has ever been is true. Time has gone by since Jesus spoke in Matthew 24. 

The key word of warning is do not be deceived. The word deceive is the Greek word planao. which means to lead astray or to cause to wander. Eve was deceived by the serpent. Things will happen before the return of Christ that will lead people astray from truth, either by personal persuasion or by the error of false doctrine. War may be troubling, but it does not seem to be a trigger to future events in Bible prophecy concerning the end times. Do not be troubled by war or armed conflict.

One more thought to ponder. Has any world leader in modern times claimed to be Christ, or a savior, or God?