Is the World Ending—or Are We Being Born? скачать в хорошем качестве

Is the World Ending—or Are We Being Born?

“And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet… All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matthew 24:6–8) The disciples wanted a timetable. They asked Jesus for the full lowdown—the signs, the sequence, the moment when history would finally tip over into its last chapter. They wanted clarity, certainty, control. And Jesus, characteristically, refused to give them what they thought they needed. Instead, He gave them wisdom. First, He complicated their expectations. The end, He said, would not arrive neatly, predictably, or cleanly. History would convulse. Violence would escalate. Empires would clash. Creation itself would groan. But none of this—none of it—should be mistaken for the conclusion. “The end is not yet.” Second, He denied them the one thing apocalyptic curiosity always craves: a date. They would not know when the Son of Man would come. Not because the information was hidden somewhere for clever readers to decode, but because knowing it would distract them from what actually mattered. And third—and this is the heart of it—Jesus redirected their attention away from watching events and toward watching themselves. See that you are not alarmed. Guard your heart. Tend your faith. Remain awake to God, not addicted to headlines. This is not indifference. It is discernment. Jesus does not minimise suffering. He speaks plainly of persecution, betrayal, and endurance that will cost everything. He even names martyrdom without softening the word. But He refuses to let trauma set the agenda. Catastrophe does not get the final say. Fear does not become the lens through which the future is read. Then, almost unexpectedly, He speaks of good news. In the midst of wars and famines and upheaval, the gospel will be proclaimed to the whole world. Not as an escape plan, but as witness. Not as speculation, but as embodied hope. And then, He says, the end will come. Notice the order. The end is not triggered by collapse, but by testimony. So what are we to do? Every generation is tempted to believe it stands closest to the brink. Every age discovers fresh reasons to panic. New crises are baptised as final signs. New voices urge urgency without depth, excitement without patience, action without formation. But if Scripture is the living word of God, then the word addressed to us is the same word addressed to the first disciples. Do not be alarmed.Wait.Watch.Witness. Waiting is not passivity. It is faith that refuses to force God’s hand. Watching is not obsession with events. It is attentiveness to the movements of God—within us and among us. Witnessing is not shouting predictions. It is living truthfully, speaking courageously, loving sacrificially in the middle of an unfinished world. Jesus reaches for the image of birth pains, not death throes. Painful, yes. Disorienting, certainly. But purposeful. Pregnant with something new. That image alone should slow us down. History is not simply collapsing; it is labouring. Creation is not abandoned; it is groaning toward redemption. And the church is not called to speculate from the sidelines, but to stand faithfully in the tension—neither asleep nor hysterical. We are still here. Which means the story is still being told. Enough for now, Jesus seems to say. Enough charts. Enough fear. Enough false urgency. Attend to your life with God. Speak the gospel you have been given. Trust the unfolding to the Father. The King will come. Until then, we live. Prayer Lord of history and hope, Put these things deep within us.When the world trembles, steady our hearts.When rumours multiply, guard us from alarm.When suffering presses close, keep us faithful. We are still here—so we wait for the coming of the King.You have given us a tongue and a heart—so we witness to truth and grace.History and destiny shift around us—so we watch with discernment, not fear. Teach us to live between promise and fulfilmentwithout panic,without despair,without distraction. All the unfolding is in Your hands.So we trust You—today,and until the end that is not yet. Amen.