DON’T LET DISASTERS DECEIVE YOU

Mark 13:5-8

⁵ Then Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one leads you astray. ⁶ Many will come claiming to be me saying, ‘It’s me, I am!’ and they will cause many to go astray. ⁷ When you first hear of wars and threats of wars, do not panic; this must take place, but the end is yet to come. ⁸ Because nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be disasters[1] in various places; there will be famines. These events are just the beginning of the birth pangs.

false alarms

The beginning of labour contractions can be very deceptive. Often a couple having their first child will arrive at the hospital convinced that “this is it” only to be told the child is not yet ready to make an entrance. So it is with the three signs mentioned here. Each time a new cult leads a group on a mass defection from Christ – each time a war devastates a land – each time a natural disaster strikes – someone is convinced that the end has come. But Jesus warned his disciples not to be deceived by these false alarms. Each is a sign that we are in the last age, but these signs are set to recur often throughout the age. The end is yet to come.

LORD, may we recognize the signs, but not be deceived by them.

[1] σειζμοι can refer to many types of natural disasters as well as earthquakes.