How are you doing?

Matthew 24:3–8 states: “When [Jesus] was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Messiah!” and they will lead many astray. 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. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

This is one of those passages of Scripture that has been twisted so many times throughout history. People point to it as some kind of Scriptural evidence that right now, regardless of when that is, is the end times. Rich televangelists and theological manipulators of all sorts have used this passage, along with others, to sell books, movies, and draw donations for their end times predictions and preaching that offer no hope but only destruction.

And when I read that passage it tells me something else. It’s not so much a passage offering predictions that point to right now as it is a word of comfort in chaotic times — the most common of times in the human experience. What we are going through right now is not anything new. Tell me a time in which there wasn’t a war or rumor of war going on? Aren’t we hearing all the things that Jesus talks about in his conversation with the disciples? in fact…