The End is Not Yet

Matthew 24:6

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

There is no doubt that we are in the end times, and yet many act like we still have much time before our Lord returns. The end times are not times to sit and do nothing, but they are times we should be busy reaching every soul possible.

Jesus dialogues what will happen in the end times. Notice some of the things He says will happen. He says we will hear of wars and rumours of wars. Yet, when you hear of these wars, the end is not yet. He said nations would rise against each other, great travesties would happen, believers would be persecuted and hated of all nations, many will be offended and betray another believer, believers will be hateful toward each other, and many false prophets will rise and deceive many. Jesus concluded what would happen by saying that because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

When you see these things, it is not hard to see we are in the end times. However, what is sad is that many of these end-time actions are the acts of believers toward each other. There are a few things we as believers need to watch for in these end times.

First, we must not allow worldly affairs to trouble us. Be careful not to become so wrapped up in the world affairs that you stop reaching the lost for Christ. Wars and rumors of wars have gone on for centuries. Just because the new media declares the end could be near because another country has a nuclear weapon does not mean that we should be troubled about these things. Believers should never be troubled by the doomsday talkers of nuclear war and global warming because we know the Scriptures teach that God will be the One who ends it all. Doomsday talkers of the world being destroyed by nuclear war and global warming need to read the book of Revelation. Do not allow the doomdayer’s to trouble you.

Second, we must not get involved with those who peddle hate among each other. Satan rejoices when we are more interested in destroying each other than we are with reaching the lost. Yes, we must stand for truth, but we don't have to destroy people with hatred. Time is too short to be sidetracked with hatred toward brethren. When a brother backslides from truth, pray for him to come back, but don’t get caught up in the hatred peddled between the brethren.

Third, don't allow sin to cause your love to wax cold. Sin always creates a cold and indifferent heart toward reaching the lost. You will find your heart waxing cold toward reaching the lost when you allow sin to abound in your life. You can be sure that those who have lost a love for reaching souls have allowed sin to abound in their lives. The greatest coverup of all is the coverup of pastors and believers not soul winning. Not reaching the lost will do more damage for eternity than a coverup of any other sin.

The key to these things is your testimony. Jesus said in verse 13, But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. The enduring to the end is talking about saving our testimony despite the end-time actions of others. Let the end times be a challenge to never lose your testimony and love for reaching the lost no matter what others do.