Thank you very much for your question..

It is true that one of the signs that Jesus told us to look for concerning His return was “Wars and rumor of wars” (Matthew 24:6).. However, throughout time there has been many wars that have caused people to believe that it would rush in the second coming of our Lord.. Yet, no war to date has brought about our Lord’s return. Therefore, no one can say “this or that” war is a specific sign.. Consider this for a moment, AS I just mentioned, Jesus said one of the signs was “Wars and rumor of wars” note that it’s plural not singular. Therefore, we know that not just one specific war would be a sign, but instead it will be several “wars” and several “rumors of wars”.  So, in answer to your specific question concerning just the war in the Middle East, I would say, No, that in its self is not a sign of the Lords soon return.

Now, having said that, let me make myself clear on the issue.. As with all issues/subjects found in the Bible, we need to look at them as a whole.. Meaning, we cannot just take one passage and run with it, we must lineup scripture with scripture taking into consideration all passages on a specific issue/subject. Only then can we get the whole picture.. In this case, we’re talking about End Day’s and the Second Coming of Christ.. So let’s take a moment to consider some important passages concerning this issue.

Jesus said in Matthew 24 that earthquakes, famines, wars, etc. would be signs to us of His Second Coming and the end of the world. Right away we run into a problem with these signs.. The problem being, Through out all time there has always been earthquakes, famines, wars, etc... Therefore, many people who argue against End Day signs use this argument to refute the whole belief.. However, when we take scripture as a whole we begin to understand better what Jesus was talking about..

One of the most important key’s to understanding the signs of the end is found in 1Thessalonians 5:1-3, which states that the signs would come upon them as, "labor pains upon a pregnant woman."  This passage alone clears a lot up for us because when a woman goes into labor, the pain increases as time goes on until the final out-come has arrived. Therefore, the signs given to us would increase as time goes on. The more it increases the closer we are to the end. In other words, Jesus wasn’t saying that there would simply be earthquakes, famines, wars, etc. but an increase of earthquakes, famines, wars etc..

Now we can go back and look at the signs given to us and see whether or not there has been an increase over time and whether or not it continues to increase. Upon doing so, you’ll see that indeed that has been a remarkable increase in the specific signs given to us, including wars.   Based on these facts, I believe that the conflict/war in the Middle East is without doubt part of the signs, but not a sign by itself.. It adds to the increase, but even more specifically, it deals a lot with Israel, which I believe is one of the focal points..

In Closing, I do believe we are living in what the Bible calls the End Day’s. However, I believe we’ve been in the ends for some years now as we continue to increase in these signs given to us.. See, the interesting thing concerning the signs being based on “increase” is the fact that we don’t know how far it will increase before it reaches its mark(birth) and bring Jesus’ Second Coming.. This lines up with scripture because when speaking of the Second Coming, Jesus said in Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”

So you see, even though we have indicators to look for, it’s impossible to know for sure when our Lord, Jesus will return.. It could be in our time or it could be in our children’s lifetime or their children’s lifetime and so on. Now I suppose the question that comes to mind is, why bother then?. Well, Jesus said in Matthew 24:42-44 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” ⁴³But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

It’s the fact that we don’t know for sure when He’ll return is why we as Christians need to be ready..  That’s not to say we should drop everything and just sit and wait for the Lord’s return. Quite the opposite.. We need to continue living life and planning for the future accordingly, but as with all things, doing it for the Glory of God. Unfortunately, there are a lot of Christians, Cults, etc. who stop living life based on their belief that the world is coming to an end soon, but, this is not at all what Jesus was saying.. For example, as we just read in the passages above, Jesus said we need to be ready, but now look at what He said right before that statement.. Matthew 24:40-41 “⁴⁰Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.”

These verses are usually quoted when talking about rapture but I want to point something else out.. Note, in both examples, the one who is left behind and the one who taken, both were working together at their normal jobs. In other words, the one who was ready was still living life, working as they normally would, etc..  This shows us that being ready for Christ’s return doesn’t mean we have to quit living life. We should continue walking and growing in the Lord as we always have, knowing and trusting that all things are according to His time, His will and His plan.

I realize I have gone way beyond your question, but because of how sensitive and misperceived this subject can be, its important that I make myself clear and cover a larger area on this subject.

Well, I hope this has helped answer your question.. If you would like more information on the “Signs” given to us and how they are increasing/being fulfilled, Click on “THE FACTS”.

 God Bless, TRM

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