Are you like me? Do you get large amounts of Internet “News”, probably on your phone?

I get an endless stream of information and opinions, with many videos. When I was young, we had one important newspaper in our city, and my mother subscribed to two or three magazines. That is how I learned the news about the world around me.

I don’t know if it was more accurate than today, but that is what I consumed and digested, and that formed my opinions about the world around me.

Now I know, reporters and editors made the news. Their picture of the world became mine, and I don’t want to be critical, sometimes they were good at their jobs. Reporting of the news was sometimes professional and accurate. Sometimes.

Now we have the Internet. You know this; when we visit a coffee shop or fast food location, we sit down, and then we …

Where I live, everyone pulls out their cell phone, and starts scanning something on the Internet. The flood of information today, is very different from the trickle, when I was a boy.

So, what is really happening? And what will happen soon? Our world is changing, and we have a time of “wars and rumors of wars.” Those words are from a preacher named Jesus, and he told us that our world and our history are about to flip.

You may not see that on your phone, but how do we explain the “beginning of birth pains” in the world news? Here are a few words that we hear in the news often: Israel, Hamas, Iran, Russia, Ukraine. We could add a few more to the list, but we probably can’t explain where all this is leading us. 

In the words of Jesus:

Watch out that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Christ,”and they will mislead many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24: 5 to 8)

That prediction needs two things; religious devotion and mass movements. There must be leaders of different teams fighting against each other, and those teams, or movements, or nations, must be organized and armed. The title “Christ” is  “Messiah,” the one who will lead us on the right road and show us the truth. The one who will solve our problems.

Here is an interesting debate. A famous Atheist told a Muslim debater, that he preferred Christianity over Islam. That’s a bit weird, but if a religion becomes a secular movement, the ranks of “Christians” could include Atheists. Note; the Muslim debater gave a good debate answer:

Are you ready for the next round of Crusades? An Atheist who does not believe in God, is not a Christian believer, but there might be some room for them when the community of believers shifts to become a powerful movement.

In history, armies of Muslims came out of the deserts in the Middle East, and armies of medieval knights, sometimes with crosses painted of their shields, opposed them.

Those ancient Crusades weren’t exactly a Bible study or a missionary movement, and swords and spears are not the tools for a civil debate. The Muslim debater, in the video, was not completely accurate about fighters who called themselves “Christians” and he completely blanked the terrible things done by people who identified with Islam. That debate could have wandered into some complicated history. To be fair, we could name some other religions that became fighting movements, including Atheism. Atheistic Communists hold the world record for numbers of victims of mass murders. 

Sir Richard Dawkins, the famous Atheist, describes himself as a “cultural Christian.” I think that’s like a sports fan who cheers for a favourite team. Jesus predicted messianic and charismatic leaders who would try to replace him, with polarized rivalry and warfare. That is the beginning of the “birth pangs” at the end of our time, just before he returns. This is very different from believing and following him.

A young woman in Japan explains how complicated it is to respect tradition, or cheer for her team, and also to follow Jesus. Loyalty to tradition blocks her choice to personally follow Jesus. I think that’s what Jesus predicted and how it will produce “wars and rumors of wars.”

So, the pattern is:

1. Mass communication on a scale we have never seen before, in history that feeds  …
2. Mass movements with messianic leaders who have the ‘true way’ for us, leading to …
3. Wars and rumors of wars, which is the beginning of the end, birth pangs.

It’s time to look up. The signs are becoming clear.

Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21: 28)