Dark Skies & Rumours of War

As I awaited Sunday evening’s worshippers, I noticed the strangeness of the sky. Towards Yorkshire, naturally, it was grey and sullen, as though it was planning a downpour. Towards the west, there was a golden glow as the sunshine reflected off the scattered clouds. Although it was rather beautiful, the contrast between the two skies rendered them both somewhat unnatural. I was not alone in being reminded of some kind of atomic warfare, the prospects of which are daily trumpeted by news channels. A third factor in that late afternoon sky was the presence of a rainbow. At first, it was a large, almost-complete bow; later, the bow broke but the colours at the northern end intensified. The rainbow reminds us that God will not again flood the world; it also assures us that when this current world is destroyed with fire (2 Peter 3:7), it will be at God’s own behest and not man’s aggression. News reports from eastern Europe are troubling, but the Lord’s people are not to be alarmed nor given to panicking like others:

But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. Mark 13:7