Rumors of war?

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.  –Matthew 24:6 (ESV)
 
Which of these two statements is more true?
“It’s later than it’s ever been.”
“There’s nothing new under the sun.”
 
They’re both true, of course. We’ve even explored both ideas in this space from time to time. I was reminded this past week of the human propensity to imagine that the end-of-days must be just around the corner, based on the amount of cruelty and moral decay that seems to prevail around the globe. While the situation is dire, and likely more top-of-mind due to a 24x7 newsfeed that emphasizes the negative and highlights division and discord, it seems myopic to consider the current condition unique, much less unprecedented.
 
Indeed, it seems every generation experiences what appears in the moment to be some existential crisis. “It’s the end of the world as we know it.” Each crisis comes with its own villains – those who actually or presumably caused or exacerbated the horrible predicament we’re in, and its own heroes – those whose vision and leadership will certainly guide us out of the current mess. We condemn the villains and place our faith in the heroes. Then the crisis fades and the heroes prove themselves all too human and the supposed cures have unanticipated side effects and the world careens toward the next crisis– yet somehow keeps spinning.
 
Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.  –Ecclesiastes 1:10 (NIV)
 
Could it be that the calamities we experience and the deterioration of societies we witness are merely symptoms of what happened in the Garden, and not necessarily an indicator the end is near? We live in a fallen world. The evidence is all around us, in big ways and small ways, in universal ways and in painfully personal ways. None of what I’m saying is meant to trivialize the impact or the pain of such happenings. Life hurts. But we must remember that our problems did not originate in this plane, and they will not ultimately be resolved by anything or anyone found in this plane. We have a hateful enemy who is a liar and an accuser. We also have a Champion who is Savior and Healer and the Ultimate Sovereign Authority over all.
 
We live in the in-between, the Already but Not Yet. “Thy Kingdom Come” has happened, is happening, and will happen. There will be a Day, of His choosing, when all is finally set right. In the meanwhile, we can hunker down and ride out the storm, we can shake our fist and curse the darkness, or we can do what our Master called us to do – love this world in its darkened state and shine a light. As we celebrate the first Advent and await the second, I pray we choose the third option. Human leaders using human wisdom to implement human plans will not change this world or the people in it. Our Lord can and does and will.
 
Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as he is.  –1 John 3:2 (ESV)