# Wars and Rumors of Wars Ellen White understood Christ's prophecy about wars and rumors of warsto have both a historical fulfillment and an ongoing application to the last days. She wrote that "while these prophecies received a partial fulfillment at the destruction of Jerusalem, they have a more direct application in the last days" (
LDE 19). ## Historical Context: Jerusalem's Destruction In her commentary on
Matthew 24, Ellen White explained that Christ was warning His disciples about the signs preceding Jerusalem's fall. She noted that "prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, men wrestled for the supremacy. Emperors were murdered. Those supposed to be standing next the throne were slain. There were wars and rumors of wars" (
DA 628.3). Christ told His followers that these events were the beginning of sorrowsand warned them not to be deceived when the rabbis interpreted these signs as tokens of the Messiah's coming to deliver them from bondage—they were actually "signs of their destruction" (
DA 628.3). ## Application to the Last Days Ellen White consistently applied this same prophecy to her own time and the end of the world. She declared that the signs of the times declare that we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn eventsand that "before our eyes is fulfilling the Saviour's prophecy of the events to precede His coming: 'Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.... Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places'" (
Ed 179.4). She saw these signs actively unfolding, writing that "the judgments of God are in the land. The wars and rumors of wars, the destruction by fire and flood, say clearly that the time of trouble, which is to increase until the end, is very near at hand" (
3TT 286.1).
She emphasized that everything in our world is in agitationand that "the nations are angry, and great preparations for war are being made. Nation is plotting against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (
3MR 313.1). ## The Restraining of the Winds Importantly, Ellen White connected these signs to the prophetic imagery of the four angels holding the four winds. She taught that "while already nation is rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, there is not now a general engagement. As yet the four winds are held until the servants of God shall be sealed in their foreheads. Then the powers of earth will marshal their forces for the last great battle" (
2TT 369.1). This indicates that while wars and conflicts would increase, a final, universal conflict is being restrained until God's people are sealed. --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:**
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