Question:  Dear Greg,

            I was watching a television evangelist and he stated that the war in Iraq is the beginning of the end.  Is this going to be the start of the Tribulation or is this television evangelist and others jumping to conclusions?

            Lois

Answer:  Dear Lois,

            Not only is this jumping to conclusions, it is more serious than that.  Either it is the “start of the end” or it is not.  Of course, someone who says such a thing could say that “start” doesn’t mean that Jesus will come right away, or perhaps even within the next 50-100 years.  But the problem is that the people who are affected by this hype do not think that way.  Many believe that the end will come (according to the person who tells them so) soon—even within a few years.  So people make financial decisions, life decisions, etc., accordingly.  The fact is that this is the same old stuff, same old prediction addiction that is based upon a broken-beyond-repair methodology that has caused all predictions to be wrong thus far.  This has resulted in discrediting Christianity and has caused some to leave Christianity and never come back.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht