Ashley Darling<\/a> wrote something so poignant, insightful, and on-target that I wanted to draw attention to it. Here is an excerpt:<\/p>\n Certainty is not what we should seek as Christians. It is comforting but diametrically opposed to faith.<\/p>\n Certainty is merely hubris and arrogance masquerading as discernment. One might say that they know the earth is only 6000 years old. Others might say that they know the second coming of Christ will occur this or that way. But they don\u2019t, and the more they prophesy their \u201ctruth,\u201d the more they lose their credibility with unbelievers.\u00a0You\u2019re sure Jesus is the Christ, just like you were sure about X,Y,Z?<\/i><\/p>\n Essentially, by making predictions, we are trading our witness to the world for our own comfort and political expediency, like Esau trading his inheritance for a pot of stew (Genesis 25:29-34). It is comforting to our tired flesh to eat the hot meal, but while we indulge our fleeting hunger, we irreparably change our future and our standing in the world. Our witness and credibility are extremely precious and when we privilege end-times thinking over our present commission to unbelievers we do not treat it as if it were.<\/p>\n Stop claiming this or that person is the antichrist or the savior of the world. Stop worrying about the mark of the beast or a \u201cone world government.\u201d Jesus lived in the Roman Empire. His people were oppressed. Did he cling to his rights, buy guns and ammo, and hunker down for a shoot-out with the opposition? No. He lived peaceably within his society though he lived out his difference by example. Ultimately, he gave himself up willingly to the authorities because he knew that God would take care of him in life and in death.<\/p>\n If we truly believe that we serve the God of the Universe, we should have faith in him and not fear. As 1 John 4:18 states, \u201cThere is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love.\u201d God has promised to take care of His people\u2014not Americans\u2014God\u2019s Church. Christians everywhere, those who are \u201cfree\u201d and \u201cunfree\u201d can rest assured that God will always take care of us despite our circumstances.<\/p>\n Oppression may come, but let us not anticipate it fomenting fear among the faithful and inciting ridicule among the unbelievers. Remain certain of one thing only, \u201cI have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God\u2019s Son, who loved me and gave himself for me\u201d (Galatians 2:20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Read the whole thing on the site Red Letter Christians<\/a>.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.redletterchristians.org\/the-end-of-days-beware-of-becoming-a-false-prophet\/<\/p>\n Of related interest:\u00a0Barbara Brown Taylor writes<\/a>,<\/p>\n Human beings never behave so badly as when they believe they are protecting God. . . . If I am not careful, I can decide that I am really much happier reading my Bible than I am entering into what God is doing in my own time and place, since shutting the book to go outside will involve the very great risk of taking part in stories that are still taking shape.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Why Certainty and Faith Don\u2019t Belong Together<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n