When war erupts in the Middle East, fear-propagating prophets rush to the spotlight. “God-told-me-this” stories, out-of-context Scriptures, red moon charts, and red heifer hype flood our feeds with frantic predictions. The hope of Jesus’ return has been tangled for too long in speculation, fear, and confusion.

The Biblical hope of Jesus’ return could not be more convoluted with suspicion and panic than it has been in this last century of dispensational heresy. If you find yourself afraid and in a turmoil, remember: fear is not the work of the Holy Spirit. If you merely hope to escape the exaggerated dystopia of darker days, your faith in the power of evil is far greater than the authority Jesus gave to His Church to invade the gates of Hell. (Matthew 16:18).

The good news of God’s Kingdom must be preached in all the world before the end comes (Matthew 24:14; 28:19–20; Acts 1:8, Luke 24:47). So rather than pulling the fire alarm and hoping to escape an uncertain future, know this: you have work to do. Your response to the war in Iran should be to pray and seek ways to bring the message of Jesus’ Kingdom into the darkened corners of the Middle East.

This is the hope we are charged to carry into the world. The King has come and has given us His Spirit to bring salvation to nations. We are here to bring His realm through our own lives, with signs and wonders following (Mark 16:17–18; Acts 1:8). We are “endowed with power” to be witnesses of the King and to show how He can transform families, communities, states, and nations. We are commissioned to do this work until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ.

Pray for believers to gain access to the untold millions who await salvation. In the Middle East, millions live under the shadow of Islamic oppression. These nations are the last frontier of global missions, and we cannot idly hope for Jesus to return while nearly 3.2 billion souls languish without eternal life.

Don’t be distracted. We have a lot of work to do. Pray. Send. Go. Let’s finish the task before us of fulfilling the Great Commission.