Please read the passage before the commentary.
Nation will rise against nation, there will be power earthquakes, famines and plagues, and they will seize and persecute you. By your perseverance you will be saved.
The Romans persecuted the early Church, and we are still here. Plagues decimated many populations in the Middle Ages, but we are still here. The religious dissent of the Protestant Reformation is part of our history, but we are still here. We have even endured the upheavals of wars, such as the Crusades, the French Revolution, our Civil War, two world wars, but the Church is still here. The Church has survived and so have we.
We can interpret the sign of today in terms of apocalypse. Hurricane Melissa has attacked Jamaica and Jamaica calls out to us in her plight. Gaza sees her cities, towns and structures demolished and her -population in shambles; Gaza calls out to us for assistance in her dire need.
In our personal lives, we face strong struggles, and we look for shelter and success. Is not the Lord still with us? Do not the struggles encountered throughout human history teach us that God is faithful? God will see us through government shutdowns, through missed flights, through higher prices for goods, through any and all inconveniences of every-day life.
The early Church survived the destruction of Jerusalem, which left no one stone standing with another as both were thrown down. We prune plants that enables them to produce stronger and more beautiful plants. Through all our crises in history, God has pruned us to be what God wants us to today. By our perseverance we are saved.