Sweden Reinstitutes Military Draft

Recently, Sweden “reintroduced a military draft for both men and women because of what Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist called a deteriorating security environment in Europe and around Sweden” (Time, March 2, 2017). A major reason for this move was the ominous threat to the Baltic nations from Russia and its increasingly aggressive activity across Europe (ibid.). Sweden is just one nation of many that are concerned with deteriorating stability across Europe and the globe. Although Sweden is not preparing for any current war, the “threat” or “rumors” of wars has motivated this action.

Jesus said that one of the signs of the approaching end of the age would be “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:3-7; Mark 13:4-8). Sweden’s recent action to reintroduce the draft for both men and women simply acknowledges the fact that, after more than 70 years of general peace in Europe, rumors of wars are increasing and seen as real. Sweden’s move is just one more piece of evidence in a much bigger picture that indicates that we are moving toward the end of the age. For more information on this topic, read “Wars and Rumors of Wars.”