Rumors
Henry Lachenmayer was a twenty-two-year-old crewmember of the USS Pennsylvania at Pearl Harbor. During the attack he did his best to perform his battle duties as a medic. He was eyewitness to the destruction wrought on the Pennsylvania and surrounding ships. After recounting the events of the day in his diary, he summarized the rumors that were swirling in the aftershock of the attack:
Here are some of the rumors passing amongst us, none of us having real solid information. Some of the enemy planes were piloted by German fliers. The enemy tried to land troops at Nanakuh and Waikiki beaches, but were repulsed. We sank two enemy aircraft carriers some distance from the islands. Wake and Midway islands are in Japanese hands. Saboteurs land in great numbers on the island. We had two more alarms… but these proved to be only scares.53
We always hear rumors, especially in times of uncertainty. When the facts are unknown, there always seems to be someone willing to supply them out of his own imagination. Jesus was aware of this all-too human tendency and tried to prepare his disciples to deal with it. When they asked him to explain what would happen at the time of his return, Jesus warned them, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed” (Matthew 24:6). He then told them to ignore the rumors. He told them, in fact, that they could ignore all human sources of news. They would directly and personally know when the Son of Man returned to Earth.
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man… They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
—Matthew 24:27, 30