At present, there are at least 15 ongoing conflicts throughout the world, with no end game in sight for most of them. Since the early nineteen nineties the war in Iraq took its toll on men and women in both the United States and Iraq, and from that time till now we have been sucked into conflict after conflict across the globe. Then, at the beginning of the 21st century, with the onset of 9/11, we responded to that terrible tragedy, which unfolded in New York city, with the hope of permanently crushing out the ideology of terrorism.
But it was discovered that it is much easier to bomb wicked men, than their thoughts, and philosophies, which continue to live on, and cause havoc, even to this present day, and try as we might to extricate ourselves, it seems as if we are just becoming more entangled in the snare of international conflicts. It’s because the concept of war did not originate with mortal man, and it will never be eliminated by any human being, because it has its foundation, and its beginnings in lucifer, the author of all wars. Let’s read:
Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Thus, it is now necessary for us to trace the history of war from its beginning, to better understand how and when it will all end. War began with the seed of covetousness, cultivated and cherished in the heart of Lucifer, who sought for himself the highest place in heaven. The name Lucifer, and the word sin both have something in common, in that the letter I is at the center. Thus, any created being who has as their motto “ME first” will be wearing the cap of him who first started war.
The very thought of not being first in heaven did not sit well with Lucifer, and therefore, the evil thought churned over, and rankled in his mind, until it began to find expression in complaints, murmuring, open accusations, and character-assassination of God and Christ. But satan did not stop there, for many of the angelic hosts were so insidiously influenced by his misrepresentations, that one third of them joined in the rebellion, until the evil had metastasized into an open conflict between those who were loyal to God and those who sided with the arch-rebel. Let’s read:
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.
Thus, when satan, and his evil angels were finally evicted from heaven, their ideologies, philosophies, discontent, and their covetousness were passed on to our first parents, after Adam, and Eve had both succumbed to his temptations, to disobey God, and question His wisdom and goodness in withholding the tree of knowledge, good, and evil from them. Let’s read:
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good
for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And the rest is history, for this was the beginning of all conflicts on our planet, the beginning of all fake news, recriminations, blame games, finger-pointing, self-justifications, “Me first” philosophies, and yes, wars, and rumors of war. Whenever any created being has “I” as his or her center, war, and all that it entails then becomes inevitable. Let’s read:
[D.A pp 435>436] The desire for self-exaltation had brought strife into the heavenly courts, and had banished a multitude of the hosts of God. Lucifer desired God's power, but not His character. He sought for himself the highest place, and every being who is actuated by his spirit will do the same. Thus alienation, discord and strife will be inevitable. Dominion becomes the prize of the strongest. The kingdom of Satan is a kingdom of force; every individual regards every other as an obstacle in the way of his own advancement, or a steppingstone on which he himself may climb to a higher place.
Genesis 3:9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Thus, we see the beginnings of the tendency to not take responsibility for one’s actions, but rather to blame any and everyone else for the errors we may make ourselves. In their response to God’s inquiry, Adam, and Eve displayed one of the fundamental character traits of satan, the habit of blaming others for one’s faults. Adam cast the blame on God for His making Eve, for he insinuated that if she had never been created, he would not have eaten of the tree.
Eve then blames the serpent, and God indirectly, for if the serpent was never created, there surely would have been no temptation. And satan blames Adam, God, Eve, and even the tree, for if there was no tree to climb, he would not be in its branches in the first place; and if God did not create fruit, the possibility of that specific temptation would not have existed. Thus, the full blame, and responsibility for the fall of man is ultimately placed at God’s doorstep, without any of the guilty persons bearing responsibility.
A very important commentary is written by the pen of inspiration, on the fallout after Adam and Eve’s sin, and it contains the essential links in a long chain of circumstances which always leads to alienation and winds of strife. Let’s read:
[P&P pp 57] Soon the thought of his sin filled him with terror. The love and peace which had been theirs was gone, and in its place, they felt a sense of sin, a dread of the future. Adam reproached his companion for her folly in leaving his side and permitting herself to be deceived by the serpent. When the woman was asked, “What is this that thou hast done?” she answered, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” “Why didst Thou create the serpent? Why didst Thou suffer him to enter Eden?”—these were the questions implied in her excuse for her sin. Thus, like Adam, she charged God with the responsibility of their fall.
The spirit of self-justification originated in the father of lies; it was indulged by our first parents, as soon as they yielded to the influence of Satan, and has been exhibited by all the sons and daughters of Adam. Instead of humbly confessing their sins, they try to shield themselves by casting the blame upon others, upon circumstances, or upon God—making even His blessings an occasion of murmuring against Him.
This brings us to our day, where the winds of strife, and the threat of war looms large on the horizon, and where nations are angry with one another, and with their own people, for no apparent reason. The relative security, and tranquility we enjoy here, in the U.S.A, is not due to the genius, skill, or wisdom, of any of its leaders, for we have all inherited from Adam, a disposition to make war.
If someone, or another nation interferes with us for any reason, our natural instinct is not to humbly bow out, but to retaliate, even when we know there might be very adverse results, and consequences. Take for example the following episode with Jacob, and his sons, after Dinah had been defiled by one of the Canaanite princes. Let’s read:
Genesis 34:1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.
7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter: which thing ought not to be done.
24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.
27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
Genesis 35:1 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
Thus, as was stated before, the relative security, and tranquility we enjoy in the U.S.A, is not due to the genius, skill, or wisdom, of any human being, for we are all born with the propensity to fight. Peace in our neck of the woods, is due rather to the direct interposition of God in our behalf, who has His holy angels stationed at the four corners of the earth, exercising their restraining power over the minds of mad men, until such time that the saints are sealed in their foreheads.
As soon as this work is finished, the earth will be plunged into those scenes of bloodshed, strife, and unimaginable chaos, described by Bible prophets, the likes of which humanity has never ever seen. Let’s read:
Revelation 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up,
the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Isaiah 24:2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.
3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled.
4 The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
Luke 21:25 "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.
The distress of nations mentioned by Christ in the book of Luke, not only refers to wars, and rumors of war as we are now witnessing; it also includes many famines, pestilences, as well as the utter inability of human beings to solve our most pressing problems. Now, here is something for us to consider, as crisis, after crisis looms large on the horizon. Let’s read:
[G.C pp. 589] "Satan delights in war; for it excites the worst passions of the soul, and then sweeps into eternity its victims steeped in vice and blood. It is his object to incite the nations to war against one another; for he can thus divert the minds of the people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God".
In light of what is now taking place across the globe, there are three important instructions coming to us from Christ, as He wraps up His work in our behalf, in the heavenly sanctuary.
[1] We must present Christ, and the principles and laws of His kingdom, as the only viable solution to the problems of this world, for He, being the Prince of peace, is the only Person who can cause wars to cease. Let’s read:
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
[2] We must pray for our national, and international leaders, and we should encourage them to pray too, for every person has some level of skin in the game. In other words, we are not to be indifferent to the suffering of people in other lands, for no man liveth unto himself, and we are all connected by the great chain of humanity. Let’s read:
1st Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
[3] We must preach the word by whatever means available, for we have very limited time to do so in relative peace. Instead of spending our time, and substance on riotous living, we should be doing all we can to advance the cause of Christ and truth, not only in our neck of the woods, but also globally via social media. Let’s read:
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus spake saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
[4] We must live in readiness each day, for no one knows how soon Christ will finish the work in the heavenly sanctuary, thus bringing human probation to a permanent close. Whatsoever might eventuate today, tomorrow, next week, or next year, let it not be said that we were found sleeping on our watch, which leads us to our final passage for this evening:
Mark 13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His word.
God bless!