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In a World of War, Be Calm

by | Sat, Nov 26 2022

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Sometimes it seems the nations of the world are racing toward greater conflict, even annihilation. What should we as Christians be doing in response? In his message, ‘In a World of War, Be Calm’, Dr David Jeremiah examines Jesus’s prophecies of Earth’s final days.

Does the prophecy that Jesus gave on Mount Olivet affect our priorities today? What did He mean when He said you will hear of wars and rumours of wars? It may be that what is happening now in our world is preparing us for the realisation of that prophecy being fulfilled.

Jesus Warned Us

‘Jesus warned us in Matthew 24 that dissension would increase and global warfare would envelop the world in mounting measure,’ says David. ‘I will never forget the first time I read the statement, “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed state of moral and patriotic feeling, which thinks that nothing is worth the war, is much worse.”’

Nobody wants war, but nobody wants a world that is not worth sacrifice. Freedom doesn’t come for free. It comes at great expense because the curse of war is so great. Philosophers have long searched for the reason for it. What is the cause of war? The problem is in the human heart and we can trace it back to the moment of Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God. The vertical rupture created a horizontal rupture between one person and another.

‘From that day forward, history and the pages of the Bible have been marked by war,’ says David. ‘The Old Testament is full of war. The word for war occurs more than 300 times in the Old Testament scriptures. Jehovah God is called the Lord of Hosts or the Lord of Armies.’

Many of God’s great servants were military men, including Saul, David, Moses and Gideon. Sometimes in the culture of today, a military man is not honoured as he once was. But the Bible honours soldiers, and those who are willing to fight so that good may happen.

Every Day is Like War

‘If you read the New Testament,’ says David, ‘you discover that while war is not as prevalent as in the Old Testament, when a soldier appears on the pages, he appears with commendation and appreciation. In fact, there are five Roman centurions whose lives are told in the New Testament. If you read all their stories, they’re all positive. There’s no negative connotation to war in the New Testament.’

Sometimes we just have to admit that every day is like a war. We have to get up whether we feel like it or not, and go fight the war. Because of the conflict between good and evil that originated in the Garden of Eden, war has become a major theme in the human story.

‘War comes from the evil in a man’s heart,’ says David. ‘It comes from our human desire to have that which is not ours. And that brings us to the words of Jesus again in Matthew 24. “There will be an escalation of verbiage about war.” That’s Jesus’ statement. Remarkably, he spoke those words during a time of prolonged peace.’

Jesus unequivocally told his disciples, “When the time comes for my return, get ready because it will be introduced by the escalation of intensity and frequency of war speak.” Are we living in that day? Are we headed toward World War Three? Some military experts think so, and it’s possible that Jesus said so.

Jesus is in Control

David believes we are living in a perilous time. “That’s the context in which I want to give you the major message from this particular story. We have conflicts, but we have confidence. You can become the person of God that He created you to be so that no matter what happens, you’re ready to stand up and be God’s person.’

Jesus said, “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled.” How can we live in a world like we live in today and not be troubled? It’s all wrapped up in the peace that we find in God’s promise, in God’s presence, and in God’s plan.

‘Jesus is the one who brings peace into war-torn worlds,’ says David. ‘And we are learning to do what we need to do to make sure He is in control of our lives.’

Listen to Dr David Jeremiah’s full message below, and for more resources visit our Vision Store.