by Dave
Breese
What is that distant
thunder? Why, of course, it is the sound of war. It is the booming of the cannon
and the rattle of machine gun fire, the roar of airplanes
and
the rumble of engines. It is the making of mechanisms which are dedicated to
operate in the killing fields and to turning the terrain into a vast
cemetery,
reaching as far as the eye
can see. That distant thunder is the echo of the plague of our day and of all
time. It is the sound of war. There is, in fact,
no
good way to analyze the meaning of history without recognizing that history is
the story of interminable warfare. With the exception of a few
short
years, the history of the
twentieth century has been that of wars, large and small, conducted in one place
or another.
First there came World War
1. Here massive armies dug trenches a few hundred feet from one another. After
four years of intense battle day and night, the
war
subsided, with millions dead and the front lines not having moved but a few
yards forward and backward. The world looked at the awful carnage of
World
War
I and said with high purpose and deep sadness, "Never again!" "Never again!"
But, of course, World War I was followed by 20 years of troubled
peace.
During those 20 years, the
world of science aligned itself with the world of the military. Between them
they incorporated the lessons of World War I and
built armaments that were
stronger, larger, faster, and more efficient as killing machines. These soon
found themselves in deadly use once again as World
War
II broke upon the world. Beginning with the again provocative city of Sarajevo,
World War I became the staging area, the trigger mechanism for
World
War
II. World War II gave us armies more massive that ever before, high speed
aircraft, tanks that had been developed and perfected, and especially
the
atomic bomb. The world still
remembers with a fair degree of remaining astonishment the awful carnage of
World War II.
Nevertheless, the world
allowed itself to be divided since those days and continued its practice of war.
This time around, the excuse for war was ideological,
but
the bloody results were the same. There came, first of all, the carnage of the
Korean War. Here the troops from east and west grappled with one
another
in
the bloody plains, the frozen heights, and the muddy valleys of this hitherto
unimportant land. Korea ended in a stalemate, but the call for war
continued.
That call brought additional
millions of men to South Vietnam, where the rice fields ran red with blood and
the soldiers of both sides died by the tens
of
thousands. It was in the Vietnam War that, for the first time in history, the
American armies were vanquished from the battlefield. Never before
had
the
flag of the States been dragged through the mud by a conquering army. Now,
however, the world has seen this.
With an understandably more
feeble response, the United States then joined the political/economic conflict
in Haiti. This was followed by her involvement
in
Somalia. Here Americans died, but no one explained the nature of the
conflict.
There now boils up a new and
confusing confrontation in the Balkans, where the nations of Serbia, Croatia,
and Bosnia lock themselves in a bloody embrace.
This continuing series of
bloody conflicts causes the world anew to ask, "When will it end?" "What can we
do to bring peace and the end of bloodletting
to
this troubled and foolish world of ours?"
Of
interest to all of us is the fact that the world refuses to listen to the proper
answer to that question because the answer is never. Never will
the
world come to the end of
wars and begin to live in peace. Never, that is, until the King of the universe
returns to impose His program of peace upon the
reluctant belligerence of
the world. Until then, we have the Word of Christ as to the nature of things. He
says, "And you shall hear of wars and rumors
of
wars; see that you be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but
the end is not yet" (Matt. 24:6).
Christ expanded on that
statement just a bit by saying, "For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines,
and
pestilences, and earthquakes, in various places. All these are the beginning of
sorrows" (Matt. 24:7-8). So it is that the Scripture tells us
that
the
world has moved and will move progressively further into an era that will be
literally characterized by "wars and rumors of wars." In fact, one
could
easily argue that the
twentieth century has been a perfect fulfillment of that prophetic promise. It
takes not a great deal of imagination to see ourselves
as
being involved in that awful carnage of war which our Lord said will continue
until the end of this age.
In
fact, the Bible specifically foresees a series of wars at the culmination of
history and the ultimate war that is still before the world, that is,
in
the
world's future. Yes, there will be what we might call the "Ultimate Battle" for
the conquest of earth. It will finally rage across the valley
called
Armageddon and culminate at
the walls of the city of the great king - Jerusalem. This battle will involve
the nations of the world and will result in one
of
the most spectacular events in all of history. Even now, the situation may well
be being prepared for the kings of the earth to involve themselves
in
that great confrontation.
Before that great confrontation, in fact, leading up to it, will be, therefore,
wars and rumors of wars from all across the world.
This anticipation of Jesus
Christ is being, in part, fulfilled in our very time. We may, however, expect
that the frequency and intensity of warfare will
increase as we move toward
that awful consummation of history. In fact, it has already become a truism that
no one really understands history without recognizing
warfare as one of its major
components. Allowing War
In
fact, so obvious will this be the case, that people already are asking anew, as
they've asked many times before, the question, "Why does God allow
war?"
This question is very
understandable as we see again the story of multiplied murder, rape, pillage,
arson, and destruction that grow out of southeastern
Europe at this very time.
Millions really ask, "Could not God have prevented this carnage?" "Where is God
when these devastations come upon the world?"
"Why does God allow such
terrible things to take place anyway?" Despairing of the answers to these
questions, many have doubted the reality of God to the
place where they have moved
into incipient despair. But the question remains - Why, really, does God allow
war? There are certainly a number of reasons
which readily come to
mind.
1.
God allows war to prevent us from becoming too comfortable in this world. One of
the concomitants of war is the destruction of the social order.
This
then turns many an area into
anarchy and suffering. The roads are filled with refugees and the ditches are
populated with those who can hobble no further.
Those who are refugees and
survive will never again believe that the world is their final dwelling place.
Indeed, it is not. This world is the place of
testing, suffering, and
probation for heaven. We are supposed to despair of the dependability and
solidity of this world and never settle down to the place
where we foolishly think
that any cottage on earth is our eternal dwelling.
2.
God allows war to teach us the non-value of human and material things. Each of
us is tempted to hold something in our hand, gold coin, a diamond
ring,
a
treasured friendship, a beautiful home, lively automobile, or the like. The list
is endless of the things to which we may become attached. The
lesson
of
warfare is that no human thing has within itself, intrinsic value. The loot that
the armies of Napoleon took from Moscow became fatal impediments
before
their final escape from the
snows of Russia and the armies of Marshall Kudichev. All values are relative in
this world, but alas, this lesson has been
learned by but a few. Too
many people die clutching worthless diamonds. Because of those diamonds, they
have neglected to place their ultimate trust in
Jesus Christ as the Son of
God.
3.
God allows war to prove the futility of human solutions. We are certainly moving
into the day of "autonomous man." Presumptuous humanity is saying,
"Evolution
has
brought us to the place where now we can control our own evolution. We,
therefore, are smart enough, strong enough, insightful enough to master
the
future. Destiny is in our
hands and we will bring to pass a better than ever society. This boast of
humanity will certainly mature into the fulfillment
of
the truism of Scripture, "There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the
end thereof are the ways of death" (Prov. 14:12).
Adolph Hitler preached to the
world about the master race and how he would produce of the Germanic people a
One-Thousand-Year Reich that would rule the world
into the future. That plan
expired when Hitler put a bullet through his head. It went up in the smoke of
burning corpses in the collapsing city of Berlin.
In
our time it is totally incredible the way the doctrine of human confidence is
preached to the exclusion of any confidence toward God. The utter
futility
of
human solutions is proved with great clarity in the ashes of
warfare.
4.
God allows warfare to show the results of human sin. The Scripture says,
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,
and
so
death passed upon all men, for all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12). The entrance of sin
into the world through the disobedience of Adam produced
immediate
spiritual death and ultimate
physical death. It is, therefore, true that every human thing in the world is
infected by this dreadful disease called "sin."
Every plan is warped, every
conversation is tainted, every hope is subverted because of sin. Therefore,
every person has become a conspirator against God.
Apart from faith in Jesus
Christ, the entire human race has been so reprobated by sin that nothing of good
consequence can be produced by it.
Many times, however, the
despair of war has produced a revival of spiritual interest, and many turning -
having despaired of all of the things - to Jesus
Christ.
5.
God allows war to force us to trust in Him alone. Few pieces of advice are more
valid in life - and should be given to everyone than the words of
Solomon,
"Trust in the Lord With all
thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Prov.
3:5-6). Both the Bible and
life teaches with sparkling clarity the absolute wisdom of this heavenly
admonishment. Trusting in men is always a mistake and
trusting in the Lord is
never done in vain. The world, of course, does not believe this and constantly
turns to its own solutions, its own weapons, its
own
plans to work out its problems. Up until now the world has produced zero good
results from this course. Nor will that change until faith in man
is
turned into faith into God.
Faith in man is shown to be hollow mockery by the devastations of war. Until
that faith changes, those devastations will continue.
God
has promised us this.
For
want of learning these lessons, the Bible teaches that a most turbulent scenario
will come upon the world. As we look into the Word of God, we can
learn
a
number of lessons in the sequence of bloody events that come under the heading
of "Armageddon." That set of events should be soberly contemplated
by
every person who lives in
this era of grace. They will come to pass during that period of time called the
"Tribulation," which will be that set of events
taking place in these seven
years immediately after the rapture of the Church. First of all, the world will
come to the point of a violent rebellion against
God.
Some of the most astonishing
words in the entire Bible are found in the words of the Psalmist, "Why do the
nations rage, and the peoples imagine a vain
thing? The kings of the
earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord,
and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their
bands asunder, and cast away
their cords from us" (Ps. 2:1-3).
Here the Lord himself is
speaking and He is doing so with a degree of astonishment. The picture, which
would be humorous if it weren't so very tragic, is
before us. The nations of
the world, all of them, imagine a vain thing. That vain thing is that the
nations, in their rage, believe that they can win a
war
against God himself. It is as if a few tiny ants on the ground were to pick a
fight with the intention of winning against a grown human being. It
is
like a tiny chicken coming
up against a great lion and swearing that he will do away with that lion. The
picture is quite inconceivable and, therefore,
we
have this statement, "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; and the Lord shall
have them in derision" (Ps. 2:4).
The
ridiculousness of this picture is enhanced by the Scripture statement, "The
rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his
anointed"
(Ps. 2:2). So, here we have
not a frivolous decision or the emotion of a moment. Here we have the best
thoughts of rulers, sinful man, imagining the impossible.
We
are thereby reminded of the complete corruption, to the point of irrationality,
that will have taken over in the minds of the rulers of
earth.
In
their counsels together, the rulers say, "Let us break their bands asunder, and
cast away their cords from us" (Ps. 2:3). So the leadership of the
world
decides to disconnect itself
with reality, with sanity, yes, with God himself.
So
the nations of the world march against Israel and against the city of Jerusalem,
with the intent of doing battle not merely with the Jews, but with
God.
Why
does this take place? Yes, why do the nations rage? What strange insanity is
taking over in the minds of men so that they aspire to accomplish the
preposterous?
Could it be that their gods
have failed them? From across the world we have the pitiful picture of millions
of people bowing before pagan idols of wood
and
stone. Dropping into progressive insanity, they believe that those gods will
help. Can we imagine that there will come a time of disillusionment
when
a
world realizes that it has worshiped gods that are false and failing? Most of us
would be angry if we suddenly realized we had put all of our time
and
money into a thankless
situation. We would certainly rage against someone.
Could it be that the world's
philosophies have proved false? The world today pretends at sophistication and
announces that it believes in existentialism,
humanism, secular optimism,
or a dozen of the other empty philosophies going in our time. Never realizing
that it has been ruled from the grave of false
philosophers who are dead,
the world has suddenly realized that it has been tricked into believing in these
men. Philosophy generally is interesting talk
that produces a bad outcome.
For these and many other reasons, the world could, by this time, become
disillusioned. Then God says, "Then will I speak unto
them in my wrath and vex
them in my great displeasure" (Ps. 2:5).
What possibly could deceive
the kings of the earth into moving against God in this hopeless battle? The only
answer is satanic deception. Indeed, this is
what the Scripture teaches
concerning the prelude to Armageddon.
And
I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon,
and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet.
For
they are the spirits of demons, working miracles, that go forth unto the kings
of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle
of
that great day of God
Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his
garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
And
he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon
(Rev. 16:13-16).
Yes, demonic miracles will
be a part of the delusion that will come upon the world in that day. Reading
this, we dare to ask the question, "Are we living
in
a time in which too much traffic is being made of so-called miracles? We are not
told in the Word of God that miracles are always a divine thing.
The
Antichrist and the false
prophet will be able to work miracles and, indeed, they will do this. Miracles
are intended to certify the truth of an apostolic
speaker. They are never
given for the simple purpose of amazing people or beguiling them out of their
good sense. Let us also note that when the armies
of
earth move into World War, finishing in Armageddon, they will have fantastic
weapons at their disposal. In giving us one of the pictures of the
last
days, the Bible presents the
horsemen of the Apocalypse. The fourth horseman should be especially noted, "And
when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard
the
voice of the fourth living creature say, Come. And I looked and, behold, a pale
horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed
with
him. And power was given
unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with
hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth"
(Rev.
6:7-8).
There was a time when this
prediction sounded fantastic, impossible to any who read. How could a fourth
part of the earth be killed by any known methodology
of
those days? That question is now no longer a mystery. This, because the age of
nuclear power has come upon us. In our time, despite efforts at
nuclear
non-proliferation, perhaps a
dozen nations of the world have a degree of nuclear capability. Russia has still
30,000 nuclear warheads - with 10,000 of
them pointed at the United
States. America has a powerful nuclear arsenal which, foolishly, is being
reduced. Britain and France are nuclear powers, along
with India, Pakistan, North
Korea, and other nations, some of which may be unknown.
Russia, despite its
pretensions toward disarmament, is even now buying nuclear weapons from the
Ukraine and aircraft delivery systems as well. This seems
like a strange behavior for
a nation that is now calling for peace and nuclear
reduction.
By
the time the scenario of the Revelation matures, it speaks in a most interesting
fashion.
And
thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having
breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone; and the heads of the
horses
were like the heads of
lions, and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these
three was the third part of men killed, by the fire,
and
by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths (Rev.
9:17-18).
Here again we have an
astonishing prophecy which could not be interpreted years ago but now is
predicting military equipment unprecedented in history.
Along
this very line, a recent
Jerusalem Post article reported:
The
Armored Corps last week unveiled the Baz-2 fire-control system, which
revolutionizes tank gunnery, especially mobile firing and target detection.
The
Baz-2, developed mainly by
El-Op, is installed on Merkava-3 tanks, considered the world's best main
battle-tank.
The
all-weather day and night system enables the commander and gunner to lock on a
fixed or moving target while the Merkava itself is moving. The
acquired
target remains locked in the
gun sight regardless of its own or the Merkava's movement.
The
system links the tank's hydraulic turret controls to the main computer system,
which follows the target until it is destroyed. The hydraulic
stabilizing
system nullifies the tank's
vibrations on rugged terrain.
"This represents a
tremendous qualitative leap forward," OC Armored Corps Brig.-Gen. Dovik Tal said
at the Armored Corps memorial in Latrun, where the system
was
displayed.
So
we see that high-tech, combined with military development, is producing weapons
that render obsolete those being used in warfare up until now. We
cannot
doubt that "progress" in
armament will continue. Are we really speaking about great numbers of men
participating in the battles of Armageddon? We receive
part of the answer by
looking further into the Book of the Revelation.
And
the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden
altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the
trumpet,
Loose the four angels who
are bound in the great river, Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, who
were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month,
and
a year, to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the
horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand; and I heard the number of
them
(Rev.
9:13-16).
In
parallel fashion, the Scripture says, "And the sixth angel poured out his bowl
upon the great river, Euphrates, and its water was dried up, that
the
way
of the kings of the East might be prepared" (Rev. 16:12).
An
awesome picture is before us! The kings of the earth move to that great battle
with an army of two hundred million. This will be the largest number
of
men
ever to have been assembled in an army group. Two hundred million men exceeds
the population of most entire countries in the world. Is there a
nation,
however, that could produce
such an army? The answer, of course, is China.
With this in mind, we recall
that the founder of Communist China, Mao Tse Tung, during the awful days of his
reign, promised that China would participate
in
the battle of the world. He said that when it happens, China would bring to the
field an army of 50 million. However, before he slipped away to
his
eternal non-reward, Mao Tse
Tung changed his prediction. He said that in the battle for the world, China
will field an arm of two hundred million men.
It
is surely no army coincidence that the leader of the largest nation in the world
predicted a figure, a number of an army group that exactly
corresponds
with the statement in
Scripture. This is not to be discounted.
We
also note in the Scripture that the Euphrates would be dried up to make way for
the kings of the east moving to the Battle of Armageddon. This was
thought
very unlikely, but it is no
more. The fact is that Turkey has placed a dam across the Euphrates and, with
the press of a button, can dry up the river completely.
It
has already done this on two occasions and, we can be sure, is ready to do it
again. By drying up the River Euphrates, the armies of the kings of
the
east would have a perfect
pathway opened for them to move down to the plains of Jezreel. We also remember
with interest that the Chinese occupation of
the
land of Tibet produced an interesting consequence. It became necessary for China
to build a highway, stretching from central China, across Tibet,
and
down to the River Euphrates.
Can anyone doubt that the way of the kings of the east have been in fact
prepared before our very eyes?
It
is interesting also to note that, during the days of the Carter administration,
America promised to assist in the re-arming of China. Is it,
therefore,
possible that weapons forged
in the United States, via the re-arming of China, could be useful in the Battle
of Armageddon? Indeed, it may be that many
Americans have already
labored to produce the devices that will lend their strength of the final
holocaust of the world? A fascinating scenario is before
us.
So
we see that awesome numbers of men and colossal armaments will be concentrated
in the battle of those days. By this time, the world will be under
of
the
leadership of that dreadful ruler, the Antichrist. He will stake his life and
fortune on obliterating the very memory of God by destroying the
land
of
Israel and the city of Jerusalem. Noting this, how we wonder at the question,
"What will be the outcome of the great Battle of Armageddon?"
Concerning
this, the Scripture
says:
And
I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to
all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, come and gather
yourselves
together unto the supper of
the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains,
and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of
horses and of them that sit
on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and enslaved, both small and great.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the
earth, and their armies,
gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his
army. And the beast was taken, and with him the
false prophet that wrought
miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of
the beast, and them that worshiped his image.
These both were cast alive
into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the
sword of him that sat upon the horse, which
sword proceeded out of his
mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh (Rev. 19:17-2
1).
In
all of the accounts written of warfare in history, it would be difficult to find
a more stirring account of the outcome of a great battle. To walk
any
battlefield is to see the
smoking ruins of lives, equipment and the reputation of nations. To walk the
battlefield that will have seen the Battle of Armageddon
must and will be an
overwhelming experience indeed. I personally expect to walk on that battlefield.
The Battle of Armageddon will turn into the supper
of
the great God. Meaning, of course, that the triumph of Jesus Christ, the King of
all kings, will be universal and unassailable that day.
What will be the actual
event that precisely brings an end to the Battle of Armageddon? That event is
also beautifully described for us in Scripture:
And
I saw heaven opened and, behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war.
His
eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a
name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed
with
a
vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies
that were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothes in fine
linen,
white and clean. And out of
his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he
shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he
treadeth the winepress of
the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his
thigh a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD
OF
LORDS" (Rev. 19:11-16).
What have we here? It is the
picture of the second coming of Jesus Christ. It is the gripping presentation of
His glorious return. He comes back from heaven
with power and great glory
and we note that His first item of business is to win the Battle of Armageddon.
Does He win that battle? Yes, indeed. He does
it
with a sharp sword that precedes out of His mouth. The carnage is so great that
it is described as "the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty
men,
and
the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both
free and enslaved, both small and great" (Rev. 19:18). The
conclusion
of
the Battle of Armageddon will be a confrontation so devastating that the army
opposing God is obliterated. The armies accompanying Jesus Christ in
that
re-invasion of earth are
totally victorious.
A
vital truth is expressed in this account that needs to be noted by every true
believer. The armies that come from heaven with Christ - who are they?
Jude
answers this question by
quoting Enoch's prophecy, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his
saints, to execute judgment upon all and to convict
all
that are ungodly among them" (Jude 14-15). So we have it, the army that returns
with Jesus Christ is composed of the saints of God.
Who
is a saint? A saint is "hagios. " That word in the New Testament Scripture
applies to every person who is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore,
the
army of the saints is composed of believers, Christians who have become holy by
imputed righteousness.
Who
then will deliver the world from the dreadful clutch of Satan and bring
liberation from sin along with Jesus Christ? It is the saints, Christians,
the
Church, the Body of Christ.
Yes, the physical, the actual triumph of good over evil will be produced by that
army from heaven, under the leadership of
the
Lord Jesus and composed of sergeants, lieutenants, captains, colonels, and
generals who are believers in the Son of God. Yes, some faithful
saints
seen in church on Sunday may
in that day be wearing the armor of light, be a deliverer of the world from the
captivity of Satan.
What will the Battle of
Armageddon bring to pass? It will bring the end of that period of time called
the great Tribulation and it will usher in the reign
of
Jesus Christ. Satan will be deposed and the Day of the Kingdom will come to pass
in the world.
And
I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a
great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old
serpent,
who
is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he
should
deceive the nations no more,
till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a
little season (Rev. 20:1-3).
It's at this point that the
kingdom of God comes to earth under the reign of Jesus
Christ.
And
I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I
saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,
and
for
the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither
had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;
and
they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years (Rev. 20:4).
What a difference that will
make! Satan is bound and the Antichrist is deposed into the lake of fire. No
more will they deceive the nations and no more
will they subvert the lives
of people. There will then begin an era that will be wonderful beyond
description. The reign of Jesus Christ over all the world
will now come to
pass.
There are many great lessons
to be learned in the account of these marvelous things in the Word of God. One
of the greatest is that God will triumph in
history. Yes, there will be
many variations in the nature of the lives of people on earth. They will move
between sunshine and shadow, between persecution
and
plenty, between darkness and light. Over it all, however, Christ presides now
and will preside in great detail. We can, therefore, be confident,
because
God
will triumph in history, that serving Him today is not a mistake. Far, far
better it is to die for a cause that will ultimately triumph than it
is
to
live for a cause that will ultimately fail. The cause of Jesus Christ is exactly
that cause. Let no one, therefore, ask "What is God doing and why
does
He
apparently pay so little attention to us?" The premise behind the question is
false. God is working with the total of His divine power every
moment
of
every day to bring to pass those things which will result for our good and for
His glory. There are no exceptions because "All things work
together
for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose"
(Rom. 8:28).
We
must also remember that God has special privileges in eternity and in His
kingdom for those who have served Him well. Paul promised Timothy that
"If
we
suffer, we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim. 2:12). The promise of reigning
with Christ is so marvelous that it ought to be the object of some
degree
of
our attention each day. The fact is that this world, which seems so important to
many, is soon to pass. In the meantime, our sojourn in this world
in
the
Scripture is called "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh
for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we
look
not
at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the
things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen
are
eternal" (2 Cor.
4:17-18).
Yes, God has told us these
things so that we may lift our eyes of anticipation toward the future, toward
the kingdom, toward heaven itself. The experiences
which come to us in this
quickly passing world may be many kinds. None, however, be they the greatest
joys or the deepest sorrows, should cause us to
misinterpret
the
nature of this present moment. It is passing, it is transient, it is soon gone.
This world is not final reality, it is the prelude to reality. It
is
a
quickly passing moment before the dawn of eternity bursts upon us all. God has
given us the account of Armageddon because it destroys every secular
proposition
and
fulfills every Christian anticipation. Let us, therefore, reach forth into the
things which are to come and press toward the mark of the high
calling
of
God in Christ Jesus.