Newly Updated: Peace On Earth?
Despite the dire current events swirling around us 24/7/365, the holiday time of the year in the West appears oblivious to it all. Those who still snail mail greeting cards to family and friends often send them with tranquil scenes, perhaps with some snow on the front cover or they will have a Nativity scene showing the wise men with their gifts as well as some shepherds at the manger. Very often the cards will proclaim, "Peace on Earth," as did the one someone sent to me in the mail. Inside it said something about glad tidings, joy and peace on Earth at Christmas. But in looking at the past few years in particular, our world has been filled with wars every month including December ... Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Yemen as well as a long list on ongoing armed conflicts. [Wars and Conflicts; Video: US Wars]. In fact, after 2000 years of Christianity, we'd be hard pressed to find true peace anywhere on planet Earth. What's going on, then? I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Oh.
Was Christ lying? Did Christ come to bring "Peace on Earth" as these greeting cards and many in the ministry joyously proclaim every December, or not? Well, seeing as how this sentiment is attributed to Christ, let’s read what he said. In Luke 12, we read, "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on Earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division." Then in Matthew 10, Christ said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on Earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." These are simple, uncomplicated statements. Maybe it's time we begin paying attention to what the Biblical record actually says, rather than following the duplicitous traditions of men. The Biblical record is not a collection of fables and myths. It's our current, and soon to be, record of world altering events.
In two separate verses Christ said he didn't come to bring peace on Earth. Both verses are references to his first coming. And we should not forget that "The LORD is a man of war: the LORD [Yᵊhōvâ] is his name." [Exd. 15:3]. And in Joel, " ... the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word ...." [Joel 2:11]. Some Christians have the false idea the LORD of the Old Testament [Hebrew, Yehovah] is harsh and cruel, while Jesus [Greek, Yehovah is salvation] of the New Testament is mellow and peaceful.
However, it would be well for us to recall Heb. 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." Old Testament, New Testament, no change. Modern day Christianity has no true idea of the power and majesty of our Savior. [1 Tim. 6:15]. He is not that helpless baby in a manger displayed at Christmastime. Neither is he the dead body on a cross at Eastertide, or the permanent fixture in Roman Catholic churches. [See Dan. 4:17; also see our Holidays section on the Feature article page].
Maybe the cover of these Christmas cards should say, "Strife and Wars on Earth," with an overwhelmed mother holding her dead baby in her arms among the ruins in Gaza rather than a scene from first century Bethlehem. Gruesome perhaps, but it would be truthful, and more accurate than the seasonal Pollyanna sweetness and light lies proffered to us to keep us blind and ignorant.
As professed Christians, why do we have a hard time dealing with the truth, the word of God? "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,' says the Lord GOD. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the House of Israel [the Christian nations of the West today, excluding the Jews, the House of Judah], nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. [After the return of Christ, see Eze. 36:16-38]. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD [Heb. Yehovah]. 'Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace ....'" [Eze. 13:8-10].
Indeed, peace is a powerful seductress. We keep voting for politicans who run on a platform of peace. Yet, as we struggle with inflationary food and energy prices, the government takes taxes out of our paychecks for war while they fill our ears with empty two-faced promises of peace. [See Video: No Peace On Earth; also the Feature article, And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor].
Christ is very clear that not only did he not come to bring peace, he came to take it away. How in the world does Christianity claim something so contrary to the word of Christ?1 And it's obvious that Christ is correct, we have been seduced. Therefore, it's apparent, Christians have a very different perspective about Christ's first century purposes. Christmas cards and our pastors say peace on Earth. Government leaders and politicians talk non-stop about peace while tolerating genocide, and starting more wars. Christ says no peace. Who are we going to believe? [2 Ths. 2:9-12 ]. Of course, all we need do is watch the news or read the headlines daily to see, that indeed, we don’t have, and haven’t had peace on Earth, particularly in Ukraine, and West Asia, the Middle East, with each war threatening to explode into nuclear WW3. Just maybe Christ knows what he is talking about? [See the Sneakers article, One World Peace And Security].
Christ brought division among the Jewish establishment in the first century as the apostle John relates in his chapters seven through ten. Today the House of Judah and the House of Israel remain divided as Paul explains in Romans eleven. [It will remain this way until Romans 11:26 is fulfilled after the return of Christ as we see in Eze. 37:15-28]. And this doesn't include Zionist Edom's wrecking ball regarding the House of Israel and their NWO quest to take back the birthright they sold. [Heb. 12:16, 17; see the Feature articles, Is That You Big Brother? and Isaiah 63: Big Brother, The Prophetic 21st Century Antichrist]. In Luke’s account about division, Christ said, "Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
So not only was Christ being truthful about his bringing division, he gave specific examples. All we need do is ask ourselves, "Has the Christian religion caused division and strife in families?" You bet. And on top of this, today, there are more than 40,000 recognized Christian denominations and organizations according to the various sources who track these things. The number varies from about 34,000 to 45,000 worldwide. One message from the first century has fractured into tens of thousands of versions. I believe this qualifies as division just as Christ said. Indeed, Christianity is a many splintered thing.
But what about Christ saying he came not to bring peace, but a sword? Let’s take a look at Revelation 6. "Now I saw when the Lamb [after Christ's sacrificial death as our Passover Lamb, and resurrection, Rev. 5:8,9] opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder … When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see. Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the Earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword." [Rev. 6:1-4].
Wow. Christ was right again. The Lamb here in Revelation 6 is Christ. See 1 Cor. 5:7. Christ's opening of the second seal took peace away from the Earth that people should kill one another. This sounds nothing like Christianity's message to the world. It does sound like "Christian" countries government's message to the world. However, it's all part of our daily headlines, the great tribulation that occurs between Christ's first coming and the second. It's obvious, this is not the Christ of Christmas cards. This is not the image we have of "baby Jesus" every December. But he is the first century Christ he said he would be, and what we read about in the prophecies. What Christ said is extremely relevant to our lives today in the 21st century as it has been for Christians from the first century forward. It's just that our ears are listening to the wrong source. [See the Feature article, Christ Against Christians].
The opening of the second seal, as with all of the first five seals in Revelation 6, is not a future reference to his second coming as many mistakenly assume. They were opened by Christ after his resurrection in the first century. In the book of Mark, Christ was on the mount of Olives talking with Peter, James, John and Andrew telling them they shall hear, in the first century, of wars and rumor of wars, but not to be troubled, for such things must be, but "this is not the end, but the beginnings of sorrows." The word for sorrows here is odin in Greek and refers to the pain of childbirth. The implication being that mankind will travail in pain and sorrow until the kingdom of God is established, i.e., born, on Earth. The time between Christ's first coming and his return is the period commonly referred to as "the last days" of our age, or the Christian age, a great time of tribulation. It ends with the events in Revelation at Christ's return, and the subsequent thousand years of peace, aka the Millennium. [Rev. 20:1-6].
Killing in the name of Christianity began in the first century almost immediately after Christ’s death and resurrection. [Read the account of Stephen, Acts 7, not to mention Saul's, aka the apostle Paul, persecution of the church, Acts 9:2-9]. And if you scan through the history books, killing in the name of Christianity has been an ongoing theme, which continues daily as we can read in the headlines, including new wars and hot spots, like Iran, Yemen and Gaza, that keep popping up here and there. And Syria once again became a target of Western aggression through their proxy terrorists. Syria now is a failed state led by a headchopper terrorist with a $10 million bounty on his head, but since rescinded because he is an American ally after his overthrow of the Assad regime. Trump even "perfumed" him in the Oval Office. So much for our "Christian" nation's moral compass. [See the Feature articles, The War Dispatches and Damascus A Heap Of Ruins].
We should be mindful that our Lord and Savior also is the LORD of hosts. The Hebrew word host, tsaba, means an army, organized for war. [See Gen. 2:1]. "Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the Earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger." These are not idle words spoken by Christ and written down for our reading enjoyment. This quote from Old Testament Isaiah 13 is repeated in New Testament Revelation 6:12, occuring near the end of the great tribulation. It's as Yehovah is salvation said in the first century, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on Earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." [See the newly updated Sneakers article, Then You Shall Know That I Am The LORD Your God].
It would be prudent to remember the words of Christ, the LORD of hosts, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." [Mat. 24:21, 22].
Peace on Earth? Christians, whether newborn or mature in the truth of the word of God, need to acknowledge reality, lest we too are seduced by those who "speak nonsense and divine lies." The truth is there will be war on Earth until the return of Christ is complete, when the great tribulation is finished.
We read in the final book of the New Testament Biblical record, "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.2
"Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, 'Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.'
"And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh." Our Redeemer and Savior, Jesus [Yehova is salvation] Christ, is as the Biblcial record states, "The LORD is a man of war." [Rev. 19:11-21; see Rev. 16:12-16; Rev. 20:1-3; map].
1 Of course, some people may point out Isa. 9:6 in reference to Christ, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
This refers to the time after Christ's return, the millennial thousand years of peace, the fulfilling of the holy day Feast of Tabernacles, [see the book, The Hijacked Elephant, chapter 7, p. 227ff], when the kingdoms of this world are his. As we read in Revelation 11:15, "Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" The Greek, basileia, kingdoms, refers to royal power and authority, Christ's kingship and dominion over the nations, the people of Earth. Then will be "the government ... upon His shoulder."
Until then, not only will there be no peace on Earth, but the wars will continue to get worse for the unrepentant House of Israel according to the prophecies. [Eze. 6:11-14].
2 While Jesus Christ is the LORD of LORDS, also he is the Prince of Peace. His name will be called this, but peace only will come when evil has been destroyed. This is what we read above. This is what has yet to happen. So we should not mistake his demeanor as the LORD of hosts as being the cruel and harsh son of God. This demeanor only applies to those who choose to live in evilness and lies, contrary to the word of God. When we live in the love, the goodness of his truth, we have nothing to fear. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." [1 John 4:18].
The point is we live in a world that has chosen not to follow the truth of the word of God. Instead, as Eve and Adam made a wrong choice in the garden in Eden, so too have the children of the nations, the House of Israel, followed this errant path. [See the Sneakers article, As It Was In The Beginning, So It Is At The End]. We are given the opportunity to put aside the lies and evilness as a way of life, and walk anew in the Spirit of God. We are not without hope. But ours is the choice of which path to follow in life, good, the truth, or evil, the lies. Let us choose wisely that we may blessed in the love of God, and that we may escape the punishment of our LORD upon the evilness in this world. [See Eph. 2:14-22].
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