Chapter 8: The Judgment Of War:

The testimony of prophecy in Scripture is clear that the last days will be the greatest time of trouble the world has ever known. However, it is also clear that, for those who live by the word of God, it will be their finest hour. This is not a day to fear for those who are prepared. Those who have carefully built their houses upon the Rock never need to fear the storms. Even so, this is not just a time to stand and endure the times and preserve our own houses, but this is the time for the greatest advance of the gospel in history. This is the time when the church will rise up to battle for the eternal destiny of every human soul. There are wars that are inevitable. Some are the judgment of God over a nation or situation. Even so, they must also be viewed as a defeat for the church, as our failure to bring forth the repentance that could have prevented them. As wars are the ultimate release of death, evil and corruption of the human soul, they usually only occur when the "salt has lost its saltiness." War is one of the most cruel and devastating judgments. When King David was asked to choose between plagues or war as punishment for numbering Israel, he was wise to choose the plague. There is hardly a greater devastation than when armies pass through a region, raping, pillaging, plundering and destroying. The destructive potential of modern wars is much greater now than in the times of David. In addition, this destructive potential threatens to be released with increasing frequency.

The Diversity Of Conflicts:

There will also be different kinds of wars arising as we approach the end of this age. Many of the coming wars will be civil wars fought within the boundaries of single nations, and even cities. Most of these conflicts will be cultural or ethnic, but many others will be fought between idealogies, religions, and political interests. These will consume some nations like a nuclear meltdown from within. Gang and drug wars will become far more devastating with the distribution of advanced and powerful weapons to these groups. Some gangs numbering in the hundreds will carry the firepower of armies of thousands just a century ago, and they will use it with devastating results. At times whole cities will be abandoned or destroyed by gangs. In some places organized crime will be the only keepers of the peace. War lords will be the only authorities capable of controlling the people. As the spiritual war between life and death rages, natural wars of all kinds will steadily increase, spreading in some regions like wildfires leaping over national boundaries as if they did not exist. There will be a time when there will seem to be no place on earth that is safe from war in some form. Neighbors from different cultures, who have gotten along well for long periods of time, will wake up as deadly enemies overnight. These outbursts will usually be instigated by irritation arising over seemingly insignificant events between individuals or groups. In reality they result from very old cultural wounds which have never been healed. The ruthlessness of these outbursts of deadly fury will shock the world. These conflicts will cause people to begin forming tight cloisters with seemingly impregnable walls separating them from other groups. Suspicion of everyone who is different will grow into a gripping paranoia. This will result in a greater fracturing of humanity than has been known since the Tower of Babel. It is one of the basic strategies of the enemy to make life as cheap as possible. His goal is to make death so common that it becomes increasingly tolerated as a means for settling even petty disputes. Satan wants to make it acceptable to settle with murder the conflicts that used to be resolved with an argument, or at most a fistfight. Then he will push these limits to the point where no dispute is fully settled until the rival's family and associates are also killed. Again, his most basic strategy in this last hour will be to spread as much death as he possible can.

Rwanda—An Example:

The recent devastation of Rwanda is an example of the type of conflict that will become increasingly commonplace. Without warning this nation disintegrated into one of the most cruel killing fields of the century—at this writing nearly a million people are thought to have been slaughtered. Survivors have been driven into refugee camps where disease is taking many more lives. The conflict in Rwanda was the result of spontaneous combustion from smoldering racial fires. Amazingly, the battle was actually fought between two tribes whose greatest distinguishing characteristic was that one tribe tended to be a little taller than the other, and had been politically and economically dominant for a time. This will be the nature of many deadly conflicts—even the smallest of real or perceived differences will be exacerbated until it becomes reason enough to kill for. When Jesus was asked about the signs of the last days He immediately stated that "...nation will rise against nation..." (Matthew 24:7).

The Greek word that is translated "nation" here is ethnos. This could have been more accurately translated as "race shall rise against race." This is precisely the kind of conflicts that are erupting around the world at this time. Missionaries stationed in Rwanda testified that those people were some of the most gentle and peaceful that they had ever known, but "overnight they became demons." One news correspondent kept repeating that "There is something in their eyes that was not there yesterday." There was! Satan is now being displaced from the heavenly places, and when that happens he comes to the earth with "great wrath." He is now exploiting to the fullest degree every open door that he has into the affairs of men, and his greatest open door is the division between races.

The Place Of Safety:

It is not in Satan's character to play fair or to honor codes of conduct. He is the father of lies and those who are under his control will use lies as tools for doing their deadly work. They will seem to possess the best of intentions, but will make treaties and agreements that they have no intention of keeping. The most ruthless and cruel rule of naked power will emerge as the only source of earthly authority. Those who do try to live by a humanistic code of honor will become increasingly vulnerable in these times. Codes of honor and standards of integrity will mean nothing to those who attain dominion by force. Even so, true spiritual authority is greater than any power on earth. Christians who abide in Christ will have more authority than the powers of this evil age. However, this will be the time when true spiritual power will seem to be the most impotent. Only those whose spiritual eyes are opened to perceive the true nature of events will understand that the opposite is, in fact, true. We must not fall into the snare of trying to compete in the realm of earthly power. Those who are guilty of exerting influence according to the power of the carnal weapons and politics of this world will enter a realm where they have no authority, and no protection. Daniel foresaw this time of trouble: "I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom" (Daniel 7:21-22).

One of the most treacherous and devastating deceptions promulgated has been the belief that the church is called now to assume civil authority. We only stand by the grace of God, and when we try to assume authority prematurely we depart from the place of God's present grace for us. To seek civil authority before the Lord comes, and before the ordained "time" for the saints to take possession of the kingdom, is to be lured into the special domain of Satan, without the protection of God's grace. Historically this has resulted in some of history's greatest tragedies, and this will continue to until the time fully arrives, which we will know by the coming of the Lord. When we are cast into the inevitable confrontations with those who rule by carnal power, we must not try to gain influence or advantage by any means other than the truth that Jesus Christ is the Lord of the nations. The only authority that we will have is truth, but truth is more powerful than lies. Those who live by truth and take their stand on truth will ultimately prevail over those who receive their authority from the father of lies. If we stand on the truth we will prevail even if we die, as our deaths will have more power than the influence of all who continue in the earthly realm. It is better to die with integrity than to live with dishonor. The victory of the saints in this hour will be that "They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death" (Revelation 12:11).

Those who have embraced the cross have already died to this world; and those who have died to this world cannot be influenced by the fear of death. Those who cannot be affected by the fear of death will stand out as the brightest lights in a world gripped with the darkness of paranoia. Those who know their God, and know the paradise to which death in this world delivers them, will live in greater peace of heart during this time than when the world was in the time of relative stability.

A Nation Within Nations:

The common thread that links all human beings together will become very thin and fragile, but the Lord will anoint peacemakers in every culture to keep it from completely dissolving. These peacemakers will be Christians who have become true ambassadors of the kingdom of God. In the midst of this great evaporation of civilization, the church will arise as a "nation" that is composed of those from every nation. The church will ultimately become the one common denominator in the world through which the different cultures and races can still relate to each other. Just as on the Day of Pentecost, those from every nation will be able to understand the heavenly language of the church, which will astound and capture the world's attention. Ultimately the unity of the church in the midst of such worldwide discord will be the marvel of the world, and the greatest testimony ever of the Lordship of Jesus. However, this power will be very subtle at first. It will touch hearts deeply but few will even discuss what they are pondering in their hearts because of their fears. Gradually this power of unity will increase in influence until the hope that it presents is stronger than the fears of men. This is because the true unity will grow gradually. As the church grows in unity she will grow in spiritual authority, which is founded upon love. As this spiritual authority, rooted in love, grows, its authority to cast out fear will likewise grow.

The Army Of The Lord:

As the spirit of antichrist is rising with its greatest determination to take dominion over the nations, the "nation within the nations" will also have its own army, which will be equally aggressive. World conquest will be her goal. She will never flee from battles, but will seek them with great zeal. This is the hour when the church will arise as never before to aggressively attack every stronghold of the enemy. A divine militancy is coming upon the church that will strike gripping fear into the heart of every power of darkness. This is the time when the church will come into the greatest discipline and authority she has ever known. The church will not abandon the world in defeat, fleeing when her light is needed the most. She is about to rise to her full spiritual stature. Because the church will be free of the fear of death, or anything else that the world can do to her, the resolve and courage she displays will by themselves conquer whole regions. The Spirit that the church lives by will be her divinely powerful weapons of war, and they will devastate the powers of darkness in every confrontation. The nature of The Army of the Lord will be different than that of any army that has ever marched —she will wage war by doing good. As earthly armies spread unprecedented devastation in their wake, the army of the Lord will leave restoration, healing, peace and even prosperity in her wake. The world will be a desert before her, and a paradise after she passes. This army will not pillage, plunder and destroy; she will give, build and restore. The love that is to be revealed in the saints will be so profound that in the time of greatest darkness they will love every minute of every day. They will love every person, even those who slay them. They will even love every tree, rock, building, street, everything! They will have the reality of paradise within their hearts, and that reality will be greater than anything in the physical realm. This love will result in the conversion of multitudes. As fear is the greatest power of the evil one, love is the greatest power of heaven, and when they collide in their last and ultimate battle, love will win. This is the preparation for the saints for the last battle—to grow in love, faith and obedience. This will bring power over all of the powers of darkness that will be released in the last days, which will be rooted in hatred, fear and lawlessness. Because lawlessness will be prevailing in the world during this time, even the world's armies will be little more than mobs controlled by fear and intimidation. When the grip of fear is relaxed to any degree, such as when there is the death of a powerful leader, these armies will quickly disintegrate into chaos. However, the army of the Lord will display a level of unity, discipline and coordination of efforts that will be unprecedented in the history of civilization, and will continue advancing without faltering when her visible leaders are lost. In the last days the church will shine like a great lighthouse, pointing the way to the safety of the harbor. The darker it becomes the more power that she will be given to shine through it. The raging storms will drive even more sojourners to her light and to her prepared haven.

The Army Is A Bride:

In the last days the church will become the most beautiful bride. Heaven and earth will marvel at her glory and purity. The reproach of centuries of unfaithfulness with the spirit of the world will be wiped away by the Spirit of holiness. This holiness will not be a form of legalism it will be the passionate devotion of the bride to her Betrothed Jesus. The church will purify herself because of love, not law. In the last days the church will be a family. She will reveal to the world the true meaning of family. In her house there will be places for sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, aunts and uncles, and cousins from every tribe and nation on the face of the earth. The church in the last days will give the world a revelation of FAMILY that will begin to heal the wounds that originated when the first two brothers could not live together peacefully. In the last days the church will be a great hospital with the power to heal every kind of wound and disease. She will have a cure for every new plague. When despair comes in like a flood, the joy of the Lord will be her medicine, and the world will beat a path to her door to partake of it. How will the church be all of these things? She will be united to the Lord, take His name, and manifest Him to the world. He is all of this and more, and the church is about to become the witness of His nature that she has been called to be. He is the Lord of hosts (armies); He is the Bridegroom; He is our Father; He is our Healer, and the world is going to know it. There will be a witness through the church of who our God is before the end can come.

The Safe Harbor:

As the testimony of Scripture reveals that in the last days the earth will suffer its greatest assaults from wars, earthquakes, famines and plagues, the church will provide a haven from each. As wars increase the church will reveal the peace of God. As earthquakes shake the foundations of the earth, the church will be a testimony that there is a foundation that cannot be shaken, and when we build our lives upon it the whole earth can fall apart but we will not be moved. As famines grip the earth the church will reveal that there is a supernatural provision for the saints, and they will never be found begging for bread. When plagues traverse whole continents, the church will come forth with the power to heal any disease, making known the haven in Christ where no plague can come near. We are now in the time when everything that can be shaken is being shaken—and the shaking is obviously intensifying. So let us not be lulled into a false tranquility based on world conditions if it seems that we are entering a period of stability—the Lord has sent His angels to hold back the winds of the earth for a period so that we can be sealed as His bondservants. This time of peace is for our preparation—let us use it wisely, not wasting a single day. See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven." And this expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:25-29).