Neither Shall they Learn War Anymore!
Micah 4:3 He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
There is a Day of Universal Peace Coming!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all get along? Wouldn’t it be nice if ethnic differences and national pride were a thing of the past? Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of war there were peace? Wouldn’t it be nice if even the animals would all get along with each other and lambs would not need to be afraid of lions? I understand that day is coming. Today, Satan has control of the world within the limits set by the Lord. Death and destruction and war are the norm. But the day is coming when Satan will be bound and hatred and violence will no longer be the norm.
The future of the Earth as the Bible tells it
We live in a period of time that the Lord calls “the acceptable year of the Lord (See Luke 4:19).” This was likely a New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament year of jubilee when debts were forgiven and prisoners and slaves were freed. Land went back to its original owners. Since the Lord was rejected, the Jubilee offered to the world did not and has not occurred. But for those who accept the Lord as their Savior, it has. The prophecy that the Lord read is found in Isaiah 61:2. The Lord stopped reading mid-sentence. The prophecy says that the Lord came to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God. That day of vengeance is still future. We live in the day of grace. According to John 1:17, “The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” When the Lord came the first time He was meek and lowly (see Matthew 11:29), but He will come the second time with a rod of iron. Revelation 19:15 says, “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.” After He comes and judges the nations, after Israel finally accepts the fact that they rebelled against Him, He will make things right and set up a Kingdom of righteousness. That kingdom will be a kingdom of peace and it will be a complete fulfillment of the “acceptable year of the Lord.”
I realize there are differences of opinion as to how and when some prophecies are fulfilled. I don’t want to be dogmatic about things we may not understand now but that believers will fully understand when they do happen. But as I understand it, the world was offered peace through the Lord Jesus; and the world, led by His own Jewish people rejected Him. The Jews are even now rebellious children according to Isaiah 1:2. As a result, the Lord is calling out a new people to represent Him on earth. Those who believe that the Lord is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, that He rose from the dead and that He is coming again to judge the nations that have rejected Him are the Lord’s chosen people during this day of grace. They have a spiritual birth where the Jews claim to blessing is by their natural births. He has not rejected the Jews but they have rejected Him. Because of that, He has set them aside for a time until they repent at His second coming and accept the fact that they crucified their Messiah. When the Lord comes this second time, He will deliver the believers of this day from the wrath that is to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). So we are living in a day of grace and mercy, but the day of vengeance of our God is coming. After the day of vengeance when the Lord punishes the nations for rejecting Him, He will set up a kingdom of peace. Then the nations will no longer learn war.
What will that Day be Like?
How will the economies of the world survive without war? How will the world be able to handle the increase in the population that will occur without war and disease? I don’t know how all of that will work; but I know that ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, there has been hatred and violence on the earth. The only One who was truly a man of peace, who always did good, who knew how to forgive sinners and heal the sick, was the Lord. He didn’t have an army and he didn’t let His servants fight. And He ended up on a cross dying at the hands of those he could have destroyed with twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53).
Because believers in this day of grace will be removed and taken to heaven before the day of vengeance of our God, we will not be on the earth when the nations no longer learn war. But right now, we who are born again should do everything possible to save life and not destroy it. We should certainly be concerned about every soul that goes out into eternity unsaved. For those who think that guns will keep them safe, make sure you get trained so that no one is killed needlessly. For the rest of us who hate guns and wars, we will have to take our chances that we just might die on a figurative cross. May it be obvious to our friends and neighbors that those of us who claim to be followers of Christ are interested in saving rather than in taking life. May we pursue peace and not war.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the weeks of December 20 and 27, 2015