Jesus promised the apostles that there would be wars and rumors of wars in His discourse concerning the End Times (Matt. 24:6-7). If we study the history of the world, we learn that wars are a natural consequence of man’s rebellion against God, beginning with the loss of our salvation in the Garden of Eden.
In our recent past we have seen a continuous wave of wars beginning with World War I. This was the “war to end all wars” but that did not last long. The planners and schemers who direct world conflict began planning their next war soon after 1918, even selecting the warring partners giving us World War II. By this time, the true hand of Satan was shown as we launched into a series of endless and winless wars.
Nations began to spend their treasure on developing the most sophisticated weapons of mass destruction, and the perpetual wars were a great testing ground to prove the effectiveness of these weapons.
Nations rely on building large amounts of weaponry to either pursue aggressive action on other nations or to put fear into adversaries to prevent war. President Reagan built our military in the face of the Soviet threat and was successful in stopping the Soviet Nuclear threat to the United States. In a significant encounter with the Soviets in Iceland, President Reagan threatened to outspend the Russians, and this broke the back of their imperialist ambitions. While the left bitterly complained, it was the right thing to do.
In ancient times, superior nations would build up large armies and march against their adversaries who, in many cases, were overwhelmed or lacked the army to fight the oppressors.
During the reign of King Hezekiah, the Assyrians planned to attack Israel. God promised that He would defend the city (Isa. 37:35). One would ask, “With no army, how could God protect the city?”
When Sennacherib descended upon the city with 185,000 troops, it looked bad for the people of the city. Yet, Sennacherib’s whole army was destroyed in a single night and the city was saved (Isa. 37:36).
The description by Isaiah is that an angel of the Lord swept through the camp and destroyed the Assyrians. A likely explanation is that the Assyrian Army was overcome by smallpox.
What Christians must do is pay strict attention to the treasure in the Bible and watch for signs in the heavens that might indicate His near coming! God through the prophets has indicated the signs of the end times, and we are told to watch.
In all our pride and technology, we tend to become arrogant and are working to achieve what only God can do. Witness the sale of body parts of aborted babies and our fading morality. We are saying to God that, with our superior understanding, we can break God’s laws with impunity.
Remember, all the military strength in the world is no match for God!
Unless we turn to God for forgiveness, we are doomed; and God, who has no army, will win.