Assyrian Siege of Lachish Sketch

Ancient Warfare

War Inside and Out

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matt 24:4-8

Anyone who looks into human history can't help but see an entire world shaped by war, where practically every nation's boundaries are established as a result of one army killing another. Why is war such a part of the human fabric? The Scriptures indicate that war is a symptom of a deep spiritual problem. War is the result of man's fallen and evil heart. Not someone else's evil heart. Not the evil hearts of only a greedy oligarchy, or a bloodthirsty aggressor, but our evil heart. All of us. "There is none righteous, no not one." Romans 3:10

After exercising his free will and choosing to rebel against his Creator, man became disconnected from God and His free flowing intimacy. (Genesis 3) Man had to cope with an emptiness that needed filling, guilt that made him angry, shame that made him hide, and fear that made him greedy and controlling... to name a few results.

We are all born from this nature and perhaps if we are honest we can see the war within us at work. How do we respond when cut-off on a highway? How do we respond to an unjust provocation? What was your reaction when you didn't get your way and your spouse, or co-worker did? The true test doesn't manifest when we're comfortable, but rather when we're cornered and provoked. Add to this the Satanic realm where fallen angels manipulate, motivate and drive scenarios, and we should probably be amazed that there hasn't been more war!

God had a plan to solve our 'heart' problem and human history is His Story of redemption where our sin was paid by Someone else in order to legally and righteously connect us back to His intimacy. This is the Gospel story, the good news! Yes, unbelievably, that God vicariously absorbed the condemnation and punishment due to us Himself - through the Person of His Son.

Listen to Isaiah writing about Messiah some 700 years before He came.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. - Isaiah 53:4-6

Once we have peace with God, and are filled with His Spirit, it's easier, though not guaranteed, to pursue peace with others. Sanctification is still a process and we must lay down our battles one argument at a time by turning the other cheek and going the extra mile, though soldiers or Centurions were never commanded to leave their defense of the nation.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. - Romans 12:18

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want...
Gal. 5:16-18

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:1-3

.For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Eph. 6:12,13

We are promised grace as we struggle with these issues and forgiveness when we fail. We are told nation will continue to rise against nation (Matt. 24:7) until the Day of the Lord when Jerusalem will mourn over the One they have pierced, (Zech 13:10) and He who is called Faithful and True returns to wage the final war and finally rule in peace. Rev. 19:11