The Other World Series
The Coming World Peace
Lesson VII
One cannot avoid hearing
about “the peace process” and of “peace-talks” almost daily on our news
channels relative to the
Recently I listened to a
credible video informing me that Roman Catholics around the world are being
told that peace and prosperity will be brought to this world through and by
Mary. In fact the year 2001 has been
declared to be the Marian year.
The evolutionists have
convinced themselves and I quote, “that people are on the point of an
evolutionary leap to a higher stage.”
And the thinking is that that higher stage will bring peace and
prosperity.
Others have convinced
themselves that an act of reconciliation with the Jews will result in a
world-wide revival that, in turn, will bring peace to this troubled world. And new ideas seem to be continually on the
rise.
Isaiah 48:22
(22) [There is]
no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
Isaiah 57:20-21
(20) But the
wicked [are] like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up
mire and dirt.
(21) [There is]
no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Long ago, Isaiah wrote:
“There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked”
(Isaiah 48:22). And again: “But the
wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up
mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:20-21).
Romans 3:16-18
(16) Destruction
and misery [are] in their ways:
(17) And the way
of peace have they not known:
(18) There is no
fear of God before their eyes.
1
Timothy 2:2
(2) For kings,
and [for] all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable
life in all godliness and honesty.
Paul wrote in the book of
Romans of humanity: “Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace have they not
known: There is no fear of God before
their eyes” (Romans 3:16-18). “A quiet
and peaceable life” is only possible where there is “godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:2).
Therefore, it is vain to imagine that men of this world can bring peace
to the world.
The Bible teaches that one
day peace will come. Ungodly men will
not produce it. Godly men will not bring
it. Jesus Christ alone, who owns the
title “Prince of Peace” can and will bring peace to this world.
One cannot write about
“world peace” without considering the Bible doctrine of the Second Advent of
Christ. Of course, a Second Advent
presupposes a First Advent. Christ
cannot come a second time if He had not come a first time.
Historical evidence abounds
that something took place 2000 years ago that changed the course of
history. For before some great event,
there was a count-down in all historical records, but since that event there is
a count-up. We believe that event was
the First Advent of Christ. Whether you use “B.C.” and “A.D.”, or “B.C.E.” and “C.E.” (the “C” meaning “common” and the “E”, “era”), it matters
not. Both camps must acknowledge that
there came a point in history when a change in the way history was recorded was
necessary. We are sure that it was the
First Advent of Christ that was the cause.
As Campbell Morgan has written, “Nothing like it had ever happened
before and nothing like it has happened since.”
What do we understand the
word “Advent” to mean? The dictionary
states: “advent: to come, the coming of Christ”. Therefore it means the coming of Christ to
this earth. So when we speak
about a Second Advent it must mean the same.
Christ will come back to this earth again. If He does not come back to earth, then there
will be no such thing as a Second Advent.
1 Peter 5:1
(1) The elders
which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
When Christ came the first
time, He came to suffer. When He comes
the next time it will be with power and great glory. Peter tells us that he was a witness of the
sufferings of Christ and a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed (1
Peter 5:1). That glory has not been
revealed yet.
Luke 2:11
(11) For unto you
is born this day in the city of
When Christ came the first
time, the angel announced: “Unto you is born a Saviour”
(Luke 2:11).
Revelation 19:16
(16) And he hath
on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF
LORDS.
Isaiah 53:3
(3) He is
despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and
we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him
not.
Habakkuk 3:19
(19) The LORD God
[is] my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' [feet], and he will make
me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my
stringed instruments.
When He comes the next time
He will come as “King of Kings” (Revelation 19:16). Thus, when He came the first time it was to
bear the cross. When He comes the next
time it will be to wear the crown. When
Messiah came the first time, He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief” (Isaiah 53:3). But when He comes
the next time, He comes as “the chief singer” (Habakkuk 3:19).
1
Timothy 6:15
(15) Which in his
times he shall shew, [who] is the blessed and only Potentate,
the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
He came the first time to
establish His Church. He will come a
second time to manifest His kingdom (1 Timothy 6:15).
Matthew 10:34
(34) Think not
that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Luke 12:51-53
(51) Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay;
but rather division:
(52) For from
henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two
against three.
(53) The father
shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother
against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law
against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
A point that is often overlooked
is that at His first coming, He did not bring peace to this earth. “Think not that I am come to bring peace on
earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). This sword of which He spoke is explained by
Luke. “Suppose ye
that I am come to give peace to the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather
division: For from henceforth there
shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the
mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, the mother in
law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law, against the mother in
law” (Luke 12:51-53). And so it has
been!
John 16:33
(33) These things
I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
To individuals Jesus
promised peace (John 16:33). To those
same individuals who believed on Him, He promised tribulation in this world
(John 16:33).
Peace for the individual is
one thing, peace for this earth is another. But when
Christ comes the next time, the Scriptures abound with promises of world
peace.
Isaiah 2:2,4
(2) And it shall
come to pass in the last days, [that] the mountain of
the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
(4) And he shall
judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat
their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks:
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war any more.
“And it shall come to pass in the last
days...” (Isaiah 2:2). “...He shall
judge among the nations, and rebuke many people; and they shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4).
Isaiah 9:6-7
(6) For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
(7) Of the
increase of [his] government and peace [there shall] be no end, upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The
zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
“For unto us, a child is
born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called … the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace
there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order
it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even
forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Micah 4:3
(3) And he shall
judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall
beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks:
nation shall not lift up a sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
“And he shall judge many
people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords
into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: Nation shall not lift up a sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
(Micah 4:3)
Zechariah 9:9,10
(9) Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King
cometh unto thee: he [is] just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an
ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
(10) And I will
cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle
bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his
dominion [shall be] from sea [even] to sea, and from the river [even] to the
ends of the earth.
Again consider the
following: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and
riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9). Anyone who has read the New Testament knows
that this verse was literally fulfilled by Jesus when he came the first
time. So we read on: Zechariah 9:10,
“And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and
the battle bow shall be cut off; and He (the one who rode the donkey) shall
speak peace unto the heathen; and his dominion shall be from sea
event to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.” It is our firm conviction that it will take a
Second Advent to fulfill that verse.
Luke 2:14
(14) Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Psalm 122:6
(6) Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
We have quoted only a few
Scriptures, but enough to satisfy the believing heart, that when Jesus comes
again, the second time, He will bring world-peace, and the announcement of
the angels of “peace on earth”, will be fulfilled (Luke 2:14). To pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm
122:6) is to pray for the coming of the Lord.
Peace cannot come to
Jerusalem until their Messiah returns.
And peace cannot come to the world until it first comes to
Jerusalem.
And we repeat what we have
written, that is only possible by the Second Coming of Christ.
“Even so, come Lord Jesus.”