OP-ED: YES, IT’S A RELIGIOUS WAR
Genesis 16:12 “And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
By Van Yandell
The Jews and the Ishmaelites have been at each other’s throats for four-thousand years. It all began with the mothers of Isaac and Ishmael; Sarah and Hagar, (Genesis 16). While many think the war began with Isaac and Ishmael, not so! It began with their mothers.
Today’s news media portray the current war as being imperialistic, about oil or about nuclear weaponry (and those may be secondary rationale), the fact; it is about religion. Who is God? What is God? Which one is real and which are false or fake?
Only one’s upbringing, teachings and personal opinions will answer those questions. Since we are all different, raised by different parents in different environments, the variation in answers to those questions will be as many as people answering them.
A more applicable question may be; “With millions of square miles of land on earth, why fight over religion? Every earthling has a different mind and a different past. How could anyone ever expect all of us, all eight-billion of us, to believe alike.
Is there no such thing as peaceful co-existence? The American political system has shown us there is not. The variations in races, cultural histories and even national borders have unleashed mankind’s most evil and violent tendencies.
Iran has chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America” for nearly half a century. America has been in support of God’s chosen since May 14th, 1948 and that has also put the United States in the regime’s cross-hairs.
But wait! What does God say in the Holy Bible about these things and the end of the age and/or the return of Jesus? Matthew 24: 6 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
Several U.S. presidents have brokered peace accords in the Middle East. None have been lasting or in any respect, successful. The only result was to provide me with a laugh and a shaking of my head! Have those guys never read the Book of Genesis or Revelation?
Jesus told the disciples on the Mount of Olives, nearly two-thousand years ago there would always be wars. Those wars would not be a sign of the end-times but would always be.
Wars would not be limited to the Middle East and the scripture directly indicates wars would be in many places. The final war however, will likely begin in the Middle East.
The Bible speaks of several wars in mankind’s future. One is referred to as “The War of Gog and Magog,” (Ezekiel 38-39). The Bible of course is mostly ambiguous concerning the time of this war. Many believe the current Middle Eastern conflict is the beginning.
Regarding of that thought, only opinions surface and my opinion is, “I do not know.” But I do know that no one else does either. I doubt that because Ezekiel indicates Israel will be attacked; not be the attacker.
Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
The wars between good and evil have been ongoing since Cain killed Able in Genesis four. But wait; what is good and what is evil? The varying factions in the wars will certainly have different definitions. Everyone is a terrorist to someone. Dennis the Menace was a terrorist to Mr. Wilson.
In John the apostle’s vision stated in Revelation 9: 16, he sees a two million man army. “And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.” The possibility of such an army exists on several fronts in today’s world.
A war with such numbers of combatants fought with swords or cruise missiles is beyond comprehension.
Revelation 16: 16 “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” This place and time has long been regarded as the final war.
Rev 20:7-10 refers back to the War of Gog and Magog from Ezekiel. This link is crucial in our understanding (however shallow it may be) of a final war. It also directly implies an intervention by
God into the battle and of course we know if that happens, Who will be victorious.
Any way we carve this up, absolutes are up for grabs. A few facts however, are a certainty. Essential fact number one is (Biblically speaking) that the war between the Jews and Ishmaelites has been ongoing for four-thousand years and will not end until the return of God Jesus.
Fact number two is that there will always be wars and somewhere in the world someone believes the tribulation is happening “right now!”
Fact number three is: if the Bible is correct, (prophesy and other facts stated therein indicate it absolutely is), Jesus will return and this age (the church age) will end.
The belief and action of every Christian must be, since we live in a lost and godless world, to preach Jesus as eternal salvation. With our world in chaos, this not a choice; it is an imperative!
We must always teach that eternal salvation is attained by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) in Christ Jesus crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (1 John 1: 9), resurrected (Matthew 28: 6) and ascended alive in to Heaven (Acts 1: 9).
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and commissioned missionary. His email is vmy3451@gmail.com