Is it possible for our world to experience an extended period of peace?
So far, the odds have not been in our favor. Scholars estimate that over the last 3,400 years, there have been only 268 years of peace. Meaning, for more than 92 percent of human history, we have been forced to endure the specter of war.
In more recent history, things have become even worse! Even a “peaceful” nation such as the United States has endured two world wars, a Cold War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, two wars involving Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the war on terror, and more.
The Bible explains why war is so prevalent in our world, but the reason is not encouraging: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war” (James 4:1–2).
The fallen heart of humanity explains why we fail at peace. But will that always be true?
A World of War
During World War I, C. S. Lewis was sent to the front lines of France late in 1917. After a few weeks, he was hospitalized with a bout of trench fever. When he was discharged from the hospital, he immediately returned to the front lines, where two months later he was wounded in three places by an exploding shell that killed the sergeant standing next to him.
Not surprisingly, Lewis carried those experiences with him for the rest of his life. When World War II arrived, he wrote:
My memories of the last war haunted my dreams for years. Military service, to be plain, includes the threat of every temporal evil: pain and death which is what we fear from sickness: isolation from those we love which is what we fear from exile: toil under arbitrary masters, injustice and humiliation, which is what we fear from slavery: hunger, thirst, and exposure which is what we fear from poverty. I’m not a pacifist. If it’s got to be, it’s got to be. But the flesh is weak and selfish and I think death would be much better than to live through another war.
Most of us feel the same way. Is war always harmful? Yes. Is war always destructive? Yes. Does war always involve a cost that feels too heavy to bear? It certainly seems so, yes.
But is war always wrong? No.
I will never forget the first time I read the following statement: “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed state of moral and patriotic feeling, which thinks nothing is worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than his own personal safety is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless he is made free and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”1
Even a cursory glance through history reveals several seasons when war was necessary. What’s more, in a world corrupted and poisoned by the reality of evil, there are times when war becomes something noble— even a force for good.
For example, there are many cases in the Bible when God commanded His people to go to war— and even commended them for actively participating in violent conflict. Moses obeyed God’s command to attack pagan kings and leaders, including in the land of Bashan: “So the Lord our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we attacked him until he had no survivors remaining. And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them” (Deut. 3:3–4).
Throughout the book of Joshua, God commanded the Israelites to make war against those occupying the promised land. “Now the Lord said to Joshua: ‘Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king’ ” (8:1–2).
The book of Revelation describes the moment at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus Himself will lead the armies of heaven in a brutal war against all who defy God’s rightful reign: “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. . . . And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh” (19:19, 21).
None of these passages describes war as a necessary evil. Instead, they simply describe war as necessary.
Thankfully, that won’t be the case forever.
Dr. M. R. DeHaan helps us grapple with the practical applications of this powerful truth:
The Bible is replete with prophecies of a coming age of peace and prosperity. It will be a time when war will be utterly unknown. Not a single armament plant will be operating, not a soldier or sailor will be in uniform, no military camps will exist, and not one cent will be spent for armaments of war, not a single penny will be used for defense, much less for offensive warfare. Can you imagine such an age, when all nations shall be at perfect peace, all the resources available for enjoyment, all industry engaged in the articles of a peaceful luxury?
Is that really possible? Not here; not now. Only when Jesus returns.
1 John Stuart Mill, “The Contest in America,” Fraser’s Magazine, February 1862.
*A portion of this article is an excerpt from The Coming Golden Age by David Jeremiah. Used with permission.
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