Recently, my kids were discussing war and wondered if they would have to fight if World War III were to start. I was able to reassure them that, as children, they wouldn’t be recruited to fight.
This conversation got me thinking - from my human perspective, war often seems evil. Can there be a righteous war? Let’s look at the war to take place at the end.
Revelation 19:11-21 11 I saw heaven
standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is
called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His
eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a
name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He
is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of
God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him,
riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and
clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp
sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with
an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of
God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he
has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud
voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together
for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat
the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and
the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and
their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the
horse and his army. 20 But the beast was
captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the
signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who
had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two
of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The
rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on
the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
This Bible passage reveals
that Jesus (the rider on the white horse) is the only one that can wage war
rightly. His war is righteous because He judges with perfect justice. He knows
all truth and accurately administers judgment.
In this passage, it doesn’t
sound like there will be much of a battle. It appears one-sided. Jesus will single-handedly
strike down nations, the beast, the false prophet and their followers. At that
time, it seems the armies of heaven following Jesus will witness the victory
without having to participate in the actual battle. Jesus, the King of Kings, Lord
of Lords, Faithful, True, and Just Judge, righteously wages and wins the
war for Himself and all His followers!
As we begin the Lent season,
we can expand our focus beyond just anticipating Jesus’ resurrection. We can
also look forward to Jesus’ ultimate victory over all sin and evil in the world.
With the start of Lent yesterday, where will your focus be, considering all we’ve
studied in Revelation this past year?
Alice
