Peace is an experience and a word that resonates with the hearts of most people! What perhaps could be better than peace when our hearts are daily torn by sad conflicts and outbursts of evil in this world! When people from all walks of life begin to talk about peace, and sides long in opposition and violence over their various differences have begun to talk of peace it certainly sounds like music to the ears of people with aching hearts yearning for sweet rest, peace, prosperity, and harmony for all! Peace sounds so incredibly good to us all! In fact, even Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). The apostle Paul gives us a word, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in Romans 12:18, “If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men.” With that said, could some world talks of peace be a sign for concern? Could some peace talks be just part of a larger plan to seize world power, trample on minority faith groups, and cast eternal truths of God aside? Let’s consider a few points of prophecy from the Bible.
The Bible speaks of a power in opposition to Christ – that is, an anti-Christ power who comes to the world and to God’s people as if he were an “angel of light.” That is, he comes as if to solve the troubles of the world, however, up his sleeve is more than one trick that he’s using to ultimately belittle the true teachings of God, and to bring persecution upon the faithful followers of God! It is a movement designed by Satan to unite the whole world and gather every possible soul under his deceptions, thus aiding him in the persecution and destruction of God’s faithful followers!
The Bible says this power “has a mouth that speaks very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows” (Daniel 7:20). In other words, he is very proud, at the core, although appearances are going to be deceptive! The Bible says this power will “cast down the truth to the ground” and “practice and prosper” (Dan. 8:12). “Through his policy also he shall cause craft [deceit] to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall he destroy many…” (Dan. 8:25). The word “peace” in that last verse is the Hebrew word “Shalvah.” It has the meanings of “security (genuine or false); abundance, peace, prosperity, and quietness.” When it says that “he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand” it is talking about “deceit” or deception. In other words, while this power talks and moves for peace to gain a large following, at his core, he is practicing “deception” as his general policy for action. Their is wickedness and evil motives under the facade of peace talks.
The Bible says that this power gains favor with people all over the entire world! He becomes the talk of the nations! Revelation 13:3 says “…and all the world wondered after the beast!” Made crystal clear in Revelation 13 is the fact that this power influences the whole world, and the whole world seems to swoon after him! Add to this what Paul said about people in the last days just before Christ’s return, “For when they shall say Peace and Safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them…” (1 Thess. 5:3). In other words, the whole world and this beast power will have a common message of peace, prosperity, unity, and safety which they will be chanting! They will be all looking for that, but to the exclusion of Bible truth! They will try to unite all things possible under the name of peace while condemning any message of truth that interferes with their goal!
Paul says furthermore of this same character that his “coming is after the working of Satan with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth…” (2 Thess. 2:9,10). Here are some common denominators that we see keep popping up: (1) A message of Peace and Safety, (2) Deception and lies at the heart of it, (3) Compromise, casting down, and disregard of God’s sacred truth! The devil is behind it, his deceptive organizations at the front, and all the world is going to buy into it, that is, if they are not rooted in the eternal truths of Christ’s true gospel message!
Jesus said that he did not come to “send peace on earth,” but instead, “a sword” (Matthew 10:34). In his very next statement, He clarified his meaning. He said that even families would be “divided” because of one believing in Christ truly, while others did not (v.35). Jesus never advocated that his followers use violence, but rather just the opposite – to be meek and lowly (Luke 9:52-56; Matthew 26:52; 11:29). However, he warned that we would be “hated of all nations” for His name’s sake, would be afflicted and also killed even for following Him and His teachings of truth (Matthew 24:9). Religious leaders in Christ’s day condemned him as Beelzebub (the devil or a son of his) and Christ said his followers could expect about the same from the world (Matt. 10:25). We are told that all who live godly in Christ Jesus “shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). Revelation says that the Devil and his last day powers will persecute true believers in Christ Jesus who keep His commandments (Rev. 12:17; 14:12)! And most certainly, they will be the minority!
Knowing these things, we should realize that the devil is out to get God’s faithful people in the last days! He will unite the world and false religious movements together in an attack against God’s faithful people! A large part of their cry will be peace and safety, but under it all will be deception, and total disregard for God’s holy commandments! The message must sound so good to every ear, but the work being done underhand will be totally against the truth!
When we read of world leaders such as the Pope, reaching out to people all over the world, getting praised as “man of the year,” and talking peace and unity with the various religious leaders around the world then we should know that something is going on! Something that is fulfilling prophecy! Something that is very deceptive in nature, pleases the ear, but is working against the truth! [Read CNN article June 8, 2014 on the Pope and his peace talks with other leaders] Recently, the Pope called for prayer and peace talks with the leaders of Israel and Palestine. He advocated people living “as brothers and sisters and not as enemies.” He said, “I hope that this meeting will be a journey toward what joins us, to overcome what divides us” (see article link above for details).
That sounds like a wonderful message! Certainly something we all might be thankful for on the surface level, but according to Bible prophecy, there are things at stake! There is also deception at work! All these kinds of events will rally the world together, in a union that will eventually lead to the persecution of God’s faithful commandment-keeping people. Let us not forget that it was the Roman Church that banned the Bible in the Dark Ages, which led the crusades killing millions of innocent people who disagreed with her views, which burned protestants at the stake and any religious group who did not seem to see it her way! Has that organization changed her views? Some might think so, but she has never renounced a single one of her teachings! Getting the world to rally behind her again, leading the way, and taking back power and influence, we should be fearful to see what things will come next!
Prophecy is quickly fulfilling! While the world powers and favor are aligning with false religious systems such as Rome, we should be keenly aware that the final events are fast coming upon us! Let us be faithful in Christ Jesus, strong in Him, and doing His work for dark times are just ahead of us! “The night is coming when no man can work” (John 9:4).
