“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9.

During the Vietnam War, American protesters coined the phrase, “Make peace, not war.” There was so little support for that conflict that the United States eventually withdrew in defeat – having lost the will to win, it was overcome by less sophisticated but more determined foes. “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong….” Ecclesiastes 9:11

Human wisdom argues for ever greater force – more deadly modern armaments, more sophisticated generals, and better-trained troops – to gain the victory and maintain peace. In international relations, leaders of state often justify the build-up and maintenance of a strong military with such arguments as: “You don’t ever want to enter negotiations with an adversary from the standpoint of weakness.” Or, “A strong military is the best defense and most potent weapon in keeping the peace.” Yet a military must do more than rattle its swords; it eventually needs to use them or become a “paper tiger,” a wasted investment, an empty argument.

The problem with force is that one always needs more, and more is never enough. Jesus stated: “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Matthew 26:52. While worldly empires come and go by force, it is recognized by historians that most nations fall first through inner corruption. Peace and prosperity generally lead to apathy and pleasure seeking. That’s how it was with Ancient Israel – an experience that has been more or less repeated in the history of the church. “In every age seasons of spiritual revival and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit have been followed by spiritual darkness and prevailing corruptions.” –Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 129, 130

Continual Upheaval

While Jesus’ first coming was associated with a time of peace in the world, He said that at the end of time, before His second coming, we would “hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Matthew 24:6. The world has hardly experienced a day of peace since 1848. That year is sometimes referred to as “the year of revolution” or the “storm year.” “Throughout the spring and summer of 1848, crowds of working-class radicals and middle-class liberals in Paris, Milan, Venice, Naples, Palermo, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Krakow, Munich, and Berlin toppled the old regimes and began the task of forging a new order. In many ways the year of revolutions continues to shape the modern world.” –Mike Rapport, 1848: Year of Revolution

Yes, “nation shall rise against nation… and [with that] great earthquakes shall be in divers places….” (Mark 13:8). The USGS (United States Geological Survey) has produced a chart showing the last one hundred years of “Worldwide Deadly and Destructive Earthquakes between Magnitudes 6 and 8.” It is very interesting. –

http://www.thehorizonproject.com/earthquakes.cfm

Jesus also associated the end-time “distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring.” Luke 21:25. The Aberdeen Journal of Wednesday, August 23, 1848, reported that terrible storms at sea on August 18, 19 resulted in great tragedy and loss of life. Probably the most intense hurricane ever to hit Tampa, Florida, U.S.A., occurred in that year, on September 25. It was so intense that the tide rose 15 feet above low water, destroying all the vessels in the port. A second hurricane hit Tampa one month later in October, causing a 10-foot tide in the Bay. –James B. Elsner, Department of Geography, Florida State University. Many other examples could be given, but even the examples cited here seem insignificant when compared with what has occurred in just the last two years. And what are we to say about these things? Simply this: “Study the Revelation in connection with Daniel; for history will be repeated.” –Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers, No. 7, p. 55

Peace and Good Will

New is not the time to be lukewarm. It is when men’s hearts are “failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26), that many of those same hearts are open to the Prince of Peace. Many have never heard of Him, and relatively few know Him, His message, what is coming upon the earth, and how to be ready for the day of judgment. Ignorance, fear, and the dread of the unknown are fueling the actions of many. But God’s word is clear. He has told us what to do. Our work is to teach men and women and even children how to fear God alone – the first angel’s message. Knowing and trusting the Saviour gives peace. Without knowing Him we will never be able to face the coming storm, much less bring others to the rest in Christ that is the essential preparation for that time. “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” Isaiah 28:16

“In obedience to God’s law there is great gain.” And just what is that great gain? “In conformity to the divine requirements there is a transforming power that brings peace and good will among men.” –Prophets and Kings, p. 192 (emphasis mine)

But to be truly obedient, a “new moral taste has to be created before man will love to obey the law of God.” –Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, p. 183. That is another way of saying that there must be a transformation, a new birth. “The converting power of God can transform inherited and cultivated tendencies; for the religion of Jesus is uplifting. ‘Born again’ means a transformation, a new birth in Christ Jesus.” –The Adventist Home, p. 206. Receiving Christ as the Word of God brings this about.

“When truth becomes an abiding principle in the life, the soul is ‘born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.’ This new birth is the result of receiving Christ as the Word of God. When by the Holy Spirit divine truths are impressed upon the heart, new conceptions are awakened, and the energies hitherto dormant are aroused to cooperate with God.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 520 (emphasis mine)

To be peacemakers, children of God, we “need to be converted from our faulty lives to the faith of the Gospel. Christ’s followers have no need to try to shine. If they will behold constantly the life of Christ they will be changed in mind and heart into the same image. Then they will shine without any superficial attempt. The Lord asks for no display of goodness. In the gift of His Son He has made provision that our inward lives may be imbued with the principles of Heaven. It is the appropriation of this provision that will lead to a manifestation of Christ to the world. When the people of God experience the new birth, their honesty, their uprightness, their fidelity, their steadfast principles, will unfailingly reveal it.” –Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 251

“Make Peace, Not War”

“Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy.” –Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1075. Even ministers have been known to “preach Christ of contention, not sincerely.” Philippians 1:16. We are not to take our example from war protestors who resort to public demands, character assassination, hatred, and disrespect of anything and anyone in authority, especially those who may hold other opinions. These “whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words.” “They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.” Psalm 64:3, 6-8. It should be obvious that those who engage in such practices are not peacemakers or “called the children of God.” They have another father.

But what is not so obvious is why we do not have more power to inspire others to stand with the meek and lowly Jesus. Both Isaiah and Paul taught that God is our Father when we separate from unbelievers and unclean things and practices. (Isaiah 52:11; 2 Corinthians 6:15, 17). We usually think of these words as applying to contracts or partnerships with unbelievers or those of other faiths. Those things are clear, and we cannot expect God’s blessings when we compromise in such areas of life. But that principle also applies to other things, such as the games we watch and play, the music we listen to and even sing, the events we attend, and the amusements we participate in.

Wonder no longer. “If those who profess to believe the present truth did love God supremely, and their neighbors as themselves, would there be so little done in representing the truth to others? Every soul is to be a blessing to others. Souls are perishing for the word of life; but because the professed people of God have left their first love, they are in blindness, and are destitute of the blessings it should be their privilege to impart. Lacking the power of God, professors fail to accomplish the work of God. When we gather about the great white throne, before the Judge of the living and the dead, what excuse shall we be able to render to God for having failed to obey His word, to represent Christ before the world?” –The Youth’s Instructor, June 14, 1894

Recently I stood on the rocky west coast of Aruba and was fascinated by the pounding surf. Time and again the angry waves beat with enormous force and noise against the rocky cliffs. The picture is a lesson for us. At best, the foaming sea can only polish the peaceful stones. And so it is with the children of God. We cannot prevent the wicked from casting up mire and dirt. But we can stand unmoved by being in Christ. Those in the world who are honest will see the difference and take their stand with the remnant – the peacemakers who are called the children of God. Let us determine to be such followers of God. Amen!

Larry Watts

U.S.A.