Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. --Proverbs 3:25-26
|
|
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. -- Revelation 12:17
|
|
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spirtual wickedness wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. -- Ephesians 6:10-14
|
In Matthew 24:1, we read that Christ's disciples came to show Him the building of the temple and He responded in Matthew 24:2:
... See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
We then read in Matthew 24:3-6:
And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
And ye shall 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.
However, there have always been wars in the world; also God has used wars and the language of fighting to describe His salvation program. We read of the wars that Israel fought and that God fought for them during their journey to the promised land, which is a picture of heaven. God came as "captain of the army of the Lord" when He appeared to Joshua before the destruction of Jericho. In Joshua 5:13-15, we read:
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lift up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
There are many other reports from God of how He fought for His chosen people. We read of God fighting for the children of Judah when the inhabitants of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir came to fight against Judah during the reign of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. God said in 2 Chronicles 20:15, 17:
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not nor be dismayed: tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.
King Jehoshaphat did as the Lord commanded and appointed singers unto the Lord to lead the army instead of warriors with weapons. We read about this in 2 Chronicles 20:21-22:
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth forever.
