“The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.” Isaiah 2:4 NLT
Isaiah, writing out God’s prophecies close to 3000 years ago, tells of a future moment where there will be peace among the nations. Scanning the history of the planet over eons of time, this kind of peace would have to be supernatural. Doing a quick search, it seems that historians believe there were some brief couple of centuries of peace. Of course they declared it peaceful because of a few massive global powers that used force to keep it. The first was Rome’s “Pax Romana,” spanning 207 years. There is great book by Tom Holland, called Dominion. Tom believes that Rome was obsessed with law and justice, even to the point of inventing the most hideous means of torture unto death. This sent a message that theft, violence and uprisings would not be tolerated. Crucifixion was perfected by the Romans. In their quest for peace and paradise, they were manipulated into crucifying Christ, who was not only innocent, but he is perfect in all his ways. The second is called “Pax Mongolica” spanning the 13th and 14th centuries. Some would add a third period called, “Pax Britannica,” where British Empire created a 100 year pocket of peace across the globe. All in all, a few hundred years over thousands of years of war, is not much peace. And, none of it was able to last.
Isaiah writes about a peace that will eventually rule and reign from God himself. Isaiah speaks of God’s holy mountain, Jerusalem as the capital of this global peace. We know this has to be futuristic, because Jerusalem has been known for anything but peace. As a global glimmer of hope, Isaiah declares that God will rule and reign over all the earth in all things. Of course God is completely in control of all things and has always been so before creation and time itself. But, God gives free will for humans to govern themselves until the end of days. This is when all things have come to the end, when all things are judged and will come to light. God will bring this unprecedented peace and mediate between nations Himself. No more wars, no more infighting, no more training or preparation for war. God’s peace will rule.
Prayer
Dad,
With all the wars and rumors of wars there has been a resurgence of fear and hope that the end may be near. In my lifetime, we have not experienced a global war, but there have been conflicts, skirmishes and terrorist attacks around the world. The world is now filled with angry, violent people who spend their time in riots and protests, giving a sense of lawlessness. Peace has been evasive for quite some time. We long for your justice, your judgement, to make all things right. Humankind is not capable of making sustainable peace. We need you!