Why No Peace?
Back to 1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!
Mankind, in his rebellion against God, likes to present his own versions of civilization in the best possible light. In this regard, we saw Ezekiel foretold that modern false religious leaders, with political leaders at their side, will deceitfully declare, “Peace; and there was [is] no peace” (Eze 13:10). God shows that peace will continue to evade those who forsake His ways.
It has been said that all nations are either preparing for war, at war or recovering from war. We saw that history recorded over 14,500 wars just through the mid-1960s. How many more have come since?
Men seem to invariably go to war in search of peace. Eventually, wars usually come to a truce, which always fails to yield permanent peace. This is because men cannot, and never will, find the way to peace on their own—without outside help. In reality, they have no chance to achieve world peace. Why?
As part of an extensive prophecy about world conditions in our time, Isaiah answers: “The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goes there shall not know peace” (Isa 59:8). The solutions of men always lead to more wars, ruin, misery, death and destruction. Paul quoted Isaiah in the New Testament: “And the way of peace have they not known” (Rom. 3:17).
While men may talk about, call for and pretend to seek peace, world leaders always seem to fall back on the tool of war to achieve it—and suffering, misery and unhappiness increase in its wake. Even Napoleon warned, “You have got to be very careful with war, because, with all the excitement, you may grow to love it.” Nations have grown to love war—indeed, they are addicted to it. For 6,000 years, man has proven himself unable to break the cycle of war.
I have stood at the very lectern in the United Nations General Assembly where so many presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings and popes have called for world peace. I could not help but think of which had ever made a difference—from 1946 in San Francisco, when that institution was founded in the wake of World War II, to today.
The institutions of men are woefully uninformed—and ultimately toothless—concerning the causes of peace, leading to the right effects all peoples long for—world peace. In the end, neither diplomacy nor war has worked, while knowledge of the right causes that lead to peace remains unseen, eliminating any hope of success.
The Failed Governments of Men
The governments of men—all of them—simply do not work. They have never succeeded in finding permanent solutions to what are, for them, insoluble problems.
You have probably supposed that the governments of modern nations generally reflect God’s Way. This is almost everyone’s assumption. Yet, while God does, in fact, establish and remove nations—and leaders—this is not His world! This is why the Bible foretells the arrival of a divine government to replace the confused, competing, inefficient and ineffective governments of men that are so powerless to solve the world’s biggest problems.
Look at the governments of this world. Generally, there are three types—monarchies, dictatorships and democracies.
Monarchies involve nobility—royalty—where bloodline is the key to succession of power. When a king or queen dies, a prince or princess ascends the throne. This cycle can last for centuries. History records that monarchies are almost always replaced, either violently or peacefully, with the king or queen often allowed to retain minimal power.
Dictatorships and totalitarian governments are usually created through violence—by coup or revolution. They are often short-lived, with something similar replacing them.
Democracies and republics are collaborative or representative. Leaders are elected, and represent “the will of the people.” This involves a voting or balloting process to select one candidate in preference to others. This form is generally considered the best of men’s governments. Yet the great twentieth-century British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, called democracy “the worst form of government except [for] all…other[s]…” This is a startling admission from an insider.
Fruits of Democracy
In one of the most profound statements in the Bible, Jesus instructed, “You shall know them by their fruits,” and, “Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16, 20). He also taught, “For the tree is known by [its] fruit” (Matt. 12:33). These verses are primarily speaking about leaders, but the principle has broad application.
Let’s examine, for instance, the fruits of the “tree” called “politics, voting and democracy.” This system is based on competition between political parties. Each party seeks to gain an advantage over the other and will even undercut good ideas if it will cast a bad light on the opponent. During the period preceding an election (called “election year politics”), the challenger opposes the incumbent at every turn, and on virtually every issue, to present himself as different, and in the best light, solely to get elected. Over time, this has a devastating effect on the unity of a country that is supposed to stand behind its government. This openly—and often bitterly—divides the citizenry of any nation.
Democracy is the form of government in three-fourths of the world’s nations. Think of just some of its fruits: favoritism, endless debates and arguments, bribes, lust for power, corruption, lying and deceit, scandals and cover-ups, greed, exploitation, manoeuvring and manipulation, relentless accusation, inefficiency, vanity, decisions based on polls, voter apathy, strife and backstabbing. Democratic politics are shot full of division and disagreement, over nearly every issue that arises.
The fruit of democracy is chaos!
But, as bad as democracies are, they are far better than any other form of government—when it is in the hands of men. Democracy at least attempts to ensure more individual “freedoms” than other kinds of humanly devised government.
In the end, however, none of man’s governments work either very well or for very long.
Men’s governments do not have any of the answers to mankind’s biggest questions. It has not been given to men to understand the path to peace—or, for that matter, the way to abundance, happiness, health and prosperity. No wonder the greatest thinkers, leaders, educators and scientists have failed miserably in their quest for peace on Earth!
They lack the essential knowledge necessary to solve them.
Is it also any wonder God inspired Hosea to record, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you” (Hos 4:6)? Mankind could have known, understood and had access to far more important, vital knowledge about how to live, but chose to reject it. As a result, God rejected—cut off—man from access to Him. And this cuts men off from the very solutions to the terrible, worsening problems they now have.
God has not yet revealed to mankind collectively the only solution to its unending wars, and world troubles.