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now clearly toward fl exing the
Church's political muscles as a
means of promoting peace, t he
work of the Secretariat of State is
sure to increase dramatically.
Whether critics like it or not, the
Vatican seems well on the way to
again being recogn ized as a
major
power
in international politics.
Will lt Bring Peace?
As often explained in the pages of
The Plain Truth,
Bible prophecy
reveals that initial elforts toward
Church unity and European politi–
cal integration WILL succeed! The
result will be a religious-political
union in Europe-a reviva! of the
tradition of the medieval H o ly
Roman Empire!
P rophecy further reveals that
this Church-State combine- to
emerge in the days
just ahead–
wi ll t hen attempt to establish peace
throughout much of the world!
But can this or
any
attempt of
man ever hope to br ing lasting
peace?
T hroughout history, peace–
what little there has been-has
been largely a condition of
power
inequality.
A real or perceived
pre–
dominance
of power on one side
has prevented others from embark–
ing on a course of war or revolution
against it.
In this world, it is only superior
power that keeps men from war.
But power relationships change.
Ba lances of power inevitably break
down. T he result is war . This has
been the unalterable pattern of his–
tory. Why?
Because war is rooted in the very
nature
of man!
"What causes wars, and what
causes fightings among you?" asked
the apostle J ames. " Is it not your
passions that a re at war in your
members? You desire and do not
have; so you kil i. And you covet and
cannot obtain; so you fight and wage
war .. . " (Jas. 4:1-2, RSV).
The heart of man is motivated by
vanity, jealousy, lust and greed. l t is
motivated by the impulse to GET.
And as man seeks to get more and
more, he comes into di rect conflict
with others who are also pursuing
the way of GET.
Horno homini lupus- " Man
is a
wolf to man"-declares an ancient
January
1983
adage. And history has shown it to
be so!
T his competitive and contentious
nature, the Bible reveals, comes
largely from Satan, the "prince of
the power of the air, the spirit that
now worketh in the children of dis–
obedience" (Eph. 2:2).
It was Satan who launched the
very first war
in all history- an
unsuccessful war in heaven to
unseat
God(Isa.
14:12-14) .
T he nations and peoples of this
world today lie under his influence,
imbibing of his rebellious attitude.
The crowning of . . .
Charlemagne as Emperor
by Pope Leo III in
A.D. 800.. . . formally
linked the spirit ual power
of the Pope with the
temporal power.
He deceives tbe
entire world
(Rev.
12:9). In fact, he is literally the "god
of this world" (JI Cor . 4:4).
Little wonder that war has been
the rule rather than t he exception in
virtuall y ever y generation through–
out history!
Mankind from the days of Adam
has
rejected
the only way t hat would
bring lasting world peace. Man has
failed to bring his Satan-imbued
d r ives and lusts into rein. As a result,
" The way of peace have t hey not
known" ( Rom. 3: 1
7).
Only by the power of the
Spirit of
God
can man successfully resist
Satan's influence. But few today are
yielding themselves to that Spirit!
Nations today are not imbued with
the gift of God's Holy Spi r it which
would open their minds to compre–
hend the
w
A
Y
to peace and give
them the power to restrain human
nature.
Unseating Satan
lt's on ly logical. Until Satan is
deposed as "god of this world,"
wars
wilf continue!
But the nations of this
world cannot unseat Satan. Human
elforts-even with the best inten–
tions-will never bring lasting world
peace!
Why?
Because each nation has its
own
idea
about what peace should be
like! No one knows the
WAY
to TRUE.
peace. As a result, " ... when they
say, ' Peace and safety!" then
sudden
destruction
comes upon them ..."
(1 Thess. 5:3, NKJ V).
Yet peace WILL come!
Jesus Christ- who has already
qualified to replace Satan as ruler of
this world ( Matt. 4)-is soon to
return as a
conquering king
(Rev.
19) . H e will imprison Satan (Rev.
20: 1-3) and will
forcefully
impose
peace on the nations.
That is the CLEAR MESSAGE of the
Bible! Peace will come only with the
restoration of the kingdom or gov–
ernment of God to the whole earth.
(Request our free booklets
What ls
t he True Gospel?
and
World
Peace- How lt Wi/l Come
for full
details.)
T he kingdom of God will
not
be
established
gradua/ly,
by successive
política! stages. l t will be established
SUDDENL
Y,
divinely,
and
not
with
the assistance of man (Dan. 2:44-
45).
The foundation of God 's govern–
ment is God's /aw-the Ten Com–
mandments. God's law produces
peace as the result of obedience to
the way of LOVE and GIVE and CON–
CERN for others. God's law will at
last be written on men's
hearts
(Jer.
31 :33, Ezek. 11: 19).
After 6,000 years of human his–
tory, Satan's way of GET will at last
be replaced by God's way of GrVE!
Ves, peace
rs
coming-by the
direct intervention of Goo, the
author
of peace
(T
Cor. 14:33). o
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