• Secular Peace of the World – One of man’s greatest desires is to live in peace, or the absence of war and strife. However, wars are the result of man’s sinful nature and will never be abolished on this sin-cursed earth because man’s heart is desperately wicked, according to Jeremiah 17: “The heart [unsaved] is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”. While speaking of the Great Tribulation period prior to His return, Jesus said in Matt 24, that man-made wars and natural catastrophes will continue to take men’s lives on this earth right up to the moment of Christ’s return on the Last Day. As “the Prince of Peace” many people think that Jesus came to bring some kind of political or secular peace among nations or groups of people. Jesus dispelled all doubts about His purpose for coming to this earth in Matt 10:34–36: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household”. God in the flesh, Christ came to bring division and strife – even within families, the closest-knit social units in this world. Because Salvation is on individual basis, that would create unequally yoked families.

Jam 4:2 “[in Adamic nature] Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”

Mat 24:6–7 “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours [reports] of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”

Matt 10:21–22 “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

• Mutual Warfare – Most people are unaware that a much more serious war than all the secular wars in the history of man put together is taking place right now. It is the spiritual war between God and rebellious mankind that started in the Garden of Eden as a result of Adam’s sin; and because man is at war with His Maker, he is also at war with other men. Our sinful Adamic nature, with which every human being is born, is described in Jam 4:2 “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not”. They fail to consider the futility of their efforts, the magnitude of their sin, and the eternal, infinite, holy God with whom they have to deal face to face one day. God derides man’s foolish pride because man refuses to acknowledge the awesome Creator and Judge of this universe, who both hates and will judge sin and sinner alike: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure” (Psa 2:1–5 ). Yet, in the midst of judgment there is a ray of hope, a glimmer of mercy for His people: “Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people [Elect of God]” (Deu 32:43).

1 John 2:16–17 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Rom 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

Rom 3:10,17–18 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one…And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Deu 32:39–42 “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.”

• Only Christ the “Prince Of Peace” Can End the Warfare – Isa 40 beautifully describes the salvation that God accomplishes when He brings to an end to the warfare that previously existed between man and God: “Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem [typifying the elect, bride of Christ], and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned…” (Isa 40:2). Rom 10:15 announces that this peace is found in the Gospel of the Bible: “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”. What are the “glad tidings”? It is that which we see in Isa 40, “… warfare is accomplished… iniquity is pardoned”. How did this take place? We learn from Eph 2 that this is the work of the Lord Jesus and emphasizes the kind of peace that Christ came to bring. The reason Christ is named the “Prince of Peace” is because He came to bring eternal peace to fallen man, who by nature is dead in trespasses and sins, by ending the state of perpetual warfare that exists between God and all who are unsaved: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa 53:5). Rom 5 concludes that one is saved or justified by the faith of Christ, which produces “peace with God”: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” , the peace that results from salvation.

Isa 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Luke 2:13–14 “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Eph 2:14–17 “For he [Lord Jesus] is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.”

Rom 5:1,9–10 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

• Peace Shall Be Upon Israel – The last statement in Psalm 125 says, “… but peace shall be upon Israel”. Since the whole Psalm is speaking about God’s salvation plan for His chosen people, we know that “Israel” here is referring to the eternal “Israel of God”, the body of true believers whom God saves. They are those who obtain “peace with God” as we read in Gal 6:15–16. The nation of Israel in the Old Testament was a type, or figure, of the Eternal Israel, as God explains in Rom 2:28–29: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God”. May it be that God has circumcised your heart so that His peace shall be upon you forever. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus is for all people. It’s for those from all nations, kindred, people and tongues: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes [robe of Christ’s Righteousness], and palms in their hands…” (Rev 7:9). God is no respecter of persons.

Psa 125:1–5 “A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. 2As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. 3For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. 4Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts [covered with Christ’s Righteousness]. 5As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.”

Gal 6:15–16 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. 16And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.