With Afghanistan being all over the news, realities are being brought to the surface that Christians must grapple with. This author reasserts the greater narrative of these events, allowing us to think biblically about the unrest in the Middle East and set our eyes on things above.
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How are we to understand the present chaos in the Middle East—and indeed, in our world—in light of the Word of God? There are many road signs in Scripture, all which point us in the same direction. One such sign is found in Psalm 2:1-3:
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
Ultimately, all the evil we see in the world originates in the father of all evil, Lucifer, and his rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-15); through him, this rebellion is expressed through the hearts of the unsaved who are in slavery to him to do his bidding. The chaos in our world can be traced to this rebellion against God, His Word, His laws, His ways, and His Son in whom is the only hope for humanity.
This rebellion was mortally crushed 2,000 years ago on a Friday outside of the city of Jerusalem at 3:00 p.m. when a Galilean carpenter, who had been crucified there, said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). We, who by His stripes have received life and healing (Isaiah 53:5), know that the Galilean was none other than God incarnate—when God become man and lived among men (John 1:14; Colossians 1:15-20). Revelation 11:15 speaks of a day in which loud voices in heaven will declare: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And again, in Revelation 19:1-10 we read:
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”Once more they cried out,
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And from the throne came a voice saying,
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
small and great.”Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
In Afghanistan, there is a base called Bagram where the American forces have been stationed. That base has been surrounded by hostile forces. Bagram for two decades represented hope for the brutalized, desperate people of Afghanistan. It was not only a beacon of hope, but it was also the visible image of the power behind it—the might of the American forces. That kept some of the darkest and most evil, demonic forces in the world at bay—the Taliban, Al Qaeda, ISIS, and others—the coalition of darkness and oppression facing the coalition of freedom and hope, NATO. In the heart of the Middle East, there is another base—Jerusalem—that represents the seat of the future Messianic rule of God on earth. It is the city of the great King. That base is also surrounded by hostile forces who hate what the city embodies—revelation, hope, and life.
The dramatic events we have eye-witnessed in recent days in the Middle East must be seen as signs leading to the return of Jesus Christ. The Middle East has been in turmoil for centuries, the focal point often being in Jerusalem because the future divine government on earth will be administered from there. The prophet Zechariah spoke with a beautiful description of life in Jerusalem in the future.
Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.
Zechariah 8:3-5
The Word of God outlines the events leading up to the return of our Lord. From Jerusalem will flow justice and righteousness, and all nations on earth will run to it. Isaiah 2:2-4 tells us,
It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
Contemporarily, the Middle East has been the playground of the powers of darkness. In the last century alone, millions have died in that region. All the chaos, wickedness, wars and conflicts we see in the Middle East are the visible manifestations of an invisible rebellion and uprising against God and against His Anointed—the Lord Jesus Christ—the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. All that we see taking place are futile efforts in thwarting the plans of God and usurping the rule of the Son of God. For that reason, our hearts should be filled with praise to our mighty God who is not going to leave the world in its lost estate. Until the return of our Lord, as the Savior exhorts us, we must watch and pray (Mark 13:33) as we give thanks for His sovereign control.
The devotedly Muslim king, or Ottoman sultan, Suleiman, was told that Jews and Christians expected the return of Christ to Jerusalem to rule and reign over the world. “How can a Jewish Messiah rule over the world?” he wondered, since the Quran promised Muslims would rule Jerusalem. He was further told that the Jewish holy book and writings indicate that when the Messiah returns, He will enter Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate. In order to prevent that from happening, in 1541 Suleiman ordered the gate to be sealed and a cemetery to be built in front of it to defile the land, insuring against the Messiah’s return. That folly captures what the Psalmist expresses in Psalm 2. All that we see taking place in the Middle Eastern theater and other stages across this planet are visible manifestations of an invisible war.
In this present darkness and dismal situation in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Syria and across the world, the Word of God gives us much hope and light—that all these events speak of the reality of the nearing return of our Savior. It is only He who is able to make all the wrongs in our world right!
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.Psalm 121
Praise God!