The Great War is Spiritual

Scripture:
"The day is coming"
—God’s Decree—
"When there will be no more war. None.
I’ll slaughter your war horses and demolish your chariots.
I’ll dismantle military posts
and level your fortifications.
I’ll abolish your religious black markets,
your underworld traffic in black magic.
I will smash your carved and cast gods
and chop down your phallic posts.
No more taking control of the world,
worshiping what you do or make."
Micah 5:10-13

Observation: Micah has described the coming terrors and punishment to befall Israel, and introduced the idea that a savior will come out of Bethlehem to redeem the faithful. With that redemption will come a time when war will be no more. However, the images of war quickly shift from human, earthly warfare, to spiritual elements. This new era will see all implements of war and all armies dismantled, but then it will ... totally eliminate spiritual evil. This entails the elimination of false religions, black magic, manmade idols, and all kinds of worship of earthly elements that control our lives.

This is what "war" really is, and always has been for the Lord. Even when he instructed Israel to "destroy" other nations, his clarifications were around dismantling temples of false gods, burning idols of metal and wood, and tearing down places where people bowed to other entities. War, therefore, ends when these spiritually evil aspects of human behavior are eliminated once and for all.

Application: I am more and more convinced that the greatest war this world has ever known is the one raging right now ... the fight for the belief system of our young adults. Listening first-hand to entirely new belief systems that have been created over less than ~10 years related to gender, sexuality, personal identity, mental health, and even an open rejection of factual history due to a changed perception of 'rightness', I cannot help but recognize that this spiritual war is real, it is massive, it is pervasive, and it is killing millions of people.

So, is this "the great war" or "the war to end all wars"? These were BOTH the major titles given to World War I ... and clearly both titles were wrong. Oh, how I pray this is the end of wars, that this is the spiritual battle that draws the line in the sand, creating the moment when Jesus will return. I almost can't imagine the spiritual issues getting worse than they are now, and even in my faith I struggle to find a way back to a spiritual time of relative peace.

This is a war. Knowing the Lord, and believing in Jesus, I therefore know which side of the spiritual war I am on, and thus which side of the spiritual war evil is supporting. And I know who wins, though I don't know when.

Prayer: Lord, may thy will be done. May we tear down the ashera poles that are false sexual identity, destroy the dark elements of the world manifested in mental health issues, burn the false items in which people place their trust, and revive the love and hope that is found in only you. Yet again I pray, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.