We have been studying how racism will play a major part in the last days, as the Lord indicated in Matthew 24:7: "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” As we studied, the Greek word translated “nation” in this verse is ethnos from which we derive our English word “ethnic.” This is speaking of ethnic conflicts being one of the major signs of the end times. We also examined some of the roots of this most tragic evil, and how we must be free of it if we are going to be a light in the midst of the coming darkness. Now we want to look at another aspect of this evil that will be increasingly important for us to understand as the future unfolds.

As we have also mentioned earlier, when the Lord said in Matthew 13:39: “the harvest is the end of the age...” this not only speaks of the greatest ingathering of souls into the kingdom, but it also implies the coming to maturity, and the reaping, of everything that has been sown in man, both good and bad. The light will be brighter and more glorious, but evil will also come to full maturity at the same time.

As Paul wrote in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” This is a spiritual truth that gives us much insight into the things that are going to come upon the world at the end of this age. As I heard one man say, “I sowed a lot of ‘wild oats’ when I was younger, and I have been praying for a crop failure ever since.” This is true of us as individuals, and as the human race. We need some crop failures, and the way to insure they happen is the cross. The cross of Jesus breaks this curse.

However, just as it would not have been of any benefit for the children of Israel to slay and eat the Passover lamb if they had not applied the blood to their doors, there are doors or gates to our lives that also must have the blood applied to them. It is not enough to just know that atonement was made for us—the blood must be applied. This is true of us as individuals, and as nations, or ethnic groups. The Lord does tend to see the nations as ethnic groups rather than just national borders, which politics and wars have drawn up. This is why we see in Matthew 24:7 that the Lord distinguishes between “nations” and “kingdoms.” The kingdoms addressed here are what we tend to think of as nations. These are human realms of authority, which we will address later, but for now we are focusing on the ethnic groups, or nations.

If we examine the racial conflicts in the world today we will find historical roots to the contemporary conflicts. We often refer to this as “bad blood” between them. What they need is the good blood, the blood of Jesus, to be applied to them. Nothing else will heal the source of these conflicts.

Can we eliminate all of these ancient wounds? No. The Scriptures will be fulfilled, and at the end there will be conflicts between both ethnic groups and kingdoms, which are realms of human authority. However, we know that at least some of these conflicts can be reduced, and some can be avoided. One of the most dramatic of all is in the place that is now experiencing the deepest and seemingly most implacable conflict—the Middle East. This we see in the remarkable text of Isaiah 19:19-25:

The land of Assyria is included in what is now Iraq, and all of the land around Israel to the Sinai. This is a text that very few include in their end time teachings because they do not know how to make it fit with some of their other beliefs. Those who have addressed it have usually relegated it to the millennium, which could not be because there will not be “oppressors” then. This is a prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled, so we know that it must be before the end. And, as impossible as it may seem, there will be peace in the Middle East before the end of this age.

If this ultimate conflict which goes back thousands of years could be healed, how can we not have faith for others? The devil has been working overtime to sow his evil seeds, and water those which he sowed in man six thousand years ago. There will be great darkness and conflict at the end, more than the world has ever known before, but there will also be the greatest light, and some of the greatest victories, because the truth that God sowed in man will prove itself even greater before the end.

This does not negate the fact that if the Lord did not shorten these days there would not be anyone left on the earth. The devil is trying to destroy not only mankind, but the earth as well, because it is going to be God’s dwelling place, and the witness for all time that truth is greater than the lie. Even though the Lord will intervene to prevent this ultimate destruction, when the end of the age comes there will be many triumphs of the truth, and witnesses of the ways that are true and right, which will be such witnesses for eternity. It will be the devil’s desperation because he knows that his time is short which will bring about some of the most dangerous and deadly conflicts.

It has been one of the devil’s main goals to wipe out the Jewish people since the Lord first gave His promises to Abraham. Regrettably, the devil seems to understand God’s purposes with the Jewish people better than many Christians. The devil thought he could destroy them by scattering them throughout the nations. To his surprise, that did not work, and the Lord has now re-gathered them to their land “a second time” just as He promised.

The devil is now making every effort to destroy the Jewish people by destroying Israel, but it will not work. In fact, in due time peace is going to break out in the Middle East which is a greater peace than can be found between nations anywhere else on the earth. The devil will then rage against the rest of mankind, seeking desperately to destroy the whole earth. He will come close to succeeding, but the Lord will shorten those days.

Even through this great time of trouble there will be a number of other places where there will be peace between nations and kingdoms—those places which have bowed the knee to the Lord, just as we see in the text above happening in Egypt, who will then “worship (the Lord) with the Assyrians.” How will the cross heal these ancient wounds between races? This is one of the ultimate questions that we should now be asking.

First, there is a misunderstanding with many that time will heal all wounds. This is not true of any wound. It may take time to heal them, but time itself does not do the job. For any wound to be healed it must be dressed with something to prevent infection and then closed. This is true of physical and cultural wounds. History testifies repeatedly that those who attempted to just cover up, or close a wound, caused deadly infections that allowed that wound to burst open again. For this reason the Lord made certain that the unrighteous wounds caused by His people were addressed before the issue could be closed, as we see in II Samuel 21:1:

David's administration was under judgment for the sins of the previous administration because there had been a major injustice done by his people that had not been addressed, and the Lord would not let it go. Our God is a God of justice, and every wrong will eventually be made right. This begins with His own household, but it will ultimately be true of the world when He takes His rightful dominion over it.

Because of this injustice David had to give Saul’s sons to the Gibeonites, who put them to death as restitution for Saul’s injustice. The reason David could only relieve this judgment by restitution to the Gibeonites was because this happened when they were under the Law, and under the Law there was only one way for these sins to be remitted... "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" (Matthew 5:38).

Now if the whole world was required to pay for all of its injustices in this same way, there probably would not be any people left. The cross of Jesus is the restitution that God made for the sins of the world, and when we turn to the cross our sins are remitted, forgiven, and cancelled. As we see throughout the New Testament, the gospel was not just to be preached to individuals, but to nations. The cross can also be applied to nations. The power of the cross can heal these national and cultural wounds, and it is the only remedy that can.

Just as we see at the end there being famines in diverse places, these too are being caused by covered up injustices that have not yet been healed, just as it was in the case with King David. This is why the reconciliation movements that have been raised up recently, which seem to be unique to our times, are so important for breaking the curses and saving many in the times to come as the seeds that have been sown start fully maturing.

Again, we are belaboring some of these issues because our goal is more than just knowing the signs of the times—we want to be prepared for them. There is a true apostolic ministry about to be restored to the church, and as with all true apostles, they will be proactive in engaging the darkness of this world, and the ultimate issues that keep mankind in darkness. In the greatest times of trouble the world has ever known, or will ever know, the church will shine in its greatest glory.

In Christ, troubles are turned into triumph, so in Him we look at what is coming as the times of the greatest triumphs the world has ever known! The conclusion of all things is that we win! The cross will prevail. This is the foundational truth that all of our understanding of these times must be based on. There will be no retreat in those who walk in the true light. When you open your shades at night, darkness does not come in and flood the room. Rather the light shines out into the darkness because light is stronger than darkness. The darker it becomes, the brighter our light will be. Where sin abounds, grace will that much more abound.

It is now time to understand how this is practically worked out, and how it fits with the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to all nations. Therefore, we will continue this theme next week. Great victories are already being won, but this is a foundational issue in these times, and the work is really just beginning.

We have been made ambassadors, and given the ministry of reconciliation for this purpose. It is now time for the church to rise up and become the force that it is called to be in this. The time is coming when, if there is honesty in the Noble Peace Prize, it will go to Christians every year. Not that we would do it for this, but because Christians are going to become the greatest force for peace on earth among men, as the Lord originally intended.