Luke 2:13-14, No Peace On Earth?

Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2014 in Bible Commentary | 0 comments

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.

//This heavenly chorus is celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, which was to inaugurate a new age. An age of worldwide peace.

Somehow, we’ve lost sight of this. More common, today, is to hear in church that God promises no peace on earth until Jesus comes again. Wars and rumors of wars will continue until that glorious day, and there is nothing we can do about it.

But some extremists carry things even further. They actively preach against all who would strive for peace, thinking this is playing right into Satan’s hands. Peacemakers are thought not to be Christlike, but Antichrists! Peace, world preservation, social programs, life improvements through scientific discovery, all these things are satanic, not godly! What a turn of events! Consider this bizarre quotation by Eli Reece, in How Far Can a Premillennialist Pastor Cooperate with Social Service Programs:

Sociology, or social service as generally emphasized is, in its final outworking, a black winged angel of the pit. … Satan would have a reformed world, a beautiful world, a moral world, a world of great achievements. … He would have a universal brotherhood of man, he would eliminate by scientific method every human ill, and expel by human effort every unkindness; he would make all men good by law, education and social uplift; he would have a world without war. … But a premillennialist cannot cooperate with the plans of modern social service for these contemplate many years of gradual improvement through education as its main avenue for cooperation rather than the second coming of Christ.