Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (It’s been a long time coming!) Cain killed Abel, and while it’s hard to even imagine a “downhill” from such a brutal and unwarranted assault, we humans have managed to accomplish the distasteful and unthinkable. It really has been “all downhill from there.” The history of man on earth has been a history of wars, brutality, and the ultimate brutality of torture. For the natural man, devising cruelty and employing it has sadly been one of his trademarks, and that is equally evident from every point on the compass. Thankfully, we Americans outlawed “cruel and abusive punishment” in the 8th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Good for us!
The violence that I’m speaking of is set against the great Christmas promise and wish for “peace on earth and good will toward men.” It’s hard to find either, but Christmas gives the hope! And I do believe that people respond and interact better during the Christmas season. But like the Christmas truces that we wrote about recently, whatever goodwill we find during the Christmas season is not only limited in scope, it is temporary. In other words, the birth of Christ did not yet bring peace on earth. That will happen during His millennial reign! The great doctrine of the Bible is the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ, when every eye shall see Him in His power and glory. We will, under His reign, have peace for 1,000 years until Satan is released from the Bottomless Pit to deceive men again, leading to one final and everlasting “put down” that men may be “lifted up!”
Christ’s birth is a huge part of “the peace process” as in His first coming He gave every man the chance to be at peace with God. And when we receive Christ as Saviour, we become “new creatures” with a new nature to help us act as we should to our fellow man. So there is a qualified peace that comes with Christ’s first coming. And when He reigns at His 2nd coming, there will be greater peace, followed by Satan’s final defeat, and real and everlasting peace in a New Heaven, a New Earth, and in the holy city, New Jerusalem! (Rev 21:1-3)
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) Savor the foretaste of the flavor this Christmas! (It’s coming for sure.)
Love to all,
Pastor
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