Why Do the Nations Rage?
In Psalm 2 this question is asked:
“Why do the nations rage?”
Ofcource this tone of questioning is presenting an ancient argument of the rage that is going on within the nations who are bond under the dominion of the ruler of this age who is Satan, and their rage is against the Lord and His eternal King.
Against the Messiah or the anointed One.
Today on this Thursday the 5th day of may 2011, on national day of prayer many around this nation are gathered to pray. Majority knowing the time or the season they live in are calling for peace around the world. Although we all do agree that this is a very good reason to pray nationally or corporately or even globally, yet the true meaning of peace is a very deep and a vast truth in God’s economy. To this end we shall look in the scriptures today.
As the Psalmist, David says in psalm 2 what is the reason or why do the nations rage? Rage is the ultimate fruit of suppressedanger. Anger that is held back for a period of time turns into rage. King David of Israel asks this question in response to a revelation from God after receiving for himself the peace that surpasses all human understanding. David recognizes that the nations or the “ordinary people” have a suppressed amount of anger in them against God and he metaphorically asks this question why there is such hostility in men against the true God and His chosen servant, the Messiah or the Anointed One.
Ofcource King David fully knows the answer to his own question, but He is singing this song in his own time of meditation with the Lord. In the next verses of this song the precious Holy Spirit gives him the understanding of all things and David sings this before the Lord His God as a plea.
The question of why is this so? Is a very deep one. Involving the rebellion of men’s heart in accepting God’s solution for their peace. The Bible speaks of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as being the only reconciliation between the fallen man and the holy God. The acceptance of the gospel is our peace treaty with God. That is why Apostle Paul call us the ambassadors of peace. People who could bring the message of peace and reconciliation to the fallen men. Needless to say that many times this message of peace is suffering hostility from those who are not for peace.
Only to the sons of the kingdom or the sons of peace this peace is received without hostility and persecution.
This is why all but one of the original apostles of the Lord suffered martyrdom in bringing this message of peace and reconciliation to the nations. This is probably why Jesus said the Kingdom of
God suffers violence from the time of John the Baptist, but the violent will take it by force.
This very truth of the kingdom is not only in force before the message of salvation is brought to men, but even after they have received its truth as the only means of redemption through grace.
The book of Ephesians speaks of this ongoing spiritual warfare in the lives of all true believers of the Messiah Jesus, yet in this there is a great mystery hidden also, that they who trust in the Lord are positionally already in peace with God. Our warfare is in our soulish realm and in it God in Christ Jesus is accomplishing a much higher purpose, which is to give us humility and righteousness.
This is why in 2nd Corinthians chapters 10 to 13 Apostle Paul is speaking of his own method of boasting which was his many weaknesses and his sufferings for Christ’s sake. In all of these sufferings Paul says he carries in himself the Lord’s inner peace.
In this state of Shalom or wholeness that provides inner peace we can make peace with God and men in situations that do not offer peace to the unredeemed. The world rages against this truth, because they have denied the Prince of peace.
This is why Jesus says My peace I leave with you, in the world you will have tribulations, but in Me you shall find rest. Here is the main subject of our sermon today. Jesus said I am leaving you My peace, but in another place he also says I did not come to bring peace, but war. The enemies of men will be the members of his own household. What? Is He here contradicting Himself?, or he doesn’t know what He is saying? Ofcource not ! Jesus Here is speaking of the radical rage that we would encounter from those who reject Him in the truth of His gospel of peace.
He Himself is our peace the scriptures says and without Him there is no real peace.
Although the true Christians are aware of the presence and the reality of the spiritual warfare, but the entire creations suffers violence of this unrest, and that is why the kings of this world are trying to bring their own peace. Even the scriptures says in the letter of Paul to the Thessalonian church, that when they say peace and safety sudden destruction will come upon them like the labor pangs of a pregnant women. You see they too, meaning the kings of this earth will seek to bring peace, yet their peace will be interrupted by destruction brought upon them from the true Prince of Peace whom they rejected in trusting their own rebellious idolatrous ways.
Here is why to call on God for world’s peace or the peace of earthly Jerusalem means calling for the return of the only true Prince of Peace. Why do the nations or peoples rage?, because they rejected the true Prince of peace.
This is why the psalmist King David in continuation of his song in psalm 2 says the Messiah of Israel the anointed King is the only true source of real peace and if the nations want to avoid eternal and physical destruction they need to kiss the Son lest they too perish.
But this truth is not written only to the nations as earthly unredeemed kingdoms of this age, but to us also who have been gathered from among them as individuals. If we too do not Kiss the Son, meaning the truth of His word we too are hopeless and helpless in this great end time struggle between the forces of God and Evil. We too are to seek righteousness and humility by kissing the truth of His revealed word in obedience and turning from our own wicked ways. Yesterday in my amazement again when I was struggling in my own time of prayer and meditation I did inwardly cry to the Lord and His everlasting goodness found me in Micah chapter 5 with a great mysterious respond to my cry for peace.
While reading the entire chapter 5 of Micah’s Old Covenant reading I encounter a highly comforting mystery of His satisfying inner peace and wholeness. This is what I like to share with you tonight. Coming home I trust the Lord confirmed this inner tranquility by another dimension of His truth in listening to another man’s interpretation of the same portion of the scripture. The greatest revelation for me was from verses 3 to 5 which says the following words.
“ Therefore He shall give them up until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel and He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord. In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; and they shall abide , for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth; and this One shall be Peace.”
These three verses became the greatest illumination of my day yesterday. A true treasure of darkness kept for those who are hungry and thirsty for His word. By His everlasting mercy I immediately felt the scales over my eyes falling and the veil being taken away so that I could see the beauty of these Old Covenant prophetic readings. Oh yes I saw the parallelism of these words with Romans chapter 11 and how this was not only a prophetic word of Messiah’s first coming, but an awesome truth about the majesty of His second coming and the ingathering of the remnant of Israel and the end of this age and the coming of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, which would offer or bring us our complete state of inner and outer peace.
Because of my desperation for peace yesterday in the midst of my spiritual warfare the precious Holy Spirit said
And this One shall be peace.
Now when the Holy Spirit comforted me yesterday with these words I saw the end of all rage. The end of all spiritual warfare and the end of all demonic powers and how this had to do with the coming of the new age or the Kingdom of God through Christ Jesus second coming and establishing His Kingdom on earth. It was right there when “ this one shall be peace” grabbed of my heart. This means we will have tribulation in this life, but it will all end with the ingathering of the remnant of all the Jews and as Apostle Paul says in Romans 11 “ If their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy so are the branches.” All this means to bring us once again from death to true life by coming to the fullness of Christ in His second advent.
In having this hope we must encourage first ourselves then one another.
Here in Micah chapter 5 the scriptures take an awesome turn from portraying the Messiah’s first coming to give us the great news of His second coming. The reader needs to receive a second set of eyes to see the full picture of this beautiful unveiling of God’s mysterious truth. The revelation that was given by the Holy Spirit to Dr. Dave Reid confirms few controversial points in identifying some of the symbolisms of this magnificent chapter of the scripture. Like in verse 3 when the word says until she who is in labor has given birth, meaning the identity of the Messiah’s humanity in His first advent it talks about Mary the mother of our Lord, but in regards to the rest of word and its connection to His second coming it has a totally different meaning. Either she is Israel or the Church giving birth now to the remnant. for a more narrative point please go to this website and hear Dr. Dave Reid on his message on this awe inspiring chapter of the scripture. Amen?
www.growingchristians.org/rfgc/micah/micah5a.htm
This is why after hearing the message of Dr. Dave Reid I felt a great assurance of the words of the Lord to me by being confirmed through Dr. Reid’s words in regards to our final peace of our spiritual and physical wholeness and its connection with Jesus Christ’s second coming.
His ingathering of the remnant of the Jewish nation in the greatest hour of their trial. This is the hope that one day soon He would make us live in His eternal state of peace on this earthly realm outside of His heavenly abode of everlasting peace and kindness.
Then the words in verse 7 of Micah chapter 5 made a complete sense to me. So it is in the millennial Kingdom of Christ on earth when the truth of that verse would stand out as the fulfillment of its prophecy, which says.
“ Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people like dew from the Lord. Like showers on the grass, that tarry for a man, and so to the end of Micah 5.
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