Saturday, October 21st, 2023.
Did you hear about the October 9th attack on civilians that killed a few dozen, including children, and injured dozens more? This was just the latest of the more than 11,000 casualties this year … in Burma.
But this conflict is not what is in the news cycle this week.
Ever since the early 20th century when Britain gave up military control, two factions have been fighting over the same piece of land. In what has become described as a religious war or ethnic cleansing, recent months have left nearly 5,000 civilians dead, reports of rape abound, and millions displaced as they flee the violence … in Sudan.
But this is not the only recent conflict over a piece of land which concerns civilian casualties.
When armed groups purposely invade cities and towns going house to house specifically targeting women, young girls, the elderly, and public aid workers it can hardly be called a military conflict but rather a brutal pillaging. This year alone thousands of civilians have died at the hands of wicked Islamic terrorists … in Nigeria.
But none of these atrocities cause as much stir among Christians in America as does the recent war in Israel that has resulted in thousands of deaths in a few short weeks.
This imbalanced response by America’s churches is largely due to a failure to rightly divide the word of God.
Israel is mentioned over 2,600 times in the Bible, and it is popularly (and wrongly) taught that God is still working to bless those that bless them, going all the way back to Genesis 12:3.
Nigeria, Sudan, and Burma are not names found in the Bible anywhere. No one thinks they have God’s blessing by blessing one side of those conflicts (though there are Christian groups in each of those countries).
In this dispensation, God is not sending blessings through any nation, but rather through Christ to the church, which is His Body (Rom 11:11; Eph 1:22-23).
Mid-Acts Dispensational Bible study not only helps you understand the Bible but can also help you discern the news.
The wars of this world are bad.
Pray for peace for all men (1 Tim 2:1-4).
Find all God’s blessing and hope today in Christ Jesus.
Grace and peace,
Justin “spiritually armed” Johnson