The Return of War?

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14)

In 2024, Vision of Humanity, publisher of the Global Peace Index (GPI), reported 56 conflicts, the most since World War II. According to its analysis, these conflicts have become more international, with 92 countries involved in conflicts outside their borders, the highest since the GPI’s inception in 1995. The growing number of minor conflicts has increased the likelihood of major conflicts. For example, in 2019, Ethiopia, Ukraine, and Gaza were all classified as minor conflicts.

Modern Conflicts

Nuclear deterrence became the central challenge in the Khrushchev era, beginning in 1958, when he became head of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. Fail‑Safe, a novel published in 1962, when America was still reeling from the Cuban Missile Crisis, reflected the apocalyptic attitude that pervaded society at the height of the Cold War, when disaster could have struck at any moment. The Soviet Union’s collapse in 1990 ended the Cold War, and the world outlook changed. Conflicts prompted interventions by allied nations before they became wars. For over a decade, the prospect of a major war became a low priority for military planners. Talk of a far‑off contest with China became the major concern.

Then 9/11/2001 happened. The resulting “war on terror” after the attacks on the World Trade Center pushed old thinking aside. According to the Costs of War Project at Brown University, direct war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, and associated post‑9/11 zones killed nearly one million people. Then, in 2022, Russia launched a full‑scale invasion of Ukraine. Foreign Affairs, published by the nonpartisan think tank Council on Foreign Relations, analyzed it this way:

“The result has been the largest land war in Europe since World War II. Although only Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting on the ground, the war has reshaped geopolitics by drawing in dozens of other countries. The United States and its NATO allies have provided unprecedented financial and material support to Ukraine, while China, Iran, and North Korea have assisted Russia in crucial ways. Less than two years after Russia’s invasion, Hamas carried out its brutal October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, prompting a destructive Israeli assault on Gaza. The conflict quickly widened into a complex regional affair involving multiple states and several capable nonstate actors” (The Return of Total War, November/December, 2024).

The Council on Foreign Relations wrote, “We are witnessing what theorists have long called ‘total war.’ Combatants are using vast resources, mobilizing their societies, prioritizing warfare over all other state activities, and attacking a broad range of targets, reshaping global economies.” The Peace Research Institute coined the term “peace dividend” for the post‑Cold War period beginning in 1990, when conflicts between major powers gave way to international cooperation. By contrast, data from major conflict‑tracking organizations indicate that we have entered an era that is significantly more dangerous, fragmented, and unstable.

Daniel’s Prophecy and Jesus’ Warning

Daniel describes our day in prophecy this way: “… and there shall be a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation even to that same time” (Daniel 12:1). Jesus described the Gospel Age as a time of conflict, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:7, 8).

Luke 21:24 identifies the “times of the Gentiles,” a period Bible Students believe ended in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I. By the end of World War I in 1918, the warring nations had accumulated over $186 billion in total financial debt to fund the conflict. Because the vast majority of war expenses (around 80–90%) were financed through domestic borrowing (war bonds) and international loans rather than taxation, national debts skyrocketed to unprecedented levels.

At that time, Bible Students believed the war would end through the bankruptcy of warring nations (see Volume IV, The Battle of Armageddon, 1916 Foreword, p. ii). When the war ended, a new financial world emerged that continues even today: the endless accumulation of government debt driven by the continued financing of conflicts, great or small. The Kennedy School at Harvard estimates that frontline operations in modern warfare cost between $890 million and $2 billion per day. In 1 Thessalonians 5:2‑3, Paul writes, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.” We should expect times of joy mixed in with times of trouble in the world. This time of trouble is predicted to be one of ups and downs, yet culminating in a final battle that will impact all nations of earth (see Ezekiel 38).

Restructuring the World for a Glorious Future

Stopping war is difficult because nations and groups face deep political, economic, and social barriers that resist simple solutions. The massive destruction of human life, money, and resources that military conflicts cause largely fade away as generations pass. We should rejoice that, in the final battle in this Time of Trouble, man’s extremity will be the Lord’s op-portunity! He is waiting to be gracious. He wishes to pour out upon mankind the blessings of the Millennial Kingdom for one thousand years, lifting them from sin and death back to the image and likeness of God.

He foreknows that they must first learn their lessons. The Lord will allow mankind to go their own way in carrying out their own plans and schemes. He will allow them to demonstrate the futility of these schemes so that nothing but Divine intervention will prevent the wreck of the entire fabric of society. Indeed, He will permit the wreck and then reorganize humanity under the Messiah, for He promises that His Kingdom shall be “the desire of all nations.” (Haggai 2:7).

Let us continue to remain focused on our consecration vows, serving Him to the best of our ability until we close our eyes for the last time, and hear Jesus’ words from the parable, “Well done thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21)!