Signs of the Times – Wars and Rumours of Wars…

Matthew 24:6:

New International Version
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

New Living Translation
And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.

Russian-Ukraine War This current war is uppermost in our minds –– Speaking about some of the details…

IT is now nearly five weeks since Vladimir Putin started his wicked war with Ukraine. And he is losing.

His best troops are being defeated and his young conscripts are dying in large numbers — 16,000, we are told — at the hands of hard-fighting Ukrainian troops.

Plus, the countless Ukrainians who have been killed, injured and displaced!

What about other forgotten wars… It is a bit hypocritical to only focus on this latest current war.

•What causes wars? •Is War ever justified? •Biblical wars… •Life changing and defining wars •Augustine’s Just War theology… •The Last Great Biblical War in Prophecy… •The End of War? Is that possible?…

An Abstract

St. Augustine’s just war theory – It involves eight principal elements: • 1/ a punitive conception of war, • 2/ assessment of the evil of war in terms of the moral evil of attitudes and desires, • 3/ a search for authorisation for the use of violence, • 4/ a dualistic epistemology which gives priority to spiritual goods,

[“epistemology” > the theory of knowledge epistemology, the philosophical study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. The term is derived from the Greek epistēmē (“knowledge”) and logos (“reason”), and accordingly the field is sometimes referred to as the theory of knowledge].

• 5/ interpretation of evangelical norms in terms of inner attitudes, • 6/ passive attitude to authority and social change, • 7/ use of Biblical texts to legitimate participation in war, and • 8/ an analogical conception of peace. It does not include non-combatant immunity or conscientious objection. A contemporary assessment of the elements is offered.

Just war theory

[From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopaedia]

Just war theory (Latin: bellum iustum)^[1][2] is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is morally justifiable through a series of criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. The criteria are split into two groups: “right to go to war” (jus ad bellum) and “right conduct in war” (jus in bello). The first group of criteria concerns the morality of going to war, and the second group of criteria concerns the moral conduct within war.^[3] There have been calls for the inclusion of a third category of just war theory (jus post bellum) dealing with the morality of post-war settlement and reconstruction. The just war theory postulates the belief that war, while it is terrible but less so with the right conduct, is not always the worst option. Important responsibilities, undesirable outcomes, or preventable atrocities may justify war.^[3] Opponents of the just war theory may either be inclined to a stricter pacifist standard (which proposes that there has never been nor can there ever be a justifiable basis for war) or they may be inclined toward a more permissive nationalist standard (which proposes that a war only needs to serve a nation’s interests to be justifiable). In many cases, philosophers state that individuals do not need to be plagued by a guilty conscience if they are required to fight. A few philosophers ennoble the virtues of the soldier while they also declare their apprehensions for war itself.^[4] A few, such as Rousseau, argue for insurrection against oppressive rule.

The historical aspect, or the “just war tradition”, deals with the historical body of rules or agreements that have applied in various wars across the ages. The just war tradition also considers the writings of various philosophers and lawyers through history, and examines both their philosophical visions of war’s ethical limits and whether their thoughts have contributed to the body of conventions that have evolved to guide war and warfare.^[5]

• The Last Great Biblical War in Prophecy…

Armageddon

**Albert Durer’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse**

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia)

According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (/ˌɑːrməˈɡɛdən/, from Ancient Greek: Ἁρμαγεδών Harmagedōn,^[1]^[2] Late Latin: Armagedōn,^[3] from Hebrew: הַר מְגִדּוֹ‎ Har Məgīddō) is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, which is variously interpreted as either a literal or a symbolic location. The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end of the world scenario. In Islamic theology, the Armageddon is also mentioned in Hadith as the Greatest Armageddon or Al-Malhama Al-Kubra (the great battle).^[4]

The “mount” of Megiddo in northern Israel is not actually a mountain, but a tell (a mound or hill created by many generations of people living and rebuilding on the same spot)^[5] on which ancient forts were built to guard the Via Maris, an ancient trade route linking Egypt with the northern empires of Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Megiddo was the location of various ancient battles, including one in the 15th century BC and one in 609 BC. The nearby modern Megiddo is a kibbutz in the Kishon River area.^[6]

• The End of War? Is that possible?…Some are holding to the belief that the Ukraine war led by Vladimir Putin is the fulfilment of Biblical prophecy –– Is there any justification for holding to such theories? History is littered with religious sects and sub-sects in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism that have all had groups that have attempted to convince folk that the end of the world is neigh!

• Don’t be deceived…

New Living Translation
And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately…