It’s understandable if you’re wondering how all of this talk about holiness and sanctification relates to the coming revolutionary/civil war. To really win, we must do it the right way and for the right reasons. Following such earthly wisdom as “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” will sidetrack us. It was that kind of thinking that caused the U.S. to arm Osama bin Laden. The end does not justify using evil means. Right will not win without the favor of God, and He cares very much about the hearts of those who fight for Him being right. We must win, but we must do it the right way and not choose questionable allies or policies because of their temporary benefit.

         Without revival, we can win the physical conflict but be back to the same level of corruption and debauchery very quickly. Thus, nothing would ultimately have been gained by the battles. As we see repeated in the history of Israel, a revival of their faith in The Lord sparked the great revivals in their history, but each of these also restored the nation to its inheritance and purpose.

         In contrast to this, some of the greatest battles in Israel’s history were won by prophets like Elijah and Elisha. Evil was vanquished from their land, but because they did not restore the people to their worship of Jehovah, the debauchery came flooding back. So we are not fighting just for the eradication of  evil and corruption, but for the restoration of our worship of God and the righteous purpose that was given to us as a nation. For this to be accomplished in the land, it must be established in us first.

         We were created for God’s pleasure. Our main purpose as human beings is to love God. This will be the main criteria we will be evaluated by on that great judgment day: did we love Him above all things? Only by loving Him as we should can we fulfill our purpose, or even see it clearly. The ultimate purpose of our nation is to be a nation that loves God, worships Him, and does all things for the sake of His purposes because we love Him.

         For any structure to be strong, it must be built upon a strong foundation. For this reason we look to Abraham, “the father of our faith” and the first of those that walked by faith. Did he not prove that he loved God even more than the purposes of God when he was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac? We too must pass this ultimate test because even the purposes of God can become idols that we start to esteem above Him. So how does this apply to the coming revolutionary/civil war?

         We have been given a remarkable and wonderful national purpose, one that must inspire any truth-loving person. Even so, it is but a means to a much higher purpose—to compel mankind to return to our Maker, esteeming and loving Him above all things. We cannot restore our national purpose without God. Without Him, we cannot keep the nation on course after it is restored. Remember that “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” and loving God is the main thing.

         If we love God as we should, we will also love one another. The Lord loves the whole world, and He died for the whole world. So to love Him is also being committed to seeing that He receives the reward of His sacrifice. It is written that the nations are His inheritance. He died for the nations, not just one nation.

         So what would our nation’s foreign policy be like if it were based on God’s love for the nations? How would we behave if we obeyed the command to love our enemies? Until the kingdom comes, we will have threats and nations that want to destroy us, so how do we respond to this in love? Of course, we must defend ourselves against our enemies, but how can we do this while loving them?

         We do it with great vigilance, wisdom, and love for our own that fires a devotion to defend against any threat or attack. We must stand for truth without compromise, and we must seek a decisive victory in every battle we fight, but we do not need to demonize our enemies to defeat them. Our greatest victory should always be to make them our friends. Did the U.S. not do this to Germany and Japan after the most terrible war in history?

         It is a practiced and basic war strategy for nations to demonize their enemies to mobilize their populations to fight. Yet, is this necessary? Is it right? There is a higher way. If we allow hatred to be sown in our hearts, even for enemies who seek to destroy us, then that poison will remain, even after we may have gained victory in the fight. That poison in our hearts is an even more deadly enemy and will ultimately destroy us.

         We have a national calling to do things in a different spirit. If we cannot yet see how to do this, then we have not yet risen to the place of vision and clarity we must rise to.