Resurrection Hope for a World at War

Heath Lambert

A World at War

As we approach Easter 2026 few things are more obvious than that we are living in a world at war. Often this war is literal as we have seen this year in Israel, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, and other places. In these literal wars, nation states shoot guns, drop bombs, and deploy troops in an effort to kill enough people and destroy enough property to get what they want.

The wars are not only ones that use military power, but also use words. Just this year we have seen verbal conflicts among nations over which country owns Taiwan and the Panama Canal, over which nation is responsible for the national defense of countries in Europe, over what tariffs countries should pay as they engage in international trade, along with many other verbal conflicts. Whether physical or verbal, and in spite of changing rulers and administrations the nations of the world are constantly fighting.

The Biblical Reason for International Conflict

The Bible is honest about this conflict and gives a surprising explanation for it in Psalm 2:1-3, “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’”

The Bible looks at this world at war and sees the plotting and raging of the nations as a global rebellion against God. Warfare in the world is a demonstration of the sin of nations just like the conflict in our personal relationships demonstrates sin in the lives of individuals.

The conflict out there in the world does not merely exist but is proof of the rejection of Divine Kingship by the global powers of the earth. When Iran imposes Islam, when China imposes atheism, when Russia invades Ukraine, and when the United States attacks marriage, gender, and sexuality it is a demonstration of a global revolt against the God of heaven and earth.

God’s Solution to the World at War

God intends to solve this problem of global conflict by instituting peace with methods that are surprising and unexpected. In our world today we usually think of solving these problems militarily, politically, or financially. Most believe that if they could only crush enough opposition, or get the right leadership, or raise enough money, eventually the problems would go away. None of these solutions ultimately work because they fall short of God’s solution to the problem of global warfare.

God’s solution to this trouble is a King descended from ancient Israel. In Psalm 2:6 he says, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” In Psalm 2:7-9, He says, “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”

The New Testament teaches that these words are fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus Christ that we celebrate at Easter. In Acts 13:33, the Apostle Paul says, “This he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, ‘“You are my Son, today I have begotten you.”’”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ has everything to do with all the conflict you are watching on your screens this Easter week. Everyone talks about ending the conflicts by personally destroying their enemies. God intends, ultimately, to put to end these conflicts with a risen Savior.

This is what the Bible teaches 1 Corinthians 15:24-27,

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.”

Living With Hope Amid Conflict

These truths help us to look soberly at our world at war. We live in a world of conflict that simply cannot be solved with political, military, or financial solutions. Everyone searching for an end to conflict through any human means is destined for disappointment. Every conflict on earth is the fruit of a sinful world that is as sad as it is normal.

But these truths also help us to look at our world with hope. A world at war will be a constant as long as sin reigns. But God does not mean for sin to reign in this world forever. Jesus Christ has defeated sin, death, and devil through his resurrection from the grave. The plan for history is for every enemy of Christ to be placed under his feet until death itself is destroyed. That future fact of history will usher every believer in Jesus into an everlasting world of peace, joy, and harmony that will never end.

As Christians trust in our resurrected Christ, we can live through these days of conflict looking forward to that great and glorious day when Jesus himself will bring an end to all conflict.

As you live out that faith, the very best thing you could do this weekend is go to church. Go to a church that will meet on Good Friday to commemorate what Jesus has done for sinners through his death on the cross. Go to a church on Sunday morning that will celebrate the great hope we all have because Jesus suffered death in order to conquer it. Go to church and celebrate Jesus and remember together with God’s people what he has done and what he will yet do to bring an end to all war and initiate peace on earth through his glorious resurrection from the grave.