House of Hope Online

April 19, 2026

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As I sought the Lord this week concerning the war in Iran, He brought me a number of passages of scripture that I want to share today.  Due to my travel schedule, I had to record this word earlier in the week.  Hopefully, there is better news on the war front as you read or listen to this.  Either way, I pray these scriptures would minister to you during this time and give you perhaps a little more understanding of God’s word relative to war.

I am not a fan of war.  In fact, I despise it.  When I was 18 years old, I struggled through the mandatory military draft by lottery number that was instituted due to the escalation of the Vietnam war.  Fortunately, I got a high number and was not drafted, but I remember thinking how unfair it was that my life could end prematurely based on chance.  I honor those in our military today because they have chosen to put their lives at risk for the sake of you and me.  That is a very Christ-like characteristic – to lay down one’s life on behalf of his family, friends, and countrymen.

So, while I am disturbed that our nation is at war, and Israel is at war, I must tell you that the word of God ministered to my distress this week big time.  For that reason, I am excited about this week’s word because I think it might help put this war into perspective for you. 

That is my sincere hope.  Let’s get started with the scriptures.

Ecclesiastes 3:

 1 ¶ There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven–

Ecclesiastes 3:

 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace.

Jesus Prophesied War

Matthew 24 (Jesus Speaking):

 6 “And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for [those things] must take place, but [that] is not yet the end.

 7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

 8 “But all these things are [merely] the beginning of birth pangs.

 9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name.

 10 “And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another.

 11 “And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many.

 12 “And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.

 13 “But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.

 14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.

This passage is a reminder that we are on a prophetic timeline, and we must view the events in our world with that perspective.  I am not trying to predict the exact time of the Rapture, but Jesus said we should know the season we are in.

Luke 12 (Jesus Speaking):

 49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!

 50 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!

 51 “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division;

While Jesus is our Prince of Peace, He says clearly in Luke 12 that He is a source of division, which suggests there is a timeline involved as to when He assumes that role.  We will come back to this point in a later scripture.

Old Testament War Strategies

While I am sure that God does not delight in war, we cannot ignore the scriptures that show He had direct involvement in Old Testament wars and He gave specific instructions and strategies to the people of Israel regarding war:

Deuteronomy 20:

 10 ¶ “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace.

 11 “And it shall come about, if it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then it shall be that all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.

 12 “However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.

When the children of Israel entered the promised Land of Canaan, they were to completely drive out the inhabitants thereof because they served other gods.  When they failed to completely drive them out, the Angel of the Lord reprimanded them:

Judges 1:

 28 And it came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

Judges 2:

 1 ¶ Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,

 2 and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done?

 3 “Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall become [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’”

 4 And it came about when the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.

There are numerous other examples of God giving specific direction to Joshua and King David regarding successful war strategy.  It doesn’t mean God loves war, but it confirms there is a time for war and a time for peace.

Bless Israel and Pray for Peace

It is important to understand the Biblical mandate for us to bless Israel and pray for her peace and protection. 

Genesis 12:

 1 ¶ Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;

 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;

 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Psalms 122 (A Psalm of David):

 6 ¶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.

 7 “May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.”

 8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.”

 9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.

Do not allow the wisdom of this world to draw you away from the wisdom of the word of God.  This does not mean that the government of Israel is always right, but it does mean that God gave them the land and the people of Israel are the apple of His eye.  Remember your Lord and Savior is Jewish.

Only Jesus Can Bring Peace

John 16:

 33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

John 14:

 27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

We can have peace in Jesus even though the world is at war.

Prophecies of the Coming Peace

While the world seeks temporary peace solutions, we can rest assured that a true lasting peace is coming soon.

Zechariah 9:

 9 ¶ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout [in triumph,] O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

1^st Thessalonians 5:

 1 ¶ Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.

 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief;

 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;

 6 ¶ so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

1^st Thessalonians 5:

 14 And we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all men.

 15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.

 16 ¶ Rejoice always;

 17 pray without ceasing;

 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

 19 Do not quench the Spirit;

 20 do not despise prophetic utterances.

 21 But examine everything [carefully]; hold fast to that which is good;

 22 abstain from every form of evil.

 23 ¶ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

Isaiah 9:

 5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the [battle] tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

 7 There will be no end to the increase of [His] government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Jesus is our Prince of Peace but there are still wars that will be fought before His Kingdom of Peace will come again and establish itself forever.  In the meantime, we are to rely on our Wonderful Counselor to bring peace into our spirits even while the world is at war.

The Final Battles

Revelation 19:

 11 ¶ And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it [is] called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

 12 And His eyes [are] a flame of fire, and upon His head [are] many diadems; and He has a name written [upon Him] which no one knows except Himself.

 13 And [He is] clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.

 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white [and] clean, were following Him on white horses.

 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

This passage from Revelation 19, of course, describes the Battle of Armageddon, which takes place at the Second Coming of Jesus.  Revelation 20 tells us that, after this war, Jesus will establish His Kingdom of Peace, and we will reign with Him for 1,000 years, while Satan is in prison.  Then Satan will be released and will again deceive the nations to gather and rebel against Jesus.  Fire will come down from Heaven to destroy the nations, and Jesus will then cast Satan into the lake of fire and brimstone, where he will be tormented forever.  Finally, there will be the Great White Throne Judgment of non-believers, and the establishment of a new Heaven and New Earth where we will live with Jesus forever.  All glory to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Encourage one another with the truth of God’s word.

Let us pray.

Father God, we thank You that the zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish peace in accordance with Your prophetic timeline.  We praise You that there will be no end to the increase of His government or of His peace.  In the meantime, we pray that the wisdom and direction of our Wonderful Counselor will guide President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. 

Lord, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and we bless Israel by standing with her now.  We continue to pray for our military and their families during this time.  Comfort them as only the God of all comfort can.  We ask that Michael the Archangel encamp around us and do battle in the Spirit realm to accomplish Your will in the natural realm.  We pray that many receive Jesus in their hearts as You do this great work.  All these things we pray in Jesus’ name as we await His coming.  Amen.

If anyone has not yet received the Lord Jesus Christ in their heart, and desires to do so, please repeat this prayer after me:

Father God, I repent of my sin and ask for forgiveness today.  I confess and declare with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with all my heart that You raised Him from the dead for the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus, please come into my heart and change me.  Send the Holy Spirit to guide and direct me in wisdom and to enable me to overcome temptation from this day forth.  Thank You for my salvation.  I look forward to the day of the Rapture when I can be with You forever.  Amen.