Prospects for Peace on the Korean Peninsula and Biblical Prophecy

Will the Peace in Korea Last? Maybe, or Maybe Not

by Pastor Paul J. Bern

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There can be no question that the news of an impending peace agreement on the Korean peninsula is very exciting – no, make that electrifying – news. We have already seen the highly publicized 'love feast' between the North and South Korean leaders, their wives, and probably each other's security details and entourages. What we have yet to see is a signed agreement, which is apparently being readied for formalization when president Trump visits North Korea next month. Let's also keep in mind that this is timed with the formalization of the relocation of the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Although I am no big fan of Donald Trump's, if he succeeds in getting both agreements signed in the same month – and that appears to be a high probability at this point – he will have scored a major foreign affairs coup that will silence all but his most virulent critics.

This led me to wonder if the Bible, which is the Word of God and a reliable predictor of the future, has anything to say about this. Although I can find no specific mention of either of the Korea's anywhere in the Bible – and I've been a student of it for over 25 years – the Word speaks about many episodes of war, peace and turmoil. One of the most famous passages is a quote from Christ himself. “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. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginnings of birth pains.” (Matthew 24, verses 6-8) 

 

The entire world is currently having to endure these very things, which is why I maintain that these words have prophesied our 'here and now'. Moreover, we have as a people all been dragged through the muck of war for generations – WW1 ended 100 years ago this coming November – and the overwhelming majority of the world's population has had a belly full of warfare and killing. That is, the ones who have survived it. Since the end of World War 2, wars have not been waged by nations and peoples so much as by well-monetized special interests. These special interests with virtually unlimited funding include the Pentagon and its covert ops branches known as the NSA and the CIA, the City of London and its attack dog known as MI5, the international bankers such as the World Bank and the IMF, the Rothschild banking empire, the US Federal Reserve (which in actuality is none of the above) and the Vatican. Seriously. The Vatican. You can find out more about this topic from my Web acquaintance and fellow author Dean Henderson from his book page.

The probability of impending peace between the Korea's of north and south does not guarantee that this will snowball into a global love fest. In fact, this could have exactly the opposite effect, like a cease-fire in wartime that doesn't last. I sincerely hope not, of course, but peace in Korea and Israel could usher in such a momentous event, even if it is only temporary, as the apostle Paul predicted nearly 2,000 years ago: “Now brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'Peace and safety', destruction will come upon them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like the others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” (1^st Thessalonians 5, verses 1-6)

The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica that, first and foremost, they should not become concerned over the “times and dates”. This has been a sticking point for Christianity's entire history, and this includes the upcoming 70^th anniversary of the formal founding of the nation of Israel by the United Nations (May 14^th, 1948). Many pastors and religious 'teachers' are now saying that Jesus will come back on May 14^th, 2018, which is only 16 days away as I write this. This is simply not possible, based on the same Bible from which they are basing their claims of Christ's impending return. Those who see Christ's 2^nd coming as being imminent are misled because their suppositions are based on denominational 'teachings' instead of what the Bible actually says. 

 

“....for you know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'Peace and safety', destruction will come upon them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” "The Day of the Lord" is a biblical term and theme used in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, as in "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come" (Joel 2:31, also cited in Acts 2:20). But Paul's admonishment to the Thessalonian church was an echo of the words of Christ, who further remarked, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Mathew 24, verses 42-44)

So to come full circle the entire planet has, hopefully, within its collective grasp the ability to have a lasting peace, or at least it will seem that way for at least a short while. But I decline to speculate on any dates or times except to say that all indications are we are living in the authentic 'last days' or 'end times', take your pick. One thing is for sure; the chances of nuclear war on the Korean peninsula involving South Korea, the US and Japan, which would bring in China to North Korea's defense, is far, far less today. (The situation in the South China Sea between mainland China, the Philippines, Vietnam and the US is completely separate from the Korean peace initiative, but it has an equal chance at future volatility.) What underscores this past week's Korean peace agreement between North and South Korea is its timing to coincide with the relocation of the American embassy to Jerusalem. Will this dedication of America's new embassy in Jerusalem be coming in tandem with another peace agreement on the Korean peninsula as well? If it does, it could usher in the era Jesus talked about with his apostles, “While people are saying, 'Peace and safety', destruction will come upon them suddenly....because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Let's all be very watchful, because just when you think things are going really well, that's when the whole ball of wax could blow up in our faces.