SABBATH THOUGHT 2026-09-19—MEMORIALS TO LOST PEACE
May God bless you on His Sabbath day!
September 11, 2001 is the date of the terror attack when Muslims flew commercial passenger jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Almost 3,000 people died that day but another 10,000 have died (as of 2018) from the cancers caused by the toxic dust billowing through the air when the towers collapsed. It was a terrible loss of life as well as monumental physical destruction. Fifteen of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, 2 from the UAE, and one each from Egypt and Lebanon. All of the men were associated with the terror group al-Qaeda and all were Muslims.
Islam is worship of Satan[1] but Anglo-Saxon nations refuse to acknowledge it; instead, they claim it is a religion of upstanding morals. Astoundingly, President George W. Bush, knowing full well that the terrorists were Muslims, stated only six days after 9/11 that “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.” Anyone who believes this is deceived; the Quran clearly demands the murder and bloodshed of non-believers. Proclaiming “‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.”[2] is a mantra of deception.
It is telling that Islamists never offer to pray for others in need or help anyone who is non-Muslim. History shows that nations are united culturally and militarily by common worship of their pagan gods. While the Greeks and Romans were exceptions, each did acknowledge one god above the others (Zeus and Jupiter, respectively). More importantly, they were united by common worship practices, customs, and sacrifices at the shrines of all the various gods. The point, however, is that Islam is what unites 2 BILLION people. No other religion instills such intense hatred against the rest of the world. Islam teaches their children that jihad is the highest ideal and martyrdom is the ultimate sacrifice. The Quran, or at least Sharia Law, demands death of infidels by any wicked means including lying and deception. Islam is anything but peace and woe to those who think otherwise.
The destruction that occurs during the first six Seals of Revelation are beyond imagining. Adding to that destruction is the Vengeance of God outlined in the Seven Trumpets of the Seventh Seal. The Day of Trumpets is the one holyday that brings to mind both the Great Tribulation and Vengeance of God. But within the Fifth Seal is a reminder of the many martyrs who died throughout the millennia:
REVELATION 6:9-11 When He [Jesus Christ] opened the fifth seal, I [John] saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
How many have died for their convictions and faith in God? No one knows. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs lists thousands upon thousands in the various groups. They died in so many unthinkable ways; from crucifixions to tortures and enslavements. History and the Bible are memorials of terrible death and destruction:
HEBREWS 11:35-38 … Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented– 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
The Day of Trumpets is a reminder of much more than the Seven Trumpets of the Seventh Seal. The Seven Seals outline a scale of worldwide terror and destruction that cannot be imagined. But nestled at the end of the Seventh Seal is the Seventh Trumpet—the resurrection of the saints to eternal life in the Kingdom of God. It is a brief prophecy of victory for the saints who endured lives of pain and sorrow that happens “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet!”[3] It is a victory over destruction when weeping is turned into rejoicing:
ISAIAH 65:17-19 “For behold, I [the LORD] create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19 I [the LORD] will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
ISAIAH 25:8-9 He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken. 9 And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
What is the most appealing and enduring promise of the Kingdom of God? Eternal life? Prosperity and abundance? No more illness, sickness, and disease? While these are certainly desirable, none of them mean anything without PEACE. The Kingdom of God is synonymous with peace. It distinguishes the Kingdom of God above all else and is the one characteristic that never stops increasing:
ISAIAH 9:7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, …
The peace of the Kingdom is not just an absence of conflict, but something real and tangible expressed by its potential citizens who serve and care for others in agape love. Without peace, life in the Kingdom of God would be eternal misery. The hope and desire of the saints is to take hold of that peace and never let it go:
ISAIAH 27:5 Or let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.”
The peace of God was foremost on the minds of the apostles who introduced their epistles with a blessing—“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” They desired all who read their epistles to receive the grace of God that is citizenship in the Kingdom of Peace. Jesus Christ sowed seeds of peace in the saints but tribulation makes for a hard ground to grow them in this life:
JOHN 16:33 “These things I [Jesus Christ] have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
The fullness of peace does not exist in the midst of tribulation. Why? Because of injustice in the world. The true peace of the Kingdom of God is founded upon justice in accordance with the Law of God:
ISAIAH 9:7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Desire for the peace of the Kingdom is why saints will suffer martyrdom[4]. Without justice in accordance with the Law of Agape Love, there can be NO PEACE. Justice establishes peace so perfect peace requires perfect justice:
[DOUAY] ROMANS 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but justice, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Peace, ultimately, is the greatest promise of the Kingdom. It makes eternal life a blessing rather than a curse. God will destroy the wicked for the sake of peace. Peace and justice are intertwined in the promises of the Kingdom:
PSALM 85:8-10 I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me: for he will speak peace unto his people: and unto his saints: and unto them that are converted to the heart. 9 Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him: that glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed.
True peace can only be understood through the perspective of personal trials and sufferings. They produce the greatest desire for peace. That is why the Kingdom of Peace is an inheritance reserved for the saints[5] who have suffered:
ROMANS 8:16-17 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
All suffering is caused by injustice because all injustice is transgression (sin) against the Law of God. Even illness and sickness is the result of mankind’s rebellion in the Garden in Eden. Healing and immunity from diseases were promised to the ancient Israelites in return for obedience and executing justice:
EXODUS 15:26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right [justice] in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes [obedience], I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”
Justice is so crucial that knowledge of it is equated with the wisdom of GOD:
PROVERBS 1:3 To receive the instruction of wisdom: justice, judgment, and equity;
The Day of Trumpets portrays terrible destruction and death for the whole earth. Ironically, the devastation is a kind of memorial of the peace that was lost in the Garden in Eden. Another memorial of that peace is the subsequent Day of Coverings in which survivors are rescued from a ruined world. At the blast of the Jubilee trumpet, they are brought “fasting, weeping, and mourning” to Jerusalem where they are cleansed.[6] There, Jesus Christ offers them what will surely have become the desire of their hearts—a covenant of PEACE:
EZEKIEL 34:25 “I [the LORD] will make a Covenant of Peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
The message of the Gospel is peace through justice. The Kingdom is the desire of the saints because they “seek peace and pursue it.”[7] Peace is the greatest promise because it is the foundation of all relationships. The coming peace is absolute—even the animals will be at peace[8]. The Most High is the “God of peace” and the coming Savior is the “King of peace.”[9] The greatest gift is their promise of PEACE:
[SMITH’S] 2 PETER 3:13-14 But we expect new heavens and a new earth, according to promise, in which dwells justice. 14 Wherefore, dearly beloved, expecting these, be earnest, spotless and blameless, to be found by Him [God the Father] in peace.
May God’s grace and peace be upon you!
Steven Greene
https://sabbathreflections.org