A personal message from the Editor in Chief
The Prince of Peace
I
t was over at last! The Japanese surrendered on August 15, 1945, and the world was at peace for the first time since Adolf Hitler launched his invasion of Poland nearly six years earlier. Not every nation entered the war at the same time, and the European and Pacific theaters of military action ended some months apart, but in August 1945 the “world” war was over. Since that day, 75 years have passed. But the peace was short-lived. Less than five years later, North Korea invaded South Korea, and another significant conflict ensued. Then, in May 1954, the French lost control of Vietnam. That marked the beginning of more direct involvement by the United States and others, eventually culminating in what became known as the Vietnam War, a time of embarrassing loss and internal division in U.S. history. Other struggles took place in Asia and Africa to throw off colonial rule. Since then, many more conflicts have occurred. Mankind may collectively yearn for peace, but war is clearly the favorite game of far too many. Nevertheless, the message of Tomorrow’s World is that peace will come to this troubled world. Humanly speaking, that is impossible, as evidenced by history. Yet, every generation thinks it can find the way to bring peace at last. In my telecast “The End of War,” which will air in October of this year, I quote from Robert Kagan’s 2018 book The Jungle Grows Back. Kagan writes of those who, like British author and politician Norman Angell in 1909, believed that the world’s great powers had “passed out of that stage of development” in which military conquests would prove of significant benefit to any nation: [Those of this opinion] could not imagine that the world’s leading commercial powers, so interdependent in the modern global economy, would wage a war for such primitive goals as territory and military domination, that they would be inspired not by rational calculations of interest but by fear, pride, and ambition, and that war would enjoy the
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enthusiastic backing of their people fueled by nationalism and tribalism (pp. 16–17). Angell made his assessment a mere five years before World War I—a conflict that U.S. President Woodrow Wilson called the “war to end all wars.” Wilson’s expectation of peace was just as delusional, and little more than two decades after that, the world was plunged into a far greater conflict. So why is the message of Tomorrow’s World a message about peace? Are we delusional? Are we living a “pipe dream”? On what basis can we make the bold prediction that peace is coming? Why Jesus Came—In His Own Words Many believe that the purpose of Jesus’ first coming was to spread peace throughout the world, but they would be shocked to read what Jesus Himself actually said: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword’” (Matthew 10:34). How does this square with the well-known prophecy that the Messiah would be the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)? The answer is found in the timing and focus of these two passages. Jesus Himself realized that His true message to mankind would not be popular. He warned that to follow Him often meant a rough journey with few friends. After explaining that “a man’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10:36), He gave
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