How can we be a watchman on the wall with the daily assault on Israel, shooting innocents out of the sky, flooding the borders with armed assassins, and the overall evil corruption in our own government, and still maintain our peace? I am ticked off all the time. This is truly a conundrum. No wonder so many Christians are apathetic and paralyzed into stupor. They are overloaded and it’s just going to get worse.
I think part of the problem stems from the fact that nowhere in the New Testament are believers called to be watchmen on the wall. In fact the word watchman doesn’t even appear in the New Testament. And in the Old Testament, although the word appears 18 times, only once does it describe someone appointed by God. That was Ezekiel.
Here are several reasons for this. First, the Lord promised that the gates of Hell could not overcome the Church (Matt. 16:18), and one duty of a watchman was to alert people to the approach of an enemy. Second, while Jesus said we will have trials in this world, we are to take heart because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Third, Paul said God has marked us with His seal of ownership and it is He who makes us stand (2 Cor. 1:21-22), and fourth, we are not citizens of this world. Our citizenship is in Heaven (Phil. 3:20). We’re only here until the Lord takes us to our real home, which He has promised to do before the end times judgments came (1 Thes. 1:10).
In the meantime no enemy force can attack us and carry us off, because the Lord promised not to lose any of those who are His (John 6:39-40). And finally, we have His word that tells us in advance exactly what we can expect to happen.
On the other hand, being peacemakers is something we are called to, both personally and as a Church. I think we do that primarily through prayer, as in praying for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), and through our personal life. God told us to leave the vengeance to Him (Hebr. 10:30) and Paul said if it’s possible, as far as it depends on us, we should live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18). In my opinion, people who think it’s the Church’s job to bring peace on Earth are mistaken. That’s the Lord’s job.