(Matthew 24:4-8, NLB) Jesus told them, "Don't let anyone mislead you. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah.' They will lead many astray. And wars will break out near and far, but don't panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won't follow immediately. The nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come."

Funny thing about war, the first victim is the language. We come up with all manner of political speech to disguise the truth. We listen to public opinion managers speak of degrading armies and know "degrading armies" means kill soldiers and destroy their equipment. We hear them speak of demoralizing the populace and know that means destroy their water, power, transportation, and food supplies. The real purpose of war isn't to destroy armies, it's to strike terror in the heart of the enemy civilian and crush his will to resist.

NATO is trying to get the Yugoslavian civilian leadership to say uncle—to surrender. To make that happen we've been degrading their military's ability to defend the civilian populace. And after we break the military's ability to do its duty we will destroy the national infrastructure. We will strike them again and again. We will bomb their refineries, their factories, their bridges, highways and railroads. We will bring famine and pestilence and poverty and wounding and death on the land until the civilians put pen to paper and bend to our will. That's what war is for.

War is horrible. I wish it would just go away. I mean, I wish the Neville Chamberlains of the world were right: a little compromise here and a little compromise there and we have peace in our time. Or at worse, I wish, with Woodrow Wilson that we could fight the war to end all wars and be done with it. But my bible doesn't tell me that we're going to find the silver bullet for war.

The Serbian savior isn't going to save Yugoslavia from NATO, and the best intentions of NATO's leaders aren't going to usher in a millennium or a century or even a generation of peace. We may solve the present crisis, but unless Jesus comes soon my sons will hear the war clarion just as I have heard it and my father and my father's father and all the fathers before them.

Jesus said we're going to have wars until the day he splits the heavens. If anything wars will just get worse. The human heart hasn't improved with the technology. Evil isn't fading and sin isn't disappearing from the scene. In fact, the better we get at doing things, the better we get at doing bad.

Even so, Come Lord Jesus! Soon. Please. Bless our leaders, civilian and military. Bless those who are taking our national battle to the enemy, and bless those who are planning the contingencies for the land battle. Bless our soldiers as they carry out our national will. May we be doing your will.

—Major Dale Forrester