War of the Worlds
Monstrous, inhuman aliens invade earth bringing with them destruction and death. H.G. Well’s novel, The War of the Worlds, published in 1898, was broadcast forty years later from a radio studio in New York City.
Orson Wells, who, by the way, was not related to H.G. Wells, played a fictional announcer describing the invasion of earth by Martians. It was, if you will, fake news. But many believed this alien invasion of earth to be true. Phone circuits in newsrooms and police stations lit up with thousands of calls. National guardsmen inquired as to where they should report for duty to ward off the invaders. At the end of the hour-long broadcast, anxious listeners learned that the fictitious aliens had been beaten, not by earthly weapons, but by human germs.
Israel’s Messiah-King, Jesus, the Son of God, burst onto the scene, announcing a different kind of invasion: God’s kingdom was near, and it was coming! A war of worlds was about to explode on planet earth. But unlike the invasion described in H.G. Well’s science fiction story, aliens weren’t coming to destroy humanity. On the contrary, God was coming to restore and renew humanity and to install his Son, the anointed King, on earth’s throne.
We live in a world with “wars and rumors of wars.” Battle lines are drawn, sides chosen, and adversaries fight for control over the kingdom. But as disciples of Jesus, we know this is not the way. Our goal is restoration, not destruction, peace, not turmoil. It is not an easy road to walk, but it is the narrow path that Jesus promised leads to life. And that life is not just “out there somewhere.” It is right here, right now. Let’s stand with our Lord in his war to restore our fallen, broken world.
In Christ,
Dan
This post was adapted from my book, Prophets or Patriots.