CHRISTIANITY AND WAR. 223 



the promise is seen, that not Israel only, but through 

 them the whole world, shall know the blessings of 

 peace, when " nation shall not lift up sword against 

 nation, neither shall they learn war any more." 



The Old Testament teaching, in respect of war 

 is thus propaedeutic and provisional. The King- 

 dom of Peace is not an after-thought ; the whole 

 of God's ancient revelation leads up to it. The 

 Old Testament accepts war only to destroy war. 

 It lifts war out of the region of personal and 

 national ambition, by claiming it as God's pre- 

 rogative ; and then, as the knowledge of God's 

 nature is broadened and deepened, the promise 

 is given of a Kingdom of Peace under the Messi- 

 anic rule. 



II. But if the Old Testament teaching about 

 war can be explained in the light of the great 

 principle that God's revelation of Himself is 

 progressive, what are we to say about the teaching 

 of the Christian Church? The promised Prince 

 of Peace was born into the world nearly nineteen 

 centuries ago, and war still exists, not among 

 heathens only, but among professedly Christian 

 nations. The Divine Society, the visible embodi- 

 ment of the Kingdom of Peace, even contemplates 

 the fact of war. How are we to explain this 

 paradox ? Some people will offer us a rough and 

 ready solution. They have hardly got beyond the 

 negative idea of peace as given by Mr. Chadband : 



