With the birth of Jesus Christ came the announcement of peace; "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). What a wonderful thought: peace on the whole planet and people acting in good will toward one another! Yet, as you know, we have not had peace on earth  since Jesus came. In fact, Jesus Himself said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matt 10:34). What can this mean?
     Jesus is indeed the Prince of Peace. Yet His plan to bring peace to this planet obviously has not yet reached completion. In other words, we are still at war. This war, for which this book is named, has been raging for the last 2,000 years. This war will not end, nor will peace come to this planet, until the Prince of Peace appears. 

A Tale of Two Wars
     As in any war, we must have a clear objective and a way to determine when that objective has been reached. World War II is an excellent example. Victory was the objective and it was to be defined by nothing less than the total unconditional surrender of the opposition. On August 14, 1945, Japan admitted defeat, and on September 2 papers of surrender were signed on the deck of the USS Missouri. The objective was realized; World War II was over.
     The war in Vietnam, however, was another story. It was, without a doubt, the most unpopular war in United States history. Antiwar protests broke out on college campuses. As if the war itself wasn't bad enough, the protests also turned bloody. 
     Finally, on January 15, 1973, the President ordered a halt to operational offensives in North Vietnam. A peace agreement was signed in Paris on January 27, 1973 by representatives of North and South Vietnam. By the end of March, the American troops had departed.
     Squabbles continued, however, and war broke out again between the north and the south. Soon it became apparent that South Vietnam would be overrun by North Vietnam. On April 30, 1975, the Marine guards at the U.S. Embassy as well as the civilians and their families were evacuated. Thousands of Vietnamese who had been friends of the United States became refugees, and many more found no way of escape.
     It seems that there was never a clearly defined objective in the Vietnam conflict. As a result, there was never a resolve to win the war. Though the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War were no less heroic than those in other wars, the lack of a clearly defined objective and the messy ambiguous conclusion to the war made the many battles and thousands of casualties seem meaningless. The United States was left with a wounded soul, a guilty conscience, and national confusion.

The Generation to Come
     The church is also in a war, but in many cases it seems we have had a "Vietnam" experience and lack a clear objective. As a result, we have found ourselves in long ambiguous battles which have left our souls wounded and our heads full of confusion. This confusion and lack of direction is demonstrated by the lack of strategic thinking commonly found among Christians. Many fail to realize that there is a dynamic link between our works and Christ's return.
But there is a new generation coming forth. David foresaw this generation.
 

When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord.         —Psalms 102:16–18