“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.” Ezekiel 33:7
Think of Jesus as the watchman (to the world).
God’s statement in the same chapter, “When I bring the sword against a land…,” is also true of any conflict. So today I can say God brought the sword against Ukraine. Sounds unfair, right? But even the Ukraine/Russia conflict isn’t about territory or politics (in God’s eyes), it’s the age-old conflict between law (sword) and grace (Eph. 6:11,12)—a conflict God invented (and solved) at creation. War at its heart is a spiritual battle and calls for spiritual, not physical armor to truly resolve. Unfortunately that won’t play well at the UN.
I keep thinking of Notre Dame when it burned, and the picture of the gleaming cross in the blackened sanctuary that flashed across the internet. In spite of its misuse, the world today knows that the cross—above all—symbolizes the mercy of God.
The watchman has sounded his trumpet.