The First Word War
Regarding the WW1, the Bible has this to say:
After these things I saw four angels
standing at the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth,
that the wind should not blow on the earth,
on the sea, or on any tree.
Then I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the living God.
And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels
to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,
saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees
till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.
Revelation 7:1-3
The Wind
Obviously the ‘wind’ being mentioned in this passage is not a literal wind, which can be held back. The Bible has its own interpretation of this ‘wind’.
At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem,
"A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness
toward the daughter of My people; not to fan or to cleanse;
a wind too strong for these will come for Me;
now I will also speak judgment against them."
"Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
and his chariots like a whirlwind.
His horses are swifter than eagles.
woe to us, for we are plundered!"
O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace,
because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
Jeremiah 4:11-13, 19
Wind as mentioned in the preceding verses came "not to fan or to cleanse" as the literal wind does, but it came up with "chariots like a whirlwind" and "horses swifter than eagles". The use of these instruments or weapons of war, as described, is heralded by the sound of a trumpet that was prophesied to cause pain in people's hearts. "Wind", therefore, refers to war.
This wind or war is what the four angels, as mentioned in the prophecy, must stop or hold back. No man can stop the blowing of the natural wind. However, the war referred to by "wind" can be stopped and such is the work of the prophesied four angels.
The expression "four winds" does not refer to the number of wars but to the magnitude of the war which, as prophesied, would involve all directions - the four corners of the earth; the war, as fulfilled, involved the whole world. That war is a world war. The textual proof that the expression "four winds" does not refer to four wars is in the contents of the same verse - "that the wind should not blow..."
History books made some remarks regarding the First World War:
The First World War was the first general war, the first war to involve most of the members of the world state-system since the wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon a century earlier...
The Great War, as it was called, was unlike any men had fought. As the first war fought with modern equipment and scientific devices, it was bloody and destructive... Its cost in life, in prosperity, and in human suffering were beyond comparison with previous experiences. Even the attempts to keep the peace after this war were difficult.
Man's Culture
p. 281
This war, as the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced, is just the beginning of birth pains (Mt. 24:6-8). As to the use of modern equipments:
The First World War was unlike any war in the past... This was the first war 'in three dimensions', the first war in which cities were bombed from the air and winged warriors fought among the clouds. Of course the airplanes of 1914 were not so fast, so formidable, nor so numerous as those of today. They were really more important as scouts (a kind of aerial 'cavalry'😉... the British had invented the tank, or land battleship - an armored automobile which could move on rough ground because it was built like a tractor.
World History
pp. 478-479
As the history books defined the First World War:
The first terrible war, which involved the whole world and caused so much death and destruction, was World War I.
World History in an Oriental Setting
p. 850
Moreover, the news about this war could not have spread all over the world until the fulfillment of another prophecy which would occur at a time when the world's end is near:
But you, Daniel, shut up the words,
and seal the book until the time of the end;
many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.
Daniel 12:4, NKJV
Before the end of the world, knowledge shall increase, enabling the news of this war to travel fast so that the whole world could hear about this war. This increase of knowledge was manifested in technology:
The electric telegraph was the product of many minds in many lands, but it became a practical success in the hands of the American, Morse, in 1844. A submarine cable was laid between England and France in 1851... telephone entered commerce with the American inventor, Bell, in 1876. The Italian, Marconi, succeeded with wireless telegraphy around 1896. Radio was invented shortly before the First World war.
World History, vol. 2
p. 543
The First World War was unique in many ways. It was the first war global in scope, and the news of this war was heard all over the world.
"The four angels"
The "four angels" mentioned do not refer to ministering spirits sent by God to deliver short messages to certain persons as the angel Gabriel did. Neither are they preachers of God's teachings as John the Baptist was. Instead, they are leaders of nations sent by God to fulfill special functions.
Apostle Peter stated that even kings and governors or representatives of nations are sent by God (I Pt. 2:13-14). They are also called angels in the category of messengers of nations according to Prophet Isaiah:
Heads of states are messengers and are, therefore, called angels. The "four angels" mentioned in Rev. 7:1-3 are heads of states, messengers of their respective countries, "holding the wind". This prophecy was fulfilled by the "Big Four" of the first world war, namely:
1. Woodrow Wilson (US President)
2. David Lloyd George (British Prime Minister)
3. Georges Clemenceau (French Premier), and
4. Vittorio Orlando (Italian Premier).
The Bible, on the other hand, shows that the works of the messengers sent by God are not in all cases religious or spiritual in nature. For instance, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was a pagan; yet he was sent by God (Jer. 43:10). The Persian king Cyrus, too, was sent although he did not worship God (Is. 44:28; 45:1). Hence, belief in God among leaders or heads of states is not a necessary condition for them to be sent by God. A person is God's messengers so long as God had chosen him for a specific work. Unlike those sent by God to preach the gospel, representatives of nations need not to be God-fearing or believers in God in order to be called angels or messengers.
The prophecy, therefore, concerning the "four angels" holding the wind (or war) was fulfilled in the persons that compose the "Big Four".
These "four angels" were granted the power "to harm the earth and the sea" or they had the authority either to continue the war or to stop it. These four leaders of nations were instrumental in putting an end to the war of 1914 - dated back November 11, 1918 - when they met in Paris to confer concerning the Treaty of Versailles.
🙂