I count it a real privilege to serve as the Mayor’s chaplain because it means I get to lead acts of worship on important civic occasions such as the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, the day when Japan formally surrendered and so brought a formal end to World War 2.

We held a service in Pembroke last week to commemorate this historic occasion, and I spent a considerable amount of time reflecting on how we should view such a significant day in our national history.

I came to the conclusion that that we should obviously do it with a sense sadness. The figures are simply horrifying. WW2 has been described as the most devastating of wars with estimates of the total number of people killed for example ranging from 35,000,000 to 60,000,000

But I also decided that there should be a clear note of joy too because we were celebrating the fact that a period of appalling carnage had finally come to an end, and a damaged generation had been given the chance to rebuild a new world. And so we gave thanks for all those, including my parents who did their best to do just that.

But as I prepared that service and viewed VJ Day through the lens of Scripture I was reminded that ‘warfare’ is a very helpful image for those who are trying to understand the world in which we live. The Book of Revelation for example tells us that the troubles we experience on earth stem from the fact that there was ‘war in heaven’ and as a result the devil has come down to earth with his angels determined to do all he can to ruin things because he knows his time is running out.

In other words, we need to appreciate the fact that there are very real if unseen spiritual forces at work behind the scenes. They are influencing cultures and rulers in all sorts of horrible ways, and they are particularly determined to do all they can to stop people recognising the true identity of Jesus. For if He did come back from the dead then He really is ‘the King of Kings and Lord of Lords’.

As I see it Easter can be compared to D Day when the Allied forces landed in France and established a beachhead that assured them of ultimate victory, the victory we celebrated last week. Because of Easter Day, I can look forward to an even greater day than VJ Day. It will be the day when the world will rejoice in the fact that everything that brings tears to our eyes will have disappeared for ever. Jesus was referring to this when he told His disciples to pray, ‘Your Kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’

This raises two vital questions though. Firstly, is all this credible and if so is He ruling my life now? In other words whose side am I on?