JESUS versus WAR!
(under construction)
Jesus banned all killing in scriptures like John 8:7, Matthew 5:44, John 18:36, Luke 9:51-54, Reve 13:9-11, and even in Gal 4, where pilgrims are on a pilgrimage toward the Jerusalem above, not defending earthly cities.
Narrow is the way. These violent Catholics and violent Protestants all wait patiently to see the other burn in Hell, then they will find out on that great day they BOTH go to Hell. Jesus preached a Peace and Love non violent way.
PEACE and LOVE!
Matthew chapter 5 is the beginning of Jesus unfolding a world wide plan of "Peace and Love" to stop all war on Planet Earth!
HALFWAY MEN GET USED HALFWAY
One you understand the principle that it can be clearly proven that God uses even wicked men, like Pharaoh and Nebukadnezzar to fulfil his will, almost every so called "tricky question" about Christian pacifism is answered. If God can use the wicked, he can certainly use halfway men to perform his will too. What is more, the most severe critics of non violent Christians actually preach much the same thing without knowning it. If you ask them if God used the British, Common Wealth and American nations to defeat the Germans, Ita;ians and Japanese in World War 2, they will answer with an immediate and confident "Yes!". However when you ask if the armies and troops that they just positively confirmed were all "used by God" to fulfil his will, it becomes obvious the troops were not only those who professed they were Christians, but also complete Atheists, Agnostics, and in the Empire a whole host of religions were willing to fight also to defeat the Axis nations.
Romans 13 is certainly one of the most misunderstood scriptures in he bible. Here God clearly says he uses the "powers that be" as his servants, but if you look at the great number of Governments that this chapter encompasses over the last 2,000 years, you realise that they were or are certainly not righteous. The solution to this is in Genesis, where after the flood God sets up governments to replace the total anarchy that was on earth before that. In general governments are not a terror to good works, but to evil works, like drunken or riotous behaviour, etc. That is largely what Romans 13 means.
Isaiah 10:15 says "Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood." If you read the chapter God uses the Assyrian (as a man uses an axe or a saw) to smite Israel. The Assyrian then boast they did it in their own power, so God then smites! This emphasises that God did not use the Assyrians because they were righteous. God is the judge and can slay or punish who h likes, when he likes. He seems to be inferring in this chapter those dead in sin, are like dead inanimate objects like a saw or an axe used by a carpenter to perform a job, and if he choses to use them he therefore will, but it does not mean they are righteous. God also used the sinner Nebuchadnezzar in this way, who sent a letter throughout his huge Empire announcing the God of Israel was to be acknowledged, and indeed who knows how many thousands of should might potentially have been saved through this.
So.... halfway men Christians, who insist in killing their enemies to be "hereos" instead of "saints" will indeed be used by God. They are halfway men and God uses them in a halfway fashion. He will achieve useful objectives through them, just as he used atheists and agnostics in World War 2 to complete his will, but, that does not mean they were saved men, if they died without repenting. Incidentally, it has been discovered men killed in the American civil war were not actually trying to kill their enemies, as they entire rifle barrel was found to be full of shot, and there were simply going through the motions of aiming to kill. Not all soldiers in wars desired to kill even the enemy trying to kill them on the spot. Many were forced into the war by circumstances, others simply did not want their family to be persecuted if they said no to killing. The soldiers in the war did not die "for nothing". God did use them often to achieve objectives that were better. But the teaching of Jesus is, in the new covenant, that killing another is a sin, and as you are not "without sin" you cannot slay another person. That is the new covenant law.
THE TRUE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF WAR AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT EXPLAINED:
Jesus banned Christians partaking in war by killing, and capital punishment, and that abortion and suicide are also sins. You may say what about some of these things being clearly allowed in the old testament? Here is the explanation.
HISTORY OF DOCTRINE ON VIOLENCE
Before Noah Cain killed his brother Abel but he was not executed for his crime as people would be under the later law of Moses. One of the reasons the inhabitants of the ancient world were destroyed in the Flood of Noah was "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." Genesis 6:11-13. So God destroyed all living people except Noah and his family, and after this God instituted Governments on the earth as that is better than the evil of total anarchy. This does not mean that all governments are righteous, it means that the extremes of anarchy and violence were so bad before the flood God did away with them. It is my belief that the slowly rising waters of the flood gave the adults time to repent. I also believe that the most likely explanation of what happens to babies and children who die is that they will be resurrected in the Millennium to be ruled over by Jesus and later tested just as we are.
In the law of Moses it was clearly stated that killing in a war was permitted, and capital punishment was also used. The violence used and allowed by God under Moses old Law was extreme. It is even argued Genocide, or something apparently similar (Deuteronomy 7) was directed by God. At first this seems a total shock to our minds, but this is probably because certain nations had demonic religious rites like "passing children through the fire to Molech" or in other words burning babies alive in sacrifice to demons, which was their way of committing fornication and disposing of the unwanted babies created by this. Such horrific practices had to be stopped by God one way or another.
The people of the ancient world were all tribalistic, and each claimed to have the mightiest gods, so God called Israel to witness to the nations that their God, the one true God, the Lord God Almighty was mighty, and the only true God. God did not choose out Israel as a nation for singular salvation he chose them as a witness to the nations. For instance the biggest revival in human history happened in the formerly pagan city of Nineveh, and the biggest act of evangelism may perhaps have been the message Nebuchadnezzar sent out to the whole world to honour the God of Daniel after him seeing the incredible miracles done through Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Even before Moses the whole world learned of the greatness of God through the witness of Joseph, being used by the interpretation of dreams to save millions from starvation. In fact when Moses went through the Red Sea they went through with a "mixed multitude" who had been converted to follow God through seeing the miracles of the ten plagues of Egypt. See?
Thus God showed himself to the nations as a very powerful God not to be taken lightly, showing power in a world without the police forces we have today, by draconian measures against sin, that is stoning to death, burning (two old testament sins had burning as the punishment), even chopping of hands, and war was allowed.
The teachings of Jesus however were very different. Jesus banned war for the saints, and said no one can stone other people to death as the criteria is you are not without sin so cannot "cast the first stone". Jesus said "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." John 18:36. Galatians 4 explains that this is because Christians are now pilgrims on the Earth travelling toward Heavenly New Jerusalem above, not physical Jerusalem below. The few scriptures that spiritually blind people say allow war, like Peter having a sword in Gethsemane, are easily explained as misunderstood. As soon as Peter used the sword Jesus gave one of the most famous pacifist verses ever spoken, "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." he also tells us
"If any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." The new revolutionary "Love and Peace" teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount still stand.
You may reply, "What about Romans 13?" Romans 13 is one of the most misunderstood chapters in the bible. It says God will use Governments to achieve good things, like stopping "drunken rioting" (verse 13). He does not declare those governments to be righteous. It is similar to Isaiah 10: 5-6 "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation......... " then after using the Assyrian to smite Israel, the Assyrian boast they did it in their own power, so God smites them, saying "Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood." Isaiah 10:15. If my memory serves me correctly, God smote them by using a single angel to smite 185,000 Assyrians in one night.
The use of an angel to kill brings up two other commonly used tricks killer Christians use to deceive people into not loving their enemies, as Stephen did in Acts 7. The angels kill, so why not us? The Angels are separate from the things of this temporal fleshly age on earth, they never marry for instance, so how can marriage laws apply to them. In a similar way Jesus came to Earth to show us the way here, that does not prevent him taking his place as God the Judge over Earth now, as its written "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:" 1 Peter 2:22-24.
The imitation of Jesus brings us to the obvious fact, that there was no Samson in the Early Church killing 1,000 men with the jawbone of an ass. No David killing a Goliath, No Jonathan fighting against a whole army all on his own. No Gideon slaying vast numbers with but a few. No Generals, Commanders, no evidence of Christians forming into armies to defeat the Romans. The early church were persecuted, murdered, hunted and tormented, but gave love for evil, and followed the commands of Jesus proven by the fact there is no history of them waging war, and stories of great bloodshed victories. That defilement of the Faith was introduced by the butcher Constantine the Great, that the Orthodox Church has made into a saint, when he was no saint at all, but defiled the heavenly vision of peaceful loving Pilgrims making their way to Spiritual Jerusalem, by binding a false church and the state together, forming the Purple and Scarlet of the Whore of Babylon (secular and religious power). If you know the scriptures well enough to see this, and have a relationship with God strong enough to know the Holy Spirit is leading us to love our enemies at all times, never killing to defend ourselves, you will see the following doctrines, teachings and examples of war, murder and capital punishment of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism show that they are indeed a false churches, not spiritual enough to follow the straight and narrow path Jesus told us to follow.
The Governments have been placed there for God to use. There is nothing wrong with contacting the police if you are attacked. These teachings are not impractical, or hypocritical. God is more in charge than you think. But the way of Jesus is Love and Peace not Bombs and War, and if you know him you know that God is Love is real.
I dont think killers are saved, that is who have killed others without repenting, and that there is no promise of salvation to those who corrupt their white garments by preaching what is murder in new covenant law, If God wants to save some by an unpromised mercy, as he sees deeper into their hearts and know they would be corrected, that is by his divine authority and judgement. In the meantime I believe that fact does not give me the right to pronounce people believing in the heresy of war as being saved. Sometimes the bravest thing of all is to die loving, not kill fighting.
The Spanish Armada was destroyed by PRAYER. God destroyed it. With tides, wind, rain, lightning bolts and storms.
Before the Flood of Noah, the world was full of chaos and violence. So God instituted Governments instead as a better alternative. That does not make them righteous. He simply uses them.
As for Romans 13 that seems to justify war, it simply says God uses them in the same way as mentioned. Did you not study Isaiah 10 as I asked you to? Where God USED the Assyrian to smite Israel? Even though the Assyrian were evil?
Therefore YES God did use Britain and the USA to defeat the Germans, Japanese and Italians in World War 2, but that does not make them righteous.
Sins of the Whore of Babylon
The Catholics think the Popes are "infallible in doctrine" after the Holy Inquisition, the Crusades, the Conquistadors, the Spanish Armada, the Massacre of St Bartholomew (and its celebration medal) the persecution of the Lollards, the massacre of the Cathars, the Hammer of the Witches, the Aquinas Rules of Just War, and even the butchery of the Knights Templar.
Quote
"And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth."
FAMINE, REFUGEES, DISEASE:
War does not only kill by direct conflict of armed warfare.