Faith First Media

The Ministry of Jesus Christ

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2010 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

Jesus came to declare God:

No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

--John 1:18

Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to captives, preach recovery of sight to the blind, and give liberty to the bruised:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

--Luke 4:18

Jesus preached the gospel not only to those poor in riches, but to those poor in spirit. Jesus equated “poor” with being “poor in spirit” and he ministered to these people, calling them “blessed” and preaching to them the gospel of the kingdom of God:

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

--Luke 6:20

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

--Matthew 5:3

Jesus healed people who were blind (Matthew 21:14) but even more importantly, he has healed millions of people of spiritual blindness (John 9:39) by helping them to see and understand the gospel of the kingdom of God.

And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

--Luke 4:43

And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

--Mark 1:38

Jesus showed compassion to all and valued every human soul.

When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

--Matthew 14:14

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

--Matthew 4:23

When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.

--Matthew 8:16

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

--Matthew 9:35

You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

--Acts 10:38 NASB

Jesus ascended into heaven to be an advocate and intercessor to God for us:

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

--1 John 2:1

For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us

--Hebrews 9:24

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

--1 Timothy 2:5

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

--Romans 8:27

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

--Hebrews 7:25

Jesus commands us to preach the gospel message just as he did, with the same kind of love that he demonstrated:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

--Matthew 28:19

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

--Mark 16:15

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

--Acts 1:8

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

--John 13:34

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

--John 15:12

These things I command you, that ye love one another.

--John 15:17

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

--Ephesians 4:15

What is Love?

by Matthew Elton

© 2010 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

"These things I command you, that you love one another."

--John 15:17

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

--1 John 4:8

Throughout the Bible, we are commanded to love.  But how do we know what love is?  1 John provides the answer:

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

--1 John 3:16 NIV

Jesus demonstrated the ultimate act of love when he died in our place. What more can you do for a person than sacrifice everything you are for them? It was the ultimate act of love because it demonstrated that he cared more about you and me than he did about his own life, and that is love - to care more about someone else than yourself.  I believe that the opposite of love is selfishness.  Love is inherently sacrificial, because it means denying your own desires in order to care for another person.  In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), the priest walked by the injured man and did not show love because he cared more about himself and getting to where he wanted to go than he did about helping someone in need.  The Samaritan showed love by sacrificing his own plans in order to care for someone else. Love is selfless.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

--John 15:13

Love requires action:

"If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"

--James 2:15-16

Just as faith without works is dead (James 2:20) so love without action is dead.  Did the man who said "be ye warmed and filled" yet did nothing to help the person in need really show love?  He may have felt love in his heart and had the right intentions, but if a feeling isn't powerful enough to produce an action, it's useless.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

--Philippians 2:3 NIV

To love is to care for someone else more than you care about yourself.  This must be demonstrated through action. Love without action is not love at all.  To heal the sick, feed the hungry, give to the poor, witness to the lost, and help the needy - these are labors of love that require sacrifice on our part.  If we cared only about our own selfish interests, we would never do these things, thus, we would never love. Love is selflessness and sacrifice, but our sacrifices will be richly rewarded in the age to come (Matthew 25:34-36).

"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

--1 John 3:18

The Parable of the Talents

by Matthew Elton

© 2010 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

Question:

In Matthew 13:12, Matthew 25:29, Mark 4:25, Luke 8:18, and Luke 19:26, Jesus says, “For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."

Is Jesus saying that those who are less fortunate now will be treated even worse in the age to come?

Answer:

In a word, no. If you turn to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, you’ll immediately find that the opposite is true:

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

--Matthew 5:1-12

To review:

1) Those who are poor in spirit now will have the kingdom of heaven in the age to come.

2) Those who mourn now will be comforted in the age to come.

3) Those who are persecuted now will have the kingdom of heaven in the age to come.

4) Those who are persecuted now have great reward in heaven.

When Jesus said "Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him" he was not talking about people who are "more fortunate" or "less fortunate." He was directly quoting the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25:14-30:

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

--Matthew 25:14-30

In this parable, Jesus tells the story of a master who was going away on a journey. He gave his best servant five talents (a talent was a huge coin worth about a thousand dollars), another servant he gave two talents, and another he gave one talent, "each according to his ability." While the master was away, the servant with five talents earned five more, and the servant with two talents earned two more. The master came back and said to them, "Well done!" But the servant with one talent hadn't earned any more talents, because he had buried his talent in the ground instead of using it to earn more talents. The master was displeased and took away the talent he had given to the servant. At the end of the parable, Jesus said, "Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."

When we read these words of Jesus in the context of the parable which precedes them, we see that Jesus is not talking about fortunate versus unfortunate people, but rather, he's talking about people who use their resources to go to work for the Kingdom of God, verses people who don't. The story is symbolic. Jesus is the master, and Christians are the servants. Jesus is currently away, but he will be returning. Christians are supposed to use what Jesus has given them to further the Kingdom of God, especially by witnessing to other people in order to make new Christians (similar to earning more talents). A Christian who hides her or his faith and doesn’t do anything with it is like the servant who hid his talent in the ground. Jesus will disown that person.

This interpretation of the parable fits perfectly with what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

--Matthew 5:14-16

Is Jesus Anti-Family?

by Matthew Elton

© 2010 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

Question:

Did Jesus say that he came to destroy families by making family members hate each other?

In Matthew 10:34-35, Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.”

Does Jesus really demand people to love him more then they love their own family? How can we love someone that we can’t even see more than the people we do see? Isn’t love an emotion pertaining to physical existence, not to faithful ideologies?

In Matthew 10:21, Jesus said, “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.”

In Matthew 19:29, Jesus promises a reward to those who leave children because of him, saying, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Does Jesus command child abuse? Is Jesus anti-family?

Answer:

In Matthew 10:34, Jesus said: "I came not to send peace, but a sword." However, if you keep reading, you’ll see that it is not a sword of violence, but a sword of division. That's what swords do - they cut things. In this case, families will be divided because of Jesus. It's not that Jesus came to divide families, as if that's what he wanted. But conflict is almost inevitable when one family member follows Jesus and another doesn't. The Christian will be tempted to compromise her or his faith to please family members who don't share the same moral values. This is why just two verses later, Jesus says: "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

What Jesus is saying is, essentially, "If you actually follow me, your family may not agree with you, and if that happens, you'll have to choose between following me even if it displeases them (which could cause division) or compromising your obedience to me in order to please your family. I need to be first in your life."

Considering the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made for us by dying in our place, I don't think this is too much to ask. You ask “Isn’t love an emotion pertaining to physical existence, not to faithful ideologies?” But to think of love as merely an emotion is to misunderstand the biblical view of love. In the Bible, love is not an emotion. Love is an action. Love is a verb. Love means caring about someone else more than you care about yourself. That's why love is selfless and sacrificial in nature. Selfishness is essentially the opposite of love. Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). That's the greatest love because you care so much more about someone else than you care about yourself that you are willing to sacrifice everything for that person (which, by the way, is what Jesus did for us).

When Jesus says we must love him more than father or mother, he is not talking about a warm fuzzy feeling. In three different verses in John 14, Jesus says that love is synonymous with obedience (e.g. "He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me"). It really doesn't matter if you have a warm fuzzy feeling about Jesus or not, although many people do. What matters is obedience. Jesus isn't saying not to love our families. He's saying that if faced with a choice between obeying family and obeying Jesus, Christians must obey Jesus.

In Matthew 19:29, Jesus is not saying to abandon houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or lands. That would go against what he taught in the Sermon on the Mount and at the Last Supper concerning loving one another (it would also make Christians a bunch of homeless bums). Just as Jesus said that Christians must be willing to follow Jesus over their own families, here Jesus is saying Christians must be willing to give up everything to follow Jesus, if necessary. Jesus must always come first. Following Jesus requires sacrifice, but what we sacrifice in this life will be repaid a hundred times in the age to come.

In conclusion, Jesus is not anti-family. These verses which you took out of context are not a command to divide families or abandon children, but a warning that division is almost inevitable when a Christian chooses to follow Jesus and put Christ first in everything. Jesus did not command us to leave our family, but he warns us that a Christian must be willing to sacrifice in order to be a disciple of Jesus, because, as we have seen in Christ’s teachings on love, true love is sacrificial in nature.

“Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.”

--1 John 5:3, NLT

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”

--Jesus, John 14:21

Modesty

by Ian Riley

IanRiley@FaithFirstMedia.com

Before you read this, I'd like you to pray, genuinely, that God would give you an open mind, and a soft heart, so that as you read, you're not hardened against His scripture, or the things that I'm going to attempt to express.

Some of this, of course, will be my own opinion, some of it the words of wise men and women that I've spoken to about the subject, but some of it will also be the words of our God, the same words that He used to literally speak (how crazy is that!?) the universe into existence. You can dismiss my words, but don't dismiss His.

In one word, modesty. (I know many of you are cringing already, because of struggles you've had with this, or fights that it has led to, but please, read on.)

Modesty is something that we don't like to think about, or if we do, we don't like to take it seriously. We have a mentally of "It's MY body, I can dress it however I want, and besides, this top is sooooooo cute!" But what we have to remember, every time we adorn ourselves with clothing, is that our bodies do not belong to us. Even as much as our lives now belong to Christ, and through Christ, to God, our bodies even more so, as they are literally the creation of God, dust of the ground.

"Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:8-11

Any container, if it is well-designed, and thought about, should make it evident what it holds inside of it. A sugar bowl will often say "Sugar", a cookie jar "Cookies", a salt shaker has two holes, a pepper shaker has three, etc. God, through His holy spirit, dwells within us; we are a vessel for God, and as such, the appearance of this vessel should be representative of what's inside.

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

Now for the most important bit: why this is so important. The world teaches us that the we should dress is a way that is most appealing to the opposite sex. Our clothing (or often lack thereof), should make the first impression on any man or woman that we encounter, and cause their interest to be peaked, allowing for conversation and perhaps a "relationship" to follow.

lust

–noun

1.intense sexual desire or appetite.

2.uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite.

What the world teaches, what I was just saying, is that lust is the response we should garner with how we dress. If we are women, we want men to lust after our bodies, to have a desire to see what's under the rest of our revealing clothing, and as men, we want women to lust after our bodies, to put their hands all over us, to admire our physique.

"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." 1 Corinthians 6:18

When God says flee, you flee.

God does not tolerate sin. By grace He forgives, but sin is entirely unacceptable to God. God does not say that we should only show a little cleavage, that we should dress MORE modestly than the world, but that we should run as fast as we can, run for our eternal lives away from sexual immorality, from lust. We should have no part in it.

Additionally: "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matthew 5:28

Jesus says that as soon as you lust, even if you don't do anything about it, you don't make a move, you don't even wink at this girl as you're walking by, you may as well have already had sex with her in some skanky hotel on the edge of town and walked out with no intent on calling her in the morning.

If you look at a woman with lust, effectively, you've lost your virginity.

As men, understanding this, we need to guard both our eyes, and our hearts. We need to be in complete control at what we look at. Pornography? Unacceptable. Completely and utterly, no surprise there. Looking at a girl and thinking "she's got a nice rack", JUST AS BAD.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light," Matthew 6:22

Equally, if the eyes are entertaining themselves with lusting after women, the whole body will be full of darkness, and God does not dwell in darkness.

Women, this is where you come in.

The way you dress can either help a man in his walk with God, or it can destroy him. No matter how hard he is trying to live for God, if you're setting your assets out there for him to see, it's going to be a struggle for him, and in many cases, near impossible for his mind to stay pure, and his thoughts holy. Apart from God, you are THE most important part of this equation.

How does it work?

What if the rule of thumb wasn't "not too much cleavage", but "no cleavage".

What if it wasn't a decision whether you leave the first two buttons or the first three buttons, undone, but if you buttoned them all?

What if, when you dress yourself in the morning, there's room between your bra and your shirt? What if your jeans don't look painted on? WHAT IF, when the world looked at how you dressed, they snickered, because your boobs weren't hanging out, and your butt was actually covered?

Our bodies, and the way that we adorn them, should be a testimony to our God. The world should look at us and realize that, even by how we dress, there is something different about us.

We should not look like everyone else. We should be different.

What clothes do you need to get rid of? What doesn't glorify God?

Dress like a nun? No. But if it's between that or dressing like the world, let's put on the habits.

Comment with your thoughts.

 This is chapter fifteen of the book A Theology of Peace by Matthew Elton, copyright 2010 Matthew Elton.

Click here to read the previous chapter: The Downfall of Nonviolent Theology Under Constantine

The Oxymoron of “Just War”

In the year 404 a church council was held at Carthage. It was a meeting of three bishops: Alypius, Augustine, and Fortunatas. It was a this council that Augustine introduced “Just War Theory,” the idea that war can, in certain cases, be justified, despite Christ’s command to love enemies. The Catholic church was facing serious troubles at this time, with dissension within and Visigoth invaders on the march towards Rome. The Visigoths posed a major threat to the survival of Rome, and to make matters worse, theological divisions in the Catholic church had weakened Rome’s now church-based government. With such a terrible threat approaching from outside Rome, internal disputes could no longer be put up with. The Emperor demanded that the church find a way to better unify itself, and put a final end to factions and strife.

Augustine was one of the most powerful church leaders of the time, but he faced many opponents. Among them were the Donatists, who had separated themselves from the Catholic church. By rejecting the Catholic church, the Donatists rejected the government of Rome, which the Catholic church was so closely intertwined with. For the Emperor, this was treason, and could not be tolerated. How could Rome stand against the Visigoths if her people were divided, and not fully loyal to the government?

Just War Theory was developed as a solution to this political problem. In countless theological debates, Augustine had tried for years to persuade the Donatists to rejoin the Catholic church, but his attempts were unsuccessful. Despite all of Augustine’s attempts to persuade the Donatists, their numbers continued to grow. The Emperor demanded that something must be done to stop them. But Augustine faced a moral dilemma. Mere rhetoric wasn’t persuading the Donatists, but the Catholic church couldn’t use military force on the Donatists without violating the teachings of Jesus. For the Donatists to be stopped, the Catholic church would have to modify Christ’s teachings and make an exception to his command to love enemies.

This modification of Christ’s teachings took place in 404 with the introduction of Just War Theory. With this theory, Augustine argued that it would okay for the Roman military to persecute the Donatists. Even though the use of violence against the Donatists contradicted the commands of Jesus Christ, Augustine argued that given the circumstances, an exception could be made. From its very beginning, Just War Theory was based on the compromise of Christ’s commands. In 404 the church council at Carthage decreed, “It is now full time for the emperor to provide for the safety of the Catholic church, and prevent those rash men from terrifying the people, whom they cannot seduce.” In the years that followed, the emperor commanded the Roman military to raid the homes of the Donatists and force them into exile through the use of violence and military force:

"We decree that the Donatists and the heretics, who until now have been spared by the patience of Our Clemency, shall be severely punished by legal authority, so that by this Our manifest order, they shall recognize that they are intestable and have no power of entering into contracts of any kind, but they shall be branded with perpetual infamy and separated from honorable gatherings and from public assemblies. Those places in which the dire superstition has been preserved until now shall surely be joined to the venerable Catholic Church, and thus their bishops and priests, that is, all their prelates and ministers shall likewise be despoiled of all their property and shall be sent into exile to separate islands and provinces."

--Emperor’s decree, 414

In the raids that followed, three hundred bishops, thousands of deacons, and countless ministers lost their churches, their homes, and all of their possessions. They were forced to relocate to distant islands, and their entire church congregations were denied the right of citizenship and required to pay large quantities of gold and silver as fines. Many were imprisoned and executed.

The introduction of Just War Theory changed the entire nature of Christianity with incredible speed. Less than a hundred years before, Christians met in secret, hiding from Roman persecution. Under Roman persecution, many Christians were imprisoned, tortured, burned at the stake, crucified, or eaten by lions. Yet as we have seen in previous chapters, these early Christians refused to fight back, refused to participate in any kind of military, and refused to even do so much as touch a weapon. These early Christians were the persecuted, not the persecutors. How quickly the entire nature of Christianity turned around with the advent of Just War Theory! In mere decades, Christians had gone from being the persecuted, to being the persecutor. Thanks to Augustine, Catholics who called themselves “Christians” were persecuting, robbing from, imprisoning, and killing fellow Christians who merely differed on a few theological issues. Augustine had transformed Christianity from a religion based on peace to a religion based on war. As their family and friends were being attacked and murdered by the Roman military, the Donatists pleaded Augustine for mercy, warning him that for every martyr that dies at the hand of Augustine’s oppression, Augustine himself would have to account for their deaths before the Lord Jesus Christ at the Final Judgement. Augustine replied to this plea for mercy with some of the most unchristian words ever spoken:

I know nothing about your martyrs. Martyrs! Martyrs to the devil. There are no martyrs out of the Church. Beside, it was their obstinacy; they killed themselves.

--Augustine

In 412, Augustine’s contemporary Cyril became the Bishop of Alexandria. Cyril applied the evils of Augustine’s Just War Theory on a much larger and more destructive scale, attacking not only Donatists but also Novationists (another group of Christians who had left the Catholic church), Jews, and pagans. Cyril’s armies even burned down public buildings such as libraries, killing hundreds of people. In March 415, during Lent, Cyril’s army surrounded the chariot of Hypatia, a pagan philosopher and scientist. Cyril’s army then seized her, stripped off all of her clothes, and dragged her through the streets into the newly Christianized Caesareum Church, where they ripped off her skin with broken shards of pottery while she was still alive, then set both her and her scientific writings on fire. No one was ever arrested or charged for the murder. There was no trial or investigation. Cyril got off scot-free and even persuaded the Emperor to send the imperial Army to attack all the Jews and pagans in Alexandria.

After Hypatia’s death, a letter was forged condemning Christianity in Hypatia’s name. It was a sick attempt to justify the evil that had just been done, under the twisted notion that such evil would be justified if Hypatia had written the letter. Obviously, such a blatantly satanic murder is in direct contradiction to every command of Jesus Christ, and could never be morally justified under any circumstances. But by suggesting that acts of violence could sometimes be justified, Augustine’s Just War Theory had opened the door for some of the worst acts of violence the world has ever seen, committed by people who claimed, however vainly, to be Christians.

While Hypatia’s murder is an abomination, the evil brought about by the Just War Theory didn’t end there. On the contrary, it was just getting started. For the next 1,600 years, many political leaders used Just War Theory to persuade Christians to fight and kill for no other reason than their own greedy political gain. The evil that began with Augustine and continued with Cyril continued still further with the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Thirty Years’ War, and the rise of Nazi Germany.

Augustine must bear the fatal charge of being the first as well as one of the ablest defenders of the frightful cause of persecution and intolerance.... He was the first and ablest asserter of the principle that led to the Albigensian crusades, Spanish armadas, Netherlands’ butcheries, St. Bartholomew massacres, the accursed infamies of the Inquisition, the vile espionage, the hideous balefires of Seville and Smithfield, the racks, the gibbets, the thumbscrews, the subterranean torture-chambers.... It is mainly because of his later intolerance that the influence of Augsutine falls like a dark shadow across the centuries. It is thus that [persecutors] can look up to him as an authorizer of their enormities, and quote his sentences to defend some of the vilest crimes which ever caused men to look with horror on the religion of Christ and the church of God.

--F.W. Farrar, church historian

The Crusades are perhaps the best example of an unjust war that history offers. Thousands of Christians joined together to attack and conquer the Holy Land, killing thousands of Muslims, who were viewed as unhuman infidels, even though most of them had done nothing to provoke such violent persecution. Even by the standards of Just War Theory, finding a moral justification for the Crusades is impossible. The Crusades were one of the worst atrocities of the Middle Ages, and today, we cannot help but ask: How could people who claim to be Christians do such a thing?

The Crusades are an example of what happens when the church becomes too closely intertwined with the government. At the time, almost all the kings in Europe were loyal to the pope, giving the pope unchallenged political power over an entire continent. In a speech that changed the world, Pope Urban II claimed to speak for Jesus when he commanded all the Christians in the world to war:

On this account I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ’s heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present; it is meant also for those who are absent. Moreover, Christ commands it. All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them by the power of God with which I am invested.

--Pope Urban II

At this, the crowed present began to shout “It is the will of God!” But was it the will of God? Pope Urban II claimed that it was the command of Christ that Christians destroy the Muslims in war. But Christ actually commanded, “Love your enemies!” (Matthew 5:44). Pope Urban II claimed that all who fight to kill the Muslims would automatically gain remission of sins and therefore eternal life. But Jesus actually taught, “Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” (Matthew 7:21).

So who are you going to believe: Pope Urban II, or the Lord Jesus Christ?

Fortunately, a small group of Christians did wake up to the fact that the Crusades were unbiblical, unchristian, and evil. These Christians protested against the Crusades, but were quickly persecuted. Thousands of people followed the pope blindly, believing that it was possible for even the most aggressive war to be justified if the pope said so. Once again, Just War Theory had opened the door to great evil. Hundreds of years prior, Augustine had been the first to suggest that a just war might be possible, under certain circumstances. This started Christianity down a slippery and dangerous slope. If war can sometimes be justified, where do you draw the line between just and unjust war? The Christians of the first and second centuries had drawn the line according to the standards of the Bible, which teaches us to live peaceably with all. These early Christians opposed all war, believing that a “just war” is inherently an oxymoron. It was not until Augustine that the concept of a “just war” was introduced, but if a just war is possible, who is to decide which wars are just and which are not? Most Christians of the Middle Ages left that decision up to the pope, rather than basing their standards on the Bible, which teaches us to abhor all war. As a result, thousands of Christians fought and died in a war that accomplished absolutely nothing except the deaths of thousands of people. In the end the Muslims succeeded in defending their territory, and the so-called “Christians” were defeated. The whole thing made the Catholic church look bad, and for years Catholics tried to find some way to justify the war. Eventually, they gave up. Once again, Just War Theory had been used to support a way that wasn’t just in any way. But the evils of Just War Theory didn’t stop there. Even after hundreds of thousands of people had died because of Just War Theory, it’s reign of evil was still just getting started.

The same racist religious nationalism that inspired the Crusades was demonstrated again in Nazi Germany, where the church was once again closely intertwined with a radically authoritarian government. The Nazis used religious rhetoric to make the claim that their cause was God’s cause, and that it was the will of God that Germany conquer Europe, and that the Jews be annihilated by genocide. Every Nazi solider wore a belt-buckle with the inscription “Gott Mit Uns” which means “God With Us.”

Today, we look back at the atrocities of Naziism and wonder why the Christian church didn’t do more to speak out against it. In Germany, the Christian church and the Nazis seemed to be allies for the same cause. How could Christianity condone the worst genocide that the world ever saw? Once again, it was because the church had become too friendly with the government. Nationalistic sentiment had overcome the church in Germany and transformed it into a tool for government propaganda. The church had become so swept up in patriotic fervor, so committed to the nation of Germany, that it had lost its commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. The same thing happened in the Crusades, when soldiers were more loyal to the Holy Roman Empire than they were to the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the same thing can and has happened here in the United States, whenever Christians compromise the commands of Jesus Christ in the name of national security.

Take, for example, the story of the Nagasaki Christians. The story began in December 1547, in Malacca, where missionary Francis Xavier met a samurai named Anjiro, who had fled from Japan after being found guilty of murder. Anjiro travelled with Xavier to Goa, India, where Xavier had established a Christian mission. In 1549, Anjiro asked Xavier to establish a Christian mission in Japan. Xavier asked if the Japanese would be willing to receive to the Christian message. “They would not do so immediately,” Anjiro replied, “but would first ask you many questions to see what you knew. Above all, they would want to see whether your life corresponded with your teaching.”

Xavier was not certain of whether a Christian mission in Japan was feasible, but he decided that there was only one way to find out. Unable to find any sea captains who were willing to sail to Japan (that area of sea was largely unexplored by Europeans at the time), Xavier hitched a ride on a pirate ship. He departed from Goa with Anjiro on June 24, 1549. They arrived at Anjiro’s hometown of Kagoshima, Japan, on August 15, 1549. Christianity spread quickly in Japan, and in the decades to come, thousands of Japanese came to know Jesus.

Then in 1603, the Tokugawa Shogunate came to power in Edo, beginning the “Edo period” of Japanese history that would last until 1868. This period is known for extreme isolationism. The Imperial government distrusted all foreigners and closed Japan off from trade. The Edo period is considered by many Japanese to be the greatest period in Japanese history. For the great majority of Japanese, the Edo period was a golden age of peace and prosperity. But for Christians in Japan, it was a time of terrible persecution. Since Christianity was perceived as a foreign religion, it was condemned by the Imperial government. Just fifty years after Xavier’s mission was established at Kagoshima, being a Christian in Japan became a crime punishable by death. Those who would not recant their Christian beliefs were tortured and even crucified. Just a few years into the Edo Period, Christianity in Japan had died out... or so it would seem!

In actually, several thousand Christians continued to meet in secret at Nagasaki. They are known as the Hidden Christians, or Kakure Kirishitan in Japanese, and they have become an almost legendary part of Japanese history. Their numbers continued to grow until they were discovered by the government in the 1850s. Immediately the persecution began once again, but with the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Edo Period came to an end. Under Emperor Meiji, Japan opened itself up to foreign trade, technology, and missionaries. Christianity experienced a revival in Japan, and in 1917 a giant church building called St. Mary’s Cathedral was constructed in Nagasaki. By the time World War II began, Christianity had grown to become an influential religion in Japan, with many thousands of followers.

World War II was the worst era in Japan’s long history. All Japanese air defenses were destroyed in the war, allowing Japan to be bombed without mercy. By 1945, every city in Japan had been destroyed by bombings except for three cities: Hiroshima, Koukora, and Nagasaki. For comparison, imagine the destruction of all the major cities in the U.S. - New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington D.C., and the list goes on.

The three cities that were spared from conventional bombing were spared for a purely strategical reason. The U.S. Army was eager to test out the newly invented atomic bomb in actual combat. Some generals even argued that if the atomic bomb were not used in combat, then all the millions of dollars spent to develop the bomb would be wasted. Since dropping an atomic bomb on a city that had already been destroyed would be useless, the U.S. military saved three Japanese cities as potential atomic bomb targets. On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, leading to the deaths of over a hundred thousand men, women, children, and infants, the destruction of thousands of homes, and innumerable injuries.

By this point in the war, Japan was a wasteland, and had little ability to defend herself. Almost all of the cities in Japan were in ruins, and even much of Japan’s farmland had been destroyed in bombings, resulting in a terrible famine that led to the deaths of thousands of civilians - men, women, children, and infants. At this point in the war, the U.S. military had the ability to fly in and bomb whatever, wherever, and however much they wanted. By God’s grace, the Christian community in Nagasaki had thus far been spared from the bombings. But in literally less than one second, the story of the Nagasaki Christians would come to an end.

On the morning of August 9, 1945, a few Christians from another part of the world met with two chaplains - one Catholic and one Lutheran. They prayed together, then began their daily work assignments. In a B-29 Super Fortress bomber, they took off from Tinian Island with orders to drop the second atomic bomb on Kokura. The bomber approached Kokura, but the city was obscured in smoke from the firebombing of Yahata a few miles away. Yahata had been bombed a few days before, but so much smoke was still rising from it that the B-29 pilot was unable to see the target at Kokura. Instructed not to drop the atomic bomb unless the target was in plain sight, the pilot turned the bomber away from Kokura and headed for Nagasaki instead. The crew of the bomber received commands to look for the St. Mary’s Cathedral at the center of Nagasaki. The cathedral’s tall steeple made it taller than the surrounding buildings, making it an excellent target for the bombing. At 11:02 a.m., the Christians in the B-29 bomber (if we dare to call them Christians) spotted the cathedral and dropped the atomic bomb. In less than one second, Christianity in Nagasaki was annihilated by people who called themselves fellow Christians. What the Imperial government had struggled to do for over three hundred years was accomplished in a split second by “Christian” soldiers. Over a hundred thousand more men, women, children, and infants died from the blast or the subsequent radiation. Thousands of homes were destroyed, and the injuries are too many to calculate. Here are two ariel photographs comparing what Nagasaki looked like before and after the dropping of the atomic bomb.

Today, a monument to the Japanese Christian martyrs - consisting of a huge stone wall embedded with over twenty-five statues - stands in Nagasaki. But Christianity in Nagasaki, and in Japan in general, has almost completely died out. Today, less than one percent of Japanese are Christians.  Who in their right mind would join a religion that commits genocide against its own people?

Once World War II ended, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur looked back on it in hindsight and realized that with advances in technology enabling humans to kill each other in larger and larger numbers, war no longer threatened the survival of only the nations engaged in it, but war now threatened the survival of the entire world. For the first time in history, human beings had developed the technology to destroy all life on Earth. In the words of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who invented the atomic bomb, “The atomic bomb made the prospect of future war unendurable.” In hindsight, MacArthur realized that no military alliance, no political negotiation, and no balance of power would ever put an end to all war. Human beings had tried these approaches for millennia, and while they were effective in preventing some wars, they never fully solved the problem of war. One way or another, war always returned, as if it were inseparable form human nature itself. MacArthur realized that what was needed was something spiritual that would overcome national boundaries, would unite people in the cause for peace, and would improve human nature.

Military alliance, balances of power, League of Nations all in turn failed...We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advance in science, art, literature, and all material and cultural developments of the past two hundred years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.

--General Douglas MacArthur

The spiritual power that MacArthur describes - capable of changing the nature of human character itself - is Christianity. True Christianity has nothing to do with Crusades, Naziism, or the dropping of atomic bombs. True Christianity means following Jesus as the Lord of all. Throughout the last two millennia, nations, kingdoms, and empires have all risen and fallen, but through it all, the true disciples of Jesus who seek to actively follow his teachings have been united in a brotherhood of love and peace. Though they come from many different nations, they all share the unity of citizenship in the Kingdom of God. By a common faith they have transcended the barriers of nations and cultures. With the Holy Spirit at work in each and every believer, they have the spiritual power to overcome the sinfulness of human nature. Christianity - discipleship to the Lord Jesus Christ - is the answer to the problem of war. It is the spiritual solution that General Douglas MacArthur was looking for.

The root cause of war is when people are more loyal to human institutions - governments, militaries, leaders, etc. - than they are to God. The question we must ask ourselves is: Where do our loyalties lay? Are we more loyal to our country than we are to the Lord Jesus Christ? We must seriously consider this question, and remember that Jesus died to break down the dividing walls of hostility that stand between people of different nations. Nations are human institutions, and their governments are as corrupt as any other human institution. Nations rise and fall, and throughout history hundreds of millions of people have fought and died for them. But when God looks at the world, he does not see the borders between nations, for in reality, such borders exist only in our minds. Jesus died to break down those barriers between us, and unify all people under one government: not a corrupt human government, but a heavenly government established by God himself.

For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

--Ephesians 2:14-16

In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

--Colossians 3:11

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

--Galatians 3:28

Because of what Jesus accomplished for us, all followers of Jesus are God’s chosen people, no matter what country they are from. It doesn’t matter what human country you have citizenship in. As Christians, we all have citizenship in a greater country: the Kingdom of God.

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

--Philippians 3:20

The prophet Isaiah foretold the government that Jesus Christ would establish - a government unlike any other. Jesus will rule as the King over kings, and the Lord over lords. When he returns to rule the world, all human governments will cease fighting each other and begin obeying his commands. When Jesus returns, the world will at last see eternal peace:

The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

--Isaiah 9:5-7

Speaking about some of the greatest men and women of faith who ever lived, the writer of Hebrews tells us:

If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

--Hebrews 11:15-16

Where is our citizenship? Where is our allegiance? Is it with God, or with men?

As we have seen, history is filled with examples of Just War Theory being used in an attempt to justify actions that are in direct contradiction to Christ’s command to love enemies. Just War Theory has caused millions of people to compromise the teachings of Jesus, to water them down, or to disobey them entirely. Just War Theory has been used and abused by countless governments for the purposes of political gain. When we are tempted to compromise the Word of God in order to right for a human government, we must remember where our true citizenship lies.

But Peter and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

--Acts 5:29

Click here to continue to the next chapter: The Example of the Anabaptists

See also:

• Pacifism: Following Christ's Example
• Conquering Evil by Doing Good
• A Theology of Peace: Introduction
• The Kingdom of God
• The Sermon on the Mount
• Turning the Other Cheek
• Giving the Coat Also
• Going the Extra Mile
• The Example of Christ
• The Example of the Apostles
• The Resurrection of Jesus
• The Holy Spirit
• The New Covenant
• The Kingdom Lifestyle
• The Testimony of Early Christians
• A Return to Christian Nonviolence

Have questions, comments, criticisms, or concerns?

Email the author at: matt@faithfirstmedia.com

Today I translated the song "Lord Over All" by SonicFlood into Chinese. My translation is below in both simplified and traditional Chinese characters.

Corrections/suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Simplified Chinese:

”主超越所有“

您是我活着的原因。

您是我使命和我的不断的想像。

您是我喝的水

我寻求的珍品超过黄金。

您是我心中的火，

我压倒性爱和激情。

您是我呼吸的空气，

我唱的歌曲

来自我心和灵魂！

耶稣是主超越所有。

耶稣是主对我的。

耶稣，卷入至这祭坛，我来。

这儿是我的心。

愿您的渴望表现在我。

Traditional Chinese:

“主超越所有”

您是我活著的原因。

您是我使命和我的不斷的想像。

您是我喝的水

我尋求的珍品超過黃金。

您是我心中的火，

我壓倒性愛和激情。

您是我呼吸的空氣，

我唱的歌曲

來自我心和靈魂！

耶穌是主超越所有。

耶穌是主對我的。

耶穌，捲入至這祭壇，我來。

這兒是我的心。

願您的渴望表現在我。

Chinese Pronunciation:

”Zhǔ chāoyuè suǒyǒu“

Nín shì wǒ huózhe de yuányīn.

Nín shì wǒ shǐmìng hé wǒ de bùduàn de xiǎngxiàng.

Nín shì wǒ hē de shuǐ

Wǒ xúnqiú de zhēnpǐn chāoguò huángjīn.

Nín shì wǒ xīnzhōng de huǒ,

Wǒ yādǎo xìngài hé jīqíng.

Nín shì wǒ hūxī de kōngqì,

Wǒ chàng de gēqǔ

Lái zìwǒ xīn hé línghún!

Yēsū shì zhǔ chāoyuè suǒyǒu.

Yēsū shì zhǔ duì wǒ de.

Yēsū, juàn rù zhì zhè jìtán, wǒ lái.

Zhèer shì wǒ de xīn.

Yuàn nín de kěwàng biǎoxiàn zài wǒ.

English:

"Lord Over All"

You're the reason I live.

You're my quest, my constant vision

You're the water I drink,

the treasure I seek, more than gold.

You're the fire in my heart,

my consuming love and passion.

You're the air that I breathe,

the song that I sing

from my heart and soul!

Jesus, lord over all.

Be the lord over me.

Jesus, drawn to this altar, I come.

Here is my heart.

May your will be done in me.

---

English lyrics are property of Gracenote. Used according to the terms of use.

Songwriter: Gary Edward Sadler

Publishers: Magnificat Music, Paintbrush Music

Why Did Jesus Die?

by Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.”

--Matthew 16:21-22

“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

--Matthew 20:28

“For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.”

--Mark 9:31

“Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.”

--Luke 18:31-33

During his earthly ministry, Jesus had warned his disciples that he was going to die, and rise from the dead on the third day after his death, in accordance with the prophesies concerning the Messiah.

But why die?

Because Mankind Sinned

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”

--Romans 3:23

Sin is disobedience to God. The truth is that all people of the world have broken God’s commandments. Even something as seemingly insignificant as telling a lie, stealing a small item, using the Lord’s name in vain, or being angry at another person is defiance to God’s laws. The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Because we have all sinned, and because the penalty for sin is death, we therefore all deserve to die for our sins. Jesus came to die in our place, willingly taking the punishment we deserve upon himself, so that it would not fall on us, if we only believe and follow him.

The Scriptures make it clear why Jesus died:

To Save Us

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

--Luke 19:10

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

--Hebrews 7:25

To Free Us From the Bondage of Sin

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

--Galatians 5:1

To Reconcile Us to God

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

--John 14:6

“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation”

--2 Corinthians 5:18

“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

--Colossians 1:20

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

--Romans 5:10-11

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”

--Ephesians 2:13

“And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby”

--Ephesians 2:16

To Give Us Peace With God and With Each Other

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

--Romans 5:1

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”

--Ephesians 2:14 NLT

“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

--Colossians 1:20

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

--John 14:27

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

--John 16:33

For Our Healing

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

--Isaiah 53:5 

So We May Live

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

--John 3:16

Since Jesus died for us, we should live for him, following him as Lord over all. In following him, we will receive the salvation that he paid the ultimate price for, and we will honor the sacrifice Christ made by following his commandments out of love and respect for him, the ultimate savior.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

--John 14:23

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

--Romans 12:1

See Also: 

• God Loves You!
• What must I do to be saved?
• Basic Christian Beliefs Database

Pacifism: Following Christ’s Example

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2010 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com



“You just need to look at what the gospel asks, and what war does. The gospel asks that we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the homeless, visit the prisoner, and perform works of mercy. War does all the opposite. It makes my neighbor hungry, thirsty, homeless, a prisoner, and sick. The gospel asks that we take up our cross. War asks that we lay the cross of suffering on others.”

--Dorothy Day

As Christians, we are called to follow the example of Jesus.  Jesus did not use violence to try to stop evil.  In fact, Isaiah 53:9 tells us plainly that Jesus never used violence.  He broke bread with sinners, stopped Peter from fighting to prevent his arrest, and even forgave those who crucified him.  Jesus overcame evil not by resisting it, but by not resisting it, and in his death the price for the sins of mankind is fully paid, to bring salvation to many.

Because of his death and resurrection, we have the hope of that salvation, and live not for this day and age, but for the age to come.  We are called to follow the example, teaching, and commands of Jesus in every aspect of life, which requires self-sacrifice, endurance through persecution, and suffering.  Jesus said "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).  He also said, "he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:28).

Christ's teachings can be summed up in two great commandments: Love God, and love one another (Matthew 22:36-40).  To love someone is to care about them more than you care about yourself.  This self-sacrificial love is the heart of Christ's teachings about loving your enemies, praying for those who persecute you, and doing good to those who harm you (Matthew 5).  We are to do this in order to be children of God - to be like God, who through his longsuffering continually puts up with an evil world, shows it mercy and grace, and even sacrifices for people who don't deserve it.  Jesus showed us this self-sacrificial love by dying in our place while we were still sinners and "enemies of God" (Romans 5:10).  If we want to be Christians, that is, followers of Jesus, we have to actually follow Jesus by following his example of self-sacrificial love, by loving our enemies, even those who don't deserve it, just as Jesus loved us and therefore suffered for us, even when we didn't deserve love.

A few years ago, an Amish man's son was murdered by a gunman. The Amish man did not make any attempt to defend his son through violence. When the gunman later committed suicide, the entire Amish congregation from that area attended the gunman’s funeral and visited the gunman’s family in order to comfort them. The Amish forgave the gunman for the murder he committed and told the gunman’s family that they were sorry for the family's loss. I am absolutely convinced that such love and compassion is far more powerful in changing even the most vile of hearts than any police action or judicial punishment could ever be!

Critics will argue that loving someone does not guarantee that they will change and be loving back.  However, I don't see how this is relevant.  We don't love selfishly in order to receive love back.  Whether we receive love back or not is completely irrelevant.  If someone doesn’t change or love back, that’s their problem!

We are to love because it's what God does, and as children of God, we follow him.  God loves the whole world, even though most people don't love him back!  He still shows grace and mercy, allowing sinners to continue to exist day after day (even though they deserve to die for their sins), and even sacrificing his Son for their salvation, even though they don't deserve it.  If we want to follow God, we must follow this example of love.

Critics will argue that if all Christians acted like the Amish do, then they would be trampled on and destroyed by the evil forces of the world, because they refuse to fight back.  I agree.  But this shouldn’t stop us from following the commandments of peace that Jesus gave us.  Jesus assures us that we will experience persecution, but it's all going to be okay in the end, because in the age to come Jesus will return, the dead in Christ will rise and receive eternal life, and Jesus will rule as King of kings and establish perfect peace over the whole Earth, and bring the Kingdom of God to fulfillment on a new and perfect world.  Because we know that there will be a happy ending one day, we have strength to endure persecution today.  Even if Christianity is completely destroyed because it refused to fight back, it will all be okay in the end because Jesus is coming back! 



The idea of fighting violence with violence is self-defeating.  When you repay evil with evil, you only end up with more overall evil.  You're also no better than the one committing evil, since you're also committing evil yourself.  If we fought violence with violence, we would be no different from the worldly nations of this world.  Our true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God, which is not like other nations.  We must stop treating the Kingdom of God as if it were a mere worldly institution.  Jesus said "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm" (John 18:36).



In the early Christian church (before Constantine), Christians were not allowed to serve in the military, and if a soldier wished to become a Christian, he had to first desert from his patrol (which was a crime punishable by death).  The early Christians took pacifism very seriously. Here are some great quotes by early Christians of the first through fourth centuries.

See also:

• Conquering Evil by Doing Good
• The Example of the Anabaptists
• A Return to Christian Nonviolence

What Must I Do To Be Saved?

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2010 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

• Do you consider yourself to be a good person?
• Have you ever told a lie, even a small one?
• Have you ever stolen, even something small?
• Have you ever used the Lord's name as a swear word?
• Have you ever committed murder?
• Have you ever been angry at someone else?  Jesus said that if you're angry with someone, you've already committed murder in your heart.

When we really look at ourselves honestly, we'll find that even though we consider ourselves to be "good" by human standards, we're really lying, cheating, thieving, blaspheming, murderers-at-heart when we're judged by God's perfect standards.  Even the "smallest" sin makes us guilty before God.  Eternal life is an infinite reward, so in order to deserve it, you would have to be infinitely good!  None of us are that perfect. We are all sinners, and the Bible teaches that the penalty for sin is death.

How then can anyone be saved?

There is still hope because Jesus loved us enough to die in our place.  Jesus took the punishment for our sins upon himself.  Therefore, the penalty for sin has already been paid.  To be saved and accepted into eternal life in the heaven on earth that is coming when Jesus returns, we need to accept the atonement that Jesus made for our sins when he sacrificed himself on the cross.  We then need to accept Jesus as our Lord, and follow his teachings.

You should read the gospels to see what Christ taught, but his teachings can be summed up in two great commandments:

1. Love God.
2. Love one another.

To love someone is to care about them more than you care about yourself.  Jesus showed us this love when he chose to sacrifice himself on the cross for our sakes - out of love for us.  Now we are called to be living sacrifices in service to God - not to die, since Jesus already did that for us, but to live for God, seeking his will for our lives, developing a personal relationship with God as he guides us through the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and following God's plan for our lives, which may lead us through persecution but will ultimately lead us to eternal life.  As Christians, we live to show the world the same sacrificial, true love that Jesus showed to us, by helping those in need, and living peaceably with all.

If you accept Jesus as your Lord, and you follow his teachings, you will be saved.  You will enjoy eternal life in the age to come, and you will enjoy a richer, fuller, and more purpose-driven life in your present life, as the Holy Spirit works in your heart to guide you according to God's will, and as you develop a true relationship with God.

Remember: Throughout history there have been many different religious leaders who have taught many different things, but only Jesus paid the price for our sins.  This is why we must follow him.  Jesus is the only way to salvation because no other religious leader paid the price for our sins like Jesus did.

See Also:

• God Loves You!
• Why did Jesus die?
• Basic Christian Beliefs Database

This is chapter sixteen of the book A Theology of Peace by Matthew Elton.

Click here to read the previous chapter: The Oxymoron of "Just War".

The Example of the Anabaptists

During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther and other reformers protested many unbiblical practices practiced by the Catholic Church, which had its earliest beginnings under Constantine. The Protestant Reformers, however, continued to see the Christian church as a universal power that should rule over the entire population like a government. Indeed, throughout Renaissance Europe - in Protestant nations as well as Catholic ones - the church and the government were woven tightly together, and membership in the state church from birth was enforced by law and military might.

However, one group of Christians called the Anabaptists had a very different view of the church’s role in society. The believed that being a Christian was more than being a member of a church; it meant making the conscious decision to actually follow the commands of Jesus Christ. The Anabaptists saw no value in following the state church - which was an institution created by man. Rather, they sought to follow Jesus as Lord.

The Anabaptists believed that in order to be a Christian one must make the conscious decision to follow Jesus in every aspect of life. Therefore, the Anabaptists opposed the practice of infant baptism. How could an infant make the conscious decision to follow Jesus, which baptism symbolizes? For the Anabaptists, baptism was not a vain ritual but an important decision to commit one’s life to following Jesus Christ; to die to oneself and emerge as a new creation - destroying the old, sinful self and striving for total holiness and purity.

In his book The Anabaptist Vision, Harold S. Bender writes:

First and fundamental in the Anabaptist vision was the conception of the essence of Christianity as discipleship. It was a concept which meant the transformation of the entire way of life of the individual believer and of society so that it should be fashioned after the teachings and example of Christ. The Anabaptists could not understand a Christianity which made regeneration, holiness, and love primarily a matter of intellect, of doctrinal belief, or of subjective “experience,” rather than one of the transformation of life. They demanded an outward expression of the inward experience. Repentance must be “evidenced” by newness of behavior. “In evidence” is the keynote which rings through the testimonies and challenges of the early Swiss Brethren when they are called to give an account of themselves. The whole life was to be brought literally under the lordship of Christ in a covenant of discipleship, a covenant which the Anabaptist writers delighted to emphasize. The focus of the Christian life was to be not so much the inward experience of the grace of God, as it was for Luther, but the outward application of that grace to all human conduct and the consequent Christianization of all human relationships. The true test of the Christian, they held, is discipleship. The great word of the Anabaptists was not “faith” as it was for the reformers, but “following” (Nachfolge Christi). And baptism, the greatest of Christian symbols, was accordingly to be for them the “covenant of a good conscience toward God” (1 Peter 3:21), the pledge of a complete commitment to obey Christ, and not primarily the symbol of a past experience. The Anabaptists had faith, indeed, but they used it to produce a life. Theology was for them a means, not an end.

--Harold S. Bender, The Anabaptist Vision

The testimony of many church reformers confirms that the for the Anabaptists, faith was not just a matter of understanding and believing, but also a matter of transformative, life-changing obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ. The Anabaptists not only had faith, but lived out their faith through action. The reformer Huldrych Zwingli wrote of the Anabaptists:

If you investigate their life and conduct, it seems at first contact irreproachable, pious, unassuming, attractive, yea, above this world. Even those who are inclined to be critical will say that their lives are excellent!

--Huldrych Zwingli, 1527

And the reformer Heinrich Bullinger once said of the Anabaptists that “the people are running after them as though they were the living saints.” He also wrote:

Those who unite with them will by their ministers be received into their church by rebaptism and repentance and newness of life. They henceforth lead their lives under a semblance of a quite spiritual conduct. They denounce covetousness, pride, profanity, the lewd conversation and immorality of the world, drinking and gluttony.

--Heinrich Bullinger, c. 1531

The German reformer Wolfgang Capito wrote of the Anabaptists that “in most there is in evidence piety and consecration and indeed a zeal which is beyond any suspicion of insincerity.”

In a 1532 letter to the Council of Berne, the Canton of Berne wrote, “The Anabaptists have the semblance of outward piety to a far greater degree than we and all the churches which unitedly with us confess Christ, and they avoid offensive sins which are very common among us.”

In 1582, the Catholic theologian Franz Agricola wrote a book attacking the Anabaptists, and denouncing them as “heretics.” And yet, Agricola could not help but take note of the obvious holiness which pervaded the Anabaptist community, culture, and lifestyle:

Among the existing heretical sects there is none which in appearance leads a more modest or pious life than the Anabaptist. As concerns their outward public life they are irreproachable. No lying, deception, swearing, strife, harsh language, no intemperate eating and drinking, no outward personal display, is found among them, but humility, patience, uprightness, neatness, honesty, temperance, straightforwardness in such measure that one would suppose that they had the Holy Spirit of God.

--Franz Agricola, Against the Terrible Errors of the Anabaptists

Agricola’s supposition was correct! The Anabaptists were living out the kingdom lifestyle we described earlier, and they did so with the empowering aid of the Holy Spirit.

The German radical reformer Sebastian Franck wrote in 1531 that the Anabaptists “gained a large following” of “many sincere souls who had a zeal for God.” Franck also noted that the Anabaptists “taught nothing but love, faith, and the cross” and he went on to say that:

They showed themselves humble, patient under much suffering; they brake bread with one another as an evidence of unity and love. They helped each other faithfully, and called each other brothers.

--Sebastian Franck, 1531

The sixteenth century Anabaptist martyr Hand Leopold said of the Anabaptists:

If they know of any one who is in need, whether or not he is a member of their church, they believe it is their duty, out of love to God, to render help and aid.

--Hans Leopold

In The Anabaptist Vision, Harold S. Bender describes how holy living through obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ is the foundation of Anabaptism:

As a second major element in the Anabaptist vision, a new concept of the church was created by the central principle of newness of life and applied Christianity. Voluntary church membership based upon true conversion and involving a commitment to holy living and discipleship was the absolutely essential heart of this concept. This vision stands in sharp contrast to the church concept of the reformers who retained the medieval idea of a mass church with membership of the entire population from birth to the grave compulsory by law and force.

--Harold S. Bender, The Anabaptist Vision

Bender goes on to say that for the Anabaptists:

An inevitable corollary of the concept of the church as a body of committed and practicing Christians pledged to the highest standard of New Testament living was the insistence on the separation of the church from the world, that is noncomformity of the Christian to the worldly way of life.

--Harold S. Bender, The Anabaptist Vision

In a 1532 debate at Zofingnen, the Anabaptists declared that “the true church is separated from the world and is conformed to the nature of Christ. If a church is yet at one with the world we cannot recognize it is a true church.”

Anabaptism by its earnest determination to follow in life and practice the primitive Christian Church has kept alive the conviction that he who is in Christ is a new creature and that those who are identified with his cause will necessarily encounter the opposition of the world.

--Professor Ernest Staehelin

Harold S. Bender writes in The Anabaptist Vision:

The third great element in the Anabaptist vision was the ethic of love and nonresistance as applied to all human relationships. The Brethren understood this to mean complete abandonment of all warfare, strife, and violence, and of the taking of human life.

--Harold S. Bender, The Anabaptist Vision

In a letter criticizing “Christian” nations that were waging war against other “Christian” nations, Anabaptist leader Peter Chelcicky wrote:

The whole rabble of these divided multitudes are called Christians, and together they pray: “Our Father which art in heaven.” They approach God in this way while each party has in mind the destruction of the other. They think they are serving God by shedding others’ blood. And on both sides they say: “Forgive us as we forgive.” And every party seeks to increase its military force and never thinks of forgiving the other so long as they can hope to overcome them. Therefore, their prayers are blasphemies against God.

--Peter Chelcicky, c. 1420

“Father of the Anabaptists” Conrad Grebel wrote in 1524:

True Christians use neither worldly sword nor engage in war, since among them taking human life has ceased entirely, for we are no longer under the Old Covenant.

--Conrad Grebel, 1524

In 1535, Anabaptist Jacob Hutter was arrested for leaving the Catholic church. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I ordered that he Hutter be tortured and burned at the stake. Though he was offered mercy in exchange for the names of other Anabaptists, he remained silent in order to protect his fellow brethren in Christ. During his arrest, he made no attempt to fight back with violence, but was prepared to die rather than disobey the Lord Jesus Christ by repaying evil with evil.

We will not do a wrong or an injury to any man, yea, not to our greatest enemy, neither to Ferdinand, nor anyone else, great or small. All our actions and conduct, word and work, life and walk are open; there is no secret about it all. Rather than knowingly to rob a man of a penny, we would willingly give up a hundred guilders [equal to $182.35]. And before we would give our greatest enemy a blow with the hand, to say nothing of spear, sword, or halberd as is the manner of the world, we would be willing to lose our lives.

--Jacob Hutter, c. 1535

The German Anabaptist Pilgram Marpeck wrote of the “law of love” that Jesus “observed and thereby gave His followers a pattern to follow after.” Speaking of this law of love, he wrote:

All bodily, carnal, earthly fightings, conflicts, and wars are annulled and abolished among them through such law

--Pilgram Marpeck, 1544

The German Anabaptist Peter Riedemann wrote:

Christ, the Prince of Peace, has established His Kingdom, that is, His Church, and has purchased it by His blood. In this kingdom all worldly warfare has ended. Therefore a Christian has no part in war nor does he wield the sword to execute vengeance.

--Peter Riedemann, 1545

The Dutch Anabaptist Menno Simons wrote that Christians should be “children of peace who have beaten their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and know of no war.” He went on to say that:

Our weapons are not weapons with which cities and countries may be destroyed, walls and gates broken down, and human blood shed in torrents like water. But they are weapons with which the spiritual kingdom of the devil is destroyed. Christ is our fortress; patience our weapon of defense; the Word of God our sword. And our victory is a candid, firm, unfeigned faith in Jesus Christ. Iron and metal spears and swords we leave to those who, alas, regard human blood and swine’s blood of well-nigh equal value.

--Menno Simons, 1550

In The Anabaptist Vision, Harold S. Bender notes that “nonresistance” and “biblical pacifism” were “believed and resolutely practiced by all the original Anabaptist Brethren and their descendants throughout Europe from the beginning until the last century.” He goes on to say:

Lutheranism said that since the Christian must live in a world order that remains sinful, he must make a compromise with it. As a citizen he cannot avoid participation in the evil of the world, for instance in making war, and for this his only recourse is to seek forgiveness by the grace of God; only within his personal private experience can the Christian truly Christianize his life. The Anabaptist rejected this view completely. Since for him no compromise dare be made with evil, the Christian may in no circumstance participate in any conduct in the existing social order which is contrary to the spirit and teaching of Christ and the apostolic practice.

--Harold S. Bender, The Anabaptist Vision

Several denominations emerged from the Anabaptist movement, including the Brethren in Christ and the Church of the Brethren. The Church of the Brethren refused to “submit to the higher powers so as to make ourselves their instruments to shed human blood.”

The church cannot concede to the state the authority to conscript citizens for military training or military service against their conscience.

--Church of the Brethren, Annual Conference of 1785

Click here to continue to the next chapter: A Return to Christian Nonviolence

See also:

• Pacifism: Following Christ's Example
• Conquering Evil by Doing Good
• A Theology of Peace: Introduction
• The Kingdom of God
• The Sermon on the Mount
• Turning the Other Cheek
• Giving the Coat Also
• Going the Extra Mile
• The Example of Christ
• The Example of the Apostles
• The Resurrection of Jesus
• The Holy Spirit
• The New Covenant
• The Kingdom Lifestyle
• The Testimony of Early Christians
• The Downfall of Nonviolent Theology Under Constantine

Have questions, comments, criticisms, or concerns?

Email the author at: matt@faithfirstmedia.com

In the following article, the biblical text is in CAPS, while commentary is in lower case.

Studies in Revelation

by Dr. John H. Roller

Chapter 9

Introduction

Revelation 9 continues John’s report of the vision of the seven trumpets, begun in Revelation 8:2. As I stated in the Conclusion to last month’s study, I believe that what is prophesied in Revelation 9 is God’s judgment against the wicked people of the Arab world (those people who occupied the Middle East after the Roman Empire was destroyed). During what we call the “Dark Ages” in Europe’s history, the lands of the Bible – the countries that are now Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and so on – were conquered by the armies of the false prophet Mohammed, who claimed to receive the “revelations” from “Allah” that are recorded in the Qur’an. He gathered a band of followers who not only supported his religion, but also his efforts to take control of that part of the world, and went out to conquer all of that territory. He and his successors built an empire that reached its peak right at the time when Europe was at its lowest point.

Revelation 9:1

THE FIFTH ANGEL SOUNDED (his trumpet), AND I SAW A STAR FROM THE SKY WHICH HAD FALLEN TO THE EARTH. THE KEY TO THE PIT OF THE ABYSS (the place in “the depths of the earth” where demons are imprisoned until their final punishment) WAS GIVEN TO HIM.

Revelation 9:2

HE (the “star”) OPENED THE PIT OF THE ABYSS, AND SMOKE WENT UP OUT OF THE PIT, LIKE THE SMOKE FROM A BURNING FURNACE. THE SUN AND THE AIR WERE DARKENED BECAUSE OF THE SMOKE FROM THE PIT. A “smoke screen” is an expression for the way that you can prevent people from understanding the truth by “covering it over” with so much confusing falsehood that they can’t “see” the truth that is buried in it. Having read several different English translations of the Qur’an, I have to tell you that my impression of that book is that it is a giant smoke screen, filled with so many confusing and conflicting assertions that if there is any truth in it, it’s awfully hard to see it. Many times, after reading several surahs (chapters) of the Qur’an, I had the feeling that I was in a room that was thick with smoke and couldn’t feel my way around.

Revelation 9:3

THEN OUT OF THE SMOKE CAME FORTH LOCUSTS ON THE EARTH (the original armies of Mohammed were so large – because they involved all of the adult men from the communities that Mohammed ruled – that as they went around the countryside conquering, those who were conquered by them often compared them to the “invading armies” of locusts that covered that part of the world every so many years and ate up every form of vegetation that there was), AND POWER WAS GIVEN TO THEM, AS THE SCORPIONS OF THE EARTH HAVE POWER. Scorpions have the power to inflict pain, and even to kill, by their sting – and Mohammed’s armies had the power to inflict pain on, and even to kill, those who refused to submit to their claim of authority.

Revelation 9:4

THEY WERE TOLD THAT THEY SHOULD NOT HURT THE GRASS OF THE EARTH, NEITHER ANY GREEN THING, NEITHER ANY TREE (as literal locusts would do), BUT ONLY THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE GOD’S SEAL ON THEIR FOREHEADS (non-Christians in the Middle East quickly fell prey to Mohammed’s new religion, and became Muslims; only those who knew Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior were able to stand up against this onslaught – by maintaining their faith in Jesus – and many of them were martyred).

Revelation 9:5

THEY WERE GIVEN POWER NOT TO KILL THEM (destroy their communities altogether), BUT TO TORMENT THEM (reduce their population, wealth and influence) FOR FIVE MONTHS. 5 times 30 days is 150 days. Each day represents a year; so we’re talking about a period of 150 years. The initial Muslim conquest of the Middle East took place in the 150-year period beginning in AD 636 and ending in AD 786. THEIR TORMENT WAS LIKE THE TORMENT OF A SCORPION, WHEN IT STRIKES A PERSON.

Revelation 9:6

IN THOSE DAYS PEOPLE WILL SEEK DEATH, AND WILL IN NO WAY FIND IT. THEY WILL DESIRE TO DIE, AND DEATH WILL FLEE FROM THEM. People groups who lived in the Middle East had a tendency to give up, in despair, when confronted by the conquering armies of Islam. They accepted the new religion and the domination of their communities by Mohammed’s armies rather than be killed; then they found that life under Muslim domination was so bad that they wished that they had chosen death instead, but the Muslims wouldn’t kill them as long as they submitted to the Muslim claim of authority.

Revelation 9:7

THE SHAPES OF THE LOCUSTS WERE LIKE HORSES PREPARED FOR WAR. That statement, if nothing else, should be a “clue” that John isn’t reporting a vision of a literal locust plague. ON THEIR HEADS WERE SOMETHING LIKE GOLDEN CROWNS, AND THEIR FACES WERE LIKE PEOPLE’S FACES. The “locusts” in the vision were symbols of actual people – men riding into battle on horses.

Revelation 9:8

THEY HAD HAIR LIKE WOMEN’S HAIR (as far as I know, the only armies in the history of the world that have allowed their male soldiers to wear long hair have been the armies of the Arab peoples), AND THEIR TEETH WERE LIKE THOSE OF LIONS. Once caught in such “teeth,” the victim has very little chance of ever escaping, especially not unharmed.

Revelation 9:9

THEY HAD BREASTPLATES, LIKE BREASTPLATES OF IRON. THE SOUND OF THEIR WINGS WAS LIKE THE SOUND OF CHARIOTS, OR OF MANY HORSES RUSHING TO WAR. In a sense, John is “interpreting” his own vision for us – he tells us that the “locusts” aren’t literal locusts. They represent the “cavalry” of the Muslim armies.

Revelation 9:10

THEY HAVE TAILS LIKE THOSE OF SCORPIONS, AND STINGS. IN THEIR TAILS THEY HAVE POWER TO HARM MEN FOR FIVE MONTHS (AD 636-786, see verse 5, above).

Revelation 9:11

THEY HAVE OVER THEM AS KING (literally, the first “king” of the Muslims was the false prophet Mohammed, who, for part of his life, was actually the King of Mecca; later, the caliphs were the “kings” of the Muslims) THE ANGEL OF THE ABYSS (“behind” Mohammed and the caliphs, John, in this vision, sees a demonic spirit “pulling the strings” on this whole operation). HIS NAME IN HEBREW IS “ABADDON,” BUT IN GREEK, HE HAS THE NAME “APOLLYON” (both of these names, translated into English, mean “the destroyer” – one of the things that Mohammed and his armies succeeded in doing was destroying the culture that had existed in the Middle East before his conquests; of course, after this destruction, the Muslims then built their own culture, including such impressive creations as the Mosque of Omar, which sits on the site formerly occupied by the Temple, in Jerusalem).

Revelation 9:12

THE FIRST WOE (corresponding to the fifth trumpet) IS PAST. BEHOLD (“Look!”), THERE ARE STILL TWO WOES (corresponding to the sixth and seventh trumpets) COMING AFTER THIS (both in the text, and in the order of chronological fulfillment).

Revelation 9:13

THE SIXTH ANGEL SOUNDED (his trumpet). I HEARD A VOICE (coming) FROM THE HORNS OF THE GOLDEN ALTAR (one of the items of “furniture” that John had seen in the earlier vision recorded in Revelation 4) WHICH IS BEFORE GOD,

Revelation 9:14

SAYING TO THE SIXTH ANGEL WHO HAD ONE TRUMPET, “FREE THE FOUR ANGELS WHO ARE BOUND AT THE GREAT RIVER EUPHRATES!”

Revelation 9:15

THE FOUR ANGELS WERE FREED WHO HAD BEEN PREPARED FOR AN HOUR AND A DAY AND A MONTH AND A YEAR (on our “scale” of a day for a year, that would come to a little over 396 years – just about exactly the time between January 18, 1057, and May 29, 1453 – see my comments on verse 16, below), SO THAT THEY MIGHT KILL ONE THIRD OF MANKIND (that is, 1/3 of the people living in the region being discussed, not 1/3 of all the people living on the entire planet).

Revelation 9:16

THE NUMBER OF THE ARMIES OF THE HORSEMEN WAS TWO HUNDRED MILLION. This number astonishes anyone who tries to put the interpretation of this prophecy into the present time or any time in the near future. What country could field an army with 200,000,000 mounted troops? According to the 2009 World Almanac, on June 30, 2008, the United States had a total of 1,385,122 troops on active duty. At no time in history was that number ever higher than the 8,266,373 that it reached in 1945, near the end of World War II. The People’s Republic of China – a country with over four times the population of the United States – had only slightly more troops, in 2008, at 2,105,000. Only three other countries – Russia, North Korea and India – had over 1,000,000. The total number of soldiers in the whole world, today, isn’t anywhere near 200,000,000. So whose huge army is this? The answer, I believe, is that it is the composite number of all of the soldiers that served in the Turkish Muslim armies, which conquered most of the Middle East, and almost half of Europe, between January 18, 1057, when they first began their assault on the region, and May 29, 1453, when they were defeated at the very gates of Vienna, Austria, whereupon their empire began to dwindle down. Today the whole “empire” only amounts to the country of Turkey. I HEARD THE NUMBER OF THEM (and saw them, in the vision, as if they were all gathered together on the battlefield at one time, although, in reality, the fulfillment of the vision took place over a period of nearly four centuries and involved many separate generations of soldiers).

Revelation 9:17

THUS I SAW THE HORSES IN THE VISION, AND THOSE WHO SAT ON THEM, HAVING BREASTPLATES OF FIERY RED, HYACINTH BLUE, AND SULFUR YELLOW (those were, in fact, the colors of the flag that was flown by the Turkish army in those days, though the modern country of Turkey uses a simpler red flag with a white star and crescent); AND THE HEADS OF LIONS. OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS PROCEED (teachings that have the characteristics of) FIRE (which is destructive), SMOKE (which is confusing), AND SULFUR (which is offensive) – that is exactly how the nominally-Christian Europeans felt about the teachings of Islam (and, particularly, its Turkish form).

Revelation 9:18

BY THESE THREE PLAGUES WERE ONE THIRD OF MANKIND (again, that is, 1/3 of the people living in the region that is being discussed – the Middle East and Eastern Europe – not 1/3 of all the people living on the planet) KILLED: BY THE FIRE, THE SMOKE, AND THE SULFUR, WHICH PROCEEDED OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS (ultimately, the source of the devastation that occurred was not the military might of the armies, but the destructive, confusing and offensive teachings of Islam; and, ultimately, the devastation itself was not the death of so many millions of people, but the enslavement of the hundreds of millions who remained, and of the billions who have since been born under the domination of this false religion).

Revelation 9:19

FOR THE POWER OF THE HORSES IS IN THEIR MOUTHS, AND IN THEIR TAILS. FOR THEIR TAILS ARE LIKE SERPENTS, AND HAVE HEADS, AND WITH THEM THEY HARM. The Turks were the only people in history ever to develop the idea of shooting an arrow behind them. Everybody else held their bows out in front and shot their arrows in the direction in which they were facing; but the Turks learned how to hold their bows backwards and shoot their arrows at whoever was chasing them. This thoroughly confused their enemies, who would think that the Turks were running away when, in reality, they were attacking. They killed a lot of people that way. Eventually, of course, their enemies learned that the one thing to avoid seeing in battle was the rear end of a Turkish horse.

Revelation 9:20

THE REST OF MANKIND (that is, the rest of those people who lived in the region under discussion – the Middle East and Eastern Europe), WHO WERE NOT KILLED WITH THESE PLAGUES, DIDN’T REPENT OF THE WORKS OF THEIR HANDS, (so) THAT THEY WOULDN’T WORSHIP DEMONS, AND THE IDOLS OF GOLD, AND OF SILVER, AND OF BRASS, AND OF STONE, AND OF WOOD; WHICH CAN NEITHER SEE, NOR HEAR, NOR WALK (the writers of the Bible often made fun of the false gods that were worshipped by those people who didn’t worship the true God, on the basis of the fact that the false gods were impotent, whereas the true God is omnipotent).

Revelation 9:21

THEY DIDN’T REPENT OF THEIR MURDERS, NOR OF THEIR SORCERIES, NOR OF THEIR SEXUAL IMMORALITY, NOR OF THEIR THEFTS. These last two verses contain the main point of the entire chapter. The main point is not the delineation of the time frame during which Mohammed’s Muslim armies would establish their hegemony over the Middle East and parts of Europe. The main point is that God was judging the peoples of that part of the world for their idolatry and wickedness, and that He was doing it by allowing those peoples to be invaded, conquered, killed and subjugated by the Muslims. And the proof that He was acting rightly in doing so is found in the fact that their troubles didn’t lead them to turn away from sin to Him. That leads me to wonder if there might not be a contemporary application to this historical prophecy. “Western” Christendom survived the Muslim onslaught of the seventh through fifteenth centuries; but have the peoples of Europe and North America maintained a true reliance on God, or are we still worshipping idols and engaging in sinful practices? Have you repented of the works of your hands (“doing your own thing”), or are you still worshipping the “American idols” of gold and silver (money), brass, stone and wood (material things), murders (like abortion), sorceries (the word literally means “drug abuse”), sexual immorality (which is any sexual activity outside of the sacred bond of marriage) and theft (which includes “petty” crimes like cheating on your income tax and doing personal stuff on company time)?

Conclusion

So far, we’ve covered six of the seven trumpets. As in the vision of the seven seals, there is now a “pause” extending all the way from Revelation 10:1 to Revelation 11:14. Before we get to that seventh trumpet, we need to see what was predicted to happen between AD 1453 and the Second Coming of Christ.

In the following article, the biblical text is in CAPS, while commentary is in lower case.

Studies in Revelation

by Dr. John H. Roller

Chapter 8

Introduction

In his letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2-3), Jesus didn’t mention the Second Coming as an event that would take place during one of the church ages. The last letter simply concluded with the last church age and the statement, “If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” That closed the vision; there was no mention of the Second Coming; John went on to tell of another vision (the vision of the seven seals). Now, in this second vision (the vision of the seven seals), when John reaches the seventh seal, he gives us just the briefest little hint of the Second Coming. As we go through this book, we will see that, cycle after cycle after cycle, each time we build up to the Second Coming, he gives us a bigger picture of the Second Coming, until, finally, in the last vision, it all sort of bursts through, and he devotes a whole chapter to telling us what that Coming itself will be like, and then he goes on to tell us what will happen after it. But, in Revelation 8:1, for the first time in the book, we have a hint being given. We will see a very strange, kind of anticlimactic, kind of suspenseful way of putting the Second Coming of Christ, because John really isn’t ready, at this point in his book, to unload the whole picture of the Second Coming for us.

Revelation 8:1

WHEN HE (Jesus) OPENED THE SEVENTH SEAL, THERE WAS SILENCE IN HEAVEN (because all the “action” is on Earth; when this prophecy is fulfilled, Jesus will have left the heavenly scene and returned to Earth, and the important things that will be happening then will be happening on Earth, where He will be, not in Heaven) FOR ABOUT HALF AN HOUR (1 Corinthians 15:52 describes this same “time period” using the expression “in the twinkling of an eye” – in either case, I’m not sure that the expression should be taken literally; in both cases, I believe, the point is that the Second Coming will take place very quickly – we have similar expressions, like, “in no time at all” and “it’ll all be over before you know it”). This verse marks the end of John’s vision of the seven seals. Revelation 8:2 begins another vision (note the words, “I saw,” which often mark the beginning of a new vision). Like the vision of the seven seals, this vision of the seven trumpets will portray events that take place on Earth between the time of the first coming of Jesus and the time of the Second Coming.

Revelation 8:2

I SAW THE SEVEN ANGELS WHO STAND BEFORE GOD (I am not aware of any other reference in the Bible to these “seven angels who stand before God,” but there is a reference to them in one of the books of the Apocrypha – see Tobit 12:15, where Tobit, the main character of that book, encounters an angel named Raphael, who says that he is “one of the seven angels who stand before God” – evidently, that “bit” of information happens to be true, since John refers to it as true in Revelation 8:2, even though we wouldn’t be able to know if it were true or not based only on our finding it in a book that wasn’t inspired by God, as Revelation was), AND SEVEN TRUMPETS WERE GIVEN TO THEM. In this vision, the angels themselves aren’t of much interest; it is the trumpets that are of interest, particularly, what happens on the Earth when the angels blow them. In biblical prophecy, trumpets are often used as symbols of judgment, because trumpets would be sounded before a battle, and a battle was often viewed as a judgment of God, the outcome of the battle being determined by God, not by the relative strengths or weaknesses of one or the other of the battling armies. So these seven trumpets will represent seven judgments of God that were predicted to come on the Earth during the Church Age.

Revelation 8:3

ANOTHER ANGEL CAME AND STOOD OVER THE ALTAR (in front of God’s throne in John’s vision of Heaven), HAVING A GOLDEN CENSER (incense container). MUCH INCENSE (which was used in Old Testament temple worship services as a symbol of prayer, because, as is easy to see, the rising toward the sky of the smoke produced by burning the incense was a visual representation of the rising toward God of the prayers being spoken by His people on Earth) WAS GIVEN TO HIM, THAT HE SHOULD ADD IT (the incense) TO THE PRAYERS OF ALL THE SAINTS (believers in Jesus) ON THE GOLDEN ALTAR WHICH WAS BEFORE THE THRONE (of God).

Revelation 8:4

THE SMOKE OF THE INCENSE, WITH THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS, WENT UP BEFORE GOD OUT OF THE ANGEL’S HAND. The idea is that God’s people, experiencing all kinds of trials and persecutions at the hands of their enemies here on Earth, respond to those trials and persecutions by praying to God, and their prayers come to God’s attention, and the judgments that He pours out of the Earth are His way of answering those prayers.

Revelation 8:5

THE ANGEL TOOK THE CENSER (incense container), AND HE FILLED IT WITH THE FIRE OF THE ALTAR, AND THREW IT ON THE EARTH (fulfilling the “wish” that Jesus had expressed in November of AD 29 – see Luke 12:49). THERE FOLLOWED THUNDERS, SOUNDS, LIGHTNINGS, AND AN EARTHQUAKE (generalized symbols of the approach of judgment).

Revelation 8:6

THE SEVEN ANGELS WHO HAD THE SEVEN TRUMPETS PREPARED THEMSELVES TO SOUND. As the angels blow the trumpets, we will see another series of historical events portrayed in symbolic form, just as we did with the vision of the opening of the seven seals. In this case, the symbols are not as obvious – not as easy to interpret – as were the symbols in the previous vision. I could certainly be wrong in my interpretation of them, but, to the best of my ability to do so, I’ll give you what I believe to be the correct interpretation.

Revelation 8:7

THE FIRST (angel) SOUNDED (his trumpet), AND THERE FOLLOWED HAIL AND FIRE, MIXED WITH BLOOD, AND THEY WERE THROWN TO THE EARTH (which is often used in biblical prophecy as a symbol for the land of Palestine, just as, in reverse, the land of Palestine is often used in biblical prophecy as a symbol for the whole Earth – in both Hebrew and Greek, the word translated “land” is the same word that is also translated “Earth” and you can only tell the difference by analyzing the context to see which translation makes more sense in a given passage). ONE THIRD OF THE EARTH (Palestine, representing, in turn, the Jewish people, who were living in Palestine at that time) WAS BURNT UP (destroyed), AND ONE THIRD OF THE TREES (often used in biblical prophecy as a symbol for national leaders) WERE BURNT UP (killed), AND ALL GREEN GRASS (often used in biblical prophecy as a symbol for the common people) WAS BURNT UP (killed). This verse speaks of a judgment against the Jewish people (as a nation) for rejecting Jesus as their promised Messiah. When Jesus stood before the Roman Governor of Palestine, Pontius Pilate, and was accused of leading a rebellion against Caesar because of His “claim” to be the King of the Jews, the Jews responded to a question from Pilate by shouting, “We have no king but Caesar!” Forty years later, in AD 70, God’s judgment fell upon them in the form of an invasion by Roman armies, led by a general named Titus (who would later become a Roman Emperor). Buildings, including the Temple in Jerusalem, were destroyed; leaders were killed or taken into captivity, and most of the population was either killed or scattered throughout the Roman Empire in what later became known as the First Jewish War (at the time, of course, it was simply called “the Jewish War” – just as what we now call “World War I” was called “the World War” at the time when it happened, and only became known as “World War I” when World War II happened, a couple of decades later). Much of what Jesus Himself had predicted in His “Olivet Discourse” (Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21) was fulfilled in AD 70 as well.

Revelation 8:8

THE SECOND ANGEL SOUNDED (his trumpet), AND SOMETHING LIKE A GREAT BURNING MOUNTAIN (the great mountain representing the entire Jewish community, worldwide; and the fact that it was burning representing another great judgment on them) WAS THROWN INTO THE SEA (the sea, in biblical prophecy, often represents the entire world of Gentile nations). ONE THIRD OF THE SEA (the scattered places in the world where Jewish people lived at that time) BECAME BLOOD (was affected by this judgment),

Revelation 8:9

AND ONE THIRD OF THE LIVING CREATURES (representing the Jewish people) WHICH WERE IN THE SEA (scattered throughout the world) DIED. ONE THIRD OF THE SHIPS (on which people traveled from place to place throughout the world in those days) WERE DESTROYED. I believe that this prophecy was fulfilled in the Second Jewish War of AD 135, in which 580,000 Jews (about 1/3 of the total world population of Jews at the time) were killed. This war was started when a man named Simon, who called himself “Bar-Kochba” (which means “Son of the Star”), claimed to be the Messiah (in fact, the leading Jewish Rabbi of the time, a man named Akiba, actually proclaimed Simon to be the Messiah, the only time in all of Jewish history when a leading rabbi proclaimed a man to be the Messiah) and led a worldwide revolt against Rome, which, of course, was completely smashed, and the Jews who survived the war were scattered so thoroughly that they never reorganized as a fighting force until after World War II, more than 1,800 years later.

Revelation 8:10

THE THIRD ANGEL SOUNDED (his trumpet), AND A GREAT STAR FELL FROM THE SKY, BURNING LIKE A TORCH, AND IT FELL ON ONE THIRD OF THE RIVERS, AND ON THE SPRINGS (the sources) OF THE WATERS (water, in biblical prophecy, often represents the Bible itself – or, more exactly, the message that is found in the Bible – the “word of God” – Scriptural truth).

Revelation 8:11

THE NAME OF THE STAR IS CALLED “WORMWOOD” (sometimes translated as “Bitterness”). ONE THIRD OF THE WATERS BECAME WORMWOOD (bitter). MANY PEOPLE DIED FROM (drinking) THE WATERS, BECAUSE THEY WERE MADE BITTER. If water is a symbol for the truth of God’s word, then this bitter water is a symbol for the “poison” of false teaching. I believe that this “star” called “Wormwood” represents the rise of false teachings within the Church which took place around AD 300. Of course, there had been false teachers around ever since the first century. There were some even during the Apostle Paul’s lifetime, and there were even more after his death, before the death of the Apostle John. Cults continued to grow, and to spread false teachings, all during the second and third centuries, too, at times even seeming likely to overwhelm the true Church, so that more people in some areas of the world had received the false gospel than had received the true Gospel. But, throughout those times, the true Church had always rejected those false teachings and done what it could to combat them. Toward the year 300, though, something different took place. False teachers (most of them known as “Gnostics” – which, literally, means “people with special knowledge”) arose within the true Church, and the same false teachings that had been rejected by previous generations of Christians were now accepted by the generation living at that time, and “incorporated” into their view of Christianity. “Wormwood” was God’s judgment against the Roman Church of that time for accepting these false doctrines. Many (if not most) of the Christians in the Roman Empire “died” spiritually (lost their spiritual vitality) because they followed these false teachings. Many others literally died in the terrible persecutions of AD 303-313 (see Revelation 2:10).

Revelation 8:12

THE FOURTH ANGEL SOUNDED (his trumpet), AND ONE THIRD OF THE SUN WAS STRUCK, AND ONE THIRD OF THE MOON, AND ONE THIRD OF THE STARS, SO THAT ONE THIRD OF THEM WOULD BE DARKENED, AND THE DAY WOULDN’T SHINE FOR ONE THIRD OF IT, AND THE NIGHT IN THE SAME WAY. I believe that the “light” described in this verse (and the sun, moon and stars that “carry” that light) represents what was good about the Roman Empire: its ability to bring a measure of peace to the territories under its control, its provision of useful public works such as roads and aqueducts (which made spreading the Gospel easier than it would have been in a world without Roman leadership), and its eventual recognition of Christianity as its “state religion” (which at least made it easier for Christians to do the work that God had called them to do than it had been during the days of pagan persecution of the Church). But, under this trumpet, we are seeing God’s judgment against what was bad in the Roman Empire, in the form of a diminishing of that “light” (a diminishing of the Empire’s power). I believe that this “diminishing” took place between AD 410 (when the city of Rome was “sacked” by barbarians) and AD 476 (when the last Roman Emperor was replaced on his throne by a coalition of barbarian kingdoms).

Revelation 8:13

I SAW, AND I HEARD AN EAGLE, FLYING IN MID HEAVEN, SAYING WITH A LOUD VOICE, “WOE! WOE! WOE FOR THOSE WHO DWELL ON THE EARTH, BECAUSE OF THE OTHER VOICES OF THE TRUMPETS OF THE THREE ANGELS, WHO ARE YET TO SOUND!” This is a warning that we are stepping into an even greater phase of God’s judgment against wicked people than we have seen in the demolishing of the Jewish nation (under the first two trumpets) and in the demolishing of the Roman Empire (under the second two trumpets). The fifth and sixth trumpets, which contain much longer stories, are so intertwined that, in a sense, they have to be viewed almost as if they are one judgment that comes in two phases, and I believe that it refers to the Arab world (those people who occupied the Middle East after the Roman Empire was destroyed). What became of the lands of the Bible – the countries that are now Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and so on? What went on in those places during what we call the “Dark Ages” in Europe’s history? What went on is that the false prophet Mohammed claimed to receive the “revelations” from Allah that are recorded in the Qur’an, gathered a band of followers who not only supported his religion, but also his efforts to take control of that part of the world, and went out to conquer all of that territory. He and his successors built an empire that reached its peak right at the time when Europe was at its lowest point. Some of that is what is prophesied in Revelation 9.

In the following commentary, words in CAPS indicate the biblical text, while words in lower case indicate the commentary on that text.

Studies in Revelation

by Dr. John H. Roller

Chapter 7

Introduction

Chapter 7 is an interlude between the sixth seal (most, if not all, of which has already been fulfilled) and the seventh seal (which relates to the Second Coming itself and certainly has not been fulfilled). This interlude is a description of two groups of people. The people in both groups are saved and will be in the Kingdom of God, but there are some differences between the two groups. These are descriptions of two different groups of people within the true Church of God.

Revelation 7:1

AFTER THIS, I SAW FOUR ANGELS STANDING AT THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH (we know, and John, the author of this book, knew, that the earth doesn’t literally have “corners” – it’s not a square; it’s a sphere – but this is a common way of speaking, and we use it ourselves, just as he used it, to mean “all around the world”), HOLDING (back) THE FOUR WINDS OF THE EARTH (the north wind, the south wind, the east wind and the west wind), SO THAT NO WIND WOULD BLOW ON THE EARTH, OR ON THE SEA, OR ON ANY TREE. This statement speaks of a pause – a delay – in the vision. Before we move from the sixth seal to the seventh seal, the angels are commanded to hold back the winds of judgment and keep everything calm while the next few events take place.

Revelation 7:2

I SAW ANOTHER ANGEL (in addition to the four angels mentioned in verse 1) ASCEND FROM THE SUNRISE (the east), HAVING THE SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD (in his hand). HE CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE (shouted) TO THE FOUR ANGELS TO WHOM IT (the power) WAS GIVEN (by God) TO HARM THE EARTH AND THE SEA (by releasing the winds and allowing them to blow),

Revelation 7:3

SAYING, “DON’T HARM THE EARTH, NEITHER THE SEA, NOR THE TREES, UNTIL WE HAVE SEALED THE BONDSERVANTS OF OUR GOD ON THEIR FOREHEADS!” We will hear more about people being “marked” with a “seal” on their foreheads in a later chapter, but there it will actually be a parody of what has happened in this chapter. There, it will be the Antichrist who demands that a “mark” (or “seal”) be placed on the foreheads of his followers, but God was there first (here in chapter 7), putting a “mark” (or “seal”) on the foreheads of His servants. The forehead, of course, is closely related to the brain, which has to do with the processes of thought. A “seal” (or a “mark”) on the forehead indicates a protection of one’s thought processes and beliefs. These are people whose mental capacity is under God’s control and is directed toward Him. These are true believers. They are known to be true believers by this “seal” on their foreheads, which is a feature of John’s vision, not a literal, visible seal that people in this world can actually see.

Revelation 7:4

I HEARD THE NUMBER OF THOSE WHO WERE SEALED, ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND, SEALED OUT OF EVERY TRIBE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL:

Revelation 7:5

OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH WERE SEALED TWELVE THOUSAND, OF THE TRIBE OF REUBEN TWELVE THOUSAND, OF THE TRIBE OF GAD TWELVE THOUSAND,

Revelation 7:6

OF THE TRIBE OF ASHER TWELVE THOUSAND, OF THE TRIBE OF NAPHTALI TWELVE THOUSAND, OF THE TRIBE OF MANASSEH TWELVE THOUSAND,

Revelation 7:7

OF THE TRIBE OF SIMEON TWELVE THOUSAND, OF THE TRIBE OF LEVI (this is a bit of a surprise, since the Levites were not usually included in the lists of the twelve tribes that we find in the Old Testament; correspondingly, for some unknown reason, the tribe of Dan is omitted from this list) TWELVE THOUSAND, OF THE TRIBE OF ISSACHAR TWELVE THOUSAND,

Revelation 7:8

OF THE TRIBE OF ZEBULON TWELVE THOUSAND, OF THE TRIBE OF JOSEPH (usually called “the tribe of Ephraim” in the Old Testament) TWELVE THOUSAND, OF THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN WERE SEALED TWELVE THOUSAND. Who are these people? What does John mean when he says that they are from the twelve tribes of Israel? Why the emphasis – again and again and again – on each specific tribe? Most of the book of Revelation is very obviously symbolic, and we interpret the things in it symbolically; we figure out what is indicated by any given symbol. We see horses; we hear souls crying out from under an altar; we see stars falling; and we try to figure out what these things mean. I think that these few verses are written in this unusual way to “clue” us not to try to do that. The specific reference to each tribe in these verses is there to tell us to keep the emphasis on the tribes of Israel. These people are really exactly what it sounds like they are – Jewish Christians – people who can literally trace their ancestry back to one of the twelve tribes, but who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior. I think it’s interesting where this pause in the vision is placed in relationship to the fulfillment of the prophecy. We’ve been saying all along that these seals are fulfilled in chronological order. We’ve seen them work their way from AD 30 almost up to the end – almost to our own times. In fact, we’re just about ready for the seventh seal and the Second Coming of Christ when the “pause button” is pressed and now the subject of Jewish Christians is mentioned, right here. At what time in history have large numbers of Jewish people ever turned to Jesus Christ for salvation? Since the first century, that hasn’t happened in any century until the middle and late twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century. We have suddenly seen a dramatic increase in the number of Jewish people who have accepted Jesus as their Savior. When my father, who was Jewish, became a Christian (in 1943), it was very rare – almost unheard-of; and when he went to New York City to preach to the Jewish people that they should receive Jesus as their Messiah, he was thought to be crazy (the Yiddish word that they called him is “meshuggeneh”). Most Jews didn’t believe in Jesus. My father found just a tiny handful of other Jewish believers in Jesus in New York to fellowship with. But, now, we have Jews For Jesus, the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, Chosen People Ministries, Messianic Jewish Ministries and several other such major national and international organizations of Jewish Christians. It’s been estimated that there may be close to 500,000 Jewish Christians in the world, so that 144,000 is too small a number to represent them, instead of too large a number, as it would have been in my father’s time. The 144,000 then is a somewhat symbolic number, representing the full number of Jews who would turn to Christ at the time the prophecy is speaking of. It seems striking to me that this reference to what appears to me to be literal Jewish Christians should come at the very point in the prophecy that is being fulfilled in our own times, precisely when I would expect it to be. If I had been living back in 1900, and had held this interpretation, I would have been saying, “Chapter 6 has been fulfilled, but we haven’t seen this great turning of Jews to Christ. I expect that it will happen sometime within the next 100 years.” And I would have been right, because it has indeed happened.

Revelation 7:9

AFTER THESE THINGS I LOOKED, AND BEHOLD (“Look!”), A GREAT MULTITUDE (an enormous crowd), WHICH NO MAN COULD NUMBER (that sounds to me like many times more than 144,000; it’s easy enough to count 144,000 people – there are more than that in many hundreds of American cities), OUT OF EVERY NATION (not just the Jewish nation, but every Gentile nation, from Croatia to South Africa to the Philippines to Japan to Canada and the United States and every other country in the world) AND OF ALL TRIBES (not just the twelve tribes of Israel, but every one of the 500 American Indian tribes, and all the “tribal” people that live in the backwoods parts of India and Afghanistan and New Guinea and China and dozens of other countries), PEOPLES (“nations” that have no “country” of their own, like the Kurds and the Uyghurs and the Chechens and the Basques), AND LANGUAGES (there are over 12,000 different, mutually unintelligible languages in the world, and every one of them is represented by at least one person in this crowd), STANDING BEFORE THE THRONE (of God) AND BEFORE THE LAMB (Jesus), DRESSED IN WHITE ROBES, WITH PALM BRANCHES IN THEIR HANDS.

Revelation 7:10

THEY CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE (shouted), SAYING, “SALVATION BE TO (rather, “comes from”) OUR GOD, WHO SITS ON THE THRONE, AND TO (rather, “from”) THE LAMB (Jesus)!” These are people who are saved because they understand and believe that salvation comes only from God and from Jesus, God’s Son, and they have put their trust in Him.

Revelation 7:11

ALL THE ANGELS WERE STANDING AROUND THE THRONE, THE ELDERS, AND THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES (described in chapter 4); AND THEY FELL ON THEIR FACES BEFORE HIS (God’s) THRONE, AND WORSHIPED GOD,

Revelation 7:12

SAYING, “AMEN (‘So be it!’)! BLESSING, GLORY, WISDOM, THANKSGIVING, HONOR, POWER, AND MIGHT (seven separate things!), BE(long) TO OUR GOD FOREVER AND EVER! AMEN (‘So be it!’).”

Revelation 7:13

ONE OF THE ELDERS (described in chapter 4) ANSWERED (responded to this statement), SAYING TO ME (John, the author of the book of Revelation), “THESE WHO ARE ARRAYED IN WHITE ROBES, WHO ARE THEY, AND FROM WHERE DID THEY COME?” I’m sure we would like to know the answer to that question, and I’m sure it was on John’s mind, as well, when he received this vision.

Revelation 7:14

I (John) TOLD HIM (the elder), “MY LORD, YOU KNOW (implying, ‘I don’t know’).” HE (the elder) SAID TO ME (John), “THESE ARE THOSE WHO CAME OUT OF (or, ‘safely through’) THE GREAT TRIBULATION (or, ‘terrible persecution’ – but I have to tell you something about coming safely through a terrible persecution. It’s not as comfortable as it may sound to us at first glance. We tend to think that the phrase ‘come safely through the terrible persecution’ means that while the persecution rages all around us, and thousands of other people are tortured and killed, somehow God protects us, and it’s quiet right where we are, like in the eye of a hurricane; and, at the end of it all, we emerge untouched. That’s not at all what the elder meant. He went on to explain what happened to ‘those who came safely through the terrible persecution’). THEY WASHED THEIR ROBES, AND MADE THEM WHITE IN THE LAMB’S BLOOD (They maintained the purity of their faith in the midst of the terrible persecution. Every martyr who has ever been burned at the stake – anyone who has ever given his life for Christ, no matter what torture, or what kind of death, they experienced – can be said to have ‘come safely through the terrible persecution’ – not ‘safely’ physically, but ‘safely’ spiritually. If you persevere to the end, and your faith is not diminished, and you do not give up because of the persecution, and you die in that condition of faith, you have ‘come safely through’ – that’s what he really means).

Revelation 7:15

THEREFORE (because they have maintained their faith, right up to the end of their lives, even despite the suffering that they have endured as a result of doing so) THEY ARE (standing) BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD (in this vision), THEY (will) SERVE HIM DAY AND NIGHT IN HIS TEMPLE (in eternity). HE WHO SITS ON THE THRONE (God) WILL SPREAD HIS TENT OVER THEM (not while the persecution is going on, but after they have ‘come safely through’ it, there will come a time – after the resurrection, and in the new world – when God will protect them and there can be no further persecution – or any suffering at all, for that matter – as we will see both in the next verse, and in the final chapters of the book).

Revelation 7:16

THEY WILL NEVER BE HUNGRY (I can barely appreciated the significance of that promise. The moment my stomach gives me the slightest indication that I’m in need of food, I can quickly run to the refrigerator, or to a restaurant, and within minutes I have all the food I can eat, and I can’t be hungry again for several hours. But there are people in this world who are constantly hungry, day and night, all of their lives, who never get enough to eat to satisfy their hunger at any meal that they ever eat. I am sure that this promise means a lot more to them than it does to me!), NEITHER THIRST ANY MORE (the same could be said about thirst that is said about hunger); NEITHER WILL THE SUN BEAT ON THEM, NOR ANY HEAT (Where I live, if it gets too hot, I just go indoors and turn on the air conditioning; it’s hard for me to appreciate what a wonderful promise this is! There are many, many people who have to endure whatever tortures the weather throws at them, because they don’t have the kind of equipment, to shelter them, that I have);

Revelation 7:17

FOR (all of this is true because) THE LAMB WHO IS IN THE MIDST OF THE THRONE (Jesus) SHEPHERDS THEM (think of Psalm 23:1), AND LEADS THEM TO SPRINGS OF WATERS OF LIFE (think of Psalm 23:2). AND GOD WILL WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES.”

Conclusion

I believe that this “enormous crowd” is a picture of the total Church of Jesus Christ – all the people throughout all the world at all times and in all places who have ever trusted (or will ever trust) in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and “come safely through” whatever experiences they have had (or will have) in life, dying (at last) in faith, looking forward to the Second Coming of Christ, and includes also those who will never die, because they will still be alive when Jesus returns. Someone has estimated that perhaps 10% of all the people who have ever lived have accepted Christ and have followed Him. How they made that estimate is beyond me, but it’s a figure that Billy Graham quotes, and I quote it quoting him. Someone else has estimated that since the creation of the world, approximately 140,000,000,000 people have been born and lived, and all but the last 7,000,000,000 of them have died. The “enormous crowd” of people that we have in the world today (about 7,000,000,000 people) are just all that is left of the 140,000,000,000 people that have lived at one time or another since the creation of the world. The other 133,000,000,000 are already dead. If it’s true that 10% of all the people who have ever lived have followed Christ, that means about 14,000,000,000 born-again Christians, and we expect to see them all on that great resurrection day that we so often sing about. “What a Gathering” that will be! Twice as many people as are alive in the world today will be raised from the dead to live forever. That’s an enormous crowd. It includes Jewish believers (those symbolically referred to as the “144,000”) who, in these last times, have turned to Christ, and also Jewish believers of previous eras and those Jewish believers who lived at a time when they could only look forward in faith to their promised Messiah. But the crowd is predominantly made up of the Gentile Christians from all over the world who have lived in the last couple of thousand years.

I’m sure that there are many other interpretations of chapter 7, but that’s mine, and I know that I haven’t dealt with every word or every verse in the chapter, but I think it fits in, and it’s an appropriate place to introduce the two pictures that we have of the people of God, because, chronologically, the 144,000 people of Israel come to faith in Jesus after the sixth seal and before the seventh, and the enormous crowd has been collecting all these thousands of years and is only completed just before the seventh seal and the Second Coming of Christ, so that the very next thing that we should expect to read about is the Second Coming of Christ itself. In Revelation 8:1, we will see a very strange, kind of anticlimactic, kind of suspenseful way of putting the Second Coming of Christ, because John really isn’t ready, at this point in his book, to unload the whole picture of the Second Coming to us.

In the letters to the seven churches, he didn’t mention the Second Coming at all. The last letter simply concluded with the last church age and the statement, “If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” That closes the vision; there is no mention of the Second Coming; John goes on to tell of another vision. Now, in this second vision, when he reaches the seventh seal, he gives us just the briefest little hint of the Second Coming. As we go through this book, we will see that, cycle after cycle after cycle, each time we build up to the Second Coming, he gives us a bigger picture of the Second Coming, until, finally, in the last vision, it all sort of bursts through, and he devotes a whole chapter to telling us what that Coming itself will be like, and then he goes on to tell us what will happen after it. But, in Revelation 8:1, for the first time in the book, we have the first hint being given.

John 13:6 vs. John 16:5 - A Contradiction in the Bible?

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

Question:

In John 13:6 Simon Peter asked Jesus "whither goest thou?" but in John 16:5 Jesus says "none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?"  Did Jesus not hear Peter's question?

Answer:

Here are the two verses in their entirety:

Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

--John 13:6

But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

--John 16:5

There is no contradiction here. If we read the record through chronologically, by the time we reach John 16:5, a few entire chapters have elapsed since Peter asked Jesus "whither goest thou?"

The key is that Jesus uses the present tense verb "asketh" (or "ask" in other translations) instead of the past tense "asked". If he had said "none of you asked me" that would be a contradiction. But that's not what Jesus said! By using the present tense form, he is saying "none of you are asking me right now." Obviously Peter had asked him, but that was a few chapters ago... probably several hours ago!

Therefore there is no contradiction because Jesus is using the present tense to speak about the present, and at that time in the present no one was asking him "whither goest thou?" Peter's question occurred in the past, several chapters earlier.

God Loves You

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life when I felt like God really didn’t care. I’m not gonna lie... there have been times when I’ve wondered if he’s even there. In Psalm 8:4 it says “What is man that you take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” I thought that from God’s perspective, the whole world must just seem like a little speck of dust, and I really did not feel very significant.

The reason I felt this way is because I didn’t really grasp just how much God values us. We’ve all heard the phrase “God loves you” a million times. I’ve seen it on t-shirts, magnets, coffee mugs, stickers, bumper stickers. It’s everywhere. And we’ve heard it so much that it’s easy to take it for granted. But if God does love you... that’s a big deal.

People get so excited when they fall in love with another person, but no matter how much another person might love you, that’s nothing compared to how much God loves you. We need to put things in perspective. We’re talking about the God who made the universe, loving and caring about you. No matter how insignificant you may feel, the truth is that you are valued by God. That’s a big deal.

Do not ever forget how significant you are to God. Because if you do, it will really put your faith in danger. The fact that God loves and values each one of us is the very foundation of our faith. It’s expressed in the number one most quoted verse of the Bible:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

--John 3:16

This is the proof that God loves us. He sacrificed his only begotten Son for us, and his Son willingly went to the cross to take the punishment we deserve for our sins upon himself, so we can receive forgiveness if we follow him.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

--Romans 5:6-8

What this is saying is that when Jesus died on the cross, it was the ultimate expression of God’s love for us, manifested through his Son Jesus Christ. The God of the universe sacrificed his only begotten Son for you. The Son willingly went to the cross to pay the penalty for your sin, out of love for you.

It says here that “peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die” or in other words, maybe if you really loved someone, you would be willing to die in order to save them... if it came to that. And that’s the ultimate expression of love - what more can you do for someone than give up your whole life for them? And there have been times in history when people have sacrificed their lives to save a friend. It’s happened before.

But God’s love is even greater than that, because Christ died for us while we were still sinners and in fact, it says in verse ten that “when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” Maybe you would dare to die to save your best friend, if you had to, but how many of you would die to save the life of an enemy? That’s the kind of love that God showed us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus died to save sinners who were enemies of God, not because they deserved to be saved, but because he loved them.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

--Romans 8:38-39

Neither death, nor life... that pretty much sums up everything in existence right there, doesn’t it? But it goes on to list all these other things that will not separate you from the love of God.

Remember when I told you at the beginning that there was a time in my life when I didn’t think that God cared about me? That seems ridiculous now that I just read these verses. I thought, as it says in Psalm 8:4, “What is man, that you are mindful of him?” but the very next verse says “you made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor”!

The Bible makes it so clear that we are significant to God. How could I lose sight of it? I lost sight of it because I was relying on other people to feel good about myself, and the truth is, there will be times when other people are going to let you down. In your life, you’re gonna have friendships that you think are going to last forever, and they’re not. People change. Life is hard. If you rely solely on other people for support, there will be times when you’re going to be disappointed. People aren’t perfect. But the love of God is perfect. God loves you more than your friends love you. He loves you more than your family loves you. He loves you more than your boyfriend or girlfriend loves you. Don’t ever forget that you are valued by God. You are significant. He loves you and he has a plan for you. It says in Matthew 10:30 that God has every hair on your head numbered. He knows everything about you. He knows you better than anybody else. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows your likes and your dislikes, he knows your secrets, he knows your abilities and disabilities, and he has a plan to use you to accomplish his work, if you only choose to follow him.

Even though I went through some difficult times that weakened my faith at first, in the end my faith was strengthened because I learned to rely on God, and I became a stronger person. Don’t ever forget how valuable you are to God. Because if you can grasp just how infinite the love of God is, you will have strength through even the most difficult trials. You will have confidence that you never knew you had, because it won’t matter anymore what other people think of you, if you know what God thinks of you. Romans 8:31 says “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Even if everyone else abandons you, and even if no one else loves you, you can still be confident, and be strong, and be joyful, because God loves you, and that matters more than anything else because God can provide fulfillment in your life that no one else can, ultimately leading to eternal life with him.

I don’t know about you, but this motivates me. It motivates me more than any fire and brimstone sermon ever did. Because if you really grasp how much God loves you, and how significant you are to him, the natural response is to want to love God back, and serve God. Just think of the ultimate expression of God’s love that was manifested to us through the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Imagine that you’re about to be shot, and your best friend jumps in front of you and takes the bullet for you. And in his dying breath, he gives you a command. Wouldn’t you follow his command, whatever it is, just out of respect for your friend, and the incredible sacrifice he made for you? That’s how we should live as Christians. In other religions, people follow a bunch of rules and rituals so they can get to heaven or nirvana, or whatever the reward may be. But we follow the teachings of Christ not for selfish gain, but because Christ sacrificed so much for us - it’s the least we can do for him. Jesus sacrificed his life for us, so it’s only reasonable that in return we should sacrifice our lives for him, not by dying, since really wouldn’t achieve anything, but by living for him. We don’t live for ourselves. We live for him. As it says in Romans 12:1, “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable, unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

You are significant. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that are you are not significant, because even if no one else ever values you, you are valuable to God.

See Also:

• What must I do to be saved?
• Why did Jesus die?
• Basic Christian Beliefs Database

Conquering Evil by Doing Good

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

Unless otherwise stated, scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

I wrote this article in response to the claim made by an anonymous individual that Christians should "take justice into their own hands" by leading a "vigilante-style armed revolution" against abortionists.  Such a claim is, obviously, extremely unchristian, even satanic.

Instead of following the world's twisted concept of "justice" (which is really just revenge in disguise) we should offer help to those who sin by following Christ's model of forgiveness and instruction in righteousness, trusting that God will, in the end, establish perfect justice upon the Earth at the Final Judgement when he judges with far greater justice than any man could achieve.

"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses ever fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

--Jesus, in Matthew 18:15-17, NASB

Our goal should not be to punish those who sin, but to help them understand why their sin is wrong, with a motive of compassion, so they can make the choice to seek forgiveness and repent. Whether or not a murderer "serves their time" in jail is irrelevant. What matters is that they realize that they have sinned not only against man but against God, and that they seek forgiveness and repent of their sins in their heart and actions.

The worst thing we can do as Christians is seek revenge. Did Jesus ever go "vigilante style" when confronting sinners? No! Instead of punishing those who sinned, he ate with the sinners, he healed them, died for them, showed them compassion, and instructed them in righteousness. By doing so, he won them over like no punishment (judicial or vigilante) ever could!

The idea that we should punish those who sin comes from the Law, which the Apostle Paul described as the law of sin and death (2 Corinthians 3:6-8). Jesus freed us from this law and instructed us to a higher calling of forgiveness.

"But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit."

--Romans 7:6

We should follow the example of the Amish man in the newspaper a few years ago, whose son was killed by a gunman. The Amish man did not make any attempt to defend his son through violence. When the gunman later took his own life, an entire Amish congregation attended the gunman’s funeral and visited the gunman’s family in order to comfort them. The Amish forgave the gunman for the murder he committed and told the gunman’s family that they were sorry for the gunman’s family’s loss. I guarantee that such love and compassion is far more powerful in changing even the most vile of hearts than any judicial punishment could ever be!

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow. You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

--Jesus, in Matthew 5:38-48

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,”

says the LORD.

--Romans 12:17-19

Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.

--2 Corinthians 13:11

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

--Hebrews 12:14

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

--James 3:17-18

Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.

--1 Peter 3:10-15

God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross, so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

--1 Peter 2:21-24

"Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."

--Romans 12:21

Sadly, the modern church seems to have forgotten these teachings, yet the early church took Christ's commands concerning forgiveness and nonviolence very seriously!

"For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity... But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wondeful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all thing with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all others; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at some time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned. They are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonored, and yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are spoken evil of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honor; they do good, yet are punished as evildoers. When punished, they rejoice as if quicked into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks, yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred."

--Mathetes, c. 130, Letter to Diognetus, 5:1-7

"For it is not in war, but in peace, that we are trained. War needs great preparation, and luxury craves profusion; but peace and love, simple and quiet sisters, require no arms nor excessive preparation."

--Clement of Alexandria, c. 195, The Instructor, book 1, chapter 12

"Shall it be held lawful to make an occupation of the sword, when the Lord proclaims that he who uses the sword shall perish by the sword? And shall the son of peace take part in battle when it does not become him even to sue at law? And shall he apply the chain, and the prison, and the torture, and the punishment, who is not the avenger even of his own wrongs? Shall he, forsooth, either keep watch-service for others more than for Christ, or shall he do it on the Lord’s day, when he does not even do it for Christ himself? And shall he keep guard before the temples which he has renounced? And shall he take a meal where the Apostle has forbidden him? And shall he diligently protect by night those whom in the daytime he has put to flight by his exocrcisms, leaning and resting on the spear the while with which Christ’s side was pierced? Shall he carry a flag, too, hostile to Christ?... Then how many other offenses there are involved in the performances of camp offices, which we must hold to involve a transgression of God’s law, you may see by a slight survey. The very carrying of the name over from the camp of light to the camp of darkness is a violation of it. Of course, if faith comes later, and finds any preoccupied with military service, their case is different, as in the instance of those whom John used to recieve for baptism, and of those most faihful centurions, I mean the centurian whom Christ approves, and the centurion whom Peter instructs; yet, at the same time, when a man has become a believer, and faith has been sealed, there must be either an immediate abandonment of it [military service], which has been the course with many; or all sorts of quabbling will have to be resorted to in order to avoid offending God, and that is not allowed even outside of military service; or, last of all, for God the fate must be endured which a citizen-faith has been no less ready to accept."

--Tertullian, c. 211

"A soldier of the civil authority must be taught not to kill men and to refuse to do so if he is commanded, and to refuse to take an oath. If he is unwilling to comply, he must be rejected for baptism. A military commander or civic magistrate who wears the purple must resign or be rejected. If an applicant or a believer seeks to become a soldier, he must be rejected, for he has despised God."

--Hippolytus, c. 215, The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome, 16:17-19

"And to those enemies of the faith who require us to bear arms for the commonwealth, and to slay men, we can reply, “Do not those who are priests at certain shrines, and those who attend on certain gods, as you account [call] them, keep their hands free from blood, that they may with hands unstained and free from human blood offer the appointed sacrifices to your gods; and even when war is upon you, you never enlist the priests in the army. If that, then, is a laudable custom, how much moreso, that while others are engaged in battle, these too should engage as the priests and ministers of God, keeping their hands pure, and wrestling in prayers to God on behalf of those who are fighting in a righteous cause, and for the king who reigns righteously, that whatever is opposed to those who act righteously may be destroyed!” And as we by our prayers vanguish all demons who stir up war, and lead to the violation of oaths, and disturb the peace, we in this way are much more helpful to the kings than those who go into the field to fight for them. And we do take our part in public affairs, when alongwith righteous prayers we join self-denying excercises and meditations, which teach us to despise pleasures, and not be led away with them. And none fight better for the king than we do. We do not indeed fight under him, although he may require it; but we fight on his behalf, forming a special army - an army of piety - by offering our prayers to God."

--Origen, c. 248, Origen Against Celsus, book 8, chapter 73

"For since we, a numerous band of men as we are, have learned from His teaching and His laws that evil ought not to be requited with evil, that it is better to suffer wrong than to inflict it, that we should rather shed our own blood than stain our hands and our conscience with that of another, an ungrateful world is now for a long period enjoying a benefit from Christ, inasmuch as by his means the rage of savage ferocity has been softened, and has begun to withhold hostile hands from the blood of a fellow-creature. But if all without exception, who feel that they are men not in form of body but in power of reason, would lend an ear for a little [while] to his salutory and peaceful rules, and would not, in the pride and arrogance of enlightenment, trust to their own senses rather than to his admonitions, the whole world, having turned the use of steel [for swords] into more peaceful occupations, would now be living in the most placid tranquility, and would unite in blessed harmony, maintaining inviolate the sanctity of treaties."

--Anobius, c. 305, The Seven Books of Arnobius Against the Heathen, book 1, chapter 6

“You just need to look at what the gospel asks, and what war does. The gospel asks that we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the homeless, visit the prisoner, and perform works of mercy. War does all the opposite. It makes my neighbor hungry, thirsty, homeless, a prisoner, and sick. The gospel asks that we take up our cross. War asks that we lay the cross of suffering on others.”

--Dorothy Day, 1896-1980

Eternal Conscious Torture in Hell vs. Annihilation in the Lake of Fire

What Does the Bible Really Teach?

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

The concept of hades as a place of eternal torture for the immortal soul has its origins in Platonic philosophy and Greek Mythology, and is foreign to the Bible. The Old Testament Jewish Scriptures are very clear that the human soul is not immortal, and the New Testament confirms this. The Bible teaches that the dead are quite literally dead, not alive in heaven or in hell. However, there will come a day when Jesus will return and the dead will rise and be judged - some to eternal life in the Kingdom of God, and others to destruction in the hell fire of the Lake of Fire. The Bible teaches that the unrighteous who do not accept Jesus as Lord will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, where they will die. Common sense dictates that anyone who is thrown into a fire will burn to death. The only way that the unrighteous could burn for all eternity is if they were granted eternal life, which the Bible clearly states is only going to be granted to the righteous who accept Jesus as Lord.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

--John 3:16

As of right now, the King of kings is the only person who possesses immortality!  His followers will receive eternal life later at the resurrection of the righteous.

Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

--1 Timothy 6:15-16

This proves that there is no one except Jesus currently living forever in heaven, and there is also no one living forever in hell!

According to the Bible, death is like sleeping. It is simply awaiting the future resurrection and judgement. In fact, Jesus used the words sleep and death interchangeably: 



After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead”


--John 11:11-14 



Those that are dead are not in heaven or hell! They are "asleep" in the "dust of the earth" awaiting the coming resurrection that will occur when Christ returns to judge the world: 



Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

--Daniel 12:2


When you are dead, you are not conscious. You don't know anything. You are not tortured for all eternity in some underground cave. You are quite literally dead.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.

--Ecclesiastes 9:5

The Bible tells us that King David did not go to heaven!  If King David didn't go to heaven, what chance do you have of going to heaven?  Are you any better than King David?

For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand

--Acts 2:34

Jesus is the only person who has ever gone to heaven:

No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.

--John 3:13

When you die, nothing happens. There is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom when you are dead: 



Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.


--Ecclesiastes 9:10 



When David was fleeing Saul, he was afraid he was going to die. He pleaded with God, saying: 



No one remembers you when he is dead. Who praises you from the grave?

--Pslam 6:5

If David had thought he was going to heaven, he would not have said this, since he would certainly be able to praise from heaven.



The dead cannot think, act, or communicate. They remain in a dreamless sleep, awaiting the return of Christ, when they will be resurrected, and judged (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) Since there is no consciousness in death, there is no sense of time. When you die, the next thing you will know will be the resurrection and final judgement (commonly referred to as "Judgment Day") in which the righteous will enter the Kingdom of God (also known as the Kingdom of Heaven, see Matthew 19:23-24) on a new and perfect earth and dwell there forever, and the unrighteous will be thrown into a lake of fire where both their bodies and their souls will be destroyed in hell fire. If your body and your soul are both destroyed, there is nothing left to torture! This proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the unrighteous will not be tortured for all eternity - they will die in the lake of fire, and remain dead forever. They will not receive the eternal life in the paradise of the Kingdom of God that is promised to those who follow Jesus as Lord.

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

--Matthew 10:28

The wages of sin is death - not eternal life in hell!

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

--Ezekiel 18:4

The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

--Romans 6:23

Finally, another common misconception about hell is that the unrighteous will not be tortured, but be cast in hell where they will be “eternally separated from God.” Such a doctrine is completely unbiblical. The Bible teaches that God is omnipresent, which means that he exists everywhere - on Earth, in heaven, and even in hell:

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

--Psalm 139:8

Have questions, comments, criticisms, or concerns?

Email me at: Matt@faithfirstmedia.com

The Problem of Evil

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

How could a loving God allow evil to exist?

Evil was brought into the world through sin (disobedience to God) not by God’s will, but by human decision.

Why didn’t God stop Adam and Eve from sinning?

Because he gave them free will.  God wants us to choose to obey him out of our own free will, not compulsion.  This requires that we are able to obey or to disobey God.  Adam and Eve chose to disobey, and every human since has also disobeyed, except the Lord Jesus Christ.  Disobedience to God is obedience to the devil.  It has given the devil free reign over the Earth until the day when the devil’s reign over the Earth will be brought to and end - when "the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God" (Romans 8:21).

If God didn’t want Adam and Eve to sin, why did he give them the ability to sin?

If God so chose, he could have created robots that had no free will but followed set and predetermined laws instead of making their own choices.

Oh wait, God already did that.  They’re called rocks.  Some of them can fit in the palm of your hand.  Others are quite large, like Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Luna.  All of them follow set and predetermined laws that govern all of their movements (i.e. laws of physics such as gravity, inertia, etc.).  God gave us free will because the alternative would be a universe of nothing but rocks.

A universe with nothing but rocks would be just plain boring.  Rocks follow God's commands blindly, like robots.  God created living intelligent humans so we could follow him from our own free will.  Giving us free will requires giving us the ability to reject God and bring sin (and it's brothers evil and death) into the world.  Having "free will" but not being able to disobey and only being able to obey is hardly free will at all, because obedience would not be a choice, it would be a compulsion.  God already created plenty of rocks that follow the laws he set for them out of compulsion.  He wanted something more - living, breathing, intelligent beings who are able to obey or disobey, but choose obedience out of free will.

Why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil into the Garden of Eden to begin with, if he didn’t want Adam and Eve to eat from it?

He didn’t want Adam and Eve to eat from it, but he put it there to give them the choice between obedience and disobedience.  If the tree wasn’t there, then Adam and Eve would have no way of disobeying God, and therefore their “obedience” might not be from their heart.  Having "free will" but not being able to disobey is hardly free will at all.  God wants us to be able to choose between obedience and disobedience, and to choose from our own free will obedience.  In order to have that choice, we need to have the ability to disobey, and many have (indeed, all except for Jesus) have sinned, thus bringing evil and death into the world.  The consequences have been devastating.

Why do good things happen to bad people, and why do bad things happen to good people?  Why does it seem like evil dictators are rewarded while other people seem to be punished for no apparent reason?

If every good action immediately generated a reward, and every evil action immediately generated a punishment, then people would choose good actions out of a selfish desire for immediate gratification.  But God wants us to chose good over evil regardless of whether we receive a reward or not.  We should do good because of the goodness of good itself - or to put it simply, because it's the right thing to do.  Choosing good in order to receive a reward or escape a punishment is the wrong motive, but this is precisely what people would logically do if the ramifications of our actions operated according to a perfect system in which good actions immediately produce good rewards, and evil actions immediately produce evil rewards.  In such a world, everyone would logically choose good actions over evil ones, in order to receive rewards and escape punishment.  But their actions would have the wrong motive!  To teach us to pursue righteousness for its own sake rather than for selfish gain, God created a world in which good actions are not always immediately rewarded, and evil actions are not always immediately punished.  In the end, perfect justice will be established, but for now, there are many who suffer for doing right.  They choose to pursue righteousness because it's the right thing to do (which is a pure motive), not because it makes their life any easier (which would be a selfish motive).  This pleases God, who will richly reward them in the age to come.

If sin has caused so much evil, why doesn’t God do something about it?

The good news of the Gospel is that God made atonement for our sins by offering his son Jesus on the cross as a sacrifice, to pay the price for the sins of mankind.  Jesus willingly took the punishment we deserve for our sins upon himself, so we don't need to be punished if we follow him.

Jesus commands us to "be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect."  Have you ever lied, stolen something (even something small), used God's name in vain, gotten angry at someone else, failed to forgive someone who wronged you, or looked at a woman with lust?  Even these "small" sins make us guilty before God.  To deserve eternal life in the paradise of the Kingdom of God (also known as the Kingdom of Heaven, see Matthew 19:23-24) you have to be perfect.  Eternal life is an infinite reward, and therefore it's only fair that only the infinitely good should receive it.  Even the smallest sins make us ineligible.  But the good news of the Gospel is that God understands that we have all sinned - I've sinned, you've sinned, etc.  God wants us to enter the Kingdom of God, which is why Jesus took the punishment that we deserve for our sins, and he placed it upon himself.  The punishment has been served.

Imagine being found guilty in a courtroom, and being sentenced to death, but then Jesus walks in and agrees to die in your place so that you can live and be forgiven instead of punished.  If we accept that he is the Son of God and follow him as Lord, we can receive the forgiveness that he paid the price for.  Following Jesus as Lord means following his teachings to love one another, even to love our enemies, and not to ever seek revenge, but to always forgive.  If we live this way, showing love to everyone and forgiving one another, God will forgive us, and we'll be greatly rewarded in the Kingdom of God.

There will come a time when God will restore the world the world to perfection and destroy the devil.  This will occur when Jesus returns to Earth to judge the living and the dead.  All who have ever lived will be judged - the righteous who follow Christ will receive eternal life in the Kingdom of God on a new and perfect earth.

It's been almost two millennia and Jesus hasn't returned.  What's taking so long?

To put it simply, he's waiting for you.  God wants you to be saved.  By putting off the Final Judgement a little bit longer, he gives you a chance to accept Jesus as Lord and be saved, before it’s too late.  It is out of God's longsuffering and compassion that he has held off the Final Judgement this long.

Why didn’t God destroy the devil in the beginning, instead of allowing him to reign terror on the Earth for thousands of years?

Remember the “free will” issue discussed earlier?  Consider this, for a moment: if God erased the devil immediately, don’t you think a new one would rise up to take its place?  The devil was originally an angel of light, who rebelled against God (thus demonstrating that angels have free will too).  God could have stopped the rebellion 0.001 seconds after it started, but instead he allowed evil to exist, in order for the world to understand just how horrible evil really is.  This ensures that no more angels will ever rebel against God.  They’ve seen and continue to see the terrible destruction it’s caused, and how Lucifer, who used to be an angel, is now forced to crawl around on his belly and eat dust.  It serves as an example, something that we can witness and see the effects of what evil really is. Some people are enticed by it, and some are revolted by it. If we really have a choice, don’t you think it’s fair to know something about what we’re choosing?

But if God is good, why has he allowed evil to exist for even one second, let alone thousands of years?

All the millennia of human history are a mere fraction of a second in comparison to the eternity that the followers of Jesus will enjoy in the Kingdom of God.  It is well known that any finite number appears to be infinitely small when compared to infinity.  Imagine looking at the 6000 years of human history on a timeline, then “zooming out” and watching that period of 6000 years appear to be smaller and smaller and smaller in comparison to the much larger scale of the timeline around it.  What if you zoomed out for all eternity?  Eventually the period of 6000 years would be lost in the world of the infinitesimal; it would seem to not even exist at all.

Anyone who has handled higher level mathematics should understand that even 6000 years becomes nothing when compared to infinity.  Being forced to wait for ten minutes seems like an eon when we’re young children, and when we’re older months seem to roll by in the blink of an eye.  How long to you think a 70 year lifespan will seem if you’ve lived 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years?

Why would a good God allow evil to exist for even one second?  The answer is simple.  God has not allowed evil to exist for even one second, if we measure “seconds” from God’s eternal, infinite point of view.

In the grand scheme of things, evil (and death, which is its natural result) is going to be destroyed pretty soon.  But for the moment, it’s still here.

The Dual Death of Goliath: A Contradiction in the Bible?

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

Question:

Everybody knows about the fight David versus Goliath. The young David kills Goliath with his slingshot.

1.Samuel 17,4-50:

"A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp...

His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and ...

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him."

David killed Goliath.

But Elhanan killed Goliath, too:

2.Samuel 21,19

"In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod."

Of course, Goliath can't be killed by both since a person can't die twice.

With a certain amount of fantasy one could imagine that the Philistines had another warrior in their rows who fit to the same description (a man named Goliath, born in Gath, so huge that he had a spear like a weaver's rod).

But to be honest, it looks like an obvious contradiction and the writer of the book 1.Chronicles, which appeared about 500 years later, probably agreed. In 1.Chronicles the same story is retold, except that Goliath has been exchanged for his brother Lahmi in order to vanish the mistake (Goliath's dual death):

1.Chronicles 20,5

"In another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod."

In contrast to what we were told in 2.Samuel 21,19, we are told now that Elhanan killed Goliath's brother instead of Goliath himself - another obvious contradiction.

Some Bible translations of our time even correct this "phenomenon" on their own by changing the text. They just exchange Goliath for his brother Lahmi in 2.Samuel 21,19 as well for the story of Samuel not to contradict the story of Chronichles (King James Version, Webster's Bible Translation, American King James Version). In doing so, they confess that there is a mistake in the original scripture. They correct the "word of god".

Answer:

There shouldn’t be any confusion here since the Bible makes it very clear that these are indeed different Goliaths!  One Goliath is “from Gath” and he is the one who David killed - the one who made the name “Goliath” famous.

The second “Goliath” is not from Gath, but rather, he is a “Gittite”.  His legal name is Lahmi, but he is nicknamed “Goliath” because he takes after his brother, the infamous “Goliath from Gath”.

By stating where these two Goliaths are from, the Bible makes it clear that they are not the same, thus clearing up any confusion that might arise because of the shared names.

Now that this “contradiction” has been cleared up, let’s take a look at how the King James Version translated these verses.  It is only common sense that the Hebrew scriptures were intended to be read in chronological order.  2 Samuel was written shortly after 1 Samuel (they were originally two parts of the same one book) but Chronicles was was written 500 years later!

If we read the books in the order they were written, we first see David slaying Goliath from Gath in 1 Samuel.  In 2 Samuel, we read of Lahmi slaying “Goliath” and indeed, the Hebrew does not contain the word “brother of”.  This phrase was added by the Authorized Text translators and put in italics so that English speaking readers know that the phrase is not found in the Hebrew.

The addition of the phrase “brother of” was not, however, an attempt to “correct” the text.  It was only an attempt to make clear for English-speaking readers what was already readily apparent to Hebrew readers.  We must remember that the text was meant to be read in order, just like any other book.  Earlier in Samuel we already read that David slew “Goliath from Gath”.  It is therefore clear that the man Elhanan slew was another “Goliath”.  Even today, it is not uncommon to use the name “Goliath” to refer to any powerful enemy!

The omission of the phrase “the brother of” is not a textual error, since Hebrew scribes had a very effective method of ensuring the accuracy of every copy of the Hebrew scriptures by adding the total of the numerical values of every Hebrew character in every line and column of the copied text, and checking those values to make sure they match up with the numerical values inscribed in the source text.

Therefore, the omission of the phrase in the Hebrew text was not a copyist error, since the system used by Hebrew scribes ensured that such errors were virtually impossible.  The Hebrew scriptures have been preserved with incredible accuracy, and every last pen stroke matters.  For example, there is one verse in the Bible where a Hebrew word appears to be misspelled, but this “error” was actually done on purpose in order to utilize the numerical values of the Hebrew characters to encode the exact value of pi into the Hebrew word for “circumference”.  This demonstrates how apparent “mistakes” in the Bible are often codes for even deeper and more profound levels of meaning - exactly what one would expect from a God-inspired book.  See here for the details.

Since a copyist error is virtually impossible, we must therefore conclude that the phrase “the brother of” in 2 Samuel 21:19 was meant to be omitted.  This may seem strange to native speakers of English, but we must remember that in Eastern and Middle Eastern languages (and even in English sometimes) it is perfectly acceptable to omit words and phrases that are already understood by both the speaker and the listener (linguist calls these “pragmatically inferable” phrases).  As a speaker of Japanese, I can appreciate the simplicity of this approach to language.  Let’s compare some basic sentences in English and Japanese to demonstrate how pragmatically inferable information can be omitted in non-Western languages:

(make sure your computer supports Japanese text!)

English:

I am Matthew Elton.  I am a Christian.  I am a writer.

Japanese:

私はエルトン＊マットです。キリスチャンです。ライターです。

Watashi wa Eruton Matto desu.  Kirisuchan desu.  Raitaa desu.

Literal translation:

I am Matthew Elton.  Am Christian.  Am writer.

After the initial “I am” in the first sentence, the reader knows that I am talking about myself.  It is therefore unnecessary for me to repeat the pronoun “I” in the following sentences, since the reader already knows that I am talking about myself, and they will continue to assume that I am talking about myself until I use the subject-marking particle wa in reference to someone else.  Proper English requires that I repeat the pronoun “I” at the beginning of every sentence (saying “Am Christian” by itself sound silly in English) but in Japanese, there is no need to repeat Watashi (I) at the beginning of every sentence (saying “Am Christian” by itself sounds perfectly natural in Japanese)!

Most Eastern and Middle Eastern languages allow for some omission of pragmatically inferable phrases, though not always to the extent of Japanese.  I did some research to see how much omission is allowed in the Hebrew language, and I discovered that a “moderate” amount of omission is allowed.  Hebrew doesn’t go so far as to omit common pronouns (as Japanese does) but phrases already understood by both the speaker and the listener (or the writer and the reader) can be safely omitted.

We must remember that at the time Samuel was written, the slaying of Goliath from Gath was probably the talk of the town, so to speak.  Any Jew would know that David slew Goliath from Gath, and indeed anybody who reads Samuel in order (just as we would read any other book) would have already read about the event by the time he or she read about Elhana slaying “Goliath” (the Gittite).

Since everyone knows that David slew the infamous Goliath from Gath, it literally goes without saying that the “Goliath” Elhanan slew was a different Goliath.  In 2 Samuel 21:19, the word “Goliath” is used as we would use it today - to refer to any powerful foe.  There was no need for the writer to include “the brother of” in the text, since that was pragmatically inferable information.  It was common knowledge that David slew Goliath from Gath, and the fact that Elhanan slew the brother of Goliath was probably also common knowledge among the Jews (these are major military victories we’re talking about - any Jew living at that time would know about them).  Therefore there would have been no confusion at all as to who “Goliath the Gittite” really was, even with the omission of “his brother”.

The book of Chronicles was written 500 years later.  When Samuel was written, the events were fairly recent, and everyone would have known about them.  When Chronicles was written, the events were ancient history.  To put things in perspective, how much do you know about 1500s history?  Most Jews living at the time Chronicles would have some understanding of their history, but they probably wouldn’t know the details of Goliath’s family tree.  What was pragmatically inferable to the Jew living 500 years prior was pragmatically inferable no longer.  This is why the writer of Chronicles goes into more detail about the identity of the “Goliath the Gittite” slain by Elhanan.  Chronicles takes what used to be pragmatically inferable, and states it outright.  “Goliath the Gittite” was Lahmi, the brother of Goliath from Gath.  Lahmi was called “Goliath” in a figurative sense, the way we use the phrase “a Goliath” today.  It could be said that Lahmi was a “representational Goliath” or a “replacement Goliath” or simply “a Goliath” which the dictionary defines as any “very large, powerful, or influential person or thing.”

Thousands of years after the slaying of the “Goliaths”, the King James translators did in 2 Samuel what the writer of Chronicles did: they took what used to be inferred information, and stated it outright.  This was done for the sake of modern readers who are not familiar with Jewish history, or the non-Western conventions of the Hebrew language.  With great respect for the Hebrew text, the King James translators placed their addition in italics to indicate that it was omitted in the Hebrew.  This was not an attempt to “correct” the text or to change its meaning in any way.  The translators were simply seeking to make clear to English-speaking readers what would have already been readily apparent to the ancient Jews who lived at the time when Samuel was written.