I sense great emotion in some people who belong to what is nearly a cult of pacifism. They would, it seems to me, allow a killer to kill their children before they would take up a weapon to defend their kids. This is blasphemy to a true Bible believer.
So, what can we learn from the Bible about using weapons in self-defense or to the glory of God?
Luke 22:35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.
36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.
38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.
We learn that Jesus was preparing his disciples to defend themselves. This does not imply that Jesus would leave them at the mercy of evil men without his care for them. But, it DOES mean that the disciples, and we in our day, must be prepared to defend ourselves and our families.
The Roman short sword was the exact equivalent of a 45 Cal. Colt revolver today. The sword was for self-defense at close quarters, and it was used in combat to attack. It was not used to dig potatoes.
Verse 38 shows us that the disciples already had two swords on hand, and Jesus never rebuked them for that at previous times. Jesus did say that two swords was enough for eleven men. This implies that someone in any group should be armed for defense. Peter used a sword in the Garden to defend Jesus, but Jesus did not intend to be defended. That same sword of Peter was probably one of the two in verse 38.
So, when you receive aggravation from friends or family mocking you for not being loving and like Jesus by being prepared and armed, take them to these verses and make sure to force them to agree that Jesus really did tell his disciples this.
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Numbers 25:6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
God's Old Testament heroes were not pacifists.
God was very pleased to see Phinehas kill the man and woman. God made sure Phinehas was commended in the Word of God, and he comes up later for honorable mention in Psalm 106:30.
And, for the record, Phinehas did not kill the couple in self-defense. He killed them to honor the law of God in the Ten Commandments. In the Church Age we are not called to execute adulterers, but you wimps who are born again need to brace yourselves. The saints rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years in the coming Messianic Kingdom, and you may one day be called upon by Christ to execute sinners. Deal with it.
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Judges 4:17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Heber was a bit of a phony. He had associations with the enemy, but his wife did not agree with him. She did what she could with the weapons at hand, a tent peg and a mallet. Jael had driven tent pegs into the ground for years, and she was good with those weapons. The moral is, use the weapon you have practiced with. If you are more handy with a hammer, put the hammer to the thief as he crawls through the window.
And, what did God think of this fine lady, Jael?
The Holy Spirit inspired a piece of poetry to be added to the Word of God in memory of Jael and her defeat of the enemy.
19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
Heber was a bit of a phony. He had associations with the enemy, but his wife did not agree with him. She did what she could with the weapons at hand, a tent peg and a mallet. Jael had driven tent pegs into the ground for years, and she was good with those weapons. The moral is, use the weapon you have practiced with. If you are more handy with a hammer, put the hammer to the thief as he crawls through the window.
And, what did God think of this fine lady, Jael?
The Holy Spirit inspired a piece of poetry to be added to the Word of God in memory of Jael and her defeat of the enemy.
Judges 5:24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,
30 Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?
31 So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
Only one other verse in the Bible talks about a lady as "blessed art thou among women." That was Mary, the mother of Jesus.
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And, how does a man of God teach men who refuse to come to the aid of the godly when they are in trouble?
Judges 8:13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.
15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
Now, there is some Church discipline for you. Gideon opened a seminar in compassion and helpfulness, and the alter call was in the form of an execution for withholding bread from the people of God. Would you call Gideon to be the pastor of your church, or would you decide he was just a bit too forceful?
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Finally, as mentioned above, the Kingdom of Messiah will definitely have an enforcement aspect, as follows:
Revelation 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
28 And I will give him the morning star.
29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
"He" in verse 26 is the same he in verse 27. This means that the saints who return with Christ to rule and reign with him for a thousands years will be enforcers. They will not have gold scepters as symbols of their enforcement authority. They have iron rods. Iron is the metal of force and war in the Bible. This means that civil and spiritual laws, such as the Ten Commandments, will be enforced by physical brute force when necessary. That is the way Messiah wants it.
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Let us hear no more of this hate for Christians with guns. It may sound lofty and spiritual to claim that self-defense is not part of Christian service and maturity, but as for me, I am delighted to learn that the deacons all carry on Sunday morning, and the preacher has a KJV 1611 on the pulpit desk, and a Glock inside the pulpit.
Men in particular who do not believe it is spiritual and godly to have guns for defense are suspect at best in a culture which allows guns for defense. Criminals understand this, and they keep moving when the come to a victim they learn is armed. If you are not prepared to defend your wife and family with force, you are a spiritual wimp. Like this.....
1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep. The good husband gives his life for his family, but he also obeys the text above and provides defense for his family. Who will stop your wife from being raped if you go unarmed against an attacker with a gun?
25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,
30 Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?
31 So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
Only one other verse in the Bible talks about a lady as "blessed art thou among women." That was Mary, the mother of Jesus.
__________
And, how does a man of God teach men who refuse to come to the aid of the godly when they are in trouble?
Judges 8:13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.
15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
16 And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
17 And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
Now, there is some Church discipline for you. Gideon opened a seminar in compassion and helpfulness, and the alter call was in the form of an execution for withholding bread from the people of God. Would you call Gideon to be the pastor of your church, or would you decide he was just a bit too forceful?
__________
Finally, as mentioned above, the Kingdom of Messiah will definitely have an enforcement aspect, as follows:
Revelation 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
28 And I will give him the morning star.
29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
"He" in verse 26 is the same he in verse 27. This means that the saints who return with Christ to rule and reign with him for a thousands years will be enforcers. They will not have gold scepters as symbols of their enforcement authority. They have iron rods. Iron is the metal of force and war in the Bible. This means that civil and spiritual laws, such as the Ten Commandments, will be enforced by physical brute force when necessary. That is the way Messiah wants it.
__________
Let us hear no more of this hate for Christians with guns. It may sound lofty and spiritual to claim that self-defense is not part of Christian service and maturity, but as for me, I am delighted to learn that the deacons all carry on Sunday morning, and the preacher has a KJV 1611 on the pulpit desk, and a Glock inside the pulpit.
Men in particular who do not believe it is spiritual and godly to have guns for defense are suspect at best in a culture which allows guns for defense. Criminals understand this, and they keep moving when the come to a victim they learn is armed. If you are not prepared to defend your wife and family with force, you are a spiritual wimp. Like this.....
1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep. The good husband gives his life for his family, but he also obeys the text above and provides defense for his family. Who will stop your wife from being raped if you go unarmed against an attacker with a gun?
