THE Sword OF Battle

The sword of battle *IS* raging across this planet today… War IS being praised as the destructor of the enemy… One country declares themselves TO BE more ~righteous~ than another, so bonnets are lifted high, hands are placed on hearts, or heels clicked, in a show of loyal honor to it’s flag, and glasses are raised to each other, in a symbol of greatness, weapons are taken up and the armies set out to kill, fellow men.. BECAUSE? What year IS IT?
“Old Testament Days of: King David”? …
David, was not allowed to build: A House to hold the Ark of The Covenant, Because:? NO IT WAS NOT Because he had an affair with Bathsheba, and sent her husband Uriah to the battles front, Because he was forgiven of that in the death of their child conceived in an illicit affair,,,, (II Samuel 12: 13-14).. BUT! Because he had been, “A man of war & spilled much blood”! (I Chronicles 28: 2-3)
“Other Old Testament Days”?….
(Isaiah 31:1) .. “Woe unto them that go down to Egypt for help. And stay (depend) on horses and trust in chariots, BECAUSE…they are many; and in horseman, BECAUSE They are strong; BUT they ~Look~ NOT unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek THE LORD”….
(Psalm 20:7) … ~Some Trust~ in chariots, & some in horses: BUT we will remember the Name of THE LORD our God…
Many folk today see their safety as depending upon the strength of the armies of the country or nation in which they live… Looking TO What for Deliverance? Mankind‘s ability to fashion weapons OF War? Strategy of war games?
“The Days of the Christian Crusaders”?
(II Corinthians 10:3-4) … For though we walk in the flesh, we do NOT war after the flesh. FOR the weapons of our warfare are NOT Carnal, BUT Mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds….
The ~Crusades~ which were fought mainly by the Roman Catholics occurred around the time period between: 1095 through 1291.… Against Muslims, the pagan countries, Greek Orthodox Christians, AND Christians deemed by the Catholic Church TO BE heretics… BUT The ~WAR~ the Battle against Christians, True Followers of Christ, has been going on since Christ walked this earth… WHY?
For the sake of Christianity? NO! For The Dominance of certain religious sects… Some of the early leaders in Biblical instruction were put to death for their heretic beliefs, when their only crime was to Proclaim: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit….
WAS THIS A God Sanctioned WAR? WAS The spilling of this blood called for BY God’s Son, Jesus Christ AS He walked this earth? What did He send the Apostles out TO DO… Shed blood for the Gospel OF God’s Kingdom OR… Teach the people TO Observe AND Obey The Commandments OF God, ONE of which states: “Thou Shalt NOT Kill!”?
(Matthew 28:19-20)… “Go ye therefore, & *Teach ~ALL~ nations*, Baptizing them in the Name OF: The Father, & Of The Son, & Of The Holy Ghost: Teaching ~~Them~~ To *Observe* ~ALL~ things whatsoever I Have commanded you:::” &
(Matthew 26:52) … Jesus Said: “ALL they that take the sword Shall perish with the sword….
What were the crimes of Stephen when he was stoned to death? Was ~he~ calling out for his fellow workers in Christ TO pick up their swords of steel and start chopping heads of the atheist, or the Jews, or those that threatened his freedom on this earth? Kill the @#?@__ enemy! (Acts 7: 54 - 60) Stephen delivered the Spoken Message wielding THE *Sword* OF The Spirit Which IS The word of God, (Ephesians 6: 17), and when they heard *IT* they were cut ~~TO the heart~~ SO they stoned Stephen to death, who being full of The Holy Ghost, looked up & ~Saw the heavens opened~ and Jesus, the Son of man standing on *The Right Hand OF God*…
(Hebrews 4:12).. FOR ~THE~ word OF God *IS* ~Quick~ & ~Powerful~ & ~Sharper~ than any two-edged sword… Piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit… &
When James was killed with the ~sword~, Did Peter call out the Christians TO Come break him out of jail and fight a Royal Crusade? (Acts 12: 1- 11) Saying, “Now I ~Know~ of a surety that THE Lord hath sent His Angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod”…
You Know, folks rally an bah-hoo about brave soldiers that take up weapons and go off to war… praising their bravery, and IT does take a lot of bravery to face battle with an enemy… BUT HOW Many Christians are ~~BRAVE~~ Enough to Take that Stand with Jesus and fight the ~Spiritual Battle~ That IS Set before us today? I see a whole bunch of cowards that retreat into the ways of the world rather than make a firm stand on God’s Written word, facing the adversary with THE ~Winning Sword~ That God Provided for us to wield against the false prophets, the antichrist, the dragon…. You might hear some praising of the LORD on Sunday Morning after the praises of and to each other and the nation and all the things of the fleshly life are glorified… BUT.. When that service IS over you ain’t gonna hear a word about THE LORD for a week or more…..AND Very seldom are you gonna hear about *THE Kingdom OF God*…
“The Revolutionary War”?….
(Matthew 24: 6)… Jesus SAID: “ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: ~See that ye be NOT Troubled~…. FOR these things must come to pass…..
(James 4:1) … From whence came wars and fighting’s among you? Came they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members….
“The Present Day OF ~ALL~ Nations”?
(Romans 8:7) … BECAUSE, the ~carnal mind~ IS *enmity* against God: FOR *IT* IS NOT subject to the ~Law~ OF God….
ARE we today fighting for God’s Kingdom? IT IS claimed that This *IS* God’s country, BUT *IT* looks more, like Sodom and Gomorrah… Why are we yelling and kicking to ~~KEEP~~ The Title OF God in the things of a nation that IS clearly NOT OF God, FOR God, OR About God, or HIS Kingdom? BUT IS ALL About: Freedom to do as is pleasing to the people… NOT God! .. Freedom to worship any and every thing, ~ALL~ false gods of the world!!!
(John 18:36)… Jesus Said: “My Kingdom IS NOT Of this world, *IF* My Kingdom were of this world then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews….
BUT, There WAS A Day, A Time that God set an example for us to take heed to:
(II Chronicles 20: 15)… Thus said THE LORD unto you, “Be ~NOT~ afraid nor dismayed by reason of this multitude; ~~FOR The Battle *IS NOT* your’s~, BUT God’s.”…. & (v.17).. “ye shall not ~Need~ TO fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and ~SEE~ the salvation of the LORD with you..” (As they went forth to battle) .. (v. 21-22) .. Singers went before the army singing and praising the LORD… & (v.24)…When Judah came toward the ~Watchtower~ in the wilderness, they looked and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to earth, none escaped…
SO we today need to recognize that as Jesus said, AS IT IS Written, The present battle, is fought with the Sword of God…. Which *IS*: (Ephesians 6:17)..
Folks are adamant and proud of their ancestry, their roots, where they came from… Even though they were born here in this country, relatives through ancestry still remain ~IN~ other nations… Reckon How Many, cousins have killed cousins in war, because of national boundaries?
How many brothers, were killed in the war between the states? The Revolutionary War? WWI & WWII? WHY? Because we were carrying the Gospel Forth as Jesus Commanded we do OR Because of the *Lust, Greed, Envy, Lies, OR *PRIDE* OF The people of ALL nations?
(Revelations 18:3).. *ALL* ~Nations~ have drunk of the ~wrath~ of her fornication,.. *Notice IT does not read: All but one or some of the nations, BUT *ALL* of them….
The ~FACTS~ Remain: That *IF* we were truly looking for, and working toward God’s Kingdom, we would have no fear or qualms of leaving this earthly life! BECAUSE
(II Corinthians 5:8). we are willing to be absent form the body & to be present with the Lord.. &
*IF* we looked to God our Heavenly Father AS The MOST HIGH, ALL Powerful AND Almighty, we would have no fear that we would die and leave this earthly life before our work here in Christ footsteps was complete!…. AND
*IF* we carried the True Message of The Gospel as Jesus Taught US TO: well, there again we would have ~NO Fear~ For Jesus Said: “I Will Never Leave Thee, NOR Forsake thee,” So that we may boldly say, “The LORD *IS* my helper and I Will NOT Fear what man can do unto me… (Hebrews 13:6-7) AND we would remember daily, HOW Daniel was kept alive among the lions, and the Three Hebrew children was saved alive in the fire… AND our faith would be strengthened to keep stepping forward in our service TO The LORD, under the guidance of The Holy Ghost… AS we determinedly step further away from the false teachings of a lost and dying world, of pagan customs and men’s fabled traditions…