I recently saw on the news here that there are Christian military training camps somewhere in the U.S. and Canada. How do we find these? I tried on google... nothing came up. I wouldn't mind joining one for a while lol.
I'm not really sure how "12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." is going to explain a mistake I supposably made? lol
The mistake is believing that Christians need to form a military unit. Our war is not against flesh and blood, so what use is a military arm? We have prayer warriors, not suicide bombers. We have Evangelists, not evil dictators. We are not like other religions, even though they try to say we are. We fight our battles on the spiritual plane, not the physical one.
I wasn't trying to put you down or ridicule you, I was just wanting to point out that we live by different principles than the world.
I understand all that you are saying.. but if Christians get attacked in the "physical world" don't expect them not to defend themselves XD especially if they have a chance to learn military tactics... Or defend others in countries where they can't defend because of majority enemies?
We may, at some time, be called to do that, but it is not what Jesus taught us. We know, in Revelation, it speaks of the saints that will be beheaded for not taking the mark of the beast, we know that Satan will be given authority to overcome the saints, we know their blood is crying out to God for vengeance, but it never once tells us that we will be physically fighting anyone. We will have to wait and see, but I think we are to follow Jesus' example and not resist. I could be wrong, but that is my opinion.
Of you can find a New Testament example that says otherwise, I am willing to listen.
I think there is something to say about both of your responses. Ephesians does speak of our warfare which is in heavenly realms and is what we are called to do on a higher level. Yet we live here on earth.
Jesus said, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Which translated means: knife, controversy, fighting, punishment, striving, quarrel, disput, conflict, strife, ..., war.
If someone came and was trying out of an evil heart to harm my child, believe me, I would bust them up and mercifully end their miserable existence for they must be in terrible internal pain to be able to harm a little child. My killing of a person like this would be merciful for it would prevent them from heaping coals of fire on their own heads.
Or I would turn them over to the law for judgement. Who knows. My father raped his daughters and brutally beat his sons. At fourteen years old I had a choice to watch him continue to terrorize my little sisters or to beat him to within an inch of his life. I chose to protect the helpless, my little sisters and I beat my dad waking up from a blacked out rage before I killed him (God's mercy woke me to prevent me from killing him, And this was before I even knew God existed). I watched him crawl away on his hands and knees and drive away. He lived but he never came back again to harm us. We now are great friends by the way and can laugh about it all and love and have forgiven each other.
Upon meeting Christ at 17 years of age, He started teaching me this higher way that Leon speaks of in Ephesians.
The sword was applied to myself first. I waged war within myself learning to love God, love my neighbor and love myself. Now, I wage war in heavenly realms, pulling down strongholds in peoples minds and hearts, setting the captives free.
We are called to love one another. Always that love should begin in the form of our prayers, but sometimes will take the form of our wrath and sometimes both.
Another example. My first pastor was powerfully annointed by God. He was released from death row and was given the ability to speak with the authority of the Lord, with power. I too was a little evangelist and was feeding him whole families of converts to raise up. The annointing on him was so powerful that sadly he was unable to control it and he thought more highly of himself than he ought. He LITERALLY, broke apart the families I was feeding him and charming the wives he got them to fall in love with him and then turned them into prostitutes putting them on the streets for the use of other evil men. He did this to my very own sister, turned her into a prostitute, and he pimped them.
My old man tryed to rise in me and cause me to take up the sword and blow his head off. God showed me another way.
I prayed for him and this was my prayer:
FATHER!!! FORIVE HIM!!! FOR HE OBVIOUSLY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING, BUT BRING HIM BACK TO YOU OR TAKE HIM OUT!!! FOR HE IS HARMING YOUR SHEEP!!!
Immediately, he was exposed and lost his congregation and was seen as the pimp he had become. Within a year he was dead.
I believe this was God's mercy on him saying, "Come home son, its ok, I still love you but you've been a bad boy."
There is more power in a prayer from one who believes than all the guns, armor, or nuclear warheads ever concieved. If we live by the sword we shall die by the sword.
