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NASB | John 18:36 Jesus answered, "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." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 18:36 Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world [nor does it have its origin in this world]. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting [hard] to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this world." |
Bible Question:
Is war biblical? First off: Probably it seems ridiculous to you but I've been thinking about this topic for almost a year now and I'm still looking for statisfying answers. So please look into this thread again if you answer it in case new questions or arguments come up. Once again the basic question: Is war or violence in general biblical under any circumstances? I came to the conclusion that it is not, but in the USA almost all Christians vote for the Republicans (War in Iraq) and also my former church believed that war and violence are biblical under certain circumstances. Hopefully somebody will be able to help me in this forum..... |
Bible Answer: I also wonder about war. It is quite true that God commanded war in the Old Testament, and I have wondered about that. Why did he use that method as punishment, or to resolve a conflict? But, as you have pointed out, he also called for death of individuals, amputation, eye extractions, and so on. It is not death itself that bothers me, (God gave life and he has a right to take it) nor the destruction (They build the things again) but there is this pain and this misery that come with judgment and with war. I cringe as I read, especially, that they were to have no pity on the suffering ones. “Thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (Deuteronomy 19:21). “Thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them” (Deuteronomy 7:16). Still I have wondered about war. Why did God use war at all? War includes pain and suffering even for the winning side. Why could he not destroy his enemies with the breath of his mouth, as in Isaiah 11? But he used war sometimes as a way to punish his own people. “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land … (Habakkuk 1). “The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far … a nation of fierce countenance … which also shall not leave thee … until he have destroyed you” (Deuteronomy 28). It is quite significant, no doubt, that Jesus did not fight. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living” (Isaiah 53). It is true that he had to die for our sins. “For the transgression of my people was he stricken“. In his own defense, he could not fight. He also could not call for angels to fight on his behalf. One might wonder about that as well, why it took his suffering, and even that which some would see as a defeat, to bring about salvation? Why could he not fight against Satan and win, without getting hurt himself, as in Genesis 3:15? But then again, why fight at all? The answer seems to be that war is God’s way to put away evil. Satan is evil and the author of evil, and evil must be destroyed (Deuteronomy 19:19; 21:21, etc.). Satan must be destroyed (Hebrews 2:14). Thus even the New Testament speaks of Armageddon (Revelation 16). Jesus has fought Satan and delivered us from his power (Romans 6), and he will fight him again and put away evil forever (Revelation 20). As for war between nations today, it is not at all clear when it is God’s will. There will be wars (Matthew 24:6) but it is evident that these are the result of sin (James 4). God does not want wars among us, his children, but even in the church wars happen, because of sin. Even on your question then, we may fight and disagree, but it does not seem to be God’s will. Is war Biblical? The Bible does record the facts and figures of war. It does record the fact that God has ordered wars for various reasons. Yet we may say that God does not desire wars, just as he does not want us to sin. But we disobey God, in other words, people sin, and that seems to make war both necessary and inevitable. Those of us who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are in God’s kingdom, and Jesus says his servants should not fight (John 18:36, Matthew 26:52). The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (2 Corinthians 10) and the church should not seek to achieve its aims by war (James 4). But Christians are also citizens of countries that sometimes go to war, and they have this decision to make, to what extent they should be involved. Some choose to not be entangled in the affairs of this life at all (2 Timothy 2:4) choosing instead to actively engage in the spiritual conflict (Ephesians 6). But some choose to fight for their countries, and even to be the politicians who make decisions to go to war. And some fight over the idea. |