| by Garry D. Pifer (Bloomington, Illinois) |
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| Jesus’ disciples came to Him on the mount of Olives and asked Him what would be the sign of His coming and of the end of the world. His response, known as the Olivet prophecy, is found in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. It is interesting to note His first statement, as recorded in verses 4 and 5 of Matthew 24. He instructed them, and us, to “take heed that no man deceive you.” He continued by saying “many shall come” and “shall deceive many.” They would be able to do that by coming in His name, “saying, I am Christ.” Numerous commentaries and Bible helps would suggest that Jesus was saying that “many” would come and say that they themselves were the returned Christ. Though there might possibly be a few who would attempt to lead some astray in this way, it doesn’t appear that there are “many” doing such. However, there are “many” that come in Jesus’ name, as His disciples, His followers, believers, and proclaim that “I am,” which as we know was the name by which Jesus revealed Himself to Moses in the Old Testament, is “Christ,” the Messiah. And Jesus tells us, that even though they come in that manner we must “take heed,” we must be careful, to not let their teachings deceive us. Just because they claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and come proclaiming Him as Christ, doesn’t mean that all they say is true. Ezekiel 22:28 comes to mind. Speaking of “her prophets” he says they are guilty of “divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.” I believe that today we do see “many” coming in the name and authority of Jesus, proclaiming Him as the Christ, but speaking many things that supposedly are the words and truths of God and the Bible when in fact they are speaking lies. Sadly, many are being deceived. And, perhaps what we haven’t been willing to acknowledge, this isn’t occurring only within Christianity around us, BUT also within our own midst. We definitely need to hear Jesus’ warning and take heed. One area (of many) that a number of individuals have been speaking out on and are attempting to use Scripture to support is that of entering the military service to participate in the war on terrorism. They are attempting to give their words a “thus saith the Lord God” but the clear Scripture tells us “The Lord hath not spoken.” Let’s look at some of the clear Scripture and see what the Lord has spoken. Early in His ministry Jesus made a profound statement that is just as true today as it was then. Notice Matthew 6:24. “No man can serve two masters:” He goes ahead to say that he will hate one and love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. But He clearly says that there is no way a man can serve both. Who is our master? There are a number of Scriptures that tell us that we have been bought and paid for by Jesus, through His sacrifice. 1 Corinthians 7:23 tells us this. “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.” When one enters the military, he is owned by the government. He is the servant of the military system. He can’t come and go as he wills; he can’t quit because the going gets rough, he is a “G.I.,” government issue. In Romans the sixth chapter Paul speaks of our being no longer slaves of sin. He says we have become the servants of righteousness (verse 18) and servants of God (verse 22). The Greek word from which “servants” is translated is douloo, which means “to make a slave of.” Metaphorically it means to give oneself “wholly to ones needs and service.” It means to “make myself a bondman to him.” We are the slaves, the bond servants, of Jesus and of God. And, as Jesus plainly told us, WE CAN NOT SERVE TWO MASTERS. In John 15, which has been read during traditional Passover services, Jesus states that His disciples “are not of the world” (verse 19). During His prayer just before He was taken (chapter 17 of John) He states several times that His disciples were not of the world. Notice verses 14 and 16. “They are not of the world.” In verse 15 He specifically says He wasn’t praying that His disciples be taken OUT of the world. They and we must live in the world BUT must not be OF the world. Joining the military makes us OF the world. Just a few verses over, chapter 18 and verse 36, Jesus makes a very powerful statement. “My kingdom is not of this world.” His kingdom was not established yet. And His kingdom will not be a kingdom of the world. It is to be totally different. He continued, “if my kingdom were of this world” (which it wasn’t and isn’t) “then would my servants” (who cannot serve two masters) “fight.” He concludes the statement by stating “but now is my kingdom not from hence.” When He returns to establish His kingdom, He will make war and there will be armies following Him (Revelation 19) but we are told that “in righteousness he doth judge and make war (verse 11). No war that man enters into can truly be one of righteousness. The Apostle Paul makes it very plain in his writings, which are a part of Scripture, that we have been conscripted into the army of Jesus Christ. Writing to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2:3, he says, “Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” The next verse gives us further instruction. “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” Paul knew, just as Jesus said, we can’t serve two masters. One who has been “chosen to be a soldier” cannot be involved in other affairs of life. His total commitment is to his commanding officer. As soldiers of Jesus Christ, our commanding officer, we cannot be a part of another man’s military. We have been chosen to serve Jesus Christ and be a part of His army. Paul also addresses the fact that we are already in a war, but it isn’t the physical warfare of killing other human beings. Read 2 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 strong holds;)” Also, notice Ephesians 6:12. “For 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.” Our battle isn’t fought with guns and tanks and aircraft. We are in a spiritual battle. And, again, the word of the Lord, the Scriptures tell us how we should be fighting this war. Many are “pumped up” following the September 11 events. They want to “do something.” Sadly, many are attempting to deceive them into getting involved with the physical warfare of the world rather than look to the Word for direction. Let’s look at the words of God as recorded in Ezekiel 22:30. “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” The word translated “gap” is elsewhere translated “breach.” How do we stand in the breach, the gap? We don’t have to “figure it out” in our own reasonings. The Scriptures give us examples of many of the men of God who stood in the breach before God. Moses, a man most meek, stood in the breach when God had decided to destroy the whole nation of Israel and start over with Moses. Look at Psalms 106:23. “Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.” How did Moses’ “stand” before God in the breach? Read the entire account in Exodus 32. Verse 11 says he “besought the Lord his God.” In verse 30 Moses told the people he would “go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.” He stood in the breach by talking to God. Notice verse 31, “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.” Moses was heartfelt in his prayer. He wanted God’s mercy upon His people. Look what he says to God in verse 32. “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” We know “the rest of the story.” God “repented” of the evil he thought to do unto His people. Nehemiah also was a servant of God that stood in the breach between Israel and God. You can read the account in the first chapter of Nehemiah. We will look at a few verses. In verse 4 he says that “it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.” Notice how he prayed. Verse 5, “I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments.” Continuing in verses 6 and 7, “Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgements, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.” After rehearsing the words of God that had been given to Moses in verses 8 and 9 Nehemiah tells God that he, and the Israelites, are the people of God. He then cries out to God in verse 11, “O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” He was fighting for Israel, but not with implements of carnal, physical warfare. He was standing in the breach, beseeching God with prayer and fasting. Another powerful example of a man of God standing in the breach for his people was Daniel. In chapter 9 of the book of Daniel we find Daniel coming to understand from his study that God’s word had come to Jeremiah revealing what God “would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem” (verse 2). Notice how Daniel responded. Verse 3, “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:” You can read on through the next several verses and you will see the attitude that Daniel had. He confessed the sins of himself, Judah, Jerusalem, and all Israel. He repeatedly says that they had not obeyed God, that they had transgressed God’s law and they were receiving the curse and “the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.” (Verse 11) Down in verse 16 he begins to beseech God to turn His anger and fury away from Jerusalem. He continues in the next several verses to ask God to hear his prayer and his supplications, to incline His ear and hear. And he concludes his prayer, the last half of verse 18 and verse 19, by saying, “for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.” These individuals had a deep concern for the nation. They did what really makes a difference. They came to God in heartfelt prayer, supplication, and fasting. Fasting, unpleasant to most, is a powerful tool when properly used. In Isaiah 58 we see the contrast of the type of fasting that accomplished nothing other than hunger and the fast that God has chosen. (Verses 6-7) God tells us of the blessings and results of that proper fast. Interesting to note is the last half of verse 12, “and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. Once again, let us repeat the words of Jesus. “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Some of the arguments and interpretations sound good. They often appeal to our emotional state. But let us always “search the Scriptures” to see what the Lord God truly has spoken. If someone asks if it is proper for a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, to join the military, you don’t have to tell them that it is their decision. It is their decision to follow the Word or not, but clearly the Bible shows us that as Christ’s disciples, as good Soldiers of Jesus Christ, we cannot entangle ourselves with the carnal warfare of this world. But we don’t have to stand by and wring our hands. We can stand in the breach and cry out to God with prayer and fasting for our nation. Plus, we can follow the words of our Lord as recorded in Matthew 5:43-45. “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” (This article has been updated and re-printed from “The Church of God Messenger” January/February 2002—Issue No. 7) |
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