Should Christians ever fight?

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I quoted correctly.

29"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!

33"You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.

37"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'[d]"

So, go ahead. Cherry-pick something to suggest that Christians should go and fight on behalf of Israel. Or, admit defeat.

May God give you of heaven's dew
and of earth's richness—
an abundance of grain and new wine.

May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed."

The angel of the LORD also said to her:
"You are now with child
and you will have a son.
You shall name him Ishmael, [a]
for the LORD has heard of your misery.

12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward [b] all his brothers."

Certainly one may serve, bow down to, and bless Israel without fighting on behalf of Israel.

You are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away, but do not be troubled. Such things happen...Countries will fight one another, kingdoms will attack one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere...Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. All mankind will hate you because of me...But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preach through all the world for a witness to all mankind; and then the end will come.

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Nope. Just pray, equally for both sides, and then go over there and convert everyone to Christianity. Then everything will be fine.

Matthew 24:



So, don't go and fight for Israel. Go and proclaim the Good News to Israel and to all of Israel's enemies.

And, if anyone kills you because of what you are preaching, then you will come out fine. Nothing to worry about at all.

Nope. Just pray, equally for both sides, and then go over there and convert everyone to Christianity. Then everything will be fine.

Matthew 24:



So, don't go and fight for Israel. Go and proclaim the Good News to Israel and to all of Israel's enemies.

And, if anyone kills you because of what you are preaching, then you will come out fine. Nothing to worry about at all.

Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

Do you get 72 lovely virgins in Heaven?

ruveyn

23That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24"Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27Finally, the woman died. 28Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"

29Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'[a]? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

"Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27Finally, the woman died. 28Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"

The passage in question refers to the end of time, of which the exact time is unknown except to God. However notice,

Notice two things: (1) the clause, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword" does not state anything regarding the immorality of drawing the sword to fight, but rather the likely manner of their death. (2) That if Christ wanted to be rescued, then over 12,000 angels would be dispatched, and do you think that those angels would merely be witnessing to the armed guards if Christ had called upon His Father?

Do you get 72 lovely virgins in Heaven?

ruveyn