Joining the MILITARY SERVICE and GOING TO WAR IS A SIN!

Have you ever asked yourself, what does GOD SAY about fighting in the military? What is your duty to your country? What IS your country? Why do wars happen? Where do they come from? SHOULD YOUR COUNTRY HAVE AN ARMY TO SAVE THEM, and SHOULD YOU FIGHT IN THAT ARMY??

Psalms 33:16-19 THERE IS NO KING SAVED by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

Notice what the word of God says – A king IS NOT SAVED BY HIS ARMY! Horses, tanks and atomic bombs, and MILLIONS OF TROOPS AND WEAPONS WILL NOT HELP YOU in battle!

2 Chronicles 36:16-17 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.

When God sends an army against your country – when he flings a nation into a war, He does so to WAKE THEM UP! He causes wars to PUNISH ERRING NATIONS! Again and again you see this, throughout the Bible.

Ezra 9:7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

BECAUSE OF THEIR SINS they were delivered into the hand of the enemy! Regardless of the size of their army, or the number of men or weapons they had – they would have lost! God Himself said so!

Jeremiah 37:10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

God says IF YOU SOMEHOW DEFEATED THESE MEN I SEND AGAINST YOU, I WOULD RAISE THEM UP TO FINISH THE JOB!!

You cannot fight the judgment of God! When you join the military to attack another army, one that God is sending against you, you are FIGHTING the judgment of God on a sinning, corrupt nation! DO YOU SUPPOSE HE LIKES THAT??

Ezekiel 30:6,8 Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. … And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.

You don’t kill the people God is sending to punish this nation! Otherwise YOU will be destroyed as their helper! Think about it; if a nation is evil, wicked, and rebellious… SHOULD you defend them? If God is trying to teach them a lesson, and give them a spanking for their evil, should you even WANT to fight against Him??

Ezekiel 33:26-27 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour’s wife: AND SHALL YE POSSESS THE LAND? Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.

If God ordains destruction, all the armies on earth won’t help! Your sword won’t help you in that day! AND YOU SHOULDN’T WANT IT TO!!

Remember, if you are in the church of God, you NO LONGER BELONG TO THIS NATION! You are now A PILGRIM, a TRAVELER… someone who is JUST PASSING THROUGH this world. Notice what Christ said:

John 18:36 Jesus answered, 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 now is my kingdom not from hence.

Christ’s servants DO NOT FIGHT! Not even to protect their future KING!

Luke 22:36-38 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

Look carefully! He wasn’t trying to arm his disciples so they could defend Him! He wasn’t saying they needed to prepare for battle, or to arm themselves for self-defense! He gave his reason! “THAT PROPHECY WILL BE FULFILLED, so that He would be reckoned among the transgressors!” To accomplish this goal, all that they needed was TWO SWORDS! And they weren’t even supposed to USE them!

49-51 When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

They asked “Should we use our swords?”, then Peter cut off the servant’s ear, THEN CHRIST SAID “NO”, and HEALED THE SERVANT OF THE HIGH PRIEST! His servants don’t fight!

But that’s not all! That’s only one of the reasons why MILITARY SERVICE AND WAR is SIN! Let’s look at another critical reason that, by itself, would be enough to PROVE that you can’t join the military and be the servant of God!

WHOM DO YOU SERVE?

When you join the military, they OWN you! You take an oath that you will follow THEIR orders. Do you have any idea what that means?? It means you now have TWO masters!

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

If you try to serve God, while in the military, sooner or later you WILL come to a conflict between the two. What do you DO if the orders that your general gives you disagree with the orders that your GOD gives you??

You can’t obey both. You will have to choose one or the other. The military demands that you obey them. If you disobey the military under the right circumstances, you will be shot.

And this conflict will come! God has commanded you “THOU SHALT NOT KILL!”. The purpose of the military is to kill the enemy! If your general commands you to kill someone, contrary to the direct command of God, WHO WILL YOU OBEY?

You WILL have to make that choice! And that’s just ONE of the commandments you aren’t free to obey. You aren’t allowed to pick and choose which orders you agree with and which you don’t! You are not allowed to serve your conscience in the military! You serve THEIR conscience, and THEIR orders!

You have a whole Bible full of commands, ideals, and lessons by which you must live your life, IN GOOD CONSCIENCE, at all times! When you join the military, they demand that you BREAK many of the clearest laws!

God has commanded you not to work on Saturday! That is commandment #4! In the military, you work 7 days a week. It is not open for discussion! Again, you must decide WHO YOU SERVE.

The military simply won’t tolerate you serving someone else, and neither will God! You CAN’T SERVE TWO MASTERS! And any way you look at it, when you are in the military you have TWO masters who DISAGREE!

WHOM DO YOU TRUST?

Your God is a JEALOUS God!

Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

God is jealous of far more than your loyalty and obedience to him! He NOT ONLY demands that you obey HIS commands before those of anyone else, He also demands your TRUST!

God wants you to RELY ON HIM, not on your army! He wants you to trust HIM, not your own strength! He wants you to let HIM defend you, not your sword! How badly, do you wonder? HOW IMPORTANT is it to Him, that you trust HIM, and ONLY HIM?

King Asa, of Judah (968-927 B.C.) was under attack by King Baasha, of Israel, who had an alliance with the King of Syria. And King Asa sent the gold and silver from the temple of God to the King of Syria, to hire him to break his alliance with Baasha and join him against Baasha.

King Benhadad of Syria accepted this agreement, and Baasha left off attacking Judah to defend himself from Syria. This allowed Asa to reclaim the land that had been lost in the war. So it seemed his plan worked! The enemy left, we’re at peace again, all is well. But HOW DID GOD FEEL ABOUT IT?

2 Chronicles 16:7-9 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

God was MAD, jealously furious that Asa had relied on the King of Syria, and not on HIM! And as a punishment for that foolish decision of Asa’s, God said that He would send WARS to PUNISH HIM!

God doesn’t WANT you to fight your own battles! He wants to fight them for you! You ONLY have to be a righteous – or even repentant – nation for Him to do this! He has shown this many times in the Bible!

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah (927-902 B.C.) had to make the same choice Asa made. When he was faced with a strong attacking army, what did HE do?

2 Chronicles 20:1-4 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

When they came against Jehoshaphat, did he try to hire them away, or get allies of men? No! Did he gather together his army for the battle? No! HE SOUGHT GOD! And WHAT DID GOD DO, to reward this attitude??

2 Chronicles 20:15-17 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. YE SHALL NOT NEED TO FIGHT IN THIS BATTLE. set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

20-24 And they rose early in the morning, and… Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper… the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

Because of their FAITH, and their REPENTANCE, and their RIGHTEOUSNESS, God fought for them… INSTEAD of them! God raised up an enemy to their enemies, and then they all killed each other! And when Judah arrived, there was no battle to fight… the enemy was all dead!

God will fight for you, IF you fear him, and rely on HIM, and NOT THE ARMIES OF MEN! Look at the difference between the way God treated Asa after he hired the Syrians to help him, and Jehoshaphat who relied on GOD, and GOD alone!!

Asa was cursed with wars! What happened to Jehoshaphat?

2 Chronicles 20:29-30 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.

God, for the righteousness of the people, and for the faith that they had IN HIM… for the REPENTANCE of the people, and because they trusted GOD! Not GOD AND the army, or God to HELP their army, but GOD ALONE!

THESE EXAMPLES ARE NOT ISOLATED ONES! God fighting for a nation is THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE!

Hezekiah, king of Judah (724-695 B.C.) was another example of a good king, a righteous leader who put the country BACK ON TRACK FOLLOWING GOD, and didn’t have to lift a FINGER to defeat the enemy!

Sennacherib, king of Assyria had come, and was camping against Judah to capture it. How did Hezekiah react? Did he advise them to “rely on God, but keep their guns handy?” No!

2 Chronicles 32:7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:

You’ll notice Hezekiah isn’t talking about troops and weapons!

8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and TO FIGHT OUR BATTLES. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Hezekiah had FAITH IN GOD! And when it got worse, and Sennacherib came to attack Jerusalem itself, did Hezekiah say “Well, I guess God isn’t going to help, let’s get the army ready!” – Certainly not!

2 Chronicles 32:20 And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.

And what did God do? That’s the TRUE TEST of whether someone did the right thing or not – how did GOD FEEL about this choice? Did He feel that they should have “helped him”, and made an army? Or hired someone to do it for Him? Ha! God doesn’t need, or WANT, you to help Him fight your battles!

2 Kings 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

185,000 men killed, and Hezekiah and the men of God didn’t lift the first sword! Not the first drop of blood was spilled by the men with FAITH IN GOD! And God, just to make a neat, tidy package, killed the leader of the Assyrians when he returned home, by his own children!

2 Chronicles 32:21-22 And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.

Remember, your God is JEALOUS of you! He is jealous of your obedience, of your worship, and of your trust! If you are just ONE MAN, and a kingdom sends and ENTIRE ARMY to capture you, God WILL protect you, IF YOU TRUST HIM, and HIM ALONE!

The King of Syria was warring against Israel, and was frustrated in his attempts because every time he made a plan, the king of Israel was one jump ahead of him! And so the King of Syria was searching for a traitor in his camp, trying to find out HOW HE KNEW!

2 Kings 6:11-13 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

And so the King of Syria sent a large army to capture Elisha and bring him to Syria. Did Elisha fear that army? Was he at all concerned? Not hardly!

2 Kings 6:15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

The servant of Elisha, not knowing God like Elisha did, was afraid of the armies of the enemy. Elisha, the man of God wasn’t! Because he knew God was trustworthy!

16-17 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

There was a huge army of angels, and chariots of FIRE around Elisha! God was going to defend HIM, and he KNEW IT! He didn’t need Elisha to take a sword or gather together the town to “help” to defeat them – He did it all by himself!

Today, the United States believes that you should “Rely on God, but keep your gun oiled!”. They say “Pray for our troops”, and because of that they say they trust in God! Is that what Jehoshaphat did? No! But it’s very close to what Asa did!

Asa hired the King of Syria, to HELP him… but surely he would have said “Oh, I trust God! But after all, “the Lord helps those who help themselves!” (That saying is NOT in the Bible by the way!)

But God didn’t want THAT – He didn’t want them to trust God AND keep their sword handy – the Bible NEVER says that! MEN have invented that because THEY LACK FAITH! They don’t TRUST GOD TO DELIVER THEM, BECAUSE THEY KNOW HE WON’T DO IT!

YES! They know He won’t do it, because there are CONDITIONS to God delivering you! In order for Him to deliver you, you have to be a RIGHTEOUS nation! You have to be serving HIM, not Kali, Buddha, Allah or Baal!

This country doesn’t serve Him and only Him, so they NEED an army to deliver them! Because GOD WON’T!

And this leads us to our FINAL POINT. All this proof notwithstanding, there is ONE MORE fair question that I should answer for you. One more stumblingblock to remove.

WHY DID GOD ALLOW ISRAEL TO FIGHT?

Why was it ‘Ok’ for ancient Israel to fight? Was that what God originally wanted, and should we follow their example? Just what WAS God’s original plan? Did He WANT Israel to fight?

No! It was never His original intention!

When Israel was trapped against the red sea, they saw Pharaoh coming and they were frightened and began to complain, “Didn’t we tell you in Egypt to let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it was better to serve the Egyptians, than to die in the wilderness.”

But Moses said, “Fear ye not, STAND STILL, AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more FOR EVER. THE LORD SHALL FIGHT FOR YOU, AND YE SHALL HOLD YOUR PEACE (Exodus 14:9-14).”

In the beginning, God didn’t tell them to take up arms and battle the Egyptians; He wanted them to let HIM fight.

And in Exodus 23:20-23, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. IF thou shalt indeed OBEY his voice, and DO all that I speak; THEN I Will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries… and I WILL CUT THEM OFF.”

Exodus 23:27-28 I will send my fear before thee, [THIS describes what God WANTED from the beginning! He wanted to simply make the inhabitants of the land FEAR Israel – no SWORD, no BATTLE and BLOODSHED, simply FEAR!] and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, [HE WANTED TO USE BEES! Not Bayonets!] which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

God planned to bring Israel out of Egypt WITHOUT WAR! Without Israel having to draw the first drop of blood! His very word said so! No mention is made here of Israel taking up arms. Why is this? Why didn’t God have them fighting from the beginning, at the Red sea – or even back in Egypt? BECAUSE GOD WANTED THE ENTIRE NATION TO BE HOLY! They were ALL, EVERY LAST ONE supposed to be the HOLY PRIESTHOOD of God TO THE ENTIRE WORLD!

Exodus 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

And the priesthood, in nearly every culture in history wasn’t part of the army! Ancient Israel was no exception, as you’ll see shortly; And God wanted this ENTIRE nation to be priests to Him!

But from the beginning, Israel didn’t want to have to trust God. Because they KNEW God had requirements! They knew that God would make them abide by certain laws, AND IF THEY DIDN’T HE WOULDN’T FIGHT FOR THEM! (Exodus 23:20-23)

But to fight THEIR OWN battles, with THEIR OWN WEAPONS, and THEIR OWN STRENGTH, they didn’t have to do ANYTHING to please God! And this is how they wanted it!

And so Israel resisted and finally thoroughly rejected His offer, so God allowed them (SOME of them!) to fight their own battles, since they DIDN’T WANT GOD TO DO IT! But he STILL reserved a priesthood of men who DID NOT FIGHT to be HIS! The sons of Levi!

Numbers 1:1-3 And the LORD spake unto Moses… saying, Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, … From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.

Notice! God is counting ALL of the people who can go out and FIGHT in the WAR!

Verse 45 So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;… But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them… thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel:

And then gives SPECIFIC instructions NOT to have the Levites counted – because THEY WERE NOT TO FIGHT! The Levites – the PRIESTHOOD OF GOD – were not counted among the men who hacked and butchered in WAR! BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT TO GO TO WAR!

Verse 50-53 But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle. And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts. But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony.

The Levite’s job was to take care of the temple of God, to teach the law to the people, so that God would not be mad at them, and SEND them to War in the FIRST PLACE! God punishes His people with WAR! If a people is displeasing Him, He sends ANOTHER nation to KILL SOME OF THEM!

Judges 3:12 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

This happened 6 times in the book of Judges alone! When the nation sinned, God brought them war. When they didn’t repent, they lost the war and went into captivity, UNTIL they repented and did what was right.

1 Kings 14:15-16 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.

When Israel sinned, he destroyed them! Later, when the nation that He raised up to destroy Israel became too evil, He destroyed THEM! WAR is always one of His means of punishing a country for their SIN! The PRIESTHOOD was SUPPOSED to keep this from happening. THEIR JOB was to teach the people to be RIGHTEOUS, and PLEASING to God, so that God wouldn’t bring this calamity on the nation!

Malachi 2:7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

But in order for a man to BE a priest, or to be associated with the temple and work of God, HE COULDN’T BE A MAN WHO SHED THE BLOOD OF OTHER MEN!

1 Chronicles 28:2-3 Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, BECAUSE THOU HAST BEEN A MAN OF WAR, AND HAST SHED BLOOD!!

Does this sound like the words of a God who WANTS his people, his country, and HIS SERVANTS to FIGHT IN WAR? NO! God TOLERATED the war because of the lack of FAITH of Israel! He PUT UP with it because of the hardness of their hearts, just like he PUT UP with Divorce – but He didn’t like it! (Matthew 19:8)

The PRIESTHOOD simply could not be BLOODY, and be acceptable to God! And since the nation WOULD NOT put their trust in God, He allowed them to fight… but He reserved the PRIESTHOOD for Himself – a tribe of people that DID NOT FIGHT, that WAS NOT BLOODY, and that GOD COULD WORK and SPEAK THROUGH!

If the Priest had done his job in the nation of Israel, and the people had listened, there would have never been a need for a battle. In fact, Israel would never have fallen to Assyria! It would have survived to this day!

Likewise, if the PRIESTHOOD in this country was doing their job, and teaching people to be pleasing to God, WE WOULD NOT HAVE WAR! The PRIESTHOOD, even the churches in this world COULD HAVE caused this nation to AVOID ALL THE WARS this nation has ever suffered!

Righteous nations dwell in PEACE, not in WAR! (Leviticus 25:18, Isaiah 32:18). When another nation threatens you, God will fight for you – INSTEAD of you – unless He is angry with you, and is the one who sent it to punish you in the first place!

Today, the church of God is that PRIESTHOOD of God! YOU!

1 Peter 2:5,9 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ…. ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

As such, your job is NOT to enter into battle with this world, but to TEACH THE WORLD WHY IT HAPPENED! Not to kill the enemy, but to KILL THE SIN IN THE PEOPLE WHOM GOD IS PUNISHING!!

YOU CAN’T DO THIS IF YOU ARE STILL BLOODY FROM DISEMBOWELING ANOTHER MAN! God won’t LET you be HIS PRIEST if you are a BLOODY MAN! AND YOU CAN’T BE HIS PRIEST IF YOU BELONG TO THIS WORLD!!

WHO ARE YOU??

John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

We don’t BELONG to this world! Just as the great men of faith in Hebrews 11, we are not OF this world!

John 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

If you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, then you CANNOT BE OF THE WORLD! If you are of the world you are NOT a follower of God, and you are NOT headed for the kingdom of God, and you are STILL DEAD IN YOUR SINS!!

You don’t belong to THIS WORLD! You don’t BELONG TO THIS COUNTRY! You are only passing through this world, on your way to your REAL country! Abraham, Noah, Enoch, Abel, and the rest of the great men of old KNEW THIS, EMBRACED THIS, and for THEM there is a REWARD SAVED UP IN HEAVEN!!

Hebrews 11:13-14 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

If you expect a reward such as they have, you must ACT as they ACTED! You must confess that you ARE a PILGRIM on this earth! That you are not INVOLVED in the wars, the fighting, the armies, police forces and battles of this world!

Philippians 3:20 For our conversation [or COUNTRY, or CITIZENSHIP] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 13:14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

Understand this once and for all! You are NOT A citizen of the United States any more! You are NOT A CITIZEN of THIS EARTH anymore! When you joined the church of God you became a CITIZEN OF HEAVEN! You serve GOD, not man! You serve HIS KINGDOM, not a corruptible kingdom of men! You fight HIS battles, not the battles a man decides you should fight for his own lusts and envies and fears!

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we WALK in the flesh, we DO NOT WAR after the flesh:

WE don’t war like the rest of the world does! WE don’t get involved in their petty squabbles and shed blood, because WE ARE NOT OF THE WORLD! We are citizens of a DIFFERENT KINGDOM, a HEAVENLY kingdom!

Do you want a battle? Do you want to fight? Do you really? THERE IS A BATTLE YOU CAN JOIN! The battle GOD HAS ORDAINED for you to fight!

1 Timothy 1:18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

There IS A war going on! If your spirit wants a fight, there IS ONE TO FIGHT! There is a war in YOUR kingdom that YOU are responsible to fight! If you want to battle lions, and persecutions, and snakes, and shipwrecks, JOIN THE BATTLE!

2 Timothy 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

But many will say “But I’m not able to preach the word! I don’t know enough!” Well WHY NOT? How DARE you be in the church of God and NOT be able to “Give an answer always to anyone who asks of you a reason of the hope that lies in you”! (1 Peter 3:15)

How DARE you not be able to do that, and call yourself a member of the church of God! And think you are going to be SAVED!

Why would God save you? What VALUE can you offer him? Can YOU rule a city in His kingdom? Have YOU even read the entire Bible from cover to cover – even once?

Most people I know who think God is going to resurrect them in the first resurrection haven’t! They haven’t even put enough time and effort into this way of life to read ONE BOOK! How many OTHER books have they “had time” to read since they’ve been here? How many TV shows have they “had time” to watch?

Oh they could have made time… it just wasn’t IMPORTANT enough to them! If you haven’t read the Bible even once, SHAME ON YOU! You are a PATHETIC excuse for a church member, and if you aren’t any more interested in God than that, HE PROBABLY ISN’T INTERESTED IN YOU EITHER!

Most people I know can’t even quote all TEN COMMANDMENTS! THE most basic rules that God lives by, and expects YOU to live by, and you can’t even quote them?

Absurd! Absurd that you think God likes you, when you have only taken the time to barely KNOW Him!

So if you aren’t able to PREACH the word, then GET ABLE! Get able, or be prepared to wake up in the second resurrection!

Get able, And once you get able, TELL people! Spread the Gospel! When someone tells you “merry christmas!” be quick to point out to them “Oh, I don’t keep Christmas, Christmas is pagan!”

When they say “What!?” have the information in your head, KNOW why it’s pagan, and tell them! Tell them about Saturnalia, and Jeremiah 10. Tell them about Nimrod and Baal and Santa Claus!

PREACH the Gospel, and you will find that there IS a war to fight, and there IS something you can do to change the world!

So what do you think? I’ve shown enough proof today to convince anyone who is even remotely interested in truth. And hopefully enough to thoroughly infuriate and/or silence anyone else!

I’ve answered, from the Bible, basically every objection I’ve ever heard to this doctrine. I challenge you to disprove these scriptures! I challenge you to show me another way to read this! Because I’ve shown you an ENORMOUS weight of evidence, ALL of which must be considered!

I’ve given dozens of reasons here! They can’t ALL be wrong! If you want to be rebellious, and die with the rest of the world, fine! Pick a scripture that makes little sense, cling to it, reject all sensible interpretations and believe it, because THAT’S THE ONE THAT AGREES WITH YOU! REJECT THE ENTIRE BIBLE! GO AHEAD!

It won’t hurt me any! It will only hurt YOU! It will only cause YOU to die in your sins, and YOU to suffer the judgment of God now and then! But DON’T tell me you are a Christian, or my brother in Christ! Because know this; YOU ARE NOT!

So now I ask you, in the face of all this evidence… Should you join the world’s military, and fight for them, helping them to kill the enemies that God has sent against them to punish their wickedness?

Should you hack and butcher, and make yourself unclean so that you can’t be a priest of God? Should you deny that you have a heavenly kingdom, and join the kingdom of this world?

Do you DARE to continue to treat your life with the half-hearted attitude you’ve been doing – if you haven’t even READ the Bible ONCE?? There is NO excuse for anyone being in the Church of God who hasn’t read the Bible! None whatsoever! Even on an easy schedule you can read it in 4 months! You aren’t willing to put forth THAT MUCH TIME? If not, you are disgusting in the eyes of God!

So the conclusion, the UNDENIABLE conclusion, is that MILITARY SERVICE AND WAR IS SIN!

It is SIN for so many reasons, it is barely worth discussing! There IS a war you can be fighting, if you are interested. And it doesn’t involve the shedding of blood!

You must make yourself clean, and tell this nation WHY men are dying for their country! Show them the SIN that has caused God to send a punishment upon this nation! So that they might repent, stop the war, and save ALL the men’s lives, on both sides! So that the nations might prosper, instead of collapse!

Serve your heavenly Kingdom, and fight GOD’S BATTLES! Win those, and the other ones will be won at the same time!

This is FAR MORE patriotic, and will A THOUSAND TIMES OVER help the nation more than JOINING THE MILITARY!

Jeremiah 9:12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?

Who is that person going to be? You? The land is perishing, and NOONE IS TELLING THEM! YOU CAN! But not if you’re in the military! And not if you’re TOO INVOLVED in the cares of this world to take the time to learn how!