The Bible Is Militaristic
Scripture is militaristic, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The key difference here is that this militarism is primarily expressed in the physical or material plane in the Old Testament, but primarily expressed in the spiritual or immaterial plane in the New.
Militarism is primarily expressed in the physical plane in the Old Testament, but primarily expressed in the spiritual plane in the New Testament.
One reason that many of the Jews were confused or repelled by Jesus is because he didn’t fit their concept of the Messiah. They expected the Messiah to be a courageous and powerful military leader like Joshua or David who would physically overthrow Roman rule. Obviously, these Jews were incorrect, and there are plenty of Messianic prophecies that prove Jesus would be who he was.
Yet, in one sense, this Jewish perspective is understandable because much of Israel’s history is focused on great military exploits working in tandem with God’s awe-inspiring power.
In Deuteronomy 7, God says this to the Israelites: “You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God is delivering over to you and not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you. Don’t be terrified of them, for the Lord your God, a great and awesome God, is among you.”
Listen to King Jehoshaphat’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 20:
“Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s temple before the new courtyard. He said:
Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, and no one can stand against you. Are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and who gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?”
Psalm 18 is one of several warrior psalms:
“I pursue my enemies and overtake them; I do not turn back until they are wiped out. I crush them, and they cannot get up; they fall beneath my feet. You have clothed me with strength for battle; you subdue my adversaries beneath me. You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hate me. They cry for help, but there is no one to save them — they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer them.
“I pulverize them like dust before the wind; I trample them like mud in the streets. You have freed me from the feuds among the people; you have appointed me the head of nations; a people I had not known serve me. Foreigners submit to me cringing; as soon as they hear they obey me. Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.”
In addition to this, one of the primary names of God in the Old Testament is “The Lord of Armies” (or, in other translations: “The Lord of Hosts”). “The Lord of Armies” is used 268 times in the Old Testament, but only 2 times in the New.
The New Testament, in contrast, expresses spiritual principles in militaristic terms.
Jesus says in Matthew 10:
“Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.”
Paul famously describes the armor of God in Ephesians 6:
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit — which is the word of God.”
According to Philippians 2, Christians are not simply brothers and sisters but fellow soldiers: “But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus — my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need — ”
2 Timothy 2 has similar language: “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the commanding officer.”
