[This post comes after The National Terrorism Advisory System recently issued a warning of heigthened domestic teorrist threat levels in the U.S., and subsequent comments today from Homeland Security Intelligence chief John Cohen.]. The subject of this post is taking the kingdom by force.
There are verses in the Bible that are difficult to understand. For example, concerning Judas. Did he hang himself (Matthew 27:5) or get disemboweled (Acts 1:18?) Or, take Matthew 11:12.
In Matthew 11:12 Jesus says: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” One can’t just consider this single verse in a vacuum, however, so let’s look at the passage (vs 7-15):
“As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:
‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.“
This verse (Matthew 11:12) is one of the most difficult verses in Scripture to understand according to every authority I’ve consulted, and after a good deal of research (including several dozen different commentaries, professional journals and a search of the web, specifically JSTOR), I’ve come to a tentative understanding which may not even be close to what Jesus was trying to say. But, it is at least plausible, defendable and it seems to be appropriate to the times in which we live. Biblical scholars cannot even agree whether the “violent people” are good guys or bad guys. But my view is fairly represented by Matthew W. Bates, writing in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly:
“Violent people lay hold of the kingdom [in order to force God to bring it about].” That is, certain individuals are forcefully trying to compel God to bring about the kingdom, whether by penitent contrition for past misdeeds, perhaps followed by a renewed zeal for law-keeping, or by Maccabean style zealous violence.”
Emphasis in passage above my own. On the same track, but a bit tangent to Bates, the Bible Ref notes:
“A right understanding of the kingdom had been attacked. People had the wrong idea about what the kingdom of heaven really was. That’s why John the Baptist asked if Jesus was really the Messiah. In that sense, then, Jesus would be saying that violent men are insisting the kingdom must be a political kingdom that begins by overthrowing the Romans. Jesus did not come to earth to do that. People had the wrong idea about what the kingdom of heaven really was.”
I think in the introductory passage, Jesus was dealing with confusion and perhaps disappointment among the crowds who followed him and perhaps from John the Baptist, himself. There were two descriptions of the coming Messiah in the Old Testament. One was that He’d conquer and reign and the other was that he’d suffer and be rejected. The people believed the description that they wanted to which was to the exclusion of the other. They wanted Jesus to ride into Jerusalem on a white horse rather than on a donkey. Today, we’d call this “cherry picking” where we choose what we want to believe and ignore the “inconvenient truths.”
Danger! Taking the Kingdom by force
I don’t know for sure if this is what Jesus had in mind, here, and neither do most other commentators, apparently. But I wonder whether there is not a real possibility that some people in our society will at some point consider violence to try to usher in the Kingdom of God? They might create a situation that they believe would hasten God’s plans, perhaps the Tribulation and thus the Rapture? It could be in the name of “saving babies.” Or, to “protect” America from “liberals and Godless socialists.”
Or, some weak in the Word or immature Christian easily influenced (but armed to the teeth) might be prompted or provoked to instigate some sort of direct and violent political action? Christians caught up in the Q conspiracy, who are not afraid of violence and believe that they are doing God’s work are particularly vulnerable to manipulation. If our society continues to fragment and some evangelical opinion leaders urge “people of faith” to fight back against real or perceived persecution, then all bets are off.
“I wonder whether there is not a real possibility that some people in our society will at some point use violence to try to usher in the Kingdom of God?”
“That” Day
I carefully studied the photos of demonstrators taken on January 6th within the Capitol building. A lot of rioters in the Capitol seemed dazed or awestruck. To me, they looked like children, parents or grandparents on a field trip, if the context had been different. But they were unlawfully in the Capitol building, they refused to obey the commands of the police, and they were captained by people bent on keeping Congress from performing its Constitutional obligation, in this case (on January 6, 2021) a very important one. The gallows that was errected on the lawn outside the Capitol suggested that violence was a very real possibility, and the members of Congress were rightfully terrified (Democrats and Republicans alike.) Not everyone was standing under the rotunda taking selfies, as the Capitol police found out while they were being beaten, crushed, and sprayed with toxic chemicals. I saw a number of people with religious signs in or around the Capitol while it was being stormed. These signs said things like “Jesus is my Savior [and] Trump is my President” or “Guns, God and Trump.” No doubt these folks believed they were on an historical, perhaps divine mission just by being there. Some of these people may have gotten swept up in the excitement, stormed the Capitol with the mob, and have been subsequently indicted for this. I’m really not sympathetic to their plight.
God may allow me the freedom to keep a pistol in my nightstand to protect my family. But I seriously doubt He’d want me to carry an AK or some other weapon under the auspices of the Second Amendment to a political rally or street demonstration. Certainly not to the U.S. Capitol. I’m certainly not suggesting that people claiming to be Christians carry weapons, I’m just concerned that it could happen in the future if politicians and talk show hosts don’t dial down the rhetoric. A single shot by some sociopath who believes that God is on his side could unleash the dogs of war and we’re all living in a Victor Hugo novel. Consider the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo. This led to World War I (it was a bit more complicated than that, but this is the textbook explanation.)
We’re all patriots, whether Ted Cruz, Joni Ernst, or Nancy Pelosi, and I suppose that includes me as well. I don’t fly the U.S. flag outside my house, march in parades or go to fireworks displays on the Fourth of July. I did serve my country for more than twenty years in the armed forces, and one of those years was in Vietnam, where I got up close and personal with fireworks on a number of occasions. Maybe that counts. In any event, my service does not give me authority over others, and God would not want me to threaten people with harm as some individuals who think of themselves as Christians may be doing at this very moment, whether over masks, vaccines, schools, and so on. God would not want me as a Christian to discredit and disgrace His name, because violence is not the answer. The notion that you can usher in an ideal society through violence is simply Bolshevik! God knows best when to bring about the Kingdom. He does not need our advice. Or our help.
Carpe diem
Today, there are many different factions of Christians in the U.S., including those who are called “dominionists” by people who have studied them. Dominionists believe essentially that America belongs to God and whoever God decides to share it with (read “Christians.”) Add to this, the Kingdom Now churches. According to Spirit and Truth Online:
“’Kingdom Now’ is the theological belief that the Church is presently subduing the enemies of Christ in order to pave the way for his appearing. Mishandling such verses as Acts 3:19ff and Ephesians 4:13 and 14 leads to the view that the Christian Church will remain on the earth and become a dominant force in the world by winning millions of people to the Lord in a great end-times revival. It is easy to understand why someone who believes that would be confused as he reads the Church Epistles, however, because they say that we are lights in the midst of a world that is growing ever darker. Paul’s Epistles testify that things will get worse and worse until one day, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be taken out of this world, caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Christians will not set up God’s kingdom—only the Lord Jesus Christ will do that.”
Then, there is also the late Chrisitian Reconstructionist movement, and the Apostolic Reformation movement which I won’t go into at the moment.
Madison on factions (Federalist X)
Some of these groups have mutually exclusive ideas and goals. Some of their goals are lofty, perhaps even commendable. Often, representatives of the different groups appear on Christian radio and television and this is how mainstream Christians are introduced to their agenda. Sometimes these advocates speak at conferences. This is a free country and people and private associations have the right to believe what they want to. They are factions that Madison speaks about in Federalist X. But Madison warns if an extremist group gets their way and comes to power, other people in our society may not enjoy the same civil rights as some, especially if a new form of Republic is established on “Biblical principles.” Dominionists and their associates would not say it quite so bluntly, but my description is consistent with their weltanschauung, and its about the truth. Nor am I implying that dominionists, Kingdom Now advocates and Reconstructionists are violent–there is no suggestion (to my knowledge) that they are. What I am saying is that in this country, everyone of every race, color, creed, sex, national origin (the list gets longer every year) should have a seat at the table. You should not be disqualified because of ascriptive variables or personal choices such as religion (as here, for example.) And there are violent groups in our society looking for some pretext to pick a fight. You could have a marriage from Hell.
The Kingdom of Heaven vs the Kingdom of God
Lastly, why does Matthew use the term Kingdom of Heaven but other Biblical authors use the phrase Kingdom of God? Are they different, or are they the same? Dispensationalists sometimes try to portray these two terms as somehow different, and they may in fact be different. But Jesus appears to use them interchangeably. For example, when speaking to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:23, 24, Jesus says “…Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” In fact, the only person to use the term “Kingdom of Heaven” is Matthew, a Jew writing to Jews. Some scholars suggest that he preferred the term “Kingdom of Heaven” over “Kingdom of God” because as a Jew, he did not want to use the word God (e.g., G_d) more often than necessary. But that would be a problem to fundamentalists like me, because it would mean that Matthew is not tracking accurately what Jesus actually said. Whenever Matthew uses the term Kingdom of Heaven and the story is also reported by Mark and Luke, they use the phrase “Kingdom of God” instead. No where else in the New Testament do you find the term Kingdom of Heaven except in the Gospel of Matthew.
Taking the Kingdom by force: Afterword
Our country sometimes seems to be like a train that just left the tracks. People are bloodily dispatched everyday in broad daylight; premium channel movies have started showing small children murdered; the fires, the storms, the heat, the lawlessness, the pandemic entering its second year with no end in sight all darken our skies. I hope that the Church is able to emerge from these times blameless, as sheep, but I’m afraid the wolves are moving among us even now.
Citations
Bates, Matthew W. “Cryptic Codes and a Violent King: A New Proposal for Matthew 11:12 and Luke 16:16-18.”The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 75:2013, p. 78
May, John R. “‘The Violent Bear It Away’: The Meaning of the Title.” The Flannery O’Connor Bulletin, vol. 2, 1973, pp. 83–86. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26669758. Accessed 7 Aug. 2021.
