A Time for War and A Time for Peace (Bible Verse Reference)

          This is a very controversial subject among Christians, and it appears I opened a can of worms with my last post, "We Are the Dead."

          Please take note of my words here at the beginning: I don't believe in starting war; I believe in peace and promoting peace above all things. Peace pacts are just a paper, however, and no matter what you say, evil will still come to those seeking revenge, power, etc. (Modern examples, e.g. Russia over Ukraine, ISIS).

          As I said in an earlier comment, Jesus does not condone war, but neither does he condemn it; which is why, by the way, that we have to go to war when the government calls us - we are to obey the authority, so long as it doesn't interfere with God's commands (Romans 13:1-2, Acts 5: 29), which war and fighting is not a part of.

          If he would be completely against war, surely he would not have praised the centurion for such great faith (Matthew 8:10), surely he would not have used war as a metaphor when speaking about the Christian life (I. Timothy 6:12, Ephesians 6:13, II. Corinthians 10:4). What about the battle of Armageddon (Revelations 16:16)? - surely, if God condemns war so much, then there would be no last battle. To say the least, Jesus is constantly warring with Satan so that we do not come to harm (Deuteronomy 20:4, Psalm 138:7, Isaiah 42:13) - what is this called; sparring?

          If someone curses in my presence, I will tell them that I do not wish to hear them; if I find someone being beaten to death, I will definitely try and intervene - would you say that I shouldn't be defending this person? Or wickedness? Or evil? How are we to stop it if we tolerate it?

       
          Finally last, but not least, anyone who says that Jesus never resorted to violence should take a look at Matthew 21:12 again.