THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST MILITANT
By Walter Giddings
May 22, 2022
“The Church of Jesus Christ Militant”. Is that some kind of military organization? What is the need for that? Have “the weapons of our warfare” become “carnal”?
The first problem we encounter with this Lesson is the word “militant”. It does not appear in the King James English of 1611. What word or words can we find in The Scriptures that have a meaning similar to “militant”? We better put our “thinking caps” on. Should we first establish the meaning of militant?
MIL’ITANT, a. [L. militans, milito, to fight.]
1. Fighting; combating; serving as a soldier.
2. The church militant is the christian church on earth, which is supposed to be engaged in a constant warfare against its enemies; thus distinguished from the church triumphant, or in heaven.
MIL’ITARY, n. The whole body of soldiers; soldiery; militia; an army.
U. States. Mitford.1828 Webster. Vol II. page 15
This chronicle of doctrine was published 1828 in a dictionary reporting established usages of terms in American English. Webster’s 1st American Dictionary of the English Language is the recognized authority on colonial and independent states American English, including the language of The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, The Constitution for the United States of America and The Bill of Rights. Do we have insight on how our forefathers who framed the Republic viewed the Scriptures?
Can we obtain an understanding by finding the 1611 King James English word that has a definition similar to “militant”?
Does Christendom want to have enemies? Does God’s family on Earth want to have enemies? Does the body of Jesus Christ on Earth, the Church, want to have enemies? A thousand times No!!! If the Church on Earth does not want to have enemies, then why on God’s green Earth does the Church have enemies?
Is it because the God of our Fathers has enemies? Who in their right mind wants to be God’s enemy? Is a psychopath in his right mind?
Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Can we find something evil?
Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Is there evil in verse 12?
Genesis 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:17-18
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
Were the signs of the heavens, and the seasons, days, and years of the calendar of the heavens in God’s making perfectly or completely good?
Was there anything about God’s replenishment of His Creation that was not good?
Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Does God create every creature kind after kind? Does every living thing have seed in itself? Is all of God’s creation good?
Genesis 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
“Very good.” Upon review we find “good” in verses 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, and “very good” in verse 31. Did we ask earlier, does the Church have enemies because our God has enemies? Does that raise a deeper question? How can God have enemies when “God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good”? Congregation, did you just read in unison that God finished the heavens and the earth and all the host of them? Where is evil? Where is wickedness? From where did the enemies of God come?
Some of you have the answer. Is there anything in Genesis 3:15 that comes short of hatred in perpetuity?
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
“Enmity … between thy seed and her seed.” Are there 2 seeds here? Can there be peace between these 2 seeds? Who votes for peace? Do elections have consequences? From what does this consequence source? Who put the “enmity” between the 2 seeds? Who is I? Who is “thy” in the expression “thy seed”? Is the answer in verse 14?
Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Who put the “enmity” between the 2 Seeds? (Verse 15) Who is I? Who is “thy” in the expression “thy seed”? Did “the LORD God” start the war?
From where did the woman get the forbidden fruit?
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
If our spouse was dying, to what lengths would we go to save him or her? Can we save our spouse from death? In the end, no we can’t. To what lengths would we go to lengthen our time together before the inevitable? From where did Adam get the forbidden fruit?
Was Adam with the woman when she ate? Was she alone with the Serpent? Was Adam with the woman when he ate?
1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Did Adam find the woman “in the transgression”? Do our answers to these questions preserve the harmony of the Scriptures?
For years I was deceived in understanding! For years I failed to by-live, to believe the phrase: “And Adam was not deceived ...”!! If Adam had been with her, would she have eaten the forbidden fruit? Both of them were in their forever living bodies before she ate! Did Adam get the forbidden fruit from her?! Was it lawful for Adam in flesh and bone and glory to eat the fruit with the woman in flesh and bone and blood? Men of God: consider! Would we have done better in the same predicament than our 1st earthly Forefather, our Progenitor? Who here wants to yield up his spouse to death?! Did Adam want eternal life without Eve?! Did Adam lengthen his time together with Eve before the inevitable?
Who started the war?
Was it God’s will that Eve and Adam eat the forbidden fruit? If a doctrine begins in Genesis, does that signal it is a major doctrine?
Genesis 2:15-17
15 And the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
“Thou shalt not eat of it.” Period ... end of the argument ... exclamation point!
Genesis 3:1-4
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die.
What part of “ye shall not eat of it,” do we fail to understand? Is the will of our Father in Heaven clearly understood from His law Word for His Family, the Bible? Can God’s Will be understood from the oldest Literature in Adam? Was eating the forbidden fruit God’s will or Adam’s choice? Did God acquire enemies in the Earth from Adam’s choice? If God has acquired enemies, should we see Scripture references witnessing to both their existence and their identity? Is Identity the best name for the question “Who’s who”?
Matthew 13:24-25
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat; and went his way.
Who is the sower of good seed? The parable of the tares is the first of a set of 3 parables Christ told the multitude. He dismissed them and went into the house. His disciples asked, “Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.”
Matthew 13:37-43
37 He answered and said unto them He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world: the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one.
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Why did Jesus say that? Why did the multitude not have ears to hear? How were the disciples different from the multitude?
Have disciples agreed to let Jesus discipline them, train them, teach them? Was the multitude the multitude because they had not made that commitment? Is it always only a Remnant of Grace? Is it always only a remnant that sees and confesses they are but sheep in daily need of The Shepherd every moment of every day? Will the multitude fight the very thing that will save them? How embarrassing is it needing to be saved? Can the multitude in Wolf Country be trusted with the sensitive intelligence of the Kingdom? Can the Gospel of the Kingdom be entrusted to the multitude who ignorantly would feed their own sheep kind to wolves? Is the army that wins the war, the Army that best keeps its maneuvers secret? Would the multitude in ignorance abuse secrecy?
Matthew 10:16 Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
What do wolves do? Do wolves eat sheep? Is sending sheep forth God’s will? Yes or No? Is sending sheep forth into wolf country God’s will? Is that God’s will or was that Adam’s choice? When is the best time for any sheep to address a wolf? Is the best time right after he has already eaten? Which sheep do wolves eat? Is being as close as possible to The Great Shepherd the best position of military advantage? Is it easier, much easier for wolves to pick off stray sheep from the multitude as far from The Good Shepherd as possible? Has the feeding ever been so frenzied? Are wolves God’s will or Adam’s choice? Verse 16. What were Jesus’ Instructions for sheep sent forth into wolf country?
" ... be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves." If we do not remain “harmless, or innocent, as doves” will we lose our position of great military advantage? Will we frustrate The Good Shepherd’s mission to protect us? How helpless are sheep? How stupid are sheep? Will sheep fight the very thing that will save them?
Can we find in the Scriptures other witnesses to the existence and identity of God’s enemies? John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” Does Verse 44 say the lusts of your father (the devil) ye might do? Did Cain do the lusts of his father? Does Verse 44 mention Cain’s crime? What did Cain do to his womb brother? Did Cain become a “murderer” like his father the devil? Was Cain serpent seed?
Shall the matter be established at the mouth of two or three witnesses? Was Cain serpent seed? Did Cain have descendants?
Matthew 23:32-36
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
35 That upon you may come all the righteous bloodshed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Generation of what? What does Verse 33 say? Does Verse 33 say generation of vipers?
Do we have the same Enemies Jesus Christ does? 666?!
Isaiah 66:6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies.
The End Time Prophet Isaiah prophesies the Great Comfort with which The Great I Am God of Israel will Comfort His Family Israel in Jerusalem:
Isaiah 66:14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
“Indignation toward his enemies.” Is the local body of Jesus Christ, the local congregation of Israel, necessarily a military unit?
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.
2 Timothy 2:3-4
3 Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Is The Church of Jesus Christ Militant a major doctrine of Scripture?
Scriptures
1828 1st American Dictionary of the English Language
Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 17-18, 21, 25, 31. 2:1.
Genesis 3:15, 14, 6.
1 Timothy 2:14.
Genesis 2:15-17.
Genesis 3:1-4.
Matthew 13:24-25.
Matthew 13:37-43.
Matthew 10:16.
John 8:44
Matthew 23:32-36.
Isaiah 66:6, 14.
1 Timothy 1:18.
2 Timothy 2:3-4.