The sword is an icon of Christian wisdom, work, warfare and worship.  When it is double-edged it strikes at the core of human rebellion and resistance and in that configuration it affects all humans who are paying attention. The temptation to bring actual swords into play in religious communities gets boosted by medieval and antiquated practices, and killing people is never far away as religious people fall into the trap of shaping community with government help and the use of weapons of war as the enforcers. 

“In vain I have struck your sons; they accepted no chastening. your sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.”

Jeremiah 2:30

Look no further than Saul of Tarsus to see how the sword, as used by the people of Judah for silencing the prophets, backfired and ultimately was useless. Political assassinations are particularly apt signs of moral decay. When people reject correction they become homicidal.

Dangerous swordplay

Jeremiah was not reporting that the sons of Judah did not receive correction at any time; his intention was to have his reader look at the residual consequences of turning their back to Yahweh. In response to instruction – by prophetic pronouncements – the people took aim at the prophets. The subsequent value of prophets, from the perspective of those in power, was the ready-made scapegoat (1 Kings 18:17-18) and short-lived hero (John 5:35)

Extra sharp edges

Prophets are truly a yesterday phenomenon (Hebrews 1:1-2), and that is exactly why the prophetic leaders of many of the religious movements since the first century are such good examples of poor judgment and rejection of God’s chosen ways. They are in denial about the timelessness of the apostolic witness. Modern Christian movements can find no way to fake a front seat with the material that is the common foundation of faith in Christ: the authoritative texts of both Testaments. Muslims fatally wound themselves by creating alternate versions of Old Testament narratives, and say that “Jesus is a prophet” apart from Jesus’ testimony about himself, as recorded in the Old Testament previews and the testimony of New Testament. I cannot imagine what Arabs in the sixth and seventh centuries were doing with the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament.

“Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.”

Zephaniah 3:4, KJVA

It does not help in the twenty-first century that reckless and treacherous persons are presenting themselves as God’s servants. Zephaniah’s plain and provocative statement of what the prophets were in his world does help us avoid the deceit of our prophets. The co-accused priests are charged with profaning the holy place. 

The distractions and smokescreens

The current political realities of the year 2022 are pushing the world towards a “blame the prophet and put his light out” moment.  Yeshua’s arrival as Saviour-King ends the need for anyone to rely on a prophet, and builds the confidence of all who come to God for peace and rest in – not a mere spokesman – God himself. Prophetic ministry is with us in the church and fading (1 Corinthians 13:2, 8-12). The saying “a prophet has no honour in his hometown” comes into sharper focus. One thing is certain: the pastor, prophet, and apostle who is ready to leave Yeshua out of the picture will always be welcomed by the crowds. I can see pastors, prophets and apostles will be forced to give account in court and before God for their misdeeds, because many of them are convinced that the secular power, sword included, are not going away. On the other hand let there be clarity about the sword wielded by religious authorities, the sword wielded by governments, and the sword wielded by members of our own faith community or our own households. What religious authorities, the government, and his own household did to Yeshua cannot be far from our gates.

I get the impression that New Testament scenarios are replaying on a loop. There are few new things happening to the human family and the information pipelines keep delivering packages about the extremes of life on the planet: the first this, the biggest that, the largest number of people dying tragically, the longest stretch of scorching temperatures, and the oldest stars and astronomic objects. Meanwhile the inhumane, the hypocritical, the racist, the xenophobic, the militaristic, the greedy capitalist, the selfish, the rebellious, and the corrupt continue to prey on gullible populations with stupid and senseless storytelling.

One story spans the book

What’s with all the storytelling anyway? The Lord Christ used stories – parables – because his sovereign knowledge of his contemporaries included peculiar insights. There is high value in story telling when people are locked out of the mysteries of the kingdom, and there is an ample supply of stories in the Bible if one thinks there is a need to illustrate a Messianic teaching.

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled , which says , ‘ You will keep on hearing , You will keep on seeing , but will not perceive ; For the heart of this people has become dull , With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes , Otherwise they would see with their eyes , Hear with their ears , And understand with their heart and return , And I would heal them .’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Matthew 13:10-17, NASB

The hypocrite blind guides of New Testament times are still around. There is a Pharisee in your community; and I am not talking about Jewish persons. People pretending to be solid examples of integrity and accountability all the while the blood of their victims can be seen dripping from their mouths. In the USA, China, and the islands of the sea people are desperately creating narratives to keep people from asking diagnostic questions and from discovering the water of life.

Tell the pace setting story or shush

The superlative goodness of creation gets a mixed review. No amount of spin can alter the fact; the Genesis narrative does not end well. The journey to fulfillment of God’s will comes after thousands of years and a variety of arrangements. There is no person that we have to believe or believe in but GOD. Every faith group (religion) is currently a caricature of itself; instead of watering people’s innermost needs, they pander to age-old mistakes, deadly conflicts, and scores of idols. We have seen the evidence: that as soon as we stop looking at the Son of David we end up in the grip of stupid and senseless storytelling, following myths, fables and genealogies.