The Kingdom of Violence

Johnny Ringo, Tombstone (1993)

The kingdom of  violence is the opposite of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus says, "since John the baptist the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence." (Matthew 11:12). Violence is a corruption that came from fall of mankind and polluted the earth, The Lord said to Noah, "Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth." (Genesis 6:11-3). Violence is the enemy of all virtility; all life. It is a wildness, a temper without temperance that seeks to send as many souls to Sheol (hell) as possible.

Violence is different than self defense or delivering the oppressed, which are encouraged (see Jeremiah 22:3). Violent men do not follow codes of honor, nor do they have Augustine of Hippo and Cicero's Just War as their justification. Violent men draw a gun on a little offense. and seek offense to draw their weapon on an unsuspecting soul. A violent man rapes, kills innocent children, and even women on a whim of emotion. A violent man is possesed by a devilish rage and ambition. The Bible says, "Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires." (James 1:20). The Apostle Paul clarifies and qualifies the Apostle James words, "Be angry and do not sin (do not let the anger control you); do not let the sun go down on your anger, for anger gives a foothold to the devil." (Ephensians 4:26-27). Violent and angry people who never can forgive (forget combined with give, to give the gift of forgetting the offense), let it go, and pardon someone, but would tather seek revenge are full of violence. They are on a vendetta, filling their pained souls with the blood, corpses, and hurt of othet people. As Doc Holiday potrayed by Val Kilmer in the movie Tombstone (1993) answered Wyatt's Eurp's question, "why does Ringo dothe  things he does?" Doc responds, "men like Ringo have a big empty hole right thru the middle of em, he can never kill enough, steal enough, or inflict enough pain to fill it." Wyatt Eurp asks, "what does he want?" Doc responds, "revenge." Wyatt, "revenge for what?" Doc, "for being born." 

Violent men are what God destroyed with a flood (Genesis 6:11-13), and as Christians we cannot  be men of violence and men of peace (Luke 10:6). Each person must decide, will you be part of the Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of Violence? At this point an example of the kingdom of violence is tje terrorists like ISIS and Hamas who kill innocent people. Another example is abuse, when a man verbally demeans and tears down another person or physically accosts, molests, and beats a person. The Lord Jesus Christ said of abusers, "But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time, and he then begins to beat his fellow servants (Christians) and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master (Jesus) of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (which is hell, "and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:42)." (Matthew 24:37-51). Abusers are angry and violent men, all of these as synonyms of the same symptoms of a serious disease that is called Violence. Behind it is a will to violate people in sexual, mutilating, and abominable ways. It is this spirit of violence that comes from devils, guiding a person to do the most appalling, wicked, and evil of deeds. For many this violence comes and goes, a husband is generally loving and kind, even benevolent, but then something turns, and like the song by Carrie Underwood, "but all money in world could not save her from devil in his eyes, she hides her bruises and black eyes with makeup and sunglasses." (Church Bells Ringing).

Ultimately, each believer must decide what kind of servant of Christ they are going to be. Are you going to be a peace maker? "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9). Or will you be the servant who, "begins to beat his fellow servants (Christians) and to eat and drink with drunkards," (Matthew 13:37). and is, "He (Christ) will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:42). This really is a choice between the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Kingdom of Darkness (Violence). You cannot be a peacemakers for the Prince of Peace, and be violent, aberrant, cruel, and threatening. You may defend the innocent, and deliver the oppressed with force of arms (weapons) and war, but you cannot be loose canon ready to shoot anything that comes in youth path and that causes you discomfort and emotional discontent and agitation.

Violent men are those who do not seek nor practice self control (Galatians), they continue to be abberant and like the wind blowing in one direct or next with their unbridled wrath. The Bible says God hates the violent man, "The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates." (Pslam 11:5). Jesus Christ who is the LORD (Romans 10:9-10) confirms this is true because the violent man he sends to hell (Matthew 13:37-42). The wisest man to have ever lived, Solomon says this about the violent and angry man, "From the fruit of a man's mouth he enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is violence," (Proverbs 13:2), "Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways," (Proverbs 3:31), "Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared/or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul." (Proverbs 22:24).

The Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Violence are the same thing, "Consider the covenant; For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence," (Psalm 74:20), and "For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son." (Colossians 1:13). This is why the Apostle John says so staunchly, "But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8). Being a man or woman of violence, who despite attending church on Sundays and reading the Bible regularly is of the devil if they think they can keep being violent, abusive, malicious, and angry (in a sinful way, there is good anger called righteous indignation, like what Jesus did at the Temple courts). As Christians we must caste aside all hot tempered feelings, and violent explosions of emotion. We are suppose to radiate the Holy Spirit and be ambassadors for Christ, "that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliationSo we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back (be reconciled) to God!" (2 Corinthians 5:19-20). Stop raging, and reconcile people to God through the Gospel, and stop being angry and sinning, and instead be an ambassador for the Savior Jesus Christ.