“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” Matthew 11:12
Like many of you I have read, and repeated, this Scripture hundreds of times in my life but I don’t know if there is a more miss-understood verse than this in the entire Bible.
We hear a lot of talk about how much violence there is in the world, and certainly none of us want to see others get hurt. But the connection of violence to bodily injury is a miss-application of the true meaning of the word.
Words do have meaning and nothing has been more disastrous to the well-being of America than the politicalization of language. Years ago, 2009, I wrote a commentary entitled “Change the Words, Change the World”. You can read it here. This is true in so many areas of this fallen world.
Whenever I run into a language issue, I fall back to Webster’s 1828 dictionary. Noah Webster is the one credited with bringing some commonality to the English language. Because of so many dialects in the early days of America it was necessary for someone to clarify the COMMON meaning of words so that a common language was used in the direction of education in the nation.
Over the years, the meaning of so many English words have changed. Hence the confusion about what someone meant when one spoke. “Gay” today certainly does not mean what it meant in 1828. I love the English language…I’m nerdy that way…but clarity is essential in having a true understanding of what others have communicated.
The Bible is ripe in this way as well. Because it has been translated in so many languages it is essential that we go to the original tongue to fully understand what is being communicated. Remember, change the words and you change the meaning. Change the meaning and you change the word.
So, I went on a deep dive into Matthew 11 this morning and I was surprised by what I found.
There are two key words in the above quoted Scripture that are used in today’s world. In fact, they are at the center of much of what is happening POLITICALLY in this nation. These words are at the heart of The January 6 event in DC.
Those words are VIOLENCE and FORCE.
In today’s vernacular they are often used interchangeably, as if they had the same meaning. Most American’s equate the two. You often hear the nooze readers on TV reference the “VIOLENT insurrection” that took place on that day. Something didn’t sit well with me because I was smart enough to realize that those two words did not mean the same and that they were being used interchangeably. So, I went to Mr. Webster.
Violate— To break; to infringe; to transgress; as, to violate the laws of the state,
Force— In law, any unlawful violence to person or property.
Do you see it? Violence can be done without FORCE, but force is always present in violence!
“Huh?” you ask.
Yes. The difference is important. The American way of life is being overthrown today not by violence, but by force. Violence is the result of force. Force always results in someone being violated. Violence is a result of infringement or transgression. Violence is the RESULT of the use of force.
(You are still not getting it. Follow me here.) Here is my Paraphrase of Mathew 11:12.
From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of God has suffered violence (been transgressed, infringed, broken) and VIOLENT men, (those who transgress, infringe, and break) take it by (through the use of) FORCE.
Force is the weapon, violence is the result. How often have you heard a man say “my rights have been violated!” Does that men he was shot, punched or stabbed? Of course not. He was violated when he was FORCED to do something AGAINST HIS WILL. Violence has nothing to do with guns or knives. Violence occurs when the WILL of a person has been violated BY THE USE OF FORCE.
Millions of Americans are VIOLATED every day when they are FORCED to wear masks, social distance, use preferred pronouns, and otherwise have their God-given rights VIOLATED. FORCE is the problem. FORCE is the method by which individuals are VIOLATED.
George Washington said “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”
We must change our focus and realize that FORCE and COERCION are the problem. VIOLENCE is the result of the weapons of FORCE and COERCION being applied.
So, from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of God has had force applied against it resulting in transgression and infringement and those who have been violated respond by standing up and pushing back against the illegal force that has been applied against them!
In most cases, the violence that has been done against God-fearing citizens has not been against their PERSON, but against their RIGHTS!! Look how you have been violated during the plandemic!!
Look at your own life. Could you create a list of things that others, especially the government, has FORCED you to do? They didn’t use guns, They used laws, orders, rules, and mandates, to strip us of our right to even worship God in public! The Kingdom has been VIOLATED!!
Millions of God-fearing Americans showed up on January 6th because their rights had been violated. The government used FORCE to turn them away.
Our rights have been violated and force is the weapon they used. Courage is the counter force to tyranny. “I will not comply” is the antidote.
