what does it mean to you to turn & offer your other cheek and love your enemies and pray for your presecutor?

Question

also: what do you think Jesus expects of you personally? what do you think Jesus expects of natiions or institutions? what does he say about Iraq? Do you believe that the words of Isaiah concerning the peaceable kingdom are possible? what is your vision of the peaceable kingdom?

Answer 1

--As far as turning the other cheek it certainly does not mean to let someone beat up on you!
--THE APPLICATION is to not let anyone provoke you into a fight by turning away and walking away.
--BUT IF that is not possible, then protecting oneself, is absolutely acceptable to Christ.
--HE WAS not a pacifist as he never gave instruction on not protecting ourselves or our love ones, by violence if necessary;
(Luke 22:37-38) “. . .” 38 Then they said: “Lord, look! here are two swords.” He said to them: “It is enough.””

*** it-1 p. 169 Arms, Armor ***
In the Christian Greek Scriptures, the Greek word ma′khai·ra is usually used for the sword (Mt 26:47), though rhom·phai′a, denoting a “long sword,” is also employed. (Re 6:8) The fact that two swords were available among the disciples on the night of Jesus’ betrayal was not unusual for those times (Lu 22:38), and there is evidence that for Galileans in particular it was not uncommon to carry arms. (See The Jewish War, by F. Josephus, III, 42 [iii, 2].) Jesus’ words at Luke 22:36, “Let the one having no sword sell his outer garment and buy one,” would not indicate that his disciples were about to enter into a hazardous life"
--AS TO JESUS instructions for mankind the Apostle Paul summed up Jesus instructions in this way:
(Romans 12:17-19) “17 Return evil for evil to no one. Provide fine things in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, as far as it depends upon YOU, be peaceable with all men. 19 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Jehovah.””

--AS TO THE NATIONS in view of the heavenly kingdoms rule as in "....thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...."
--THIS IS the strong advice God gives all the nations as to Christ rule over the earth:
(Psalm 2:1-2) “. . .Why have the nations been in tumult And the national groups themselves kept muttering an empty thing?  2 The kings of earth take their stand And high officials themselves have massed together as one Against Jehovah and against his anointed one,”...(Psalm 2:4-7) “. . .The very One sitting in the heavens will laugh; Jehovah himself will hold them in derision.  5 At that time he will speak to them in his anger And in his hot displeasure he will disturb them,  6 [Saying:] “I, even I, have installed my king Upon Zion, my holy mountain.”  7 Let me refer to the decree of Jehovah; He has said to me: . . . “10 And now, O kings, exercise insight; Let yourselves be corrected, O judges of the earth. 11 Serve Jehovah with fear And be joyful with trembling. 12 Kiss the son, that He may not become incensed And YOU may not perish [from] the way,. . .”

**SO THEN the advice given to all humans & rulers included is to capitulate to Christs rule before he brings on Armaggedon(Rev. 16:14,16)
--IT IS OBVIOUS THE NATIONS will not heed this divine advice!
--THE WORDS at Isaiah 11 referring to Christs rule that would bring about the start of the earthly paradise is well described with even the animals eventually being in total peace with mankind as well as men with each other!
--BUT THE firmness of his action as in bringing on armaggedon as a must:
(Isaiah 11:4-5) “4 And with righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth. And he must strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the spirit of his lips he will put the wicked one to death. 5 And righteousness must prove to be the belt of his hips, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”

Answer 2

To turn the other cheek, etc., means to have more 'positivity' in you than 'negativity'. It all boils down to love. I think that was Jesus' message and still is, to fulfill our charts, to love one another, to learn from life's hard lessons, and to come out of it better for having lived it. Peace can only be achieved when love overrides hate. Hate breeds judgement, and when we judge something, we want to fix it or control it somehow. Love lets you 'live and let live'. Hence, peace. Again, it goes back to positivity and love.

Answer 3

Turning the other cheek means not letting your pride get the better of you when someone insults you like by slapping you in the face. It doesn't mean that a person cannot protect them self from a physical assault or robbery.

Loving your enemies speaks of having a charitable attitude towards the unsaved as you recall that once you were unsaved yourself. That's why you pray for them to be converted like the early church must have been praying for Saul who went from being a murderous persecuter to the Apostle Paul.

Personally this is what Jesus expects of us.

Romans 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In regards to nations the answer comes in the following chapter.

Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

The Kingdom of peace that Isaiah writes about will only come when Jesus the Prince of Peace returns to rule on earth.

Answer 4

Jesus has gave us his word to know what he thinks about all things, and in there int his world you have tribulations because there is a devil loose for a short time longer, but be of good cheer because I have overcome the world and the devil. So we are gathering his children like he told us when he left.
http://www.freedomcame.com/glory/

Answer 5

it means that even if some one hurts you you should not hurt them back but pray for then and hold no anger agains them. God wants us to be happy he tells us to love each other because wars are out of hatred not love. God want us to respect each other and realize that we are all the same. God loves all his people. he dosn't like the war . everything in the bible is true we should read it and practice what it says more ir really does have the anwer for everything.

Answer 6

It means that Christians are to gracious and merciful to others as Jesus has been to us.
In other words, lighten up and give them another chance. People who do us wrong usually know it. Continue to be nice to them... it's like messin' with their brains. lol

Answer 7

Well, words to live by and be taken advantage of I guess. I rather think they are ambivalent about the other things, read the old testament.

Answer 8

It is called Christian's love and it makes Christianity stands out amongst other religion!

Answer 9

It simply means to not repay evil for evil,but to answer evil with good...This does not imply that one can not defend one's self from crime...it is speaking of religious persectution

Answer 10

I shall answer these many questions in order.

1. "what does it mean to you to turn & offer your other cheek and love your enemies and pray for your presecutor?"

Just what scripture says. Christ fully intends us to be peacefull, humble, truthfull, and meek to all people. Vengance has always belonged to God. We are to love, not only our brethren, but all those around us. Even those who hate, physically harm, and despitefully use us. The doctrines of man may not agree with my statements, but scripture does.

2. "what do you think Jesus expects of you personally?"

To take up my own suffering (cross) and obey his commands (follow him).

3. "what do you think Jesus expects of natiions or institutions?"

That they will be of the world, and will not know him, and will fight against him at his return.

4. "what does he say about Iraq? "

"Thou shalt not kill", and "Let him without sin cast the first stone"

5. "Do you believe that the words of Isaiah concerning the peaceable kingdom are possible?"

Yes.

6. "what is your vision of the peaceable kingdom?"

My "vision" is scriptures "vision". Namely that Christ shall return, those who are dead (sleep) shall be raised, those who are alive shall join him in the clouds. The nations will bring their armies against Christ, and shall be smashed utterly(not called the "great and terrible day of the lord" for no reason.). The bowls and vials of God's promised wrath shall be poured upon the earth, and 2/3 of the population of the earth shall perish, but 1/3 shall remain. (not "just" christians) Then, Christ himself shall rule for a thousand years, after which shall follow the great white throne judgement in revelations.

That is what scripture teaches, and that is why I believe it.

If you or anyone else wishes the scirptures for these, I would be happy to provide them. Either e-mail me, or post in my Group listed in my profile.

I know that common teaching does not state these things, but scripture does. Where the teaching of man conflicts with the word of God, the word of God wins. What Christ stated 2000 years ago to the Pharisees, is still true for anyone whom does the same thing, namely:

Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

For the Christians reading this, do YOU think Christ a liar? I do not. Not everything he spoke was a parable. Read the purpose of the parables in Matthew:

Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Whom did he speak to in parables? Scripture also answsers this in Matthew:

Mat 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Mat 13:35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Everywhere he spoke to the >multitudes< he spoke in parables, for a specific reason, namely that scripture be fulfilled. NOT EVERYTHING he spoke in scripture was a parable, as when he was speaking to "the multitudes" was CLEARLY STATED to be as such in scripture. I.E. when he was speaking to the disciples, etc.. he was not speaking parables.

Paul