I’d like to expound upon my last post, which was a summary of On the Jews and Their Lies by Martin Luther, by providing another scriptural reference to support my position. The intent of my post was to show the attitudes of Christianity before the modern world and also to proclaim that we, as modern Christians, are unduly sympathetic to people who reject our savior.
Who were the enemies of Jesus Christ? Do Christians today have enemies or should they pretend there are none? Is it right for Christians to defend their beliefs or is too harmful to share the Gospel?
Anything outside of the Gospel, which is the death, the burial, and the resurrection, is anti-Christ by definition. This is not limited to a single religion or person. It is the spirit of anti-Christ, which is manifested in many ways and has a clear origin evidenced in the Bible.
From the scripture: "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." 1 John 2:22
One of my favorite passages is the parable of the lord of the vineyard because it’s simple enough for a child to understand and conveys the whole story in a few short verses.
Luke 20:9-16:
…a certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.
And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.
And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.
So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others.…
TLDR: The lord (God) appointed husbandmen (censored) to care for his vineyard (earth), but when the lord sent his servants (prophets etc.) to gather fruit, the husbandmen beat them and cast them out. Finally, the lord of the vineyard sent his son (the Lord Jesus Christ), but the husbandmen murdered him also, intending to collect an inheritance that never belonged to them to begin with.
Shall we then worship the husbandmen and insist they're owed a special earthy inheritance?
No, the lord of the vineyard destroys the husbandmen and gives the vineyard to others. Amen!
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