HOW TO DISTINGUISH HOLY WARFARE FROM CORNAL WARFARE BY PASTOR JOHN ROBERTSON

HOW TO DISTINGUISH HOLY WARFARE FROM CARNAL WARFARE

A few years ago the late Chris Kyle authored a book entitled AMERICAN
SNIPER. It has sold millions of copies since the first edition in 2012. In
2014 a movie by the same name was produced which was a box office
smash with sales of over 300 million dollars. Chris was a Iraq war
veteran who served 4 tours of duty from 2003 to 2009. Some people
believe that Chris was a hero, a Christian and a patriot and some believe
he was something less than that. We will lay that discussion aside for
a moment and address the questions that few people will ask. What
were US troops doing in Iraq in the first place? Was Operation Iraqi
Fredom for the benefit and welfare of the Iraqi people, and/or to
displace Saddam Hussein, or because of a threat of weapons of mass
destruction?1 Did we achieve our objectives? Was Chris Kyles’ mission
justified or was Chris a victim who was deceived by the people that he
worked for? 2
How do we determine a just war, or a holy war? Is there a biblical
method of answering these questions? Does being a conscientious
objector automatically make you a pacifist?
Lets look at some biblical precedents.
-Abraham’s victory over the four Gentile kings in Gen. 14
-Joshua and Caleb’s victory over the city of Jericho
-David’s victory over the Philistines, as well as the judgment for his sin
-Jehoshaphat’s victory over the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites
-Gideon’s battle over the Midianites
-King Asa’s victory and loss
-Ezra and Nehemiah’s defensive position as they rebuilt the temple in
Jerusalem
Abraham – When Sodom and Gomorrah were attacked by 4 enemy
nations, Lot and his family were taken captive, so Abraham gathered his
318 trained servants and went to rescue them. He attacked by night
and recovered not only the people but their possessions as well. We
have no record that he suffered any casualties. Now we don’t know
how he was able to accomplish this feat but it is safe to assume that is
was not won by sheer might or power. Most likely it was won in a
miraculous way by the power of the Holy Spirit. We don’t read of
Abraham being involved in other military operations, but he arose to

this occasion to rescue his nephew. If he had 318 trained servants he
may well have had a thousand people in his rural community that were
under the umbrella of his prosperity. If that is true then they had to
have some method of keeping order and protecting themselves from
villains and wild beasts, etc. However the victory over the four Gentile
kings seems to be way out of the ordinary. It would have been out of
character for Abraham to take an action like this without being led of
the Holy Spirit. There is no mention of Abraham receiving any worldly
influence or financial assistance to conduct his attack.
Joshua and Caleb - Some people say that the only war that Yahvah will
bless is one of self defense as the case of Abraham and Lot. However
most of the biblical holy wars were offensive wars. The city of Jericho
was not a threat to anyone at the time that Israel crossed the Jordan
River. Again, this battle was not won by might nor by power but by
Yahvah’s spirit. Another distinctive quality of this war was how it was
planned and financed. There was no outside influence, or assistance of a
third party.
David and the Philistines - When David first came on the scene he made
it clear that he did not come with a spear and a sword. He came in the
name of Yahvah. His power over the Philistines was miraculous. He
was known for killing tens of thousands of the enemy. Keep in mind
that whenever he went into battle he didn’t just pray, he prayed until he
got an answer. So he knew for sure that he was going into battle with
Yahvah behind him. Later in his life after he committed adultery, he
was told that the sword would never depart from his house as a
judgment for his sin.
Jehoshaphat - This man was being threatened by enemy forces so he
called a fast and a prophetic word was received. What was their
weapon of warfare? They went into battle with songs of praise and the
enemy was defeated. 2 Chron. 20
Gideon – Starting out with a huge army of warriors he was told to
reduce his troops down to 300. (Judges 7) Why? So that man would
not get the glory for what Yahvah was about to do. Again this battle
was not won my might nor power but by the Holy Spirit.

Asa - This king of Judah was being attacked by a million troops with
300 chariots when he cried out to Yahvah. Because of his dependence
on the living Elohim , Yahvah smote the Ethiopians and they fled. 2
Chron. 14
However a few years later when Asa was being threatened by Baasha,
king of Israel he called upon Ben-hadad king of Syria for help. This was
King Asa’s downfall and he was told “Herein thou hast done foolishly:
therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. “ 2 Chron. 16
Ezra and Nehemiah – These men along with many others had the
assistance and protection of King Cyrus of Persia, as they rebuilt the city
of Jerusalem under the threat of enemy attack. This is somewhat
different than most justifiable military engagements of the bible, in that
it was aided by a foreign kingdom. However this foreign ruler had the
leading of the Holy Spirit to encourage this work, which came at the end
of 70 years of captivity. King Cyrus was referred to as Yahvah’s
“anointed” and the net result of this effort was the restoration of true
worship. Isaiah 45:1-4
Now let’s compare some more recent wars to the biblical criteria.
America’s Revolutionary War - What were the influences that impacted
the war effort? Many Presbyterian ministers were preaching about
resisting the English crown, while Anglican ministers were praying for
the King of England. Ironically in a country founded upon religious
freedom, starting July 4, 1776, Congress and several states passed laws
making prayers for the king and British Parliament acts of treason.3
So religious view varied. However one of the largest factors in the beginning of the war was the
writings of Thomas Paine. He first anonymously wrote a booklet of 47 pages, which was a
runaway best seller. Compared to today’s statistics it would be comparable to a book selling 50
million copies. Almost everyone who could read had access to a copy of that book. His book
was entitled COMMON SENSE. In it, he spoke of unalienable rights of life, liberty and property.
A close reading of COMMON SENSE and the Declaration of Independence will reveal that it was
largely Paine’s ideology that Thomas Jefferson recorded. Many phrases are very similar in the
two documents, such as the idea of “self evident truths”. In the garden of Eden, Eve’s self

evident truth was that the fruit of the tree of knowledge was good for food, pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise. The problem with that is that there is a difference
between “self evident truth” and “divinely revealed truth”.
But John Adams said, "Without the pen of Paine the sword of Washington
would have been wielded in vain."
And Ben Franklin said, "Others can rule, many can fight, but only Thomas
Paine can write for us the English Tongue"?
In his book COMMON SENSE, he used a lot of scripture verses to question the idea of a
monarchial form of government and he boldly suggested that America fight for her independence
from England. This book brought him to the spotlight of national attention and he became the
first secretary of state for the new republic. During the war when things got really tough, George
Washington ordered his officers to read Paine’s writings (THE AMERICAN CRISIS) to the troops
to encourage them. Of course we know that George Washington prayed and read the bible
privately and possibly in public as well but it seems that he relied heavily on Thomas Paine’s
interpretation of scripture. After the war was over Thomas Paine had fallen out with some of
the leaders of the new republic, and he went to France where he was active in the French
Revolution, which was known for it’s murderous anarchy. Paine was opposed to unnecessary
violence but his writings were used to encourage the Revolution. It was in France that Paine
wrote THE AGE OF REASON in which he let it be known that his objective was to help people
get free from the “superstition” of religious beliefs. He revealed that he did not believe in the
inspiration of the bible that he often quoted. Eventually he came back to America where he was
considered “anti-Christian” and died a poor man with only 6 people attending his funeral. 4
Given the assumption that the research above is factual, it could be argued that the
Revolutionary War got off to a carnal start. As the war continued it seemed that the British
would eventually win because of their military might, however just when things looked bleak, the
colonies were aided by the country of France. France was not happy with Britain at the time so

it was easy for them to side with the Americans. They spent the equivalent of a few billion
dollars in modern currency to help the American’s gain the victory. This money was never
returned to France and this huge financial burden greatly helped precipitate the French
Revolution.
My concern is that America received ideological, financial, and military aid from infidels to
conduct the Revolutionary War, and without this assistance the war would not have been won.
Some would argue that George Washington was specially gifted as a military leader and there
are remarkable incidents recorded of his bravery and his narrow escapes, etc., but the same
could be said of Alexander the Great. He was leading armies into battle when he was 18 years
old and soon after that went on to establish the Greek empire. Of course Alexander the Great
was not a Christian or Bible believer but the Roman emperor Constantine was a Christian, or at
least he was a pseudo Christian, or a quasi Christian. He conquered nations in the name of
Christ and took a cross with him into battle when he fought. A similar case is that of
Charlemagne who led the Holy Roman Empire. He was a natural born leader and was known as
a great defender of traditional Christianity, which led to his being crowned by the Pope as
Emperor of the Romans. Joan of Arc was another pious person who was unusually gifted with
military leadership ability. As a young girl she had spiritual experiences that led up to her
becoming a captain of the French army, which she successfully led to victory over the English,
but I would hesitate to assume that she was truly led of the Holy Spirit, because of many
inconsistencies in her life. Marquette Lafayette was commissioned as an officer in the French
army at age 13, he was married at 17 and came to America when he was 19 to help with the
revolutionary war. He was made a major general and was instrumental in helping turn the tide
of the war. Some say that part of his motive may have been revenge against the British who
were responsible for his father’s death. Lafayette was a Freemason, as were 33 of
Washington’s other generals.
My concern is that George Washington’s Christianity was a blend of Freemasonry, deism, and
biblical teachings. George Washington quoted the bible from time to time, but so do Tom
Daschle and John Edwards, but they don’t always have the correct interpretation.

So who were the heroes of the Revolutionary War? On page 1208 of Vol. 2 of THE HISTORY OF
THE SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS IN EUROPE AND AMERICA I found this about the effect of the
Revolutionary War. “ The close of the Revolutionary War found the several congregations of
Seventh Day Baptists in Pennsylvania depleted in numbers, and as an organization more of less
demoralized. This state of affairs was partly owing to the fact that the tide of war has swept in its
fury over the fertile fields of south-eastern Pennsylvania, subjecting the peaceful Seventh Day
Baptists to the crush of the iron heel of the invader, and before a recovery could take place, to the
no less emphatic requisitions of the quartermaster sergeants of the patriot army. To comply with
these enforced demands from friend and foe, brought ruin to many, while to all it proved a serious
loss. Then again some of the younger scions took sides with one or the other of the conflicting
parties, thereby estranging family and social ties; others who entered the military service, by
strange and rude associations were alienated from the faith of their fathers; while the older
generation, who by age, or for their faith and principle’s sake, refused to take an active part in the
struggle for independence, were looked upon with suspicion, as harbouring sentiments favoring
the enemy, and consequently suffering, thereby, more or less persecution from their patriotic
neighbors.” Then on page 1211 we read this. “After the struggle was over, the years intervening
until the adoption of the Federal Constitution and an organized system of government, proved
another period of unrest and doubt; all religious societies were more or less under a cloud,
congregations had been scattered and churches closed. The Seventh Day Baptists, however,
depleted as they were, held together and found encouragement in the hope that under the new
order of affairs they would be permitted to exercise their faith to the fullest extent; in this fondly
cherished hope they were doomed to disappointment, notwithstanding the much vaunted clause
in the Constitution assuring liberty of conscience.” 10 The author then goes on to describe the
suppression and persecution of Sabbath – keepers who during the war had worked tirelessly to
care for the wounded. George Washington sent about 500 wounded and dying soldiers from the
battle in Brandywine to the Seventh Day Baptist community called Ephrata where they were
cared for or buried. Those caring for the wounded may have been the heroes.

However there were differences of opinion about the Revolution among Seventh Day Baptists.
Samuel Ward, a Seventh Day Baptist from Rhode Island was part of the Continental Congress
and actually nominated George Washington for the role of leading the colonial troops. Ward
almost assuredly would have been one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence if he
had not died of small pox just prior to that event. I am convinced that there have been studies,
debates and controversies concerning these issues in every generation.
What about World War 2? Wasn’t it necessary for the Allies to stop the Holocaust, and put an
end to Hitler’s Nazi war machine? It could be argued that one problem with that mindset is that
the Holocaust never really ended; it just changed hands, shifted gears and kept on going. Here
is one example of that. At the end of WW 2 when the Nazi’s were being defeated, the Allied
troops raped an estimated 1 – 2 million women as they took over Germany. Many women
committed suicide to avoid being raped. Many committed suicide after being raped. Some
women died as a result of being raped multiple times. Mostly it was the Russian troops who
were the perpetrators but some French and American troops were involved as well. One of the
heroes of the Second World War was a man by the name of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. He was an
officer in the Russian army who witnessed the mass rape of the German women and spoke out
against Joseph Stalin who had been informed about the travesty and basically gave his consent.
Solzhenitsyn was a Marxist at the time, but was imprisoned in a labor camp for 10 years for
criticizing Stalin. While in prison he became a Christian. He was introduced to the Eastern
Orthodox branch of Christianity so that is what he embraced, but I gathered by his writings that he
had a genuine experience with the Holy Spirit. Here was a man with the moral fiber to speak up
even if it had cost him his life. It appears that many of the Allied troops saw what was going on
but said or did nothing about it.
Most people agree that Stalin was comparable to Adolf Hitler. Our president Franklin Roosevelt
and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill joined with Stalin to accomplish this victory over
Hitler. Birds of a feather flock together, and Yahvah sets up the basest of men to rule in the
kingdoms of men.

Some would ask the question, “What if we had done nothing to stop Hitler’s aggression?” I
prefer to ask the question, “What if Hitler had not been funded by J.P. Morgan, T.W.
Lamont, the Rockefeller interests,
General Electric Company, Standard Oil, National City Bank, Chase
and Manhattan banks, Kuhn, Loeb and Company, General Motors,
and the Ford Motor Company in the first place?”
Or, “What if IBM's technology had not helped facilitate Nazi genocide
through generation and tabulation of punch cards based upon
national census data?”5
Who were the heroes of the Iraq war? Pat Tillman was a
professional football player with a multi-million dollar contract with the
Arizona Cardinals when the 9/11 terrorist attack took place. Out of a
sense of justice he walked away from his football contract and joined
the army to fight the war on terror. He went through basic training
and became a Ranger. When it was time for him to be deployed he
was surprised to be sent to Iraq instead of Afghanistan where Al
Qaeda was active. While in Iraq he became suspicious of the
motives of our engagement there. He began to speak out about
what he saw and even was set up for an appointment for an interview
with a reporter back in the States. Shortly after that his family was
told that he was fatally shot in the head in a skirmish with the enemy,
but within a few months the army admitted under pressure that he
was killed by “friendly fire”. 6 Here was a man who laid down his life
for the sake of justice, and the ironic part of the story is that he was a
die-hard atheist. How many able-bodied Christian men honestly
believed the official 9/11 account about Osama Bin Laden’s “surprise”
attack but never even considered joining the military to see that
justice was served? I am sure that some did attempt to do that, but
most people were content to allow young mercenaries to do the job
instead. But the question remains – has justice been served?
Dennis Prager made the following statement;
“No peace movement on earth and no peace studies program in the
world has done for peace what the American military has done for
peace.” 7
I tend to disagree with that statement and I suspect the people of
Laos would disagree as well. About 18 months ago I found out that
the US bombed Laos from 1964 to 1973 at the rate of one plane -
load of bombs on the average of every eight minutes, costing millions
of dollars per day. Today, 45 years later, there are Laotian

refugees living in Thailand, afraid to go home because of the bombs
that are still volatile, which claim the lives of about 50 people per year
when they are inadvertently detonated. 8 Since I heard about this
tragedy I have asked many people if they have heard of the 9 - year
bombing of Laos. So far only 3 people have responded affirmatively.
One of which was the daughter of a pilot that bombed Laos and
Vietnam. How can secrets like this be kept? Most likely it’s
because people don’t want to know. Truth is usually a very large pill
to swallow. Within a few months some of you will forget we even
had this conversation.
During the Vietnam War era, a few people evaded the draft
because they were afraid of combat, however many young men went
to Vietnam and killed people or lost their own lives, solely because
they feared the rejection of their peers. Then when the survivors
came home they often faced the rejection of their peers anyway.
Who were the heroes of the Vietnam War? John DeCamp served
as an officer in that conflict. In 1975 he initiated Operation Baby Lift,
which evacuated 2,800 orphaned Vietnamese children. Beginning
his campaign for election while still stationed in Vietnam, DeCamp
was elected and served four terms as a Nebraska state senator, from
1971 to 1987. He initially ran on the platform that we should get out
of Vietnam because the Federal government would not let us win. In
the 1990’s he stumbled into a huge pedophile ring working out of the
Boys Town orphanage there in his home state, which he has tried to
bring into the limelight but again very few people have ears to hear. 9
What does it take to make a soldier? Currently in the US military
from what I understand basic training consists of intimidation,
humiliation and manipulation. Is that what Abraham used to train
his servants? Did he shout obscenities in the faces of his men to
persuade them to do the right thing?
I have heard people say that it’s not right for us to sit idly by while
ISIS is beheading Christians in foreign lands. I agree with that
statement but what’s odd is that we stood idly by while many innocent
civilians were murdered in Cambodia, not to mention the 500,000
Japanese civilians who were killed by B 29 carpet bombing and the
atomic bombs. There were plenty of military targets that we could
have chosen to attack instead of civilians.
If those people being beheaded in Iraq are faithful believers, then
the silver lining to this cloud is that those saints will have a better
resurrection. Now on the other hand if Christians are killing muslim

Iraqis who have no hope of eternal life, the silver lining is more
difficult to perceive. We are told that believers will lose their lives for
the sake of the Gospel, but I don’t remember reading that believers
will be killing non – believers. Malachi said that the wicked will be
ashes under our feet, but I think that is referring to the time of
Yahshua’s second coming. Currently the kingdom is not of this age,
if it were then we would fight.
Someone said, (it might have been me) that we have watched too
many John Wayne war movies, and we have put too much stock in
Mel Gibson movies like The Patriot, and Braveheart. Actually I have
never seen a Mel Gibson movie and I don’t remember seeing a John
Wayne movie but I have seen trailers or excerpts of them, and these
types of movies tend to glamorize or justify carnal warfare.
In 1949 our Department of War changed its name to Department of
Defense. George Orwell called that “Doublespeak”. The American
Indians call it “speaking with forked tongue”. Today our “defense”
budget is around 500 billion per year, which is more than the next 7
or 8 countries combined, so it seems that we are “defending”
ourselves far more than any other nation in the world. Not only is our
defense budget the world’s greatest, but ironically we are also the
world’s largest exporter of military equipment and munitions. Here
are a few of the countries that we have bombed in the last 65 years –
Korea, Libya, Cuba, Afghanistan, Grenada, Indonesia, Peru,
Guatemala, Viet Nam, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Cambodia, Lebanon,
Somalia, Panama, Iran, Kuwait, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Sudan, and
Laos. I have not taken the time to investigate all of these
engagements so I don’t have an opinion about how many of these
bombings were justified but it would be a pretty good stretch to
assume that these were all inspired by the Holy Spirit especially when
you think about things like President Reagan’s Iran Contra deal.
Another case is Kuwait. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the
world but when they were attacked by Iraq they asked the US for help
because we had the military capability to protect them. Why do we
have a superior military? Because we have a 17 trillion dollar debt to
some unknown entities. Some people would say that if we hadn’t
been aiding Iraq in the first place they would not have been in a
position to attack Kuwait.
Actually there comes a time when we do have to fight. I am
convinced that some people have been fighting for a long time.

People like Leonard Ravenhill, and David Wilkerson to name a
couple. If we spend our time overcoming evil with good then our
ways will please Yahvah and our enemies will be at peace with us as
it was with Jehoshaphat in 2 Chron. 20
29 When all the kingdoms of the lands around them heard how
(YHVH) had fought Israel’s enemies, they feared Elohim. 30 So
Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was not at war. His Elohim gave him peace
from all the countries around him.
If Chris Kyle was not a hero, a Christian and a patriot, then a lot of
people are living in deception. You might say that Chris lived by the
sword and he died by the sword. America has lived by the sword
from its inception and it would break the pattern of history if it did not
die by the sword as well.
America has been considered exceptional for many obvious
reasons, but our exceptionalism has been used as a
springboard to do many things that could be questionable.
Babylon was an exceptional kingdom, and Nebuchadnezzar
had great financial blessings, which benefitted much of the
known world at the time. Then after the reign of the
Babylonian empire came Medo Persia, which was
instrumental in helping to facilitate the rebuilding of
Jerusalem. After them, Alexander the Great came along and
was another exceptional leader of an exceptional empire. His
empire had a great cultural, financial, and philosophical
impact on the known world of his day. Then after the
Greek empire the Romans came into power and they were just
about unstoppable. They enveloped the Greek empire and
merged the philosophies of Rome with the Classical mindset of
Greece. Again they had great financial prosperity and military
success. I am sure that the average Roman citizen did not have
imperialistic aspirations, but most of the common people were
like snowflakes that made up the avalanche called the Roman
Empire. America could be described as a kinder, gentler
version of the Roman Empire. Yes we are a Christian nation,
but I think it would be fair to say a pseudo-Christian nation.


The greatest deceptions are usually accomplished by those
wearing a cloak of decency or by those who truly believe they
are doing what is right Yes we have some of the greatest
people in the world here, and it pains me to see them being
used and abused by the powers that be. Much of the world
has been enchanted or enamored with the American dream,
and some would even say that trusting in the whims of Wall
Street constitutes worship, but when the superficial bubble
bursts the merchants of the world will be weeping while the
prophets rejoice. Many people look to America as a beacon of
freedom and hope, but freedom and hope cannot be procured
on a battlefield. Freedom is a by - product of obedience to the
Holy Spirit and no tyrant can take that kind of freedom away.
1 http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/the-iraq-
war/the-iraq-money-pit.html
2 http://henrymakow.com/2015/02/American-
Liar.html
2http://inthesetimes.com/article/17597/american_
sniper_veterans
3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Epis
copal_Church_(United_States)
4http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/lewis/lewis0
2.html
5 Antony Sutton "Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler" Chapter
http://www.henrymakow.com/000482.html#sthash.Cc0ABb
cT.dpuf
6 http://www.bohemian.com/northbay/the-
exploitation-of-pat-tillman/Content?oid=2171356
7 http://www.dennisprager.com/my-dream-
speech-for-mitt-romney/
8 http://legaciesofwar.org/
9 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_DeCamp

10http://archive.org/stream/seventhdaybaptis02se
ve/seventhdaybaptis02seve_djvu.txt