Is Revolution Christian? Part 2
by Pastor Mark Downey
I should probably clarify the difference between a rebellion and a revolt. It’s always a revolt when anyone resists the existing establishment – such is the nature of propaganda. The same idea is conveyed today by calling someone a “terrorist” or “enemy combatant”, which are loophole terms to circumvent the Geneva Convention in the use of torture and most assuredly God’s Law of warfare.
Rebellion is usually in the sense of an individual and thus a ‘rebel’, whereas a revolt is a collective rejection of authority. Rebellion suggests treason against lawful authority. The idiosyncrasy of these terms seems to get blurred when traitors usurp lawful authority and become the establishment. I Samuel 15:23 uses the word ‘rebellion’ rather than revolt and it likens it to the sin of witchcraft. The Hebrew word for rebellion means bitterness and is directed against God. The same passage ends by saying, “Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king.” It’s not the same thing as ‘resistance to tyranny.’ This begs the question: do we obey God by resisting tyranny? The American Revolution was fought under the banner of this concept.