Connect with us

Headline News

A Bible Believer Responds To John Piper’s Call For Christians To Not Be Armed

Now to me, the son of a WWII and Korea vet, and the brother to a United States Marine, this sounds like perfectly sound and rational thought processes coming from the desk of Mr. Falwell. And certainly, as a parent, taking every precaution we can to keep our kids safe I am all in favor of both as a Christian and as an American citizen. But John Piper sees it otherwise.

Published

9 years ago

on

should-christians-be-encouraged-to-arm-themselves-carry-guns-nteb-kjv-1611-bible-believer
SHARE NOW THE END BEGINS:

So John Piper says it’s a sin to call the police when we are being threatened? I say that’s absolute hogwash, and so should you

“Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Romans 14:4,5 (KJV)

Yesterday the chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, John Piper, published an article entitled “Should Christians Be Encouraged to Arm Themselves?” In the article he takes issue with Jerry Falwell, Jr. telling his students to go out and get their gun permits. Falwell said this:

“As the president of this university community of nearly 15,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, I take very seriously my responsibility to keep you safe in an increasingly dangerous world. That’s why in 2011 I asked our Board of Trustees to consider a concealed carry policy. It wasn’t because of Islamic terrorism, it was because what happened (just) up the road at Virginia Tech. More than 30 innocent students and faculty were murdered viciously and none of them had the ability to protect themselves. The day that happened, I thought we needed to do something different here at Liberty. We needed to have a way to protect our students, our faculty, so we instituted this free course in 2011. We were part of only a handful of schools in the United States that had taken that position at that time. Now many schools have followed suit. There are dozens and we have had 1,600 people take that course, 950 here now with concealed carry permits, and after I made those remarks on Friday we had 240 sign up for a course tomorrow night. I want to applaud you and thank you for taking steps to make our campus more safe. I recognize that not every one of you will (carry); it’s only for students 21 years and older.” source 

Now to me, the son of a WWII and Korea vet, and the brother to a United States Marine, this sounds like perfectly sound and rational thought processes coming from the desk of Mr. Falwell. And certainly, as a parent, taking every precaution we can to keep our kids safe I am all in favor of both as a Christian and as an American citizen. But John Piper sees it otherwise. Here is an excerpt from his anti-gun article:

“As chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, I want to send a different message to our students, and to the readers of Desiring God, than Jerry Falwell, Jr. sent to the students of Liberty University in a campus chapel service on December 4. The apostle Peter teaches us that Christians will often find themselves in societies where we should expect and accept unjust mistreatment without retaliation. The early church, as we see her in Acts, expected and endured persecution without armed resistance, but rather with joyful suffering, prayer, and the word of God. A natural instinct is to boil this issue down to the question, “Can I shoot my wife’s assailant?” source

That, in brief, is the essence of Piper’s position, and you can read the entire article here. So let me just add a few brief points from the Bible believer position that I think will help to shed some additional light on the matter.

  1. John Piper’s misapplication of scripture: All through his article, he constantly says things like “Peter never fought back when mistreated”, and “the apostles endured persecution without retaliation”, and so on. Yes, those thing are true, but they need to be read in context. The reason why the apostles never fought back was because the punishments and afflictions they received were because of preaching the gospel specifically, and the Bible does say that in the course of witnessing for Jesus Christ hardships, perils and afflictions certainly will come. When we preach on the street, I have never hit back at any of the mistreatment we have received because when were are ministering we are specifically engaged in preaching the gospel. But I find no verses in the Bible that advise me to just “sit back and take it” when walking down a crowded city street and someone tries to mug me. So based on Piper’s misapplication of scripture, his advice to his daughter would be to “just take it” when attacked by a predator on a college campus or other gathering of people. See how silly his position suddenly becomes? No, the apostles, as seen below, suffered for a very specific cause, for the gospel’s sake, and as such took it without rebuttal. But I dare say that if some crazed lunatic tried to sexually assault Peter’s wife, the tough-as-nails Galilean fisherman would have thrust him through with his sword, and rightly so.
    “And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” Acts 5:40 (KJV)
  2. John Piper is not rightly dividing the Bible: Paul commands Timothy to “rightly divide” the scripture so that he will not make the mistake of trying to apply Bible verses written to the Jews and place them on the Church. In his article, Piper talks about “enduring to the end” from Matthew 24, a passage specifically written to Jews in the time of Jacob’s trouble. But Christians don’t “endure to the end” because we are 1). sealed until the day of redemption as found in Ephesians 1 & 4, and 2). we will not go through the time of Jacob’s trouble otherwise known as the Great Tribulation. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (KJV)
  3. Many of his points are just ridiculous: One of his main theme points is that the christian should just “trust God” and everything will work itself out. The Bible believing Christian does trust God with the most important thing we have, and that is our souls. We trust Him to take us home to Heaven when we die, we place our eternal destiny in His hands alone. But until that day arrives, we live in a sin-cursed world that currently is ruled by the Devil! God gave us a brain for a reason, He wants us to do some thinking with it. Whenever we travel anywhere in a car, we always ask God to guide our path and get us to and from safely, right? But we also wear our seatbelts! I highly doubt that Piper and his whole family ride around in cars at high speeds unbelted. If Piper’s logic was followed to it’s natural conclusion seat belts would no longer be used because when using them our “faith would be in the seat belts” and not in God’s power to keep us safe. That’s just plain crazy. But yet Piper goes further still when he says that even calling the police when you are in danger “comes from a heart that is out of step with the mind of Christ. If one’s heart is controlled mainly by fear, or anger, or revenge, that sinful disposition may be expressed by using the police as well as taking up arms yourself.” So now it’s a sin to call the police when we are being threatened? Hogwash, and dangerous hogwash at that. “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” 1 Timothy 5:8 (KJV)

Conclusion: I honestly don’t know much about the ministry or beliefs of John Piper, I run in Bible believing circles and have not come across much if any of his work. But going on this particular article he has written, he comes across as an anti-gun liberal to me. God calls us to trust Him in all we do and with all we have, yet at the same time it is not a lack of faith to exercise and eat right to stay healthy. And it is not a lack of faith when we take common sense precautions to keep our loved ones safe in a sin-cursed world.

Famous media liberal, Geraldo Rivera, who almost always advocates for pacifism, nearly had a thermonuclear meltdown last month when his own daughter was near the Paris Muslim terror attacks. This is what he said:

“We need to respond by declaring war on them… if we don’t kill them, they’re going to kill us.” He offered specifics, calling for Russia, the U.S. and our Middle East Allies to join forces in a war against ISIS– even if have to drag the latter in “kicking and screaming.” “I want a massive ground campaign to conquer ISIS once and for all,” Rivera said. source

Lol, every liberal is a pacifist until the day their loved ones are threatened, then they want blood. John Piper is no different. If the evil he so carelessly tells us to “not worry about” and just “trust God” with ever came to land at his doorstep you can best believe his tune would change. Quickly.

If you try and make the Bible say Christians can’t have guns, then we can’t have seat belts either. If you were to ask my opinion on whether or not a Christian should buy a gun, I would give you the same answer I would give you with any other question you might ask. I will tell you to pray about it, and let God do the deciding.

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:” Ephesians 1:17 (KJV)

Related Topics:
Advertisement
Comments

Donald Trump

Vice President JD Vance Tells Americans To Get Ready For ‘Short-Term Pain’ As Trump Liberation Day Tariffs Will Bring ‘Big Change’ To The US Economy

Published

1 day ago

on

April 3, 2025

By

SHARE NOW THE END BEGINS:

JD Vance freely admits that Trump Liberation Day Tariffs will cause short-term pain in the hopes of sparking the ‘big change’ that’s needed to ignite US economy

Americans as a people love to see the ‘big gamble’, the come-from-behind success story, the ‘Rocky’ big win stunningly achieved before the last bell rings. Milton Hersey was so sure he could be the first to bring commercialized chocolate to the people that he built his massive chocolate factory before he created his chocolate recipe. That’s a big gamble. Conrad Hilton was so sure he could be the first to bring coast-to-coast hotel services to America, he spent everything he had, twice, to do it. That’s also a big gamble. President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs imposed on every nation we trade with, except Russia, that are guaranteed to bring ‘short-term pain’ to an already overstressed market? That’s the mother lode of the big gamble, and that’s the memo.

“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11 (KJB)

As I said on Monday’s Podcast, I do not like the sound of ‘Liberation Day’, it has a far too ominous ring to it. But am I rooting for Trump and Vance to be successful? I sure am, let’s do it, boys. That said, the overnight reaction to Liberation Day has been quite harsh. The Dow has dropped by 1,500 points, trillions of dollars have been wiped from 401(K) accounts, and tariffs on new cars are up 25%, making purchasing one out of reach for many. My advice? Starting praying for Trump and Vance to get saved, and while you’re at it, start praying that God will be merciful to America that we not get plunged into recession or worse. VP Vance tells us to prepare for ‘short-term pain’, pray that it will be short.

JD Vance acknowledges short-term pain Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs could have, insists US needed ‘big change’

FROM THE NY POST: Vice President JD Vance said Thursday he isn’t going to “shy away” from the short-term pain the Trump administration’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs could potentially have on Americans — but insisted the US needed a “big change.”

“We cannot keep going down the Joe Biden globalist pathway where we have $2 trillion of peacetime debt and deficits. We have manufacturing disappearing,” Vance told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “That is not working for Americans. We’ve got to take this country in a different direction.”

“Yes, this is a big change. I’m not going to shy away from it, but we needed a big change,” he added.

The veep also warned Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck that things weren’t likely to get better overnight — insisting Team Trump was left to clean up the Biden administration’s mess.

“We know people are struggling, we’re fighting as quickly as we can to fix what was left to us but it’s not going to happen immediately,” he said.

“We really do believe that if we pursue the right deregulation, we pursue those energy cost-reducing policies, yes, people are going to see it in their pocketbook. They’re also going to benefit from the fact that foreign countries can’t take advantage of us anymore. That means their jobs are going to be more secure.”

It comes after President Trump on Wednesday announced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US, as well as higher duties on some of the country’s biggest trading partners — ranging from premium Italian coffee and Japanese whisky to sportswear made in Asia.

Trump, who argued the “reciprocal” tariffs were a response to duties and other non-tariff barriers put on US goods, would boost manufacturing jobs at home.

“This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It’s our Declaration of Economic Independence,” the president said. READ MORE

Trump announces 10% “baseline” tariff, 25% tariff on all foreign-made vehicles on ‘Liberation Day’

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced he is signing an executive order implementing new import tariffs on so-called “Liberation Day” for the U.S. economy. “Effective at midnight, we will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all foreign-made automobiles,” Trump said, adding that with this latest trade policy, the U.S. would “pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers.” Holding up a chart in front of a gathered crowd, Trump said China was at top of his list of reciprocal tariffs and will be charged a tariff rate of 34 per cent.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Continue Reading

Headline News

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: We Are 7 Weeks Out From The 5th Annual NTEB Camp Meeting, Here Is Everything You Need To Know To Come And Be A Part Of It

Published

2 days ago

on

April 2, 2025

By

SHARE NOW THE END BEGINS:

You are invited to NTEB Camp Meeting 2025 ‘Preach The Gospel!’ 3-Day Weekend to be held at Bethany Baptist Church in Saint Augustine, Florida

You are invited to come join us for the 5th Annual NTEB Camp Meeting, our theme will be ‘Preach The Gospel!’ and this year we will be focusing on the sending out of Paul’s gospel across America and around the world. Christian, the dispensation of the Church Age is closing, and if you want to go out at full speed, you’re not going to want to miss this year’s camp meeting.

“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!“ 1 Corinthians 9:16 (KJB)

At our Bethany Conference on Dispensationalism we had back in January, Pastor Joel Tillis of Suncoast Baptist Church preached a message entitled “What Would Paul Do?”, speaking about the specific gospel and calling we have here in the Church Age. As such, we have been given a charge by Paul to preach the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day according to the scriptures. We do that by preaching the word, teaching the word, and sending the word out in the form of King James Bibles, New Testaments, scripture portions and gospel tracts. Every speaker at this year’s Camp Meeting is going to share how the LORD is working that out in the calling He has placed upon them. Yes, you will hear some great preaching, for sure, but the goal of our meeting is to prepare you for the course God has for you to fulfill. TO THE FIGHT!!!

Our schedule and lineup has changed a little now that we have a church facility to hold the Camp Meeting in, and is spread over 3 days instead of just one big day. We have employed this format twice already with our Dispensationalism Conference Weekend and our Bookstore Grand Opening Weekend, and it all worked wonderfully.

Locations & Directions:

Camp Meeting Days & Times:

  • FRIDAY MAY 23RD: Doors open at 6:45 PM, meeting starts promptly at 7 PM, and will go until about 8:30 PM. Pastor Joel Tillis will be the opening speaker.
  • SATURDAY MAY 24TH: Doors open at 5:45 PM, meeting starts promptly at 6 PM, and will go until about 7:30 PM. Various missionaries will give fresh updates from the mission field.
  • SUNDAY MAY 25TH: Doors open at 9:45 AM, meeting starts promptly at 10 AM, and will go until about 12:30 PM. Bro. Kevin Mann author of the “First Mention Study Bible” will preach both the Sunday School and Sunday Service. Dinner on the grounds to follow immediately after the end of the service!! 

Featured Speakers for the NTEB Camp Meeting 2025:

  • Pastor Joel Tillis from Suncoast Baptist Church will give us updates on evangelism here at home and what the LORD is doing through his mission in Honduras which they have had for the past twenty years.
  • Bro. Aaron McMahan from CPR Missions in Tennessee will speak on cross-country witnessing of the gospel and the call the LORD recently gave him and his wife Theresa to go to the mission field in New Guinea.
  • Bro. Kevin Mann is an author and preacher who will speak about what the LORD Is doing with the publication of his King James First Mention Study Bible.

DIRECTIONS & INFO: Bethany Baptist Church is located at 5465 Co Rd 208, St. Augustine, FL 32092, for online map click here. If you are on Facebook, please follow our page for updates and event notifications. A detailed itinerary of times and events will be posted as soon as we work it all out. Please keep all of us here at NTEB and Bethany Baptist in your prayers as we seek the LORD’s guidance for planning out this awesome annual Camp Meeting event, thank you!

Best Local Hotels To Stay At:

We recommend any of these three hotels because of their proximity to Bethany Baptist Church. All you have to do is get in your car, turn west onto CR 208, and you’ll be at the church in under 10 minutes. For this reason, we’ve identified these 3 hotels as being the best combination of affordable price, quality and convenience. 

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

FINITO BENITO: In A Stunning Turn Of Events, Elon Musk Dramatically Steps Away From DOGE To Save SpaceX And Tesla From Stock Market Freefall

Published

2 days ago

on

April 2, 2025

By

SHARE NOW THE END BEGINS:

President Donald Trump has told his Cabinet and inner circle that Elon Musk is stepping back from his government role at DOGE

From the very beginning of DOGE, Donald Trump and Elon Musk set a timeline in place that could not possibly be managed or sustained, it was too much, too soon and too fast. Don’t get me wrong, like millions of Americans who love this country, a purging of government waste was due, overdue and long overdue. But as the wisest man who ever lived says, there is a time and place for everything under heaven, and it’s all about the timing.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJB)

From a practical perspective, staying with DOGE would have ensured the end of Tesla and would have damaged SpaceX to a very high degree, so Elon Musk made the right decision for his shareholders. Since the announcement of Musk stepping down, Tesla’s stock price is up 14.6%, and SpaceX has stabilized. This would be a great time for the Trump administration to step back, take a deep breath, and get a fresh perspective on the goals they promised the American people. When you’re in a marathon, you can’t run it like a sprint, and hopefully President Trump will get that message loud and clear.

Elon Musk dramatically steps down from DOGE in shock move after Trump expressed private doubts

FROM THE DAILY MAIL UK: The Tesla and Space X founder will soon be returning to the business world, Politico reported, in a move that rattled the stock market and caused shock waves in Washington. It was a joint decision between the two men and Trump said he remains happy with Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency.

But Musk has become a controversial figure due to his slash and burn style of cutting down the federal government. He also just sank $20 million into Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race only to have his Republican candidate lose. And stock in Tesla has dropped sharply with sales down and sales lots are being set on fire.

The report Musk is going back to his business roots did send his company shares’ soaring. He became a billionaire through his various corporate holdings. Trump empowered him to bring that power and success to the federal government.

The decision caused immediate controversy leading to questions as to whether Musk, whose Space X company has billions in government contracts, had a conflict of interest.

Additionally, Musk’s work to cut the size of the federal government has resulted in mass firings and lawsuits against the Trump administration. He’s also proven unpredictability. In all, Musk began to be seen as a political liability. The Democratic candidate in Wisconsin won, in part, by shaping the race as ‘The People vs. Elon Musk.’

Publicly, Trump has supported Musk, keeping him close and visible. Musk has been with him in the Oval Office, walked the path from the White House to Marine One, and gotten rides on Air Force One. The president even turned the South Lawn of the White House into a Tesla show room after the company stock sank. Trump wrote Musk a personal check for one of the electric cars. But privately Trump has told his Cabinet that they are in charge of each of their departments, not Musk. Musk was in that Cabinet meeting when Trump made the announcement. READ MORE

Elon Musk Bows Out of DOGE, Set to Exit by May as Tesla Dealerships Under Fire, Stock CRASHES

Judy Kurtz chats with The Hill’s Brett Samuels as Elon Musk indicates he plans to step away from DOGE. What’s next for the billionaire and how attacks on Tesla will play into his decision.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Continue Reading

nteb-free-king-james-bibles-behind-bars-program-jails-prisons-main-banner-300

THE BIG STORY

Support Now the End Begins

We have many ways that you can financially support this end times ministry. You can send us a donation here through PayPal, or you can mail a donation to us. You can also purchase NTEB Gospel Tracts that you see above this box.

 

Donate by mail to:

NOW THE END BEGINS
PO Box 213
Palatka, FL 32177

 

You can also donate through the WayGiver link right below. We need and appreciate your support, thank you!

nteb-christian-bookstore-saint-augustine-florida-32095-israel-jews-king-james-bible-prophecy-300

END TIMES

CHRISLAM

FALSE TEACHERS

THE METAVERSE

REAL UFOS

ISRAEL

THE MOTB

CATHOLIC CHURCH

FAKE NEWS

ABORTION

THE THIRD TEMPLE

BILL GATES

GEORGE SOROS

Trending