What does the cross mean? The cross is a symbol of death, where Christ showed strength of spirit, sacrificing his flesh. For the vertical beam, one arm reaches to heaven while the other stretches downwards to the earth and humanity, forming a bridge between heaven and earth. The horizontal beam is like two arms stretched outwards, inviting all humanity to Christ's salvation
The upside-down cross on the other hand, is widely known as a satanic symbol. There is another old meaning to this symbol however. It is called the “cross of Saint Peter.” Tradition holds that the apostle Peter was crucified on an upside-down cross.
Peter had a difficult time accepting Christ’s message of sacrifice and denial of violence. In Mark 8:31 when Christ told the disciples he would suffer and be killed by the Jewish leaders, Peter argued and did not accept it until Christ told Peter “get behind me satan.” Peter and most of the Jews, expected the Messiah would lead the Jewish people in a revolt against the Romans, establishing a golden age such as the reign of David and Solomon. The idea of Jesus dying and being rejected seemed impossible and offensive to Peter. How could Jesus lead Israel to domination over the Romans if he were to instead die? Peter still did not understand that Jesus main focus was on establishing the kingdom of heaven and saving souls, not on a material kingdom. The body would be sacrified rather than saved, as Peter and the apostles would experience as they became martyrs and were killed for their faith.
Even after being rebuked for not accepting the necessity of Christ sacrificing himself Peter used violence as his first resort when Christ was in danger. Rejecting the sword to embrace the cross was one of Peter's greatest challenges in his heart as he sought to become more like Christ.
The upper part of the cross has three short arms while the fourth beam, the lower one, is longer. The sword held upright is the opposite with the hilt being the three short beams and the fourth longer section being the blade. The sword held upright forms an inverted cross. Only when the sword is planted in the earth, in being done fighting, does the sword take the same good and positive alignment as the cross. Like the cross, the sword is also a symbol of death. Causing death to others to preserve the self. The opposite of the cross which is to accept the death of self to give life to others.
John 18:10-11
10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
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As the leader of the disciples, Peter could not bear seeing his master taken away to be killed. He still struggled to believe Christ's words about how his sacrifice was neccessary. With his sword, Peter attacked not a soldier but a servent of the high priest; probably one of the youngest and most harmless people in that crowd. This attack did nothing to help protect Christ, but sliced off the man's ear. Just like in this story, when we use force to promote the gospel it simply results in the hearers ears being shut towards it. Peter was not the only disciple to take up the sword. There was another Simon named “the Zealot.” The Zealots were a radical group with the goal of using violence to defeat the Romans and establish a Jewish state. This Simon may have participated in violent activities against Rome before being called by Christ to be a disciple. When the disciples say “here are two swords” it is likely the two Simons which held the swords.
Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
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Humans beings are like vessels; containers. A container itself is not good or bad but takes on the characteristics of what is put inside it, whether a contaminated substance or a good and useful one. A pot used for cooking is appreciated while the same pot containing sewage will be avoided. Like the pot, the human being is simply a vessel, a portal, a gateways helping bring in angelic or demonic activity knowingly or unknowingly depending on his choice. Our true enemy is not the humans, who are simply unwitting puppets of supernatural forces, but the demonic forces that control the earth.
2 Timothy 2:20-21, “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”
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Is it realistic to “turn the other cheek”?
One of the most misunderstood and sometimes ridiculed passages of the Bible is Christ’s message of turning the other cheek. The issue is not with the morals of the message but rather its practicality. Does turning the cheek mean being a pushover or rolling over and taking abuse? This passage can lead some to see Christianity as an unrealistic faith. Lets take a look for ourselves.
Matthew 5:38-42, ““You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.”
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What many don’t understand is that this is not referring to an actual fight which could result in death or injury, but more of a “slap” given as an insult. It means when one insults us, do not stoop to their level and fight fire with fire. Take the high road and try to defuse the situation with maturity and grace.
People who say it is hypocritical for a Christian nation to have a military misunderstand the fact that Christ’s teachings were not meant as policy for government, but as life lessons for ordinary folks, to be practiced on an individual or church level. Christ's teachings were not intended for a government leader to follow exactly. Sometimes a government may have to do things that would be sinful for an individual to do, in order to keep order. Christ's teachings were for living a life apart from the world, not for how to govern the world. God is perfectly fine with government authorities using violence to keep order and prevent criminals from taking over. This is different from using from an individual trying to be a hero and promote his cause through violence. That was sometimes acceptable in the Old Testament but we are called to a higher standard in Christ.
Avoiding a fight is not cowardly
Jesus didn’t always choose to take every attack with an open cheek. Sometimes he evaded enemies, disappearing into a crowd. Some fights he avoided by going around a hostile city rather than through it. Here are several examples:
Luke 4:28-30, “So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.”
John 8:59, “Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”
John 7:1, “After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.”
John 11:53-54, “Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.”
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Removing yourself from a fight is not cowardice as is sometimes suggested. Rather we see it is the pattern Christ himself walked in. Christ was not ashamed to evade those trying to kill him; he did not consider it cowardice. Christ did not recklessly boast of how his faith would protect him. Having the humility to be a peacemaker and diffuse or avoid fights and arguments when possible makes us in Christ’s image. The ego of man seeks to dominate opponents, causing an endless back and forth where each side keeps escalating or to get the last word. This is not the path of the peacemaker.
We have a humerous passage with Christ's disciples itching to call down fire onto their enemies after an insult:
Luke 9:53-56, But [the Samaritans] did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”
The Samaritans had insulted Jesus, turning away his messengers because his final destination was set to be Jerusalem rather than their capitol of Samaria. In response to this, the disciples were all to happy to see a fiery spectacle of the offensive city being destroyed by heavenly fire. Jesus was interested in turning the other cheek however. Much more boring than fire for the disciples, but they would come around to accept Christ's focus on life and forgiveness rather than destruction.
Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”
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Paul said “as much as is possible” be at peace with all men; that is there are some times it really is not possible. We are only accountable for our choice and what we can control. Sometimes you cannot find a peaceful solution no matter how hard you try. The sword is a symbol of division, cutting apart, disunity; the opposite of the cross which makes whole.
The sword is the symbol of political power. As the apostle Paul wrote:
“For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” (Romans 13:4)
Christ was tested with the opportunity to acquire unlimited political power. This power would come at a price though, as satan required his soul in exchange. Christ rebuked the devil and his offer of an earthly kingdom, choosing the kingdom of heaven instead.
Matthew 4:8-10, “8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ””
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Just as Christ rejected the devil’s temptation, we should not lose sight of the truth that we seek to build an eternal kingdom, not the earthly one.
Constantine
Roman emperor Constantine used Christianity to justify his wars and conquests, claiming Christ appeared in a vision and told him to paint a Christian symbol on his soldiers shields and to use Christ’s symbols for his conquests. Does this seem like something Christ would really do? Nonetheless, the Christians of the time were all too happy to have the political system on their side finally after Rome had been killing and oppressing them for over two centuries.
The first horseman of the apocalypse, on a white horse, is called “The Conquerer.” [This is found in Revelation 6]. Some people originally believed the rider was Christ but it is really the antichrist who disguises as the white knight. The conqueror with his bow is the spirit of Nimrod the hunter, the spirit of antichrist. Constantine’s focus was on conquest and he is a fulfillment of the white horse rider. The next three horses are war, famine, and death. These came after Constantine’s reign when the Roman Empire later collapsed. The collapse of the empire led to bloodshed, chaos, and mass famine.
The church marrying itself with Rome quickly led to corruption and a lukewarm spirit in Christianity. Now the Christian leaders took their disputes before a secular ruler to arbitrate them. Constantine did not even have a solid grasp of the Christian faith, yet Constantine was the one in charge of organizing the councils for setting core Christian doctrines.
Even one of the most righteous biblical leaders, Joshua, was not given the privilege of being told God was ”on his side.”
Joshua 5:13-14 “13 One day, Joshua was near Jericho when he saw a man standing some distance in front of him. The man was holding a sword, so Joshua walked up to him and asked, “Are you on our side or on our enemies' side?”
14 “Neither,” he answered. “I am here because I am the commander of the Lord's army.””
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Constantine saw Christ as subservient to his agenda of conquest. Constantine's influence on Christianity made it a more external and materially focused religion. The church buildings were made majestic while the souls decayed within.
The priest and king roles were always separate biblically. Often when a king attempted to also take on the priest’s role it went very badly for him. This is seen in Saul being rejected as king when offering instead of Samuel. Also king Uzziah was struck with leprosy after doing the priestly work of offering incense despite being warned not to by all of the real priests.
The Crusades
The most well-known example of Christians taking up the sword is the crusades. It sounded like a noble idea, western Christians would help their eastern brethren against the Islamic horde. Christians should be unified and help each other after all. But the problem is warfare is the king’s job, it is not the responsibility of religious leaders to take on the role of deciding warfare. The Catholic pope had become such a politicized position by this time however, the pope would commonly override and manipulate kings into doing his bidding, on threat of eternal damnation to any who did not obey him. The pope claims to have authority descended from St. Peter and thus the use of the inverted cross in Catholicism is justified on the basis that the symbol represents St. Peter. It signifies the violent nature that Peter had to die to however, not something that he aspired towards. It is a fitting symbol to find in Catholicism however, given the politics and violence the Catholic church used as a foundation to expand itself.
Out of fear that his military recruitment numbers may not be high enough for the crusade, pope Urban II promised that anyone joined that war would be granted eternal life and forgiveness of all sins. Knights and soldiers in particular often carried large guilt from the killings their careers required. The promise of forgiveness of all sins was very motivating to them. The problem is that it was all a lie. No where in the Bible was it ever taught that you can atone for your sins by any good works, especially by actions such as killing. Jesus freely forgives those who believe on him and repent and turn from their old life of sin. He does not look for heroics when deciding who will enter heaven. Unfortunately for the people, only priests possessed Bibles and thus they could control the population by reading select verses and hiding others. The printing press would change all of this but that was still hundreds of years from being invented.
One of the darkest aspects to the crusades was Christians attacking each other. In the first crusade, the peasant army pillaged and battled other Christians in their path long before even entering Muslim territory. Many crusaders did far more harm than good. Later, a more well equipped princes army would have success but all subsequent crusades after the first were only disastrous. The fourth crusade was one of the darkest moments for Christianity as western Catholic Christians decided journeying to fight the Muslims would be too long and inconvenient and instead pillaged the capitol city of Eastern Christianity, Constantinople. In the short-term the western Christians may have felt like they “won” against their eastern rivals, but all they had succeeded in doing was clearing a path for the Islam to expand even farther. The eastern Christians had long been a buffer protecting the west against Islamic armies. Instead of the crusade helping to advance the cause of Christ, all it had done was pave the way for Islamic domination. After Christians destroyed each other in 1204, Islam would continue expanding into Europe right up to 1683AD, almost five hundred years.
When Christians try to take on the political and warfare sphere that belongs to the government, it always leads to corruption. Holding the sword inverts the cross. Christian leaders must resist the temptation to cozy up so much to the political sphere. The president or prime minister is not going to do the church’s job of restoring the nation to righteousness. It is a lazy mindset where we rely on the quick solution of politics, getting laws passed and forcing people to be righteous rather than using Christ’s power to transform the hearts where people will seek God’s ways willingly without being forced by laws.
The cross and the sword each have their place but never together. The sword held up is an inverted cross and an inversion of Christ’s principles. Political power is always toxic when joined tightly with Christianity. It corrupts the heart of the faith.