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Radical Reformation History  /  Lecture 8: The Early Swiss Brethren  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 7
Dean tied Revelation 13:7–10 and 14:12 to “the marks” of the true church: keeping God’s commandments, the faith/teachings of Jesus, and perseverance that refuses the sword (“he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword”); how does that framework challenge common evangelical instincts about self-defense, nationalism, and justifying violence while still claiming to follow Jesus?
Another way to ask: Dean said Revelation points to the true church as people who obey God, hold to Jesus’ teaching, and refuse the sword. How does that challenge common Christian attitudes about self-defense, nationalism, and using violence while still saying we follow Jesus?

Direct Answer Based on Dean Taylor’s framework, the true church is identified not by its power to fight but by holiness, loyalty to Jesus’ teachings, and patient endurance under persecution—so appeals to violence, self-protective militancy, or national power sit in tension with “the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

Support from Transcript:

  • Dean reads Revelation 13:7–10 and highlights: “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity. He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword,” then says, “Here… is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”
  • He repeats Revelation 14:12 and calls out “the three marks”: (1) “keep the commandments of God” (a holy people), (2) “the faith of Jesus” (teachings of Jesus), and (3) perseverance that accepts suffering rather than taking up the sword.
  • Dean warns that if we can turn even “love your enemies” into a “justification for atomic warfare, we’ve missed it.”
  • He connects the passage back to Zwingli as “a sad example” of what happens “if we live by the sword.”
  • The frame assumes persecution is expected: the beast “make war with the saints and… overcome them,” so faithfulness may look like being overcome, not winning by force.
Discussion Follow-ups Where do Christians most commonly baptize national or self-defense narratives with Jesus-language? How might “perseverance” reshape how a church talks about security, weapons, and political identity?

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