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The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down  /  Chapter 17, The Jesus Road to Salvation  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 4
Using Isaiah 2, he insists the “beat their swords into plowshares” prophecy is being fulfilled now in those who enter Christ’s Kingdom and “forgot war forever”; what do you think early Christians would have assumed this required of them in a pagan empire, and what would it require of believers today who see war, weapons, or national defense as morally necessary?
Another way to ask: If Isaiah’s “swords into plowshares” is happening now in Christ’s Kingdom, what would early Christians think that meant for them living under a pagan empire? What would it mean today for believers who think war or national defense is sometimes necessary?

Direct Answer Based on Bercot’s teaching, early Christians would have understood Kingdom citizenship to require renouncing war and refusing to lift the sword against others in the Kingdom, even inside a pagan empire. Applied today, his view presses believers to abandon the assumption that war or weapons are necessary for Christians and to live as people who “learn war no more.”

Support from Transcript:

  • He quotes Isaiah 2: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares… Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
  • He says many read this only as future, but “its fulfillment is going on right now… since Christ began his ministry.”
  • He states that those who entered Christ’s Kingdom “beat their swords into plowshares… They no longer lifted up sword against each other, and they forgot war forever.”
  • He ties this to entering the Kingdom Jesus “inaugurated” and invited people to enter—first Jews, then “people from all nations.”
  • He links Kingdom citizenship with “walk[ing] in his ways,” implying a present lifestyle shaped by God’s paths.
Discussion Follow-ups The transcript doesn’t address specific policies like national defense, but it does make a moral claim about Christians and war. What would have to change in a believer’s loyalties if “country” cannot rival loyalty to the Kingdom?

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