Christians Fought for Bar Kokhba Revolt of 132-5

HWA taught that it is forbidden for "true Christians" (his followers) from serving in the armed forces. Many of his imitators teach this doctrine to this day. But HWA was imitating the Jehovah's Witnesses.

He was quite likely unaware that just one hundred years after Jesus' time some of the Christians within Judaea participated in the Jewish people's national liberation struggle against the Roman Empire that occurred in 132-5 during the reign of Hadrian.

Like the American Patriots who fought against British rule the Jews in Judaea fought to liberate themselves from foreign rule. They were led by Simon bar Kokhba who was hailed by some of his soldiers as the awaited Messiah. Some of those who joined him in the revolt were Christians.

Many of [bar Kokhba's] followers thought he was the messiah, the Son of David-there were rumors that he could shoot flames out of his hands to smite his enemies-while others did not. These included Jewish Christians who also joined in the fighting against the Romans and whom bar Kosiba [a leader of the Jewish revolt] supposedly ousted from his ranks if they refused to renounce Jesus. (Joseph Cummings, Why Some Wars Never End, 2010, Chapter 5, p. 97.)

Although it appears there were tensions over religious affiliation nevertheless it is noteworthy that during this supreme crisis some Christians chose to join in the revolt and use arms to fight against Roman rule. How very different this is from what HWA taught us.

(However it is true that some Christians also decided not to join the revolt.)

So just within a century after the time of Jesus some Christians among the Jews of the time decided to join the revolt against Roman rule.

All kinds of ghastly atrocities and violence was employed by the Roman Empire to crush the Jewish peoples' yearning for freedom from foreign rule. Elsewhere this book mentions the following on page 98: "The Romans supposedly wrapped children in the Torah and set them afire." Furthermore many Jews were enslaved by the Romans so much so that in the slave markets within Judaea a Jewish slave was "worth than a horse's ration of grain." (p. 98.)

How terrible that such things should happen to people who yearned to be free. How terrible were the results of Rome's determination to rule so many nations who did not want to be ruled by them.