From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12
Some think that this verse calls for followers of Jesus to be violent and forceful. Some want to justify their anger and lust for vengeance utilizing their own interpretation of this scripture. Certainly we ARE living in a time where people twist scripture for their own desires and plans. These kinds of people have ZERO intimacy with the Holy Spirit, but are following the same tactics that the enemy used in the Garden of Eden. Language twisting and redefining is the enemy’s tactics. And we’re constantly seeing that happen in this time. Refining words to mean something else — so confusion reigns whenever language is used.
Our only hope during this time is our discernment THROUGH the Holy Spirit. He testifies to the Truth of things. Without Him we get off track fast and into the ‘weeds’ of the matter, and we’re distracted from what really is the core issue. The heart of the issue is concealed until the Holy Spirit brings light on the subject. We can begin to ‘dig’ into an issue scripturally BUT we must go to the original languages to decipher instead of using someone else’s interpretation or translation of that certain passage / verse. There are MANY tools at our fingertips to do this these days. I tend to like biblehub.com since it is free and quick.
So let’s look at our opening scripture via the Greek.
Straight direct Greek translation word for word: From then the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence and [the] violent claim it.
Key words in my mind are ‘violence’, ‘violent’, and ‘claim’.
Violence: From bios; to force, i.e. (reflexively) to crowd oneself (into), or (passively) to be seized — press, suffer violence.
Violent: From biazo; a forcer, i.e. (figuratively) energetic — violent.
Claim: From a derivative of haireomai; to seize (in various applications) — catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).
Reading the theological commentaries on this verse there are quite a few opinions and debates as to the meaning. Here is just one example…
From the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And from] Translate but from: another point shewing the greatness of John, and also the beginning of the Kingdom: it was from the time of John’s preaching that men began to press into the kingdom, and the earnest won their way in. For the preaching of John was the epoch to which all prophecy tended.
suffereth violence] is forced, broken into, as a ship enters a harbor by breaking the boom stretched across the harbor’s mouth. John’s preaching was the signal for men to press into the kingdom—to adopt eagerly the new rule and life heralded by John and set forth by Christ.
the violent take it by force] The eager and enthusiastic followers of Christ seize the kingdom—win it as a prize of war.
Instead of looking at it as a ‘wrongful’ “violent” person — could it mean a very determined and physically energetic individual that is willing to go to great lengths to achieve their goal? It seems that several commentaries lean into that understanding.
Yet… the Holy Spirit is the final arbiter of the intention and meaning for the reader at that moment. For His Rhema Word IS ‘living and breathing’ and applicable to your immediate situation.
Are you one of ‘those’ individuals who goes HARD after the Kingdom of God? Are you so driven to know Him in a more intimate way? Or have you allowed yourself to be lulled into religion, form, and tradition, instead of REAL relationship?
I am convinced however that violent forces are definitely attempting to ‘force’ their way against the Kingdom of God with evil intentions. This could be through many different human strategies that are lies from the enemy / the fallen. As they (the fallen) know that they are forever banned from His heavenly kingdom, so they attempt to ‘hurt His heart’ by deceiving the humans to believe He is an ‘angry and tyrannical Judge’ and to ‘rail’ against Him, His followers, and His Kingdom.
But we who are ALREADY given the ‘mark’ of His family have already obtained citizenship into His Kingdom, and there is no longer any reason for violence. This is why ‘taking the mark of the beast’ for any citizen of the kingdom is so devastating, as it means the person has now two masters, and has renounced their previous ‘mark’ and Master (Jesus and the Holy Spirit).
Do not comply with evil, but fight evil with the fruit of the Spirit by His direction and inspiration. We must not be rash and reactive in our dealings with people we come into contact with. This of course is becoming more and more difficult as the culture turns more evil and violent. Unless powered by the Holy Spirit, individuals now come with a much more wary stance to ANY interaction with another person. Everything has become as a threat. So now most people begin any interaction with very ‘high walls’. This is why you must be ‘engaged’ with the Holy Spirit throughout your day to receive His words to your mind and heart. He will tell you how to engage with individuals, and what you need to say and do.
So I’ll leave you with another verse that has all sorts of need for further digging and study.
Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16
Have at it, and dig away!
Press into Him with LOTS of questions.