Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Authority

Warrior Priests

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Civil Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2013-04-08

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver preaches that believers are called to be warrior priests, a role rooted in the Old Testament Levitical priesthood and fulfilled in the New Testament church. He traces the dual duties of priests—to work (serve) and to guard (protect)—from Adam through the Levites to Christians today. The sermon argues that the church has abdicated its responsibility to guard truth and fight wickedness, leading to societal collapse, and calls for a revival of the warrior spirit among God's people.

[John Weaver] If you would, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 2. And I want to make a statement before I get started. 1 Peter chapter 2. And tell you something about the message. 1 Peter chapter 2. I'm going to be preaching a message today. that I preached here probably 10 or 15 years ago. Some of you may remember part of it. I'm sure you would not remember all of it. And the reason I'm going to be preaching this message is because when I was out in California, I was asked specifically to bring this message. And since I've been asked to bring this message, I went ahead and reworked it, added a lot of stuff to it, reworded some things.

[John Weaver] And just the title of the message upset the Southern Poverty Law Center. So I figured if I got them upset one time I might could do so again. So maybe they would hear the whole message and maybe understand a little bit of it. So the title of the message is Warrior Priests. Warrior Priests. So look in your Bibles if you would please. to 1 Peter chapter 2 and we're going to read verse 5 and then skip down to verse 9. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 5, the Bible says, you also as lively or living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Now skip down to verse 9.

[John Weaver] But you were a chosen generation a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. We're talking about warrior priests. May I point out the fact that a priest is a duly authorized minister in sacred things. In order to be a priest, one must be chosen by God. The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 5 in verse 4, And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron. So a priest then is not someone by self-appointment, election of the people, or political influence or intervention. The priesthood was a divinely instituted institution. Therefore, The priests were divinely appointed and divinely called. Not only were the priests divinely called and divinely appointed, even their duties were also divinely appointed. A priest did not choose or decide his own duties.

[John Weaver] He could not perform any function that he desired to perform. He had to perform that which God appointed for him. For instance, a regular priest could not go into the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could do that, and he could only do it once a year. Moreover, the Levitical priest did many things around the tabernacle, which I'll show you some a little bit later, but the offerings and the sacrifices were reserved to the family and the house of Aaron.

[John Weaver] Now, scripture tells us very clearly in 1 Peter 2 and verse 5 that we are living stones and we're built up into a holy house or a spiritual house and a holy priesthood that we should offer up spiritual sacrifices to God by Jesus Christ. When you look at verse 9 again, he tells us that we are a chosen generation and a royal priesthood.

[John Weaver] Now the Apostle John also speaks of our priesthood. Let me just give you these verses. We're going to be looking at a lot momentarily. But in Revelation 1 and verse 6, John writes,"...and hath made us kings and priests unto our God and His Father. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." But note he has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father. In Revelation 5 and verse 10, again he says,"...and has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on earth." And then finally in Revelation 20 and verse 6, John said, Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. So, I could multiply verses, but you understand the fact that Christians have been divinely called and divinely ordained priests unto our God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to point out the fact That the priesthood of the believer is not just simply.

[John Weaver] A new Testament fact. If you would look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Exodus chapter 19 and look at verses five and six, because old Israel was indeed to be a nation of priests as well. So Exodus chapter 19, if you look at verse five and verse six at what God says.

[John Weaver] Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all the people, for all the earth is mine. Now watch, and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. So the priesthood that really and truly belonged to old Israel in the Old Testament in types and shadows and emblems, has now been given to the new Israel in the New Testament in truth and reality. Now, as we talk about New Testament priests, we understand that we have many duties and many responsibilities. Of course, just from the text that I read, one of our duties and one of our responsibilities is to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable unto God through Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] We must also show the praises of Him that has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. But when you get to Hebrews 13 and verse 15, the Bible teaches us that we're to offer up the sacrifice of praise continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks unto His name. So once again, here as New Testament priests, we have a duty to praise and worship Him. Moreover, you remember the passage in Romans 12 verse 1, where the apostle Paul said, I beseech you, therefore, dearly beloved, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable name, which is your reasonable service. So we have the duty and the responsibility of presenting our bodies unto him as a living sacrifice.

[John Weaver] So we have the duties and the responsibilities of prayer. and intercession and sacrificial living, sacrificial giving of praising God and worshiping our Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now what I want to do today is this, I want to point out a distinct function of priests. It is not a carnal function, it is not a fleshly function, it is indeed a living, vibrant, spiritual function. What we have failed to understand is that in the Old Testament, The priests were warrior priests and the same is true in the New Testament as well. I'm going to show you that in the Old Testament, the priests had a duty of guarding and protecting as well as working as well. And it was a normal priestly duty. Now before I show you any of this in the New Testament, what I want to do is go through the Old Testament and show you the historical context.

[John Weaver] And I want to begin at the very beginning, I want to begin in the Garden of Eden, where God placed Adam and gave him there certain responsibilities. You must remember that Eden was originally organized as a special sanctuary, as a temple where God met His creatures that He had created in His image. And when God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, He gave him two very particular responsibilities. I want you to turn to Genesis chapter 2 and look at verse 15. Genesis 2 and verse 15.

[John Weaver] Watch this and I'm going to explain these terms to you. And we're going to see these terms used over and over in the Bible. So watch carefully. Genesis 2 and the Bible says in verse 15. And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. So here are two responsibilities. He had to dress the garden and he had to keep the garden. First, Adam had to dress the garden. The Hebrew word for dress is the word Abad, which literally means to work, to serve, to labor.

[John Weaver] It also has reference to Levitical service. So Adam was a priest unto God and he had to work and dress and keep the garden and to do so for God's honor and God's glory. So he had to dress it, he had to work it. But secondly, Adam had to keep the garden. Now the Hebrew word for keep is the word shamar. You're going to hear this word over and over. And this word shamar is translated and used and it means to keep, to have charge of, to guard, to ward, to protect, and to act as a watchman. So Adam then had these two responsibilities. He had to dress the garden, he had to work in the garden, but he also had to guard and protect and act as a watchman. Now, we know that Adam did indeed till and dress the garden temporarily, but he failed in guarding and protecting the Garden of Eden. He allowed the serpent in, and you know what happened. Now I want you to note what happened when Adam failed in his responsibility to guard and protect the garden.

[John Weaver] He was defrocked and he was kicked out of the garden. Look in Genesis chapter 3, notice if you would, verses 23 and 24. And I want you to note, not only was he defrocked and kicked out of the garden, but the fact of guardianship and protectorship of the garden was given to other individuals or beings. Notice verse 23, Genesis chapter 3, Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. So God not only kicked Adam out of the garden, he lost his guardianship, he lost his protectorship, he lost the fact that he was now the protector of the garden. And God placed cherubims there with flaming swords to keep the way of the tree of life. Now, you can see how this works in the life of Adam.

[John Weaver] Secondly, I want you to see how this works in the Levites. And I want you to understand, not only from Adam, but in the Levites, the principle of guardianship. And as we go through in the Levites, you're going to see that these two principles go hand in hand. guarding. This is one of the major themes that are developed in the Bible especially in relationship to the duties of priest. So the Levitical priest only had a responsibility to work but they had a responsibility to guard as well. So let's see that. So let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 1. Numbers chapter 1 and let's begin there with verse 53. And you do know that the Levites were given a to the house of Aaron. We're going to see this over and over. They were given to the house of Aaron to be his helpers and to be, as you shall see, his protectors as well. Notice Numbers chapter 1 in verse 53. The Bible says, but the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel.

[John Weaver] And the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. Now I want you to note the Bible says that the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony. Now the Hebrew word for keep, guess what? Is the word Shemar. The very same word that was given to Adam when he was to keep the garden. He was to protect it. He was to guard it. Now that very same word is used right here in relationship to the Levites They were to keep the charge of the tabernacle. They were to guard and protect the tabernacle. As centuries guard things, as guards guard, they were to keep and protect it.

[John Weaver] Now the interesting thing is this. The word charge is the word Mishmaroth in the Hebrew, which literally means a century post or a watch or an act of custody. So God says, now here are these Levites. They're to keep the charge of the tabernacle later on the temple. That is, they were to guard and they were to protect that tabernacle. And it was a military concept because God had given them a sentry post and a sentry duty.

[John Weaver] Now, turn right over to Numbers chapter 3. And let's begin reading there with verse 5 and read through verse 10. Numbers 3, verse 5. Watch carefully, I'm just showing you how God has given these Levites this charge. Notice Numbers 3 verse 5, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. Are you watching? And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle, And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel to do the service of the tabernacle. And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office.

[John Weaver] And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Now, I want you to look, if you would please, at these sentences and these expressions. Notice if you would in verse 7, and they shall keep his charge. Again, the word is Shamar. They're to guard and protect Aaron. His charge, their duty post, their sentry post. Look in verse 7 again, and they shall keep the charge of the whole congregation. Skip down to verse 8. And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel to do the service of the tabernacle. Now skip down to verse 10. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office, and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

[John Weaver] Now, in light of this passage, and in light of what you understand about keeping the charge, guarding and protecting, and it's a century post. I have some questions for you. The first one is this. Whose duty was it to see that Aaron and the instruments of the tabernacle remain safe? The Levites. Well, let me ask another question. Since God has given the Levites the charge of the Sentry Post. Whose duty was it and whose responsibility was it to put the stranger to death who came near? The Levites. Which meant, of course, those Levites then were armed. They had the power and they had the authority to execute anyone who came close to Aaron, or close to the tabernacle, or close to the temple, who were not supposed to be there.

[John Weaver] Now if you look at Numbers chapter 3 and verse 32, and this is going to come out a little bit later, you will need to see this. Numbers 3 verse 32, And Eliezer the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary." So, note if you would, in verse 32, there were chiefs over the Levites, but there was a chief over the chief, and that happened to be Eleazar, the son of Aaron. But notice, he was chief over them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

[John Weaver] It's the same word, shamar and mishmareth. They have this duty, they have this responsibility of guarding and protecting. Skip down to verse 38 if you would. But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. For the charge of the children of Israel and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

[John Weaver] Now my question is this. Since Moses and Aaron were there, and Aaron's the high priest and his sons had the duty and responsibility of the sacrifices. Who do you think was around these individuals protecting them? It was the Levites. Because that had been their charge.

[John Weaver] Now, some of you will have marginal references in your Bible. Some of you will not, but I will tell you this. If you look in Numbers 4 and verse 3 very quickly, Numbers 4 verse 3, watch it. From 30 years old and upward, even into 50 years old, all that entered into the host to do the work of the tabernacle, of the congregation. Skip down to verse 23. I'll tell you this when we get through looking. Verse 23, from 30 years old and upward unto 50 years old shalt thou number them all that enter in to perform the service to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. You're going to find the same thing in verse 30. And then you're going to find the same exact truth in Numbers chapter 8 in verse 24. If you have a marginal reading in your Bible, that is little words right in the margin, you will see the marginal reading says this, to war the warfare of the tabernacle, to war the warfare, not just to do the work, but to war the warfare.

[John Weaver] So obviously, God is saying here that these Levites were warrior priests. They had to war the warfare of the tabernacle. Why? Because God had given them the duty and responsibility of protecting Aaron and of course protecting the instruments and protecting the tabernacle itself.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to skip to Numbers chapter 18. And I want you to see how this keeps being repeated throughout the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 18. And notice, if you would please, verses 2 through 7. Numbers chapter 18, verses 2 through 7. He says, And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thee with thee, that they may be joined unto thee and minister unto thee. But thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. Now watch.

[John Weaver] We're talking about the Levites. And they shall keep the charge and the charge of the tabernacle. That is, they shall... guard and protect their sentry posts. Only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they nor ye also die. In other words, they can do only certain things. They can't do whatever they want to do. And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle. And a stranger shall not come nigh to you. And you shall keep the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar, that there be no wrath anymore upon the children of Israel. And I behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel, to you they are given as a gift for the Lord, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for everything of the altar, and within the veil you shall serve.

[John Weaver] I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift, and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Isn't that amazing? How over and over God says, that these Levites are to keep the charge. They're to guard their sentry posts. And any stranger that tried to hurt Aaron, or any of his sons, or any stranger that tries to steal any of the instruments, or any stranger that tries to just waltz in to the tabernacle, he is to be put to death, God said, and the Levites are the one who's going to be putting him to death. So the Levites then had a responsibility of guarding and protecting. They had a sentry post. It was given to them. They must guard it. They must protect Aaron. They must protect the tabernacle.

[John Weaver] Now, if you will turn over to Numbers chapter 31. In Numbers chapter 31, you remember that there was a war with the Midianites. And of course, the Israelites won and they captured an awful lot of booty. I'm just showing you how this is repeated over and over. Look at Numbers chapter 31 and verse 30, for instance. Numbers 31 and verse 30. Notice how God is dividing up the booty and He says this, And the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks, and all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep Shammar, which

[John Weaver] guard and protect the centripost of the tabernacle of the Lord. And then if you'll skip down to verse 47, he'll say exactly the same thing again. Even the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, which kept, which guarded and protected the centripost of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses. All I'm trying to show you is this, that those Old Testament priests, those Levites, had a duty beyond what you and I would call just offering up praise and offering up sacrifices. They had a duty of guarding and protecting.

[John Weaver] If you would turn to 1 Samuel chapter 7, you remember in this passage, the ark had been taken by the Philistines, and the ark then was returned. And when it was returned, I want you to notice what happens. 1 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 1, 1 Samuel 7 verse 1, And the men of Perjureth-Jerim came and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eliezer his son to keep, guard, and protect the ark of the LORD. Now that ark had just been returned.

[John Weaver] Do you understand what they were doing? They said, Eliezer, until things can be worked out, This is your responsibility. You guard. You protect this ark. You don't let anyone come near it. You don't let anyone steal it. This is your sentry post. You hang on to this.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you something else. Turn right over to 2 Kings chapter 12. If you follow me, you're going to understand a lot of passages in the Bible. 2 Kings chapter 12. Look at verse 9. This may surprise you. 2nd Kings chapter 12 and verse 9. 2nd Kings 12 and verse 9. But Jehoiada the priest, he was the high priest. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar. On the right side is one cometh in the house of the Lord. And the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. Guess what the word kept is there? It's the word Shemar. The priest who guarded and protected the door.

[John Weaver] Do you realize there were guards, Levitical guards, in the tabernacle and in the temple? You could not just simply waltz in. There were armed guards at the doors. Turn right over to 2 Chronicles chapter 34. 2nd Chronicles, we're going forward 2nd Chronicles 34 and look at verse 9 2nd Chronicles 34 verse 9 Here it is again 2nd Chronicles 34 verse 9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest now Hilkiah is a high priest in this instance When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered

[John Weaver] the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, that kept the doors, had gathered of his hand of Manasseh unto Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, and of Judah, and of Benjamin, and returned to Jerusalem." Note, and the Levites, which kept the doors. In each of these passages, the same word, Shemar, is the one that has been used of Adam, has been used of all of these Levites, they're guarding and they're protecting the doors.

[John Weaver] You could not just waltz into the tabernacle or the temple. Now, let me remind you of something. Do you remember Psalm 84 and verse 10, where David said, listen carefully, I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. You know what the doorkeeper was? He was the man who stood by the door armed, guarding, making sure that no one came in except those who were supposed to be in. And so David said, I'd rather be an armed sentry standing at the door than to dwell in the house of wickedness. And by the way, the Hebrew word for Doorkeeper there is the word Shophet, which literally means to guard, or to guard the threshold, or to guard the doors. So he was a guard.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn back to 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles chapter 23. 1 Chronicles 23, and let me begin reading there with verse 27. 1 Chronicles 23, and let's begin reading with verse 27.

[John Weaver] And here's the interesting thing as we read this passage. I want you to note, as David lists the duties of these priests, he lists first what you and I think of when we think of normal priestly duties. But then he adds something. And it's also normal, but we just do not think of it. Notice if you would, verse 27. First Chronicles 23, for by the last words of David, the Levites were numbered from 20 years old and above, because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord in the courts and in the chambers and in purifying all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God. So here what the Levites did now, both for the show bread and for the fine flour for the meat offering and for the unleavened cakes and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried in all manner of measure and size, and to stand every morning to thank

[John Weaver] and to praise the Lord, and likewise and even, and to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths and the new moons and the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the Lord, watch, and that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brethren, in the service of the house of the Lord." Yes, yes, the Levites had a lot of responsibilities. But he said, besides singing praise and giving praise to God, and having to deal with the measures of these meal offerings, They had to keep the charge of the tabernacle, and keep the charge of Aaron, and keep the charge of the holy place.

[John Weaver] They had the duty and responsibility of guarding and protecting. Let me show you how much so. Go back in your Bibles to 2nd Chronicles. And look in chapter 23 again at verses 6 and 8. 2nd Chronicles chapter 3. I'm sorry, 23. 2nd Chronicles 23. And let's look at verse 6. Watch carefully. 2 Chronicles 23, verse 6. In this passage, King Joash is being protected. You remember his grandmother Athaliah had murdered all of her grandchildren except Joash, and he was taken and hidden in the temple. So notice 2 Chronicles 23, verse 6.

[John Weaver] Here's what the high priest says. But let none come into the house of the Lord, save the priests, and they that minister the Levites. They shall go in, for they are holy. But all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord, that is on the outside watch. And the Levites shall compass the king round about every man with his weapons in his hand. And whosoever else cometh in the house, he shall be put to death. But be ye with the king when he cometh in and when he goeth out." Did you see that? Here's Josiah, or Joash, and he's in the temple. And what does the high priest do? He surrounds him with these Levites. And he says, if anybody else comes into the temple, kill them.

[John Weaver] Who had the responsibility of guarding and protecting? It was the Levites.

[John Weaver] Now, since we're in 2 Chronicles chapter 23, let me show you something that a lot of people have not thought of. I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but there is a court case now in the state of Georgia about having weapons in church. In fact, it's being appealed to the Supreme Court. But would it surprise you to find out that in the Bible, they always kept weapons in church or in the temple? Look in your Bibles. Here it is, 2 Chronicles 23 verse 9.

[John Weaver] Moreover, Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears and bucklers and shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of God. And he sent all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple and by the king roundabout. Where were all these weapons kept? In the temple, in the house of God.

[John Weaver] Now, I think if you've been listening and if you've been following me, there have been a sufficient number of scriptures to prove to you that the Levites had a duty of guarding and protecting and that they were armed and that they used those arms as well. Now, I'm telling you that so that you can understand something in the New Testament. If you don't understand this principle, you're not going to understand some verses in the New Testament.

[John Weaver] For instance, turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. And look if you would please at verse 1. Acts 4 and verse 1. Acts 4, verse 1. All right, here we go. Acts 4, verse 1. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Okay, here we go. Acts 4, verse 1. And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them. Now, we know who the priests were. And we know who the Sadducees were, but who's the captain of the temple? Look in Acts chapter 5 and verse 24. Acts 5 and verse 24. Here it is, Acts 5 verse 24. Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priest heard these things, they doubted them where into this would grow. We know the high priest, but who's the captain of the temple? Look, if you would please, down to verse 26. Then went the captain with the officers. Whoa, whoa, back up. Here's the captain with some officers and brought them without violence.

[John Weaver] Why? For they feared the people lest they should be stoned. The only reason they didn't use violence is they were outnumbered and they were afraid. But notice, here's the captain with the officers. Wow. Skip back in your Bible, turn back to Luke chapter 22. Luke 22. And look if you would please at verse 4. Luke 22 and verse 4. Talking about Christ, Luke 22 verse 4. Judas has gone his way, he is about to betray Christ. And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and the captains, plural, how he might betray him unto them. Skip down to verse 52 in the same chapter. Luke 22 and verse 52. Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, plural, and the elders which were coming to him, that you come out as against a thief with swords and staves. So the question is this, we know who the Sadducees were, we know who the Pharisees were, we know who the Herodians were, we know who the chief priests were, and we know who the high priest is, but who in the world are all these captains of the temple, and where in the world

[John Weaver] did they come from, and all these officers under them? Well, if you're going to understand that, you have to turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 16 very quickly. Acts chapter 16. Let me just show you a word that is used over and over. Acts chapter 16. Notice if you would please, verse 20. One word, the magistrates. Notice if you would, verse 20, Acts 16. And brought them unto the magistrates. Wow. Look in verse 22. And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates ran off their clothes. Verse 35. And when it was day, the magistrates, verse 36, The magistrates have sent to let you go. Watch verse 38. And the Sargis told these words unto the magistrates. Here the word magistrates is used five times.

[John Weaver] Now we're still trying to find out who these captains of the temple were. Let me tell you something about the word magistrates. The Greek word for magistrates is the word strategos. Stratagos is a military term and it is where we derive our English word strategy. The word stratagos is from the word strata. Strata means arming. So here these magistrates, the word that is used is stratagos. If you were to take a Greek lexicon, and look up the word Stratagos, here's what you will find. Listen carefully. It means a general, a governor, a commandant, a military officer, a captain of the temple, who was the commander of the Levites, who kept and guarded the temple. Do you know who the captains of the temple were? They were these Levites that were brought over from the Old Testament. They still were guarding the temple in the New Testament.

[John Weaver] Their office had become corrupted. That is true. But they were still there. Now, remember this. Remember if you would, I told you I was going to call your attention to it again. Numbers 3 and verse 32. You don't have to turn there, but let me just read it to you. and Eliezer the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites who have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary. That's why when these captains went out usually the high priest or some priest that was over them went out with them because these were the Levites. They were the captains of the temple in the New Testament. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 42. Psalm 42 And instead of reading the Psalm, we're just going to look at the heading of Psalm 42. Okay? You will understand why just momentarily. Look at the heading of Psalm 42 in your Bibles. Here's what it says. To the chief musician, Mashiel, for the sons of Korah.

[John Weaver] You see it? It's before verse 1. Just the heading. If you have headings in your Bible, It says to the chief musician, Mishiel, for the sons of Korah. Now, this Psalm, Psalm 42, was written for the sons of Korah to sing. The Korahites, or Korhites as they're sometimes called, were Levitical singers.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. Does anyone know who Korah was? Do you remember? You don't have to turn there, but in number 16, there are three men who raised up in rebellion against Moses, Korah, Dathan, and Abirah. And do you remember in Numbers chapter 16? Moses was so agitated at what they were doing. He prayed, Lord God let a new thing happen. Let the earth open up and swallow them and let them go down alive into the pit.

[John Weaver] And then he warned everybody. He said, separate yourselves from Korah and his company and Dathan and Abar. Separate yourselves. You remember the 250 princes that followed them. God sent fire and consumed them. But then the earth opened up and swallowed Korra and Dathan and Byram and their families. And they went down alive into the pit. But let me read to you Numbers 26 verses 10 and 11. Listen carefully. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up with Korra when that company died. What time the fire devoured the 250 men, and they became a sign, notwithstanding, the children of Korah died not." So when Moses said, separate yourselves, the children of Korah left their father.

[John Weaver] They got away from him in his rebellion, and they did not die with him. And so they were still Levites. Korah was a Levite as well. But now this psalm is dedicated to them and they are to sing this psalm.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Chronicles chapter 9. 1 Chronicles chapter 9. And look if you would at verse 19. 1 Chronicles chapter 9 and verse 19. It may surprise you to find what these sons of Korah could do. They were singers, that is for sure. But in 1 Chronicles 9 and verse 19, watch this verse carefully. 1 Chronicles 9, verse 19, here it is. And Shalom, the son of Korah, the son of Ebiasap, the son of Korah, and his brethren of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, Keepers of the gates of the tabernacle and their fathers being over the host of the Lord were keepers of the entry.

[John Weaver] What does that tell us? That tells us that these Korahites were door keepers. They were threshold keepers. They were guards in the tabernacle and the temple. And notice if you would, the Bible says their fathers were being over the host of the Lord. The word host refers to an army. So these guys were warriors, they were fighters, they were soldiers, and yet they were priests. Wow! These Levites were warrior priests, they fought and they protected.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn right over to 1 Chronicles chapter 12, and let me show you something. Everyone knows how mighty a warrior David was. And you remember David had his mighty men. And a number of them are listed for us in 1 Chronicles chapter 12. But let me show you verses 1 and 2 first. 1 Chronicles 12 verses 1 and 2. Watch this. Now these are they that came to David a zig-zag while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men helpers of the war. And they were armed with bows and could use both the right hand and the left hand in hurling stones and shooting arrows. Out of a bow even Saul's brethren of Benjamin." So here were men that were so expert at warfare, they could shoot up with a bow right-handed or left-handed. It didn't matter. They could hurl stones right-handed or left-handed. These men were expert in war.

[John Weaver] Well, who were some of them? Well, skip down to verse 6. Watch carefully. A lot of them named, but here's Elkanah, Jestiah, Azrael, Joeser, Joshuabim, the what? The Korhites, which were the sons of Korah. So here these Levites, who helped David fight, were some of his mighty men. Wow!

[John Weaver] Now let me show you something. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 15. 2nd Chronicles chapter 15, and I'm going to tie this together for you just momentarily. But you understand what happened to Adam when he abdicated his priesthood and failed to protect the garden. I want you to see from this passage what happens when priests fail to guard and protect and do their duty and their responsibility. Look in 2 Chronicles chapter 15 and let's begin with verse 3. Watch closely.

[John Weaver] Now for a long time Israel had been without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn to the Lord God of Israel and sought Him, He was found to them. Watch carefully. In those times, the those times refers back to verse 3, when Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law. How could they be without the true God? Because they were without His law. How could they be without His law? There was no teaching priest. Watch carefully. But in those times, that is when they were without God's law, in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the country and nation, was destroyed of nation and city of city for God did vex them with all adversity.

[John Weaver] Do you realize when Adam failed to protect the garden, it brought death. When the Levites fail to guard and protect and to teach and preach, it brought death. I hope you're putting two and two together. And you're trying to figure out what is happening in our country today. All through the Bible, the priests not only praised and worshipped and glorified God, but they guarded and protected. I want you to see this in a Christian context. When Adam apostatized from his duties and responsibilities, God defrocked him of his priesthood. When old Israel apostatized and rejected the Son of God, God defrocked them and removed the priesthood from them. They have no priesthood today.

[John Weaver] If you'll look in your Bibles, very quickly, Matthew 21, I could quote it, but look what our Lord said. Matthew chapter 21, beginning there with verse 42. He's been teaching, He's been preaching, and brother, He lays it on the line. Watch Matthew 21. Look what He tells the people in His day. He's talking to the Jews. Look what He says. Matthew chapter 21, verse 42. Jesus said unto them, Did you never read in scriptures the stone which the builders rejected? That's old Israel.

[John Weaver] The same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore saying to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. Watch verse 45. And when the chief priests and the Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. They got that right. What did our Lord say? You lost it. You apostatized. You rejected my son. My son is the headstone of the corner.

[John Weaver] I'm taking everything from you. And I'm giving it to a nation that will bring forth the fruits thereof. So the priesthood then has been given to the people of the New Covenant, the New Testament, who are the true Israel of God. As sons of God through Jesus Christ, as I've read earlier, we've now been made priests and kings under our God. Therefore, it is our responsibility to lead the world in righteousness and obedience and faith. It is our responsibility to protect ourselves and others by holy, righteous, and godly living in obedience to our King, Jesus Christ. It's our responsibility to declare His sovereignty and His majesty. In fact, the truth of the matter is, we've been given a commission to do this.

[John Weaver] You remember Matthew 28, 19, and 20? Where our Lord said, Go you therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Listen carefully. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have taught you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Do you realize that we have been given guardianship and protectorship of the truth?

[John Weaver] Turn in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Timothy chapter 3 and look at verse 15. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. Watch what the Apostle Paul tells us. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Watch verse 15. Very, very important. Here it is. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. The Apostle Paul writes Timothy and he says, But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of truth. What is the church of the living God? It is the pillar and the ground of truth. Do you realize we, the people of God, have the infallible, inerrant, inspired, and an exhaustible Word of God.

[John Weaver] We therefore must be faithful in proclaiming it, and making disciples, and teaching them all things whatsoever He's commanded us to observe. And the way to protect and guard the truth is to establish it squarely in every area of life. We may not hide it, rather we must declare it, we must abide by it, we must adhere to it, we must insist upon it, and we must fight for it. Because it is God's truth. Now you can ask the question, well how do we fight?

[John Weaver] If you were to go, and don't turn there, but if you were to go to Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10 through 18, guess what? He lists all the armor that we need. The helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now let me tell you something. This may surprise you. But I have heard preachers in my lifetime, when they got to Ephesians chapter 6, would try to describe that armament as being the armament of a Roman soldier. And that's not true. And we're not going to take time to do it today, but if you were to take the time to read Exodus chapter 28, Isaiah 59 verses 17 through 21, and then Isaiah 61 and verse 10, you will find that when the Apostle Paul wrote Ephesians chapter 6, the armor that he had in mind was the armor of God's holy warrior, the armor of the great high priest.

[John Weaver] It's described for us in the scripture. The Bible tells us further about this armor In 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 8, God says, But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for our helmet the hope of salvation. In Romans 13 and verse 12, the apostle writes, The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. So God's armor is called the armor of light.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that the Bible, uses very vivid images depicting the Lord Jesus Christ leading an army of warrior priests. All you have to do is read Psalm 110 or even more simply Revelation 17 and verse 14 where the Bible says concerning His enemies, these shall make war with the Lamb, notice carefully, these shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for He is Lord of lords and King of kings and they that are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful. So Jesus Christ is leading an army of warrior priests.

[John Weaver] Now, let me remind you of another passage. Do you remember Matthew 16 and verse 18? In that passage, our Lord asked his disciples, whom do men say that I, the son of man, am? Well, they responded, some say that you're Jeremiah or Isaiah, one of the prophets. But then he asked, Whom say ye that I am? And Peter said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And here's what our Lord said in Matthew 16 and verse 18. Listen carefully. He said, And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter. The word Peter means a rock. Thou art Peter. And upon this rock, that is his confession, Upon this rock I will build my church, listen, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Now wait a minute. Upon this rock, upon this confession that I am the Christ, I am the Messiah, I am the Son of God, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. If the church is at the gates of hell, who is attacking whom? It's the church attacking hell. Gates in the Bible speak of authority and power. And so what is the church doing? Upon the confession that Jesus Christ is God, Jesus Christ is the Messiah, Jesus Christ is the sovereign God of heaven and earth, the church even attacks hell itself. You want to know what has happened in our country?

[John Weaver] Like Adam, like the old Levitical priest, we've abdicated our responsibilities and our duties, and we want to sit idly by and do nothing. And the attitude of the average Christian is this, if the government will leave me alone, I'll leave them alone. Do you realize we're to be exposing wickedness wherever it is found? And you do not have to look far in any government to find wickedness. You don't have to look far to find corruption. You don't have to look far to find it even from yourself and in most churches. Do you realize as God's warrior priests, we are to attack and expose wickedness wherever we find it?

[John Weaver] to where to never surrender, never give in, never give up, never give out. Do you understand that according to God's Word, there is no enemy that can stand before God's warrior priests, when that warrior priest stands in faith, in obedience, in submission to God. Listen to James 4 verse 7. God says, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Not even Satan himself can stand before a warrior priest who stands in submission to God. What has happened? We've abdicated our responsibilities. We've abdicated our duties. We have to understand that when warrior priests abdicate those duties and responsibilities, it causes the downfall of society. It causes the death of their kindred. In failing to do our duties, the earth is crushed under the judgment of God. Adam failed to protect his wife and the earth was cursed. Aaron, the high priest, failed to protect while Moses was in a mountain receiving the commandments of God. And even Aaron built a golden calf.

[John Weaver] And 3,000 died because of that. Just read the book of Judges and see how many are killed over and over and over. Why? Because no one guards and no one protects. Society is collapsing. Our nation is being destroyed because we've lost a fighting warrior spirit. Whenever the Levites and the priests fail in their role as guardians, society always collapses and falls into sin and rebellion. We have so compromised the truth of God's Word today as professing Christians, listen carefully, I'm not talking about us particularly, but look at the churches. Look at the churches that profess to be Christian and yet they are advocating premarital sex, extramarital affairs, therapeutic divorce, compassionate abortion, sodomy, benevolent socialism, governmental tyranny, along with legalized fraud and theft. I mean, if professing Christians advocate that, what would the world advocate? What would the wicked advocate?

[John Weaver] The question that God asked. And Psalm 94 and verse 16 is this. Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity? And who will rise up for me against evil doers? It should be God's warrior priests. And you know what we need in this country? We need a fresh reviving and a fresh understanding of our responsibilities. And we need for God to raise up men and women who know how to fight. Can fight spiritually, mentally, emotionally. if need be physically, but we need the warrior spirit that God gave from His very foundation of creation to Adam, to the Levites, and now to us. The question is, are we warrior priests? Are we willing to stand and fight for truth and righteousness and the principles of the Word of God? May God give us warrior priests.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee. We ask you for your grace and for your mercy and your kindness and your goodness. Stir our hearts, stir our spirits, raise us up. As the wicked fight for wickedness and sin, help us fight, Father, for righteousness and holiness and obedience. Help us to uphold the banner and the standard of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. whom we confess and acknowledge as God of gods, King of kings and Lord of lords, to whom belongs all glory and all praise. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

Warrior Priests

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	G0Z3FSWF8oc
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Authority
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-04-08
Dictation Name
Book	Book 008: Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13 — Chapter 21
Source Timed Segments	79

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Priesthood of Believers

Weaver introduces the message 'Warrior Priests' and reads 1 Peter 2:5,9, establishing that Christians are a holy and royal priesthood called to offer spiritual sacrifices and show forth God's praises.

If you would, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 2. And I want to make a statement before I get started. 1 Peter chapter 2. And tell you something about the message. 1 Peter chapter 2. I'm going to be preaching a message today that I preached here probably 10 or 15 years ago. Some of you may remember part of it. I'm sure you would not remember all of it. And the reason I'm going to be preaching this message is because when I was out in California, I was asked specifically to bring this message. And since I've been asked to bring this message, I went ahead and reworked it, added a lot of stuff to it, reworded some things.

And just the title of the message upset the Southern Poverty Law Center. So I figured if I got them upset one time I might could do so again. So maybe they would hear the whole message and maybe understand a little bit of it. So the title of the message is Warrior Priests. Warrior Priests. So look in your Bibles if you would please, to 1 Peter chapter 2 and we're going to read verse 5 and then skip down to verse 9. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 5, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 2:5

"You also as lively or living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

Now skip down to verse 9.

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." We're talking about warrior priests. May I point out the fact that a priest is a duly authorized minister in sacred things. In order to be a priest, one must be chosen by God. The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 4, "And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron." So a priest then is not someone by self-appointment, election of the people, or political influence or intervention. The priesthood was a divinely instituted institution. Therefore, the priests were divinely appointed and divinely called. Not only were the priests divinely called and divinely appointed, even their duties were also divinely appointed. A priest did not choose or decide his own duties.

The Divine Institution of the Priesthood

He explains that priests are divinely chosen, appointed, and given specific duties, not self-appointed or elected, using Hebrews 5:4 and the Levitical example.

He could not perform any function that he desired to perform. He had to perform that which God appointed for him. For instance, a regular priest could not go into the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could do that, and he could only do it once a year. Moreover, the Levitical priest did many things around the tabernacle, which I'll show you some a little bit later, but the offerings and the sacrifices were reserved to the family and the house of Aaron.

Now, scripture tells us very clearly in 1 Peter 2 and verse 5 that we are living stones and we're built up into a holy house or a spiritual house and a holy priesthood that we should offer up spiritual sacrifices to God by Jesus Christ. When you look at verse 9 again, he tells us that we are a chosen generation and a royal priesthood.

New Testament Confirmation of Believers as Priests

Weaver cites Revelation 1:6, 5:10, and 20:6 to show that Christians are made kings and priests unto God, and notes that this priesthood was foreshadowed in Israel (Exodus 19:5-6).

Now the Apostle John also speaks of our priesthood. Let me just give you these verses. We're going to be looking at a lot momentarily. But in Revelation 1 and verse 6, John writes,

Scripture Reading — Revelation 1:6

"...and hath made us kings and priests unto our God and His Father. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

But note he has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father. In Revelation 5 and verse 10, again he says, "...and has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on earth." And then finally in Revelation 20 and verse 6, John said, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." So, I could multiply verses, but you understand the fact that Christians have been divinely called and divinely ordained priests unto our God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to point out the fact that the priesthood of the believer is not just simply

a New Testament fact. If you would look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Exodus chapter 19 and look at verses 5 and 6, because old Israel was indeed to be a nation of priests as well. So Exodus chapter 19, if you look at verse 5 and verse 6 at what God says.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 19:5-6

"Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all the people, for all the earth is mine. Now watch, and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."

So the priesthood that really and truly belonged to old Israel in the Old Testament in types and shadows and emblems, has now been given to the new Israel in the New Testament in truth and reality. Now, as we talk about New Testament priests, we understand that we have many duties and many responsibilities. Of course, just from the text that I read, one of our duties and one of our responsibilities is to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable unto God through Jesus Christ.

Priestly Duties: Sacrifice, Praise, and Living Sacrifice

He outlines New Testament priestly duties: offering spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5), showing praises (1 Peter 2:9), offering the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15), and presenting bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).

We must also show the praises of Him that has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. But when you get to Hebrews 13 and verse 15, the Bible teaches us that we're to offer up the sacrifice of praise

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:15

continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks

unto His name. So once again, here as New Testament priests, we have a duty to praise and worship Him. Moreover, you remember the passage in Romans 12 verse 1, where the apostle Paul said, "I beseech you, therefore, dearly beloved, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." So we have the duty and the responsibility of presenting our bodies unto him as a living sacrifice.

So we have the duties and the responsibilities of prayer and intercession and sacrificial living, sacrificial giving of praising God and worshiping our Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Overlooked Duty: Guarding and Protecting

Weaver introduces the main thesis: priests in both testaments had a duty to guard and protect, not just to worship. He begins with Adam in Eden, who was to 'dress' (work) and 'keep' (guard) the garden (Genesis 2:15).

Now what I want to do today is this, I want to point out a distinct function of priests. It is not a carnal function, it is not a fleshly function, it is indeed a living, vibrant, spiritual function. What we have failed to understand is that in the Old Testament, the priests were warrior priests and the same is true in the New Testament as well. I'm going to show you that in the Old Testament, the priests had a duty of guarding and protecting as well as working as well. And it was a normal priestly duty. Now before I show you any of this in the New Testament, what I want to do is go through the Old Testament and show you the historical context. And I want to begin at the very beginning, I want to begin in the Garden of Eden, where God placed Adam and gave him there certain responsibilities. You must remember that Eden was originally organized as a special sanctuary, as a temple where God met His creatures that He had created in His image. And when God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, He gave him two very particular responsibilities. I want you to turn to Genesis chapter 2 and look at verse 15. Genesis 2 and verse 15.

Watch this and I'm going to explain these terms to you. And we're going to see these terms used over and over in the Bible. So watch carefully. Genesis 2 and the Bible says in verse 15,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 2:15

"And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

So here are two responsibilities. He had to dress the garden and he had to keep the garden. First, Adam had to dress the garden. The Hebrew word for dress is the word Abad, which literally means to work, to serve, to labor.

It also has reference to Levitical service. So Adam was a priest unto God and he had to work and dress and keep the garden and to do so for God's honor and God's glory. So he had to dress it, he had to work it. But secondly, Adam had to keep the garden. Now the Hebrew word for keep is the word shamar. You're going to hear this word over and over. And this word shamar is translated and used and it means to keep, to have charge of, to guard, to ward, to protect, and to act as a watchman. So Adam then had these two responsibilities. He had to dress the garden, he had to work in the garden, but he also had to guard and protect and act as a watchman. Now, we know that Adam did indeed till and dress the garden temporarily, but he failed in guarding and protecting the Garden of Eden. He allowed the serpent in, and you know what happened. Now I want you to note what happened when Adam failed in his responsibility to guard and protect the garden.

Adam's Failure and the Cherubim Guard

Adam failed to guard the garden, allowing the serpent in, and was expelled. God placed cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:23-24).

He was defrocked and he was kicked out of the garden. Look in Genesis chapter 3, notice if you would, verses 23 and 24. And I want you to note, not only was he defrocked and kicked out of the garden, but the fact of guardianship and protectorship of the garden was given to other individuals or beings. Notice verse 23, Genesis chapter 3,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 3:23-24

"Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life."

So God not only kicked Adam out of the garden, he lost his guardianship, he lost his protectorship, he lost the fact that he was now the protector of the garden. And God placed cherubims there with flaming swords to keep the way of the tree of life. Now, you can see how this works in the life of Adam.

Secondly, I want you to see how this works in the Levites. And I want you to understand, not only from Adam, but in the Levites, the principle of guardianship. And as we go through in the Levites, you're going to see that these two principles go hand in hand: guarding. This is one of the major themes that are developed in the Bible especially in relationship to the duties of priest. So the Levitical priest not only had a responsibility to work but they had a responsibility to guard as well. So let's see that. So let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 1. Numbers chapter 1 and let's begin there with verse 53. And you do know that the Levites were given to the house of Aaron. We're going to see this over and over. They were given to the house of Aaron to be his helpers and to be, as you shall see, his protectors as well. Notice Numbers chapter 1 in verse 53. The Bible says, "But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel.

The Levites as Warrior Priests

Weaver extensively shows from Numbers, 1 Chronicles, and other passages that the Levites were charged to 'keep' (shamar) the tabernacle, meaning to guard and protect it as a sentry post, armed and authorized to put strangers to death.

And the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony." Now I want you to note the Bible says that the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony. Now the Hebrew word for keep, guess what? Is the word Shemar. The very same word that was given to Adam when he was to keep the garden. He was to protect it. He was to guard it. Now that very same word is used right here in relationship to the Levites. They were to keep the charge of the tabernacle. They were to guard and protect the tabernacle. As sentries guard things, as guards guard, they were to keep and protect it.

Now the interesting thing is this. The word charge is the word Mishmaroth in the Hebrew, which literally means a sentry post or a watch or an act of custody. So God says, now here are these Levites. They're to keep the charge of the tabernacle later on the temple. That is, they were to guard and they were to protect that tabernacle. And it was a military concept because God had given them a sentry post and a sentry duty.

Now, turn right over to Numbers chapter 3. And let's begin reading there with verse 5 and read through verse 10. Numbers 3, verse 5. Watch carefully, I'm just showing you how God has given these Levites this charge. Notice Numbers 3 verse 5,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 3:5-10

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. Are you watching? And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle, And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel to do the service of the tabernacle. And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office.

And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Now, I want you to look, if you would please, at these sentences and these expressions. Notice if you would in verse 7, "and they shall keep his charge." Again, the word is Shamar. They're to guard and protect Aaron. His charge, their duty post, their sentry post. Look in verse 7 again, "and they shall keep the charge of the whole congregation." Skip down to verse 8. "And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel to do the service of the tabernacle." Now skip down to verse 10. "And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office, and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."

Now, in light of this passage, and in light of what you understand about keeping the charge, guarding and protecting, and it's a sentry post. I have some questions for you. The first one is this. Whose duty was it to see that Aaron and the instruments of the tabernacle remain safe? The Levites. Well, let me ask another question. Since God has given the Levites the charge of the sentry post, whose duty was it and whose responsibility was it to put the stranger to death who came near? The Levites. Which meant, of course, those Levites then were armed. They had the power and they had the authority to execute anyone who came close to Aaron, or close to the tabernacle, or close to the temple, who were not supposed to be there.

Now if you look at Numbers chapter 3 and verse 32, and this is going to come out a little bit later, you will need to see this. Numbers 3 verse 32,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 3:32

"And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary."

So, note if you would, in verse 32, there were chiefs over the Levites, but there was a chief over the chief, and that happened to be Eleazar, the son of Aaron. But notice, he was chief over them that keep the charge of the sanctuary. It's the same word, shamar and mishmareth. They have this duty, they have this responsibility of guarding and protecting. Skip down to verse 38 if you would.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 3:32

"But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. For the charge of the children of Israel and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."

Now my question is this. Since Moses and Aaron were there, and Aaron's the high priest and his sons had the duty and responsibility of the sacrifices, who do you think was around these individuals protecting them? It was the Levites. Because that had been their charge.

Now, some of you will have marginal references in your Bible. Some of you will not, but I will tell you this. If you look in Numbers 4 and verse 3 very quickly, Numbers 4 verse 3, watch it. "From 30 years old and upward, even into 50 years old, all that entered into the host to do the work of the tabernacle, of the congregation." Skip down to verse 23. I'll tell you this when we get through looking. Verse 23, "from 30 years old and upward unto 50 years old shalt thou number them all that enter in to perform the service to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation." You're going to find the same thing in verse 30. And then you're going to find the same exact truth in Numbers chapter 8 in verse 24. If you have a marginal reading in your Bible, that is little words right in the margin, you will see the marginal reading says this, "to war the warfare of the tabernacle," to war the warfare, not just to do the work, but to war the warfare.

So obviously, God is saying here that these Levites were warrior priests. They had to war the warfare of the tabernacle. Why? Because God had given them the duty and responsibility of protecting Aaron and of course protecting the instruments and protecting the tabernacle itself.

Now I want you to skip to Numbers chapter 18. And I want you to see how this keeps being repeated throughout the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 18. And notice, if you would please, verses 2 through 7. Numbers chapter 18, verses 2 through 7. He says, "And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thee with thee, that they may be joined unto thee and minister unto thee. But thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. Now watch.

We're talking about the Levites. "And they shall keep the charge and the charge of the tabernacle." That is, they shall guard and protect their sentry posts. "Only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they nor ye also die." In other words, they can do only certain things. They can't do whatever they want to do. "And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle. And a stranger shall not come nigh to you. And you shall keep the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar, that there be no wrath anymore upon the children of Israel. And I behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel, to you they are given as a gift for the Lord, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for everything of the altar, and within the veil you shall serve.

I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift, and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Isn't that amazing? How over and over God says, that these Levites are to keep the charge. They're to guard their sentry posts. And any stranger that tried to hurt Aaron, or any of his sons, or any stranger that tries to steal any of the instruments, or any stranger that tries to just waltz in to the tabernacle, he is to be put to death, God said, and the Levites are the one who's going to be putting him to death. So the Levites then had a responsibility of guarding and protecting. They had a sentry post. It was given to them. They must guard it. They must protect Aaron. They must protect the tabernacle.

Now, if you will turn over to Numbers chapter 31. In Numbers chapter 31, you remember that there was a war with the Midianites. And of course, the Israelites won and they captured an awful lot of booty. I'm just showing you how this is repeated over and over. Look at Numbers chapter 31 and verse 30, for instance. Numbers 31 and verse 30. Notice how God is dividing up the booty and He says this, "And the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks, and all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep"—Shammar, which

guard and protect the sentry post of the tabernacle of the Lord. And then if you'll skip down to verse 47, he'll say exactly the same thing again. "Even the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, which kept, which guarded and protected the sentry post of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses." All I'm trying to show you is this, that those Old Testament priests, those Levites, had a duty beyond what you and I would call just offering up praise and offering up sacrifices. They had a duty of guarding and protecting.

Armed Guards in the Temple and the Captain of the Temple

He demonstrates that Levites served as armed doorkeepers and guards in the temple (2 Kings 12:9; 2 Chronicles 34:9; Psalm 84:10). In the New Testament, the 'captain of the temple' (strategos) was the commander of these Levitical guards.

If you would turn to 1 Samuel chapter 7, you remember in this passage, the ark had been taken by the Philistines, and the ark then was returned. And when it was returned, I want you to notice what happens. 1 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 1,

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 7:1

"And the men of Kirjath-jearim came and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep, guard, and protect the ark of the LORD."

Now that ark had just been returned. Do you understand what they were doing? They said, "Eleazar, until things can be worked out, this is your responsibility. You guard. You protect this ark. You don't let anyone come near it. You don't let anyone steal it. This is your sentry post. You hang on to this."

Now, let me show you something else. Turn right over to 2 Kings chapter 12. If you follow me, you're going to understand a lot of passages in the Bible. 2 Kings chapter 12. Look at verse 9. This may surprise you. 2 Kings 12 and verse 9.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 12:9

"But Jehoiada the priest, he was the high priest. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar. On the right side is one cometh in the house of the Lord. And the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord."

Guess what the word kept is there? It's the word Shemar. The priest who guarded and protected the door.

Do you realize there were guards, Levitical guards, in the tabernacle and in the temple? You could not just simply waltz in. There were armed guards at the doors. Turn right over to 2 Chronicles chapter 34. 2 Chronicles, we're going forward. 2 Chronicles 34 and look at verse 9. 2 Chronicles 34 verse 9. Here it is again. 2 Chronicles 34 verse 9. "And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest"—now Hilkiah is a high priest in this instance—"when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered

the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, that kept the doors, had gathered of his hand of Manasseh unto Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, and of Judah, and of Benjamin, and returned to Jerusalem." Note, "and the Levites, which kept the doors." In each of these passages, the same word, Shemar, is the one that has been used of Adam, has been used of all of these Levites, they're guarding and they're protecting the doors. You could not just waltz into the tabernacle or the temple. Now, let me remind you of something. Do you remember Psalm 84 and verse 10, where David said, listen carefully, "I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." You know what the doorkeeper was? He was the man who stood by the door armed, guarding, making sure that no one came in except those who were supposed to be in. And so David said, "I'd rather be an armed sentry standing at the door than to dwell in the house of wickedness." And by the way, the Hebrew word for doorkeeper there is the word Shophet, which literally means to guard, or to guard the threshold, or to guard the doors. So he was a guard.

Now, I want you to turn back to 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles chapter 23. 1 Chronicles 23, and let me begin reading there with verse 27. 1 Chronicles 23, and let's begin reading with verse 27.

And here's the interesting thing as we read this passage. I want you to note, as David lists the duties of these priests, he lists first what you and I think of when we think of normal priestly duties. But then he adds something. And it's also normal, but we just do not think of it. Notice if you would, verse 27. 1 Chronicles 23, "for by the last words of David, the Levites were numbered from 20 years old and above, because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord in the courts and in the chambers and in purifying all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God. So here what the Levites did now, both for the showbread and for the fine flour for the meat offering and for the unleavened cakes and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried in all manner of measure and size, and to stand every morning to thank

and to praise the Lord, and likewise and even, and to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths and the new moons and the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the Lord, watch, and that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brethren, in the service of the house of the Lord." Yes, yes, the Levites had a lot of responsibilities. But he said, besides singing praise and giving praise to God, and having to deal with the measures of these meal offerings, they had to keep the charge of the tabernacle, and keep the charge of Aaron, and keep the charge of the holy place.

They had the duty and responsibility of guarding and protecting. Let me show you how much so. Go back in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles. And look in chapter 23 again at verses 6 and 8. 2 Chronicles chapter 23. And let's look at verse 6. Watch carefully. 2 Chronicles 23, verse 6. In this passage, King Joash is being protected. You remember his grandmother Athaliah had murdered all of her grandchildren except Joash, and he was taken and hidden in the temple. So notice 2 Chronicles 23, verse 6.

Here's what the high priest says. "But let none come into the house of the Lord, save the priests, and they that minister the Levites. They shall go in, for they are holy. But all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord, that is on the outside watch. And the Levites shall compass the king round about every man with his weapons in his hand. And whosoever else cometh in the house, he shall be put to death. But be ye with the king when he cometh in and when he goeth out." Did you see that? Here's Joash, and he's in the temple. And what does the high priest do? He surrounds him with these Levites. And he says, if anybody else comes into the temple, kill them.

Who had the responsibility of guarding and protecting? It was the Levites. Now, since we're in 2 Chronicles chapter 23, let me show you something that a lot of people have not thought of. I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but there is a court case now in the state of Georgia about having weapons in church. In fact, it's being appealed to the Supreme Court. But would it surprise you to find out that in the Bible, they always kept weapons in church or in the temple? Look in your Bibles. Here it is, 2 Chronicles 23 verse 9.

"Moreover, Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears and bucklers and shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of God. And he sent all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple and by the king roundabout." Where were all these weapons kept? In the temple, in the house of God. Now, I think if you've been listening and if you've been following me, there have been a sufficient number of scriptures to prove to you that the Levites had a duty of guarding and protecting and that they were armed and that they used those arms as well. Now, I'm telling you that so that you can understand something in the New Testament. If you don't understand this principle, you're not going to understand some verses in the New Testament.

For instance, turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. And look if you would please at verse 1. Acts 4 and verse 1. Acts 4, verse 1. All right, here we go. Acts 4, verse 1. "And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them." Now, we know who the priests were. And we know who the Sadducees were, but who's the captain of the temple? Look in Acts chapter 5 and verse 24. Acts 5 and verse 24. Here it is, Acts 5 verse 24. "Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priest heard these things, they doubted them whereunto this would grow." We know the high priest, but who's the captain of the temple? Look, if you would please, down to verse 26. "Then went the captain with the officers." Whoa, whoa, back up. Here's the captain with some officers and brought them without violence.

Why? For they feared the people lest they should be stoned. The only reason they didn't use violence is they were outnumbered and they were afraid. But notice, here's the captain with the officers. Wow. Skip back in your Bible, turn back to Luke chapter 22. Luke 22. And look if you would please at verse 4. Luke 22 and verse 4. Talking about Christ, Luke 22 verse 4. Judas has gone his way, he is about to betray Christ. "And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and the captains," plural, "how he might betray him unto them." Skip down to verse 52 in the same chapter. Luke 22 and verse 52. "Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple," plural, "and the elders which were coming to him, that you come out as against a thief with swords and staves." So the question is this, we know who the Sadducees were, we know who the Pharisees were, we know who the Herodians were, we know who the chief priests were, and we know who the high priest is, but who in the world are all these captains of the temple, and where in the world

did they come from, and all these officers under them? Well, if you're going to understand that, you have to turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 16 very quickly. Acts chapter 16. Let me just show you a word that is used over and over. Acts chapter 16. Notice if you would please, verse 20. One word, the magistrates. Notice if you would, verse 20, Acts 16. "And brought them unto the magistrates." Wow. Look in verse 22. "And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates ran off their clothes." Verse 35. "And when it was day, the magistrates," verse 36, "The magistrates have sent to let you go." Watch verse 38. "And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates." Here the word magistrates is used five times.

Now we're still trying to find out who these captains of the temple were. Let me tell you something about the word magistrates. The Greek word for magistrates is the word strategos. Strategos is a military term and it is where we derive our English word strategy. The word strategos is from the word strata. Strata means arming. So here these magistrates, the word that is used is strategos. If you were to take a Greek lexicon, and look up the word Strategos, here's what you will find. Listen carefully. It means a general, a governor, a commandant, a military officer, a captain of the temple, who was the commander of the Levites, who kept and guarded the temple. Do you know who the captains of the temple were? They were these Levites that were brought over from the Old Testament. They still were guarding the temple in the New Testament.

Their office had become corrupted. That is true. But they were still there. Now, remember this. Remember if you would, I told you I was going to call your attention to it again. Numbers 3 and verse 32. You don't have to turn there, but let me just read it to you. "And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites who have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary." That's why when these captains went out usually the high priest or some priest that was over them went out with them because these were the Levites. They were the captains of the temple in the New Testament. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 42. Psalm 42. And instead of reading the Psalm, we're just going to look at the heading of Psalm 42. Okay? You will understand why just momentarily. Look at the heading of Psalm 42 in your Bibles. Here's what it says. "To the chief musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah."

The Sons of Korah: Singers and Warriors

Weaver highlights that the sons of Korah, known as Levitical singers, were also keepers of the gates and mighty warriors who fought alongside David (1 Chronicles 9:19; 12:1-6).

You see it? It's before verse 1. Just the heading. If you have headings in your Bible, it says "To the chief musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah." Now, this Psalm, Psalm 42, was written for the sons of Korah to sing. The Korahites, or Korhites as they're sometimes called, were Levitical singers.

Now let me ask you a question. Does anyone know who Korah was? Do you remember? You don't have to turn there, but in Numbers 16, there are three men who raised up in rebellion against Moses, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And do you remember in Numbers chapter 16? Moses was so agitated at what they were doing. He prayed, "Lord God let a new thing happen. Let the earth open up and swallow them and let them go down alive into the pit."

And then he warned everybody. He said, "Separate yourselves from Korah and his company and Dathan and Abiram. Separate yourselves." You remember the 250 princes that followed them. God sent fire and consumed them. But then the earth opened up and swallowed Korah and Dathan and Abiram and their families. And they went down alive into the pit. But let me read to you Numbers 26 verses 10 and 11. Listen carefully. "And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up with Korah when that company died. What time the fire devoured the 250 men, and they became a sign, notwithstanding, the children of Korah died not." So when Moses said, "separate yourselves," the children of Korah left their father.

They got away from him in his rebellion, and they did not die with him. And so they were still Levites. Korah was a Levite as well. But now this psalm is dedicated to them and they are to sing this psalm.

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Chronicles chapter 9. 1 Chronicles chapter 9. And look if you would at verse 19. 1 Chronicles chapter 9 and verse 19. It may surprise you to find what these sons of Korah could do. They were singers, that is for sure. But in 1 Chronicles 9 and verse 19, watch this verse carefully. 1 Chronicles 9, verse 19, here it is. "And Shallum, the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle and their fathers being over the host of the Lord were keepers of the entry."

What does that tell us? That tells us that these Korahites were doorkeepers. They were threshold keepers. They were guards in the tabernacle and the temple. And notice if you would, the Bible says their fathers were being over the host of the Lord. The word host refers to an army. So these guys were warriors, they were fighters, they were soldiers, and yet they were priests. Wow! These Levites were warrior priests, they fought and they protected.

Now, I want you to turn right over to 1 Chronicles chapter 12, and let me show you something. Everyone knows how mighty a warrior David was. And you remember David had his mighty men. And a number of them are listed for us in 1 Chronicles chapter 12. But let me show you verses 1 and 2 first. 1 Chronicles 12 verses 1 and 2. Watch this. "Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men helpers of the war. And they were armed with bows and could use both the right hand and the left hand in hurling stones and shooting arrows. Out of a bow even Saul's brethren of Benjamin." So here were men that were so expert at warfare, they could shoot up with a bow right-handed or left-handed. It didn't matter. They could hurl stones right-handed or left-handed. These men were expert in war.

Well, who were some of them? Well, skip down to verse 6. Watch carefully. A lot of them named, but here's Elkanah, Jesiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, the what? The Korhites, which were the sons of Korah. So here these Levites, who helped David fight, were some of his mighty men. Wow!

Consequences of Priestly Failure and the Transfer of Priesthood

When priests fail to guard and teach, society collapses (2 Chronicles 15:3-6). Israel lost the priesthood for rejecting Christ (Matthew 21:42-45), and it was given to the New Testament church, which is the pillar and ground of truth (1 Timothy 3:15).

Now let me show you something. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 15. 2 Chronicles chapter 15, and I'm going to tie this together for you just momentarily. But you understand what happened to Adam when he abdicated his priesthood and failed to protect the garden. I want you to see from this passage what happens when priests fail to guard and protect and do their duty and their responsibility. Look in 2 Chronicles chapter 15 and let's begin with verse 3. Watch closely.

"Now for a long time Israel had been without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn to the Lord God of Israel and sought Him, He was found to them. Watch carefully. In those times"—the those times refers back to verse 3, when Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law. How could they be without the true God? Because they were without His law. How could they be without His law? There was no teaching priest. Watch carefully. "But in those times," that is when they were without God's law, "in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the country and nation, was destroyed of nation and city of city for God did vex them with all adversity."

Do you realize when Adam failed to protect the garden, it brought death. When the Levites fail to guard and protect and to teach and preach, it brought death. I hope you're putting two and two together. And you're trying to figure out what is happening in our country today. All through the Bible, the priests not only praised and worshipped and glorified God, but they guarded and protected. I want you to see this in a Christian context. When Adam apostatized from his duties and responsibilities, God defrocked him of his priesthood. When old Israel apostatized and rejected the Son of God, God defrocked them and removed the priesthood from them. They have no priesthood today.

If you'll look in your Bibles, very quickly, Matthew 21, I could quote it, but look what our Lord said. Matthew chapter 21, beginning there with verse 42. He's been teaching, He's been preaching, and brother, He lays it on the line. Watch Matthew 21. Look what He tells the people in His day. He's talking to the Jews. Look what He says. Matthew chapter 21, verse 42. "Jesus said unto them, Did you never read in scriptures the stone which the builders rejected?" That's old Israel.

"The same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore saying to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof." Watch verse 45. "And when the chief priests and the Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them." They got that right. What did our Lord say? You lost it. You apostatized. You rejected my son. My son is the headstone of the corner.

I'm taking everything from you. And I'm giving it to a nation that will bring forth the fruits thereof. So the priesthood then has been given to the people of the New Covenant, the New Testament, who are the true Israel of God. As sons of God through Jesus Christ, as I've read earlier, we've now been made priests and kings under our God. Therefore, it is our responsibility to lead the world in righteousness and obedience and faith. It is our responsibility to protect ourselves and others by holy, righteous, and godly living in obedience to our King, Jesus Christ. It's our responsibility to declare His sovereignty and His majesty. In fact, the truth of the matter is, we've been given a commission to do this.

You remember Matthew 28, 19, and 20? Where our Lord said, "Go you therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Listen carefully. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have taught you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." Do you realize that we have been given guardianship and protectorship of the truth? Turn in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Timothy chapter 3 and look at verse 15. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. Watch what the Apostle Paul tells us. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Watch verse 15. Very, very important. Here it is. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. The Apostle Paul writes Timothy and he says, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of truth." What is the church of the living God? It is the pillar and the ground of truth. Do you realize we, the people of God, have the infallible, inerrant, inspired, and inexhaustible Word of God.

The Church as Warrior Priests Today

Believers are called to fight for truth using spiritual armor (Ephesians 6), attack the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18), expose wickedness, and never surrender. The sermon ends with a call for God to raise up warrior priests.

We therefore must be faithful in proclaiming it, and making disciples, and teaching them all things whatsoever He's commanded us to observe. And the way to protect and guard the truth is to establish it squarely in every area of life. We may not hide it, rather we must declare it, we must abide by it, we must adhere to it, we must insist upon it, and we must fight for it. Because it is God's truth. Now you can ask the question, well how do we fight? If you were to go, and don't turn there, but if you were to go to Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10 through 18, guess what? He lists all the armor that we need. The helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Now let me tell you something. This may surprise you. But I have heard preachers in my lifetime, when they got to Ephesians chapter 6, would try to describe that armament as being the armament of a Roman soldier. And that's not true. And we're not going to take time to do it today, but if you were to take the time to read Exodus chapter 28, Isaiah 59 verses 17 through 21, and then Isaiah 61 and verse 10, you will find that when the Apostle Paul wrote Ephesians chapter 6, the armor that he had in mind was the armor of God's holy warrior, the armor of the great high priest. It's described for us in the scripture. The Bible tells us further about this armor. In 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 8, God says, "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for our helmet the hope of salvation." In Romans 13 and verse 12, the apostle writes, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." So God's armor is called the armor of light.

Do you realize that the Bible uses very vivid images depicting the Lord Jesus Christ leading an army of warrior priests. All you have to do is read Psalm 110 or even more simply Revelation 17 and verse 14 where the Bible says concerning His enemies, "These shall make war with the Lamb," notice carefully, "these shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for He is Lord of lords and King of kings and they that are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." So Jesus Christ is leading an army of warrior priests. Now, let me remind you of another passage. Do you remember Matthew 16 and verse 18? In that passage, our Lord asked his disciples, "Whom do men say that I, the son of man, am?" Well, they responded, "Some say that you're Jeremiah or Isaiah, one of the prophets." But then he asked, "Whom say ye that I am?" And Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And here's what our Lord said in Matthew 16 and verse 18. Listen carefully. He said, "And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter." The word Peter means a rock. "Thou art Peter. And upon this rock," that is his confession, "Upon this rock I will build my church," listen, "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Now wait a minute. Upon this rock, upon this confession that I am the Christ, I am the Messiah, I am the Son of God, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Let me ask you a question. If the church is at the gates of hell, who is attacking whom? It's the church attacking hell. Gates in the Bible speak of authority and power. And so what is the church doing? Upon the confession that Jesus Christ is God, Jesus Christ is the Messiah, Jesus Christ is the sovereign God of heaven and earth, the church even attacks hell itself. You want to know what has happened in our country?

Like Adam, like the old Levitical priest, we've abdicated our responsibilities and our duties, and we want to sit idly by and do nothing. And the attitude of the average Christian is this, if the government will leave me alone, I'll leave them alone. Do you realize we're to be exposing wickedness wherever it is found? And you do not have to look far in any government to find wickedness. You don't have to look far to find corruption. You don't have to look far to find it even from yourself and in most churches. Do you realize as God's warrior priests, we are to attack and expose wickedness wherever we find it?

to where to never surrender, never give in, never give up, never give out. Do you understand that according to God's Word, there is no enemy that can stand before God's warrior priests, when that warrior priest stands in faith, in obedience, in submission to God. Listen to James 4 verse 7. God says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you." Not even Satan himself can stand before a warrior priest who stands in submission to God. What has happened? We've abdicated our responsibilities. We've abdicated our duties. We have to understand that when warrior priests abdicate those duties and responsibilities, it causes the downfall of society. It causes the death of their kindred. In failing to do our duties, the earth is crushed under the judgment of God. Adam failed to protect his wife and the earth was cursed. Aaron, the high priest, failed to protect while Moses was in a mountain receiving the commandments of God. And even Aaron built a golden calf.

And 3,000 died because of that. Just read the book of Judges and see how many are killed over and over and over. Why? Because no one guards and no one protects. Society is collapsing. Our nation is being destroyed because we've lost a fighting warrior spirit. Whenever the Levites and the priests fail in their role as guardians, society always collapses and falls into sin and rebellion. We have so compromised the truth of God's Word today as professing Christians, listen carefully, I'm not talking about us particularly, but look at the churches. Look at the churches that profess to be Christian and yet they are advocating premarital sex, extramarital affairs, therapeutic divorce, compassionate abortion, sodomy, benevolent socialism, governmental tyranny, along with legalized fraud and theft. I mean, if professing Christians advocate that, what would the world advocate? What would the wicked advocate?

The question that God asked in Psalm 94 and verse 16 is this. "Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity? And who will rise up for me against evil doers?" It should be God's warrior priests. And you know what we need in this country? We need a fresh reviving and a fresh understanding of our responsibilities. And we need for God to raise up men and women who know how to fight. Can fight spiritually, mentally, emotionally, if need be physically, but we need the warrior spirit that God gave from His very foundation of creation to Adam, to the Levites, and now to us. The question is, are we warrior priests? Are we willing to stand and fight for truth and righteousness and the principles of the Word of God? May God give us warrior priests.

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee. We ask you for your grace and for your mercy and your kindness and your goodness. Stir our hearts, stir our spirits, raise us up. As the wicked fight for wickedness and sin, help us fight, Father, for righteousness and holiness and obedience. Help us to uphold the banner and the standard of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whom we confess and acknowledge as God of gods, King of kings and Lord of lords, to whom belongs all glory and all praise. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Priesthood of All Believers

Summary: All Christians are divinely called priests with duties of worship, sacrifice, and guarding truth.

Evidence: 1 Peter 2:5,9; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6 are cited to establish that believers are a holy and royal priesthood.

Dual Role of Priests: Work and Guard

Summary: Priests have both a service role (work, worship) and a protective role (guard, fight), rooted in the Hebrew words 'abad' and 'shamar'.

Evidence: Genesis 2:15 uses 'abad' (dress/work) and 'shamar' (keep/guard); Numbers 1:53 and other passages use 'shamar' for Levitical guarding duties.

Warrior Spirit in the Old Testament Priesthood

Summary: The Levites were armed warriors responsible for protecting the tabernacle, the priests, and the nation, a pattern for New Testament believers.

Evidence: Numbers 3:7-10 commands Levites to keep the charge and put strangers to death; 2 Chronicles 23:6-9 shows armed Levites protecting the king with weapons stored in the temple.

Failure of Priests Leads to Societal Collapse

Summary: When priests neglect their guarding and teaching duties, society falls into chaos, sin, and judgment.

Evidence: Adam's failure brought death (Genesis 3); 2 Chronicles 15:3-6 describes a time without teaching priests resulting in no peace and great vexations; the book of Judges shows repeated death when no one guards.

The Church as the New Israel and Guardian of Truth

Summary: The priesthood was transferred from Israel to the church, which is now the pillar and ground of truth, responsible to proclaim and defend God's Word.

Evidence: Matthew 21:42-45 shows the kingdom taken from Israel; 1 Timothy 3:15 calls the church the pillar and ground of truth; Matthew 28:19-20 commissions the church to teach all nations.

Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God

Summary: Believers are equipped with spiritual armor to fight against wickedness, and the church is on the offensive against the gates of hell.

Evidence: Ephesians 6:10-18 describes the armor; Matthew 16:18 says the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church; James 4:7 promises the devil will flee when resisted.

Call to Action: Rise as Warrior Priests

Summary: The sermon urgently calls Christians to stop abdicating their duties, to expose wickedness, and to fight for righteousness in every area of life.

Evidence: Weaver laments that professing Christians advocate sin and that the church has lost its fighting spirit; he quotes Psalm 94:16 asking who will stand against evildoers.

Key Arguments

Priests are divinely appointed, not self-appointed

Summary: The priesthood is a divine institution; no one takes the honor upon himself but must be called by God, as Aaron was.

Evidence: Hebrews 5:4 is cited: 'And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron.'

The Hebrew word 'shamar' proves the guarding duty of priests

Summary: The word 'keep' in key passages means to guard, protect, and act as a watchman, indicating a military sentry role for priests.

Evidence: Genesis 2:15 uses 'shamar' for Adam; Numbers 1:53, 3:7-8, 18:2-7 use it for Levites; 1 Samuel 7:1 uses it for guarding the ark.

Levites were armed and authorized to use lethal force

Summary: God commanded Levites to put to death any stranger who came near the tabernacle, implying they were armed and had the authority to execute.

Evidence: Numbers 3:10, 3:38, 18:7 state the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death; 2 Chronicles 23:6-9 shows armed Levites with weapons from the temple.

The 'captain of the temple' in the New Testament was a Levitical military commander

Summary: The Greek word 'strategos' (magistrate/captain) refers to the commander of the Levites who guarded the temple, showing continuity of the warrior priest role.

Evidence: Acts 4:1, 5:24-26 mention the captain of the temple; Acts 16:20-38 uses 'strategos' for magistrates; the lexicon definition is explained.

The sons of Korah exemplify the warrior priest

Summary: The Korahites were both Levitical singers and mighty warriors, serving as doorkeepers and fighting alongside David.

Evidence: 1 Chronicles 9:19 calls them keepers of the gates; 1 Chronicles 12:1-6 lists them among David's mighty men; Psalm 42 heading is for the sons of Korah.

Priestly failure leads to national judgment

Summary: When priests fail to guard and teach, God removes peace and brings adversity; Adam's failure brought the curse, and Israel's failure led to the loss of the priesthood.

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 15:3-6 describes no peace and great vexations without a teaching priest; Matthew 21:42-45 shows the kingdom taken from Israel.

The church is the pillar and ground of truth and must fight for it

Summary: As the guardian of truth, the church must proclaim, adhere to, and fight for God's Word, using spiritual armor to attack the gates of hell.

Evidence: 1 Timothy 3:15; Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 6:10-18; Matthew 28:19-20.

Modern Christians have abdicated their warrior priest duties

Summary: The church has compromised with sin, advocated ungodly practices, and lost its fighting spirit, leading to societal collapse.

Evidence: Weaver lists sins advocated by professing Christians and quotes Psalm 94:16; he states the attitude is 'if the government will leave me alone, I'll leave them alone.'

Scripture References

1 Peter 2:5

Context: Believers are living stones built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices.

1 Peter 2:9

Context: Believers are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, to show forth God's praises.

Hebrews 5:4

Context: No man takes the honor of priesthood to himself; he must be called by God as Aaron was.

Revelation 1:6

Context: Christ has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father.

Revelation 5:10

Context: Christ has made us kings and priests unto our God, and we shall reign on earth.

Revelation 20:6

Context: Those in the first resurrection shall be priests of God and of Christ and reign with Him a thousand years.

Exodus 19:5-6

Context: Israel was to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation if they obeyed God's covenant.

Hebrews 13:15

Context: We are to offer the sacrifice of praise continually, the fruit of our lips giving thanks.

Romans 12:1

Context: Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Genesis 2:15

Context: God put Adam in the garden to dress it (work) and keep it (guard).

Genesis 3:23-24

Context: God drove Adam out and placed cherubim with a flaming sword to keep the way to the tree of life.

Numbers 1:53

Context: The Levites shall pitch around the tabernacle and keep the charge of it.

Numbers 3:5-10

Context: Levites are given to Aaron to keep his charge and the charge of the congregation; strangers who come near shall be put to death.

Numbers 3:32

Context: Eleazar was chief over the chiefs of the Levites who kept the charge of the sanctuary.

Numbers 3:38

Context: Moses, Aaron, and his sons kept the charge of the sanctuary; the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Numbers 18:2-7

Context: Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle; strangers shall not come nigh; the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Numbers 31:30,47

Context: A portion of the Midianite spoil was given to the Levites which kept the charge of the tabernacle.

1 Samuel 7:1

Context: Eleazar was sanctified to keep (guard) the ark of the Lord.

2 Kings 12:9

Context: The priests that kept the door put money into a chest; 'kept' is shamar.

2 Chronicles 34:9

Context: The Levites that kept the doors gathered money; 'kept' is shamar.

Historical References

Adam in the Garden of Eden

Context: Adam was placed in Eden as a priest to dress and keep the garden but failed to guard it, allowing the serpent in, and was expelled.

Levitical priesthood and tabernacle/temple guard

Context: The Levites were charged with guarding the tabernacle, protecting Aaron, and putting strangers to death; they were armed and served as sentries.

Korah's rebellion (Numbers 16)

Context: Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses; the earth swallowed them, but the children of Korah separated themselves and survived, later serving as singers and warriors.

David's mighty men

Context: The Korhites (sons of Korah) were among David's mighty warriors, skilled in archery and stone-hurling with both hands.

King Joash protected by armed Levites

Context: When Athaliah murdered the royal family, Joash was hidden in the temple and protected by armed Levites under Jehoiada the priest.

Southern Poverty Law Center

Context: Weaver mentions that the title of the message upset the Southern Poverty Law Center previously, motivating him to preach it again.

Court case in Georgia about weapons in church

Context: Weaver references a contemporary legal case about carrying weapons in church, noting that the Bible shows weapons were kept in the temple.

Important Quotes

You also as lively or living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Significance: Establishes the foundational text for the priesthood of all believers.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Significance: Reinforces the identity and purpose of believers as priests.

And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Significance: Introduces the dual priestly duties of work (abad) and guard (shamar) from the beginning.

And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Significance: Demonstrates the lethal authority given to Levites to protect the sanctuary.

I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Significance: Shows David's esteem for the role of an armed temple guard.

Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Significance: Encourages believers that even Satan cannot stand before a submitted warrior priest.

Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity? And who will rise up for me against evil doers?

Significance: The concluding challenge for God's people to rise as warrior priests.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding the Hebrew word 'shamar' (to guard/protect) change your view of the priestly role in both the Old and New Testaments?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that 'keep' in passages like Genesis 2:15 and Numbers 1:53 means to guard as a sentry.

In what ways have modern Christians abdicated their responsibility to guard and protect truth, and what are the consequences?

Context: Weaver lists societal sins advocated by professing Christians and ties it to the failure of priests in 2 Chronicles 15.

What does it mean for the church to be 'the pillar and ground of truth' (1 Timothy 3:15), and how should that shape our engagement with culture?

Context: Weaver argues the church must establish truth in every area of life and fight for it.

How do we balance the spiritual nature of our warfare (Ephesians 6) with the physical guarding role seen in the Old Testament priesthood?

Context: Weaver notes the armor of God is spiritual but also references physical guarding by Levites and weapons in the temple.

What does it look like for the church to 'attack the gates of hell' (Matthew 16:18) in practical terms today?

Context: Weaver interprets this verse as the church taking offensive action against evil.

How can we cultivate a 'warrior spirit' without becoming combative or unloving in our witness?

Context: Weaver calls for a fighting spirit but also emphasizes submission to God and righteousness.

What lessons can we learn from the sons of Korah, who separated from their father's rebellion and became mighty warriors for God?

Context: Weaver highlights their choice to leave Korah and their later role as singers and fighters.

How should the priesthood of all believers affect the way we view our daily work, worship, and responsibility to protect our families and communities?

Context: Weaver ties the dual duties of work and guard to Adam and applies them to all Christians.

Applications

Embrace your identity as a warrior priest

Summary: Recognize that as a believer, you are divinely called to both serve and guard, not just to worship passively.

Evidence: 1 Peter 2:5,9; Revelation 1:6; the entire sermon argues that Christians are priests with guarding duties.

Guard the truth diligently

Summary: As the pillar and ground of truth, the church must proclaim, adhere to, and fight for God's Word in every area of life.

Evidence: 1 Timothy 3:15; Matthew 28:19-20; Weaver says we must 'establish it squarely in every area of life.'

Expose and oppose wickedness

Summary: Do not remain silent or compromise with sin; actively expose wickedness in government, culture, and even within the church.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'we're to be exposing wickedness wherever it is found' and lists sins advocated by professing Christians.

Put on the full armor of God

Summary: Equip yourself with spiritual armor—truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, the Word of God—to stand against evil.

Evidence: Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:8; Romans 13:12; Weaver describes the armor as that of the high priest.

Take the offensive in spiritual warfare

Summary: The church is not to be defensive but to attack the gates of hell through faith, obedience, and proclaiming Christ's lordship.

Evidence: Matthew 16:18; Weaver says, 'the church even attacks hell itself.'

Submit to God and resist the devil

Summary: Victory in spiritual battle comes through submission to God; when you resist the devil in faith, he will flee.

Evidence: James 4:7; Weaver emphasizes that no enemy can stand before a submitted warrior priest.

Do not abdicate your priestly duties

Summary: Avoid the passivity that leads to societal collapse; instead, actively guard your family, church, and nation through righteous living and bold witness.

Evidence: Weaver warns that when priests fail, society collapses, citing Adam, Aaron, and the book of Judges.

Cultivate a warrior spirit

Summary: Ask God to raise up men and women who will fight spiritually, mentally, and if necessary physically for righteousness.

Evidence: Weaver prays for God to 'stir our hearts' and 'raise us up' as warrior priests.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:32:27Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:29:18Z

Clean Transcript

Warrior Priests

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

If you would, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 2. And I want to make a statement before I get started. 1 Peter chapter 2. And tell you something about the message. 1 Peter chapter 2. I'm going to be preaching a message today that I preached here probably 10 or 15 years ago. Some of you may remember part of it. I'm sure you would not remember all of it. And the reason I'm going to be preaching this message is because when I was out in California, I was asked specifically to bring this message. And since I've been asked to bring this message, I went ahead and reworked it, added a lot of stuff to it, reworded some things.
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And just the title of the message upset the Southern Poverty Law Center. So I figured if I got them upset one time I might could do so again. So maybe they would hear the whole message and maybe understand a little bit of it. So the title of the message is Warrior Priests. Warrior Priests. So look in your Bibles if you would please, to 1 Peter chapter 2 and we're going to read verse 5 and then skip down to verse 9. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 5, the Bible says, "You also as lively or living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." Now skip down to verse 9.
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"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." We're talking about warrior priests. May I point out the fact that a priest is a duly authorized minister in sacred things. In order to be a priest, one must be chosen by God. The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 4, "And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron." So a priest then is not someone by self-appointment, election of the people, or political influence or intervention. The priesthood was a divinely instituted institution. Therefore, the priests were divinely appointed and divinely called. Not only were the priests divinely called and divinely appointed, even their duties were also divinely appointed. A priest did not choose or decide his own duties.
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He could not perform any function that he desired to perform. He had to perform that which God appointed for him. For instance, a regular priest could not go into the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could do that, and he could only do it once a year. Moreover, the Levitical priest did many things around the tabernacle, which I'll show you some a little bit later, but the offerings and the sacrifices were reserved to the family and the house of Aaron.
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Now, scripture tells us very clearly in 1 Peter 2 and verse 5 that we are living stones and we're built up into a holy house or a spiritual house and a holy priesthood that we should offer up spiritual sacrifices to God by Jesus Christ. When you look at verse 9 again, he tells us that we are a chosen generation and a royal priesthood.
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Now the Apostle John also speaks of our priesthood. Let me just give you these verses. We're going to be looking at a lot momentarily. But in Revelation 1 and verse 6, John writes, "...and hath made us kings and priests unto our God and His Father. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." But note he has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father. In Revelation 5 and verse 10, again he says, "...and has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on earth." And then finally in Revelation 20 and verse 6, John said, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." So, I could multiply verses, but you understand the fact that Christians have been divinely called and divinely ordained priests unto our God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I want to point out the fact that the priesthood of the believer is not just simply
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a New Testament fact. If you would look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Exodus chapter 19 and look at verses 5 and 6, because old Israel was indeed to be a nation of priests as well. So Exodus chapter 19, if you look at verse 5 and verse 6 at what God says.
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"Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all the people, for all the earth is mine. Now watch, and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." So the priesthood that really and truly belonged to old Israel in the Old Testament in types and shadows and emblems, has now been given to the new Israel in the New Testament in truth and reality. Now, as we talk about New Testament priests, we understand that we have many duties and many responsibilities. Of course, just from the text that I read, one of our duties and one of our responsibilities is to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable unto God through Jesus Christ.
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We must also show the praises of Him that has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. But when you get to Hebrews 13 and verse 15, the Bible teaches us that we're to offer up the sacrifice of praise continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks unto His name. So once again, here as New Testament priests, we have a duty to praise and worship Him. Moreover, you remember the passage in Romans 12 verse 1, where the apostle Paul said, "I beseech you, therefore, dearly beloved, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." So we have the duty and the responsibility of presenting our bodies unto him as a living sacrifice.
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So we have the duties and the responsibilities of prayer and intercession and sacrificial living, sacrificial giving of praising God and worshiping our Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Now what I want to do today is this, I want to point out a distinct function of priests. It is not a carnal function, it is not a fleshly function, it is indeed a living, vibrant, spiritual function. What we have failed to understand is that in the Old Testament, the priests were warrior priests and the same is true in the New Testament as well. I'm going to show you that in the Old Testament, the priests had a duty of guarding and protecting as well as working as well. And it was a normal priestly duty. Now before I show you any of this in the New Testament, what I want to do is go through the Old Testament and show you the historical context.
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And I want to begin at the very beginning, I want to begin in the Garden of Eden, where God placed Adam and gave him there certain responsibilities. You must remember that Eden was originally organized as a special sanctuary, as a temple where God met His creatures that He had created in His image. And when God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, He gave him two very particular responsibilities. I want you to turn to Genesis chapter 2 and look at verse 15. Genesis 2 and verse 15.
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Watch this and I'm going to explain these terms to you. And we're going to see these terms used over and over in the Bible. So watch carefully. Genesis 2 and the Bible says in verse 15, "And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." So here are two responsibilities. He had to dress the garden and he had to keep the garden. First, Adam had to dress the garden. The Hebrew word for dress is the word Abad, which literally means to work, to serve, to labor.
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It also has reference to Levitical service. So Adam was a priest unto God and he had to work and dress and keep the garden and to do so for God's honor and God's glory. So he had to dress it, he had to work it. But secondly, Adam had to keep the garden. Now the Hebrew word for keep is the word shamar. You're going to hear this word over and over. And this word shamar is translated and used and it means to keep, to have charge of, to guard, to ward, to protect, and to act as a watchman. So Adam then had these two responsibilities. He had to dress the garden, he had to work in the garden, but he also had to guard and protect and act as a watchman. Now, we know that Adam did indeed till and dress the garden temporarily, but he failed in guarding and protecting the Garden of Eden. He allowed the serpent in, and you know what happened. Now I want you to note what happened when Adam failed in his responsibility to guard and protect the garden.
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He was defrocked and he was kicked out of the garden. Look in Genesis chapter 3, notice if you would, verses 23 and 24. And I want you to note, not only was he defrocked and kicked out of the garden, but the fact of guardianship and protectorship of the garden was given to other individuals or beings. Notice verse 23, Genesis chapter 3, "Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life." So God not only kicked Adam out of the garden, he lost his guardianship, he lost his protectorship, he lost the fact that he was now the protector of the garden. And God placed cherubims there with flaming swords to keep the way of the tree of life. Now, you can see how this works in the life of Adam.
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Secondly, I want you to see how this works in the Levites. And I want you to understand, not only from Adam, but in the Levites, the principle of guardianship. And as we go through in the Levites, you're going to see that these two principles go hand in hand: guarding. This is one of the major themes that are developed in the Bible especially in relationship to the duties of priest. So the Levitical priest not only had a responsibility to work but they had a responsibility to guard as well. So let's see that. So let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 1. Numbers chapter 1 and let's begin there with verse 53. And you do know that the Levites were given to the house of Aaron. We're going to see this over and over. They were given to the house of Aaron to be his helpers and to be, as you shall see, his protectors as well. Notice Numbers chapter 1 in verse 53. The Bible says, "But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel.
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And the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony." Now I want you to note the Bible says that the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of the testimony. Now the Hebrew word for keep, guess what? Is the word Shemar. The very same word that was given to Adam when he was to keep the garden. He was to protect it. He was to guard it. Now that very same word is used right here in relationship to the Levites. They were to keep the charge of the tabernacle. They were to guard and protect the tabernacle. As sentries guard things, as guards guard, they were to keep and protect it.
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Now the interesting thing is this. The word charge is the word Mishmaroth in the Hebrew, which literally means a sentry post or a watch or an act of custody. So God says, now here are these Levites. They're to keep the charge of the tabernacle later on the temple. That is, they were to guard and they were to protect that tabernacle. And it was a military concept because God had given them a sentry post and a sentry duty.
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Now, turn right over to Numbers chapter 3. And let's begin reading there with verse 5 and read through verse 10. Numbers 3, verse 5. Watch carefully, I'm just showing you how God has given these Levites this charge. Notice Numbers 3 verse 5, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. Are you watching? And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle, And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel to do the service of the tabernacle. And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office.
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And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Now, I want you to look, if you would please, at these sentences and these expressions. Notice if you would in verse 7, "and they shall keep his charge." Again, the word is Shamar. They're to guard and protect Aaron. His charge, their duty post, their sentry post. Look in verse 7 again, "and they shall keep the charge of the whole congregation." Skip down to verse 8. "And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel to do the service of the tabernacle." Now skip down to verse 10. "And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office, and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."
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Now, in light of this passage, and in light of what you understand about keeping the charge, guarding and protecting, and it's a sentry post. I have some questions for you. The first one is this. Whose duty was it to see that Aaron and the instruments of the tabernacle remain safe? The Levites. Well, let me ask another question. Since God has given the Levites the charge of the sentry post, whose duty was it and whose responsibility was it to put the stranger to death who came near? The Levites. Which meant, of course, those Levites then were armed. They had the power and they had the authority to execute anyone who came close to Aaron, or close to the tabernacle, or close to the temple, who were not supposed to be there.
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Now if you look at Numbers chapter 3 and verse 32, and this is going to come out a little bit later, you will need to see this. Numbers 3 verse 32, "And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary." So, note if you would, in verse 32, there were chiefs over the Levites, but there was a chief over the chief, and that happened to be Eleazar, the son of Aaron. But notice, he was chief over them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.
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It's the same word, shamar and mishmareth. They have this duty, they have this responsibility of guarding and protecting. Skip down to verse 38 if you would. "But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. For the charge of the children of Israel and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."
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Now my question is this. Since Moses and Aaron were there, and Aaron's the high priest and his sons had the duty and responsibility of the sacrifices, who do you think was around these individuals protecting them? It was the Levites. Because that had been their charge.
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Now, some of you will have marginal references in your Bible. Some of you will not, but I will tell you this. If you look in Numbers 4 and verse 3 very quickly, Numbers 4 verse 3, watch it. "From 30 years old and upward, even into 50 years old, all that entered into the host to do the work of the tabernacle, of the congregation." Skip down to verse 23. I'll tell you this when we get through looking. Verse 23, "from 30 years old and upward unto 50 years old shalt thou number them all that enter in to perform the service to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation." You're going to find the same thing in verse 30. And then you're going to find the same exact truth in Numbers chapter 8 in verse 24. If you have a marginal reading in your Bible, that is little words right in the margin, you will see the marginal reading says this, "to war the warfare of the tabernacle," to war the warfare, not just to do the work, but to war the warfare.
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So obviously, God is saying here that these Levites were warrior priests. They had to war the warfare of the tabernacle. Why? Because God had given them the duty and responsibility of protecting Aaron and of course protecting the instruments and protecting the tabernacle itself.
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Now I want you to skip to Numbers chapter 18. And I want you to see how this keeps being repeated throughout the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 18. And notice, if you would please, verses 2 through 7. Numbers chapter 18, verses 2 through 7. He says, "And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thee with thee, that they may be joined unto thee and minister unto thee. But thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. Now watch.
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We're talking about the Levites. "And they shall keep the charge and the charge of the tabernacle." That is, they shall guard and protect their sentry posts. "Only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they nor ye also die." In other words, they can do only certain things. They can't do whatever they want to do. "And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle. And a stranger shall not come nigh to you. And you shall keep the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar, that there be no wrath anymore upon the children of Israel. And I behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel, to you they are given as a gift for the Lord, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for everything of the altar, and within the veil you shall serve.
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I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift, and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Isn't that amazing? How over and over God says, that these Levites are to keep the charge. They're to guard their sentry posts. And any stranger that tried to hurt Aaron, or any of his sons, or any stranger that tries to steal any of the instruments, or any stranger that tries to just waltz in to the tabernacle, he is to be put to death, God said, and the Levites are the one who's going to be putting him to death. So the Levites then had a responsibility of guarding and protecting. They had a sentry post. It was given to them. They must guard it. They must protect Aaron. They must protect the tabernacle.
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Now, if you will turn over to Numbers chapter 31. In Numbers chapter 31, you remember that there was a war with the Midianites. And of course, the Israelites won and they captured an awful lot of booty. I'm just showing you how this is repeated over and over. Look at Numbers chapter 31 and verse 30, for instance. Numbers 31 and verse 30. Notice how God is dividing up the booty and He says this, "And the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the flocks, and all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep"—Shammar, which
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guard and protect the sentry post of the tabernacle of the Lord. And then if you'll skip down to verse 47, he'll say exactly the same thing again. "Even the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, which kept, which guarded and protected the sentry post of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses." All I'm trying to show you is this, that those Old Testament priests, those Levites, had a duty beyond what you and I would call just offering up praise and offering up sacrifices. They had a duty of guarding and protecting.
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If you would turn to 1 Samuel chapter 7, you remember in this passage, the ark had been taken by the Philistines, and the ark then was returned. And when it was returned, I want you to notice what happens. 1 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 1, "And the men of Kirjath-jearim came and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep, guard, and protect the ark of the LORD." Now that ark had just been returned.
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Do you understand what they were doing? They said, "Eleazar, until things can be worked out, this is your responsibility. You guard. You protect this ark. You don't let anyone come near it. You don't let anyone steal it. This is your sentry post. You hang on to this."
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Now, let me show you something else. Turn right over to 2 Kings chapter 12. If you follow me, you're going to understand a lot of passages in the Bible. 2 Kings chapter 12. Look at verse 9. This may surprise you. 2 Kings 12 and verse 9. "But Jehoiada the priest, he was the high priest. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar. On the right side is one cometh in the house of the Lord. And the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord." Guess what the word kept is there? It's the word Shemar. The priest who guarded and protected the door.
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Do you realize there were guards, Levitical guards, in the tabernacle and in the temple? You could not just simply waltz in. There were armed guards at the doors. Turn right over to 2 Chronicles chapter 34. 2 Chronicles, we're going forward. 2 Chronicles 34 and look at verse 9. 2 Chronicles 34 verse 9. Here it is again. 2 Chronicles 34 verse 9. "And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest"—now Hilkiah is a high priest in this instance—"when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered
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the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites, that kept the doors, had gathered of his hand of Manasseh unto Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, and of Judah, and of Benjamin, and returned to Jerusalem." Note, "and the Levites, which kept the doors." In each of these passages, the same word, Shemar, is the one that has been used of Adam, has been used of all of these Levites, they're guarding and they're protecting the doors.
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You could not just waltz into the tabernacle or the temple. Now, let me remind you of something. Do you remember Psalm 84 and verse 10, where David said, listen carefully, "I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." You know what the doorkeeper was? He was the man who stood by the door armed, guarding, making sure that no one came in except those who were supposed to be in. And so David said, "I'd rather be an armed sentry standing at the door than to dwell in the house of wickedness." And by the way, the Hebrew word for doorkeeper there is the word Shophet, which literally means to guard, or to guard the threshold, or to guard the doors. So he was a guard.
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Now, I want you to turn back to 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles chapter 23. 1 Chronicles 23, and let me begin reading there with verse 27. 1 Chronicles 23, and let's begin reading with verse 27.
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And here's the interesting thing as we read this passage. I want you to note, as David lists the duties of these priests, he lists first what you and I think of when we think of normal priestly duties. But then he adds something. And it's also normal, but we just do not think of it. Notice if you would, verse 27. 1 Chronicles 23, "for by the last words of David, the Levites were numbered from 20 years old and above, because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord in the courts and in the chambers and in purifying all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God. So here what the Levites did now, both for the showbread and for the fine flour for the meat offering and for the unleavened cakes and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried in all manner of measure and size, and to stand every morning to thank
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and to praise the Lord, and likewise and even, and to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths and the new moons and the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the Lord, watch, and that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brethren, in the service of the house of the Lord." Yes, yes, the Levites had a lot of responsibilities. But he said, besides singing praise and giving praise to God, and having to deal with the measures of these meal offerings, they had to keep the charge of the tabernacle, and keep the charge of Aaron, and keep the charge of the holy place.
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They had the duty and responsibility of guarding and protecting. Let me show you how much so. Go back in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles. And look in chapter 23 again at verses 6 and 8. 2 Chronicles chapter 23. And let's look at verse 6. Watch carefully. 2 Chronicles 23, verse 6. In this passage, King Joash is being protected. You remember his grandmother Athaliah had murdered all of her grandchildren except Joash, and he was taken and hidden in the temple. So notice 2 Chronicles 23, verse 6.
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Here's what the high priest says. "But let none come into the house of the Lord, save the priests, and they that minister the Levites. They shall go in, for they are holy. But all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord, that is on the outside watch. And the Levites shall compass the king round about every man with his weapons in his hand. And whosoever else cometh in the house, he shall be put to death. But be ye with the king when he cometh in and when he goeth out." Did you see that? Here's Joash, and he's in the temple. And what does the high priest do? He surrounds him with these Levites. And he says, if anybody else comes into the temple, kill them.
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Who had the responsibility of guarding and protecting? It was the Levites.
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Now, since we're in 2 Chronicles chapter 23, let me show you something that a lot of people have not thought of. I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but there is a court case now in the state of Georgia about having weapons in church. In fact, it's being appealed to the Supreme Court. But would it surprise you to find out that in the Bible, they always kept weapons in church or in the temple? Look in your Bibles. Here it is, 2 Chronicles 23 verse 9.
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"Moreover, Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears and bucklers and shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of God. And he sent all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple and by the king roundabout." Where were all these weapons kept? In the temple, in the house of God.
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Now, I think if you've been listening and if you've been following me, there have been a sufficient number of scriptures to prove to you that the Levites had a duty of guarding and protecting and that they were armed and that they used those arms as well. Now, I'm telling you that so that you can understand something in the New Testament. If you don't understand this principle, you're not going to understand some verses in the New Testament.
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For instance, turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. And look if you would please at verse 1. Acts 4 and verse 1. Acts 4, verse 1. All right, here we go. Acts 4, verse 1. "And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them." Now, we know who the priests were. And we know who the Sadducees were, but who's the captain of the temple? Look in Acts chapter 5 and verse 24. Acts 5 and verse 24. Here it is, Acts 5 verse 24. "Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priest heard these things, they doubted them whereunto this would grow." We know the high priest, but who's the captain of the temple? Look, if you would please, down to verse 26. "Then went the captain with the officers." Whoa, whoa, back up. Here's the captain with some officers and brought them without violence.
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Why? For they feared the people lest they should be stoned. The only reason they didn't use violence is they were outnumbered and they were afraid. But notice, here's the captain with the officers. Wow. Skip back in your Bible, turn back to Luke chapter 22. Luke 22. And look if you would please at verse 4. Luke 22 and verse 4. Talking about Christ, Luke 22 verse 4. Judas has gone his way, he is about to betray Christ. "And he went his way and communed with the chief priests and the captains," plural, "how he might betray him unto them." Skip down to verse 52 in the same chapter. Luke 22 and verse 52. "Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple," plural, "and the elders which were coming to him, that you come out as against a thief with swords and staves." So the question is this, we know who the Sadducees were, we know who the Pharisees were, we know who the Herodians were, we know who the chief priests were, and we know who the high priest is, but who in the world are all these captains of the temple, and where in the world
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did they come from, and all these officers under them? Well, if you're going to understand that, you have to turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 16 very quickly. Acts chapter 16. Let me just show you a word that is used over and over. Acts chapter 16. Notice if you would please, verse 20. One word, the magistrates. Notice if you would, verse 20, Acts 16. "And brought them unto the magistrates." Wow. Look in verse 22. "And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates ran off their clothes." Verse 35. "And when it was day, the magistrates," verse 36, "The magistrates have sent to let you go." Watch verse 38. "And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates." Here the word magistrates is used five times.
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Now we're still trying to find out who these captains of the temple were. Let me tell you something about the word magistrates. The Greek word for magistrates is the word strategos. Strategos is a military term and it is where we derive our English word strategy. The word strategos is from the word strata. Strata means arming. So here these magistrates, the word that is used is strategos. If you were to take a Greek lexicon, and look up the word Strategos, here's what you will find. Listen carefully. It means a general, a governor, a commandant, a military officer, a captain of the temple, who was the commander of the Levites, who kept and guarded the temple. Do you know who the captains of the temple were? They were these Levites that were brought over from the Old Testament. They still were guarding the temple in the New Testament.
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Their office had become corrupted. That is true. But they were still there. Now, remember this. Remember if you would, I told you I was going to call your attention to it again. Numbers 3 and verse 32. You don't have to turn there, but let me just read it to you. "And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites who have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary." That's why when these captains went out usually the high priest or some priest that was over them went out with them because these were the Levites. They were the captains of the temple in the New Testament. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 42. Psalm 42. And instead of reading the Psalm, we're just going to look at the heading of Psalm 42. Okay? You will understand why just momentarily. Look at the heading of Psalm 42 in your Bibles. Here's what it says. "To the chief musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah."
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You see it? It's before verse 1. Just the heading. If you have headings in your Bible, it says "To the chief musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah." Now, this Psalm, Psalm 42, was written for the sons of Korah to sing. The Korahites, or Korhites as they're sometimes called, were Levitical singers.
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Now let me ask you a question. Does anyone know who Korah was? Do you remember? You don't have to turn there, but in Numbers 16, there are three men who raised up in rebellion against Moses, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And do you remember in Numbers chapter 16? Moses was so agitated at what they were doing. He prayed, "Lord God let a new thing happen. Let the earth open up and swallow them and let them go down alive into the pit."
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And then he warned everybody. He said, "Separate yourselves from Korah and his company and Dathan and Abiram. Separate yourselves." You remember the 250 princes that followed them. God sent fire and consumed them. But then the earth opened up and swallowed Korah and Dathan and Abiram and their families. And they went down alive into the pit. But let me read to you Numbers 26 verses 10 and 11. Listen carefully. "And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up with Korah when that company died. What time the fire devoured the 250 men, and they became a sign, notwithstanding, the children of Korah died not." So when Moses said, "separate yourselves," the children of Korah left their father.
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They got away from him in his rebellion, and they did not die with him. And so they were still Levites. Korah was a Levite as well. But now this psalm is dedicated to them and they are to sing this psalm.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Chronicles chapter 9. 1 Chronicles chapter 9. And look if you would at verse 19. 1 Chronicles chapter 9 and verse 19. It may surprise you to find what these sons of Korah could do. They were singers, that is for sure. But in 1 Chronicles 9 and verse 19, watch this verse carefully. 1 Chronicles 9, verse 19, here it is. "And Shallum, the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle and their fathers being over the host of the Lord were keepers of the entry."
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What does that tell us? That tells us that these Korahites were doorkeepers. They were threshold keepers. They were guards in the tabernacle and the temple. And notice if you would, the Bible says their fathers were being over the host of the Lord. The word host refers to an army. So these guys were warriors, they were fighters, they were soldiers, and yet they were priests. Wow! These Levites were warrior priests, they fought and they protected.
#57 | 44:32 to 45:09 | cleaned
Now, I want you to turn right over to 1 Chronicles chapter 12, and let me show you something. Everyone knows how mighty a warrior David was. And you remember David had his mighty men. And a number of them are listed for us in 1 Chronicles chapter 12. But let me show you verses 1 and 2 first. 1 Chronicles 12 verses 1 and 2. Watch this. "Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men helpers of the war. And they were armed with bows and could use both the right hand and the left hand in hurling stones and shooting arrows. Out of a bow even Saul's brethren of Benjamin." So here were men that were so expert at warfare, they could shoot up with a bow right-handed or left-handed. It didn't matter. They could hurl stones right-handed or left-handed. These men were expert in war.
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Well, who were some of them? Well, skip down to verse 6. Watch carefully. A lot of them named, but here's Elkanah, Jesiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, the what? The Korhites, which were the sons of Korah. So here these Levites, who helped David fight, were some of his mighty men. Wow!
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Now let me show you something. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 15. 2 Chronicles chapter 15, and I'm going to tie this together for you just momentarily. But you understand what happened to Adam when he abdicated his priesthood and failed to protect the garden. I want you to see from this passage what happens when priests fail to guard and protect and do their duty and their responsibility. Look in 2 Chronicles chapter 15 and let's begin with verse 3. Watch closely.
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"Now for a long time Israel had been without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn to the Lord God of Israel and sought Him, He was found to them. Watch carefully. In those times"—the those times refers back to verse 3, when Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law. How could they be without the true God? Because they were without His law. How could they be without His law? There was no teaching priest. Watch carefully. "But in those times," that is when they were without God's law, "in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the country and nation, was destroyed of nation and city of city for God did vex them with all adversity."
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Do you realize when Adam failed to protect the garden, it brought death. When the Levites fail to guard and protect and to teach and preach, it brought death. I hope you're putting two and two together. And you're trying to figure out what is happening in our country today. All through the Bible, the priests not only praised and worshipped and glorified God, but they guarded and protected. I want you to see this in a Christian context. When Adam apostatized from his duties and responsibilities, God defrocked him of his priesthood. When old Israel apostatized and rejected the Son of God, God defrocked them and removed the priesthood from them. They have no priesthood today.
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If you'll look in your Bibles, very quickly, Matthew 21, I could quote it, but look what our Lord said. Matthew chapter 21, beginning there with verse 42. He's been teaching, He's been preaching, and brother, He lays it on the line. Watch Matthew 21. Look what He tells the people in His day. He's talking to the Jews. Look what He says. Matthew chapter 21, verse 42. "Jesus said unto them, Did you never read in scriptures the stone which the builders rejected?" That's old Israel.
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"The same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore saying to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof." Watch verse 45. "And when the chief priests and the Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them." They got that right. What did our Lord say? You lost it. You apostatized. You rejected my son. My son is the headstone of the corner.
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I'm taking everything from you. And I'm giving it to a nation that will bring forth the fruits thereof. So the priesthood then has been given to the people of the New Covenant, the New Testament, who are the true Israel of God. As sons of God through Jesus Christ, as I've read earlier, we've now been made priests and kings under our God. Therefore, it is our responsibility to lead the world in righteousness and obedience and faith. It is our responsibility to protect ourselves and others by holy, righteous, and godly living in obedience to our King, Jesus Christ. It's our responsibility to declare His sovereignty and His majesty. In fact, the truth of the matter is, we've been given a commission to do this.
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You remember Matthew 28, 19, and 20? Where our Lord said, "Go you therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Listen carefully. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have taught you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world." Do you realize that we have been given guardianship and protectorship of the truth?
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Turn in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Timothy chapter 3 and look at verse 15. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. Watch what the Apostle Paul tells us. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Watch verse 15. Very, very important. Here it is. 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. The Apostle Paul writes Timothy and he says, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of truth." What is the church of the living God? It is the pillar and the ground of truth. Do you realize we, the people of God, have the infallible, inerrant, inspired, and inexhaustible Word of God.
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We therefore must be faithful in proclaiming it, and making disciples, and teaching them all things whatsoever He's commanded us to observe. And the way to protect and guard the truth is to establish it squarely in every area of life. We may not hide it, rather we must declare it, we must abide by it, we must adhere to it, we must insist upon it, and we must fight for it. Because it is God's truth. Now you can ask the question, well how do we fight?
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If you were to go, and don't turn there, but if you were to go to Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10 through 18, guess what? He lists all the armor that we need. The helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
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Now let me tell you something. This may surprise you. But I have heard preachers in my lifetime, when they got to Ephesians chapter 6, would try to describe that armament as being the armament of a Roman soldier. And that's not true. And we're not going to take time to do it today, but if you were to take the time to read Exodus chapter 28, Isaiah 59 verses 17 through 21, and then Isaiah 61 and verse 10, you will find that when the Apostle Paul wrote Ephesians chapter 6, the armor that he had in mind was the armor of God's holy warrior, the armor of the great high priest.
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It's described for us in the scripture. The Bible tells us further about this armor. In 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 8, God says, "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for our helmet the hope of salvation." In Romans 13 and verse 12, the apostle writes, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." So God's armor is called the armor of light.
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Do you realize that the Bible uses very vivid images depicting the Lord Jesus Christ leading an army of warrior priests. All you have to do is read Psalm 110 or even more simply Revelation 17 and verse 14 where the Bible says concerning His enemies, "These shall make war with the Lamb," notice carefully, "these shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for He is Lord of lords and King of kings and they that are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful." So Jesus Christ is leading an army of warrior priests.
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Now, let me remind you of another passage. Do you remember Matthew 16 and verse 18? In that passage, our Lord asked his disciples, "Whom do men say that I, the son of man, am?" Well, they responded, "Some say that you're Jeremiah or Isaiah, one of the prophets." But then he asked, "Whom say ye that I am?" And Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And here's what our Lord said in Matthew 16 and verse 18. Listen carefully. He said, "And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter." The word Peter means a rock. "Thou art Peter. And upon this rock," that is his confession, "Upon this rock I will build my church," listen, "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Now wait a minute. Upon this rock, upon this confession that I am the Christ, I am the Messiah, I am the Son of God, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
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Let me ask you a question. If the church is at the gates of hell, who is attacking whom? It's the church attacking hell. Gates in the Bible speak of authority and power. And so what is the church doing? Upon the confession that Jesus Christ is God, Jesus Christ is the Messiah, Jesus Christ is the sovereign God of heaven and earth, the church even attacks hell itself. You want to know what has happened in our country?
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Like Adam, like the old Levitical priest, we've abdicated our responsibilities and our duties, and we want to sit idly by and do nothing. And the attitude of the average Christian is this, if the government will leave me alone, I'll leave them alone. Do you realize we're to be exposing wickedness wherever it is found? And you do not have to look far in any government to find wickedness. You don't have to look far to find corruption. You don't have to look far to find it even from yourself and in most churches. Do you realize as God's warrior priests, we are to attack and expose wickedness wherever we find it?
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to where to never surrender, never give in, never give up, never give out. Do you understand that according to God's Word, there is no enemy that can stand before God's warrior priests, when that warrior priest stands in faith, in obedience, in submission to God. Listen to James 4 verse 7. God says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you." Not even Satan himself can stand before a warrior priest who stands in submission to God. What has happened? We've abdicated our responsibilities. We've abdicated our duties. We have to understand that when warrior priests abdicate those duties and responsibilities, it causes the downfall of society. It causes the death of their kindred. In failing to do our duties, the earth is crushed under the judgment of God. Adam failed to protect his wife and the earth was cursed. Aaron, the high priest, failed to protect while Moses was in a mountain receiving the commandments of God. And even Aaron built a golden calf.
#76 | 58:23 to 59:54 | cleaned
And 3,000 died because of that. Just read the book of Judges and see how many are killed over and over and over. Why? Because no one guards and no one protects. Society is collapsing. Our nation is being destroyed because we've lost a fighting warrior spirit. Whenever the Levites and the priests fail in their role as guardians, society always collapses and falls into sin and rebellion. We have so compromised the truth of God's Word today as professing Christians, listen carefully, I'm not talking about us particularly, but look at the churches. Look at the churches that profess to be Christian and yet they are advocating premarital sex, extramarital affairs, therapeutic divorce, compassionate abortion, sodomy, benevolent socialism, governmental tyranny, along with legalized fraud and theft. I mean, if professing Christians advocate that, what would the world advocate? What would the wicked advocate?
#77 | 59:55 to 1:01:18 | cleaned
The question that God asked in Psalm 94 and verse 16 is this. "Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity? And who will rise up for me against evil doers?" It should be God's warrior priests. And you know what we need in this country? We need a fresh reviving and a fresh understanding of our responsibilities. And we need for God to raise up men and women who know how to fight. Can fight spiritually, mentally, emotionally, if need be physically, but we need the warrior spirit that God gave from His very foundation of creation to Adam, to the Levites, and now to us. The question is, are we warrior priests? Are we willing to stand and fight for truth and righteousness and the principles of the Word of God? May God give us warrior priests.
#78 | 1:01:24 to 1:02:44 | cleaned
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee. We ask you for your grace and for your mercy and your kindness and your goodness. Stir our hearts, stir our spirits, raise us up. As the wicked fight for wickedness and sin, help us fight, Father, for righteousness and holiness and obedience. Help us to uphold the banner and the standard of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whom we confess and acknowledge as God of gods, King of kings and Lord of lords, to whom belongs all glory and all praise. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:32:27Z

Warrior Priests

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver preaches that believers are called to be warrior priests, a role rooted in the Old Testament Levitical priesthood and fulfilled in the New Testament church. He traces the dual duties of priests—to work (serve) and to guard (protect)—from Adam through the Levites to Christians today. The sermon argues that the church has abdicated its responsibility to guard truth and fight wickedness, leading to societal collapse, and calls for a revival of the warrior spirit among God's people.

Introduction: The Priesthood of Believers

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 2:5

"You also as lively or living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

Now skip down to verse 9.

The Divine Institution of the Priesthood

He explains that priests are divinely chosen, appointed, and given specific duties, not self-appointed or elected, using Hebrews 5:4 and the Levitical example.

New Testament Confirmation of Believers as Priests

Weaver cites Revelation 1:6, 5:10, and 20:6 to show that Christians are made kings and priests unto God, and notes that this priesthood was foreshadowed in Israel (Exodus 19:5-6).

Now the Apostle John also speaks of our priesthood. Let me just give you these verses. We're going to be looking at a lot momentarily. But in Revelation 1 and verse 6, John writes,

Scripture Reading — Revelation 1:6

"...and hath made us kings and priests unto our God and His Father. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

Scripture Reading — Exodus 19:5-6

"Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all the people, for all the earth is mine. Now watch, and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel."

Priestly Duties: Sacrifice, Praise, and Living Sacrifice

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:15

continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks

So we have the duties and the responsibilities of prayer and intercession and sacrificial living, sacrificial giving of praising God and worshiping our Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Overlooked Duty: Guarding and Protecting

Watch this and I'm going to explain these terms to you. And we're going to see these terms used over and over in the Bible. So watch carefully. Genesis 2 and the Bible says in verse 15,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 2:15

"And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

Adam's Failure and the Cherubim Guard

Adam failed to guard the garden, allowing the serpent in, and was expelled. God placed cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:23-24).

Scripture Reading — Genesis 3:23-24

"Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life."

The Levites as Warrior Priests

Scripture Reading — Numbers 3:5-10

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him. Are you watching? And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle, And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel to do the service of the tabernacle. And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office.

Now if you look at Numbers chapter 3 and verse 32, and this is going to come out a little bit later, you will need to see this. Numbers 3 verse 32,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 3:32

"And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary."

Scripture Reading — Numbers 3:32

"But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. For the charge of the children of Israel and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death."

Armed Guards in the Temple and the Captain of the Temple

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 7:1

"And the men of Kirjath-jearim came and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep, guard, and protect the ark of the LORD."

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 12:9

"But Jehoiada the priest, he was the high priest. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar. On the right side is one cometh in the house of the Lord. And the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord."

Guess what the word kept is there? It's the word Shemar. The priest who guarded and protected the door.

Now, I want you to turn back to 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles chapter 23. 1 Chronicles 23, and let me begin reading there with verse 27. 1 Chronicles 23, and let's begin reading with verse 27.

The Sons of Korah: Singers and Warriors

Weaver highlights that the sons of Korah, known as Levitical singers, were also keepers of the gates and mighty warriors who fought alongside David (1 Chronicles 9:19; 12:1-6).

Consequences of Priestly Failure and the Transfer of Priesthood

The Church as Warrior Priests Today

Warrior Priests

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	G0Z3FSWF8oc
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Authority
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-04-08
Dictation Name
Book	Book 008: Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13 — Chapter 21
Source Timed Segments	79

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Priesthood of Believers: Weaver introduces the message 'Warrior Priests' and reads 1 Peter 2:5,9, establishing that Christians are a holy and royal priesthood called to offer spiritual sacrifices and show forth God's praises.
The Divine Institution of the Priesthood: He explains that priests are divinely chosen, appointed, and given specific duties, not self-appointed or elected, using Hebrews 5:4 and the Levitical example.
New Testament Confirmation of Believers as Priests: Weaver cites Revelation 1:6, 5:10, and 20:6 to show that Christians are made kings and priests unto God, and notes that this priesthood was foreshadowed in Israel (Exodus 19:5-6).
Priestly Duties: Sacrifice, Praise, and Living Sacrifice: He outlines New Testament priestly duties: offering spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5), showing praises (1 Peter 2:9), offering the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15), and presenting bodies as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).
The Overlooked Duty: Guarding and Protecting: Weaver introduces the main thesis: priests in both testaments had a duty to guard and protect, not just to worship. He begins with Adam in Eden, who was to 'dress' (work) and 'keep' (guard) the garden (Genesis 2:15).
Adam's Failure and the Cherubim Guard: Adam failed to guard the garden, allowing the serpent in, and was expelled. God placed cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:23-24).
The Levites as Warrior Priests: Weaver extensively shows from Numbers, 1 Chronicles, and other passages that the Levites were charged to 'keep' (shamar) the tabernacle, meaning to guard and protect it as a sentry post, armed and authorized to put strangers to death.
Armed Guards in the Temple and the Captain of the Temple: He demonstrates that Levites served as armed doorkeepers and guards in the temple (2 Kings 12:9; 2 Chronicles 34:9; Psalm 84:10). In the New Testament, the 'captain of the temple' (strategos) was the commander of these Levitical guards.
The Sons of Korah: Singers and Warriors: Weaver highlights that the sons of Korah, known as Levitical singers, were also keepers of the gates and mighty warriors who fought alongside David (1 Chronicles 9:19; 12:1-6).
Consequences of Priestly Failure and the Transfer of Priesthood: When priests fail to guard and teach, society collapses (2 Chronicles 15:3-6). Israel lost the priesthood for rejecting Christ (Matthew 21:42-45), and it was given to the New Testament church, which is the pillar and ground of truth (1 Timothy 3:15).
The Church as Warrior Priests Today: Believers are called to fight for truth using spiritual armor (Ephesians 6), attack the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18), expose wickedness, and never surrender. The sermon ends with a call for God to raise up warrior priests.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Priests are divinely appointed, not self-appointed

The priesthood is a divine institution; no one takes the honor upon himself but must be called by God, as Aaron was.

Hebrews 5:4 is cited: 'And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron.'

The Hebrew word 'shamar' proves the guarding duty of priests

The word 'keep' in key passages means to guard, protect, and act as a watchman, indicating a military sentry role for priests.

Genesis 2:15 uses 'shamar' for Adam; Numbers 1:53, 3:7-8, 18:2-7 use it for Levites; 1 Samuel 7:1 uses it for guarding the ark.

Levites were armed and authorized to use lethal force

God commanded Levites to put to death any stranger who came near the tabernacle, implying they were armed and had the authority to execute.

Numbers 3:10, 3:38, 18:7 state the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death; 2 Chronicles 23:6-9 shows armed Levites with weapons from the temple.

The 'captain of the temple' in the New Testament was a Levitical military commander

The Greek word 'strategos' (magistrate/captain) refers to the commander of the Levites who guarded the temple, showing continuity of the warrior priest role.

Acts 4:1, 5:24-26 mention the captain of the temple; Acts 16:20-38 uses 'strategos' for magistrates; the lexicon definition is explained.

The sons of Korah exemplify the warrior priest

The Korahites were both Levitical singers and mighty warriors, serving as doorkeepers and fighting alongside David.

1 Chronicles 9:19 calls them keepers of the gates; 1 Chronicles 12:1-6 lists them among David's mighty men; Psalm 42 heading is for the sons of Korah.

Priestly failure leads to national judgment

When priests fail to guard and teach, God removes peace and brings adversity; Adam's failure brought the curse, and Israel's failure led to the loss of the priesthood.

2 Chronicles 15:3-6 describes no peace and great vexations without a teaching priest; Matthew 21:42-45 shows the kingdom taken from Israel.

The church is the pillar and ground of truth and must fight for it

As the guardian of truth, the church must proclaim, adhere to, and fight for God's Word, using spiritual armor to attack the gates of hell.

1 Timothy 3:15; Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 6:10-18; Matthew 28:19-20.

Modern Christians have abdicated their warrior priest duties

The church has compromised with sin, advocated ungodly practices, and lost its fighting spirit, leading to societal collapse.

Weaver lists sins advocated by professing Christians and quotes Psalm 94:16; he states the attitude is 'if the government will leave me alone, I'll leave them alone.'

Scripture References

1 Peter 2:5: Believers are living stones built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices.
1 Peter 2:9: Believers are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, to show forth God's praises.
Hebrews 5:4: No man takes the honor of priesthood to himself; he must be called by God as Aaron was.
Revelation 1:6: Christ has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father.
Revelation 5:10: Christ has made us kings and priests unto our God, and we shall reign on earth.
Revelation 20:6: Those in the first resurrection shall be priests of God and of Christ and reign with Him a thousand years.
Exodus 19:5-6: Israel was to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation if they obeyed God's covenant.
Hebrews 13:15: We are to offer the sacrifice of praise continually, the fruit of our lips giving thanks.
Romans 12:1: Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Genesis 2:15: God put Adam in the garden to dress it (work) and keep it (guard).
Genesis 3:23-24: God drove Adam out and placed cherubim with a flaming sword to keep the way to the tree of life.
Numbers 1:53: The Levites shall pitch around the tabernacle and keep the charge of it.
Numbers 3:5-10: Levites are given to Aaron to keep his charge and the charge of the congregation; strangers who come near shall be put to death.
Numbers 3:32: Eleazar was chief over the chiefs of the Levites who kept the charge of the sanctuary.
Numbers 3:38: Moses, Aaron, and his sons kept the charge of the sanctuary; the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
Numbers 18:2-7: Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle; strangers shall not come nigh; the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
Numbers 31:30,47: A portion of the Midianite spoil was given to the Levites which kept the charge of the tabernacle.
1 Samuel 7:1: Eleazar was sanctified to keep (guard) the ark of the Lord.
2 Kings 12:9: The priests that kept the door put money into a chest; 'kept' is shamar.
2 Chronicles 34:9: The Levites that kept the doors gathered money; 'kept' is shamar.

Historical References

Adam in the Garden of Eden: Adam was placed in Eden as a priest to dress and keep the garden but failed to guard it, allowing the serpent in, and was expelled.
Levitical priesthood and tabernacle/temple guard: The Levites were charged with guarding the tabernacle, protecting Aaron, and putting strangers to death; they were armed and served as sentries.
Korah's rebellion (Numbers 16): Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against Moses; the earth swallowed them, but the children of Korah separated themselves and survived, later serving as singers and warriors.
David's mighty men: The Korhites (sons of Korah) were among David's mighty warriors, skilled in archery and stone-hurling with both hands.
King Joash protected by armed Levites: When Athaliah murdered the royal family, Joash was hidden in the temple and protected by armed Levites under Jehoiada the priest.
Southern Poverty Law Center: Weaver mentions that the title of the message upset the Southern Poverty Law Center previously, motivating him to preach it again.
Court case in Georgia about weapons in church: Weaver references a contemporary legal case about carrying weapons in church, noting that the Bible shows weapons were kept in the temple.

Important Quotes

You also as lively or living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Establishes the foundational text for the priesthood of all believers.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Reinforces the identity and purpose of believers as priests.

And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Introduces the dual priestly duties of work (abad) and guard (shamar) from the beginning.

And the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

Demonstrates the lethal authority given to Levites to protect the sanctuary.

I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Shows David's esteem for the role of an armed temple guard.

Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Encourages believers that even Satan cannot stand before a submitted warrior priest.

Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity? And who will rise up for me against evil doers?

The concluding challenge for God's people to rise as warrior priests.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does understanding the Hebrew word 'shamar' (to guard/protect) change your view of the priestly role in both the Old and New Testaments?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that 'keep' in passages like Genesis 2:15 and Numbers 1:53 means to guard as a sentry.

[Question]

In what ways have modern Christians abdicated their responsibility to guard and protect truth, and what are the consequences?

[Context]

Weaver lists societal sins advocated by professing Christians and ties it to the failure of priests in 2 Chronicles 15.

[Question]

What does it mean for the church to be 'the pillar and ground of truth' (1 Timothy 3:15), and how should that shape our engagement with culture?

[Context]

Weaver argues the church must establish truth in every area of life and fight for it.

[Question]

How do we balance the spiritual nature of our warfare (Ephesians 6) with the physical guarding role seen in the Old Testament priesthood?

[Context]

Weaver notes the armor of God is spiritual but also references physical guarding by Levites and weapons in the temple.

[Question]

What does it look like for the church to 'attack the gates of hell' (Matthew 16:18) in practical terms today?

[Context]

Weaver interprets this verse as the church taking offensive action against evil.

[Question]

How can we cultivate a 'warrior spirit' without becoming combative or unloving in our witness?

[Context]

Weaver calls for a fighting spirit but also emphasizes submission to God and righteousness.

[Question]

What lessons can we learn from the sons of Korah, who separated from their father's rebellion and became mighty warriors for God?

[Context]

Weaver highlights their choice to leave Korah and their later role as singers and fighters.

[Question]

How should the priesthood of all believers affect the way we view our daily work, worship, and responsibility to protect our families and communities?

[Context]

Weaver ties the dual duties of work and guard to Adam and applies them to all Christians.

Applications

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