Apocalypse # 10 "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one". Jesus

      When Jesus made this statement it was not simply to his apostles, but to all of those who would have to live through the apocalypse. What he has said, is that we must defend ourselves. Not turn the other cheek, not allow our enemies to feast upon our flesh, or cut us down. In the same statement he warns to have your purse, meaning the wealth to support yourself. Obviously not enough to buy Milwaukee, but enough to create a secure environment. This also implies provisions and all it takes to sustain life. He is in line with all the Prophets who came before. We must be prepared for a few years of the breakdown of international trade and the supply chain. The possibility for crop failures and famine is also considered, so a few years of food stored is sensible.
     Einstein has been quoted as saying that world war 4 will be fought with clubs, that is; after the destruction of world war 3,  man will be more cave man than the humanity we have been used to. I should rather side with the statement made by Jesus. Make sure you have a sword (in case the bullets run out), which would also imply that you have some idea of how to use it. We certainly hope that society will not break down. We hope there will be no famine, no civil disorder, no breaking down of the peace, no pointless warfare, no rule by warlords, no wars to nowhere, no highways to nowhere, no over taxation, no forced medication, no premeditated elimination of undesired types, and certainly no cannibalism or piracy.
     As absurd as the above list sounds, we have had all these things happen in the world we know in the last 50 years. Somalia's breakdown of government, its rise of warlords, and the pirates who finance them, its cruel rule of the strongest, its rampant ignorance, its support from outside sources which stave off starvation of the entire populace, its role as a puppet in the cold war, sometimes on the side of the U.S.S.R., sometimes on the side of the U.S.A, have left it an apocalyptic ruin.
     Who can say that the entire world will be pulled down by the apocalypse, though that too has been prophesied. Possibly it will just be the lands mentioned in the Bible by the prophets who prophesied the events. As we see that what happens in Iran (Persia) has an influence upon Europe, Japan and the United States, we can see that we are not insulated from what happens in the Biblical lands.
     What is most clear is that we of the Euro-American alliance have seen casualties from conflict in the lands of the Bible. We have spent vast sums to preserve our interests. We see that our influence has eroded away, and that violent apocalyptic voices have been raised. As we speak, a Sunni conspiracy to defeat the reign of Shiite self rule is being unfolded as the Sunni's seek to take back their sphere of influence. Murder in the name of religion, and greed as the Sunni's western Allies support the effort to defeat the crazed leaders of the Shiite governments, cannot lead to good.
     These are the events that make for Apocalyptic conditions, where mans inhumanity to man, can be neatly explained away. Were religious intolerance is used as an excuse for murder. Where every side is wrong, Sunni, Shiite, Christian, Jew, Oil company magnates, and arms dealers. Every religion looking for an excuse to suppress and torment everyone else. The religion of Mammon is mostly concerned for its stockholders, read greed, the weapons manufacturers for the same; and everyone seems to love to hate, and kill.
      When thousands of body parts where stacked into hills of right hands here, heads over there, feet behind you and left hands over there, was this genocide? Was this the Apocalypse? Were the events in the Balkans genocide? Or in Stalin's Russia, or Hitlers Germany, or Australia, or Turkey, Iran before the revolution or after the revolution. I already tire of the list which could go on, and all this has happened since the onset of the twentieth century.
     Since the thirty years war, we have been in the Apocalypse. Events have grown worse and worse. The scale of the harm and the greed has been multiplied beyond proportional growth of the population from then to now. These are the wars of religion, of greed, of contempt of the rights of man. Freedom, is the strictest doctrine of God. Man must have free will to live by the laws of God, or be left to the forces of nature. For those who embrace the law and break it, there are consequences, but Jesus did come to forgives us the role of Gods executioner, so men can be judged by God, when the time comes. They can be policed by other men when their crimes infringe on society, but government cannot be allowed free reign. The individual must be left to pursue happiness, the which of no Government can define.
     Which leaves us to the failure of the State, and the potential breakdown of society, the possible need of the individual to defend his personal rights.
     The four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are defined as, Pestilence (or conquest,  like the failed plan for Iraq ), War, Famine, and Death. As we have stated in earlier articles, the Apocalypse is being brought about by mankind's poor choices and actions. Jesus goes further to say that the four elements will rise against us. We have had the waters drown countless numbers around the world, the fires rage through forests engulfing all whether it be of man or nature, the air poisoned, with allergies on the rise and a breakdown of the autoimmune systems of man and animals alike, and the Earth itself, acting with uncontrollable destructive force, and the mutations of bacteria.
     The rationalists say this is coincidence, though the massive increase of all these occurances is abnormal, and most of the problem lies with the hand of man.
     For greed, those who rule have abandoned righteousness. The beast is presently numbering everyone, are we not livestock, each with a capability to raise wealth for the few who rule. Abuse of power is leading to the destruction of everything. When that Commissar ordered the dumping of chemicals, the mass grave, and the park built over it, the draining of massive lakes, the destruction of the environment. When the local power company ordered the building of the nuclear power plant, because it was so profitable, and enforced policies of energy dependence instead of natural harnessing of freely occurring sources of energy, this dependence creating a new form of feudalism; he had no concern for the masses he would enslave.
     The Apocalypse is mostly to the blame of evil men, but we cannot forget that this is because the Apocalypse was considered to be the evilest time in history. So if for whatever reason there is a bad period in civilizations ability to provide for its peoples let us prepare. As Jesus has said, sell your cloak and buy a sword.
     If the bullets run out, knowledge of the use of edged weapons can be an essential. As is biblical law very clear, you should not seek to murder, or harm your fellow humanity, but you can defend yourself. Let us now use this discussion as an excuse to delve into the subject of the edged weapon.

  
      As we can see they come in all shapes and sizes, but are they useful? What rules are there if any for the use of an edged weapon? Which would be the best one to own? In many cases you will be stuck with whatever you can find. Something that offers hand protection is a good thing. There are numerous books on the sword, on the knife and knife fighting. There is the Israeli, the US marine, SF, SAS techniques. There are methods offered by the Chinese, the Japanese and on and on.
     The Codex Wallerstein, an ancient Germanic text on the subject opens the doorway to the lost western marshal art of the edged weapon, which offers techniques including grappling and a variety of forms. There are numerous video's on youtube which demonstrate attempts to recreate these practices.
    The Napoleonic wars see the sword go into decline with the eradication of nobility, but still offers a window into the continued use of the sword. The ancient Romans, so secretive about their military techniques left no found record of their use of the sword. The Americans have a long tradition of being terrible at the sword and with edged weapons, but great with a shotgun.
     General George S. Patton Jr.'s Manual on the Sword is a twentieth century text which though interesting leaves a lot to be desired in technique. What Patton had decided was that the Sabre was better at breaking bones or to be used as a lance than anything else. In his time the use of the sword was long forgotten.

Sabre designed by G.S.Patton Jr.

     As you can see by his design it is mostly for piercing. The thrust is all important in the use of the sword, but the slash, though less damaging, can knock some sense into an enemy and force him to have to reconsider his actions and even be used to break bones. A quick slash to each temple will usually shock and awe and end the fight. You should defend yourself, but try not to kill or seriously damage your opponent, who could be some poor fool on the verge of insanity, inept at dealing with reality. We are Christians after all and must have a Chivalry behind our actions. Deterrence is better than destruction.

     A knife can do a great deal to deter others, is easy to carry, and has a multitude of uses. This one is small enough to easily get to if you are jumped. Unfortunately if a group of people run out of food, their tendency is to hunt. There is little game to be had these days, but a great quantity of long pig, so a quick offensive defense leaves a lasting impression. The best thing to do is to avoid conflict. If there is a break down of society for a time, having created a safe house/sanctuary is a very useful thing, as we have described in previous articles. Think defensively, which is to avoid getting into a fight. Think offensively if attacked.

    
     The Romans used the Gladius. The advantage of the short sword is the ability to get in close. The bad thing about it is that you are close, and need to act quickly. A downside is that a long sword can outreach, but if you can rush an opponent, you can be too close for him to use his blade effectively, in which case he might punch you in the face with his guard. The combination of a short sword and dagger or knife like the K-bar is very effective, as is a long sword with a short sword in you passive hand. Another problem with the Gladius is no hand protection.

          Which leads us to the main gauche. Here you have decent hand protection, the Quillons can be used as well as the blade, the guard protects the hand and can also be used offensively.
       I believe it is Cold Steel or Knife Cave who sell a short sabre, and stock gladius'; but remember that it is best to practice and become used to handling a weapon. There are people meeting in many places to learn and practice  the Codex Wallerstein methods. Heidelberg Sabre style is more of a realistic method, as are many dueling styles, though Olympic fencing is a waste of time. There are numerous martial arts classes you can take, though many are not practically effective. There are Krav Maga classes out there, which teach disarms and how to protect against someone trying to use a knife on you, though I am not aware of how effective their methods are. There are many practice weapons sold. At least a half dozen types of good plastic/rubber knives and composite material swords, along with blunted fencing equipment are offered for sale.
     The point is you should plan on avoiding confrontation, while having something to defend yourself with. It is very easy to have a weapon taken from you and used against you, so it is nothing to take lightly. There are many styles of fencing and swordsmanship, which are a great discipline and cardio workout. That is a good place to begin. You might find some ex marine or SF guy doing a self defense class. Many ex seals study wing chun, as do many other Asian martial arts teach how to take away a knife.
     Since we are warned by the founder of Christianity to arm ourselves, do so, but stay true to Christian values of fairness, respect for life, the keeping of the ten commandments of which Christ added a few;  and research the subject for yourself. This post is just meant to stimulate some thought. So be careful, and remember that John Wayne was a movie star. Most of what you see in the movies isn't real, is over glamorized and choreographed, as is violence used as an attention getter.
     A altruistic knight in the service of Christ, being the service of man is what the more serious of you should be aspiring to, and never forget that this Chivalry has not died, nor was there ever a Don Quixote to prove that Chivalry is dead. To protect and preserve is an Ideal of the Nazarite. Never put self defense in a bad light.