THE MANTLE OF BLOOD & THE PRINCE OF PEACE

DR. Lalith Mendis

The third week of November 2000 recorded 29 murders during a seventy two hour period, in Sri Lanka. One murder

every 3 hours. War is only the fourth in the list of causes of death. The first is road traffic accidents. Roads tell us

how we live. Who is powerful. How equal the law is. Roads are the daily written epistles of a nation's life. We kill the

weak and the aged on the roads. Politicians set the example on how to observe the traffic laws in the breach, as

they set the example in other areas. Might is right, on the road - that seems to be the only traffic law that makes

sense. The container truck growls on all who are smaller. The Montero growls at the lesser. The 90 cc motor cycle

ridden by a poor man growls at the poor cyclist. The problem is not merely a class war. We all have it in our nature

to oppress the weaker. Isaiah, the prophet, observed - we all growl like bears (at those who are weaker) and moan

like doves (before those who are stronger).

The second common cause of death is suicide. Two reasons for the prevalence seems to be unrealistic aspirations

projected by oversized assessment of our great national heritage and the belief in the possibility of another and a

better birth. Next cause is murder.

Dead Men Tell Tales

Isaiah was a prophet who lived in Israel in 740 BC. Until 1949, the year of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the ancient most

Isaiah manuscript available was 700 AD. In the excavations of the caves around the Dead Sea, archaeologists

discovered Isaiah manuscripts dated as 200 BC. This was an unique opportunity for the sceptics to prove the errors

of the Bible, so that the claim of the Christians that the Bible is uniquely God's word could be debunked. What was

proved however was that the existing 700 AD manuscript was identical with the discovered 200 BC one. The process

of transmission of Bible documents was the most accurate in the ancient world. It is this Isaiah document which has

the best known prophecy about the birth of Jesus Christ, now acknowledged beyond doubt as having been made

before Christ was born.
Isaiah Chapter 9 vs1 - Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he
humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honour Galilee of the

Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan v2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on

those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

Zebulun & Naphthali were the northern territories of ancient Israel which became the Roman Province of Galilee,

inhabited by non-Jews (Gentiles). Nazareth from which Christ hailed was in this area.

Government of the Heart & Justice for the Poor

There cannot be any doubt that this was a divine prophecy because there is only one River Jordan in the whole world

and Christ, the Messiah would arise like a light in the darkness, from that area. This prophecy was exactly fulfilled.
Isaiah chapter 9 vs 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And
he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.

The Christian claim is that the Child born was the Creator God. The government of peace Christ inaugurated has its

dominion in the hearts of those who receive Him. Considering the ignominious manner of His death, it seemed

improbable that Jesus Christ would have any significant influence on human history. He was executed by a regime

that was hell bent on erasing his name. It was illegal to be a Christian. Yet in four centuries, Roman Empire had

decayed but the kingdom of Christ was firmly established in the hearts of men. Today, over 20,000 languages have
His story in print and even more languages He is worshipped. Cannibals to Scientists say, "the government of Jesus
Christ rules in my heart and my way of life has been changed for the better".

The greatest damage to the cause of Christ did not come from her detractors but from those who imagined that

Christ would establish an empire on earth. Regal vestments, titles, thrones and crowns betrayed the lowly and meek

One born in the stable. Crusades were fought and palaces were built by those who claimed to be the servants of

Christ. The Book of Truth lay buried under traditions of men. Boots of war and swords were used to advance regimes

in the name of God, making mockery of the Founder who with pierced hands pleaded with His persecutors forgiving

them even from the cross - Father forgive them for they do not do what they do. Religious power corrupts as does

any other power, as proven by the history of Medieval Europe and her dark ages.

Weapons of War
Isaiah chap. 9 vs 4 - you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod
(sceptre) of their oppressor.

5 Every warrior's boot used in battle and every bloody mantle will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.

Weapons of war are made in the hearts of men. The worldview of the

Bible is that a dark kingdom competes for the allegiance of human kind. Weapons of that evil personage, the ruler

of the darkness are the lusts, jealousies, hatred, addictions, bitterness, racial prejudice of the human heart. These

instruments of war, which are of are own making, imprison us in satanically guarded divides. Initially we choose the

thing that will destroy us - be it drugs, alcohol, lust or depriving the poor of justice. Then we become irretrievably

entangled. The desire to do good is in me. But I do not have the power. The base instincts lake me over. My

violence may be more refined than tat of Wanatamulla. Throats may be cut not with daggers but with suave

manipulation. However it will tell on my Morals, pretty soon. The powerful can get to do there own thing with no

apology. They will loose shame and any sense of accountability.

Perils of a Corporate Kingdom

1. Unlimited and ever increasing power of an oligarchy.

2. Moral erosion in the wake of power gloating.

3. Unachievable & escalating goals of a chairman putting stress on all under him.

4. World Bank policies to impoverish sovereign nations and usher the one global order of Nephilim like in Noah's

day.

Evil powers that rule certain trades and the field of commerce.

6. Gamble of the speculative investment & the stock market.

7. Oppression of the workers.

8. Commercialisation & morality.

9. Work overcomes home.

10. Breaking of the 4th commandment. Man plays God.

11. Goal driven depersonalisation.

12. Fleecing the populace.

13. Corporate heaven where chairman is god.

14. Shepherd role of the public sector for services

Who will set us free? This is the freedom Christ offers.

Sunday Meeting 6 pm - Carey College Chapel

Thursday - 6 pm St Andrew's Church, Kollupitia.

1. Birth of Christ in the humble stable captured the imagination of many down the centuries. In our time, in our

nation, when many attempt to make their statement of worth through external grandeur, failing into diverse lusts, the

humility of Christ shines like a beacon of light in the quagmire of false human values.

2. Christ even in His birth showed that HE came to serve and not to be served, His last night on earth, Christ washed

the feet of the disciples. The Greatest serving the less. This should be the pattern for professions and politics. Of

those who ruled and claimed to be benefactors, Jesus tacitly observed, "they say they are your benefactors". It is

heart rending to see the woes of the common man and the gluttonous affluence of a few.

3. Jesus Christ demonstrated the power of meekness. Meekness could be defined as using power compassionately.

4. Jesus Christ demonstrated that mercy is better than justice. We ask for mercy when we are the judged and

demand justice when someone else is judged. When we consider how we have abused power in our little domain

how can we judge a Chief Executive in the way that person exercises the vast power of that office?

5. The Lord Jesus is greater than the temple. His birth in the stable magnified His mission. God does not dwell in

majestic temples men make but in the stable of lowly human hearts. Humility is the hallmark of the true Christian.

6. Jesus taught us beauty of the heart. If we have the beauty of His heart, we will not crave the cosmetic one, that is

so misleading and results in marital instability. The moral perversion of our nation even among the rural poor is

alarming. The abortion rate is 1000 per day. This is more than Germany, which is considered by most to be the

most amoral European nation.

This season is an apt time for contemplation. Jesus Christ will crown you with loving kindness. You will relate to

others with His loving kindness. For you too, it is a journey from the cradle to a crown. This is a crown that will

benefit the masses.

DR. Lalith Mendis - Christian Professionals Forum 374, Serpentine Road, Colombo 8. Tel. 074619251
