by Stuart Masters
Paraphrased in modern English usage with commentary by Stuart Masters. First published in The Friend, 9 October 2015.
James Nayler (1618-1660) was one of the most significant leaders of the early Quaker movement, acting as its principal spokesman. The Lamb’s War against the Man of Sin is one of his most important tracts. It was written and published in 1657 shortly after his brutal punishment and imprisonment for blasphemy following his prophetic re-enactment of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem at Bristol in October 1656. It is difficult to overemphasise the significance of this tract. It stands as a clear and uncompromising statement of early Quaker beliefs. In particular, it explains how God is acting through Christ the Lamb to defeat evil within the creation and establish the kingdom of heaven on earth. The American Quaker historian Hugh Barbour has argued that this tract is probably the first systematic public explanation of the peaceable principles of the early Quaker movement. Here is a summary of Nayler’s key messages contained within The Lamb’s War against the Man of Sin:
This is a world gone wrong—The world was created good. It is beautiful and fruitful but in many ways it has gone wrong because humans have turned away from God, who is the ground of their being and the source of order in the creation. This has caused a breakdown in the human relationship with God and with the rest of creation. As a result, the human ways of the world tend to be characterised by idleness, vanity, greed, deceitfulness, violence and injustice. This is the opposite of the ways of God. So, in these circumstances, there is a very sharp distinction between the way of God and the ways of the world.
Conflict, suffering and persecution is inevitable—In a world gone wrong, those who live by the just and peaceable way of God will seem strange and threatening. Because the people of God visibly live the way of God, they will come into conflict with those who live by the ways of the world. Until God’s kingdom comes, there can be no peace between God’s people and the world; conflict is inevitable. In addition, because the world is opposed to the way of God, it is inevitable that God’s people will experience suffering and persecution. A violent and unjust world will violently attack and punish those who live by the just and peaceable kingdom of God.
Christ the Lamb is our saviour because His Spirit cleanses and liberates people—God has sent Christ the Lamb into the world to liberate people and the whole creation from the spirit of wickedness, which leads to violence and injustice. He will destroy evil and establish God’s kingdom on earth. Through the power of His Spirit, Christ the Lamb is able to liberate people from the spirit of wickedness and cleanse them of sin. Because the world violently opposes the way of God, this process is a serious spiritual conflict. Therefore, the Lamb’s War is the spiritual struggle to liberate humanity and the whole creation from the spirit of wickedness that enslaves and corrupts it.
There are inward and outward dimensions of the Lamb’s War—To start with, the Lamb’s War must be fought and won spiritually within the heart of each person. This process liberates them from the spirit of wickedness and brings them into right relationship with God. As a result of this, those who have been transformed by the inward Lamb’s War reject the violence and injustice of the world and display the peace and justice of the way of God in their outward lives. Those who have experienced this transformative process join the Lamb in the spiritual battle to defeat darkness and evil in other people and in the whole creation. The people of God join the ranks of the Lamb’s spiritual army.
The Lamb’s War is a nonviolent spiritual campaign—God loves humanity and the whole of creation and does not wish to harm them. Therefore, the Lamb’s War is not like the wars of the world. It is a spiritual conflict and does not involve the use physical force or violence. This war can only be won using the power of gentleness, meekness and faithfulness. Like Jesus in his earthly life, victory is achieved through suffering love. Hatred and violence will end if people refuse to participate and are willing to live with the consequences.
All people are faced with a stark choice—In responding to the Lamb’s War, all people are faced with a stark choice: do they join with the Lamb and fight to defeat the spirit of wickedness, which leads to violence and injustice; or do they side with the ways of the world? Many people will flee the cross and refuse to join Lamb or will run away when the going gets tough. This is because being on the side of the Lamb leads to ridicule, suffering and persecution at the hands of the world.
God’s kingdom is coming, the Lamb’s victory is assured—The world seems to be undefeatable but, despite appearances, it is the Lamb that has the real power. It is beyond doubt that the Lamb and his followers will be victorious. Evil will be destroyed and God’s kingdom will be established on earth. The hatred, injustice and violence of the world will be overcome by the love, justice and peace of God. Even though this process will involve a great deal of conflict and suffering, the kingdom of God is coming here and now! Victory is assured!
Many modern Friends will find the militaristic imagery and language of The Lamb’s War against the Man of Sin disturbing. Nayler is drawing on the apocalyptic literature of the Bible and, in particular, the Book of Revelation. However, it is important to try to look beyond such surface appearances and discern the core message. For early Friends, the transition from the old covenant of outward and physical things to the new covenant of inward and spiritual things was of central importance. In the new covenant, the Spirit has been poured out on all flesh and so all people have direct access to God. The availability of this Spirit makes it possible for everyone to experience a fundamental change in their relationship with God, with each other and with the rest of the creation. On this earth, real peace will only be known and God’s kingdom will only come when we have been liberated from the urges and motivations that lead to injustice and violent conflict. Physical force is incapable of achieving this. It can only be realised by the leadings of God: the promptings of love and truth in our hearts that shows us our darkness and brings us to new life. I will leave the last word to James Nayler himself:
“The Lamb’s quarrel is not against the creation, for then should his weapons be carnal, as the weapons of the worldly spirits are: “For we war not with flesh and blood,” nor against the creation of God; that we love; but we fight against the spiritual powers of wickedness, which wars against God in the creation, and captivates the creation into the lust which wars against the soul, and that the creature may be delivered into its liberty prepared for the sons of God. And this is not against love, nor everlasting peace, but that without which can be no true love nor lasting peace”
The Lamb’s War Against the Man of Sin
Modern English Paraphrase
God is active in creation through his Son, the Lamb. It is through the Lamb that God acts to make war on the god of this world. Humans have turned from God and broken away from the order that God gave to creation. They are alienated from God and worship the god of the world instead. They use the creation against the intentions of the creator. The Lamb fights against this rebellion and seeks to bring humanity back into obedience to God.
The objective of his war is,
To show that the god of this world is evil and draws humans away from what God originally intended them to be. The Lamb offers liberation from this bondage and reconciliation with God to those who will follow him. Through the Lamb, God will restore the creation to its original order and all that is contrary to God will be no more.
The manner of his war is,
To act justly by providing all people with his light within them that reveals what is against God’s order and what is in harmony with it. All who are willing to follow this light will be empowered by God to join in this struggle to restore all things to their original order and harmony.
What they are to war against,
Is all that is contrary to God. This is not a war against human creatures but against the spiritual wickedness within them (i.e. where humans think they are gods themselves and have no need for God the creator). The Lamb and his followers who live in harmony with God’s order (a covenant relationship) come into conflict with the world because they work to destroy the kingdoms of the world and to establish the Kingdom of God, in which God rules in the hearts of all his people and they live in harmony with God and his order.
What their weapons are,
The Lamb and his followers do not seek to destroy people’s lives so their weapons are not physically harmful to living things and the creation. The Lamb puts spiritual weapons into the hearts and hands of his followers. So when they make war with the Lamb’s enemies, they do not employ the violent ways of the world but rather use the power of the Spirit and the word of truth. Having confronted the wickedness within people and having offered them a way to become reconciled with God, the Lamb and his followers will patiently endure the rage, hatred and persecution that this provokes in order to overcome evil with good. In the end, all that is contrary to God will be no more.
The Lamb’s followers demonstrate his ways to the world.
Those who follow the Lamb and obey him are transformed and their new lives demonstrate the way of God to the world. Ultimately, those who reject the Lamb will be defeated and will be no more.
What his kingdom is.
The kingdom of the Lamb cannot be understood with normal human reason. He is known within us when he makes us aware of our rebellion against God. Although his mighty power existed before creation, established creation and fills creation, the Lamb makes war on evil by means of meekness, humbleness and patience.
The Lamb’s kingdom in this world can be found in the hearts of those who follow him. His followers are purified of all sin and their bodies are made a temple fit for God to dwell in. They are released from their own will and brought into obedience to the will of God. They are made aware of the new covenant and God’s law is written on their hearts. If they follow the Lamb’s guidance they are secure in the kingdom. However, if they ignore his teaching then the Lamb makes them know they have done wrong. They come to share the mind as the Lamb and their transformed outward appearance and behaviour humbleness in mind and meekness of spirit) is clearly visible to all people. The Lamb then leads them out into the world and give them the power to fight again evil.
There are many who falsely claim to represent Christ on earth and they fight among themselves about doctrine. However, all this must be tested against the eternal and unchanging spirit of Christ that dwells within all. Only this comes from God.
You can tell if you have found the true Christ if his guidance is consistent and unchanging over time. Does your Christ lead you to fight against the things of the world that are contrary to God (human pride, fashions and customs) and make you willing to die rather than be disobedient to God? Doe he lead you to a life that can be compared to the prophets, apostles and saints of biblical times? Does he liberate you from the slavery and corruption of this world? Does put God’s law within you and destroy all that is contrary to God within you? Does he give you a new nature that is opposed to your old worldly nature? Has he invested you with the power of God to overcome evil with good? Do you take on his likeness and witness to this before the world?
Are you working for the true God or for the god of this word? The children of light have come to make war on the god of this world and are suffering great persecution as a result. Whose side are you on? Are you willing to sacrifice your security and comfort in the world by taking up the cause of the Lamb and being obedient to God? You will convince your enemies through your gentleness, meekness and faithfulness. If you are resisting this call you are separated from God and Christ. Many will take up this work but fall away when the going gets tough. Some only give half-hearted loyalty to the Lamb because they want to maintain their reputation in the world. Others try to follow the Lamb but are deceived by evil and led back to the world. So, many are called but few prove truly faithful. Many feel ashamed and afraid because following the Lamb brings them ridicule and persecution at the hands of the world. However, in the end the Lamb will be victorious and if you suffer with him you will not be helping his enemies.
Are you comfortable when Christ’s people are viciously persecuted for doing his will and condemning the ways of the world as contrary to God? If you seek to avoid the world’s persecutions for yourself and secretly blame the victims for their own suffering, then you are worse than those who openly persecute. Or are you like Pilate who let others do the persecuting while trying to wash your hands of all guilt?
The true followers of Christ suffer like he did. Are you prepared to do that or do you merely profess Christ while finding fellowship with those who persecute his people? Do you not support the devil in his fight against the Lord? The followers of the Lamb can endure this persecution and by doing so give a public witness against the evils of the world. Examples of this can be found throughout the Bible.
How long will it be before you who profess Christ are willing to suffer with him and join in the sufferings of his true followers? Your persecution of them is your own condemnation, as it demonstrates that you do not have the Spirit of Christ in you. God will judge you for this. It is amazing how you can teach others about the scriptures yet so openly disregard Christ’s teachings in your own lives. You clearly hate and reject the teachings of Christ within you.
How long will it be before you hear and obey what the Lord is saying within you? This would help you see how enslaved you are by evil. Oh, if only you would see and hear. Then you would become soldiers of Christ using spiritual weapons to fight against the spiritual wickedness within people that prevents them from serving God.
The true warfare involves the use of spiritual weapons that bring people into obedience to Christ and showing that disobedience will bring God’s condemnation. This is the only way to cleanse the heart of all that is contrary to God. Humans cannot do this by their own efforts. Only Christ can achieve this in us.
Those who join the Lamb’s war against evil in the world are Christ’s chosen and faithful people.
If you proclaim that God’s kingdom is coming, be aware that this kingdom must come within you first. The Lamb’s war must be fought within you before you can enter God’s kingdom. The Lamb will eradicate all evil within you and you will be transformed into a new person with a new heart, new thoughts and a new obedience to God. This is what brings the kingdom of God within you.
The few who remain faithful to the Lamb will wage war against the world without compromise until Christ rules in all hearts. If you want to show that you dwell in God’s kingdom you must join the Lamb in his fight against evil. If you are content with the ways of this world you are not part of God’s kingdom. Living in the kingdom involves suffering and the death of the man of sin within, including death to the world’s ways and fashions.
Those who want to make peace with the world (i.e. compromise with its ways) betray the Lamb because they make peace with his enemies. You may argue that God is love and commands us to seek peace with all. However, God loves Christ and his faithful followers but the world hates and persecutes them. Christ and his faithful followers have always suffered persecution and death at the hands of the world. Do you proclaim the words of Christ and the apostles but fail to follow their example?
The Lamb does not fight against creation and outward things. If he did he would use physical weapons just like the powers of the world do. Instead he wars against the spiritual powers of wickedness that oppose God’s sovereignty in creation and produces the lusts of greed and covetousness that lead to outward war. There can be no true peace until this battle is won. Our love of God and our neighbour requires us to be faithful supporters of the Lamb’s war. God has never commanded us to compromise with the world, because if you love the world you do not love God.
You may not be aware of it but there is all the difference in the world between humanity and the spirit of wickedness that keeps them in bondage and separated from God. If you love the spirit of wickedness, you hate both God and humanity. Those who fight in the Lamb’s war understand all of this. At the moment the whole of creation is enslaved by spiritual wickedness and the few who are obedient to God are persecuted for showing how this evil destroys people’s souls, separates them from God and spoils the creation.
If you proclaim Christ’s kingdom but twist God’s commandments about peace and love to justify supporting the spirit of the world in practice, God will find you out.
The kingdom of Christ is coming now. A people are being raised up to fight spiritual war against the world using the sword that comes out of Christ’s mouth. This is a war to reconcile God with humanity, who are separated from God by the powers of this world. The followers of the Lamb are prepared to lay down their lives in order to reconcile God with humanity, even though these are their enemies. This is what true love looks like.
Are you willing and able to join this battle or are you content to remain in your state of separation from God?
This is a time of great strife with much violence and deceit. These are the last times in which evil is all around (much apocalyptic imagery). The powers of the world offer temptations to all. They attempt to draw people away from the Lamb who is seeking reconciliation between God and humanity. Scripture is used to defend pride, greed, deceit, false forms of worship and disorder. This sets up a life that is contrary to the real meaning of scripture.
Without the power of Christ within, humans are captured by the spirit of wickedness in the world. Outward wealth breeds pride, idleness and vanity and a disregard for the lowly and meek as it did in Dives (Luke 16). The business of trading becomes so filled with deceit that those who behave with integrity cannot make a living by it. The only solution is to follow the guidance of Christ within at all times. This will protect you from the evil in this world. By paying attention to the light dwelling within, you will find protection from the evils of the world. It will bring you to the eternal life and freedom of God. His kingdom, his power and his glory rules over all creation.
As the Lamb brings righteousness from heaven so his enemies gather to fight against him. Those who walk within the light of the lamb are protected from his enemies and inwardly are cleansed so that God will regard them a fit place within which to dwell. The cleansed become fit to join the Lamb’s army, doing battle with evil. His enemies, although they are full of confidence and vanity, will be destroyed. The righteous will replace the wicked and God’s rule within creation will be unopposed.
About the Editor of this Article
Stuart Masters is a member of Britain Yearly Meeting and worships at Selly Oak Local Meeting in Birmingham. For fifteen years, he worked for Woodbrooke, and following his retirement, continues to offer service as an Associate Tutor. He is the author of Tangled Roots: Navigating the Complex Legacy of Early Quakers (Woodbrooke, the 2026 Swarthmore Lecture) and The Quaker Faith: Friends of Love in Truth, (T&T Clark, 2025). Stuart is a Regional Representative for the UK Anabaptist Mennonite Network, and a member of the Advisory Council for the journal, Quaker Religious Thought. To learn more, visit: StuartKMasters.com.
Note: You can read the full unedited version of this epistle online on Quaker Heritage Press. It also can be ordered in hard copy from QHP in Volume 4 of their edition of the Works of James Nayler.