E Sword The Sword Of The Lord

[Alayna Rother]

Thishas always struck me as odd, since two swords for 11 disciples are not enough for self-defense, especially if they go out two by two as they did before. Plus, nowhere else does Jesus allow for violence in self-defense. Is Jesus now adding some footnotes to his Sermon on the Mount?

The Sword of the Lord is published by Sword of the Lord Ministries, a non-profit organization[1] based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which also publishes religious books, pamphlets, and tracts from a fundamentalist Christian perspective, as Sword of the Lord Publications.[2]

The Sword of the Lord was first published on September 28, 1934, in Dallas, Texas by John R. Rice, who edited the publication until his death on December 29, 1980. At first it was simply the four-page paper of Fundamentalist (later, Galilean) Baptist Church of Dallas, where Rice was the pastor. The paper was handed out on the street, and Rice's daughters and other Sunday school children delivered it door-to-door.[3]

The Sword of the Lord moved with the Rice family to Wheaton, Illinois in 1940, and then to its present location in 1963. Upon the Sword's move to Tennessee, Rice co-edited the paper with his brother Bill (1912-1978) until Bill's death. Curtis Hutson replaced Bill Rice as co-editor, and he became the sole editor two years later when John Rice died. Hutson died in 1995, and editorship passed to Shelton Smith, former pastor of the Church of the Open Door/Carroll Christian Schools, Westminster, Maryland.

The name of the ministry and publication is taken from a phrase in Judges 7:20: "...and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." The verse is featured in the banner, as is the newspaper's stated purpose:[4]

An Independent Christian Publication, Standing for the Verbal Inspiration of the Bible, the Deity of Christ, His Blood Atonement, Salvation by Faith, New Testament Soul Winning and the Premillennial Return of Christ; Opposing Modernism (Liberalism), Worldliness and Formalism.

Family members of the editors often assumed integral roles at The Sword of the Lord. In 2009, the approximately fifty employees of the Sword of the Lord included editor Shelton Smith; his son, Marlon, executive vice president..[5]

The Sword of the Lord emphasizes soul winning, the belief that Christians should actively seek to convert others to faith in Jesus Christ. It promotes fulfilling the Great Commission by publishing books and materials on the topic as well as sponsoring annual "School of the Prophets" seminars.

For many years The Sword of the Lord has published sermons of contemporary Independent Baptist preachers who are part of its circle. It also publishes sermons from a wider spectrum of evangelicals of past generations (not all of whom were Independent Baptist), including Hyman Appelman, Harry A. Ironside, Bob Jones, Sr., R. A. Torrey, Robert G. Lee, Dwight L. Moody, Billy Sunday, T. De Witt Talmage, and George Truett.[7]

The Sword of the Lord is strongly anti-Calvinist and as such does not publish sermons by Calvinist preachers, although an exception has been made for the noted nineteenth-century Calvinist Charles Spurgeon. Nevertheless, Spurgeon's sermons have been edited to remove Calvinist-leaning passages.[8]

The paper usually includes "Editor's Notes," a column by Smith commenting on his recent travels and upcoming events; "Noteworthy News," brief descriptions of events involving Christians or matters related to Christianity, with occasional editorial commentary;[9] columns on church planting and bus ministries; and advertisements for independent fundamentalist Baptist churches and Bible colleges.[10]

The Master Sword was originally crafted by the Goddess Hylia as the Goddess Sword,[15] and was later forged into the Master Sword by the Goddess's chosen hero and its spirit, Fi, who bathed it in the three Sacred Flames located across the land that would become the Kingdom of Hyrule.[16] Din's Flame in particular imbued the sword with the Power to Repel Evil,[17][18] a power augmented after the Sword received the blessing of Zelda, which transformed the blade into the true Master Sword.[19][20] Although not always, it is the only weapon that can defeat Ganon in the games it appears in.[21]

The Master Sword is often seen to choose or accept its master by its own will, always a hero who has gone through great trials that test his courage, wisdom and power to prove him worthy of wielding it. This may be the conscious choice of the sword's spirit, Fi, who sleeps eternally within the sword and only assists her heroic master.[22]

When the Master Sword was originally introduced in artworks of A Link to the Past, the Sword's grip was red and its cross-guard yellow (in-game, both the grip and guard are red). However, in its pedestal, the Master Sword has a purple grip and blue guard. Its most conventional appearance was clearly defined in Ocarina of Time, with the purple grip and purple guard, though in subsequent games and the re-release of Ocarina of Time 3D, the purple has become more blue or indigo. In The Wind Waker, the grip and guard are royal blue as opposed to a deeper color. For the rest of the games, the Master Sword is merely a bastard sword with a narrow ricasso and a wide, shallow fuller that runs almost the entire length of the blade, although in some appearances it has no fuller at all. The Triforce can be seen engraved in the lower part of the blade and yellow gemstone is embedded in the cross guard. It is seen in The Wind Waker and Skyward Sword that the state of the gem and the cross guard are indicative of the sword's awakening and power. When Link acquires the unawakened Master Sword in The Wind Waker and the first form of the Master Sword in Skyward Sword, the gem in its cross guard is dark and the guard is retracted toward the grip. Once the Master Sword has been restored to its full power in both games, its cross guard regains its winged form and the gem its yellow color.

The Master Sword's classic ability is the power to vanquish evil. Infused with the sacred flames provided by the Golden Goddesses and blessed with Hylia's power, the sword is effective even against evil ones possessing the Triforce. However, in order to keep the power to repel evil intact, two Sages, known as the Sage of Earth and the Sage of Wind, are in charge of praying to the gods and thus infuse the Master Sword with the gods' power, most notably in The Wind Waker. [23] Should something happen to these Sages, the Master Sword will weaken and lose its might to combat evil.

The sacred blade is also capable of destroying magical barriers[24][25] and breaking curses that involve powerful, dark magic.[26] In addition, it has the ability to lock away the remains of a demon.[27][28] The Master Sword can also unleash Skyward Strikes by channeling heavenly energy.[29] Even when low on power, the Master Sword can unleash Skyward Strikes through the use of lightning when it strikes the blade.

Only a true hero that is "pure of heart and strong of body" is capable of wielding the sacred blade,[30][31] and as such, those with tainted hearts can't even touch this sword.[32][33] If a hero who is too young to bear the title that comes with the Master Sword withdraws this blade from its pedestal, the Master Sword will seal away the hero's soul and awaken him when the bearer comes of age to wield it, as seen in Ocarina of Time.[34][35] However, if someone that is weak attempts to draw the Master Sword from its pedestal, they will lose their life.[36] The Master Sword also acts as a key to gain entrance to the Temple of Light. If the Master Sword is retrieved from its pedestal in the Temple of Time, the portal to the Sacred Realm will open, eventually leading to the Triforce.[37] Additionally, the bearer of the sword can travel through time to some extent by simply thrusting the Master Sword into the Pedestal of Time, similar to the Ocarina of Time.[38] The hero is able to travel backwards and forwards through the seven years of his life that were lost when he was kept in the Sacred Realm until he was old enough to hold the sword.

Even in its final form, as seen in A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds, that the Master Sword can be further improved by smithing or magical means. However, once its task is accomplished and the sword returned into its pedestal, it will revert back to its original shape.[40]

A Link to the Past marks the Master Sword's grand debut in The Legend of Zelda series. It is the legendary blade that rests in the Lost Woods of northwestern Hyrule in a pedestal with ancient Hylian inscribed on it.[42] The ancient text says the hero with three symbols of virtue will wield it on cataclysm's eve, reading: "The Hero's triumph on Cataclysm's Eve wins three Symbols of Virtue. The Master Sword he will then retrieve, keeping the knights' line true."[43]

In order to defeat the evil wizard Agahnim that has taken over Hyrule Castle, Link must obtain the Master Sword.[44] However, before the young hero can wield it, he must first acquire the three Pendants of Virtue that are scattered throughout the land.[45] After doing so, he retrieves the sacred blade from the Pedestal of Time within the Lost Woods. With it, he is able to destroy the electrical barrier that Agahnim had placed in the upper floor of Hyrule Castle. With the Master Sword in hand Link manages to defeat Agahnim twice in the game, and soon after, Ganon. With Hyrule safe from evil, Link places the Master Sword back in its pedestal.[46]

The Master Sword is twice as powerful as the Fighter's Sword and has a longer reach.[citation needed] When at full health, the Master Sword will also fire a Sword Beam when swung. In A Link to the Past & Four Swords, the Master Sword can also break Signs.[verification needed]

During the course of the game, Link can actually upgrade the Master Sword. Its first upgrade is the Tempered Sword, which is acquired when the Dwarven Swordsmith is reunited with his partner on the outskirts of Kakariko Village.[47] In the tempered shape, the Master Sword is two times stronger than its standard form, has a glowing orange blade and makes a deeper swing sound as opposed to the usual slash sound. Its second and last upgrade is the Golden Sword, acquired by giving the Master Sword or Tempered Sword to the Cursed Fairy in the Mysterious Pond of the Dark World within the Pyramid of Power. In the golden shape, the Master Sword is four times stronger than its standard form, killing almost any enemy in one hit, has a golden blade and green hilt, has the ability to break jars and skull jars (in the GBA remake), and also make a deeper swing sound than the tempered form. Despite its great power, however, Silver Arrows outclass the Golden Sword in raw strength. Unlike all later games, the Master Sword does not defeat Ganon in A Link to the Past, as the sacred blade can only stun him, while the Silver Arrows are required to outright destroy the main antagonist, needing four shots to kill him (this role would be reversed for the Light Arrows starting in Ocarina of Time), similar to The Legend of Zelda. Although any version of the Master Sword can damage Ganon during the final battle, a Spin Attack is required for its normal or Tempered form in the original Super NES release, as only the Golden Sword can harm him with standard slash attacks.

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