Author	: Bill Kochman
Publish	: Dec. 15, 2025
Update	: Dec. 15, 2025
Parts	: 04

Synopsis:



There is an old saying which states "If you play with fire, you will eventually be burned by fire." Tracing the origin of this well-known axiom is not easy, being as it appears to be a common traditional word of wisdom which has been shared by different cultures for literally millennia. One proposal is that it began in ancient China over 2,500 years ago. In our own English language, the proverb seems to have made a first appearance in 1655, although exactly when, where and by whom remains unknown. It was simply a commonly used idea that was well-known at the time.

However, as usual, God's Word is NOT to be outdone by these worldly theories concerning the origin of the phrase. Thus, it should come as no surprise that we can find the following verse in the sixth chapter of the Book of Proverbs. This book was written and primarily compiled between the reign of King Solomon, who ruled during the 10th century BC, and the reign of King Hezekiah during the 8th century BC. This easily makes the well-known axiom from 2,800 to 3,000 years old, which of course predates the Chinese theory. The verse in question says the following:

"Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?"


Well, that certainly sounds very similar to "If you play with fire, you will be burned by fire," doesn't it? However, guess what, my friends? That is not where the Biblical comparisons really end. I think that what Jesus said to the Apostle Peter towards the end of the Gospels of Matthew and John matches up perfectly with this thought as well. As I point out in a few Bill's Bible Basics articles, in that particular incident, in his misguided efforts to protect Jesus from harm, the Apostle Peter raised his sword and cut off the ear of a fellow named Malchus, who happened to be a servant of the Jewish high priest at that time.

Now, dear Peter obviously thought that he was doing the right thing in wanting to protect the Lord from harm. He could not have possibly imagined that by taking such action, in reality, he was standing in the way of God's perfect Will for Jesus, which was that He should die for the sins of the world. After all, it was only hours earlier that Peter had sworn that he would be willing to give his very life for Jesus, as we see by the following set of Bible verses which are found in three of the Gospels:

"Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples."


"But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all."


"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death."


However, despite what undoubtedly appeared to both Peter and the other Apostles to be a brave and noble act of defiance on Peter's part to protect God's anointed Savior, to everyone's shock and surprise, Jesus' response was to say the following to Peter, which is echoed again in the Book of Revelation:

"And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: FOR ALL THEY THAT TAKE THE SWORD SHALL PERISH WITH THE SWORD."


"Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"


"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: HE THAT KILLETH WITH THE SWORD MUST BE KILLED WITH THE SWORD. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."


"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and SHOULDEST DESTROY THEM WHICH DESTROY THE EARTH."


After saying the previous totally unexpected words to Peter and the other Apostles, the Lord then proceeded to touch and heal Malchus' wounded ear, as we see by the following verse that is found in the Gospel of Luke:

"And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him."


I am sure that most of my readers will already see the very obvious similarities between what King Solomon wrote, and what Jesus said to the Apostle Peter. In other words, if we play with fire, we will be burned by fire. If we take up a sword, we will also be killed by the sword. In short, as I share in BBB articles such as the series "Yasser Arafat's Ultimatum: Five Decades and Still No Palestinian State", violence only begets even more violence. Sadly, this is an inescapable conclusion which many people recognize as being absolutely true. So somebody needs to be brave enough to stop the savage war beast, or else it will simply never end, and we may someday destroy ourselves entirely.

In fact, my dear friends, to our own shame, due to the very fallen nature of our world, even when some people do strive to achieve peace -- as President Trump has been trying to do for many months now with regard to the Russia-Ukraine War -- the other parties STILL want to pursue war, and they do NOT want to pursue peace with a wholehearted effort. This tragic reality reminds me of something that King David wrote in the Psalms. That is the following:

"My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war."


What a very sad indictment against humanity! But again, this is a direct result of humanity's fallen, sinful, rebellious and violent nature which corrupts his very mind and heart. It does not help at all that the Devil himself prods us on to steal from each other, to kill each other, and to destroy each other without mercy. After all, as Jesus plainly stated in the Gospel of John, that foul fiend has been a murderer since the beginning when he succeeded in destroying Adam and Eve's chance at Eternal Life, and then also influenced Cain to kill his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy and rage. That serpent has continued doing the very same thing down through humankind's bloody history. Thus it is that we find verses such as the following in the Holy Scriptures:

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"Not as Cain, WHO WAS OF THAT WICKED ONE, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous."


"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy HIM THAT HAD THE POWER OF DEATH, THAT IS, THE DEVIL; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."


"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."


"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, EVEN OF YOUR LUSTS that war in your members? YE LUST, and have not: YE KILL, AND DESIRE TO HAVE, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because YE ASK AMISS, THAT YE MAY CONSUME IT UPON YOUR LUSTS."


"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only EVIL CONTINUALLY."


"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"


"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."


"And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."


In sharp contrast to all of the previous verses, as every Bible-believing Christian should already know, not only has God called us out of this present evil world, but He has likewise commanded us to strive to live a life of peace as much as possible. My understanding from reading the Bible for many decades now, is that we are not to actually fight in any secular wars ourselves, or support or take sides in any secular wars either. Those wars are NOT our fights, my friends. They are the wars of the children of the world who will do as the children of the world will do, despite what you and I think about it. To reiterate, we should all strive to live a life of peace and avoid violence, as becomes quite evident by this group of Bible verses:

"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."


"But THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."


"BLESSED ARE THE MEEK: for they shall inherit the earth . . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God . . . But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."


"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, LIVE PEACEABLY WITH ALL MEN."


"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:"


"Finally‭, brethren‭, farewell‭‭. Be perfect‭‭, be of good comfort‭‭, be of one‭ mind‭‭, LIVE IN PEACE‭‭; and‭ the God‭ of love‭ and‭ peace‭ shall be‭‭ with‭ you‭.‭"


"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."


"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,‭ And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.‭ And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.‭ And when his disciples James and John saw ‭this‭, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?‭ But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.‭ For THE SON OF MAN IS NOT COME TO DESTROY MEN'S LIVES, BUT TO SAVE ‭THEM‭. And they went to another village.‭"


"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because YE ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."


"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."


"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,"


"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."


"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."


As we have now clearly seen, the Scriptures plainly declare that if we play with fire, we may in fact be burned by that very same fire. Likewise, if we foolishly embrace violence, killing and war, we may someday die by that very same way. Some worldly people who know not the Lord, and who embrace other false religions, like to refer to this as karma. But in Biblical terms, we are informed that we will reap what we have sown. That is why it is so very important that we are careful regarding what kind of seeds we plant. Are they seeds which produce violence, or seeds which produce peace? Consider the following Bible verses which speak about this same topic:

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."


"Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same."


"He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate."


"They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah."


"Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him."


"He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him."


So as you can see, being burned by a fire which we ourselves have started, being destroyed by a war which we initiated or foolishly became involved in, and generally reaping what we have sown are all very much Biblical and Christian concepts. At this point in our discussion, you may be wondering about exactly what prompted me to write this current series, being as I have already written a number of other articles where I amply discuss these very same subjects. Now I will tell you. Being burned by fire is bad enough. Being killed by a sword is equally bad. But consider the fact that there is even a worse fate. That is when we take up the devilish sword of NUCLEAR FIRE and threaten or even use it against others. Is this not a double evil?

What actually caught my attention not too long ago is a very alarming new development which involves the US's 2026 Defense Authorization Bill. The shocking details are revealed in this excerpt from a December 11, 2025 The Washington Times news report with the heading "Underground nuclear tests would be authorized by provision in Defense bill". This same thing is being reported by other news organizations, as well as in a number of military newsletters which I receive. My friends, this is obviously NOT good news. Read for yourself:

----- Begin Quote -----

Legislation would permit U.S. underground tests based on North Korean detonations after 1996

The Pentagon will be authorized to resume underground nuclear tests under a provision of the pending defense authorization bill.

The 3,086-page national defense authorization legislation for fiscal 2026, nearing a final vote in the Senate, has a section on Energy Department national nuclear security activities that would end the self-imposed U.S. moratorium on underground tests in place since 1996.

The section states that the testing ban will remain in effect "unless a foreign state conducts a nuclear test after this date, at which time the prohibition on United States nuclear testing is lifted."

The language means that North Korea's six underground nuclear tests carried out between 2006 and 2017 will allow for a resumption of underground nuclear tests by the Pentagon and Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

The pending bill, which passed the House this week and is expected to clear the Senate soon, also maintains a ban on atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons.

The bill will authorize $890.6 billion in spending in fiscal 2026, including $855.7 billion for Pentagon programs, $34.3 billion for national security programs at the Energy Department, and $512.4 million for defense-related activities.

The new policy on underground nuclear tests follows a declaration by President Trump last month that the United States will resume nuclear tests in response to tests by Russia, China and North Korea.

"We're the only country that doesn't test, and I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test," Mr. Trump said in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes."

----- End Quote -----

Let me interject a word of clarification here, being as a part of the previous excerpt may not be clear to some of you, just as it was not clear to me at first either. In fact, it was a little confusing to me. When the article states "unless a foreign state conducts a nuclear test after this date", it is actually quoting directly from the 1996 U.S. self-imposed moratorium. So when it says "after this date", it is actually referring to any kind of nuclear test conducted by a foreign government AFTER 1996. This would obviously include the set of nuclear tests which were conducted by North Korea, as is mentioned in The Washington Times news article.

In short, the United States now feels justified in beginning underground nuclear tests again. By way of the 2026 Defense Authorization Bill, the Trump administration is letting the world know that it is apparently very serious about renewing nuclear tests. In fact, on the evening of October 29, 2025, and just prior to a summit the next morning with Chinese President Xi Jinping which occurred on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the South Korea, President Trump made a post on his Truth Social platform in which he stated the following:

----- Begin Quote -----

"The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP"

----- End Quote -----

As you can see from the previous Truth Social post, Trump indicates that he was motivated to make his decision due to "other countries testing programs". This was apparently an indirect reference to North Korea's well-known tests. That communist nation conducted six confirmed nuclear tests -- all underground -- between 2006 and 2017. However, as some of may readers may know, North Korea is not alone in that regard. As you may recall, in 1998, both India and Pakistan also detonated a few nuclear devices.

While in his Truth Social post President Trump didn't mention Russia, China or North Korea by name, the aforementioned TWT news article from December 11, 2025 states that Trump did in fact accuse those nations of conducting nuclear tests during an interview on the CBS news show "60 Minutes". So, I went online in order to hopefully track down a transcript of the actual "60 Minutes" show which aired on November 2, 2025. As it turns out, the President was interviewed by correspondent Norah O'Donnell on October 31, 2025 at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Following are the pertinent parts of the interview which apply to this current series:

----- Begin Quote -----

NORAH O'DONNELL: Less than an hour before your meeting with President Xi, you posted on social media that you instructed the, quote, Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: That's right.

NORAH O'DONNELL: -- immediately.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Yeah --

NORAH O'DONNELL: What did you mean?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, we have more nuclear weapons than any other country. Russia's second. China's a very distant third, but they'll be even in five years. You know, they're makin' 'em rapidly, and I think we should do something about denuclearization, which is gonna be some -- and I did actually discuss that with both President Putin and President Xi. Denuclearization's a very big thing. We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times. Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot. They have some. They have quite a bit, but --

NORAH O'DONNELL: So why do we need to test --

NORAH O'DONNELL: -- our nuclear weapons?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, because you have to see how they work. You know, you do have to -- and the reason I'm saying -- testing is because Russia announced that they were gonna be doing a test. If you notice, North Korea's testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We're the only country that doesn't test, and I wanna be -- I don't wanna be the only country that doesn't test.

President Trump goes off-topic at this point in the interview with his usual boasting of his accomplishments, and then . . .

NORAH O'DONNELL: I -- I w -- definitely want to talk about the economy, but I just want to make s -- sure we -- we button up this issue --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Sure.

NORAH O'DONNELL: -- on nuclear weapons. And I want to clarify this --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Sure.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Are you saying that after more than 30 years, the United States is going to start detonating nuclear weapons for testing?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I'm saying that we're going to test nuclear weapons like other countries do, yes.

NORAH O'DONNELL: But the only country that's testing nuclear weapons is North Korea. China and Russia are not --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, Russia's -- no, no. Russia's testing nuclear weapons --

NORAH O'DONNELL: So my understanding --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And China's testing 'em too. You just don't know about it.

NORAH O'DONNELL: That would be certainly very newsworthy. My understanding is what Russia did recently was test essentially the -- delivery systems for nuclear weapons, essentially missiles, which we can do that but w -- not with nuclear warheads --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Russia's testing, and China's testing, but they don't talk about it. You know, we're a open society. We're different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it, because otherwise you people are gonna report -- they don't have reporters that gonna be writing about it. We do. No, we're gonna test, because they test and others test. And certainly North Korea's been testing. Pakistan's been testing.

NORAH O'DONNELL: Not nuclear weapons, is my understanding --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Of course they have --

NORAH O'DONNELL: North Korea has, but not nuclear weapons --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But they don't go and tell you about it. And, you know, as powerful as they are, this is a big world. You don't necessarily know where they're testing. They -- they test way under -- underground where people don't know exactly what's happening with the test.

You feel a little bit of a vibration. They test and we don't test. We have to test. And Russia did make -- a little bit of a threat the other day when they said they were gonna do certain forms of a different level of testing. But Russia tests, China -- and China does test, and we're gonna test also.

NORAH O'DONNELL: So we are going to --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Doesn't it sorta make sense? You know, you make -- you make nuclear weapons, and then you don't test. How are you gonna do that? How are you gonna know if they work? We have to do that --

NORAH O'DONNELL: Apparently, we don't need to test our nuclear weapons, 'cause they're the best in the world, according to experts I've spoken with --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: According to me. We have the best, and I was the one that renovated them and built them during a four-year period. And I hated to do it, because the destructive capability is something you don't even wanna talk about. But if other people are gonna have 'em, we're gonna have to have 'em.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And if we have 'em, we have to test 'em, otherwise you don't really know how they're gonna work. And we don't wanna ever use them.

----- End Quote -----

Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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