It is never a good idea to rebel against legitimate authority. However, it is sometimes a must to refrain from obeying a claimed-authority that is not legitimate or which is issuing illegitimate orders. In either case, the decision to obey or not obey can be a life or death matter. How so? The consequences of rebellion against authority are well known throughout history, and have often lead to punishment and even death. Less well-known is the fact that obeying illegitimate authority has also been proven by history to be potentially lethal.

No doubt, the best examples of the death penalty for obeying illegitimate orders, in modern times, are the Nuremberg trials. The Nuremberg trials were a series of 13 trials carried out in Nuremberg, Germany, between 1945 and 1949, in the wake of WWII in Europe. At that time, there was no precedent for an international trial of war criminals. The Allies established the laws and procedures for the Nuremberg trials with the London Charter of the International Military Tribunal (IMT), issued on August 8, 1945. The IMT established the necessary legal structure for the first international court of justice to convene. Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels had each committed suicide in the spring of 1945 before they could be brought to trial.

Twenty-four other individuals were indicted and tried in the Trial of Major War Criminals, along with six Nazi organizations determined to be criminal (such as the “Gestapo,” or secret state police). One of the indicted men was deemed medically unfit to stand trial, while a second man killed himself before the trial began. The defendants included Nazi Party officials and high-ranking Nazi military officers along with German industrialists, lawyers and doctors, who were indicted on charges related to Nazi war crimes. Three categories of crimes were involved: crimes against peace (including planning, preparing, starting or waging wars of aggression or wars in violation of international agreements), war crimes (including violations of customs or laws of war, including improper treatment of civilians and prisoners of war) and crimes against humanity (including murder, enslavement or deportation of civilians or persecution on political, religious or racial grounds).

The majority of the accused had essentially the same defense, which has come to be known as "the Nuremberg Defense." What is that? Those defendants claimed that they were not guilty of the charges against them because they were "only following orders." This should be of interest to all of us, because the excuse "I was only following orders" or, in other words "I was just doing my job" remains a common refrain whenever the specter of abuse of authority raises its ugly head. So how did that defense work out for the defendants at Nuremberg who claimed they were only following orders?

In the end, the international tribunal found all but three of the defendants guilty. Twelve were sentenced to death, one in absentia, and the rest were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life behind bars. Ten of the condemned were executed by hanging on October 16, 1946. Hermann Göring (1893-1946), Hitler’s designated successor and head of the “Luftwaffe” (German air force), committed suicide the night before his execution with a cyanide capsule he had hidden in a jar of skin medication.

Following the Trial of Major War Criminals, there were 12 additional trials held at Nuremberg. Of the 185 people indicted in the subsequent Nuremberg trials, 12 defendants received death sentences, 8 others were given life in prison and an additional 77 people received prison terms of varying lengths. (history[dot]com/topics/world-war-ii/nuremberg-trials)

What do the Nuremberg Trials tell us about obeying authority? Essentially, as a human being, you are expected to have a brain and a conscience, and not to blindly follow immoral orders. "I'm just doing my job" does not absolve subordinates of responsibility for their criminal actions under color of law. "Color of law" means:  "the appearance of an act being performed based upon legal right or enforcement of statute, when in reality no such right exists." Ultimately all legitimate rights originate with the Creator, and all violations of such God-given rights are illegal and immoral, putting those rights beyond the authority of any human or institution to circumvent by human law. The Commandment of Elohim is clear:

Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and righteous: for I will not justify the wicked. Ex 23:7

To refuse to obey an order or a law of any human authority which would require one to disobey the commandments of the Creator is not rebellion against authority. On the contrary, to do so when necessary is to uphold the Highest Authority, the only Authority from which all true authority springs. Therefore, when believers are forced by unrighteous laws to ignore those unrighteous laws that are in conflict with the Higher Law of the Creator, to do so is not an act of rebellion. Rather, it is a choice to "obey God as Ruler rather than men." It takes courage to make such a stand, so prepare yourself in advance to face that challenge, if and when it comes your way. (Acts 5:29)

Yeshua, in Luke 20, tells us a lot about true authority and false authority. As we have seen above, understanding this distinction is vital. These kinds of issues can arise suddenly, so understanding and remembering Messiah's teaching on authority could be essential to any of us at any time.