Showing posts with label Kingdom of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingdom of God. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 04, 2023

The Kingdom of God Again

The one form of government God endorses is His Own, over all that He's created.  So we say, on God's authority, that He rules over all things.

Jesus called that fact "The Kingdom of God," and it was His whole focus: so much so that Luke 8:1 sums up his ministry at one point by saying without elaboration, "He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God."

Not teaching and proclaiming only.  The gospels detail the many incidents in which Jesus manifested God's rule of all "real world" things.

He rebuked the storm, and it became still.  Not just the forces of nature, but its "laws," when He called Peter to walk across the water to Him.  Rule over time itself, when he turned water into wine at His word, bypassing the processes of plant growth, fruit production, and fermentation. God's rule as well over disease in His many healings.

Jesus manifested God's rule over the enemy spiritual forces and powers intruding on His creation when he commanded demons to come out of men, and they obeyed Him.  God's rule over death at Lazarus' tomb: God's rule even moreso when He submitted Himself to death in faith that God's power would raise Him from the grave: and it was, and is, so.

God's rule in "the real world" is even recognized in man's catalog of "political" theories, in the name "theocracy."  "Real world" theocracies have been attempted by Christians (John Calvin's Geneva), and others (today's "Islamic Republic" of Iran).

Which rather puts God's Kingdom on man's playing-field of political theories.  It is not.  Every idea man has ever had about the best kind of government puts man at the top.  Each of man's political theories ultimately plays out again Eve's buying satan's lie that she would "be as God" if she set aside God's authority, and chose her own way.  I'm told that decision had disastrous consequences.

Men incessantly debate, and attempt to enact, what they deem the "best" form of government.  Which debate usually ignores that the fact that one form of human government can only ever, at best, be relatively better than another.  Winston Churchill (who certainly knew something about the practice of governing) referenced that fact in a 1947 speech: "...it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all those other[s]..."

Cold War preaching and "prophesying" frequently left The Kingdom of God, which should be the Church' whole message as it was Jesus', out of consideration in its debate about forms of  government.  Often the Church' message was more focused on proclaiming that democracy (especially American democracy) was a vastly better form of government than Soviet Communism.  (Officially-atheist Soviet Communism, of course: which gave American Christians an "in" to argue our form of democracy was therefore somehow "Godly:" betokened by officially making "In God We Trust" the national motto, and adding "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, during the Col War years.)

The Church' message was true, as far as that goes; as it was true in the preceding years that American democracy was a vastly better, because more humane, form of government than Nazism or Japanese militarism.  But American democracy is simply not the message of The Kingdom that Jesus commanded His followers to preach and live.

Its worth noting that, in man's catalog of forms of government, the one most opposite to "theocracy" (the rule of God) is the theory that "the people rule" (demos-kratia).  It could be that Christians preaching democracy may be more than negligent toward Jesus' command and message, and verge on preaching a "gospel" contrary to Jesus'.

With the Church' unholy 40-year alliance with "conservatives," I'm seeing a resurgence of Cold War-style political preaching, almost entirely tailored to that political faction's message.  For one example, I recently read a "Letter to the American Church" by a "conservative" media-star and author that called the Church to repent its passively accomodation with Marxism, which he purports is rife in American public life (I'm skeptical).  His call largely seems to be that the Church repent other people's sins (a purported trans- and homosexual "agenda," for example, and abortion).  I think honest Christians know that's no repentance at all, and doesn't fool God.

(In a blog-post a couple weeks ago I also reviewed that book's egregious historical fabrications, on which the author bases his "prophetic" proposition, and pretensions.)

Similarly, the ministry of a media-star "conservative" preacher was fulsomely recommended to our Bible-study by our teacher last week.  That recommendation strongly emphasized and lauded the preacher's attacks on "Marxism."  I wasn't familiar with the man's teaching, and am disinclined to hear it.  Why would any Christian ?  Does preaching for or against any human political theory build up God's Kingdom ?

Not every wisdom can be reduced to an aphorism, but maybe this one can.  A Christian's politics will always manifest his faith: but a faith that manifests man's politics is never Christianity.

Friday, January 08, 2021

Spiritual Warfare

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

 

As near as we understand, Isaiah 14:12-15’s “taunt” to “the King of Babylon” describes the angel lucifer’s (“shining one”) attempted rebellion against God.

In those few verses, he five times asserts “I WILL,” against GOD’s will: most notably, “I WILL raise my throne above the stars of God,” and “I WILL make myself like The Most High.”

That was also the temptation satan held out to Eve: assert your own "I WILL", and “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5)

Jesus came proclaiming the “Kingdom of God:” He said the will of GOD rules right NOW “on earth as it is in heaven.”

The question is, as always, if we believe Jesus.

Let's.

God’s Kingdom is “righteousness, peace and joy” (Romans 14:17). Jesus said satan and his rebellious “children” show who they are by their love of lies and murder (john 8:44).

Can the issue of spiritual warfare be any clearer ?

Can the issues for America right NOW be any clearer ?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Seizing the Kingdom

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

One of Jesus' sayings it's hard to understand is Matthew 11:12: " From the days of John the Baptist
until now the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force."  (NASB)

I'm still not understanding that saying, which came to mind as I was pondering what Jesus taught
about the Kingdom of God.  But there are some things about it I'm storing for future meditation.

First, that Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven as present on earth.  That's where John the Baptist
was. That's where Jesus is as he speaks,  That's where the men who wish to seize the Kingdom are.

Second, that He speaks of a specific period of time regards the Kingdom on earth: " From the days of
John the Baptist until now..."  So I'm not sure how much we can rightly characterize any other time as
being one in which "violent men take  [the Kingdom]  by force."

It's worth noting, and pondering, the parallel saying of Luke 16:16: "The Law and the Prophets were
proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the Kingdom of God has been preached, and
everyone is forcing his way into it."

Jesus seems to emphasize in the latter the "dispensational" change from "the Law and the Prophets"
to "the gospel of the Kingdom of God."  But in both verses, the action of men towards the Kingdom is
the same: that men "seize it" or "enter it by force" is the same Greek verb, biazetai.  And maybe that
verb was the most surprising thing about Jesus' teaching.

One lexicon says that the Greek verb is used "both times positively" in these verses.  Strong's agrees
that it means "...the most ardent zeal and the intensest exertion" by those who desire to enter into the
Kingdom: and that any sense of the Kingdom's being forcefully taken by its enemies "...agrees neither
with the time when Christ spoke the words, nor with the context."

(I'm curious now why the Bible's translators found "violent" a suitable English word for Jesus' charac-
terization of those determined to enter the Kingdom ?  They had to have known that, in English, the
primary sense of the word is of a "hostile take-over.")

The word translated in Matthew as "violent men" (biastai) is related to the verb in both verses.  Again,
the lexicon gives this unique occurrence of the word the sense of "forceful," and Strong's glosses it as
one who "...strive[s]...with the utmost eagerness and effort."  And Luke may present an illuminative
difference between the two verses, in putting no emphasis at all on the character of those who lay
hold of the Kingdom: rather, "everyone" is.

But Jesus' other teaching about entering the Kingdom comes to mind, where He says people must enter
"like a child" (Luke 18:17, Mark 10:15, Matthew 18:3).  It's another strike against the "enemy" reading
reading of biazetai.

My 10-year old grandson came to mind.  We've only recently gotten to see him for any length of time, and
at the moment he's all about crawdad-traps.  I'm not quite sure how that became his obsession, or why.
I had to think about catching crawdads to eat when I was a kid, but I think he's wanting to sell them to
local bait-shops.

When we saw him, he showed me online the wire crawdad-traps his stepdad had ordered for him.  I told
him how impressed I was with their simple functionality, and that they were fairly inexpensive.  Told him
too that some people build their own crawdad-traps: and he had to hear what those looked like, and how
they worked.

Immediately he was determined that we build our own crawdad-traps.  I couldn't dissuade him with any
arguments: that his "professional" traps were already on their way and would be here within days, that
it was a waste of money to buy wood and wire to build our own, that the wire "professional" traps were
more durable than any we could make, that I'm the most unskilled carpenter there could be...

When his siter was driving him home, he was able to persuade her to stop in a hardware store and buy
him wood and wire-mesh to build his own traps.

My grandson gives me some insight on desire that's simultaneously "violent" and child-like.  He's com-
pletely, maddeningly, single-minded in what he wants.  He won't be turned from it by any other consid-
erations.  And he wants everyone around him involved with him in it.

"The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Was it "God's Will" Trump Be President ?

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

I recently read the following comment on a Christian blog I follow.  It's a common belief.  A common deceptive belief, I think; so I wrote a reply to it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I know God put Donald Trump in the White House, there is no possible doubt about that since every country leader in the world is God ordained.  What is unclear now is the purpose.”

You reference Romans 13:1-4, that all human (worldly, or "secular") authorities are "ordained" by God.  I'd urge you to look into the Greek word there: understanding it to mean that God "chose" or "caused" all human authorities is not entirely an accurate take-away.

That passage absolutely teaches that we should obey human authorities, in recognition that God’s Authority is the ultimate and ONLY one which exists. It also teaches that rebelliousness against human authorities likewise equates to rebellion against God’s authority; satan’s own sin.  (A sin very prevalent among some "political Christians" during the previous President's tenure.)

(The debate about when and how we must distinguish between God’s commands and those of human authorities…as in Acts 4:18-20…comes in here: but is not my point.)

That scripture does not teach, however, that because a man holds a position which carries God’s Authority, we should deduce that individual occupies that position by God’s will. God’s Authority is vested in the function (or office, or position) of ruling: not in the ruler. Jesus attested (at least some) men seize the kingdom of heaven (denoting God’s rightful Authority, Realm, and Rule) contrary God’s will, “by force” (Matthew 11:12).

God’s will and purpose throughout all history is that He Himself rule, and that He Alone be glorified. He characterizes mankind’s contrary desire for human rulers as “rejecting” Himself (I Samuel 8:7).   No human system of government could be more contrary the rule ("the Kingdom") of God than men's belief in “demokratia:” that the people (“demos”) should rule (“kratia”).

The existence of the American presidency (or any other human position of authority) can’t itself be said to be God’s will. The human system which puts anyone in that office cannot be said to be the working of God’s will: rather the opposite. There’s even less reason to believe the man who currently possesses that office does so by God’s approbation.

There’s good reason to believe the current president gained that office by deceit and corruption (possibly even corrupt dealings with nations who wish America’s destruction); or as Jesus said, “violence” contrary God’s will.

He has further distinguished himself as a man of lies: which makes it hard to believe he’s “God’s Man” or God’s “choice” in any way whatever, when he so overwhelmingly manifests the character of “the father of lies” (John 8:44).  Manifests too an extreme tendency to glorify himSELF, and not God: which is also a prominent fact of satan's character.

God’s purpose and will, His rule and His glory, will be enacted despite, and even in, whatever evil men may do. But you say rightly that we can’t yet see in what way God will manifest His rule in America’s current situation. Keep in mind there are times He manifests His rule by watching over people, even His Own people, for disaster and destruction (Jeremiah 31:28, 44:27ff).

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Monday, March 08, 2010

Defining The Kingdom of God

“Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. “

-- Matthew 6:10

(The second phrase explains what Jesus means by "Your kingdom come.")



“…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. “

-- Romans 14:17



“For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.”

-- I Corinthians 4:20

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Twa Kingdoms and Twa Kingis

The Scots reformer Andrew Melville famously rebuked the King of Scotland with the words, "Thair is twa kingdoms and twa kingis in Scotland..." Seizing the king's sleeve, he declared that
"Thair is Chryst Jesus the King, an' His Kingdom the Kirk, qhase subject King Jamie the Saxth is, an' o' qhase kingdome nocht a king nor a lord be he, bot a member."

Melville was right, in the only way a human being can ever be right: he spoke exactly what the Bible teaches. For that same reason, what Melville said remains true today, and always. There are two kinds of government on earth, and only two kinds: God's Kingdom, and man's.

God's authority to rule, and power to rule, are absolute: He rules all creation, time itself, circumstances, the living and the dead. God's rule is so absolute that man's authority and power to rule are entirely derivative of His, and only at God's sovereign delegation. Those to whom He delegates His power and authority, He holds accountable. And we who are subjects of earthly kings, He holds accountable to obey as recognizing His authority behind our fallible human rulers.

But the American Church has particular difficulty with the teaching of the Kingdom of God. Our national culture-heroes are rebels, beginning with the "founding fathers." The documents on which our nationhood is based justify rebellion against the authority of our earthly king. Rebels are the pantheon of our national culture...the Confederacy, Jesse James, robber barons, the heroic rebels of "Star Wars." The touchstone here is again what the Bible teaches: "...rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft..." (I Samuel 15:23, KJV)

Some teach that our "founding fathers" were deeply Christian men. It's a claim that is historically, documentably, untrue. It's a claim manifestly intended to support the deceitful purposes of a current political faction. (The "Tea Party" rebels, for example, adapt their name, and dress in colonial garb, to present themselves as the true descendants of the "founding fathers.") But whatever else they were or weren't, the "founding fathers" were undeniably rebels: and in God's eyes, the equivalent of warlocks. If God has blessed the United States...and He has...it is in spite of, NOT because of, our antecedents.

The American Church has a choice to make, and make soon: to which kingdom do we belong ? Thus far, willfully misled by self-serving partisans of the ruling world-system, The American Church has followed deceivers. Church, REPENT your deadly foolishness, and return to your First Love !!

I mourn and pray for this poor sick country; even more for its rebellious Church, which is all that stands between us and God's righteous judgement.