What does this mean for Egypt. It means that clearly the people brought about the downfall of Mubarek, by an overall peaceful Revolution. Perhaps just over 10-15 years this could not have happened. Why? The reason is the Internet has made the world a smaller community, now at least, people can still get the truth out there as they see it, and not have it completely shut off to the world, by those who can subvert, and pervert the truth of what is going on in another country, though there are still many attempts by the powers to shut down the reality and keep us all living in their matrix of lies, of controlled media, the truth does come out. Regardless, how conservative Americans may think of Julian Assange, he is a great revolutionary, in that he dared to step out of the matrix of the controlled media, and controlled information that people are dished out normally into their lives everyday.
Truth be told, what revolutions may have incurred in our own country should all the truths have come out, that really go on behind closed doors in Washington, D.C.
Would those Revolutions brought about a better country then the economic oppression, and problems we are experiencing now because of the few elitist who hold power even now in our country? Probably not.
All governments, are fruit hanging off one tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Each man's rule, each man's change of rule, is because there are always those who think they can do good out of their natural selves. This is in clear contradiction to history, and to Scripture. Man is "a god" in truth in this world, in the temporal and carnal lives of men. We know this to be true, that each of us live in a relationship where there are those whether in our immediate world, family, community, or State, there are always those who will hold power over someone else. Even those who seemed to be limited in power, the poor and destitute, yet hold some power over the lives of others, because of their position, their lack of, they influence, others by that very life they live. They can power over the emotions of others, and the natural (carnal) nature of men to do good.
This is the incredible truth, thus Jesus was not being heartless, when He said the poor will always be among you.
The rich of course, may hold greater power over our lives, even to the point of life and death of our temporal selves. They may rule over the very resources to which God gave all men, be it food, water, clothing, and shelter, but as Jesus said, Don't be afraid of those who can only cast your body into the grave (hadys).
Mankind is forever seeking to be "a god", when it is clear in temporal things, he may make "god like" decisions by powering over others in one sense or another.
The fact be told though, there is no other God, in that all that transpires in history, whether it be your history, or the history of others, or nations or kingdoms, are NOT outside of the counsel, the purpose or the will of God.
Man's being "a god" is only illusion, a non-reality, that he creates for himself with a carnal mind. He fails to see outside of himself, the Spiritual, that the CREATOR is in every decision you and I will ever make, or ever do. This is hard for the carnal mind to grasp, simply because to believe so, removes the illusion of their being a "god."
Men holds onto the idea of human will, as his own god, thinking that all his actions, decisions, words and deeds, he has accomplished or performed are some right he believes he has innately to be absolutely independent of the Creator.
This is his the illusion that the serpent brought, "you shall be like god."
Thus man, was exposed to who he really is, but at the same time that knowing, closed his mind and heart to the reality of the God who is love.
From the very beginning to the story of Jesus and each man's story today, he fails to see, that which is the TRUTH. Jesus Christ. They fail to see the real story, they still are living in an illusion of the flesh. They have re-designed the Good News to Bad News, so that they themselves may yet divide themselves over other men, to maintain their "godhood.", to remain "a god", to set themselves apart from the race of humanity, that Paul makes very clear, is and was in the same boat, and that boat was sinking and sunk. that God in his power, among all the decisions men were making, thinking that he actually was exercising human will, God the Creator, was putting men in bondage to the self, the ego, the I am "a god." The illusion of Adam, that He from the very beginning the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth had a plan, and that His plan has never been subverted by His creature man, or devil.
We see this celebration of man's supposed will in revolution, we see this in the face of the protesters, we see this whenever men, think by their power, they have changed the course of their own history to what they believe is their own making. They celebrate in Egypt now, but that is only for the moment, they believed by exercising their god like status they have accomplished their freedom. History will prove that is not so.
History and the very facts of the United States prove that we are not truly free.
There will always be those that men will place their worship in, who are no greater then they are, but they will yet believe and trust that some "mortal" like themselves, will help them achieve their immortality. Israel did it time after time, and so hasn't every nation or power throughout history but where are these kingdoms now, where are their kings? Are not all these powers now lying in the dust of history past.
Egypt of the past, Israel of the past, Rome of the past, Greece of the past, all are washed away by the sands of time. Their attempts to obtain immortality ended up in mortality. They are non-existent, they no longer are among us, their vestige of memory may be there, their influence upon the thoughts and actions of men in the future may be there, but where is their reality, it is gone with the winds of time. America someday, will be the same. It is already becoming so, and has become so, the very foundations of what it was built upon, have already descended into the "grave", for we see, the ideals of the forefathers, the early history of this nation and it's purposes to establish a freedom to mankind never known by the world, is a mere illusion as well.
There are those who blindly hold onto the illusion, but they too will disappear into the dust blown in the wind.
Revolution, true revolution, is what Christ brought to us as men, Christ reveals the spiritual reality of man, He reveals the reality of reality, and exposes the vain imaginations, desires and lies of men. Yet, men has buried that in two thousand years of tradition and lies, and created only a new illusion that hides the TRUTH. One to know this truth, must go and sell all he has and give it to the poor, and come follow Him. But do you see the road following Him will lead to?
Do realize that before the resurrection their must be a death, to your ego, death to your human will, death to your very self. Take up your cross and follow me, Jesus says, but no man wants to take up his Cadillac and say I have arrived!
I am not trying here to draw up some false picture of it is more holy to be physically poor, no Jesus spoke of a poverty of spirit that brings blessing.
This poverty in order to gain, his riches, must come to rich man and poor man alike. It is an equalizer, it is a leveler, it brings us first to know all of our condition as man, ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Which means DEATH! but then the story of Jesus says, where sin abounded through the one man Adam, grace abounded more through Jesus Christ.
It is that in the one man Adam all died, and in Christ all shall live.
But how shall you ever arrive at the truth of that, unless YOU DIE!
Immediately many of you, will fail to even grasp the word DIE, your thoughts are turned to that of carnality rather then spirituality, you immediately think of a funeral, a dead man in a casket, your end. You immediately think like Martha did, "I know Lord he will be raised in the resurrection of the last day."
Let us be reminded of Jesus reply.
You immediately because of all the tradition your brain and ego self has been built upon like Thomas you have heard Jesus speak of life and death time after time, and like Thomas you say, let us go and die with him.
No, this death, that Jesus would reveal, was not just His going to the Cross, it was the life He lives, the words He breathed, the actions He took, it was all a realized, death to human will and He makes that clear in John 5:19
"Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner."
Do you actually believe you can do anything outside of His will, or receive anything outside of His will.
John understood where all that you have and are comes from:
John 3:27
John answered and said, " A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
Are you really ready to incur spiritual poverty and lay down your mantel of desiring to be "a god" thinking you are "a god."
Are you ready to die to the illusive self, for the reality of God. Are you ready to die to the illusive traditions, and lies you have believed all your life about yourself and the Creator? Are you ready to see Jesus for He really is, who is the LAST ADAM.
Is your heart prepared to know the one true God, and His son whom He has sent?
Are you really ready for REVOLUTION?
Then I declare to you, it doesn't begin by overthrowing governments, it begins by overthrowing the government of your own heart and thoughts, and recieving the KINGDOM OF GOD which has been freely given to you. The Kingdom of God is within you, are you yet wasting time, looking for the kingdom out there, when He is present? Are you looking for that outside of yourself, that has been graciously placed within yourself?
I desire Revolution everyday in my life, and that revolution is, has and will continue to take place in my heart and thoughts as He brings down those kingdoms of the illusion of self, and just who I am as man, and I bow to His truth, the only truth, who said, I am the way, the truth and the life! Do you desire to know the way, do you desire to know the truth and do you desire to have life, here and now?
Then look to the Truth! He is standing right there in your face, you can find Him, if you will but let go of the illusion, and your heart cry out as loudly and in unison as the tulmutously as the throngs of voices who have so placed there trust in a false revolution.
I want REVOLUTION, give me REAL REVOLUTION, and perhaps you will find the Mubarek of your heart will step down from his throne, your ego, your old illusive Adamic self, and Jesus the Last Adam will take His rightful throne of glory in your life. If you will, there is righteousness, peace and joy, that for which we all seek to know, and that these Egyptians really desire, but they like most have sought it by the hands of their own and the hands of another man, will they recieve righteousness, joy and peace.
No, their personal worlds will remain in the same turmoil as always, and along with it will come despair.
But wait God has a better plan for the human race, it has been revealed, is being revealed and shall be alas revealed in the grand consummation of all things that are reconciled in Christ to the glory of the Father.
We will then see Him as He is. Redeemer of the human race.
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Showing posts with label Kingdom of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingdom of God. Show all posts
Friday, February 11, 2011
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Thoughts on the Kingdom of God Present
This week has been a hectic week, of work, and at work. Though in fellowship with my best friend throughout the week, we have shared many eschatological ideas, thoughts and beliefs. I saw several movies this week, each one, has it's own message of course whether good or evil. I guess the most important message one can hear, is you are loved, and the God of Heaven, your Creator, loved you so much, he had a special plan and place to make you one of His children, through the first begotten, Jesus Christ, the Second Adam. Who brings us not only victory over sin and death, but victory over this world.
It seems there is not a day that goes by, we don't find love. Instead we read of, and see and hear of evil. Yet, Christ stated His kingdom is not of this world. This is the hardest thing for the average Christian to understand, and thus he gets blinded by evil everywhere he looks, so He can't imagine how Christ could be presently the conqueror, the victor! He doesnt understand the principle of the heart, and relies on his own personal senses, to derive his truths from rather than the Word of God, written and living. He forgets that we are but dust, and our time here is very short. That the kingdom of God must be in one's heart. We aren't to look for it here, or over there, Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you!
Is the Kingdom in the hearts of His people?
Jesus said, If I shall return, will I find faith?
What is faith? Is it just some intellectual assent to a belief that something exist, or something historically is fact, just what constitutes, "saving faith"?
Saving faith, is not a belief in something, it is a complete trust and reliance on SOMEONE! That someone is Christ...
If you have read anything much of what I have written on this blog and my others, you know, I believe with all my heart that when Jesus said, "IT IS FINISHED" at the cross, and when He spoke to John, in the book of Revelation, saying, "IT IS DONE", I believe that. Too many Christians are looking to the newspapers trying to interpret the book of Revelation from by current events. Audience relevance is the most important key to understanding the Bible.. We must always keep in mind that these letters, these books were not written to us, but for us. They were written to others who lived long ago.. These people understood, John, when He said, even now it is the last hour. They understood Paul, saying the time is near, Peter saying the same.
They understood Jesus when he told the Jews, this Generation would recieve the judgement for the refusal of hearing Him and accepting Him, while He the very Son of God stood in their midst physically, they refused to believe in Him. So the futurist in eschatology, hold out, like the Pharisees, the don't see what they want to see, and refuse to see Christ presence among us, in us, living through us. They anxiously await that someday, He will return again physically and all will be right. He has come, and did return, and yet people refuse yet to this day, to see, His Kingdom wasn't something He was going to establish on earth, His kingdom would not be a physical kingdom where people could point and say - look over there. His kingdom which reigns for evermore is in the hearts of His people who truly have faith and believe, we are not waiting for a better day, other than our physical demise, where our bodies shall return to dust and we shall recieve our spiritual body, incorruptible, and immortal to thus be with the Lord forever more. I am not waiting for Jesus to drop out of the sky, or The Temple to be rebuilt, or for the Jews to have peace in the real estate they desire politically to call Israel. I am not waiting to conquer sin and death, or this world. I have SAVING FAITH, that says, He said "It is finished and it is done, and He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. For me, everything He set out to do in the hearts of men, has been done, and all I am waiting for, is not some Rapture, but for me I await:
1 Corinthians 15:44 (NAS)
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
I know that He lives in me, is my life and I shall take on wings when I leave this earth and sail the heavens with Him for eternity and not because of anything I ever did, or thought to do, or wanted to do, or even said. He will lift me up into the mountains of His righteousness, because He is the King of Glory, and I already live in His Kingdom, and I shall live with Him in eternity. Why, because that is where my absolute, trust lies, in Him, and not myself.
Perhaps now, you might understand more why I believe that only Preterist/Spiritualist Eschatology makes sense... why because... what are we waiting for other than to die our physical deaths and go on to be with the Lord, where there is no evil, no good, but only He that is good, righteous and most importantly HOLY!
Holy, Holy, Holy...
Dr. J
bidding you good night, may the peace of the Lord give you pleasant dreams.
It seems there is not a day that goes by, we don't find love. Instead we read of, and see and hear of evil. Yet, Christ stated His kingdom is not of this world. This is the hardest thing for the average Christian to understand, and thus he gets blinded by evil everywhere he looks, so He can't imagine how Christ could be presently the conqueror, the victor! He doesnt understand the principle of the heart, and relies on his own personal senses, to derive his truths from rather than the Word of God, written and living. He forgets that we are but dust, and our time here is very short. That the kingdom of God must be in one's heart. We aren't to look for it here, or over there, Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you!
Is the Kingdom in the hearts of His people?
Jesus said, If I shall return, will I find faith?
What is faith? Is it just some intellectual assent to a belief that something exist, or something historically is fact, just what constitutes, "saving faith"?
Saving faith, is not a belief in something, it is a complete trust and reliance on SOMEONE! That someone is Christ...
If you have read anything much of what I have written on this blog and my others, you know, I believe with all my heart that when Jesus said, "IT IS FINISHED" at the cross, and when He spoke to John, in the book of Revelation, saying, "IT IS DONE", I believe that. Too many Christians are looking to the newspapers trying to interpret the book of Revelation from by current events. Audience relevance is the most important key to understanding the Bible.. We must always keep in mind that these letters, these books were not written to us, but for us. They were written to others who lived long ago.. These people understood, John, when He said, even now it is the last hour. They understood Paul, saying the time is near, Peter saying the same.
They understood Jesus when he told the Jews, this Generation would recieve the judgement for the refusal of hearing Him and accepting Him, while He the very Son of God stood in their midst physically, they refused to believe in Him. So the futurist in eschatology, hold out, like the Pharisees, the don't see what they want to see, and refuse to see Christ presence among us, in us, living through us. They anxiously await that someday, He will return again physically and all will be right. He has come, and did return, and yet people refuse yet to this day, to see, His Kingdom wasn't something He was going to establish on earth, His kingdom would not be a physical kingdom where people could point and say - look over there. His kingdom which reigns for evermore is in the hearts of His people who truly have faith and believe, we are not waiting for a better day, other than our physical demise, where our bodies shall return to dust and we shall recieve our spiritual body, incorruptible, and immortal to thus be with the Lord forever more. I am not waiting for Jesus to drop out of the sky, or The Temple to be rebuilt, or for the Jews to have peace in the real estate they desire politically to call Israel. I am not waiting to conquer sin and death, or this world. I have SAVING FAITH, that says, He said "It is finished and it is done, and He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. For me, everything He set out to do in the hearts of men, has been done, and all I am waiting for, is not some Rapture, but for me I await:
1 Corinthians 15:44 (NAS)
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
I know that He lives in me, is my life and I shall take on wings when I leave this earth and sail the heavens with Him for eternity and not because of anything I ever did, or thought to do, or wanted to do, or even said. He will lift me up into the mountains of His righteousness, because He is the King of Glory, and I already live in His Kingdom, and I shall live with Him in eternity. Why, because that is where my absolute, trust lies, in Him, and not myself.
Perhaps now, you might understand more why I believe that only Preterist/Spiritualist Eschatology makes sense... why because... what are we waiting for other than to die our physical deaths and go on to be with the Lord, where there is no evil, no good, but only He that is good, righteous and most importantly HOLY!
Holy, Holy, Holy...
Dr. J
bidding you good night, may the peace of the Lord give you pleasant dreams.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
I Was Thinking About It
I was thinking about, why and how our present economic, political and otherwise conditions of living got to where they are at today in America. I have written for years on various things that were going on, that most people sloughed off. Now, a majority of Americans are just starting to wake up out of their slumber. For most they see that political change can take place by the vote. I think that has already been disproved. I don't really think there is much hope for us anymore as the nation we once knew. I really believe that we are looking at the last days of this once great country. The vote is controlled, the economy is controlled, and even our politicans are controlled. Perhaps by brain washing, propaganda or other. However, it has been accomplished, facts are that your so called Representatives have closed their ears, and minds to us, the people. Money is a very powerful drug. It has influenced and changed even the best of those with good intentions in politics. Once a person, that is not born of the Spirit of God, is ingratiated with it, they learn a very simple fact. Money buys power and control over others, and provides you individually more freedom then the those you power over. We have for far too long, forgotten what the Bible clearly teaches - The love of money is the ROOT of all evil.
I use to have an old saying myself, as an investigator who did financial and assets investigations - follow the money and you will find out just what and who is the person behind everything or who they are. It is true in politics as well, if you follow the money that pays for the votes, the introduction and passing of legislation, you will find out a great deal that will probably blow all your paradigm of thinking away. I know and you know, that in truth there is not one real iota a difference between a Democrat or a Republican. Oh! they try to say there is, but truth is - money is what makes the world go around. Ask yourself, this, if you earn as small a wage as I earn, and Congress earns something like $159,000 a year, and the U.S. Government steals from us in tax dollars NINE HUNDRED BILLION dollars a year, then who do you think their interest is toward? Do you honestly believe that either party is interested in smaller government, welfare of the poor, or any other such foolish notions we may think one them subscribes too. You have lost touch wth reality. The kingdoms of this world, and the selfish sin nature of men, has continually presented the same temptation as we all face and Jesus faced in his tempting in the wilderness, "bow down before me, and I will give you the kingdoms of this world". You see, it is only the Kingdom of God, whereby we have one true leader, Jesus Christ who has defeated this enemy - the love of money. He defeated both sin and death. Now, who will we worship, a government, a state, a political ideology, or will we worship Christ above all things? Ask yourself the question, has not your worship of this country, brought you disappointment, of course it has, and it will to do so continually. Why, because Jesus made it clear, that His kingdom is everlasting, and history has proven, that none of men's inventions of government, state or politics has ever lasted over 500 years. They all disappear into the dust, what we are doing is seeing one of man's greatest ideas for good become evil. God wants us to live on a better tree for our food, then the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He wants us to know and eat from the one true tree, the Tree of Eternal Life, which is Christ our King. Jesus made it very clear, that unless we drink His blood and eat His flesh, we won't have life. Is that too hard for you?
I have said for far too long, that we have become a nation not of Freedom but we have become the nation of FREE DUMB! How long shall we hold a deaf ear, to hear Christ say, "My Kingdom is not of this world". It isn't, the Kingdom of God is within you, if you have been birthed by the Creator Father, and have placed your trust, not in the kingdoms of this world, but in Christ, who is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Let us cease to waiver in our trust in the one true Kingdom for which if you are His child, you already live in, that is the Kingdom of God. Let us not waiver in our simple reliance and trust upon, the one person, who never sinned, and never failed those he represented - mankind- Jesus Christ our Lord.
I use to have an old saying myself, as an investigator who did financial and assets investigations - follow the money and you will find out just what and who is the person behind everything or who they are. It is true in politics as well, if you follow the money that pays for the votes, the introduction and passing of legislation, you will find out a great deal that will probably blow all your paradigm of thinking away. I know and you know, that in truth there is not one real iota a difference between a Democrat or a Republican. Oh! they try to say there is, but truth is - money is what makes the world go around. Ask yourself, this, if you earn as small a wage as I earn, and Congress earns something like $159,000 a year, and the U.S. Government steals from us in tax dollars NINE HUNDRED BILLION dollars a year, then who do you think their interest is toward? Do you honestly believe that either party is interested in smaller government, welfare of the poor, or any other such foolish notions we may think one them subscribes too. You have lost touch wth reality. The kingdoms of this world, and the selfish sin nature of men, has continually presented the same temptation as we all face and Jesus faced in his tempting in the wilderness, "bow down before me, and I will give you the kingdoms of this world". You see, it is only the Kingdom of God, whereby we have one true leader, Jesus Christ who has defeated this enemy - the love of money. He defeated both sin and death. Now, who will we worship, a government, a state, a political ideology, or will we worship Christ above all things? Ask yourself the question, has not your worship of this country, brought you disappointment, of course it has, and it will to do so continually. Why, because Jesus made it clear, that His kingdom is everlasting, and history has proven, that none of men's inventions of government, state or politics has ever lasted over 500 years. They all disappear into the dust, what we are doing is seeing one of man's greatest ideas for good become evil. God wants us to live on a better tree for our food, then the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He wants us to know and eat from the one true tree, the Tree of Eternal Life, which is Christ our King. Jesus made it very clear, that unless we drink His blood and eat His flesh, we won't have life. Is that too hard for you?
I have said for far too long, that we have become a nation not of Freedom but we have become the nation of FREE DUMB! How long shall we hold a deaf ear, to hear Christ say, "My Kingdom is not of this world". It isn't, the Kingdom of God is within you, if you have been birthed by the Creator Father, and have placed your trust, not in the kingdoms of this world, but in Christ, who is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Let us cease to waiver in our trust in the one true Kingdom for which if you are His child, you already live in, that is the Kingdom of God. Let us not waiver in our simple reliance and trust upon, the one person, who never sinned, and never failed those he represented - mankind- Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men
Just a little history for the day after the Fourth of July in America. Most individuals know I do not beleive in violence or war, or rebellion as a Christian. I do beleive we are to pray for leaders and peace so that we may live out our Christian faith peacefully, tend to our families, feed them and ourselves and clothe and house them and ourselves. However, what shall we do when government becomes so oppresive as that believers cannot enjoy our God given right to peace, and freedom without license.
I dont' believe that God wants us to sit back silently, as I beleive very strongly that we live in the Kingdom of God, as a Preterist, however I also believe it is our duty as Christians to support freedom in ways that are neither violent or zealous beyond Biblical reason and the life of Christ within us.
I found it of interest that the belief system of the days of our forefathers in this country, that people thought very differently other than the Quakers who think more like myself. I make no oath to no one, no institution or nation, but to serve it in Christ, however, even Paul and Peter once it got down to obedience towards God or men, chose God- and thus when commanded to cease from preaching Jesus Christ or proclaiming Ceasar a god, they did rebel against authority and did what they were told not to do anyway. They never lifted a weapon or fought back ,they simply followed their King Jesus in the same manner He did, they suffered and died at the hands of their persecutors. They practiced civil disobedience not for the affairs of men but for God. Even as Paul said, he was compelled to preach Christ.
Though I do not agree with what follows it is a large part of American History and bears repeating as a reminder, to those that always seek to power over others, there will be others who rebel many times it will be the religious and lead by the religious.
Though the following is an outline of just such a man who was both a preacher and a statesman, it is to remind us, that it is easy to be caught up in the moment of resistance against oppression, to often turn to religious justifications as this sermon delivered by John Witherspoon on May 17, 1776 just a month before the Declaration of Independence was signed in July 1776 and finally completed in it's signing in August of 1776. Here is a little background into the Scottish preacher John Witherspoon and then I have presented his sermon as preached in May 1776, that gave great religious fervor to the Revolution in 1776.
John Witherspoon (1723–1794). Born in Scotland and educated at Edinburgh, Witherspoon came to America in 1768 to be president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), a position he held until 1792, when blindness forced his retirement. He had led the Popular Party among Scottish Presbyterians before his emigration, and he was prominent among ecclesiastical leaders in America. In the pre-Revolutionary years, the college at Princeton prospered under Witherspoon; with the Scotch-Irish influx into America, the Presbyterian church enjoyed great popularity and prosperity in the country, especially in the middle Atlantic colonies and on the frontier, where by 1776 there were many ministers who had been Witherspoon’s students. He closed the schism among the Presbyterians, and he made alliance with Ezra Stiles (president of Yale) to forge strong ties with the Congregationalists of New England as the Revolution bore down on the country. With Stiles he shared a distaste for the New Divinity and revivalism generally. He introduced into American thought the Scottish Common Sense philosophy of Thomas Reid and Dugald Stewart, which dominated the young nation’s thought for a century.
Because Witherspoon had been captured and imprisoned in Scotland during the Highlander uprising in 1745–46, his critics called him a Jacobite. Witherspoon eschewed politics in America until 1774, but after that he steadily participated, directly and indirectly, in the leading events of the day. In 1776 he was elected to the Continental Congress in time to urge adoption of the Declaration of Independence and to be the only clergyman to sign it. To the assertion that America was not ripe for independence he retorted: “In my judgment, sir, we are not only ripe, but rotting.”
Witherspoon served intermittently in Congress until 1782 and was a member of over a hundred legislative committees, including two vital standing committees, the Board of War and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In the latter role, he took a leading part in drawing up the instructions for the American peace commissioners who concluded the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war in September 1783. He later served in the New Jersey legislature and was a member of that state’s ratifying convention for the Constitution in 1787.
Witherspoon has been called the most influential professor in American history, not only because of his powerful writing and speaking style—and he was carefully attended to on all subjects, both here and abroad—but also because of his long tenure at Princeton. His teaching and the reforms he made there radiated his influence across the country. He trained not only a substantial segment of the leadership among Presbyterians but a number of political leaders as well. Nine of the fifty-five participants in the Federal Convention in 1787 were Princeton graduates, chief among them James Madison (who, among other things, spent an extra year studying Hebrew and philosophy with Witherspoon after his graduation in 1771). Moreover, his pupils included a president and a vice-president of the United States, twenty-one senators, twenty-nine representatives, fifty-six state legislators, and thirty-three judges, three of whom were appointed to the Supreme Court. During the Revolution, his pupils were everywhere in positions of command in the American forces.
Witherspoon’s The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men caused a great stir when it was first preached in Princeton and published in Philadelphia in 1776, about a month before he was elected to the Continental Congress on June 22. He reminds his auditors that the sermon is his first address on political matters from the pulpit: ministers of the Gospel have more important business to attend to than secular crises, but, of course, liberty is more than a merely secular matter.
Surely the Wrath of Man shall praise thee; the remainder of Wrath shalt thou restrain.
(How the final statement of his can fit into what both Jesus and Paul taught is beyond me, but religious men believed it and fought the war under it's religious justifications to formulate this country which we live in now) - Dr. J.
Here is the sermon as he preached it back then in May 1776
The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men
John Witherspoon
May 17, 1775
Print this Page.
In the first place, I would take the opportunity on this occasion, and from this subject, to press every hearer to a sincere concern for his own soul’s salvation. There are times when the mind may be expected to be more awake to divine truth, and the conscience more open to the arrows of conviction than at others. A season of public judgment is of this kind. Can you have a clearer view of the sinfulness of your nature, than when the rod of the oppressor is lifted up, and when you see men putting on the habit of the warrior, and collecting on every hand the weapons of hostility and instruments of death? I do not blame your ardour in preparing for the resolute defense of your temporal rights; but consider, I beseech you, the truly infinite importance of the salvation of your souls. Is it of much moment whether you and your children shall be rich or poor, at liberty or in bonds? Is it of much moment whether this beautiful country shall increase in fruitfulness from year to year, being cultivated by active industry, and possessed by independent freemen, or the scanty produce of the neglected fields shall be eaten up by hungry publicans, while the timid owner trembles at the tax-gatherer’s approach? And is it of less moment, my brethren, whether you shall be the heirs of glory, or the heirs of hell? Is your state on earth for a few fleeting years, of so much moment? And is it of less moment what shall be your state through endless ages? Have you assembled together willingly to hear what shall be said on public affairs, and to join in imploring the blessing of God on the counsels and arms of the United Colonies, and can you be unconcerned what shall become of you for ever, when all the monuments of human greatness shall be laid in ashes, for "the earth itself, and all the works that are therein shall be burnt up."
Wherefore, my beloved hearers, as the ministry of reconciliation is committed to me, I beseech you in the most earnest manner, to attend to "the things that belong to your peace, before they are hid from your eyes". How soon, and in what manner a seal shall be set upon the character and state of every person here present, it is impossible to know. But you may rest assured, that there is no time more suitable, and there is none so safe as that which is present, since it is wholy uncertain whether any other shall be yours. Those who shall first fall in battle, have not many more warnings to receive. There are some few daring and hardened sinners, who despise eternity itself, and set their Maker at defiance; but the far greater number, by staving off their convictions to a more convenient season, have been taken unprepared, and thus eternally lost. I would therefore earnestly press the apostle’s exhortation, 2 Cor 6: 1-2... "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Suffer me to beseech you, or rather to give you warning, not to rest satisfied with a form of godliness, denying the power thereof. There can be no true religion, till there be a discovery of your lost state by nature and practice, and an unfeigned acceptance of Christ Jesus, as he is offered in the gospel. Unhappy are they who either despise his mercy, or are ashamed of his cross. Believe it, "There is no salvation in any other." "There is no other name under heaven given amongst men by which we must be saved." Unless you are united to him by a lively faith, not the resentment of a haughty monarch, the sword of divine justice hangs over you, and the fulness of divine vengeance shall speedily overtake you. I do not speak this only to the heaven-daring profligate or grovelling sensualist, but to every insensible, secure sinner; to all those, however decent and orderly in their civil deportment, who live to themselves, and have their part and portion in this life; in fine, to all who are yet in a state of nature, for "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". The fear of man may make you hide your profanity; prudence and experience may make you abhor intemperance and riot; as you advance in life one vice may supplant another and hold its place; but nothing less than the sovereign grace of God can produce a saving change of heart and temper, or fit you for his immediate presence.
While we give praise to God, the supreme Disposer of all events, for his interposition in our behalf, let us guard against the dangerous error of trusting in, or boasting of an arm of flesh. I could earnestly wish, that while our arms are crowned with success, we might content ourselves with a modest ascription of it to the power of the Highest. It has given me great uneasiness to read some ostentatious, vaunting expressions in our newspapers, though happily, I think, much restrained of late. Let us not return to them again. If I am not mistaken, not only the Holy Scriptures in general, and the truths of the glorious gospel in particular, but the whole course of providence, seem intended to abase the pride of man, and lay the vain-glorious in the dust.
From what has been said you may learn what encouragement you have to put your trust in God, and hope for his assistance in the present important conflict. He is the Lord of hosts, great in might, and strong in battle. Whoever hath his countenance and approbation, shall have the best at last. I do not mean to speak prophetically, but agreeably to the analogy of faith, and the principles of God’s moral government. I leave this as a matter rather of conjecture than certainty, but observe, that if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude of opposing hosts.
If your cause is just, you may look with confidence to the Lord, and intreat him to plead it as his own. You are all my witnesses, that this is the first time of my introducing any political subject into the pulpit. At this season, however, it is not only lawful but necessary, and I willingly embrace the opportunity of declaring my opinion without any hesitation, that the cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of liberty, and of human nature. So far as we have hitherto proceeded, I am satisfied that the confederacy of the colonies has not been the effect of pride, resentment, or sedition, but of a deep and general conviction that our civil and religious liberties, and consequently in a great measure the temporal and eternal happiness of us and our posterity, depended on the issue. The knowledge of God and his truths have from the beginning of the world been chiefly, if not entirely confined to those parts of the earth where some degree of liberty and political justice were to be seen, and great were the difficulties with which they had to struggle, from the imperfection of human society, and the unjust decisions of unsurped authority. There is not a single instance in history, in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire. If therefore we yield up our temporal property, we at the same time deliver the conscience into bondage.
--
Comment: I can only say when men take scripture and things that are meant clearly to be spiritual in context then revert them to the carnal affairs of men, it is easy to see how in the religious mind, all kinds of justifications are found for all kinds of acts that any man can find solace in his action, though totally unscriptural and anti-biblical just as those who turn our Lord Jesus into G.I. Jesus, or like the anti-abortionist who seek to kill those who perform abortions. They have left the context of scripture, which Jesus reminds us, that life can't be found in it, neither is it a book of rules whereby we live our carnal lives, they are that which speak of Him, Jesus Christ who is KING OVER ALL THE AFFAIRS OF MEN, for it was He who said, "All Authority has been given unto me, in heaven and on earth". The affairs of government, and others lives, are not our affair but His, and His alone, and it is He who is judge, and will judge others, not we ourselves. How we forget so easily that Christ didnt come to establish an earthly kingdom of government among all people but an inward one in the hearts of His people who are here on earth being prepared for heaven, where there is no war, no death, no sin or men and their governments which will rise and fall always. Rome fell, and yes, sad to say as an American we are seeing the last vestiges of freedom in our country coming to a close as well. Is a revolution in store, probably and perhaps but should Christians lead it, my answer and I having the Spirit of Christ believe the answer for us is still, "No". Leave the affairs of men to men, there will be governments arise that are for individual freedom as history reveals, and there will be governments fall of despotism, like Rome and now America. Yes, we have a heritage but it is not our heritage of Americans that we need recall, it is our heritage and first most of being subjects, and not just subjects of the King but brothers to Christ, and Son's of the Father which must always guard our hearts against the idea's of any sort of justified violence against any of the kingdoms of this world. They will always be there, and they will always oppose God and the freedoms of Christ people, as they did Him, but our answer should remain...."Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord", and not ours, even at cost of our own individual lives under the oppression and hands of the persecutor, whoever that may be, another government or our own. We are to remain at peace with the Prince of peace..
Dr. J.
I dont' believe that God wants us to sit back silently, as I beleive very strongly that we live in the Kingdom of God, as a Preterist, however I also believe it is our duty as Christians to support freedom in ways that are neither violent or zealous beyond Biblical reason and the life of Christ within us.
I found it of interest that the belief system of the days of our forefathers in this country, that people thought very differently other than the Quakers who think more like myself. I make no oath to no one, no institution or nation, but to serve it in Christ, however, even Paul and Peter once it got down to obedience towards God or men, chose God- and thus when commanded to cease from preaching Jesus Christ or proclaiming Ceasar a god, they did rebel against authority and did what they were told not to do anyway. They never lifted a weapon or fought back ,they simply followed their King Jesus in the same manner He did, they suffered and died at the hands of their persecutors. They practiced civil disobedience not for the affairs of men but for God. Even as Paul said, he was compelled to preach Christ.
Though I do not agree with what follows it is a large part of American History and bears repeating as a reminder, to those that always seek to power over others, there will be others who rebel many times it will be the religious and lead by the religious.
Though the following is an outline of just such a man who was both a preacher and a statesman, it is to remind us, that it is easy to be caught up in the moment of resistance against oppression, to often turn to religious justifications as this sermon delivered by John Witherspoon on May 17, 1776 just a month before the Declaration of Independence was signed in July 1776 and finally completed in it's signing in August of 1776. Here is a little background into the Scottish preacher John Witherspoon and then I have presented his sermon as preached in May 1776, that gave great religious fervor to the Revolution in 1776.
John Witherspoon (1723–1794). Born in Scotland and educated at Edinburgh, Witherspoon came to America in 1768 to be president of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), a position he held until 1792, when blindness forced his retirement. He had led the Popular Party among Scottish Presbyterians before his emigration, and he was prominent among ecclesiastical leaders in America. In the pre-Revolutionary years, the college at Princeton prospered under Witherspoon; with the Scotch-Irish influx into America, the Presbyterian church enjoyed great popularity and prosperity in the country, especially in the middle Atlantic colonies and on the frontier, where by 1776 there were many ministers who had been Witherspoon’s students. He closed the schism among the Presbyterians, and he made alliance with Ezra Stiles (president of Yale) to forge strong ties with the Congregationalists of New England as the Revolution bore down on the country. With Stiles he shared a distaste for the New Divinity and revivalism generally. He introduced into American thought the Scottish Common Sense philosophy of Thomas Reid and Dugald Stewart, which dominated the young nation’s thought for a century.
Because Witherspoon had been captured and imprisoned in Scotland during the Highlander uprising in 1745–46, his critics called him a Jacobite. Witherspoon eschewed politics in America until 1774, but after that he steadily participated, directly and indirectly, in the leading events of the day. In 1776 he was elected to the Continental Congress in time to urge adoption of the Declaration of Independence and to be the only clergyman to sign it. To the assertion that America was not ripe for independence he retorted: “In my judgment, sir, we are not only ripe, but rotting.”
Witherspoon served intermittently in Congress until 1782 and was a member of over a hundred legislative committees, including two vital standing committees, the Board of War and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In the latter role, he took a leading part in drawing up the instructions for the American peace commissioners who concluded the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war in September 1783. He later served in the New Jersey legislature and was a member of that state’s ratifying convention for the Constitution in 1787.
Witherspoon has been called the most influential professor in American history, not only because of his powerful writing and speaking style—and he was carefully attended to on all subjects, both here and abroad—but also because of his long tenure at Princeton. His teaching and the reforms he made there radiated his influence across the country. He trained not only a substantial segment of the leadership among Presbyterians but a number of political leaders as well. Nine of the fifty-five participants in the Federal Convention in 1787 were Princeton graduates, chief among them James Madison (who, among other things, spent an extra year studying Hebrew and philosophy with Witherspoon after his graduation in 1771). Moreover, his pupils included a president and a vice-president of the United States, twenty-one senators, twenty-nine representatives, fifty-six state legislators, and thirty-three judges, three of whom were appointed to the Supreme Court. During the Revolution, his pupils were everywhere in positions of command in the American forces.
Witherspoon’s The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men caused a great stir when it was first preached in Princeton and published in Philadelphia in 1776, about a month before he was elected to the Continental Congress on June 22. He reminds his auditors that the sermon is his first address on political matters from the pulpit: ministers of the Gospel have more important business to attend to than secular crises, but, of course, liberty is more than a merely secular matter.
Surely the Wrath of Man shall praise thee; the remainder of Wrath shalt thou restrain.
(How the final statement of his can fit into what both Jesus and Paul taught is beyond me, but religious men believed it and fought the war under it's religious justifications to formulate this country which we live in now) - Dr. J.
Here is the sermon as he preached it back then in May 1776
The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men
John Witherspoon
May 17, 1775
Print this Page.
In the first place, I would take the opportunity on this occasion, and from this subject, to press every hearer to a sincere concern for his own soul’s salvation. There are times when the mind may be expected to be more awake to divine truth, and the conscience more open to the arrows of conviction than at others. A season of public judgment is of this kind. Can you have a clearer view of the sinfulness of your nature, than when the rod of the oppressor is lifted up, and when you see men putting on the habit of the warrior, and collecting on every hand the weapons of hostility and instruments of death? I do not blame your ardour in preparing for the resolute defense of your temporal rights; but consider, I beseech you, the truly infinite importance of the salvation of your souls. Is it of much moment whether you and your children shall be rich or poor, at liberty or in bonds? Is it of much moment whether this beautiful country shall increase in fruitfulness from year to year, being cultivated by active industry, and possessed by independent freemen, or the scanty produce of the neglected fields shall be eaten up by hungry publicans, while the timid owner trembles at the tax-gatherer’s approach? And is it of less moment, my brethren, whether you shall be the heirs of glory, or the heirs of hell? Is your state on earth for a few fleeting years, of so much moment? And is it of less moment what shall be your state through endless ages? Have you assembled together willingly to hear what shall be said on public affairs, and to join in imploring the blessing of God on the counsels and arms of the United Colonies, and can you be unconcerned what shall become of you for ever, when all the monuments of human greatness shall be laid in ashes, for "the earth itself, and all the works that are therein shall be burnt up."
Wherefore, my beloved hearers, as the ministry of reconciliation is committed to me, I beseech you in the most earnest manner, to attend to "the things that belong to your peace, before they are hid from your eyes". How soon, and in what manner a seal shall be set upon the character and state of every person here present, it is impossible to know. But you may rest assured, that there is no time more suitable, and there is none so safe as that which is present, since it is wholy uncertain whether any other shall be yours. Those who shall first fall in battle, have not many more warnings to receive. There are some few daring and hardened sinners, who despise eternity itself, and set their Maker at defiance; but the far greater number, by staving off their convictions to a more convenient season, have been taken unprepared, and thus eternally lost. I would therefore earnestly press the apostle’s exhortation, 2 Cor 6: 1-2... "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Suffer me to beseech you, or rather to give you warning, not to rest satisfied with a form of godliness, denying the power thereof. There can be no true religion, till there be a discovery of your lost state by nature and practice, and an unfeigned acceptance of Christ Jesus, as he is offered in the gospel. Unhappy are they who either despise his mercy, or are ashamed of his cross. Believe it, "There is no salvation in any other." "There is no other name under heaven given amongst men by which we must be saved." Unless you are united to him by a lively faith, not the resentment of a haughty monarch, the sword of divine justice hangs over you, and the fulness of divine vengeance shall speedily overtake you. I do not speak this only to the heaven-daring profligate or grovelling sensualist, but to every insensible, secure sinner; to all those, however decent and orderly in their civil deportment, who live to themselves, and have their part and portion in this life; in fine, to all who are yet in a state of nature, for "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". The fear of man may make you hide your profanity; prudence and experience may make you abhor intemperance and riot; as you advance in life one vice may supplant another and hold its place; but nothing less than the sovereign grace of God can produce a saving change of heart and temper, or fit you for his immediate presence.
While we give praise to God, the supreme Disposer of all events, for his interposition in our behalf, let us guard against the dangerous error of trusting in, or boasting of an arm of flesh. I could earnestly wish, that while our arms are crowned with success, we might content ourselves with a modest ascription of it to the power of the Highest. It has given me great uneasiness to read some ostentatious, vaunting expressions in our newspapers, though happily, I think, much restrained of late. Let us not return to them again. If I am not mistaken, not only the Holy Scriptures in general, and the truths of the glorious gospel in particular, but the whole course of providence, seem intended to abase the pride of man, and lay the vain-glorious in the dust.
From what has been said you may learn what encouragement you have to put your trust in God, and hope for his assistance in the present important conflict. He is the Lord of hosts, great in might, and strong in battle. Whoever hath his countenance and approbation, shall have the best at last. I do not mean to speak prophetically, but agreeably to the analogy of faith, and the principles of God’s moral government. I leave this as a matter rather of conjecture than certainty, but observe, that if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude of opposing hosts.
If your cause is just, you may look with confidence to the Lord, and intreat him to plead it as his own. You are all my witnesses, that this is the first time of my introducing any political subject into the pulpit. At this season, however, it is not only lawful but necessary, and I willingly embrace the opportunity of declaring my opinion without any hesitation, that the cause in which America is now in arms, is the cause of justice, of liberty, and of human nature. So far as we have hitherto proceeded, I am satisfied that the confederacy of the colonies has not been the effect of pride, resentment, or sedition, but of a deep and general conviction that our civil and religious liberties, and consequently in a great measure the temporal and eternal happiness of us and our posterity, depended on the issue. The knowledge of God and his truths have from the beginning of the world been chiefly, if not entirely confined to those parts of the earth where some degree of liberty and political justice were to be seen, and great were the difficulties with which they had to struggle, from the imperfection of human society, and the unjust decisions of unsurped authority. There is not a single instance in history, in which civil liberty was lost, and religious liberty preserved entire. If therefore we yield up our temporal property, we at the same time deliver the conscience into bondage.
--
Comment: I can only say when men take scripture and things that are meant clearly to be spiritual in context then revert them to the carnal affairs of men, it is easy to see how in the religious mind, all kinds of justifications are found for all kinds of acts that any man can find solace in his action, though totally unscriptural and anti-biblical just as those who turn our Lord Jesus into G.I. Jesus, or like the anti-abortionist who seek to kill those who perform abortions. They have left the context of scripture, which Jesus reminds us, that life can't be found in it, neither is it a book of rules whereby we live our carnal lives, they are that which speak of Him, Jesus Christ who is KING OVER ALL THE AFFAIRS OF MEN, for it was He who said, "All Authority has been given unto me, in heaven and on earth". The affairs of government, and others lives, are not our affair but His, and His alone, and it is He who is judge, and will judge others, not we ourselves. How we forget so easily that Christ didnt come to establish an earthly kingdom of government among all people but an inward one in the hearts of His people who are here on earth being prepared for heaven, where there is no war, no death, no sin or men and their governments which will rise and fall always. Rome fell, and yes, sad to say as an American we are seeing the last vestiges of freedom in our country coming to a close as well. Is a revolution in store, probably and perhaps but should Christians lead it, my answer and I having the Spirit of Christ believe the answer for us is still, "No". Leave the affairs of men to men, there will be governments arise that are for individual freedom as history reveals, and there will be governments fall of despotism, like Rome and now America. Yes, we have a heritage but it is not our heritage of Americans that we need recall, it is our heritage and first most of being subjects, and not just subjects of the King but brothers to Christ, and Son's of the Father which must always guard our hearts against the idea's of any sort of justified violence against any of the kingdoms of this world. They will always be there, and they will always oppose God and the freedoms of Christ people, as they did Him, but our answer should remain...."Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord", and not ours, even at cost of our own individual lives under the oppression and hands of the persecutor, whoever that may be, another government or our own. We are to remain at peace with the Prince of peace..
Dr. J.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Excavating Jesus
Recently the news was splattered by a story that there was to be an archaelogical documentary on television presented by the "The Discovery Channel " on March 4th, which was to prove they had found the bones of Jesus. As anyone knows this would be impossible to prove and scientifically alone it stands as pure cow manure that anyone could tell whether any bones were from Jesus. First, you would have to subscribe to the Da Vinci Code myth and lies, to find a surviving member from his lineage and this would require the impossibility of tracing, Mary the Mother of Jesus forward to a surviving genetic inheritance that was alive today or worse you would have to find a relative of the direct lineage of Jesus from him and a marriage to some woman. It amazes me how "Jews" like James Cameron could even produce such garbage. I always thought him to be somewhat intelligent yet he proved to me he is ignorant beyond belief to even want to put his name behind this production of mythology.
Second - This is the second time "The Discovery Channel" has been involved in a disputed claim about an ancient tomb, CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips reports. The man at the center of the previous case is now facing trial for forgery.
I do want to mention an excellent book on archaeology and the times of Jesus. This book is called, "Excavating Jesus". The teachings and times of Yeshua ( Jesus) revealed through the most important discoveries of biblical research and archaeological research. This book is authored by John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L.Reed. John is professor emeritus of Religious Studies at DePaul University, Chicago, John L. Reed is a a professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the University of La Verne, in California.
I absolutely love how they show what the real Kingdom of God meant for early believers and what it''s nature was. It is a far cry from the Kingdom of this world, and they explain both archaelogocally and biblically how, that even in arguing the miracles and all the things we know to be true, back in the times right after Jesus resurrection would had little affect upon the hearers of these proclamations, though true, the hearers of that time, had plenty of their gods doing fantastic things as well, Jupiter rising up from the dead, and creating the Sons of Jupiter, the Caesars of Rome were also often claimed to be seen rising up from the ashes and ascending to the heavenlies, etc. These things are not explained to take from Jesus and Christians but to explain that when Paul and Peter and others debated with the pagans, and the Jews, these things unlike today, were not the grounds from which they won converts.
Though intellectual exercise was a part ot the debate, the thing that set Paul and Peter and all the Apostles apart, was their community of love, and understanding, their love of peace and love expressed to all men in Christ. This alone set the world upside down for Jesus in their times. It also goes to show how scripturally Jesus avoided leaving a place, a home, or a residence that could be exclaimed as the place of the Kingdom of God, and how Constantine thwarted Jesus purposes through the building of the Holy Sepulchre and his insistence on building Temples and buildings for worship in the style of the Romans and the Greeks for their gods for the new state-religion subjects to worship in.
In the chapter entitled "How to Bury A King", I quote,
"We do not ask whether Constantine constructed the Holy Sepulcher on the right spot. Yes, probably. We ask whether his construction was appropriate to Jesus Kingdom of God, to that Jewish ideal of a covental Kingdom on earth as in heaven. No, probably. Above all, we ask and question not so much how Constantine celebrated the sepulcher of Jesus, but how Christianity celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. "
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The truth to be told, Jesus never wanted any place on earth to be called, a holy place, what Jesus sought was to present a holy place, that had no geographical boundaries, no buildings, but a people that would promulgate through their living, their community with one another, outside of buildings, and geographical boundaries the love of God for men and women alike.
Jesus as it is written in the New Testament, went out from Peter's home or his mother in laws home, he did not bid the people "come to me where I am", he went to where they were, the byways, the alleys, the streets, the woods, the gardens, their homes, and told his Disciples the same, GO FORTH, never did he say "come to my house", but he went and made His house "where ever two or more are gathered in his name" without the elaborate ornate buildings that were later created by Constantine, without the authoritarian attitude these buildings contributed to. He went out and was a Servant not a Master. The Apostles did the same. They could have remained at home, went to the Temple and said come here if you want to hear about Jesus. No, we find even Paul seeking a place of prayer alongside a river stream, where there might be others as well seeking the solitude of nature for meditation on the Lord and to be in prayer, and Lydia, was found there. God had already set her heart apart for salvation, and Paul explained the communal - Kingdom of God to her, and not long afterward, we don't find Lydia going to the Temple, but rather prayer beginning in her household at home, and others were reached for Jesus as well. She went forth I imagine just as Paul and Peter and all of the Apostles did, not finding a welcome in the Temples often that men had built, they sought people whereever they were, at work, at play, at debate, at roadside or river side. They found people, whose hearts God had been prepared for the lesson of the Kingdom of God. I imagine she returned many times on the Sabbath day to the river and shared the Good News and then would bring them to her house to explain Our Savior, his love, his sacrifice, his resurrection by lifestyle and community of love one for another. They each came to understand, that God did not dwell in some building, not even Lydias house, but in her heart and the hearts of others like her.
The Apostles knew that a debate over just the miracles of Jesus, or even the resurrection ( though the most important tenant of our belief) would not lead a person to Jesus, they had their own gods who as well, had risen from the grave, they had their miracles and the great heroes of old. The Apostles approached others rather with the community of life that was changed for them, from hater to lover, from killer to a man of peace. Paul was a changed man, and the Kingdom of God was real in his heart, and this heart, not the argument brought people into "the Way".
It was the very reality of Christ alive in his people, their changed lives, their deeds, the actions, their love for one another, that gave precedence and reality over the pagan gods and their stories of their resurrection.
It was life changing - it had to be true this Jesus who went about doing good was really resurrected, for the people could see it in the hearts and lives of the believers. They didn't find it in a building, and I imagine, the seekers by the river side like Lydia had come to some conclusion of that or why else would they not been in their perspective temples worshipping and praying to their gods. Especially Jews on a Sabbath.
We stand in our Sepulchres, and say "come", while Jesus said "Go"!
When will the institutional church so set by Constantine and his followers through the ages, awake to the fact that what they present is nothing more than the same kingdoms the Caesars and Greek gods, and all pagan beliefs present.
The same temples, the same gods, the same priestly grab and authoritarianism.
Jesus wanted us to pray, "Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is heaven". In heaven there is no Temple for his people are his Temple, and his Son is the High Priest, and He is the Light, the Eternal Light that no man will ever see darkeness in. There is no need for sunlight there. He alone provides all the light needed. There is no need for sacrifice there for his compassion is provided instead. There is no need of tithe there, for He is the giver of all things and what could we ever return to Him that is already His in the first place. There are only His people, His priesthood of believers of all races, all nations, all that declare Jesus is Lord.
We live in a period of thought influenced by the Enlighment, these people lived in pre-enlightment times.
Their argument for Jesus was never a place to go, a person to see, or hear, but the very life of the resurrected Jesus within them, this is what brought sinners to grace, this is what saved the worse of pagans and gave them eternal life. This was the Kingdom of God come down to earth.
Not the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem that Constantine built, not any supposed home that Jesus lived in, and surely not found in a building on this earth made by the hands of men. Even Jesus had them all confused and upset when he clarified that the only building he was talking about tearing down was his body to be raised again in 3 days. The Pharisees were so carnal in thinking like the institutional church, they couldnt see beyond the place, the building that Herod built, as anything else being referred to as a temple.
Paul clarified this when he said, the body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul was not referring to a local, tax deductible, incorporated, entity of some people, under the State, meeting in a certain building anywhere. God has no other house, but His people and their heart, and the lie has stolen this for so long from His people, they have lost touch with "Christ in you, the hope of the glory".
Acts: 7:47-50 Stephen preaching to those then who still sought a place or a building as the place where God was to dwell. He states with all clarity that cannot be misunderstood. He quotes directly from scripture from the Prophets.
47- But it was Solomon who built a house for Him *(referring to the Creator Yahweh)
48- However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:
HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET;
WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME? says the LORD:
Or what place is their now for my repose?
WAS IT NOT MY HANDS THAT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?
You men are stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just what your fathers did.
It was very short after this, that they stoned Stephen for speaking the truth of the Kingdom of God. These promulgators of Temple worship with their high priest lifted up rocks and just as they killed Jesus and the prophets and all those who came to bring Israels' heart to the Father, they murdered him. They gnashed at their teeth at him, as so often clergymen do that at me, when I tell them in love the truth of the Gospel and how far they have wondered away from this truth.
Constantine in my opinion did the same thing. He commited murder of the truth of what the definition of what the EKKLESIA OF GOD is, but just as Christ would not remain in the grave, the EKKLESIA has been coming out, greater in numbers these days since before the time of the early (KIRKE) church fathers begin to whittle away at the truth of the Gospel and the foundation of Christ and the Apostles. These promulgaters that God lives in a building, have done exactly what the Pharisees did, they replaced the Word of God with the traditions of men.
They gnash their teeth at me, they want me stoned for telling the truth, less they lose their place of power and money, and their very substanance for groceries, debt, fine cars, nice homes, and paid for trips. They would hate the most to lose their title, Pastor, Priest, Bishop, etc. for these things are holy and precious to them and without them, they become mere men, no longer holier or more learned then their subjects.
"The Kingdom of God is within you".
The residence of God is not in some building down the street with a sign outside that says church. God lives in the hearts of His people, and this is the excavating of Jesus, that will never reveal bones, but a living and vibrant resurrected Savour.
Let Easter (the pagan celebration be gone) and let the Resurrection Day of Jesus be alive- come this week as we remember and reflect what Jesus really was all about. Let us repent from our works of darkness we have lived in for too long, and turn to the life of Jesus and the Apostles, and instead of saying come here or there, let's get up and GO to the people as Jesus did. Only love conquers all.
If you want to read about real biblical archaelogical work on excavating Jesus, then I highly recommend reading the book I mentioned earlier.
Now let us excavate the "resurrected Lord and King in our hearts, in our families and in our everyday lives. For HE LIVES!
So Go forth, and take the Gospel unto all nations in Yeshua's name. Don't sit on a pew this week, share Jesus with someone by your life in word and deed, and let it be the resurrected Jesus "excavated from the dead of the building" made alive in your heart, that speaks and acts.
I serve a risen Savour, He is in the world today, you ask me how I know this, for He is in my HEART TO STAY!
Dr. J.
Second - This is the second time "The Discovery Channel" has been involved in a disputed claim about an ancient tomb, CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips reports. The man at the center of the previous case is now facing trial for forgery.
I do want to mention an excellent book on archaeology and the times of Jesus. This book is called, "Excavating Jesus". The teachings and times of Yeshua ( Jesus) revealed through the most important discoveries of biblical research and archaeological research. This book is authored by John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L.Reed. John is professor emeritus of Religious Studies at DePaul University, Chicago, John L. Reed is a a professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the University of La Verne, in California.
I absolutely love how they show what the real Kingdom of God meant for early believers and what it''s nature was. It is a far cry from the Kingdom of this world, and they explain both archaelogocally and biblically how, that even in arguing the miracles and all the things we know to be true, back in the times right after Jesus resurrection would had little affect upon the hearers of these proclamations, though true, the hearers of that time, had plenty of their gods doing fantastic things as well, Jupiter rising up from the dead, and creating the Sons of Jupiter, the Caesars of Rome were also often claimed to be seen rising up from the ashes and ascending to the heavenlies, etc. These things are not explained to take from Jesus and Christians but to explain that when Paul and Peter and others debated with the pagans, and the Jews, these things unlike today, were not the grounds from which they won converts.
Though intellectual exercise was a part ot the debate, the thing that set Paul and Peter and all the Apostles apart, was their community of love, and understanding, their love of peace and love expressed to all men in Christ. This alone set the world upside down for Jesus in their times. It also goes to show how scripturally Jesus avoided leaving a place, a home, or a residence that could be exclaimed as the place of the Kingdom of God, and how Constantine thwarted Jesus purposes through the building of the Holy Sepulchre and his insistence on building Temples and buildings for worship in the style of the Romans and the Greeks for their gods for the new state-religion subjects to worship in.
In the chapter entitled "How to Bury A King", I quote,
"We do not ask whether Constantine constructed the Holy Sepulcher on the right spot. Yes, probably. We ask whether his construction was appropriate to Jesus Kingdom of God, to that Jewish ideal of a covental Kingdom on earth as in heaven. No, probably. Above all, we ask and question not so much how Constantine celebrated the sepulcher of Jesus, but how Christianity celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. "
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The truth to be told, Jesus never wanted any place on earth to be called, a holy place, what Jesus sought was to present a holy place, that had no geographical boundaries, no buildings, but a people that would promulgate through their living, their community with one another, outside of buildings, and geographical boundaries the love of God for men and women alike.
Jesus as it is written in the New Testament, went out from Peter's home or his mother in laws home, he did not bid the people "come to me where I am", he went to where they were, the byways, the alleys, the streets, the woods, the gardens, their homes, and told his Disciples the same, GO FORTH, never did he say "come to my house", but he went and made His house "where ever two or more are gathered in his name" without the elaborate ornate buildings that were later created by Constantine, without the authoritarian attitude these buildings contributed to. He went out and was a Servant not a Master. The Apostles did the same. They could have remained at home, went to the Temple and said come here if you want to hear about Jesus. No, we find even Paul seeking a place of prayer alongside a river stream, where there might be others as well seeking the solitude of nature for meditation on the Lord and to be in prayer, and Lydia, was found there. God had already set her heart apart for salvation, and Paul explained the communal - Kingdom of God to her, and not long afterward, we don't find Lydia going to the Temple, but rather prayer beginning in her household at home, and others were reached for Jesus as well. She went forth I imagine just as Paul and Peter and all of the Apostles did, not finding a welcome in the Temples often that men had built, they sought people whereever they were, at work, at play, at debate, at roadside or river side. They found people, whose hearts God had been prepared for the lesson of the Kingdom of God. I imagine she returned many times on the Sabbath day to the river and shared the Good News and then would bring them to her house to explain Our Savior, his love, his sacrifice, his resurrection by lifestyle and community of love one for another. They each came to understand, that God did not dwell in some building, not even Lydias house, but in her heart and the hearts of others like her.
The Apostles knew that a debate over just the miracles of Jesus, or even the resurrection ( though the most important tenant of our belief) would not lead a person to Jesus, they had their own gods who as well, had risen from the grave, they had their miracles and the great heroes of old. The Apostles approached others rather with the community of life that was changed for them, from hater to lover, from killer to a man of peace. Paul was a changed man, and the Kingdom of God was real in his heart, and this heart, not the argument brought people into "the Way".
It was the very reality of Christ alive in his people, their changed lives, their deeds, the actions, their love for one another, that gave precedence and reality over the pagan gods and their stories of their resurrection.
It was life changing - it had to be true this Jesus who went about doing good was really resurrected, for the people could see it in the hearts and lives of the believers. They didn't find it in a building, and I imagine, the seekers by the river side like Lydia had come to some conclusion of that or why else would they not been in their perspective temples worshipping and praying to their gods. Especially Jews on a Sabbath.
We stand in our Sepulchres, and say "come", while Jesus said "Go"!
When will the institutional church so set by Constantine and his followers through the ages, awake to the fact that what they present is nothing more than the same kingdoms the Caesars and Greek gods, and all pagan beliefs present.
The same temples, the same gods, the same priestly grab and authoritarianism.
Jesus wanted us to pray, "Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is heaven". In heaven there is no Temple for his people are his Temple, and his Son is the High Priest, and He is the Light, the Eternal Light that no man will ever see darkeness in. There is no need for sunlight there. He alone provides all the light needed. There is no need for sacrifice there for his compassion is provided instead. There is no need of tithe there, for He is the giver of all things and what could we ever return to Him that is already His in the first place. There are only His people, His priesthood of believers of all races, all nations, all that declare Jesus is Lord.
We live in a period of thought influenced by the Enlighment, these people lived in pre-enlightment times.
Their argument for Jesus was never a place to go, a person to see, or hear, but the very life of the resurrected Jesus within them, this is what brought sinners to grace, this is what saved the worse of pagans and gave them eternal life. This was the Kingdom of God come down to earth.
Not the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem that Constantine built, not any supposed home that Jesus lived in, and surely not found in a building on this earth made by the hands of men. Even Jesus had them all confused and upset when he clarified that the only building he was talking about tearing down was his body to be raised again in 3 days. The Pharisees were so carnal in thinking like the institutional church, they couldnt see beyond the place, the building that Herod built, as anything else being referred to as a temple.
Paul clarified this when he said, the body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul was not referring to a local, tax deductible, incorporated, entity of some people, under the State, meeting in a certain building anywhere. God has no other house, but His people and their heart, and the lie has stolen this for so long from His people, they have lost touch with "Christ in you, the hope of the glory".
Acts: 7:47-50 Stephen preaching to those then who still sought a place or a building as the place where God was to dwell. He states with all clarity that cannot be misunderstood. He quotes directly from scripture from the Prophets.
47- But it was Solomon who built a house for Him *(referring to the Creator Yahweh)
48- However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:
HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET;
WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME? says the LORD:
Or what place is their now for my repose?
WAS IT NOT MY HANDS THAT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?
You men are stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just what your fathers did.
It was very short after this, that they stoned Stephen for speaking the truth of the Kingdom of God. These promulgators of Temple worship with their high priest lifted up rocks and just as they killed Jesus and the prophets and all those who came to bring Israels' heart to the Father, they murdered him. They gnashed at their teeth at him, as so often clergymen do that at me, when I tell them in love the truth of the Gospel and how far they have wondered away from this truth.
Constantine in my opinion did the same thing. He commited murder of the truth of what the definition of what the EKKLESIA OF GOD is, but just as Christ would not remain in the grave, the EKKLESIA has been coming out, greater in numbers these days since before the time of the early (KIRKE) church fathers begin to whittle away at the truth of the Gospel and the foundation of Christ and the Apostles. These promulgaters that God lives in a building, have done exactly what the Pharisees did, they replaced the Word of God with the traditions of men.
They gnash their teeth at me, they want me stoned for telling the truth, less they lose their place of power and money, and their very substanance for groceries, debt, fine cars, nice homes, and paid for trips. They would hate the most to lose their title, Pastor, Priest, Bishop, etc. for these things are holy and precious to them and without them, they become mere men, no longer holier or more learned then their subjects.
"The Kingdom of God is within you".
The residence of God is not in some building down the street with a sign outside that says church. God lives in the hearts of His people, and this is the excavating of Jesus, that will never reveal bones, but a living and vibrant resurrected Savour.
Let Easter (the pagan celebration be gone) and let the Resurrection Day of Jesus be alive- come this week as we remember and reflect what Jesus really was all about. Let us repent from our works of darkness we have lived in for too long, and turn to the life of Jesus and the Apostles, and instead of saying come here or there, let's get up and GO to the people as Jesus did. Only love conquers all.
If you want to read about real biblical archaelogical work on excavating Jesus, then I highly recommend reading the book I mentioned earlier.
Now let us excavate the "resurrected Lord and King in our hearts, in our families and in our everyday lives. For HE LIVES!
So Go forth, and take the Gospel unto all nations in Yeshua's name. Don't sit on a pew this week, share Jesus with someone by your life in word and deed, and let it be the resurrected Jesus "excavated from the dead of the building" made alive in your heart, that speaks and acts.
I serve a risen Savour, He is in the world today, you ask me how I know this, for He is in my HEART TO STAY!
Dr. J.
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