Kingdom Come

When YHVH’s Savior told the rulers of Israel “Ye shall not see me [your King] henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matthew 23:29-36) he remained 100% consistent with the extension of timelines from previous scripture beginning with the establishment of the nation of Israel.

1. “if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments…that ye break my covenant…
   1. I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague…ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you
2. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me,
   1. then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
3. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me;
   1. I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
4. And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things…
   1. I will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
5. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me…
   1. I will chastise you seven times for your sins.” (Leviticus 26)

Continue reading “186) It Takes As Long As It Takes”

The early church was Jewish in leadership and membership. It functioned in synagogues and had Pharisaic traditions and it never lost its traces of Rabbinic Halakha [religious law]…

But as Gentiles were being converted to the God of Israel, too many power-hungry men saw an opportunity to use Gentiles who were poorly educated in the Jewish scriptures to build up their personal power base.

The split between Judaism and Christianity was gradual and happened at different rates in different places…from the middle of the first century CE to the middle of the fourth CE…

The process by which this happened was to split off the Jewish Scriptures.

Scholars propose that it was Melito of Sardis [d.180 AD] who originally coined the phrase Old Testament.

Continue reading “SECTION XXXVIII: Divide And Conquer”

Dispensationalism is a theological system of interpretation that makes a distinction between the church and the nation of Israel. Its roots are found in the earliest days of the apostate Christian church. 

Justin Martyr is an imposing figure in the days of the early church, a philosopher by trade, and very skilled in the art of rhetoric. Justin noticed “several different economies”, i.e. dispensations, in the Old Testament in which history is revealed. There was an age prior to circumcision, an age prior to the law, and an age after the law. 

Not according to Paul, there wasn’t.

Paul himself proved by his obedience to the law that he remained a law-abiding Jew to his death – as was Jesus the Christ. It is only Gentiles who are not required to follow certain elements of the law, such as circumcision, since these don’t apply to God’s people not living in the land of Israel.

Continue reading “187) God Has Not Cast Away The Jews”

“our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written…in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (II Peter 3:15-16)

Philo of Alexandria (30 BCE – 45 CE) is a good example of a Jew who wrested the scriptures to suit his personal preference. He identified with Judaism through following ritual law while also identifying with high, i.e. Greek, society by melding Judaism’s God with the Greek concept of God, despite their inherent contradictions. The Greeks believed that God was inherently “unknowable.” Yahweh was the opposite – easily accessible and constantly occupied with the details of everyday life, reached easily just by calling out to him.

Philo postulated a two-part God: 1) an ousia of God, or a singular essence, which is the unknowable, and 2) an energeiai (energy) / Spirit which was the very thoughts of God. God’s energy could interact and touch the lives of mortals despite the remote ousia which was inaccessible to man through The Logos – a mediator for God; making it possible to realize the energy of God, and thus, by extension, the impossible ousia of God Himself.

Heraclitus of Ephesus used the word Logos around 500 BCE to describe his concept of the universe as a divine machine invisibly regulated by the Logos (literally the reason). The Greek cult of Hermes played on this construct, reporting that their prophet, in a trance state, met “the Mind of Authority” who shows the mystic a great light / reality and a great darkness / matter. From the Mind comes “a Holy Logos,” …the “shining Son of God.”

Philo’s Logos / Word was extremely popular among Jews and non-Jews alike because it allowed ecumenicalism in a multicultural empire, especially for those aspiring to be accepted by the ruling classes.

Continue reading “188) Wresting The Scriptures”

Splitting is a way for individuals to cope with conflicting emotions or thoughts by dividing them into polarized categories – all one or the other. People prone to splitting often have polarized opinions without considering complexities. This polarized viewpoint hampers growth within relationships. Splitting can wreak havoc on relationships, leading to frequent conflicts and struggle with maintaining stable connections.

This is particularly true when it comes to splitting the Singularity into three persons.

The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith. It is crucial for properly understanding what God is like, how he relates to us, and how we should relate to him. 

The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in person. These definitions express three crucial truths: (1) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, (2) each Person is fully God, (3) there is only one God.

The problem with this is obvious once we recognize that the Bible defines a person as a distinct soul, an autonomous individual. Surely we’ve come to understand that there is no such thing as “Separate but Equal.”

The doctrine of the Trinity is not found in either the New or the Old Testaments.

Continue reading “189) Splitting God”

After the original witnesses of Jesus the Christ’s resurrection died off, false teachers sprang up to dispute the faith of those who had heard about this savior. Was He man? Was He God? Was He God appearing as a man? Was He an illusion? Was He a mere man who became God? Was He created by God the Father, or did He exist eternally with the Father?

This was not accidental. The intent and inevitable results of the early Church councils convened to answer these questions was to divide and conquer God’s people. They were clearly heretical, because Jesus had answered those questions.

1. “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also:
2. he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
3. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?
4. the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me,
5. he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me.” (John 14:7-18)

Continue reading “190) A Pagan Son of A God Replaces YHVH’s Human Messiah”

“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God.“ (I Corinthians 15:24)

We must connect “the end” with “the beginning” of this era, when one of the two humans who had been granted dominion instead chose the Serpent as master triggering the battle between the god of death and the human ruler appointed by the Creator and Sustainer of life.

“Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household?…that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing…” (Luke 12:42-43)

We understand that the kingdom of heaven and earth could not be established until the perfected Only Begotten Son of God took his place.

“he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten [declared my heir is] thee…in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death…Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;” (Hebrews 5:5-9)

Can we not understand that the instructions he authored are NOT

• for spiritually immature children or adults to ask him to “come into my heart” to guarantee they go to heaven regardless of their behavior and lack of belief as adults,
• or to recite a creed,
• or even to maintain a righteous way of life?

In God’s kingdom, we are meant to transform into the likeness of our Savior by following the same process he underwent – submitting our will to the will of the Father. And it’s not any more comfortable than a drug addict trying to kick an opioid or methamphetamine habit!

It is no different from any child developing social skills and self-control through mastering self-will through ever higher levels of practice, practice, practice. As one of my son’s high school teachers explained, “You decide if you want to work at a fast-food restaurant or in a profession by how you apply yourself now.”

Continue reading “SECTION XXXIX: The End Cometh When Leaders Are Ready To Take “Charge” As An Order”

“He that hath an ear, let him hear / respond to what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Revelation 2:1-7

If we’re going to understand the prophetic value of these letters we need to know their historical reality.

Continue reading “191) The Calculating Church Rev 2:1-7”

Smyrna

“And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” 

During the Roman period, Smyrna was apparently a city of great beauty and impressive architecture that circled Mount Pagus like a “crown”... (cf. Revelation 2:10 “crown of life”). Walking through the city, one would a see…temples to Zeus (including a large altar), Cybele (the Mother Goddess, near the harbor), Aphrodite, Dionysius, and the Emperors (probably Tiberius in 26 AD and Domitian before 96 AD), the harbor, a library, and a massive agora…In the 2nd century AD, Smyrna built another imperial temple to Hadrian. Along with inscriptions honoring the emperors and statues of Domitian and Trajan, coins issued by the city often depicted emperors and even the imperial temples, so it is obvious that Smyrna was dedicated to the worship of the emperor and the imperial cult.

Continue reading “192) The Crisis Church Rev 2:8-11”

Revelation 2:12-17

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.”

Wow. Satan’s seat, his government headquarters where he keeps a permanent residence, would be the equivalent of Washington DC. Wouldn’t that be in Rome? But our Lord is telling us that it is in Pergamos! Why on earth in Pergamos?

Pergamon, whose ancient name…means “people of the high city”, had been inhabited since prehistory.

There must surely be a connection with the nearby prehistoric temple complex Gobekli Tepe.

Continue reading “193) The Cowering Church Rev 2:12-17”