Kingdom of God: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| (37 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:jesusentry3.jpg| | [[File:jesusentry3.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Hosanna to the Son of David<Br>Blessed is the King of Israel.<Br> [[Jesus]] was hailed as the highest son of David, heir to the throne. He was the [[Christ|anointed]] King of that [[government]] that operated by [[faith]], [[hope]] and [[charity]] through the [[perfect law of liberty]]. <Br>He fired the [[moneychangers]], the [[porters]] of the temple, which only the king could do since the days of David. <Br>He said he would take the government away from the [[Pharisees]]<Ref name="ktaken">{{ktaken}}</Ref> because they [[One form of government|had altered its form]] which "[[Corban|made the word of God to none effect]]". That did not bear [[fruit]] and so Jesus took the [[Kingdom of God]] which was the government of God and appointed it to His [[little flock]], His [[called out]], His [[Church]].<Br> It was at hand, on earth, "Ergo: Ecclesia est Status." ("[[Church]] is placed under the power of the state".) It was simply not of the "[[World]]" of [[Rome]]. <Br>The [[early Church]] provided a [[daily ministration]] of [[social welfare]] through [[Pure Religion]] with Christians avoiding all the [[benefits]] and the [[Wages of unrighteousness]] offered by the "[[fathers]]" of the [[world]] of [[Rome]] and provide by men who call themselves [[Benefactors]] ''exercised authority one over the other''. The who look to forms of government that engage in [[covetous practices]] and the [[force]] of [[socialism]] are [[workers of iniquity]]. <Br> The [[kingdom of God]] was simply [[The Way|another way]] to govern yourselves as free souls under God rather than under [[tyrants]]. [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], and all the [[prophets]] including [[John the Baptist]], Jesus who was the [[Christ]] who appointed His Church and the [[Apostles]] preached a government operating by [[Faith]], [[Hope]], and [[Charity]] which is [[love]] by which they provided all the [[social welfare]] for those seeking the [[righteousness]] of God. <Br>If people engage in debates over private interpretation of the ''words'' of the Bible but fail to gather as Christ [[commanded]], [[care]] for one another through the [[social welfare]] that is not a [[snare|snare and trap]], which was called [[Pure Religion]], and are depending on men who "[[exercise authority]] one over the other" for their [[Social Security|security]] and [[protection]], like health, education or welfare, then they are not [[seek]]ing the [[Kingdom of God]] nor His [[righteousness]] and will forever return to the perpetual [[bondage]] as [[merchandise|human resources]] under [[tribute]] for themselves and their [[curse children|children]].from which there will be no salvation without true [[repentance]].<Br> There was no forced [[taxation]] by men who "[[exercise authority]]" in the kingdom, but only [[freewill offerings]] by people who [[love]] their neighbor as themselves. It was the [[one form of government]] that operated by [[faith]], [[hope]], and [[charity]] rather than [[force]], [[fear]], and [[fealty]] like the governments of the [[world]]. <Br> [[The Way|That other way of righteousness]] starts with you [[repent]]ing and [[seek]]ing to be a [[doer]] of what that other king Jesus [[commanded]].]] | ||
The Kingdom of God at hand <Ref>[[Matthew 3]]:2 “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” | |||
== The Kingdom of God at hand == | |||
The [[kingdom of God]] was [[The Way]] that Jesus said we should govern ourselves in the [[care]] of one another. His [[The Greatest Reset|reset]] of [[the way]] people thought at that time altered the course of history, turned the world upside down, and helped many survive and thrive the decline and fall of the [[world]] order of [[Rome]]. | |||
The [[masses]] today has abandoned [[the way]] of [[righteousness]] for the [[wages of unrighteousness]]. While the [[modern Church]] preached the [[doctrines of men]], [[false religion]], and not teach that way of righteousness. | |||
The [[Kingdom of God]] at hand <Ref>[[Matthew 3]]:2 “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” | |||
: [[Matthew 4]]:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” | : [[Matthew 4]]:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” | ||
: [[Mark 1]]:15 “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”</Ref> was preached by [[Baptism|John the Baptist]] and Jesus. They told their disciples to do the same.<Ref>[[Matthew 10]]:7 “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”</Ref> | : [[Mark 1]]:15 “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”</Ref> was preached by [[Baptism|John the Baptist]] and Jesus. They told their disciples to do the same.<Ref>[[Matthew 10]]:7 “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”</Ref> | ||
From the beginning of the gospel we were told that the | From the beginning of the gospel we were told that the [[Kingdom of God]] was at hand, that we were supposed to [[seek]] it, that it was in our midst, and within our reach in a present tense. | ||
Everyone knew that a king was born. Prophets knew it, Herod knew it. Magi, angels, and shepherds knew it. <Ref>[[Matthew 2]]:2 “Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (also [[Luke 2]]:8, 15)</Ref> At | Everyone knew that a king was born. Prophets knew it, Herod knew it. Magi, angels, and shepherds knew it. <Ref>[[Matthew 2]]:2 “Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (also [[Luke 2]]:8, 15)</Ref> At [[Jesus]]’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, thousands of people hailed Him as the highest son of David, the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed, the righteous King. | ||
Thousands of Jews accepted [[Jesus]] as their king and the apostles as their servant leaders when they received the [[Baptism]] of [[Christ]] at [[Pentecost]]. They turned from the [[covetous practices]] of the [[Corban]] of the [[Pharisees]] and began to [[seek]] that [[kingdom of God]] and His [[righteousness]] through the practice of [[Pure Religion]] through [[faith]], [[hope]] and [[charity]] and the [[perfect law of liberty]]. Today the [[Modern Christian]] does no understand the [[Gospel of the kingdom]]. | |||
Today, men have created eschatologies that might lead people to believe that the [[Kingdom of Heaven]] or God is some distant event, or that it is only where you go when you die. While its jurisdiction may reach beyond the veil of life and death it was clearly for the living, not the dead,<Ref>[[Luke 20]]:38 “For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.” Luke 9:60 “Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the [[kingdom of God]].”</Ref> at hand and on the earth. | |||
The | The state of our modern society, its similarities to the [[World|world]] of [[Rome]] at the time of [[Christ]], and the prophecy in [[2 Thessalonians]] 2:11 of the coming of a [[strong delusion]] should compel us all to reexamine the events and words of the [[Gospel of the Kingdom]], and what the [[early Church]] and the Christians were really saying and doing. | ||
== The World of Pilate == | |||
: '''"Ancient texts require ancient dictionaries."''' | |||
When Jesus told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of the “[[World|world]]” we see one of five different Greek words found in the New Testament which have all been translated into the single word “[[World|world]]”. The word was ''[[kosmos]]'', and it is defined in Strong's Concordance as an “orderly arrangement” and in Thayer's Greek Lexicon it is defined as “an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government.”<Ref>Online Bible Concordance, Winterbourne, Ontario, Canada.. See Thayers Lexicon.</Ref> | |||
In the 7th century BC the term "kosmos" was used in constitutions to describe the jurisdictional "office of magistrate".<Ref> “For example, a very early constitutional inscription shows that 7th-century Drerus on Crete prohibited tenure of the office of kosmos—a local magistracy—until 10 years had elapsed since a man’s last tenure.) That is a refreshing approach and surely contains some truth. “ The Later Archaic Periods, The rise of the tyrants https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Greece/The-later-Archaic-periods</Ref> The word ''kosmos'' in the Greek and Roman view of the term '''Kosmos''' “... meant originally the discipline of an army, and next the ordered constitution of a state.”<Ref>John Burnet's Early Greek Philosophy: Section A: Introduction </Ref> The word came from the Greek “komizo” meaning “to care for, take care of, provide for” or “carry off what is one’s own.” ''Kosmos'' did not mean planet, inhabitable place, or age. | |||
Jesus was not saying that His kingdom was not on the planet. It was at hand in spirit and truth. Jesus was simply telling Pontius Pilate, seated as the ruling judge of a Roman court,<Ref>John 19:13 “When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.” [[Matthew 27]]:19 “When he was set down on the judgment seat, ...”</Ref> that his Kingdom was not a part of Pilate's ''constitution, order, government or state'' and Pilate had no jurisdiction to judge Jesus nor the kingdom God had given Him.<Ref>[[Matthew 28]]:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”</Ref> | |||
Pilate, as Procurator of [[Rome]], had already agreed<Ref>John 18:37 “...Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world...”</Ref> that Jesus was the rightful “King of the [[citizen]]s of Judea,” and would proclaim it so on an official epigraph written in three languages and [[Nailing it to His cross|nailed to the cross]]. | |||
[[Image:CROSS-titulus.jpg|280px|right|thumb|Greek, Latin and Hebrew, '''THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS'''... The [[Kingdom of God]] is from ''[[Daniel 4|generation to generation]]''. in [[Matthew 21|Matthew 21:43 Jesus said he would take it from]] those who [[Matthew 23|sat in the seat]] of [[Moses]] and give it to those who would bear [[fruit]]. He the [[appoint]]ed that kingdom to his [[called out]] ''[[little flock]]'' who connected the people in [[Tens]]. The [[kingdom of God]] is for the living, not the dead.<Ref>Matthew 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. | |||
: Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. | |||
: Luke 20:38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. | |||
: Luke 24:5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?</Ref> If you seek it and the [[righteousness]] of God you would need nothing from any other rulers of the [[world]].]] | |||
== The Righteous Rulers == | |||
Everyone who accepted Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, their King was cast out of the government of the [[Pharisees]].<Ref>John 9:22 “... the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.”</Ref> The [[Pharisees]], by denouncing Christ and claiming no king but Caesar, had abandoned the [[Kingdom of God]] and had submitted to the jurisdiction of [[Rome]].<Ref>[[John 19]]:15 “But they cried out, Away with [him], away with [him], crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but [[Caesar]].”</Ref> | |||
Centuries before, in fulfillment of Samuel's prophecy<Ref>[[1 Samuel 8]]:1...22 “... ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day...”</Ref> the Hasmonean Kings of Judea were taking the first fruits of the people, the best of their fields, making their instruments of war, and drafting their sons to fight their wars. By 78 BC the [[Pharisees]], a political party, had passed ordinances,<Ref>Salome- Alexandra (about 78 BC), that the Pharisaical party, being then in power, had carried an enactment by which the Temple [[tribute]] was to be enforced at law. Alfred Edersheim’s book ''The Temple''.</Ref> requiring the temple tax to be paid and enforced by threats of punishment by the appointed civil magistrates.<Ref>Magistrates were called “elohiym”, translated into “gods” or “God”. [See Strong's.]</Ref> | |||
{{HyrcanAristob}} | |||
== Righteous Repentance == | |||
[[Baptism|John the Baptist]] offered an alternative to Herod's Kingdom of Heaven. His was a system based on faith, hope, and charity, the law of love and liberty. If you had two coats and your neighbor had none you were to share. Jesus preached that kingdom, and many chose to follow. | [[Baptism|John the Baptist]] offered an alternative to Herod's Kingdom of Heaven. His was a system based on faith, hope, and charity, the law of love and liberty. If you had two coats and your neighbor had none you were to share. Jesus preached that kingdom, and many chose to follow. | ||
The “kingdom of God” was the right to be ruled by God. Moses saved the people from Egypt and Abraham led the people from Ur, and Haran, and freed them from Sodom, and Gomorrah. | The “kingdom of God” was the right to be ruled by God. [[Moses]] saved the people from Egypt and Abraham led the people from Ur, and Haran, and freed them from Sodom, and Gomorrah. | ||
There has always been a hope that men could be ruled by virtue as free souls under God and not by other men. Jesus would bring a more complete salvation in spirit and in truth in a kingdom at hand within you. | There has always been a hope that men could be ruled by virtue as free souls under God and not by other men. Jesus would bring a more complete salvation in spirit and in truth in a kingdom at hand within you. | ||
| Line 52: | Line 60: | ||
<blockquote>''“And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called [[Benefactors|benefactors]]. But ye [shall] not [be] so...” [See also Mtt. 20:25, Mk 10:42.]''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called [[Benefactors|benefactors]]. But ye [shall] not [be] so...” [See also Mtt. 20:25, Mk 10:42.]''</blockquote> | ||
Jesus went on to say, “And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;” The [[Corban]] of this appointed Christian government made the word of God to effect because it required that the leaders of Christ's government, His Holy Church, allow the people the liberty to choose how, when, and to whom they would contribute for the care of one another. His sacrifice and appointment of a kingdom freed the people in spirit and truth from the laws of the [[Pharisees]].<Ref>[[Colossians 2]]:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, [[Nailing it to His cross|nailing it to his cross]];”</Ref> | Jesus went on to say, “And I [[appoint]] unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;” The [[Corban]] of this appointed Christian [[government]] made the word of God to effect because it required that the leaders of Christ's government, His Holy Church, allow the people the liberty to choose how, when, and to whom they would contribute for the care of one another. His sacrifice and appointment of a kingdom freed the people in spirit and truth from the laws of the [[Pharisees]].<Ref>[[Colossians 2]]:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, [[Nailing it to His cross|nailing it to his cross]];”</Ref> | ||
The [[Corban]] of Rome and the Pharisees was no different than the bondage of Egypt. God had told the people to never return to that system of government.<Ref>Deuteronomy 17:16 “... nor cause the people to return to Egypt... Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.”</Ref> It had begun with a promise to take care of the needy of society, but it bound men under the authority of rulers. Those who professed Christ were cast out of that [[Workers of Iniquity|iniquitous]] welfare system.<Ref>John 9:22 “These [words] spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.”</Ref> | The [[Corban]] of Rome and the [[Pharisees]] was no different than the bondage of Egypt. God had told the people to never return to that system of government.<Ref>Deuteronomy 17:16 “... nor cause the people to return to Egypt... Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.”</Ref> It had begun with a promise to take care of the needy of society, but it bound men under the authority of rulers. Those who professed Christ were cast out of that [[Workers of Iniquity|iniquitous]] welfare system.<Ref>John 9:22 “These [words] spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.”</Ref> | ||
The Bible is supposed to be a book about | The Bible is supposed to be a book about “[[religion]]”, yet of the five times the word religion appears in the text, there is only one place that it is used in a good and somewhat defining sense: | ||
<blockquote>''“[[Pure Religion|Pure religion]] and undefiled before God and the [[Father]] is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.” ([[James 1]]:27)''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“[[Pure Religion|Pure religion]] and undefiled before God and the [[Father]] is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.” ([[James 1]]:27)''</blockquote> | ||
== Righteous Religion == | |||
[[Religion]] is how we take [[care]] of the needy of society. Do we [[care]] for the needs of our neighbor by faith, hope, and charity, or by force, fear, and compliance? Do we live and let live by love and liberty, or do we dictate and covet entitlements through elected rulers who call themselves benefactors, yet exercise authority by providing for our wants at the expense of our neighbor? | |||
For centuries Israel had maintained a system of government dependent solely on “[[freewill offerings]]” and a sense of community and brotherhood. That simple precept of God had kept the nation strong and free. When the “voice of the people” cried out for a benefactor who could exercise authority God called that prayer a rejection of Him. Despite the warnings by God in 1st Samuel, Chapter 8, the people elected to have a form of government that changed the face and nature of their society. | |||
Under the kings of Israel, the power to fire the porters of the government temple treasury was the right of every king.<Ref>1 Chr. 9:22 “All these [which were] chosen to be porters in the gates [were] two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office.” </Ref> That is exactly what Jesus was doing with His string whip in the temple. He was not merely tipping over tables, but he was firing the corrupt administrators in the government temple.<Ref> 5132 trapeza AV-table 13, bank 1, meat 1; 15 1) a table. | Jesus Christ was king, but a different kind of king. His [[apostles]] were ambassadors and [[titular]] princes of a government but they did not exercise authority over the people. | ||
Trapeza is the Greek word for ''bank'' and is translated bank in Luke 19:23. </Ref> The | |||
Under the kings of Israel, the power to fire the porters of the government temple treasury was the right of every king.<Ref>1 Chr. 9:22 “All these [which were] chosen to be porters in the gates [were] two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office.” </Ref> That is exactly what Jesus was doing with His string whip in the temple. He was not merely tipping over tables, but he was firing the corrupt administrators in the government temple.<Ref> [[5132]] trapeza AV-table 13, bank 1, meat 1; 15 1) a table. | |||
: [[Trapeza]] is the Greek word for ''bank'' and is translated bank in [[Luke 19]]:23. </Ref> The [[moneychangers]] were officials holding a government commissioned position in the ''national treasury''.<Ref>[[John 8]]:20 “These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.” The word treasury is gazofulakion gazophulakion 1) “a repository of treasure, especially of public treasure, a treasury”</Ref> | |||
Those who had been in charge of God’s kingdom on earth were going the wrong way and Jesus as high priest and king was saying repent, turn around. He wasn’t going to force change but He was appointing an alternative government that allowed people a right to choose God's way. | Those who had been in charge of God’s kingdom on earth were going the wrong way and Jesus as high priest and king was saying repent, turn around. He wasn’t going to force change but He was appointing an alternative government that allowed people a right to choose God's way. | ||
| Line 73: | Line 83: | ||
<blockquote>''“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” ([[Luke 12]]:32)''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” ([[Luke 12]]:32)''</blockquote> | ||
Once the people received the baptism under the authority of the Anointed Kingship of Jesus<Ref>[[Acts 17]]:7 “… and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, [one] Jesus.”</Ref> they were no longer eligible to apply for the benefits of the government of the Pharisees established under the baptism and authority of Herod. They were also no longer subject to the duties and obligations imposed by [[Pharisees]] and even [[Rome]]. Through the baptism of Christ the people were freed from those handwritten ordinances of the Sanhedrin<Ref>Colossians 2:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us...”</Ref> as well as the decrees of the former corrupt kings of that nation who had returned them to the [[Bondage|bondage]] of Egypt. | Once the people received the baptism under the authority of the Anointed Kingship of Jesus<Ref>[[Acts 17]]:7 “… and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, [one] Jesus.”</Ref> they were no longer eligible to apply for the [[benefits]] of the government of the [[Pharisees]] established under the [[baptism]] and authority of [[Herod]]. They were also no longer subject to the duties and obligations imposed by [[Pharisees]] and even [[Rome]]. Through the baptism of Christ the people were freed from those handwritten ordinances of the Sanhedrin<Ref>Colossians 2:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us...”</Ref> as well as the decrees of the former corrupt kings of that nation who had returned them to the [[Bondage|bondage]] of Egypt. | ||
Citizens of Judea who followed the ways of Jesus were set free from Rome itself because Christ was a King, a recognition sealed in His own blood.<Ref>Luke 23:38 “And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, 'THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.'”</Ref> His Ambassadors<Ref>Apostolov, or apostle is a “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders” "[[Apostles|apostle]]" meant "ambassador," or "emmissary”.</Ref> may make no treaty with Rome nor its gods. | Citizens of Judea who followed the ways of Jesus were set free from [[Rome]] itself because Christ was a King, a recognition sealed in His own blood.<Ref>Luke 23:38 “And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, 'THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.'”</Ref> His Ambassadors<Ref>Apostolov, or apostle is a “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders” "[[Apostles|apostle]]" meant "ambassador," or "emmissary”.</Ref> may make no treaty with Rome nor its gods. | ||
Understanding the difference between the nature of the government that God intended for men and the governments often instituted by men from Babylon to Egypt, from Rome to modern governments is essential in understanding the elements of that Gospel of the Kingdom and the elements of the world.<Ref>Galatians 4:3 “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the [[Elements|elements]] of the world [“... arrangement or constitution, order, government”]:”</Ref> | Understanding the difference between the nature of the government that God intended for men and the governments often instituted by men from Babylon to Egypt, from Rome to modern governments is essential in understanding the elements of that Gospel of the Kingdom and the [[elements]] of the [[world]].<Ref>Galatians 4:3 “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the [[Elements|elements]] of the world [“... arrangement or constitution, order, government”]:”</Ref> | ||
Many people today believe they are Christian and assume they are following Christ, but are in fact no closer to Christ than the Pharisees were to God. No one is Christian because they say they are, or say they believe Jesus was the Christ and the son of God. The adversary believes that much. We are brothers in Christ because we do what He said: | Many people today believe they are Christian and assume they are following Christ, but are in fact no closer to Christ than the Pharisees were to God. No one is Christian because they say they are, or say they believe Jesus was the Christ and the son of God. The adversary believes that much. We are brothers in Christ because we do what He said: | ||
| Line 83: | Line 93: | ||
<blockquote>''“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” ([[Matthew 7]]:21-22, Luke 6:46, & Luke 13:25)''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” ([[Matthew 7]]:21-22, Luke 6:46, & Luke 13:25)''</blockquote> | ||
Saul was the first elected king when the people “rejected” God. When he forced the people to contribute to his government Samuel called it foolishness and prophesied that his kingdom would fall.<Ref>[[1 Samuel 13]]:12, 14 “... And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done | Saul was the first elected king when the people “rejected” God. When he forced the people to contribute to his government Samuel called it foolishness and prophesied that his kingdom would fall.<Ref>[[1 Samuel 13]]:12, 14 “... And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done [[foolish]]ly ...”</Ref> When David numbered the young men for a draft to support the army it was called a sin, from which he later repented.<Ref>[[2 Samuel 24]]:10 “...David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly ...”</Ref> When the kings set up a central government treasury, formed a standing professional army, and began to pass laws that returned the people to the bondage of Egypt they were all going against the will of God.<Ref>[[Deuteronomy 17]]:15 ,18</Ref> | ||
The people of Judea had gone back into the bondage of Egypt where the people were forced to pay at least a 20% income tax to the government,<Ref>[[Genesis 47]]:24 “And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth [part] unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.”</Ref> there was a central treasury or bank, and all the land and cattle were owned by government suffrage. Jesus came to change all that and did for those who would seek His ways. He set all the people free who would accept the responsibility and duties of His godly government and live by faith, hope and charity and the perfect law of loving liberty. | The people of Judea had gone back into the [[bondage]] of [[Egypt]] where the people were forced to pay at least a 20% income tax to the government,<Ref>[[Genesis 47]]:24 “And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth [part] unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.”</Ref> there was a central treasury or bank, and all the land and cattle were owned by government suffrage. Jesus came to change all that and did for those who would seek His ways. He set all the people free who would accept the responsibility and duties of His godly government and live by faith, hope and charity and the perfect law of loving liberty. | ||
Under Abraham's leadership and faith the people set up charitable altars to maintain societies by free will offerings which liberated them from the degrading subjections of the city-states. When Moses returned to Egypt in hope of setting the people free they still had to pay their tale of bricks, but they had to provide their own straw.<Ref>[[Exodus 5]]:18 “Go therefore now, [and] work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.”</Ref> The “tale of bricks” and “straw” are metaphors for their tax obligation owed to government and the social welfare benefits they normally would have been provided. | Under [[Abraham]]'s leadership and faith the people set up charitable altars to maintain societies by free will offerings which liberated them from the degrading subjections of the city-states. When Moses returned to Egypt in hope of setting the people free they still had to pay their tale of bricks, but they had to provide their own straw.<Ref>[[Exodus 5]]:18 “Go therefore now, [and] work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.”</Ref> The “tale of bricks” and “straw” are metaphors for their tax obligation owed to government and the social welfare benefits they normally would have been provided. | ||
<blockquote>''“The real destroyers of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.” —[[Plutarch]]''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“The real destroyers of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.” —[[Plutarch]]''</blockquote> | ||
| Line 93: | Line 103: | ||
Throughout history these forms of government of power which offer benefits to one class of citizen at the expense of another have eventually failed under growing avarice, apathy, and covetous greed of the people and the corruption of their leaders. Without liberty of choice, diligence dies and sloth and greed reign as king.<Ref>“... the slothful shall be under tribute.” [[Proverbs 12]]:24</Ref> The prophets of God have always preached systems of self government dependent upon the daily practice of virtue where the right to choose, which all men are endowed with by God, remains intact. | Throughout history these forms of government of power which offer benefits to one class of citizen at the expense of another have eventually failed under growing avarice, apathy, and covetous greed of the people and the corruption of their leaders. Without liberty of choice, diligence dies and sloth and greed reign as king.<Ref>“... the slothful shall be under tribute.” [[Proverbs 12]]:24</Ref> The prophets of God have always preached systems of self government dependent upon the daily practice of virtue where the right to choose, which all men are endowed with by God, remains intact. | ||
Jesus and John the Baptist were teaching that same message of common love. They agreed that you may owe Caesar and Herod because you have gone under their authority, but everyone needed to learn to do without their tainted benefits of those civil religions if they were going to be free again. In truth, the Bible is a “do's and don't” guidebook to freedom under God, the kingdom of God. It has forever warned of what will lead us back into the bondage of men and away from God. | == Warnings == | ||
[[Jesus]] and [[John the Baptist]] were teaching that same message of common love. They agreed that you may owe Caesar and Herod because you have gone under their authority, but everyone needed to learn to do without their tainted benefits of those civil religions if they were going to be free again. In truth, the Bible is a “do's and don't” guidebook to freedom under God, the kingdom of God. It has forever warned of what will lead us back into the bondage of men and away from God. | |||
In the first chapter of Proverbs there is a lengthy warning about giving your [[Consent|consent]] with men who are greedy for gain. Those men entice others to have “[[One purse|one purse]]”. Through cunning and craft they swallow people alive, trapping everyone in a net of their own making. | In the first chapter of Proverbs there is a lengthy warning about giving your [[Consent|consent]] with men who are greedy for gain. Those men entice others to have “[[One purse|one purse]]”. Through cunning and craft they swallow people alive, trapping everyone in a net of their own making. | ||
Peter warns us that through | Peter warns us that through “[[covet]]ousness” and “feigned words” we will be made “[[Merchandise|merchandise]],” “human resources”, losing our freedom in Christ.<Ref>[[2 Peter 2]]:3 “... through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”</Ref> Just as David, Jesus, and Paul warned about the [[welfare]] system of rulers which snares the people, [[Proverbs 23]]:<Ref>Proverbs 23:1 “When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what [is] before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to [[appetite]]. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.”</Ref> warned us about desiring with a coveting appetite those benefits from leaders who, by our consent, are given the power to “exercise authority” over the people. | ||
<blockquote>''“Are men the property of the state? Or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today.”<Ref>Cecil B. DeMille asked at the beginning of his 1956 movie, “The Ten Commandments”.</Ref>''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“Are men the property of the state? Or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today.”<Ref>Cecil B. DeMille asked at the beginning of his 1956 movie, “The Ten Commandments”.</Ref>''</blockquote> | ||
| Line 107: | Line 119: | ||
This kind of ruler brings the people into a citizenship of servitude.<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:2, 3 “ I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.</Ref> Their power is instituted by the consent of the governed<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:4 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...”</Ref> who desire their benefits, but in return they require the obeisance and service of the people.<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:5 “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the [[Workers of Iniquity|iniquity]] of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;”</Ref> They rule with a different character<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”</Ref> than God the Father. | This kind of ruler brings the people into a citizenship of servitude.<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:2, 3 “ I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.</Ref> Their power is instituted by the consent of the governed<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:4 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...”</Ref> who desire their benefits, but in return they require the obeisance and service of the people.<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:5 “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the [[Workers of Iniquity|iniquity]] of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;”</Ref> They rule with a different character<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”</Ref> than God the Father. | ||
Jesus told us to only pray to “Our Father” in heaven and to “call no man father upon the earth”.<Ref>Matthew 23:9 “And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” See “Call no man [[Father]]” published by His Holy Church</Ref> If we choose men, who call themselves benefactors, making covenants<Ref>[[Exodus 23]]:32 “Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods”.</Ref> to obtain benefits at the expense of our neighbor,<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:17 “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s.”</Ref> then we will only have those who by nature are no [[Gods|gods]]<Ref>Theos, means a ruling judge and is translated “God” or “gods”. The Hebrew word ''elohiym'', is translated “God” or “[[Gods|gods]]”. Both terms were used every day to address magistrates and judges in courts in nations like Greece, Rome, Israel, and Judea. </Ref> to cry out to in the “world” we have made for ourselves.<Ref>Judges 10:14 “Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” [[Jeremiah 11]]:12 “Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.”</Ref> | Jesus told us to only pray to “Our Father” in heaven and to “call no man [[father]] upon the earth”.<Ref>Matthew 23:9 “And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” See “Call no man [[Father]]” published by His Holy Church</Ref> If we choose men, who call themselves benefactors, making covenants<Ref>[[Exodus 23]]:32 “Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods”.</Ref> to obtain benefits at the expense of our neighbor,<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:17 “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s.”</Ref> then we will only have those who by nature are no [[Gods|gods]]<Ref>Theos, means a ruling judge and is translated “God” or “gods”. The Hebrew word ''elohiym'', is translated “God” or “[[Gods|gods]]”. Both terms were used every day to address magistrates and judges in courts in nations like Greece, [[Rome]], Israel, and Judea. </Ref> to cry out to in the “world” we have made for ourselves.<Ref>Judges 10:14 “Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” [[Jeremiah 11]]:12 “Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.”</Ref> | ||
Honoring our Father and Mother was about retaining the rights of the family. “Excise, in its origin, is the patrimonial right of emperors and kings.”<Ref>Vectigal, origina ipsa, jus Caesarum et regum patrimoniale est.</Ref> Government rights originally were vested in the family which was God's first institution. | Honoring our Father and Mother was about retaining the rights of the family. “Excise, in its origin, is the patrimonial right of emperors and kings.”<Ref>Vectigal, origina ipsa, jus Caesarum et regum patrimoniale est.</Ref> Government rights originally were vested in the family which was God's first institution. [[Government]]s are based on the law of [[Patronus]], our father. As the power of government increases family rights decrease. With whom goes the responsibility, there also goes the right. | ||
The Kingdom of God was a dominion of individuals where the power of the “State” rested in God's sacred institution, the Family. It was and is a system of self-government dependent on the willingness of the people to accept individual responsibility for the welfare of society through charity rather than contracts and force. You could not compel your neighbor to provide benefits through the exercising authority of elected government officials. To force your neighbor to provide the social benefits you desire would be a violation of the foundational law of God to love one another and to not covet anything that belongs to our neighbors through any institution or social scheme. | The [[Kingdom of God]] was a ''dominion''<Ref>[[Genesis 1]]:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. | ||
: Man is not suppose to have dominion over other men. Matthew 20:25 "But Jesus called them [unto him], and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you:..." | |||
</Ref> of individuals where the power of the “State” rested in God's sacred institution, the Family. It was and is a system of self-government dependent on the willingness of the people to accept individual responsibility for the welfare of society through charity rather than contracts and force. You could not compel your neighbor to provide benefits through the exercising authority of elected government officials. To force your neighbor to provide the social benefits you desire would be a violation of the foundational law of God to love one another and to not covet anything that belongs to our neighbors through any institution or social scheme. | |||
Ezekiel 11:<Ref>[[Ezekiel 11]]:2, 3 “these are the men that devise mischief... Which say, [It is] not near; let us build houses: this [city is] the caldron, and we [be] the flesh.”</Ref> warns the people about building a civil structure that makes our neighbors and ourselves human resources to be devoured by each other through the power of those who call themselves benefactors but exercise authority one over the other. | Ezekiel 11:<Ref>[[Ezekiel 11]]:2, 3 “these are the men that devise mischief... Which say, [It is] not near; let us build houses: this [city is] the caldron, and we [be] the flesh.”</Ref> warns the people about building a civil structure that makes our neighbors and ourselves human resources to be devoured by each other through the power of those who call themselves benefactors but exercise authority one over the other. | ||
| Line 117: | Line 131: | ||
<blockquote>''“For the LORD [is] our judge, the LORD [is] our lawgiver, the LORD [is] our king; he will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22)''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“For the LORD [is] our judge, the LORD [is] our lawgiver, the LORD [is] our king; he will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22)''</blockquote> | ||
The wicked governments mentioned in the Old Testament like | The wicked governments mentioned in the Old Testament like [[Cain]]’s city-state, [[Nimrod]]’s<Ref>Genesis 10:9 “He was a mighty hunter before the LORD...” is telling us that Nimrod was a great 'provider instead of God'. </Ref> Babylon, or [[Pharaoh]]'s treasure cities brought the people into bondage in exchange for benefits. The Bible is about men who serve God by loving each other as He loves us, or men who covet their neighbor's rights by establishing governments where certain men exercise authority over other men as elite rulers over a subject citizenry. | ||
We are being warned in Colossians 2:8<Ref>Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”</Ref> not to lose our God given right to freedom, and being tempted to abandon the ways of Christ by being deceived with ideas that cause us to give up these rights.<Ref>The Greek word translated spoil means “to carry off booty.” </Ref> We also see the Greek word translated “traditions”<Ref>The Greek word paradosis is also translated ordinance, defined “giving up, giving over”</Ref> can actually mean “ordinances” in accordance with the “elements”<Ref>''stoiceion'' stoicheion translated element, rudiment, principle, defined “any first thing,... first principal ... the principles and practices of the old covanent world order. </Ref> of the “constitutional order” of men which is often translated “world” but means the “state”. | We are being warned in Colossians 2:8<Ref>Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”</Ref> not to lose our God given right to freedom, and being tempted to abandon the ways of Christ by being deceived with ideas that cause us to give up these rights.<Ref>The Greek word translated spoil means “to carry off booty.” </Ref> We also see the Greek word translated “traditions”<Ref>The Greek word paradosis is also translated ordinance, defined “giving up, giving over”</Ref> can actually mean “ordinances” in accordance with the “elements”<Ref>''stoiceion'' stoicheion translated element, rudiment, principle, defined “any first thing,... first principal ... the principles and practices of the old covanent world order. </Ref> of the “constitutional order” of men which is often translated “world” but means the “state”. | ||
| Line 123: | Line 137: | ||
<blockquote>''“Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,” ([[Colossians 2]]:20)''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,” ([[Colossians 2]]:20)''</blockquote> | ||
The word ''rudiments'' is the word for ''elements'' we see in Peter's epistle: | The word ''rudiments'' is the word for ''[[elements]]'' we see in Peter's epistle: | ||
<blockquote>''“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” ([[2 Peter 3]]:12)''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the [[elements]] shall melt with fervent heat?” ([[2 Peter 3]]:12)''</blockquote> | ||
Some interpreters of the New Testament suggest that the word | Some interpreters of the New Testament suggest that the word “[[elements]]” is referring to a future nuclear war. The same words “element” is also used in Galatians 4:3, in reference to being “in bondage under the elements of the world.” This is the same “world” which is defined “constitution, order, government” or “state.” Again in [[Galatians 4]]:9<Ref>Galatians 4:9 “... after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”</Ref> the word is used to describe the elements of returning to “bondage” under that world or state where men covet each other's goods. | ||
Colossians goes on to talk about being “Buried with him in baptism”<Ref>[[Colossians 2]]:12 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”</Ref> we are all raised from the dead in the “operation” of God. We know Jesus spoke about the dead burying the dead because they would not participate in the ways of God or the way that Jesus Christ came to preach, saying, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 | Colossians goes on to talk about being “Buried with him in baptism”<Ref>[[Colossians 2]]:12 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”</Ref> we are all raised from the dead in the “operation” of God. We know Jesus spoke about the dead burying the dead because they would not participate in the ways of God or the way that Jesus Christ came to preach, saying, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 | ||
When men stop praying to those who call themselves benefactors and start coming together in the character or name of Christ as true sons of the Father, then they will be able to blot out the hand written ordinances of men and be free indeed. But because false brethren have deceptively brought false doctrines about the simplicity of the gospel of the kingdom, our liberty under God has turned into bondage.<Ref>[[Galatians 2]]:4 “...false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:”</Ref> | When men stop praying to those who call themselves [[benefactors]], those ''[[fathers]] upon the earth'', and start coming together in the character or name of Christ as true sons of the Father, then they will be able to blot out the hand written ordinances of men and be free indeed. But because false brethren have deceptively brought false doctrines about the simplicity of the gospel of the kingdom, our liberty under God has turned into bondage.<Ref>[[Galatians 2]]:4 “...false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:”</Ref> | ||
We are told “Stand fast... in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of | == Stand Fast == | ||
We are told “Stand fast... in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of [[bondage]]” by eating that which is sacrificed to idols. We were “called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”<Ref>[[Galatians 5]]:1 ...3 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage... For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”</Ref> | |||
<blockquote>''“And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the [[Mammon|mammon]] of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations... No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and [[Mammon|mammon]].” ([[Luke 16]]:9, 13 & Mt. 6:24.)''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the [[Mammon|mammon]] of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations... No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and [[Mammon|mammon]].” ([[Luke 16]]:9, 13 & Mt. 6:24.)''</blockquote> | ||
| Line 148: | Line 164: | ||
The “union and discipline of the Christian [[Republic|republic]]... gradually formed an independent and increasing state in the heart of the Roman Empire.”<Ref>Comment on Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Rousseau and Revolution, Will et Ariel Durant p.801. fn 83 Heiseler, 85.</Ref> The early Christians were recognized by Rome through the proclamation [[Nailing it to His cross|nailed to the cross]] by Pontius Pilate. When Jesus rose from the dead to stand again upon the earth, so did His Kingdom. | The “union and discipline of the Christian [[Republic|republic]]... gradually formed an independent and increasing state in the heart of the Roman Empire.”<Ref>Comment on Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Rousseau and Revolution, Will et Ariel Durant p.801. fn 83 Heiseler, 85.</Ref> The early Christians were recognized by Rome through the proclamation [[Nailing it to His cross|nailed to the cross]] by Pontius Pilate. When Jesus rose from the dead to stand again upon the earth, so did His Kingdom. | ||
{{Churchy}} | |||
The [[Eucharist]]<Ref>[[Eucharist]] is the Greek word for thanksgiving.</Ref> of Christ was the joy of thanksgiving. The early Church was the government of God, answering the prayers of the people by the love and charity of the people who had Christ dwelling in them. In times of famine, social unrest, and want, Christians, who refused to eat the “free bread” of a declining Roman government, were able to sustain and prosper as a community through faith, hope, and charity. | The [[Eucharist]]<Ref>[[Eucharist]] is the Greek word for thanksgiving.</Ref> of Christ was the joy of thanksgiving. The early Church was the government of God, answering the prayers of the people by the love and charity of the people who had Christ dwelling in them. In times of famine, social unrest, and want, Christians, who refused to eat the “free bread” of a declining Roman government, were able to sustain and prosper as a community through faith, hope, and charity. | ||
Being excluded from the welfare of Rome and Judea prepared men and women for the decline of the Empire. Christians who had a surplus during the runaway inflation, economic collapse, and endless foreign wars of Rome were able to aid the needy, giving from their hearts.<Ref>“And the wealthy among us help the needy ... and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need.” (Ch. 65-67) AD 150, Justin Martyr on the early Church.</Ref> | Being excluded from the welfare of Rome and Judea prepared men and women for the decline of the Empire. Christians who had a surplus during the runaway inflation, economic collapse, and endless foreign wars of Rome were able to aid the needy, giving from their hearts.<Ref>“And the wealthy among us help the needy ... and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need.” (Ch. 65-67) AD 150, Justin Martyr on the [[early Church]].</Ref> | ||
<blockquote>''“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” ([[1 Corinthians 10]]:21)''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” ([[1 Corinthians 10]]:21)''</blockquote> | ||
His Holy Church was a network of | His Holy Church was a [[network]] of [[soul]]s with God's love written on their hearts and minds. It was the righteous social insurance through the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free in the righteous love of God. | ||
We are all in the world God created, but are we of the world created by men, or, are we in that world but of God's kingdom and righteous ways? We may all pray to God the Father, but should we also pray to the gods of the world at the expense of our neighbor when we know those benefits which we covet snare us into bondage again? Why should we exchange the liberty of Christ for the chains of the world? | We are all in the world God created, but are we of the world created by men, or, are we in that world but of God's kingdom and righteous ways? We may all pray to God the Father, but should we also pray to the gods of the world at the expense of our neighbor when we know those benefits which we covet snare us into bondage again? Why should we exchange the liberty of Christ for the chains of the world? | ||
Repent, and seek the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness. | [[Repent]], and seek the [[Kingdom of God]], and His [[righteousness]]. | ||
== Footnotes == | |||
<references /> | |||
| Line 171: | Line 190: | ||
{{Template:Gregory-info}} | {{Template:Gregory-info}} | ||
[[Category:Articles]] | |||
[[Category:Topics]] | |||
[[Category:Words]] | |||
Latest revision as of 17:31, 29 September 2024
Blessed is the King of Israel.
Jesus was hailed as the highest son of David, heir to the throne. He was the anointed King of that government that operated by faith, hope and charity through the perfect law of liberty.
He fired the moneychangers, the porters of the temple, which only the king could do since the days of David.
He said he would take the government away from the Pharisees[1] because they had altered its form which "made the word of God to none effect". That did not bear fruit and so Jesus took the Kingdom of God which was the government of God and appointed it to His little flock, His called out, His Church.
It was at hand, on earth, "Ergo: Ecclesia est Status." ("Church is placed under the power of the state".) It was simply not of the "World" of Rome.
The early Church provided a daily ministration of social welfare through Pure Religion with Christians avoiding all the benefits and the Wages of unrighteousness offered by the "fathers" of the world of Rome and provide by men who call themselves Benefactors exercised authority one over the other. The who look to forms of government that engage in covetous practices and the force of socialism are workers of iniquity.
The kingdom of God was simply another way to govern yourselves as free souls under God rather than under tyrants. Abraham, Moses, and all the prophets including John the Baptist, Jesus who was the Christ who appointed His Church and the Apostles preached a government operating by Faith, Hope, and Charity which is love by which they provided all the social welfare for those seeking the righteousness of God.
If people engage in debates over private interpretation of the words of the Bible but fail to gather as Christ commanded, care for one another through the social welfare that is not a snare and trap, which was called Pure Religion, and are depending on men who "exercise authority one over the other" for their security and protection, like health, education or welfare, then they are not seeking the Kingdom of God nor His righteousness and will forever return to the perpetual bondage as human resources under tribute for themselves and their children.from which there will be no salvation without true repentance.
There was no forced taxation by men who "exercise authority" in the kingdom, but only freewill offerings by people who love their neighbor as themselves. It was the one form of government that operated by faith, hope, and charity rather than force, fear, and fealty like the governments of the world.
That other way of righteousness starts with you repenting and seeking to be a doer of what that other king Jesus commanded.
The Kingdom of God at hand
The kingdom of God was The Way that Jesus said we should govern ourselves in the care of one another. His reset of the way people thought at that time altered the course of history, turned the world upside down, and helped many survive and thrive the decline and fall of the world order of Rome.
The masses today has abandoned the way of righteousness for the wages of unrighteousness. While the modern Church preached the doctrines of men, false religion, and not teach that way of righteousness.
The Kingdom of God at hand [2] was preached by John the Baptist and Jesus. They told their disciples to do the same.[3]
From the beginning of the gospel we were told that the Kingdom of God was at hand, that we were supposed to seek it, that it was in our midst, and within our reach in a present tense.
Everyone knew that a king was born. Prophets knew it, Herod knew it. Magi, angels, and shepherds knew it. [4] At Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, thousands of people hailed Him as the highest son of David, the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed, the righteous King.
Thousands of Jews accepted Jesus as their king and the apostles as their servant leaders when they received the Baptism of Christ at Pentecost. They turned from the covetous practices of the Corban of the Pharisees and began to seek that kingdom of God and His righteousness through the practice of Pure Religion through faith, hope and charity and the perfect law of liberty. Today the Modern Christian does no understand the Gospel of the kingdom.
Today, men have created eschatologies that might lead people to believe that the Kingdom of Heaven or God is some distant event, or that it is only where you go when you die. While its jurisdiction may reach beyond the veil of life and death it was clearly for the living, not the dead,[5] at hand and on the earth.
The state of our modern society, its similarities to the world of Rome at the time of Christ, and the prophecy in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 of the coming of a strong delusion should compel us all to reexamine the events and words of the Gospel of the Kingdom, and what the early Church and the Christians were really saying and doing.
The World of Pilate
- "Ancient texts require ancient dictionaries."
When Jesus told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of the “world” we see one of five different Greek words found in the New Testament which have all been translated into the single word “world”. The word was kosmos, and it is defined in Strong's Concordance as an “orderly arrangement” and in Thayer's Greek Lexicon it is defined as “an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government.”[6]
In the 7th century BC the term "kosmos" was used in constitutions to describe the jurisdictional "office of magistrate".[7] The word kosmos in the Greek and Roman view of the term Kosmos “... meant originally the discipline of an army, and next the ordered constitution of a state.”[8] The word came from the Greek “komizo” meaning “to care for, take care of, provide for” or “carry off what is one’s own.” Kosmos did not mean planet, inhabitable place, or age.
Jesus was not saying that His kingdom was not on the planet. It was at hand in spirit and truth. Jesus was simply telling Pontius Pilate, seated as the ruling judge of a Roman court,[9] that his Kingdom was not a part of Pilate's constitution, order, government or state and Pilate had no jurisdiction to judge Jesus nor the kingdom God had given Him.[10]
Pilate, as Procurator of Rome, had already agreed[11] that Jesus was the rightful “King of the citizens of Judea,” and would proclaim it so on an official epigraph written in three languages and nailed to the cross.
The Righteous Rulers
Everyone who accepted Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, their King was cast out of the government of the Pharisees.[13] The Pharisees, by denouncing Christ and claiming no king but Caesar, had abandoned the Kingdom of God and had submitted to the jurisdiction of Rome.[14]
Centuries before, in fulfillment of Samuel's prophecy[15] the Hasmonean Kings of Judea were taking the first fruits of the people, the best of their fields, making their instruments of war, and drafting their sons to fight their wars. By 78 BC the Pharisees, a political party, had passed ordinances,[16] requiring the temple tax to be paid and enforced by threats of punishment by the appointed civil magistrates.[17]
Hyrcanus and Aristobulus
In 66 BC, two royal brothers, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, had begun to battle for the office of the king. Aristobulus appealed to the “world” of Rome, and Pompey's multi-national peace keeping military force.
Later in 63 BC, Pompey decided against Aristobulus. There was no formal appeal to Rome by Hyrcanus for support, which made the lawful presence of Rome questionable, if not merely commercial.
The Romans could no longer rely on Aristobulus’ invitation to justify their occupation since, by their own decree, he was illegitimate. Hyrcanus refused to appeal to Rome for protection in accordance with the Torah.
The Pharisees, however, did request this foreign aid, contrary to the law of the Torah which gave Roman occupation an appearance of legitimacy according to Jus Naturale.
Rome was in its own decline. The people were neglecting the responsibilities that had kept them free. Greed and corruption had brought in political and economic subjugation of the people through a dependence on governments created by men like Caesar and Herod.
Judea had followed the political pattern of Rome with their “free bread and circuses”. Some men entice the favor and support of the people gaining power. Herod had offered a new deal. Social welfare was provided through his government. Membership required baptism. The people were given an ID token made from white stones with a registered Hebrew name carved on it to guarantee their eligibility for benefits and to keep track of their required and compelled contributions.
http://www.hisholychurch.net/audio/170121spiritkingdom01.mp3
http://www.hisholychurch.net/audio/170121spiritkingdom02.mp3
http://www.hisholychurch.net/audio/170121spiritkingdom03.mp3
The social welfare systems, called Corban by the Jews, or Qurban by the Romans, had previously been systems of voluntary freewill offerings of charity, with hope, and by love for neighbor. The Corban of the Pharisees was no longer a “freewill offering”.
Their government no longer depended on faith, hope, and charity. This new socialist system of benefits by membership formed a government which exercised authority one over the other through imposed taxes legislated by the Sanhedrin.
“Let their table become a snare before them: and [that which should have been] for [their] welfare, [let it become] a trap.” Psalms 69:22
“And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:” Romans 11:9
Righteous Repentance
John the Baptist offered an alternative to Herod's Kingdom of Heaven. His was a system based on faith, hope, and charity, the law of love and liberty. If you had two coats and your neighbor had none you were to share. Jesus preached that kingdom, and many chose to follow.
The “kingdom of God” was the right to be ruled by God. Moses saved the people from Egypt and Abraham led the people from Ur, and Haran, and freed them from Sodom, and Gomorrah.
There has always been a hope that men could be ruled by virtue as free souls under God and not by other men. Jesus would bring a more complete salvation in spirit and in truth in a kingdom at hand within you.
The Pharisees had made the “word of God to none effect” by their ordinances which forced the contributions of the people and brought them back into the bondage of Egypt. In Matthew 21[18] Jesus said he was going to take the “Kingdom of God”, a present reality, away from them and it would be “given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”
The Pharisee's socialist systems of compelled offerings was set up by leaders who called themselves “benefactors”, but exercised authority one over the other,which was forbidden by Jesus in Luke 22:25, 29 :
“And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye [shall] not [be] so...” [See also Mtt. 20:25, Mk 10:42.]
Jesus went on to say, “And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;” The Corban of this appointed Christian government made the word of God to effect because it required that the leaders of Christ's government, His Holy Church, allow the people the liberty to choose how, when, and to whom they would contribute for the care of one another. His sacrifice and appointment of a kingdom freed the people in spirit and truth from the laws of the Pharisees.[19]
The Corban of Rome and the Pharisees was no different than the bondage of Egypt. God had told the people to never return to that system of government.[20] It had begun with a promise to take care of the needy of society, but it bound men under the authority of rulers. Those who professed Christ were cast out of that iniquitous welfare system.[21]
The Bible is supposed to be a book about “religion”, yet of the five times the word religion appears in the text, there is only one place that it is used in a good and somewhat defining sense:
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)
Righteous Religion
Religion is how we take care of the needy of society. Do we care for the needs of our neighbor by faith, hope, and charity, or by force, fear, and compliance? Do we live and let live by love and liberty, or do we dictate and covet entitlements through elected rulers who call themselves benefactors, yet exercise authority by providing for our wants at the expense of our neighbor?
For centuries Israel had maintained a system of government dependent solely on “freewill offerings” and a sense of community and brotherhood. That simple precept of God had kept the nation strong and free. When the “voice of the people” cried out for a benefactor who could exercise authority God called that prayer a rejection of Him. Despite the warnings by God in 1st Samuel, Chapter 8, the people elected to have a form of government that changed the face and nature of their society.
Jesus Christ was king, but a different kind of king. His apostles were ambassadors and titular princes of a government but they did not exercise authority over the people.
Under the kings of Israel, the power to fire the porters of the government temple treasury was the right of every king.[22] That is exactly what Jesus was doing with His string whip in the temple. He was not merely tipping over tables, but he was firing the corrupt administrators in the government temple.[23] The moneychangers were officials holding a government commissioned position in the national treasury.[24]
Those who had been in charge of God’s kingdom on earth were going the wrong way and Jesus as high priest and king was saying repent, turn around. He wasn’t going to force change but He was appointing an alternative government that allowed people a right to choose God's way.
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)
Once the people received the baptism under the authority of the Anointed Kingship of Jesus[25] they were no longer eligible to apply for the benefits of the government of the Pharisees established under the baptism and authority of Herod. They were also no longer subject to the duties and obligations imposed by Pharisees and even Rome. Through the baptism of Christ the people were freed from those handwritten ordinances of the Sanhedrin[26] as well as the decrees of the former corrupt kings of that nation who had returned them to the bondage of Egypt.
Citizens of Judea who followed the ways of Jesus were set free from Rome itself because Christ was a King, a recognition sealed in His own blood.[27] His Ambassadors[28] may make no treaty with Rome nor its gods.
Understanding the difference between the nature of the government that God intended for men and the governments often instituted by men from Babylon to Egypt, from Rome to modern governments is essential in understanding the elements of that Gospel of the Kingdom and the elements of the world.[29]
Many people today believe they are Christian and assume they are following Christ, but are in fact no closer to Christ than the Pharisees were to God. No one is Christian because they say they are, or say they believe Jesus was the Christ and the son of God. The adversary believes that much. We are brothers in Christ because we do what He said:
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Matthew 7:21-22, Luke 6:46, & Luke 13:25)
Saul was the first elected king when the people “rejected” God. When he forced the people to contribute to his government Samuel called it foolishness and prophesied that his kingdom would fall.[30] When David numbered the young men for a draft to support the army it was called a sin, from which he later repented.[31] When the kings set up a central government treasury, formed a standing professional army, and began to pass laws that returned the people to the bondage of Egypt they were all going against the will of God.[32]
The people of Judea had gone back into the bondage of Egypt where the people were forced to pay at least a 20% income tax to the government,[33] there was a central treasury or bank, and all the land and cattle were owned by government suffrage. Jesus came to change all that and did for those who would seek His ways. He set all the people free who would accept the responsibility and duties of His godly government and live by faith, hope and charity and the perfect law of loving liberty.
Under Abraham's leadership and faith the people set up charitable altars to maintain societies by free will offerings which liberated them from the degrading subjections of the city-states. When Moses returned to Egypt in hope of setting the people free they still had to pay their tale of bricks, but they had to provide their own straw.[34] The “tale of bricks” and “straw” are metaphors for their tax obligation owed to government and the social welfare benefits they normally would have been provided.
“The real destroyers of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.” —Plutarch
Throughout history these forms of government of power which offer benefits to one class of citizen at the expense of another have eventually failed under growing avarice, apathy, and covetous greed of the people and the corruption of their leaders. Without liberty of choice, diligence dies and sloth and greed reign as king.[35] The prophets of God have always preached systems of self government dependent upon the daily practice of virtue where the right to choose, which all men are endowed with by God, remains intact.
Warnings
Jesus and John the Baptist were teaching that same message of common love. They agreed that you may owe Caesar and Herod because you have gone under their authority, but everyone needed to learn to do without their tainted benefits of those civil religions if they were going to be free again. In truth, the Bible is a “do's and don't” guidebook to freedom under God, the kingdom of God. It has forever warned of what will lead us back into the bondage of men and away from God.
In the first chapter of Proverbs there is a lengthy warning about giving your consent with men who are greedy for gain. Those men entice others to have “one purse”. Through cunning and craft they swallow people alive, trapping everyone in a net of their own making.
Peter warns us that through “covetousness” and “feigned words” we will be made “merchandise,” “human resources”, losing our freedom in Christ.[36] Just as David, Jesus, and Paul warned about the welfare system of rulers which snares the people, Proverbs 23:[37] warned us about desiring with a coveting appetite those benefits from leaders who, by our consent, are given the power to “exercise authority” over the people.
“Are men the property of the state? Or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today.”[38]
The Ten Commandments is about more than Thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, steal, or bear false witness against our neighbor. They were to be written on our hearts and minds to make us free souls under God. The Kingdom of God, in the Greek “basileia theos”, means the right to be ruled by God. The Bible tells of the struggle of man to be ruled by God or ruled by the gods of Cain, Nimrod, Pharaoh, or Caesar.
“If we will not be ruled by God, then we will be ruled by tyrants.” —William Penn
This kind of ruler brings the people into a citizenship of servitude.[39] Their power is instituted by the consent of the governed[40] who desire their benefits, but in return they require the obeisance and service of the people.[41] They rule with a different character[42] than God the Father.
Jesus told us to only pray to “Our Father” in heaven and to “call no man father upon the earth”.[43] If we choose men, who call themselves benefactors, making covenants[44] to obtain benefits at the expense of our neighbor,[45] then we will only have those who by nature are no gods[46] to cry out to in the “world” we have made for ourselves.[47]
Honoring our Father and Mother was about retaining the rights of the family. “Excise, in its origin, is the patrimonial right of emperors and kings.”[48] Government rights originally were vested in the family which was God's first institution. Governments are based on the law of Patronus, our father. As the power of government increases family rights decrease. With whom goes the responsibility, there also goes the right.
The Kingdom of God was a dominion[49] of individuals where the power of the “State” rested in God's sacred institution, the Family. It was and is a system of self-government dependent on the willingness of the people to accept individual responsibility for the welfare of society through charity rather than contracts and force. You could not compel your neighbor to provide benefits through the exercising authority of elected government officials. To force your neighbor to provide the social benefits you desire would be a violation of the foundational law of God to love one another and to not covet anything that belongs to our neighbors through any institution or social scheme.
Ezekiel 11:[50] warns the people about building a civil structure that makes our neighbors and ourselves human resources to be devoured by each other through the power of those who call themselves benefactors but exercise authority one over the other.
“For the LORD [is] our judge, the LORD [is] our lawgiver, the LORD [is] our king; he will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22)
The wicked governments mentioned in the Old Testament like Cain’s city-state, Nimrod’s[51] Babylon, or Pharaoh's treasure cities brought the people into bondage in exchange for benefits. The Bible is about men who serve God by loving each other as He loves us, or men who covet their neighbor's rights by establishing governments where certain men exercise authority over other men as elite rulers over a subject citizenry.
We are being warned in Colossians 2:8[52] not to lose our God given right to freedom, and being tempted to abandon the ways of Christ by being deceived with ideas that cause us to give up these rights.[53] We also see the Greek word translated “traditions”[54] can actually mean “ordinances” in accordance with the “elements”[55] of the “constitutional order” of men which is often translated “world” but means the “state”.
“Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,” (Colossians 2:20)
The word rudiments is the word for elements we see in Peter's epistle:
“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” (2 Peter 3:12)
Some interpreters of the New Testament suggest that the word “elements” is referring to a future nuclear war. The same words “element” is also used in Galatians 4:3, in reference to being “in bondage under the elements of the world.” This is the same “world” which is defined “constitution, order, government” or “state.” Again in Galatians 4:9[56] the word is used to describe the elements of returning to “bondage” under that world or state where men covet each other's goods.
Colossians goes on to talk about being “Buried with him in baptism”[57] we are all raised from the dead in the “operation” of God. We know Jesus spoke about the dead burying the dead because they would not participate in the ways of God or the way that Jesus Christ came to preach, saying, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15
When men stop praying to those who call themselves benefactors, those fathers upon the earth, and start coming together in the character or name of Christ as true sons of the Father, then they will be able to blot out the hand written ordinances of men and be free indeed. But because false brethren have deceptively brought false doctrines about the simplicity of the gospel of the kingdom, our liberty under God has turned into bondage.[58]
Stand Fast
We are told “Stand fast... in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” by eating that which is sacrificed to idols. We were “called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”[59]
“And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations... No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:9, 13 & Mt. 6:24.)
“Mammon” means a system of entrusted wealth[60] where a government may hold the right to exercise authority over the wealth and property of the people. Men who seek power seek those offices of power and are corrupted by that power granted by the people, not by God.
Mankind has repeatedly been snared by his own wantonness and appetite, his own greed and lust. Man's sinful nature will always bring him back to the bondage of Egypt. He must repent and change his ways in order to be free. Even though he may have to suffer for a season under the burden of his captivity, he must, with honesty and honor, seek the ways of liberty originally bestowed by Our Father who art in Heaven.
Did Jesus preach a new world order?The gospel of Matthew wrote in Aramaic. Translating the Aramaic to Greek, the word malkuthach becomes basileia ouranos, or Kingdom of Heaven, meaning a “realm”. Ouranos is best translated “world”[61] as in His Kingdom of the World.
Have certain ungodly men crept in denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ?[62] Have we left the path to the Kingdom of God and crossed over into the ways of the “world” and the grip of Caesar?
Christ was the king professed by Christians. They did not pray for the subjugating benefits which snared the people into bondage. They sought another kingdom, another government, as free souls under God caring for themselves, and working out their salvation with fear and trembling.
The “union and discipline of the Christian republic... gradually formed an independent and increasing state in the heart of the Roman Empire.”[63] The early Christians were recognized by Rome through the proclamation nailed to the cross by Pontius Pilate. When Jesus rose from the dead to stand again upon the earth, so did His Kingdom.
Jesus was so clear[64] that His disciples were instructed to not be that way.
While the Testaments are also clear that you may legally apply for a multitude of benefits through a socialist state, but not without consequences. Dependence upon "legal charity" will make you "merchandise", "curse children" and bring again the captivity of Egypt. This is undoubtedly why both the Testaments tells us not to covet.
Those gifts, gratuities, and benefits are the wages of unrighteousness which destroy liberty and degenerate the people into perfect savages because they are the dainties and deceitful meats of rulers provided through the covetous practices of the world which "makes the word of God to none effect".
But the modern Christian does that every day to get free schooling for their children, and social security for their parents and a myriad of other public benefits imagining they are not "workers of iniquity".
How is that the daily ministration of the early Church, the table of the LORD which is not a snare? How is fhat seeking the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness? The Christian conflict with Rome was with the welfare system of the Imperial Cult of Rome and the public religion of the world and others like Herod and the Pharisees which was again "making the word of God to none effect".
We are to live by faith, hope, and charity which is love according to The Way of Christ and not the force, fear, and fealty which was the the ways of the world.
If Modern Christians, Jews, and Muslims would repent and seek to see the truth of their own history they could recover from the strong delusion of public religion. They think they understand the teachings in the Bible but have been doing the opposite of what doctrine of Jesus, Moses, and Abraham were telling their followers to do for over a century
The Eucharist[65] of Christ was the joy of thanksgiving. The early Church was the government of God, answering the prayers of the people by the love and charity of the people who had Christ dwelling in them. In times of famine, social unrest, and want, Christians, who refused to eat the “free bread” of a declining Roman government, were able to sustain and prosper as a community through faith, hope, and charity.
Being excluded from the welfare of Rome and Judea prepared men and women for the decline of the Empire. Christians who had a surplus during the runaway inflation, economic collapse, and endless foreign wars of Rome were able to aid the needy, giving from their hearts.[66]
“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” (1 Corinthians 10:21)
His Holy Church was a network of souls with God's love written on their hearts and minds. It was the righteous social insurance through the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free in the righteous love of God.
We are all in the world God created, but are we of the world created by men, or, are we in that world but of God's kingdom and righteous ways? We may all pray to God the Father, but should we also pray to the gods of the world at the expense of our neighbor when we know those benefits which we covet snare us into bondage again? Why should we exchange the liberty of Christ for the chains of the world?
Repent, and seek the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness.
Footnotes
- ↑ Kingdom Taken
- Matthew 2:6 "And thou Bethlehem, [in] the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor(2233), that shall rule my people Israel."
- Matthew 9:16 "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." Jesus did not just reform the kingdom.
- Matthew 21:43 "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." Jesus would take it as priest and king.
- Luke 13:9 "And if it bear fruit, [well]: and if not, [then] after that thou shalt cut it down." The Corbans of the world were covetous practices
- John 19:15...19 "But they cried out, Away with [him], away with [him], crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar." The kingdom taken by the words of their own mouth.
- John 15:4 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." The people must seek The Way.
- John 15:8 "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."
- Luke 12:32 "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
- Luke 22:29 "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;"
- Mark 15:26 And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS."
- Acts 17:7 "Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus."
- 1 Peter 2:9 "But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"
- See Taking and Giving the Kingdom
- ↑ Matthew 3:2 “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
- ↑ Matthew 10:7 “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
- ↑ Matthew 2:2 “Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (also Luke 2:8, 15)
- ↑ Luke 20:38 “For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.” Luke 9:60 “Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
- ↑ Online Bible Concordance, Winterbourne, Ontario, Canada.. See Thayers Lexicon.
- ↑ “For example, a very early constitutional inscription shows that 7th-century Drerus on Crete prohibited tenure of the office of kosmos—a local magistracy—until 10 years had elapsed since a man’s last tenure.) That is a refreshing approach and surely contains some truth. “ The Later Archaic Periods, The rise of the tyrants https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Greece/The-later-Archaic-periods
- ↑ John Burnet's Early Greek Philosophy: Section A: Introduction
- ↑ John 19:13 “When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.” Matthew 27:19 “When he was set down on the judgment seat, ...”
- ↑ Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
- ↑ John 18:37 “...Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world...”
- ↑ Matthew 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
- Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
- Luke 20:38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
- Luke 24:5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
- ↑ John 9:22 “... the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.”
- ↑ John 19:15 “But they cried out, Away with [him], away with [him], crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.”
- ↑ 1 Samuel 8:1...22 “... ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day...”
- ↑ Salome- Alexandra (about 78 BC), that the Pharisaical party, being then in power, had carried an enactment by which the Temple tribute was to be enforced at law. Alfred Edersheim’s book The Temple.
- ↑ Magistrates were called “elohiym”, translated into “gods” or “God”. [See Strong's.]
- ↑ Matthew 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
- ↑ Colossians 2:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”
- ↑ Deuteronomy 17:16 “... nor cause the people to return to Egypt... Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.”
- ↑ John 9:22 “These [words] spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.”
- ↑ 1 Chr. 9:22 “All these [which were] chosen to be porters in the gates [were] two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office.”
- ↑ 5132 trapeza AV-table 13, bank 1, meat 1; 15 1) a table.
- ↑ John 8:20 “These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.” The word treasury is gazofulakion gazophulakion 1) “a repository of treasure, especially of public treasure, a treasury”
- ↑ Acts 17:7 “… and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, [one] Jesus.”
- ↑ Colossians 2:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us...”
- ↑ Luke 23:38 “And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, 'THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.'”
- ↑ Apostolov, or apostle is a “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders” "apostle" meant "ambassador," or "emmissary”.
- ↑ Galatians 4:3 “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world [“... arrangement or constitution, order, government”]:”
- ↑ 1 Samuel 13:12, 14 “... And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly ...”
- ↑ 2 Samuel 24:10 “...David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly ...”
- ↑ Deuteronomy 17:15 ,18
- ↑ Genesis 47:24 “And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth [part] unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.”
- ↑ Exodus 5:18 “Go therefore now, [and] work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.”
- ↑ “... the slothful shall be under tribute.” Proverbs 12:24
- ↑ 2 Peter 2:3 “... through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
- ↑ Proverbs 23:1 “When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what [is] before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.”
- ↑ Cecil B. DeMille asked at the beginning of his 1956 movie, “The Ten Commandments”.
- ↑ Exodus 20:2, 3 “ I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
- ↑ Exodus 20:4 “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...”
- ↑ Exodus 20:5 “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;”
- ↑ Exodus 20:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
- ↑ Matthew 23:9 “And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” See “Call no man Father” published by His Holy Church
- ↑ Exodus 23:32 “Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods”.
- ↑ Exodus 20:17 “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour’s.”
- ↑ Theos, means a ruling judge and is translated “God” or “gods”. The Hebrew word elohiym, is translated “God” or “gods”. Both terms were used every day to address magistrates and judges in courts in nations like Greece, Rome, Israel, and Judea.
- ↑ Judges 10:14 “Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” Jeremiah 11:12 “Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.”
- ↑ Vectigal, origina ipsa, jus Caesarum et regum patrimoniale est.
- ↑ Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
- Man is not suppose to have dominion over other men. Matthew 20:25 "But Jesus called them [unto him], and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you:..."
- ↑ Ezekiel 11:2, 3 “these are the men that devise mischief... Which say, [It is] not near; let us build houses: this [city is] the caldron, and we [be] the flesh.”
- ↑ Genesis 10:9 “He was a mighty hunter before the LORD...” is telling us that Nimrod was a great 'provider instead of God'.
- ↑ Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
- ↑ The Greek word translated spoil means “to carry off booty.”
- ↑ The Greek word paradosis is also translated ordinance, defined “giving up, giving over”
- ↑ stoiceion stoicheion translated element, rudiment, principle, defined “any first thing,... first principal ... the principles and practices of the old covanent world order.
- ↑ Galatians 4:9 “... after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”
- ↑ Colossians 2:12 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
- ↑ Galatians 2:4 “...false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:”
- ↑ Galatians 5:1 ...3 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage... For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”
- ↑ “Mammon, an Aramaic word mamon “wealth” … derived from Ma’amon, something entrusted to safe keeping.” Encyclopedia Britannica.
- ↑ “…indeed we have no suitable word to express what the Greeks at first called an ouranos. It will be convenient to use the term ‘world’ for it”; Plato’s Dialogues, Early Greek Philosophy, Introduction , John Burnet.
- ↑ Jude 1:4 “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- ↑ Comment on Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Rousseau and Revolution, Will et Ariel Durant p.801. fn 83 Heiseler, 85.
- ↑ Matthew 21:43 "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."
- Luke 12:32 "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
- Luke 22:25 "And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: "
- Matthew 20:25 "But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them."
- Mark 10:42 "But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them."
- ↑ Eucharist is the Greek word for thanksgiving.
- ↑ “And the wealthy among us help the needy ... and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need.” (Ch. 65-67) AD 150, Justin Martyr on the early Church.
Gospel of the kingdom |
Kingdom of Heaven |
Kingdom at hand |
Thy Kingdom Comes
Kingdom of God |
Newsletter |
Not inherit the kingdom |
Christian conflict |
Benefactors |
Principalities |
Corban |
Covetous Practices |
Elements |
Redemption |
World |
Biting one another |
Food Stamps |
Workers of Iniquity |
Serve two masters |
Doers of the Word |
Ye are bought |
The Blessed Strategy |
Fervent Charity |
Congregations |
Congregants |
Free Assemblies |
Elders |
Fellowship |
CORE |
Church |
Ministers |
Tithe |
Tithing |
Tithingman |
Treasury |
MORE |
COM |
The Way |
Pure Religion |
Charitable Practices |
Thy first love |
Kingdom Love |
Christians check list |
Aid Addicts |
Overcoming together |
Pray |
Network |
If you need help:
- Or want to help others:
Join The Living Network of The Companies of Ten
The Living Network |
Join Local group |
About |
Purpose |
Guidelines |
Network Removal
Contact Minister |
Fractal Network |
Audacity of Hope |
Network Links
About the author
Subscribe
HELP US at His Holy Church spread the word by SUBSCRIBING to many of our CHANNELS and the Network.
The more subscribers will give us more opportunity to reach out to others and build the network as Christ commanded.
Join the network.
Most important is to become a part of the Living Network which is not dependent upon the internet but seeks to form The bands of a free society.
You can do this by joining the local email group on the network and helping one another in a network of Tens.
His Holy Church - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/hisholychurch
Bitchute channel will often include material that would be censored.
https://www.bitchute.com/channel/o6xa17ZTh2KG/
Rumble Channel gregory144
https://rumble.com/user/gregory144
To read more go to "His Holy Church" (HHC) https://www.hisholychurch.org/
Brother Gregory in the wilderness.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJSw6O7_-vA4dweVpMPEXRA
About the author, Brother Gregory
https://hisholychurch.org/author.php
PreparingU - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hTUK8R89ElcXVgUjWoOXQ
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/HisHolyChurch