Law, Order and The Silent Majority

People believe they are appeasing the rioters and vandals. Its apparent they believe they are de-escalating by doing nothing. Wheeler in Portland has said as much. He said this will burn itself out. Actually, it's not going to stop until there is nothing left to burn. Doing nothing is not de-escalation. It is passivity in the face of violence. Passivity is always an invitation for invasion. Chamberlin and Hitler ring any bells? If anything, once hostiles find out there are no consequences for their actions, they will escalate their activities until they find the boundaries of what they can get away with (Romans 1). If they got away with nothing, then nothing would get done and this would've ended.

Romans 1:28-32 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Psalm 81:11-14 But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me. So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would follow My ways, how soon I would subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes!

Paradoxically, those arrested are the most aggressive, so if you took them off the street, even for a few weeks you would suck the energy out of the riots. Instead it's been revolving door justice of arrest, book, release, arrest, book, release ad nauseum. No repercussion. No punishment due. Within a day they're back on the street burning, killing and terrorizing. So much so they accosted a senator and his entourage two days ago. The people in charge are absolutely fools given over to poor thinking (again, Romans 1). The system of the world is the gatekeeper for more of their own ilk. The inmates are running the prison.

Quick history lesson...Nixon won on a 'law and order' platform in 1968 (as Trump likely will 52 years later). People were fed up with the countries unrest. Even democrats in the burned-out cities. They see the ineptitude and complete lack of leadership in those cities which is mostly Democrat. Portland, Seattle, Chicago, portions of New York, Philadelphia, etc. There is enough unrest and uncertainty to put nearly every other major city on notice: We're coming for you.  The irony is that the very history that the current mob wishes to destroy and to erase would've educated them to the net end result or the counterproductive actions that are now occurring...but they chose to burn, riot and loot that history too. So now it repeats right in front of their eyes. The irony is complete. I just sit back and admire its continuity. It is literally a carbon copy of the Israelite behaviors in the Old Testament. Obedience, disobedience, Chastisement, correction, obedience, disobedience, etc.

Not only have we not learned from the Bible history, we’ve not even learned from a generation of people that are still here walking the earth.

Nihilism and Death Are Equality

I generally am not wrong about things like this when I say them but I certainly hope I’m wrong now. Fascist behavior is starting to take over. Violent misguided behavior that thinks it’s changing something to the better but is in reality is aiding in destroying it. Good Americans that know and understand history will not allow this.

It is not good enough that we just accept the bad behavior. We are now required to applaud it. Sinful behavior. Violent behavior. Emotive behavior that has little or no thought behind it. Behaviors where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. Behavior devoid of structured meaningful leadership. Anarchy and disorder due to absence or the ignoring of authority. Nihilism and the rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless.

A war to push this nihilism is upon us that will be fought in our neighborhoods, homes and families. A large group is about to be on the wrong side of history and on the wrong side of the grave. The lines are demarcated clearly. You all know which side you're on. I tried to educate and teach people. I tried to help people find common ground but sometimes people are just itching for a fight. I pray not too many get injured or die.

As a theologian/theist, I assert that our postmodern world and the current postmodern society of violence and vandalism represent a rejection of theism or God, and that such rejection of God entails nihilism as there is no such thing as a theological or spiritual vacuum. If you remove God who is Spirit, something else that is spiritual will take its place as humans are created with a need to have some form of spiritual control or authority in their life. 

In terms of race we’ve become racial (or political) nihilists in an attempt to gain equality through force. One side, instead of getting what they sought which was equality worth/value…received exactly the opposite. There is now a move afoot to remove value. Disvalue. To negate the other side that does not agree with you.

Equality must be willingly accepted not coerced. You cannot make a person love another person. It needs to be a choice…or its not love. Its control. Racial/political nihilism in which no morality exists whatsoever for those outside your politick. Therefore, no action is preferable to any other. No behavior to violent. No apathy too cold watching a man die. In example, a racial/political nihilist would say that killing someone, for whatever reason, is neither right nor wrong, just a means to an end.

We’ve created a generation of monsters. In an attempt to make everyone equal we’ve destroyed the entirety of self-worth or value to half a disenfranchised population. Instead of equality of 7 billion lives we now believe that exactly half of those lives are of no value whatsoever. The dividing line? One’s political view.

Racial nihilism is applied to those that do not apply to your ideal. If they are of no value they are viewed as garbage. Detritus. Waste to be removed. The other side hold no value or purpose. All colors fade to nothing when one closes their eyes in death. Death…the great equalizer. Essentially the premise that you need to agree with me or I’ll find a way to make us equal anyway.

Do you understand now?

We are now facing the darkness. We need to be prepared to do two things. We need to extend a hand across the chasm. We need to reach into the darkness to pull the lost ones out that have fallen into its grip. At the same time, we need to acknowledge we are in a dangerous situation and be prepared to defend against whatever comes out of the darkness. We need to be eternally vigilant. If not, over time, we will be pulled into the darkness also. The devil prowls in the darkness looking for those whom he can devour and that darkness is upon us. Be light in these dark days.

Ecclesiastes 5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

Ecclesiastes 8:14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

...of Circus Clowns and Merry-Go-Rounds

Even the so-called mighty theologians and pastors within the Baptist and Presbyterian circles are getting this wrong and it is astounding to me. It's like watching a train wreck. I'll type it here as an analogy so some might actually see the error as it is plainly revealed to me. Due to the error they are often acting as circus clowns instead of lion tamers that they really need to be right now in this society and in the Church.

Until Christian's realize the is a vertical spiritual war (John MacArthur, Voddie Baucham) not a horizontal political (Al Mohler, JD Greear) one, we're going to stay in this war of spiritual attrition with the spirits of this world. Justice is not man's to dispense, it is God's. My zealous but deluded Christian brothers/soldiers are galloping into the battle of Social Justice and believe they are effectively fighting on the front lines.

They believe they are the commanding officers in a holy endeavor but what they don't realize is the horses they're riding on the battlefield are carousel horses. A carousel horse, who is constantly charging but in reality stationary...running in circles. Their weapons useless as they are not Biblical. Ineffective for war against that which is not flesh and blood. Instead of waiting for the Savior they're trying to become little saviors fighting with the world's weapons which the world has countermeasures for.

Politics: Worldly, temporal, finite, imperfect.

Theology: Heavenly, diachronic, eternal, perfect.

Categorically different. Only compatible or interchangeable in one direction. The temporary and temporal can exist within the infinite and eternal but the eternal and infinite cannot exist within the temporary and finite. The errant theologians are trying to squeeze eternity into a bottle and dispense it as justice. We attempt to switch the job of true justice from God into men's hands. We try to bring the task only God can complete... and allow men to do it. Doomed from the start. Only the One who died to abrogate the law that we're judged against is allowed to negate its effects on us. Only the one who created the law is capable of passing the judgment of righteousness or condemnation. If not then the judgment is made by an unjust hypocrite unworthy of passing the judgement. Therefore...

Instead of King Arthur we get Don Quixote.

Instead of a Sheriff we get a child with a pop-gun.

Instead of Jesus we get a cheap ineffective imitation.

Our churches are becoming lost kingdoms led by mad kings.

The Hammer of Justice Crushes

American decline is a spiritual and moral problem not a political one. The political is merely the side effect of depraved and warped thinking of a society devoid of God. There is no fear of God before the nation’s eyes. There is little wisdom as most have turned their back on God. A society without an absolute/objective moral compass is a dying or dead one. Everyone does what is right in their own eyes and all are, at some level...wrong. Yet none can admit that about themselves. The phrase: “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes” is used in what book of the Bible multiple times? Judges. Judges sent to correct evil behavior. The time of Judges…when there was no king. There was no viable or meaningful leadership and the failure to lead was its own punishment. This should be a wake-up call to Americans.

The lack of wisdom is in itself a form of judgment. Ecclesiastes mentions why.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil” 

Like we see with Antifa and other lawless groups there has been little or no immediate judgment for evil or bad behavior. So, criminals and broken minds are not inhibited from breaking more just laws. God’s or man. The evil operates with impunity. This is what happens when restraints are pulled off of people and they are released to do whatever they want. Anarchy and chaos ensue. The surest sign that that Devil is working either behind the scene or right in our faces. We are literally seeing this played out before us in the nation.

Here’s the thing though. This lawlessness won’t go on forever. It will inevitably be judged and punished. God gives us all plenty of time to make good. God wouldn’t have allowed a hammer to drive nails into His Son if He wasn’t looking for justice down the road in the corridors of time for us today. The irony is that the perpetrated acts of evil themselves often begin to act as a precursory punishment. Especially when they are addictions or harmful behavior.

To any nation or person who has no fear of God, I have a warning for you. God was clear when he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 2:19 “Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord God of hosts”

Evil and its negative side effects increase when there is no fear of God. Abraham understood that when there is no fear of God in the land, sin abounds, which is why Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife” (Gen 20:11). The Bible is clear that fear of God suppresses evil, but what is the fear of God? It’s a holy, reverential, deep, and abiding respect and regard for the Holy God Almighty. A God who is, by His nature, obligated to judge.

Our society not only doesn’t fear God and justice he inevitably will bring…the society doesn’t even know God or those that do, don’t acknowledge Him as God. They see no long-term punishment for evil behavior. So that errant behavior runs amok. This will not happen forever. Either God will directly intervene or the system containing the evil will collapse in on itself. It will implode from its own moral depravity. That is what we’re seeing in Portland, Chicago and other areas. Self-cannibalization. We will eventually see this nationwide if this doesn't abate.

This is why the Bible says, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Rom 12:17-18), and “never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom 12:19).

God does not sit back and say, “Do was you will.” Do not misunderstand God's silence or inaction. Please understand that God not striking the wrongdoer down immediately does not constitute Him condoning it. God wishes that none perish but God will only be so long-suffering and patient. The hammer/gavel of justice is coming. The day when the hammer of justice crushes us will be quickly upon us. The Lord has dropped this hammer before on many including His own chosen people, the Jews. The gavel plate is stained with the blood of fallen empires. God will not stay His hand forever. The hammer is already in its back-swing…

Kingdom Is Where the King Is. Part II: The Just Public Servant

[Continued from Part I]

The Question: Why Democracy? 

Because. Jesus isn’t directly actively controlling the world. The Devil is. God though is allowing this. The world and the systems within it are broken. Until a perfect leader comes to rule in full power (Jesus) the things that are flawed within the system will remain including us as the flawed vessels that constitute it or make up its constitution. See what I did there? How does Jesus change this? He is perfect and embodies the Law. In him He will right things. A perfect King cannot live or accept corruption in His realm. So…he will correct it once and for all. He will judge it. The corruption will be removed and thrown in ‘prison’. The Kingdom will come to glory. Finally. 

Until then, spreading responsibility over a body of people to make a majority rule decision poses a winner-take-all scenario but it also increases the possibility of a few positive Godly influences to permeated the entire body like leaven in bread. If you relegate that to a small number of people or only one. The risk increases exponentially that the entire system will corrupt. Just as one virus (evil/illness) can kill an entire body, one white blood cell can begin the healing for an entire system (immunity from illness/evil).

The Bible didn’t directly invent the idea of democracy but in effect it pointed to ideas that aid democracy. The Bible elaborates at length on two concepts that are essential for good government. 

The First Concept Essential for Good Government: Justice

Good government must protect the vulnerable while acknowledging God for Who He (Supreme Ruler) and what He is (Justice, Love). We must protect the orphans and widows. We must be fair. If not, judgement besets the nation that doesn’t.

Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

Leviticus 19:9-18 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner….

“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another…”

“You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God….”

“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God….”

“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor... “

“You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor…”

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself…”

“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God.”

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt…”

You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin…”

….after every single one of these statements is the addendum which clarifies and is given for context, “I am the Lord your God.” All thoughts and actions are to be based on the understanding that God is God and He is still on His throne.

If we were truly and fearlessly honest, we’d admit that we have violated every single one of these statutes from God and deserve nothing but judgment. If our leaders including Trump and Biden did a ruthless moral inventory on themselves, they would see the same also. They are not humble enough to do so…and neither are we...no matter how much we delude ourselves to the contrary. That is why we are in such need of Christ. So now we have incurred the wrath of God in this nation. God will not bless a nation that is in overt rebellion against its true Sovereign Ruler. We slaughter the unborn and the courts steal justice from the innocent. This nation is already under its own judgment being given over to the chaos we see. That is exactly what we see in 2020. We see the judgment of a nation as all the others before us....as we race headlong to certain demise.

The United States tried to incorporate this concept of protecting the vulnerable in the Bill of Rights. The Constitution, as originally written, did not have the Bill of Rights, but James Madison pushed for its inclusion because without a Bill of Rights democracy can be just as oppressive as any other form of government. When we abandon the Bill of Rights we sprint towards tyranny/injustice again. Something God nor the founding fathers wanted.

The Second Concept Essential for Good Government: Jesus

Luke 22:25-27 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves."

Surprisingly, Jesus is illustrating here that in ungodly human governments, power is centralized. A singular set of rulers or ruler imposes their rule through coercion and the threat of force. The resources of the nation are then also centralized, and the ruler can allocate resources to preferentially and is praised for doing so. But this is not how Jesus wants things to operate. Instead of leading from the top, they are to lead from the bottom. Leaders are servants. My goodness this concept has completely evaded a majority in power and the fools that support them today. Like the Old Testament during the time of the Judges we are seeking a king. The exact opposite of what we should be looking for. We should be looking for and voting for a servant. Someone that might have coercive power, privileges or perks but acts as if they do not. Someone that does not act from a position of superiority. Instead, leaders simply serve and do what is best for others. I honestly don’t know whether it is possible for a human national government to operate like that, but this appears to be what the Bible describes.

Matthew 23:11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.

That is the way Church was to be run. A nation as one unified congregation of servants.

Most American churches like the United States have borrowed the concepts of democracy. We vote for leaders. Some churches have gone beyond democracy to something closer to the way of Jesus though. Instead of elections where two candidates vie for a church position, fostering a system of winners and losers, many churches have a system of congregational discernment resulting in a slate of recommended leaders, all of whom are affirmed together by the congregation over time. Instead of majority-rule votes, which inevitably cause anxiety for the minority, many congregations do not move ahead with a decision until they have reached biblical consensus (or as close to one as possible). In churches those seeking to rightfully follow Jesus’ way, leaders are not given special privileges or prestige; instead, all are treated as equals, and leaders serve for the purpose of benefiting the congregation, not themselves.

As best as I can discern from the Scriptures, Jesus tells us this is our best form of government while we await His return.

I am okay with the United States being a democracy, and I am glad I live in the United States. But it is not the kingdom of God. As a Christian I call on the government to live up to its Bill of Rights and to do an ever-better job of protecting the vulnerable. As a Christian I call on the government to use as little violence and coercion as possible, and I suggest that the best way to lead is to serve. But as a Christian I call on the church—not the United States government to truly be God’s government in this world. For now the US Constitution is fine…as long as there is dog-eared Bible laying on or next to it.

Kingdom Is Where the King Is. Part I: Kings as Servants

Democracy is great, but God’s people are called to practice something better. We are of the Kingdom. Jesus and the Bible were strikingly clear about this. There are no minced words. Anything less than what Scripture tells us is pale by comparison. Why settle for coming in second when we were promised the victors crown? Why settle for an outhouse when we can live in a mansion? Why settle for fear and anxiety when we were promised certainty and assurance.

John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Philippians 3:18-20 For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

Our home. Our God. Our Ruler. Our hope is in the Divine outlined in Scripture. Not flawed temporal earthly vehicles, agents or tools. In America on the 4th of July some have a patriotic service in their churches. Sometimes the United States national anthem is played and pledge of allegiance is spoken. I don’t have issue with this as long as God’s banner and Scripture are held in esteem above the flag and Constitution. Render to Caesar that which is his but render to God everything. Well, because its His anyway. Consider it a dual citizenship, After death we’re still God’s subject, constituents in the Kingdom. After death the United States holds no sway. The United State’s sovereignty and our dual citizenship stops at death’s door. Ironically, God’s sovereignty stops nowhere as He is omnipotent and omnipresent so in reality we’re merely expatriated here in this mortal coil. The United States is renting property in God’s universe. If we understand our roll as believers, we are called to lift the state of our expatriated country to the lofty standards of the Kingdom. So…in a way we are failing the Kingdom when we do not improve the conditions of the United States (and by default, the world).

In truth many churches and believers do this, or something similar, because they believe democracy is the form of government God specially favors. Democracy is a kind of kingdom of God on earth, and the United States has been chosen by God for spreading democracy everywhere. I personally do not identify any national government with the kingdom of God. I do not prefer that my beliefs and politics should necessarily mix unless that they align with Scripture. Am I treasonous? No. Am I disloyal? No. Am I expatiated with dual citizenship? Yes. But when the country I am currently expatriated in forces its rule on me and it goes against the homeland I am obliged to disobey.

When we try to merge the two kingdoms harmoniously, I fear this goes too close to the edge. By merging the Scripture to politics, we come or become dangerously close to religious syncretism. Anything merged with God’s requirements….waters them down. Even democracy. Many of us have lost sight of this. Some worship the Constitution more than the Bible. As Christians we need to understand the Constitution is reliant on the Bible not the other way around. We can allow temporal allegiances to earthly national rule but it needs to have careful theological parameters.  What form of government does God want people to live under? The answer to that question is embedded in Israel’s history.

God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery to Mount Sinai where God gave them the Law. These laws formed the basis for a new earthly government. That government was a theocracy. In other words, God ran the government in a de facto manner. The laws were based on obedience / loyalty to the God of Israel but one aspect of Israel’s theocracy made it unique: It did not have an earthly king at the time the Law was given. In the large picture, in the larger scope of history there was more going on. The meta-narrative pointed to something much larger. It pointed/points to a King who, in first appearances ruled in absentia but in reality, He rules everywhere and at all times.

Israelites did not give their allegiance to a king but to God alone. There was no central government, only a loose confederation of tribes. Leadership was in the hands of local leaders (elders, priests, prophets and in the case of war and/or disobedience, the judges.) How did this form of government work out? Well, read the book of Judges. It ended very poorly. There was no centralized authority. There was no standing army. Israel was constantly vulnerable to attack and domination by other nations. Furthermore, sins like envy and violence among the tribes and between towns were frequent. Women and the vulnerable suffered horribly. Leadership was often corrupt or deeply flawed. The Book of Judges paints a picture of existence that was nasty, brutish and short. Even for the Judges themselves. This would manifest in the time of the Kings. Invariably we see the result of fallen capricious men in a role meant only for God. Until Christ truly sits on the throne and rules absolutely there will be broken leadership in the world.

Because it was apparent even to fallen men that after a couple of hundred years of decentralized, local leadership, the tribes of Israel said, “Enough” and demanded a king. The prophet Samuel tried to warn them of the consequences:

1 Samuel 8:11-18 “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

In other words, having a king with centralized power will result in a military-industrial complex, a draft, loss of freedoms, heavy taxation and confiscation. Exactly as we see today in westernized democracies. Nevertheless, this seemed a lot better than the chaos of the time of the judges. Its the same chaos as today where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. It is ironic that judgment therefore judges were/are sent because of the disobedience of man. The byproduct of disobedience is chaos. Chaos itself is the judgement. The parallels to today in 2020 is frightening. So the Israelites proceeded to create a monarchy. How well did this form of government work out? According to history, not very well. Which in and of itself is why history is important to preserve. We see the errors of the past, adapt and improve. If we have no benchmark we start from zero. We start from the ground up.

Saul, the first king, turned out to be mental case. David, the next king, was highly effective, but he abused his power to commit adultery and murder, and his eldest son led a civil war against him. Solomon, the next king, attained the throne by murdering the competition. He brought wealth into Israel but at the cost of the importation of foreign gods and the implementation of oppressive labor. His reign was so controversial that, after his son Solomon’s death, the nation split into two—the north and the south—each with its own monarchy (insurrection, secession). Wow, Bill Clinton, George Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden or Donald Trump ring any bells for anyone? Splitting a nation in two. What we learned was that the two lines of kings were generally worse than the ones who came before them. Eventually both kingdoms were destroyed by invading empires across open borders, their kings assassinated or imprisoned and their sons murdered. This portends a really awful end for the United States if we continue on same said path.

So…around the time Israel collapsed and became a dream, far away in Greece, in the city of Athens, people were creating a new form of government called democracy. Citizens voted for their leaders, and leaders served limited terms. The system was not ideal: women, slaves and lower classes could not vote. Nevertheless, democracy was a revolutionary idea. The theory would eventually be assimilated by the Roman Empire.

Which form of national government would you prefer to live under today: a decentralized theocracy without Jesus sitting on the throne, a monarchy without Jesus on the throne or a democracy? Despite its never making an appearance in the Bible, I would choose democracy. In truth, God has knowingly allowed humanity to move in this direction also until Christ’s return.

Communism, socialism and all other forms of governing or economics have failed. Why? Because they all relied on one form or another of the ruler being or behaving, benevolent, honest, virtuous, fair, good. etc. All descriptors of a perfect man that sinful man is incapable of achieving without God. But there was one that did and until he returns to rule fully and forever…we’re stuck with inferior substitutes. The alternatives to the substitute of democracy is much worse. Ask history...Hitler, Stalin, Attila, Genghis Khan, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Caligula, Nero, Herod, etc.

But some will say nowhere in the Bible do people vote or leaders serve for designated terms. Even Jesus never promoted democracy. Jesus never asked his disciples, “Raise your hands if you think we should go to Golgotha” or, “Who is in favor of Judas being our treasurer?” Can you imagine if He did? This does not mean democracy is ideal. In fact, it has some seriously screwed-up drawbacks which we can clearly see today in 2020. Big money has tremendous influence over elections and legislation. So does false information and propaganda. The Internet has exacerbated these issues. Something the founding fathers could’ve never foreseen. Those with control of the internet media and the most money can hire the most lobbyists, afford the most lawyers, file the most lawsuits, pull the most strings, fund the most candidates and block or support the most legislation. They can censor, silence, slander and defame. The super-rich can fund their own campaigns or set up their children in politics, creating a political or economic aristocracy (Kennedy, Bush, Biden). American democracy is dominated by a wealthy elite. The New World Order isn’t coming. Its here. We still have political recourse. We can still do grassroots internet sites to spread the truth of Scripture. I am doing so now here on this blog. But it is drops of water against the tide.

The founding fathers of the United States foresaw some of these potential flaws and tried to put checks and balances in place to try and avoid them. But a recalcitrant child determined to set a house on fire that he lives in will eventually succeed if he keeps trying and that’s what we are seeing (socialism, communism, fascism). Rebellious children continually disobeying. Continually twisting what they’ve been forbidden from doing by asking the question, “Is that what Dad really said we’re not allowed to do?” Not unlike the Israelites in the Old Testament. Not unlike Adam and Eve in Genesis. There really is nothing new under the sun. Nothing. Hence our need for Someone greater.

Another problem with democracy is that the majority rules. This certainly sounds like a fair principle, but it means the minority gets shut out. In American democracy we have a winner-takes-all approach. If a candidate wins an election by the slimmest percentile, he or she wins everything, and the other candidate-who received almost the same number of votes-gets nothing. So the majority has the power to impose its will on an equally sizable minority.

[Continued in Part II]

I will bring this all together in the next post. I promise.

Time Is Relative

A comparison of the Old Testament and the New Testament, reveals differences in how the concept of time came to be understood in the Jewish and Christian traditions, respectively. The Christian viewpoint regarding time is generally linear; that is, the universe had a beginning and will have an end (in Greek, the eschaton ἔσχατον), which will occur when Jesus Christ returns to Earth in the Second Coming to judge both the living and the dead. His arrival will be the fulfilling of a promise he made to the Apostles and will be culmination (but not the end) of the world and time. At least the world and time as we understand it now. Augustine of Hippo mentions this in his seminal City of God, written during the 5th century in 410 AD. All this while the Visigoths sacked and burned Rome, with many Roman citizens blaming Christianity. I imagine it looked like the end of the world for them. Augustine set out to provide a consolation to Christianity and Christians, writing that it was the City of God that would ultimately triumph at the end of time or in the eschaton.

Such a view was at times at odds with the view of the Israelites / Jews. The Hebrew concept of time, was concerned with the qualitative substance of time as it related to seasonal events like the rain in summer or an early autumn. The Hebrew calendar was based on the lunar cycle. The Hebrew day was one cycle of the earth on its axis. The month was one lunar cycle, or revolution of the moon around the earth. The year was 12 lunar months of the approximate time required for the earth to circle around the sun. For the Jewish mind, time was for all intents and purposes not just linear as in Christianity but also…circular. Reoccurring. The chronologically linear was, at times, experienced as circular or repetitive. Crops, sacrifices, judicial cycles, Jubilee, etc. The circle would be unbroken.

The Old Testament divides the Jewish year according to each season of an agrarian society, such as when the women Naomi and Ruth traveled to Bethlehem to attend the barley harvest (Ruth 1:22). Likewise, the concept of time centered on the hallowed events of God intervening in human history. Time was dependent to an event that God either caused or allowed to occur in the natural world and how it was linked to His divine acts. Passover for instance. All of those events are directly associated to Jesus or salvation. This is why I’ve always said that if you cannot find Jesus or Salvation in every verse of the Bible, you’re not reading it properly. That is why the story of Creation in Genesis 1 can still be valid and accurate even if direct science is not described in it. The Bible is about relationship. Time is relational. Relations. Family of one form or another. The Bible occasionally speaks to science, medicine and economics but that was not the purpose for its writing. Time really was about your relatives, neighbors and God.

We see the linear/cyclical nature in the Jewish Old Testament prophecies too. There we nearly always see an immediate fulfillment of a given prophecy and a long term one. It is as if history repeats. Time repeats. Incidents repeat. That is likely because prophecies were done in the Spirit. When in the spirit or spirit realm like John the Revelator, time held no sway. Time for all reasoning that we would understand in this world…was irrelevant. Time was timelessness, or more specifically diachronic. Every moment for God in the spiritual realm is the eternal present. That is why when I see modern day Christian ‘soothsayers’ trying to predict what Revelation means along a specific timeline…I know they really do not understand the true nature and character of the prophetic.

Furthermore, for the Hebraic mind, time was concrete and real, not an abstraction. There is no evidence that they engaged in the sort of abstract philosophical speculation that is the hallmark of the Hellenized Christianity and Greeks. Rather, a Hebraic mind would see time as sacred, just as space can be sacred (Holy of Holies) and physicality (Temple of the Holy Spirit, relational position to God). The feasts of the Old Testament were anchored in time. Exact times that directly corresponded to Jesus’ death and resurrection. When I study the Old Testament, I realize that time is specifically relational for the Hebrews. That is, the understanding of time in the Old Testament came from how it described the events of human lives and God's interaction with those lives.

It is also why prophetic books of the Bible pointing to Jesus have what is called superscription.  All of the prophetic books of the Bible begin with a superscription identifying a prophet in relation to God, Rulers and…exact points in time. We are told their name, and usually when they were active in the years of a certain king of secular rulers reigns.

Isaiah 1:1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah

We even see it in the New Testament when a Gentile doctor dates Christ’s birth during the reigns of Quirinius, governor of Syria and Caesar Augustus (Luke 2). 

Luke 2:1-2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

Luke was dating Christ’s birth in a Hebraic/Jewish manner. The superscription is also always in the third person, and often reads as if written at some time different (or outside of) the time of the prophet being spoken of. That is because it is the Spirit working through the writer of the books from outside of time.

Without Christ and Salvation. Time is immaterial. Without God and His interaction with man, time becomes irrelevant. Therefore, in Old and New Testament thinking the passage of time literally becomes a sequence of saving and redeeming acts. Without salvation what other need of time would there be? This is why God’s plan of salvation is progressively revealed through a sequence of events historically. The salvific plan is revealed throughout the Old Testament and is brought to culmination and fulfillment in Christ dying on the cross, being buried and rising again in three day’s time. Just as it was revealed by the prophets of the Old Testament in the past. Repeatedly. And just like any other prophetic fulfillment, it will repeat again in the future in the Second Coming in the future.

Real salvational events occurred, and humanity measured and marked life by its relationships to those events. Until we arrived in the godless Enlightenment era all chronological time had been gauged either by it preceding Jesus’ birth (BC) or after (AD). After Christ's time was marked in a manner relational to Christ’s arrival in the world. Time then became very linear and imperative. We marked time straight forward from His first advent until His second.

The passage of time was an unfolding story concerning God’s behavior. So, even though God can and does exist outside the universe and time, our time and physicality in the universe cannot exist without Him. The Old and New Testament show this (Isaiah 66:2, Psalm 33:9, John 1:3, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Colossians 1:16). That means to spend time profitably as the Bible commands means living one’s life so that others could mark their lives and tell their stories in reference to one’s actions both with one’s neighbor and God. The question therefore that should be asked by a Christian isn’t, “What should I do to make the most efficient use of my time?” Instead the question that should be asked is, “How can we best make use of our lives in this present moment to both help our neighbors and love our God?” How will you redeem the time? (Ephesians 5:16)

[Addendum: It should also be noted we will all reach our final destination in eternity. When we get there we will still have two things. We will have some form of physical body (resurrection body) and those bodies will be subject to time. How do I know? Simple. To be able to be punished in or by Hell for eternity assumes both. How can one be physically tormented without both? How can one enjoy paradise without both? Both sensation and elapsing of time via a sequence of events?]

Boman, T. (2002). Hebrew thought compared with Greek. New York: Norton.

Craig, W. L. (2001). Time and eternity: Exploring God’s relationship to time. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Ganssle, G. E. (2001). God & time. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Hasker, W. (1998). God, time, and knowledge. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Littlejohn, R. (2000, Winter). Time and God. Biblical Illustrator, pp. 53–56.

McGrath, A. E. (2001). Christian theology: An introduction (3rd ed.). Boston: Blackwell.

A Wolf Among Sheep: Open Letter To Gov. Tom Wolf

Acts 5:27-33 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.  God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.

The high priest of the Sanhedrin (the State) introduced his comments with a reference to supposed authority of Israel's leaders. Pilate had similarly threatened Jesus with his authority (John 19:10-11). They attempt to dictate and mandate through fear. Just as State governors do today. Obey…or else. Not only is this morally wrong, more importantly its Biblically wrong. The high priest showed his disdain for Jesus by completely ignoring him as a person and not referring to Christ by name. He as a state official believed the authority of the Sanhedrin was greater than the authority of God/Jesus.

The leaders earlier had instructed Peter and John not to teach (Acts 3:18, 21) but Peter had said they would continue to do so because of Jesus' authority (Act 3:19-20). In the situation of rendering to the State that which is the states we are to obey…until they expect us to disobey God. Then it becomes a moot point. Christians are contra mundum. What’s even more damning is Peter charged the leaders with Jesus' death. They are now trying to silence this fact by forbidding the Gospel. They had rationalized away guilt for Jesus' death probably blaming it on Jesus Himself and the Romans (Acts 3:15). Jewish leaders felt the disciples were unfairly heaping guilt on them for having shed Jesus' blood. However only a few weeks earlier they had said to Pilate, "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matt. 27:25; Matt. 23:35). Peter as spokesman for the apostles did not attempt to defend their (righteous) civil disobedience but simply repeated their responsibility to obey God rather than men, specifically the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:19; Luke 12:4-5).

Peter claimed that God had exalted Jesus to a place of supreme authority, namely, at His right hand. The Sanhedrin had asked Jesus if He was the Christ, and He had replied that they would see Him seated at God's right hand (Luke 22:67-71). Jesus was Israel's true State/national Prince (leader) and the Jews' individual and collective Savior. Jesus had the authority to grant a change of mind about Himself to the nation and consequently forgiveness of sins. Jesus' authority to forgive sins had indebted all who would believe that fact about Him. The apostles were not just as heralds of that good news (Gospel) but were eyewitnesses of that to which they now testified. The apostles (believers) are the human mouthpieces of witness to Christ’s death and Resurrection. This is bore witness to via the Helper or Spirit. 

To silence believers to prevent them from teaching / preaching is therefore a direct attempt by the State to muzzle God. A Christian cannot allow this to happen either in word or action. Through example we are shown that we are to righteously be disobedient to the State in obedience to God. Believers bearing witness to the truth are obligated to it. Furthermore, the Sanhedrin (the State) knowing the story of the Gospel were/are without excuse too! They heard the Gospel and are disobeying! Actions contrary to the Gospel having heard it are insurrection to God. The Sanhedrin's/world’s reaction to this disobedience to the state? Kill. Silence. They’re not just attempting to silence the Apostles here….but God Himself. Do you see the absurdity of this? So, what do we learn from this episode before the Sanhedrin/State?

The persons that teach the things of God doing the work commanded in Matthew 28:19-20 get their authority from God directly. The Great Commission in Matthew commands us, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” We are to "speak", to proclaim the Gospel with our voices. In the Temple or out of it. The audience is believers and unbelievers. To the former for edification, to the latter for conversion. Remember, we’re commanded, not asked. We should expect resistance to this. Outside the church…and in it. Not all that sit in a pew are Christian. The Devil walks into your church every time you teach of God.

The Sanhedrin in this passage are representative of godless leadership that wishes to silence not just the Gospel but God Himself. They attempt to stop the messengers. The Gospel itself is unstoppable. Nothing has been successful in stopping the message. The Devil and world system know this so they stop the messengers from fulfilling their duty. Every attempt to stop the message in 2000 years has failed. Paradoxically, Christians are decentralized like ANTIFA during State oppression. Silencing one does nothing to stop their message (therein lies the method of understanding ANTIFA too).

Certain characteristics stand out about those that will try silence the Gospel and they need to be recognized. We see them today in the COVID-19 pandemic and State sanctioned lock-down. The confused/deceived spiritual leaders cling too tightly to Romans 13 while simultaneously ignoring Acts 5. They have fallen victim to the fear instilled by the state and are aiding in silencing of the church.

It is Unreasonable A godless world sees the need to teach God publicly or in a sanctuary as unreasonable. Gavin Newsom, California and Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania have attempted to implement draconian restrictions on the public by metering out unreasonable unconstitutional restrictions. What these men fail to see is their expectations themselves are unreasonable. Not only are they violating 1st amendment rights in these states but they are expecting men to keep silent who have been commanded by Christ to speak, who know what they speak to be true. What they do they are compelled to do and to speak by the inner voice of conscience/Spirit. The leaders are even manipulating the lex terrae because its been friendly to the Gospel. The world and man are at enmity with God.

It is Unjust To command men to cease and desist from teaching to others things of the belief / metaphysical realm is to invade the domain of conscience/Spirit which belongs alone to Christ, and is therefore in the highest degree culpable and reprehensible.

It is Unkind To impose silence upon men who offer mankind the highest conceivable blessing (repentance and remission of sins) on the easiest possible terms: To have faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ) is surely the opposite of benevolent.

It is Unsuccessful  Those who attempt to stop the Gospel never succeed in the long-view. God is a God of history. So long as Christ lives and reigns...the errant State never succeeds. Not once. All orders, prohibitions or restrictions upon God and the Gospel end in failure. The more men are punished for preaching, the hotter grows their zeal to persist in the work forbidden by the State/Caesar.

If the world be against God and seeks to silence God then it is the Christians responsibility to be contra mundum. Just like Athanasius. Us against the world….as we are not of it. When God's orders and man's come into collision, man being a creature who is himself under authority to God is obligated only to God. Its the old syllogism. 

(1) God is always right.

(2) When in doubt refer to Rule #1.

It is good to obey man as well as God (Romans 13)—which is both desirable and dutiful, when man's orders are not countermanded by God's. Since the power of the State comes from God. But the State should never force people to violate their conscience/The Spirit. That is morally reprehensible. Do not ask a Christian to chose between God and State. The true Christian always picks God (you'll know them by their works/action). Governor Wolf. You have no authority to silence the Gospel. I reject your godless reality and substitute my own. 

Here I stand, I can do no other....