Luke 17: 20-21
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God
does not come with observation: Nor shall they say, Look here! or, look there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is inside you.
This verse of
scripture above expresses a fundamental truth in the Bible. It is an interpretive
scripture, one that interprets a great body of other scriptures, especially
Bible prophecy. In Ephesians 2:20 it states: ... (the church) is
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief corner stone. Meaning: That as far as
scripture goes, it is the words of Christ that take precedence. To put differently;
the words of Christ in the gospels are better used to interpret the
words of the apostles and prophets, rather than the words of the
apostles and prophets being used to interpret Christ's words. There
are obviously a number of reasons for this, the first one is that he is
the Word of God himself. Being this, he
overcame the pressure
of cultural norms and consensus viewpoints that always exist among mankind, and that his
followers struggle with.
The cultural norm or
consensus viewpoint of that time was that the Kingdom of God would
come in a visible
form with the descendant of David sitting on a throne in the nation of Israel.
In their minds he was to bring righteousness,
justice, mercy, truth and peace to the earth through physical force.
Whether that force be earthly, angelic or miraculous is irrelevant. The
Son of David would be seated in Jerusalem, in the Middle East, as King
to administer it. They got this viewpoint form scriptures like
these and many others. What Jesus was doing was correcting this
misconception. His answer to the formally educated leaders of that day
brings us to an unfortunate reality of our generation now. This verse of scripture that while acknowledged and used for certain purposes
by many Bible teachers. Is almost heartbreakingly ignored as far as what
it specifically implies. That there is to be no visible government of
God on the earth.
The verse contains two statements.
The first explicitly corrects a false teaching or belief about
certain...mostly prophetic scriptures. The second instructs in a highly
condensed form how those scriptures, mostly the prophetic ones
will come to pass. The problem that confronts our
generation is that the basic premises that the Pharisees believed is one
and the same as our formally educated leaders and Bible teachers hold
today. Unfortunately, this high jacks the full import of the second
statement; "the Kingdom of God is inside of you." This
is a highly condensed statement. The culturally normative viewpoint of
it is correct only in a certain sense. It does not allow the statement to
be unfolded so that it's full meaning can be seen. Ignoring the first
statement, placing a meaning on it that is the exact opposite of what it
it plainly says prevents a proper understanding of the second statement.
Right now as far as the second statement is concerned the Christian world
is left with a glass one half full. There is one half of a glass worth of world changing meaning left in the
statement that has yet to be widely known. In the next paragraphs we will
take a close look at the first half of the verse.
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God
does not come with observation: Nor shall they say, Look here! or, look there!
First, lets re-write it in a few ways
most Bible teachers and pop-eschatologists would have to teach it to remain
consistent with their views on Bible prophecy.
"And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God
should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come
now with observation: It isn't time for it, so you (people of the
1st century) will not be able to say look! here it is, or there it
is."
"And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God
should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come
until after the great tribulation That is when it will be restored to
Israel."
"And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom
of God should come, he answered them and said, no one but God knows when
the kingdom of God will come because it will not come until my second
coming. No one will say here it is or look there it is because everyone
will see it with their own eye's."
There are dozens different ways this verse could be spun or
"translated" to teach the doctrines of present day prophesy
teachers. Pages
could be filled making it say something completely different than what
it literally says; which is basically:
"The Kingdom of God does not
come visibly." Then that is further emphasized by saying. "Nor will they say see it here or see it
there,." (because it won't be visible.) Stop
a minute and think about this, and think about what it means to a
billion dollar "end times" industry that no matter what their
variations in teaching, all have something in common. That the Kingdom
of God will come visibly on earth. Jesus will reign either from the
earthly city of Jerusalem or from a transplanted heavenly city of
Jerusalem on earth. I fear there are people reading this that are right
now stopping in their tracks because they are realizing what is being
pointed out. The pressure of a consensus viewpoint has begun to assert itself. A voice in someone's head
could be saying something like: "How could it be possible that
almost every major ministry and the most renowned Bible teachers be
wrong and this be right, this has to be wrong." Well the
pressure you are feeling is real, I understand that. Regardless of that,
Jesus still said what he said in answer to a premise that under girds
many various teachings about an eventual visible kingdom of God. The
wording he chose rules out any visible\physical kingdom ever coming to earth.
Essentially, and yes, it means that all the teachings that have ever
been taught, and every book and tape that has ever been sold that says
there will be one is false. Furthermore, these teachings, for the very
same reasons, are as false as what the Pharisees believed, that Jesus was
correcting.
None of this means that a proper interpretation
of Bible Prophecy hinges on this one verse alone. On the contrary,
a careful ( maybe decades long) study will lead to the same conclusions
without the verse. The verse however is designed to be an
attention getter for the new believer. Something that grabs you
and makes you ask yourself questions as to the nature and meanings of
Bible prophecy. Something that pushes you to search rather than just
accept overly simplistic meanings of highly illustrative prophetic
scriptures. If you so desire, to help further an illumination on
this subject there are articles in the website that may be useful to
you. Although the section on Bible Prophecy has not been begun yet on
Wordservice.org, there are some related sections that will answer many
questions. There are three audio tapes on certain aspects of Bible
Prophecy. There is an article on Matthew
24, then another one on Resurrection,
and a third on the Coming of the
Lord. These are under the Bible Basics
section. Then there is the Bible symbolism section that sort of inherently
has to delve into Bible Prophecy.
A couple of things need the service of
a disclaimer about all of this. First: Wordservice.org does not
subscribe to any of the well known eschatological "isms"
that abound in the Christian world. You will not find these
"isms" on the pages of this website. Second: Wordservice.org
does not ascribe to a view that says just because someone ( a believer,
a pastor) is teaching something that is false, that it makes that
person not of God. If we teach, we have, and in the future we will teach
things that are false. God in his wisdom has actually ordained this, to
make us dependent on the grace of God and one another's "gifts" and
"talents." God is with his people and
for their ministries, with all the warts and blemishes we all have. As far as this subject being so "big" in the sense of so contrary
to what the vast majority believes. The answer is simple. "How
shall they believe unless they hear; and how shall they hear unless
there be a preacher; and how shall they preach unless they be
sent?" Romans 10: 14-15 paraphrase.
This section of the article covered
what the Government of God is not. It is not nor will it ever be a physical
Government that can be seen with the eyes, on earth as we know it. The
next section will cover the subject of the article; what the Government
of God is, as illustrated by the second part of the verse.
.....behold, the kingdom of God is inside you.
The Government of God that this
article is attempting to be described is not what has always
existed,
but rather the one that is prophesied. Furthermore not so much
it's
humble beginnings but rather its
endings. In other words, "what is the
Government of God that scripture says was or is to come; what will it
look like; in what way does it come; how does it govern; how does it
bring change for the better?"
Gods Government on
earth in a certain sense could be looked upon as the ultimate
grass roots organization. Its only mode of gaining ground is through personal
interaction on a strictly individual basis. Truth and reality are
employed in this personal interaction that is both divine and spiritual
in nature. It is left to to the individual to voluntarily accept by
faith, or reject both the divine interaction and the truth that is
presented. In this sense the Government of God is educational, motivational
and administrative on a specifically individual scale. In the broadest
sense of this personal relationship God is referred as Father; in which
the child is completely dependent upon for every necessity of
life. This is the totality of the basis or foundation for the
(prophesied) Government of God in the earth. This not only represents
it's humble beginnings but also the basis of its end. It is the beginning because God in his sovereignty
created moral agents
in such a way that limits his control over them to that which can persuade
a voluntary change of heart on their part. He cannot change their hearts
by physical (miraculous) force or coercion. It is the end because God will not and
indeed cannot establish moral governance in the earth without the cooperation
of men.
The next feature or step in
Gods program to govern the earth lays in the physical nature of moral
agents. If an individual accepts truth and embraces reality (especially
if it came through divine agency.) By necessity it will have an
effect on that individuals behavior. The adulterer will seek reconciliation
with their spouse. Parents that cared little about their children will
commit themselves to love them and seek their betterment. The womanizer
and sexually immoral, the homosexual and the porn user will restrain
their appetites and seek a new nature. The politician and the lawyer
will stop lying, the thief will stop stealing. The same conditions that
brought the behavioral changes will also cause those who have discovered
this new way of life to tell others about it. This is done in hopes of
bringing others to the same experience. Care and love will cause these
individuals to employ all kinds of means in their efforts to bring
others to Christ. In their minds it is an essential part of their faith
to see others reconciled to the government of God that they too may find
the promise of eternal life. These are the perfectly natural effects of
a voluntarily embraced personal relationship with the God of truth and
love.
It's good to note at this point
that all the resources of heaven are available to these individuals to
accomplish these things in steps one and two. The extent of the availability
of these resources is based on the individuals faith which in a real sense
is based on their knowledge. This is essentially the work of the Gospel which
comes through Gods initiation and not mankind's. It is designed to
bring the governess of God into the lives of individuals.
Most modern Bible teachers and pastors generally agree with what has
been written so far as what Jesus meant when he said the Kingdom of God
is inside of you. At least in the sense stated concerning personal salvation
and resulting behavior modifications. This is also the point where Gods
agenda for world governess gets high jacked by false teachings about a
future visible\physical Government with Jesus sitting on a throne in the
middle east. The point where the glass which holds the full meaning of
the second part of the verse is only one half full.
As steps one and two involve a
process that God is initiating and intimately involved in with the
cooperation of people. The continuation of the same exact process by
it's very nature involves cultural and political change. This is quite a
bit more complicated than the initial steps because there are so many
different factors involved. Perhaps this is one reason why the subject
has not been thought through by so many modern Bible teachers and
pastors. It is easier to just leave the glass half full so to speak than
to bring bring basic teachings to their fullest extent when it involves
very complicated situations in culture and politics. What needs to be
understood though is that this process
is totally natural to the point of being unavoidable. What effects
people personally will quite naturally effect culture and
politics. When individuals lives are radically transformed by an
intimate relationship with heavenly and eternal things. There will be a
physically unavoidable effect in their personal behavior and their
relationships. This carries over in exactly the same manner to their
political and cultural viewpoints. Again, to deny this is to deny the
very nature of moral agents and is tantamount to denying that the faith
of Christ has any bearing in the thoughts and actions of individuals who
have discovered the grace of God. It would be saying that heavenly and
eternal things can be contained in the heart but cannot show themselves
in any form or fashion in the natural world. Kind of a ridiculous
suggestion but in fact this is the position doctrinally for most
Christians as far as their view of the future is concerned. If one
person coming to Christ can change the culture of a family. If the
culture of a family is changed, if children are now born to Christian
parents, if these people are winning more souls. then the same holds
true for a village or a community. If a community or a people groups
culture is changed, if a significant minority of them are soul winning
evangelical Christians, if a majority of them accept Christian
principles in law and government. Then a nation can be changed in the
same manner. If a nation can be changed (and their have been nations
changed this way,) then the whole world can be changed. There are no
brakes on this vehicle except self imposed ones. You cannot
intellectually admit to change taking place at a family or local level
and at the same time reject the same vehicle's ability to change a
nation or the whole world. Yet for the last century the majority of
believers have boldly announced that the world is getting worse and
worse and will end in a final cataclysmic event that will usher in the
Kingdom of God. To the authors knowledge there has never been a more
effective propaganda campaign than what the devil himself has birthed in
the heart of Gods people than the utter falsehood that the world is more
evil than it was before. There is no comparison between our world today
and the ancient world that ended with the fall of the eastern and
western branches of the Roman empire five hundred years ago. To say that
there is is the height of ignorance or arrogance. The very worst that
our our world today has to offer was the common practice, the norm of
the ancient world. The very best our world today has to offer was only a
dream of thinkers and prophets. Even today without any working knowledge
of this subject in the hearts of Gods saints, the vehicle moves forward.
Yes! even though the saints deny any such thing is happening, even when
they totally disagree with God and the reality on the ground. Hearts are
being changed, cultures are being transformed, and darkness is giving
way to light in many nations. The next few paragraphs will look at a
working knowledge of this process.
Lets begin with the days of the Apostles
and some of Jesus' parables about the Kingdom or Government of God
regarding this exact process. In Matthew
19 and Mark 10 Jesus was asked by his Apostles what their reward
would be for forsaking everything they had and following Him. Jesus
answered their reward would be great, both in this life and the next,
only, with a caveat: "The first would be last the last
first." What Jesus meant by this qualification is
that those who first come to Christ and serve him will suffer the most.
The rewards that where promised (especially the earthly ones,) will for
the most part not accompany those who are the pioneers into new area's
with the gospel. Wherever the Gospel is first introduced
it has powerful enemies in high places. The consistent response of these
powers that be, wherever the Gospel has or is being introduced, is
murder-genocide and all points in between. However, when the Government
of God has run it's full course in human affairs, (with the gospel as
it's foundation.) The rewards that Jesus promised become abundant due to
the transformation of that nation or area. The powers that be have succumbed
to the believers cultural influences. The rule of law, liberty, freedom,
justice and the national prosperity that accompanies a nation "that
does righteousness" is now the standard. This is spelled out in
detail in the parable that Jesus
uses in Matthew 20 to explain how the Government of God brings
about the first being last and the last first. Or, the first (in order)
being last (in the inheritance of rewards,) while the last (in order)
are the first (in the sense of they inherent the fruits of all the labor
of those who went before them.)
In
that parable we see that the householder hires laborers early in the
morning to harvest his fields and agrees with them for the going rate
for a days work. . He goes out a few more times during the day and finds
more laborers and a final time at the end of the day and hires yet more.
At the end of the day he pays all of them the going rate for a whole days
work. Those who were hired early complain saying. "we bore the full
load of the labor in the heat of the day, why are you paying those who
only worked an hour for a whole days labor also?" The householder
answers them saying. "I am doing them a good deed by paying them
for a whole days work." "You agreed with me for a fair wage
and I paid it, why are you accusing me of being unjust with that which
belongs to me?" The last (basically) get a better deal than the
first.
The interpretation of this parable is thus: Jesus is the householder.
The vineyard is the world. The labor is the work of the Gospel and the
Government of God. The heat of the day and the brunt of the work load
are the persecutions, the trails and tribulations of bringing the gospel
and the influential power of the Government of God into a new area or
nation. The going rate for a days labor is eternal life. Those who are
last who's labor was much easier inherit eternal life as do those who
did the bulk of the work even though their work was more difficult.
Jesus adds another saying to further their understanding of the first
shall be last and the last first which is: "for many are
invited, but few chosen." This again is saying a similar thing
with a little more of a prophetic twist. That God in his foreknowledge
has "chosen" certain ages or generations to experience the
full impact of the Government of God on earth. In other words many are
invited to partake of the wonderful benefits of the Government of God,
like in Hebrews chapter 11 and many other verses. Yet only those who are
last (time wise) get to experience the full impact or "fruit"
of Gods influence in the affairs of men. In this sense those that are
last are the generations the Bible speaks about as
"chosen" to inherit these blessings (and responsibilities.)
Their labor is in a world that is far less hostile, and is far more
conducive to righteousness. They become
the most influential force in
world affairs and they cannot be subdued by the forces of evil.
There are other parables or analogies that Jesus used to teach the
same thing about the Kingdom (Government) of God. However, a glitch in
the program prevented all of this from coming to pass. Gods saints
remained perpetually in deadly persecutions for well over a thousand
years.
This 'glitch" is where the
bulk of modern Bible teachers, pastors and Christian collages are
entirely erroneous in their understandings of Bible prophecy as it
relates to the Government of God. Yet it is one of the most instructive
episodes in all of history as to how Gods sovereignty based in his
wisdom restricts his actions in establishing his moral governess in the
earth; to
that which is in a cooperative nature with mankind. This progress
hindering glitch was called the
"Age of the Gentiles." The Bible is explicit as to when Gods government would begin to exercise
it's influence for the betterment in the affairs of mankind to it's
fullest extent, That time was after the Age of the Gentiles is over.
Naturally, since this is such a world changing subject much of Bible
prophecy is devoted to it. The Age of the Gentiles was a 2000+ year period
when four gentile (pagan) empires ruled over and oppressed Gods people.
These empires are named in the book of Daniel by an angel as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek and Roman. Since these are history to us precise
dates can be attached to them. The same prophesies in Daniel told
the exact date when Christ would be revealed to the nation of Israel.
Furthermore they pinpointed that the Roman Empire would be ruling when
this happened. Then on top of this they clearly prophesied that the
first covenant age would come to it's end and Jerusalem and Judea would
be destroyed by the Romans. The timing of the end of the first covenant
age was prophesied as: In the first century; during the dynasty of
Herod; and in the generation that the messiah was revealed to. As to the
subject of this article, (in the book of Daniel) the Government of God
would begin to be established after the destruction of the Roman Empire.
Daniels visions of all this was progressive in the sense that more
details were added with each new vision. The Apostle John's vision (the
book of revelation,) was progressive in the same sense. It takes
Daniels visions, Isaiah's, Ezekiel's and others and adds a few details
to them about the same subjects. The major details added to Johns vision
about the Roman Empire was that it will split in two; it would claim it
was the Kingdom of God on earth while still holding to the same practices
of the Roman Empire; and finally it would exercise the same power as the
Roman empire and continue its slaughter of the saints and suppression of
the Gospel.
Much has been written about the
Roman Empires persecutions of both cultural and Evangelical\Pentecostal
(and\or various Anabaptist) Christians. This fact was prophesied in Revelation
13:7. And it was given to him to make war with the saints, and to
overcome them: and power was given him over all kindred's, and tongues,
and nations.....10. He that leads into captivity shall go into
captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword.
Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.....15. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
It is estimated between 50-100 million people were murdered over this
fifteen century period. It should be stated clearly that mere
handfuls in comparison were murdered for their faith. The persecutions were for all
practical purposes political in nature for the very reasons stated thus
far. Modern Christians may not understand the political implications of
a Biblically founded faith; but kings and dictators both ancient and
modern understand it completely. For this reason the Bible was an
outlawed book in the empire during most of its existence. The common man had no access to it. The
prophesies in Revelation are practical in nature, instructive. They told
the believer there was no hope of overcoming the empire through force of
arms. This is the reason for the words the "faith and patience"
of the saints. They were to patiently endure the persecution and have
faith that the judgment prophesied in the Bible would
eventually take place. They had no other options than this. The judgments
written of in the book of Revelation spoke of the Age of the Gentiles as
it related to Judea culminating in it's destruction in 70AD. Then from
chapter 13 on the judgments are directed at Rome before and after it was
divided into an eastern and western empire. There may also be a
general reference to the judgments that would come upon future nations
that attempt to destroy the work of Gods Government. The word attempt is
used because according to prophecy (and history as we know it so far,)
they all fail. Herein lies the instructive nature of this history as it
related to this age of the gentiles.
Even though the Eastern and Western
Branches of the Empire were militarily conquered. Their demise was
prophesied as a triumph of the Government of God and a beginning of Christ's
reign in the earth. The Old Testament text uses straightforward and
illustrative language to describe this, the book of Revelation exclusively
uses illustrative language. Therefore the events that accompanied this
need to be looked into.
From the time of the Apostles on the Gospel was spread
via preachers who carried some or all of the Bible with them.
These documents were hand written and for most of the millennia and a
half reign of the Roman Empire after Christ these documents were
illegal. They were as ruthlessly destroyed if not more so than the believers
who possessed them. Writing these Bibles by hand was a laborious
job. One that could not keep pace with the empires attempts to root
them out. Secondly there was no where to flee. To leave this empire
meant going to another that eventually would raise the same persecution.
If over a period of a few generations a people group or nation within
the empire was transformed by the gospel. The empire would employ
genocide to rid it self of the "infection." Two events
seemed to be the impetus to change the dynamics of all this. The first
was the advent of the printing press. As alluded to earlier the extent
of the ability of the gospel to influence and spread was hampered by a
lack of written material. This time though, coinciding with one of
many past reformations,
the printing press was employed in the spread of written material. It's
noteworthy that the first book ever printed on a European printing press
was the Bible. However this was not all. Materials such as teachings,
tracts, religiously inspired political discourse spread like a
wildfire throughout northern Europe. Perhaps the way the
Empire dealt with this in it's past caused them to misjudged the speed at which the new technology aided the spread
of what they called treason. Whatever it was though they acted far to
late in their plans for inquisition and genocide (if necessary.) Whereas before it took
a hundred years for a whole nation to be thoroughly affected. Now in a
hundred years dozens of nations within and without the Empire where completely
affected. This resulted in the Thirty years war which decimated northern
Europe with estimates of between 7-15 million deaths. This was the beginning
of the end for the Roman Empire. The Eastern empire would fall to the
Ottoman Turks in the 15th century and the last vestiges of the western
to Napoleon in 1802. The result of all this was the beginnings of
true religious freedom in the sense that the Gospel was now free to run
its full course in some nations.
The second factor in all this coincided with
the printing press. That was the discovery of a new world. The America's, specifically North
America offered something to the believer that had never existed. A
habitable continent lacking existing empires with large organized
armies. Hence the migration to it became unstoppable. In North America what was developing in thought and practice in
northern Europe
could in fact progress almost unhindered. It did just
that. The founding documents of the United States exhibit almost a pinnacle
of understanding of the how the Government of God works in the affairs
of men. Though amazingly successful in comparison to what the world had
always experienced before it, especially in it's founding era. This was
only the beginning of an age Wordservice.org calls the Great Gospel Age.
The main events that led to it are what the article intends to use as
instructive for future generations.
In the Bible the coming of the
Government of God is usually looked upon as an event with a date placed
on it. (The date being in the mind of God.) The when, what, where
and how are one of the mysteries hidden in scripture that were not
revealed to ages and generations of men. What is educational in the
events in history that fulfilled prophecy was what failed and what
succeeded. It is beyond argument that all the dynamics that
accompany the Gospel and the Government of God were in place and being
used in the earth from the time of Christ onward. In other words the way
God works with man to bring the good news and everything that can be
built upon the foundation of Gods Word was in full play. All the
miraculous power, the work of his mighty angels, the full employment of
his providence, the access of his people to his promises never died
down. The only difference between the failure of the Gospel and Gods
Government to run it's full course in the era 33 A.D. -1500+ and its success after that era were
"earthly" in nature. In other words the new technology
of the printing press and the empireless new world (among a few other
"earthly" things) were the main difference between success and
failure. All the spiritual and heavenly things remained the same in both
eras. The means of success though in this era verses the latter were
essentially the work of men. This is not meant to say that God had no
part in the employment of these new "means." On the contrary
he did! Furthermore he foresaw it millennia before it happened.
What is meant by this is that if the proper means are not employed by
men, it does not matter what God can do, failure will result. This
historical example of this highly enlightening detail can be drawn out
to show that the successes and failures in the last two centuries are
directly attributable to the means employed by believers. Furthermore
it can be shown that the means employed are unavoidably connected to the
beliefs and knowledge (or lack thereof) of believers living out their faith.
The foremost issue in the means
that Christians are employing starts with what they believe. What is believed
will dictate thought processes, actions and strategies. This is the very
heart of true or false prophecy, or much more to the point in this age,
true or false teaching. Real prophecy as far as its application is
concerned is meant to give a distinct advantage over the forces of evil,
to those who heed it. It is by its very nature the ultimate in insider
knowledge. False prophecy by its design is meant to give the forces of
evil the advantage. It's nature is to lead those who heed it to their
own destruction. Now, in this era the prophet has been somewhat replaced
by the "Bible prophecy teacher," or Bible prophecy
teachings. Hence one can begin to see the dilemma that Christians are in
today. It is completely in the interests of the forces of evil to have
Christians believe that the world is quickly heading towards apocalyptic
events that are completely outside the control of believers. That they (believers)
have nothing to do with the direction the world takes. This is the
exact opposite of the truth and the practical reality on the
ground. With their faith firmly established in the veracity of
Gods Word. It is the believers efforts and strategies that will
determined the course the world takes. If their faith is misplaced
and darkness clouds theirs hearts and their vision, then the world will
suffer more evil as a result. If they are filled with faith and
knowledge and their labors are wrought in wisdom and zeal. Then the
world will take a turn for the better. Those who are teaching that the
world will get worse and worse and that evil will prevail need to take
heed. It does not matter if you are pre; mid ; post. Amillennialist,
Preterist or if you believe in
an end time wiz bang last revival. The fact
is that you, as prophets of old, are leading the saints down a path that
separates them from the power and providence of God in the very long term
and extremely difficult task of transforming their
world. The judgment for this is already written. What ever is sown, that
is what will be reaped. Evil will prevail if Gods saints walk in
ignorance and sin, how much more so if they believe it is destined to prevail? Evil
will prevail if the saints hearts cannot and will not develop
understandings and strategies to overcome it. Evil will prevail if the
saints have no inspiration to see to it that it does not. Evil will
prevail even though all the resources of heaven are available
to the believer to transform it for the better, if the believer does not
participate with God in the divine agenda. Do you; teacher, or pastor want
to be held accountable by God for evil coming to pass? Do you want to be
looked upon as Israel of old that believed a false report about the promised
land and could not enter into it? You cannot teach any of the various
end of the world scenarios and escape the consequences of those
teachings. They are by their very design tailor made to give evil an
advantage. The transformation of the world is part of the great commission.
It is to be wrought one heart at a time. Then those hearts in union with
God are to create just and God inspired civilizations that are that city
on the hill.
At the current time 90% of active
evangelical\pentecostal believers hold to teachings that absolve them
from their duty in establishing God ordained republics or maintaining
the ones that exist. This is the practical effect of misconstruing what
the Government of God on earth is, the times and the seasons of Bible
prophecy including the belief that the end of the world is near. What
work is done in the maintenance of these republics like the United
States is done not because of a practical faith in Gods Word but rather
a selfish fear of loosing the good thing they have inherited from past
generations. This my friends is not the way to have the Government of
Gods assistance and\or guidance in the fulfillment of the Lords prayer,
"thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." God will work with those
who put their faith and corresponding actions in the veracity of his
written word. God finds it difficult to aid and help those who's
motive is self centered and who cannot perceive what the will of God is
for their futures. It is a wonder that the vast throngs of Gods saints
cannot even give a practical biblical reason why it would be Gods will
to establish and maintain republics like the USA. Something so practical
as the command to procreate and raise godly children, one of the
fundamental reasons for creating mankind in the first place. You
cannot serve God by raising godly children under tyranny such as
communism. Those who are ruling will simply murder you and take your
children to use them for their own nefarious purposes, i.e. keeping
themselves in power. To have the freedom to raise ones children
according to the dictates of ones own enlightened consciousness without
the interference of the wicked; if that were the only reason, should
suffice. Or how about scriptures such as this: "He (the Messiah) will
not rest until he establishes justice in the earth." Or: "He will
bring justice to the nations." Meaning, he will take the nations of the
world and make them just as opposed to the wicked pagan empires that
enslaved the ancient world. Friends, this is not possible without the
establishment of republics based on the biblical teachings about human
government, like the United States. More people are coming to
Christ now than at any other time in history. Due to nothing else but
this the world is and will change for the better. As the scriptures
teach plus what this article is pointing out. There cannot be any good and just human government without masses of people
coming to Christ. However, if these new believers accept an essentially false belief
that they are to hope and wait for an event in the future that brings a
visible kingdom of God on earth. Instead of the truth, that in Christ
they are creators of the future either
good or bad. Then the world will see much more evil than it would have
otherwise. Gods will will not be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Among the many effects of the many
false teachings about the soon end of the world or the misconceptions
about what the government of God is. None seem so brazen and detrimental
to the welfare of all Gods creatures as the withdrawal of real believers
from the political and bureaucratic realms of human government.
Christians should be absolutely dominate in all politics. Not as a
voting block!!!! In the United States Evangelical\Pentecostal believers
are already the largest voting block, if they would actually vote and
had people they would actually vote for. No, what is meant is by the
statement believers should be dominate in the political realm is that
believers should be the majority of politicians and other government
offices. Dominate is the key word here. In the scripture is says of
Christ that he made and open theater of the powers that existed in his
day. Are believers in Christ? Is that statement just theoretical in
nature? Are not believers the light and the salt of the earth? Can a
proper standard of behavior and understanding for lawmakers, politicians
judges and bureaucrats be set unless its believers that set that
standard themselves? As it stands now in the present time believers are
made to look like fools in the eyes of much of the electorate. There are
two reasons for this. One is that there are so few of them involved that
they are easily marginalized by the powers that currently dominate
politics and government. Secondly and sadly, they are easily made to
look like fools....well.... because to put it bluntly they are. This is
not because believers are somehow inferior, on the contrary in matters
of life they are obviously superior. It is simply the effect of false
belief. The strategies, concepts, teachings, monetary resources, wisdom
and hard core long term effort to secure victory over worldly and
ungodly men is not, and cannot be within the mind of those who have a
vision completely contrary to the Word of God, the realities of the Government of God and
the centuries that lay ahead of them. Can you child of heaven even think
in terms of even one century ahead? Can you son or daughter of the one
who has no beginning or end even conceive of the future outside of what
utterly depraved Hollywood producers have fed your mind and hearts with?
Outside of all this how is God able to speak to his people and give them
purpose and vision for the distant future? The answer is he is not able
to in any intelligent way. Does one wonder why the prophets in the
Pentecostal circles are so totally useless and inaccurate in their gift?
Look no further than the doctrines they believe. How can God tell them
of what lies ahead even twenty years from now when they are absolutely
convinced in their spirits that a final coming of Christ is immanent? How
can God use them as he intended to give his people some inside
information so they can prepare for the challenges that lay in the
future when their hearts and spirits do not believe nor consider a
future? He tries, but to no avail. There are so many disastrous effects
of these unsound, unsafe end time doctrines that a whole article could
be written just about them. Maybe one will get written.
There are many wonderful people,
ministries and churches that are participating in the world of politics,
law, science, education. How much of a greater effect might these have
if they were convinced the Word of God is on their side. That they can
prevail and overcome rather than play defense holding back the flood of
ungodliness. That they might take heart that their efforts are but the
baton being handed to the next runner and that eventually, whether they
live to see it or not. Their efforts transformed the world in which we
live for the better. Believers have a purpose in this life that is built
upon winning souls and making disciples of those new believers. A
purpose so broad and so deep that it defies the imagination. May God
open our eye's and hearts.
1
Corinthians 1:9. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him.
|
