POLITICS AND THE CHRISTIAN

https://youtu.be/6zjGt4mYkr0

THE LEWD AND BASE MOB

   Christianity had begun. Would it be “peace on earth and good will toward men” for the glory of God (Luke 2:14) or “division” (Luke 12:51) with violence (Mat 10:34). Soon after the disciples were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26), Christians were already “thorns in the sides” of Jews. The opposition were the thorns pricking the innocent.

  Jesus had said to Paul (Saul at that time), “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Act 9:5). Jesus implied that Christians had worked on the conscience of Saul, but he angrily fought the Spirit. Here they were in Macedonia, and the Jews were still kicking against the pricks, and Paul was that time the one goading them. The pricking of Christianity were the thorns in the side.

KEY VERSES: ¹⁰ And the brethren immediately sent away (from Thessalonica) Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. 13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. (Act 17:10-13)

  The Christians had been kicked against in Thessalonica, and the same would occur in Berea. While the Christians were teaching the Jews in Thessalonica, many Greeks were also convinced. They were persuaded to become Christians, not almost persuaded like Agrippa, but fully persuaded.

  Regeneration begins at rebirth, and that is the time anyone is persuaded that Jesus is “Yahweh Protecting.” Once that is done, then the convert submits to God, and then God protects with the baptism of the Holy Ghost of Jesus (Act 11:16). The proof that Christians continue as such is joy in commerce with the Holy Ghost.

  Some Jews were moved, but some were not. There are always two possible responses to conviction: persuasion or rejection. Persuasion leads to connectivity, but rejection to dissension and rebellion. What did the unbelieving Jews do at Thessalonica?

⁵ The Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. ⁶ And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also…” (Act 17:5-6)

  The unbelieving Jews gathered “certain lewd fellows of the baser sort …and set all the city in an uproar.” Thessalonica was their “Portland” in that the more peaceful Jews found baser people to terrorize the people. Jason was a Christian, sitting peacefully at home, when the mob gathered as a company at his house. Jason was the “Mark McCloskey”of Thessalonica. What was he guilty of? Believing in freedom and Jesus! What was McCloskey guilty of? The same charges.

  The lewd fellows said, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” That was true; Christianity had turned the world upside down and would continue to do so. The Jews had drifted away from Yahweh, and where had they gone? They drifted from the River of God (the Jordan) into the “Dead Sea.”

  The Religion of the Living God had become the religion of dead people. The angels at the tomb said it well, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” Paul had found the dead in Thessalonica, but many of them chose life instead. Rather than happiness at their conversion, the Jews became angry, and sought revenge. They chose to remain the dead among the living. The Church today has a few “living” among the dead congregation. Many Christians, out of ignorance, have joined the movement against civility.

  There is much dissension about free will. Calvinists propose that free will is one-way; that due to original sin, mankind can only be persuaded away from Jesus. On the other side, Arminians believe that mankind can be persuaded to become Christians. At both Thessalonica and Berea, many were persuaded to become Christians. Calvinists would consider that “work” on the behalf of people and reject it, but it was not really Paul who persuaded but God. Paul only mouthed the Words that God gave him, and many Jews and Gentiles — the latter not chosen people — were finally convinced that Jesus IS Yahweh.

  The dissension was because of two different mindsets. The disbelieving Jews treasured their narrative so well that they would wreak havoc in Thessalonica and Berea. That was due to either one of two things or both: (1) That they misunderstood their own beliefs and  (2) they understood but were too proud to admit it. People to the present time react the same way when their false beliefs are confronted. They had become the “gods” and what they believed was the “gospel truth.” They could not stand the idea that the Man Jesus was their Yahweh; that meek carpenter “man” and the God of the proudest people in the world!

  The same goes for today. Left-leaning people are hard to convince that Marx was a confused man, Utopia a mere fantasy, and that socialism is not the salvation of the oppressed. They either misunderstand Marxist Doctrine or are too proud to admit that they just might be wrong. What does Christianity teach? Love and unity! What does socialism teach? Violent revolution and division. Socialism is classism: the evil capitalists, the meek commoners, and the all-knowing bureaucracy who are the lewd baser sort that will fight the revolution for the cowards. It was Thessalonica all over again in Berea, and it is Thessalonica all over again in America. The contingency of socialism is the baser lewd sort that the timid use for their violent revolutions.

  Berea, according to the key passage, consisted of Jews, “more noble than those in Thessalonica.” The brethren went there by night, ostensibly to prevent more violence from the mob of base fellows at Thessalonica. They would move to a more peaceful city, but where Christians go, the mob will follow. Proud people cannot tolerate that others believe differently; they must intimidate others to believe the same.

  Islam, for instance, is not a “peaceful religion.” It is made up of mostly compliant people who use the baser sort for the propagation of their false beliefs. Surely in their hearts, Muslims do not believe that love is more powerful than the sword but use the ‘sword” of the “unholy spirit” for conversion.

  They want a worldwide religion, not to save their people from the wrath of God, but to own the world. Why would they do that? Because they cannot tolerate the idea that people believe “Yahweh saves” rather than Allah. They defend their false narrative, and many even know it is wrong, but defend it out of pride.

  Why do Muslims flock to socialism and the Democrat Party? Because the “enemy of my enemy is my friend.” (The Arthashastra, ca 4th century BC). United together, Islam and Communism believe that they can defeat Jesus, and after all, Sharia Law is communism!

  The people of Berea were more “free-thinking;” their attribute was “all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily.” Bereans were the more open-minded than the rigid-thinking Jews and free-thinking Greeks. Their minds were ready to find the truth and disregard their old strongholds of rigid thought. They wanted to find the truth, not continue in their version of the truth (perversion) that they had been taught.

  Who offered the truth? The apostles. Where did they claim the truth could be found? In the very Words of Yahweh! They had no New Testament. They found the truth on what is now called the “Old Testament.” How could that be? There are not two testaments; it was the Covenant of Grace all along when God made the Abrahamic Covenant. The Jews had the same promise as the Christians, and that, by the way, is the “Mystery of Christ” of which Paul wrote.

  What is truth? as the Greeks would ask. The truth is that Jesus is indeed “Yahweh saves.” Why did Jews accept the lie of socialism in the 19^th and 20^th centuries? Because the enemy of their enemy is their friend; because Marx denied religion, and they seemed willing to give up their Yahweh to rid themselves of Jesus. They did that at Thessalonica and Berea as well. They defied the Law and hated their brothers, but that was enough reason to diminish Christ.

  The Bereans sought the true “truth” by looking for it in their own Bible (The Torah). Why would they do that? To find out, “whether those things were so.” When they found out that Judaism is Christianity, that became a problem. When people find out that Utopia is not Heaven, that too can be a problem for socialists!

  When people began to accept the truth, what did the unbelievers do? They “stirred up the people.” They created chaos in Berea just as they had in Thessalonica. The mob always works that way! They did that during the French socialist revolutions time and time again, and in Russia’s socialist revolution. Those who cannot tolerate the truth always turn to the streets. What is happening at the present? Democrats deny the truth. What is the truth? The lewd and base Democrats are doing what the timid loud-mouthed rigidly socialist Party leaders are too cowards to do themselves.

  When Democrat Mayor Ted Weaver joined the violent protests in Portland, what did he do? He quickly retreated as the mob turned on him. The coward ran because the base people were too base for him. Coward socialists need the lewd and base people to do their revolution for them, and ironically, people like Wheeler who are in high positions will be the few who profit from their revolution of ignorance. Elite free-thinking socialists support the mob, thinking that in the end the mob would never turn on them. Nearly every time socialism seems to have won the hearts of people, the mob destroys the socialist elitists and then the mob rules. That is the M.O. of rebellious human beings.

  Every time there is a socialist in power, the tactics to retain power are lewd and base. Socialism is merely the theory that destroys countries, but communism is the mob of base lewd fellows that does the actual destruction!

  Keep that in mind when you vote. Will the rigid socialists do anything different than they have before or will the Antifa and Black Lives Matter mob rule? The gang of four depends on the mob but Biden remains too proud to acknowledge that he is merely the humble leader the mob uses for their violence, and if he becomes president, he will be quickly deposed by the mob the same as Wheeler in Portland and Lightfoot in Chicago. Think out of the box.  Think rightly when you elect who leads you.  Have you the mentality of the mob, or is it peace that you want?

(picture credit: The Boston Globe):

 

PARTY MATTERS

  There are only two “parties” – the Party of God and the party of Satan. When in Rome; Greeks, Jews, and Egyptians were to do as the Romans would have them to do. The Roman Empire was autocratic and their gods many. The emperors were self-proclaimed gods. Neither the emperor nor their god could be diminished or offended. Roman Law demanded that Romans be respectful of their decrees, not as democratic choices, but autocratic commands.

  Three things would have offended the Roman citizens of Philippi in Macedonia – Jews, their God, and their Law, albeit it turned out that there was a fourth thing: Jews ruining their profits.

  The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10). Timothy saw that firsthand when he joined Paul and Silas in their journey to Macedonia. There in the city of Philippi, Paul commanded that the demon of fortune-telling come out of a slave girl: “I command you on the Name of Jesus Christ to come out of her,” and of course, “the demon came out of her” (Act 16:18).

  Paul had the authority of the True God (Jesus). Paul judged the slave girl because he was annoyed, not for his sake, but for Jesus’s sake. Demons are offensive to God, and making money from a demon possessed girl is usury, to wit:

¹² Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, ¹³ Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. (Ezek 18:12-13)

  “Usury” is making profits from the loss of others. Usually it is lending money at exorbitant interest rates. In the case of the slave girl, household work would be acceptable, but her masters made money from the proceeds of her soul. The slave girl paid gain to her masters by demonic devises. She was in spiritual chains for their love of money. The Romans could have ended that practice but tolerated slavery, false gods, and at that time, even demons. However, as they were soon to find out, Romans would not tolerate Christians.

  The Roman Empire was known for two things: (1) tolerance for pagan religions, and (2) intolerance of Jews and Christianity. There should be a light bulb exploding in your mind’s eye! Is that not Democrat “law?” Are they not much like the Romans? How did the Romans react to a miracle from God?

¹⁹ When her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, ²⁰ And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, ²¹ And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. (Act 16:19-21)

  As usual, follow the money trail. When the “hope of their gains was gone,” Paul and his party was accused of troubling their city. Paul’s Party was inconvenient because it was the Party of Christ which was inconvenient to their usury. With that commonality, what is the Democrat’s problem with the Party of Christ (and I am not referring to the Republican Party, but Christianity). Paul was annoyed that a slave girl was being used for gain… the crime of usury.

  The Master paid for the girl’s upkeep from cradle to grave, much like the socialist plantation system in America’s antebellum time. Like the plantation masters, the Roman masters were the “crony capitalists” of that day. Slaves made great profits for the plantation masters and abolitionists were annoyed. Not annoyed at American Law, but annoyed because excessive profits from slavery was against God’s Law. Worse than being in bondage to a Roman citizen was bondage to some demonic Roman “god.”

  Marvel not; socialism is much the same as Roman slavery and American usury. The crony capitalists in apostolic times were gaining from the bondage of others. Romans tolerated slavery, but they would not tolerate Christianity for many years to come. Democrats not only tolerated slavery but did it in God’s Name as if Jesus Christ favored slavery!

  Socialism is usury; the harshest kind because it is sublime. While socialists denigrate capitalism, it is the love of money that is their justice; not those in bondage to it, but the masters who run the communal “plantation.” The evidence that socialist leaders are crony capitalists is revealed in how they live. Look at Bernie Sanders’ three estates and Nancy Pelosi’s $190,000,000 equity. Crony capitalists espouse socialism for what reason? The love of money and the power, prestige, and other things that go along with it!

  The Roman Party turned against the Christian Party. Paul and company were apolitical; their message was spiritual and not what they could do for Rome, but what God could do for the Romans. The prosperity of the Roman masters was money, but the prosperity of the Christian Party was eternal life.

  As Christians, right now they should not worry about the economy as God will take care of that; they need to worry about the economy of grace.

  Eternal life is free, yet most reject it in favor of what? Wealth. Socialism is not the party of justice, but the party of stealing the wealth. As the Democrat zealots destroy cities and steal merchandise, are they worried about justice or their personal gain? Of course, the evidence is that their love of money is the root of evil in the Democrat Party. If they cannot gain by government authority, they will certainly gain by mob violence. What you see in the streets of America is the theory of socialism in operation as is communism.

  Jefferson Davis said that the Confederacy “died of a theory.” They concealed it well as the Democrat Party, but the hidden theory was plantation socialism. [1]

  The Roman mob at first protested. They seemed civil as they took the Christian Party to the civil authorities. The government in Rome would be much as the governments of communism.

²² The multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. ²³ And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: ²⁴ Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. (Act 16:22-24)

  Surely, the reader is beginning to see that the Romans were doing what the Democrats would do. There is nothing new under the sun, according to the wise man, but it just has different names. If anyone desires to understand socialism, all they need to do is examine history! The demon that plagued Marx has been there all the time. He is the modern demon much like the “demon” Vespasian Caesar at that time.

  The Democrats are the “multitude” in this day; they are those who rise-up. Socialism is based on the multitude (masses) rising up against the estates in existence and God. The two “estates” then were the government and the Church, and the modern revolution continues to be against the Church and State. The enemies of socialism are always the same, only the faces and names change.

  Even Rome had a semblance of civility. After beating the Party of Christ half to death, they cast them into prison “charging the jailer to keep them safely.” Socialism has the same type of doublethink. The Romans beat them unmercifully and then put them in prison to keep them “safe.” Safe from whom? Themselves. Does that not recall the Democrat meme, Keep abortion legal and safe?  How can beating and ripping be safe? The same irrationality exists today. People remain to this day, fools!

  God worked miracles through tribulation. While securely chained in the deepest cells of the prison, and guarded by Rome’s authorities, the Christian Party was freed by some angelic being shaking the Earth to free Paul, Silas, and Timothy. God did for the Party of Christians exactly what He did for Jesus who was also removed from His “cell” and delivered through the Resurrection. This is further evidence that God works wonders for His people.

  As God’s Power became more obvious, the magistrates began to fear God, not Him personally but the Party of Christ. Paul and the others had made no mention that they were citizens of Rome, but when the magistrates heard that, their heart changed. No longer were they worried about God and his wonders, they feared Caesar. It was unlawful to try and punish Roman citizens through mob violence; it had to be done civily just as Pilate with Jesus. The Jews then twisted the Law for their purposes, and that remains the M.O. of mobs to this day. They demand their type of justice despite what the law says.

  The keeper of the prison appeared to Paul and seemed to present an ameliorating attitude:

³⁵ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, “Let those men go.” ³⁶ And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, “The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.” (Act 16:35-36)

  What changed? The law? No. The hearts of the magistrates? No. Paul and the others? No. The magistrates had done their violence in secret from the good citizens of Rome. They were afraid that they would be exposed for who they were and acted as if they were law-abiding civil people. They concealed their collusion with evil men. 

  They did what Hillary Clinton’s gang of hoaxers did. They appeared to be nice guys who did no wrong and were willing to let the Party of Jesus remain free…. for awhile anyway. Much later, history reveals that the uncivil Roman government could not stand the Christian Party any longer, and their new Caesar became corrupted. He (Nero) killed Christians, burned Rome, and blamed the Party of Christians. Is Joe Biden America’s “Nero?” He seems that unstable and power hungry. You make that call.

  Do not be misled. Biden and the gang of four, sponsored by their “Caesar,” George Soros, are going to burn “Rome” and blame it on the Party of Christ. It is not meant to be sacrilegious, but the situation remains the Party of Christ against the Party of Satan.  How so? Just as usurer’s are using demons to change the Democrat Party into the Socialist Party USA, Christ is using the Republican Party right now to battle Democrats and their demons.

  Christians need to remain leery. Just as Rome changed the Church into a den of thieves, Christians must be wary of Republicans who may follow suit. There is nothing sacred about either party and the focus must be on Jesus Christ.

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[1] Refer to the author’s book for further, A Day on the Democrat Plantation.”

Picture credit: Drive Through History Adventures; "Paul and Silas in Prison")

ON SECURITY

 

  The Christian world is split in half by those who believe in synergism and those who believe in monergism regarding Christian “security.”  The doctrine of “eternal security” is based on grace, and that no person can save himself and no person can take it away. That is also the doctrine of those who believe in “conditional security.” What then is the difference? The synergistic viewpoint stresses that people must cooperate with God for rebirth and for preservation. The monergistic viewpoint is that God has a Plan for everyone, no cooperation is required, and hence grace is irresistible.

  Synergistic doctrine stresses that all are called, but because of free will, people can resist the Holy Spirit. God has a Will. Because Adam was made in the image of God — Mind (Will), Body (Flesh), and Spirit (Willingness), synergists believe that people can exercise their will to assist in the control of their flesh and spirit.

  Monergistic doctrine (Calvinism) believes in free will, but that natural man is drawn toward sin, not toward righteousness. Therein is the big difference — whether God calls or whether God elects. With “election” those called cannot influence God’s irresistible grace, but with free will (Arminianism) sinners are called to repentance and regeneration.

  One must question why the Books of Job and James are in Holy Scripture. Martin Luther “reformed” the Catholic Faith. He did not like the idea of “works” which had been institutionalized in the Roman Catholic Church. Indeed, Luther had a great point there, because no man, the Pope inclusive, can preserve the faithful; only God can and to pay indulgences for “security” is outlandish, and is a consequence of the Pope’s Doctrine. Pope Leo X surely caused Luther’s rebellion and Protestantism with the institution of indulgences in 1517 to provide money to build Saint Peter’s Basilica.  Catholics do not really believe that indulgences can save from sin, but are for reprieve of  temporary punishment for sin.  However, that belief was quickly misunderstood.

  Ironically, the new Saint Peter’s Basilica, as the old one, preserved the bones of Saint Peter. Catholics, according to Matthew 16:18, believe the Church was built on the “rock,” Peter. Indeed, the “universal” (catholic church) building was built on the bones of Peter, and that building caused the Reformation. It seems to be God’s will that the drifting church (the Catholic) be preserved to preserve the Church and some peculiar saints (1 Pet 2:9). As “reformed” from Catholicism, most Christians descend from that original denomination. When Roman Catholics chose a “Pope” from all the bishops, no longer was the Church universal but peculiar.Now read the key verses: 

¹¹ Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. ¹⁹ Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; ²⁰ Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (Jas 5:11,19-20); ⁸ And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? (Job 1:8)

 

  James was the only writer to mention Job. Throughout my commentaries for the last thirteen years I have contended that Job is in Holy Scripture as an example of “security.” God knew that Job was peculiar; that there was “none like him in the earth.” That Job was “perfect and upright.” Satan had come to God to test the faith of God’s chosen person, Job. What made Job perfect and upright? He feared God and avoided evil. He did not enter unto temptation, as Adam had, because he feared death. He knew what death was, unlike Adam. Spiritual death is the removal of the Spirit of God from the living soul. Upright Adam had God’s Spirit removed. Would upright Job?

  It is unknown how Job became perfect and upright, but the entire Book of Job is about how Job was preserved. Job could have failed, not by sinning, but by following Satan, any of the demons, or his own wiles (will).

  God made the rules, and Satan used all types of devices, short of murder, to tempt Job to deny God  to save himself from tribulation and physical death. Job cherished his spiritual life and sought to preserve it, although he wished he had never been born. Since mortal birth is the process of physically dying, Job did not fear the death of his body but his soul. Hence, he desired to live forever, and to do that he must fear God more than Satan. “Fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mat 10:28).

  Other people can kill the body, but only Satan can kill both body and soul. However, Satan requires your assistance and God’s permission. You can either choose spiritual death or not. Free will does not terminate at rebirth but continues unto death.

  You as a Christian are synergistic with God. He does all the graceful things, but you must fear Him. Why fear? Because God has the authority to make the final decision. Satan does not have the power to kill the Body. God implied that Satan would not be allowed to kill Job, but he could tempt him. Tempt from what? Being upright and perfect! Satan gambled that he could make Job curse God. That is blasphemy and any perfect and upright person who blasphemes God is an “apostate” by the renunciation of God.

  Satan and his demons strived to get the perfect and upright man, one who depended on the Word (Jesus) to deny the Promised One. Job could have renounced God because God. He was tested because God wanted that Job demonstrate his spiritual free will. That he could resist sin with God’s help; he and God all alone against Satan and all his demons.  Job had to endure torments and temptations. God assisted him by a hedge of safety, but salvation was dependent on how well Job cooperated within the hedge of safety with God. He could have denied God to save the flesh of his family, his wealth, his health, and his own physical well-being; but Job valued his spiritual security more than his physical safety.

  Job is an example of synergism. He freely trusted God for final salvation. He endured both tribulation and temptation until Satan was through with him. Just when is Satan through with his devices to undermine God? When God is diminished to a lesser Being, and that can never happen. Satan knows that.

  Satan is through when Christians become lesser people. He is satisfied with that. Job was totally pure and was upright. Satan’s test was to change Job’s countenance wherein he could sin with impunity. He must be brought down to the level of the demons. Men are created a little lower than the angels in the image of Jesus (Psalm 8:5). Death was gain for Jesus because He was made King over the angels.

  Regeneration is rebirth. It makes lesser people like Jesus — meek and presentable to inherit the earth — to be as kings. Satan’s role was to make meek Job arrogant and proud. He failed… but he could have brought Job down from his uprightness. “Uprightness” is required for the strait gate that is required to enter unto Heaven (Mat 7:13).

  The hedge kept Job safe but no secure. Satan sought to find Job’s strongholds to bring him down. Christians are safe as well. God puts a “hedge” around us just as with Job. Christians and the Holy Ghost work synergistically throughout life just as the Christian “disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost” in Antioch.

  The Holy Ghost is the “hedge” as the Comforter. He is there to keep Christians upright. Why would He merely make Christians “comfortable?” Satan would like that because Christians are to be vigilant, to wit: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith” (1 Pet 5:8-9).

  The Devil was seeking to devour perfect and upright Job, and he is seeking to devour Christians who have stedfast faith. “Faith” is the Christians’ parts in the synergistic relationship. Stedfast faith keeps the upright from being devoured — their soul destroyed — by Satan. Faith is a gift from God and is not of yourselves (Ephes 2:8). Steadfast faith was the “hedge” that kept Job safe from the evil ones. God gifted that hedge, but Job cooperated with God by trusting the “gift” to keep him safe.

  Safe until when? When the Devil relents. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (Jas 4:7). The Devil will not quit until you show steadfastness, when Christians totally submit to God for protection. Thus submission, not one time, but all the time, keeps Christians safe until they endure to the end (Mat 10:22). Endure what? Satan’s trials. Death ends the contest. The prize is in hand when death makes it gain. Death is the final security against Satan and unless a Christian in this age is dead, he is vulnerable until the end.

  The feeling that Christians have overcome the world by staying upright is not salvation, but the assurance of salvation. Those who continue to live like the world should not feel secure in that they follow the Law of Sin and not the Will of God. The problem with reformed theology is that it is a deception. It makes Christians feel safe, just like Adam and Eve, even though their eternal souls are in jeopardy. Adam and Eve fell from Glory to tribulation in the world, and they were also “totally upright” (Gen 1:31). As Adam-kind, you too can fall to the cunning of the Serpent. Christians are safe (Greek, sosos) but they are not saved until the world is overcome.

  Job did overcome the world. He demonstrated that, but a less upright person would have failed. Job was like Jesus who was without sin. If you are not totally upright, then you are vulnerable to the wiles (will) of the Devil.

  The truth kept Job safe. James pointed out that even the Christian brethren could err from the truth. It is the truth which sets and keeps free, and if Christians fall for the lie, then they err from the truth. Just as with Adam and Eve, the lie is always, You shall not really die! because that means to die spiritually. The deception in Calvinism is that their doctrine is that you will never die even when living for Satan. If you understand Job, then you know how to dodge the tricks of Satan. Vigilance is important because, even if you are upright, you are fair game. Why stay vigilant if you are secure? Because security is conditional. It depends on your synergy with the Holy Ghost of Jesus.

  Paul checked on the new Christians at Antioch to see if they were still Christians. (Acts 13). Their joy in the Holy Ghost was the evidence that they continued in the faith. They had endured to that time. Would they endure to the end? That was up to their keeping the faith that God gave them.

WRATH OF THE MOB

   People are angry; they feel both entitled and victimized. Entitled people look at what others have and covet it. It should be theirs and is not. Victimized people are usually those who covet but do not obtain. The time of wrath is at hand; it always is. Wrath is more than anger; it is vengeance because of anger. Using myself, let me relate the wrath of Larry.

  In college, I felt (an emotion) as if my professor wronged me. I was angry and to level the score between him and me, I scattered roofing nails in his driveway. My impression was that I was wronged on his grading of my test. Looking back, I surely had performed poorly, but as people are inclined to do, I blamed him for my failure.

  Anger was caused by jealousy. That professor had power over me. His power over me had to be minimized. I gained power over him by destroying his property. If not for his property, I could have struck him. I was acting like a child who resents the authority of a parent, or a childish adult who resents those in authority. “Victims” always blame others for their own plight. Rather than working on improvement, they rely on emotions by feeling entitled without the work! Victims have an “I deserve” attitude.

  Did my wrath change my grade? No. What was changed? The professor who once had good tires, had tires which perished with the nails. Surely, he was angry! I had leveled the playing field. I had nothing more and he had less, but in the end, there were two angry people.

  As I matured, I became ashamed. That professor was my neighbor, and it turns out that he was a good man. He was not an angry person, but with my observations, a hurt person.  I should have made it right by confession, but never reconciled with him.  I had changed because of myself. I went from a content student to a doubleminded Christian, and as James wrote, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (Jas 1:8). I was unstable and irrational.

  “Double-minded” is manifesting two divergent images. There was civil me and mean-spirited me. I had an invisible “doppelganger.” In that case, a bad spirit in me.

²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. (Jas 1:22-24; NKJV).

  There is a “spiritual mirror” for Christians to self-observe. For instance, when Christians sin and are convicted of it, rather than repent, they can just walk away. The person sees the evil “twin” but once the spiritual mirror reveals the iniquity, the man walks away from his doppelganger as if he is not in there! When I matured as a Christian, it became harder and harder to just walk away from the evil within.

  The story of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde was an example of that. The good doctor was kind and gentle, but Mr. Hyde was vengeful. He murdered! Vengeful people are murderers as well. They murder by hatred. Wrath is murdering the soul of another. Because God is just, I have been murdered many times in that I cause people to hate me. Not that I provoke but others do not like who I am. I do not fit their pattern of what they think I should be.

  I have loved ones who hate me, because I fail to fit their image that they have drawn in their minds. Everyone has a doppelganger in that their, “Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (Mat 26:41).The “doppelganger” is the “flesh” with its emotions and attitudes, and the “spirit” is what the person should be according to the Doctrine of Love.

  Consider again, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” Unstable people are erratic and irrational. Wrath does not make things right again or what they should be!

  The mob right now is full of wrath. They feel entitled and victimized. The complaint is that there exists “white privilege” and systemic white racism. Their wrath is irrational; it will neither provide more nor cause rational people to empathize with their plight. Rational people just will not identify with instability.

  Tearing down the property of others, whether buildings, vehicles, or statues, does not change either the existence of racism nor improve the living conditions of those who feel oppressed. They are those with “victim” attitudes who feel entitled to the things that others have. How does burning the buildings of others provide wrathful people new homes? How does burning cars provide new cars for the wrathful? How does hating society decrease hatred for those who have been oppressed.

¹⁴ But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (Jas 1:14-15)

  With the mob, temptation is wanting what others have. That is the basis of socialism, and that jealously of those who have brings forth wrath. Socialism is the “temptation” and communism the “sin.” Note that James referred to one’s “own lust.” Many desire things that belongs to others and get angry when it is not obtained. Once, that lust grows in the hearts of men, then wrath is forthcoming.

  Lust belongs to the angry, but the catalyst belongs to Satan. Satan cannot make people angry, but he can provide the provocation. It is not coincidence that George Floyd died as quickly as everyone now must wear masks. Now the mob can hurt with impunity because their identities are concealed. During the day they seem civil, but at night, their “Hyde” doppelganger roams the streets and destroy in a futile  attempt to make things even.

  “Lust brings forth sin,” as James wrote. The lust is social equity and the sin is wrath. As soon as the light dims, mobs go onto the streets and distribute hatred. Using the excuse that whites hate blacks, the wrathful irrationally “justify” hurting the “haters.” Indeed, the left thrives off Popper’s Paradox of Tolerance. It is the tool of Satan’s demon, George Soros, who funds those who lead the mob.

  The modus operandi of the mob is based on Popper’s Paradox and funded by crony capitalist George Soros. It reads:

  We should claim the right to suppress them (the intolerant) if necessary even by force; for it may easily turn out that they are not prepared to meet us on the level of rational argument, but begin by denouncing all argument; they may forbid their followers to listen to rational argument, because it is deceptive, and teach them to answer arguments by the use of their fists or pistols. We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant. (Wikipedia; “Poppers Paradox of Tolerance’” underlines, parentheses, and italics mine).

  According to Popper and implemented by George Soros, it is fine to exhibit wrath to rid the world of hatred. That Paradox makes hatred appropriate to make the world a much different society. For them, it is okay to use violence and destruction to rid the world of haters! That is irrational. According to James, the lusts of the mob does change things, but not for the good. Wrath grows hatred. The people who are hated are provoked to hatred, and hatred is magnified. That is irrational thinking of unstable people!

  What would God have people do?

¹⁹ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: ²⁰ For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. ²¹ Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (Jas 1:19-22)

  Civil people do what is “right.” Those things are: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance;” and to that is added, “against such there is no law” (Gal 5:23-24). The mob wants to defund the police and Democrats hearken unto their irrational demands. There are laws against unrighteous things (Gal 5:19-21) but no law against right-living. If the mob wants no law and to eliminate the need for the police, what must they do? Love one another because that is the greatest fruit of the spirit that eliminates vengeance. Rather than Soros’s hate one another, how about trying God’s love on another?  What have we to lose? Nothing, but all to gain.

  The mob killed Jesus, but He loved them anyhow. We are not God, loving the enemy is toughlove, and when the enemy hates loving people, it makes love hard. Only the tough Christians can love the mob and thus far Jesus is the only Person who was capable of that. Mobs make hard love more difficult.

  Now back to my doppelganger. Once he spread nails in the driveway of a nice man, unrighteous me became a one-man mob set out to make things even. Surely, if he hurts, I could feel better, but when I matured, I felt worse. Mature people are rational. Throwing nails only harms others; it did not make my grade better.

  The same goes for the mob violence across the nation. All that destruction did not bring back George Floyd or even eliminate racial injustice. The mob, with their wrath, has made more people have hatred. Hatred begets hatred. Popper’s Paradox grows hatred. It is a viral infection more potent and widespread now than COVID-19! It makes sense that the viral hatred spreads COVID. Perhaps the COVID-19 is God’s way of justice for George Soros; to punish those who have such hatred!

  James spoke against filthiness (Jas 1:21). Mobs are filthy talking and so are there supporters. Hollywood, the media, and the left speak filthily. What words do the mob use so often? The F-word. What word do you hear on television and in movies? The F-word. What do you hear Obama and Biden speak so often? The F-word. 

  That expression is wrathful. It suggests that people should degrade themselves, and the F-word is degrading. Degraded people have no problem hating others! They have no problem degrading what others built-up! If you want to diminish hatred, then avoid filthiness. Think on vulgar black language; it is half "F-you." If they want to be loved a good start would be speaking with civility and kindness!

  Note: I googled "protestor pictures" and did not find one picture with the "F-word." However, when I watched the news most pictures have the "F-word." Who is hiding the truth? The media wants you to believe that protest is civil discourse. Most of what we see is not civil!

(Picture credit: CBS)

TWO COVENANTS - Part 2 of 2

 COVENANT OF THE PROMISE:

   The “promised land” is used often in scripture. The typical Jew has always thought that to mean the “land of milk and honey,” or the fertile crescent from the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. To this day Jews focus on that land. The geographic location of the Kingdom of David is important. Note that the Jews have never received the promised land to this day. The promised land was given boundaries: “The Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates’” (Gen 15:18; see Figure #1 for the map).

 

Figure 1: The Promised Land (Wikipedia)

  Note the area extending from the Nile in Egypt to the Euphrates in Iraq. The Hebrews never owned that land, even at its greatest, i.e., the Kingdom of David (see Figure #2).

 

Figure 2: Kingdom of David (Wikipedia)

  The author believes that only one time did all that land (Figure #1) belong totally to God’s people and that was the land of Eden in the beginning. Israel, as can be seen, was the middle of Eden, and perhaps Jerusalem the midst of the Garden according to the genesis of the world “map” (Gen 2:9).

  In other words, the Kingdom of David never quite fulfilled the Promise of God, and God does not renege on His Promises! Hence, the Promise to the Hebrews still awaits them, as is written: 

Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel” (Rev 7:3-4).

  Those sealed Jews were among the nations standing before God on His Throne. They stood facing God with Jesus right there. Finally, the saved Jews will see what Moses saw on the Mount of Transfiguration, to wit: “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” (Rev 7:10). Jesus became their God just as He is God of all. How so? Because He is their invisible God who  then will be made manifest to them (again) in the end.

  The Promise will never be fulfilled until a remnant of the Jews are sealed. When God made the Covenant with Abraham, it was “notarized” by circumcision of the foreskin. The fulfillment of the Promise will seal them on their foreheads, indicating that they will finally be persuaded just as the Gentiles were! Remembering that Jews require a sign and Greeks wisdom (1 Cor 1:22), and that if one rose from the dead the Jews would not be convinced (Luke 16:31); when God saves them from beheading by the Antichrist, they will finally be convinced! Circumcision was not sufficient to seal (Gal 5:2). Love seals the deal, not the Law (Gal 5:13-14).

  The Covenant was never for promised “land” but for a Promised Savior and residence in His “Land.” Finally, in the end, when the Jews are humbled enough to accept Christ, they will get all their “land” according to the Abrahamic Covenant. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Mat 5:5). That blessing is a beatitude — a statement of utmost bliss (Merriam Webster Dictionary). “Blessed” means that utmost bliss shall be obtained. Not only will the Jews inherit their land but the entire Earth. That is known because the Earth will be cleansed by fire in preparation for the residence for those blissed.

  The Abrahamic Covenant consisted of the “Covenant of the Pieces.” Perhaps Gentiles will get their land in heaven as in earth, and the Jews will get theirs. Perhaps what belonged to the Arabs will be theirs in the end because Muslims will not be in heaven unless they repent and receive the Holy Ghost of Jesus. Of course, then, they will no longer be Muslims but Christians just like the Jews they now hate so much. Perhaps there will be no peace in the Mideast until the Promise is fulfilled. Then, converted Muslims and persuaded Jews will live together in peace in heavenly Eden.

  John saw heaven come down. It was revealed to him that New Jerusalem will come to the earth at its original foundation in Jerusalem. Heaven will appear in earth, or better said, heaven will manifest itself as real. The author, as well as many Jews, believe that the heavenly realm coincides with the earthly realm and it will be made manifest to those of the Promise, Jews and Gentiles.

  Note what Luke wrote: 

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, “And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” (Act 3:25) … And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. (Act 7:5) … Of this man's seed hath God according to His promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus (Act 13:23). 

 Without elaborating further, the “Seed” promised to Abraham is Jesus Christ. The King of the Promised Land is the Promised Savior. His Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him” (Jas 2:5). The key to the Kingdom is love. The “poor” are the meek whose “wealth” is faith.

  The “Kingdom” is the Promise Land, (i.e,. the meek will be blessed in a Kingdom not of this world.) Abraham knew that and so did Moses. God finally showed Moses the Promised Land from the Mount of Transfiguration, and Elohim in all three statoos. Moses saw what he believed all along. When the Jews come to see that, then then the Covenant will finally be sealed because all the land of Eden (Paradise) will be theirs.

TWO COVENANTS - Part 1 of 2

 

  Paul spoke to the Galatians of two covenants. One was of the Flesh and the other of the Promise. In explain those to the Galatians he used Ishmael’s and Isaac’s destinies as allegories to reveal the truth to the Galatians. In this commentary, those two Covenants will be contrasted. 

COVENANT OF THE FLESH: 

³ And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. ⁴ And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. ⁵ And Sarai said unto Abram, “My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.” ⁶ But Abram said unto Sarai, “Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee.” And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. ⁷ And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. ⁸ And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, “whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go?” And she said, “I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.” ⁹ And the angel of the Lord said unto her, “Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.” ¹⁰ And the angel of the Lord said unto her, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.” ¹¹ And the angel of the Lord said unto her, “Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” ¹³ And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, “Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?” ¹⁴ Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. ¹⁵ And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. (Gen 16:3-15)…

²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. (Gen 17:20)

  The twelve princes of Ishmael are his sons: Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.  What difference does that make to Christians? Muhammad, the founder of Islam, is descended back to the Adani Arab tribe which descends from either Nabat (Nebajoth) of Kedar. (Wikipedia; “Family Tree of Muhammad”).

  Since the Lord did not recognize inheritance by primogeniture for His people, He most often chose the second living son, even since the days of Cain and Seth. He continued that with Isaac preferred over Ishmael and Jacob over Esaw. He also chose the second Son Jesus over His first son Adam.  But that selection was for those of the Promise.

  Perhaps the line of Ishmael, the “child of the flesh,” inheritance was through the oldest. Ishmael’s genealogy is unknown for certain, but for continuity the best bet is the first son, Nebajoth.  The verb from which Nebajoth comes is ‘neba, meaning “to prophesy or to be a spokesman.” That may be correct in God’s naming system because Muhammad proclaimed himself the prophet of Islam. He was the spokesman for the Arab nation — literally “desert people.” (Etymology Online).

  Isaac’s line were people of the Promise — the promise of a land of milk and honey. In contrast Ishmael’s line was not where he was born (Canaan, the land of milk and honey) but cast out into the desert. The kingdom of Ishmael was in ancient Palestine, southwest of the Dead Sea and on the western edge of the wilderness of Zin.

  Now for some speculation. The Kingdom of Isaac through his son Jacob (renamed Israel) was in Israel proper. Jews as well as the writer believes that Israel is “in the midst” of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:9) where the Tree of Life stood (i.e., Jesus allegorically). Just as Adam was cast out of the Garden, first-born son Ishmael was as well. Ishmael is symbolic of Adam, and Isaac of Jesus, to wit: Abraham (“God”) was about to sacrifice his second son Isaac (“Jesus”).

  What was in the land of the Promise? The Holy Spirit of God. What was at the Dead Sea? Sodom and Gomorrah, cities of the “flesh.”

  All this background on Ishmael is for a reason. Paul spoke of two covenants that God made in the Book of Galatians chapter four. Paul asked, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Gal 4:16). I ask, “Will I be your enemy because I write the truth?” What truth will I write? Islam is the Covenant of the Flesh of which Paul spoke. Not that he was speaking against Arabs but Jews who had become spiritual “Arabs.” How so? Judaism, the Doctrine of the Jews is much like Islam, the Doctrine of the Arabs. Both had abandoned the Covenant of the Promise and became covenanted with the flesh.

  Note that Ishmael was the child of the flesh because he was conceived outside of Holy Matrimony to the bondswoman Hagar. As a descendent of a bondswoman, Ishmael’s seed would prefer bondage. Of course, “bondage” in Christian spiritual terms is in sin.

  Ishmael’s line thereafter sought to be supreme to Isaac’s line, and the strategy of Islam is to become the world-wide religion. According to statisticians, based only on reproductive rates, by 2070 Islam will be the largest religion in the world. (Rudgard, Olivia; The Telegraph, “Islam will be largest religion in the world by 2070, says report;” March 1, 2017), The statisticians neglected conversion of others to Islam. It is possible that Islam will be the religion of the world by 2070. In other words, for wise people, if they do not have Islamaphobia, better get it quickly! Islam is faster spreading and more viral than covid-19, and rather than fear the camouflaged Devil they fear unseen infectious agents.

  Paul knew what was happening because Sarai was frustrated with child-bearing. Her frustration and impatience led to two covenants: The Covenant of the Flesh with Ishmael and the Covenant of the Promise with Isaac, according to Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Gal 4:22-25)

  The Church at Galatia were mostly Gentile Christians. Why would Paul concern them with Arabic and Jewish Covenants? Therein lies a mystery. Jesus is the Promise to Abraham. Faith in the Father that He would provide a Son was the Promise. The reference was to the Promise of Abraham Covenant; “the seed” singular, meaning Jesus. The other Covenant was of the flesh. Abraham looked toward the Promise. He knew it was not “land” but Paradise where his seed (plural) would stand under the Tree of Life again (his seed, singular).

  Jews, in general, saw only the promised land. They saw the land between the Sea and the Euphrates as their land. That is mostly the fertile crescent, the most desired land in the world. Abraham saw Eden with Israel in its midst.

  Ishmaelites got the perimeter of Eden. They got the land of Dan and Dan had to vacate it. That land had another name as well… Eden. Likewise, Aden (aka Eden) is in modern Arabic Yemen. Geographically, the land around ancient Israel was once Eden, and right there in the midst of it was the Garden of Eden, or Israel. The Jordan River is Naral ha Yarden or the “River of the Garden” (of Eden).

  With that background, Galatia was once Eden as well. But that is not the main reason. Paul feared that the Galatians would be Judaized by intimidation from the Jews. The Jews, at that time, were acting more like the Philistines (Palestinians). Jews were legalistic and their practice had become a Covenant of Works, which is as well called the “Covenant of the Flesh.” Why so? “Flesh” are the people. It is things people do for salvation. Rather than depend on the Promise, by then a Reality, the Jews still depended on the works of the Law and things they do for salvation.

  Islam is a religion of works. It is the things Muhammadans do for Paradise, and their idea of “Paradise” is a reward of 72 virgins. It is the religion of the flesh. By the time of Jesus, Jews had discarded polygamy because that was commanded. Islam allows polygamy and is hence the Doctrine of the Flesh.  Now analyze the Covenant of the Flesh above.

  First off, Sarai “pimped” her bondservant Hagar for her to have children. She depended on herself rather than God, and Abraham went along with it. Abraham essentially enjoyed a “prostitute,” not that Hagar truly was, but they used her flesh for their benefit. Ishmael was a child of the flesh and Arabia were the twelve nations of the Flesh, and Sodom and Gomorrah, cities of the flesh.

  Once the dirty deed was done, Hagar knew that she had been “pimped” and despised Sarai. To this day, Islam has great antipathy for the children of the Promise (Jews and Christians) as Hagar did for Sarai. Muhammadans despise Jews and Christians and have since Saria sold Hagar’s flesh for a child that she could not have herself.

  What was her alternative? To depend on God, and not her own devices. Ishmael was a child of the flesh in the sense that he was born of a woman who served as a vessel, and also in the sense that it was by Sarai’s and Abraham’s works, and not by God’s!

  Hagar asked that the Lord judge between Sarai and her. God chose Sarai but did not forget Hagar. There were two covenants established each with twelve tribes: Ishmael had twelve sons who became twelve nations and Israel did as well. In that situation, God used Abraham’s first “seed” for the Covenant of the Flesh, and for the Covenant of the Promise, the second “seed,” Jacob’s children.  God seems to have had a Plan that was predictable!

  God told Hagar to “submit thyself under her (Sarai’s) hands.” That itself fulfilled a previous promise. Hagar was an Egyptian. Hence, Ishmael was half “pagan” and half Jewish. Egyptians were Cushites and descended from Ham. The promise? “And He said, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant’” (Gen 9:26-27).

  Paul surely remembered those passages as he spoke to the Galatians because that prophecy was in the process of being fulfilled in Galatia! The “tent of Shem” was the Jewish Church and Japhethites (Galatians) were accepted as part of the Church. Likewise, Hagar and Ishmael, the seed of Canaan, was told to serve Shemites, Abraham and Sarah. Throughout history, Arabs of all tribes have served Jews until they tired of it, then there was war!

  Islam means “submission” (to Allah) and Hagar was told by Yahweh to submit to Sarai. Ishmaelites never submitted as they were told to. Then just who is Allah? He is the “god of the flesh” whose covenant is of the flesh. Rather than Ishmaelites as servants of Israel, by the time of Paul, the Israelites had become servants of Ishmael. Paul feared the syncretic combination of two doctrines: the Doctrine of Works with the Covenant of the Flesh, and the Doctrine of Grace with the Covenant of the Promise. The Galatians were at a crossroads; would they be Ishmaelites or would they be Israelites?

  Six hundred or so years later, that would be answered. Muhammad, directed by the false god, Allah, conquered all of “Eden” slowly but surely. Soon the entire previously Roman Empire was about to be conquered by a bunch of Arabic “camel pirates” descended from Ishmael. The seed of Ishmael and Canaan were tired or serving Shemites and Japhethites and altered the two religions and added paganism (more flesh) to serve their false “god.” Rather than serve the Lord Yahweh, the People of the Book chose to serve the Lord of the Flesh, Allah. Allah is Baal… Allah is Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies (think camels).

  Christianity is the Doctrine of Love and Judaism the Promise of that Doctrine. The mantra is that “Islam is a peaceful religion,” but He is Jesus who brings Peace. Islam is a religion of war, and Arabs are by nature a warring people. Historically, Palestinians have endeavored to cleanse the Promise Land from “filthy Jews” and their goal is to wipe Israel and Yahweh from the face of the earth and the minds of the people. With that goal, the government of the Apocalypse will be Ishmaelism, and specifically Islam.

  “Ishmael” means “El has hearkened.” God is most often called Elohim but El most often refers to the singular “Baal.” Ironically, Elohim is plural and refers to one God and El is singular, but Baal is many and any “god.”

  Christianity is the worship of one God in three “persons” and Islam the worship of many “gods” in one “person.” Because the doctrine of Islam is works, that makes each adherent a “god” serving Allah. Allah is the “Serpent” and Muhammad Judas Iscariot incarnated who had Satan in him. The root verb for Iscariot is the same root verb as the Qu’ran and the number of the Qu’ran, according to some Muslims is “666.”

  Satan entered the Serpent, he entered Judas, and he will enter the Antichrist. By their own admission, Muhammad was not the Christ, so rather than Satan in him, he surely had demon angels giving him visions. Muhammad is not the Antichrist and neither is the Pope. Soon, if not already, an Islamic man will have Satan enter him and become the Antichrist. At that time, the prophecy of Muhammad will be fulfilled, and the end of serving Shem and Japheth will end, and the two faiths will either serve Allah or be beheaded.

  The Lord described Islam and Muhammad well, and also the Antichrist: “He (Ishmael) will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” Ishmael’s seed will dwell in the presence of Isaac’s seed, and that they have and with Islam, still do!

  Ishmael will be a “wild man.” Muhammad was that person! One bride was a pre-teen girl and his methods were much different. He proselytized with the sword. He converted camel caravans with the sword of Allah. Jesus converts with the “sword of the Word” (Eph 6:17). The word of Islam beheads as the Antichrist will do. The Sword of the Lord is the Holy Ghost who protects and preserves. Islam is a religion of vengeance for Hagar and Christianity a religion of Peace in Christ.

  Which way will the Galatians go? They were of the line of Japheth and should be Christians. John 3:16 indicates that they “should not perish.” Which way would they go; perish with the whore Babylon (the Jews) or preserved by the “Star”

New Jerusalem? New Jerusalem may be the harlot Babylon cleansed and presented to the Lord. New Jerusalem is “Sarai” with her new name, “Sarah.” New Jerusalem is Hagar’s vindication for she was wronged. As disciples of the flesh, some Muslims are included in the “whosoever” of John 3:16. When the Antichrist is put down, Islam will be defeated and Hagar will be restored to her faithful position of serving the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!

 

Tomorrow, the Covenant of the Promise will be examined.

(picture credit: Pinterest "Hagar and Sarah")

JUDAIZERS: THE LAW AND CONFUSION:

 

  The Jews continued their intimidation of the new Galatian Christians. It is known from Paul’s letter, that the Law was the reason, and surely the Jews prodded the Gentiles to be circumcised like them. That would mean that they were dedicated to the Law, and not to the grace they had received beforehand. The Law was interfering with their faith. Further persuasion by the Jews would have created much doubt in their minds, and with doubt increased, faith is decreased. The very purpose of Satan is to diminish God by diminishing the faith in His children. They were in danger of apostasy and Judaizers were the cause.

  What is the purpose of the Law? I started to write “was” rather than “is” but the Law still serves a purpose. “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator” (Gal 3:19). Paul called it the “schoolmaster” to bring people to Christ, that they may be justified by faith (Gal 3:24).

  Abraham’s willingness to obey without ever having to follow through when God told him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, was counted to him as faith, “Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness” (Rom 4:9). “Righteousness” then is not obedience to commandments but a willingness to please God. Abraham’s attitude in honoring God’s bequest was good enough for God. It was not necessary to follow through because in his heart, Abraham, as Zipporrah would say, was willing to do the “dirty deed.”

  Thus, circumcision is much like Abraham’s intended sacrifice. Abraham was willing, but Moses predisposed against it, so Zipporah did what Moses should have done. Abraham had a circumcised heart himself, but Moses would not even circumcise his son, let alone sacrifice himself. Abraham was righteous in his heart for willingness. Moses hesitated and Abraham did not. Moses heard the Law, wrote down all the regulations, and was the enforcer on God’s behalf. Even with that, God still enforced the Law Himself because Moses was not even a priest, let alone God. And then Moses would not even perform the Law to God’s satisfaction!

  Rather than encouraging righteousness, the Law hinders. Why? Because keeping all the Law is futile when even one is broken (Mat 5:19). Every true Christian gets discouraged when he disappoints God. Breaking even one Law is disappointing and encourages Christians to break even more Laws.

  Satan smiles as faith diminishes. Hence, the Law is the schoolmaster for sinners as it teaches righteousness but is a hindrance to those with the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Ghost who Comforts, not obedience to the Law. How would anyone recognize a Gentile Christian? Because they are full of joy with the Holy Ghost (Acts 13:52). They did not require circumcision because their hearts had changed. Rather than reluctantly obeying the Law, they were thrilled to. They obeyed for right reasons, and hence their foreskins cut away would not be necessary because the foreskins of their hearts had been.

  What was circumcision truly about in the first place? “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked” (Deut 10:16) and “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem… because of the evil of your doings.” (Jer 4:4). All along, it was not the skin God wanted but the spiritual “flesh.” He wanted the inner man, not the outward man!

  What would have happened if the Galatian Christians went ahead with circumcision? They would merely be more hygienic with their flesh. They were with the Holy Ghost and He would keep them clean; why would they need to perform the “dirty deed” just to please Judaizers?

  The Galatians had been baptized not by water, but with the Holy Ghost. That was the baptism of Jesus: “I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost” (Mark 1:8). The baptism as with John was no longer necessary as John’s head was “circumcised.” He was “baptized” himself in blood for Jesus. Herod’s soldiers did the “dirty deed” because Herod was as timid as Moses had been. Like Moses, Herod had his wife do the dirty deed because he was unwilling to. At her command, it was done.

  When the Galatians were persuaded, they were baptized with the Holy Ghost. Nothing more was required. However, the Jews tried to force circumcision on them, and surely there were those who pressured them to be baptized. John’s water baptism is allegorical to Jewish circumcision. Just as the knife never cleansed the hearts of the faithful for the Jews, the water never cleansed the hearts of the faithful for the Christians.

  What about Jesus? Was he not baptized? He was once for the sake of all, just as Gershom was baptized for all the Israelites; Jesus to stave off the Devil, and Gershom to stave off the Israelites. It turns out that the Spirit of Jesus defeated the Egyptians and the “Ghost” of Jesus defeated the Devil. Gershom sacrificed his foreskin to ineffectively do the “dirty deed” and Jesus was effectively baptized on behalf of all.

  Again, how so? “And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, ‘Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost” (John 1:33). Paul checked on the Galatians later. The Holy Ghost and joy had remained with them! Their baptism with the Holy Ghost was effective, and they had yet to be immersed in water. Jesus’s own immersion (the water) and His crucifixion (the blood) was enough!

  It is written, “This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6). Of course, the blood of Jesus pouring forth at His death was the ‘blood” in that scripture, and His own baptism by immersion was the water. Jesus received and kept the Holy Spirit. It was the water baptism wherein John prepared Jesus for death. The Holy Spirit came upon Him, and at his death, Jesus “gave up the Ghost” (Mark 15:37). In other words, it is Jesus’s baptism that was the water. Our own baptism is not Jesus’s for He is God, but just as Jesus did.

  People forget that the Holy Spirit came on Jesus for a reason. As one “State” of God, both He and the Father were crucified. Not only was the Person of God crucified but God in three “Persons” (three unified states — Latin, homeostasis — the optimal functioning of the three “states” of God). It was not the water that baptized Jesus but the Holy Spirit; the Spirit that would be the Ghost that left Jesus.

  The Holy Spirit could have come on Jesus without the water, but that was the method that God chose. Whereas the baptism of others for repentance for remission of sins, the baptism of the Holy Ghost is for the remission of sins.

  Jesus took on all the sins of mankind at His crucifixion. At His baptism He took on the remission of sins of others since He had none Himself. His baptism by John was for us, so that the Holy Ghost could come on us as well, not at water baptism like His, but with the remission of sins. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is concurrent with the remission of sins as demonstrated by the Galatian Christians.

  When Paul was persuaded, Ananias wondered, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Act 22:16). With the eunuch, it was made clear that there was plenty of water available, but with the baptism of Jesus of Paul, no mention is made of water. Paul’s baptism was “calling on the Name of the Lord.” Therewith, Jesus baptized Paul and there was a obvious change in his disposition — Jewish Saul became Christian Paul, and it happened without immersion in anything but seeing God face to face, and the Face of God is Jesus.

  Saul was blinded to see his faults, and that persuaded him. Then days later, Saul’s sight was restored and he was baptized, not in water, but in the Light of Jesus!

  As such Paul is not a baptizer… the Holy Ghost of Jesus is: “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (1 Cor 1:17). Paul was indicating that if he had baptized it would have made him a Judaizer; “that the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” Jesus (the Finger of God) had written, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exod 20:7). If it was water that saved, then God’s “Name” (Jesus) would have been vanity. The cross would have been of no effect. Then they may as well have swam in the Molten Sea like the Jews had.

  That water baptism is preserving denigrates the cross and Jesus’s suffering death. Those who require things be done are legalists like the Judaizers who hounded the Galatian Christians to do things their way — the way Jews had always done things, not the Way of Jesus. Water baptism was always a Jewish custom. It was a cleansing ceremony in the Temple, and it remains ceremonial.

  When Joshua (Yeshua) was about to cross the “river of the Garden” (the Jordan River) and enter “paradise” he was given instructions by the Lord. “Jesus’s” instructions to Joshua were: 

⁷ And the Lord said unto Joshua, “This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. ⁸ And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, “When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.” ⁹ And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God. (Jos 3:7-9) 

  Joshua stood still in the Jordan River, maybe the exact place where Jesus was baptized. Joshua and God went into the God’s Holy Water together and were symbolically baptized. Joshua was a type of Jesus and the Ark of the Covenant the Presence of the Lord. The Ark was God’s “footstool” just as the foot support on the cross was the “footstool” of Jesus.

  What happened other than Joshua got wet? The Lord magnified Joshua. He was baptized by the Holy Spirit! The water of the river touched the ark that even the priests could not touch. The Lord and Joshua comingled. The Spirit of the Lord came on Joshua. His identity changed. He became a New Moses, and that is what John’s baptism of Jesus did. Jesus became the New Moses and the original Moses was minimized. Moses came to see his replacement at the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses saw what he knew by faith all along; that Jesus and Yahweh are One God!

  As Joshua stood in the water, the Lord magnified him. It did not make him a new creature but took the old creature and made him like Moses. It was not the water that did the changing, but the Lord magnifying Joshua. The Holy Spirit from the Ark came on Joshua just as the Holy Ghost was upon the Galatians. What did the Hebrews do? They brought God to the heathen nations. What were the Galatians called to do? To bring the gospel of Jesus to the nations, even to the ends of the earth.

  Is water baptism — the Baptism of John — a good or bad thing? It is no substitute for the Baptism with the Holy Ghost by Jesus. Note that the Galatians did not skip the Baptism of Jesus (the Holy Ghost). Neither did they skip repentance and persuasion. If they had not been baptized with the Holy Ghost (represented by living water) baptism with water would have been vanity.

  Furthermore, to the Jews, the Galatians were not true Christians as they had not been circumcised like them. The Jews had failed to realize that when they were persuaded their hearts had been circumcised and when the Holy Ghost was with them, they had been baptized already by the baptism of Jesus. Only later, after they were proven faithful, were they baptized with the baptism of John to testify to the effect of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.

(Picture credit – Look and Learn “The Molten Sea.”)