Monday, November 28, 2022

JUST STAND THERE AND SHUT UP

 Among Christians, there is some disagreement about politics. Or course nothing happens unless God wills it, but have you never thought that when He Wills that certain things happen, it is a test of our faithfulness?

The best example is the crucifixion. God certainly allowed it for His purposes and said so; at His trial when Jesus told Pilate, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above” (John 19:11). Pilate was part of that plan. God expected Pilate to ensure that His Son died. Pilate met the expectations of God and that was why he was prelate — defacto king – when Judea had no king designate (by Caesar).

The crucifixion was political; all the major players in the trial and “hanging” were politicians, even down to the malefactor, Barabbas, who would surely be among the crowd supporting the seditious triumvirate when Judea was lost to oblivion in 70 A.D.

All the parties to the death of Jesus were participating in a “Holocaust” as Jesus was sacrificed once and for all for the sins of all (Heb 10:10).

The same goes for the destruction of the Temple. Jesus prophesied that it would happen when He said, “I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days” (Mat 26:61). Of course, Jesus was not speaking of Herod’s Temple but His own Body. That was what He meant when He said, “That in this place is one greater than the temple” (Mat 12:6).

However, since the Temple was no longer of any use once the Body of Jesus became the “Temple,” believe it or not, but God ordained Simon, John, and Eleazar (all zealots) to destroy the Temple. Not even Titus — the defacto Caesar — could prevent them from doing that, so even he allowed it to happen.

With that said, God selects certain people to do specific things. Pilate, who washed his hands of the greatest sin ever, knew that Jesus was God. The truth was revealed to him by Jesus, for Pilate validated that He was truly who He claimed to be — God in the flesh of that man (John 18:38). Pilate knew that he was performing to the expectations of God, and he would authorize what was essentially the murder of the Messiah.

What if everyone at the crucifixion had the same insight as Pilate? Then neither would they have done the bloody thing! Then Jesus would not have died for either their sins or ours. God had great expectations that everybody would play their parts. He even knew that Peter would reject him and that his followers would remain silent. He also knew that Longinus would pierce His side.

The crucifixion was planned by God in the beginning, to wit: 

14 And the Lord God said unto the Serpent, “Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Gen 3:14-15)

 In the beginning, Judas was picked to play the role of the Serpent. That is implied when the Word said to the Serpent, “upon thy belly shalt thou go.”

We always think of that as the Serpent crawling. Remembering that the Serpent brought death unto the world, perhaps this is foreseeing the death of Satan. I believe that God picked both Judas and Satan for the roles they would play on that fateful day, Good Friday, 33 A.D. 

16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. 17 For he was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry. 18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. (Acts 19:16-18) 

David prophesied that in his Psalms. The Holy Spirit revealed to him the role that Judas would play. God would have not made Judas do the awful thing but had the foreknowledge that he would!

Judas played the role to the end. Of course, “Satan entered Judas” (Luke 22:3) because he knew his part as well! It all goes back to long before David when the Word said, “on his belly he shall go.” How did the “Serpent,” Satan, go? “Falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.”

Judas fell to the dust, and when his bowels gushed out, Satan would have crawled on his belly to depart from Judas who was by then quite dead.  (We must do some thinking about scripture, as the “Serpent” was not a snake at all but the “image” inside Lucifer. Satan was the “image” inside Judas, so it is logical that the Word was foretelling how the Satanic image of Lucifer would go!

Did Satan die the day of the crucifixion? In a sense he did. The sacrifice of Jesus rendered him powerless, and that was what Jesus was talking about when he brought up Moses and the serpent on the pole (John 3:14).

With that said, Judas was foreknown by God who knew that that man would do certain things. God did not make him defect from Jesus but knew he would all along!

God has a plan for each of us. “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jer 29:11; ESV).

For David, it was not in God’s plans for him to kill Saul. God would take care of Saul. As it turns out, Saul was too cowardly to commit suicide. He backed out because God planned it that way, just like he knew David would not kill His anointed one.

There are two versions of Saul’s death: 1) That Saul would die by his own hands, and 2) that an Amalekite would take credit. That is unsettled by theologians, but the best bet is that as Saul attempted suicide, by accident the Amalekite caused his death, and to get the credit, confessed to it to David.

David had the Amalekite killed, not for killing Saul, but for having stolen valor, as if he would be king!

With that said, God killed Saul when His purpose for that wicked man was of no further use to Him. Saul, like Judas, once had affection for God then defected from Him. That is the unpardonable sin (apostasy; Heb 6:6).

Therefore, David, although he could have, did not kill Saul. Not because he was valiant but because he knew that God would take care of that.

Saul was anointed by God to be king. Did David agree with the sordid behavior of Saul? Not at all, but he understood his role. He was not the one elected, whoever killed Saul, but perhaps neither was the Amalekite. However, Saul had to die to save the Israelites.

Therefore, our role is not to agree with kings and let them do as they please, but fight injustice according to our assigned roles.

In modern times, Dietrich Bonnhoeffer is renown for his courage against Hitler. Was he supposed to go along with that holocaust as the apostles did with the Holocaust of Jesus? Should Bonnhoeffer have just stood silently by while history repeated itself? No! God picked Bonnhoeffer to be the “chief priest” who would take a stand against injustice and as such, it was Bonnhoeffer, a Christian, who suffered holocaust himself.

He sacrificed his own flesh for the fleshes of the oppressed — the infirm, the Jews, and righteous Christians.

Has it ever occurred to you that God picked Bonnhoeffer for that purpose; to rid the world of Hitler? Of course, Bonnhoeffer, like the priests long before, did not handle the “smoking gun” but provided the impetus for others to do the bloody thing!

However, as it turned out, like Saul, God took care of Hitler in His own way. Some believe he committed suicide and others that he died of old age and as a non-descript person in South America. Like Saul, both theories are viable.

However, should Bonnhoeffer have just stayed quiet like the silent apostles? Should those who tried to kill Hitler just complied with the insane Nazism? No! They too were in God’s plan from the beginning, just like the apostles, the soldiers, and the mockers. Everybody is in the plan of God.

God even used the seditious zealots to destroy the Temple and Titus for his futility in endeavoring to save the Temple!

Some are called to do different things. My calling, I believe, is to warn Christians and sinners about the future for I know the plans that God has for us. With that said, God’s Plan is for a political ending (the apocalypse) and it is my role to point out the players in that great tragedy.

The play is in progress right now, but many preachers think Christians should just shut up and let God take care of things. Of course, God will, but what if God has a role for us to play and we just remain quiet as mandated.

Jeremiah’s role was to speak up! When the king and chief priests were doing wrong, Jeremiah was very vocal about it. He knew God’s plan and their future, but modern-day preachers would have had Jeremiah to remain silently by while the Temple was destroyed the first time!

God does not want us to just shut up but to speak out as instruments to save the lost and warn those who think they are saved.

The end was exposed to John, and he did not keep silent. He revealed to mankind the ending. Should John have stayed quiet about the politics and religion at the ending, or was he disappointing God when he wrote this: 

16 Also it (the Beast) causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom… (Rev 13:16-18) 

John wrote therein a very political thought; that citizens would not be able to engage in commerce unless they do as the government says. His advice was wisdom; that wise men would not obey that decree for any reason.

Christians are expected to have political dissent! Are we expected to just take the mark and remain compliant or should we even face death by disobedience to authority?

I submit that modern preaching may be influencing Christians to just obey whatever happens to come our way. It is great knowing that in the end, God will take care of things, but He expects us to do certain things in faith.

My warning is that the mark is coming. I think it is genetic and therefore, even to buy and sell, I will not follow their mandates and shall not be administered anything that may change who I am.

That is a very political but wise thing to do for it is not worth the gamble. As such, I will tell you who is pushing the mark, and I believe they are members of the World Economic Forum and their Great reset of which Biden’s “Build Back Better” is their religious and civil reformation to change who we are!

I will not shut up because, even though I do not like it; God has called me to speak up!



 

 

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