SPIRITUAL "DEEP STATE" - JUDGEMENT

CAUSATION AND JUDGEMENT

  God provides men to either test His people, or to rescue them from tyrants. For instance, the nation of Babylon was created and ordained by God to punish the Jews for their wickedness. God even provided a ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, to destroy the “harlot” Jerusalem. But you thought Babylon was the “harlot” did you not? Well Babylon was the “mother of harlots” and Jerusalem became the harlot and still is until New Jerusalem returns to its foundation in Jerusalem after she is cleansed from harlotry.

  Nebuchadnezzar was a narcissistic and evil man who God humbled. He was so into himself that he proclaimed himself a god and had a statue built of himself for the people to worship. However, at the end, he had his “Jesus moment” as he saw Jesus saving the three young men that he persecuted in a fiery furnace. Seeing Jesus saving Shadrack, Meshack, and Ebednego, humbled Nebuchadnezar. He ate grass as a domesticated animal would. He was the “beast” that God tamed. The point is that Nebuchadnezzar changed, and God changes those for whom He has a purpose.

  Nebuchadnezzar was a wicked man that God used for His purposes. Not only did he see Jesus, but the prophet Ezekiel wrote that Nebuchadnezzar's assault on Egypt is represented as a divine initiative undertaken "by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon" (Ezek 30:10).

  Before that, God had used another sinful man to establish the Kingdom of God. David was a man after God’s own heart (1 King 15:3), but although his spirit was willing, David’s flesh was weak. As with many great leaders, the lusts of their flesh rules their hearts.

  Looking even before that, Abram deceived, Moses murdered, and Saul was jealous. God used sinful men for His purposes. Why would he do that? Because those to whom he forgives the most, loves Him the most. Jesus said that. (Luke 7:46).

  Then came Saul; he was a member of the “Deep State” existing in Judea. That small country was a tributary to the Roman Empire. There were Jewish zealots who sought to gain independence from Rome. “Zealots” are fanatic revolutionists and are entirely dedicated to their cause. Jewish zealots were also dedicated to Mosaic Law. Saul did not belong to the Deep State against Rome, but he was a zealot dedicated to the destruction of the new Christian sect. As such, Saul was a religious zealot who had more respect for the Law than for love. Saul had his “Jesus moment” for three days as Jesus’s Holy Ghost struck him blind. In his blindness, Saul, now Paul, saw the Light as he was born again a new person in Christ.

  Those are ample examples. Never would rational people select a murderer, adulterer, liar, nor a cruel jealous person as a leader, or would they? But Jesus used those types of people for His ends. They all became useful to God in developing and propagating Christianity. Likewise, Barack Obama was as useful as Nebuchadnezzar, or even Pharaoh, in the making of a new kind of US president. Saul was questioning God, and as Paul, he was humbled; ironically just as Nebuchadnezzar was transformed from a feral beast to one domesticated. Indeed, the meek shall inherit the earth (Psalm 37:11).  God makes meek (humbled) men from narcissistic beasts.

  In scripture, names mean things. “Saul” means “questioning” and “Paul” means “humbled.” Barack Obama means “blessing bent.” Donald Trump “means ruler of the world (Donald) of the one who blows the trumpet (Trump).” It seems that if names do mean things, and they do, that Obama changed the direction of America from the way God instituted it to his way. Perhaps Donald Trump was ordained to be President and the most powerful man in the world. Of course, Jesus is the ruler of the Kingdom of God, and Satan the ruler of the world, but those are in the spiritual realm. Sometimes God ordains wicked world leaders and others for His Plans.

  This theological history exemplifies why Christians voted for Donald Trump. They did not vote for Trump as Chief Priest, but to be our czar (Caesar.) Jesus recognized Caesar as the legitimate civil authority in Judea, but not a spiritual authority (Mat 21:22). When asked by the Herodians, friends of Herod and Caesar, to whom to pay tribute, Jesus responded to pay taxes to Caesar as the civil authority, and essentially to honor God as the Spiritual Authority. Donald Trump is not Jesus, but he is a czar. He must be honored.

  The Jews did not like it, but Jesus told them to honor Caesar, who by the way, in the face of Jesus, had proclaimed himself a god as the Romans had many. Jesus was implying that Caesar was to be honored for his position, but not as a god. That, He said, is reserved to the True God.

  Barack Obama was a “czar” as well, and Christians were required to honor him as Jesus taught that Caesar was to be honored. Note that Christians didn’t like Obama any more than Jews liked Caesar, but we honored his position, albeit he changed the US in much the same way that Caesar changed the Kingdom of God. Jesus was no Caesar and neither is Donald Trump a Jesus, but Trump was ordained by God to be our Caesar as Obama was. Trump and Obama are both types of Sauls; Obama as King Saul who changed his spiritual allegiance to himself and even played the role of priest. Obama as Saul was arrogant. On the other hand, questioning Donald Trump was changed into humbled Donald Trump. God again has used his “crooked stick” to straighten out the world; not a perfectly straight stick, but one straight enough to serves His Purposes.

  No one would have ever thought murderer Saul would be the principle apostle, and no one would have thought “King Midas” Donald Trump would ever be President. However, both Obama and Trump were ordained by God, even with their “baggage” for His Purposes. Ask yourself the question, “Would there even be a President Trump without a President Obama?” Obama caused Donald Trump’s presidency. God’s people had had enough of Czar Obama as the Hebrews had had enough of King Saul.

  As such, tribute must be paid to Trump as our “Caesar” as we paid tribute to Obama for the same reason. God has a Plan for us to give us a hope and a future (Jer 29:11). Obama was part of that Plan and so is Donald Trump! Of course, Christians must pay tribute to Caesars in things pertaining to him, but to God as they pertain to Him. In the course of life, Jesus is our King and God and civil and clerical leaders are His representatives.

  The zealots in Jesus’s day, were zealots for the Hasmonean Dynasty. The homage that they paid Jesus was as a secular king. Paul was zealous for Jesus after his zealousness for the Law was changed. It seems that President Trump is indeed a zealot, but in America zealous presidents are rare birds. He was elected as a zealot for civil affairs, and somehow, he perceived that the “Deep State” is much different than a bog in Washington, but a stench over the entire world. Trump campaigned on “draining the swamp.” Jesus came to drain the spiritual swamp that 400 years of God’s silence has allowed to seep in.

  Trump saw things amiss because he had been skimming the “swamp” for years. His demeanor was much as the Saul’s before Saul was transformed. Like Saul before him, Jesus seems to have given him spiritual insight, a little different than Saul, by removing the blinders from his eyes. We must admit that Trump saw things that even the best Christians could not see because he has had “swam” in the swamp, so to speak.

  The Deep State did not like Jesus and neither does it like Mr. Trump. Why not? Jesus came to drain the deep, smelly swamp of religious zealotry, and the Donald came to drain the stench of the economic swamp in the US, and even elsewhere — even the world. What is it that the US leaders fear? Judgment and punishment. What was it that the Jewish leaders feared? Judgement and punishment.

³¹ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: ³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: ³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left… ⁴⁶ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Mat 25)

  The American “Deep State” fears exposure and judgment. The Sanhedrin, Chief Priest, scribes, Pharisees, Herodians, and scribes knew they had been exposed by their Messiah and denied Him His authority. They not only sought to diminish Jesus, but when that failed to work, they found it necessary to eliminated Him. They knew Jesus came to “drain their swamp” and feared that they would be sucked down the drain into the bottomless pit. The leaders did not fear Jesus who they thought would clean up the Herodian “swamp” but because they feared that Jesus would upset their kingdom of the Devil on Earth.

  Jesus called them “vipers” (Mat 3:7). They were not truly sons of God, but children of the Devil (John 8:44), and by relegating them to serpentine creatures, Jesus identified their “father” as the Serpent.

  The Deep State is always the will of Satan who pretends to God’s throne. Our US Deep State are merely goats doing Satan’s will so he can be czar, not only in earth, but in heaven.

The Deep State is not an alliance of Democrats, Socialists, feminists, Soros’s organizations, Planned Parenthood, liberal mainstream churches, the media, and such… but an alliance against God. They are all fools (useful idiots) that Satan uses as his tools for his purposes. Jesus already came to save the world from Satan, and now all these things must happen for Him to come to reign a thousand years.   In sort of a “groundhog day” way, the events of Noah’s day must be repeated, and now we are in it. Deep water came from the ground and drowned their own version of the Deep State and the huge swamp of the world will again be “drained” by fire. The Deep State fears that! They fear God and fear Donald Trump because like it or not, as our Caesar, he deserves what is his.

(picture credit: pininterest - Great White Throne Judgement)

SPIRITUAL "DEEP STATE" - INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

  From the end of the Civil War until the 1930s, a group of Democrats called the “Ku Klux Klan” lynched people because of their skin color, their culture, or beliefs. Before the lynching, they often had a mock trial. The presiding “judge” was a prominent person within the Klan and the jury was Klan members. The witnesses were not necessarily Klan members, but those who had something against the accused. Usually, there were no witnesses for the defense of the accused, but were always witnesses for the prosecution, even when it was necessary for the Klan to fabricate witnesses to condemn the accused.
  Everyone has a history; it would not take long for some self-righteous neighbor to fabricate a crime based on perceptions, hearsay, or exaggeration. A woman would say, “He leered at me,” and that was enough whether he leered or not! My point is that many innocent people were lynched by a mob of hateful people just because of their identity. Today, that would be called “identity politics.” Everyone must be “politically correct.” The problem is correct to whose law? For the Klan, it was correct to whatever law they deemed right in their viewpoint.  Law, even today, is what progressive Democrat judges make it. They care little for the substance of the law of the land, but how they can use it for the Democrat advantage!
  That type of standard of law and jury was referred to by those who understood what they were doing as “Judge Lynch.” It mattered not whether the accused was guilty or innocent, but whether the judge and jury could convince themselves that what they thought was what mattered. Even if someone came forward to vindicate the accused, they would jeopardize their own safety. Their testimony could even make them guilty of collusion with the accused. For instance, a white person who stood by the Negro might be found guilty of being a “Nigger Lover” to use the words that Democrats use so often, now in private.
  That type of justice is nothing new but is very efficient. Often the Klan would accuse the Negro of murder but when they found no evidence, something minor from his life was used to condemn him. The accused had no chance at all because the only media that was there were KKK supporters. (I have a photo from 1891 where cousins of mine was lynched by the KKK because one story was that they killed the sheriff. That was by the testimony of the sheriff’s family, and undoubted was to protect the daughter who was the one who murdered her father.)
  “Judge Lynch” could always find “witnesses” against the accused, but none would step forward to vindicate the man out of fear of shunning by their neighbors, or even for their own safety. The newspapers would report what the KKK said occurred without question; after all they were all friends and neighbors.
  The same type of Klan justice was used by the Democrats against the accused, Donald J. Trump. Somehow Adam Schiff “appointed” himself as “Judge Lunch” and the hanging jury consisted of the House Intelligence and Judicial Committees headed by Schiff and Gerald Nadler, respectively. Nancy Pelosi brought in the Democrat “observers” to see that justice was done; that was the Democrat controlled congress. The Republicans sought to have all the evidence and present their case in defense of the accused, but Judge Lynch (Schiff) did not need evidence for he has his own perception of the truth. It would not matter at all about the facts because he knew the ways of Donald Trump.
  Trump came to “drain the swamp” of the Democrat Deep State and their Republican “Never Trumpers,” and Schiff was the deepest in the polluted water. Trump knew who the “swamp creatures” are because he had dealt with them for years on their slimy turf. All those who once loved Trump for his money turned on him. You know the story; Trump was an innocent man lynched by the Democrat mob.
  They are too cunning to admit that their culture is still Klan culture, but act as if they are the patriots who are merely fighting injustice in the Trump Administration. We saw what happened to Gen. Flynn just because he was an associate of the President! If the mob cannot lynch, they can be appeased by the imprisonment of the innocents. (On a side note, innocence means nothing to the Democrat mob. The murder of the most innocent with abortion reveals that the Democrat Klan is alive and well today.)
  My commentary is not, however, about the Democrat version of justice in either the case of the Klan nor Democrats hating Trump, but the establishment hating Jesus Christ. Whereas slaves were born to die for the utility of the Democrats, and Trump to be impeached for the narrative of the Democrats, Jesus was born to die for the “Deep State” existing at that time. Yes, it was the Deep State of Judea that caused the legitimate government to crucify an innocent man. The Pharisees, scribes, chief priests, Sanhedrin, and the mob were the “Deep State” at that time, and guilt nor innocence was of concern to them. They needed a lynching and who better to lynch than the Man of the Hour who came to drain their self-righteous swamp? God came in the Flesh to drain the Deep Swamp of the Sanhedrin version of the Law and those who lived by false laws and judgments.
  The people in Jesus’s case who were proponents of false justice hated Jesus as much as Never-Trumpers hate Donald Trump, and more so than the Klan hated blacks. They had their own laws and their own ways, and there came Jesus with justice and truth.
  The “Big Lie” is something so absurd that it could not be made up. With the black on the hanging tree, he may as well be hung because he leered at the woman. That may as well be rape! For Donald Trump, he as well have been a Russian agent because the Democrats and the media propagated that narrative. The “Big Lie” with Trump was that he is a traitor. The “Big Lie” with Jesus is that he was a traitor to God and blasphemed Him for claiming to be God.
  The Big Lie backfired on the Jews. For the black man who was lynched, there was no justice. The Klan saw to that by intimidation. Democrats are great at that!
  For Trump, the Big Lie was exposed; it was not him who had colluded with the Russians but the Democrats and the Deep State.
  The Big Lie in Jesus’s case turned out to be so absurd that it could not be true. Jesus admitted that He IS God! Pontius Pilate, in the manner of Plato, asked, “What is truth” (John 18:38)? The truth is that the Negro who was lynched raped no one, and that Donald Trump was impeached by deceptive Democrats. I the case of Jesus, the truth is that He IS God! He was lynched for the truth.
  Tomorrow, and as long as it takes, we will study the case, The World Against Jesus, and compare it to justice in contemporary and end times. The modis operandi of adversaries is always the same, and perhaps we can learn about the coming destruction by studying about Jesus and the spiritual “Deep State” which is always there to undermine God and His institutions. We can always predict the future by the past, but naïve people must be stepped on time and time again just because they do not know the way of the citizens of the  world; those that the Russians call “Cosmopolites.”  Tune in tomorrow for more.

(picture credit: MyNews4.com)

GOD'S QUID PRO QUO

  Everyone has a quid pro quo. It is human nature. Even God expects something for something. God's is spiritual and those who govern should be to compromise in civil matters. Individuals are civil for safety, security, and nourishment. Ironically, those things are what God provides as well. Should our faith then be in government or in Christ? Faith in government is the essence of socialism and faith in God is righteousness.
  Jesus did not die for naught. He expected something. A leading Christian preacher said that God's love is loving us, and expecting nothing in return, That is a Big Lie, but was wrought innocently it seems by such a godly man. God does expect something from us! His grace did not come cheaply but at great cost. Christians think of the person of God dying on the Cross in our stead, but it was God in three substances who suffered death. Should God not get something in return? Just what is it He expects. Surely not faith from the charity of men, but to respect the sacrifice of Himself.
  What is our own quid pro quo? It is not something for something, but something for nothing (quid pro nihilo). Now on with God's quid pro quo:

KEY VERSE: … ¹³ they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words… ¹⁸ Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection… ²⁸ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? ^34b And no man after that durst ask him any question. (Mark 12)

  Today, I will continue from yesterday about the snares that the officials set to trap Jesus. If one snide question did not entrap Him, they merely turned to another. All the His adversaries knew the Law, but the scribe (lawyer) knew it thoroughly and knew its intent. When Jesus stated the Law, the scribe reinforced what Jesus was saying with what Christians call the “Old Testament.” I submit that Jesus equated His Commands to the Law when He quoted Psalm 110:1 and Leviticus 19:18. With that reference, Jesus dismissed the idea of two different “testaments” or covenants. There never was a “Covenant of Law” and a “Covenant of Grace” but it was always by grace. Paul, in his writings, referenced the “mystery of Christ:”

²⁴ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. ²⁵ Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, ²⁶ But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith” (Rom 16:24-26)

  First off, Paul spoke of the “grace” of the Lord. As is written about David who said, “the Lord said unto my Lord” (Psalm 110:1). Jesus as the “son of David” was David’s “Lord.” The first “Lord,” Jesus, was speaking. When God manifests Himself visibly, audibly, or in text; that is pre-incarnate Jesus speaking because David’s Lord before was the Spirit of Jesus. When Jesus speaks the concept is grace. The Old Testament was always about grace, and not the Law. Jesus said, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Mat 22:40). Thus, the Law was always about loving God and loving others, and that is what grace entails.
  The legalists were confused both in Jesus time, and in the Old Testament. The “lawyer” speaking to Jesus understood that the Law and the Grace of God is one Covenant! The Pharisees were still confused about the Law, but Jesus and the lawyer understood; Jesus because He is Lord, and the scribe because He knew the intent of the Law.
  In ancient times, The Lord confused the language of the people and scattered them throughout the world when they built a tower at Babel to make a name for themselves (Gen 11:4). They sought “Heaven” without God’s direction. By that, they diminished God. Those early skeptics failed to understand that God is not up there, but with them. Emanuel was Jesus and He was always with them and “full of grace” (John 1:14).
  The lawyer understood that. Although the Lord died because He was full of grace, there was a quid pro quo: I am full of grace to save you; now you love me in return. That something for something is, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). God’s love is the quid and the redeemed person’s the quo. John 14:15 is essentially the quid pro quo of the Abrahamic Covenant to which the Law is the conditions to that Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant was the Covenant of Grace, and The Ten Commandments were the itemized conditions. Essentially, that is I will give you an eternal home as My heir, and you will love Me by doing those things that I Will for you. What is God’s Will for His heirs? That they continue doing His Will, and Ten of them are listed. They are not really “Commandments” but a list of God’s Will for His people. It is the legacy for His heirs — those who He adopts as His.
  The legalists missed the point in the Law. It was not performing the Law perfectly, but the willingness to do God’s Will even when failure is certain. The faith of Abraham was due, not to obeying God’s Command, but that he was willing to. The scribe understood that, and Jesus commended him for it. The scribe was not trying to entrap Jesus but his “client” was misunderstood. He helped the confused legalists understand the quid pro quo. Ironically, Calvinists to this day fail to understand that grace alone (sola gratia) is redemption but the Greatest and Second Commandments are gratitude for it.
  What should the redeemed do? Show gratitude to the Redeemer. How is that done? Loving God by doing what the Lord desires them to do; and that is loving Him and others that God values. The Ten Commandments are the metrics of love: the first four are ways to love God and the latter six are ways to love those who God desires not to perish (John 3:16). How do you love them? By showing them the same grace that the Lord shows to them.
  The mystery of Christ is that redemption was always by grace, and it was always for everyone — Jew and Gentile (the whosoever in John 3:16) — and redemption was always through the Messiah, called the Christ. What was that mystery?

⁶ That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: ⁷ Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. (Ephes 3:6-7)

  “Fellow heirs” says much. The Abrahamic Covenant was for Abraham’s heirs. Gentiles’ redemption was by grace. The mystery is that the Jews’ redemptions was always by grace as well. God does not have one Plan for Jews and another for Gentiles; it was always by grace. The scribe understood that “mystery” and Jesus commended him for it. The teachers of the Law failed to understand the Law but the scribe knew it thoroughly and understood it. All the others were confused, and tried to diminish Jesus, and that would elevate themselves; to make a name for themselves if they tripped up Jesus!
  I hate to teach against the doctrine of others. It is scripture as they understand it. However, just as God is not God as we understand Him, but God as He IS, the Doctrine of God is not as we understand it, but how it is written and intended. The teachers failed to understand the Law, and Calvinist-minded Christians are as confused as the teachers of the Law. They, however, should be commended for their right teaching of by grace alone, but should emphasize works as a way to demonstrate gratitude for redemption. The Law of God was written on stone for perpetuity by the finger of God, or Jesus. The scribe surely knew that he was reasoning with God Himself!
  The Sadducees reasoned as well, but theirs was not about the mystery. For them, it seemed silly that people could die and live again. It was not scientific and was unreasonable. Mysteries are beyond reason but look at science; they cannot believe in the resurrection because they fail to believe in the erection of existence. Teachers of evolution — something from nothing (aliquid ex nihilo) — are as confused as the Sadducees and alchemists of the Dark Ages.
  The Lord Created and the Lord can Re-Create and the Way to be Resurrected is by God’s Grace, and furthermore, it has always been. Thank Him for it, for doing what He Wills for you to do.
  And lastly, skeptics quit trying to trip-up Jesus. Being born again is when we come to realize that Jesus can save us but we, not really gods, cannot. We are not to diminish Jesus as the teachers of the Law tried, but to magnify Jesus by understanding the truth; that it was His blood all the time that redeemed mankind!
  And when Jesus explained the mystery, the discussion ended as He answered their cunning traps so wisely.

(picture credit: Message Magazine)

THE DEEP STATE ENSNARING JESUS

KEY VERSE: …Then saith he unto them, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” (Mat 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25)

  The Pharisees and the Herodians sought to trip up Jesus, knowing if He answered either one of two ways, he would either offend one group. The two opposing groups colluded together to undermine Jesus. “They took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk” (Mat 22:15). They asked if it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar. For the Herodians who supported the Roman government to whom they paid tribute, their law was Roman law. To the Jews, their law was the Mosaic Law. Just which law was Jesus to submit? They knew that He was not a respecter of persons and would offend one group or the other.
  The plotters were not after truth but were only trying to snare Jesus into offending one law or the other, and to divide the people against Him. Plotters always seek to discredit and divide, but Jesus stuck to the truth and they marveled at His discernment (Mat 22:22). In modern times, those two groups would parallel the Democrat and Never Trumpers “Deep State.” As I wrote recently in my blog (https://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-real-deep-state.html), in whatever era and whatever government, there is a “Deep State” seeking to undermine and destroy the legitimate government.  
  By Roman law, they were the legitimate government, but by Mosaic Law, the Sanhedrin was. By God’s Law, Jesus was the King of the Jews, and even Pontius Pilate seemed to recognize that! The Herodians, representing Caesar, were the “Socialists” of that era (Democrats in the modern Lexicon) and the Pharisees the “Never Trumpers” (Republicans in name only). This analogy is not to address modern times, but for the reader to understand the dilemma that Jesus was in was much like the enigmatic situation of Donald Trump.
  Now consider for a moment the words of the different apostles: Matthew said that they tried to “entangle” Jesus, and for that Jesus called them wicked! Does that not sound familiar; Jesus called them what they were, and Donald Trump is condemned for using nearly the same words!
  Mark, however, used a different description when he wrote, “Jesus, knowing their hypocrisy” (mark 12:15). They were accusing Jesus of doing what they were doing. The Herodians paid tribute to both the Sanhedrin and to Caesar! They had “two masters” without choosing one or the other, but as Jesus said, they denied Him (Psalm 118:22-23).  The Pharisees were fakes! They bore “fake news” against Jesus.
  Luke wrote that Jesus, “perceived their craftiness” (Luk 20:23). Between the three we find that Jesus’s adversaries were wicked, hypocritical, and crafty. They had their laws, knew them well, and endeavored to force Jesus’s into ensnaring Himself. This was not the first time, but a series of traps that Jesus’s adversaries set and failed.
  Does that not ring true to the Democrat Deep State of present-day United States! I repeat; there has always been and always will be a “Deep State” and usually it is socialistic in nature; not so much in doctrine but methodology. They always attempt to overthrow the legitimate institutions, divide, entrap, propagate misinformation, and undermine the legitimate authority. Jesus was the long awaited Messiah and as such the Herodians and Pharisees should have recognized the coming of the Kingdom of God; not unlike many righteous people in David’s time recognized him as the legitimate king even when Saul was king.
  Jesus was and is God’s heir to His Kingdom. Satan is His adversary. He is the “George Soros” of modern times — the Satanic (adversarial) man almost invisible to the world who operates in stealth through numerous complex organizations. All those work against the legitimate American government and are there to trip-up those who follow the Constitutional and clerical laws, especially of Christians and Jews. Understand that there is always a Deep State because Satan is always adversarial to Jesus. His “useful idiots” are different in each era, but in Jesus’s time, it was the Herodians, Pharisees, scribes, and such! There was even an independence movement by zealots which finally were not content until their vigilant tactics destroyed the Jewish state and faith!
  The importance of the Deep State is of interest in Roman/ Herodian times, and is of interest today. But of most intense interest is the Deep State of the Apocalypse — the complete and final destruction of the world! That word is a misnomer. It is the destruction of the world that is ruled by the “prince of the power of the air” known as Satan, but Jesus will reign afterward for one-thousand years as legitimate King. Satan is and has always been a mere pretender to God’s throne (Isa 14:12). He is the wicked “Deep State” against the righteous Kingdom of God, and the same adversary who always undermines legitimacy.
  The Apocalyptic one-world government will be ruled by the Beast’s (Satan’s) “useful idiot” the Antichrist who will think that he is Jesus Christ. He will be “a god” as Caesar long before him and will be the universal “caesar” (czar). The first 3-1/2 years of his reign will fool even Christians (the elect), but many cannot be fooled. 144,000 Jews will convert to Christianity, many Gentiles will follow suit, and both groups will reject the adversarial civil and spiritual “Deep State” in the following 3-1/2 years. The seven year “tribulation” period will see a loved and respected socialist-type of state show its true colors; it will reveal that it is communistic because death will be used to “encourage” dissidents to believe in the Antichrist, Marxism, and the Law of Sin.
  Furthermore, there will be an alliance of all religions. That is why fundamental Christians abhor ecumenicalism; namely that Truth cannot be compromised! However, the Catholic Church and liberal Protestantism will ally themselves with pagan religions, especially Islam. I have written before that I believe the end-of-time religion will be Islam and the “communistic” government Sharia Law. It is not only the Catholics who will go completely awry, but the entire minstream “Christian” church who propagate “social justice” over righteous judgment.
  Just as in America today wherein the liberal church is allied with secretive officials to undermine Church and State, the end-of-time government will have the same type of “Deep State.” As a Christian, I despise shadow governments and dark liberal church doctrine because both are adversaries against civil government and true Christianity. When government freedom fails, Christianity pales. The freedom to worship Jesus in Spirit and Truth without government interference is imperative, but socialism is against God and the U.S. Constitution.
  Why would cunning groups of people try to undermine Jesus? To diminish Him when it came time to impeach and execute the innocent man! Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun.

(picture credit: Ray Downing of Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Scribes, and High Priests)

CLOTHED FOR THE MOTHER OF ALL WEDDINGS

  There are two main groups of people that will turn on God. The two groups are the government and the official religion. By “official” I mean those churches that are acceptable to the government and its leaders. Their doctrine will be doctrine of the world, and the government will be global. In the gospels, the common people believed Jesus to be a prophet, but the religious leaders feared that Jesus would diminish their authority, even though they believed His miracles. They did not reject Jesus because He was a convincing prophet, but because He was obviously God. I believe no one realized the identity of Jesus more than the scribes, Pharisees, and other religious leaders.
  On the other hand, Kings Herod and Antipas feared Jesus because they feared that He would be King.

² The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, ³ And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come… ⁸ Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. ⁹ Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. ¹⁰ So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. ¹¹ And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: ¹² And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. ¹³ Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen. (Mat 22:2-14)

Let’s identify the people, activities, and institutions that are represented:

·         The “marriage” represents the kingdom of heaven in that Holy Matrimony is symbolic of Jesus’s relationship with the true Church.

·         The “wedding” represents the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9), or entry into the kingdom of God in the end.

·         The “king” is as the Father aspect of God; God’s Will.

·         The “son” represents Jesus.

·         The “servants” represent the official church; the one organized my men.

·         “Bidden” is the invitation and God’s calling them to come into the wedding feast (John 6:44).

·         “Worthy” are those in proper attire; those wearing appropriate wedding garments.

·         “Highways” represent the entire world; whosoever is invited (John 3:16).

·         “As many” represents all that are willing to attend the wedding feast. None were forced to come. That represents free will. Everyone was invited to the wedding.

·         “Gathered together” is the Great Commission; to go unto the nations and teach the gospel.

·         “As found” represents those with a desire to respond to the invitation, unlike the servants who were there but rejected the invitation.

·         “Both good and bad” indicates that their status, vocations, and works are insignificant. They could be servants or adversaries.

·         “Wedding furnished” represents the true Church. The Church is for the lost and believers, and as the Church is represented by Ornan’s threshing floor, God will sort them out. All are welcome in, but some shall be cast out, depending on their wedding garments. The Groom furnished the right clothing for the occasion.

·         One man was not dressed in proper attire. He failed to wear a wedding garment. That will be discussed more thoroughly shortly.

·         The “servants” who are to bind the man without proper attire are angels.

·         “Speechless” is without excuse (Rom 1:20) as that man failed to understand the majesty of God in the Creation.

·         “Darkness” represents Hell and that is a place of isolation. The “weeping and gnashing of teeth” represents torment in Hell.

·         Many are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb, but few are chosen. That represents that nobody deserves entry, but only God decides. Some come anyway but are rejected because they are not dressed as servants would dress.

  The most important thing in that parable is the wedding attire. What attire would be appropriate for a wedding feast for commoners? I submit that coats made of lambs’ skins is the most appropriate, but any dead domesticated animal would do. Obviously, wolves clothing would not be appropriate dress!
  Think back to Adam and Eve: They made aprons of fig leaves. The fig represented bad taste for the pair and their own craftsmanship was not good enough for the wedding they would soon have.  God made for them appropriate clothing — coats of skin (Gen 3:21). God killed an innocent animal to cover the flesh of Adam and Eve. The proper attire for the wedding feast of the Lamb was the flesh of the Lamb (Jesus). It is not by ones’ own handiwork that they are worthy of the feast, but God’s handiwork of allowing His own Flesh to die to prepare the good and bad for the feast.
  God’s Flesh (the sacrificial Lamb) died that the corrupt and/or filthy “flesh” of the good and bad are worthy. It is to be noted that man’s “goodness” is as filthy rags in the sight of God (Isa 64:6), and God discarded the leaf aprons of Adam and Eve as He would a filthy rag. Perhaps their insolence had made their aprons filthy!
  Adam and Eve were the bad and good for they ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of both. The skin coat — likely the skin of a lamb — covered the good (Gen 3:24) and their bad (Gen 3:5). Their estimation of themselves “as God” was covered by God’s coat which hid their own evil flesh from view. That implies that Jesus’s death covers all sin and attempts at goodness, and the coat allows God to “forget” the sin, albeit sinners must still suffer the consequences of sin as the two must when they were cast out.
  In the wedding hall at the feast, most were dressed appropriately excepting one. If you recall, the Kingdom of God (the Garden of Eden) had a hedge of some type around it, and the way back into Paradise was guarded by cherubim whose job was to “keep the way of the tree of life” (The Way of Jesus) with a flaming sword (Gen 3:24). Adam and Eve someday would be able to enter back into Paradise. That is the Edenic Covenant. Why so? They were dressed in clothes that God gave them!
  In ancient days, Jewish weddings were quite formal. The groom would provide wedding attire appropriate for Holy Matrimony. The wedding feast of the Lamb was formal and appropriate clothing was required to eat of the Bread of Life (Jesus). The man dressed without God’s “suit” was cast out by servants, just as cherubim will cast out those who endeavor to enter the wedding when they are not worthy. To be worthy is not something that the invitee has made and worn, but clothing the Groom provides. Those born again with the old flesh gone and clothed in new flesh (John 3:7) are worthy. Those born again do not re-create themselves, but God gives them new flesh suitable for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
  I could continue endlessly about the wedding feast and worthiness but would encourage others to study the wedding that will take place and ensure that they are dressed in appropriate clothing for the feast. Nothing fancy; John the Baptist wore a coat of camel hair, and he was allowed entry to the wedding. What will you wear? John, like the Son, wore a coat stained in blood. That is appropriate apparel!
  By the way, the feast was not held in a church building but the heavenly realm. That does not mean the place Heaven but the invisible universal Church building where there are no walls of brick nor stone, but Christians who are the living stones in the pillars that hold up the Cross.

(picture credit: Catholic World Report)

WHY THE FIG TREE WITHERED

  Throughout the Bible the fig tree on occasions represent “good” (1 King 4:25;  2 King 18:31; Prov 2:18; S of S 2:13; etc.), and at other times “evil” (Jud 9; 1 King 4:25; Isa 34:4; Hos 9:10; etc.) That the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was an apple tree is false. “Malus” in Latin can mean both “apple” and “evil.” Hence, that the fruit was apples came mistakenly from the Latin translation (Wikipedia in Simple English). We must not look to translations for the fruit but scripture itself.
  In Genesis 3:6, Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree. Immediately, in 3:7 they made themselves aprons of fig leaves. There is no indication that they had moved from where they were under the forbidden tree. Then, to cover their guilt, the two hid themselves among the other trees of the Garden (verse 8). Only did they move after they sewed fig leaves into aprons.  I submit that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a fig tree, and metaphorically, a “Philosophy Tree” (my nomenclature) which Jews call the “Wisdom Tree.”
  I have written on that before, and also that the Tree of Life was an olive Tree, and metaphorically, the “Jesus Tree” in that it represents the three substances of God, or the Holy Trinity.  Now consider the key verses:

KEY VERSES:

¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be… ¹² Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? … ¹³ Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom… ¹⁴ But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (Jas 3)

  James was speaking of knowledge and wisdom (key verse 13). Knowledge is of God and is “good.” However, “this wisdom” of which Mark wrote was false wisdom, and it is “devilish.” James was apparently speaking of the metaphorical “Philosophy Tree,” or the “Wisdom Tree” as the Jews call it.
  James also speaks of the dichotomy of what I will call the “Speech Paradox” — “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing” (verse 10). That was as well said, Out of the same TREE proceedeth blessing and cursing, for immediately James mentions the dichotomy of the “fig tree.” Whereon fig trees cannot bear olives and olive trees fig berries (verse 12). Then James refers to the wise man with “good conversation” identified as “meekness,” and compares it with “evil attitudes” that are lies (verse 13). I believe James was alluding to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and was providing the fruits of the two Trees which were in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Now examine Old Testament prophecy:

¹² Were they (the wise) ashamed when they had committed abomination? Nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. ¹³ I will surely consume them, saith the Lord: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. (Jer 8:12-13)

  Jeremiah, for some time in the future, indicated that the wise in regards to the world’s philosophy would be abominable, and neither will they be ashamed of their abominations. That contrasts well with Adam and Eve who gained evil wisdom from God’s body of knowledge and committed the ultimate abomination. However, they fell, but were ashamed. Adam and Eve fell, as the wise will do, but God did not consume the two, albeit He will those who are not ashamed. God made for Adam and Eve coats of flesh, representing His eventual death on the Tree of Life (the Holy Cross). Those who are not ashamed will be consumed.
  Then Jeremiah prophesied the time when those with false wisdom would not have contrition: “There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade.” When would that be? When Jesus caused the fig tree to wither because it had no figs to resolve His hunger. In this case, a fig tree bearing fruit would have been good, but that specific fig tree which Jesus approached was metaphorically evil. In the lesson of the fig tree from Jesus, there is crucial doctrine, among them are: (1) The quick withering of the fig tree demonstrated the power of faith through Jesus (Mat 21:21), that the withering of the fig tree was the curse of which Jeremiah prophesied (Mark 11:21; Jer 8:12-13), and that the fig tree was the cursed Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 3).
  My point is that the fig tree is symbolic of the forbidden tree and surely bears the same fruit as the Tree of Knowledge. What does faith have to do with the Trees that were in the midst of the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve had faith in what the forbidden tree would provide above what the Tree of Life can! God had already provided nourishment from the Tree of Life and the hope of eternal life. Not satisfied with that — being a lack of faith — they ate of Epicurean fruit, namely figs, but from that tree came additional knowledge; to the knowledge of good was added the knowledge of evil. Wisdom does come from that tree because God made it “very good” (Gen 1:24), but Satan in that tree had bestowed falsehoods to the two. His body of knowledge was added to God’s knowledge of only good. God’s knowledge was “right” and Satan’s deceptive in that he spoke good and true things in a manner which was meant to deceive by adding slight tinges of false knowledge that we call “lies.”
  It seems that Jesus was cursing the Tree of Knowledge because of the deceptive practices of the Pharisees who condoned the “root of all evil” — the love of money by themselves, the money-changers in the Temple, and later Judas Iscariot who Satan had entered (Luk 22:12).
  I have written before of the evidence that the “Judas Tree” from which Judas hung himself was a fig tree just as the “Serpent Tree” was a fig tree. Why would Satan’s tree be different in those occasions? Jesus came to wither Satan’s tree, and it seems that the fig tree represented the demise of Satan just as Judas, hanging from his Tree, also was Satan’s vicarious death on the same day that Jesus (the Tree of Life) fulfilled His Purpose. And that is effectively withering Satan until the root of all evil is finally destroyed in the end! Jesus told Pontius Pilate that he came for that end (John 18:37).
  Jesus destroyed the Philosophy Tree (the Doctrine of Sin), the fig tree’s bearing no good fruit, Satan in mankind with the death of Judas in his tree, the Serpent of old, and the power of the Prince of the Air; namely Satan. The fig tree has been freed of its iniquity by Jesus’ hanging on His own “Tree” as Luke described the Holy Cross in the Book of Acts.
  For me, the continuity in scripture represented by the fig tree increases my faith. Blind Bartimaeus saw “trees as men walking” when his sight was partially restored. I appreciate the day that God allowed me to see trees as men walking, worshipping, and serving. When I look at the olive, I see Jesus as the Tree of Life, and when I see figs, I believe that Satan is as well as dead because Jesus killed the Serpent on the Tree of Life which is the Cross.

(picture credit: BibleOutlines.com)

THE NEED FOR ACCORD

  Don’t be frightened by the subject about Pentecost. This commentary is not about speaking in tongues, so read on.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:1-2)

  Pentecost is on the fiftieth day after the Passover. Pentecost is “feast of first fruits.” Not only does it follow the Passover when the Jews were saved from Pharaoh in Egypt, but it was fifty days after Jesus translated to heaven. Jesus is the Father’s “First Fruit.” Pentecost, therefore, celebrates Jesus, salvation, and the resurrection.
  Jesus ascended to Heaven and fifty days later His Holy Ghost descended to Comfort mankind. On the day of Pentecost, Jesus’s Ghost appeared from heaven; not the place “Heaven” but from the unseen realm. He was always there in the proximity of the Jews, but on this specific day, He showed Himself. As is the custom, I write personal pronounces referencing the Holy Ghost, but Jesus is His “Person.” The Holy Ghost is the invisible Presence of the Lord. Christians know Him through His Power. In the case of Pentecost, His Power was evidenced by a Jewish group that had a certain characteristic (Acts 2:3).
  Focus on one key phrase from the key verses: “They were all with one accord in one place.” “They” are the disciples, mostly Jews, but foremost they were all God’s peculiar and chosen people from many nations (Deut 14:2), and as disciples of God, the Gentiles who trust in Jesus are God’s chosen and peculiar people. (1 Peter 2:9) that were not born into the Promise but were persuaded and reborn to be God’s adopted children. Although those at Jerusalem were mostly Jews, Pentecost is also a celebration for Christians of all races.
  There were people there from many nations. That is known because they all understood each other in their own language.
  Pentecost eliminated division. All those from different nationalities were able to see and hear Jesus coming back to Comfort them. They were no longer alone!
  Jesus said that He would cause division between family members and not peace (Luke 12:51). Here we have a gathering of the nations, and there was not only peace but accordance — they were with like mind and in harmony. When would that ever happen again, but that one time when celebrating Jesus’s victory over death and the world?
  “Of one accord” (accordance) does not mean that they were all of the same mindset, culture, language, rituals or anything, but that they loved one another as Christ loves the world. When Jesus’s Holy Ghost returned, He turned discord into accord. As such the decryption of the Divine language encrypted at the Tower of Babel was enabled.
  When building things, humans inevitably disagree as to purpose and even structure. The people’s focus was on themselves — each and everyone of them — “to make a name for themselves” (As peculiar and chosen people; Gen 11:4).
  At Pentecost, God built the Church and at that time, the Jews and Gentiles together made a name for themselves, but the Name was not for them alone but Jesus Christ. The focus at Babel was on the people, but the focus at Pentecost was on Jesus and the Comforter! The Church is God’s chosen and peculiar people that the Holy Ghost persuades to be part of the invisible universal Church. There was no argument about the purpose of God’s Temple or its design because the Holy Ghost of Jesus would reside in their Temple, or soul.
  With that background, Pentecost is not about speaking in tongues. It is about a new generation of people all in accord with God. Discord was finally put aside after thousands of years, and the Church was built. Of course, the “foundation” was the prophets and apostles with Jesus as the Cornerstone and the Cross pointing to Heaven at the precipice.
  Babel was where the first pass at temple-building failed because it was for men. Pentecost was when the True Temple was built, one that required no materials, walls, nor stone foundation for it had already been laid well to the stone that the builder’s rejected.
  Confused and dissenting people endeavored to build the temple at Babel for their own sakes. There was discord among them and God. They were not truly even building for themselves as a group, but themselves as persons. That was the discord at Babel and God confused the language of a confused and discordant group. At Pentecost, God’s Plan was used for the building of the Church and willing workers built it in agreement and harmony. Everyone who were willing workers there in Jerusalem where the Church as built.
  The Tower of Babel was not even built at the right location. Its foundation was at harlot Babylon. God’s Temple was meant to at the “foundation of peace” in Jerusalem. Jesus Himself revealed that in seventy years Herod’s Temple, not His, would be destroyed, and consequently God, never requiring structures, built His own Church starting at Pentecost. It was His Church, for Him the Groom married to His Bride, and not for those who would have self-love.
  Returning to the key words in the key verses now; “of one accord.” They loved God because He showed Himself to them, and they loved each other! That is the Greatest Commandment. The True Church’s “mortar” was love and was exhibited by mutual understanding and kindness toward each other and God in the Language of God.
  Remember that Jesus would not even bring peace to the family but discord? But He could with multitudes of people in the Family of God. Pentecost was the event spoken of when He was born — Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men, but it only lasted for a short time. Peace will finally come when Jesus returns to reign for a thousand years.
  The point to this commentary is that accord among people is when God’s Holy Spirit reveals Himself. Why don’t we see Jesus very often? Because of discord in the world, and especially among family and church members. Satan has captured the traditional family and they now belong to him. He is in the process of kidnapping the entire Church that God built, and when that happens, the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord is at hand. Are we there yet? No, but the world is headed to destruction at an extremely rapid pace as people, even God’s chosen ones, walk the way of the world. Satan smiles because we have been “had” by his cunning.
  If you died right now, are there those who you should honor and love who you do not? Nobody can see Jesus unless they are in accord with Him and others. If you have not reconciled with your parents, brothers, sisters, and even your enemies, you shall never see God on His throne in His Temple. Now is the time that your salvation is at hand; not cheap grace without accordance, but costly grace because Jesus loved you, and that you must love others. The best feeling you will ever have is when you forgive and forget. I have done that with my personal enemies and with family members who seemed to have done me wrong. Reconciliation is doing what is right regardless of who is wrong (Mat 5:23-24). That is Christ’s Will for His chosen people!

(picture credit: UMC)