Month: August 2023

CHOOSE YOUR “KING” (LEADER) WISELY

  • This blog, and post, will always direct you directly to your Creator, and God’s Word (Jesus).
  • Directly means directly. No pastors, nor incorporated, so-called, “Christian” churches. Absolutely no human being between you and your Creator.
  • But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”   John 4:23-24.
  • The actual Greek and/or Hebrew is [red] and in square brackets [   ].
  • We all need reminders:   Jesus is the Word of God. The good message of John, first chapter:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Verse 14:  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace [graciousness] and truth.

Today’s topic:

CHOOSE YOUR “KING” (LEADER) WISELY:

Definition of a King:   a male ruler of a country who usually inherits his position and rules for life.

  • Focus on the, “ruler of a country”. In the “modern” world that could be a King, Queen, President, or Prime Minister, depending on the country in which you live.
  • Lord Jesus Christ’s name and title:   Lord [Supreme Authority] Jesus [Jesus/Jehoshua] Christ [Anointed].
  • Just what don’t you understand about Supreme Authority?
  • You have a simple choice:   1. Giving total, supreme, allegiance to your national leader, or 2.  giving total, supreme allegiance to your Creator, Jesus Christ (the Word of God).
  • I think there’s a great misunderstanding of Romans, chapter 13, by many people. There are several other scriptures which clarify our understanding of our relationship with our human government. This will be covered in a future post, but we must be respectful of our human authorities.
  • We are to respect our human authorities, but God is still overall Supreme:

  • Honor [prize] all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear [be frightened (of)] God. Honor [prize] the king [sovereign].   1 Peter 2:17
  • My son, fear [fear] the Lord [Self Existent] and the king [king];

Do not associate with those given to change;   Prov. 24:21

  • England requires new citizens to swear/affirm an oath:   The Oath of Allegiance (Judicial or Official Oath) is a promise to be loyal to the British monarch, and his or her heirs and successors, sworn by certain public servants in the United Kingdom, and also by newly naturalized subjects in citizenship ceremonies.
  • New Canadians don’t get away from it either:
  • In Canada, the King is the Head of State; therefore, in order to become citizens, all applicants for citizenship who are 14 years of age or older must swear or affirm to be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles the Third, King of Canada, His Heirs and Successors. Jul 8, 2021
  • New Americans don’t really get away with it either:
  • The Naturalization Act of 1906 added the section of the oath requiring new citizens to defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and bear true faith and allegiance to the same. The Oath acquired a standard text in 1929.
  • Definition of Allegiance:   loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause.
  • We know how this part of the story ends:

  • “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings [sovereigns] who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings [sovereigns] with the beast [dangerous animal]. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power [force] and authority [privilege] to the beast [dangerous animal]. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome [subdue] them, for He is Lord [Supreme in Authority] of lords [Supremes in Authority] and King [Sovereign] of kings [Sovereigns]; and those who are with Him are called [invited], chosen [selected], and faithful [trustworthy].”   Rev. 17:12-14
  • And I saw the beast [dangerous animal], the kings [sovereigns]  of the earth, and their armies [armaments], gathered together to make war [warfare] against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast [dangerous animal] was captured, and with him the false [spurious] prophet who worked signs [indications] in his presence, by which he deceived [caused to roam (from safety, truth, and virtue)] those who received the mark [scratch/etching] of the beast [dangerous animal] and those who worshiped [fawned or crouched to] his image [likeness]. These two were cast [thrown] alive into the lake [pond] of fire [lightning ???] burning [set on fire] with brimstone [sulphur]. 21 And the rest [remaining ones] were killed with the sword [sabre] which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.   Rev. 19:19-21
  • So much for nuclear weapons!
  • Your human leader may live 70 to 100 years, Jesus will live forever:

However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering [forbearance], as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting [perpetual] life. 17 Now to the King eternal [(in) perpetuity], immortal [undecaying], invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor [value] and glory forever and ever. Amen.  

1 Tim. 1:16-17

But Peter and the other apostles [delegates] answered and said: “We ought to obey [to be persuaded by a ruler/to submit to authority] God rather than men [manfaced/human beings].  Acts 5:29.

  • Choose your “King” wisely.
  • You follow your human leader, as long as they follow Jesus. Unfortunately, I think they generally mean well, but they get terrible theological advice.
  • To finalize this post, and to further clarify the subject, we go back to antichrist:

ANTICHRIST

  • As I’ve said before, a lot of these topics overlap each other.
  • You have a prime example of antichrist right in front of you almost every day (in the news, August, 2023).
  • You have the Ukraine war.
  • On the one side you have the Russian leader, who says something like, “the guys over the hill are bad guys. Go kill them”.
  • On the other side you have the Ukrainian leader saying something like, “the guys over the hill are bad guys. Go kill them”.
  • The Russian equivalent of an army chaplain is a Russian Orthodox priest (number with the army, in Ukraine, is difficult to determine), and the Ukrainian army have chaplains (>160 with the army in the war).
  • It doesn’t mean anything.

  • The Ancient Greek for “antichrist” is, “an opponent of the Messiah” (Jesus).
  • In opposition, you have your Creator saying:
  • “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder [be a murderer], and whoever murders will be in danger [liable] of the judgment [tribunal/justice].’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca [O empty one/worthless] !’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool [dull/stupid]!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.    Mat. 5:21-22
  • “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy [hateful (one)] .’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies [hateful (ones)], bless [speak well of] those who curse [loathe] you, do good [well] to those who hate [detest] you, and pray for those who spitefully use [insult/slander] you and persecute [pursue] you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil [hurtful] and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.    Mat. 5:43-45
  • You’re hardly showing love [affection/benevolence, 1 Cor. 13] to someone by dropping bombs, rockets, or shells on their heads!
  • So both sides in the Ukraine war are in opposition to the Messiah (Jesus), and hence antichrist.
  • One of Jesus’ titles is, “Prince of Peace”:
  • For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.   Isa. 9:6.

Now to the King eternal, immortal [undecaying], invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Tim. 1:17

FOLLOW ME (JESUS)

  • This blog will always direct you directly to your Creator, and God’s Word (What we know as the Bible).
  • Directly means directly. No pastors, nor incorporated, so-called, “Christian” churches. Absolutely no human being between you and your Creator.
  • The actual Greek and/or Hebrew is [red] and in square brackets [   ].
  • Today’s topic:

FOLLOW ME (JESUS):

  • A reminder:   Jesus is the Word of God. The good message of John, first chapter:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Verse 14:  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace [graciousness] and truth.

PART 1:   FOLLOW JESUS:

  • When Jesus called His first learners (“religious word” = disciples), He said, “Follow Me [come hither, to the back of Me] [Mat. 4:19]”. Other verses have it as [be in the same way with Me]. Most, if not all, English translations have it as “Follow Me”. A reasonable translation, probably heavily influenced by Mat. 4:19 and the Old Testament. We have records of: Simon Peter, Andrew, Matthew and Philip:   Mat. 4:19, Mat. 9:9, John 1:43.
  • Another reminder: We are all learners of the Supreme Authority, Jesus, the Anointed (Anointed to be King).
  • We have lots of scriptures of Jesus calling general learners, by saying, “Follow Me”:
  • Then another of His disciples [learners] said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

22 But Jesus said to him, “Follow [be in the same way with] Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”      Mat. 8:21-22.

  • Then Jesus said to His disciples [learners], “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny [deny utterly] himself, and take up his cross [stake or post (as an instrument of capital punishment)], and follow [be in the same way with] Me.    Mat. 16:24.
  • If anyone serves Me, let him follow [be in the same way with/accompany] Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.   John 12:26
  • To the young man:   Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect [complete], go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow [be in the same way with] Me.”   Mat. 19:21.
  • Jesus said to him (Peter), “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow [be in the same way with/accompany]  Me.”   John 21:22
  • Jesus was the God of the Old Testament:

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed [to be in the same way with/accompanied] them, and that Rock was Christ.                      1 Cor. 10:4.

  • A few Old Testament scriptures to mentally chew on:
  • But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed [hind part/after] Me fully [to be full of], I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.    Num. 14:24
  • ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly [to be full of] followed [hind part/after] Me, 12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly [to be full of] followed [hind part/after] the Lord.’    Num. 32:11-12
  • and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you (Jeroboam); and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed [walked/after] Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes;    1 Kings 14:8

Jesus did NOT say, “Follow Me (Jesus) through the Judaizers, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Fourth Philosophy, nor any other human group of His day”. He simply said, “Follow Me”. Remember, Jesus is the Word of God.

Nor is He saying “Follow Me (Jesus)” through any human group today.

You have direct access to your Creator! He is the Word of God.

PART 2:   The Messiah:

  • The word “Messiah” is only used twice in the Old Testament. Dan. 9:25-26.
  • The ancient Hebrew word means, “Anointed”.
  • The name Jesus Christ, in English, is sometimes misused. The word, “Christ” is actually a title, and in ancient Greek means, “Anointed”.
  • What we know:
  • Jesus was anointed by the Father:

“For truly against Your holy [sacred] Servant [boy] Jesus, whom You anointed [to smear or rub with oil], both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.   Acts 4:27-28

how God anointed [to smear or rub with oil] Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil [traducer], for God was with Him.   Acts 10:38

Traducer:   makes false or malicious statements about (someone) in order to cause humiliation or disgrace.

  • What Jesus said He was anointed to do:

“The Spirit of the Lord [Supreme Authority] is upon Me,

Because He has anointed [to smear or rub with oil] Me

To preach the gospel [announce good news] to the poor [beggars];

He has sent Me to heal [cure] the brokenhearted [crushed hearts],

To proclaim [herald] liberty [freedom] to the captives [prisoners of war]

And recovery of sight [restoration of sight] to the blind [opaque],

To set at liberty [freedom] those who are oppressed [crushed];

19 

To proclaim [herald] the acceptable [approved] year of the Lord [Supreme Authority].”   Luke 4:18

  • We also know that Jesus was anointed physically for His burial:
  • a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.   Mat. 26:7, and Mark 14:3.
  • What we don’t know, for sure, is when the Father anointed Him as King? Should readers have Biblical proof of such an event, please post it in the comments section. I don’t think His baptism proves His anointing as King [Mat. 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22, John 1:32].
  • We do know that He will return as King:

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

Rev. 19:16

  • Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow [bend], of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess [acknowledge] that Jesus Christ [Anointed] is Lord [supreme in authority], to the glory of God the Father.   Phil. 2:9-11
  • Sorry to all the anti-monarchists out there. The future is a monarchy, with Jesus as King!  

PART 3:   Antichrist:

  • As I’ve said before, several of these topics cross over each other.
  • People sometimes get confused about the antichrist. Yes, there is an Antichrist, who will arrive one day, but there are many antichrists around us now. 
  • You just don’t recognise them, because you’ve either grown up with them, or become used to them as everyday features of daily life.
  • The delegate John wrote in his letter:
  • Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.    1 John 2;18
  • There were many antichrists in John’s day (about 2000 years ago), and there are many antichrists around us today.
  • The Ancient Greek word for “antichrist” means, “an opponent of the Messiah (Jesus)”.
  • You don’t have to think too hard to realize that there are many individuals, and organizations that are in opposition to the Messiah (Jesus).
  • This will be covered in more detail in a future post, but for now our topic is, “Follow Me (Jesus)”.
  • You are all familiar with a very popular social media app./website, which encourages people to follow people [human beings].
  • Following someone on ******* means: You are subscribing to their ***** as a follower. Their updates will appear in your Home timeline. That person is able to send you Direct Messages.
  • The most-followed accounts (at time of writing, August, 2023): Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Justin Bieber, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Rihanna.
  • On the one hand you have your Creator saying, “in English”, “Follow Me (Jesus) [the Word of God]”, on the other hand (in opposition) you have human beings saying, “Follow Me on *******”, hence antichrist.
  • Go figure! You choose.

 * * * * *

  •  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow [be in the same way with] Me.  John 10:27