Revolutionary Christmas pt 6

To set up the stage, let me reiterate that we have two worldviews at war. The first is the one that we’re all familiar with. The kingdom of darkness has set up itself as the only way. Most people don’t realize that there are other options. It is the wisdom of Satan that has given us things such as the Freudian view, Marxism, and the theory of relativity. As wonderful as relativity has done in the realm of physics, sociologists have then taken it into our culture to say that our beliefs and views are relative.

If we go back in time to the 1950’s and even the 1960’s words such as respect and honor were common in the realm of business. You wanted to run a respectable business. In modern day, businesses are set up on fraud and outwitting the other businesses. Usually the way you outwit someone else is by deception, manipulation, slander, or some other injustice against rival companies.

An entire system has come into existence where self is at the center. Self-promotion, self-preservation, self-exultation, and anything else to push down others is the name of the game. We put ourselves over others mentally. When we commit crime, it isn’t that we committed a crime, there was some sort of social injustice done to us that caused us (or forced us) to steal, lie, murder, etc.

We are at war. Our lives and our characters need to exude a different kingdom with different ethics. As much as I believe in the inefficiency of ethics and morale, I also understand that they have their place. Some of the ethics most people miss is that God is a God of order. How chaotic and out of place and unclean our homes and bathrooms and linen closets are will describe exactly how close we are to this God of order.

I don’t believe that we can be followers of Christ and then only do that which is required of us in our schoolwork or at our jobs. We can’t simply do the bare minimum. How? How can we feel comfortable to call Jesus the Lord of our lives, and then go about according to the system of the world, which is the system of Satan? In everything you do, even in eating and drinking and chores and schoolwork, do it unto the Lord.

Even the name of our Lord can be blasphemed by being invoked wrongly. When our motives are only brought out of self, to call upon the name of Jesus is to blaspheme His name. In the name of Jesus can be invoked vulgarly when we’re just trying to get demons off our back so we can continue to live our own lives. We’re called to a deeper dealing with them. We’re to break their power itself and release the captivity of men. This is more than a calling upon a name. It requires a corporate calling upon that name, which is already a testimony against them. And it will only be to the extent that we are indeed free from these powers. Colossians 2:15 they continue by false intimidation, lies and threats, but robbed at the cross. Like a toothless lion can roar and fool those who don’t know it is toothless.

We’re called to break their power itself and release the captivity of men. When we thought Satan’s power had to deal with sin and since we’re free from sin we have this power, we’ve missed it. Satan can say, “Jesus we know, and Paul we know, but who are you?” There needs to be a quality of life in us that so transcends their deception and their values that when we call upon the name of the Lord, there is nothing false about us.

Even in our walking, we don’t walk like Kingdom people. We walk in casually. We address each other as friends. Everything about our Sunday services is based upon being casual and non-intimidating. It’s another business ploy to cause new comers to feel welcomed and at home. The principalities and powers yawn. You can’t break down their strongholds when you don’t even walk correctly.

How ought we to walk? You are to walk as though time and eternity hangs in the balance. You are to walk as though you actually believe that there is an end coming. You are to walk and live and move and talk and have your being in the understanding that this world is going to end, and that we only have a short time. We are 2000 years closer to the end than the original Church fathers. Yet, in comparison we live as though we have another 2000 years beyond them.

In 2 Peter 3, we’re told that everything will be destroyed by fire, even the very elements of the earth. The question is then asked, “Since everything is to be destroyed in this way, how then ought we to live?” We are to look forward to a day that has been promised of a new heaven and new earth. We are to look forward to a day where righteousness dwells. If righteousness dwells, and there is no sin, and everything is absolutely pure, then will those who delight in evil enjoy it?

Will those who are wicked enjoy heaven? Just imagine with me. If God comes down with complete and utter purity, will those who dwell in darkness rejoice? Will those who claim to be righteous, yet live according to society and the system (even if they’re Christian), will they rejoice? When truth comes, and when light is shed, and when righteousness is the only thing that can dwell, then everything else must go.

How are we supposed to live? We better be living in righteousness, godliness, purity, blamelessness, spotlessness, and at peace with God. There isn’t another alternative. We are to be utterly transformed. Either God works through us, or we’re done for. When God comes, we won’t stand a chance if we’ve been living our lives in a way that falls short of the glory.

In 2 Peter 3, the statement is made, “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and hasten its coming.” By our very character and our conduct, we can hasten the day of the Lord. God has held off, and is holding off, for us to come into a reality and a mode of life that exudes this kind of living. It is because we have not lived up to this call that the day of the Lord has not yet come. He is waiting for us to get our act together.

In ignoring the principalities and powers, we have ignored a major point in Scripture. They call us to an authentic life before God. They call us to something more radical than modern preaching (and most of the classics to be honest) have called us to. We’re required to face them. We’re required to be free indeed.

Our freedom from their deception and power is scoffed at and laughed at. Even most Christian people will scoff and laugh if you bring up the thought of not going to malls because of modern day marketing. Forget about how people dress. My eyes get overwhelmed when I’m in the city. There is a bombardment of advertising all competing for our attention. I don’t want an orgy of the senses. You don’t even need to buy anything. To simply behold the advertising and the merchandise is enough to cause anyone to undergo a psychic phenomenon.

This is how we’re called to live. Paul went into the marketplaces to debate those who were devout. What are the devout doing in the marketplaces? The marketplace is a pinnacle of the flesh. It is everything society puffs up and parades. What are the devout doing there?

Unless we can understand the spiritual implication of these things, we will always be searching for love and joy in idols. Sports, shopping, and the news are the three places where I find myself battling against many believers. Too many people are sold on these things. We have given ourselves over to the idol of sports and its multibillion-dollar industry. We have given ourselves over. They didn’t take us over. They didn’t deceive us. They didn’t force us to watch. Yet we have handed our lives over.

In doing so, we have created non-truth, unreality, and a cloud of deception in our hearts and lives. The proof is in the youth. The evidence is that youth groups are full of idiots with microphones who amp up the excitement and then never deliver a message beyond salvation. They’re nothing more than court jesters. So many of our youth go through the youth group and have a fun time with the games, then end up as godless as the rest of the world. How many times do you need to see the pastor’s kid being the demon of the school? They do worse than any of the other kids.

We have not confronted the principalities and the powers in real and tangible ways, through our lives and characters and conducts, and the result is that our children don’t believe our testimony. If we were authentic, they would see it and live it with us. Teens don’t need much. They just need to be shown reality. If you won’t show them, then the television will. Our failure is only shown greatest when we look at our children.

Revolutionary Christmas pt 5

Okay, so last time we looked at light and dark a little bit. We examined that the kingdom of God is the kingdom of light, and that the kingdom of darkness is the kingdom of Satan. I didn’t get to express everything I wanted simply because I didn’t want to write something too lengthy. I said we would pick up in Ephesians 1.

Lets first glance at Luke 1:31-33:

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

This is the Christmas story, right? Well, at least it’s part of it. The idea of Christmas is that a kingdom has invaded Earth from Heaven. This heavenly kingdom is ruled by one known as Jesus - the Christ/Messiah. Jesus did not gain the rule of this kingdom by merit or by His deserving. He inherited the kingdom through suffering. He was fully obedient to His Father, even unto death. In that suffering to obedience, He was raised by the glory of the Father - this is known as the resurrection. 

If by means of the resurrection Christ inherited the kingdom of God to rule over even the angels and spiritual beings, then we too must enter this kingdom through death and resurrection. We too must come down before we rise up. In our rising by that same glory that raised Christ, we too are brought above even the angels that one day we will judge them.

This Kingdom of Light (Kingdom of God) is open to all who will willingly forfeit everything - for anyone who loses his life for Jesus’ sake will find it. And this is where we find ourselves in Ephesians. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Here we have the connection back to the beginning of the world, and the redemption being brought forth from that beginning. Now I can follow pretty well that we have been forgiven by the blood of Christ, but when we hit verse 8 and read, “With all wisdom and understanding,” or in the King James version it uses the word prudence for understanding, I start to get a little lost. What does it mean that God lavished His grace upon us in wisdom and understanding? 

The idea behind the understanding is a judicious one. It is portraying a sense of reality and sanity. God sees as things really are, and is therefore just. Through His seeing (reality) He is able to decree one way or the other whether we are forgiven or condemned. Wisdom is described in Proverbs 8 in a way that makes me assume that it is the Holy Spirit. So God lavished His grace upon us by the Spirit and through reality. 

The mystery of His will in Ephesians 1:9 was described in the last blog posting. It is the cosmic setting of darkness being judged  once and for all. This isn’t a question of who should I marry, and what college should I go to, and where should I live… This will of God is that we are wrapped up in the story told from the beginning unto the very end. We are now children of the light, and we are in the story of God to push back the darkness and bring down the stronghold of Satan. 

The mystery of His will is directly related to the redemption of all things, which is the cosmic restoration, which is “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess,” which is beyond Eden and into the “New Heaven and New Earth.” Wisdom is the basis by which we understand these things, which is to say: unless by the Spirit, then not at all. Prudence is a statement of ultimate reality, which is ultimate sanity. Until we are apprehended by these things (instead of intellectually apprehending them), we do not possess the prudence (therefore authenticity and true sanity) to see and display to the cosmos His will - the redemption stated in verse 7.

In this we have so much to digest. This would require that we are somehow connected to the world around us. We were created physical, but also spiritual. We have connection with the spiritual atmosphere around us, but at the same time we have just as deep of a connection to the natural world around us. You cannot be a spiritual man without the physical. The one only goes as deep as the other. Our redemption and righteousness that we can attain to (the blamelessness and holiness mentioned in verse 4) actually transmits something in the airwaves to the rest of creation. We are the fragrance of Christ, and by our being in Him, we bring salvation and redemption to the world around us.

Think about this. Our witnessing is nothing until we have been brought into the realm where we can fight off the darkness and the rulers of that darkness by our very character and conduct. Our spiritual warfare isn’t prayer; it is a mode of living. Our lifestyles need to be that of which characterizes the Kingdom of God and His glory, otherwise we are only drinking of the same cup that the world drinks from. We are to be the bearers of light because of our life, not because of our words. Our prayers and our worship and other things that cause the darkness to flee can only be from the overflow of our reality and our lifestyle being in Christ Jesus. In Him we must live and move and have our being.

I read in verse 10: the dispensation of the fullness of times. The NIV words it: when the times reach their fulfillment. What does that mean? It is to bring all things in heaven and earth under Christ. Still, I want to know what that means. So I grabbed the dictionary. A dispensation is speaking of order or arrangement - especially of nature. So we’re still talking about God bringing redemption to all things - order out of chaos. Paul is making the statement that we are a part of the story of God to bring all things in heaven and earth together in one in Christ. This is the dispensation of the fulness of the times: God’s story of redemption.

We’ve reach verse 11: In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

Our inheritance is to be a part of this story. We want to think that our inheritance is Heaven. It is not Heaven. Our inheritance is that here and now we can be instruments and tools of God for the cosmic salvation. We are here on earth, but at the same time we’re there in Heaven. We bring the two together. Through the Body of Christ, heaven and earth kiss. 

This isn’t to lessen what Heaven will be after darkness has been defeated. We can’t begin to describe what that will be like. We can only know in part, and cherish that which God has chosen to reveal.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

This is the final bit I want to tackle today. it is by and through the Holy Spirit that we attain this inheritance. The Holy Spirit is then called “the assurance of our inheritance” in verse 14. The assurance that we have attained to such a place in God is the seal of the Holy Spirit. We cannot begin to conceive these things and walk out this reality without it. There is an absolute demand in forsaking all trust in the flesh and cleaving to the power of the Spirit. Nothing less can save us; nothing less can preserve us. Paul ends this statement with a reference back to verse 7 about the purchase of Christ’s blood. We’re still walking this out and waring against the powers of darkness at every step. Don’t forget that He who began a good work in you will finish it.

Next time we’ll try to get into our warfare against Satan himself. Maybe we’ll look at Ephesians 3 or 6 (or both?). I want to be able to get to making a statement about where we’re heading in the future, and the Kingdom of God being established here on Earth for 1000 years, and then hopefully discoursing Heaven itself.

Grace and Peace

Revolutionary Christmas pt 4

We have talked about so much concerning the Christmas story. There is a lot of history involved. Jesus comes in the midst of history, not outside it. He speaks words that are relevant to that generation, just as they are relevant to this generation. 

So, lets go ahead and start talking about the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. As far as I can see, it starts in Genesis chapter 1…

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

In these 5 verses we have tons of information packed away. What I want to focus on is the idea of God creating out of darkness and chaos. Without getting into the debate of whether there was really darkness and sin before the creation, lets just look at the symbolism itself. I think we all understand darkness. I think we all understand “formless and empty.” This is the state of being that we suffer before God comes into our lives.

From the beginning of the creation God works as a community (creator, spirit, word) to bring forth order and light. Right in the beginning of the Bible God seems to display that He judged darkness. When chaos and darkness was at one point in time allowed the freedom to rule and reign as it desired, God limited the darkness to only being allowed to flaunt itself during the night. 

God separated the light and the darkness so that it was clear what was right and wrong. It is obvious: light and dark; black and white. There isn’t a gray area with God. There is the way of God: light. There is the way that is separate from God: dark.

Now God limited the darkness to the night. We see later in verse 14 that God also created the sun, moon, and stars of heaven to shine light in the darkness. Darkness is now not only limited, but contained. There are watchmen over it. The sun, moon, and stars are to shine in the darkness and keep the darkness detained. It is not allowed to seep into the creation beyond a certain point. 

Maybe this is why Isaiah writes about the sun and moon being confounded and ashamed (Isaiah 24:23). At the end of the world, they feel at fault for letting darkness come into the creation. Of course this is personification. Yet, God says the ground cried out to Him when the blood of Abel touched it. It is poetic and metaphoric, yet still speaking of something real and tangible. The moon and the sun were supposed to be guardians. They were supposed to keep the darkness from coming into the creation. But the beast and false prophet arise. When we read Revelation, it almost seems like the very elements being used to create the idols and false gods protest and cry out against being abused by the beast. I can’t help but read about volcanoes and earthquakes and great winds (whether tornadoes or hurricanes). The earth itself cries out in protest to such ungodliness as the antichrist produces.

This is the battle between light and dark. Either we are light and not dark, or we aren’t light at all. There cannot be a mixture. Any amount of darkness proves the failure of light. Light is cast into the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. We’re talking about character and blamelessness. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. A little darkness proves the absence of light. Darkness is stagnant; light is moving. Light pierces the darkness. If there is light then darkness cannot remain. 

This is also why Jesus talks to Nicodemus about light and dark. The condemnation of the world is that they rejected the light and clung to darkness. It sounds like Hell is something that is experienced now. Yet it is also experienced later. It is both now and later. 

When God finished His 7 days of creation He proclaimed that everything is good. Darkness has been judged. Though it is still around, it is contained. This is why Adam’s sin is so catastrophic. It was cosmic. It isn’t that Adam’s sin brought depravity to mankind; Adam’s sin brought darkness into the creation. He mingled the darkness with the light. He gave way to the darkness to overcome the light.

By one man sin has entered the world. We would be foolish to think that sin is only a right and wrong list. Sin is a condition that binds us to death and deceives us into believing that Hell is the only way. It is blinding. Even in the natural, if you stare into complete darkness long enough you will become blind. Sin is that condition that cannot be overcome without the blood of Christ. We cannot truly be free without the blood of God’s only begotten Son. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed - or He hasn’t set us free. 

If we skip ahead to Revelation, we find that the last two chapters are about the new heaven and new earth. Most of us would call this heaven. God emphasizes that there is no darkness and no night. Darkness had been judged in the beginning and confined to being ruled over by the sun, moon, and stars, but at the end of it all darkness is judged entirely. There is no more darkness. God abolishes it. 

What we experience here in this point of time is between Adam’s sin and darkness being condemned. Why is there violence in the world if Jesus came to bring peace? There is violence because there is still darkness. We are to be children of the light; light bearers. We are to shine in the darkness. This means combat with Satan and his kingdom of darkness.

Lets talk more about that next time. We’ll get into Ephesians and talk about the story of redemption and how it pertains to you and me from Ephesians 1, and then maybe we can try and tackle a little bit more from this spiritual battle that we face.

Revolutionary Christmas pt 3

Last week we looked at the rule of Caesar Augustus. Jesus comes in the midst of it with a different kind of government. When Augustus ruled with brute force and devastation, Jesus rules with peace and love. It is Jesus Himself who said that He came not to bring peace, but a sword. He is also the one who said, “He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” 

The Kingdom of God is completely different and polar opposite of the Kingdom of darkness (which rules the kingdoms of the world). Lets look now at Jesus and the Herods:

Jesus also was born in the reign of King Herod. If you are Caesar Augustus, and you rule an empire that spans from England to India, how do you rule an area thousands of miles away if it takes you a year just to get there? If you are Caesar Augustus, you put in place different kings and nobles who are under you, but over the people of that area.

 In the area of Israel, they found a young warrior who was half Jewish and half Edomite (which, if you know your Bible, you know has a whole lot of other complications in it). He besieged Jerusalem with 11 battalions of infantry and 6000 cavalry. Masses were butchered in the alleys. Herod’s army (all Jews) was intent on letting no one survive. He claimed that he took power by the will of God, but left out the detail that he massacred countless Jews.

Herod had to ultimately pay alms to Caesar, so he built altars and statues everywhere he went. This half Jewish king was putting up statues and altars to a man in a land that the people believed God to say, “Make no graven image,” and, “Worship no other gods beside me.” Right away, you can see he wasn’t well liked.

There is a legend that says that King David, while fleeing from Saul, hid out in the rock outcropping called Masada. So Herod said, “If your greatest king hid out on Masada, then I will live in luxury on Masada.” He built a 3-story palace. He had marble custom cut and designed for it. He had hot and cold baths, as well as hot tubs on Masada. He had Italian marble imported from Rome for columns. On the roof, where it hadn’t rained in 700 years, he had a pool put on. In order to get the water, Herod rebuilt the desert so that water would channel from Jerusalem (17 miles away) through the mountains and to his palace. In one rainfall, he could collect enough rainwater for 10,000 people for 10 years.

He discovered a way to preserve fruit. In the mid-60’s, a group of archeologists discovered a storage room for Herod’s dates and figs, and they undid the jars and ate them. He knew how to preserve fruits for 2000 years.

Herod wanted to build a Greek-styled city on the coast. The problem was, where he wanted to build it, the soil was very swampy and couldn’t be built upon. It is possible this is what Jesus was referencing when He said, “If you don’t follow my teachings, it’s like a man who builds his house on the sand.” Herod rebuilt the coastline. By draining the coastlines and draining the marshes, he was able to reinforce it with cement, and then build the city known as Caesarea. The largest harbor in the world was 60 acres in Athens. So, Herod built his 520 acres. He built an underground sewage system that would drain with the tides. He also built an aqueduct in the mountains for freshwater. It was 19 miles long. For every meter, it would fall a centimeter. To this day (2000 years later) it is less than a centimeter off.

Herod wanted to build a stadium. It was claimed to be more massive than people could imagine. We’ve discovered one, and it wasn’t that large, but then there was another stadium dug up. After discovering 350,000 seats, they are still digging. It’s guessed that there are over 500,000 seats.

There is a legend that says that while Herod was sailing back to Caesarea, he saw the city and was displeased that it wasn’t beautiful enough. So they covered the whole thing in marble. To this day, if you go to the area that Caesarea used to be, you can find pieces of marble in the sand and on the tide.

He had 11 wives and 43 children. He was suspicious of one of his wives, and had her executed. He had a suspicion against one of his sons. The son was drowned in the family pool. Two other sons were brought before him because they were “conniving against him.” After interviewing them, he had them killed. You can actually read the interrogation. It is one of the most heart-wrenching scenes ever recorded.

King Herod had a dispute with the most influential Jews of his time, and so he had them all executed. He, at another time, took the most noble and wisest of the sages of his time, and locked them into a stadium in Jericho, and then said, “When I die, I want you to kill everyone in this stadium. That way there will be a guarantee of weeping and mourning at my death.”

Some historians estimate that he was the richest person who has ever lived. Not just of his time: ever in history. It has been estimated that he had 500,000 people under his payroll. Only he, King Herod, was paying them. This wasn’t a company or anything that spanned nationwide or internationally. King Herod himself had 500,000 employees working for him.

Herod added to the Temple to win some points with the Jews, who pretty much hated him. He had what are called Herodian stones cut out, and then brought them into Jerusalem, and he rebuilt the foundation of the Temple with these stones. The stones are 10 feet by 10 feet by 80 feet. Modern machinery can’t move one of them. They go down into the ground 3 stories. Modern machinery can’t move one of them. He had thousands brought in. Herod was way ahead of the curve.

King Herod built another palace on top of a mountain between Jerusalem and his home country Edom. He drew a line on a map and said, “That’s where I’ll build my palace.” There was only one problem: there wasn’t a mountain where he wanted his palace on a mountain. So, he had a mountain built and put a palace on top of it. You know… like most people do. His palace was called the Herodian. The Herodian had a pool that was 9 feet deep and a gazebo in the middle that you could only get to by boat. Everything Herod did was huge.

By the way, Jesus is on the Mount of Olives teaching in Jerusalem. He is teaching a bunch of high school kids that if you look out and see this mountain with a palace on it, and you look slightly past it, you could see the Dead Sea. And if you have faith, you can speak to that mountain, “Be cast into the Sea,” it will be done for you. Basically, “The stuff Herod is doing… if you have faith… you can do bigger than that…”

He built an aqueduct in Laodecia. He funded the Olympics. He had built fountains and temples and monuments and all sorts of architecture in cities that weren’t in Israel. Stick with me, because this gets really interesting really fast.

In Jerusalem there was no farmland. It was a city. Herod lived in Jerusalem in a palace surrounded by people who he had hired that also lived in Jerusalem. The poor didn’t live in the city Jerusalem. Jerusalem was home of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Herod had control of the major religious establishment. He ruled the government system, the religious system, and the economic system.

One question would be, if there weren’t any farmland in Jerusalem, then where did they get their food? It is believed that in the time of Jesus, 80 or 90 percent of the people of Israel were (or were at some point) some sort of farmer/fisherman/agricultural worker. Many of Jesus’ parables deal with agriculture, because most of the people of His time would have understood this easiest.

Herod took 25 to 30 percent of all the grain, and he took 50 percent of all the fish. So if you were a peasant fisherman, and you’ve been out all night fishing, your nets are full. You come into the dock on the Sea of Galilee. Waiting for you on the dock was a telones. The word telones is the Greek word that has been translated into English as tax collector. The tax collector takes 50 percent for Herod. That’s the law. But then, he is allowed to take as much as he wants for himself. That is the benefit of working for Herod. You don’t like it? You get killed.

A list of some of the taxes would be that you had a Roman tribute tax, a tax because Caesar is god, taxes to Herod, transit trade tax, market exchanges, Temple tax, and then there were taxes on special offerings that you were demanded to perform at various times of the year. People are losing their family lands and are in debt. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”

A Roman delegate went to Caesar because Herod had so overtaxed his people that they were in helpless poverty. What is Herod doing with this money? He is building hot tubs on Masada. He is building 500,000 person stadiums. And he is building statues and altars to Caesar. But you, as the common person of Herod’s time, are starving.

This is the reign of Herod: 10 percent have all the wealth and all the power, and the masses are reduced to unbearable poverty. Notice Matthew 2: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who is born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’ When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”

Why is all Jerusalem disturbed with Herod? The richest of the rich live in Jerusalem. If there is a King of the Jews born, then that means Herod isn’t the king. And if Herod isn’t the king, then this new ruler might have it out for the people of Jerusalem. If you are Herod, what do you think your first reaction to this question would be? “…Who is this next person I’m going to kill?”

The birth of this baby means that an entire system is now going down. Just from Christ’s birth, our Christmas story, there are huge governmental, religious, and economical implications. Herod and his oppressive rule are going down. And those who are in Jerusalem are going with him. This is the way that the Bible introduces this pebble that shatters the feet of Daniel’s statue.

Christmas and the Kingdom

Remember Luke pulls from Caesar being Emperor. And then Matthew pulls from Herod being king of the Jews. In both cases, the question is “Who is the king? Who is Lord? Who do you follow?” The Magi came from the east and saw a star, and then Caesar claimed this star to be the proof of his lordship.

Maybe another way to put it is this: Who is your Lord? Caesar or Christ? Power or peace? Who is your King? Herod or Jesus? Is power your king? Is authority your king? Is wealth your king? Who is the king? Who is Lord? Government? Statues? Stature? Hot tubs? Palaces? Who is the king? Who is Lord?

Now we have the Kingdom presented in such a way that we can understand it. You have polar opposites. Is your kingdom about the things of this world? Or is it about this Jesus and the way that He taught us to live? What does this have to say about religion? What about politics? What about obeying authority?

Has Caesar been a good ruler? Has he brought you peace? Has Herod been all that you have hoped he would be? Have the rulers and the governments over you really brought you the peace that you were hoping for? Have they really supplied for your needs? Or are your needs deeper than stuff? Are your needs and your deepest longings for something bigger and greater than that which has been given you? Choose ye this day: Caesar or Christ? Herod or Jesus?

Have food stamps saved anyone? Has anyone been better off in life because they have health insurance? Does life get easier when we have these conveniences? Our tax money goes to pay for things like health insurance, food stamps, social security, Medicare, upkeep of unused buildings (that could be used to shelter the homeless if our Government really did care about us), great scientific studies like whether sick shrimp perform as well on a treadmill as healthy shrimp, army expenses, paying off the interest on our nation’s debt, veteran’s benefits, and government jobs such as postal workers or police officers. But I have to ask the question: as necessary as some of these things are, is it really benefiting the common person? Who is Lord? Does our Government satisfy our deepest needs, or do they only provide (sometimes) for our external luxuries?

It is striking to me that when you start talking in these terms, some people just don’t follow you. You start to realize the question to ask isn’t about needs anymore. If the answer to these questions about whether the system of the world has worked for you is yes, then most likely you are one of the people living in Jerusalem. If you can continue to go to church and not have some sort of longing in your heart for something bigger and more authentic, then you are probably in Jerusalem. If you don’t feel the need to release the poor from their oppression, then you are in Jerusalem with King Herod. This Kingdom has never been, nor will ever be, intended for you. This is why Jesus said, “It is very difficult for the rich to make it into the Kingdom of God.”

There are some who are in the system and they love every minute of it. There are others who are in the system and they know something is wrong. You have examples in the Bible of such: Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Obviously, not all of the tax collectors were hell-bent on wickedness. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and there is good evidence that more Pharisees followed Jesus secretly.

I know that these aren’t necessarily ending with a conclusion. This is a continuous study, and so I don’t want to end with a conclusion. You can tie these studies back to back to find a full story.

Next time, lets talk about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. =)

Revolutionary Christmas pt 2

Last time we looked at the book of Daniel (specifically chapter 2) to set the stage of the Christmas story. This story comes at a time where the world was under severe oppression. A child was born of the Jews - the savior of the world. His birth is revolutionary because of the nature of that birth. His Kingdom (the pebble that turns into a mountain) is different than all other kingdoms. It isn’t made of human hands. It has a completely different nature and character. 

The Roman Empire came to be by brute force. Some stories are as follows: Germanicus slaughtered the population across the Rhine (Belgium, Netherlands, and Northern Germany). For 50 miles he wasted the countryside. Neither age nor sex inspired pity. Only the destruction of the race would end the war. Pompeii conquered the east. On an inscription in the Temple of Minerva (Roman god), Pompeii boasts about taking 12 million subjects at surrender in 1,500 towns.

Roman soldiers would enjoy some entertainment by nailing their prisoners in different postures to a cross. There didn’t need to be a reason, other than Rome took over your country/people, and now you’re subject to Rome. It’s even said that there were (in some cities) so many crucified that there could not be found enough space for the crosses, nor crosses for the bodies. One historian recorded that when he looks out on a conquered city, he must think that they do this for the simple sake of terror.

In a city named Magdala, Cassius enslaved 30,000 people. By the way, Magdala was the city that Mary Magdalene came from (hence the “last name”). In the year 4 A.D., there was a revolt in the city Sepphoris. Sepphoris was about 3 miles away from Nazareth, and to the Jews of Nazareth was considered the city on the hill. The same general that burned Sepphoris to the ground for their revolt also totally destroyed a town called Emmaus. So, around the time that Jesus was a teenager, there was a revolt in the city on a hill, and the city was burned to the ground 3.5 miles away from him. He would have been able to see the 2,000 crucified bodies from Nazareth.

Now, Caesar Augustus was Julius’ adopted son, and he came to power around the time that Jesus was born. He brought the whole world under his power. There was no longer a consul that he would stand with. Augustus was declared by the parliament to be god in the flesh; incarnate. Temples were built, and prayers and sacrifices were offered to the god on earth Augustus.

Wherever Augustus conquered a city, there would be an alter and monument built in his honor. Those cities were called ecclesia. Ecclesia is the Greek word used in our New Testaments for Church.

A Roman poet had proclaimed in his poem that Augustus was the one who is to come, the divine being to bring salvation to humanity. Which, when John the Baptist is imprisoned, he sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come?” Interesting.

The poet Virgil said that Augustus would bring universal peace, and would lead in the blessing of a renewed humanity. In Matthew 19, Jesus says that he will return at the “renewal of all things…” Interesting.

In the history books, you can find a “strange star” that appeared in the heavens before Jesus’ birth. Augustus claimed it was his father. Witnesses came forth and proclaimed they saw the son of god ascending to the right hand of the father Zeus. So Augustus said, “If my dad is God, then I am the Son of God.” So, in 17 B.C.E., Caesar claimed he to be god, and had a 12-day celebration that he called the 12 days of advent.

The people celebrated because the hour had come that the climax of history was here. Caesar Augustus had united the whole world. No one else had done such a thing. And here, Augustus was to bring peace. Remember how he conquered the world, though. He will bring peace?

During the advent, the priests of Caesar sent incense to sprinkle upon you to find cleansing. So Caesar Augustus offered the forgiveness of your sins. He was seen as the mediator between heaven and earth. He was the high priest of the Roman people. Coins were made with Augustus and his star on them, and an inscription that said, “Augustus, the son of God.” Money was a fast way to get propaganda out to the world. Everyone uses currency, so to make a coinage with engravings upon it would keep people up to date on news and current events. Jesus was later asked about these coins and said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.”

A popular slogan of the day was, “Salvation is to be found in none except Augustus.” In fact, when they would go to take over cities, if the city would say, “Caesar is Lord,” then they would turn your city into an epicenter of Caesar worship. If you didn’t pronounce Caesar to be Lord, then they would kill you. 30,000 people could be slaughtered at a time. Paul, when writing to the Romans, declared, “Anyone who confesses with their mouth Jesus is Lord, and believes in their heart that He has been raised from the dead shall be saved.”

For such a large army, you need to be able to pay that army. Taxes in the time of Jesus were somewhere around 80 or 90 percent of the Jew’s wages. After you add Temple tax and Herod’s tax and Caesar’s tax and the tax collector’s share, you were left with somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of your money…

This brings about an interesting struggle. For the Jews, when you came into the Promised Land, your family was given a piece of land. Now the land is in your possession, and it is your responsibility to not lose the family land. It was God’s land, and He has given it to you. You are getting taxed more and more and more so that Augustus can rule more of the world. What eventually happens is that you get to the point where you can’t afford to keep your family land.

Imagine the guilt. Generation after generation has kept this land and farmed it. For centuries, your family has owned this land. Now it comes into your hands, and you are forced to sell it. If you can’t tend the family land, then you have to find some other skill and go wherever you can find money. You have to feed your family somehow.

Jesus’ father Joseph is a carpenter. In the Jesus story, Mary and Joseph need to go from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be counted in the census. Why is Joseph not living on his family land in Bethlehem? The whole Gospel story starts out of rough financial times because Caesar has brought “peace.” Caesar is going to make everything great. Because he is now in power, he will rule the world and bring it into a universal age of salvation and peace… Has Caesar’s rule brought salvation and peace to Joseph? No.

The story starts in Caesar’s Empire, and it is a political push against the powers of darkness that promote the men of this world and promise things that evil and darkness cannot give. The Gospel is a Gospel of light and freedom. Everything about the first century Church was designed to be a push against the system of the world and to display the true freedom from oppression.

Caesar or Christ?

In Romans 10, there is a fascinating verse that says, “Anyone who will confess with their mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead, then you shall be saved.” What is so interesting about this verse is that it is completely a ploy against Caesar. Who is Lord? Caesar or Christ? Who brings peace? Caesar or Christ? When the soldiers come and you need to worship Caesar, who do you really think is Lord? Caesar or Christ?

Caesar used to take bread and give it away in public as a symbol of his provision. This tradition was called “breaking bread.” So the first group of Christians would gather together and call it breaking bread. The disciples would essentially gather together and go around the room and ask the question of if anyone was lacking. No one considered their things to be theirs, but shared all their possessions with one another. If someone needed shoes, then they were given shoes. If someone needed a coat, then they were given a coat. If someone was in need of food, then they were given food. Everyone shared all things. Then, after everyone’s needs were taken care of, they would have a meal together. The question was then asked, “Who is really the provider? Jesus or Augustus? Who is really the Prince of Peace? Jesus or Augustus? Who is really Lord? Jesus or Augustus?”

The pivotal point of the Gospel in the first century was not man’s sin and our redemption through Jesus Christ. The main focal point of the Gospel was Caesar. He has claimed to be all these things, and has promised all of these things… but where is the evidence? Who is really bringing peace? Who is really Lord? This was the Gospel.

The good news is that there is a kingdom that has been established on the earth. This kingdom isn’t ruled by the unjust gods of this world. It isn’t established in bloodshed. This kingdom has been established in nonviolence. One of the famous words of Jesus to Peter was, “He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” Caesar certainly knew the sword and was not afraid to use it.

You have these two kingdoms established in the earth: the Kingdom of God, and the kingdom of darkness. We can still see these two kingdoms at work today. The first is based upon peace and justice and hope and freedom and love. The second is based upon violence, greed, slander, manipulation, torment, and slavery. Who is Lord? 

Revolutionary Christmas

In this season of Christmas I want to go through some of the Christmas story. 

The first thing I would like to cover is from the book of Daniel. In chapter two, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. Daniel tells the king of his dream and interprets it. The dream is of a statue that is quite majestic. The head is made of gold; the arms and chest are made of silver; the abdomen and hips are made of brass; and the legs and feet are made of iron. The feet are made of a mixture of iron and clay. 

A rock cut out from a mountain “without human hands” is then thrown at the statue. An emphasis is made that the rock is small (like a pebble). The rock hits the statue at its feet and the whole thing crumbles.

The interpretation of the dream is given. These different elements that make up the statue are different kingdoms. Babylon will be taken over by the less glorious Medo-Persia, which will be taken over by the less glorious Greece, which will be taken over by the less glorious Rome. The feet being of iron and clay is a puzzle. There is a truth in saying that the feet are the Roman Empire instead of the Roman Kingdom.

The Roman Kingdom was ruled by the consul. The Roman Empire was ruled by the Caesar. When the Caesars took over (starting with Augustus), the Roman Kingdom was divided. The Caesars conquered power by manipulation and fear. They ruled by oppression. In the time of Jesus, most of the Jews were being taxed about 80-90% of their income. 

The stone cut out of the mountain is a reference to Jesus. He is the stone that smashed into the feet and established the Kingdom of God. Yet, this isn’t a complete fulfillment either. There is a second coming in which Christ will truly establish His Kingdom by breaking down all of the other kingdoms of the world.

What the dream in Daniel chapter two does is set the stage for us to view the time in which Jesus lived and get a perception of what the Kingdom of God actually looks like. The Christmas story is about this child that was born to free the captives and bring peace to the world. Lets not forget that Jesus has a second coming in which this will be ultimately fulfilled as we continue to pursue the meaning of Christmas.

In the History Books

            In the history books, our best guess as to the oldest civilization is inMesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is in this ancient civilization that our story starts. Archeology has uncovered a lot of traits of these first primitives that seem to correspond quite well with our race today.These people had many different beliefs. Most of these beliefs came from the scientific community. They saw that the crop grew according to certain forces that they couldn’t control. A year with little rain meant people went starving.If the sun decided to stay in the sky for too long, then the crop was scorched,and both animals and people were affected.

            It was in these outside forces that were beyond human control that the idea of god or gods developed. The ancient civilization of Mesopotamia had a God of the gods named Anu. From the very first through all the other civilizations, there is a God of the gods…

            What happens most often is that the people depend on these gods to provide for them.If the god of bread doesn’t cause the yeast to rise, then he is angry at you.And if the hunting god doesn’t allow you to return from the hunt with a kill,it is the fault of the whole city. If the sun god scorches the crop, and causes a famine, then someone, or something, somewhere has upset the gods. It all leads back to being in right relationship with the gods.

            Now,if you do the right thing, and everything goes your way, you offer a sacrifice to the gods to show that you are grateful. If the gods are happy with your offering, then they will continue to bless you. If they are not, then they will stop blessing you. So if you offer a tenth of your first fruits, and then the gods bless you, what do you offer next year? You can’t offer the same amount as last year, because now you’ve made more. You would insult the gods.

            If you didn’t get the gods blessing, then what do you do? You have to offer more,because the gods are angry. Whether you are blessed or cursed, you must always offer more, because the gods are always demanding to be appeased to greater degrees. This might be how we end up with gods like Baal who would require the priests to slash themselves with swords so that the blood runs, and offer up the firstborn male child. It might be how we get Asherah, who demands that when you worship her, everyone strips and has sex with everyone else who is around.Whether male or female, you grab the closest person and you “worship.”

            The book of Genesis was written, most likely, around 1400 B.C.E. This writing was revolutionary. It tells of a God who is one. This is the God of gods, and He created the heavens and the earth. But He didn’t stop there. He created male and female in His image. And He gave them the command to rule over the earth and to tend to it. Genesis speaks about this God who doesn’t require man to appease Him. He simply requires that man would be one with Him, as He is one yet many (creator, spirit, word).

             When you read the Bible, it continually goes back to this idea of being one. It continually points to God and says, “Be one as I am one.” This is the birth of community. Even the book of Leviticus, with its 613 laws, is a revolutionary presentation of freedom from what tradition and culture had taught.

            So,when you get to Christianity… It isn’t so much about attending a congregation or serving or doing. It is about being. It is about displaying freedom for freedom’s sake. You no longer have to live like this. You no longer have to serve the gods of this world who demand more and more from you. The pastor whois running around frantic, you can be free. The man who works 2 jobs because he can’t afford the mortgage can be free from both debt, and from the obsession of keeping up with the Joneses. The high school boy who gets picked on and tormented can be free from the hatred in his heart for himself and all the others around him. The girl who cuts herself to make sure she can still feel can find freedom from the numbness and unreality of this life.

            God’s primary message of the Bible is “You don’t have to live like this. The gods are not angry, and you are welcome to be my people.”