Swords of The Christian Culture

Question:
Boy the economy is tanking. I wonder if this will lead to the one world currency? Bound to happen sooner or later.

Answer:
Our money is already controlled anyway. The Central Bank is basically a glorified mafia system.

That begs the question. Do you work with mafia types anyway?

Of course. Daniel had to work with the Mafia Types.

The rub comes when they try to push God’s system out of you.

Dan 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the Law of his God.

The pivotal point in any Christian’s life is when they try to push the Law, or the Modus Operendie out of your life. God promises to come to your aid when this occurs.

The Christian has two swords:

• The Spiritual
• And the Temporal

The two are interrelated in that they both have the Law of God as the pivot point for their function.

(As a side note: the two and three structure is typical of the Two or Three witnesses the the Bible talks about. There are Two witnesses, but with in the two is a third called the Law of God)

The Spiritual Sword is Preaching.

As Paul says in Corinthians,” The Foolishness of Preaching is the Power of God.”

God is pleased to Change the world through preaching.

That is why the 10th commandment, which Paul comments on in Romans 7, is so critical.

• Out of the Heart comes performance.

More in terms that you and I could understand readily:

A team full of mediocre players that has a great Team Attitude will wallop a team of professionals that are not in harmony together. Teams only work if harmony or unity is present.

• God is pleased to work with the heart.
• Then out of the heart comes performance.

As individuals network together, they form teams, or a unity. This unity then rises up in the face of Tyranny and forces Kings to Bend the Knee.

But that leads into the next sword: the Temporal.

Our Temporal swords are not fleshly swords.

They are the Isaiah swords beaten into plowshares. They are a well equipped, well tooled, people that manhandle those tools into productivity.

Those Oxen under the Brazen Sea are given strength, and they pull in all four directions tilling the earth as they go, preparing a field of productivity.

More specifically, the Homeschool movement is more than just people educating their kids at home. It is parents tooling their kids up to be the best productive units in society.

Wickedness cannot compete with righteousness when it comes to working. Examples of this in History are when the French government expelled the Huguenots out. The Huguenots were the MOST product MIDDLE class that France had. When they were expelled, the economy fell to the ground.

Governments all over Europe, Austria for example, IMPORTED Christians because they knew they were the most productive, and stable people in the World. The Christians helped stabilize their economy and build it up.

Many people give Constantine a hard wrap, but Constantine was educated well by his father Constantious. Constantious told Constantine that if he would STOP persecuting Christians, if he would give them protection that they would make Constantine’s Kingdom prosper.

Constantious was right. Economic prosperity and civil stability came to the Roman Empire.

• And another, this time with the combined effect of both swords:

The puritan reformation in England changed the globe. The puritans became wealthy merchants (temporal swords) and forced a King to bow the knee to God.

The king wanted money.

The Puritans said, like Jacob of Old to Esau, you can have money on these conditions.

This enraged the king, and he forced a civil war. Of course he lost, and he lost his head in the process.

• The point being, that the Spiritual Sword of Preaching had taken root in the Puritans. They had changed hearts.
• They loved God deeply and sought to root deeply in the Earth Christ’s Kingdom Temporally speaking.
• They built businesses, schools, inventors (Isaac Newton of Calculus fame was backed and put into position by Puritans), supported righteous government, they built whole new countries in America, in short, they founded a new culture.

• The propelling influence that forced the Kings hand the most, was the Temporal sword, the economic prosperity of the Puritans.

If I were to say any words of comfort to you, it would be this:

God’s word does not return void. A true Christian wrestles with the will of the Lord in the Earth and seeks to implement righteousness DESPITE the curses about him.

That is the point of the whirling sea:

“Carest thou not that we parish, How can’st thou lie asleep?!”

The whirling unrest of the Cursed World about us overwhelms us.

We look at the Giants and say “No way! We are grasshoppers in their sight!”

A remnant says like Caleb of old “How can you think so wickedly. God will pave the way for us. They are bread for us! Be faithful, take the land!”

• That is right, they are bread for us.

Even if their currency is One World. The problem is not them.

• The problem is us.

The problem in Israel’s time was not the Giants, or the high walls. The problem was them. They would not believe God. They would not believe God and trust God enough to put His law in place.

Today the Church is in the same boat.

We do not believe God.

We prefer a theology of ease.

Christ will deliver us from this problem, just be patient.

Satan is so good at deception.

A fine line of “God will deliver us” is targeted at “No work for us to do.”

• There is much work for us to do.

We have been redeemed so that we can work. Christ empowers us so that we can work. The wonder of it all is that God is pleased to use a Humble Church to blast down a massive giant.

The prophecy of Daniel comes alive when we see that Christ smashed the humanist man when he ushered in the New Covenant. The Humanist Idolatrous man is being made into powder.

His thought battle is losing, even as we speak.

• The mountain, the Kingdom of God, is growing in the earth, and will fill the whole earth.

To those in Christ’s Church:

• Remain faithful.
• Dig back into His Law.
• Read Dueteronomy 28.
• Take the Law of God and Bind it about your whole ethic, as in Duet 6.
• Take a bath in God’s Law, Day and Night (Psm 1).

• Your whole being is consumed in following, implementing, building Righteousness, and wrecking Wickedness.

• The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Knowledge: Conviction of Sin

• The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom: Righteousness: The Spiritual/Temporal Civilization

• The Fear of the Lord is to Hate Evil: Judgement: The King (Satan) of this world is judged: implement Christ’s civilization in the Earth.

(Derived from Proverbs and John 16)

The two swords were given to us (the Church Corporate) to use.

• The sword being given to restrain evil and propel forward righteousness.

Psalm 149 Bind their Kings: this honor have all HIS saints! Praise ye the Lord!

Romans 13: Fear the power, for he beareth not the sword in vain. He is a Minister of Wrath to thee for Good!

insurancedirectory.org

The Pilgrims, What Exactly Were They?

The following is a commentary on the relavance of the Pilgrims and how they suffered so that we could have freedoms.

The saying of Christ comes true in the Pilgrims: "Blessed are they that are persecuted for my names sake, for theirs is the Kindgom of God."

Mayflower Compact

1620
"In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God, of England, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, e&.
Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid; And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini, 1620."

The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has been lost to American Culture today. Many speak of Turkey Day, or a nice day off, especially since it falls on a Thursday, and for most makes a long weekend. The Pilgrims would be ashamed of the Culture we have today, for they sought to lay a New Culture, a culture “for our better Ordering and Preservation.”

“For our better Ordering and Preservation” was not just a bland statement of “Lets not get off the boat until we are agreed to be governed”, but a solemn Covenant between God, the King and Man. The question should be, why make such a Covenant, why go to such extremes?

To understand the answer to this question the Historical pretext of the Pilgrims should be understood.

Ever since 1517 when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the Church door, there was a power struggle between the Papacy, the Catholic Church, and Kings of all nations.

Kings had a vested interest in keeping Papal power in place because it insured the position of the King on the throne. As I Timothy 6:10 says “The Love of money is the root of all evil.” The Kings security was at stake when the Papal system was coming apart.

As a result a fire storm or as the Bible puts it in Revelation, a Thunder Clap or Thunderstorm erupted (Revelation 11:19) These thunderings, voices and earthquakes being the world shaken at its foundations by the word of God and the wars and persecutions being raged against the separation or cleansing of Christ’s Church.

This time was called the Reformation.

During the Reformation many men were raised up by God to lead the Church. Most notably Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and others.

Because of the intense persecution from separating oneself from the Catholic Church a system of protection immerged inside of the Church. It was called Church Government.

This Church Government helped form chains of command inside the Church where people could be shuffled from one place to another, or be warned of impending doom and escape without being destroyed.

The force behind forming this Governmental System was a book, a book that sold like wildfire. In fact if one were found with this book they would be put to death.

What was this book?

The Bible?

No.

One of Martin Luther’s writings?

No.

How about John Knox?

No.

The book that shook the world and is the building stone for current governmental thought was The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin. This book had such a profound effect on the culture at large that the French people were spearheaded into economic prosperity due to the Huguenots.

Many of the Huguenots fled to America and had descendants that impacted greatly our American Culture of the 1700’s, Paul Revere being one of them.

Because of this Book, John Knox came to Geneva and learned under John Calvin. Out of John Knox came a great revival in Scotland.

England also was penetrated with the Gospel and was reformed in her thinking. Because of the Reformation, Henry VIII caused a rift in the Catholic Church by proclaiming himself the head of the New Church, the Anglican Church or the Church of England. The Puritans were glad that the persecution of the Catholic Church was gone, but now the King was himself a persecutor. The Puritans of this era sought to purify the church, and others sought to be separated.

Because of the Purifying nature and the Separating Nature of the Christian church, Kings and queens did not look at dissenters from the True Church of England lightly. Many would have their tongue awled for preaching truth. Others would have their ears cut off for hearing truth. During the Era of Bloody Mary, Mary I, she sought to restore England back to Catholicism by putting to death over 300 good Christian men and women.

To the Puritans and the Separatists, England was no place to be. England in fact in their eyes was like Egypt. Records of this Era depict those that were fleeing to America as crossing the Red Sea to the Land given to them by God.

The Pilgrims were Separatists, and viewed the World as one that should be cleaned up. They took the Bible verse John 3:16 differently than most would today:

“For God so loved the world that he sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

To them the World was not just people. The World was all that was in it, including people, animals, governments, land and so forth. A culture is what they were seeking to erect, a culture that was governed by God’s Laws. A culture that was self-governed, a concept straight out of the Law of the Lord, with Elders who represented the will of the people, and made sure that this will was in-line with God and his intended Law-Word.

The Pilgrims thus formed the Mayflower Compact or Covenant. As our little ones learn in shorter Catechism class, “A covenant is an agreement between two or more people.” Agreements, Covenants, are what makes a Culture work together and produce.

The Pilgrims understood this concept and did not want people off running around and doing their own thing. They were to be together as a people, to be sanctioned by God as a people, and to prosper as a people.

They took Deuteronomy 28 very seriously, realizing that God would bless or sanction depending on their corporate obedience. The Mayflower Compact insured that this government would be put in place.

The Pilgrims are just one little sect of Christian people that suffered greatly through their first year. What is singularly important is that they Trusted God for their Deliverance and Guidance. They had a job to do: transform the howling wilderness into a habitable civilization, and to bring the Gospel of God to all and show that it Works. It was tough on the Pilgrims to have over 50 people die before the year was out. Tough to have the ground be as rock and not produce.

The marvel of the Pilgrims is that they Represent persistence, and endurance despite all odds. People respect that in others. That is why the Pilgrims are remembered. As Christ says ”Blessed are those that are not ashamed in me.” They were indeed Thankful when the Lord bestowed his blessing upon them by sending Squanto an English speaking Indian and giving the prosperity needed to establish a community.

The Pilgrims ran into many hardships. A good place to read more about their economic impoverishment due to bad covenants between the Shipping company and themselves can be found in a book entitled “Puritan Economic Experiments” by Gary North. This is a short book that tells in details the problems the early Puritans had when facing reality: trying to build a civilization.

And a final note, it is interesting that the Compact is also a Charter document, acknowledging that the King of England owned the land that they were going to be inhabiting. The Charter issue would foment into civil war as the King later in the 1700’s tightened the noose of control as he was trying to use the colonies, as they became, as slave institutions for the fueling of the British Empire.

Again in 1776 the Christian Church by being called the “Black Regiment” spearheaded :

The “ binding of their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD. “ Psalm 149

By writing the Declaration of Independence, a document freeing themselves from the tyrannical rule of the kingdom of England.

In conclusion, do we really understand our Church History, and do we really appreciate the golden nuggets laid down by our forefathers? Do we sing “ Faith of our Fathers” on this day? Or do we relish sitting next to the fireplace eating a nice peace of pumpkin pie and saying “, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.“ Duet 8 :17


Deut 8:11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
Deu 8:12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
Deu 8:13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
Deu 8:14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Deu 8:15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
Deu 8:16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
Deu 8:17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
Deu 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
Deu 8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

Theology of Earthquakes

I was going over this with my kids the other night so it is relatively fresh in my mind….

Earthquakes when they show up in the Bible are designed principally as a judgement. Judgement being, according to the Hebrew word Mishphat, means to root and up root. To rip up one position and plant another.

When earthquakes show up in the Bible they are uprooting one position and planting another. A classic example is when the Lord sends an earthquake* during a battle and discomfits the enemy and roots the Israelites in victory.

The Mountain of Mount Sinai quaked and smoked. The assurance of other gods was being shredded to pieces and the new system of righteousness was being planted with the Laws of God.

When the earth quaked when Christ died on the Cross, and the curtain between the Holy of Holies was rent in two, God was displacing the Jewish system and replacing with the Messianic/Christolic system.

When the earth quaked and Paul and Silas were set free from prison, Christianity as a system was shaking the assurance of the whole jail. They were singing and praising God and suddenly an earthquake rent the whole jail to pieces. That day the jailer and his family were baptized and became part of the kingdom of God.

When Wycliffe was before the interrogating Catholic council and was about to be pronounced to be burnt at the stake, God sent an earthquake and shook the whole assembly. The council fled the building and John Wycliff was acquitted and set free.

Earthquakes are designed to shake the false systems of thought and idolatry, and provide a path for the righteous to walk through.

Just as the walls of Jericho fell, it has been determined by John Garstang, that the walls fell outward in an earthquake. Even close inspection of the ruins reveals that the foundations became top heavy and fell over. This phenomenon is the result of Liquifaction, a condition where the soil becomes like liquid due to severe shaking during an earthquake.

John Garstang (1876-1956, The Story of Jericho)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Garstang

Another site on Jericho:

http://www.varchive.org/ce/jericho.htm

Proof Texts:

Hag 2:6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

Hag 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.


Heb 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

In the text below from Samuel, the Lord sent them a GREAT Thunder. Thunders shake the earth much like earthquakes.

1Sa 7:10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.

You may wonder what that has to do with you and me?

The Christian should be encouraged when he ponders the God of Scripture and realize that God is by you and with you in your walk in the earth.

It may seem that the walk is perilous.

It may seem that the Giants are just too big.

It may seem that the evil in the world is just too overwhelming. But, God promises to stand by those who stand by him: I will not leave you or forsake you.

The Theology of Earthquakes should encourage us that God is shaking the nations. He is shaking their assurance system. He is shaking them to winnow out the good from the bad.

Despite ourselves, God will show his glory in the Earth, using His church as the principle agent, or means of accomplishment. Those who stand for Righteousness (An upright, holy and just civilization and desire to implement this in this earth), God will stand by them, and shake the nations into conformity.

Have a blessed day, and remember, Christ is the King of the Nations, and the desire of all nations shall come to Him.