Life Learning Series

The kingdom of man needed a way to move from the heavily judgmental state of being that is found in the Old Testament. We needed to move to a state of greater availability of grace for our errors. Yes, I know that the LORD has already provided this way, in the modern time: so, who cares about the ancient times?We all should care about the ancient times because we need to clearly understand the method that was used, and, to a lesser degree, the reason that the movement was required. We need to convince our minds that we must possess the transport of God that moves us from condemnation and continual earth-centric actions for the procurement of forgiveness. In other words, we need to move our focus away from external excuses; such as the one that existed in the time when it was up to the priests to make amends for our individual sins. The transformation in the reality and practice of righteous intervention for our soul’s sake, in our interaction with God the Father, is explained in a sermon of the apostle Paul.

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith,

Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.

He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

(Hebrews 10:1-14)The power in the transport had been revealed in the time of king Solomon, specifically. The power was not activated in the time of king Solomon, it was just revealed then. In fact, the power of the transport is as old as Creation. The writings of king Solomon were the means by which we came to the understanding of the ancient nature of the power….

– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Part Fourteen –

The spiritual life giving power of the Holy Ghost, on an individual level, was demonstrated by the change that came about in Peter when it rested upon him. For a while, Peter was heading down a dead-end road, spiritually; the Lord Jesus Christ told him so.

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (Luke 22:31-32)When the Holy Ghost flowed into Peter, with the full force of its release into the kingdom of man, on a general basis . . . Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. (Acts 2:9-13)Then, Peter was a true light for all the surrounding people….

– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Part Thirteen –

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At the end of that day in which the LORD removed the ability of mankind to totally destroy mankind, the most difficult part of the assignment for the kingdom of man was introduced to the people of the world. At that time, we were told that we had to practice, and begin to perfect, negotiation. Among the people studying the history of the kingdom of man, are some ones who know that this process actually started in one of the most brutal of the four stages of development of the kingdom of man. This process actually started in Rome. Unfortunately, it was one of those, things of the flesh, as sent forth from Rome. The current word for it is politics. Politics was applied to the people of the LORD, and it produced very poor results, from the perspective of righteousness.

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

(Daniel 9:24-27)Still, the people of God were, and are, under a mandate from the LORD; a mandate that requires us to honor God’s choice of systems for the kingdom of man. In other words, we have to respect the political organizations that have been put in place for us. This can be done in a somewhat quiet fashion by honoring the laws that are in effect where we live. Here is an example of the way we may do this….

– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Part Twelve –

The flow of the maturation of the kingdom of man started with Adam, as a unit. It took a major step forward when the nation of Israel was presented to the world. Looking at it from the perspective of the time of Moses, one might be willing to practice some wistful nostalgia about the way the world would have been if we had stopped there; but that was only stage one. There were four more stages of development that were designed into the flow of the kingdom of man, with a fifth stage that would greatly enhance the kingdoms of man beyond anyone’s expectation.The four steps of the development of the kingdom of man, beyond the pattern of Israel’s status with God, are our lesson in the methodology of God, taking us from the exit from Eden, to the doors of heaven. The prophet Daniel received the honor of delivering the LORD’S lesson.

This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.   Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee,

and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

   And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

(Daniel 2:36-45)These four kingdoms were our homework, in the assignments of preparing the kingdom of man to receive the emissary of the LORD. Through each one of these homework assignments, we were being pushed more and more to a point of acknowledging that we need one another. The apostle Paul describes the destination….

– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Part Eleven –

So that no one becomes upset with my arrogance in giving mankind a demotion; here is the chain of thought that describes the, lower than, more fully. First, we are flesh. Since we are flesh, we are not, now, pure spirit.

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

(John 3:1-7)

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– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Part Ten –

So, just why are we here? This may seem to be a pointless question, since we are here; however, there are many systems of logic that seem to indicate that we are here because we placed our self here. One of the most amusing ones (sorry about that) is the one that indicates that mankind invented God. This would seem to be a piece of obviously flawed logic, but it has some measure of truth. To be fair to those who use this line of reasoning, the actual statement should be that mankind invented religion. This is an actual fact. Mankind invented religion, then mankind invented another religion, and then mankind invented another religion; and another religion, and another religion, and so on. To say this does not equate religion with the Living God.

God did not invent a religion; God spawned Religion. The difference is that of bring something from something, as set against bringing something from nothing. God’s spawning of Religion set the pattern for many spawning of religions. God’s empowering of Religion put the impact in man’s dependence on, and need or, religion: God does not need religion. God does not need mankind’s practice of religion; or even, Religion. A young man, in the time of Job, expressed this fact quite eloquently.

Elihu spake moreover, and said,   Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s? For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee.Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand? Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.

(Job 35:1-8)…

– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Assignment –  …

When we realize that there is nothing in the kingdom of man that does not have a purpose for being there, then we being to understand the broader charter of the kingdom of man. There has been a goodly measure of lamentation about the bad things that happen in life. Some people have even decided that all the bad things must be separated from the LORD. This is neither a wise thing to do, nor is it a possible thing to do. As we read in Scripture; the LORD said, I make peace, and create evil. This does not mean that the LORD does wicked things. This means that the LORD also made those unpleasant things that exist in the kingdom of man. They were placed there to provide a counterbalancing challenge for mankind, to offset our tremendous reservoir of pride. Moses expressed it this way.

A Prayer of Moses the man of God.LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.

(Psalm 90:1-9)The Preacher, king Solomon, wrote of this counterbalance, and how we should respond to it. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.(Proverbs 24:10)The man Job lived this counterbalance, as a burned in part of his life. Still, the man Job did not faint in the day of adversity. The knowledge of this man’s victory and exaltation may have been a part of the thoughts of Solomon as he wrote his proverb about adversity. These are the words that could have been a part of Solomon’s thinking, and that fit well in his motivation: shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?…

– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Mission –

To begin our study of the empowerment of the kingdom of man, here is the definition of this piece of the kingdom of man.

And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.   They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 

(John 17:13-19)The word of God, as expressed by the prophets, is an image of the Word of God, which is the power of God. The LORD described the fact of the truth of God.

– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Empowerment – 

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   Before we can move further in our mastery of dominion–from the type of behavior that was expressed by Adam and Noah–we must have a portfolio of tools that we can use to move forward. These tools must be ones that have been provided by the LORD. In the Old Testament time, these tools are being released to the nations of the world; for later absorption by each individual of the world. As we move ahead, we will look at some of the tools that were released to the nation; some of which we will absorb into our own purpose for existence. Moses summarized the reason that the tools of the LORD were provided for the nation of Israel.

Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?   Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.(Deuteronomy 4:5-10)   The Law of God is a transferable tool, which was given to the children of Israel. However, in the time of Moses and the prophets, this tool was not pressed into the other peoples of the world. You can imagine that the LORD could have commanded everyone to follow the rule of the Law; but God did not do that. This is another part of the progressive development of the kingdom of man, as set in motion by God. The apostle Paul describes the state of the kingdom of man, in that day. This is a state that definitely had to change.

– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Part Six –

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   The first stop on our quest for understanding is to delve into corporate responsibility. Let me be candid, and admit that this may seem to be backward. As individuals, the first thing with which we feel comfortable, is concentrating on our individual portion of the kingdom of man; and, too, of the Kingdom of God, as it relates to the kingdom of man. This may be the easiest way to visualize the purpose of the kingdom of man, but it is the wrong approach. The LORD God laid out the proper approach, in the flow of the Scripture. It starts with the designation of a nation of priests. 

And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.   And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.   And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.    And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.(Exodus 19:3-8)…

– Explore the Kingdoms of Man: Part Five – 

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