Kingdom of Heaven – Part One

August 17th, 2009

A place for me, too

It may not be apparent to many of those who ponder the location in reality of the Kingdom of Heaven by looking up, as an indication of its relative location; but, “up” is relative. It is easy to evaluate the relativity of the word, up, when we think of the positioning of the human body relative to other structures. For a man standing on the ground, the eighth floor is usually perceived to be up, from where he is standing. But for the person standing on the eighth floor, the eighth floor is level with his position in reality. Furthermore, for the person standing on the ninth floor, the eighth floor is down, from his position in reality; unless his mind’s positioning of his perceived reality is, for instance, standing on the seventh floor, or below. The same thing holds true for the kingdom of heaven, except in a much more metaphysical fashion.

One of the things that one needs to do when one is perceiving of the Kingdom of Heaven, is to stop looking at the stars and the planets. The celestial bodies bear absolutely no relationship to the Kingdom of Heaven. It will be clearer when we visualize this Kingdom, if we think of the actions that are performed from there. The LORD spoke of many of these actions through the words of the prophets. One of the times that the LORD spoke directly of the nature of the actions that are performed in the Kingdom of Heaven, was when He delivered the following message to mankind.

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:6-9)In the latter day, the Prophet Jesus Christ, too, spoke of the actions that emanate from the Kingdom of Heaven. A summary of those actions is included in the last sentence of this, his clarification of reality in the Kingdom of the Father, wrapped in a message of understanding that was given to his disciples.

— There’s more for you to read —

– Click here to read it all —

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Homophobia

June 29th, 2009

PREFACEThis is not a statement about the individual consequences of living a life in a particular style. Therefore, it cannot be criticized for being directed at certain humans or groups, nor can it be used to castigate or isolate such humans or groups We have already presented the micro level consequences of such behavior, as well as exploring one of the strongest root causes for individuals entering into it. This can be found in the essay: The Reprobate Mind, Click here to read the complete chain of thought.This essay, here, is about the macro level consequences of generalized acceptance of, including legislation to support, residence in a particular style of life It also gives hints about the dangers of legislating against such a lifestyle. This lifestyle is a matter of variance from righteousness and right standing before God; as such, it is a private matter that only God can judge. It is much like the private matter of prayer, as expressed by the Lord Jesus Christ (included below, as copied from the King James Version of the Bible).

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:1-6)This essay does not include the matter of homo-fraternity. Indeed, homo-fraternity has its place in the way of the LORD, as Jesus Christ shared with his disciples. In a discussion about divorce, Jesus laid the foundation for those who are candidates for homo-fraternity. Please note that Jesus did not endorse the wholesale choice to partake of homo-fraternity; only that there would be some people who might discover that this is a more comfortable type of deeply emotional, interpersonal relationship. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. (Matthew 19:3-12)—- Read the complete discourse on homophobia, here —-

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Reprobate Mind

June 15th, 2009

Beginning Thought:

Political correctness is not one of my strong behaviors, especially not in this venue. This leads me to say things, here, that would be offensive to others if they were said openly in public. Fortunately for the public, I rarely speak to it openly. However, since you’re here; let’s talk.

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There is some noise in the world that indicates that there is some kind of change that needs to be made to the rigidity of the Gospel, and of the Law of God. These changes are somewhat offensive to me. It is not that I have a desire to restrict mankind from sinning; that is, after all, one of the features of being human).

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Closing Thought:

If these allowances by mankind continue; in time, not even our children will be safe from predators. In time, the laws will protect the rights of individual to prey upon those who are defenseless to fight back. One crack in the dam is not a thing to just be ignored. As does water, so too does the lure toward the reprobate mind; once the restraining dam of spiritual devotion is cracked, the pressure to allow more water to seep out will be satisfied, if there is no intervention to repair the crack.

It is required that you activate your dedication to personal responsibility; group psychosis is not a part of being in the righteous will of God. For sure; personal accountability is already active, and the associated consequential recompenses are fully operational, and somewhat automatic. So for those who are beset by the reprobate mind, as well as for those who are under pressure to submit to it; to help you start toward the repair of that crack, I offer the following Scripture, in the Spirit of truth.

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Click here to read the complete chain of thought

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Heaven

June 8th, 2009

HEAVEN

as an image flowing through the Bible

according to the design of the LORD God

(with a few personal comments)

A place of last resort

There wasn’t much conversation about heaven in the Old Testament. There was, of course, the understanding that man once had access to the Garden of Eden. This was a matter of the understanding of God’s perfect Creation; that at one point, mankind too was perfect. This is the initial state of all infant creatures, such as was mankind at its beginning. In the Genesis window to our history, we were given a bit of understanding about where mankind had been; but it was also understood that there would probably be no immediate returning there. God had made a certain arrangement that would prevent us from entering the Garden, even if we were ever able to find it. Don’t think of it as a penalty; instead, think of it as a prod to keep mankind moving along the circle of reality; a prod that would, one day, loop back to the perfect state.

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24)Back in the Old Testament, folks were content if they could live a comfortable life, with appropriate blessings, and then die somewhat peacefully. Even the kings had a simple end of life experience that is chronicled in the pages of the Bible. This experience touched all the kings of the Old Testament; from the most revered . . . So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. (1 Kings 2:10-11). . . to the most reviled. And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day.Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

(2 Kings 21:10-18)In time, though, the religious leaders started to develop lines of reasoning that included concentration on heaven. These lines or reasoning are not errant, it is just not clear why they make a difference in everyday life. In fact, in many cases they can be the anchor to keep us fixed on a certain spot on the circle of reality; and sometimes, even, they can cause us to backtrack in our movement toward the perfection of Creation. This was demonstrated in the Bible times, revealing the fact that for many of the religious leaders this type of concentration led to contention. The apostle Paul was involved in one such very intense discussion, which involved two factions of his day.    Click here to review the completed study of heaven (pdf format)

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Holy Matrimony

May 25th, 2009



Marriage

as set against

Holy Matrimony

as it flows through the Bible

according to the design of the LORD God

(with a few personal comments)

 

The title indicates that there can be a separation of the act of marriage from the ordinance of holy matrimony; this is correct. The act of marriage is basically a carnal thing, which is why it can be governed by the laws of the land. Therefore, this allows the state to instigate such things as recognition of same-sex marriage.

The sacrament of holy matrimony, however, is ordained according to the total weight of the Law of God.

This allowance of the control by mankind of marriage, as set against God’s sole control of holy matrimony, separates the penalty of the Law from the spirit of the Law. For instance, in the penalty of the Law there are certain acts (acts that you will read about in the body, following) are capital punishment type offenses, according to the penalty of the Law. However, in the spirit of the Law–which spirit is to bring about community order by obedience to authority–the LORD has allowed that type of judgment to rest with the state, as per the statement that was spoken by Jesus Christ.

Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money.

And they brought unto him a penny.

And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

They say unto him, Caesar’s.

Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.

(Matthew 22:15-22)However, though Caesar can now implement, and establish, the penalty of violation of the law of the land; there is still the matter of spiritual liability that accrues to those who violate the Law of God. These extracts are not for everyone. These extracts are only for those who are determined to move through life as close to the Spirit of the Law of God as they possibly can. He who hath an ear, let him hear.These are the practices that identify those who are intent on pursuing a holy matrimonial relationship, as opposed to a legal, sometimes promiscuous marriage.

Holy Matrimony (continuation)    PDF format

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LEADING, in Power

May 18th, 2009

I. Common Model: The American Dream (multi-trillion dollar GDP)

A. Methodology: Government services, funded by taxes

When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.

And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s. And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.

Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.

And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.

And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s.

(Genesis 47:18-26)

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Click link here to read the entire post:  Full text of LEADING, in Power

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FOLLOWING, In Joy

May 10th, 2009

Flowing from the present, change can be emplaced:
But to settle the past, promises must be kept.

For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.  And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 

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The Breadth of Jesus Christ

May 3rd, 2009

The Breadth of Jesus Christ

Sections

Mental fixtures required

Charter

Introduction

Assignment

Introduction of Majesty

Omnipotent?

Omniscient?

Omnipresent?

Depth and Breadth of Divinity

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TO KNOW THE LORD GOD

April 27th, 2009

TO KNOW THE LORD GOD

==============================

 

The concept of the elect

the men which thou gavest me out of the world

them also which shall believe on me through their word

John 17:1-5

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

    I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

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Didn’t Go! Summary

April 27th, 2009

Book Summary

The book of Revelation is often seen as primarily a treatise on the “time of the end” but it is much more. If viewed in its entirety and with prayerful understanding, the message of Revelation is the total picture of the salvation of man. Didn’t Go! is written to provide a progression from the creation of mankind to the end of mankind: this is what the book of Revelation discusses. It is the book that allows mankind to view itself from the “cradle to the grave”. Didn’t Go! is not just a book for mature Christians but for all religious people and for all who are serious about the discussion of the place of religion in the “kingdom of man.” It is not “heavy” theological reading, but it does require a serious attention to thought, not a cursory attachment to dogma.  Please evaluate and criticize this document as you will.

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