In Defense of
Or, if you prefer
God creates people in Families. No one is born autonomously; every human being is born into a Family of at least a mother and a father. That Home is either a Godly Home or a dysfunctional (broken) home. "Individualism" is an inadequate sociological paradigm.[1]
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1. Genesis 2:18
Man was created to exercise "dominion" over the earth.[2] This mandate is sometimes called "The Cultural Mandate," both to signify its comprehensive scope (#64) and to distinguish a Godly stewardship from an unGodly and selfish domination of the creation.[3]
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2. Genesis 1:26-28; 9:1-3,7,10; Psalm 8:5-8
3. Deuteronomy 20:19; 25:4; Proverbs 12:10
In the Bible the Godly "Family" answers to our "extended" Family.[4] While it is the basic legal unit of society,[5] the "nuclear family" is culturally sub-Biblical.
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4. Genesis 6:18; 14:14; Joshua 7:18
5. Genesis 2:24
In the Garden of Eden there was no "State," nor was there a "church." Every sociological function necessary for the smooth (shalom) and Godly ("righteous," "just") operation of a society (e.g., health, education, welfare, etc.) can be provided by Godly Families.[6]
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6. See generally Genesis 12-35; #14.
Cultural prosperity will be given only if Families will do their duty;[7] obedience is blessed under the terms of God's Covenant with man[8] while disobedience is cursed.[9] The terms of God's Law as revealed by the Holy Spirit to Moses and the Prophets is writtin on the hearts of believers in the New Covenant,[10] and they follow these statutes and ordinances in every area of their lives[11] (#64)
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7. Luke 17:10; Micah 6:8
8. Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Leviticus 26:3-13
9. Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Leviticus 26:14-39
10. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13.
11. Ezekiel 36:25-27; Romans 8:1-4.
Man was created in a Garden, with the basic command to dress, cultivate, and guard the land.[12] Meaningful work was given to man in the pre-Fall Garden of Eden;[13] food was plentiful but required harvesting.[14] Economic scarcity is not a product of the Fall in a vague, ubiquitous, automatic, "natural" sense, but is a product of deliberate human action (laziness, theft, price controls, war), and less frequently, the direct judgment (#42) or testing[15] at the hand of God through angelic agency.
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12. Genesis 2:15
13. Cult: Genesis 1:26; Culture: Genesis 1:28; 2:12; 2:19.
14. Cultivation: Genesis 1:29; 2:5; 2:9; 2:15; 2:16
15. Job 2:3
The Garden of Eden was on a Mountain.[16] Our sin caused us to be cast out of the Mountain.[17] When God reveals His Edenic Grace through Redemptive acts on mountains,[18] He symbolizes concretely what the Prophets foretold by speaking of this Mountain: the future Edenification of the Earth.[19] These prophecies are now coming to pass.[20] The vision of the "Vine & Fig Tree" is a vision of the restoration of Patriarchal society and Edenic culture.[21]
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16. Genesis 2:10-14; Ezekiel 28:13-14
17. Genesis 3:24; Exodus 19:12
18. Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1; Exodus 24:9-11; Matthew 5:1; Mark 3:13f.; 2 Peter 1:16-18; Matthew 26:30; 28:16-20; Acts 1:9-12
19. Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:9; 25:6-9; 56:3-8; 65:25; Daniel 2:34-35,44-45
20. Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 2:7; Matthew 5:14 + Isaiah 60:3; #91
21. Micah 4:1-5
Even after the Fall, God issued no commands to form a State. Yet one of the most oft-heard justifications for the State is that, after the Fall, man's will is depraved. He is prone to sin, and there needs to be some force that will keep man from committing crimes and to keep society from becoming lawless and chaotic.
Unfortunately, these theorists always nominate fallen, sinful men to occupy this seat of power. It's as though all citizens are thought to be on the verge of committing all manner of serial murders, rapes and burglaries, and are easily bribed and corrupted, but not politicians. Do we really believe that if some of these depraved citizens are armed with weapons and given a new name (not "voters," but "bureaucrats" or "public servants," or "officers") they will then stop being depraved and magnanimously keep the rest of their fellows from committing these crimes?
If human beings are fallen and prone to sin, they should not be given a monopoly of violence. Or as someone has put it, "If man were not sinful, we would not need to have a State; if man is sinful, we dare not have one."
Both before and after the Fall, God did not command men to form a State. The formation of the State is evidence of the Fall; the State is an expression of man's original sin, the desire to be as gods (Genesis 3:5).
Satan, a chief angel,[22] was filled with pride[23] and led a rebellion with a major part of the stars (angels) of heaven.24 (Angelic beings are often described in terms of celestial phenomena (#44; #48).
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22. Ezekiel 28:14,16
23. Isaiah 14:9,12-21; 1 Timothy 3:6; Ezekiel 28:11ff.
24. Revelation 12:9
Satan's temptation of man involved denying God's Word and promising evolution into
political godhead.[25]
Because of this rebellion, the descendants of the First Adam experience
The victory of the Second Adam
Descendants of the Second Adam reject the Tempter's promises of political godhead.[39]
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25. Genesis 3:5 [elohim]; 3:22; 11:6 #35, #42
26. Genesis 3:18
27. Romans 8:22
28. from inbreeding (Leviticus 18:6ff.)
29. Genesis 5; Psalm 90:10
30. need for meat in diet (Genesis 9:3)
31. termination of stable "greenhouse" effect (Genesis 2:5-6; 7:4)
32. Proverbs 8:36
33. Exodus 20:5; Leviticus 20:5; 26:39; Numbers 14:18
34. Proverbs 14:30; 17:22; Psalm 32:3; 2 Corinthians 7:10
35. Isaiah 55:13; Deuteronomy 29:5; Romans 8:19-23.
38. Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10; 7:9; Jeremiah 32:39; Acts 2:39
39. Luke 4:1-13; Romans 5:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22; #75.
Cain rebelled against Godly Patriarchy.[40] Cain's murder of his brother was worthy of death,[41] but the Lord by Divine mandate had Cain's life spared.[42] Cain was thus free to establish the "State"[43] (#11), which eventually executed Christ[44] -- the only way His Blood could have been shed for our sins.
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40. Genesis 4:5-8; 1 John 3:12; Jude 11
41. Genesis 4:10; 3:19,21; 4:11-12; Romans 1:32
42. Genesis 4:14-15
43. Genesis 4:17.
44. Genesis 3:15; Psalm 2:2; 1 Corinthians 2:8; Acts 2:23; 3:17; 4:26-28; #41
Cain's polis was an attempt to escape the Presence of God,[45] and was an "autonomously creative" act of rebellion.[46] Apostate man has ever since been characterized by the City/State[47] (polis - a deified, fortified political system)
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45. Genesis 4:16
46. Genesis 4:17 (as distinguished from an "analogically re-creative" act, thinking God's thoughts after Him ["Enoch" = "dedication," "creation"])
47. Numbers 13:28; Deuteronomy 1:28; 3:5; 1 Kings 4:13
The growth of political kingship was demonic in power,[48] and was rooted in violence.[49]
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48. Genesis 6:1-4; cf. Jude 6
49. Genesis 6:11-13
After the Flood, there was no "church;" "religious" activities were carried out by the Family.[50] The Church (the Body of Christ's believer-priests) is not to be equated with the institutional "church."
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50. Genesis 8:20 - 9:4-6
After the flood, the command to shed the blood of capital criminals (and not to eat blood) was given to the Family, not a "State."[51] Thus (cf. #4), even after man's Fall and expulsion from the Garden of Eden, neither a political ("State") nor an ecclesiastical ("church") institution was needed to supplement the Family.
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51. Genesis 9:1,4-6
Nimrod, following Cain's error, left the Godly Family to form a "State."[52] His name means "let us rebel."[53]
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52. Genesis 10:8-12
53. cf. 1 Samuel 15:23; Revelation 18:23
Nimrod built his city by slavery, and the relationship between the polis and slavery is an inescapable symbiosis.[54] The Biblical alternative to slavery to the State is domestic (household) apprenticeship.[55]
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54. Genesis 10:8; 9:25-27; 47:21 (LXX [NIV])
55. Proverbs 17:2 + Genesis 15:2-3; 17:12; 14:14; Exodus 21:2-11; Deuteronomy 15:12-18; Jeremiah 34:8-17; Leviticus 25:39ff.
Babel, the epitome of the State, was a demonic and Humanistic effort to preserve the unity of the godhead of Man[56] This temple "unto heaven" was evidence of the quest for godhead (#9) by both men and demons, and a belief in the "Chain of Being" which denies the un-bridgeable gap between Creator and creature[57] (#51).
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56. Genesis 11:1-9; Revelation 17:5
57. Romans 1:25
God divided and separated the Humanistic nations, which were followed by the demonic powers[58] called the "sons of God"[59] or "sons of the mighty."[60] Thus each nation had demonic "guardians" generally associated with it.[61] All the Humanistic kingdoms of the world were the happy hunting ground of Satan and his political appointees.[62]
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58. Deuteronomy 32:8,43 LXX [NIV]; 29:26; 4:19; cf. Acts 17:26-30
59. Job 2:1
60. Psalm 89:6; cf. Jude 8-9; 2 Peter 2:10-11
61. Daniel 10:13,20; Judges 11:24
62. Luke 4:5-7; Acts 14:16; cf. Genesis 10:9-10 (#15)
Abram expanded his household through evangelism and domestic apprenticeship.[63] Evangelism expands the dominion of Patriarchy. Biblical evangelism is Patriarchy (#67, #71). The "Gospel" is the "good news" that Christ is King and is going to turn back the curse and bless all nations. The Scripture preached this good news ("Gospel") to Abraham,[64] saying that God would build and bless all the Families of the earth[65] through his Seed.[66] The Gospel promise to Abraham is being fulfilled in Christ and His Church.[67]
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64. Galatians 3:8
65. Genesis 12:3; 18:18-19.
67. Acts 13:32-37; 3:25-26; #84
Godly Patriarchies need not worry about defending themselves against any political State.[68] God blesses Christian Patriarchy with security.[69] Those who violate Biblical Law are subject to the Curse (#5); they cannot defend themselves against God's avengers.[70] Reliance upon carnal weapons of war is forbidden,[71] as well as the international alliances and trade agreements which further such arms build-ups.[72] The end result of the quest for "national security" through strengthened "national defense" is the centralization of power in the State, producing military socialism.[73] An economy dependent upon the production and threatened use of arms is idolatry.[74]
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68. Genesis 14; Genesis 23:6; Exodus 14:14,24-25; Deuteronomy 20:1; Psalm 46:9; 76:6; Zechariah 9:10,15; Joshua 24:7; 2 Kings 7:6-7; Proverbs 21:31; Hosea 1:7; 14:3; 2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chronicles 16:8; 20:15; 18:31.
69. #36; 1 Samuel 12:11; Psalm 78:53; Proverbs 1:33; 3:23; Isaiah 32:17; Jeremiah 23:6; Ezekiel 34:28; Hosea 2:18
70. Isaiah 10:5-6; Leviticus 26:14-17,25,33,36-37; Deuteronomy 28:25,52; Nahum 2:13; Haggai 2:22; Zechariah 9:10; Isaiah 22:7; 30:16; 31:3; Jeremiah 4:13; 6:23; 21:4-5; 50:42; Ezekiel 38:4; Amos 2:15; 4:10; Micah 5:10; Zechariah 12:4; Ezekiel 26:7-11
71. Deuteronomy 17:16-17; Psalm 33:16-17; 147:10; Zechariah 4:6; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Psalm 20:7
72. Ezekiel 17:15; 23:6-7,12,23; Isaiah 31:1; 36:9
73. 1 Kings 10:26 - 11:14; 12:11
74. Isaiah 2:7-8
The "sacrament" of circumcision was administered by the head of the Family, not an institutional "church."[75]
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75. Genesis 17:23; Exodus 4:24-26
Priest and prince have always been united.[76] The "separation of church and state" is a myth which allows the polis to rationalize its hatred and evasion of God's Law.
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76. Genesis 14:18; 41:43-45; Judges 17:10; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6; 5:10
Gold and other precious commodities were placed in The Garden of Eden.[77] After the Fall, they functioned as the Biblically preferred medium of exchange.[78] Debasement of precious commodity-monies with baser substances is an abomination to God.[79] Inflationary money transfers wealth from the weak and struggling to the debt-ridden polis and its minions.[80] A debased currency can exist only under an Imperial monopoly: a Central Bank.[81] A debased currency is the machinery of revolution: the institutionalization of a debased heart.[82]
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77. Heaven: Ezekiel 1:22:26-27; 10:9; 2 Corinthians 12:2,4 + verses below; The Eden-Model of Heaven: Ezekiel 28:13-16; cf. Genesis 2:11-12; The Temple-Model of Heaven: Exodus 25:3-8 et passim; 28:8-9,12,17-20; 39 passim; 1 Kings 6 passim; The New Jerusalem/New Earth: Isaiah 54:11-12; 60:5-6,9,11; Revelation 21:11,18-21, Malachi 3:17; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15.
78. Genesis 23:16; 43:21 + Leviticus 19:35-37; Genesis 44:1,8; Ezra 8:25-30; 11:2-3 + 12:35-36 + Psalm 105:37; Ezekiel 7:19; 28:4; 1 Chronicles 21:24-25; Job 28:12-20; Jeremiah 32:9-10; 1 Peter 1:18. Cf. Job 31:24; Psalm 19:10; 119:72; Proverbs 8:10-11,19; 16:16; Isaiah 60:17; 2 Timothy 2:20. Cp. Matthew 10:9; Acts 3:6.
79. Leviticus 19:35-37; Deuteronomy 25:13-16; Proverbs 11:1; 16:11; 20:10,23; Amos 8:5-6; Micah 6:10-12; Zechariah 11:12; cf. Psalm 119:119; Proverbs 25:4; 26:23.
80. Isaiah 1:23; Amos 8:6; Micah 6:10; James 5:1-6.
81. Genesis 10:7-12; cf. ##15-16; Revelation 13:16-17.
82. Jeremiah 6:28-30; Ezekiel 22:18-20; Isaiah 1:25; Proverbs 17:3; 27:21; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:3.
Under Moses the Levitical Priesthood came into being. Many texts pertaining to this priesthood have been erroneously applied to justify the State, as well as to buttress the power of priests and ecclesiastical institutions -- centuries after Christ ended the Levitical priesthood.
The existence of "elders" pre-dates Sinai, and have been carried over in Christian times into the ecclesiastical institutions we call "churches" (not the State).
God did not command Moses to establish a "political" institution.
The ecclesiastical (sacerdotal) institution established at the hand of Moses was not to have perpetual jurisdiction.
God blesses the Families of those who stand against the lawless State.[83]
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Officers of the Egyptian court derived their power from demons.[84]
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84. Exodus 8:19; Luke 11:20
Before the Coming of Christ, the path to reconciliation with God was taught through ceremonial rituals which pictured the atonement and cleansing which Christ made in His death. Together with the priests who administered these laws, this liturgical system served as our Pedagogue.[85] After the Coming of Christ, the path to reconciliation with God is taught to us by the Holy Spirit;[86] ritual cleansings and sheddings of blood (which only prefigured the work of Christ) have no place in this age,[87] and the terms of the Old Covenant itself made this explicit.[88]
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85. Galatians 3:23 - 4:3
86. 1 John 2:27; Hebrews 10:15
87. Galatians 3:25 - 4:7; Hebrews 5:13 - 6:6; 10:4
88. Psalm 51:16; Hosea 6:6; 2 Chronicles 30:18-20; 1 Corinthians 7:19; Hebrews 7:12,18,28; Micah 6:6-8; Psalm 40:6-8 (Hebrews 10:4-9); Psalm 50:8-9; I Samuel 15:22; Proverbs 15:8; 21:3; 28:9; Isaiah 1; 58:6-7; Jeremiah 7:22; Hosea 6:6 (Matthew 9:11-13; 12:6-7); Amos 5:21-24; 2 Chronicles 30:18-20; (cf. Mark 12:33); #54
The "sacrament" of Passover was administered by heads of Families.[89]
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89. Exodus 12:3-4
"Elders" existed before the giving of the law at Sinai,[90] and if they are not simply heads of Families[91] then they are the products of social/cultural impotence, political bondage, and the slave mentality acquired in Egypt.[92]
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90. Exodus 3:16
91. Exodus 12:21; 2 Chronicles 19:8
92. Exodus 5:6,14; Numbers 11:16
The generation that came out of Egypt was unable to apply the Law of God to every area of their lives, being dominated by the slave mentality inculcated by Egypt.[93] Therefore God raised up Moses as a social-legal mediator between God and the people.[94] Although God's Law was given to the Patriarchs,[95] it was necessary for Moses to re-issue it and institutionalize it for the immature and slave-like Israelites coming out of bondage.[96] This temporary regression was thus necessary at the time, and God was rightly praised for it.[97]
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93. Exodus 14:11-12; 16:3; 17:3; Numbers 9:16-17; 11:4-7; 13:31 - 14:4,7-10; 21:5-6 + Exodus 7:11-12; 1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 78; 106:7; Ezekiel 20:8; Hosea 6:4-7; Acts 7:39.
94. Exodus 18:19-20; John 1:17; Hebrews 3:1-6
95. Genesis 18:19; 26:5
96. Deuteronomy 4:14; John 7:19,22
97. cf. 1 Kings 8:5; 2 Chronicles 2:12; Galatians 3:9.
Just as (fallen) angelic forces were placed over the secular nations (cf. #17, #18), the holy nation of Israel was given a pedagogical legal structure by God's angels.[98]
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98. Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 68:17; Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2
A parcel of land was promised to Abraham as a place where "the seed of the woman"[99] could multiply and eventually produce a Messiah, the Savior of the World.[100] The land functioned as a kind of geographical incubator for the genetic line leading to Christ.[101] In the New Covenant, neither the land nor the raising of seed[102] has any prophetic or moral importance, the Seed having come.[103] Christians, as the true heirs of Abraham,[104] are promised the entire world.[105]
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99. Genesis 3:15
100. Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 15:18; 17:8; 22:17-18; Hebrews 2:16
101. Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38
102. Genesis 3:15; 16:2; 19:32; 38:8ff.; Leviticus 12; 15:16-32
103. Galatians 3:16; 1 Timothy 3:2; Luke 20:35; Galatians 3:19
104. Galatians 3:7,9,14,28-29; Romans 4:13,16; 9:8; 1 Peter 1:23
105. Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Psalm 2:8; #93
Judges were appointed to ease the burden of Moses' mediatorial task.[106] Israel's mediators were given a measure of Moses' Spirit.[107] It was Moses' desire that all believers would have the capacity to make judgments.[108] While Moses' immediate purpose was to resolve disputes, his ultimate purpose was to teach the people the principles of God's Law and make them competent therein.[109] Not until the New Covenant did God's people become a kingdom of priests.[110] Prior to this, they lacked the Spiritual power which comes only through Christ.[111]
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106. Exodus 18:21-26
107. Numbers 11:17
108. Numbers 11:29; 35:24; cf. Acts 2:17f.; Deuteronomy 5:29-31; Proverbs 6:6-8; 30:24,27
109. Exodus 18:16,20
110. Exodus 19:5-6; Hosea 1:9; 2:23; 4:6; 1 Peter 2:5-10; Revelation 1:6; 5:10
111. Romans 8:3-5; Hebrews 7:19; 8:8-13; John 1:12,17
The True Temple is in Heaven[112]; the temple in Jerusalem was but an earthly model of it.[113] This pedagogical teaching aid was destroyed at the end of the Old Covenant world.[114] The body of Jesus, the Second Adam, was a model of the New Temple, and of the Redeemed individual.[115] The Body of Christ (His Church) is now the New Temple.[116] We will never see another earthly temple (building) constructed by God's Elect.[117]
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112. Revelation 7:15; 11:19; 14:17; 15:5; 16:17; #23.
113. [Images of the Spirit]
114. Matthew 23:29 - 24:3ff.; Luke 21:20-22; Luke 23:44-45.
115. Matthew 12:6; John 2:19-22; Exodus 28.
116. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21; Revelation 3:12.
117. Revelation 21:22.
Education (imparting the knowledge of God's comprehensive Word and wisdom [the ability to apply it in every area of life]) is the responsibility of the Family, including fathers and grandfathers.[118]
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118. Deuteronomy 4:9f.; 6:7f., 20f.; 11:18-21
Political mediators are "gods"[119] and "saviors."[120]
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119. Exodus 21:6; 22:8-9,20,28; 1 Corinthians 8:5; 2 Peter 2:10 + Jude 9; Psalm 95:3; 82:1; 138:1; Jeremiah 2:28; cf. Deuteronomy 29:26, #18, #30; Exodus 34:15/Leviticus 17:7/2 Chronicles 11:15
120. Judges 3:9 - 16:31; Obadiah 1:21.
Life without a "State" can be peaceful and safe,[121] especially when Christ is King.[122]
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121. Judges 18:7 + 1 Kings 4:25; Leviticus 25:18-19; 26:5; Ezekiel 28:26; Genesis 13-14
122. Micah 4:1-5
The movement toward centralization of power under political mediators is a rejection of God.[123]
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123. Judges 8:23; 1 Samuel 8:7; Judges 9
The monarchy in Israel was a result of rebellion in families,[124] a desire to be like the demonic States around Israel,[125] a rejection of the Lord's priestly calling to be a holy nation,[126] and a rejection of God's Law as given to the Patriarchs.[127] When the people desire centralized political structures it is because they desire to flee personal patriarchal responsibility.[128] God judges their sin by granting their wish, and inflicting upon these covetous, irresponsible Families the curse of the State.[129] Empire is a substitute for Godly Families: The alternative is always Patriarchy (government by Godly Families) or the Paternalistic State ("the government" instead of Godly Families).[130] Political officers were therefore at all times to be called "father" and "mother"[131] to remind both citizen and officer of the Patriarchal ideal in God's Law.
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124. 1 Samuel 2:12ff.,29; 3:13; 8:2-5
125. 1 Samuel 8:5,20
126. Numbers 23:9; Exodus 33:16
127. 1 Samuel 8:7,18[LXX]-19; 10:19; 12:12, 17,19; Hosea 13:11; Ezekiel 20:24-25
128. 1 Samuel 8:20
129. 1 Samuel 8:11-18; Ezekiel 20:25.
130. Genesis 41:43
131. Cf. references in Westminster Larger Catechism, qq. 124-125.
King David, for all his goodness, would have been disqualified from being an overseer in the Apostolic Church.[132] Likewise Solomon was a polygamist,[133] military dictator,[134] and idolater;[135] under him were fulfilled the curses of 1 Samuel 8.[136] Although representing a departure from God's Law (as given to the Patriarchs[137]), God allowed non-Familial institutions; they (a) helped maintain some social order[138] and (b) served as a pedagogue, teaching the people about the True King, the coming Christ.[139]
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132. 1 Timothy 3:2 + 1 Samuel 25:43; 1 Timothy 3:3 + 1 Chronicles 28:3; 1 Timothy 3:4 + 1 Kings 1:6,11
133. 1 Kings 11:1ff.
134. 1 Kings 4:26ff.; 5:13ff.
135. 1 Kings 11:4-11
136. 1 Kings 10:14+c.; 12:11; cp. Deuteronomy 17:14-20; cf. #20
137. Genesis 26:5; 18:19
138. 2 Chronicles 19:5-11; Isaiah 49:23; #94, #29
139. Psalm 72; Galatians 4:8; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; 10:11
All things -- even evil things -- work together to serve God's purposes[140] because evil is predestined and dispatched by God.[141] Often the evil things which God sends are the armies of depraved empires.[142] Evil is carried out according to God's sovereign plan by statist politicians, generals, and others, who think they are exercising their "free will."[143] Sometimes the evil God causes an empire to do makes the State its own worst enemy.[144] (Some would prefer to believe that God does not "predestine" evil, but that it "just happens."[145] Such Arminians [and other politicians] receive God's judgment.[146]) As pacifists (#78, #79, #80), Christians are not to resist the evil State with violence, but are to "submit" to it.[147] But this fact (that we are to "submit" to the State, the evil acts of evil politicians) does not mean that they have a morally legitimate existence, even though we recognize that they were "ordained" (predestined) by God.[148] God often sends angels to carry out evil acts, or to prompt human beings to do evil.[149] These angels or demons are often called "powers."[150] Providence, Pacifism, and the Powers: this is the context in which we must understand that much-abused passage, Romans 13:1-7.
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140. Romans 8:28.
141. Deuteronomy 31:29; Joshua 23:15; 1 Kings 14:9-10; 21:29; 2 Kings 21:12; 22:16,20; Nehemiah 13:18; Numbers 14:35; Deuteronomy 29:21; 30:15; Judges 2:15; Job 2:10; 42:11; Psalm 54:5; Isaiah 45:7; Jeremiah 6:19; 11:11; 18:11; 19:3,15; 23:12; 25:32; 32:42; 35:17; 36:3,31; 39:16; 44:2; 51:64; 42:6; 26:3; 26:13; Lamentations 3:38; Ezekiel 7:3-5; Daniel 9:12:14; Amos 3:6; Micah 1:12; 2:3; 2 Samuel 17:14.
142. Leviticus 26:25; Judges 3:12; 2 Samuel 7:14; 12:11; 1 Kings 5:4; 9:9; 2 Kings 19:7; 2 Chronicles 20:9; Proverbs 16:4; 1 Chronicles 5:26; Jeremiah 4:6; 9:16; 21:10; 24:10; 25:27,29; 29:17; 42:17; 44:27; 49:37; Ezekiel 5:17; 14:21; 28:23; 29:19-20; Jeremiah 49:37; Amos 9:4; [the "sword"].
143. Genesis 50:20; 2 Samuel 17:14; Isaiah 10:5-7; Micah 4:11-13; Acts 2:23; 4:24-29; 13:27-28; Revelation 17:17.
144. Exodus 14:4; Deuteronomy 2:30; 1 Kings 12:15; Daniel 11:27.
145. 1 Samuel 6:9.
146. Zephaniah 1:12.
147. Matthew 5:39,41; Jeremiah 29:7; 27:12; 38:17-18; Romans 12:14,18 - 13:4; 1 Peter 2:11-24.
148. Isaiah 10:12; Jeremiah 30:16; Matthew 26:52.
149. 2 Samuel 24:16; Psalm 78:49; Judges 9:23-24; 1 Samuel 16:14-16; Luke 4:5-7.
150. Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Ephesians 2:2; 1:19-21.
The decisions of all kings and other political leaders are under the complete sovereign control of God. Even political and military decisions which are patently lawless and work great evil and injustice are predestined by God[151] and serve His purposes (#44). God hardens the hearts of Pharaohs and other political gods[152] so that their empires would be destroyed in judgment[153] and so that God's covenant promises of cursing upon disobedience would be fulfilled.[154] All imperial acts are calculated and predestined by God for the execution of God's judgment and His Kingdom purposes.[155]
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151. Proverbs 16:4; Isaiah 45:7; Jeremiah 4:6; 21:10; Amos 3:6; 9:4; Micah 2:3
152. Romans 9:17
153. Luke 1:52-53
155. 1 Chronicles 5:26; Proverbs 21:1; Isaiah 40:23
Like pestilence, famine, and storm, the State is ordered by God[156] for the judgment of other statists.[157] Like pestilence, famine, and storm, these acts are attributable to personal angelic forces.[158] Stars are associated with both the State[159] and other forms of pestilence and storm.[160]
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156. Romans 13:1
157. Habakkuk 1:12; 1 Samuel 8:11-20
158. Ezekiel 1; 10; Psalm 18:9-12; 104:2-4; Exodus 19:6 + Hebrews 2:2; 2 Samuel 24:16; Psalm 78:49
159. Isaiah 45:12-13; Jeremiah 10:1-16; 8:1-2; Amos 5:26; Zephaniah 1:5; Isaiah 24:21; Judges 5:20; Acts 7:42-43
160. Job 38:7; Isaiah 14:13; Revelation 12:4
By His decree, God can be said to "command" nations to do His bidding, carrying out His judgments against covenant-breakers.[161] The acts of rape, murder, theft, and violence committed by the "State" are nevertheless contrary to God's written (revealed) commands, and these political machines will be judged for their lawless "obedience" to God's "command."[162]
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161. Isaiah 10:6
162. Isaiah 10:12
The lawless raiders of the State, be they agents of War or agents of Revenue, are so firmly in the hand of the LORD[163] and so completely dedicated (useful) to His purposes that they may be said to be His "sanctified ones."[164] They so serve His purposes of anger,[165] indignation,[166] wrath,[167] and vengeance,[168] that they may be called His "ministers" (from deaconeo, "to serve"), and a pagan king can even be called His "christ"[169] although he does not know the Lord or honor Jesus as the Christ of christs and King of kings.[170]
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163. Proverbs 21:1
164. Isaiah 13:3
165. Isaiah 13:3
166. Isaiah 10:5
167. Isaiah 10:6
168. Romans 13:4
169. Isaiah 45:1 -- "anointed king"
170. Isaiah 45:5
Nevertheless,[171] these same "ministers" -- kings and leaders of political (polis-centered) systems -- can also be identified with Satan himself.[172] The "State" is only an unwitting "minister."[173] By definition, it is impossible for a State (a system of institutionalized violence and revenge) to self-consciously obey God's Law and serve Christ.[174]
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172. Isaiah 14:11-15; Ezekiel 28
173. Isaiah 10:7; #94, #81; #76
Although God is continually and sovereignly ordering all political entities for the eventual accomplishment of His purposes, rebellious men do not submit to and honor God as they should. Legal and personal recognition of Christ in the government of human society was prophesied in the Old Testament to be a characteristic of the Age inaugurated by the God-man Jesus Christ at His First Advent.[175] Seated at God's right hand (the Throne of David[176]), He would sovereignly and Spiritually order all things to accomplish justice on earth[177] and men would give due honor to Him.[178] It is the purpose of these Theses to nurture faithful obedience to these Command-Prophecies.
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175. Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7
176. Acts 2:29-36; 13:32-33; #59
177. Isaiah 11; 32:15-18
178. Psalm 22:27-31; 46:10; 66:4; 67:2; 72:8-11,17; 86:9; 102:15-22; 138:1-5; Isaiah 11:9; 27:6,13; 49:22-23; 51:4-5; 60:6; 66:18-23; Jeremiah 3:17; 4:2; Daniel 7:13-22; Micah 4:1-3; Zechariah 2:11; 8:20-23; Malachi 1:11
When States are overthrown and "archists" are put down, their angelic guardians are also judged, and the "stars," "sun" and "moon" are said to cease shining with respect to that empire.[179]
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179. fulfilled prophecies: Isaiah 24:23; 13:10; 34:4; 60:19-20; Jeremiah 4:28; Joel 2:10,31; 3:15; Ezekiel 30:18; 32:7,8; Matthew 24:29; Revelation 17-19; currently being fulfilled: Revelation 21:22-25; 22:5; #90.
Idols are demons (or pin-ups, icons, knick-knacks and/or medallions honoring great heroes of the State, perhaps believed now [after their death] to be demons, climbing the Great Cosmic Ladder of Being, and inspiring some current ruler/hero[180]). Moloch is the Secular State; Moloch worship is the patriotic sacrifice of infants to nationalistic advancement, roughly parallel to the "Amerikanization" of children into worker-drones of the State through State schooling/socialization,[181] but more strikingly seen in abortions, the slaughter of infant humans in the name of national gods such as "the American dream."[182]
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180. 2 Chronicles 11:15; Leviticus 17:7; Jeremiah 7:18; 13:18; Acts 7:43
181. cp. Deuteronomy 6:6-9; #34
182. Leviticus 20:1-5; cp. 1 John 3:16; Philippians 2:4-8; John 15:13
"Sword"[183] does not refer to individual penal sanctions (e.g., "capital punishment"). The shedding of a criminal's blood[184] performed the functions of all other ritual acts of bloodshed, prefiguring the atonement for sin secured by Christ's blood in His execution.[185] "The Sword" refers to national "capital punishment" (i.e., a shedding of blood[186]), which is the sacrifice of a sinful people who will not accept the Lord's sacrifice and righteousness by faith. The sword of vengeance, which belongs to God (#80), is the warfare whereby God slaughters a disobedient people in a fiery sacrifice,[187] relegating these idolatrous self-sacrifices and their dreams of Empire to the "dung-heaps" of history.[188]
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183. cf. Romans 13:4
184. Genesis 9:4-6
185. Numbers 35:31,33; Deuteronomy 21:1,9
186. Ezekiel 35:5-6
187. Deuteronomy 32:43 [NIV]; Judges 20:40; Isaiah 34:5-8; Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 39:17-20; Zephaniah 1:7-8; Matthew 23:35 + Revelation 19:3
188. Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 16:27; Zephaniah 1:17-18
(I am currently revising completely this thesis. Your contributions would be appreciated. Write me at Kevin4VFT@aol.com [189] [190] [191] [192]
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189. [existence]
190. [conditional]
191. [other holders]
192. [Christ]
Greco-Roman religion was worship and service to the State (polis), its legal interests and customs,[193] the wealth it secured,[194] and the demons behind it.[195] Rulers were not just in a different economic class from the masses; they were considered to be in a different class of being, a pseudo-ontological participation with the "principalities and powers" in a continuum of evolutionary progress in the "Chain of Being." The Early Church thus spoke of politicians (humans) and powers (demons) as a unity.[196] Roman Law has served as the cradle of the Church.[197]
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193. Acts 16:21; 17:7
194. Acts 19:23-28
195. Acts 17:18,22; cf. 8:9-11; 14:11-16
196. Romans 13:1-4; Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:15; Ephesians 1:21
197. Isaiah 44:27-28; 60:16; Daniel 2:34-35,40-44; Galatians 4:4; #94.
The Gospel of the Kingdom[198] is the "good news" of the advent of the Messiah ("Anointed King"[199]) foretold by the Old Testament Prophets; the Son of God has come and we will be mercifully blessed by this King if we repent and submit to Him.[200] He promises to dwell with the one who obeys His Word[201] and yet this very power to obey is itself a gift from the King.[202]
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198. Mark 1:14-15
199. John 4:25-26
200. Matthew 5:1-12; Deuteronomy 28:1-14
201. John 14:21,23; Acts 5:32
202. John 1:12; Philippians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Romans 8:3-4; Ezekiel 36:27
The "shepherd" or "pastor" is a "civil" office,[203] again showing the mythical nature of our modern conception of "church-state separation."[204] The Kingdom was established by the Christ born in Bethlehem; "He shall shepherd His people."[205]
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203. Ezekiel 34; Jeremiah 23; Isaiah 44:28; Psalm 78:71-72
204. Ezekiel 37:24-28; Revelation 19:15-16.
In the Age of the Old Covenant, Jews preferred to live in bondage to a distorted "obedience" to the "Pedagogical Law" (#26), and persecuted the prophets who faithfully explicated the requirements of God's Word.[206] As the New Covenant Age dawned, the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ[207] was opposed by the Israelites with even greater ferver.[208] This opposition to the Messiah and persecution/seduction of His followers grew especially intense as the final destruction of the Old Age grew closer.[209] The generation of Jews which murdered Christ was the most unGodly generation of people in human history.[210]
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206. Acts 7:51-52; 1 Kings 19:10; 2 Chronicles 24:19; 36:15-16; Jeremiah 2:30; Nehemiah 9:26,30; Malachi 3:7
207. Matthew 4:23
208. Matthew 5:12; 23:34-39; 21:(33-)43; 1 Thessalonians 2:15
209. prophesied: Matthew 24:24; Acts 20:29-30; 2 Timothy 3:1; manifested: 2 Timothy 3:6-13; 1 John 2:18-19; 4:1; 2 John 7
210. Matthew 3:7; 11:16; 12:34,39-42,45; 12:45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:33 et passim; 23:36 - 24:34; Mark 8:12; 8:38 - 9:1; 9:19; 13:30; 7:31; 9:41; 11:29-32,50-51; 17:25; 21:32; Acts 2:40; Philippians 2:15.
By His Power over demons, Jesus demonstrated that the Kingdom was not "postponed" but rather "at hand."[211] By His Power over demons, Jesus indicated that Satan was being bound.[212] Through the death (execution) of Christ, Satan was judged,[213] and in His Resurrection and Ascension, Christ was enthroned, and the power which Satan and his host formerly held over the nations has been transferred to Christ.[214]
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211. Matthew 12:28
212. Matthew 12:29; Luke 10:18; 11:20-22; Mark 1:24; Revelation 12:10-12; 20:1-4
213. John 12:31-33; 14:30; 16:11
214. #18; Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 20:1-4; Luke 10:18; 11:17-22; Colossians 2:15; Psalm 68:18 + Ephesians 4:8; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; 4:4; Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:20
Although rejecting political clout (#62), the Kingdom of God shall be greater than all other kingdoms.[215]
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215. Matthew 13:32; Ezekiel 17:22-24; Isaiah 2:2-4; Daniel 2:35,44-45; Micah 4:1-3; Haggai 2:3-9; Zechariah 4:10
Slowly, in this age, the Gospel shall permeate every area of life.[216]
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216. Matthew 13:33; + #64; cf. Luke 17:20-24
Those who despise the Kingdom of Christ come from both rural and urban environments.[217]
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217. Matthew 22:5
The baby born of the Virgin was given the Throne of David, and is now enthroned at the right hand of God.[218] As the True Shepherd (#53), He is now extending His Kingdom in the uttermost parts of the earth.[219]
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218. Luke 1:32-33; Acts 2:30-36; 7:48-49; Mark 16:19; Psalm 110:1
219. Luke 2:28-32; Isaiah 42:1-13; 25:7-9; 49:6-8; Habakkuk 2:14
The world's wise and politically cushioned[220] reject the King.[221] Jewish religious leaders enlisted the State to support their rebellion.[222] Institutionalized religion always seeks the support of the State.[223] The secular State is often more Godly than the institutional "church,"[224] but the "church" convinces the State to be as lawless as the ecclesiocrats.[225]
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220. e.g., John 11:48; 19:15
221. Luke 2:34; 1 Corinthians 2:6-9; Hosea 14:9
222. John 18:35
223. Revelation 13:11ff.
224. John 19:6
225. John 19:7-8,12-13,15
Christ's Kingdom was not (nor will it be) inaugurated with world-wide spectacular display, televised coverage live via satellite, military victory parades, or political regalia.[226] The Dominion of Christ over nature and kingdoms comes through meekness[227] and suffering for the sake of the righteousness and justice of God's Word.[228]
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226. Luke 17:20-21
227. Matthew 21:4-9
228. Matthew 17:21-23; 5:10-12; Luke 24:46-47 + Micah 4:1-2; #88
Jesus does not allow Himself to be made a political king.[229] He is not limited to the institutional machinery of the earthly State.[230] Do the politicians know that Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed King?[231]
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229. John 6:15; Matthew 20:25-28
230. Matthew 28:18; Revelation 19:15 + Hebrews 4:12; John 18:35-37
231. John 7:26
Jesus is fulfills the promise given through Isaiah that a Branch from the root of Jesse would reign over the Gentiles.[232]
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232. Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:12; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Matthew 2:23; Acts 13:23; Revelation 5:5; 22:16
There is no "neutrality."[233] Patriarchy is personal obedience to God's Law in every area of life.[234]
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233. Matthew 12:30; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17; Titus 2:7,10; 2 Timothy 2:7; Matthew 6:24; James 4:4; 2;10; 1 John 2:15; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Timothy 3:11; 2 Peter 1:3; Colossians 1:18; Philippians 4:8; 1 Corinthians 15:28; Ephesians 5:20; 4:15; 2 Corinthians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 16:14; 14:26,40; 2:15; Hebrews 11:24-26
234. Joshua 24:14-15
The Old Covenant declared that under the New Covenant believers would have the Law of God written on their hearts,[235] causing them to be obedient[236] and eliminating the need for guardian/tutors as in the Old Covenant.[237]
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235. Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10
236. Ezekiel 36:27
237. Jeremiah 31:34; 1 John 2:27,20-21; Galatians 3:24 - 4:9
Christians should judge other Christians[238] in all matters,[239] thus rendering non-Christian (secular) courts and systems of judgment unnecessary.[240]
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238. 1 Corinthians 5:12; John 7:24
239. #64; 1 Corinthians 6:4; Micah 4:3 + Psalm 149:4-9
240. 1 Corinthians 6:1-6; (cf. James 2:6); #93.
Apostles (or "elders"[241]), and their appointees[242] worked to complete the pouring out of the Holy Spirit,[243] bear miraculous witness to the authority of the Apostolic Word,[244] and guard against the great apostasy of the transitional period between the Old and New Ages.[245] It was expected that all believer-priests would take over the task of dominion (#2) on their own after the complete destruction of the age that was.[246] "Deacons" and others who were not "ordained elders" were not prohibited from "authoritative preaching.[247]
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241. 1 Peter 5:1; 1 Timothy 4:14 + 2 Timothy 1:6
242. e.g., Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6; cp. Titus 1:5)
243. Acts 8:14-17; 19:1-6
244. 1 Timothy 4:12,14; Mark 16:20; Hebrews 1:1; 2:4; Acts 6:8; etc.
245. Acts 15:2,4,6; 16:4; cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 2:18-26; #54
246. Acts 15:22,23; 1 Corinthians 4:8; 5:3; #94
247. Acts 6:10; 7; 8:1,4; 8:5,12
The Family, as the central unit of God's social order, is also the center of the cultural outworking of the Gospel in the Church of Christ.[248] The Apostolic Age was not characterized by hundreds of atomistic "nuclear families" attending "services" at buildings of State-chartered ecclesiastical corporations exempted from tax under Empire approval. The Early Church was not centered on liturgy but on Hospitality; the architectural paradigm was the house, not the altar/temple. The House-Church/Patriarchy is the hub of Christian Community, and Hospitality is the Patriarchal "Royal Virtue."[249]
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248. Acts 2:46; 5:42; 20:20; Acts 18:2-4 + Romans 16:3 and 1 Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:5,10,11; 1 Corinthians 1:11,16; Colossians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:19; Philemon 2; 2 John 10; etc.; #71
249. #19; Deuteronomy 10:18-19; 14:29; 16:11,14; 1 Kings 8:41-43; Job 31:32; Psalm 68:6,12; 113:7-9 + Revelation 1:6; 5:10; Matthew 25:35; Romans 12:13; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 4:9; 3 John 5.
In the "last days" of the Old Covenant (#86), the "sacraments" were properly administered by Families, as throughout the Old Covenant, most notably under the Patriarchs.
Baptism, as with circumcision,[250] was appropriately administered by the family head (#21). This symbolic washing ritual of the Old Covenant[251] was a sign[252] appropriate for the "terminal generation"[253] and expired with that generation[254] and the end of the Old Covenant in A.D. 70.[255]
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250. Colossians 2:11-12
251. Hebrews 9:10; Exodus 40:32; Numbers 8:7; John 3:25
252. Acts 19:3-6; 1 Corinthians 14:21-22
253. Matthew 3:7; 11:16; 12:34,38-45; 16:4; 17:7; 23:33-36; 24:34; Mark 8:38 - 9:1,19; Luke 7:31-35; 11:29-32,50-51; 17:25; 21:32; Acts 2:40; Philippians 2:15; #86
254. Acts 21:25 (KJV)
"The Lord's Supper," the sacramental neomorphosis of Passover[256] in the "last days,"[257] was properly celebrated in a home.[258] Jesus commanded this Passover to continue to be observed[259] until the world of the old sacral order came to a complete end[260] at His coming in A.D. 70.[261]
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256. Mark 14:12; Matthew 26:2,17-19; Luke 22:15
258. #27; Acts 2:42-46; 20:7-8; cf. 1 Timothy 5:13; #68
259. cf. Acts 18:18; 21:24-26
260. Hebrews 6:2,8; 8:13; 9:10; 2 Peter 3:12; cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7
261. 1 Corinthians 11:26; Matthew 16:27-28; Luke 22:16,18 + Mark 14:62; Hebrews 8:13 + Matthew 26:29
Christians should begin replacing the secular political and pedagogical institutions of the Old Age by ordaining themselves to a Christian ministry centering in "the church in their home" and extending to every area of life.[262]
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262. 1 Corinthians 16:15; (cf. Romans 13:1)
Voluntary communism ("anarcho-socialism" "personalist communitarianism") is an appropriate Kingdom life style for the Church.[263]
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263. Acts 4:32-38
State-socialism is not condoned by the example of the Apostolic Church.[264]
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264. Acts 5:4; Luke 22:24-30
Statists are foolish.[265] Christians who are conformed to the world[266] and no longer prophesy against statism and fail to plead for justice according to God's Law[267] are also foolish.[268]
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265. Isaiah 19:11,12,13; 1 Corinthians 1:18-23; 2:14; 3:19; Romans 1:22
266. Romans 12:1-2
267. Isaiah 59:4,8-15; Proverbs 28:4; Jeremiah 22:16; Hebrews 11:33
268. Romans 1:22; 1 Corinthians 1:20 + Matthew 5:13 -- "lost its savor" = "made moronic," "become foolish"
Christians are not to exercise authority, lordship, or the force of coercion over others,[269] nor seek positions of power in the polis;[270] our citizenship is in heaven.[271]
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269. Mark 10:42-45
270. Revelation 18:4
271. Philippians 3:20
The Apostolic Church knew she ought to obey God rather than men.[272]
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272. Acts 4:19-20; 5:29; cp. #24
Christ's disciples are not legitimately obligated to pay taxes; the State has no legitimate jurisdiction over the adopted members of the Household of Faith.[273]
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273. Matthew 17:25-26; Philippians 3:20
Christ's disciples pay taxes to avoid offense[274] and to counter the evil violence of Humanistic statism/vengeance with non-violent good.[275]
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274. Matthew 17:27
275. Romans 12:17 - 13:7; Matthew 5:39-42; Isaiah 50:6; Proverbs 25:21-22; Luke 6:27-38; Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:14; Matthew 27:32; 1 Corinthians 6:7
All they that take up the sword perish by the sword.[276]
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276. Matthew 26:52; Genesis 49:5-7; Revelation 13:10; #40.
Christians are not to execute vengeance.[277] They are to leave vengeance to the Lord.[278] The Lord uses the State, criminals, terrorists, and other evil-doers to execute (unwittingly) His vengeance.[279]
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277. Proverbs 20:22; 24:29; Matthew 5:38-48; 1 Corinthians 6:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9; Revelation 13:10; #78
278. Romans 12:17-21; Deuteronomy 32:35
279. Romans 13:1,4; Isaiah 10:5-14; 13:1-5; #41
The "elemental spirits" (stoicheia) which maintained a deceptively superficial order in the Old Covenant are unnecessary for Spirit-empowered believer-priests in the New Covenant.[280] Christians do not need their lives structured by the pedagogical legal institutions of the Old Covenant.[281]
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280. Galatians 4:3,9; Colossians 2:8,20; cf. Hebrews 5:12 - 6:8
281. Galatians 3:24 - 4:9; #26
The civil officials which persecuted the Early Church were dominated by demonic powers,[282] but the powers were ordered by God.[283] Christ spoiled the powers, making possible the fulfillment of the Great Commission.[284]
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282. 2 Corinthians 11:14; 1 Thessalonians 2:18 + Acts 17:8,15
283. Romans 13:1
284. Colossians 2:15; #55; cf. Matthew 28:18-20
The Early Church wrestled against demonic "powers."[285] Christ's power and the impotence of the "powers" is demonstrated through an obedient Church.[286]
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285. Ephesians 6:12
286. Ephesians 3:10
The Church no longer needs political mediators.[287] Christ governs through His Church, His saints, believer-priests.[288]
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287. #35; Exodus 7:1; 22:9 [elohim]; John 10:34-35; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; Romans 8:14; Isaiah 56:5
288. John 1:12; 1 John 3:1; 2 Peter 1:4; #83
It was the hope of the Early Church that Jesus would eventually put down all statists and all institutions[289] through Godly Families (#68; #71). The judgment of angels began in the Early Church.[290]
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289. 1 Corinthians 15:24
290. 1 Corinthians 6:1-4; Ephesians 3:10; Hebrews 12:22; 1 Corinthians 11:10
As foretold by the Old Testament Prophets, a glorious New Heavens and New Earth would be created in the "latter times."[291] Christ established this Messianic Kingdom at the time of the Apostles,[292] who knew they were living in "the last days" of the Old Age.[293] The Old Covenant World (the world of the First Adam) was destroyed by fire in A.D. 70,[294] and as the Church is maturing in obedience all Old Testament prophecies concerning the New Covenant Age (the New Heavens and New Earth under the Second Adam) are being fulfilled.[295]
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291. Micah 4:1-5; Isaiah 2:1ff.; Isaiah 11; 65:17ff.; Joel 2:28ff.; Hosea 3:5; Jeremiah 23:20; 30:24; etc.
292. Acts 2
293. Hebrews 1:2; 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20; 4:7; 1 John 2:18; Acts 2:16-17; #69
294. Matthew 24; 2 Peter 3
295. Acts 3:24; 2 Corinthians 1:20; 5:17
"The Millennium" refers to the time described in Revelation 20:1-5. Since Satan has been bound (#55) and we have been resurrected,[296] we are now in the "millennium." The figure of "a thousand years" is symbolically designed to convey a vast number of years.[297] A "literal" interpretation of the 1000-year figure based on 2 Peter 3:8 would calculate the "literal" length of the "millennium" at approximately 365,000,000 years (not counting "leap-millennia"). We are thus completing only the second day of Church history.
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296. John 5:21,25,28 (4:23; 16:32); Ephesians 2:1-6; 5:14; Luke 15:24; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:13
297. Psalm 50:10; 84:10; 90:4; 105:8
We are ruling with Christ,[298] seated on thrones in the heavenlies,[299] above all powers, lords, and archists of the Old Age.[300] We reign when we suffer at the hands of statists for advancing the cause of God's Law ("justice"[301]; "righteousness"[302]), which means we endure violence without returning violence (#80) or harboring bitterness. We do not wait for Christ to return and set up an earthly political empire;[303] we overcome evil with good[304] and thereby restore Edenic conditions.[305] Those who reject Christ's Way of suffering and prefer the way of human vengeance and political domination have been deceived by Satan[306] and overcome by the mythology of the Old Age.[307]
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298. Revelation 2:7,25-28; 5:10; 12:11; 17:14; 1 John 2:13-14; 4:4; 5:4-5; Romans 3:4; 8:37; 12;21; Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:29-30
299. Ephesians 2:6; Luke 22:30
300. Ephesians 1:21; 1 Peter 3:22
301. 2 Timothy 2:12
302. Matthew 5:10
303. Revelation 3:21
304. Romans 12:21; 1 John 2:13-14; 4:4; 5:3-5; Revelation 17:14
305. #91; Revelation 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12; 21:7
306. Matthew 16:23; Genesis 3:5 + Luke 4:5-7; Mark 10:42-45
307. 2 Peter 2:19-20; 1 Corinthians 6:7
All the kingdoms of the world have now been definitively delivered to the Resurrected and Enthroned Christ[308] and shall be progressively delivered to Christ by His saints[309] until the nations have been finally and completely subjected to the Law of Christ.[310]
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308. Revelation 11:15; 12:10-11; Acts 26:17-18
309. Daniel 7:13-14,18,22; Romans 16:20; Psalm 149:4-9; Revelation 12:11; 19:14:15; cf. Matthew 28:18-20
310. compare 1 Corinthians 15:24
Christians who embody the Word[311] provide cultural stability and social healing;[312] they are thus a light to the world[313] because the Light of the Sun of Righteousness shines through them.[314]
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311. Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; John 14:23; 1 John 3:17,24
312. 1 John 3:17,24; Isaiah 35:3-9; Hebrews 12:12-13
313. Matthew 5:14; John 5:35; Philippians 2:15; Ephesians 5:8; Proverbs 4:18; Daniel 12:3.
314. Luke 1:78; Psalm 37:6; Malachi 4:2; Isaiah 51:4-8; 60:1-3; Revelation 21:22-25; 22:5; Isaiah 30:26
The Prophets foretold the future Edenification of the Earth by speaking of Eden, the Mountain of the Lord.[315] These prophecies are now coming to pass: We now have access to the Tree of Life[316] because Christ, in His death on the Tree,[317] removed the Curse brought about by the First Adam.[318] We have been re-admitted to the Holy Mountain (#7) and placed in the wide open spaces[319] of the Garden of the New Jerusalem;[320] our task is now to perfect it.[321]
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315. Micah 4:1-5; Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:9; 25:6-9; 56:3-8; 65:25; Daniel 2:34-35,44-45; #7
316. Revelation 2:7; 22:2,14
317. 1 Peter 2:24; Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Acts 5:30-31; 10:39; 13:29
318. Galatians 3:13; Genesis 3:17-19
319. Exodus 3:8; Judges 18:10; 2 Samuel 22:20,37; 1 Chronicles 4:40; Nehemiah 9:35; Psalm 18:19,36; 31:8; 118:5; 119:45; Isaiah 30:23; 54:2; Hosea 4:16.
320. Hebrews 12:22; Matthew 5:14; Luke 19:46
321. Genesis 2:15; 1:26-28; 3:17 + Revelation 22:3
The Prophets spoke of a "new heavens and new earth."[322] When this Age would come, people would still die, but not until after they had lived full, abundant lives. The Apostles believed that the inauguration of the New Age and fulfillment of "these promises" was imminent.[323] Christ ascended to the Right Hand of God to make all things new.[324]
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322. Isaiah 65:
323. 2 Peter 3.
324. Revelation 21:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17.
As the Gospel takes root from shore to shore (#59, #63, #56, #89, #46, cf. #19, #57 + #64), even those not genuinely converted will feign conversion, submission to the Covenant, and will generally obey Gospel principles of government and social order.[325] Compared with those who are truly converted, however, these cowards will be a minority,[326] for genuine conversion is the Lord's will[327] and His will shall be done.[328]
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325. 2 Samuel 22:45; Psalm 18:44; 66:3; 81:15; Deuteronomy 33:29; Proverbs 14:19.
326. Revelation 7:9; Matthew 8:11; Zephaniah 3:9; Acts 14:27; 15:9; Romans 11:12,25; 15:12; Ephesians 3:6; Matthew 13:32
327. Psalm 17:1; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2:5
328. Matthew 6:10; Isaiah 44:21-28; Malachi 1:11; Mark 10:42-45; Matthew 9:9-13.
As kings recognize their obligation to obey Biblical Law, they surrender their rule ("archydom") over others and begin to exhort and encourage them to obey God's Law in their households.[329]
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329. Isaiah 49:23; 60:10,16.
Earthly cities depend (in vain) on walls and military garrisons for protection.[330] Christians, as the Temple-City of God,[331] need no such walls, no such polis.[332] The New Jerusalem is the Anti-Polis.[333]
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330. #11; #20; Deuteronomy 28:52; Psalm 18:29; Jeremiah 51:58
331. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 3:12; 21:2ff.
332. #20; 2 Samuel 22:2-3; Isaiah 25:12 - 26:1; 60:11,18; Zechariah 2:4-5
333. Revelation 21
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