Church of the King - McAllen

Disarming Principalities

admin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:45:00 +0000

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col 1:15-16).

Notice that these thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers are in heaven (invisible), and on earth visible. Satanic rulers work in tandem with earthly rulers.

Col 2:15 says, Christ disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross. Evil rulers are not disarmed by commanding them to leave, but by the cross of Christ, the weakness of submission to the Father. Even though the work was finished at the cross, the body of Christ does what Paul said in Col 1:24 by filling up in our flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.

Now please look at how Psalm 82 throws light on these rulers of heaven and earth.

Psalm 82

1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. [These mighty “gods” gather together as rulers while God stands among them.]

2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah [God’s law says, “You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty” (Lev 19:15). The identifying mark of these rulers is partiality. That is the nature of the beast that results in class warfare.]

3 Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. [The best way to defend the poor is by liberty and justice for all by means of free enterprise without partiality.]

4 Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.

5 They [the rulers] do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable. [Their earth is unstable because Christ is not their foundation.]

6 I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. [God calls the rulers of darkness “gods” and Sons of God (“children of the Most High”).]

7 But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes [Satan].”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.

God Takes His Place In The Divine Council

In the midst of the gods He holds court

What God calls gods in Psalm 82:1 He calls “men” that die in 82:7. So, evidently visible human rulers are somehow metaphysically linked with invisible Satanic principalities in the divine council. This is why politicians somehow change once inside the D.C. Beltway. Principalities and powers discover chinks in their character with powerful temptations and corruption runs rampant. This is why liberals congregate in state capitals.

Micaiah’s Vision Of The Divine Council

When The Prophet Micaiah had a vision of the Divine Council we see a good example of how the visible and invisible work together when Ahab and Jehoshaphat had gathered a council to decide about going to war with Damascus. They asked the prophet Micaiah what they should do. Micaiah calls this council “the host of heaven.” Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So there were various suggestions. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ (1 Kings 22:19-22).

We see another example of the Divine Council in Job 1:6. Just as Psalm 82:6 calls these gods “children of the Most High,” in Job they are called “sons of God.” Job 1 says, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” You might ask, “Why are lying spirits and Satan among them?” The answer is because of Adam’s fall God uses evil forces to punish sinners. When men break God’s law, God turns them over to the tormentors and we get the rulers we deserve.

The Bible calls these principalities the Rulers Of Darkness of this age. Ephesians 3:8-10 shows how God now includes the church in the divine council. Paul says, “To me… this grace was given, that I should preach… to make all see what… has been hidden… to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” Preaching God’s word is what disarms them. “For we … wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). The church does this warfare with the sword of the Spirit.

Psalm 2 says, “The rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Christ… but He who sits in the heavens shall … speak to them in His wrath, ‘I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.’” He speaks by the mouth of His people. The rulers of darkness plot in the divine council to ban God’s law in public places. Then they proceed to eliminate the name of God’s Son. Then they forbid our having a voice in the Divine council by separation of church and state. The solution is God speaking to them in His wrath by the mouth of his servants.

God Has a Message To Rulers: “Deliver the poor and needy.” Both liberals and conservatives say they want to do that. Liberals want the government to do it and conservatives want volunteers to do it. But for the government to do it, they have to break God’s law by showing partiality through the plunder of taxpayers.

Does it really help the poor to become wards of the state? Nowhere does God’s law command the government to provide handouts. All it does is make them slaves on Uncle Sam’s Plantation.

I don’t trust any politician that ignores Bastiat’s little book, “The Law.” Psalm 82:5 says, “They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.” Without Christ there is no foundation. Verse two says to the rulers, “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality?” They do not understand that the sole duty of government is to protect the people from plunder. But they do the opposite through imperialism (sticking their nose in the affairs of sovereign nations), regulations, taxes, and welfare.

Our Prayer And Our Hope is in Psalm 82:8Our prayer: “Arise, O God, judge the earth;” Our hope: “you shall inherit all the nations!”

Daniel’s Vision Of The Heavenly Court

The prophet Daniel foresaw the heavenly court seated over 500 years beforehand when the judgment in favor of the saints was given. He says, “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated… And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days… and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” [The time came when Christ ascended in the clouds and sat down on the throne of the Lord] (Daniel 7:9-22)… and Daniel said, “the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High” (Dan 7:27).

If the kingdoms of earth are given to the people of God, then I ask, “How can we possibly “zip it” and not make God’s voice heard in politics?”

“All things were created through Him and for Him,” every aspect of creation is created for Him, including politics.

We have ascended with Christ and are seated together with Him in the heavenly council as Sons of God, kings, and priests ruling and reigning with Him… disarming the rulers of the darkness of this age by teaching the nations. The meek shall inherit the earth.

“Arise, O God, judge the earth;

you shall inherit all the nations!”

churchofthekingmcallen.com

Is Mercy In Harmony With The Law?

admin — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:19:00 +0000

When I was a 12-year-old “bad boy” I learned how to receive mercy. Two friends got me to join them in raiding a Lays Potato Chip van. My two buddies grabbed some bags of chips and took off running. I followed a little late and got caught by a teenage neighbor that was a track star. I broke down in contriteness and begged him to take the chips and not tell my parents. He said he would if I would get my friends to return their chips. I agreed, so he showed mercy and let me go. My contriteness seemed to satisfy his sense of justice.

Mercy never works without satisfying God’s law. It always operates in harmony with God’s law. There is no mercy without satisfying God’s law. Mercy never runs from the law. Someone on Face Book said “Run from the Law of Moses that condemns you, into the city of Refuge who is Jesus Christ!” No one gets mercy by running from God’s law. The way to get mercy is by siding with God’s law against self. Jesus said, “Agree with your adversary quickly… lest your adversary deliver you to the judge” (Mat 5:25).

Mercy does not triumph over the law. James says it triumphs over judgment. Running to the City of Refuge is not running from the law. It’s running from the judgment of the law. Nobody can outrun the Law. The City of Refuge is a provision of the law. Mercy only comes by making satisfaction in accord with the law. Only the merciful receive mercy. The law itself requires mercy. The merciful are those who are taught by the law that they need mercy and do not deserve it. That’s why they can forgive others.

To excuse sin is not the same as mercy. In order to receive mercy, the law must be satisfied. God cannot be in harmony with His holy nature and excuse sin at the same time. That would violate His sinless nature. God forgives in accord with His holy nature, and so do the merciful. Satisfaction must be made.

The law of aerodynamics does not triumph over the judgment of gravity by eliminating the law of gravity. Gravity is God’s law. Aerodynamics does not triumph over gravity. It triumphs over the judgment of gravity in harmony with it. The judgment of the law of gravity is “what goes up must come down.” When the plane crashes, that is the judgment of the law. Mercy does not triumph over the law; it triumphs over judgment.

Satisfaction is called propitiation or atonement. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb 9:22). Christ “Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2). He made satisfaction available for the whole world, but until personal satisfaction is made also, there is no forgiveness. David said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart” (Ps 51:17). Both God and the merciful do not have mercy on those who are in denial. Satisfaction must be made. But if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. That’s when mercy triumphs over judgment.

You Can’t Legislate Morality?

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:02:00 +0000

Some Christians see no need to make an effort to change public policy because, they say, “You can’t legislate morality.” They argue that before the hippy movement of the sixties, people were hypocritically doing the same things under cover that the hippies were doing openly. True. But it was not openly acceptable before that. In one sense it is also true that you can’t legislate morality. Only God can change the heart. The hippies argued that their parents were doing the same things in the “underworld,” so they might as well do them openly, so they belched out of the bottomless pit into the open.

The law restrains evil. So the new morality threw off the restraints. Let me illustrate how that works. I did not know it at the time while growing up, but my mother was committing adultery with a man for about ten years. If it had been socially acceptable she would not have covered it up. That would have caused me to lower my standard. If I had thought it was okay, I would not have believed the Holy Spirit’s effort to convince me of sin, righteousness and judgment as easily. Because I feared my dad’s displeasure, I would have unleashed my urge to fornicate. That, in turn, would have would have enslaved me even more. That also would have led to my corrupting many young girls and damaging them for life. I could give other examples. The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The law can’t save us but without the Holy Spirit using the law to bring us to Christ, there would be no salvation.

When the restraints of public standards (God’s laws) are taken away, less people will come to Christ and lawlessness will abound. Examples: When Alfred the Great and others established overt Christian laws and governments, the result was conversion to nominal Christianity. The establishment of America is another example. That, in turn, resulted in more born again Christians. The law cannot save, but without it, there is no salvation. Without being convinced of sin, righteousness, and judgment no one will come to Christ. Without that conviction no one would see the need for the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And because every true convert has been convinced of his depravity, it is impossible for him to think he is a good person.

Unbelievers do not see that need because they are not totally convinced they are bad enough to need the Savior. Thus, they are by nature hypocrites. But to avoid being hypocritical, the hippies did openly what they had been doing (or wanted to do) under cover. They think that keeps them from being hypocrites. They think it is hypocritical to resist temptation.

When the little boy was forced to sit down in church, he was still standing up inside. But I am glad for it. “Fake it ‘til ya make it.” It will make a more lawful and peaceful society.

This brings us to another reason why some see no need for an effort to change public policy. It is the idea that the nominal “unconverted” church or society is not relevant. The idea is that only true converts matter. But we see from the Old Testament pattern that nominal Israel was important. The vast majority of Israelites were probably not saved. But they were still under the covenant shelter. They were circumcised in the flesh, but not in the heart, but God still had a covenant with them that brought great blessings and true salvation to many at that time and later to the whole world. Just because common grace is not enough does not mean common grace is bad. Common grace is good and special grace is better. The flesh concludes that because nominal Christians under common grace are hypocrites, that therefore common grace is bad.

To separate the secular from the sacred is dualism. Jesus Christ demands that all governments come under the Lordship of their King. The purpose of redemption is not to take us all to heaven. The purpose of redemption is to bring heaven to earth. “Thy will be done on earth.” But to demand perfection now is to demand utopia. There will be no utopia until Jesus comes. But the path of the just is as the shining light that shines more and more to the perfect day. We have seen that progress in history.

The U.S. Constitution is not perfect, but it is the result of the Gospel. If we do what our Puritan fathers did we will see even greater results. But if we don’t even vote or get involved in politics, America will continue to decline into even more decadence. Christians are the salt to preserve nations.

Martin Luther said, “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”

Daniel’s Sixth Kingdom

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:18:00 +0000

In Daniel chapter two, King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream and Daniel gave the interpretation. He saw a statue with

1. a head of gold (Babylon),

2. arms and breast of silver (Medo/Persia),

3. belly of brass (Greece),

4. legs of iron (Rome),

5_. and feet part iron & part clay (Rome as it crumbled).

6. The 6^th kingdom (God’s kingdom): As he watched, a little stone cut out of a mountain (without hands), flew thru the air and struck the image on the feet. The whole thing crumbled to dust and the wind blew it away. Then the little stone grew and grew till it became a great mountain that filled the whole earth. This is the kingdom of God that eventually destroyed Rome and became Christendom.

Daniel said, “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever…” (2:44). Daniel clearly reveals the timing of when the Kingdom Of God would be set up: “In the days of those kings.” Just before Christ went to the cross He said, “ “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). Christ then ascended in the clouds to the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:13) and sat down at the right hand of the Father “on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father” (1Chron 29:23). “For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet” (1Cor 15:25). When Jesus came in the clouds to the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:13) “a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Dan 7:22) “in the days of those kings” (Dan 2:44). Jesus said that judgment was made just before He went to the cross: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). The judgment was made at that time, and the execution of that judgment “till He has put all enemies under His feet” (1Cor 15:25). The Little Stone is still growing.

The Greek poet Hesiod, who lived 100 years before Daniel, also envisioned a sixth kingdom. He believed history started with a golden age and steadily deteriorated from gold to silver to brass to iron. He believed he was in the iron-age and that there would be a return to the golden age. Hesiod placed a 5th age of heroes before the age of iron.

Plato, who came 100 years after Daniel, also believed in a sixth government: his Republic. He taught that there are five types of government that deteriorate into anarchy and result in tyranny. 1. First is the golden monarchy. In the golden monarchy there is true justice & love for one’s neighbor.

2. The golden monarchy deteriorates into a timocracy. Timo means honor. A timocracy is ruled by men whose motive is honor. 3. Because honor leads to prosperity, the timocracy deteriorates into an oligarchy ruled by a few whose motive is riches. Riches produce libertine children who want fun. They call it freedom.

4. It’s called democracy: the rule of every man doing what is right in his own eyes. It’s the rule of fleshly passions. It’s the French Revolution and the hippies belching out of the Bottomless Pit.

5. The comes tyranny. According to Plato, pure democracy results in anarchy (lawless liberty). Then, to bring order out of it all, they vote for a tyrant. This is what happened in Germany with Hitler, in France with Napoleon, & in Russia with Lenin. Solomon said, “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun” (Ec 1:9).

Bojidar Marinov writes about Isidore of Seville and the Birth of Europe as the Rule Of Christ (http://americanvision.org/3452/isidore-of-seville-and-the-birth-of-europe-as-the-regnum-christi/).

Isidore (born in AD 560) was Spanish. He based his life’s ministry on Augustine’s theology by accepting Augustine’s six-ages view of history. Isidore was sure that the “sixth age” was the time when he lived, and that was a special age, the age following the Redemption of Jesus Christ, under the power of Jesus Christ, regnum Christi. All previous ages existed only to provide the background for that most important age in history. All previous human achievements in knowledge, wisdom, technologies, social development, philosophy, existed only to be used in the right way in the regnum Christi. The whole world found its fulfillment only in the Incarnation of Christ, and now it was a Kingdom of Christ, under Christ’s royal rule, destined to become one Christian civilization, under Christ, where all authorities and powers will submit to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

This total authority of Christ in this age of regnum Christi will make all the nations become limbs of Christ. Isidore said nations would be judged by a moral standard, just like individuals, and the greatest of them would be those that live – as societies – most clearly in accordance with the Christian faith. All aspects of the life of a nation must become harmonized with the teachings of Christ, from the personal life of the individuals to the government policies and international relations of the rulers. Those that fail to abide by the Law of Christ will be judged in history. Those that obey will prosper and grow.

Therefore Isidore saw the role of the Church in teaching everyone – from the lowest peasant to the highest court officials – their duties in the new age of regnum Christi. He wrote an encyclopedia and His teaching spread all over Europe until all of Europe became Christendom.

This happened to Europe but Europe has turned away just like Israel did. I predict that was only a foretaste of what will happen to the whole world. We are in Babylonian captivity now, but there shall be a return and a re-building of the New Jerusalem in all the nations of the world.

God promises a time when this will happen not just to Europe, but to the whole world (Micah 4:1-4).

Under the Authority of a Cloud of Witnesses

admin — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:37:43 +0000

Under the Authority of a Cloud of Witnesses

Our motto is “Back to the future with the faith of our fathers!” By “fathers” we are referring to the historical church, the Reformers, and the Puritans.

They believed God is sovereign.

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Do I have to believe everything the church elders believe in order to be a member of Church of the King?

admin — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 04:13:15 +0000

Certain things in the universal church are considered essential doctrines of the Christian faith, such as the doctrines listed in the Apostles’ Creed, the Trinity, and the infallible inspiration of Scripture; and in those we must agree. There are other things we believe that are considered non-essential, like the details on prophecy; and in those we can disagree. It is important to note that just because something is considered a non-essential, it does not mean it isn’t important. We must be willing to debate those issues without dividing, in order to find the truth in scripture.

Membership

admin — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 04:12:19 +0000

Membership at Church of the King is simple and biblical: attend and give regulalry, believe in the infallibile inspiration of the Bible, believe the doctrines taught in the Apostles’ Creed, and believe in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Our Beliefs

admin — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 04:11:35 +0000

Church of the King is a Christian fellowship that believes: the Bible is the only guide to life, that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father, that you must be born again, and that there is one catholic church. (That is, catholic, meaning universal, not Catholic, as in Roman Catholic.) More on our beliefs.

The Current CultureWar And The Scottish Covenanters

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:23:00 +0000

The Covenanters formed an important movement in the religion and politics of Scotland in the 17th century. In religion the movement is most associated with the promotion and development of Presbyterianism (representative government) as a form of church government favored by the people, as opposed to Episcopacy, favored by the crown. In politics the movement saw important developments…

The name derives from biblical bonds or covenants. The National Covenant of 1638 takes as its point of departure earlier documents of the same kind and is chiefly concerned with preserving the Reformation settlement free from crown innovations. Its sister document, the 1643 Solemn League and Covenant, is also concerned with religion, but its chief importance is as a treaty of alliance between the Covenanters in Scotland and the Parliament of England, anxious for help in the increasingly bitter civil war with Charles I.

James VI of Scotland (James I of England) was opposed by the Covenanters in his attempt to bring the Anglican Church into Scotland. He ousted the Covenanters from their pulpits and homes saying that he was the head of the church. The Covenanters said, “No. Christ is the head. We will preach in the fields.” Later King Charles II and his brother King James II indulged certain ministers and allowed them to pastor churches where Anglican pastors could not be found. But to do this, they had to compromise with the king’s state church. Covenanters like Richard Cameron railed against these compromisers as being dead and without God’s power.

The Lion Of The Covenant

Richard Cameron (1648? - 1680) was a leader of the Presbyterians who resisted the Stuart monarchs. The life & ministry of Richard Cameron was among the first of a series of events that led to the Glorious Revolution (1888) and the end of the reign of the House of Stuart. His followers took his name, the Cameronians, which ultimately formed the nucleus of the Scottish regiment of the same name.

He was initially a parish schoolteacher and then a highly successful field preacher of the strict Presbyterian school, a Covenanter. He spent some years in exile in the Netherlands when the authorities demanded that all preachers submit to the Crown's religion. He was ordained there and sent back to Scotland with the prophecy by Rev. M’Ward that he would be martyred for the cause of Christ.

He returned to Scotland in 1680 and issued with others such as Donald Cargill the Sanquhar Declaration, calling for war against the king, Charles II and the exclusion of his brother (James II) from the succession. He was killed in a skirmish with government troops, at Airds Moss near Cumnock, later the same year, in a government attempt to suppress the Covenanters. This period was later given the title of "the Killing Time" because hundreds, if not thousands of Presbyterians were persecuted and martyred for holding Cameronian views. However, after the accession of William III (in the Glorious Revolution) his followers were pardoned and incorporated into the British Army as the Cameronian Regiment.

When hands were laid on Richard Cameron at his ordination in Holland, the one hand of Mr. M’Ward remained and M’Ward cried out, “Behold, all ye beholders, here is the head of a faithful minister and servant of Jesus Christ, who shall lose the same for his Master’s interest, and it shall be set up before sun and moon, n the view of the world.” And so it was that his hands and head were put on display at the gate of the Edinburgh for all to see. One of his enemies said, “There’s the head and hands of a man who lived praying and preaching, and died praying and fighting.”[1]

Before this was done, his hands and head were delivered to his father in prison to add grief to his former sorrow. Taking his son’s head and hands, which were very fair, he kissed them, and said, “I know – I know them; they are my son’s – my own dear son’s. It is the Lord – good is the will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me nor mine, but has made goodness and mercy to follow us all our days.”[2]

Eighteen days before Cameron was killed, he prophesied from the pulpit that there would not be a crowned King of the name of Stuart in Scotland. This was fulfilled eight years later in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He also prophesied “A man shall ride a day’s journey in the shires of Galloway, Ayr and Clydesdale, and not see a reeking house nor hear a cock crow, ere ye get a right Reformation; and several other shires shall be little better.” He also prophesied in the same sermon, “The rod that the Lord will make instrumental in this, will be the French and other foreigners, together with a partying this land joining them; but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not want men enough to work for him.”[3] This prophecy of slaughter was fulfilled 66 years later in 1746 at Culloden.

In 1746 the Stuart Prince Charles, with the help of the French, Spain, and others, invaded Scotland where many Highlanders joined him and marched toward London. At Culloden the English and other Scots slaughtered them. The slaughter did not end there. Genocide by the English in the highlands followed.

Description Of The Ethnic Cleansing

A little after 12:30 that afternoon the Prince’s side fired what canon they had and waited for the return volley - which came swiftly. His troops were cut down in the dozen by the onslaught of Cumberlands artillery. Disemboweled by the flying balls of 4lb steel, arms legs and heads were scattered amongst the bunched up and freezing Jacobites. It all lasted for minutes and when the smoke cleared all that was left to do was to run or charge - the Jacobites outnumbered by at least 2 to 1 charged on the right flank of Cumberland’s lines. For a brief spell the Duke's troops on the right were scattered, but soon closed ranks on the charging Highlanders and began the massacre, in turn scattering the Highlanders across 'Cumberland’s Bloody Killing Field'.

By 1:00, only 30 minutes later, it was all over and those Highlanders, who could, ran for cover and back to their homes. By Cumberland’s own estimate, some 2,000 Highlanders lay dead on Culloden Moor. These figures have never been seriously challenged and neither has the figure of 300 dead and injured from his side. A more exact figure has been put forward of 1,500 Highlanders but still only 300 of the Dukes men.

The memories of Culloden still run deep in the blood of Highlanders the world over because this battle was not the end - it was just the beginning!

Cumberland gave orders for "No Quarter Given": in other words 'none shall live'. His army marched on and killed every wounded Highlander left on the field - and then made his way to Inverness to carry on the fight. Raiding homes looking for Jacobites, all were labeled as one and swiftly put either to the end of a musket - bayonet – hangman’s rope or burnt alive in their homes. Women, children, old and young, his orders were "No Quarter Given" - and none was.

The slaughter did not end there on that day, and this is the significance of the Jacobite's in Scottish history: particularly Highland history. For months his army moved around the Highlands clearing out any threat once and for all that Highlander should ever pick up a Broadsword against England. It can be quoted from English parliament in reply to Cumberland’s reports that they sent message saying "It will be no great mischief if all should fall." the support for Cumberland’s ethnic cleansing was total.

5 months passed and it was decided that the hunt for the Jacobites, (which by this time there were more than likely none left as well as every other Highlander who wasn't even there), should be calmed down and this is when the Prince made his escape back to France.

In London they celebrated the defeat of the Highland people once and for all, and the German composer Handel wrote one of his most famous works 'See the conquering hero come' - referring to The Duke of Cumberland.

The Highland people were wiped out. Over the coming years they were cleared out of their homes to make way for their lands to be used for profitable sheep farming. For 4 generations the Highlanders were scattered to the corners of the world - Europe, India, and the New World 'America'. Sold as slaves they worked on the lands in the southern parts of America, and one account even tells us that in Barbados a ship load of Highlanders were traded for 10 tones of Sugar.

Their culture was demolished, their native language - Gaelic - was banned and marked as a hanging offence if spoken, the wearing of tartan was also made a hanging offence and even the Bible was not allowed to be learnt in their own language, never mind written.

These times are known to us who are still here as the 'Highland Clearances'. English schools were put in place and the process of conversion began. Finally the English dream of a conquered Scotland was theirs.[4]

Many of those Scots who were exiled came to America where the encouragement of Richard Cameron’s prophecy was fulfilled when they fought along with George Washington and received encouragement in final victory. A high percent of Washington’s officers were Scots. Cameron had prophesied, “…but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not [lack] men enough to work for him.”

And you, the Christian right of America, be not discouraged at the fewness of your numbers; for when Christ comes to raise up his own work in America, He will not lack men enough to work for him.

What does all this have to do with us? This struggle in Scotland and England led first to the Glorious Revolution in England and later to what the English called the “Presbyterian Scots-Irish Revolt” in America (The American Revolution).

Eighteen days before Cameron was killed, he prophesied from the pulpit that there would not be a crowned King of the name of Stuart in Scotland. This was fulfilled eight years later in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He also prophesied “A man shall ride a day’s journey in the shires of Galloway, Ayr and Clydesdale, and not see a reeking house nor hear a cock crow, ere ye get a right Reformation; and several other shires shall be little better.” He also prophesied in the same sermon, “The rod that the Lord will make instrumental in this, will be the French and other foreigners, together with a partying this land joining them; but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not want men enough to work for him.”[5] This prophecy of slaughter was fulfilled 66 years later in 1746 at Culloden.

Description Of The Ethnic Cleansing

The memories of Culloden still run deep in the blood of Highlanders the world over because this battle was not the end - it was just the beginning!

Five months passed and it was decided that the hunt for the Jacobites, (which by this time there were more than likely none left as well as every other Highlander who wasn't even there), should be calmed down and this is when the Prince made his escape back to France.

Many of those Scots who were exiled came to America where the encouragement of Richard Cameron’s prophecy was fulfilled when they fought along with George Washington and received encouragement in final victory. A large percent of Washington’s officers were Scots. Cameron had prophesied, “…but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not [lack] men enough to work for him.” The “work in Scotland” was fulfilled in America, the new Scotland, where there are five times as many Scots as there are in Scotland. America became Scottish in culture.

And you, the Christian right of America, be not discouraged at the fewness of your numbers; for when Christ comes to raise up his own work in America (the New Scotland of the “Scots-Irish Presbyterian Revolt”), He will not lack men enough to work for him.

For the earth will be filled

With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,

As the waters cover the sea

(Hab 2:14).

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

http://ronsmithmission.blogspot.com/

[1] Howie, John. The Scots Worthies, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1995

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] The Rise & Fall of the Jacobite Rebellion By Mark Monaghan.at http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/culloden/jacobite.htm

[5] Ibid.

[6] The Rise & Fall of the Jacobite Rebellion By Mark Monaghan.at http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/culloden/jacobite.htm

Name It And Claim Presbyterians And Other Evangelicals

admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:48:00 +0000

Name It And Claim It Presbyterians And Other Evangelicals
In case you don’t know what “name it and claim it” means, it refers to those modern Charismatics that pick something they want God to give them and then say they are believing God to give it to them. For example, if they want a Cadillac or healing or whatever, they ask God for it and then proceed to speak it into existence. They teach that you must not say that you are sick because that might make you sick. They say that is a negative confession. When they get sick they deny it and say they just have the symptoms, but not the disease. Unfortunately, many have died of the symptoms.
We have all heard of the examples that hit national news. Parents, for example that had a child with a disease that the parents refused to treat because they were “believing for” healing. Then the child died. I knew a couple that was trained in the name it and claim it system and the wife got cancer. She asked me what the “formula” for healing would be. When I told her there is no formula and that “true faith believes nothing can happen to you unless God lets it happen; and if He does, it is for your good, even unto death. There is no promise that you will be healed unless God speaks it. True faith trusts God to make that judgment. But you do have the guarantee that God loves you and whatever He decides will be for your good, even unto the worst scenario.” She said, “Horrors! No! I dare not admit of death!” She thought it all depended on naming and claiming it.
John Owen said, “Take heed to not tell yourself that you have peace with God before God Himself says it.” I have seen “Name it and claim it” Calvinists and Arminians do the same when it comes to salvation. The sinners’ prayer is the “formula,” or pointing to a proof text. They dare not admit of death.
I once assigned a reading on “True and False Conversion” to a seminary class and one pastor said (in effect), “Horrors! My people would doubt their salvation if I taught that!” My question is this: “What is wrong with that? Does not God command us to make our calling and election sure and to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith. Many evangelicals seem to think that faith in faith is what saves.
Believing you’re going to heaven does not make it so.
Believing God is what makes you know.
Believing you’re okay does not make it true.
Believing God is what carries one through.

John Owen asks, “How can we know it is God speaking and not we ourselves?” He says we must be careful to not justify ourselves before God does. “It is God that justifies” (Rom 8:33). “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10:27). Don’t worry. You will know when Christ speaks. He is the Amen, the True and Faithful Witness. But the danger is to mistake His voice for your own. Don’t name it and claim it.

Are Porn Addicts Hell-bound?

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:01:00 +0000

I hear there are many Christian men that are enslaved by pornography. Why? Could it be a symptom of a false conversion? There are two kinds of Christians: true converts and false ones. If one is addicted to porn, for example, he might better question whether he is a true convert. Anybody dominated by sin has a good reason to doubt his salvation. Which is more dangerous, to presume you are okay or to doubt it? If he presumes it he will not bother to examine himself to see if he really believes. But if he doubts it he will not be more likely to make his calling and election sure?
A bad tree can’t give good fruit. A good tree does not bear bad fruit. Do not marvel that I say, “You must be born again.” With men this is impossible, but be of good cheer. There is hope. With God’s mercy & grace all things are possible. As long as one is addicted to scandalous sin, he is still under the condemnation of God’s law. But God’s grace sets men free. Dealing simply with symptoms a new tree will not make.
Are you addicted to pornography, for example? Pornography involvement is symptomatic of a far greater problem. Don't you feel the condemnation of a secret life that only God knows about? Do you have a desire to quit? Trying to quit has not worked in the past for you, so why do you now think you can will yourself away from such a damaging influence in your life? A man, like a tree is known by the fruit it bears. What kind of person are you? Do you need a new beginning?
John Owen shows that it is possible to be addicted to sin and still go to heaven. I agree. But I would not count on it. But the point is not about heaven. Why would the preacher want to assure someone he’s going to heaven if he is under the condemnation of both his own conscience and God’s law? Just to make him feel good? His salvation is held in doubt as long as he has no victory. (I am not talking about dealing with the symptom. I am talking about getting rid of the cause of the symptom.) If the argument is that I might discourage him and he will quit serving God because he now thinks he might be hell-bound, it seems to me that he would have had good reason to doubt. When one is truly converted, he does not serve God for fire insurance. He serves God like Job did… for nought, and not on the condition that he be allowed to go to heaven. Or, if the argument is so he can have peace, I ask, “Why should he have peace as long as he is in bondage?” Would that not be like saying, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace?” What’s heaven got to do with victory now? Should the preacher tell him he should have victory, but he will be saved anyway? He may or may not be going to heaven, only God knows that, but why does he need that assurance when he is living in scandalous sin? How can I possibly make that judgment (of whether he is saved or not)? The secret things belong to God. The point is, he is under condemnation now, and that is not a secret. The question of heaven or hell is irrelevant.
If comfort is what we want for him, the best way to comfort him is:
(1.) to encourage him to believe that God can and will deliver him.
(2.) to confess his sin and bring it into the light by having an accountability partner.
What is happening to the professing Christian in bondage to habitual addiction to scandalous sin is that he feels guilty, cries for forgiveness, and trusts God to forgive. Let me tell the story of Wally.
Wally was the produce manager in an independent grocery store. While standing in the produce aisle he told me his story of how God delivered him several years previously. He had been an alcoholic. His wife “got saved” and he followed her, got baptized, and joined the church. He quit drinking but still had the physical compulsion to drink. After several months of resisting he lived in misery constantly resisting the physical compulsion. But pressure was building up inside until it was ready to explode. He knew he could not resist much longer.
One night Wally went home and went to bed with an impossible urge to drink. But he knew that if he did he would lose his job and his family. He was at the end of his rope. He was now fully persuaded only God could deliver him with a miracle. He clearly saw that short of a miracle his life was over. As he lay there he suddenly heard a voice that said, “Wallace! NOW I am going to do something for you.” The physical compulsion left and he no longer wanted to drink. As we stood there in the produce aisle with customers walking by, he burst out weeping as he shared. It still brings tears to my eyes.
I fear that many modern so-called converts are simply awakened and not truly converted. The Puritans specialized in the doctrine of saving conversion. They taught that there are four kinds of sinners: careless sinners, awakened sinners, convicted sinners, and converted sinners. Wally’s deliverance is an example of true conversion. While he struggled to resist the physical compulsion to drink he was still under the law. He was trying and trying to not sin. But it was a miserable effort. It was not until he was thoroughly convinced of sin, righteousness, and judgment that God said, “Wallace! NOW I am going to do something for you.” No longer did he try and try. Salvation is of the Lord and not of self-effort. The Holy Spirit had convinced him that he could not save himself.
Saving conversion comes in the twinkling of an eye, but the work of humiliation usually takes time because man’s pride dies hard.
Does this mean that after one like Wally is delivered that he is no longer tempted? No. He could still be tempted, but now he had power to resist. Before he did not. His bias was changed. He now had a new proclivity. He became a new tree, a new creature. Does that mean that the true convert no longer sins? “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1John 1:8). But “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-10).

Faith In Faith Will Not Do
Believing you’re going to heaven does not make it so.
Believing God is what makes you know.

Believing you’re okay does not make it true.
Believing God is what carries one through.

Believing we’re not so bad can take us to hell.
Realizing we’re sick can make us well.

Faith in faith cannot deliver.
But faith in God will fail you never.

When we see God we cry, “Woe is me!”
And that transforms us to the image we see.

As in a glass God’s glory beholding,
A new vessel now the Potter is molding.

Then those who escape will remember their ways,
Now loathing themselves for the evil of those days.

The “Not-Seen” City That Has Foundations

admin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 +0000

The City that Abraham looked for was not heaven.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going… [10] For he was looking for the city that has foundations, whose builder and Maker is God (Hebrews 11:8-10).

The next chapter goes on to say that Abraham looked forward to that city, but that we Christians have come to it now. It’s the City of God, the bride of Christ.” What was Abraham looking for? It was not heaven!!! It was a place on earth. Heaven is not even mentioned in the text.
A city is a government. The Greek word for city is polis, from which we get the word politics. Anyone looking for a city (a government) is involved in politics. Someone heard me on the radio and called. They said, “You’re just a politician” and hung up. I inherited it from our father… Abraham.
There are two basic governments on earth: the City of God & the City of Man. The City of Man has no foundation. “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1Co 3:11). Every government that is not built on that foundation will crumble like the Tower of Babel did. The same is true of individual government and family government.
Before God called Abraham the world spoke one sole language. To save themselves, they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city… and let us make a name for ourselves.” This is the pattern of man’s fallen nature. And this is what man has done ever since. But it always ends the same way. God rejected all the nations at Babel because they made a name for themselves instead of for God. But God so loved his enemies that He chose one man…Abraham and promised that all the nations would be blessed thru him.
In the very next chapter after Babel (Gen 12:1) God said to Abraham, “Get out of your country, … To a land that I will show you.” So Abraham set out to look for that city, that government whose builder and Maker was God. At that time Abraham was living in Ur of the Chaldees. Ur was a socialist state that owned all the property, all the animals, all the souls, and even all the tools. God said, “Get out.”
Later God told Abraham his descendants would go down to Egypt and live there for 400 years. This was the work of preparation to build His government. “Ya gotta go down before you can go up.” Pharaoh had ended up with the same socialist power that Ur of the Chaldees had had. God sent a famine so the people sold their animals to get grain from the government. When the grain ran out, they sold their land to get food from the government. When the food ran out, they sold their souls as slaves to Pharaoh. America is headed that way, too, in an effort to build another Tower of Babel.
After 400 years in Egypt, God sent Moses to put God’s law for His City in writing. The law is our school-master to bring us to the land of promise. “Tell Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, ‘Let My people go.’” Go and do what? Go & look for the City of God.
God’s people today are becoming slaves to statism just like Israel in Egypt. God keeps telling the kings of history, “Let my people go.” Freedom from state control! “Get out.” Statism has no foundation, no absolutes. No rule of law. They make up their own laws that change with their mood swings. God’s law is written in stone. It is unchangeable & absolute. Jesus did not come to abrogate it. He came to fulfill it (Mat 5:17ff).
During the American War of Independence, what the English called, “the Scots Irish Presbyterian Revolt,” God was saying to the king of England, “Let My people go.” God still says, “Let My people go and build a city based on God’s law.” Raabi Daniel Lapin says, “the knowledge of God is one of the most conspicuous Berlin Walls dividing our cultural landscape.” I say, “Mr. Obama, tear this wall down.” …. It’s time for another tea party.
Modern Babel Builders
Statists keep changing their politically correct rules every time they have a period! (And men have them, too.) They have no foundation. Nothing but feelings. Democrat Congressman Dick Durban said he wanted to remake America into the kind of America liberals want. They hate the kind of America the founding fathers wanted. These Big Brother builders of Babel reject God’s Law because it interferes with their vision of America. They think the Constitution is silly. They’re looking for a city whose builder and maker is man. Which is sillier? The Constitution or silly men?
Plato’s Republic groped for an ideal city also, but not like the one Abraham “looked for. The king of Babylon even made a tall image of man to represent the City of Man, and demanded that the whole world bow to it. Men still do it today. These Big Brothers want to save the people with handouts like Obamacare. To look to the government for security is to take the mark of the beast. It’s like saying, “We have no king but Caesar. Crucify Him and give us insurrectionists like Barabbas.”
But now, since Jesus came, believers have come to the City of the Living God. John saw it coming down. The Head is in heaven and the feet are on earth (Heb 12:22). This was the vision of Abraham. The foundation of God’s City is the Rock, Christ Jesus. God demands that the governments of men be built on that foundation. John heard “loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD HAVE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD AND OF HIS CHRIST’” (Rev 11:15)!
The progressives have their loud voices demanding a vision of the utopian city they are looking for: the great society like Egypt and Ur of the Chaldees. God says, “Get out … To a land that I will show you” (Gen 12:1). And that city was not heaven! God demands that human governments have one altar to that same God. “In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt” (Isa 19:19). Not just in heaven.
That’s why early Christians established explicitly Christian nation states. Armenia was the first, then Georgia around 300 AD, then Rome, then the Franks, and later Charlemagne, then England with Alfred the Great, then, all of Europe became Christendom. After the Reformation, Saxony, Scandinavia, Geneva, Holland, Scotland, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony established explicitly Christian governments. America was the result. God made a decree for the church: “Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers” (Isa 49:23). So God chose governments like Cyrus the Great, Constantine, and the U.S. Constitution as foster fathers and nursing mothers for His people. “That which has been is what will be” (Ec 1:9).
This is still the goal of Abraham’s children: Christian nation states built on God’s law. Why? Well, why not? Because Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
God so loved the world that He gave His only son to save it. God’s plan is to save the world.

All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’S, And He rules over the nations... A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this” (Psa 22:27-31).

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Mat 28:19-20). The duty of government is to be the nursing mother of the church. The City that has foundations is not just in heaven. It must manifest itself on the earth.
Jesus prayed, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). “Go therefore and disciple all the nations” (Mat 28:9-20).
God said Abraham’s descendants would possess the gate of their enemies (Gen 22:17). The gate of ancient cities is where the seat of the governments was. The Cities of Man are the gates of hades (the entrance to the place of the dead). The end result of statism is death. Look at the millions of aborted babies. For Jesus, Jerusalem was the gate of hades. He went there and was killed. But He promised, “I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” He destroyed it forty years later.
The City of Man seeks to take away our God-given rights of life, liberty and property. Just as Ur of the Chaldees and Pharaoh owned all the property, and all the souls, so the City of God also demands our property and our souls. The difference is slavery for one and freedom for the other. If the City of Man can give you rights, they can take them away. If the City of God can give you life, liberty, and property, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” because it was His in the first place. But the City of Man can only take away because the god of this world comes to steal property, kill life, and destroy liberty.

Not Under Law But Under Grace

admin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:39:00 +0000

.

When the apostle said, “You are not under law but under grace” (Rom 6:14) he was talking to believers. All unbelievers are still under the law and its condemnation. The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Moses, the lawgiver, can bring us to the border of the Promised Land only. And only the Greater Joshua (Christ) can take us in. But no one will enter without the law bringing us to the border because men will see no need for a Savior until the law convinces them they cannot save themselves.
The natural man hates God’s law “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Rom 8:7). For the unbeliever the law is an external threat written in stone. But at saving conversion God puts His law internally in the heart (Jer 31:33). The believer then says, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). He meditates in it day and night (Psalm 1). He now sings both the song of Moses and the Lamb (Rev 15:3). “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev 14:12).

Worship Services

admin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:06:24 +0000

Church of the King is located at 7404 N. Ware Road in McAllen, Texas. Our Sunday worship services are held at 10:30am.

You are also welcome to join one of our Bible Study classes held every Sunday at 9:30am. There are two adult classes to choose from, and children’s Sunday school is also available.

A nursery is available for little ones, as well as Children’s Church for those of school age. For more services and events, please see our calendar.

Enlightenment Hermeneutics

admin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:34:00 +0000

By R.D. Smith
The second point of the covenant asks, “Who is in charge?” Peter Enns says in his book, Inspiration And Incarnation, that the method of the apostles in interpreting the Old Testament seems odd. He says, “The New Testament writers do some odd things by our standards.” (Maybe we need to change.) He cites several examples of how the New Testament writers seemed to quote Scripture out of context. They did not seem to use our so-called “more enlightened” method. Where did they get the authority to do that?
He even thinks Jesus used an odd (odd to we who are influenced by Enlightenment rationalism) method of proving the resurrection of the body. He quoted what God said to Moses. “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Why would that seem odd? What kind of a God would be the God of men who are dead and gone and will never arise from the dead? He would be the God of the dead. That sounds like the devil. He might as well be the God of cockroaches. His answer certainly stopped the mouths of His adversaries. No one dared to ask more.
The apostles learned from Jesus how to interpret the Scriptures. On the Mount of Transfiguration, God said, “This is My Son. Hear Him.” Hebrews 1:1 says God spoke to us in old times by the prophets but now speaks through His Son. After Jesus arose, He expounded from all three divisions of the Old Testament on the Scriptures that spoke of His passion and resurrection. He taught them how to interpret Scripture. Paul said that the mystery that had been hidden from the ages was now revealed through Christ. Jesus said that “life” from the Old Testament is from those Scriptures that speak of Him.
The method that was taught was that the things in the historical account of the Scriptures were types, copies, and shadows of things that are fulfilled in Christ. The Second temple culture was somewhat familiar with allegorizing, but men like Philo of Alexandria and others were quite fanciful with that method. However, the Alexandrians with whom Stephen debated had no trouble understanding the analogies made by Stephen. He compared Joseph’s rejection and the rejection of Moses to Christ’s rejection. He called the Tabernacle of God the “Tabernacle of Moloch” and implied that the same was true with the temple.
Matthew shows that Christ is the true Israelite when he seems to quote Hosea out of context. “I called my Son out of Egypt.” Hosea was not referring to Christ, he was referring to the nation of Israel. But Matthew is showing us that Israel is a type of Christ. He quotes Isaiah 7:14 about a virgin conceiving and bearing a son, and applies that to Christ. Isaiah was talking about his own son as a sign to King Ahaz. How did he make that connection? It was by way of analogy. When Jesus was taken to Nazareth, Matthew says the prophet said, “He shall be a Nazarite.” Where is that found? This was said to Samson. Evidently Matthew (actually the Holy Spirit) saw Samson as a type of Christ in the same way that Jesus said, “There is one greater than Solomon here. There is one greater than Jonah here. There is one greater than the temple here.” The same logic would make Jesus the greater David, the greater Moses, the greater Joseph, etc.
Where did the apostles get this authority to interpret Scripture this way? “As the Father has sent Me, so send I you.” “What you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”
The first church council in Acts 15 decided on circumcision. Evidently some of the believers in Jerusalem could not make the analogy that this was a type of baptism. We still have that problem with many believers today. Paul tells us that these things were written as types (Gr tupos). Since Jesus was circumcised, and believers are baptized into the body of Christ, that must mean that believers are also circumcised. They are circumcised by means of being baptized into Christ.
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead (Col 2:11-12 NIV).

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (Col 2:16-17 NKJV).

Using this method, Paul saw the Old Testament history and ceremonial law as types of things that were fulfilled in Christ. The unclean foods were gentiles (Acts 10). Hebrews shows us that Christ is our high priest. He is our temple (Rev 21). He is our Passover Lamb, etc.
The prophets, Peter tells us, did not always understand what they were prophesying (1 Peter 1:10-11). The reason they did not was because the Holy Spirit inspired them. The Spirit simply spoke through them and bypassed some of their understanding. Even the High Priest did realize he was prophesying when he said that someone must die for the nation. On the Day of Pentecost the disciples prophesied in unknown tongues (unknown to the speakers). The people gathered from the nations, however, did understand them speaking in their languages in psalms and prophecies. In referring to the gift of tongues, Paul said, “I will pray with the spirit and also with the understanding.” This shows how the Holy Spirit can speak through men while bypassing the understanding. The fact that Isaiah, for example, did not understand that the Spirit was not only referring to Isaiah’s wife bearing a son (Isa 7:14), but was at the same time referring to Christ, also illustrates this. How did Matthew know this? He had been taught by Jesus this method of types, the “already/not yet” motif of prophecy, and was also inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Peter Enns asks, “Should we handle the Old Testament the way the apostles did?” Well, if we do not, we certainly will not understand it the way it should be understood. We are their heirs. We should honor our parents. We are told to not be like the mule that needs a bridle; but to understand the ways of the Lord. If we do not understand the apostolic method of interpretation, we certainly will not understand the Lord and His word. It is obvious that Peter Enns’ Enlightenment rationalism was not the apostolic method of interpretation.

Prophecies Of John Knox

admin — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:56:00 +0000

The
Fulfilled
Prophecies
Of
John Knox
By Ron Smith
Churchofthekingmcallen.org

John Knox was the great Reformer and apostle of the reformation in Scotland during the 16th century. He prayed, "God give me Scotland or I die!" God answered that prayer with the greatest reformation of any country.

Modern day Reformers, being influenced by the Enlightenment, would not be comfortable with such a charismatic prophet today. They would say that these gifts passed away when the New Testament was completed. Let us observe with an open mind what the witnesses of that day recorded. May God give us another to come in the spirit and power of Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord.

In 1572 Charles IX of France had the godly Admiral of France murdered. This was followed up with the general massacre of the Protestants throughout France. Seventy thousand were murdered. "For several days the streets of Paris literally ran with blood. The savage monarch, standing at the windows of the palace, with his courtiers, glutted his eyes with the inhuman spectacle, and amused himself with firing upon the miserable fugitives who sought shelter at his merciless gates." "Hired cut-throats, and fanatical cannibals marched from city to city, paraded the streets, and entered into the houses of those that were marked out for destruction. No reverence was shown to the hoary head, no respect to rank or talents, no pity to tender age or sex. Aged matrons, women upon the point of their delivery, and children, were trodden under the feet of the assassins, or dragged with hooks into the rivers; others, after being thrown into prison, were instantly brought out, and butchered in cold blood."

"The intelligence of this massacre (for which a solemn thanksgiving was offered up at Rome by order of the Pope) produced the same horror and consternation in Scotland as in every other Protestant country. It inflicted a deep wound on the exhausted spirit of Knox. Besides the blow struck at the whole Reformed body, he had to lament the loss of many individuals eminent for piety, learning, and rank, whom he numbered among his acquaintances. Being conveyed to the pulpit [in his old age], and summoning up the remainder of his strength, he thundered the vengeance of Heaven against that cruel murderer and false traitor, the King of France, and desired Le Croc, the French ambassador, to tell his master, that sentence was pronounced against him in Scotland, that the divine vengeance would never depart from him, nor from his house, if repentance did not ensue; but his name would remain an execration to posterity, and none proceeding from his loins would enjoy that kingdom in peace. The ambassador complained of the indignity offered to his master, and required the Regent to silence the preacher; but this was refused, upon which he left Scotland." (THE LIFE OF JOHN KNOX, by Thomas M'Crie)

This prophecy was fulfilled less than two years later when Charles IX died at the age of 24 and left no heir to the throne.

The Prophecy Concerning Thomas Maitland
Shortly after a godly friend of Knox had been murdered, Knox entered the pulpit and found a note. Thinking it was probably a prayer request he silently read it. It was a slanderous note referring to the murdered friend. Not knowing who had written it, Knox said, concerning the author of the note, "That wicked man, whosoever he be, shall not go unpunished, and shall die where there shall be none to lament him." The man who had written it went home and told his sister "that the preacher was raving, when he spoke in such a manner of a person who was unknown to him; but she understanding that her brother had written the line, reproved him, saying with tears, that none of that man's denunciations were wont to prove idle." That man (Thomas Maitland) later died in Italy, "having no known person to attend him." (THE LIFE OF JOHN KNOX, by Thomas M'Crie)

The Queen's Testimony
"John Knox was an eminent wrestler with God in prayer, and like a prince prevailed. The Queen Regent herself had given him this testimony, when upon a particular occasion she said that she was more afraid of his prayers than of an army of ten thousand men. He was likewise warm and pathetic in his preaching, in which such prophetical expressions as dropped from him had the most remarkable accomplishment. As an instance of this, when he was confined in the castle of St Andrews, he foretold both the manner of their surrender, and their deliverance from the French galleys; and when the Lords of the Congregation were twice discomfited by the French army, he assured them that the Lord would ultimately prosper the work of Reformation." (THE SCOTS WORTHIES, by John Howie)

When Queen Mary refused to attend Knox's preaching, he sent word that she would yet be obliged to hear the Word of God whether she like it or not. This was fulfilled when she was arraigned in England.

On another occasion, Knox told the queen's husband, "Have you, for the pleasure of that dainty dame, cast the psalm-book into the fire? The Lord shall strike both head and tail." Both King and queen died violent deaths. (THE SCOTS WORTHIES, by John Howie)

The Prophecy Concerning William Kircaldy of Grange
"He likewise said, when the Castle of Edinburgh held out for the Queen against the Regent, that 'the Castle should spue out the captain (meaning Sir William Kircaldy of Grange) with shame, that he should not come out at the gate, but over the wall, and that the tower called Davis Tower, should run like a sand-glass [an hour glass]; which was fulfilled a few years after - Kircaldy being obliged to come over the wall on a ladder, with a staff in his hand, and the said fore-work [front] of the Castle running down like a sand-brae [sandy hill]." ." (THE SCOTS WORTHIES, by John Howie)

Knox's Defense of His Predictions
Thomas M'Crie tells us that John Knox has been "accused of setting [himself up as] a prophet, presuming to intrude into the secret counsel of God, and of enthusiastically confounding the suggestions of his own imagination, and the effusions of his own spirit, with the dictates of inspiration, and immediate communications from heaven. Let us examine the grounds of this accusation a little. It is proper to hear his own statement of the [basis] upon which he proceeded in many of those warnings which have been [called] predictions. Having in one of his treatises, denounced the judgments to which the inhabitants of England exposed themselves, by renouncing the gospel and returning to idolatry, he gives the following explanation of the [basis] which he had for his threats. He told them if they wanted to know the grounds of his assurance, he hoped they would understand and believe. He said, 'My assurances are not the marvels of Merlin, nor yet the dark sentences of profane prophecies; but the plain truth of God's Word, the invincible justice of the everlasting God, and the ordinary course of His punishments and plagues from the beginning are my assurance and grounds. God's Word threatens destruction to all the disobedient; his immutable justice must require the same; the ordinary punishments and plagues show examples. What man then can cease to prophesy?' We find him expressing himself in a similar way in his defenses of the threats, which he uttered against those who had been guilty of the murder of King Henry, and the Regent Moray. He denies that he had spoken 'as one that entered into the secret counsel of God.' And insists that he had merely declared the judgment which was pronounced in the divine law. In so far then his threatenings, or predictions (for so he repeatedly calls them) do not stand in need of an apology." (THE LIFE OF JOHN KNOX, by Thomas M'Crie)

"There are, however, several of his sayings which cannot be vindicated upon these principles, and which he himself rested upon different grounds. Of this kind were, the assurance which he expressed, from the beginning of the Scottish troubles, that the cause of the Congregation would ultimately prevail; his confident hope of again preaching in his native country [when he was a galley slave], and at St Andrews, avowed by him during his imprisonment on board the French galleys, and frequently repeated during his exile; with the intimations [predictions] he gave respecting the death of Thomas Maitland, and Kircaldy of Grange. It cannot be denied that his contemporaries considered these as proceeding from a prophetic spirit, and have attested that they received an exact [fulfillment]. The most easy way of getting rid of this delicate question is, by dismissing it at once, and summarily pronouncing that all pretensions to extraordinary premonitions, since the completing of the canon [the Bible], are unwarranted, that they ought, without examination, to be discarded and treated as fanciful and visionary. Nor would this fix any peculiar imputation on the character or talents of our Reformer [Knox], when it is considered that the most learned persons of that age were under the influence of a still greater weakness, and strongly addicted to the belief of judicial astrology. But I doubt much if this method of determining the question would be consistent with doing justice to the subject. I cannot propose to enter into it in this place, and must confine myself to a few general observations. On the one hand, the disposition which mankind discover to pry into the secrets of futurity, has been always accompanied with much credulity, and superstition; and it cannot be denied, that the age in which our Reformer lived was prone to credit the marvelous, especially as to the infliction of divine judgments upon individuals. On the other had, there is great danger of running into skepticism, and of laying down general principles which may lead us obstinately to contest the truth of the best authenticated facts, and even to limit the Spirit of God, and the operation of providence. This is an extreme to which the present age inclines. That there have been instances of persons having presentiments and premonitions as to events that happened to themselves and others, there is, I think, the best reason to believe. The strong spirits, who laugh at vulgar credulity, and exert their ingenuity in accounting for such phenomena upon ordinary principles, have been exceedingly puzzled with theses, a great deal more puzzled than they have confessed; and the solution which they have given are, in some instances, as mysterious as any thing included in the intervention of superior spirits, or divine intimations. The canon of our faith is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; we must not look to impressions or new revelations as the rule of our duty; but that God may, on particular occasions, forewarn persons of some things which shall happen, to testify His approbation of them, to encourage them to confide in Him in peculiar circumstances, or for other useful purposes, is not, I think, inconsistent with the principles of either natural or revealed religion. If this is enthusiasm, it is an enthusiasm into which some of the most enlightened and sober men, in modern as well as ancient times, have fallen. Some of the Reformers were men of singular piety; they 'walked with God'; they were 'instant in prayer'; they were exposed to uncommon opposition, and had uncommon services to perform; they were endued with extraordinary gifts, and, I am inclined to believe, were occasionally favored with extraordinary premonitions, with respect to certain events which concerned themselves, other individuals, or the Church in general. But whatever intimations of this kind they enjoyed, they did not rest the authority of their mission upon them, nor appeal to them as constituting any part of the evidence of those doctrines which they preached to the world." (THE LIFE OF JOHN KNOX, by Thomas M'Crie)

Are Miraclulous Gifts For Today?

admin — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:29:00 +0000

Are
Miraculous Gifts For Today?

By Ron Smith

Wayne Grudem edited a book titled, “Are Miraculous Gifts For Today?” He shows that among Christian scholars there are five views on the subject. They are (1) the cessationist view, (2) the open but cautious view, (3) the Third Wave view, (4) the Pentecostal view, and (5) the charismatic view.
Grudem gathered scholars from each of the positions and they all wrote and defended each of their stands on the issue. The Pentecostals believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is subsequent to salvation and is accompanied by speaking in tongues. The Charismatics do not all agree on “whether baptism in the Holy Spirit is subsequent to conversion and whether speaking in tongues is a sign of the baptism in the Spirit. The Third Wave people, like Peter Wagner at Fuller Seminary, “teach, however, that baptism in the Holy Spirit happens to all Christians at conversion and that subsequent experiences are better called ‘fillings.’”
The open but cautious people “are open to the possibility of miraculous gifts today, but they are concerned about the possibility of abuses that they have seen in groups that practice these gifts…. They think churches should emphasize evangelism, Bible study, and faithful obedience as keys to personal and church growth, rather than miraculous gifts. Yet they appreciate some of the benefits that Pentecostal, charismatic, and Third Wave churches have brought to the evangelical world, especially a refreshing contemporary tone in worship and a challenge to a renewal in faith and prayer.”
Signs and wonders have always been one of God’s tools, “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Heb 2:4 NKJV). To say that signs and wonders passed away when the Canon was completed is to insert into the text something not found there.
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away (1 Cor 13:8-10 NKJV).

Did knowledge pass away when the Bible was completed? Do we know even as we are known now? Obviously, that which is perfect is the resurrection. Then, and then only will knowledge, tongues, and prophecies pass away because perfection shall have arrived. To say otherwise is to deny the miracles of Columba and many other saints of history. How about the prophesies of John Knox? (This, however, is no endorsement of the “Elmer Gantry” approach of many “Charismatics” today.)
Some Cessationists say, “If prophecy has not ceased, why not add your prophesies to the Bible?” The answer to this question is because:
1. Many prophecies were made in Bible days that never made it in the Bible or were never written down. Saul met a band of prophets who were prophesying and the Spirit of God came on him and he also did it. Phillip had four daughters that prophesied, but not one of their prophecies is found in Scripture. These are just a couple examples out of thousands of possible instances.
2. The way one can tell a false prophet is if his words contradict the other prophets (Scripture).
3. Many times God reveals things to come that are current. Savonarola prophesied the fall of the Medici power in Florence, the invasion of France, and other events that he promised would happen soon; and they all did. John Knox made many prophecies. John Welch (Knox’s son-in-law) said, “Observe what God is going to do to this young man” (a Catholic guard who was mocking his words with facial expressions). The young man immediately dropped dead. Columba's life by Adamnán records about 100 miracles and visions.
Don Richardson, in his book, Eternity In Their Hearts, tells about the ancient prophecy in the tradition of the Karen tribe of Burma. The oracle went something like this: they had left God and lost His book; but one day a white man would bring God’s book back to them and God would receive them again. One day one of their “prophets” told two men to saddle a pony and follow it wherever it led them; he said it would take them to the white man with God’s book. They followed the pony for 200 miles through jungle and mountains until it walked through the gates of a mission compound. It walked up to the well where they found a white missionary digging below. They asked, “Do you have the book?” 75,000 tribesmen were soon baptized by Baptists. Ten different tribes in the same area had the same tradition.
Bruce Olson tells a similar story about the Motilone Indians. They had an ancient tradition of a prophecy that said a white man would come and God would come out of a banana leaf. Olsen asked, “A banana leaf?” Then one of the Indians cut a banana leaf and it unfolded like the pages of a book. He then pulled his Bible out of his back pocket and began to preach the gospel. The entire tribe was converted. God has not left Himself without a witness.
If the gift of prophecy did not pass away with the completion of the Canon, should not those prophecies be included in the Bible? Of course not. Should the ancient prophecies of the Karen tribe be included in the Bible? Should the prophecies of Columba, St. Francis, St. Benedict, Antony of the Desert, and countless others be included in the Bible? When God infuses light saving conversion, should his revelation be included in the Bible. The answer is obvious.
Those who say the day of miracles is gone or that God does not work through the gifts of the Spirit must deny the miracles of Columba, St. Benedict, Francis of Assisi, the record of the Venerable Bede, and others. On what basis is this denial made? Is it on the basis of one passage in 1 Corinthians 13 that is of debatable interpretation? Is it on the basis of contradictory witnesses? Who were they? On that basis we could deny that Christ arose. Or is it really on the basis of enlightenment thinking? Let us be honest. This is the real reason: humanist presuppositions. The enlightenment has influenced moderns more than we know. It permeates the air. But “Love believes all things” (1 Cor 13).
Why is it that the Scottish Presbyterians before 1700 believed in miracles and after 1800 some say the gifts ceased? Could it be that the humanist Enlightenment had an effect? Are moderns really smarter and more enlightened than the ancients?
On the other hand, there are carloads of charismatic charlatans and plenty of suckers to follow them. Would someone like Columba, Francis of Asisi, or Jesus go on television and merchandise the gifts of God? Unthinkable! Jesus said they should “tell no one.” Let them do like the prophets of the Middle Ages such as Antony of the Desert and Francis of Assisi and take vows of poverty. The modern charlatons, too, are influenced by the Enlightenment.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it (Mark 7:36 NIV).

A good example of a modern day prophet with medieval values was Padre Pio of Italy (1887-1968). When he was a young man he fell into a trance and saw a mysterious man hanging on a cross. It frightened him. When he awoke, his hands, feet, and side were bleeding profusely and he suffered with this for fifty years. He cried out to God to take away the embarrassment, but not the pain.
The Catholic Church tested him to make sure this was not of the devil. He was not allowed to minister for ten years. Then they hid him away in a remote Italian village where he stayed the rest of his life. (This is how real integrity responds as opposed to the merchandising arrogance of today's T.V. celebrities. How ironic that so called Protestants should be put to shame by the Roman Church that was so famous for its corruptions in the days of Luther!)
There were many miracles done through Padre Pio’s prayers including multiple healings, exorcisms, and other manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit. A little girl with no pupils in her eyes was instantly made to see. Though he only knew Italian and Latin, he carried on a conversation with an American in fluent English. Once one confessed his sins and Padre Pio asked, “Is that all?' The man said, “Yes, father.” Padre Pio said there was more; “Remember that time under the tree in London in 1942 with that girl?” It scared the man so badly he got converted right then.
Are we to simply dismiss this because the man was a Catholic and believed false doctrines? What man is there that has 100% of his thinking correct? Prophets were never infallible. They had the treasure in earthen vessels (clay bodies). Only the word of God spoken through them is infallible.
Padre Pio was a contemporary of some of those who wanted to “demythologize” the miracles of the Bible; men like Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tilllich, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Albert Schweitzer, and Karl Barth.
How different was Padre Pio – in style and in results. Without publishing a book or delivering a single lecture in a university, he convinced thousands, even in the age of “historical criticism” of the Bible and the “Death of God” theologians, that miracles are not mythology but reality. Through his life and ministry, thousands came to accept the Bible and all the historical doctrines of Christianity as true.

Through the ministry of Padre Pio (and the Bible) we learn that, contrary to Pentecostal teaching, it is not always God's will to heal. Directions must come from God in each case. Sometimes Padre Pio would heal people miraculously and other times he would tell them only their souls could be healed. In some cases he told them they could be healed through an operation.
The fact remains that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The supernatural methods God used in the past will be used in the future. Padre Pio was born poor and died poor. He suffered with much pain his whole life. These are the ideals of Scripture as opposed to the “hot shot” demonstrations of today's charlatans.
Don Codling presented a thesis for Master of Theology to Westminster Theological seminary arguing against the cessation of the spiritual gifts. He says, “Prior to Hume [i.e. prior to the Enlightenment] it was generally held that miracles and other revelatory gifts were evidence showing that a messenger was from God.” This demonstrates that the real reason for denying the gifts is that Hume’s humanism has unconsciously infected modern Christians and their seminaries.

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

Government Spending

admin — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:56:00 +0000

John Maynard Keynes was a homosexual economist whose tax and spend policies Washington is following today. Spending more than we make is the dishonest policy of thieves. Keynesians insist that our condition is so scary that we must give up whatever moral values stand in the way. They believe the wages of sin is life and what a man sows he will not reap. Keynes admitted these policies that oppress the poor cause inflation and a debt that can never be repaid, but said, “We all die in the end, anyway.” Never mind the curse it imposes on our children. Borrowing money you never plan to repay is called stealing. National health care is one such policy that must be defunded. The prophet Isaiah said, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20).

The Idol Of Humanism

admin — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:11:00 +0000

Resentiment (not resentment) is a French word used because there is no English equivalent. Resentiment begins with perceived injury that may have a basis in fact, but more often is occasioned by envy. The result is a persistent mental condition of hatred and the impulse to spite with vengeance. It seeks outlet in doing harm to its object. “Any perceived difference is enough to set the pathology in motion. Resentiment ‘whispers continually: “I can forgive everything, but not that you are – that you are what you are – that I am not what you are – indeed that I am not you.”’ The other’s very existence is a reproach.

President Obama and his ilk are consumed by resentiment. He hates America for existing. He can forgive everything except that America is – that it is what it is – that he is not what it is – indeed that he is not America. America’s very existence is a reproach to him.

In his so-called “social justice” idea A is “played off” against B. The support of the so-called downtrodden is really a disguised attack on the prosperous. The downtrodden is A and the prosperous is B. His “social justice” has its source in this poisonous brew. His “social justice” glories in the praise of the weak and base, if that will also debase the strong and good. American pioneers were once the downtrodden. But once the “downtrodden” become prosperous, they are now the enemy. His goal is therefore not to raise the downtrodden. The goal is to level the playing field by bringing the prosperous down to the level of the downtrodden. In his view, if all Americans were as downtrodden as third world countries, we would all be heroes. He does not understand that all men being created equal guarantees there will not be equal results.

Of course, he and his ilk (the ruling class) exempt themselves. Some are more equal than others. He and his family will not hesitate to live in pompous monarchical opulence. What a contrast with Harry Truman. When he retired  from office in 1952, his income was  a U.S. Army pension reported to have  been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting  that he was paying for his stamps and personally  licking them, granted him  an 'allowance' and, later, a  retroactive pension of $25,000  per year. After President  Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess  drove home to Missouri by  themselves. There was no Secret Service  following them.

Mr. Obama and his ilk resent the fact that God should prosper anyone, except you know who. “Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do” (Deuteronomy 29:9). But beware. You will be a target of resentiment.

The ideas in this article are from Herbert Schlossberg, Idols For Destruction, p. 52-55

The Gates Of Hell

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:29:00 +0000

…and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies (Genesis 22:17).

God promised that Abraham’s descendants would possess the gate of their enemies. The gate of ancient cities was the place where commerce and government took place. To possess the gate of a city was to possess the political economy of the place. To possess the gate was to possess the city. Who are the enemies of Abraham’s descendents?

To answer that we need to remember that God had rejected all the nations at the tower of Babel because they had chosen to make a name for themselves and to provide their own salvation (social security) instead of trusting God. This insulted God so much that he destroyed their city and confused their languages with the curse of nationalism in order to limit their power and to keep them from uniting in a one-world City of Man. The enemies of God and Abraham’s descendents are the nations of unbelievers.
But God so loved the world that He chose to make a new nation of His friend Abraham and to save the world by giving His only begotten Son that whosoever of any nation that would believe in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. This is God’s alternative to the salvation of the City of Man.
The first “city builder” in history was a bad guy named Cain. “And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch” (Gen 4:17b). After the flood, the second city builder was another bad guy (Nimrod) who built Babel and seven other cities. The purpose of these cities was to provide salvation (social security). Men thought they could save themselves without regard to God’s covenant. All they needed was a “mighty one” like Nimrod. “Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth” (1Chronicles 1:10). When he built Babel God said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.” What men “began” to do was just that; just the beginning. Men are still doing it in bigger and bigger ways. The City of Man is the alternative to the City of God. Augustus Caesar said, “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” But instead of the City of Man being the gate to heaven, it was in reality the gate to hell.
All of the early empires in history started from a city. The Assyrian empire started with Nineveh, the Babylonian empire started with Babylon, and the Roman Empire started with Rome. They all started out as city-states. (The word “city” in Greek is polis. We get the word politic from the Greek word for city. The city was the state (i.e. the government).
The promise that Abraham’s descendents would possess the gate of their enemies “began” to be fulfilled when Joseph became the “savior” of Egypt. This pattern continues with Moses plaguing Egypt, Joshua conquering Canaan, David’s kingdom, Daniel in Babylon’s government, and Esther as queen. Then Christ came and now “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ” (Rev 11:15). It was said of the apostles, that “these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king--Jesus” (Acts 17:7). Daniel says, “the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High” (Dan 7:27). Paul said Abraham’s descendents are heirs of the world (Rom 4:13). He said the world is ours (1 Cor 3:21-22).
Jesus promised that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Mat 16:18). Then He said He was going to Jerusalem to be killed (Mat 16:21). Jerusalem was the gate of hades (death) for Jesus. He was safe until He went there. “How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers” (Isa 1:21). Jerusalem had become like the other cities… even worse. No other city up to that time had been guilty of killing God’s prophets and even His own Son!
When Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against His church, He was picturing the church as assailing the City of Man, the very gate of death. Jesus assailed Jerusalem and destroyed it when He came with the Roman armies in fulfillment of Stephen’s teaching. His accusers testified that they “heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses delivered to us” (Acts 6:14).
Why are the governments of men called the gate of death? It is because of man’s fallen nature. Man’s effort to save himself and provide social security seems on the surface to be noble, but it is the antithesis to God’s City. It always ends up with an attempt to replace God and goes about to establish its own righteousness. Every religion in the world except Biblical religion ends up worshipping the state as the highest authority and as the source of salvation. The state becomes a god by saying, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves…” (Gen 11:4). Instead of making a name for God, men replace God with their own “political correctness” whose “top is in the heavens,” so to speak. To build bigger and bigger government power is called “statism.” It is the “nanny-state.” It is “Big Brother.”
Does this mean there should be no government? No. The Declaration of Independence agrees with Romans 13 when it says, “Governments are instituted among men.” Romans 13:1 says, “the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” Edmond Burke said, “Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters."
America’s founding fathers clearly understood that government must be limited. Because they understood that the “beastly” 800-pound gorilla could not be trusted, they replaced it with a chimp. But because of man’s corruption the little monkey established by our founders has grown into a monster twice as big as the 800-pounder.
Jesus not only prevailed against Jerusalem, but, after three hundred years conquered Rome by converting Constantine. He also conquered Armenia and Georgia, the first two Christian nation states around 300 A.D. Then He prevailed against the Francs by converting Clovis their king. Charles Martel saved Europe from becoming Moslem in 732 at the Battle of Tours. Then he used Charlemagne to conquer and convert several attacking barbarian nations. Alfred the Great (850 A.D.) of England also established an explicitly Christian nation with Biblical laws that even the king could not break. All of Europe became Christian in government.
Why is it important that governments establish Biblical laws? It is for our children. If the culture is pagan it will influence the children to be sucked in by non-Christian values. This in turn will turn them from Christ because the Law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. If the culture convinces children that fornication is okay, they will be demonized. The whole design of Satan is to abolish God’s standard. No one will come to Christ until the Holy Spirit uses the Law to convince him of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. The design of Satan is to sear their consciences with godlessness. It is the duty of the government to be “God’s minister to you for good” (Rom 13:4). And “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”
The Bible pictures “statist” empires in visions as beastly monsters rising from a sea of mankind. The angel told John that the sea represented mankind (Rev 17:15). They are called “beasts” because they are predatory. They devour other nations and peoples. They exist off the production of others. They do this through taxation and they understand instinctively that God’s Law is an obstacle to their goals. Therefore they must establish their own rules and rage against God’s “bonds” and “cords.” “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us’” (Psalm 2:1-3). It is “the nature of the beast” to do this. It is the very nature of statism to say, “We have no king but Caesar.”
Nero was the last Caesar of Julius Caesar’s dynasty. Nero was the beast of Rome in the flesh. The letters of his name in Hebrew add up to 666. He did not prevail against the Church even though he made war against the saints and overcame them for a time. His doom was sealed by the word of God.
But even though Nero was the last of the dynasty, others assumed the name “Caesar” as a model of statism. Russia called its kings “Czars” (Russian for Caesar), and Germans called their leaders “Kaisar” (German for Caesar). Men still have this primordial passion to build a city that reaches to the heavens and to make a name for themselves with their various “czars.” ‘“Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’” (John 19:15). This is the alternative: either Christ or Caesar. There is no neutrality. Christ demands that the state submits to Him unconditionally.
If the kingdoms of this world have been replaced by our Lord and His Christ and given into the hands of the people, the saints of the Most High (Dan 7:27), then is it the duty of God’s people to preach against ungodly government? Can you name one prophet in Scripture that did not address politics? Moses was the Lawgiver, Joshua took his place, the elders of Israel were filled with the Holy Spirit, the Judges of Israel were inspired to fight for justice, Samuel anointed kings, Nathan counseled David, David was a prophet/king, Elijah preached to Ahab, and Elisha sat in the house with the rulers of Israel. We could give example after example. The whole thrust of Scripture is aimed at the gates of hell. The Acts ends with Paul headed for Caesar’s household.
The English called the American War of Independence the “Scots-Irish Presbyterian Revolt” because the preachers preached politics from their pulpits. The book, “They Preached Liberty,” documents how they did it. D. James Kennedy wrote the opening introduction to it. Ben Franklin said, “Man will ultimately be ruled by God or by tyrants.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer preached against national socialism and Hitler hung him for it. Socialism is big government statism. It is the gate of hell that the church must assail because it destroys the souls of men. Limited government must control and limit man’s fallen nature that wants to save itself with its “tower of power” and socialist statism.
Socialists call themselves progressives. President Obama has openly admitted that the U.S. Constitution is an obstacle to his statist goals. These “czars” are lawless. They lie when they swear to uphold the Constitution. Their real goal is to “progressively” dismantle it and build a “city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens” where they can rule and save men as if they were gods.
Frederic Bastiat proves in THE LAW that the law of nature (God’s law) has one sole function. Its only purpose is to protect citizens from the plunder of life, liberty, and property. The law cannot save people any other way. When the state (the gate of hell) attempts to save some by plundering others of life, liberty, and property, it has broken the law. When the state is partial to some by plundering others, it is lawless and unjust. True social justice cannot tax some at a higher rate than others. God’s written law says, “You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:15). Nowhere does God’s Law of Moses direct the government to give handouts by taxing some in order to favor others. God’s Law commands men to give to the poor out of their own pockets voluntarily and not out of another’s pocket. God’s Law says, “Thou shalt not steal.” It is a documented fact that conservatives give much more to charity than progressives do. Socialists are very anxious to give other people’s money but not their own. Vice President Biden gave less than $1000 to charity from an income of more than $300,000. This is shameless hypocrasy! These people who go about to establish their own righteousness in the name of social justice are the opposite of what they purport to be. Ever since Lyndon Johnson’s hypocritical war on poverty, the poor have been made worse slaves to “Uncle Sam’s Plantation.” It is a proven fact that welfare has weakened the poor by making them trust in a god (the state) that cannot deliver. Only our God can supply all our needs according His riches in glory. Which one will you take? There is no neutrality… either trust God or trust Caesar.
And I said: “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice” (Mic 3:1)? Who are the “heads of Jacob” and “rulers of the house of Israel?” Are they not the pastors? Why is it that some pastors have no understanding of political economy and cannot see that they have a duty to assail the gate of unrighteous statism? If they did understand they could not possibly say they should not be involved in politics. If they do not preach social justice they are guilty of being “dogs that can’t bark.” “His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber” (Isa 56:10).
These blind watchmen seem to think there is a dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. They believe in “two kingdom” dualism. They seem to have a Gnostic notion that separates the material from the spiritual. Abraham Kuyper, the former prime minister of Holland, said, “There is not one square inch of creation of which Christ does not say, ‘Mine.” Luther said, “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.” The battle is raging at the gate of hell, the statist city of man. Join the battle for the souls of men and true social justice.

For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: afflicting the just and taking bribes; diverting the poor from justice at the gate (Amos 5:12).
Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph (Am 5:15).