(86) It's Chanukah Time

From Jonathan Bernis, JVMI

• Then came Chanukah (the feast of dedication); it was winter in Jerusalem. Yeshua (Jesus) was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade.” — John 10:22-23 

There is a hidden truth inside the celebration of Chanukah and the progressive lighting of the special “Chanukiah,” the eight-branched menorah.  It’s a truth that can be a powerful help to you in these chaotic, volatile days in which we’re living. I write today to share that truth with you, and tell you about two very exciting new Messianic resources we have developed just in time for the holidays. 

So please take a few moments right now and get ready to receive something important! In a season in which darkness seems to be spreading across the world, we need the light of Chanukah’s hidden truth more than ever before!

The origins of Chanukah date back to the conquest of Judah by the Greeks — specifically, the demands by the Greek ruler Antiochus IV that all Jews be “Hellenized” — that is, absorbed into Greek culture. That meant forcing the Jews to abandon many of the practices and prohibitions that made them a distinct people. Of course, the most devoted among the Jewish People refused.  The final straw for the resisting Jews came around the year 165 B.C. when Antiochus erected an image of Zeus in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.  He then demanded that a Jewish priest sacrifice pigs on the altar in the Holy of Holies, and that all the priests bow down to the idol.  Most of the priests refused, saying they’d rather die than desecrate the altar with pig blood. Among those stubborn priests was a man named Mattathias; his son, Judah; along with four other sons.

Judah and his brothers ultimately led a successful military uprising that drove the Greeks out of Jerusalem. The Temple was reclaimed and cleansed. And an eight-day festival of celebration and consecration was declared.

It became the annual observance we know as Chanukah, also called the “Feast of Dedication” because it marked the rededicating of the Temple and restoration of sacrifices there. 

As you may know, that first eight-day celebration was marked by a miracle of provision. The Greeks contaminated nearly all of the Temple lamp oil and only a one-day supply of oil for the Temple’s menorah remained. Yet the lamp continued to burn throughout the entire event.

A key lesson of Chanukah is the assurance that God can, and does, offer miraculous provision to His people as they carry out His redemptive plans and purposes in the Earth.

It’s just as true for you and me today. But this is not the only important truth we find in this event. 

The Jewish People’s stubborn resistance to assimilation is one of the key reasons they have survived as a distinct people through the millennia. 

One of the overlooked lessons of Chanukah is that, in the days in which we live, we all need this kind of stubbornness — a supernatural resolve to say no to the encroaching forces of darkness all around us. 

In describing the coming of Yeshua, the Gospel of John declares:

• The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it (John 1:5).

Throughout John’s Gospel, Yeshua speaks of light and the Believer’s victorious battle over darkness. For example, in John 8:12 He declares:

• I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

The Apostle Paul had this same truth in mind when he wrote:

• But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5).

The “day” Paul refers to in this passage is the “Day of the Lord.” He makes that clear in verse one of that same chapter.

The signs indicate that day is rapidly approaching. And as it does, both Jews and Believers in Yeshua find themselves in need of that stubborn resistance to assimilation that we celebrate at Chanukah.

Yes the days are dark. Which means it’s our time to shine. And we shine brighter and more powerfully together. 

Right now, Jewish Voice is pushing back against the gathering darkness in so many different ways. 

That means your support has never been more needed.

Because time is short, we must . . .

• Expand the frequency and reach of the Jewish Voice broadcast. It is reaching households all over the world with the Good News of Yeshua while combatting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hate.
• Continue to minister physically and spiritually to the poorest and most oppressed among “the outcasts of Israel” (see Isaiah 56:8).
• Intensify our efforts to bring Jewish People into an eye-opening encounter with Yeshua. Hearts are softening. We must move now!
• Increase our compassionate outreaches to the poorest among Israel’s fragile Holocaust survivors.

And as with the miracle of Chanukah, we too are seeing miracles happen.

Thank you Jonathan.

(85) In the Beginning: Creation and the Apocalypse

Or you could say the beginning and the end.  The Bible spans over 4000 years of human existence, however it talks about at least 6000 years when you add the prophecies of Revelation, depending on which end-times view you may have.  But that is not the point of this lesson.  The point is even though there is that many years between the two, the connection is absolutely remarkable.  The same things that are mentioned in the Creation are also apparent in the Apocalypse (note:  in Greek the book of Revelation is αποκάλυψη, or apokalypsi and Genesis in Hebrew is b'resheet-beginning).  Take a look at this chart:

Genesis	Revelation
In the beginning (1:1)	I am the beginning (21:6)
God created the heavens and the earth (1:1)	I saw a new heaven and a new earth (21:1)
Let there be light (1:3)	The Lamb is the light (21:23)
He made the sun, the moon, the stars (1:16)	No need for these lights (22:5)
Land of gold, bdellium, onyx (2:12)	Land of gold, precious stones (21:19)
River in Eden (2:10)	River flows in it (22:1)
Tree of life (2:9)	Tree of Life (22:2)
Knowledge of good and evil (2:9)	No temptation (21:27)
Fellowship with God (1)	Fellowship again (22:4)
Adam was given a bride (3:20)	Jesus was given a bride (21:9)
Serpent accuses (3:4)	Dragon perishes (20:2)
Sin enters (3:6)	Sin dies (21:27)
Man is cursed (3:17)	Man is redeemed (21:7)
Pain given (3:17-19)	Pain gone (21:4)
Death entered (3:19)	Death dies (20:14)
Man is given clothes (3:21)	Man is clothed (7:9)
Messiah is promised (3:15)	Messiah reigns (22:5)
He created (1:1)	He brings us home (22:5)

There are more just like this and each one of these has an even deeper story and connection with them.  Nothing was done by accident.  This is not a coincidence.  Nothing was done by man's works or discoveries.  All was done by God and all will be ended by God.  When He said He was the beginning and the end, He proves it with these words, 4000 apart but still in complete synchronicity.  Everything in between shows us how we were created, lost our fellowship with God and how we are supposed to get it back.  The beginning is the same as the end because of the One who did it all.

(Note:  this chart was borrowed from George Faull of the Summit Theological Seminary)

(84) In the Beginning: Creation vs the Big Bang

God did not use evolution to create man.  See Creation vs Theistic Evolution for that explanation.  But did God use "the Big Bang" to create the entire universe?  Before we answer that question we have to understand and define what the two sides are.  Straight from the American government and its NASA program comes the following definition of the "big bang" theory:

• The big bang theory is the theory that the universe started from a single point, and has been expanding ever since.

This is not to be completely connected with evolution for they are two totally different topics.  They are as different as light and mass, or literature and comprehension, or equations and properties, or war and industrialization.  They are related topics but different units, if you will.  Although those who believe in one  of the theories stated tend to believe in the other on a scientific note.  One of the main points that needs be stressed in the word "theory".  Just like evolution, the big bang is only a theory. Both are backed with scientific data including observation, that is limited observation.  Some of the data are facts and some are inferences.  Nevertheless we are now given both theories as though they are scientific law.  Simply put, everything that we know comes from one single event, one single point in time, from one single place and has been expanding ever since.  From nothing comes everything.

The other theory (creationism) straight from the Godly government and its Biblical program comes the following definition of creationism:

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This also separate from the creation of man but not completely on this one.  See how it works already?  Man comes from the earth, physically, so they are connected but perhaps created differently.  This theory though is not accepted nor treated as even a theory but as a "religious" idea, legend/myth, or ancient belief.  These are backed up with faith and observations, full observation this time.  What you see is your proof, all creation is a witness.  Before there was anything that we know, there was God.  God created all that we have, know, and even things beyond our comprehension.  But how?  Out of nothing:  see The Dark Side.  Out of nothing comes everything. Sounds familiar.

These two ideas do coincide with each other.  Science meets God.  And since God created scientific laws then that works as well.  At once all three things that science says make up the universe (time, space, and matter) are mentioned in Genesis.  Such as in the beginning is when time started.  The heavens is space.  And the earth is matter.

In one instant, before we can measure what an instant is, God created everything from one place, from one event, from one moment.  The "big bang" theory holds.  But God did it.

(83) In the Beginning: Creation vs Theistic Evolution

Watching the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham was not the most interesting debate in the world, although it was far better than any political debate.  One issue that Bill Nye kept bringing up was if creationism is valid then why do many Christians not believe in it.  Why do some Christians deny a literal Biblical account of creation and accept evolution, either the scientific model or what many call theistic evolution; the idea that God did create but used evolution as the means of getting to the human race.  Both are poppycock.  But Bill Nye is correct.  Many Christians flat out will not believe that evolution is false.  They believe that Jesus is the saviour but believe that the earth is old; proven by science and backed by scripture to be old.  The age of the earth is one of the biggest arguments between the two sides which from here on out will be known as YE (young earth) and OE (old earth).  YE says that the earth is 6000 years old.  OE says that the earth is 13.4 billion years old.

One major issue that causes the disagreement is the issue of the fall of man.  OE believes that death of living organisms have happened from the beginning.  They read into scripture that Genesis is not a literal meaning of creation but is just a modified story of God's evolutionary method.  They claim that the first few verses are actually billions of years and therefore death had to happen because nothing can live for billions of years.  They would also add that there may have been two types of man that had been created.  The first being man-like and that is why we have "neanderthal", "cro-magnon", and "homo erectus".  The second one being Adam.  They use as their foundation the two different stories in Genesis 1:27.

• 27  So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him:  male and female he created them.

and Genesis 2:7

• 7  Then Adonai, God, formed a person from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living being.

But the following explains the flaw in the idea that there were two creations: The Book of Genesis.  Do not misunderstand what these are saying.  There may be two stories but one creation.  When you read the whole passage from Genesis 1 notice it says in the "image" and "likeness", not to be exactly like God (spirit).  This explains that we were not created as spiritual beings without bodily form.  And from the whole passage in Genesis 2 we are actually created as physical beings.  Two stories, one creation.  We were made to interact with the earth with a body that can touch and were given bodily shells to house the same feelings God may have e.g., love in a heart, ideas in a brain, and so forth.  YE believes that death was not part of creation but part of man's choice in the Garden of Eden.  Death only came when man fell.

Here is why YE is more valid if you are a Christian:  Jesus came and died for everyone.  Why did He die?  Because man sinned and needed redemption to find his way back to God.  Man sinned because he showed disobedience to God's word.  Disobedience is what sin is.  If you disobey God, no matter what it is or what YOU believe, it is still sin and needs to be taken care of.  God walked with man (Adam) and talked with man.  He had a personal relationship with Him.  But when man disobeyed the relationship was destroyed.  Death had entered the genome of mankind.  Man's immortality in Paradise was lost.  His bloodline was ruined.  If the earth was old and death entered before sin then sin did not cause death and Genesis is a lie.  But since sin did bring death Jesus was needed to bring man back to God.  Sin brought death, Jesus brings life.  There was no death before man sinned.  Therefore there was no death in the first six days of creation.  So if there no was death in the first six days then these days could not equal 13.4 billion years.

This is not a Lesson about disproving or rejecting science, but evolution theory only.  Science is worthy to use and needed to discover.  But evolution theory in any account is not compatible with creation or reality.

(82) Ths Satanic Verses Part 2

Some new information on satan has been noted. In Hebrew, there is a name for satan; heylel. This is translated as "to shine as God". However this name is not a proper noun. It is more of a description in the Hebrew language. This has been translated into English and Latin as a proper noun and it probably should not have been. So the question remains , why did he lose his real name? To understand this we have to look at the history of his creation and purpose. Read Ezekiel 28:12-19.

Ezekiel says these things about him:

1. compares him to the King of Tyre
2. was a model of perfection
3. was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty
4. was in Eden
5. was created
6. was an anointed cherub
7. was blameless until wickedness set in
8. became filled with violence
9. heart became proud because of his beauty
10. wisdom became corrupted because of his splendor

Ezekiel compares satan with the king of Tyre. No one really knows who this king is but most who have studied this claim that it is talking about Hiram I. If this is the case it is an analogy that works. Tyre was a prosperous city. Hiram I allied himself with David and Solomon and even helped Israel build the Temple by supplying the cedar and pine. The city of Tyre was destroyed by Alexander the Great of Macedonia. The city came to an abrupt end. If this is supposed to be Hiram then the analogy could be that satan was allied with God but will his existence will come to an abrupt end as well.

He was a model of perfection. He was perfect in beauty and was full of wisdom. Perhaps it would have been better for him if he was full of beauty and perfect in wisdom. It was not due to his wisdom that he fell. He cherished his own beauty over his wisdom and became prideful.

He was a cherub of God, not only an angel but an anointed angel. He had a very special place in heaven. Isaiah claims he was the brightest of all stars. Job 38:4-6 gives an analogy of angels being stars. Maybe he was the highest of all angels; higher than Michael and Gabriel. Maybe he would have been considered the highest in heaven 2nd only to the Trinity of God. Maybe all of the other angels were under him in the hierarchy. He was able to bring 1/3 of the angels with him in his fall.

His beauty and pride caused him to think he could be better than God. He became prideful due to his beauty and this corrupted his wisdom. Until this happened he was blameless. His pride made him wicked. His wickedness caused him to fall from God's grace.

 

He said he could be like God and tried to exalt himself over God. His throne is here on earth. God gave him the world. He is the "god" of this world. He is the prince of this world. This is why he could offer Christ all the kingdoms of the earth if He would have bowed to him because they were his to give. But greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Satan wants to destroy all of those who are not of this world, those who are born into Christ.

 

He was in Eden. He roamed the earth. God allowed him in Paradise. There is a neat study that says satan may have been a feminine figure since there is so much reference to beauty. This would make sense of why he (or she in this case) went to Eve first. They would have had something in common. Of course this is not the most popular of views.

 

His fall probably would have occurred sometime between creation and the first 100 years after creation. If he was in the Garden then he was already part of this world. We don't exactly know when the fall of man happened but when it did man had to procreate to keep mankind alive. Scripture says that Adam was 130 years old when he had Seth. Seth was born to replace the son that he had lost due to Cain murdering Abel. These two were probably grown men since both of them already had a trade of their own. Speculation says then they were nearing 30. If Adam was 130 when he had Seth then he was probably somewhere around 100 when he had Cain and Abel. This means the fall of man was before this and the fall of satan was before even this event. He has been trying to get others to fall ever since.

 

But satan still has to serve God, Job 2:6. His end is near, 2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 12:9, 20:10, Matthew 25:41. He has become corrupted. He has become a liar. He has become a murderer. He has become worthless in God's eyes. His name is no more.

 

When scripture tells us that pride comes before destruction we have the greatest of examples of what happens.

 

Note :  This was Thought X on www.ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com.  It fits better here and was added as Feb, 5, 2014.

(81) The Satanic Verses Part 1

This is not a reference to Salman Rushdie. Here is a short lesson on who satan is.

Who was satan in the beginning? To understand this we must first know what he was. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that he is "an angel of light". Was he an angel? We get the word angel from the Greeks; angelos, meaning messenger of God. If satan was an angel then he would be some kind of messenger. Examine more evidence of what angels are. Please remember to read more of the passages than just the one verse cited.

Colossians 1:16 says that angels are created beings.
Luke 1:19, 1:28, 2:10 give examples of angels bringing messages to people on the earth.
Luke 2:13-14, 15:10, 22:43, Revelation 5:12 are some scriptures that show angels worshiping God and rejoicing in His presence.
Hebrews 1:14 says that angels minister to God's people.
Acts 12:23 shows how angels are to carry out God's wrath upon the earth.

If satan was an angel he was supposed to be from the time he was created, a being who brought messages of hope, praised and worshiped God, ministered to the rest of creation and would one day help carry out God's wrath. However, the last one was only due to his own doing.

Maybe he was an angel, but why was he called satan then? The angels that we have in scripture (canon and non-canon) all have angelic names ending with the name of God. MichaEL. GabriEL. RaphaEL. UriEL. RemiEL. RaguEL. SariEL. Why if satan was an angel is his name different?

IT'S NOT HIS NAME! No where in the Bible is his name actually mentioned. The word satan comes the Hebrew word meaning "accuser". "Lucifer" as in the KJV in Isaiah 14:12 means "light bearer", or "morning star", i.e. Venus, the brightest of stars. Stars is a biblical analogy of angels in Revelation. "Devil" means slanderer. The Serpent, the Dragon, Beelzebub (lord of the flies) and Belial (worthless) are other names used for satan.

So working on these items, satan if he was an angel was the brightest of them all. He may have been the leader of all the angels as Isaiah put it (also Matthew 25:41). But somehow he lost his namesake. God somewhere wiped his name from existence. His name became worthless. He became no better than lord of the flies.

The greatest thing about this part of the story is he still has to serve God! Job 1:6, 2:1 say that satan comes before God and has to present himself. His authority is not his own. It is from God and God alone.

The question remains: Why did he lose his name?

Note:  This was Thought IX on www.ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com.  It fits better here and was added as Feb. 4, 2014.  The comment section was also moved in case discussion needed it.

(80) YHWH, What's in a name?

The first name in the Bible that is used to describe God is Elohim, the arm of God, the Creator and that is in Genesis 1:1.  There are many other names/titles/roles, what have you, that we use to describe God or use to talk to Him.  But Moses perhaps is the first person that got to actually hear the name of God or maybe just something close to a personal name for the name of God was unpronounceable to mankind.  The passage below is from the CJB to show how complicated the sound of His name can be from Exodus 3:13-15.  Try other versions and it will all still mean the same.

• Moshe said to God, “Look, when I appear before the people of Isra’el and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”
• God said to Moshe, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],” and added, “Here is what to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.’”
• God said further to Moshe, “Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation".

The name that God gave Moses to tell His people who sent him to save them all in the closest English translation was I AM.  This means in essence that God aways has been and always will be.  From Him all was made.  Then God goes on and adds more to His name and sounds it out so it seems for Moses; Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh.  These are letters in the Hebrew alphabet and each has a story with them.  Jewish people use the name Adonai when referring to the name of God, which is also translated as LORD.  But here we see what is also called a tetragrammaton at work.  Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh can be written also as YHVH or YHVH, hence Yahweh with the added vowel sounds.  In Latin and English it has been translated as to what we know as Jehovah.  Through Moses God would save His people from the hands of the Egyptians, a foreshadow of something greater of what was to come.  Below is how it would look in Hebrew writing.

Each letter though has its own purpose.  Hebrew writing is read from right to left.  What you see here is the tertagrammaton Y-H-V-H.  In Hebrew schools children are taught that each letter not only has a sound but also has a meaning and a symbol with it.  Such as in English we would say A is for Apple although in English there really is no such thing.   But A does not have any meaning to it.  In Hebrew each letter has three purposes for the language.  This is probably what Jesus was doing in the Temple when He was 12 and lost and found by His parents.  He was teaching the elders and scribes what the letters really meant.  This is also what makes Matthew 5:18 all the more important when Jesus said not the least stroke of the pen would disappear from the Law until all is fulfilled.  Below you can see a chart that gives examples of what each letter's symbol and meanings are.  If you look the tetragrammaton for Y-H-V-H actually is I-E-U-E on the chart because of the sound the letter makes and not the order of the letters.  When put together the letters make a different sound and that is how we get the name we know as Yahweh.  The letter Y or Yud's translation is symbolically an arm or open hand and means to work or worship.  The H or Heh's translation is symbolically man with arms raised and has a meaning of breath or to reveal.   And the V or Vav's symbolically is a tent peg and means to add, secure or hook.  You can see where this is going.  We worship a God whose hand was pierced with a tent peg and whose arms were raised and when this happens He will be revealed to the world who He is.  There is undoubtedly more to this translation.  But He who is revealed is Jesus.

When Jesus was crucified the Pharisees were upset with the sign that Pilate hung above His head.  He wrote a sign in three languages (Latin, Greek, and Aramaic/Hebrew) that said Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.  The Pharisees told Pilate to take down the sign because they did not want people to think they said what was written but that Jesus claimed the charge against Him.  But a closer look and we see that the Pharisees were not angry about the sign itself but about what they saw in the sign.  In Hebrew the sign read Yeshua HaNazarei V'Melech HaYehudim.  Did you see it?  Notice the first letter in each word that Pilate wrote.  Y-H-V-H.  Jesus was revealed as God when He was crucified and saved His people.  Just as God's people were saved from the hand of the Egyptians, a symbol of oppression or sin, Jesus came and saved God's people from all sin.

A sign of God's ultimate story of grace and connection with His people.

(79) If you are a Christian, you are a king

Why is Jesus called the King of kings?

Jesus is not called King of kings because He was more powerful than all earthly kings that we know, although that is true. There is not one king who will ever have more power or glory than Jesus.  Jesus is not called King of kings because He controls everything in the universe and everything belongs to Him, although, once again that is true. Nothing in this universe that was created was done without Him.  There is only one reason why Jesus is King of kings.  Those who believe in Him are kings.  We who are followers of Christ are kings.  He is our king.  HENCE, HE IS THE KING OF KINGS.

• Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth. (Gen 1:28)
• I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. (Matt 16:19)
• Moreover, to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?  Aren’t they all merely spirits who serve, sent out to help those whom God will deliver. (Hebrews 1:14)
• The Spirit himself bears witness with our own spirits that we are children of God; and if we are children, then we are also heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with the Messiah — provided we are suffering with him in order also to be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17)

When we were created we were given dominion over all the earth, to rule over it.  Not just the animals but the earth.  Because later that passage goes on to say that we are given all plants as well.  The earth was ours.  When Jesus told Peter that He is giving him the keys to the kingdom, He was telling him for all of us.  He said He will build His kingdom upon these keys.  And these keys are whatever we bind on earth and loose on earth.  Our words are power.  He has given us power in our words.  We can proclaim and declare like kings.  Angels serve us because we are to be served.  That is not underscoring angels but lifting up the childrenof God.  Whatever we ask for we are to be given!  Are kings ever denied?  Even more, are children of the KING ever denied?  We are heirs to the kingdom of God.  We are given gifts from God.  This is why we as a follower of Christ are given spiritual gifts to use.  We have power!

This is why we are told to pray.  This is why we have power when we pray.  Prayer is faith.  Faith is power when we speak in the name of Jesus.  This is why we can say to the mountain MOVE and it has to, because we have been given dominion over the earth.  Peter walked on water not because Jesus was there but because he could anyway.  He just did not know it.  He sank not because of the waves.  They were already there before he stepped out onto the water.  He sank because he allowed doubt back into his mind and Jesus said, "You of little faith".  Kings have power when they speak.  Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered.  He spoke to the demons and they fled.  He spoke to a dead man and guess what, Lazarus rose!  He gave us the power to do these things when He rose from the dead and left us the Holy Spirit.

The only One we need to ask permission from is the One who is above us, the King of all kings.  When we speak to disease, addictions, or whatever your mountains are (whether physical or metaphorical) in the Name above all names they HAVE to listen.  We ask in the Name of the KING as a child of the king.  These things we were given and have dominion over!

We will one day we will receive our crowns.  Some say there a 5 different types of crowns.  But then we will see such a glory of the King of kings that we will lay our crowns down before Him. (Rev 4)

Why then are there so many problems in this world?  Man has let sin dominate him.  Man has let the world dominate him.  Man has let doubt in.  Man thinks this is foolishness.  The world and all of its intellect tells us that we are crazy for believing.  It tries to remind us that we are hypocrites.  It tells us that we are bigots.  It tells us that being a believer in Jesus is wrong and irrelevant.  It forgets that we are also human and more importantly, forgiven and not of this world.  There will be some who read this and scoff at the sight of the word Jesus and get angry by the time they reach the end.  The problem is we have listened to the world for too long.

Man lost it when Adam fell but God covered him.  Israel lost it when they disobeyed God but He covered them by giving them the Law.  The religious lost it when they took the Law and created rules for it but God covered them by sending the ultimate gift.  And now, we have been given the kingdom again.  He left the Holy Spirit for us to use and He left the Spirit in us (Acts 1:8).  When Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is at hand He meant more than just Himself (Luke 17:21).  It is not only in our midst it is in us.  The kingdom is for us to take a hold of.  If we only believe.

It is time we take back our kingdom.  Live like kings.  You are a child of the King of kings.