Issued: 12/31/22

PLEASE NOTE:  All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.  The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”

   In differentiating between Yahweh of hosts [later Jesus] and Yahweh the Most High God, lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the One and Only Highest God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from God the Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

6) The Apolitical Jesus

   While Jesus did not go on record championing social causes other than socialism (Matthew 25:34-40; Luke 18:22),¹ his response to political involvement was swift and to the point:  “When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself” (John 6:15).  If Satan had nothing in common with him (John 14:30), Jesus could play no role in systems of government given to Satan (Isaiah 45:7; Daniel 4:17; Luke 4:6; John 19:11; 1John 5:19).  His Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36); and being egalitarian, he frowned on political/secular leaders lording it over their subjects (Matthew 20:25-27; Luke 6:40).  Besides, did not involvement in worldly concerns alienate God (2Timothy 2:4; James 4:4)?  And could there ever be any fellowship between light and darkness (2Corinthians 6:14)?    

   The latter takes us back to Genesis 1:3-5, the creation of Light—symbolic of Jesus (John 3:19, 8:12; Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14)—and that of Darkness, symbolic of Satan.²  Just as light and darkness cannot co-exist, Jesus and Satan are locked in opposition, as are Jesus’ “sons of light” vis-à-vis Satan’s “sons of darkness” (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 4:29).  It was to illustrate this dichotomy that sun and moon were created on the Fourth Day,³ “day” representing Jesus’ domain, and “night” representing Satan’s (1Thessalonians 5:5; Revelation 22:16).⁴  As can be seen by Genesis 1:16, their domains were clearly demarcated and not crossable.

   From a Judeo-Christian perspective, politics do not fare well in Scripture.  The best example of this is 1Samuel 8:1-22:  After the fashion of other nations, the Israelites insisted on being governed by men, a request meaning rejection of Yahweh-rule (8:7).  No matter the litany of now notorious historical abuses to be expected from all powers that be (1Samuel 8:11-17), Yahweh’s warnings fell on deaf ears:  If there was ever a graphic case of shooting oneself in the foot, this was it.  Yahweh acquiesced but there would be repercussions:  When things went sour, no point asking Heaven for assistance (1Samuel 8:18; Lamentations 3:42-44).  Lie on the bed you made; bite the bullet; grin and bear it (Proverbs 1:24-31↔2Chronicles 12:5-8) until the Most High (Isaiah 46:10; Acts 1:7) decides to put an end to it all (Deuteronomy 32:39-42; Isaiah 24:21-22, 34:1-3; Ezekiel 21:25-27, 22:19-22↔Revelation 10:6-7, 16:16-21, 20:7-10).

   Solomon contributed his insights.  People seeking to dominate others—what Jesus deplored—was more often than not detrimental to the former (Ecclesiastes 8:9).  One leader supplanting another was bound to disappoint followers no matter how many times the process repeated itself (Ecclesiastes 4:15-16)—democracies’ loop.  God allowed injustices in order that those regaining their senses could see they had behaved no better than irrational animals (Ecclesiastes 3:16-18).

   Though it is true that God is ultimately responsible for all forms of government (Daniel 4:17), this does not mean that He chose any of them:  It only means that He gave Satan leeway to establish—and act through—them.  Thus when calling Nebuchadnezzar His “servant” (Jeremiah 27:6), this meant that the human king was merely the instrument through whom Satan (Isaiah 14:4-20), the true power behind Babylon, was empowered to besiege Jerusalem in punishment for her sins.  Nor did it mean that God chose the horrors inflicted on her inhabitants:  Whatever ordeals had been prophesied (Deuteronomy 28:48-57↔Lamentations 3:20-21, 4:5,10) were foreknown to be what the homicidal Satan (Ezekiel 21:10-15; John 8:44) would unleash—only that God assumed responsibility for Satan’s actions (Lamentations 2:17,21, 3:28-33,37-38).

   This is the reason why Scriptural teachings about Satan are cast in the mold of historical rulers and empires:  King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4-20); King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:12-19); Pharaoh King of Egypt (Ezekiel 29:3); and the beast of Revelation 13:1, 17:3-5,12-17 depicting the unholy Roman Empire empowered by Satan (Revelation 13:2, 20:2).  God’s homicidal sword is placed in Satan’s—King of Babylon—hands (Ezekiel 21:3-4,11,13-15,19↔Revelation 6:8).  Satan—Pharaoh King of Egypt—harms those who rely on his rulers (Ezekiel 29:7,16).  Satan—King of Babylon­­—kills his minions worldwide (Isaiah 14:20).  And because they all failed Satan in his putsch to oust Yahweh of hosts as the Most High’s proxy God, Satan will drag them down with him at Armageddon (Revelation 20:7-10).

   This is why Yahweh of hosts/Jesus is depicted fighting against temporal rulers (Daniel 10:20↔Revelation 19:11-18).  But although bloodshed always reviled by God was permitted throughout the so-called “times of ignorance” (Acts 17:30),⁵ a new MO was set in place with Jesus’ incarnation.  Old Testament punishments were the proverbial examples that they accomplished nothing:  “I have struck your children in vain. They received no correction” (Jeremiah 2:30).  With Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, spiritual wars would be waged with spiritual ordnance (Ephesians 6:12-17), the preeminent weapon being the “sword” Jesus supplied:  The Holy Spirit conveying God’s instructions (Matthew 10:34; Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12).  All of which had been pre-announced:  “‘ Not by might, nor by power, but by my [Father’s] Spirit,’ says Yahweh of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

   So what is Jesus’ role in contemporary politics?  None:  It is one more “flaming arrow” (Ephesians 6:16) dispatched by his Adversary to undermine Jesus’ objectives.  Can we then assume that Jesus endorses candidates holding/running for office?  No:  As he avoided political entanglements, he left us that additional example to imitate as well (John 13:15↔1John 2:6).

   But surely, it is easy to see why this is so.  In order to be an effective politician, Christian morality must be—has to be—compromised on the altar of partisan agendas.  The notion of Christian politicians is an oxymoron:  There are no such people; for as “holiness” entails separation from the profane, no one professing to follow Jesus can seesaw between the two.  Jesus is radical:  No middle-grounders tolerated (Revelation 3:16↔Ephesians 4:14; James 1:8); and in politics, being middle-ground is vote-worthy.

   As we sink deeper into apostasy (Matthew 24:11-12; 2Thessalonians 2:3; 2Timothy 4:3-4), politics becomes more un-Christian.  Spiritually blighted politicians have realized that appealing to the worst in people gets them base groups in sync with their agendas.  And as Jesus taught us, their collective identification is possible by virtue of what they advocate and are willing to do (Matthew 7:20; Luke 6:45).  As for example in:

The treatment of undocumented aliens

   Jesus’ Father, Yahweh the Most High God, is all for embracing foreigners into His fold (Exodus 23:9; Leviticus 19:33-34, 25:23; Numbers 15:15; Deuteronomy 24:17, 27:19; Ezekiel 22:7,29; Zechariah 7:10).  Yet some politicians appeal to their electorate not only to validate their xenophobic mindsets but to normalize and institutionalize them.  Not long ago Romans 13:1-3 was twisted to justify repatriation and inhumane treatment at national borders.  Nowadays, re-elected/elected officials are clamoring for impeaching/impeding individuals whose policies are in keeping with Christian aims.

Anti-Semitism

   Nevertheless, this has not stopped politicians from spewing anti-Semitic lunacy like Jews using space lasers to shoot Santa at the North Pole; or Second Amendment spins that if Jesus had had enough AR-15s on hand at Gethsemane, he could have mowed down his Jewish and Roman captors.  But political spin is all about securing votes and funding, not endorsing Christian doctrine; as well as creating a social climate nurturing trigger-happy killers, neo-Nazi sympathizers and “Christian” zealots—à la Titus 1:16—“defconning-3” against Jews.

   According to Paul, a no-no, especially for Gentiles “grafted” onto the rich, Jewish olive tree nourished by Patriarchal spirituality (Romans 11:16-24).  Though neo-Christians may hate Jews for “killing Jesus,” ⁶ that betrayal was crucial to mankind’s salvation (Isaiah 53:4-12; Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:22, 12:24↔Exodus 24:8↔Zechariah 9:9-11); and for that reason Jesus, who could have escaped crucifixion (Matthew 26:53), chose death to ensure the success of the pact he had struck with the Father (Isaiah 53:6-10; Matthew 26:54; Hebrews 10:5-7; 1Peter 1:20).  And though it may rile Jew-haters all over the world, God loves Jews as issue of His beloved Patriarchs (Romans 11:28).

   Anti-Semitism is wrapped up in what passes for white Christian nationalism, a triple oxymoron given the fact that Jesus’ Christianity is nation-less (Galatians 3:28), race-less, and rooted in a Kingdom yet to be manifested (Hebrews 11:16, 13:12-14).  But this mindset is not new:  It has been used to decimate Indigenous people, to steal Native lands and resources, and to justify African slavery.  Not that “whites” have had an exclusive monopoly over such atrocities:  “Colored” peoples have matched their excesses, for skin pigmentation bears no relationship to the evil shared by all men since time immemorial (Genesis 6:5; Ecclesiastes 9:3).  What is now significant is that such anti-Christian appeals should resonate amongst mainstream evangelicals and Jesus freaks.

   But Jew-baiting is not exclusive to politicos:  Celebrities, Holocaust deniers, and conspiracy theorists are busy at it, some of whom have more listeners than there are Jews in the world. 

Anti-Government Violence

   A golden oldie partisan ploy: Displace the opposition so that we can take its place.  It used to be that Romans 13:1 was given a spin to validate the notion of divine rule; but again this was strictly true in the sense that governments were a necessary evil permitted by God to inculcate modicums of ethical standards (Romans 13:3-5; 1Peter 2:13-14).  Time and again, history has proven otherwise:  As chips of the Old Moloch, rulers of all stripes wiped out resistors to anti-Christian agendas.  The trend persists in authoritarian regimes; but democracies have upped the ante by revolting against perceived tyrannies—if not the real McCoy, then fabricated ones.

   Thus zealots participating in the January 6, 2021 attack on Congress knelt down to thank the Most High God for getting them there.  Imagine!  The God Who has gone on record condemning those who oppose whatever He has set in motion (Romans 13:1-2).  But try and try again:  Why not enfranchise killers whose actions validate hate-mongering?  At a recent Second Amendment Caucus, an acquitted killer was praised as living proof of love for one’s country—Cain being groomed for future office?

Too Little, Too Late

   Though some evangelists have begun to recant their previous endorsement of the poster-politician who brazenly practices every behavior Jesus decried, the irreversible damage that will bring down our democracy has been done.  They should have done better to be guided by Scriptural precepts than be swept away by nationalistic rhetoric:  Both Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:4) and Jesus (John 11:49-52) fell victim to those.  Evangelicals may now see the “light” while their “dark” crusader plummets down into irrelevance and perhaps madness, but there will be a price to pay for the harm and suffering they enabled and abetted when they should have known better.  “I will chastise you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished” (Jeremiah 30:11).  If it is God’s will that we should all be raked over the coals until 2024, that year’s election might prove pivotal to the fulfillment of Revelation 13:13, which suggests the synergy between two superpowers consolidating Satan’s dominance over western nations.

   Now that part of the Euphrates River has gone dry and doomsayers are fixating on Revelation 16:12 as prophesying oriental armies besieging the West, let us remember two things:  On the historical side, Scriptural focus was on Middle-Eastern and European nations, never the Far East; on the symbolic side only European nations and their offshoots are alluded in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Daniel 2:31-43), Daniel beasts (Daniel 8:20-24), and the two beasts of Revelation 13:1,11).  It is the norm in Scripture that recorded events either followed spiritual patterns [Genesis 41:40↔the Son’s governing role with respect to the Father, Moses’ Tabernacle↔Hebrews 8:4-5]; or foreshadowed future happenings—i.e., the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah [Genesis 19:24-25↔2Peter 2:6; Revelation 20:9]; the crossing of the Red Sea from Pharaoh’s realm [Egypt/the world↔Ezekiel 29:3; 1John 5:19], through a stopped-up body of water [Exodus 14:21-22↔Joshua 3:13-16] into the promised land.

   Not coincidentally the Euphrates is Eden’s eastern-most boundary (Genesis 2:14), the direction from which the Messiah and his nation will enter the Promised Land;⁷ and the reason why Revelation 16:12 says that the Euphrates dried up for the specific purpose of allowing the “kings from the east” to cross it dry-shod, as did the Israelites entering Canaan (Joshua 3:17).  “Kings from the east” does not mean Eastern potentates or invading armies:  They are stock and parcel of Jesus’ nation (Revelation 4:10), being led into God’s Kingdom with Jesus at their head (Isaiah 35:10; Micah 2:12-13).  Like Elisha’s servant, doomsayers are so fixated on conjectural “ifs” that they miss the spiritual realities at hand (2Kings 6:15-17).

Jesus’ Political Bona Fides

   In a very real sense, Jesus’ ministry doubled as his political campaign for the office of King/High Priest.  Not for him the perks of political nepotism:  Wanting him to be the standard for authentic leaders, the Father accorded him no special privileges.  Thus Jesus was born to humble parents in a manger:  He had to share the lot of the disenfranchised in order to represent them fully.  He campaigned devoid of all the trappings we normally associate with politicians:  Security details; designers’ clothing; state-of-the-art modes of transportation; plush accommodations/venues; self-serving wheeling and dealing.  He did not select malfeasants lusting for a piece of the action; neither did he discriminate nor benefit the rich over the poor but treated all men equally.

   He did not parade wife and children to captivate followers.  He was the quintessential socialist, a label much maligned in today’s politics undermining Jesus’ platform of embryonic, universal healthcare [miraculous cures, eventual eradication of disease], public housing (John 14:2), and equality before the law (Matthew 19:28; 1Corinthians 6:2-4)—no racial/ethnic profiling/social status kowtowing to elitist bigotry.  Needless to say, his preaching was not popular; and because he was incorruptible, he had to be slandered (Luke 7:33-34) and neutralized—the MO much in vogue in right-wing American politics.

   A ploy of last resort was implemented to make the former Yahweh of hosts real to men.  While in Heaven he had scored mixed results amongst Old Testament Israelites (Numbers 14:27-30; 1Kings 19:18), maybe if men could see him rather than listen to his prophets, they would come to their senses (Luke 20:13↔Ezekiel 12:3; Galatians 4:4).  Of course it was foreknown they would not:  Jesus crucifixion was a done deal before the world came into being (1Peter 1:20); hence Isaiah 5:1-7 and Luke 20:14-16.  And lest we breeze over Galatians 4:4, Paul’s specification of “born of woman” separated Jesus from those “sons of men” in whom hope of redress was impossible (Psalms 146:3); so that Mary’s virgin birth singled-out Jesus amongst all past/future leaders as the only man to be relied on, trusted, and followed.

The Conscription of Jesus

   But Jesus’ most admirable quality was that as the leader of his people, he would have to lead the spiritual battle against his enemies.  Not for him the safety of sitting well beyond battlefield lines directing others to fight and die for his vision of God and country.  He had come to earth devoid of armed bodyguards, the reason why his safety hung in the balance (John 10:31-39) and led to his capture through Judas’ snitching (John 18:2-4), choosing to go down rather than upset his Father’s objectives (Isaiah 53:10; Matthew 26:52-54; John 18:11).  While those objectives validated Jesus’ position as King/High Priest over God’s Kingdom, he was not into ego-tripping or vainglory; rather his aim was to share whatever the Father gave him with those who had paid a price for sharing his vision and following his lead (Matthew 10:29-30; Romans 8:17).  Most importantly, unlike secular and religious leaders, he never asked of any follower what he had not himself done on their behalf.

   But this voluntary “powerlessness,” this total rejection of “stand your ground” notions (Luke 6:29-30; James 5:6) and unwillingness to bear arms—let alone use them (Matthew 26:52), never sat well with hawkish men who had scores to settle, agendas to accomplish, and spheres of influence to consolidate.  Thus the image of Jesus that was most appealing to them was that of Revelation 19:11-12, even if those verses reflected poetic license rather than spiritual reality.  If Jesus could be portrayed as a sword-swinger littering the world with corpses [Satan’s millenary role, by the way (Exodus 12:23; 1Chronicles 21:15; Isaiah 14:16-17; Revelation 6:8)], why not emulate the commander’s military tactics?

   Involving gods in political pursuits is a time dishonored trend:  In antiquity all power seekers attributed their military successes to one deity or another—non-existing ones if we believe Yahweh to be the One and Only Divinity (Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 44:8).  Yet it stands to reason that such widespread beliefs could not have endured without some deceptive evidence.  The Bible tells us about kings and queens who worshipped false gods and came to bad ends because of it; but since their transgressions were not nipped in the bud, they persevered in their evildoing (Ecclesiastes 8:11), perhaps in the belief that personal accomplishments tipped divine scales in their favor.

   Come Christianity with the admonition that he who killed with the sword must die by the sword (Matthew 26:52; Revelation 13:10), it became easier to differentiate the deluded zealot from the righteous disciple; but now deceptions became matter of record.  After his successful campaigns following heavenly signs, Constantine became a Christian in the belief that someone up there had his back.  Joan of Arc claimed to have divine guidance from the likes of the Archangel Michael and reputed “saints” to save France from English domination.  Due to these endeavors, human beings, whether targeted or collateral, were killed by fighters who, unless later truly repentant, lost their souls in the bargain, making the aforementioned leaders their de facto executioners—as has been every single leader past and present enabling bloodbaths.  It goes without saying that, if Constantine and Joan of Arc were indeed deceived, we know who their Deceiver was.  

   This ploy of conscripting heaven to legitimize anti-Christian endeavors is not exclusive to Roman Catholicism.  Hitler believed to be under the protection of God; and that the Almighty had given his followers blessings withheld from others in the past, so that through God’s powerful aid Germany could be made great again.⁸  Endorsing this narrative, an institute was organized by eleven German Protestant churches sympathetic to Nazi ideals to eradicate Jews from Christian history.  Jesus was drained of his Jewishness and recast as an Aryan martyr.  The spinning extended to Paul, who as a Jew was problematic for Christian racists.  Since any authentic German faith was bound to be corrupted by Paul’s teachings, a pastor called for his removal in 1942 to focus upon the Jesus who had died in battle against Judaism.  The hierarchy, though alarmed by such radical revisions, damned itself (Luke 9:26; Revelation 21:8) by remained mum until it was safe to disagree openly—i.e., post-war.  Then as always (Jeremiah 8:8), prominent Protestant theologians who contributed to the Jewish Holocaust went back to church life once the madness was over, suffering little if any retribution.

   Today a similar revisionism is at work amongst right-wing radicals who cast political favorites as crusaders for God specifically chosen by Him.  None of this is true, could not be given God’s dismal view of human nature (Romans 3:10-18) and leaders’ propensity to set themselves above others (Isaiah 65:5).  Plus we have been told how much worse human nature will devolve during end-times (Matthew 24:12; 1Timothy 4:1-2; 2Timothy 3:15; Revelation 9:19-21), so that there is absolutely no hope for our world regardless of the spiritual revivals religious leaders assure us are popping up all over the globe.  And if with access to Bibles telling them the score we cannot rely on them, what can we expect from irreligious politicians violating Scriptural guidelines?

The Still Unknown Yahwehs

   It has been said that people get the leaders they deserve.  More incomprehensible still is their groveling loyalty in face of all the evidence by which such leaders broadcast their unworthiness and their contempt for the masses.  Just like the Israelites in 1Samuel 8:1-22, warnings of exploitation and abuse of power do not seem to give anyone pause.  It never sees to enrage anyone that leaders calling for all sorts of sacrifices are never themselves willing to undertake them (Matthew 23:4).  Beloved monarchs die in privilege and people mourn them irrespective of the wealth they clung to at the expense of their subjects’ well-being.  Operant conditioning shows that animals respond “rationally” to rewards and punishments; but when it comes to cults of personality, the more sycophants are shown how little their idols prioritize them, the more they are willing to immolate themselves to keep them on their pedestals.

   Perhaps the problem is that visible leaders are more comforting than invisible divinities—the “flaming arrow” behind idolatry.  If one idol fails us, we can switch to another; if any politician fails to deliver, we look towards the next and get taken for another ride.  Human existence is thus reduced to a merry-go-round of aspirations and disappointments, which becomes tolerable by dosing ourselves with the opiates of pleasures, material possessions and pious bromides.  The path of suffering the Yahwehs enjoin us to follow pales before the numbing fun of enjoying the here and now, the temporal rather than the eternal, by focusing on what one experiences rather than what one hopes for (Romans 8:24).

   As a consequence, both Yahwehs have been reduced to human concepts.  Yahweh the Most High, the Loving Father, is portrayed as an amoral loving machine on auto-pilot forgiving repentant souls irrespective of the enormity of their transgressions.  By this reckoning, had Hitler truly repented of his deeds, he would have merited God’s forgiveness no matter the horrors he endorsed; for if truth be told, though he was Nazism’s guiding spirit, Hitler himself had no hands-on involvement in killing anyone during his Reich.  We dishonor God by even considering any semblance of forgiveness for Hitler and his ilk.  Let us consider those whose “lesser” offenses were not forgiven.  Though he betrayed Jesus, Judas did not advocate for his crucifixion; and though truly repentant to the point of suicide, he was not forgiven (Matthew 27:3-5; Acts 1:16↔Psalm 41:9; Matthew 26:23).  Neither was Esau, who valued a plate of food over his birthright; and who though crying bitterly for forgiveness, it was not forthcoming (Hebrews 12:17).

   There are transgressions so abominable to God that forgiveness is out of the question; so the mere fact of professing repentance after a lifetime of willful sins does not qualify anyone for mitigation.  Nor is redemption the easy deal it is preached to be, the reason why it is predicated on the patience necessary to endure every ordeal God allows Satan to deploy against us (Psalms 50:5; Micah 7:9; Matthew 24:13; Luke 21:19; Hebrews 10:35-36, 12:4-10; Revelation 14:12).  No transgression is ever free from attendant penalties (Jeremiah 46:28); and such penalties, so-called tests of faith (1Peter 1:6-7), are the dues we must pay to be eligible for salvation.  No matter how loving, the Divinity demands unconditional obedience, even while doing what is pleasing to Him takes a toll on us (1Peter 2:20-21, 3:17, 5:6); with the proviso that after having professed allegiance to Jesus, there is no room for second thoughts (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6; Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:38).

   Enter the beginning of wisdom, which is fear of God (Psalms 111:10); fear, that is, that He will act as stated regardless of human expectations to the contrary.  If one defaults on His covenant, penalties will accrue and be exacted, so that knowledge of that fear is both beneficial and sobering.  But as He bemoans, what men call “fear of Him” is a man-made concept (Isaiah 29:13), illustrated by the fact that no fear is evident when opposing His will in matters of worship or Christian living, be it Sabbath observance (Exodus 20:8-11↔Luke 24:1, John 20:1), Marian idolatry (Jeremiah 46:16-25) or material pursuits (Luke 17:26-29).  Hence the appeal to know and understand Him (Jeremiah 9:24; Hosea 6:3), a request that has sailed over men’s heads (Jeremiah 4:22) and denied by Trinitarian dogma, for the belief that Jesus and the Most High are the same person has robbed the Father of His rightful worship (Hosea 11:7).

   Which elevates Jesus to a position he argued belonged exclusively to the Father, Jesus’ own God (John 14:28, 20:17; Revelation 3:12)—hence his recrimination in Hosea 7:13.  For Jesus was the Old Testament Yahweh of hosts present with the Most High before the world was (John 17:5); and whereas the Father claimed total ownership over the whole of Creation (Leviticus 25:23; Job 41:11), Jesus acknowledged that whatever he received was given to him by the Father (John 13:2; Revelation 2:27↔Psalms 2:8). Let us never forget that if the Father had not resurrected him, Jesus would not be with us today and none of us would have a shot at salvation (Acts 17:31; 1Corinthians 15:13-17).

   Yet even to this day Jesus, the former Yahweh of hosts, remains as unknown amongst Christians as he was amongst the Jews of antiquity.  To be fair Scripture is written in such a way that not everything is crystal clear (2Peter 3:16); yet since the Holy Spirit is the Ghostwriter of Scripture (2Peter 1:20-21), such “difficulties” must be intentional (Isaiah 29:10-14; 1Corinthians 1:20-21).  To what end?  So that no flesh can claim possession of the “hidden wisdom” exclusively intended for the righteous faithful (Deuteronomy 29:29; Mark 4:11-12), revealed to them not through fallible men but through the Holy Spirit emanating from Him (John 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:9-12; 1John 2:27).

   Unquestionably, we have failed both Yahwehs like the Jews before us did (Daniel 9:4-6,11-14).  No matter the steps taken, the litany of prophetic warnings, the apostolic blood spilt trying to free us from satanic vectors, we scurry behind leaders pied-piping us into the pit.  Their pious bromides resonate with us because they cater to our expectations (Isaiah 30:10).  Modern Judeo-Christianity is not so much about forfeiting earthly existence to qualify for immortal life as enjoying temporal pleasures because that is what we are told our Daddy in the sky wants for us.

   Long ago God called our bluff:  “My people are foolish, they do not know Me; they are stupid children, they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good” (Jeremiah 4:22; Mark 10:18; Romans 3:10-12).  Apparently we excel at evil, which is why the world is what it is and the powers that be we grovel before make short work of us.  Were it not for God’s grace, “we would have been as Sodom, and we would have been like Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9); still we sing hosannas in full expectation that we will be shuttled to Heaven “just as we are.”  For that is the mantra, is it not?  “God loves us as we are,” rather than for pity of us God enjoins us to leave the old self behind and evolve into a holier being that He can really merge with (Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:22-24; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 12:10).

   Still it is too late in the game to expect massive conversions.  If Jesus failed to accomplish anything beyond what he was prophesied to accomplish (John 6:39), what are the chances we will do better than him?  And if we have ignored his exhortations to exalt the Father rather than him, can we blame the Most High for committing us to suffer in order to be purified and regain our senses (Deuteronomy 29:19, 31:18,29-20↔Jeremiah 23:15-20; Deuteronomy 30:1-3↔Jeremiah 29:12-13; Isaiah 48:10; Zechariah 13:9↔Ezekiel 5:12; Hebrews 12:5-10; Revelation 13:7)?

   .

¹ As did his disciples following his ascension to Heaven (Acts 4:32-37, 6:1; 1Corinthians 16:1-2; 2Corinthians 8:13-15).

² Please note that whereas Light is termed “good,” Darkness is not.

³ Which makes both “Light” and “Darkness” created on Day One totally unrelated to celestial bodies.  Refer to our series Genesis: The Myth That Never Was.

⁴ Hence the Father’s endorsement of His Son in Malachi 4:2:  “But to you who fear My name [the Most High’s] shall the sun of righteousness [the Son] arise with healing in its wings [denoting his angelic nature].”

   Also the moon under the Church’s feet (Revelation 12:1), depicting the enmity between the righteous and the unrighteous (Genesis 3:15).

⁵ As were other transgressions (Matthew 19:8↔Malachi 2:15-16).

⁶ Pilate and his soldiers did.  Legalistic Jewish priests did not think it was licit to take Jesus’ life (John 18:31).

⁷ In Jewish tradition, the Messiah will enter through this gate coming from the Mount of Olives; the reason why this gate has remained sealed since the Middle Ages.  This gate is the subject of Ezekiel 44:1-3↔Jeremiah 30:21.

⁸ From speeches made on February 1928 and March 1933, the year he was appointed Chancellor to head a coalition government.