CD ROM Paradise Collection 4/CD ROM Paradise Collection 4 1995 Nov.iso/edu/essy53.zip/61.DOC

Text File | 1994-12-17 | 6KB | 109 lines

                                    ESSAY 61

                              THE "THEOCRACY" MYTH

              Some secularists violently oppose what they call  "Theo-
         cracies," the purported rule by God  on  earth.  They  equate
         the radicals who kill in the name of God.    They  fear  that
         conservative  Christians,  if  elected,  would  set  up  some
         government in the Untied States like Iran now has.
              The  plain  teaching  of  Jesus of Nazareth was that his
         kingdom was not on earth:

                   Then Pilate  entered into  the  judgment  hall
              again, and  called  Jesus,  and  said unto him, Art
              thou  the  King  of the Jews?  Jesus answered  him,
              Sayest  thou  this thing of thyself,  or did others
              tell it thee  of  me?  Pilate answered, Am I a Jew?
              Thine own nation  and  the chief  priests  have de-
              livered thee unto me: what hast thou  done?   Jesus
              answered,  My  kingdom  is not of this world: if my
              kingdom were of this world, then would my  servants
              fight, that I should not be delivered  to the Jews:
              but  now  is  my  kingdom  not from  hence.  Pilate
              therefore  said  unto him,  Art  thou a  king then?
              Jesus answered,  Thou  sayest  that I am a king. To
              this end was I born, and for this cause came I into
              the  world, that  I  should  bear witness unto  the
              truth.  Every  one  that is of the truth heareth my
              voice.   Pilate  saith unto  him,  What  is  truth?
              . . . .  (John 18:33-38).

                Now, it  is  true that  Jesus the Messiah shall return
         in the future and set up an earthly  kingdom and reign  for a
         thousand years.  THIS  IS  THE  ONLY TRUE THEOCRACY THAT WILL
         EVER EXIST ON EARTH.
              The world government that some are striving for will  be
         an  imitation  theocracy, ruled by the antichrist.  The anti-
         christ  will be a master deceiver.  When he come to power, he
         will persecute Jews and Christians and  will  cause  humanity
         to be totally corrupted.
              Jesus taught against violence:

              Blessed  are  the  peacemakers: for  they  shall be
              called the children of God. (Matthew 5:9).
              [The  phrase  "children of God" is a  Hebraism that
              means "to partake of the nature of God."]

              Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time,
              Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall
              be in danger of the judgment: But  I  say unto you,
              That whosoever is angry with his brother without  a
              cause  shall be in danger of the judgment: and who-
              soever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be  in
              danger  of  the  council:  but whosoever shall say,
              Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of  hell  fire.
              (Matthew 5:21-22).

              But  I  say  unto  you, That whosoever looketh on a
              woman  to lust  after  her hath  committed adultery
              with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye
              offend thee, pluck  it out, and cast it  from thee:
              for  it  is profitable for  thee  that  one of  thy
              members  should perish, and not that thy whole body
              should be cast into hell.  And  if  thy  right hand
              offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for
              it is profitable for thee that  one of  thy members
              should  perish,  and not that thy whole body should
              be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:28-30).

              Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an
              eye, and a  tooth for a tooth:  But I say unto you,
              That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall  smite
              thee  on  thy  right  cheek,  turn to him the other
              also. (Matthew 5:38-39).

         "But,"  someone  will say, didn't Jesus teach cutting off the
         hands  of  evildoers  as  the  Moslem Fundamentalists do?  Or
         putting the eyes out of evildoers?"  In the  context  of  the
         above scriptures, Jesus is teaching about the heart.  We  are
         to  "cut off"  adulterous thoughts (the eyegate is misused in
         sexual lust).  We  are  to  "cut  off" doing evil things (the
         hands represent the acting out of evil).
              Christians,  Jews and Moslems all teach that it is wrong
         to  steal,  commit adultery, etc.  The best way  to "cut off"
         evil is to train our  children not to do evil. It seems cruel
         to cut off someone's hand for stealing.
              "But,"  some will  persist, "What about the Crusades and
         what about the killing in the name of religion today?"  Jesus
         taught that Christians should not engage in  so-called  "Holy
         Wars" today.  (See "The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds" in my
         book, THE ASTONISHING PARABLES OF JESUS).
              The Jewish nation under the Old Covenant was not  a true
         theocracy. During certain periods of Jewish history,the Lord
         was honored and obeyed more than other periods.  The Lord did
         lead Israel to destroy some wicked cultures.  In  my opinion,
         the main purpose of  this  was  to  insure  that  all mankind
         would  have an  accurate knowledge about the One True God.
              Most people today would agree  that  World  War  II  was
         justified  in  order to stop the madman  Adolph Hitler.  And,
         there will probably be justified  "police actions"  and  wars
         in the future.  However,  no  war  is  justified  to  destroy
         another religion.


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