The Pagan Path

Those who wonder are not lost; they are trying to awaken! 'The Sleeper must awaken!'

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The Lord of Creation

Most Christians believe that Jesus is ruling now, but only in our hearts; Jesus, according to this belief system, has yet to return and set up His earthly Kingdom, which according to Scripture, will never end! While waiting for Jesus to set up His earthly Kingdom, most accept the earthly rule of those who are not in agreement with Him, and some even that are in direct & flagrant opposition to His rule!

It is difficult, no doubt, for many people to believe that Jesus is ruling on the earth at this time, what with all the wars, violence, sickness & all manner of evil that seem to persevere! What we must remember though is that He rules through His People! We are His Hands & Feet, so when we neglect our duties, it is no wonder that Christians & non-Christians alike witness all the present evil in this glorious world He has given to the sons of men, and decide that Jesus has not returned yet & that He is not yet reigning over His creation!

The prophets, in Scripture, told of a time to come when the Creator God would bring His Kingdom from Heaven to Earth so that the whole Earth would be filled with His Glory & the Knowledge of God would cover the Earth as the Waters cover the Sea! Daniel, in particular, prophesied, 'in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.' ( Daniel 2:44 ), but even David, king of Israel, proclaimed this Good News; 'I will declare the decree: the Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.' Most Christians, of course, because they see evil so rampant throughout the earth, do not believe that this has occurred yet!

You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Exodus 20:5 & 6 

Many idols have been erected in this nation of fools & some of these are worshiped even by well-meaning Christians! Since Christians have bowed before these idols & served them ( though unwittingly or unwillingly ), rather than bowing before their Heavenly Father alone & serving His Will, this Kingdom, from a human standpoint, anyway, has been tainted! We see the selfishness & vain-glory of man ruling the day, even among many so-called followers of Christ!

The Church is in confused disarray, believing, in a variety of ways & to different degrees, that Jesus will return one day, in Power & Glory, visiting destruction on His ( disobedient ) Creation & rescuing His Good Creation from the powers of Sin & Death! We ferociously & vociferously debate each other over whether Jesus' Return will usher in a veritable utopia or whether the Promise of His Return was a spiritual one;  whether Time will be no more, or if we will inhabit this cleansed earth in spiritual, yet somehow physically perfect bodies! All the while, many of these same Christions are bowing before & serving the same idols that the rest of the ( unbelieving ) nation is worshipping!

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9:6 & 7 

The Promise of a Messiah was made specifically to Israel as a nation, but from there, as Daniel prophesied, He 'became a great mountain and filled the whole earth'! Israel, like the first Adam before him, was to be a priest to the nations around him, to spread the Good News of the Kingdom of Grace & Love to all of God's Creation! In the Fulness of Time, the Messiah of Israel did come & the Kingdom was transferred over to His Hands!

In this Season, we celebrate the Coming of our King, but do we yet fully understand or realize the Nature & Extent of His Rule? We sing songs during this Season which exalt His Reign, but do we truly believe that He is Reigning & Ruling currently, or do we act like He must come again and perform another rescue operation? Why can we not see see that He has given us dominion ( Genesis 1:28 ) & that must simply exercise that dominion in order to see its fruits?

Charles Haddon Shank

No comments: