Sick of the passion that plagues the masses,
Holding tight to false loves like piles of ashes.
True beauty's in the lashes that bloodstain the soul.
A higher Passion, that took the wrath made sinner's ransom.
Praise Jehovah Jireh Who provided all.

Unity corrupted is a poisonous draft.
Taken aback by the potion of duplicitous craft,
Young bucks abruptly turned to walk down a tainted path.

Kingdom of God

Here's the final paper that I'm going to post for now. This one is on the Kingdom of God. All requests apply. God bless

Throughout the New Testament Gospels, Jesus refers to the “Kingdom of God,” or as Matthew writes, “The Kingdom of Heaven.” Sometimes Jesus preaches that the Kingdom is near (Matt 4:17), while at other times he teaches about what the Kingdom is like (Matt 20:1). Jesus places a great deal of emphasis on this Kingdom, and the impression readers get is that everything in life hinges on the Kingdom and whether or not one is a part of it. These teachings, however, raise an important question. Did Jesus himself believe that this “Kingdom” existed then and there, or was it something to be awaited? I personally believe that this question is a false dichotomy and that the two options are not mutually exclusive.

A) The Kingdom is to be awaited: Jesus often teaches in the Gospels about the Kingdom of Heaven/God in conjunction with the future tense. For example, in Matthew 5:19, during Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he says, “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The idea here is that a judgment will come before these individuals are called anything in the Kingdom. Further, he says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:3). These statements infer that in this future Kingdom, which both references seem to imply is a physical location, people live and communicate. Jesus also speaks of making sacrifices now for the sake of the Kingdom, being rewarded at some, apparently, later time because Jesus notes that they ought to “accept this” as if it is better to do so (Matt 19:12).

B) The Kingdom is here: Jesus also makes many references to what the Kingdom of Heaven is like and to whom it belongs. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he states that the Kingdom belongs to “those who realize their need for God” and to “those who are persecuted for God” (Matthew 5:3 and 5:10). This reveals that the Kingdom belongs to people of the present. It would not make sense for Paradise to include persecution, and because such a place is in God’s presence, neither would it make sense for someone to realize a need for God in Paradise, as He would be fulfilling one’s every need. I believe that the Kingdom to which Jesus refers in these passages is the realm of the heart (mind – soul) of those who would accept Him as Messiah. This idea would entail a Kingdom of Heaven present in the hearts of those of whom He is Lord.

C) Final Thoughts: I would argue that Mark 9:1 flows into my final, although extra-assignment example. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” This shows that the manifestation of the Kingdom to come is united with the present through the believer in which Jesus is already King. Heaven is where God reigns, and so the Kingdom of Heaven is within those who believe and manifests itself through their lives.

Although outside the scope of Matthew and Mark, Jesus’ statements as recorded by Luke provide some keen insight into this mystery. For example, with regard to the physical Kingdom, Jesus assures the criminal beside him on the cross that the criminal would be with him that day in Paradise (Luke 23:42). I consider this reference to the Kingdom as the material Kingdom of God. At the same time I find the strongest evidence for the immaterial-spiritual Kingdom interpretation also in Luke – and for the overall two-kingdom argument which I propose. In Luke 18:17 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Thus, Jesus implies that one must accept Christ’s total Lordship (internal - King of the heart) in order to enter the physical manifestation of His rule (the new creation of which He is King).

Historical Jesus?

Here is another paper I wrote last Spring, this time on the quest for the historical Jesus. Again, enjoy and cite properly if you find it helpful and useful.

That the Gospels do not maintain exact harmony in their chronological proceedings regarding the life and ministry of Jesus Christ concerns many today; however, there is relatively no documented information of the early Church feeling the same unease. If one examines what a Gospel is, one will note that it is not akin to a biographical account. Their credibility and significance do not lie solely in their chronological veracity, but rather, they lie in extent to which they testify to the truth of God’s will and grace. The early Church’s lack of criticism toward the Gospel authors and their claims demonstrates that the people understood a different factor as supreme for gauging the credibility of the Gospels; that the purpose of their authorship was to make arguments for Jesus being the Christ. Nevertheless, the discrepancies which initiate the searches for the “Historical Jesus” are a stumbling block to the faith of many.

The noticeable contradictions found in comparing the Gospels do appear disconcerting at first. How could one claim a harmony among the four separate books in this literary genre which claim to testify to the same truth and explain much of what Jesus said during his ministry – though saying little else about his life – while at the same time not account for the their inconsistent details? Jesus would not purposefully intend to mislead his followers, would he? Would God orchestrate mistakes into the writing of His divinely-inspired word?

This problem of discord becomes much less of a problem when one understands why the early Church valued the Gospel accounts. In order to look back on history accurately, we cannot assume that, historically, those individuals had the same perceptions we do, nor that they valued things parallel to our own valuations. Thus, one cannot assume that the early Christians saw it necessary to construct a biographical sketch of Jesus’ life in order to “believe.” They accepted his life as a given (many had known and seen him), and so their focus was on determining whether or not he was who he said he was, the Messiah. The disagreement among some Gospel details illustrates that trying to build a comprehensively accurate sketch of his life from our position would be fruitless from the start, because there are no other corroborative sources with which to compare for almost all of the material about Jesus outside of the Gospels themselves.

It is possible that mistakes do exist in the Gospel accounts regarding chronology, but these occurrences would not strip the Gospels of their force, importance, or truth. What we do know should not be immediately discounted because of something we do not know. It is also possible that the “apparent” mistakes were delicately-placed details, and are not out of order, but rather they were organized in the best non-chronological literary structure through which the answer to the question, “Is Jesus the awaited for Messiah?” could be determined.

It is impossible to reconstruct a historically detailed biography of Jesus’ life with so little information. The Gospel authors never intended to produce chronologically harmonious accounts of Jesus’ life. They intended to tell what they knew of what had happened, and they did. They cannot be faulted for not sharing details they may not have known or had forgotten; this would not diminish their accuracy in recounting what they did know. Trying to reconstruct a biography of Jesus’ life, therefore, ought not to be pursued with nearly the same vigor as determining the Gospel authors’ intentions in writing their Gospels and exploring the text from there. In fact more so than anything else, the existence of discrepancies ought to encourage this pursuit above all others when engaging the Gospels. Those closest to Jesus didn’t think having a biography was of the utmost importance for believing Jesus nor fulfilling his commands, what makes us think that the lack of historical understanding will make or break our own faith?

Genre of "Gospel"

Here is a short paper a I wrote last Spring about what a "Gospel" is. Enjoy and comment if you would. Please notify me if you would like to reproduce what follows. God bless

What is a “Gospel?”

According to New American Standard Strong’s Concordance, the word “gospel,” euaggelion in Greek, appears 19 times in the synoptic gospels of the New Testament. Taking a cross-section of these references, they refer to “good news” which is vocally proclaimed, preached, and in which someone believes and participates. The “good news” is also always taken somewhere where it is currently unknown (Rom 15:20), for until it is preached, the gospel remains hidden (2 Cor 4:3). Its spreading begins with Jesus and is intrinsically tied to Him although it has a “sake” of its own (Mark 8:35). It is also mentioned in reference to the Kingdom of God and accompanied by God healing listeners through the preacher.

Moving in canonical order and starting with Matthew 4:23, Jesus preaches the gospel of the kingdom of God all throughout Galilee. Later in Matthew 9:35, Jesus is “going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” We find that where the gospel is being preached, such as in Matthew 11:5, “the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up.” This phraseology harkens back to Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) and the Prophet Isaiah. In Chapter 35, Isaiah prophesies what would be considered good news, that there is a hope for restoration and the hope is God. Isaiah says the Messiah for which the Jews waited will come and do the things listed in Matthew 11:5 (Isa 40:9). Matthew, therefore, writes this in order to reveal to his readers that the “good news” of God’s promise to restore Israel Himself has come. Jesus was and is this good news. The other Gospel writers similarly appear to consider “everything Christ” as gospel. For instance, Mark beginning his Gospel with, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” seems to show how his entire Gospel is intended as more that just good news about “good news.” Rather, he was intending for readers to grasp that the entirety of the divine occurrences was “gospel.” This ranges from the teachings and the healings to the example set by Christ Himself in sacrificial love. All of it was good news, because God’s grace toward mankind is good news, Jesus Christ’s sacrificial life being the ultimate climax of the “good news.”

From Scripture we can see that the “gospel” is grander than just a set of instructions for being saved. When believed and followed, the Gospel – that God’s grace is necessary for man and available to him – is salvation. It is Jesus Christ Himself, and as Paul writes, it is Christ crucified. Christ’s life is everlasting and so those who take part in the Gospel, have His life through the sealing of the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13). At the end of the Scriptures, in Revelation, an angel is flying in midheaven spreading an eternal gospel everywhere. The angel says, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters (Rev 14:7). The call is to turn from wickedness toward God, and one can only heed this call because of Jesus’ life and death which allows for our hearts’ regeneration by the Spirit.

As a side note, according to the Ancient Hebrew word picture letters, the “good news” refers to “What comes from the house of the prince; those who are a part of His house share in the Good News.” From this we can understand that Christ is the good news (He is the prince), and that those who are joint-heirs with Him share in the Gospel – God’s grace toward man making the way for eternal communion with God through Jesus.

There's war to pay, as the hour slides away, years go by and there's so much more night than day,
So let's hide-away, break through the cycle that never existed,
Evict the problematic addict, of what have his methods consisted?