Redemption
“Redemption is deliverance from the power of an alien dominion and the enjoyment of the resulting freedom. It involves the idea of restoration to one who possesses a more fundamental right or interest. The best example of redemption in the Old Testament was the deliverance of the children of Israel from bondage, from the dominion of the alien power in Egypt.”
People cling to the idea:
...that they can swear oaths to Roman type governments, [Matthew 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all;....:]
...that they can apply and pray to those government for benefits, [Luke 11:3 Give us day by day our daily bread.]
...that they can vote to exercise authority over their fellow man Luke 22:25 The kings of the Gentiles ..exercise authority upon them .... But ye shall not be so: Matthew 20:25, Mark 10:42
...that they can and do covet what belongs to others through taxation, [Free education, free health care, free protection and social security at the expense of your neighbor. ]
...that they can send the sheriff out to rob widows and orphans with force, legally with inheritance and property taxes. Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
...that they can pay a stipends to their temple called the Capitol and leave the care of the father and mother to others [Mark 7:11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, [It is] Corban, ... Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.]
And that it is all okay because we are going to go to heaven when we are dead. [Matthew 22:32 ... God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.]
Such ideas have made us dead already.
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. Luke 9:60
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:5
Many think Jesus is coming to rule over us in some far off kingdom thousands of years from when he said the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The kingdom was then and now. Luke 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
People live in such darkness and deception they cannot see the reality of God's Kingdom as a real and present jurisdiction.
"And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived." Revelation 18:23
Almost everyone today is a member of a constitutional order very much like Rome.
Rome vs. US
People like to think they believe in Jesus but they put their trust and faith in Rome, their wealth in Rome, their Children in Rome. They bind themselves daily by word and deed to the Kingdoms of the world that are in opposition to the Kingdom of God. They say they are loose to serve God in Heaven but most of their labor and lives and the lives of their children serves another king and ruler, one chosen by The Voice of the People.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:19
What you bind on earth is bound in Heaven and what is loosed on earth is loosed in Heaven. You are bound by The Covenants of the gods.
Money vs. Mammon
This entrusted wealth is what all of Rome and the world order today is based on. It is a Cestui Que trust. Men don't own their land, the true title is held in trust. Men do not own their cars. Men do not own their labor. Men have a legal title but that does not include ownership and the beneficial use by the definition of the word. God gave us dominion but man has not 'kept it'.
Men have sold it for the promises of men.
Law vs legal
Men have all returned to Egypt and Rome.
Employ vs. Enslave
Men do not even own your children by the law polity written in your governments.
Holy Matrimony vs marriage
And men now claim their citizenship in Rome not in the Kingdom of heaven. In the law it is not what is said but what is done.
Citizen vs. Citizen
Men may say you serve the God in Heaven but you actually serve other gods.
There are gods many
Jesus has provided a way out of this dilemma since his kingdom is still at hand. You cannot have two masters. John did not invent Baptism. Such washing had been a part of Hebrew tradition since before Abraham and was done at Sinai and throughout Israelite history. It was old testament stuff.
Most people think you enter the Kingdom of Heaven by baptism of water and a profession of faith. Well maybe? But what and whose Baptism? What profession of Faith? And in faith inhat god?
"Augustus was sensible that mankind is governed by names; nor was he deceived in his expectation, that the senate and people would submit to slavery, provided they were respectfully assured that they still enjoyed their ancient freedom."
The same is true today. People like to think they are free and are assured in every media they are. But is it true or merely what they would like to believe. How would the kingdom of God differ from the ways of the world?
The technical nature of the Kingdom
In brief
Luke 3:14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse [any] falsely; and be content with your wages.
The soldiers were not baptized because they were under oath to another king. But they could put on the character of Christ and when the unrighteous mammon failed they would be ready to enter the kingdom. Baptism was a jurisdictional act of allegiance.
"...In 20-19 B.C.E. Herod the Great set in motion plans to make the Jerusalem Temple the largest and most magnificent religious building in the world. The platform on which it stood, built with huge blocks of stone, stretched a quarter of a mile long by a fifth of a mile wide. Gleaming god plates were set up in the inner courts. From its ramparts silver trumpets heralded each dawn. Twenty thousand functionaries were employed in its servicing, and a further sixteen thousand craftsmen and laborers were drilled as construction and refurbishing teams that would be kept occupied for three quarters of a century."
"Outside Palestine he [Herod] subsidized games and festivals. And everywhere he provided water; his palaces were supplied by aqueducts, as were Caesarea and Jerusalem (impressive remains are still visible at both). Not only cities, but also the countryside benefited from improved water supplies; thanks to improved irrigation, the kingdom became much more productive agriculturally. And when famine struck at home, Herod supplied grain from his own funds."9
Herod had sent out those Essene missionaries and Pharisee teachers who supported his idea of a vast kingdom of God on earth. It was a system of social security and commercial affluence. He was very successful and built the temple in Jerusalem and many more in other countries. It was a "Great Society".
"Jerusalem was a major city in a cosmopolitan culture. It contained not only the Temple, but also a large arena for chariot and horse races (a hippodrome), a stadium for athletic contests (a gymnasium), and massive Theaters."
"The aim of gaining six hundred thousand members to form a New Israel was to be achieved by a project of evangelism lasting forty years, the first generation of the millennium."
"The missionaries... with their leather wallets full of white stones, would come back with the same wallets full of money, in foreign currency. Once put into Jewish currency by the money-changers, it would be stored in vaults, ready to be used by Herod for his vast building projects, or any subsequent causes."
"Herod's scheme of initiation into a new form of Judaism was immensely successful. Jews everywhere were willing to join the worldwide society whose meetings were held in the evenings in private houses. Entry was for members only; they had to show at the door an admission token in the form of a white stone from the river Jordan which the missionaries gave them at baptism. On the stone was written their new Jewish name."
People needed to be entertained, lulled with security, excitement and pleasured into pacification. Most people did fine under Herod as most people do fine under existing governments of the world today. Business was good, money flowed and success and prosperity was common if not just around the corner.
John the Baptist's version of the kingdom of heaven was decidedly different than Herod's. You joined Herod's social security system and were forced to contribute annually. If you joined John's you lived by the perfect law of liberty, by faith, hope and charity. There was a network of authoritarian benefactors in the system of Herod, but in John's there was a network of congregations who shared with each other.
He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Luke 3:11
Those who were cast out of the system of the Pharisees were able to enter into the system of Christ. This liberty they enjoyed required a responsibility of mutual love. But it sustained them through jealous persecutions and the collapse of the Empire.
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: Galatians 2:4
You can serve the kingdom without being one of the citizens but you cannot be an official of the kingdom without leaving the other nations. If the kingdom is real then it must be technically real. Jesus demonstrated that over and over. Many are believers and cannot enter the kingdom because they are not free to leave the kingdom they are in nor can they be a part of the Church.
Freemen who are elders of families in the kingdom could also be considered part of the ekklesia because they are the electors but they would not be a part of the office that was appointed because it was in them as heads of household that the state rested. The family is the building block of the kingdom.
The Church as a mere servant of the King must not be a part of any kingdom at any time. It simply cannot be anymore than a woman may be of more than one husband or an ambassador can represent more than one kingdom. The Church is the Bride of Christ. They only hold title for the husband and therefore have no dominion. Like the Levites the Church is the possession of God through Jesus Christ instead of Moses or King David.
A Free elder has dominion over himself and his family and servants. Those subject in other kingdoms are of no part of the Church but they may be of great faith as the centurion and be entitled to service by the Church and fellowship and friendship and blessing and will undoubtedly be ready to receive when they can be made free.
1 Corinthians 7:21 Art thou called [being] a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use [it] rather.
The Church is for a purpose.
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:10, 11
The Church must be out of other kingdoms of the nations because the Church members are public servants first but they are also brethren. Ultimately all will be called out in Spirit and Truth, at least when the mammon fails if not sooner. The Church is not in a position of power or authority but a serving brotherhood. They must serve in a real way. They give up their freedom and freedom and estate so that others may be free. The Church does not own itself nor do the people own the Church. The Church is the result of Charity. Its minister give, the congregation give because God and His son has given.
International law is changing so that all may leave the kingdoms they are bound in and enter the kingdom of Heaven established on earth. This does not seem far off and will be clear at that time by the signs foretold. There has been some complaint as to how cryptic I am but Jesus was cryptic and evasive until the proper time when it is given to know. God will tell you what I do not say, if he wants you to know. It is on our site, it is in our books and tapes and it is in the Bible. God must right it on your hearts and upon your minds and then you shall be his people and he shall be your God.
Rome recognized Jesus as a king of an autonomous government in the world but not of the world of Rome. If God's kingdom was of the world of Rome Christ would have plead His case before Pilate who was sitting in the judgment seat of Rome. Jesus claimed Pilate lacked jurisdiction because His kingdom was not of the world of Pilate.
If Christ is our king and we are ruled by God, then why are we subject to the ordinances of benefactor who exercise authority? Why are we under tribute? Have we left the path to the kingdom of God and over the line into the “world” and grip of Caesar?
"It is trite law that His Majesty's subjects are free if they can make their own arrangements so that their cases may fall outside the scope of the taxing Acts. They incur no legal penalties and, strictly speaking, no more censure if, having considered the lines drawn by the Legislature for the imposition of taxes, they make it their business to walk outside them."
We are all in the world God created, but we should not be of the world of Rome? Have we prayed and bowed down to Roman gods? Have we been snared by the unrighteous mammon? Have we been spoiled through the philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of that world. The kingdom of Heaven that was preached by Christ and the prophets is the godly arrangement that allows men to be subject to the “higher liberty” under the God of Heaven walking outside the ordinances of men, living in the world but not of it.
Repent, and seek the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.
Footnotes:
Matthew 27:19 “When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.” Also John 19:13
"Trite law is law that, if you do not know it, you should." Gordon Jackson (Glasgow Govan), Subordinate Legislation Committee Official Report 31 October 2006.
