Thesis 95: Perfection

We are to strive for perfection in this life, not wait for the next life.

References

MERE PERFECTION

Wrestling with Perfection, I : Truth Observed See comment by Kevin Craig

ThePerfectClub.doc




Election Day
A very challenging day for those aspiring to perfection.

Thesis 94: We are in Heaven Now

If this isn't heaven, I don't know what is.

References
Restoring Gratitude, Joy, and Optimism.



1 Thesis til Election Day

Thesis 93: The City of God

Earthly cities depend (in vain) on walls and military garrisons for protection.[1] Christians, as the Temple-City of God,[2] need no such walls, no such polis.[3] The New Jerusalem is the Anti-Polis.[4]

Notes
1. #15; #24; Deuteronomy 28:52; Psalm 18:29; Jeremiah 51:58
2. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 3:12; 21:2ff.
3. #24; 2 Samuel 22:2-3; Isaiah 25:12 - 26:1; 60:11,18; Zechariah 2:4-5
4. Revelation 21

References
Providence, not Violence


2 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 92: The Last Acts of Earthly Archists

As kings recognize their obligation to obey Biblical Law, they surrender their rule (“archydom”) over others and begin to exhort and encourage them to obey God’s Law in their households.[1]

Notes
1. Isaiah 49:23; 60:10,16; Mark 10:42-45.

References
No Force, No Fraud: Shunning government down
Abolish the Federal Government
Thesis 78: Patriarchy and Resistance to Tyranny in the Last Days of The Old Covenant

We should abolish "the government" by preaching the gospel, gaining repentence, and seeing resignations of politicians (including those who abolish their own office before leaving).

3 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 91: The Unconverted In the “Millennium”

As the Gospel takes root from shore to shore (#63, #67, #61, #51, cf. #23, #61 + #68), even those not genuinely converted will feign conversion, submission to the Covenant, and will generally obey Gospel principles of government and social order.[1] Compared with those who are truly converted, however, these cowards will be a minority,[2] for genuine conversion is the Lord’s will[3] and His will shall be done.[4]


Notes
1. 2 Samuel 22:45; Psalm 18:44; 66:3; 81:15; Deuteronomy 33:29; Proverbs 14:19.
2. Revelation 7:9; Matthew 8:11; Zephaniah 3:9; Acts 14:27; 15:9; Romans 11:12,25; 15:12; Ephesians 3:6; Matthew 13:32
3. Psalm 17:1; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2:5
4. Matthew 6:10; Isaiah 44:21-28; Malachi 1:11; Mark 10:42-45; Matthew 9:9-13.

References
Benjamin B. Warfield, “Are They Few That Be Saved?” in Biblical and Theological Studies (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1952), 349

In these Theses, "Patriarchy" is not the same as the "nuclear family." (Thesis 8: Patriarchy and "the Extended Family") or even the "extended family" (Thesis 39: Patriarchy and Education). "Patriarchy" means Christian Globalism.

She is like the merchant ships,
        She brings her food from afar.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
        And supplies sashes for the merchants.
Proverbs 31:14,24

This represents international commerce with those who feign Christianity.


4 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 90: The New Heavens and New Earth

The Prophets spoke of a “new heavens and new earth.”[1] When this Age would come, people would still die , but not until after they had lived full, abundant lives. The Apostles believed that the inauguration of the New Age and fulfillment of “these promises” was imminent.[2] Christ ascended to the Right Hand of God to make all things new.[3]

Notes
1. Isaiah 65:17-25
2. 2 Peter 3.
3. Revelation 21:1-5; 2 Corinthians 5:17.

References
Millennialism And Social Theory

Gary North, Preface, Sanctions and Dominion An Economic Commentary on Numbers

Edge: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE By Steven Pinker




5 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 89: Edenic Restoration

The Prophets foretold the future Edenification of the Earth by speaking of Eden, the Mountain of the Lord.[1] These prophecies are now coming to pass: We now have access to the Tree of Life[2] because Christ, in His death on the Tree,[3] removed the Curse brought about by the First Adam.[4] We have been re-admitted to the Holy Mountain (#11) and placed in the wide open spaces[5] of the Garden of the New Jerusalem;[6] our task is now to perfect it.[7]

Notes
1. Micah 4:1-5; Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:9; 25:6-9; 56:3-8; 65:25; Daniel 2:34-35,44-45; #11
2. Revelation 2:7; 22:2,14
3. 1 Peter 2:24; Deuteronomy 21:22-23; Acts 5:30-31; 10:39; 13:29
4. Galatians 3:13; Genesis 3:17-19
5. Exodus 3:8; Judges 18:10; 2 Samuel 22:20,37; 1 Chronicles 4:40; Nehemiah 9:35; Psalm 18:19,36; 31:8; 118:5; 119:45; Isaiah 30:23; 54:2; Hosea 4:16.
6. Hebrews 12:22; Matthew 5:14; Luke 19:46
7. Genesis 2:15; 1:26-28; 3:17 + Revelation 22:3

References
Garden / Property / The Sixth Archetype

The Mountain of the LORD

R.J. Rushdoony, "The Tree of Life," Revolt Against Maturity, pp. 305ff.

Yasha - Salvation

Salvation: Being Placed in a Large Wide Place

Politics as Salvation

On Perfection, see Thesis #95.

A Political View of Life


6 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 88: Salvation as Light and Social Healing

Christians who embody the Word[1] provide cultural stability and social healing;[2] they are thus a light to the world[3] because the Light of the Sun of Righteousness shines through them.[4]

Notes
1. Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; John 14:23; 1 John 3:17,24
2. 1 John 3:17,24; Isaiah 35:3-9; Hebrews 12:12-13
3. Matthew 5:14; John 5:35; Philippians 2:15; Ephesians 5:8; Proverbs 4:18; Daniel 12:3.
4. Luke 1:78; Psalm 37:6; Malachi 4:2; Isaiah 51:4-8; 60:1-3; Revelation 21:22-25; 22:5; Isaiah 30:26

References
Thesis 28: Salvation is Political
This thesis (#88) provides a background useful for interpreting the "sun" and "light" in Revelation 21-22, and when combined with #28, suggests what some would call a "political" interpretation.

7 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 87: "Ruling with Christ"

We are ruling with Christ,[1] seated on thrones in the heavenlies,[2] above all powers, lords, and archists of the Old Age.[3] We reign when we suffer at the hands of statists for advancing the cause of God’s Law (“justice”[4]; “righteousness”[5]), which means we endure violence without returning violence (#81) or harboring bitterness. We do not wait for Christ to return and set up an earthly political empire;[6] we overcome evil with good[7] and thereby restore Edenic conditions.[8] Those who reject Christ’s Way of suffering and prefer the way of human vengeance and political domination have been deceived by Satan[9] and overcome by the mythology of the Old Age.[10]

Notes
1. Revelation 2:7,25-28; 5:10; 12:11; 17:14; 1 John 2:13-14; 4:4; 5:4-5; Romans 3:4; 8:37; 12;21; Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:29-30
2. Ephesians 2:6; Luke 22:30
3. Ephesians 1:21; 1 Peter 3:22
4. 2 Timothy 2:12
5. Matthew 5:10
6. Revelation 3:21
7. Romans 12:21; 1 John 2:13-14; 4:4; 5:3-5; Revelation 17:14
8. #89; Revelation 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12; 21:7
9. Matthew 16:23; Genesis 3:5 + Luke 4:5-7; Mark 10:42-45
10. 2 Peter 2:19-20; 1 Corinthians 6:7


8 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 86: “The Millennium”

“The Millennium” refers to the time described in Revelation 20:1-5. Since Satan was bound at Christ's first coming (#60) and believers were resurrected in Christ,[1] the “millennium” began with the work of Christ in the first century. The figure of “a thousand years” is symbolically designed to convey a perfect, complete, or vast number of years.[2] A “literal” interpretation of the 1000-year figure based on 2 Peter 3:8 (1,000 years = 1 day = 1,000 years) would calculate the “literal” length of the “millennium” at approximately 365,000,000 years (not counting “leap-millennia”). We have thus completed only the second "day" of Church history.

Notes
1. John 5:21,25,28 (4:23; 16:32); Ephesians 2:1-6; 5:14; Luke 15:24; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:13
2. Psalm 50:10; 84:10; 90:4; 105:8

References

None of the following works express our thesis 100%, but they are nevertheless valuable reading, when read with A Berean Spirit:

J.S. Russell's Position on the Millennium

The "Millennial Reign" of Christ

The New Heaven and New Earth, Millennium, New Jerusalem - Explained!

Dr. Greg Bahnsen : Hermeneutics in the Book of Revelation (1984)

A Letter From Loraine Or A Covenantal View Of The Millennium

The Sabbath Millennium

Tenth Generation, Seventh Millennium



9 Theses til Election Day

I. PATRIARCHY IN “THE MILLENNIUM”

        There are supposedly one hundred million Christians in The United States of America. But while our forefathers came to these shores to establish the Christian religion and export the Gospel around the world, the USA today exports more weapons of mass destruction than Bibles. Four thousand babies are murdered every day in America. Where are these millions of Christians? What are they doing to resist the New World Order and make America a “City upon a Hill?”
        Waiting for the “rapture.”
        Waiting for “the Second Coming” of Christ.
        The irony of all this stretches credulity:
        • When Christ comes again, all these Christians who do not presently lift a finger to promote peace and justice will be “reigning with Christ” in a Kingdom of Peace and Justice.
        • Christians who presently subsidize a culture of death in Hollywood will be free from death in a “New Heavens and New Earth.”
        “Any moment now” Christ will return to accomplish what He could not do at that First Christmas.
        “Any moment now.”
        So we have been told. For decades.
        This brand of Christianity is a corpse in a state of rigor mortis, precariously balanced in an upright position, ready to be blown over on its face by the Spirit’s breath of Truth. Our first breeze comes from the Prophet Isaiah, who says that in the “New Heavens and New Earth” people die (Isaiah 65:17-25). The Prophet looked forward to the First Christmas, in which the Messiah would destroy the old world of ceremonial liturgy and inaugurate a new world of faithfulness and righteousness. By building on God’s blueprint, the nations would be converted and the world would be renovated. The Prophets waited, yearing for that first Christmas.
        The time for waiting has passed. The time for faithful obedience is now.

Thesis 85: The Last Days of the Old Covenant

As foretold by the Old Testament Prophets, a glorious New Heavens and New Earth would be created in the “latter times.”[1] Christ established this Messianic Kingdom at the time of the Apostles,[2] who knew they were living in “the last days” of the Old Age.[3] The Old Covenant World (the world of the First Adam) was destroyed by fire in A.D. 70,[4] and as the Church is maturing in obedience all Old Testament prophecies concerning the New Covenant Age (the New Heavens and New Earth under the Second Adam) are being fulfilled.[5]

Notes
1. Micah 4:1-5; Isaiah 2:1ff.; Isaiah 11; 65:17ff.; Joel 2:28ff.; Hosea 3:5; Jeremiah 23:20; 30:24; etc.
2. Acts 2
3. Hebrews 1:2; 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20; 4:7; 1 John 2:18; Acts 2:16-17; #73
4. Matthew 24; 2 Peter 3
5. Acts 3:24; 2 Corinthians 1:20; 5:17

References
Gary DeMar writes:

THE LATTER YEARS
Hitchcock and Ice claim that the battle described in Ezekiel 38–39 has to be a distant future battle because it takes place in the “latter years” (38:8) and the “last days” (38:16). “Fortunately,” they write, “Ezekiel actually tells us when this invasion will occur. In Ezekiel 38:8, he says specifically that this invasion will occur in the ‘latter years.’ This is the only occurrence of this exact phrase in the Old Testament” (TBLB 46).[6] The phrase may be unique, but the Hebrew word translated “latter” occurs several times in the OT. More about this in a moment. A careful reading of the text will show that “latter years” is defined for us:

“After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them” (Ezek. 38:8).

“The latter years” means “after many days,” that is, sometime in the future when a certain series of observable events take place. Ezekiel wrote during the Babylonian captivity. He is prophesying about the future when God will restore the Jews to their homeland “from many nations.” Of course, this took place when Cyrus issued his decree “in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah” (Ezra 1:1). Some 50,000 exiles returned to Israel to rebuild the temple and city.
The same Hebrew phrase translated “last days” in Ezekiel 38:16 is often translated as “the days to come” in other contexts. In A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament “the last days” is described as “a prophetic phrase denoting the final period of the history so far as the speaker’s perspective reaches.” In the case of Genesis 49:1, it’s “the period of Israel’s possession of Canaan.”[7] The use of the phrase in Numbers 24:14 probably refers to the battle with the Midianites that took place in Israel’s near future (31:1–12; Josh. 13:21–22). The prophecy of Deuteronomy 31:29, where “latter days” is used in some translations, is best seen as referring to the events described in the period of the Judges. How do we know this? Moses says, “For I know that after my death you will act corruptly and turn from the way which I commanded you; and evil will befall you, . . . For you will do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of your hands.”[8]
So then, the phrase the “latter years” is a time reference about events that are future to the writer; it is not “eschatological,” that is, it’s not a reference either to a post-rapture tribulation period or a post-tribulation earthly millennium.

6. The fact that this phrase is used only once in the OT should lead the interpreter not to be so dogmatic in his assertions as to its meaning. The process in determining what a phrase means is to see how it’s used elsewhere in Scripture. If it’s not found in any other context, then the closest parallel must be consulted. Hitchcock and Ice fail to follow this procedure in so much of their exposition.
7. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs (BDB), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford), 31. BDB does go on to say, “But it often=the ideal or Messianic future.” The Messianic future could be the first coming of Christ which was certainly Messianic and in the future. But all the examples following this statement in BDB refer to events in the near future.
8. “In the days to come, Cf. Gn. 49:1; in the Judges’ period (cf. Jdg. 2:11–16; 3:7).” R.K. Harrison, “Deuteronomy,” The New Bible Commentary, eds. Donald Guthrie and J.A. Motyer, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1970), 227.

-----=====******O******=====-----

But the New Testament writers clearly affirmed that they were then living in "the last days," presumably the last days of the Old Covenant. We are living in "the Messianic future." By a process of elimination, by comparing every occurrence of "the last days" in the New Testament with the prophecies in the Old Covenant, it will be found that there are no "last days" prophecies that are still yet future for us. There are no prophecies of the "Messianic future" which have not already or are now being fulfilled.


10 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 84: The End of Archists: The Pedagogues Judged by the Church

       It was the hope of the Early Church that Jesus would eventually put down all statists and all institutions[1] through Godly Families (#72; #75). The Early Church wrestled against demonic “powers.”[2]
       Christ's judgment of powers began in the Apostolic Church.[3]
       Christ’s power and the impotence of the “powers” is demonstrated through an obedient Church.[4]
       All the kingdoms of the world have now been definitively delivered to the Resurrected and Enthroned Christ[5] and shall be progressively delivered to Christ by His saints[6]

Notes
1. 1 Corinthians 15:24
2. Ephesians 6:12
3. 1 Corinthians 6:1-4; Ephesians 3:10; Hebrews 12:22; 1 Corinthians 11:10
4. Ephesians 3:10
5. Revelation 11:15; 12:10-11; Acts 26:17-18
6. Daniel 7:13-14,18,22; Romans 16:20; Psalm 149:4-9; Revelation 12:11; 19:14:15; cf. Matthew 28:18-20

References
Full Preterists may argue that all these prophecies were fulfilled during the years when the church battled Israel, c. A.D. 33-70. The result for us is the same: "archists" have no legitimate claim on our allegiance.


11 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 83: Pedagogy and The Powers

The “elemental spirits” (stoicheia) which maintained a deceptively superficial order in the Old Covenant are unnecessary for Spirit-empowered believer-priests in the New Covenant.[1] Christians do not need their lives structured by the pedagogical legal institutions of the Old Covenant.[2]

Notes
1. Galatians 4:3,9; Colossians 2:8,20; cf. Hebrews 5:12 - 6:8
2. Galatians 3:24 - 4:9; #31

References
        Greg Bahnsen coined the phrase "Pedagogical Law" to describe Old Testament laws which under the New Covenant can no longer be obeyed through a literal fulfillment. He noted especially animal sacrifices and temple rituals.
        It is our contention that what is called the "judicial law" is also often part of the "pedagogical law."
        We also contend that what we call "the State" was part of a complex of social and legal institutions that were "pedagogical" and not enduring.
        Angelic beings ("the powers") were part of this pedagogical system.
        The Old Covenant promised and the New Covenant revealed that the salvation brought by Christ eliminated the need for the pedagogical order of the Old Covenant.
Thesis 31: Ceremony, Ritual, Liturgy, And The “Pedagogical Law”
Thesis 33: Patriarchs And “Elders”
Thesis 34: The Need for a Pedagogical Legal Structure
Thesis 35: Angels And The Pedagogical Legal Structure
Thesis 38: Patriarchy and the Temple
Thesis 75: Self-Ordination


12 Days til Election Day

Thesis 82: Creationist Anarcho-Socialism and Darwinian Archo-Socialism

Voluntary communism (“anarcho-socialism” “personalist communitarianism”) is an appropriate Kingdom life style for the Church.[1]
State-socialism is not condoned by the example of the Apostolic Church.[2]

Notes
1. Acts 5:4; Luke 22:24-30
2. Acts 4:32-38

References

Private property still existed in the "voluntary communism" seen in Acts.
One can create "voluntary communism" only by giving, not by taking.
Taking = socialism = theft.
All attempts to create a social system by imposed giving fail.

Distributism

What's Wrong with "Distributism" - Thomas E. Woods, Jr. - Mises Institute

A Guildsman’s Interpretation of History, by Arthur J. Penty - Book review by Patrick Odou

State socialism is condemned by Theses #80 and #81


13 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 81: Vengeance

Christians are not to execute vengeance.[1] They are to leave vengeance to the Lord.[2] The Lord uses the State, criminals, terrorists, and other evil-doers to execute (unwittingly) His vengeance.[3]

Notes
1. Proverbs 20:22; 24:29; Matthew 5:38-48; 1 Corinthians 6:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9; Revelation 13:10; #79
2. Romans 12:17-21; Deuteronomy 32:35
3. Romans 13:1,4; Isaiah 10:5-14; 13:1-5; #47

References

Vengeance Belongs to God, Not to Man

Thesis 80: Violence

14 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 80: Violence

All they that take up the sword perish by the sword.[1]


Notes
1. Matthew 26:52; Genesis 49:5-7; Revelation 13:10; 1 Peter 2:13-25; #46.

References
A Biblical Defense of Pacifism

A Pacifist in Federal Court

Swords Into Plowshares

Blessed Are the Peacemakers



15 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 79: Taxation, Kingdom Citizenship, and Overcoming Through Suffering

Christ’s disciples are not legitimately obligated to pay taxes; the State has no legitimate jurisdiction over the adopted members of the Household of Faith.[1]
Christ’s disciples pay taxes to avoid offense[2] and to counter the evil violence of Humanistic statism/vengeance with non-violent good.[3]


Notes
1. Matthew 17:25-26; Philippians 3:20
2. Matthew 17:27
3. Romans 12:17 - 13:7; Matthew 5:39-42; Isaiah 50:6; Proverbs 25:21-22; Luke 6:27-38; Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:14; Matthew 27:32; 1 Corinthians 6:7 #80 and #81

References
Scandal and Conscience in Romans 13

Render Unto Caesar -- R.J. Rushdoony

Romans 12 and 13

Calvin on Romans 12


16 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 78: Patriarchy and Resistance to Tyranny in the Last Days of The Old Covenant

The Apostolic Church knew she ought to obey God rather than men.[1]

Notes
1. Acts 4:19-20; 5:29; cp. #29

References
We may add another thesis on non-resistance.

America's Founding Fathers made a mistake by using armed violence to change things. Taking up arms -- muskets and cannons -- against the British Empire was as unChristian as Jewish proposals to take up arms against the Roman Empire. Jesus said No to these tactics.

But if it was right to call the British government over the colonies a tyranny, and seek to end tyranny, it is more right to call the U.S. government a tyranny, and seek to abolish it.

Here is how:

No Force, No Fraud: Shunning government down

Abolish the Federal Government

The principle of resistance is limited.

We must obey God even if the State forbids it.
• We must preach the Gospel even if the State forbids it.
• The State has no right to prohibit the preaching of the Gospel and sins when it does so.

We must avoid sin even if the State commands it.
• We must not kill even if drafted and commanded to do so.
• The State has no right to draft and deploy, and sins when it does so.

It is a not a sin to be robbed by the IRS.
It is not a sin to be kidnapped and enslaved.


17 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 77: Political Authority and Kingdom Citizenship

Christians are not to exercise authority, lordship, or the force of coercion over others,[1] nor seek positions of power in the polis;[2] our citizenship is in heaven.[3]

Notes
1. Mark 10:42-45
2. Revelation 18:4
3. Philippians 3:20


References
What is an "Archist"
The actions described in note 1 are rooted in violence. They violate God's commandments, such as The Eighth Commandment and the Sixth Commandment.

The polis is the institutionalization of disobedience to God's commandments.

POLIS: The Empire of Man vs. the City of God

Coming soon: study on Salvation and Citizenship


18 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 76: Salt and Statism

Statists are foolish.[1] Christians who are conformed to the world[2] and no longer prophesy against statism and fail to plead for justice according to God’s Law[3] are also foolish.[4]

Notes
1. Isaiah 19:11,12,13; 1 Corinthians 1:18-23; 2:14; 3:19; Romans 1:22
2. Romans 12:1-2; James 4:4
3. Isaiah 59:4,8-15; Proverbs 28:4; Jeremiah 22:16; Hebrews 11:33
4. Romans 1:22; 1 Corinthians 1:20 + Matthew 5:13 -- “lost its savor” = “made moronic,” “become foolish”

References
A City upon a Hill

Statism - The Worship of "the State"



19 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 75: Self-Ordination

Christians should begin replacing the secular political and pedagogical institutions of the Old Age by ordaining themselves to a Christian ministry centering in “the church in their home” and extending to every area of life.[1]

Notes
1. 1 Corinthians 16:15; (cf. Romans 13:1)

References
Coming Soon: "Ordination"
The word "ordained" in Romans 13 is the same Greek word in 1 Corinthians 16:15. You don't need to go to seminary and have someone wearing a clerical robe "ordain" you before you can have a church in your home.

The "Clergy/Laity" Distinction

THE PROBLEM WITH SEMINARIES
Christian Reconstruction, Vol. XIII, No. 4, July/Aug. 1989

Not that there's anything inherently wrong with continuing education:

Where to Get a Calvinistic Seminary Education the Same Way God Created Adam: Dirt Cheap

Whitefield Theological Seminary



20 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 74: Patriarchy and the “Sacraments”: “The Lord’s Table”

“The Lord’s Supper,” the sacramental neomorphosis of Passover[1] in the “last days” of the Old Covenant[2] was properly celebrated in a home.[3] Jesus commanded this Passover to continue to be observed[4] until the world of the old sacral order came to a complete end[5] at His coming in A.D. 70.[6]

Notes
1. Mark 14:12; Matthew 26:2,17-19; Luke 22:15
2. #92; John 18:28 + #73
3. #32; Acts 2:42-46; 20:7-8; cf. 1 Timothy 5:13; #72
4. cf. Acts 18:18; 21:24-26
5. Hebrews 6:2,8; 8:13; 9:10; 2 Peter 3:12; cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7
6. 1 Corinthians 11:26; Matthew 16:27-28; Luke 22:16,18 + Mark 14:62; Hebrews 8:13 + Matthew 26:29

References
All the references contained in previous Theses on the sacraments should be consulted:

Thesis 25: Patriarchy and “Sacraments”: Circumcision

Thesis 32: Patriarchy and “Sacraments”: Passover

Thesis 72: Patriarchy and the House-Church

Thesis 73: Patriarchy and the “Sacraments”: Baptism

Two verses encapsulate this Thesis:

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

Matthew 16:27-28
For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

After that (A.D. 70), no more Passover.


21 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 73: Patriarchy and the “Sacraments”: Baptism

In the “last days” of the Old Covenant (#92), the “sacraments” were properly administered by Families, as throughout the Old Covenant, most notably under the Patriarchs.

Baptism, as with circumcision,[1] was appropriately administered by the family head (#25). This symbolic washing ritual of the Old Covenant[2] was a sign[3] appropriate for the “terminal generation”[4] and expired with that generation[5] and the end of the Old Covenant in A.D. 70.[6]

Notes
1. Colossians 2:11-12
2. Hebrews 9:10; Exodus 40:32; Numbers 8:7; John 3:25
3. Acts 19:3-6; 1 Corinthians 14:21-22
4. Matthew 3:7; 11:16; 12:34,38-45; 16:4; 17:7; 23:33-36; 24:34; Mark 8:38 - 9:1,19; Luke 7:31-35; 11:29-32,50-51; 17:25; 21:32; Acts 2:40; Philippians 2:15; #92
5. Acts 21:25 (KJV)
6. Hebrews 5:12 - 6:8; #83


References

Are We in "The Last Days?"

Thesis 25: Patriarchy and “Sacraments”: Circumcision

The Terminal Generation

"Ultra-dispensationalists" have also arrived at the conclusion that Baptism is not for the post-temple era of today, but for very different reasons than we have. Their reasons have a respectable Scriptural basis, even if their dispensationalism does not.


22 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 72: Patriarchy and the House-Church

The Family, as the central unit of God’s social order, is also the center of the cultural outworking of the Gospel in the Church of Christ.[1] The Apostolic Age was not characterized by hundreds of atomistic “nuclear families” attending “services” at buildings of State-chartered ecclesiastical corporations exempted from tax under Empire approval. The Early Church was not centered on liturgy but on Hospitality; the architectural paradigm was the house, not the altar/temple. The House-Church/Patriarchy is the hub of Christian Community, and Hospitality is the Patriarchal “Royal Virtue.”[2]

Notes
1. Acts 2:46; 5:42; 20:20; Acts 18:2-4 + Romans 16:3 and 1 Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:5,10,11; 1 Corinthians 1:11,16; Colossians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:19; Philemon 2; 2 John 10; etc.; #75
2. #23; Deuteronomy 10:18-19; 14:29; 16:11,14; 1 Kings 8:41-43; Job 31:32; Psalm 68:6,12; 113:7-9 + Revelation 1:6; 5:10; Matthew 25:35; Romans 12:13; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 4:9; 3 John 5.

References
Family
• Gary North, "Family Authority vs. Protestant Sacerdotalism," in the Journal of Christian Reconstruction symposium on the Family, Vol. IV, No. 2, Winter 1977-78, reprinted in Vol. XVI, "The 25th Anniversary Issue" available at The Chalcedon Store.
• The Family: Foundation of Society
• The Family / The Fifth Archetype

Liturgy
Jesus destroyed the temple in A.D. 70. It must not be rebuilt.

Hospitality
James B. Jordan: "God's Hospitality and Holistic Evangelism," in Sociology of the Church, pp. 221-257.

The Royal Virtue
R.J. Rushdoony, "The Royal Virtue," Law and Society, (Vol II of Institutes of Biblical Law), ch. 49, pp. 246-248, plus chapters 50-54. Also, "Communion and Community," ch. 23, pp. 132-137.

Note: Patriarchy is the paradigm; not the priesthood.
Hospitality is the blueprint, not "liturgy."

The Bible describes Godly patriarchs as "priests" and "kings"
(Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:10). But this could be described as a negating analogy. Patriarchs are the true priests and kings, but "real" priests and kings are Biblically sub-standard.
• Any person who claims to be a "real" priest, offering "real" blood sacrifices, denies the blood atonement of Christ, the True High Priest.
• Anyone who claims to be a "real" hereditary monarch denies the Kingship of Christ.
Patriarchs are those who affirm the true priesthood of Christ and the true kingship of Christ; they are thereby "priests and kings," reigning with Christ on earth, not those who claim to be "real" priests and kings.

The way we reign as priests and kings is through hospitality. This is the blueprint of dominion. We are to offer sacrifices (Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 2:5; Hebrews 13:16; Hebrews 13:15; Philippians 4:18). But those who offer "real" sacrifices and engage in "real" liturgies are missing the point (Hebrews 10:5-7; Mark 12:32-34; Matthew 12:5-8;; Matthew 9:13).

As we will see, Christians in the last days of the Old Covenant were required to continue observing Old Testament liturgies, such as Passover (Luke 22:7-20), but that continued only until Christ came in judgment against Jerusalem and destoyed the temple (1 Corinthians 11:26; Matthew 16:27-28).

The house-church is not a wanna-be "church"; a "we're going to be a real church someday, with a big steeple on top." The house-church is where dominion is exercised, and hospitality practiced. This is the liturgy of the Church.

Hospitality is also the Christian paradigm for business, though this is beyond the scope of this Thesis, which centers on the Church. See Jennifer Roback Morse, Love and Economics: Why the Laissez-Faire Family Doesn't Work, and Gary North, "Social Overhead Capital," Chalcedon Report. Coming: an analysis of "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits," by Milton Friedman.


23 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 71: The Apostolic Church and the Spread of Power

Apostles (or “elders”[1]), and their appointees[2] worked to complete the pouring out of the Holy Spirit,[3] bear miraculous witness to the authority of the Apostolic Word,[4] and guard against the great apostasy of the transitional period between the Old and New Ages.[5] It was expected that all believer-priests would take over the task of dominion (#7) on their own after the complete destruction of the age that was.[6] “Deacons” and others who were not “ordained elders” were not prohibited from “authoritative preaching.”[7]

Notes
1. 1 Peter 5:1; 1 Timothy 4:14 + 2 Timothy 1:6
2. e.g., Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6; cp. Titus 1:5)
3. Acts 8:14-17; 19:1-6
4. 1 Timothy 4:12,14; Mark 16:20; Hebrews 1:1; 2:4; Acts 6:8; etc.
5. Acts 15:2,4,6; 16:4; cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 2:18-26; #59
6. Acts 15:22,23; 1 Corinthians 4:8; 5:3; #94
7. Acts 6:10; 7; 8:1,4; 8:5,12

References
Coming: The Myth of Apostolic Succession

All Churches today are Roman Catholic in their belief that there are some human beings who are "ordained" (in the same way Timothy was Ordained by the Apostle Paul), and there are the rest of the human beings.

This is not a question of ecclesiology alone (the study of the church). This is a question of eschatology as well (the study of "last things," prophecy, the future).

"Preterism" is the idea that Christ fulfilled all Old Testament prophecies at His first coming, and that New Testament prophecies concerning a "second coming" of Christ were fulfilled in A.D. 70 when Christ returned in Judgment against Jerusalem. This means that we are now living in "the New Heavens and the New Earth" predicted by Isaiah, a world without priests and teachers, as Jeremiah described:

Vine & Fig Tree: A World Without Priests

The Elder's Checklist

The desire to preserve the apostolic church which existed in "the last days" of the Old Covenant puts New Covenant believers in a vegetative state.

The parallel is with Moses and the judges:

Thesis 37: The Temporary Character of The First “Church Officers”




24 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 70: Judgment and the Church-Courts of Christ

Christians should judge other Christians[1] in all matters,[2] thus rendering non-Christian (secular) courts and systems of judgment unnecessary.[30]

Notes
1. 1 Corinthians 5:12; John 7:24
2. #68; 1 Corinthians 6:4; Micah 4:3 + Psalm 149:4-9
3. 1 Corinthians 6:1-6; (cf. James 2:6); #93.

References
Why Christians Should Be Judgmental and Intolerant

Tolerance vs. Liberty

"Lex Mercatoria" is a legal phrase which has come to signify the power of a stateless society to prevent most disputes and resolve those that arise in a peaceful, harmonious and orderly way -- without dependence upon political institutions such as monarch, crown, parliament or congress.
The history of the Lex Mercatoria
Self-government versus "the government"
Free-Market sanctions

NAGocracy.com! - Anarcho-Theocracy - Self-Government in Action


25 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 69: Sons of God and Pedagogues

The Old Covenant declared that under the New Covenant believers would have the Law of God written on their hearts,[1] causing them to be obedient[2] and eliminating the need for guardian/tutors as in the Old Covenant.[3] The Church no longer needs political mediators.[4] Christ governs through His Church, His saints, believer-priests.[5]

Notes
1. Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10
2. Ezekiel 36:27
3. Jeremiah 31:34; 1 John 2:27,20-21; Galatians 3:24 - 4:9
4. #41; Exodus 7:1; 22:9 [elohim]; John 10:34-35; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; Romans 8:14; Isaiah 56:5
5. John 1:12; 1 John 3:1; 2 Peter 1:4; #84

References
Vine & Fig Tree: A World Without Priests

Law / Micah's Third Archetype

"Spirit" vs. Law

The Elder's Checklist See Essay 18: "The End of Teachers" (online soon)


26 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 68: Extremism Vs. Neutrality

There is no “neutrality.”[1] Patriarchy is personal obedience to God’s Law in every area of life.[2]

Notes
1. Matthew 12:30; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17; Titus 2:7,10; 2 Timothy 2:7; Matthew 6:24; James 4:4; 2;10; 1 John 2:15; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Timothy 3:11; 2 Peter 1:3; Colossians 1:18; Philippians 4:8; 1 Corinthians 15:28; Ephesians 5:20; 4:15; 2 Corinthians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 16:14; 14:26,40; 2:15; Hebrews 11:24-26
2. Joshua 24:14-15

References
"Extremism"
"Radical"
"Alarmist"
Worldview: Your Philosophy of Life
W.W.J.D.?

There are two ways to speak of "neutrality": breadth and depth.

The breadth of Christianity extends to every area of life. God has jurisdiction over everything you do, at all times of the day, not just "religious" things on Sunday. God has given commandments that apply to everything that a human being can do: work, marry, raise children, science, arts, social institutions, etc. There is no "King's X" or zone of neutrality.

The depth of Christianity leaves no room for apathy or indifference. Better to be hot or cold -- passionately wrong or fanatically right -- than to be lukewarm. The Catechism says man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. There is so much to enjoy, so much to be thankful for, and so much to do, that neutrality is not just a psychological defect, it's a sin.

Theocracy vs. "Neutrality"


27 Theses til Election Day

H. PATRIARCHY AND THE EARLY HOME-CHURCHES

Early Christianity was a house-centered phenomenon. This was not just because the Empire was at war with Christianity and drove the Christians underground (although this was true). Christians followed Christ in rejecting political power. True power is nurtured in Christian Patriarchy.

Theses 68-86 show how Christian home-churches battled an Empire in the Apostolic Age.

Thesis 67: Jesus The Nazarene

Jesus is fulfills the promise given through Isaiah that a Branch from the root of Jesse would reign over the Gentiles.[1]

Notes
1. Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:12; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Matthew 2:23; Acts 13:23; Revelation 5:5; 22:16

References
The Branch / Jesus the Nazarene



28 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 66: The Anointed King vs. Political Kings

Jesus does not allow Himself to be made a political king.[1] He is not limited to the institutional machinery of the earthly State.[2] Do the politicians know that Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed King?[3]

Notes
1. John 6:15; Matthew 20:25-28
2. Matthew 28:18; Revelation 19:15 + Hebrews 4:12; John 18:35-37; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3. John 7:26; #64; #56

References

• The Divine Right of Kings & The Divine Ordination of Government: The Parallels
• www.NAGocracy.com


29 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 65: Fox News and the Coming of the Kingdom

Christ’s Kingdom was not (nor will it be) inaugurated with world-wide spectacular display, televised coverage live via satellite, military victory parades, or political regalia.[1] The Dominion of Christ over nature and kingdoms comes through meekness[2] and suffering for the sake of the righteousness and justice of God’s Word.[3]


Notes
1. Luke 17:20-21; John 3:3
2. Matthew 21:4-9
3. Matthew 17:21-23; 5:10-12; Luke 24:46-47 + Micah 4:1-2; #87



30 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 64: The Camaraderie of “Church” And State

The world’s wise and politically cushioned[1] reject the King.[2] Jewish religious leaders enlisted the State to support their rebellion.[3] Institutionalized religion always seeks the support of the State.[4] The secular State is often more Godly than the institutional “church,”[5] but the “church” convinces the State to be as lawless as the ecclesiocrats.[6]

Notes
1. e.g., John 11:48; 19:15
2. Luke 2:34; 1 Corinthians 2:6-9; Hosea 14:9
3. John 18:35
4. Revelation 13:11ff.
5. John 19:6
6. John 19:7-8,12-13,15

References
Both "Church" and "State" are archist. They trust -- and therefore seek -- human power. Denying God's Predestination, they seek earthly predestination at their own hands.



31 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 63: Christ’s Ascension to the Throne of David

The baby born of the Virgin was given the Throne of David, and is now enthroned at the right hand of God.[1] As the True Shepherd (#58), He is now extending His Kingdom in the uttermost parts of the earth.[2]

Notes
1. Luke 1:32-33; Acts 2:30-36; 7:48-49; Mark 16:19; Psalm 110:1
2. Luke 2:28-32; Isaiah 42:1-13; 25:7-9; 49:6-8; Habakkuk 2:14

References
These Theses are generally in chronological order through the Bible. This one arises from the prophecy recorded in Luke 1, when the Angel told Mary that the Baby she was carrying will be given "the throne of His father David."

The Birth of the Anti-King

The actual Ascension took place some 33 years after this prophecy.


32 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 62: Agrarianism As Environmentalism

Those who despise the Kingdom of Christ come from both rural and urban environments.[1]

Notes
1. Matthew 22:5 cf. #10

References
The word "environmentalism" is not used in the modern sense of "concern for global warming and green technology," but in the sense used back in the 1970's by R.J. Rushdoony, e.g., "Environmentalism," Revolt Against Maturity, 86-90.

The idea here is that being raised in the right environment can save a person.

But Man's revolt is against God, and God is found in every environment. Even if an agrarian environment is more Theonomic than an urban one, the reprobate will still rebel against God as they see Him in an agrarian environment.


33 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 61: True Power vs. Political Power

Although rejecting political clout (#66), the Kingdom of God shall be greater than all other kingdoms,[1] permeating every area of life[2].

Notes
1. Matthew 13:32; Ezekiel 17:22-24; Isaiah 2:2-4; Daniel 2:35,44-45; Micah 4:1-3; Haggai 2:3-9; Zechariah 4:10. See also Mark 10:42-45 on "greatness."
2. Matthew 13:33 #68; Luke 17:20-24.

References
ChristianGlobalism.com
Christ was executed, giving an impression of powerlessness.
His disciples were disarmed. (Matthew 26:52; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Revelation 17:13
These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.

Revelation 19:1
After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!

Same word, but two different kinds of power.


34 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 60: Christ’s Binding of Satan

By His Power over demons, Jesus demonstrated that the Kingdom was not “postponed” but rather “at hand.”[1] By His Power over demons, Jesus indicated that Satan was being bound.[2] Through the death (execution) of Christ, Satan was judged,[3] and in His Resurrection and Ascension, Christ was enthroned, and the power which Satan and his host formerly held over the nations has been transferred to Christ.[4] Christ spoiled the powers, making possible the fulfillment of the Great Commission.[5]

Notes
1. Matthew 12:28
2. Matthew 12:29; Luke 10:18; 11:20-22; Mark 1:24; Revelation 12:10-12; 20:1-4
3. John 12:31-33; 14:30; 16:11
4. #22; Matthew 28:18-20; Revelation 20:1-4; Luke 10:18; 11:17-22; Colossians 2:15; Psalm 68:18 + Ephesians 4:8; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; 4:4; Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:20
5. Colossians 2:15; cf. Matthew 28:18-20

References
Here's a preterist, amillennialist, and a postmillennialist:
Does "SATAN" Exist Today? Preterist Archive
JOLLYBLOGGER: Is Satan Bound?
The Person, Work, and Present Status of Satan Greg Bahnsen

We are contemplating adding a new thesis in Part I (following Part H) on Revelation 20.


35 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 59: Jewish Opposition To The Kingdom

In the Age of the Old Covenant, Jews preferred to live in bondage to a distorted “obedience” to the “Pedagogical Law” (#31), and persecuted the prophets who faithfully explicated the requirements of God’s Word.[1] As the New Covenant Age dawned, the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ[2] was opposed by the Israelites with even greater ferver.[3] This opposition to the Messiah and persecution/seduction of His followers grew especially intense as the final destruction of the Old Age grew closer.[4] The generation of Jews which murdered Christ was the most unGodly generation of people in human history.[5]

Notes
1. Acts 7:51-52; 1 Kings 19:10; 2 Chronicles 24:19; 36:15-16; Jeremiah 2:30; Nehemiah 9:26,30; Malachi 3:7
2. Matthew 4:23
3. Matthew 5:12; 23:34-39; 21:(33-)43; 1 Thessalonians 2:15
4. prophesied: Matthew 24:24; Acts 20:29-30; 2 Timothy 3:1; manifested: 2 Timothy 3:6-13; 1 John 2:18-19; 4:1; 2 John 7
5. Matthew 3:7; 11:16; 12:34,39-42,45; 12:45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:33 et passim; 23:36 - 24:34; Mark 8:12; 8:38 - 9:1; 9:19; 13:30; 7:31; 9:41; 11:29-32,50-51; 17:25; 21:32; Acts 2:40; Philippians 2:15.

References
"Spirit" vs. Law See the verses at note 39. The Old Testament (Jewish "Tanakh") is arguably the most anti-semitic book in history. It portrays Israel as having been given extraordinary advantages and privileges with God, only to continually rebel against Him.
"This Generation"

36 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 58: The Civil Authority of The Pastor: Christ The Shepherd

The “shepherd” or “pastor” is a “civil” office,[1] again showing the mythical nature of our modern conception of “church-state separation”[2] and the irrelevance of most churches. The Kingdom was established by the Christ born in Bethlehem; “He shall shepherd His people.”[3]

Notes
1. Ezekiel 34; Jeremiah 23; Isaiah 44:28; Psalm 78:71-72
2. Ezekiel 37:24-28; Revelation 19:15-16.
3. Matthew 2:4-6; #55: The Throne of David.

References
Kittel, vol VI, pp. 486ff., notes that in the ancient orient, "shepherd" is a "common term for political and military leaders," used by kings to describe themselves as "one divinely chosen to bring salvation." The text at note 69 refers to "an ancient motif of world renewal, namely, that of gathering the dispersed flock." Ancient kings gathered by military conquest. Christ shepherds by regeneration.

Every Man a Lawyer
How lawyers (and other "public servants") should carry out pastoral functions. A clear threat to ecclesiastical "pastors." (Not all essays have been linked yet.)

How the Church Should Replace Empires

Revelation 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Self-Government in Action: Christians -- The Body of Christ -- at first a shadow government, then progressively illuminating the world and leaving institutionalized violence ("the State") in the dark.


37 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 57: Kingship, Citizenship, and The Gospel

The Gospel of the Kingdom[1] is the “good news” of the advent of the Messiah (“Anointed King”[2]) foretold by the Old Testament Prophets; the Son of God has come and we will be mercifully blessed by this King if we repent and submit to Him.[3] He promises to dwell with the one who obeys His Word[4] and yet this very power to obey is itself a gift from the King.[5]

Notes
1. Mark 1:14-15
2. John 4:25-26
3. Matthew 5:1-12; Deuteronomy 28:1-14
4. John 14:21,23; Acts 5:32
5. John 1:12; Philippians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Romans 8:3-4; Ezekiel 36:27


Observations
Jesus preached "the Gospel of the Kingdom."
Jesus pronounced blessings for obedience to the true Law (as He laid it down, purged of pharisaical corruption).
Jesus promised reconciliation/fellowship.

Isaiah 33:22
For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us.

The Good News of the Kingdom is in conflict with the bad news of all humanistic kingdoms:

Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.


38 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 56: Statism At The Time Of Christ

Greco-Roman religion was worship and service to the State (polis), its legal interests and customs,[1] the wealth it secured,[2] and the demons behind it.[3] Rulers were not just in a different economic class from the masses; they were considered to be in a different class of being, a pseudo-ontological participation with the “principalities and powers” in a continuum of evolutionary progress in the “Chain of Being.” The Early Church thus spoke of politicians (humans) and powers (demons) as a unity.[4] The civil officials which killed infants to get at Christ and persecuted Christ's Body (the Apostolic Church) were dominated by demonic powers,[5] but the powers were ordered by God.[6]
Roman Law has served as the cradle of the Church.[7]

Notes
1. Acts 16:21; 17:7
2. Acts 19:23-28
3. Acts 17:18,22; cf. 8:9-11; 14:11-16
4. Romans 13:1-4; Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:15; Ephesians 1:21
5. 2 Corinthians 11:14; 1 Thessalonians 2:18 + Acts 17:8,15
6. Romans 13:1
7. Isaiah 44:27-28; 60:16; Daniel 2:34-35,40-44; Galatians 4:4; #94.

References
Daniel predicted that the Messiah would come during the Roman Empire, and Paul explained that this was the perfect time (note 7). Many apologists have noted that Koine Greek served as a universal language, and the Roman roads facilitated the spread of the Gospel. But more than this is involved. The Greco-Roman world marked a kind of "epistemological self-consciousness" in terms of the "principalities and powers" of the ancient world. The false religions of the Old Testament era were destroyed by Christ at His coming.

The Demonic Origin of the State
"Principalities and Powers" -- pt. 1
"Principalities and Powers" - pt 2
Unlucky 13 -- Romans 13, Revelation 13 and Isaiah 13
A Roman's-Eye View of Romans 13
Lakes of Fire in "Smoke-Filled Rooms"


39 Theses til Election Day

G. PATRIARCHY AND THE MESSIAH

In our chronological tour through the Bible, we come now to the coming of the Messiah.

The Advent of Jesus the Christ (Christ means "anointed King" -- an office, not a surname) was resisted by both church and State. Both the Roman civil rulers and the Jewish religious leaders knew their power was threatened by a righteous Servant-King. The powers plotted against Him from womb to tomb.

Empires and false religions have always been at war with Patriarchy and the Seed of Abraham, which is the Messiah.

Thesis 55: The Throne of David

I am currently revising completely this thesis. Your contributions would be appreciated. Write me at Kevin4VFTatVFTonline.org [189] [190] [191] [192]

Notes
189. [existence]
190. [conditional]
191. [other holders]
192. [Christ] cf. #63

References
The Sure Mercies of David
Thesis 63: Christ’s Ascension to the Throne of David


40 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 54: War, Capital Punishment, and “The Sword”

“Sword”[1] does not refer to individual penal sanctions (e.g., “capital punishment”). The shedding of a criminal’s blood[2] performed the functions of all other ritual acts of bloodshed, prefiguring the atonement for sin secured by Christ’s blood in His execution.[3] “The Sword” refers to national “capital punishment” (i.e., a shedding of blood[4]), which is the sacrifice of a sinful people who will not accept the Lord’s sacrifice and righteousness by faith. The sword of vengeance, which belongs to God[5], is the warfare whereby God slaughters a disobedient people in a fiery sacrifice,[6] relegating these idolatrous self-sacrifices and their dreams of Empire to the “dung-heaps” of history.[7]

Notes
1. cf. Romans 13:4
2. Genesis 9:4-6
3. Numbers 35:31,33; Deuteronomy 21:1,9
4. Ezekiel 35:5-6
5. Romans 12:17-21; #81:
6. Deuteronomy 32:43 [NIV]; Judges 20:40; Isaiah 34:5-8; Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 39:17-20; Zephaniah 1:7-8; Matthew 23:35 + Revelation 19:3
7. Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 16:27; Zephaniah 1:17-18

References
http://www.godandthedeathpenalty.com/
God Sends Evil
Is War Ever "Just?"

This thesis is a linchpin.
If true, it destroys both war and capital punishment as legitimate functions of "the State," and effectively destroys the necessity or even legitimacy of "the State."
If false, the overall thrust of these 95 Theses is still valid, namely, that all legitimate social functions (which would include vengeance, war, and capital punishment if this thesis is false) can be carried out by the Family (patriarchy) rather than the State (polis).


41 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 53: Moloch-Worship and the Nature of Idols

Idols are demons (or pin-ups, icons, knick-knacks and/or medallions honoring great heroes of the State, perhaps believed now [after their death] to be demons, climbing the Great Cosmic Ladder of Being, and inspiring some current ruler/hero[1]). Moloch is the Secular State; Moloch worship is the patriotic sacrifice of infants to nationalistic advancement, roughly parallel to the “Amerikanization” of children into worker-drones of the State through State schooling/socialization,[2] but more strikingly seen in abortions, the slaughter of infant humans in the name of national gods such as “the American dream.”[3]

Notes
1. 2 Chronicles 11:15; Leviticus 17:7; Jeremiah 7:18; 13:18; Acts 7:43
2. cp. Deuteronomy 6:6-9; #39
3. Leviticus 20:1-5; cp. 1 John 3:16; Philippians 2:4-8; John 15:13

References
Otto Scott, "The Artist as Propagandist," Journal of Christian Reconstruction, vol 10, No. 1, 1983.
R.J. Rushdoony, "Humanism's Prophet: The Artist," Journal of Christian Reconstruction, vol 2, No. 1, 1975.


42 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 52: Judgment of the State in Heaven and Earth

When States are overthrown and “archists” are put down, their angelic guardians are also judged, and the “stars,” “sun” and “moon” are said to cease “shining” with respect to that empire.[1]

Notes
1. Isaiah 24:23; 13:10; 34:4; 60:19-20; Jeremiah 4:28; Joel 2:10,31; 3:15; Ezekiel 30:18; 32:7,8; Matthew 24:29; Revelation 17-19; Revelation 21:22-25; 22:5; #88.

References
David Chilton, "The Sun, Moon, and Stars," in Paradise Restored.
James B. Jordan, " Sun, Moon, and Stars," chap. 5 in Through New Eyes.
On stars and angels, see James B. Jordan, Judges: God's War Against Humanism, p. 102.
Along these lines, see also, Baalism vs. Predestination. Pagans worship the star-demons, Christians understand them to be controlled by God. This was the irony of the "natural" plagues in Egypt.
Stars and Idolatry
Unlucky 13 -- Romans 13, Revelation 13 and Isaiah 13
A Roman's-Eye View of Romans 13
"Principalities and Powers"
"Principalities and Powers" - part 2
Lakes of Fire in "Smoke-Filled Rooms"
#22; #30; #35


43 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 51: Only One King Self-Consciously Serves God

Although God is continually and sovereignly ordering all political entities for the eventual accomplishment of His purposes, rebellious men do not submit to and honor God as they should. Legal and personal recognition of Christ in the government of human society was prophesied in the Old Testament to be a characteristic of the Age inaugurated by the God-man Jesus Christ at His First Advent.[1] Seated at God’s right hand (the Throne of David[2]) as the King of kings[3], He would sovereignly and Spiritually order all things to accomplish justice on earth[4] and men would give due honor to Him,[5] as He honors His Father in heaven. It is the purpose of these Theses to nurture faithful obedience to these Command-Prophecies.


Notes
1. Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7
2. Acts 2:29-36; 13:32-33; #63
3. Psalm 72:11; Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 1:5; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:16;
4. Isaiah 11; 32:15-18
5. Psalm 22:27-31; 46:10; 66:4; 67:2; 72:8-11,17; 86:9; 102:15-22; 138:1-5; Isaiah 11:9; 27:6,13; 49:22-23; 51:4-5; 60:6; 66:18-23; Jeremiah 3:17; 4:2; Daniel 7:13-22; Micah 4:1-3; Zechariah 2:11; 8:20-23; Malachi 1:11



44 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 50: The State Does Not Serve God Self-Consciously

Nevertheless,[1] these same “ministers” -- kings and leaders of political (polis-centered) systems -- can also be identified with Satan himself.[2] The “State” is only an unwitting “minister.”[3] By definition, it is impossible for a State (a system of institutionalized violence and revenge) to self-consciously obey God’s Law and serve Christ.[4]

Notes
1. #49
2. Isaiah 14:11-15; Ezekiel 28
3. Isaiah 10:7; #94, #83; #78
4. Romans 12:17-21; #81

References
We have seen that the State is created by those who want to rebel against God's Law, and do not want to be confined to God's approved methods of dealing with social and personal problems.

"The State" is what people who want to steal and kill form, because if they tried to steal and kill as private citizens, public opinion would turn against them. There's no need for "the State" if you're content to use persuasion to raise money for your project. There's no need for "the State" if you intend to leave vengeance to God.

Romans 13 says we are to "submit" to the State because the State serves God's purposes. Many theologians say that if it is not self-consciously trying to obey God's Law, we don't have to "submit," but we can overthrow the State. That's not what the Bible says. It says "the State" serves God's purposes by disobeying God's Law (#48, #49); that no State is obeying God by stealing from people to purchase the instruments of death to take vengeance on enemies, but we are to "submit" to such empires and not to employ violence against them, because God is in control.

"The State" serves God's purposes even while it is busy denying God, defying God, and disobeying God's commandments.




45 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 49: The State As Sanctified “Servant”/ “Deacon”/”Minister”

The lawless raiders of the State, be they agents of War or agents of Revenue, are so firmly in the hand of the LORD[1] and so completely dedicated (useful) to His purposes that they may be said to be His “sanctified ones.”[2] They so serve His purposes of anger,[3] indignation,[4] wrath,[5] and vengeance,[6] that they may be called His “ministers” (from deaconeo, “to serve”), and a pagan king can even be called His “christ”[7] although he does not know the Lord or honor Jesus as the Christ of christs and King of kings.[8]

Notes
1. Proverbs 21:1
2. Isaiah 13:3
3. Isaiah 13:3
4. Isaiah 10:5
5. Isaiah 10:6
6. Romans 13:4
7. Isaiah 45:1 -- “anointed king”
8. Isaiah 45:5

References
God Sends EVIL !
Notice that the concepts in notes 3-6 are highlighted in red in the above essay.
Evil empires accomplish the task for which God sends them.
God's sending is effectual. They always serve Him.
It is not the case that the State should serve Him (be His "minister") but doesn't always.
It is not the case that we need not submit to those empires that are not effectively being His servants/deacons/ministers in self-conscious obedience.
They always serve His purposes, and we are never to rise up against them in violent revolution.

The prophets, such as Isaiah, form the backdrop for Paul's teaching on the State in Romans 13.

Romans13.com


46 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 48: The State Serves God by Sinning

By His decree, God can be said to “command” nations to do His bidding, carrying out His judgments against covenant-breakers.[1] The acts of rape, murder, theft, and violence committed by the “State” are nevertheless contrary to God’s written (revealed) commands, and these political machines will be judged for their lawless “obedience” to God’s “command.”[2]


Notes
1. Isaiah 10:6
2. Isaiah 10:12


References
God Sends EVIL !
This link is primarily a collection of verses.
Read each one and ask, who suffered at the hands of the "evil" described?
Did the "evil"doer have the moral right or moral approval of God to do the evil described?
Make the verses personal, that is, imagine the effects on real people.
Imagine real people -- your neighbors, your son -- committing these "patriotic" acts. Are they justified? Do their actions please God?

In the Isaiah passages above, some have said Assyria did the right thing but with the wrong reasons in their hearts. If Assyria were China and committed these acts against America, would China/Assyria be justified? Exonerated under "International Law?" Exonerated under God's Law?

We can easily imagine God sending the Chinese/Assyrians against America -- as one wit has put it, if God doesn't judge America, He owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology -- but it's difficult to see how China will be applauded rather than condemned by God for their actions.

Therefore the State "serves" God's purposes by sinning.

We will return to these verses when we examine the "minister" (servant) of God in Romans 13.

47 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 47: God’s Sovereign Ordering of Every State

The decisions of all kings and other political leaders are under the complete sovereign control of God. Even political and military decisions which are patently lawless and work great evil and injustice are predestined by God[1] and serve His purposes (#49). God hardens the hearts of Pharaohs and other political gods[2] so that their empires would be destroyed in judgment[3] and so that God’s covenant promises of cursing upon disobedience would be fulfilled.[4] All imperial acts are calculated and predestined by God for the execution of God’s judgment and His Kingdom purposes.[5]

Notes
1. Proverbs 16:4; Isaiah 45:7; Jeremiah 4:6; 21:10; Amos 3:6; 9:4; Micah 2:3
2. Romans 9:17; see Who Hardened Pharaoh's Heart?
3. Luke 1:52-53; #46 note 5
4. Exodus 7:3-5; #9
5. 1 Chronicles 5:26; Proverbs 21:1; Isaiah 40:23

48 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 46: Romans 8:28 and The State

All things -- even evil things -- work together to serve God’s purposes[1] because evil is predestined and dispatched by God.[2] Often the evil things which God sends are the armies of depraved empires.[3] Evil is carried out according to God’s sovereign plan by statist politicians, generals, and others, who think they are exercising their “free will.”[4] Sometimes the evil God causes an empire to do makes the State its own worst enemy.[5] (Some would prefer to believe that God does not “predestine” evil, but that it “just happens.”[6] Such Arminians [and other politicians] receive God’s judgment.[7]) As pacifists (#79, #80
#81), Christians are not to resist the evil State with violence, but are to “submit” to it.[8] But this fact (that we are to “submit” to the State, the evil acts of evil politicians) does not mean that they have a morally legitimate existence, even though we recognize that they were “ordained” (predestined) by God.[9] God often sends angels to carry out evil acts, or to prompt human beings to do evil.[10] These angels or demons are often called “powers.”[11] Providence, Pacifism, and the Powers: this is the context in which we must understand that much-abused passage, Romans 13:1-7.


Notes

1. Romans 8:28.

2. Deuteronomy 31:29; Joshua 23:15; 1 Kings 14:9-10; 21:29; 2 Kings 21:12; 22:16,20; Nehemiah 13:18; Numbers 14:35; Deuteronomy 29:21; 30:15; Judges 2:15; Job 2:10; 42:11; Psalm 54:5; Isaiah 45:7; Jeremiah 6:19; 11:11; 18:11; 19:3,15; 23:12; 25:32; 32:42; 35:17; 36:3,31; 39:16; 44:2; 51:64; 42:6; 26:3; 26:13; Lamentations 3:38; Ezekiel 7:3-5; Daniel 9:12:14; Amos 3:6; Micah 1:12; 2:3; 2 Samuel 17:14.

3. Leviticus 26:25; Judges 3:12; 2 Samuel 7:14; 12:11; 1 Kings 5:4; 9:9; 2 Kings 19:7; 2 Chronicles 20:9; Proverbs 16:4; 1 Chronicles 5:26; Jeremiah 4:6; 9:16; 21:10; 24:10; 25:27,29; 29:17; 42:17; 44:27; 49:37; Ezekiel 5:17; 14:21; 28:23; 29:19-20; Jeremiah 49:37; Amos 9:4; [the “sword”].

4. Genesis 50:20; 2 Samuel 17:14; Isaiah 10:5-7; Micah 4:11-13; Acts 2:23; 4:24-29; 13:27-28; Revelation 17:17.

5. Exodus 14:4; Deuteronomy 2:30; 1 Kings 12:15; Daniel 11:27.

6. 1 Samuel 6:9.

7. Zephaniah 1:12.

8. Matthew 5:39,41; Jeremiah 29:7; 27:12; 38:17-18; Romans 12:14,18 - 13:4; 1 Peter 2:11-24.

9. Isaiah 10:12; Jeremiah 30:16; Matthew 26:52.

10. 2 Samuel 24:16; Psalm 78:49; Judges 9:23-24; 1 Samuel 16:14-16; Luke 4:5-7.

11. Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Ephesians 2:2; 1:19-21.


References
• God Sends EVIL !
• A Biblical Defense of Pacifism - "Pacifism" is obedience to God's Commands, "Thou shalt not kill," and "Thou shalt not steal."
• TOTAL Predestination!


49 Theses til Election Day

F. PATRIARCHY AND PROVIDENCE: THE STATE

If God never commanded men to form a State, why do such empires exist?

The answer is “Providence.”

Romans 13 says God “ordained” the State.
This does not mean the State has God’s ethical commendation or "seal of approval."

Romans 13 says the State is the “minister” or “deacon” of God.
But Isaiah 13 says the bloodthirsty nation which destroyed Babylon “served” God’s purposes. God calls these murderous rapists “My sanctified ones.”

“Providence” is another word for “Predestination.”

Murder is evil.
God sometimes sends murderers in divine judgment against sin.

God has predestined the State.
The State is evil.
God has predestined evil.

The conclusion is difficult to accept, but the premises are Scripturally true and the logic is inescapable.

In this next group of Theses we will examine God's Providence and His sovereignty over empires which have no right to exist.

Thesis 45: The Inferiority Of Old Covenant Typological Mediators

King David, for all his goodness, would have been disqualified from being an overseer in the Apostolic Church.[1] Likewise Solomon, for all his wisdom, was a polygamist,[2] military dictator,[3] and idolater;[4] under him were fulfilled the curses of 1 Samuel 8.[5] Although representing a departure from God’s Law (as given to the Patriarchs[6]), God allowed non-Familial institutions; they (a) helped maintain some social order[7] and (b) served as a pedagogue, teaching the people about the True King, the coming Christ.[8]

Notes
1. 1 Timothy 3:2 + 1 Samuel 25:43; 1 Timothy 3:3 + 1 Chronicles 28:3; 1 Timothy 3:4 + 1 Kings 1:6,11
2. 1 Kings 11:1ff.
3. 1 Kings 4:26ff.; 5:13ff.
4. 1 Kings 11:4-11
5. 1 Kings 10:14+c.; 12:11; cp. Deuteronomy 17:14-20; cf. #24
6. Genesis 26:5; 18:19
7. 2 Chronicles 19:5-11; Isaiah 49:23; #94, #34
8. Psalm 72; Galatians 4:8; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; 10:11


References

What is an "Institution"?

Thesis 41: The Character of “gods”


50 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 44: The State as the Answer to the Prayers of Rebels

The monarchy in Israel was a result of rebellion in families,[1] a desire to be like the demonic States around Israel,[2] a rejection of the Lord’s priestly calling to be a holy nation,[3] and a rejection of God’s Law as given to the Patriarchs.[4] When the people desire centralized political structures it is because they desire to flee personal patriarchal responsibility.[5] God judges their sin by granting their wish, and inflicting upon these covetous, irresponsible Families the curse of the State.[6] Empire is a substitute for Godly Families: The alternative is always Patriarchy (government by Godly Families) or the Paternalistic State (“the government” instead of Godly Families).[7] Political officers were therefore at all times to be called “father” and “mother”[8] to remind both citizen and officer of the Patriarchal ideal in God’s Law.

Notes
1. 1 Samuel 2:12ff.,29; 3:13; 8:2-5
2. 1 Samuel 8:5,20
3. Numbers 23:9; Exodus 33:16
4. 1 Samuel 8:7,18[LXX]-19; 10:19; 12:12, 17,19; Hosea 13:11; Ezekiel 20:24-25
5. 1 Samuel 8:20
6. 1 Samuel 8:11-18; Ezekiel 20:25.
7. Genesis 41:43
8. Cf. references in Westminster Larger Catechism, qq. 124-125, + Job 29:16; Judges 17:10; 1 Sam 24:11,21; Acts 7:2; Judges 5:7.




51 Theses til Election Day

Thesis 43: The Prohibition of Monarchism

The movement toward centralization of power under political mediators is a rejection of God.[1] Decentralization is less archist, and more salvational [re: health, wealth, welfare, victory, etc., cf. #41].


Notes
1. Judges 8:23; 1 Samuel 8:7; Judges 9

References
1 Samuel 8: The State as Rejection of God
Rushdoony on The Implications of 1 Samuel 8
Thomas Paine on 1 Samuel 8
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
I SAMUEL 8 - David Boaz

The argument here is not just against monarchism (one archist), but against all archism, such as oligarchy (small group of archists). Archists are gods, attempting to bring salvation. See also, James B. Jordan, "Appendix E: Salvation and Statism," in Law of the Covenant: An Exposition of Exodus 21-23 pp. 240-242.

A Political View of Life

The goal is to move away from earthly archists.

What is an "Archist"



52 Theses til Election Day