75 Bible Questions – 63

Isn’t Christ’s Kingdom In This World?

John 18:36  “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.””

This passage is far too often misunderstood as Jesus teaching that his kingdom is not on earth but in heaven, which is not true and is taking the verse out of contexts, something we must be very careful not to do.

When Jesus said this, he was being questioned by Pilate who had pointed out that he was a Roman official while Jesus, in his eyes, was just a religious leader, which was Pilate’s political view but Jesus pointed out the truth, that his kingdom and power did not come from the people or the earth; his power comes from God [we discussed the handing over of the kingdom in Question 62] and his kingdom is here on earth as Christians are a part of his kingdom.

If that were not true and his kingdom did come from this world, then it would be as Jesus said “my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews,” because Jesus would have been a popular figure to the people but would not have had authority as the son of God.

John 18:33-38 “So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?”  Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?”  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”  Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”  Pilate said to him, “What is truth?””

Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Luke 17:20-21  “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.””

TTSR The Idiocy Of “Relevance”

One major flaw in the American school system is that ‘Relevance’ has somehow become an important factor in children and teenager’s education plans, for what reason I do not know, few undergraduates have chosen a profession and even fewer stick to the same ideas they had before they moved into the job market.

I remember when I was young, just learning how to read under the teaching of my mother, that I could not think of anything more irrelevant than spelling or its rules, and again in 9^th grade, English was a worthless course in my naive opinion but all those things I ardently disliked in school started to pay off.

It seems like children are getting more ‘rights’ all the time while parents keep getting pushed aside when it is the parents that should have the number one say in the matter of education, if they did not, I would have quit the studies I deemed ‘irrelevant’ along with all the other courses I disliked, as thousands of students are doing now; the future will certainly look bleak for a generation that knows more about what they like than what is important to know.

75 Bible Questions – 62

Daniel 7:13-14 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.  And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

The kingdom Daniel saw God giving Jesus in this vision, was probably given to him after his death for when he appeared to his disciples, before his ascension into heaven, Jesus said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”[Matthew 28:18].

Now, there are many different beliefs on this topic because there are many ways one can interpret the Bible, however, all beliefs must be firmly rooted in scripture for example, do not believe Jesus is coming soon because he came in the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24, particularly verse 34) and I do not believe this world will be destroyed or left to Satan because Daniel 7:14 says “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

Many Christians are living in ways not pleasing to God, resulting in very destructive life styles because they believe it does not matter: how they leave this earth, how they handle their finances, or if they obey God’s laws; all of these beliefs clash with scriptures that teach the exact opposite.

Matthew 24:34  “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

Proverbs 6:6-8
”Go to the ant, sluggard; consider her ways and be wise; who having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest.”

Proverbs 21:5
”The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenty; but the thoughts of everyone who is hasty only to poverty.”

Romans 2:13  “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”

Galatians 3:21 “Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.”

Proverbs 22:3
 “A prudent one foresees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.”

TTSR Choosing A College

There is so much pressure for high school graduates to get a higher education and, beside the fact that a college diploma is not worth what it use to be since many college graduates are getting jobs at fast food restaurants and grocery stores, the fact that college is not the right choice for many young adults that are not mature or independent enough to safely live in that atmosphere is ignored, mostly by the ’experts’ that say it is good for youths to experience freedom from their parents.

Those same experts have no sensible answers as to why so many students are committing suicide when they are in the prime of life, receiving what is generally considered to be a high quality education that will open doors to a better carrier, at least, that is what students and parents are thinking about when they pick a college, not the drugs, alcohol, and sex that is sold or swapped to drown the problems away.

Too many colleges offer the name of a high quality education, but often come short when providing curriculum that teaches student about their courses and professors that can pass the art of thinking along; it does not matter to them, they are not responsible when troubled students take there life for lack of meaning in a meaningly anorexic society.

75 Bible Questions – 61

Aren’t Christians Supposed to Crush Satan?

Romans 16:20  “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

In Romans 16:20, God is promising the church victory over Satan, whereas before, in Genesis 3:15 God told Satan “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

This is obviously communicated figuratively because we are not going to physically stomp on Satan’s kingdom, although, what is stopping us from having victory over him in our minds, our bodies, our homes, and our churches, and why should we stop there?

Many Christians are limited in there battlefields because they believe that the earth will be handed over to Satan while the righteous are taken to heaven, but that is not true; we are to fill the earth and subdue it, which includes our schools, our businesses, our laws, and even the government --- that’s a long way away, maybe even a revolution away but “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Romans 8:31

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

TTSR Goodbye To Sara And Benjamin?

There are few parents that are aware that, when they enroll their sweet young children into public school (some private schools as well), it is a major priority of teachers to replace parents with the education system, as well as the morals and unique relationship children have with their parents.

There is no one on earth like a parent, no one who is willing to sacrifice so much or love a child no matter how much of a failure everyone thinks they are, but teachers would never dare tell their students that, not when they are so busy teaching children that parents are simply “ordinary people with faults and weaknesses and insecurities and problems just like everyone else,” or that you only have to listen to your parents “if you are interested in their ideas,” thus effectively corroding the respect a six year old has for his parents that are not so special anymore.

It is a tragedy indeed when teachers have taken the place of parents, showing raw footage of sexual activity between heterosexuals and homosexuals to innocent elementary students, forming magic circles so kids can talk about intimate things they are not allowed to tell their parents, teaching from text books for pre-schoolers to 3d graders that talks about the ‘rights’ children have against their parents; after all the damage is done and wrecked teenagers that could care less about their un-cool parents, destroy themselves with drugs, alcohol, or self mutilation, it is the parents that are left to pick up the pieces, not anyone in the education system that undermined the parent-child relationship, possibly causing so much downfall.

75 Bible Questions – 60

Matthew 5:5  “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

It is not those who are obedient to this world that will inherit it but those who obey God and are willing to give up all this world has to offer for the eternal reword.

Satan makes the worldly ways look satisfying, pleasurable, and appealing to lure us away from what really satisfies our souls, only to trap us in a lie of worthlessness when in reality, we are of great value to our Maker.

Meekness to God is submission, obedience, and humility in all that we do; although we cannot be perfect, perfection is not demanded of us because Jesus has paid the price for us to have freedom from our sins so that we can enter into God’s love, a love that wipes away all traces of the emptiness and pain we had before.

Matthew 16:24  "Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”"

1 Corinthians 15:50  “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”

1 Corinthians 6:20  “For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

1 Corinthians 7:23  “You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.”

Revelation 12:11  “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”

Revelation 2:10  “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

75 Bible Questions – 59

Matthew 25:20-21  “And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’  His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”

The parable of the talents is an example of our lives: God has given us all certain talents (the English word ‘talent’ comes from this parable, a talent meaning a measure of money) that can either grow and develop, or we can hide them away fearfully.

God will reword us accordingly, for the servant with 10 talents, his return was 110% because he not only received all he had earned for the master but he was also given the one talent of the wicked servant.

Notice that there is no gentle way of putting it; the man who did not use his talent for good is called wicked, slothful, and worthless, not like the other servants who were welcomed into their masters rest as we will be if we productively use what God has given us, giving it all back to Him.

Matthew 25:30  “And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”