Egypt Babylon Egypt: Thought Police: The Theocratic Politics.Study 53

Egypt Babylon Egypt: Thought Police: The Theocratic Politics.Study 53

06/08/20

The question has been raised, and is now much agitated, if a theocracy was good in the time of Israel, why would not a theocratical form of government be equally good for this time? 

"And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days"Daniel 11:31-33.

When it comes to personal governance I am under God's Theocracy and yet I am wholly against the union of church and state which produces a theocracy. What am I saying, the state theocratic government is always going to fail to protect the dictate of conscience which is an inalienable human right. Have you considered the brutality of the "moral police" in Iran or Saudi Arabia on their clampdown of religious violations through their interpretation of "Sharia law". These moral police enforce dress code (like the mask police these days), religious observance (like conformity to the #BLM), prayer attendance (like being required to attend political rallies in some authoritarian regimes). This is the tyrannical synthesis we will soon experience as the political tribalism have swung the pendulum to the extreme right (e.g.MAGA and it's America First policies) and to the extreme left (e.g.The Squad's and it's WOKE Socialism). The prophecies in Revelation 13 and 17 especially testify that the political right and left have "one mind" and will give power to the Papacy and war against the Lamb. Unless our eyes are not blinded by their Hegelian dialectics, we will find ourselves in the folly of their Sunday Laws. Let us reason together this morning friends, why is that tuberculosis which killed 1.5 million people in 2018 alone and continue to be very infectious has not caused any hysteria and lockdowns, TB which is curable when treated early is also like Covid19 a "bacterial infection spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person" NHS.My question is, why is there a difference in the approach to pandemics, mass hysteria on Covid19 but in contrast a lukewarm approach to H1N1, tuberculosis, Ebola? As a student of the scriptures I have learnt that as national apostasy is followed by national ruin, there will be an increase of pestilences which will reduce the population significantly, I also understand that some of us may be called to sleep as a result but are we standing when the majority are bowing to the image to the beast? That's a strong statement but what do I mean by this?When you look into the mirror of God's Word, what image are you seeing, if you see the Pope within, then may you cooperate with Heaven in remedying your defects of character and dry up the river Euphrates that feeds the beast within. If you find yourself subject to the thought police and see things similarity to the mind of the worldlings then the spiritual pandemic has infected you, the solution is not debatable like the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) effectiveness, I present to you the blood of Jesus that takes away the sins of the world. You can change your mind and be given the mind (Philippians 2:5) that can soberly navigate through the noise of current affairs in view of the bigger picture.

Our scripture reading : Revelation 17:13 "These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast".

A theocracy is a government which derives its power immediately from God. The government of Israel was a true theocracy. That was really a government of God. At the burning bush, God commissioned Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. By signs and wonders and mighty miracles multiplied, God delivered Israel from Egypt and led them through the wilderness and finally into the Promised Land. There He ruled them by judges “until Samuel the prophet,” to whom, when he was a child, God spoke, and by whom He made known His will. In the days of Samuel the people asked that they might have a king. This was allowed, and God chose Saul, and Samuel anointed him king of Israel. Saul failed to do the will of God; and as he rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord rejected him from being king and sent Samuel to anoint David king of Israel; and David’s throne God established forevermore. When Solomon succeeded to the kingdom in the place of David his father, the record is: “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father.” 1 Chronicles 29:23. David’s throne was the throne of the Lord, and Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king over the earthly kingdom of God. The succession to the throne descended in David’s line to Zedekiah, who was made subject to the king of Babylon, and who entered into a solemn covenant before God that he would loyally render allegiance to the king of Babylon. But Zedekiah broke his covenant, and then God said to him:  - PP 761.7

“Thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God; remove the diadem, and take off the crown: This shall not be the same: Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: And it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” Ezekiel 21:25-27. See also chapter 17:1-21.  - PP 762.1

The kingdom was then subject to Babylon. When Babylon fell, and Medo-Persia succeeded, it was overturned the first time. When Medo-Persia fell and was succeeded by Greece, it was overturned the second time. When the Greek empire gave way to Rome, it was overturned the third time. And then says the word, “It shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.” Who is He whose right it is? “Thou ... Shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:31-33. And while He was here as “that Prophet,” a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, the night in which He was betrayed He Himself declared, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Thus the throne of the Lord has been removed from this world and will “be no more, until He come whose right it is,” and then it will be given Him. And that time is the end of this world, and the beginning of “the world to come.”  - PP 762.2

To the twelve apostles the Saviour said, “I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me; that ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Luke 22:29, 30. From Matthew’s account of Christ’s promise to the twelve we learn when it will be fulfilled; “in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19:28. In the parable of the talents, Christ represents Himself under the figure of a nobleman who “went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.” Luke 19:12. And He Himself has told us when He will sit upon the throne of His glory: “When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: And before Him shall be gathered all nations.” Matthew 25:31, 32.  - PP 762.3

To this time the revelator looks forward when he says, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.” Revelation 11:15. The context clearly shows when this will take place: “The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” Verse 18. It is at the time of the final judgment, the reward of the righteous, and the punishment of the wicked that the kingdom of Christ will be set up. When all who oppose the sovereignty of Christ have been destroyed, the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.  - PP 763.1

Then Christ will reign, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Revelation 19:16. “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” And “the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.” Daniel 7:27, 18.  - PP 763.2

Until that time the kingdom of Christ cannot be established on the earth. His kingdom is not of this world. His followers are to account themselves “strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Paul says, “Our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Hebrews 11:13; Philippians 3:20, R.V.  - PP 763.3

Since the kingdom of Israel passed away, God has never delegated authority to any man or body of men to execute His laws as such. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19. Civil governments have to do with the relations of man with man; but they have nothing whatever to do with the duties that grow out of man’s relation to God.  - PP 763.4

Except the kingdom of Israel, no government has ever existed on the earth in which God by inspired men directed the affairs of state. Whenever men have endeavored to form such a government as that of Israel, they have, of necessity, taken it upon themselves to interpret and enforce the law of God. They have assumed the right to control the conscience, and thus have usurped the prerogative of God.  - PP 763.5

In the former dispensation, while sins against God were visited with temporal penalties, the judgments executed were not only by divine sanction, but under His direct control, and by His command. Sorcerers were to be put to death. Idolaters were to be slain. Profanity and sacrilege were punished with death. Whole nations of idolaters were to be exterminated. But the infliction of these penalties was directed by Him who reads the hearts of men, who knows the measure of their guilt, and who deals with His creatures in wisdom and mercy. When men, with human frailties and passions, undertake to do this work, it needs no argument to show that the door is opened to unrestrained injustice and cruelty. The most inhuman crimes will be perpetrated, and all in the sacred name of Christ.  - PP 764.1

From the laws of Israel, which punished offenses against God, arguments have been drawn to prove the duty of punishing similar sins in this age. All persecutors have employed them to justify their deeds. The principle that God has delegated to human authority the right to control the conscience is the very foundation of religious tyranny and persecution. But all who reason thus lose sight of the fact that we are now living in a different dispensation, under conditions wholly different from those of Israel; that the kingdom of Israel was a type of the kingdom of Christ, which will not be set up until His second coming; and that the duties which pertain to man’s relation to God are not to be regulated or enforced by human authority.  - PP 764.2

The government of Israel was administered in the name and by the authority of God. The work of Moses, of the seventy elders, of the rulers and judges, was simply to enforce the laws that God had given; they had no authority to legislate for the nation. This was, and continued to be, the condition of Israel’s existence as a nation. From age to age men inspired by God were sent to instruct the people and to direct in the enforcement of the laws.  - PP 603.1

The Lord foresaw that Israel would desire a king, but He did not consent to a change in the principles upon which the state was founded. The king was to be the vicegerent of the Most High. God was to be recognized as the Head of the nation, and His law was to be enforced as the supreme law of the land. - PP 603.2

When the Israelites first settled in Canaan they acknowledged the principles of the theocracy, and the nation prospered under the rule of Joshua. But increase of population and intercourse with other nations brought a change. The people adopted many of the customs of their heathen neighbors and thus sacrificed to a great degree their own peculiar, holy character. Gradually they lost their reverence for God and ceased to prize the honor of being His chosen people. Attracted by the pomp and display of heathen monarchs, they tired of their own simplicity. Jealousy and envy sprang up between the tribes. Internal dissensions made them weak; they were continually exposed to the invasion of their heathen foes, and the people were coming to believe that in order to maintain their standing among the nations, the tribes must be united under a strong central government. As they departed from obedience to God’s law, they desired to be freed from the rule of their divine Sovereign; and thus the demand for a monarchy became widespread throughout Israel.  - PP 603.3

Since the days of Joshua the government had never been conducted with so great wisdom and success as under Samuel’s administration. Divinely invested with the threefold office of judge, prophet, and priest, he had labored with untiring and disinterested zeal for the welfare of his people, and the nation had prospered under his wise control. Order had been restored, and godliness promoted, and the spirit of discontent was checked for the time. But with advancing years the prophet was forced to share with others the cares of government, and he appointed his two sons to act as his assistants. While Samuel continued the duties of his office at Ramah, the young men were stationed at Beersheba, to administer justice among the people near the southern border of the land.  - PP 603.4

 It was with the full assent of the nation that Samuel had appointed his sons to office, but they did not prove themselves worthy of their father’s choice. The Lord had, through Moses, given special directions to His people that the rulers of Israel should judge righteously, deal justly with the widow and the fatherless, and receive no bribes. But the sons of Samuel “turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.” The sons of the prophet had not heeded the precepts which he had sought to impress upon their minds. They had not copied the pure, unselfish life of their father. The warning given to Eli had not exerted the influence upon the mind of Samuel that it should have done. He had been to some extent too indulgent with his sons, and the result was apparent in their character and life.  - PP 604.1

The injustice of these judges caused much dissatisfaction, and a pretext was thus furnished for urging the change that had long been secretly desired. “All the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” The cases of abuse among the people had not been referred to Samuel. Had the evil course of his sons been known to him, he would have removed them without delay; but this was not what the petitioners desired. Samuel saw that their real motive was discontent and pride, and that their demand was the result of a deliberate and determined purpose. No complaint had been made against Samuel. All acknowledged the integrity and wisdom of his administration; but the aged prophet looked upon the request as a censure upon himself, and a direct effort to set him aside. He did not, however, reveal his feelings; he uttered no reproach, but carried the matter to the Lord in prayer and sought counsel from Him alone.  - PP 604.2

And the Lord said unto Samuel: “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken Me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.” The prophet was reproved for grieving at the conduct of the people toward himself as an individual. They had not manifested disrespect for him, but for the authority of God, who had appointed the rulers of His people. Those who despise and reject the faithful servant of God show contempt, not merely for the man, but for the Master who sent him. It is God’s words, His reproofs and counsel, that are set at nought; it is His authority that is rejected.  - PP 605.1

The days of Israel’s greatest prosperity had been those in which they acknowledged Jehovah as their King—when the laws and the government which He had established were regarded as superior to those of all other nations. Moses had declared to Israel concerning the commandments of the Lord: “This is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” Deuteronomy 4:6. But by departing from God’s law the Hebrews had failed to become the people that God desired to make them, and then all the evils which were the result of their own sin and folly they charged upon the government of God. So completely had they become blinded by sin.  - PP 605.2