Trump 2016

This week, I dreamt that Donald Trump, one of the Republican candidate for the 2016 US elections was assassinated. In the dream, I saw him fall to the ground as bullet pierced his forehead while he was on a platform in a stadium. The scene disturbed me. And my spirit was unsettled. It is this dream and the disquiet in my spirit that motivates me to blog to warn US and the world.

As a former Political Science student of democracy, I am of the view that the entire point of democracy is to settle leadership disputes peacefully and to determine the right to national leadership succession without resorting violence. I do understand that representation of Trump as performed by the mainstream and social media portrays him as a demagogue or as a fellow who blames other groups for America's problems. I am aware that this is a 20th century political rhetorical strategy and tactic that reminds persons of the same strategy as Adolf Hitler in 1930 Germany. This is in contrast to the Obama campaigns that emphasized the rhetoric that "together we can".

Nonetheless, I see that what is at stake is the democratic and due process. US has had several Presidents that were unceremoniously and unduly removed by acts of terrorism and violence (assassination to be exact). Yet, every man has the right to life which is a right that no man can justifiably take.

Another issue that I see is the unfair representation of Trump's rallies as spewing hatred towards protesters. I call it unfair representation because the logic is flawed and reflects a double standard. I recall when Westboro Baptist Church attended events to prevent like veteran funerals, they were portrayed as bigots and the villains spreading hate. Yet, I see so-called social media activists that attend Trump's rallies for the sole purpose of interrupting his speech and disrupting his supporter's right to political assembly, portraying themselves [the activists] as victims of hate and hatred.

While I do not condone any political violence, I stand as a voice of reason in the wilderness to call wrong wrong, no matter who does it and to whom it is done. Sure, Trump could deal with interruptions differently but nevertheless, it is still wrong to interrupt someone when they are speaking.

To illustrate the wrong, I want to raise three hypothetical cases:

Imagine:

• Scenario 1: A Christian going into a mosque to protest during the middle of prayers?
• Scenario 2: a Muslim going into a synagogue to protest during the service?
• Scenario 3: A Christian going to a LGBT Pride parade to protest?

If all these scenarios are wrong, what makes it right for someone who dislikes/disagrees with Trump to go to his rally or events to annoy him and his supporters by interruptions and protests? Then to paint Trump and his supporters as racists and haters for being annoyed at interruptions?

Even God, permitted his Opposition, Satan to meet Eve in the garden of Eden to share his viewpoints on God's policies. [Note, God did not interrupt Satan's conference with Eve]. It is a fundamental right that people have choices and are free to decide who's viewpoint they listen to.

Whether you hate Trump or not, I leave you with the New Testament message of Jesus that we must love our enemies. In order to love our enemies, we must resist the temptation to unfairly demonize those we disagree with or dislike. For we will all fall into the media's representation of Trump if we unfairly demonize or vilify Trump.

Peace be unto you and to the US as they attempt to make wise selections for the next President through due process.

Bible study on the kingdom of God

I recently attended a Bible study at Worldwide Church of God/Grace Communion International (WCG/GCI) in Christian Pen, Gregory Park, St. Catherine (in Jamaica), where I was privileged to be a part of a Bible study on the kingdom of God. Such a topic is of great importance to Christian believers as the message of Jesus is basically centred around this concept. In fact, in Matthew 6:33, God's kingdom is something that Jesus commands us to seek and make a priority above everything else. Further, after John's arrest, Jesus began his ministry preaching that the time has come for the fulfillment of prophecy regarding God's kingdom and that the God's kingdom would soon be present (Mark 1:14-15). Further, many of the parables of Jesus are also about this kingdom. As such, it is important for the followers of Christ Jesus to fully understand the concept of the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven, which is so essential to the gospel message or the good news. In this blog post, I share some of the thoughts shared as to what is the kingdom of God.

What is the kingdom of God?

When the question was raised at the Bible study, the facilitator of the Bible study, Mr. L. Joiles stated that the kingdom of God, synonymous with the kingdom of heaven, is a system of governance, where the word of God as king is law and governs all affairs on earth. Joiles took us back to Daniel 2:44, where there is a prophetic word uttered by an angel to Daniel as an interpretation to a dream. This revealed interpretation of the events in the dream established that there would be several kingdoms or global super powers to control world affairs and colonise the earth. However, in the book of Daniel, it is foretold that a global super power established by God himself would outlast all these global super powers or kingdoms. This eternal super power would be headed by God as king, but will also be governed by the consent of those God governs, as all his enemies will be put to death and all opposition to his rule silenced.

As Joiles presented this, I realised that the kingdom of God did not begin with Moses. While God established a theocracy with the Israelites with Moses by giving the law at Mount Sinai, this type of system of governance was confined to a particular group or nation of people, and not a global system. Yet, even this system was rejected  by the Israelite people, who later asked Samuel to give them a king like the other nations around them (1 Samuel 8:5).

Yet, even though God established a limited system of governance for the entire affairs of a nation, he foretold of the global king in Genesis 3:15. This king mentioned of in Genesis would be the offspring of human beings that will crush or bruise the serpent's (or the Devil's) head or authority over the earth and men. At the same time, the serpent would bruise the king's heel which could perhaps be interpreted as the messengers or followers or the carriers of the message (see Isaiah 52:7; Ephesians 6:15; Romans 10:15).

As I contemplate these things, I remember words from the founder of WCG, Herbert W. Amstrong, charging that the majority of Christianity today does not preach the gospel, because they omit the from their version of the gospel any reference to the kingdom of God. Yet to be fair, I've heard Christians discuss that the Holy Spirit living in us and empowering us to do the works and miracles of Christ is the manifestation of the kingdom of God on earth. However, this raises the conundrum as to whether or not Jesus taught of a physical coming of the kingdom of God or just as spiritual manifestation of the kingdom. This to me is the next area that needs to be discussed. Unfortunately, I will be absent from the next WCG/GCI's Bible study to raise the question, but hopefully the Holy Spirit will provide further clarification for me on this matter. 

The beginning of the creation of God

I recently received the best explanation of the "mystery of God" from a household Bible study group. For centuries it has puzzled Christians how JESUS could be God, yet be the son of God. The Bible mentions that JESUS is the "firstborn of every creature" and "the beginning of the creation of God".

In Revelation 3:14 (King James Version)it says:

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

In the NIV, this concept was so problematic for Christian interpreters that they rendered it:

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.

However The Message translation renders it:

Write to Laodicea, to the Angel of the church. God's Yes, the Faithful and Accurate Witness, the First of God's creation, says:

This Christian theologically problematic statement has lead the Jehovah's Witnesses to declare that JESUS is a created being (Watchtower, 2005, para. 10).

Well, in that Bible study on Wednesday night, February 24, 2010, at Milborough, Jamaica, when this passage was read, I raised the point to the group's leader, that obviously, JESUS' existence came from the Father.

I went on to say, that there are only two ways that a person could be a son, either through birth or adoption. G-d declares in the scriptures that someone (who I believe is JESUS) became his son. Psalm 2:7 (King James Version) says:

I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

If Jesus lived independently of the Father prior to creation, then G-d have no need to say "this day have I begotten thee [as my Son]". It would be more reasonable for G-d to say "this day have I adopted thee [JESUS as my son]". However, the first born or begotten obviously implies that one proceeded from the other. Clearly, the person in Psalm 2:7 became G-d's son through birth, or else, the L-RD would have used the term "have adopted thee" in place of "begotten".

I even went on to explain that JESUS is described as the Word (John 1). The Word implies that there is a source. Word can even be translated as message or communication, which implies an author or source. The question:

How can Jesus come from a source yet still be described as the source itself?

Going back to the idea of the word. A word can exist with the source before it is expressed. JESUS was in God before he was expressed by the Father. However, the word can exist in one's mind prior to being expressed or manifested. The message or information that an author wants to communicate or express, could exist within the author or communicator long before it is expressed. This fits well with the description or definition of the Word (logos) as described in Vine, Unger and White (1996) as the "expression of thought" (p. 683).

JESUS therefore existed and was expressed long before anything was created. When G-d spoke the world into existence, His Word brought forth everything. The Word preceded the establishment of the universe and creation. In fact the Word was always present with G-d, and was expressed and reflected in creation. Further its the Word that sustains the current creation and order of the universe. As Hebrews 1:2-3 (King James Version)says:

[G-d] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;


Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

G-d's Word (JESUS), now speaks for him. G-d has nothing else to say or communicate or express outside of his son, the Word that proceeded from him, while existed with him in the beginning. In fact, this word is also the last word or the Amen (Revelation 3:14).

References:


Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W. (1996). Vine's complete expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words: With topical index. Nashville: T. Nelson.


Watchtower.(2005). Who is Jesus Christ? What Does the Bible Really Teach? (Chapter 4). WatchTower.org: Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site. Retrieved from http://www.watchtower.org/e/bh/article_04.htm

Enjoy the goodness of God in Matthew 8 and 9

I have been reading Matthew with a group on Facebook, and in the process have been feeding my intellect and hopefully my spirit with a greater awareness of who God is, what he is like and how he operates.

Last week, I just completed and really enjoyed Matthew 8. Quintessentially, this chapter focuses on God's goodness. Nobody's prayer or request in Chapter 8 was denied. All who asked, even when they doubted God's favour got what they wished, including those who asked Jesus to leave their coast.


I loved that entire passage, as through it, we see a God who answers prayers through the intercession of his son and the will of his son. Here, Jesus not only granted people what they desired, but he also granted demons their desires as shown by him giving them permission to enter into swine.

As such it was a lovely passage of revealing the royalty, kingship and authority of Jesus, whose mission was and is to be entreated of and petitioned by people for favours.

The revelation and representation that Jesus gave of his Heavenly Father, God the Father, reflects one of God being a God of goodness, wanting to be entreated of and petitioned by people for favours. It also reflected that God wants to help and satisfy the needs and wishes of all his human subjects for improvement of their condition.

I also want to pull out some puzzling ideas based on Jesus' interaction with demons. Jesus was seen by the demons as being their tormentor/punisher. They asked him if he came to torment them before their time (Matthew 8 : 29).

Then they requested that Jesus send them into swines and used the bodies of the swines to go into the sea.

This act made an entire village forbid Jesus to enter into their city, as these people were perhaps afraid of losing their livelihood. The whole event made it seem as the demons used this prevent the people from being willing to listen to Jesus.

Jesus being the gentleman that he is, gave them their request and left their coast.

Chapter 9 exhibits the contrasting levels of faith by people in God. Some persons believed that they could just touch Jesus without asking him to get their miracle. Others believed that Jesus need to come into their house and touch them in order to get their miracle.

What this tells me is that God is so good to us no matter what our level of faith is. Some of us do not have to ask/petition God before our wish is granted. We just believe in our hearts, and God acts on that belief without us asking.

Others want to audibly ask God.

While others want God to work in a certain way before they are satisfied that he answers their prayers.

May you be like one who has a high level of faith, recognising that God is inherently good and wants to grant you favour today and every other day. May you know that he awaits for your petition and faith to do something spectacular for you to improve your condition. If he granted the wishes of rebellious demons and people who had little faith, what would make him not want to grant your wishes for a betterment of your condition.

God's blessings.

Following Requirements: What I learnt from the Canadian High Commission in Jamaica

Today, going to the Canadian High Commission of Jamaica, I learned a valuable spiritual lesson that I want to share.

In applying for the visa, I had to submit a number of documents. From the week before, I spent my time gathering all documents except one, the bank statement of my personal funds. Instead, I thought I would bring the Canadian cash that I purchased as evidence that I had Canadian dollars for the journey. Instead of getting the exact documents that the High Commission required, I thought that I could discern the intent behind their asking for a bank statement of personal funds. In my head, the High Commission just wanted to ensure that I have sufficient money to enter the country and exit the country.

However, while awaiting at the High Commission in a line, it began to trouble me that I did not have the bank statement. In my head, the question lingered, "would they still issue me a Canadian Visa without a bank statement?"

With this question, I searched diligently in my bag for something else to substitute. The substitution documents included my three bank books, including a foreign currency bank book. (These however were not recently updated and would not meet the requirements in terms of dates).

The security checked my documents, and I stated that I did not have the bank statement, but had the literal cash to show. She said "No bank statement?" However, she said nothing else but directed me to where I was to go.

When I reached the Cashier/Receptionist, I restated my position. The lady looked through my documents and said:

You work at the university, Mr. Scale? When you ask for a transcript, would a school report do?

I stammered over that one, with a explanation "No.., but..."

"Just answer my question!" she remarked.

So I gave her the "No!"

She asked me if I read the information requirements accompanying the application. I said yes. She then gave me a copy, highlighting the personal funds portion. She even further stated that I could have borrowed the money, so having it in hand, was not sufficient for meeting the High commission's requirements.

That day, I felt like a fool!

Yet this story is a spiritual lesson. Just like how G-d has certain requirements, we cannot get away with substitutes.

This can be applied to salvation. If G-d says that in order for us to be saved, we need to believe in Jesus, there is no substitute. If G-d's requirement is for us to confess and put our faith in Jesus, you could be a good man, but you would not have met his requirements.

Just like how I have to meet all the requirements for the Canadian High Commission to give me entry into their land, if I want to gain entry to the land in the everlasting kingdom, then I too must ensure that I meet all the stated requirements.


The same goes for worship. If G-d commanded us to worship him a particular way, then we do not have the authority to decide that we know what G-d's intent was and substitute what he commanded for what we feel can be a suitable substitute. This may include the days or seasons of corporate worship (Sabbath-Sunday debate or the Feast Days versus Christmas and Easter debate). Do not get me wrong, I do not feel that Christians must worship G-d on only one day of the week or on special days, but rather, I understand that G-d has given a time for each purpose under the sun (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Thus I believe that we worship G-d when we do what he requires of us, in the time that he requires us to do it. So we work when we are commanded to, and rest when we are commanded to. We remember our Passover Lamb in the season that he commanded, and eat the bread and wine at that time and season, rather than whenever we feel like.

It is a matter of recognising who is in authority and who is subject to whom.

G-d likens his relationship with his people to marriage - husband and wife (Ephesians 5:22-33), where he stresses that the wife ought to submit to her husband (Ephesians 5:22). The woman should not do what she feels like in her marriage, disregarding her husband requests. Imagine if the wife decided to cook and prepare her husband a meal when she feels like, make love when she feels like and do her own thing whenever she feels like without regarding the husband's desires. That marriage would be in danger!

To note how serious this matter of following requirements are, consider that Jesus even told the parable of the King's Wedding Guests in Matthew 22. In Matthew 22:10-13 (King James Version), the story goes like this:

10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

11And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

12And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

13Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Let us be cogniscant of the fact that we should not offer substitutes for G-d's requirements, but rather, submit unto G-d and do your best to meet his requirements according to your understanding. We may not understand what G-d requires, but do it all the same. Do not assume that you can discern the rationale behind his requirements. As the Scriptures say:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD (Isaiah 55:8).