God’s Shaking, for the Kingdom’s Advance

When the enemy shakes, it is for the purpose of destroying;
when God is shaking, it is for the purpose of perfecting.
fkj





God’s Shaking, for the Kingdom’s Advance

“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women
there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist;
but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven
is greater than he.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now
the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent take it by force.”


Matthew 11:12

Several years ago there were claims by the cult group “Army of God” (which should be spelled ‘Army of god’), that they were responsible for the bombing of abortion clinics. In their view these institutions have “rejected The Word of God” and sought “governmental solutions” in place of Godly ones. This group has declared open war on the federal government in “the name of their god.”

“There is a way that seems right to a man
but its end is the way of death.”
Proverbs 16:25

It was interesting to see how the media labeled them as a fundamental “religious right” group, attributing the violence by implication, if not outright assertion, to all those in the “religious right”.

Any person or group who asserts that physical violence is a means to an end in establishing the kingdom of heaven betrays their own ignorance of the scriptures. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

“For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine,
but according to their own desires,
because they have itching ears,
they will heap up for themselves teachers;
and they will turn their ears away from the truth
and be turned aside to fables.”
II Timothy 4:3,4

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!”
Isaiah 5:20,21

When Jesus asserted that the kingdom of heaven would be
be taken by violence, he was not in the least implicating physical violence to obtain a political solution. He was making reference to the “nonreligious” confrontational styles of both John the Baptist and the prophet Elijah (see context Matthew 11 verses 1-19). Such was a directive to the hearer, to depart from the staid religious formalism of the day (today as well) and enter into a “violent” personal relationship with Him. Now even that sounds a bit bizarre until we look into this word “violent”.

The Greek derivative of this word is biastes (bee as tace)
which simply means: energetic, full of energy;
(not at all the connotation of violence most of us are use to).
No one will deny that both John the Baptist and Elijah
could be characterized by the term energetic.
Jesus was then, and continues now to attempt to move the church away from personal gain, entertainment and dead traditionalism.

Jesus further defines this violence of the kingdom of heaven’s expansion by defining the “sword” and “fire” He has brought, as being different from the battle techniques of military or political warfare:
[Compare Matt. 10:34-39 and Luke 12:49-53 with John 18:36]

This violent upheaval caused by the kingdom of God is not caused by political provocation or armed advance, (as were typified by Barabas and Judas Iscarot during the days of Jesus’ ministry).
It is the result of God’s order shaking relationships, previously built on tradition and ritual, in individuals, households, neighborhoods, cities and nations of the world, that are to be challenged and changed by the advent of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
[See also: Luke 16:16, Luke 4:14-32, Col. 2:13-15]

“Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.
Now this ‘Yet once more’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that things that cannot be shaken may remain.”
Hebrews 26b, 27

Have a blessed day in the unshakable Truth of Christ Jesus! ....