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| Q4: Other Strong Authorities outside our home. There is another strong authority apart from man, who visits planet earth. Let us consider this possibility and the little empirical evidence for such a strong authority. This strong authority left sacred messages in scrolls in an ancient Hebrew language as far back as 3200BC and as early as 100 AD, and such messages span 3,000 years of time. Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am Strong Authority, and there is none else.
The Hebrew word for Strong Authority here is �el� and is often translated for the reader in the King James version as �God�. Here is the Hebrew pictograph of the word �el�.
The first letter is the bull�s head, and always means �the strong one� or �strong�. The second letter is the shepherd�s staff and means �caring authority� or �authority�.
Thus the word means the strong authority.
Notice this strong authority also wants to save us, just like my parents were once strong authorities wanting to save me from all kinds of dangers in my parent�s home. Notice also the claim that there is no other better stronger authority than this one on planet earth. And there is no other closer human male relationship to me than my Dad.
What does this Strong Authority look like?
Ezekiel 1:26 � And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
I look at a picture of my Dad on my desk, as I type this � and ponder the feelings from the likeness.
What attitude of caring does this Strong Authority have?
I remember my Dad killing a sheep for our ongoing life, raising the sharp blade and sluicing the throat watching the blood hiss over the place. It made a vivid image on me, and I am grateful to this memory of what it means to die so another can have ongoing life. I picture in my mind the intense dedication of my Dad working hard to stave a family from poverty and insecurity. What a valour of love and devotion that godly man left behind for all future generations to admire. I pity my own children for failing to see this legacy.
Is there a connection between the strong authorities on earth and the strong authority in heaven?
Genesis 1:27 So The FAMILY of GOD created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Man was created by GOD in his image. All the social structure on earth, the need for strong authorities and the leader follower concepts of trust, good will and wisdom obviously came from God.
The other alternative is Science does not have answers for ethics and the origin of these kinds of non objective elements of the human race.
Genesis 2:7 And the Yahweh member of the FAMILY of GOD formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Life is a gift from GOD and the very continued aspect of life is because of the presence of GOD in our life. Science has no answer as to why living things battle again and again against entropy, thermodynamics and chaos in order to continue developing an extremely complex life of chemical reactions, called life. Science cannot explain where the matter and the natural laws came from that created the BIG BANG in the first place. It is amazing to me that many believe in Evolution based on zero empirical evidence, while in Creation there is some empirical evidence.
Genesis 2:8 � And the Yahweh member of the FAMILY of GOD planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
God made the first home for man. Notice I said home and not house. Science can explain the need for shelter and protection for a species of living things known as a house of habit, but they cannot explain the origin of a home. The home is a relationship social structure of gender male and gender female, and was purposely genetically wired into mankind by GOD according to these verses shown here.
Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
The idea of a home was already discussed, but notice the children leave the home to establish another home based on two entities becoming united as a single entity. This verse also suggests marriage as a concept came from GOD, as well as the family of a mother and father being the very centre of social structure. This is not observed in the ape social structure where Science says we evolved from. Apes live in social networks of six to eight apes, with dominate males and dominate females ruling the group. You never see a family home concept of just two monkeys living together always on their own.
Genesis 1:29 � And the FAMILY of GOD said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
The entire systems of animals on earth including humans were vegetarians. When I was in Papua New Guinea I noticed every carnivore dog were vegetarians, eating coconuts, sweet potatoes and very rarely some fish heads. Protein is rare in PNG, so dogs become thin and live as plant eaters. They use their sharp teeth to rip open the bark of coconuts and tapioca bulbs to find the white pith inside.
Gen 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field;
God gave Adam language immediately.
Science cannot explain the origin of language. In fact GOD challenges the evolutionists with the origin of language that rapidly develops almost instantly from babies born.
Psalm 8:1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies comes language almost instantly as if it�s wired into our genotype. Where does language come from? Science cannot explain this �
Genesis 2:16 � And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
This is the only negative recorded in the Eden paradise home. Man could do anything he liked except one thing; eat fruit from a particular tree. Why was there a restriction? What does this mean?
This verse implies man could choose to disobey his strong authority and choose another strong authority apart from GOD, thus break the direct relationship between God and mankind.
This single negative, was for mankind a test of obedience. I remember some tests of obedience in my world when I was young in my Dad�s home. Stealing the blue sapphires is an example of my innate selfishness rather than sharing. Another example was my unwillingness to give up my working money for my Dad when he asked for some money in his time of need. This was proof another strong authority was ruling in my head apart from my Dad. I was selfish in those days and not willing to share my love with my Dad. I hope today I am more willing to share my love and my time with my Dad.
Luke 7:47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
He who is forgiven much loves much. This axiom is based on the amount of sinning we do. What is sinning? And why do sins need forgiveness?
The Hebrew word �chata� ( underlined in the verse) often translated �sin� means to miss the mark.
So in simple terms, a sin is something I do that spoils my relationship with you. And we miss having a great connection together.
I thought as a child my brothers were closer to my Dad than me. My brothers and their Dad would watch the weekend footy match while I withdraw from such things. Sometimes I watched with them not because I loved football, but to bask in my Dad�s relationship.
There have been some good moments I treasure about my Dad and our relationship together.
There are some relationships we have together that contrast each other.
Thus I have a different set of belief rules than my Dad has, even though we have many belief rules in common. My belief rules come from my understanding of God�s standards written in His Book.
Thus does not make me better than my Dad. In fact there is only one difference between us, despite all my so called �good deeds�. �Brownie points� mean nothing to God.
Psalm 14:1 � The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
None of us can be good enough to God.
Psalm 53:1 � The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. 2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. 3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
God looks out for any returning back to Him, even though none doeth good.
Mt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
The only difference is I come to Jesus with my broken relationships seeking His rest.
1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And I talk to Jesus about the specific things I do wrong in our relationships, and we share the things we do right in our relationship!
My second oldest brother says �God is a crutch for weaklings�.�. He is right the strong authority in heaven is a crutch for weaklings. What�s wrong with that? A strong authority is a saviour who saves his subject from harm. My Dad was a strong authority in his home and saved me from harm, and I am grateful always to him for his saving acts of love. Was my Dad a crutch during my childhood years? Most certainly my Dad was� so what�s wrong with having a crutch �?
So why does my brother say what he said? Who is the strong authority my brother is following? It has to be himself.
Psalm 82:6 � I have said, ye are a Family of gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
Humans can save themselves as strong authorities. Humans are gods.
But does the strong authority in heaven agree with man�s boast to be like God himself?
Psalm 82:6 � I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. 7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
Obviously while man is a child of God, we do not have the power of God in ourselves. Thus humans cannot save themselves in their own power. We shall die like men�we are not powerful like God is.
So where does this idea of self empowered god like attitude of saving ourselves come from?
Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For the FAMILY of GOD doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as a family of gods, knowing good and evil.
Who is this serpent speaking to the woman in Eden?
Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Imagine war in heaven. Another strong authority challenges the strong authority in heaven.
So there are TWO strong authorities from heaven on the earth, as well as man.
This implies than any broken relationships we make is not our fault, its God�s responsibility to help us, since Satan was once a part of God�s kingdom.
That is correct. That�s why when mankind broke relationship with God, a member of GOD immediately volunteered out of love to save mankind from Satan now ruling over mankind. God gave Adam a second chance to have God rule over mankind again. This provision to change strong authorities ruling over us is called the gospel good news of salvation. The change of strong authorities ruling over you from Satan to God can be made in seconds, if you simply ask God in prayer.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This is an amazing promise. Any person can claim this promise and GOD will do it for you. Immediately you can hate Satan as a strong authority over you and ruling you, and have GOD as a strong authority over you ruling you. God can give you the gift to naturally hate Satan if you ask Him to. Just quote this verse to Him in prayer.
Thus salvation is not based on anything you can do for yourself, but only on what God can do for you.
Genesis 3:21 � Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Man tried to cover his nakedness by manufacturing clothes from leaves. This technology has been with mankind ever since. We think our technology will save us and empower us. Sure mobile phones, electric petrol driven motors cars and computers are impressive, but these things cannot save us.
So God made clothes of skin from the death of animals, implying that only death can be substituted for life. Notice it is God empowering mankind; we have no power to save ourselves.
This aspect of strong authorities handing over power is interesting.
I remember my Dad driving the car going for a Sunday game of tennis and little Bobby sitting on his lap. The strong authority gave me the steering wheel and all of a sudden I had the freedom of power to make things change all on my own. The car wandered over the track ditches and back again. My Dad smiled at my emerging driving skills, as I tasted using a power that was not my own.
I watched my Dad swing an axe and split wood. He took my arms in his arms and together we swung the axe down splitting the timber into two. Wow what strength I felt achieving the impossible. I forgot it was really my Dad that split the wood, but my pride felt that I had split the wood. Funny how we exalt ourselves as children in the hands of our Dad handing over his power!!
Another time my Dad was fixing a fence and the tractor and the Land-Rover were both required for the task. My Dad started up the tractor and placed my hands on the wheel to steer it home, knowing it would take time to reach home; he would follow in the Land-Rover later on. He told me the gates were all open, all I had to do was drive the tractor home. I was seven years old using the power of my strong authority on my first solo mission, feeling proud my Dad could trust me alone with such power on my own.
And as long as I was humble enough to submit to my Dad�s authority and do what I could do in my own strength, leaving what I could not do in my own strength to my Dad, I would be safe. And the tractor went along the road safely until the road was blocked by a closed gate. My Dad had forgotten a gate would be closed. I did not have much wisdom for a seven year old boy, and my skills were limited. I could not reach for the brakes as my little feet were too small. So I chose to hit the gate post rather than the fence, hoping the tractor would stop. It did, the post was pushed over a bit, but the tractor did stop. My Dad was put out a little by the occasion, but all was well.
This memory of my Dad serves to empower me with how God deals with us when we use his power to drive our lives. We have to humbly submit to God�s power and allow his power to flow through us, rather than using human power.
Another memory is when I was asked by my Dad to build an awning for him in his new home. I was proud that my Dad allowed me to design the steel beams and purchase the materials required for the job and fix the structure to the walls of house. I am sure my Dad had enough skill and expertise to do the job himself, and he did do much of the task himself, but he allowed his son to feel empowered with skills to make and offer suggestions while Dad �took a back seat�. This is truly an amazing thing, for it shows the humility of my Dad and his generosity for love, to allow a son to empower his home.
It�s a great thrill to do things for God, even though God could do them Himself. But He doesn�t want to. It seems God gets more satisfaction empowering us, to save others, than He Himself saving them.
OK maybe Bob you are lucky to have a great Dad show you models of what God is like, but what about the hypocrites?
Mt 23:13 � But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
What is a hypocrite ?
A hypocrite respects strong authorities only out of obligation, not because they love the authority.
For example
Wicked men drive under the speeding limit only in the sight of police, and speed up after all memory of the police is gone.
If we truly loved the safety belief rule of driving, we would drive safely all the time without fear of a police infringement notice.
I believe most of us as drivers do have the attitude of driving safely our cars.. So how come the police can trip up even the best drivers occasionally? Because the letter of the law is different to the attitude of love towards the law. The what ?
The letter of the law of driving is this �Thou shalt not drive faster than 100 Km/hr at any time, except on motorways which is a maximum of 110 Km/hr�
The belief rule in our minds is this �Drive at speeds considered safe for your present driving�.
This rule is an attitude belief rule and controls our driving for any car, for any time and for any road condition. It�s strange that one can still drive legally at 100 Km/hr in the blinding rain despite the dangerous road conditions.
So if we use the letter of the law, I am guilty of driving over the speed limit many times just like any person. So legally all have broken the speeding law and thus have �sinned� in speeding.
Some people boastfully come around saying they have never had a speeding ticket so their driving skills are better than mine.
Hypocrites are people who measure their humans powers of achievement based on other humans.
Why must we competitively be better than other people? Self exaltation is the worse kind of sin any child can have in the hands of his Dad. Imagine me steering the wheel of the car into a tree just to show off defiantly against my Dad�or doing things my Dad would not do, to show off boastfully.
Such as racing down the road at break neck speed�. My Dad took a risk to let me have the steering wheel and hoped his love investment would return successfully back to him with Bobby�s humble driving�.and it did�at least with me�. But sometimes when others take up God�s power and God�s name they use it for vanity and for presumptuously showing off�.
Now if I drive by the belief rule �Drive at speeds considered safe for your present driving� rather than following the legal letter of the law; than I can safely say I have obeyed the speeding rule all the time.
Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Here we are not driving our cars based on the 100 Km/hr limit, the letter of the law, but on the attitude of safe driving, to drive as safely as I can based on present road conditions. This attitude of driving frees me from the letter of the law and I can drive as safely as I like because I follow an attitude of safe driving, rather than a legal speed limit. This creates a better driver because he or she is not spending all the seconds watching the speedometer; rather they spend the seconds watching the road safely.
However the legal laws are still around telling me to slow down should I willfully decide to drive over the legal maximum speed limit.
Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Grace is undeserved kindness given as a gift by strong authorities to their subjects, when they sin.
I am ever grateful for my Dad in giving me time and time again another change to be a honourable son despite my broken relationships with my Dad and the terrible times we had together. But we also had great times together. And it is the good times not the bad times that fosters our love relationship. Our memories block out bad times because we continue to love the relationship and preserve the relationship no matter what. Sure my Dad and I love an argument or two, and have differences of opinion, but our relationship is not broken because of our differences. My Dad continues to hold out his hand of respect to me despite our differences, and this hand of friendship is called grace. I do not buy my Dad�s respect with gifts of money, or charity acts of kindness.
My Dad has a special interest in me because he procreated me, and I am biologically of his own flesh and blood.
The same is true for the strong authority in heaven, he too came as a woman born as humans are born and died to save sinners from the second death.
Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Jesus chose to be born under a woman, and live in our human world, to redeem and save us from Satan�s world, so we can if we want to live in God�s world once again. Nobody can argue that God does not care about us on earth because God sent his Son and He suffered more than any of us.
Now to a word nobody likes. Religion. Defining this word is not easy.
Religion is a strong authority our human minds worship because the strong authority is saving us.
We have already seen how secular strong authorities� save us because they care for their subjects. My Dad cared for me while I was a child growing up in my Dad�s home
.
Religion is not much different from secular strong authorities, except humans go the extra mile to worship the strong authority who is saving them. They are as my Dad says infatuated with their strong authority, or they go overboard. I have never worshipped my Dad as a religious strong authority. But I do respect and honour my Dad as a secular strong authority.
There are many different religions in the world. They can be divided into two types because of one factor. There is a strong authority called Jesus Christ who came from heaven was born as a human being died a horrible death on a cross and rose again from the dead, thus Jesus can give eternal life to anyone who believes in his strong authority over death. All other religious strong authorities do not claim to have risen from the dead. Their religious beliefs instead use the idea that the soul never dies, and seeks another level of existence in some spirit form or is reincarnated as another entity. This tells me all these other religions are market brands from Satan who told a remarkable lie that deceived mankind into sinning, thus breaking their relationship with God.
Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not dying die:
So can religion deceive us? Do we all worship some strong authority who claims to save us from death? Most us of like the idea of living forever, it appeals to our selfishness to continue doing as we wish forever. Should not religion be about living? After all when Jesus was about to die He promised another dying man, the incredible promise of paradise living in Jesus that very hour!
Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
So I don�t worship Jesus because He will give me eternal life after I die, but because He gives me paradise living day after day. It is a joyous tremendous inner peace basking in his paradise.
Notice how quickly this paradise was granted to a dying man who knew little about God.
Luke 23:39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Every day is a miracle I thank God for, to spend another day in His grace.
In the closing remarks of my letter to my Dad, I will discuss how different people living in GOD as their strong authority are in fact different, but this does not make them hypocrites. The Bible says we all grow as trees when we believe in God as our Strong Authority.
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