“All authority...on earth has been given to me.”
- The New Boss
GOOD NEWS! Tyrants are so OVER.
That's right, there's a new boss in town.
Actually, he's been in charge for thousands of years already... But, unfortunately, his press agents got sidetracked and dropped the ball. They've done a marginal job of informing the public of the change at city hall...
The King has arrived... (Source)
~There's a New Boss in Town~
by Duncan Cary Palmer
I'll caution you right off the bat;
if you haven't already, you might quickly catch on to where I'm going with this.Why should that be a problem?
Well, once you catch on, you're likely to stop reading. And if you stop reading now, you'll miss out on something truly novel * and spectacularly good. Even if you stick with me and read this all—if you don't clear your mind and really listen carefully—you're still likely to miss the point.
And, my friend, that would be a crying shame.
A couple millennia ago,
something utterly unprecedented happened. The Creator of the universe and all it contains—Jesus/God himself—entered creation as an infant. He spent a lifetime on our planet, demonstrating what a real man ought to be.When the PTSB (Powers That Shouldn't Be) violently ended his life, Jesus' death served as a necessary sacrifice, one that would make complete amends for all the shortcomings of all who would believe.
After three days in a stone-cold tomb, Jesus proved himself to be God Almighty by rising spectacularly from death, never to die again.
But you've heard it all before, right?
If you're a Christian, probably. Even if you're not, you've likely heard some form of this message, perhaps tagged as "the gospel (i.e. the good news)." And that message is correct as far as it goes. Unfortunately, it doesn't go far enough. There's more to the message, more strikingly good news that seems to have fallen by the wayside.
There's an important component of this good news about Jesus that hasn't been reported, either sufficiently or accurately. The missing part is the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Aren't you sick and tired of tyrants?
I've been trampled on all of my life. (If you have the interest, time, and patience, you can read an autobiographical account of the highlights here.) Beginning in the year 2020, the Covid debacle has opened the eyes of many to the inherent tyranny of the human state at all levels—local, county, state, and national.
And so, here's the really good news for anyone who's feeling oppressed:
None of those self-appointed tyrants have any moral, God-given authority to command you to do or not to do anything.
Despite what you've been taught (and may have believed all your life), the currently existing governments, a.k.a. states, that claim the right to run everything, to rule over you, are nothing more than illegitimate gangs of thugs.
The only power they have at all is the utterly unjust, raw power to rob, hurt, and enslave you. Everything you may have been told suggesting that either God has or "the people" have authorized the state to do that dirty work is a lie from the deepest, darkest pit of hell.
LISTEN UP:
Here is the crux of the matter.
Drop all your preconceptions.
Pause.
FULL STOP...
What I'm about to present is perhaps the most important, possibly even novel * assertion I make in this article:
The manifest purpose of Jesus/God's people is to form self-governing assemblies/communities constructed upon the biblical principles of a purely voluntary, cooperative society. These assemblies are to show the world, by both instruction and example, how to thrive.
We are not to support or substantively participate in the failed kingdoms of this world, which are based upon satanic principles.
Instead, we are to be and become a decentralized, distributed, replacement governance system that acknowledges only the sovereign authority of King Jesus, denying allegiance to any other jurisdiction, territorial or otherwise.
Did you get that?
ALL existing states/human governments as we have known them are illegitimate, ungodly, and corrupt beyond redemption. NONE of them are "authorized" by Jesus/God; they merely exist in his providence and sovereign will, in most cases as disciplinary agents that he uses to refine his people...
Theological theories such as "Two Kingdoms" with its notion of "dual citizenship," and a dichotomy between civil and ecclesiastical spheres of authority are based on false (or wrongly applied) distinctions and are utterly unworkable by their very nature.
We need to focus on biblical distinctions instead. Christians are, with respect to all earthly kingdoms "strangers" and "foreigners," while simultaneously being "fellow citizens with the saints."
Implementing God's Kingdom demands that we leave the kingdoms of this world in the dust of history by establishing something utterly superior to and independent of them all, making them manifestly obsolete. Only as we begin to do this, as we begin to "seek first the Kingdom of God," will the masses of humanity—now oppressed by the beast kingdoms—begin to see and be drawn to the true King and his people.
This is not your father's theonomy. Not a theocracy. This is a movement toward an authentic thearchy.
God willing, in the days to come, I will continue to write essays and articles in support of this core assertion (you'll find them here). I believe that the preponderance of scripture—given proper translation and exegesis—supports this thesis. I also hope to lay bare some of the fundamental, unspoken assumptions that have created a very shaky and questionable foundation for "the way things are."
So, say hello to the New Boss... King Jesus.
Actually, he's been The King for almost two thousand years, though the church has largely dropped the ball on manifesting that truth. And the really good news is that he's a benevolent King. He's tendered a very generous offer, one that (as of this writing) is still available to you, Dear Reader. Listen to what the One, True King says:
“I, Jesus, have sent My messenger to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take the water of life without cost. - Jesus
If you've actually read (and considered) my essay thus far, you undoubtedly have comments and questions.
Bring 'em!
Ideally, get yourself a HIVE account—you need one anyway—and you can interact with me in the comments below. I need your feedback as I move forward, writing other articles about the Good News of Jesus/God's Kingdom.
The Kingdom arrived two thousand years ago...
Isn't it time we started living like it?
~=~FIN~=~
* In the above article, I assert that I'm presenting something truly novel. The particular idea I believe novel is my conviction that God intends the church ( i.e., the local gatherings of Jesus/God's people) not to merely influence but to literally supplant all levels of the human state as we have known it, to replace all the "kingdoms of this world." I will truly welcome any evidence to the contrary (i.e. evidence that this is not a novel idea) from any quarter, as I long to coordinate and collaborate with any and everyone else who may see these truths in scripture!
Well done! And what splendid opportunity on Hive to share the good news.
Amen, brother. Noah had the right idea.
https://oceanbuilders.com/
BROTHER MATT!
What a lovely and blessed surprise to hear from you today! ❤️
To be totally transparent, personal consideration of the sea-steading movement has contributed to the thought processes that have eventually lead to my epiphanies about the Good News of the Kingdom of God... Thanks for sharing https://oceanbuilders.com/. To it, I shall add https://seasteading.org, where I particularly appreciate all the video presentations...
While I'm persuaded of the scriptural foundation for (almost) every word in this essay, and while I would absolutely be promoting these ideas regardless of all else, here's a tad of the backstory:
Thinking about all the concepts of seasteading got me thinking about the genuine benefits of the history and
existing laws of the United States, and particularly about the widely recognized doctrine of "separation of church and state."
Churches in the US, in particular, have a lot of support/protection from the depredations of the state. If we would only recognize that the state is literally irrelevant, we could immediately begin building up the Kingdom of God/The Heavens in very practical ways. All it would take would be for our assemblies to recognize that we have that authority and power, and for us to begin sheltering our congregants from state-engendered robbery and slavery.
Great to see you her. Blessings, my friend. I hear terrible stories from 'down under,' and pray you and yours are managing? Let me know.
Thanks. Its surreal here in Adelaide. The more populated East Coast has suffered a massive amount of government over-reach. Personal liberties are being trampled almost gleefully.
We've had a few, multi-day lockdowns. Never more than a week. I only wore a mask for the second time yesterday (kids parent-teacher interviews at school; first time was a plasma donation).
I've not downloaded any apps, or even pretended (as many do) to scan my way into businesses. Haven't been tested, but then I haven't been told to.
I think the "easy wins" for jabs in arms are in the more densely populated parts of the country. People who can be starved into compliance.
I'm literally looking at a small mob of kangaroos on a nearby hillside, as I'm typing this.
Big river running through a national park nearby, full of fish; and the ocean's only a few miles away. It wouldn't be fun, but I could feed the family fairly easily if push came to shove.
The local sentiment, on twitter has shifted; many of the early opportunists seeking a quick virtue signal, have started to quiet down.
Many conservative, older Christians I know, have been emboldened to publicly criticise the state and police, which is something I've hoped to see for a long time.
NSW is barring non-vaccinated people from church, which I think will backfire spectacularly. Too many places of worship, too few cops willing to kick doors down. Fewer in a month or so when half of them are fired for not getting jabbed.
It has a very end-game feel to it. Like they know they're running out of steam. They know the narrative is unravelling, and that freedom lovers are co-operating and co-ordinating.
It's like the less capable they are; the more things they threaten to do, in a last ditch attempt to demoralise a few extra percent of people to get got.
There's a wide gulf between what politicians can write on paper, and what they can convince Aussie cops to actually enforce.
Don't get me wrong, our tourism industry won't recover for decades; and the world is right to point to us as a dystopian nightmare, but there's a lot more pushback from the public than what's apparent from a distance.
Hey, Matt,
Thanks SO MUCH for such a comprehensive response...
Even in the darkness, these bits of light are encouraging.
Bro, I would treasure any insights/comments you may have with respect to the details of my "Kingdom thinking." I really need engagement on this. I've never considered myself a 'prophet' of any sort; however, I'm somewhat overwhelmed with the feeling that I have a message here; and I have some other (more private) writings that I would gladly share with you, given some more private channel... Discord? Signal? Wire? Even an email. Let me know if I can reach you, if you have any interest, through an alternative, even more marginally private, medium.
Meanwhile, I hope you'll find a chance to review the other couple of articles on my Kingdom Library Page...
Blessings!
I'm mattclarke#6202 on discord. Send a friend request first.
I'm no theologian. I know where I stand, and I know where I'm going, but I get stuck weighing different interpretations. It's just never been a big focus for me.
If we were to end/avoid/escape the nation state, while still collectivists at heart, we'd just end up building a cult around the bible. Anarchy has to be a person by person awakening.
I'd rather share a new community with an anarchist agnostic, than with a collectivist Christian.
I tried "friending" you on discord; apparently your account is set to "reject?"
I'm creatr#0884, please friend me there, and I'll copy you on some prelim writings...
Thanks for your added comments here; no worries, I'm merely an "armchair theologian" myself, but as I read the NT in Greek I can't escape what I believe Jesus' holy spirit is teaching me...
I couldn't agree more; nevertheless, I have this vision (in a metaphoric, non-literal sense) of the assemblies of Jesus beginning to recognize the truth, and beginning to act in a biblical/Kingdom-first way.
A truly decentralized, distributed, voluntary collection of groups of people who have seen the faults, felt the oppression of the beast, and who begin to follow Jesus and to trust him to direct them and coordinate them. I hope, God willing, to write much more about what I see. The theonomists are very close to the truth in these matters; they just need to be brought into the more biblical, voluntaryist fold... They have no illusions about the evils of the state; they are simply deluded about some remnant of it's non-existent validity.
The vision I have is one of the "church" with no centralization, no collectivism apart from The Head who works and directs "over all and through all and in all..."
Matt, I'd highly value your interaction on this... 🙏