The Spirit of God is the most powerful “Being, Force, Energy, and Source” of life in the universe. The Spirit of God made man with an “autonomous spirit” that can cooperate with the Spirit of God in managing and in redeeming the world from the evil forces, which invaded God’s creation. Satan, the archenemy of God and man, incarnates animals and man to disrupt "God’s Good Will" and the "recreation process" on earth. Pharaoh of Egypt was such a person. Pharaoh defied the existence and the power of the Most High God. And Pharaoh also hindered the redemption and the formation of Israel into a nation obedient to Yahweh Elohim, and the “LORD GOD OVER ALL.” Pharaoh was a false-self-made god. Pharaoh prided himself that he was a descendant of the sun-god.

Jesus was and Jesus is Emmanuel, God with man! Jesus was and Jesus is the only Being who can live in both worlds, the heavenly world and the earthly world. Jesus is not to be compared to any being in heaven or on earth! For there is no other "Being" through whom God and man can be reconciled:

Yahweh gave Moses a glimpse of Israel’s demise! Moses died of a broken heart. Israel’s existence did end as a curse and not as a blessing. And other nations replaced Israel's role in the world. God still continues His Covenant and His Promises to mankind!

The Heavenly Kingdom is a system of government that is to be managed by an emissary of God, the Creator. The Heavenly Kingdom was promised to come, at the time when all human endeavor had completely failed. The human endeavor began to fail when the kings and the priests replaced the Laws of God with their own legislations and their own regulations, in order to follow the desire of their hearts. Man was created with the intention to do the Will of God and not to do his own will. Man was to be a part of a "Kingdom" that was similar to the one that is in heaven. Man’s prayer was to be, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

PARTNERS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT: PART X Moses became a very crucial partner with God in the redemption history of his people. Moses cooperated in every instruction the Spirit revealed to him. More than to any one else, God disclosed His Power and His Will to Moses. Moses was born when his people were being … Continue reading PARTNERS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT: PART X →

Zechariah’s vision was clouded by the rapid change in the world’s leadership. The supporting Persians, who lifted the priests into power, were defeated by Alexander the Great. And Alexander the Great’s death raised up two mortal enemies of Judah; namely, Egypt and Syria. In particular, Syria hellenized her domain and the priests refused to submit to Syria. And as Zechariah had predicted, Judah split into two parties, which did more harm to each other than all the Greeks or the Romans. Hence, before it could get better, it became much worse. The prophet Malachi deplored the chasm, which the priests had created between themselves and between their own people. This condition was also prevalent in Jesus’ day, and the Jews practiced it even when Rome scattered them among the nations. Malachi described how God felt in “The Oracle of the Lord to Israel”:

The priests had their way from the time of Ezra --- Nehemiah to the Sadducees and Pharisees in Jesus’ day. The Maccabees were the first who had to defend their way of life against the outside intruders, who had determined to hellenize the Jews. It turned into the bloodiest period in Jewish history. And it ended in the most disastrous destruction of Jerusalem and Judaism. The events turned the Jews into world missionaries for nearly two thousand years. This all began between a priest by the name of Mattathias and Antiochus Epiphanes, King of Syria over a pig, which was sacrificed on the altar of God in the temple. The word “Maccabee” means a hammer or a club; it was given to Judas, the oldest son of Mattathias for defeating the Syrians and securing religious freedom for sixty-five years. After Judas, his brothers became the Hasmoneans, and they reigned over Judea for one hundred years (I Maccabees 2:4; 2:66; 3:1).

The Hebrew people were like a stranded crew in a wilderness. It took time for Israel to repair from the crash and proceed to their destination bound for Canaan. In the crash, the people seemed to have lost God, their pilot, and they were on their own. Yahweh, the pilot, announced:

Faith needs the Holy Spirit to see what God wants from man. And especially from those who partner with the Holy Spirit. Jesus charged the leaders of his day with spiritual blindness, for not seeing their guilt (John 9:41). Saul, who became Paul, persecuted the followers of Jesus in blind anger and hate, until the Holy Spirit came into his life. It was then that Paul discovered the grace of Christ Jesus (Acts 9). Paul began to look at faith through the eyes of grace.

Faith needs love to grow into a force that braves a person to dare to live a life that honors God, the Creator. Faith, even when it has grown, can not adequately operate without love. Even God could not operate without love, neither could God's Son, nor can man please God without love (John 3:16; 15:9-17). Love helped Paul replace his hate for Christians and Gentiles. And therefore, Paul became their servant: