On this second day of "The 12 Days of Liberty," we're going to look at one of the most misunderstood aspects of Christmas and Liberty: the meaning of the word "salvation."
When the angel announced the meaning of Christmas to Joseph, the angel said Jesus would save us from something. From what?
Most people give the answer: "From hell."
But this is what the angel said
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from
their sins (Matthew 1:21)
This is actually a very different concept than being saved "from hell."
Imagine a man who needs to be saved from his sins. At one time he was viewed as a success by all who knew him. After college, he earned an MBA and
got on the executive fast-track at a Fortune 500 company. He has a nice home, a Lexus and a Hummer. But recently he has developed a compulsion to shoplift. He also can’t
control his desire to visit prostitutes. Because of his arrests for shoplifting and prostitution, he has recently lost his job. As a result of the widespread publicity of his
compulsions and arrests, he is rapidly losing the respect of his friends, neighbors, and now even his family. His wife is ready to leave him. His children are embarrassed by him,
and they have begun “acting out” in school, with grades plummeting and frequent suspensions for discipline problems. He is watching his entire life crumble in front of him. But
he can’t stop the shoplifting and the prostitutes. He says “Wal-Mart is a huge multi-billion dollar corporation; what’s a few hundred dollars worth of junk from China?” He
also says, “A man has natural desires, and my wife doesn’t respect me anymore.” But in spite of this talk, he’s miserable, and kicks himself whenever he shoplifts, even
when he “gets away with it.”
The evangelist on TV tells him that if he accepts Jesus into his heart, he can be saved from hell, and when he dies he will go straight to heaven. “Yeah,” he says to
himself, “after living the next 40 years in hell.”
He doesn’t just want to be saved from hell, he wants to be saved from his sins.
How many families experience “hell on earth” because of the drunkenness, infidelity, domestic abuse, and financial anguish caused by “addictions” to drugs, sex,
shopping, gambling, and power, while their church pastor drones on about “salvation” and going to heaven?
Must this misery continue till we die? Why keep on living? Let’s all go to heaven NOW!!
This is wrong. There is an answer to earthly misery. Christmas is the answer.
A previous generation knew these “addictions” were sinful and their painful consequences wrong. Today’s relativist generation is not even sure Adolph Hitler was wrong (“He
was acting according to his own standards”), but previous generations knew these things were wrong, and a measure of consolation could be obtained by trusting in God to bring repentance
in the life of the adulterer, abuser, or alcoholic, even if repentance never came. Moral standards give hope. But today we have lost touch with God’s standard
of holiness, and “dysfunctional” behavior is assumed to be normal, and is sometimes protected by law as an “alternative life style.” Many people today live their entire
lives engulfed in a sense of meaninglessness and moral confusion. This weakened condition leaves them vulnerable prey for the politically powerful.
The Bible promises more than “heaven.” In fact the Bible says very little about heaven, and far more about being “saved from our sins”
in this life. These promises are summed up in the term “sanctification.”
Webster (1828 edition) defined “salvation” as, “The redemption of man from the bondage of sin and liability to eternal death, and the conferring on
him everlasting happiness.”
The vast majority of verses in the Bible which talk about "salvation" are talking about a Vine
& Fig Tree society, in which people are free from their addictions to sin, and as
a result, free from the initiation of force by others -- especially "the government."
When the Angel announced that the Christ (the word means
"Messiah") who was to be born on the first Christmas would save us from our sins, and be named JESUS, the angel was being redundant. “Jesus” means “God will save.”
The name comes from the Hebrew word yasha. John E. Hartley, in the Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament
Vol 1, pp. 414-15, says this about “yasha,”
Yasha and its derivatives are used 353 times. The root meaning . . . is “make wide” or make sufficient: this root is in
contrast to sarar, “narrow,” which means “be restricted” or “cause distress.” To move from distress to safety requires deliverance. [T]he majority of
references to salvation speak of Yahweh granting deliverance from real enemies and out of real catastrophes. That which is wide connotes freedom from distress and the ability to
pursue one’s own objectives. Thus salvation is not merely a momentary victory on the battlefield; it is also the safety and security necessary to maintain life unafraid of
numerous dangers.
We will be studying this definition during "The 12 Days of Liberty." It is most
important to get a truly Biblical definition of “salvation” -- and its connection with Liberty -- into our heads.
Let’s begin with the idea that the Hebrew word for “salvation” means “make wide” or “large.”
There are many verses that say this, and yet most Christians are completely unaware of the idea that a fundamental meaning of “salvation” means “being put into a wide open
space.”
But let’s not take Prof. Hartley’s word for it. Let’s be like the Bereans, who studied the Scriptures daily
to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11). You may want to look at some of these passages
in their context in your own Bible.
(Psalm 118:5) I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.
(2 Samuel 22:20) He brought me forth also into a large place: He delivered me, because He delighted in me.
(Genesis 26:22) He moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has made room for us, and we
shall be fruitful in the land.”
(Hosea 4:16) For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: can now the Lord feed them as a lamb in a large place?
(Psalm 31:8) and hast not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; Thou hast set my feet in a broad place.
(Psalm 18:19) He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
(Psalm 66:12) Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
(Psalm 69:35) For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
In the Bible, people who truly understand the meaning of Christmas are shown to be concerned about living in a “large” land. Of course, in a more agrarian society, “large”
is better, as far as land goes. But when God promises to save us by putting us into a “large land,” it’s clear that more is included than going to heaven after living for
decades in a narrow land before we up and die. What is the modern equivalent of a “large land?” It varies from person to person, but it includes some form of economic and
political prosperity. “Liberty” and “large” are Biblical concepts we are not familiar enough with. Let’s review them and put them in our brains, so that as we read the
Bible we will be more aware of them.
Exodus 3:8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a
good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
Leviticus 25:10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you
shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.
Judges 18:10 When you go, you will come to a secure people and a large land. For God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the
earth.”
1 Chronicles 4:40 And they found rich, good pasture, and the land was broad, quiet, and peaceful; for some Hamites formerly lived there.
Nehemiah 7:4 Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt.
Nehemiah 9:35 For they have not served You in their kingdom, Or in the many good things that You gave them, Or in the large and rich land which You set before them; Nor did
they turn from their wicked works.
Psalm 119:45 And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.
Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me
to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Jeremiah 34:8 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at
Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them:
Jeremiah 34:15-17 Then you recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his
neighbor; and you made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name. 16 Then you turned around and profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male
and female slaves, whom you had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’ 17 “Therefore thus says the LORD:
‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the LORD—’to
the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth.
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
James 1:25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he
does.
James 2:12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In
vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of man and citizens. The
mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity.
It is substantially true, that virtue
or morality
is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government.
In a very important sense, we no longer have to dream of a "large Christmas," a Christmas of liberty. Throughout the Christmas story, a decidedly un-libertarian
government looms large, crushing the weak with an iron hand,
compelling Joseph and the pregnant Mary to hike to Bethlehem from their home town for the imperial census (Luke
2:1-7;), and killing all the babies (Matthew 2:16-18) in an attempt to kill a rival
king (Matthew 2:3). The corruption and violence of a government that claimed to be divine would
shock us if we could visit that age. We have become accustomed to living under a government that at least professes the ideal of "Liberty
Under God."
John Lofton has compiled some telling quotations from scholars in a previous -- more Christian -- century. What
follows is from his essay:
And make no mistake about it. Regardless of what you’ve heard regarding the alleged greatness of the ancient, Greco-Roman, pre-Christian world, there was no real, true freedom
and/or liberty during this era. None. In his book The
Ancient City: A Study On The Religion, Laws And Institutions Of Greece And Rome
(1889), Fustel de Coulanges spells out in detail the darkness of this Christless world:
The citizen was subordinate in everything, and without any reserve, to the city; he belonged to it body and soul. The
[pagan] religion which produced the State, and the State which supported [this] religion, sustained each other; these two powers formed a power almost superhuman, to which the
body and soul were equally enslaved. There was nothing independent in man; his body belonged to the State and was devoted to its defense.
For example, Aristotle and Plato incorporated into their ideal codes the command that a deformed baby son was to be put to death. And in his “Laws,” Plato says (and this
sounds very familiar today): “Parents ought not to be free to send or not to send their children to the masters to whom the city has chosen [for their education]; for the
children belong less to their parents than to the city.” And in ancient Athens, a man could be put on trial and convicted for something called “incivism,” that is being
insufficiently affectionate toward the State! Coulanges says (emphasis mine):
The ancients, therefore, knew neither liberty in private life, liberty in education, nor religious liberty. The human person
counted for very little against that holy and almost divine authority called the country or the State…. It
is a singular error, among all human errors, to believe that in the ancient cities men enjoyed liberty. They had not even the idea of it.
It is the first time that God and the state are so clearly distinguished. For Caesar at that period was still the pontifex
maximus, the chief and the principal organ of the Roman religion; he was the guardian and the interpreter of beliefs. He held the worship and the dogmas in his hands. Even
his person was sacred and divine, for it was a peculiarity of the policy of the emperors that, wishing to recover the attributes of ancient royalty, they were careful not to
forget the divine character which antiquity had attached to the king-pontiffs and to the priest-founders. But now Christ breaks the alliance which paganism and the empire wished
to renew. He proclaims that religion is no longer the State, and that to obey Caesar is no longer the same thing as to obey God.
Christianity … separates what all antiquity had confounded…. It was the source whence individual liberty flowed…. The
first duty no longer consisted in giving one’s time, one’s strength, one’s life to the State … all the virtues were no longer comprised in patriotism, for the soul no
longer had a country. Man felt that he had other obligations besides that of living and dying for the city. Christianity … placed God, the family, the human individual above
country, the neighbor above the city.
Because of this hideous tyranny, it is no surprise that self-murder (suicide) was so rampant in the ancient world. As Dr. Gerhard Uhlhorn tells us in his The
Conflict Of Christianity With Heathenism
(1899):
Heathenism ended in barrenness and sheer despair, and at last the only comfort was that men are free to leave this miserable
world by suicide. Patet exitus! The way out of this life stands open! That is the last consolation of expiring heathenism.
And he quotes Seneca, who said that “the aim of all philosophy is to despise life,” as saying, concerning the suicide option:
Seest thou yon steep height? Thence is the descent to freedom. Seest thou yon sea, yon river, yon well? Freedom sits there
in the depths. Seest thou yon low, withered tree? There freedom hangs. Seest thou thy neck, thy throat, thy heart? They are ways of escape from bondage.
To which Dr. Uhihorn adds:
Can the bankruptcy of Heathenism be more plainly declared than in these words…? With what power then must have come the
preaching of this word: "Christ is risen! The wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
And in a little noticed and seldom quoted passage from Democracy
in America, Alexis de Tocqueville says:
The most profound and capacious minds of Rome and Greece ... tried to prove that slavery was in the order of nature and that
it would always exist. Nay, more, everything shows that those of the ancients who had been slaves before they became free, many of whom have left us excellent writings,
themselves regarded servitude in no other light.
All the great writers of antiquity belonged to the aristocracy of masters, or at least they saw that aristocracy established
and expanded before their eyes. Their mind, after it had expanded itself in several directions, was barred from further progress in this one; and the advent of Jesus Christ upon
earth was required to teach that all members of the human race are by nature equal and alike.
The historian Arnold Toynbee saw, accurately, the great failing of the ancient Greeks, that they “saw in Man, ‘the Lord of Creation,’ and worshipped him as an idol instead
of God.” And this rejection of the true God —- which similarly threatens modern Western civilization —- led to Hellenism’s breakdown and disintegration. Rejecting Gibbon,
Toynbee says neither Christians nor barbarians destroyed the Roman Empire; they merely walked over a corpse.
The American Revolution might thus be said to have started, in a sense, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the
church door at Wittenberg. It received a substantial part its theological and philosophical underpinnings from John Calvin’s Institutes
Of The Christian Religion
and much of its social history from the Puritan Revolution of 1640- 1660, and, perhaps, less obviously, from the Glorious Revolution of 1689.
Put another way, the American Revolution is inconceivable in the absence of that context of ideas which have constituted radical
Christianity. The leaders of the Revolution in every colony were imbued with the precepts of the Reformed faith.
Indeed, he adds, in early America, the Reformation
left its mark on every aspect of the personal and social life of the faithful. In the family, in education, in business
activity, in work, in community and, ultimately, in politics, the consequences of the Reformation were determinative for American history.
As remote or repugnant as Puritanism may be to some, Smith says “it is essential that we understand that the Reformation in its full power was one of the great emancipations
of history.” He says the passage in the book of Micah about “every man…under his vine and under his fig tree” was “the most
potent expression of the colonist’s determination to be independent whatever the cost,…having substantial control over his own affairs. No theme was more constantly reiterated
by writers and speakers in the era of the Revolution.”
* * *
Tomorrow we'll begin looking at this idea of salvation-as-liberty in the prophecy
of John the Baptist's father Zacharias.
This online celebration is sponsored by a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization called "Vine & Fig Tree."
Our offices were destroyed by a tornado a couple of years ago. We're requesting a $12 "cover charge" for this party. Your donation is tax-deductible. No donation is
required to participate in the "The 12 Days of Christmas."
If we get 100 people to donate $12, we'll be able to pay our bills this month.
Or mail your check to
"Vine & Fig Tree" P.O. Box 179 Powersite, MO 65731
The Program 12 Days Bringing to Mind The Most Significant Event in Human History
Each day you'll receive an audio for your morning commute to work, and another audio for your commute back home. The morning audio will look at Micah's Vine
& Fig Tree prophecy, and in the evening we'll show how that vision began to be fulfilled at Christmas two millennia ago.
Day 1 - Jesus is the culmination of thousands of years of meticulous genealogical records preserved by "the Chosen People," Israel.
Day 3 - Jesus will be given "the throne of his father David."
• Luke 1:5-25 - John the Baptist prepares the way for the Messiah, as prophesied of
Elijah.
• Luke 1:26-38 - The Angel Gabriel announces the conception of the Messiah:
"And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." (Luke 1:33)
• Luke 1:39-45 - the unborn John the Baptist leaps for joy when he encounters the
unborn Messiah. Planned Parenthood attempts to sell them both for body parts. (That last part is "not in the earliest manuscripts.")
Mary sings a song of praise composed of Old Testament quotations, saying that the real meaning of Christmas is good news for the poor and lowly,
and bad news for the rich and powerful:
50And His mercy is on them
that fear Him from generation to generation. 51He
hath shewed strength with His arm; He
hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52He
has put down the mighty from theirthrones, and exalted them of low degree. 53He
hath filled the hungry with good things; and
the rich he hath sent empty away.
71That we should be saved
from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 79To
give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the
way of peace.
Day 6 - Matthew 1:18-25 - the Incarnation is explained to Joseph
"Jesus" means "salvation" "Immanuel" means "God with us"
The Prophet Micah predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Jesus'
parents lived in Nazereth. Therefore God predestined Caesar to issue a decree (probably relating to taxes) that would bring
Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem before Jesus was born. Evil empires serve God's purposes.
An army of angels announces the birth of the Messiah to lowly shepherds, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on
earth peace to those with whom He is pleased!”
The most important family on earth could not afford the top-level offering required by the law of Moses. They took advantage of a provision for low-income families.
Day 10 -
• Luke 2:25-35 - Simeon had been told he would not
die before he saw the Lord's Messiah. He says Jesus is "The One."
• Luke 2:36-38 -
Anna the Prophetess is another well-known Godly person who acknowledges that Jesus is the Child promised by the prophets. (Christianity offered a view of women which was quite
unlike that of the Empire that occupied Israel at the time.)
Day 11 - Wise men worship Jesus
• Matthew 2:1-8 - "Wise men from the East"
(Babylon, perhaps) knew of Micah's prophecy that the King of the Jews would be born in Bethlehem.
When Herod got word of the birth of a rival king, he behaved in a perfectly logical way (for someone who wants to protect his power): he
massacred all male babies the age of Jesus. Herod recognized that Jesus was a threat to Herod's power.
Each day along the way, we will compare these historical accounts of Christmas with Micah's Vine & Fig Tree prophecy
predicting:
The message of the angels to the shepherds on the first Christmas:
And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, And peace
on earth among men with whom He is well pleased. Luke
2:8-15
His lord said unto him, `Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over
many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.' Matthew 25:21
The Vine & Fig Tree Worldview
The phrase "Vine & Fig Tree" comes from the Old Testament Prophet Micah, the fourth chapter. You can find out
more about the Vine & Fig Tree Worldview on our home page:
During the next 12 days, you'll see the "real meaning" of Christmas in the Bible like you've never seen them before.
Many Christians today believe Jesus came to get us a ticket to heaven when we die. In the meantime, Satan rules the planet. Their story of the Bible goes like this:
God created planet earth;
God put man on earth to be a good steward, and transform the Garden of Eden into the City of God;
Satan tempted man;
Man rebelled against God, choosing to be his own god instead;
Satan now controls the world;
Jesus came to pay the penalty for this rebellion;
Things are going to get worse and worse;
Since Satan and man are not playing God's game by God's rules, God is soon going to take his cosmic football and go home.
In other words, Satan wins.
Pretty dismal story, isn't it?
Sure, God sent His Son, who died on the cross, so that some of the players can be forgiven for their rebellion and go home with God, but God's original purposes for man and the
creation were thwarted by Satan, the ultimate victor.
Some of George Washington's favorite passages of the Bible were those that spoke of every man dwelling safely "under
his own vine and fig tree." Other Founding Fathers also referred to this "Vine
& Fig Tree" ideal.
(George Washington would recommend that you enroll in The 12 Days of Christmas
program. He read the Bible for an hour each morning, and another hour in the evening.)
George Washington was motivated by the Vine & Fig Tree vision revealed in the Bible. Washington's Diaries are available
online at the Library of Congress. They are introduced with these words:
No theme appears more frequently in the writings of Washington than his love for his land. The diaries are a monument to that concern. In his
letters he referred often, as an expression of this devotion and its resulting contentment, to an Old Testament passage. After the Revolution, when he had returned to Mount
Vernon, he wrote the Marquis de Lafayette on Feb. 1, 1784:
"At length my Dear Marquis I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, & under the shadow of my own Vine & my
own Fig-tree."
This phrase occurs at least 11 times in Washington's letters.
"And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree" (2 Kings 18:31).
Peter Lillback, author of a 1,000-page
study of Washington's life and thought,
has found more than 40 references to the “Vine and Fig Tree” vision in Washington's Papers. "Vine
& Fig Tree" is the original "American Dream."
The phrase occurs a
number of times in Scripture. These references are visual reminders of the Hebrew word for salvation, which means
• peace,
• wholeness,
• health,
• welfare, and
• private property free from pirates and princes.
When today's Americans hear the word "salvation," they usually think about going to heaven when they die. When the writers of the Bible used the word "salvation,"
they wanted you to be thinking about dwelling safely under your own Vine & Fig Tree during this life -- much
more often than they wanted you to be thinking about what you'll be doing in the afterlife.
Vine & Fig Tree is also a phrase from the prophet Micah, the idea of everyone owning property and
enjoying the fruits of their labor without fear of theft or political oppression, of sitting peacefully under your "Vine & Fig Tree."
Hundreds of years before Christ, the prophet Daniel spoke of the first Christmas, the
birth of the Messiah in the days of the Roman Empire. That barbaric, debauched empire was destroyed, and the Kingdom of Christ began growing like a mustard tree, like leaven, like
a field (Matthew 13). The Emperor Justinian began Christianizing the Eastern Roman Empire, and in the West kings like Alfred and Ethelbert made the 10 Commandments the basis of new
legal systems. The "Common Law" began, with a Christian foundation, and eventually found its way into the Constitution of
the United States, "a Christian nation." From 12 dejected disciples, Christianity has spread across the
world, and billions of people claim to be Christian. Though there have been ups and downs, the progress of Christianity has been undeniable -- at least to those who have been
taught the facts of history.
Most Americans in the 21st century have not.
If you enroll in this Home Study Program, you will learn the story of the "Vine & Fig Tree." You will learn that the
Bible says the purpose of the first Christmas was that "the knowledge of the Lord should cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah
11:9; Habakkuk 2:14). This has been going on for 2,000
years now. This is a wonderful story that isn't being told.
And the story is really just beginning.
You're invited to celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Join our online party and accomplish the following over the next 12 days:
read the historical accounts of the birth of Jesus Christ
discover "the real meaning of Christmas" by comparing the Gospel accounts of Christmas with a neglected Old Testament prophecy (Micah 4:1-7).
The "real meaning of Christmas" is:
Peace on Earth (Luke 2:14).
Everyone dwelling securely under his own Vine & Fig Tree (Micah 4:1-7).
Jesus is the Christ ("Christ" means "messiah," or
"anointed King").
What we've already witnessed:
The prophet Daniel predicted that during the Roman Empire, a rock would crush the empire and turn into a mountain
and fill the whole earth. Jesus is the Rock. He has been reigning for 2,000 years, ever since He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father. His Kingdom is
the Mountain, it's filling the earth, and the planet is being progressively Christianized. Before He rose from the dead, He had 12 dejected and confused disciples. Today
over two billion people claim to be followers of Christ. The empire that executed Jesus soon collapsed under its own depravity.
Christians began Christianizing the world. Early kings like Ethelbert made the Ten Commandments the foundation of the "common
law" legal system in Europe. At one time the United States Supreme Court declared that America was "a
Christian nation." "Western civilization" is Christian
civilization. There have been ups and downs, but the progress cannot be denied. The Mountain is filling the earth.
Controversy:
Christ's Kingdom advances peacefully through works of service, not the
sword. A non-military, "pacifist" Messiah was not the kind of Messiah expected by most Jews 2,000 years ago. (Nor
by many Christians today.)
There are two groups that oppose this concept of Christmas:
"Premils"
"Pinkos"
"Premils" are "pre-millennialists" who believe the "millennium" (described by Micah 4 and
other passages) cannot take place until after a Second Coming of Christ, when Jesus returns and sets up a strong, military, "police-state"-style
centralized government, with armed believers dispatched from a throne in Jerusalem to put down unbelievers. "Premils" believe Christmas only secured for believers a
ticket to heaven when they die, or a ticket on "the Rapture" if they live that long. Not
global transformation.
"Pinkos" are those who believe that Jesus is not King enough to bring about the "millennium"; we need strong centralized government for that. Pinkos
call us "anarchists."
During the next 12 days, we'll find out why the Premils and the Pinkos are both wrong, and why you and I can and should work to bring "Peace on Earth" so
that everyone can dwell prosperously and securely under their own Vine & Fig Tree.
For more about the "Vine & Fig Tree" vision, see our
home page.
Vol 1, pp. 414-15, says this about “yasha,”
,
has found more than 40 references to the “Vine and Fig Tree” vision in Washington's Papers.