Posted on 01/21/2011 3:01:25 PM PST by pastorbillrandles
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.(Psalm 2:1-3)
The first two Psalms go together. Perhaps it isn’t immediately apparent, because in some ways they are completely different, but I believe the Holy Spirit led those who placed them side by side as the opening of the Psalter.
Psalm one examines a lone individual, a God worshipping , scripture meditating disciple who has made a serious break with the thinking of his day. He is separate internally, he seeks other counsel than the prevailing opinions, he loves to be constantly re-oriented in his soul to the Word of God.
He is described in the singular, whereas the “ungodly”, the “sinners and the scornful” are pluralities in the Psalm. The assumption is that it is their worldview which is the prevailing thinking of the day. This one stands alone, and nourishes himself by a different fountain than everyone else.
The second Psalm, on the other hand, looks at the whole world. The entire planet is in a state of revolt, led by its political, educational, and religious leaders. The nations of the world are in turmoil, and their populations are gripped by an empty illusion,( A vain imagination). Traditional restraints are cast into the wind, a kind of social revolution is taking place, led by the elite on all levels.
I believe that though this Psalm has been fulfilled in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, involving the collusion of Pilate, Herod, and the corrupt high priests of Israel, (Acts 4:25-28) there is a further eschatological application of it as well. This Psalm is a prophecy of the geopolitical and cultural reality at the time of the coming of the Lord in Glory to Judge the world in Righteousness.
The nations are definitely in an uproar, indeed, “the heathen Rage“. Consider our times,
China rages, for it is awakening after two centuries of humiliating subjugation by western colonial powers,(the opium wars, etc), the harrowing World War 2 experience, a massive social upheaval , Communist revolution and the pragmatic decision to Capitalize their economy while remaining a totalitarian communist entity .
The perception is that it is time for China to take her place as a world power, increasing her presence in the competition for African resources, oil and gas, military dominance of the Pacific region , etc. China’s generals are bellicose in their pronouncements about their ability to reach cities like Los Angeles with their missiles. To the long remembering Chinese, there are definite scores to settle.
Russia also rages. The desire for the former glory as a world superpower has catapulted former KGB operative Vladimir Putin into a popular icon in Russia. The Russians have been newly empowered by oil money, they are re-arming at an alarming rate, and the brutal crushing of Georgia, in the final days of the Bush presidency was reminiscent of the worst of the old Soviet suppressions.
Russia also sees itself as a player in the middle east, arming Syria ,Hezbollah controlled Lebanon, and aiding Nuclear Iran in spite of world sanctions.
The Muslim World rages also, due to several converging factors. The rebirth of the State of Israel, and its successful repelling of invasions by combined Muslim armies has humiliated and inflamed the Moslem world. The existence of Israel, a modern, secular, western democracy in the very heart of the middle east is an affront to Muslim pride.
To make matters worse, the secularizing trend that swept the Moslem world after World War 1 has been seen as a failure in the Ummah, and perhaps even the cause of Islam’s failure to eradicate te Jewish state. As a consequence, Islamism has swept the world,in the form of Wahhabism, a puritanical Sunni version of Islam. It has been fueled by oceans of oil money , pouring out of Saudi Arabia, literally radicalizing once complacent Muslims from Indonesia to California, causing havoc.
When a Christian is revived and becomes more like Jesus, good things happen, people are helped, healed, encouraged, virtue is promoted and everyone benefits. When Muslims are revived to become more like the pirate and murderer that they consider to be ‘the perfect man’, bad things, terrible and even violent things happen.
The Nations of the World are in an uproar, Africa is turbulent, India and Pakistan are both Nuclear, and hate each other with a passion, Shia Islam has conducted the first successful modern Jihad, with the help of the Jimmy Carter administration, pulling the rug out from underneath the Shah of Iran. Europe is literally dying, due to birth control and abortion, and the Western democracies are going broke, thanks to the failed Socialistic policies that became widespread after World War 2.
This is the setting of Psalm 2, where the attention is turned to the leaders, the Kings of the earth, and the rulers.
There's still time.
Not gonna happen..It would be like asking me to stop loving and turn my back on my child and parents....
Funny that you would want him to.....
You cannot remove Love and Joy from a person’s heart, when you do, you get a world we seem to be living in...
Violence, War and Mahem...
Just thought you might have wanted to return to YHWH, that’s all. But, He already knows who belongs to Him and he won’t force you to return.
Nice chatting.
Great point by point posting....well done again...magritte
Thanks Netizen...a great summary for my new-found faith...magritte
Thank you...
I am happy where I am at....As you are..That is what counts...
Nice chatting with you as well...
Tara..
Thanks...I always try anyways! ;o)
I dont hate him. Not at all. There are obviously things he taught that are helpful to mankind. Some that are not helpful. The bottom line is that he did not do the things required of messiah to do....hence the second coming. No man can be crowned King Messiah until AFTER he has performed all the required tasks. It is you my FRiend that is putting yourself in peril by worshipping a man. Deut 4:15
It is not a problem. It isnt as if G-d didnt know that there would be exile!
Hosea 3:For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.
There are other exile passages as well. The point is, G-d knows. And G-d will return the Jewish people to their land. (occuring now) The Temple will be rebuilt. Sin sacrifices are returning. The preisthood is returning. The law is taught by the Priests. And this time, only the physically AND spiritually circumsized will be allowed in the Temple grounds. All of this is in Ezek 44.
Simple. A) When I see Psalm 2....I know where Pastor Randles is headed. I am well versed in passages in the JEWISH scriptures that Christians like to say are about Jesus. So I know where he is headed. He will get to the point in Psalm 2:7 He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.
That is not about Jesus it is about David...just like G-d calls Solomon His son and Israel his son.
Then he will bring up Psalm 2:12 Kiss the son....In the Hebrew it is not even close to that.
So, I am here to defend G-ds word from mistranslation. I would argue that most Christians have no clue that their bibles are tampered with.
Hey blasater1960, I’ve been reading this thread and have a few questions which I would like to see your take on.
1. You state, correctly, that Jesus was not the first person resurrected and that others before were resurrected. My understanding is that all of these resurrections were by a direct action on God’s part. In other words, only God can resurrect a person from the dead. If that’s the case, how was Jesus resurrected since he was sealed inside a tomb and, if He was ungodly as you and others here have alleged, why would God raise Him from the dead, seeing that this action would cause confusion among the faithful.
2. We are told over and over and over that the Bible we use is incorrectly translated, yet the very first Christians were Jews who accepted that Jesus was the Christ after being taught this from passages in the OT. I understand that the people in these times would not have had the education that we benefit from today, but I also understand that a Jew from the time of Jesus would have been very leery of any act that would have excluded them from life centered around the Temple or Synagog, as it was the center of Jewish life at that time. How do you explain this willingness to give up everything that they had to follow Jesus if there were any doubt at all about His claims?
3. You (at least I believe it was you, I may be mistaken) earlier made the claim that YHWH is not a man and the idea of a Triune Godhead is a pagan idea imported from Greco-Roman sources. I disagree, but would like to see how you answer this question. We, as Christians, believe that there is a single God, with seperate yet intertwined portions. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that this Triune nature is reflected in our own nature as men in that we have a Mind that guides and rules us (much like God the Father), a Body that exists on this world (much like God the Son) and a Soul that, being given to us by God Himself, is always wanting to be reunited with our Creator and desires to do His will (much like God the Holy Spirit). Even in the OT, we see YHWH the Creator, His Holy Spirit and the Angel of the Lord (Exodus 3:4 calls Him ‘elohiym) who is listed as God and treated as such, but not YHWH. How is that not the same thing that we, as Christians, have been saying all along?
So ? are you in the future with the Anti-Christ going to persecute Christians because you hate them ?
Woah, you’re out of line on that last one. While I don’t agree with Blasalter on this, I do know that he’s been unfailingly kind and reasonable in all my dealings with him. Your last post was, frankly, childish and immature and we don’t need that in this thread.
Yes, you’re the one who’s out of line. Blasater is a known Jew, do you really expect him to act like Christ really is who He said He is?
You’re acting like those who aren’t Christians should act like they are and then are offended when they won’t. The reason that it’s not out of line is because that is what he honestly believes. He’s not a troll, he’s Jewish and deserves your respect, even if you don’t think so.
Even St. Paul stated that he’d gladly give up his salvation if it would mean the salvation of the Jews. If he was willing to go to that length to see them realize who Christ is, why are you antagonizing their descendants?
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