There are
many people who do not believe in the bible or assert that the events recorded
never happened, but in actuality it is a most credible collection of writing
given its historical accounts of actual kingdoms and empires and also its’ real
depiction of the complex character of people.
It is a book as I stated before which is rooted in the grit and grime of
humanity. It doesn’t sugar coat the deeds and action of the people who are the
subject of the book or the nations around them.
It is a thematic book. One of the
overriding themes is worship, but in this article I will continue the
examination of Duality. In the previous
article, I looked at Israel’s judgment and the reasons why they were judged and
sent into exile. But I also noted that
the prophets often pronounced judgment but also God’s mercy on Israel and their
future restoration so that dual contrasting prophecies were occurring at the
same time.
As we
jettison to the arrival and lifetime of Yeshua (Jesus), we see this duality
occurring yet again. The story of Jesus has been told and
demonstrated many times in the creative arts whether in theater or via
Hollywood filmmakers albeit he is depicted as a white gentile. But there is one question that arises which
is never addressed in the films and in Christendom. If Jesus is all about love
for his people and sacrifice, why did he prophesy the destruction of Jerusalem
specifically declaring, “But woe to those who are pregnant and to
those who are nursing babies in those day for there will be great distress in
the land and wrath upon this people.” Like 21:23. Why was there
going to be wrath upon the people? When this question is answered it is to use
a phrase from the Black Authority in regards to the issue of reparations for
Black American descendants of slaves akin to cutting the check spiritually with
God-that is let us skip all the fluffy distractions and side matters which
don’t get us to the core issue of resolving the wrath that has been upon us
since the destruction of Jerusalem in 70ad.
Before I
address this question I am going to summarize the gospels as a back drop to the
most significant example of duality in that of Yeshua aka Jesus. The bible is a supernatural book in that it
chronicles supernatural occurrences in the history of the people of
Israel. It is about the human execution
of the power of God against those spiritual powers of the gods of other
nations. When Jesus arrives on the scene
he is demonstrating the full power of God over the natural and spiritual
world. He heals many people of
sicknesses and cast demons out of them.
His teaching is leap years ahead of the Pharisees, priests and
scribes. He is an outsider to the ruling
religious and political class; a disrupter of their place and position in the
wheel of subjugation by the Roman empire.
Each step of
his life brings him closer to his understanding of who he is and what will
befall him so that one day before they head to Jerusalem, he asks the disciples,
“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man
am? They responded, “some say John the Baptist, some Elijah and others Jeremiah
or one of the prophets.” He said to them
“But who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter said You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew
16:13-16. At this moment of revelation
for Simon Peter we see that Jesus is at once the son of man and the Son of God
so that the duality of Jesus person is revealed at this time. The other most significant part of Jesus’
duality is that of his death. Commonly,
in Christianity we think of Jesus as having sacrificed his life for mankind and
of God so loving the world that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16.
He is seen as the good shepherd who gives his
life for the sheep and whom the Father loves because he lays down his life that
he may take it again, that no takes it from him but he lays it down of himself
and have the power to take it again. John 10:11, 17-18. We focus steadfastly on the surreal Son of
the Living God aspect of Jesus’ death and glance over grit and grime of the Son
of Man part.
The grit and
grime of Jesus’ death as the son of man is seen when he warns his disciples on
three separate occasions that he will be handed over to the authorities in
Jerusalem to be killed. When Jesus
enters Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, he teaches boldly in the synagogues
and performs miracles of healing. He
irritates greatly the teachers of the law so much so they look for an
opportunity to terminate him. They find
it in Judas who sells him out for a mere 30 talents of silver. I’m hoping that is at least equivalent to a
$1000.00 dollars in today’s
calculation.
But before
Judas betrayal we find Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane praying. He is not engaged in casual prayer. Luke lets us know in chapter 22:42 that he
prayed to the Father that he wouldn’t have to go through with his pending
persecution, remove the cup from me Father if there’s another way; nevertheless
not my will but your will be done. In
verse 42 and 43 we see that an angel appeared to him from heaven strengthening
him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat became like
great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Dear people,
it is evident that Jesus did not relish the notion of laying down his life as
the Son of Man. He was not overjoyed at
the thought of undergoing a barbaric Roman execution. I can imagine that fear gripped his insides
and more than a few waves of doubt and trepidation washed over his soul. He wasn’t in heaven surrounded by a legion of
angels, he was on earth surrounded by callous, crappy, stone cold killing
men. Yes, he was in the theater of the
grit and grime of envy and politics so much so that when they went to arrest
him, they came as a multitude with clubs and swords as if he had been out
thieving and robbing instead of teaching in the synagogue.
We learn
from Pontius Pilate that it is out of jealousy that the elders of the people
and chief priests and scribes had delivered Jesus to him. Matthew 27:18. Pilate
tried to get them to release Jesus but the people stirred up by the chief
priests wants Barabbas a known criminal to be freed instead. When he inquires what is to be done with
Jesus, they cry, “crucify him.” Pilate is shocked. What has he done to be crucified? Crucifixion is reserved for the most evil of
actions. But he could not persuade them
as a lunatic rage had overcome the people and he washed his hands of the matter.
Question for
the audience. Where were all the people
who Jesus had healed, driven demons out of and taught in the various towns and
synagogues. Surely, there were people in
Jerusalem from the places Jesus had been doing miracles and whose lives he had
personally touched among the hostile crowd.
Could not one person have spoken out and testified to Jesus good works
and character. Jesus had to be highly
disappointed at the level of ungratefulness of his own people; at the level of
cowardice to do the right thing. This
reminds me of the Brett Kavanaugh hearing where at the height of the me too
movement the Democratic party was trying to stop his nomination by any means
necessary so much so that they found a woman who claimed to be assaulted by him
in high school. Yes, folks high
school.
They would
have gone back to pre-school if they had to given the level of animosity
against him just for the being President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme
court. With no evidence of wrong-doing
they wanted him hung out to dry. The
attacks were vicious and the witches were in full display because in their
world you are guilty until proven innocent if you are on the wrong team. Surprisingly Susan Collins was one woman who
didn’t jump on the Me Too firing squad and condemn a man with a good
professional record because a woman made an accusation with nothing more to
back it. She was not like the people in
the crowd at Jerusalem who knew better, but were too afraid to go against the
hostiles.
When Jesus
is on his way to be crucified after enduring mocking and beatings, women who
are among the crowds mourned and lamented him.
“But Jesus turning to them said, Daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for
me but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are
coming in which they will say, Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never
bore, and the breasts which never nursed. Then they will begin to say to the
mountains ‘Fall on us and to the hills Cover us. For if they do these things in the green wood
what will be done in the dry? Luke 23:27-31. Here Jesus once again alludes to a future
judgment that will not be pretty for his people, but we see in his capacity as
the Son of God as he is being crucified with criminals on each side of him that
he with voice probably hoarse and dry utters, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.”
In keeping with the tradition a duality of the
prophets proclaiming judgment and restoration we see that Jesus pronounce
judgment but also mercy by asking for the father to forgive them. If Jesus had not asked for the people to be
forgiven, If he had not loved his enemies who were his own people, if he had
not blessed those who cursed him, did good to those who hated him, and prayed
for those who spitefully used and persecuted him, I am convinced there would
have been none of his people left. As if it was a trivial thing, they walked in
the sinful ways of their fathers and just as Ahab willfully married Jezebel and
served her god, Judah willfully used the
Roman gentile system to crucify not just a son of man or prophet but the Son
exemplar, the Son of the Living God. Dear people God has an overriding concern
for justice. It is a running theme throughout
the bible.
When David
was confronted by Nathan the prophet for his adultery with Bathsheba and
actions against her husband Uriah the Hittite he lets him know that God will
execute justice on Uriah’s behalf one of which is the death of the child who is
to be born because David’s deed gave great occasion to the enemies of the Lord
to blaspheme. 2Sam 12:13,14. Since only
David and Nathan knew about his transgressors, what enemies of the Lord would
have occasion to blaspheme him. He is
likely referring to rebelling sons of God in heavenly places and to
Lucifer/Satan. So we see from David who used the sword of the
people of Ammon to kill Uriah the Hittite and God’s pronouncement of judgment
on David and his house, we see similarly Judah used the Roman system of capital
punishment to execute Jesus.
I love my people and we have many great
qualities, but a problem with us and Black men in particular from what I’ve
seen on discussion with this topic is the inability to accept responsibility
for their actions particularly as a collective.
They are more apt to blame women just as they focus on Jezebel as
opposed to Ahab when it is Ahab who sinned against God not Jezebel. She was only doing what she was raised to
do. He didn’t evangelize her to the
worship of his God, but he left his God to serve hers. It the reason why Elijah confronted Ahab and
not Jezebel. It is the reason Nathan
confronted David and not Bathsheba. Similarly,
when they are not blaming women, they blame Esau who for them are all white men
for their ills and troubles in this world. Well, the gentiles are doing what they have
been raised to do and God’s sword of justice will find and is finding those of
them for whom it is merited.
Although David
never killed Uriah directly, God is not crazy. He understood David was
responsible for his death because he set him up to be killed by a heathen army.
Similarly, David’s people set Jesus up to be killed by Roman heathens. But
Black Americans who are aware of their identity of Judah will place the blame
for Jesus’ death or ignore it altogether squarely on the Romans or gentiles or
just the religious leaders, but without anyone in the crowd ever speaking up
about the injustice of Jesus’ arrest we see that the people had no qualms about
assuming responsibility for his death for themselves and their children. And now we know why wrath visited the people of Judah and why the real Judah found in
the Black diaspora has been pinned down.
The powers
that be have a vested interest in keeping Black Americans and other Blacks of
the diaspora ignorant as to their true identity and even when they discover it
if they take the more religious route of living out their identity and faith
nothing about the status quo will change.
As for the gentiles they will continue the charade of Jesus looking like
Brad Pitt with white gentiles showing no evidence of judgment for their
trespasses against the Son of the Living God in Jerusalem. But they are not needed to end the age. Religion is void of power because it glosses
over what needs to be confessed.
When
Judah(everyone not needed) has her own garden of Gethsemane moment and confesses
to her ancestors real transgression then Yeshua will hear his people calling
and ready his battle gear and the world will move on to the third act and final
conclusion of the age and time of the gentiles.
It is not something ever in the hands of the sorcerers, magicians and
wise men of Babylon. They are not the
fulcrum upon which history turns. God does not speak to them but to his
prophets and his people the true, first and original natural and spiritual
Israel.
This article
has been longer than I thought but necessary on this Good Friday and Passover. I will continue my conclusion in the next
article. This ends my examination of
biblical duality.
To God
always,
The Glory