The Bible Is Libertarian
© 2005 Lloyd Kinder
CONTENTS
-THE PRIME DIRECTIVE OF THE CHURCH: No Exercising Dominion Over Others, by Brother Gregory -
-THE BEAST IS ANY GOVERNMENT OR RULER THAT EXERCISES DOMINION, by L.K. -
-MISUNDERSTOOD BIBLE PASSAGES ABOUT AUTHORITY, like Romans 13 -
-PRIDE: THE ORIGINAL SIN - -APOSTACY & CORRUPTION IN THE CHURCH -
-RETURN OF GODLY GOVERNMENT -
-UNANIMITY, by G. H. Lang
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Incredibly to those of us who have long been blinded by conventional authoritarian Church tradition, the bible on closer inspection proves to be anti-authoritarian, which is libertarian. In the Book of James [1:25] God's Law, which is the bible, is called the Perfect Law of Liberty. See below Brother Gregory's elaboration.
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THE PRIME DIRECTIVE OF THE CHURCH - No one shall exercise dominion over others [from ARTICLE X at www.HisHolyChurch.net] by Brother Gregory
Mat. 20:25-27 But Jesus called unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over , and they that are great exercise authority upon them. [26] But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; [27] And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Any organization, government, or trust that violates the prime directive is not the Church, nor is it a part of the Church. are entirely held in common for purposes by those remaining faithful to His doctrines and ordinances.
Mark 10:42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. [43] But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: [44] And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
Jesus wanted his called-out Church not to exercise authority, or bring people under power, but, like Moses, they were to seek to lead people to freedom under God.
Luke 22:25-29 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. [26] But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. [27] For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. [28] Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. [29] And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
assuming the office of Father stands against the teachings of Jesus. Jesus is talking about government, not religion. He is using government terms and telling his people they are not to be like governments that exercise authority or dominion . He is talking about Rome and governments like Rome.
Ex. 20:2-5 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
John 13:14-15 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. [15] For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
Serving others cleans us; domiunating others defiles us.
THE BEAST IS ANY GOVERNMENT OR RULER THAT EXERCISES DOMINION, by Lloyd Kinder
- August 1, 2005
The previous section, The Prime Directive, showed that God's and Jesus' foremost commandment is that no one exercise authority or dominion over others, except perhaps as a last resort in defense of oneself or others. In this section, we'll review biblical references to beasts for further insight on this precept of peace.
2 Kin. 14:9 And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.
The cedar may symbolize a steadfast, upright nation, the thistle a morally weaker nation and the beast a barbarous, ungodly nation.
Ps. 73:22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
Beast here probably means one who uses brute force in human relations, especially in ruling others, as Asaph was a king.
Ps. 74:13-14 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. [14] Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
Judging by the context, these great beasts may refer to formerly mighty, but ungodly, nations.
Ps. 74:18-21 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. [19] O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. [20] Have respect unto the covenant: ... [21] O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
The turtledove here appears to mean Israel, as a nation of peace. The beasts are the ungodly enemy nations or kingdoms ruled by brute force. Such kingdoms, or governments, may give benefits to citizens in exchange for loyalty, but they do not help their poor to become self-reliant.
Ps. 80:13-15 The boar out of the wood doth waste , and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. [14] Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine [15] And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
The vine refers to Israel, any Godly nation. The boar and other beasts refer again to warring, ungodly nations.
Isa. 35:8-9 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. [9] No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:
The highway is God's Way of Love, which includes the Commandments, which are commandments for loving God and our neighbors. The lion and ravenous beast are again warring nations ruled by brute force, not love.
Dan. 2:37-44 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. [38] And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. [39] And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. [40] And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. [41] And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. [42] And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. [43] And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. [44] And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
This dream predicted 5 great kingdoms from the time of Daniel, which are: Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, the last being first of iron, under the Caesars, then of iron and clay, perhaps under the popes. And God's kingdom would smash and replace all of these kingdoms.
Dan. 7:17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. [23] Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. [24] And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
In his first vision Daniel seems to have foreseen the same 4 kingdoms or empires as in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Here the beasts are clearly referring to brutal governments.
Dan. 8:20-21 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. [21] And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Dan. 8:8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
In Daniel's second vision two of the kingdoms are named. The ram and goat are said to refer to Media-Persia and to Greece. The first king of Greece referred to seems to indicate Alexander the Great, who lived some 200 years after Daniel's vision. The kings who followed him were the Ptolemy's, I think, who divided Alexander's empire into 4 parts. These kingdoms are depicted as violent and brutal.
Titus 1:12-13 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
This is a New Testament reference to beast and seems to mean what Asaph meant: a person, group, or nation, who uses brute force against others.
Rev. 11:7-8 And when shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. [8] And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
The two witnesses may indicate two nations, such as Israel and Judea, since war is not made on individuals. The beast from the pit suggests a nation founded by Satan. The great city is shown to be synonymous with Sodom & Egypt, which are blamed for Jesus' crucifixion, suggesting idolatrous nations, like Rome. Idolatry would mean having rulers other than God.
Rev. 12:3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
The dragon is another great beast. It behaves as one exercising dominion and seems genocidal.
Rev. 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
The sea sometimes means a populous area. This beast has the same number of horns and heads as the dragon, but has ten crowns, while the dragon has seven. The beast suggests again a government of dominion. The horns & heads may indicate individual kings of this government.
Rev. 13:11-12 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. [12] And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
This second beast would be another kingdom using dominion, apparently coming after the first beast and allied with it. Coming up out of the earth or wilderness seems to mean from an unpopulated region. Lamb's horns may suggest having minor kings or rulers. Some say the second beast is the United States, because it originated in a wilderness.
The above biblical references to beasts support Gregory's view that exercising dominion, instead of granting liberty, is the main problem with conventional governments.
Luke 4:5-8 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. [7] If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. [8] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Ned Netterville says "Satan here claims ownership and authority over all of the kingdoms of the world, which Jesus pointedly does not dispute. This undoubtedly derives from all earthly kingdoms' abandonment of God as their lawmaker in favor of human legislators" www.jesus-on-taxes.com>.
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MISUNDERSTOOD BIBLE PASSAGES
ABOUT AUTHORITY, like Romans 13
Rom. 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
Higher powers means God and his ministers and ordinances, not worldly rulers. God does not ordain worldly rulers, but only his ministers who do and teach his Word, or Law.
[2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Resisting man's ungodly laws does not bring judgment. Only resisting God's Law brings judgment. Many worldly rulers have had laws against God and God's Law, even against being Christian etc, so obviously this is not referring to the power of worldly rulers, but only to the power of God and his Law and ministers.
[3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rulers again means ministers ordained by God, not worldly rulers. Likewise, the power again means God and God's Law, not that of any worldly ruler.
[4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Worldly rulers are not ministers of God. His ministers teach the Word of God, which is God's Law. The Word of God is sometimes called a sword, as in Eph. 6:17 and in Rev. 1:16 & 2:12,16 where someone like Jesus is said to have a sword, meaning God's Word, coming from his mouth, which destroys, i.e. destroys the pride of, the ungodly. Ministers use the same sword, the Word of God, to rebuke evil doers. Rebuking sinners is sometimes called the Wrath of God.
[5] Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
This wrath is uncomfortable and embarrassing and manifests as ill health of body or mind. It tortures and destroys our pride. But we should be concerned not just about the pain of wrath, but also about righteousness, which is conscience.
[6] For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. [7] Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Tribute here means voluntary tithes to our ministers, who attend to our salvation. Customs may refer to tithes to other ministries, when we travel.
1 Pet. 2:11-14 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; [12] Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. [13] Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; [14] Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
This passage and the previous one in Romans 13 are often misinterpreted to encourage undue submission to worldly rulers. This passage is talking about how to behave when traveling in other nations. It says to obey the laws there that are for the Lord's sake, those that discourage evil and those that encourage righteousness. It does not say to obey laws that are not for the Lord's sake, that encourage evil or oppose righteousness. And, indeed, the Apostles did not obey such laws, such as those against preaching about Jesus and his salvation or preaching about serving God rather than worldly rulers.
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PRIDE: THE ORIGINAL SIN
Original sin was not just disobeying God's Commandment on not "eating" of a certain "tree;" the sin was also pride, which made man think he can decide for himself what is right and wrong, and doesn't need God's Word to tell him that.
Gen. 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
In the phrase, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, this tree is apparently symbolic, since no tree seems likely to be able to impart knowledge. Trees are upright and upright has a double meaning that includes righteousness, so righteousness is compared to the tree of life. Pro. 11:30 "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."
A similar feature of trees is loftiness, which can connote pride. The Hebrew word for "knowledge" in this passage can also mean cunning, which relates to pride. The word for "good" can also mean pleasure or wealth, types of self-seeking. The word for "evil" can also mean affliction and Jesus often implied that people's afflictions are generally a result of sins. God said Adam would die on the day he were to eat of the tree. Since he didn't die physically when he did eat of it, God must have meant he would die spiritually, which would eventually result in physical death as well. Sin causes our deaths and pride is a sin that blinds us to our own sinfulness. Therefore, pride is the most dangerous sin.
Gen. 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
In the Bible, god often means magistrate or judge, and, when Satan said you will be like gods, this likely means you will be like a judge, able to decide right and wrong. But Satan is false. Man, with limited knowledge and wisdom, cannot decide right and wrong. We need God to tell us this, which is why we have God's Law or God's Word, found in the bible and in the minds and hearts of his people. God gives us free will to choose between what he says is right and wrong. But choosing wrong does not make it right. Lawmaking, by Government etc, that opposes God's Word, is Us acting as gods by deciding Right & Wrong, instead of letting God decide for us. Groups and governments that make laws that contradict God's Law are acting as false gods and the First Commandment tells us not to submit to such gods.
The Bible often uses names of governments, such as Egypt, Sodom, Babylon, Rome, the beast etc to refer to wrongful Lawmaking and dominion. Terms like Fornication, Harlot, and Prostitute in the bible often refer to people who submit to such ungodly governments. Fornication in such cases means that we act as lovers of Satan. The term Israel in the bible is sometimes used symbolically to mean God's Kingdom on Earth. Those who submit to God's rule, instead of man's rule, are called Israel, faithful, the Bride of Christ, or the Bride of God.
Deu. 4:40 Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.
God's Law, which is called the Commandments etc, is given to us to help make our lives much happier and healthier, forever.
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APOSTASY & CORRUPTION IN THE CHURCH
Paul and others predicted that the Church would be corrupted by Satan's Lies.
2 Thes. 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
This passage likely referred to Nero specifically, but to other Roman emperors as well, including Constantine, who founded the Roman Church. The popes after him followed his example and always exercised dominion over the people, instead of simply ministering to them. The emperors claimed to be gods and the popes claimed that their own edicts were infallible, which is still likely idolatrous. But the Church seems to be getting closer to accepting God's Law.
2 Thes. 2:7-12 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. ... [12] they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The word for "mystery" means secretiveness as of cults and "iniquity" means lawlessness, which is disobedience to God's Law. These rulers are called lawless, because they ignore much of God's Law and make their own laws instead.
2 Pet. 2:1-2 there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. [2] And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. ... [18] For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. [19] While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
So Peter too predicted that false teachers would arise among the Apostles' followers and would have many followers themselves, teaching their own law, instead of God's Law.
In Acts 19:32,39,41, the Greek word Ekklesia occurs 3 times and is translated as Assembly each time, referring to a self-governing Greek assembly. Everywhere else in the KJV Bible this term is deceptively translated merely as Church, where it mostly refers to Jesus' followers, wrongly suggesting that they were only religious, but not self-governing. In reality the early church was most probably self-governing under God's Law and gave no allegiance to worldly rulers. This doesn't mean they necessarily disobeyed such rulers. They disobeyed only when rulers made rules against God's Law.
Acts 17:6 have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
They accused Paul and Silas of turning the world, the political system, upside down.
Mat. 20:25-26 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. [26] But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
So Jesus' system was and is upside down from the worldly system. In the worldly system the rulers exercise dominion over the people, but in God's system, the rulers or ministers serve the people. This was the intent of the U.S. Constitution, but it has been greatly corrupted at times.
Acts 17:7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
Jesus' followers made Jesus their king and obeyed him instead of worldly kings or rulers.
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RETURN OF GODLY GOVERNMENT
Any government or power that makes laws of right and wrong that disregard God's Word or Law is acting as a god by judging good and evil, which is blasphemy. Godly government does not force or coerce citizens through legislation, taxation, conscription, etc. It only ministers to the citizens, who are free to make their own decisions and who support the ministers by voluntary donations.
Rev. 18:2-3 ... Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit ... [4] And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Babylon means worldly governments. Fallen means fallen from virtue. We are advised to separate ourselves from such worldly rulers and their evil ways.
Rev. 11:15 And the seventh angel ... saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ....
This appears to mean that God will help us reform or replace our governments to conform to God's Law, instead of man's traditions. God's law is called the perfect law of liberty because it frees the people from man's evil dominion.
Mat. 3:2; 4:17 the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
This means we can live in God's Kingdom right NOW.
Mat. 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
This means God's Kingdom or government is to come on Earth as in Heaven.
Gal. 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, ... [21] ... drunkenness, revellings, and such like: ... they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
This must refer to the kingdom of God on earth. We cannot enter God's kingdom on earth, if we do these things.
Mat. 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
The spiritual kingdom of heaven cannot be taken by force, so this must refer to the people of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
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