Reaching for God's Kingdom Basics: Creation's Purpose-driven Pathway

By Ronald Jean

In Reaching for God's Kingdom Basics, author Dr. Ronald Jean traces the path of challenging moments in Biblical history and provides alternative solutions to commonly misunderstood topics. Using the ancient text in a hermeneutical way, he addresses many intricate areas troubling most Bible students. This treatise contains useful devotio

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stratton Press
• Release date: May 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781648952463

Ronald Jean

Ronald Jean (B.S., Florida Memorial University; M. Ed in health Education at American College of Education; Ph.D., Jacksonville Theological Seminary). Jean is a minister of the New Covenant with twenty plus years in its cultural experience. He lives in Florida with his wife and two children. He is also the author of The Seven Feast of Israel and the Messiah 3rd Edition and The Judgment and the Sanctuary.

Book preview

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to friends and colleagues for their criticisms that precipitated areas in this book, which otherwise would have been missed.

And the LORD answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it (Hab. 2:2).

Contents

Chapter 1 The Bible

Chapter 2 Linking the Historical Record

Chapter 3 Survey of the Evidence

Chapter 4 Touring the Sacred Book

Chapter 5 The Purposeful Guidebook

Chapter 6 Gifted for a Reason

Chapter 7 Freeing the Captives

Chapter 8 The New Downtown Square

Chapter 9 The Heavenly Attorney

Chapter 10 Father of All Existence

Chapter 11 The Spirit of Our Father

Chapter 12 The Son

Chapter 13 Father and Son Government

Chapter 14 The Kingdom of Christ

Chapter 15 Before Entering a Contract

Chapter 16 Making of a Disciple

Chapter 17 Understanding the Afterlife

Chapter 18 Questioning the Afterlife

Chapter 19 Question on the Israelite Diet

Chapter 20 Question on the Israelite Diet Part 2

Chapter 21 The Kingdom’s Inspector General

Chapter 22 The King in the Kingdom

Preface

This book is the updated version of the book, Reaching for God with the Basics. Some topics sheltered in this book are among the most controversial in Christendom. The complexity is associated with the difference in modern culture to the biblical era. Philosophical viewpoints shape the culture and values upon which they are founded. These philosophical concepts influence the behavior of society. As a literacy document, the Bible contains nuances and intentions that may not always be apparent from the script. In such case, the inspiration the original writers had is needed for the apprehension of the intended lesson.

This work is a condensed simplification of controversial topics. Considering the fierce urgency of the needed edification before us, the condensation of these topics owes to time constraints in busy people’s lives. In many churches, worship is done with a low meter of truth. The truth of the Word of God is usually unintentionally left out, and ignorance thereof rules the world. Due to the multiplicity of sectarianism and confusion inundating the truth, the call to worship the Almighty, in spirit and in truth, has never been more pressing than now. Misperception is honored by the notion of every man to his opinion. Depending on the religious school a man is trained and adherence to its tenets, truancy is exercised when the truth takes attendance. In this state of affairs, the attempt to understand the Bible relies on relativism, a condition when humility is at the center of difficulty. Some believe that God has forsaken the earth (Deist), and He does not bother to instruct into the kingdom of His righteousness.

I write this book hoping that we will see the message the ancient sacred writings have and the level of our adoption of them. Its message is a simplification for the proclamation of This Gospel of the kingdom.

God loves us before we love him. For this reason, He has inspired us to labor for him. Whether one’s work for God, be good or bad, there should be no fault-finding interest (Prov. 16:7). Since God is in control, all things work in His favor. We must declare the affirmation of the scriptures without reservation. We must not prophesy in His name and vote absent on the truth. Caring for those who are out of the way should be done in a patient and thoughtful manner.

The treatment of subjects in this book is by no means exhaustive. On the topic of origins, I have only skimmed the surfaces but suffice the facts set forth. There are numerous scriptural references made to each topic for further study; however, the basic treasure of truth of the messianic kingdom is brought to view. Like Mary, I hope you will have the joy of sitting at Jesus’ feet and have a feast of truth (Luke 10:38-42).

This volume includes my selection of a few short devotional passages I used when on missionary tours. I am not for or against any author’s work used as authentication of inspiration. I quote what I think is the best of their work. There are champions of various topics treated in this book who have done fantastic and elaborated work. I hope you will find this pithy representation on the various themes acceptable. Although I am confident of what is presented in this volume, if after reading it, you think you have something that is scripturally different than what is presented, I’m willing to investigate it.

The purpose of writing this book is to fulfill the call of God to teach His word. When I was young and in middle school, my mom told me the story of how she asked God for her firstborn to be a priest. However, in my early years in high school, my fascination was not for the ministry, but it was in science. Although my mom’s wish was for me to be a priest while she was in Haiti, when she migrated to the United States, that plan got diverted to medicine. Science and medicine bridged, so I was on the way to fulfill that dream. Not completely shattering her expectations, I went to school and obtained a degree in naturopathy. I also had my Bachelor of Science degree in biology and paramedics to finish. My last secular achievement was a graduate course in health and wellness education. My passion for the word of God never dwindled. Besides these sciences, I went to theology school and obtained a doctorate in theology.

I hope that this work will be groundbreaking in bringing you closer to knowing Jesus better. Many religious writers have confirmed these truths you are about to read. My goal is to bring these truths closer home in a way they can be best grasped. Realizing the high priority for religious education in facilitating the soon return of Christ, it behooves me to make the best of this volume in the hope that it will hasten the great day of God. May God go with you in your quest to know Him better.

Chapter 1

THE BIBLE

Leadership Needed

Come to think of it, what would it be like to be born and never been acclimated to the human social environment? Supposing you were raised by a bird, a monkey, and an elephant. The bird, monkey, and elephant vowed to feed and protect you. Their languages are the only ones you know. You are destitute of human care and presence. You don’t know if another being like you exist. The mother who bore you did not provide any psychological care. There was no provision made to learn from a human being. So, you learn to mimic animals that were close to you. You may say to yourself, whoever was accountable for my existence did not provide psychological care but left me on my own, to make out of life and its purpose what I think fits. I’m left to create a moral code, to decide what constitutes right and wrong, who should be accountable to whom, who is inferior and superior, and lastly, how to resolve differences. As far as a god is concerned, we will create one. If we disagree on the gods, we will replace what we think they intended with what we can concur or agree to disagree.

On the other hand, if there is a god, we would expect him to unify us around a central theme. That way, we will work together to resolve conflicts peacefully (John 17). If there isn’t such God to provide this platform, then we are left to dream up a god or make one. We will make the rules in expectation of everyone’s compliance. In essence, there would be no god except the ones we make. If we make a psychological god of our choosing, how are we different from an atheist? Again, if we invent the whole theory of God, what will make us different from an atheist?

God must be more than just one who surrounds you with things you can see and enjoy. The true God demonstrates His strength, care, and seeks to have a real personal relationship with you. It’s like a mother and a child. A good mother supports a child psychologically. A good mother or father would not neglect to give support, teach, and discipline as necessary. If there is a good God, He must have these qualities. Sure, most children have difficulty capitulating to the regulation their parents provide. Likewise, if we deprecate God’s discipline, would He curtail His chastening mode to our liking? He would, however, reinforce His message of discipline and love toward us. To this end, God has left us a communication system called the Holy Bible. He has not left us to fantasize about him. He has not left every man to his own opinion, as in the case mentioned earlier.

The scriptures aim to explain by word, example, and illustrations God’s love toward his erring children. True, conscience plays a vital role in teaching us some crucial precepts of God. It does not, however, provides the whole required chain of truth about God or his requirements. Even for the born-again Christian, conscience does not complete the entire chain of truth needed about God. It is, therefore, necessary that the Holy Scriptures be studied, and its culture fortified in the mind of the believer.

Chapter 2

Linking the Historical Record

Questions on Ownership and Rights

The ever-changing human experience places an escalating demand upon Christians to maintain a persistent focus on gospel truths. We must realize that from the beginning of earth’s history, the Almighty God knew everything we now know. If the God of the Bible did not want us to believe that He created the world in six days, He would have made that clear in the most uncertain terms. A master needs to declare his credentials in a language that can be understood by his subjects. I am positive that God’s credentials to Adam and Eve were clear between the sixth and seventh days of earth’s birth-week. If the judgments that fell on Egypt had any truth in them, Moses and the Egyptians must have been persuaded of the Almighty’s credentials. One thing that was clear to them is, Moses’ God did not need time, mistakes, or serendipitous acts to make anything He wishes to create.

The three Abrahamic religions, Christian, Israel, and Islam have the same version of creation. Their unification view came from the Israelite Torah written by Moses 4,500 years ago. Today, we find the influence of Darwinism among some organized Jews, Christians, and Muslims. What happened before Darwin? In pre-Darwinism, a reason to be a self-sustained atheist was poorly supported. At the onset of Darwinism, the pride of atheism became fashionable. Although the study of symbiosis in nature poses insurmountable challenges to Darwinism, yet we have found many scientists left in the dark. For some, challenges on the issue have created a compromise called theistic evolution, an inadvertent concession to creationism. Though the advances in biological studies have preserved Moses’ account, those on the fence said, Not so fast, thus brewing the controversy through the middle passage of theistic evolution.

Classification Parameters

Is Darwin’s evolutionary posit science? Before classifying evolution, we must define faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (1Cor. 13:10, 12). The fact that the item is unseen lends the freedom upon which doubt, disbelief, and an alternative item may be established. The evidence comes in two ways. One way is by metaphysical evidence, an actual deep-seated conviction of the reality of an item hoped for; the other is the scientific evidence, a show of proof for the thing in hope. When we see leaves moving without touch, we have faith that some invisible physical matter or some form of energy is present, causing the motion. The evidence of movement establishes trust for the item not seen.

A hypothesis is an educated guess established upon a degree of reasonable assertions from facts. Following a hypothesis is testing through experimentation. A proven, tested hypothesis gives rise to a theory. A scientific theory is a hypothesis that survives repeated testing…, a tested explanation of the behavior of matter (Brady & Holum, 1993, p. 4). While a hypothesis is a reasonable guess based on facts often observed, a theory is an explanation established by repeated experimentation and observation. The highest grade of the scientific process is called law. A scientific law is formed when an observed behavior of matter is consistent and incontestable through repeated experimentation. For example, the law of gravity will not vary, will still show the same, and is incontestable in any natural situation. We refer to laws when we confirm an absolute observable truth.

No one was there to observe organic matter, self-forming an abundance of the twenty standard amino acids. By accident, the right type and amount (fifty or more amino acids), coming together in only the proper order, found themselves evolving into a protein of a specialized twisted chain that would eventually fit precisely, like lock and key, into an unknown biological system. Just think about blindly picking fifty-one lotto numbers among a million copies of twenty numbers in precisely the right order. These successful events must repeat at least a million times to validate even a logical assumption of evolution. What would be your chance of evolution?

Simply attaching a scientific explanation to an idea that has not undergone the scientific process does not elevate it to scientific status. The scientific alibi is experimentation by research sufficiently validates evolution. Researching evolution involves gathering data through observation of past events and drawing esoteric conclusions. The entire research stands biasedly on unverifiable posits. Although microevolution occurs by mutation that may result in disease, no experiment exists to prove macroevolution in action, no observable evidence of its occurrence. The developmental fashion in which the theory was fabricated renders it daunting to experimentation. Therefore, evolution is left to standardize its classification among pseudo-sciences.

Mosaic Record

Evolutionary scientists are like little Jonahs, working tirelessly in the attempt to run away from the inevitable. There is a direct relationship between the acclaimed evidence and irony. The deeper they dig, the more they see what they don’t want to see. They discover that natural science can only praise God. The more complexity they find, the greater their realization of the impossibility of spontaneity. In proving the status of God Almighty, we observe gaps, phenomena, uniqueness, purpose, and irreducible complexities in natural events. Said the holy scriptures, For the invisible things [atoms] of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Rom.1:20). This reference explicitly declares that the observatory indicia in nature is evidence for God’s work.

The creation reflects the power of the Creator. What kind of God would the Almighty be to disclaim His creative credibility by transposing the same to the creature as self-created? Indeed, He would not be a jealous God to do so. The evolution of the new basic order of species serendipitously appeared, as believed by some, is not an act of creation by God, as explained by Moses to the Hebrew Israelites. Evolution is not only unscriptural but an affront remark of disowning the Creator.

Viewing the Moses account, we are not testing his version of the events. Utilizing faith, observation, and scientific data collection, we are electing to yield to Moses’ account. Since none to date have explored and validated with testing Darwin’s notion of the events, they are likewise faith-based. Without an adequate understanding of biological science, some people take bits and pieces from scientists about mutation and adaptation and say, See, evolution has been tested. Change does take place. Sure, these changes can take place within a second to ten years. Why then do we need a million-years-idea to explain evolution? The purpose for someone to force down your throat the watered-down version of evolution is that the real scientific version of cellular evolution misaligns with the actual plant and animal physiology or cell biology. I cannot go into