Kingdom Principles

Introduction

kingdom . Everything Jesus said and did—His prayers, teachings, healings, and miracles—was focused on a kingdom, not a religion. Jesus was preoccupied with the Kingdom; it was His top priority, His heavenly mandate. Those to whom He came first, the Jews, misunderstood Jesus and saw Him as a rebel, a misfit, and a fanatic. In their minds He was, at best, a misguided rabbinical teacher spreading heresies that contaminated the teachings and laws of Moses and Judaism. In truth, they had reduced the message of Moses to a sophisticated religion where strict observance of the laws became more impor tant than the original purpose for those laws. And they expected Jesus to do the same. The original intent of God’s mandate to Moses was not to establish a religion but a nation of people who would love, serve, and honor God—a “ royal priesthood [and] a holy nation ” (see 1 Pet. 2:9). The Muslim misunderstands Him as simply another in a line of prophets who was a great teacher, a good man, and a great prophet, but who fell short and failed to deliver the finished work of redemp tion to mankind. The Hindu misunderstands Him as a good teacher, a good man, and just another deity to add to their list of gods to provide a serv ice in their need for spiritual security. The atheist, agnostic, and humanist see him as a mere man, an historical figure, whom a group of misguided men transformed into a god and an object of worship. They acknowledge that Jesus exist ed but deny any of His miracles as well as His claim to divinity. The media, scientists, and secularists see Him as fair game for investigation and criticism. They acknowledge Him as an interesting subject for arguments, theories, discussion, and debates while ignor ing His divine claims and questioning His validity, integrity, and sometimes, His very existence. Christians have misunderstood Him as the founder of a religion and have transformed His teachings and His methods into customs

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