THE GLORY OF PEACE (3. Excerpt)

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braham met the king of Peace, Melchizedek, who had established Salem, today’s Jerusalem, the city of Peace, which the Jebusites occupied. Later on, David took the city back for God. Melchizedek, most likely was one of the students of Enoch who came to earth in order to initiate God’s residence in Jerusalem. Based on this, the Kingdom of God is not in killing of animals and continual sacrifices, or peace offerings, which serve as an appeasement of God’s wrath, but choosing and becoming peacemakers. God’s Kingdom is the actual heavenly peace and a work of righteousness.

If God’s Spirit translated the evangelist Philip from one place to another in one moment (Acts 8:39) why would it be so hard to imagine that God took Enoch the same way? God snatched Enoch, (Hebrew, l’kach, to take) God snatched Elijah and He also snatched (Greek, harpazo to catch away, pluck or take) Philip. This Hebrew word l’kach was used when the Israelites were about to take possession of Canaan. God wanted them to take it determinedly and decisively. Our walk with God must be the same and based on this action, God will do His part of l’kach. That blessed peacemaking path is being paved right now.
  

[Isaiah 32:17] And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.

Confidence and trust can only manifest itself in peace, and there will be no need for more of the peace offerings. God seeks His sons the peacemakers rather than yet another sacrifice or covering of sin. I think we should rewire our brains by not falling in love with sacrifices, and the constant pleading of the sacrificial blood of Jesus, but benefit from the paid price and overcome.

[Isaiah 30:15] For thus the LORD GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, in repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength. But, you were not willing.

The nervous system—which is found in every fiber of our bodies from hair ends to the bigger organs like the liver—distributes messages of peace, or unrest. The cardiovascular system is one big bundle of nerves and muscles, which contracts and expands, and which can continue working up to 120 years and in some cases even longer. The word ‘contrition’ comes from compression and decompression, and nerves are responsible for these movements. Nerves can also block all movements, and movement means life, for “In Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:28).

Jesus said to the rigidly stuck in religion people, “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). In another place the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; Ephesians 1:13). The seal of the Holy Spirit is not a binding thing, but rather liberating. This oneness of Jesus—who called Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life with the Holy Spirit—is astounding.

[2 Corinthians 3:17] Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is liberty.      

We associate liberty with peace and happiness. The opposites are bondage, restriction and confinement. Grace is space, and God has plenty of grace because His dwelling place is boundless, timeless and endless; hence, these thoughts are liberating making us happy.

The nervous system acts like a network of rivers, which eventually spew out into seas and oceans. Nerves convey signals and messages and like rivers spew their contents into the brain, which recycles them. Oceans are responsible for the weather patterns, just as our brain is responsible for our overall wellbeing.

The unwillingness comes from the predominant addiction to warlike ways. Whether it might be in a family, school, business, politics or religion this unwillingness speaks of the limbic inflexibility.

[Isaiah 33:5-7] The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is his treasure. Behold, their brave men cry in the streets, the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

[Luke 19:41-44] When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But, now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Our chief peacemaker, the firstborn Son of God, opened new wells of peace for us. The way of peace is the path of righteousness and joy. The presence of the Holy Spirit is with the peacemaker.

The warmongers can’t hear the truth for they are too much in the contentious and strife-like part of their brain. Isaac opened up his father’s wells (Genesis 26), but other shepherds quarreled over them so Isaac went on and dug new wells; only at the fourth well the contention stopped. Isaac was a peacemaker.

[Isaiah 52:7] How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Peacemakers do not only have peace but are peaceful, and above all make peace. They proclaim peace; and whatever place their feet touch the earth thanks them for it. The earth is soaked with the blood of innocents. A peacemaker does not cry for vengeance for the true peacemaker leaves all avenging to God (Romans 12:19).

[Joshua 14:9] Moses spoke to Joshua saying, “Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God fully.”

Earlier we spoke about the blood crying from the ground (Genesis 4:10). But, Abel’s blood did not cry for vengeance; for Abel was pleasing to God, a peacemaker. The word (Hebrew, tza’ak) speaks of crying out for help, or for mercy, not for punishment, which vengeance is.

In the Book of Revelations Jesus is depicted with fiery eyes and sword in His hand and this type of Jesus appeals to some much more than the humble and coming-out-of-the-baptismal-water Jesus with the peace dove above Him. The angel with the drawn out sword was Satan and he opposed Balaam’s intentions to curse Israel. I see no logic in the Book of Revelations; hence it is there for our test.

The tables-overturning Jesus, the one in a holy rage, appeals to those who harbor images of vengeance. What about the God who never avenges foes like Nero, who condemned the first Christians to be eaten by lions? Have you thought about that yet? Actually, all of God’s enemies will be burned up and will no longer exist in neither realm. God’s holy fire will annihilate anything that is not supposed to dwell in the realm of heaven’s complete peace. Even the souls that corrupted themselves on earth, and have never repented; will be erased from existence, in both the physical and spiritual realms. This biblical fact has been misinterpreted, and falsely assumed to be a place of eternal torment, hell. But ‘burned up’ means ‘burned up.’ To lose soul means exactly that, lost forever and never discovered anywhere. 

Imagine the same Jesus who told us to love even our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44), now is imparting into us vengeful desires that go on beyond the grave.

The Book of Revelations is very complicated for it evidences John’s ambition to cut a figure among the churches. The John of Revelations is not the same John the beloved the disciple of Jesus, but a different John. God, through this book is testing all peacemakers; that’s the reason it must remain in the biblical canon. The choice is ours as to being led of the Holy Spirit, or of a man’s doctrine. Our fascination should be with the true nature of the heavenly realm rather than when the false prophet comes, the beast and the antichrist. From the same book one will choose something that matches the central truth, while another will choose a fragment that feeds only the sensationalistic disposition.    

[Ephesians 6:14-15] Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Out of this chapter the war-makers created elaborate doctrines about spiritual warfare. God does not need to fight, His glory and peace overpowers. Period. Those who do not know the way of peace know only the earthly ways of war and territorial struggles. Does God need our help? A split faith is no faith at all. All religious practices are to keep us busy. Activities that do not benefit our peaceful/righteous disposition lead to confusion, which is not of God. God is not a God of confusion, but of harmony and peace (1 Corinthians 14:33).

[Isaiah 59:8] They do not know the way of peace, and there is no justice in their tracks; they have made their paths crooked, whoever treads on them does not know peace.

While Isaiah says that his generation does not know this special, holy, and heavenly way of peace, apostle Paul quotes it using past tense: the path of peace they have not known (Romans 3:17).

The path of peace has been lost. The limbic system became stronger, since most keep accessing it more frequently than the frontal lobe. They keep on feeding that limbic wolf. The reason for it is that we are the offspring of soldiers and warmongers; we carry their genes, and are too quick to act on them. If it were that our genes don’t remember, then the heavens do remember for even science tells us that everything is being recorded in the celestial realm. It is the time to part with those old ways, and embrace the new way of peace and thus alter our genes’ makeup.

[2 Peter 3:14] Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.

What is blame, what is sin, what is unrighteousness, aren’t they warlike ways? It is all so simple and yet so difficult. The difficulty is in the warlike genes. When I write about it I get chills, streams of joy, and holy excitement. I hope that you begin to feel them too. Perhaps this knowledge can help you switch over to the frontal lobe and process things differently.

[Romans 14:17] The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Oh what a wonderful state that is. Join me. I invite all peacemakers to the feast and through the practice of peace become glorious.

The Hebrew word SHALOM is extremely rich in meaning. It speaks of completeness, soundness, welfare, completeness (in number), safety, soundness (in body), welfare, health, prosperity, quiet, tranquility, contentment, peace in friendships and human relationships; peace with God especially in covenant relationship, peace (from war). In the Holy Land Israelis greet each other with this word and say goodbye with the same, often saying it twice, shalom, shalom. They say to each other not “how are you doing” or “hello” but “what’s the sate of your peace? - Ma Shlom Ha?” So where are you with the state of your inner peace? Are all of your inner organs at peace with you and with each other? Do your creative thoughts comfort you, or make you restless?