The Tangent College
As I am reading through the Old Testament once again in various places, I am having my mind transformed on many levels. Some of these are very deep, difficult to get into, and nuanced.
In short, Israel goes through many phases:
The first phase is when they are brought out of Egypt by Moses.
Secondly, they wander in the wilderness for 40 years because of their disobedience and unwillingness to know the God that brought them out of Egypt.
Thirdly, after conquering part of the promise land, they continue to be ruled by judges of which Moses was the first. Repeatedly during this time they worship and serve other gods – the very gods of the people that they were supposed to eradicate – and are delivered by various judges, some righteous and some unrighteous. But once again, repeatedly, they turned away and did not want to know their God. This was foretold by Moses. Deut. 31:16- 17 this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. “Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they shall be consumed, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?’
Fourthly, in order to be like the nations of which they were supposed to eradicate, but failed to do so, they demanded of Samuel that they should have a king. This is the crucial juncture which I would like to talk about this Wednesday evening because so much can be learned from this. Again, hope you can all make it and we can have a lively discussion about what the Bible says that few want to read. Samuel is the last of the judges and is the great transitional figure between the fledgling “holy” Republic of Israel and the newly rising kingdom of Israel.
This parallels with America who, in my view, transitioned from a Republic into an empire starting in the late 1800s and coming into full flower after the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan in 1945.
Since that time, conservatism no longer means conserving the Republic or the Constitution or “We the People”. That would be more aptly called “classical liberalism”. But this is a term that confuses people because they do not realize that the American revolution was a move against the crown of England and thus a move to the left towards liberating the people. Almost all conservatism now could be defined as neo-conservatism and it is only interested in conserving the Empire, the presidency, and keeping America great and powerful throughout the world.
I have said many times in these emails but I will say it once again because it is so crucial to understand:
The United States has assumed completely the role of the former British Empire. It is absolutely a true statement today to say that the sun never sets on the United States Empire. We rule the world in the same way that the British Empire did for centuries.
English is the common language of the whole world. In this way, the new Tower of Babel is being built again by this singular accepted world language. As Tom Petty would say in his song “It’s good to be king, and have your own way / It’s good to be king, whatever it pays”. I fully admit that it is a wonderful thing to live in America during the Empire. We have the whole world in our hands. MAGA!!!
But the neocons cannot seem to grasp how some people in this world do not wish to be “hugged” (or “mugged”
by America.
Zionism is the theology of the Anglo/American Empire. Most Christians buy into this and yet as I read the Bible more and more, my mind is being opened up to realize that this is merely a religious construct and that the truth lies elsewhere.
Samuel was the last of the judges, and one of the few truly righteous judges who had direct connection and a relationship with God. As Israel begins it’s kingdom phase, there is a separation between the idolatrous religion and the worldly nation.
The fifth stage of Old Testament Israel is when the last of the Kings are killed and the people are led into captivity in Babylon. The kingdom is ransacked never to rise again. After the Babylonian captivity, Israel cobbles together what is left of their confused and idolatrous religious practices until Jesus Christ brings the new covenant.
The kingdom of Israel has a new King. He is the King of Israel, the King of Judah and the King of the entire world but His kingdom is not of this world. Everyone who calls themselves a Jew must bow to King Jesus. He is the most humble and lowly and noblest of all Kings as He first lays down His life for the people.
Jesus Christ was not anointed by Samuel as David was, but was rather anointed by the Holy Spirit directly.