Kings and/or Priests

Some of the most exciting proclamations in the Bible are controversial among believers. Revelation 5:10 is a good example.

Here are the basic differences in translations of this passage. (LINK)

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."

King James Bible
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Now I'm no theologian and this is no exegesis but some views, despite sounding good, don't follow Biblical patterns and themes.

There are people who subject themselves to the leading and discipline of God. People who like Job have found who is really in charge. People like you and me. They agree with the "kingdom of priests" translation.

Then there are people who think God wants us to control, take over, dominate earth. You know, Adam lost it and we are taking it back. On the extreme end of this thinking are the Dominionists. We as Christians should take over the government, business, etc. The most extreme believe Jesus will only return once we take over. Others are only "helping" His return along. I suspect some think our taking over is the return of Jesus (Jesus is within us kind of thinking). Whether they even believe in a physical return of Jesus is unclear. These people like to read "kings and priests." The king part fits their dominion theology. So unlike Joseph, who influenced government and Pharaoh, they want to be Pharaoh. Unlike Daniel, who influenced government and Nebuchadnezzar, they want to be Nebuchadnezzar.

Most Christians drift back and forth between these two positions (or hang around the middle) depending on their situation or who they are listening to.

So I was just thinking that I am no longer fuzzy about my position. I'm no king. There is but one king ... The Christ of the Ancient of Days. I may be a priest, created to fellowship with and worship the King, but I'm no king.

I know what you are thinking ... it says we are reigning. But we reign as priests, not kings.

This may be a BigHugeThing.

The Odds of Intelligent Life in the Universe | Universe Today

The Odds of Intelligent Life in the Universe | Universe Today: "The Odds of Intelligent Life in the Universe"

Written by Nancy Atkinson


"When it comes to contemplating the state of our universe, the question that’s probably most prevalent on people’s minds is, “Is anyone else like us out there?” The famous Drake Equation, even when worked out with fairly moderate numbers, seemingly suggests the probable amount of intelligent, communicating civilizations could be quite numerous. But a new paper published by a scientist from the University of East Anglia suggests the odds of finding new life on other Earth-like planets are low, given the time it has taken for beings such as humans to evolve combined with the remaining life span of Earth."

BHT finds it interesting when proponents of an old universe (by man's clock) believe finding intelligent life in space is unlikely.

Republican (Grass Roots)

Father/Daughter Talk - A True Revelation

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and was very much in favor of 'the redistribution of wealth.'

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the addition of more government welfare programs. The objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was not easy to maintain. She said she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like others she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't have many friends because she most of her time studying!

Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your friend Audrey doing?'

She replied, 'Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She's popular on campus and college is a blast for her. She's invited to all the parties, and sometimes she doesn't even show up for classes because she's hung over.'

Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.'

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That wouldn't be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades! I've put in a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!'

The father smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to the real world. And, by the way, I'm glad those professors are teaching you to think logically instead of just reacting emotionally?'

BigHugeThing likes this take on things ... even though BHT is trying to be less political.

MyFox Chicago | Sunday Morning Sex Talk

Chad Runge Does Sex

"Two pastors on the North Side are delighting some parishioners and offending others. They are talking about sex from the pulpit. Mike Barz and Nancy Loo spoke with them."

The Shack

Generally The Shack is a worthwhile read. The love of God, the complexity of God and God's ability to turn seemingly bad situations into good ones comes through clearly. Any book that can make me cry impresses me and The Shack made me cry more than once. Not tears of sadness but tears of joy in a loving, compassionate and intensely personal God.

But one must not confuse The Shack with the Bible. The Shack reveals the complexity of God and the impossibility of humans understanding these complexities. Yet Shack love includes no punishment initiated by God. The Bible however is clear about God punishing His enemies (or who is He who come with red stained robes from Bozrah in the future, is that blood or just another pretty coat? and remember that angel who slew some 185,000 before breakfast in the past). God is unfathomably patient and forgiving to be sure but The Shack has a mushy universal feel to it. As much as we may like to have all saved (excluding Hitler of course) there is no such theme in the Bible. Some make it and some don't and one must submit the Bible to considerable torture (does it say that in the original Greek?) to make it say something else.

To simplify this complex and unsearchable God, The Shack gives us Jesus: God in human form. This is a Biblically consistent concept. And to show the forgiveness of God we see Jesus even forgiving those who crucified Him. But he also warned those who would mislead "these little ones" it would be better for them to have a mill stone around their neck and cast into the sea. Jesus warned: fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. God can evidently be a scary guy when opposed.

To be fair though, many only see God as a big mean killjoy in the sky. We benefit from trying to understand all or as much of God as humanly possible and not omit that which we don't like or makes us uncomfortable. The Shack is a good look at God in ways we may not always see Him. If The Shack is our only source of information on God, then our view of God would be incomplete. But do we really need to be so protective that we ban books and forbid exposure to ideas? The Catholics already went down that dead end road. A heart seeking after God (the Bible God) will find Him. God is sufficiently capable to assure this and He said as much. If you are looking for another God (not in the Bible) you will find that one too.

Paul Pots

Very touching. Humility with surprising excellence will do that. No wonder God is so fond of it.

Proud To Be An American

Is it un-Christian to not be proud of America? Is it un-American to not be proud of America?

BigHugeThing is a flag waving patriot so hearing slurs against our country grates to be sure. But let's face it, we all have complaints about some facet of our government, its actions or lack of action. A false picture has been painted of our country's founding and early days. Stately founding fathers, arm in arm and singing Kumbia and establishing the greatest country on earth, always fair minded, never arguing, one common and noble goal. The historical truth is far different. Politics in the early days was rough, dirty and malicious. I venture it was far worse than today, now probably moderated by our prolific media in all its forms.

Who can pretend to know just what mistakes our country has made over the years. Half the country thinks we give too much foreign aid and the other half think we give too little. How do we compare to other countries really. I read articles stating the USA compares poorly to other nations in giving and articles stating the USA is the most generous country on earth. I guess figures don't lie but lairs figure. Many think we should not have tried helping our South Vietnamese friends and many feel we were right to do so. Some think we should have socialized medicine, others view national health care as the final step to communism. Should we be in Iraq now? So who is right? I am of course and you are "right" in our own eyes and we will have the country we deserve perhaps (by majority vote of course).

So is some contrary opinion (whatever your particular flavor of complaining) unpatriotic? I'm not sure. Is it un-Christian? About that I am more certain. Christians do not have dual citizenship. Our passport resides with the Kingdom of God. We are simply tourists no matter our physical location. We are told to respect government (regardless of flavor) but to hold to Godly principles even unto death. Our citizenship is in heaven. Daniel was a great example, Joseph another,Paul and let's not forget Jesus. Maybe if we are asking the un-Christian question, we are already on the wrong track.

Much is being said now about change. One thing does not change, the Kingdom of Heaven. Christians should be accustomed to negotiating change, uncomfortable situations and circumstances because they are always in a foreign country. If we fear change maybe we have been assimilated into some foreign culture and are in danger of giving up our citizenship in the Kingdom of God (if that is possible?).

I despise any inconvenience or discomfort and fear change as much as anyone. But I see Scriptural patterns validating the value and inevitability of difficulty in a Christian's life and development. Where is our country going? All I know is there will be plenty of opportunity for trusting God and practicing our Kingdom living. There always is.