After the unfortunate fall of Adam and Eve [ Eden, ] humanity has been through this long process [ not so long, when viewed from the Eyes of Eternity, ] for the redemption of individuals, the re-establishment Eternal Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven, and the restoration of the part of Creation affected by the fall.
Since no one has been made perfect yet during the past and present stages of the evolutionary process, on this side of Eternity, great leaders have, not only, the ability to accept the truth and the fact that they themselves are a work-in-progress, but the developed maturity and wisdom to work with other imperfect individuals.
The Perfect One, The King of Kings, who’s incarnation, life, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, enthronement, is widely celebrated this weekend, exemplified great leadership through His unwavering commitment to the Eternal Cause, and in the process of advancing it, transforming the individuals from His primary inner circle, as well as most of the people He interacted with who were ‘open’ to the reality of His Essential Nature and Eternal Kingship, as it is clearly recorded on the accounts of His “first advent.” For instances, the wealthy chief tax collector [ Luke 19:1-10, ] the adulterous woman [ John 8, ] the woman who’ve had many husbands [ John 4, ] … Peter, one of His main disciples [ Matthew 26:33–35; John 21:17, ] … among many others historical accounts, without mentioning the countless encounters before and after His “first advent,” like His interactions with individuals documented on the Old Testament, the conversion of Paul [ Acts 9 ] documented in the New Testament, and the ongoing work that He is presently doing. “… remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age.” Eternal King of Kings [ Matthew 28 ]
While it is true that we won’t fully grasp and comprehend the depth, breadth, … multidimensionality, … of what He accomplished through His crucifixion and resurrection, until we have a complete view of reality and the perfect understanding that is yet to be attained, those who’ve tasted the experience of the rebirth, spiritual development [ evolution, ] and the truths of the Eternal Kingdom’s New Covenant, have also experienced the truth and mystery of the cross …
“… Pontius Pilate: What is truth, Claudia? Do you hear it, recognize it when it is spoken? | Claudia Procles: Yes, I do. Don’t you? | Pontius Pilate: How? Can you tell me? | Claudia Procles: If you will not hear the truth, no one can tell you …” The Passion of The Christ
“After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!” And many women were there, watching from a distance.” Matthew 27
May we continue to live and learn to lead from and in synchronicity with the Invisible/Eternal King of Kings, the firstborn among the Sons and Daughters of the Eternal/Universal Kingdom, as we’re been prepared to “… reign for ever and ever.“ Revelation 22:5
Happy Easter/Passover 2019!
Recalling President Ronald Reagan’s Easter/Passover radio address to the Nation on April 2, 1983:
My fellow Americans:
This week as American families draw together in worship, we join with millions upon millions of others around the world also celebrating the traditions of their faiths. During these days, at least, regardless of nationality, religion, or race, we are united by faith in God, and the barriers between us seem less significant.
Observing the rites of Passover and Easter, we’re linked in time to the ancient origins of our values and to the unborn generations who will still celebrate them long after we’re gone. As Paul explained in his Epistle to the Ephesians, “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. So then you were no longer strangers and aliens, but you were fellow citizens of God’s household.”
This is a time of hope and peace, when our spirits are filled and lifted. It’s a time when we give thanks for our blessings — chief among them, freedom, peace, and the promise of eternal life.
This week Jewish families and friends have been celebrating Passover, a tradition rich in symbolism and meaning. Its observance reminds all of us that the struggle for freedom and the battle against oppression waged by Jews since ancient times is one shared by people everywhere. And Christians have been commemorating the last momentous days leading to the crucifixion of Jesus 1,950 years ago. Tomorrow, as morning spreads around the planet, we’ll celebrate the triumph of life over death, the Resurrection of Jesus. Both observances tell of sacrifice and pain but also of hope and triumph.
As we look around us today, we still find human pain and suffering, but we also see it answered with individual courage and spirit, strengthened by faith. For example, the brave Polish people, despite the oppression of a godless tyranny, still cling to their faith and their belief in freedom. Shortly after Palm Sunday Mass this week, Lech Walesa faced a cheering crowd of workers outside a Gdansk church. He held his hand up in a sign of victory and predicted, “The time will come when we will win.”
Recently, an East German professor, his wife, and two daugthers climbed into a 7-foot rowboat and crossed the freezing, wind-whipped Baltic to escape from tyranny. Arriving in West Germany after a harrowing 7-hour, 31-mile journey past East German border patrols, the man said he and his family had risked everything so that the children would have the chance to grow up in freedom.
In Central America Communist-inspired revolution still spreads terror and instability, but it’s no match for the much greater force of faith that runs so deep among the people. We saw this during Pope John Paul II’s recent visit there. As he conducted a Mass in Nicaragua, state police jeered and led organized heckling by Sandinista supporters. But the Pope lifted a crucifix above his head and waved it at the crowd before him, then turned and symbolically held it up before the massive painting of Sandinista soldiers that loomed behind. The symbol of good prevailed. In contrast, everywhere else the Holy Father went in the region, spreading a message that only love can build, he was met by throngs of enthusiastic believers, eager for Papal guidance and blessing.
In this Easter season when so many of our young men and women in the Armed Forces are stationed so very far from their homes, I can’t resist recounting at least one example of their sacrifice and heroism. Every day I receive reports that would make you very proud, and today I’d like to share just one with you.
While the San Diego-based U.S.S. Hoel was steaming toward Melbourne, Australia, on Ash Wednesday, its crew heard of terrible brush fires sweeping two Australian States. More than 70 people were killed and the destruction was great. Well, the crew of this American ship raised $4,000 from their pockets to help, but they felt that it wasn’t enough. So, leaving only a skeleton crew aboard, the 100 American sailors gave up a day’s shore leave, rolled up their sleeves, and set to work rebuilding a ruined community on the opposite end of the Earth. Just Americans being Americans, but something for all of us to be proud of.
Stories like these — of men and women around the world who love God and freedom — bear a message of world hope and brotherhood like the rites of Passover and Easter that we celebrate this weekend.
A grade school class in Somerville, Massachusetts, recently wrote me to say, “We studied about countries and found out that each country in our world is beautiful and that we need each other. People may look a little different, but we’re still people who need the same things.” They said, “We want peace. We want to take care of one another. We want to be able to get along with one another. We want to be able to share. We want freedom and justice. We want to be friends. We want no wars. We want to be able to talk to one another. We want to be able to travel around the world without fear.”
And then they asked, “Do you think that we can have these things one day?” Well, I do. I really do. Nearly 2,000 years after the coming of the Prince of Peace, such simple wishes may still seem far from fulfillment. But we can achieve them. We must never stop trying.
The generation of Americans now growing up in schools across our country can make sure the United States will remain a force for good, the champion of peace and freedom, as their parents and grandparents before them have done. And if we live our lives and dedicate our country to truth, to love, and to God, we will be a part of something much stronger and much more enduring than any negative power here on Earth. That’s why this weekend is a celebration and why there is hope for us all.
Thanks for listening, and God bless you.
Note: The President spoke at 9:06 a.m. from Rancho del Cielo, his ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif.
The original Passover, found in the Bible, is a memorial to God passing over the houses of the children of Israel when He killed the firstborn of man and beast in Egypt. This miraculous event and its meaning occurred during the night of the fourteenth of the Hebrew month Nisan. It is not a memorial of the Israelites’ exodus out of Egypt.
“On that night I will go through the land of Egypt, killing every first-born male, both human and animal, and punishing all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood on the doorposts will be a sign to mark the houses in which you live. When I see the blood, I will PASSOVER [ from where we get the term Passover ] you …” [ Exodus 12 ]
The Bible meaning of the Passover, for the New Testament Christian, revolves around the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is a memorial of His death as the true Lamb of God. Believers partake of unleavened bread and wine in remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus’ beaten body and shed blood. The ultimate sacrifice for our redemption. [ Hebrews 10 ]
An account demonstrating the reality of the Eternal Kingdom’s justice, after the temporary body one of Jesus Christ’s friends, John the Baptist, was unjustly decapitated:
LETTER OF HEROD TO PILATE THE GOVERNOR.
Herod to Pontius Pilate the Governor of Jerusalem: Peace.
I AM in great anxiety. I write these things unto thee, that when thou hast heard them thou mayest be grieved for me. For as my daughter Herodias, who is dear to me, was playing upon a pool of water which had ice upon it, it broke under her, and all her body went down, and her head was cut off and remained on the surface of the ice. And behold, her mother is holding her head upon her knees in her lap, and my whole house is in great sorrow. For I, when I heard of the man Jesus, wished to come to thee, that I might see him alone, and hear his word, whether it was like that of the sons of men. And it is certain that because of the many evil things which were done by me to John the Baptist, and because I mocked the Christ, behold I receive the reward of righteousness, for I have shed much blood of others’ children upon the earth. Therefore the judgments of God are righteous; …
Hell Weekend | The Gospel of Nicodemus
Christ’s Descent to Hell Before His Ascension
“… And I know now that he is Almighty God who could perform such things, who is mighty in His dominion, and mighty in His human nature, who is the Saviour of mankind. …
… AND while Satan and the prince of hell were discoursing thus to each other, on a sudden there was a voice as of thunder and the rushing of winds, saying, Lift up your gates, O ye princes; and be ye lift up, O everlasting gates, and the King of Glory shall come in. …
… While [ King ] David was saying this, the mighty Lord appeared in the form of a man, and enlightened those places which had ever before been in darkness, And broke asunder the fetters which before could not be broken; and with His invincible power visited those who sate in the deep darkness by iniquity, and the shadow of death by sin. …
… Then the King of Glory trampling upon death, seized the prince of hell, deprived him of all his power, and took our earthly father Adam with Him to His glory. …”