Category: Miscellany

A Tale Of Two Travelers

I’ve spent the entire day at the airport.  My wife and I arrived at 9:30 a.m. for our 10:50 a.m. flight. First, it was delayed for nearly three hours.  Then, once we boarded, our plan was stuck in line on the tarmac for an hour waiting to take off because of the weather. Our plane then pulled out of the line because we had a mechanical problem.  When it couldn’t be fixed, we taxied back to the gate where we waited and later deplaned when the flight was cancelled.  Not good.

By the time those of us who had been on the flight got into the long line back at the gate to try to find alternative flights to our destinations, it was 4:30 p.m, and it looked like it would take an hour before we reached the desk to find out our options.  People were not happy.

While standing in line, I overheard a man behind me on the phone, explaining in a loud, angry tone to whomever the events of the last 7 hours.  He blamed the airline for making us wait out on the tarmac for an hour and for making us wait while they tried to fix the problem and then for not canceling the flight sooner.

As I tried to tune him out, I heard another man directly behind me also talking on the phone, explaining to someone what had happened.  His voice was calm and pleasant.  “Brother, it’s all good,” he said, “It’s better they cancelled the flight than that we all end up with our heads between our knees on landing.  It’s for the best.  We’ll see you when we get there. Lord bless you.”

I suspected the second man was a Christian, and I was right.  Over the next 30 minutes I engaged him in conversation.  It turns out he and his wife were on their way to a Christian conference.  He had a delightful attitude and he even drew a smile from the airline representative, who had been dealing with angry customers all day.  It made me proud to be a Christian.

As I write this, it’s 7:45 p.m. and I’m still stuck in the same airport.  It’s not clear whether our new flight will be cancelled. It’s ok though because there are more important things, like being a good ambassador for the King and His kingdom.  GS

The Conversion of Norway

In yesterday’s blog post, Kingdom History:  1000 A.D., I mentioned that a number of conversions of European leaders leading up to the end of the first millennium changed the course of history.  This is the story of one of those conversions.

The English had been repeatedly attacked and plundered by the Vikings. So, on September 8, 944 A.D., when he stood before London after beaching his ships at the mouth of the Thames, King Olaf Trygvesson of Norway expected a large tribute from the English king, Ethelred.  Olaf and his men rode through the hills of Sussex and Hampshire burning villages, “laying waste the lands, putting numbers of people to death by fire and sword, without regard to sex, and sweeping off an immense booty,” records one English chronicler.  Finally, Ethelred gave in and agreed to pay an enourmous sum of money to King Olaf.

While waiting for the deal to be consummated, Olaf heard of the skills of  a local prophet and decided to test the prophet’s skills.  King Olaf dressed one of his men of similar build in his royal attire and sent him to the prophet.  The prophet said, “You are not the king, but I advise you to be faithful to the king.”

Olaf, intrigued by the story, decided to check out the prophet for himself.  The prophet told Olaf he would be a “renowned king and do celebrated deeds.”  He then told Olaf he would soon suffer a mutiny, would be wounded and carried to his ship on his shield, but after seven days he would recover and be baptized a Christian.  The prophet added, “Many men will you bring to faith and baptism.”

Shortly thereafter, the mutiny took place, Olaf was wounded and recovered in seven days just as the prophet had predicted. When King Olaf returned and asked how the prophet had obtained such wisdom, he replied, “The God of the Christian has blessed me.”  With that, King Olaf was baptized.

King Olaf and King Ethelred then met as brothers in Christ at Andover and Olaf promised never again to make war against England.  King Olaf then returned to Norway to Christianize the pagan land.   GS

Tiberius Caesar on King Jesus

Tiberius Caesar was Roman Emperor from AD 14-37, that is, during the earthly ministry of Jesus.  The Roman governor of Judea from AD 26-36 was Pontius Pilate, who reported directly to Tiberius.  Given the miracles attributed to Jesus, it’s reasonable to assume Pilate spoke to Tiberius regarding Jesus.  And in fact that’s what Eusebius reports.

Eusebius, the first great Church historian, writing in the early fourth century, states that Pilate, in accordance with the custom of rulers of nations to report unusual occurrences to the emperor, transmitted to Tiberius an account of the circumstances concerning Jesus’ miracles and resurrection, a report that was already spreading throughout Palestine.  Tiberius, apparently persuaded by Pilate’s report, submitted the matter to the Senate with the request Jesus be recognized as a god.  However, the Senate had not investigated the matter fully and rejected the request.

Pilate’s report must have had some effect on Tiberius though because he did not encourage persecution of Christians during his reign and actually threatened the death of those who did accuse and persecute Christians.  As a result, the kingdom of God advanced more freely than it might have otherwise under a more hostile ruler.

None of this is to suggest that Tiberius was a Christian. To the contrary, he was a perv who kept a harem of boys to use as objects of his sexual perversions.  When he finally died, even the Romans rejoiced.  What it does show, assuming Eusebius’s report is correct–and there is no persuasive reason to believe it is not–is that the evidence for Jesus’ miracles and resurrection was compelling enough to find its way to the most powerful earthly ruler of the day.  GS

Napoleon on King Jesus

Thought you might find this quote interesting:

“I die before my time and my body shall be given back to the earth and devoured by worms.  What an abysmal gulf between my deep miseries and the eternal kingdom of Christ.  I marvel that whereas the ambitious dreams of myself, Alexander and of Caesar should have vanished into thin air, a Judean peasant–Jesus–should be able to stretch his hands acrosss the centuries and control the destinies of men and nations.” 

Napoleon Bonaparte

An Introduction to the Blog

Jesus taught more about the kingdom of God than any other subject. Jesus spoke to His disciples, the general public, religious leaders and even Pontius Pilate about the kingdom of God. He preached the kingdom at the beginning of His ministry, throughout His ministry and even after His resurrection. In the gospels alone, the word “kingdom” appears 125 times—more than the word “love” (58 times), the word “faith” (29 times) and more than the word, “salvation” (8 times). Preaching about the kingdom of God was more than an important issue to Jesus; it was at the core of His purpose. (Luke 4:43).

Given the ubiquity of the kingdom in Jesus’ teaching one would expect most Christians to have a clear understanding of the kingdom and how it works. Nothing could be further from the truth. Misconceptions abound. Some think the kingdom of God is coterminous with the Church, while others think the kingdom is heaven. Jesus made it clear it was neither. This website will attempt to bring some clarity to the concept of the kingdom, operating on the assumption that if Jesus spent so much time teaching the kingdom of God to ordinary people that it is possible for ordinary people to understand it.  GS