On This Rock is a look at something Jesus said –
I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
It’s written as though you, the reader, are Peter. And the time is now, not 2,000 years ago.
Imagine being told this by the leader of the revolution:
Congratulations!
You have successfully figured out rule #1. Since you’re the first to do it, your task now is to get the rest of the world to believe rule #1. No pressure, but the fate of the every living person hangs in the balance.
There are too many people for you to do this alone – so you must get others to help you. All of you will be hated, tortured, and rejected for what you believe. Some will actively work against you. Others will just not care.
Either way, all of those who don’t believe rule #1 will die.
Your task is simple – and yet difficult. But I know you will not back down. You will come to wish you hadn’t been the first. You will even deny knowing rule #1. But you will turn back to me – and complete your mission.
As you know, I have already won. You will join in my victory – along with everyone else who comes to believe rule #1. I cannot be with you physically, but I will be with you until the end. You and those who believe rule #1 with you will be my representatives in this battle. I will see all of you at the celebration feast at the end.
On this rock
Sounds like the intro to Mission Impossible.
Or maybe the start to a really cool video game.
But this isn’t a movie.
And it’s not a game.
All the world’s a stage.
And all the men and women merely players;
The quote is from As you like it, by William Shakespeare.
This isn’t about a play either.
Let’s change that a bit – and say that all the word’s involved in an epic battle between good and evil.
And whether they believe it or not, all the men and women are involved.
Failure to accept their part in this battle means the player will lose, by default, due to lack of interest.
No – this isn’t a movie. Or a game. Or a play.
This is about real life. Or death.
Your life. Or death.
Actually, everyone’s life. Or death.
It’s the backdrop to this scene –
Mt 16:17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
This is a three part series. When I started it, I kind of had an idea where I thought it was going to go. While writing it, I eventually realized that it wasn’t going to be close to what I expected. It’s so much bigger.
That was more than three years ago – November, 2015.
It’s now February, 2019. Lot’s of things have changed.
One thing that hasn’t changed – it’s still about real life or real death.
One thing that has changed – most of 2016, one of our little guys – Dewey, a Shih-Tzu – went through treatment for lymphoma. It was an incredible up and down 8 months. During those months – the traditional chemo approach failed. At the end, when it should have been going into remission, it came roaring back. He was accepted into a trial for a new drug. One of the conditions for getting into the trial is no chemo of any kind for a week. Talk about the cancer roaring back. After a week totally unchecked, we were praying that he even lived long enough to start the trial.
Ultimately, Dewey didn’t make it. He did start the trial, and the drug was acting very quickly. Unfortunately, the cancer went to his brain. Because of the make-up of the canine body and this drug, the drug cannot get to the brain. So once it went there, the only humane thing to do was put him down. He went from OK to suffering within a matter of hours.
Why do I bring this up?
It’s really let me look at my relationship with God – viewing it through the eyes of Dewey’s relationship with me, my wife, and all the people he has come across during his chemo treatments, emergency room visits for side effects, and others. It’s a real look at something that may be as close as we’ll ever see of God’s unconditional love – this side of Heaven.
It’s really affected the way I look at life – at God – at the importance of winning the battle discussed on these pages.
BTW – to read more about Dewey, check out the Learning From A Dog series. All of them are about members of our “family”. Dewey is the pensive looking “Ewok” clone, and the one running on the grass. I definitely invite you to read all of them – especially if you’re a dog person, or more properly a “dog’s person”.
On this rock is written as a fantasy. Not because it is – but because people seem to be into that genre now.
That may sound weird to some. Maybe sacrilegious to others, although, the Jewish leaders had a hard time with the way Jesus conducted His revolution – so maybe I’d be in good company doing it like this. Still others will just be turned off. That’s OK.
Jesus had a different message for different people – so why shouldn’t I? And if you don’t get His message from me, there are plenty of others out there who are involved as well. It doesn’t matter who you hear it from. What matters is that you get to hear it. After that – it’s between you and God.
As God told His disciples at the time –
Mt 10:11 “Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
So if you don’t like my approach – please don’t blame Jesus. This one probably just wasn’t for you. However, I feel led to write this for Jesus – so it must be for someone. If it’s not your thing – I’ll just shake the dust off and move along. No problem. But – please do look someplace for His message. As you’ll see – here or somewhere else – you are involved, so it would be good to know what you’re into.
So – here we go —
On this rock – what it’s about
It’s not just about Peter. It’s about us.
I realized that we do all have a part in this.
Those who fail – obviously lose.
But it seems that those who pretend that either they can choose to not be involved or pretend that it doesn’t even exist, actually are just as involved and culpable as those who take an active part. (Sorry – have to stay tuned to get details on this.)
The four parts are –
- Intro & Prologue (this page / below)
- Justice – why the law and Justice are so important to “the rock”
- You Are Peter
- On This Rock … Build My Church
Hope you like it and learn from it.
And – for some – that it will change the way you live your life.
I’ll update the links as the new versions are published.
Prologue
The revolution began nearly 2,000 years ago. Peter was our very first “human only” leader. Yes – there was another who was human as well, but his father was one of the ancient ones, so we look at him differently.
If you’re not familiar with the ancient ones, it’s actually kind of a misnomer. There was only one ancient one. And yet, somehow that we still don’t really understand today, He appears to us as something called a trinity. Three-in-one. Those three are the one called father, his son, and the spirit of the ancient one.
The events that made the revolution necessary took place thousands of years before that. Oddly enough, those very same events came with a prophecy that a revolution was to come.
A long time ago
A long time ago, in a dimension located right here in our own galaxy, the ancient one that we now call Father walked with the very first of our kind. They lived in a place called Eden – literally a paradise.
But there was another creature there. One who looked like he should have been a prince of the light, but who would eventually come to be called the prince of darkness and would be the prince of the earth.
He tricked the residents of Eden into having an election of sorts. He wanted to be their leader – to replace the one called Father. In this “election”, he ran the very first smear campaign. He lied about the one called Father. He lied so well that the residents of Eden never bothered to check with the one called Father to verify what was said. It was unanimous. The residents rejected the one called Father.
Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Ge 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
Ge 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Ge 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
The one called Father accepted the election results, although he vowed to eventually correct this injustice. Since the one who would be called the prince of the earth had lied in the election – there was a price to be paid. Since the residents believed his lies, and didn’t even bother to check them out, there was a price to be paid. Justice had to be served. This was an absolute requirement for the one called Father.
Ge 3:14 … “Because you have done this, …”
As I said though, there was a ray of hope. An indication that this terrible result would eventually be corrected, that the future ones of our species would be given hope for the future.
Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Because so much wrong had been done, and because Eden was such a paradise, the residents had to leave Eden. The one called Father could not have them stay in Eden any longer. So he drove them out – and hid Eden from their sight.
Ge 3:23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
No – Eden was not destroyed.
For more on the “Eden Incident”, please see Why were Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden?, Free Will in the Garden of Eden, and The “knowledge of evil” versus “actual evil”.
Yes – it is still hidden from sight – even from us today, these thousands of years later. Although we have learned about dimensions other than length, width, height, and time – and can pretty much prove they exist – we still can’t see into them. Many who are sure these dimensions must exist still refuse to accept that Eden could possibly be hidden in one of them. The lies from that first election continue to have an impact on us.
For thousands of years, the one known as the prince of darkness has continued his smear campaign against the one called Father. It is well documented. But still – like the Eden incident, many refuse to believe that this battle exists at all. Most unfortunate. Because we are all in it, whether we know it or not. More effects from that first lie and first election.
Against this onslaught, the one called Father has continued to provide a message of hope. Again – many reject it – as they have all along. And yet, for those who can see – it’s there. Here is but one example –
Isa 42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.
There’s that justice thing. Obviously, it really is important. It would be best for us to remember that.
Isa 42:2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
Wow. No shouting or raising his voice. That’s so different. It will be really nice. So many in the world go for that kind if thing. I, for one, can’t wait to get away from it.
Isa 42:3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
So calm. Won’t break a bruised reed or even put out a smoldering candle wick that’s already 90% out.
But there’s that justice thing again.
Isa 42:4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope.”
Justice. Yet again. And out hope will come from the law upon which that justice is based. We’d better check out this justice idea and see what’s the big deal.
This one who is coming – the promised one – who will have the Spirit of the one called Father –
He is our hope.
He will bring the justice that has been needed ever since the Eden incident.
Justice – a short side-trip to understand the rules and why they’re so important.
It’s really tempting to get right into justice here. But I’m not going to. It’s important enough that it deserves it’s own separate pages.
Regarding that idea of hope coming through the law though. People talk of the timing of God. How it seems to be so perfect. Just last night, here in 2019, I started reading a book by Francis Chan. It’s called Erasing Hell. It’s about, among other things, how people try to subvert the importance of justice. The Bible says Hell is a real place, and it’s for eternity. Many try to say that either it’s not a real place, or that it’s temporary.
But there’s nothing to indicate those thoughts are true at all. Nothing. They’re just wishful thinking.
Dewey’s death was tough. Not entirely unexpected. But tough. Yes, he was a dog. A very special dog. Like part of our family. We hold out hope, as you can see in the Learning From A Dog series, that we’ll still see him in Heaven. That’s not a sure thing at all. I admit, a lot of wishful thinking goes in there.
But for a person. A spouse. A child. A parent. A relative of any kind. A close friend. Maybe even a stranger. When the end of their life comes, so we want to rely on wishful thinking? Or do we want some assurance?
That’s what this series – On this Rock – is about. Assurance. For you, the reader? For someone else? You’ll have to stay with is to find that out.
Getting that straight is important. Without the law, without justice, and without the rock, none of this makes any sense. So that’s going to be the new “part 2” of the series. Everything else will slide down one spot.
The promised One did come to us.
As expected, he was rejected by many. He was hated by many. He was killed.
But the hope he brought still runs strong in some of us.
Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
Jn 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Jn 1:6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
Jn 1:10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Jn 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jn 1:15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ” 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
The leader of the revolution
Yes, this leader, this Jesus – he was the promised one.
He is the one quoted at the beginning, talking to Peter.
Mt 16:17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
This was our leader – talking to the first one of us to understand his message. Something that Peter learned from the one called Father. That same Father – whose Son is our leader, Jesus – also promised to make us His sons and daughters.
That is our hope.
Continuing to spread that message of truth and hope – to overcome the smear campaign of the one known as the prince of the earth – that’s the task given to Peter.
No doubt, as you’re reading this today, you may be wondering how all this could have happened.
For instance – how can that smear campaign actually work? Well – back then, there was no 24-hour news network. Not that it would really matter, because even today most people just watch the ones that report the news they want to hear. Lies can be told just as easily today as back then.
Or – what about the communication problem between The Ancient one, Adam, and Eve? What about email? How about texting? Facebook? If all else fails – even voice mail? Well – none of that existed either. Not that it really works any better today – we all use blocking, rules, and have a quick delete finger to bypass anything we don’t want to see. Besides that – the Ancient One had this idea that He and the early ones like us would actually walk through life together and communicate face to face. It’s not like today – where you see a whole family sitting at a table in a restaurant with their cell phones – and you wonder if they’re actually communicating with each other via those phones?
Yes – it was a strange world in the ancient days.
And yet – not all that different than today.
In Part 2, Justice of the rock, we’ll look into why justice is so important.
Hope to see you there.
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