21st Century Burning Bushes
Chapter 19
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The Burning Bush of God’s Kingdom and His Angels
God created a hierarchical Kingdom with Himself as supreme King over supernatural and earthly beings. Jesus came not to establish a religion, but to proclaim this Kingdom and start a revolution.
A Beautiful Revolution
According to George Boyd, Jesus’ mission wasn’t about religious beliefs, behaviors, or political agendas, but about manifesting God’s beautiful character and revolting against everything inconsistent with it—”a beautiful revolution.”
Through parables like the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price, Jesus emphasized the Kingdom’s supreme value, showing that discovering it brings such joy and recognition of its worth that one willingly sacrifices everything to obtain it.
The Kingdom’s Ultimate Destiny
Current Age
Battle between Satan’s and God’s kingdoms
Christ’s Return
Signs of imminent return and final separation
New Creation
Unified new Heaven and Earth with God’s manifest presence
This culmination represents not an ending but a beginning—the ultimate destiny for God’s people.
The Hierarchical Kingdom
Supreme King
God reigns as the ultimate authority over all creation, both visible and invisible realms.
Angelic Beings
Supernatural creatures with different ranks, roles, and abilities serving God’s purposes.
Humanity
Earth-bound beings created in God’s image with unique purpose and destiny in the Kingdom.
Consider the Lilies with Howard Snyder
Howard Snyder explores Jesus’ teaching about God’s Kingdom through the lens of creation and divine provision.
Watch: Consider the Lilies with Howard Snyder
Angels are an Elder Race
Understanding angels as an elder race created before humanity provides crucial context for their role in God’s Kingdom and human history.
Watch: Angels are an Elder Race
The Upside-Down Kingdom
God’s Kingdom operates on principles that seem upside-down to worldly wisdom—the last shall be first, the greatest must be servant of all, and losing your life means finding it.
Watch: The Upside-Down Kingdom
The Unseen Realm: The Divine Council
Throughout the Bible, there is a consistent motif involving a celestial assembly composed of divine beings who work in concert with God. The prophets held a solemn responsibility to announce the presence of God’s kingdom to the people.
The idea of a divine assembly illuminates the distinctive characteristics of an Old Testament prophet and elucidates the rationale for God’s choice of particular persons for this role. Individuals who have had encounters with the sacred are acknowledged as authentic emissaries of the divine realm.
Michael Heiser’s Unseen Realm
Read: The Unseen Realm Summary – Michael S. Heiser
Watch: The Unseen Realm Explained
Dr. Heiser’s groundbreaking work reveals the supernatural worldview of the Bible that most modern readers miss.
Kingdom Membership and Mission
Proclamation
Jesus Christ came to proclaim this Kingdom to all nations
Membership
Establishing membership within God’s Kingdom through faith
Community
Building a community of believers who live by Kingdom principles
Living as Kingdom Citizens
Understanding God’s Kingdom transforms how we live in the present age. We are called to be Kingdom citizens now, living by heavenly principles while still on earth, demonstrating the reality of God’s rule through our lives.
This requires recognizing both the visible and invisible dimensions of reality, understanding spiritual warfare, and maintaining hope in the ultimate victory and restoration that awaits God’s people.
The Call to Recognize the Burning Bushes
Will We See?
Throughout Volume III, we’ve examined the cultural, moral, and spiritual Burning Bushes of the 21st Century. From woke ideology to moral decadence, from New Age deception to secret societies, from Christian hypocrisy to God’s eternal Kingdom—each reveals something crucial about our times.
The question remains: Will we recognize what the Creator is teaching through these signs? Will we respond with biblical clarity, spiritual discernment, and unwavering faith? The challenges are unprecedented, but so is the opportunity to be faithful witnesses in a confused and hostile age.