About this episode
Jonathan Cannone is a Jesus-follower, writer, homesteader, teacher, and Kingdom worker. He wrote an article for The Bad Roman blog, The Dream of the City to Come: Do You Not Trust God?, about the Kingdom coming, both now and in the unknown future.
As Christians, we have hope. We are called to live and act peacefully, and doing this in all of our pursuits may help bring about the Kingdom to our own little corner of the world. Those in power now will not win in the end. God wins eternity. We have to remember this and take a long view of time, a God-view of time.
We know Who wins and we are on His side, all that is required of us is to continuously choose to remain on that side and not fall into the ways of this world and the false promises of man-made power and state-sanctioned violence. We know the rules of our side, Jesus showed us and told us, and it is our job, as Christians to continuously submit to our faith in his message, even when we must sometimes must obey unjust powers in pursuit of Christ.
Take this episode as a message of encouragement: politicians may seem powerful, but Jesus is the true King. As a Christain you are an ambassador for Heaven, don’t forget to act like it!
Episode Timestamps:
4:10 The Dream of the City to Come: Do You Not Trust God?
Based on a lifelong obsession with the idea that Jesus’ Kingdom is eternal, and everything else is temporary
When Jonathan was little, he loved Bible stories about the unchanging Kingdom
And he just taught 4 months of adult Sunday school on it
5:41 Handling [professing] Christians who just aren’t getting it
To see change, we’ve gotta follow Christ
He is our King
Others are still where we were a decade ago
Still clinging to hope in the government
Do we get outwardly frustrated with them or handle them with velvet gloves?
Craig explodes and starts talking about Yemen
Gets blank stares
It may be coming on a little strong
But, “People are dying because of our belief in the state as Christians.” - Craig
The vast majority of people in the world claim Christianity
If they’d stop believing in the state and follow Jesus, the difference would be huge
“About 10 years ago… I just completely surrendered my life to God and said, ‘You run things; I'm not good at it.’” - Jonathan
Before and after that point, people were dropping bread crumbs to get him where he is now
Humor and Scripture led him to understand
Also, a wise elder who was very excited about the Kingdom and not at all about the state
You don’t realize you’re being red-pilled at the time
It takes humility and gentleness to break through to doubters
9:05 It’s so obvious
It’s so much in our faces that it feels like the media is mocking us
But somehow, the guy next to us still doesn’t get it
Craig’s coworker commented that they’re trying to get us into another war with Russia/Ukraine
So he had to tell him about the war we’re already in Yemen
The guy had to understand Trump’s role in it
And the lack of corporate media reporting
The guy’s eyes kind of glazed over, but his brain wheels were turning
Even if it’s unconscious, the seed gets planted
There’s just so much information to give the normies, it’s hard to know where to start
So many different operations and people
Henry Kissinger
People have already made up their minds how to live and will not deviate
Even if gas goes up to $8/gal, they’ll still buy it from the same place like they always have
We make choices based on what’s cheapest
The cost has already been paid somewhere else
“We’ve already made up our mind how we’re gonna live, and the narrative fills in the gaps for us so that it makes sense.” - Jonathan
The way we live is insane
What we do to the earth
What we do to third-world countries
What we do to ourselves
But we tell ourselves stories to help us sleep at night
So, the goal is to share the Kingdom story
Have everyone marinate in it until it is our story
It will change people until they look at the way we live and say, “This is insane. Jesus would never do this.”
13:28 What if Jesus was walking around?
Imagine 2000 years ago, He might have been walking around with His head in His hands lamenting how people were living
Perhaps even more so today
He’s shaking His head at us collectively and saying, “You’re not getting it.”
Does He get frustrated?
He saw the multitudes as sheep without a shepherd
And felt compassion
He didn’t ask why they were stupid or tell them to stop following Him around
We ought to follow His example and not be brash
Steven from AnarchoChristian is good at this
His show feels like Sunday school taught by an expert
16:33 Satan’s kingdom
If Satan offered the earthly kingdoms to Jesus, that means he owns them
People always argue, “If we get enough Christians in office, all will be fixed.”
No. Who’s behind this kingdom?
Whose kingdom are you claiming to be part of?
You cannot serve both
Is the person lying, stealing, destroying, murdering, and enslaving?
That’s not anything like what my King does
20:14 Jesus is King
Even over those who don’t believe in Him
Why don’t we take it seriously?
Americans don’t know what monarchy is like
Closest we have is CEOS, oligarchs, and generals
But we want a king
People talk about presidents like they should be kings
“They're not wanting a representative. They're wanting a king to tell their enemy how to live… [but] they end up telling you how to live too.” - Craig
“[Trump] would love to sit in your living room and tell you exactly how to live… I've got a King in my house. And guess what? You're a Christian. You've already got a King too.” - Craig
23:52 Prophets in the Church
Very few Christians can see through the facade of how the world works
They have the gift of prophecy
Prophets are not well received; they are so tired of trying and not getting anywhere
Most have either
Shut their mouths or
Left the church
Most Christians are genuine and trying
They can only do what they know to do
So, to start a conversation, we must first find out where they’re at
25:26 Arguing about authority, aka power
People always want to say that anyone with power got it from God
Which means they’re on His side
Might = right?
The winner of a political race has God’s blessing
According to the Bible, power is not about winning
Jesus says to lose your life in order to find Life
Submission
Paul says slaves need to submit to their masters
But of course, they do; they’re slaves!
That’s their job
It’s like Paul is saying, “You are the one with the authority to live the way that your King shows you to live.” - Jonathan
When you voluntarily submit to someone, they don't win.
That relationship is broken and should not be that way
You're the one with the power
"Everybody knows that you’re not supposed to have slaves, but everybody thinks that is great to have kings." - Jonathan
It doesn't matter how many bombs they have
They don't win
28:31 Handcuffs
Jesus promised they'll arrest us and bring us before kings
And He will fill our mouths with His words
If you're in handcuffs, let God use you
Allow them to treat you poorly
"[Submission] doesn't mean you're obeying; there's a reason you're in handcuffs." - Craig
Rosa Parks didn’t obey their laws
The early church likewise acted without violence
It changes people's hearts
People come to Christ when they see us respond peacefully
People claim slavery is over
But right now is like an Oprah Winfrey moment
“YOU get to be a slave and YOU get to be a slave…”
We are all enslaved through taxes
“Why are you going to put 'em back in power? You're complaining about 'em, they're stealing your money. They're taking that money and going and using it to kill people in other countries and kill people in this country. Stop voting. Stop encouraging the beast. Follow Jesus Christ. You say you're a Christian. Let's do it. Let's follow Jesus Christ.” - Craig
32:28 Principalities
We don’t need that kind of power
Jesus turned down Satan’s offer to worship him in exchange for power over earthly kingdoms
He already had the power He needed
Worshiping God gives us power
When we respond with humility, we remind the principalities of who won
33:26 What Jesus saved us from
American churches focus only on sin and Hell
He also defeated the principalities who has been holding humans captive
DEATH
We're going to be raised again like Him
We’ll have new, glorified bodies
34:41 We don’t have to envy those in power because they’re the losers
They’re rebellious
Haven’t confessed Jesus as Lord
Whoever does so now will be the firstfruits of the new world
Their power is only transitory
35:30 Freedom
Comes from Jesus; not the state!
Don’t fear those who can only kill the body and not the soul
If the worst they can do is kill us, and we don’t fear death, we’re free
It’s a major choice
Can you risk facing what the early church did?
Crucified and rocks thrown at them and pulled apart and their heads chopped off and drowned and everything set on fire…
Consequences for those who compromise with the world
If you try to ally with the powers here to avoid persecution, you will face judgment from them
“You can't skip the consequences; you just have to choose which ones sound worse.” - Jonathan
38:07 Identity in a nation
If we identify with or pledge our allegiance to a nation or political party or worship their military, we are telling Jesus we don’t want His Kingdom of peace
Just like the Israelites asking for a king
God told them they were rejecting Him
Pushing for earthly political power is rejecting the Kingdom
Rejecting the perfect King we already have
No stealing or killing
Actually does have our best interests at heart
Wants us to have fruitful lives without fear
“The state wants you to be afraid. That's how they keep their authority.” - Craig
39:53 Allegiance
Giving your heart promises everything you have
Pledging your allegiance doesn’t just mean
“I’m glad to be in the club” or
“So happy you’re not worse”
It means
“If you go to war, I'll do whatever you tell me”
“My resources and my thoughts are for you”
If any part of someone’s life is dedicated to the state, they have not surrendered to Jesus
42:05 Negative energy
The rulers feed off of negative energy
Whatever violence or hate you use, it will be amplified and returned to you
Beat them by choosing peace
Increase their violence by reacting violently
Love your enemies
Feed them if they’re hungry
Comes before Romans 13 about respecting authority
How much happier and more reasonable are people who are well fed?
44:00 Our home is yet to come
It’s a mystery, and it’s supposed to be
Let’s live with anticipation rather than trepidation about the unknown future
Once we get there, we won’t remember the troubles we had leading up to it
It should be exciting!!
Let’s look forward to it with childlike wonder
Just the idea that this troubled world is going away should make us glad
We’ll see Him as He is
We’ll be made like Him
All the nations will come together in this new reality
They’ll collectively ask Jesus how to live
And go home and beat their swords into plowshares
47:03 For now
We are the representation of Jesus on Earth
Imperfect
All we can say is that our lives are being changed by being part of this project to change the world
We believe His plan will come to pass
It’s inevitable
You don’t have to wonder who’s gonna win
“There’s something coming, and it’s way better than what’s going on right now… and it’s certainly not through the state.” - Craig
Our family is in every nation, tribe, and tongue on Earth
Then our family is being bombed
They are also doing the bombing
It’s not about good guys and bad guys
It’s that any person could be or become our family
People are watching us for an example of Christ
Let’s hope we are not a stumbling block
Consistency is a strong statement
Not wavering back and forth between Jesus and politicians
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