Our Project 2025 in Spiritual Dimension - The Nexus Between the Ancient and Modern, the Old Testament and the New.
At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry - a critical turning point in God’s plan of restoration - reconciling humankind to a relationship with him, Jesus said to the crowd of people listening to him: “From the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force.” (Matthew 11:12). This is a sequel to John’s delegation to Jesus, asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” The nation of Israel had looked forward to the coming of the Messiah.
John the Baptist, at this point, was in prison, awaiting a violent death by King Herod. A new frontline has been drawn in the ongoing conflict between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of heaven.
Amid the tension and increased turmoil, Jesus calls for urgent action. He warns that the enemy is on the rampage, causing harm and destruction. Now it’s time for those who choose to stand with the LORD to urgently rise to the occasion. This is not a call to physical violence but immediate and decisive action. The kingdom of God is not for the idle and complacent. As we say in my native Yoruba language, “A kii foju boro gba omo lowo ekuro.”
Entering the kingdom of heaven is not a passive act. It demands action and unwavering commitment. “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength…” (Mark 12:30-31). This is a call to wholehearted devotion, a commitment that necessitates our complete dedication and effort. This level of commitment is not to be taken lightly, as it requires our full attention and energy.
We see an established pattern that holds a valuable lesson for those willing to learn. When understood, this pattern can guide our actions and decisions, leading us to a closer walk with God. The roadmap, when followed, can lead us to a deeper understanding and relationship with God and fellow humans. Emphasis on learning from history/Old Testament instills a sense of wisdom in our actions, knowing that we are following a path that has been proven to lead to the promised land.
Genesis, the beginning book, provides the blueprint: Kings and world rulers govern, deploying state powers to control and oppress the masses of the people. This is the human way of enforcing law and order in a fallen world, and it was the way of the ancient and modern. But the LORD God operates differently. Even though He does not intervene in human affairs as often as some of us would like, He intervenes when believers under stress cry out to Him.
The apostle Peter says,
“Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day” (2 Peter 3:8).
God called Abraham out of his comfort zone in Ur of the Chaldeans and promised to take him to Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey. Abraham, in faith, left his home and extended family for the unknown. He and his offspring lived as foreigners in Canaan. Even though God showed Abraham the promised land, he and his descendants had to wait 400 years to occupy it. His descendants spent time in Egypt, where their numbers increased from 70 to about 600,000 during their exodus.
That speaks volumes about what it means to walk in faith and obey God’s commands even when it seems all things are not working in our favor. We can stand on His promise to not leave or forsake us but stay by our side when we pass through the flood waters of life.
The Israelites did not have it easy in Egypt under the rule of Pharaohs, who had no regard for Joseph. They were oppressed and brutally suppressed for control. They cried out for deliverance in their groaning, and God heard them.
God’s intervention marked a new milestone in their journey to the promised land. They had been waiting for 400 years for Canaan; God had raised Moses to rescue His people, but Pharaoh would not let them go.
Rather than relieve the Hebrews of the crushing slave labor on God’s intervention, the Pharaoh added to their daily task and made more demands on them. It was so devastating to the Hebrew enslaved people that they turned against Moses and Aaron, accusing them of causing more hardships for them.
There ensued a power tussle between an earthly king resisting the move of the Almighty God. Pharaoh resisted the authority and power of God, represented by the staff in the hands of Moses and Aaron. At his peril and destruction of his people, Pharaoh deployed the power of sorcery - the magicians and their secret arts - to counterfeit the manifestations of God’s power. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to demonstrate His power and glory as the One and only God and expose the impotence of the Egyptian deities of the Nile.
The Egyptians built and sustained their empire on a mythological worldview and a caste system with the Pharaoh on top and enslaved people and foreigners at the bottom. Most, if not all, monarchies are similarly structured to maintain the status quo. The priests and scribes, in real-time, tap into myths and religion to deify the king. There’s no querying the authority of a Pharaoh with the “divine unction” to control all and sundry.
It is the classic case of a kingdom that suffered violence.
God employed the one language the Egyptians understood to judge them and deliver His people from slavery - culminating in the exodus and the destruction of “Egyptian chariots and horsemen - the entire army of Pharaoh” in the Red Sea. “That day, the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:26-30).
We have before us in 2025 a world in the throes of physical and spiritual violence, with most of our church attendees held captive to human contraptions and myths serving to sustain influential individuals in position — in and out of the church.
Many church attendees are beholden to what an apostle or prophet says rather than to what the Bible says. Some Christians are lethargic about issues of spiritual significance, spending little or no time reading and studying the Bible and knowing little of its content.
The Word of God remains the sword - the only attack weapon - in the believer’s armory against the adversary. No Christian needs to live with a worldview based on mythology and sorcery - paraded in some cults and religious assemblies as Christianity.
Ours is a wake-up call and an invitation to true believers in Christ to join us as we navigate 2025. We are determined to be on the LORD’s side and fully dressed for battle against all manifestations of Pharaoh’s magicians and sorcerers on our way to the ultimate promised land.
