Table of Topics

Preface		ix
Introduction		xiii
Jesus Seen From a Providential Perspective		xiii
The Three Parts of This Book		xiv
The Need to Complete the Biblical Narrative		xv

PART I : Providential Preparations For The Messiah

1	The Mission of the Messiah Replacing Adam as God’s Sinless Son	1
	Adam and Eve and the Need for a Messiah	1
	Divine Providence and Human Responsibility	2
	The Nature and Mission of the Messiah in the Divine Providence	3
	Ending the Dominion of Evil and Sin	4
	The Mission of Israel	5
	The Christian Notion of Salvation Through the Messiah	7
	Messianic Expectations and Jesus	9
2	The Cain-Abel Paradigm The Key to Understanding Providential History	11
	The First Family	11
	Cain and Abel Inherited Fallen Nature	13
	The Cain-Abel Paradigm	13
	Cain’s Falsehoods Precede Abel’s Truths in the Providence	14
	Cain Can and Should Become Abel	15
	The Importance of Personal Responsibility	16
	Jesus’ Mission as Absolute Abel	17
3	Jesus: God or Man? Addressing Christological Confusion	18
	An Age-Old Question Divides Christians	18
	The Holy Trinity	19
	How Can We Resolve This Confusion?	21
	A Providential Perspective	21
	Jesus In the Words of God	22
	Jesus In the Words of Satan	23
	Jesus In the Words of Angels	24
	Jesus In the Words of Old Testament Prophets	24
	Jesus In the Words of his Disciples	25
	Jesus In his Own Words	27
	Jesus Had to be a Man	29
4	Did Jesus Pre-Exist His Birth? The Role of Predestination in the Providence	30
	The Meaning of “the Word”	30
	Jesus Embodied the Logos	31
	Predestination	32
	Predestination and Personal Responsibility	33
	Being Responsible Requires Spiritual Maturity	33
	Predestination After the Crucifixion	34
5	Jesus Embodied the Mosaic Law The Transition From Servant to Son	36
	The Law Prepared Israel for the Messiah	36
	The Evolution of Divinely-Inspired Laws	37
	The First Legal System	37
	The Radical Teachings of Jesus	39
	A New Understanding of Circumcision	40
	Differences Between Moses, the Prophets and Jesus	42
6	The Tabernacle and Temple Foreshadowed the Messiah Establishing a Tradition of Obedience to Abel	43
	The Tabernacle Was in the Image of the Messiah	43
	The Levites Were Responsible to Uphold God’s Word	45
	The Temple Replaced the Tabernacle	46
	The Tabernacle and Temple Had to be Kept Pure	47
	The Temple Was Corrupted at the Time of Jesus	48
	Finally the Actual Messiah Appeared	48
7	Jesus Belongs to the Order of Melchizedek The Messiah is Both High Priest and King	50
	The First Reference to Melchizedek	50
	The Second Reference to Melchizedek	52
	The Third Reference to Melchizedek	53
	The Return of Melchizedek	55
8	Was Mary the Mother of God? Seeking a Sinless Woman to Replace Eve	57
	The Immaculate Conception	58
	Zechariah and Elizabeth Supported Mary	59
	Two Providential Families Prepared for the Birth of Jesus	61
	Mary Risked Her Life to Follow Divine Instructions	62
	Mary Substitutes for a Second Eve	63
	The Holy Spirit as Divine Mother	63
9	Providential Women Risk all to Restore Eve An Old Testament History Leading to Mary	65
	Abraham, Sarah and Hagar	66
	Isaac, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob	71
	Jacob, Leah and Rachel	74
	Judah and Tamar	75
	Lot and his Two daughters	78
	Boaz and Ruth, Obed, Jesse and David	79
	Esther and King Ahasuerus	81
	Mary Inherited These Women’s Foundation	84
10	Jesus Inherited the Missions of Moses and David Combining the Roles of Priest and King	85
	How Did Jesus Represent Moses and David?	85
	The Importance of Being a Descendant of Levi and Moses	86
	The Importance of Being a Descendant of Judah and David	87
	Jesus’ Disciples Said he was Descended from King David	91
	But Jesus Rejected the ‘Son of David’ Identity	92
	A Providential Perspective	92
11	Combining the Roles of Priest and King Central and Supporting Providential Developments	95
	The Importance of Abraham’s Family	95
	Jacob’s Victorious Course as Abel and Adam	96
	Rebekah’s Victorious Role as Eve	97
	Establishing a Nation to Receive the Messiah	98
	400 Years of Slavery in Egypt	98
	Moses Struggled With a Disobedient People	99
	400 Years of Judges	102
	The United Kingdom of Israel	103
	The Divided Kingdoms and Babylonian Exile	104
	Israel is Reconstituted	104
	The Final 400-Year Preparation of Israel for the Messiah	106
	The Axial Age: Worldwide Preparation for a Global Savior	107

PART II: The Providence Betrayed In The Crucifixion

12	Jesus’ Difficult Early Life His Family Failed to Support Him	110
	Jesus Was Targeted for Murder at Birth	110
	Jesus Was Treated as an Ordinary, Non-Levitical Jew	112
	Joseph and Mary Received Many Messages About Jesus	115
	Jesus’ Parents Failed to Grasp His Importance	118
	Mary’s Mission as a Good Eve and Mother	120
	Joseph’s Mission as Good Archangel and Son of David	121
	The Family Did Not Help Jesus in his Public Ministry	122
13	The Sermon on the Mount Teaching the Way of Abel	126
	Jesus Begins his Ministry	126
	Revealing the Depth of God’s Parental Heart	127
	A Revolutionary Message	127
	The Sermon on the Mount: Teaching the Way of Perfected Abel	130
	The Teachings of Jesus Superseded the Law	132
	How Cain and Abel Can Be Reconciled on Abel’s Terms	133
	Love Was Jesus’ Core Teaching	134
14	Parables and Miracles to Open Minds and Hearts A Stubborn People Rejected Jesus’ Message	136
	Jesus Faced a Proud, Close-Minded People	136
	Lessons Through Parables	137
	Miraculous Healings	138
	Healing Bodies; Purifying Spirits	140
	A Stubborn and Ungrateful People	140
15	Jesus’ Mastery of the Spirit World Cain and Abel Spirits and Angels Influence Our Lives	142
	Cain-type and Abel-type Spirits and Angels	142
	The Identity of Demons and Divines	143
	The Conditions We Make Attract Good or Evil Spirits	143
	A Failed Condition Requires a Greater Sacrifice to Restore it	144
	Jesus Made Conditions for the World	146
	Jesus Understood and Controlled the Spirit World	146
	Evil Spirits Recognized Jesus	148
	The Responsibility of Those Cleansed by Jesus	148
	The Disciples Inherited Jesus’ Spiritual Powers	149
	Ignorance of the Spirit World Persists	150
16	Persecution by Israel’s Political Establishment Herod and Pilate had Jesus Tortured and Killed	152
	Herod’s Illegitimate Dynasty	152
	Herod Should Have Followed Jesus	153
	The Herodian Dynasty Conspired to Kill Jesus	154
17	Persecution by Israel’s Religious Establishment The Wise Men of the Temple Rejected Jesus	158
	Israel’s Ossified Religious Establishment	158
	Jesus and His Teachings Were Rejected by the Religious Leaders	159
	Jesus Chastised the Religious Leaders for Their Failings	160
	Jesus Identified His Persecutors as Cain-like	161
	A Cain-type Lust to Kill Jesus	164
	Cain’s Self-righteousness	164
	Only Jesus Understood the Heart of the Father	164
18	The Doubting Mind of John the Baptist The Crucial Mission of Elijah Went Unfulfilled	166
	The Miraculous Birth of John the Baptist	166
	The Providential Person and Mission of John the Baptist	169
	John’s Mission Was Greater Than That of a Prophet	171
	John and Jesus Went Down Different Paths	172
	Why John Was So Important for the Success of Jesus	173
	Why John’s Association With Elijah Was So Important	173
	Jesus Identified John as the Returned Elijah	174
	But John Denied Being Elijah or a Prophet	175
	John’s Unrealistic Expectations for the Messiah	176
	The Meaning of John Baptizing Jesus	176
	Why John Didn’t Follow Jesus After His Baptism	178
	Jesus Rebuked John for His Lack of Faith	180
19	The Catastrophic Consequences of John’s Failure Moses and Elijah Confirm a Change in Jesus’ Mission	182
	A History of Small Mistakes with Huge Consequences	182
	John’s Mistakes Had Catastrophic Consequences for Jesus	184
	Jesus Had to Redo John’s Foundation	185
	Jesus Had to Redo John’s Foundation	186
	The Second Temptation	186
	The Second Temptation	187
	Jesus Had to Do The Work of John	188
	Jesus’ Path Now Led to the Cross	189
	A Providential Perspective: The Kingdom Delayed	191
20	Betrayal By His Disciples Satan Invaded the Inner Circle of Jesus	192
	Satan’s Murderous Agenda	192
	Satan Always Uses Those Closest to His Target	192
	After John Failed, Jesus Chose 12 Disciples	193
	Judas Became Satan’s Tool	195
	Jesus’ Last Line of Defense: Peter, James and John	197
	Only Peter Followed Jesus	198
	Satan’s Victory	199
21	The Tragic Death of Jesus on the Cross Cain-type Forces Conspired to Kill Christ	201
	More Than a Lack of Understanding	201
	The Cain-Like Conspiracy to Kill Jesus	202
	The Unwitting Conspirators	203
	The Unwitting Conspirators	205
	The Significance of Jesus’ Prayer in Gethsemane	207
	The Profound Agony of Jesus	208
	Evidence That the Cross Was Not God’s Will	209
	The Crucifixion Ended the Temple’s Providential Purpose	210
	Consequences for Followers of Christ	211

PART III: Christians Inherit A Providential Mission From Jesus

22	Consequences of the Crucifixion The Creation of an Otherworldly Kingdom	214
	Repercussions from Jesus’ Death on the Cross	214
	A Spiritual Victory and Outpouring	214
	The Spiritual Power Unleashed at Pentecost	215
	An Otherworldly Kingdom	218
	A Christian Heaven	219
	The Way of Abel for Christians	220
	Immeasurable Suffering Since Jesus	221
	What if Jesus Had Not Been Killed?	221
23	The Meaning of Salvation Through the Cross Why the Kingdom of Heaven Remains Elusive	224
	Salvation is a Process, Not an Event	224
	The Original Mind Seeks Salvation	225
	Forgiveness of Sin and Salvation in the Old Testament	225
	Forgiveness of Sin and Salvation in the New Testament	228
	From Old Testament Servants to Adopted Children of God	231
	The Limits of Salvation Through the Cross	232
	Was Jesus Shedding Blood Important to Salvation?	234
	Shedding Blood Does Not Remove Sin	236
	Was the Crucifixion Pre-Ordained?	236
24	Inheriting the Mission of Jesus The Path to Becoming One with Christ	238
	The Imitation of Christ	239
	Inheriting the Mission of Jesus	240
	The Gifts of Christ For The Christian Providence	241
	Purification And Empowerment Through Baptism	241
	The Importance of Baptism with the Holy Spirit	243
	The Disciples Were Empowered to Baptize	243
	Infant Baptism Replaced Circumcision	246
	The Importance of Adult Baptism	247
	Becoming Christ-like Through the Eucharist	249
	Blessings Come With Responsibilities	250
25	Inheriting the Mission of Israel Christians Must Learn from the Israelites’ Mistakes	251
	The Birth of a New Religion	241
	The Providential Mission of Christianity	252
	A New Iteration of Israel’s Mission	253
	Christians Can Expect to Suffer Like Jesus	254
	Christians Must Not Repeat Israel’s Mistakes	255
26	The Providence Unfolds Through Christianity Preparing for the Second Coming of Christ	258
	Christian Discipleship Requires Faith and Works	258
	What Then is Predestination?	259
	Predestination for Christians	260
	Purification Through Cain-Abel Divisions	261
	The Great Schism and Protestant Reformation	262
	From Wycliffe to Luther	263
	The Radical Reformation	264
	The Protestant Work Ethic	265
	The Counter-Reformation	265
	The Pilgrims and America’s Great Awakening	266
	Preparing for a Second Coming of Christ	268
27	Christianity as Global Abel The Challenge to Save a Cain-Dominated World	271
	The Blessings and Responsibilities of Abel	271
	Christians and Fellow Christians	272
	Christians and Members of Other Religions	272
	Christian Abels Must Give Light to the Whole World	273
	Christians Together Must Create a New, Abel-type Israel	277
	All Religion is Personal	277
	The Kingdom of Heaven Has No Religions	278
	Christians and Materialism	280
	Christians and Materialist Ideologies	281
	Christians, Science and Technology	281
	Christians and Politics	282
	Christians and Economic Systems	282
28	The Role of Christianity in Conflict and War The Importance of Discerning Cain from Abel	283
	The Christian Dilemma Over Use of Force	283
	The Cain-Abel Paradigm and Conflict Resolution	286
	Discerning Two Types of Cain	286
	Discerning Two Types of Cain	287
	Cains Bent on Destroying the Providence	289
	Moses Purified Israel by Killing Internal Enemies	290
	Moses Instructed the Israelites to Destroy Their Enemies	293
	Jesus Was in No Position to Use Force	295
	Jesus as Abel Sacrificed His Life to Save Cain	296
	Christians Should Follow Jesus When Using Force	297
	Christians Cannot Compromise with Evil	297
	Christian Discernment of Cain and Abel	299
29	Christianity and Judaism Becoming An Abel-Type Younger Brother	301
	The Crucifixion Resulted in the Destruction of Israel	301
	Jewish Messianism Lives On	303
	A Bitter Relationship With Christianity	304
	Christianity’s Elder Brother in the Providence	306
30	Christianity and Islam Becoming An Abel-Type Older Brother	308
	The Root of Conflicts Among the Abrahamic Faiths	309
	The Bitter Experience of Hagar and Ishmael	310
	The Resentment of Hagar and Ishmael Burns in Muslims	313
	Christians Are Tasked With Saving All People	314
	Christianity Inherited the Mission to Love Ishmael and Esau	315
	The Unexpected Advent of Islam	316
	A Brief History of Mohammed and Islam	317
	Islam and the Bible	319
	The Abrahamic Faiths Must Unite as Abel to the World	320
	The Shared Responsibility of the Abrahamic Faiths	321
31	Christianity and Marxism Becoming a Resolute Abel to Defeat Cain	323
	The Importance of Understanding Marxism	323
	The Bloody French Revolution	324
	Marxism Destroys Religion and Throttles Faith	325
	Marxism is the Perfection of Anti-Christ Ideology	326
	Marxism is Anti-Science	328
	Marxism Destroys the Family	330
	Marxism Demonizes Private Property	330
	Marxism Offers False Utopias	332
	Marxism’s Utopian Seduction is Based on a Lie	333
	Marxism Perfects the Ideology of Satan and Cain	335
	How Marxists Are Born	336
	The Bitter Truth About Socialism and Communism	337
	Neo-Marxism Spreads The Cancer of Marxism	338
	The Importance of Choosing God Over Mammon	340
	The Fallacy of Christian Socialism	342
	The Fallacy That Capitalism is Evil	343
	The Fallacy of Supporting Social Justice Agendas	344
	The Righteous Christian Response to Marxism	345
	Christianity’s Responsibility as Abel	346
32	Christianity and Science Humanism Spurs Both Reformation and Renaissance	348
	Science and Technology Have Transformed the World	348
	But Science Cannot Quench Our Thirst for Truth and Love	349
	The Providential Advent of Modern Science	350
	The Christian Humanism of Petrarch And Erasmus	351
	The Intertwined History of the Reformation and Renaissance	352
	Freed From Church Dogma, Science Took Wing	354
	The Compatibility of Science and Religion	355
	The Moral Compass of Nature	357
	Christianity Should Harness Science for the Providence	359
33	Thy Kingdom Come on Earth Culmination of the Divine Providence	361
	Heaven Must Be Established on Earth	361
	Two Millennia of Christian Evolution	362
	The Futility of Just Waiting for Christ	363
	Use the Cain-Abel Paradigm to Recognize and Defeat Evil	365
	True Christian Discipleship	366
	Christianity’s Mission as Abel is to Prepare for Christ’s Return	368
	Christianity’s Mission as Abel is to Prepare for Christ’s Return	369
	What Can We Know About the Time and Place?	370
	Building the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth	373