Let us celebrate the vision of a New America where the Kingdom of God shall be established upon the Earth. Glory be to God in the highest, and to his only begotten son, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus!
Chapter 1: The Structure of Government
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"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus..." (1 Timothy 2:5)
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." (Romans 13, ESV)
"Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness." (1 John 3:4, ESV)
And therefore:- As there is but one God, there can be but one authority upon the Earth. The man who represents that authority shall be called the Leader.
- The Leader has been instituted by God, and whoever resists him resists what God has appointed.
- The Leader is always a man (see Chapter 2).
- The Leader determines the penalty for any transgression. He has no obligation to consider "legal precedent" or to act in a balanced or consistent manner. His actions represent the will of God and may not be questioned.
- There are not 50 Kingdoms of God, but just one, and there are not 50 appointed leaders, but just one. Let the States be abolished and the people be brought under the authority of the one appointed Leader, who is the very voice of God upon the Earth.
- The Leader serves at God's pleasure until he is called home to the Kingdom of Heaven. God will reveal to him the name of the man who is to succeed him as Leader, before He calls him home. There will be no dispute or discussion among the faithful, nor any sort of election among the people, regarding the succession of Leaders whom God appoints.
- As sinning is equivalent to lawlessness, there is no need for any law other than the will of God as transmitted through His messengers, the Messiah and the Leader.
- "If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,..." (1 Timothy 6:3-4, ESV)
And therefore:- The existence of multiple political, economic, or social philosophies is not to be tolerated. All political parties are abolished, and all public or private gatherings in which people discuss political, economic, or social alternatives are forbidden, that the nation may unite in the service of God, following the guidance of the Leader, who is appointed by God.
- The Constitution of the United States of America precludes the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth, and is therefore abolished. The balance of power among the three branches of government, the guarantee of freedom of speech, the explicit exclusion of God from the government, and the holding of elections in which godless people may have a voice in the affairs of the nation, are abominations in the sight of God.
- Public education, and commercial private education that is not organized under the law of God, encourage "controversy and quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissention, slander," etc. Such education also encourages thought and discussion about political, economic, and social alternatives to the will of God as transmitted through His messengers, the Messiah and the Leader. General education of the populace is, therefore, abolished and forbidden. Such education or training as the Leader deems necessary for the work of establishing the Kingdom of God upon the Earth shall be provided by the church. All other forms of education, both formal and informal, both public and private, including home schooling (except under the direct guidance of the church) are forbidden.
- Secular education is the primary route through which Satan enters the minds of the people. Therefore, the penalties for teaching any thing of an abstract or academic nature to any person outside the authority of the church shall be more severe than those for other offenses.
- The fundamental Christian faith is the only true religion. Other organizations that purport to revere a god or gods are abolished and forbidden, that the people may focus on building the Kingdom of God upon the Earth. Public or private gatherings for the purpose of worshipping false gods are forbidden. Personal worship of false gods in private is forbidden. Public or private expression of atheism is forbidden.
- Any information contrary to the establishment and harmonious sustainability of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth is forbidden, and is to be destroyed whenever it is discovered in any form.
- Any work of art in any form that is deemed disrespectful to the Leader or the church is forbidden, and is to be destroyed whenever it is discovered.
- "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14, ESV)
"And Jesus answered them, 'See that no one leads you astray.'" (Matthew 24:4, ESV)
And therefore:- As Satan is a trickster, he has sown confusion even in the minds of the faithful over the long years, resulting in the emergence of several variations of Christianity. Such variations are abominations in the sight of God, worse than the false religions, worse even than the secular philosophies that explicitly exclude God, as they imitate the true faith superficially in order to draw the people away from the path illuminated for them by the Leader. Let them come home to the fundamental church, or be destroyed.
Chapter 2: The Structure of Society
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"But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3, ESV)
"An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones." (Proverbs 12:4, ESV)
"Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." (Deuteronomy 5:16, ESV)
"Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered." (1 Peter 3:7, ESV)
And therefore:- By the will of God, the structure of society is hierarchical. God is father to Christ, Christ is father to the Leader, the Leader is father to man, and man is master to wife and children.
- It is the nuclear family, and not the individual, that is the foundational unit of society.
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"But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:2, ESV)
"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." (Leviticus 20:13, ESV)
And therefore:- The definition of the household is a married couple, one man and one woman, and their natural and adopted children.
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"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14, ESV)
And therefore:- A brother of Israel must marry only a woman who is of the fundamental church. A union between a believer and an unbeliever is null and void.
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"I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare. When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil." (Ezekiel 16:7-9, ESV)
And therefore:- A woman is eligible to be married as soon as she has achieved puberty, and is capable of bearing children.
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"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Timothy 5:8, ESV)
"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7, ESV)
"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:35, ESV)
"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" (1 John 3:17, ESV)
And therefore:- It is not the responsibility of the government to care for anyone. It is up to us to create a sound family unit based on respect and faith, and to do our duty to God to support our family members.
- No one among the faithful shall be compelled to give anything toward the well-being of others, except their own relatives. It is a good thing to be generous to those in need, but it is not a requirement for the faithful to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
- One who has lived long without joining into a family bond has strayed from the path of God, and will receive no assistance in time of need except by the willing generosity of Christians.
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"I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet." (1 Timothy 2:12, ESV)
And therefore:- Women do not have equal rights with men. By the will of God, they are subservient to men.
Chapter 3: Health and Faith
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"Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise." (Jeremiah 17:14, ESV)
"For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 30:17, ESV)
"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him" (James 5:14, ESV)
"For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal." (Job 5:18, ESV)
"Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security." (Jeremiah 33:6, ESV)
"Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up." (Hosea 6:1, ESV)
And therefore:- Our health and our healing are bound up with our prosperity and security, and all are in accordance with the will of God. Interference in this amounts to interference with God's will.
- When we fall sick, it is because God wills it; should it please Him to bring us back from sickness, it is because He has a purpose in it. When a child is born deformed or defective, it is because God wills it; should it please Him to correct the malady miraculously, it is because He has a purpose in it. When a woman suffers a problematic pregnancy, it is because God wills it; should it please him that she survive, it is because He has a purpose in it. Whether He tests our faith, strengthens us for a future mission we cannot yet see, punishes us for a transgression or an omission of faith, teaches us that we are stronger than we assume, or calls us home to serve him in the Kingdom of Heaven, man should do nothing to interfere in this. Therefore, the practice of medicine and the pursuit of medical research are forbidden, except the setting of broken bones and the patching of broken skin suffered in the course of work in the service of God.
Chapter 4: The Community of Christ, Rights, and Slavery
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"As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly." (Leviticus 25:44-46, ESV)
And therefore:- Those who are members of the community of Christ in the fundamental church are "your brothers the people of Israel," and are not subject to slavery.
- By the will of God, all those outside the fundamental church are subject to slavery. Any of them may be bought or sold at any time by anyone who is of the fundamental church, even if they have not willingly submitted themselves for sale, and when bought they become permanently nothing more than property, and their children and subsequent generations forever (except as provided in Chapter 4:3).
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"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,..." (Ephesians 6:5, ESV)
"Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust." (1 Peter 2:18, ESV)
"Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior." (Titus 2:9-10, ESV)
And therefore:- Slaves are required to obey their masters regardless of how they are treated.
- Masters may use their slaves for any purpose whatsoever without restriction, including treatment that is prohibited for members of the church in Christ. Actions that would be considered abominations against God if carried out against members of the church have no moral significance when carried out against slaves, and cannot be counted as sins.
- It is not a sin to kill a slave, but if you kill a slave belonging to someone else then you must compensate the owner for the replacement cost of the slave, in money, in kind, or a combination.
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"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20, ESV)
"And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him." (Colossians 1:20-22, ESV)
"Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (1 Peter 1:18-19, ESV)
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." (Ephesians 1:7, ESV)
"In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:14, ESV)
"Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." (Titus 2:14, ESV)
"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble." (Psalm 107:2, ESV)
"For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:10, ESV)
"I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you." (Isaiah 44:22, ESV)
And therefore:- Any person who has strayed from God's way or who was never of the church before may redeem himself through a sincere acceptance of Jesus Christ as his personal savior by following a procedure recognized by the church, and then undertaking to live as befits a brother of Israel. "Any person" includes prisoners incarcerated for crimes, slaves, and countrymen living outside the grace of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth.
- In the case of a prisoner incarcerated for a crime, the redeemed individual is immediately set free and his criminal record is cleared.
- In the case of a slave, the redeemed individual is immediately set free to live as a brother of Israel.
- In the event of such redemption, no previous transgression may be held against the person who is so saved by Christ; not even multiple failures to live up to the obligations of a brother of Israel, as set forth in Chapter 5.
- At his sole discretion, the Leader may free any man and raise him to the level of a brother of Israel if he deems such redemption to be in the interest of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth, even if the man in question has not followed the standard redemption procedure. The decision of the Leader may not be questioned.
Chapter 5: The Obligations of the People
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"Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.'" (Genesis 28:20-22, ESV)
"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything." (Hebrews 7:1, ESV)
And therefore:- All those who live under the protection of the Leader are to pay one tenth of their earnings, or donate one tenth of whatever they produce, toward the maintenance and mission of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth.
- Individuals shall pay their tithes to their local church.
- Each local church shall retain 10% of the total tithes paid by the members, and forward 90% to the central offices of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth. Accounts shall be kept and audited periodically. Irregularities will be dealt with harshly.
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"Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." (Proverbs 3:9-10, ESV)
And therefore:- That which is given to the Kingdom of God upon the Earth shall be the first and best of what the faithful man produces, not the damaged or rotten, nor the extra or spare. This is your tithe to God; you pay it even before you or your wife or children may eat.
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"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel...it belongs to Me.'" (Exodus 13:1-2)
And therefore:- The first born son of each household shall be given over to the Kingdom of God upon the Earth, to be raised separately from his birth family as a soldier in Christ, with the mission to police the populace and to subdue disorder. Henceforth his father shall be the Leader, and his mother the church.
- Families who have submitted their first born son to serve God will enjoy special privileges and benefits, to be determined by their local church.
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"And Jesus answered him, 'It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'" (Luke 4:8, ESV)
"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness." (Psalm 29:2, ESV)
"Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!" (Psalm 132:7, ESV)
"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness" (1 Chronicles 16:29, ESV)
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." (Matthew 18:20, ESV)
And therefore:- Every man of the church shall formally join an approved and registered congregation and attend worship services at least weekly. Records shall be kept.
- Every married man of the church shall be held accountable for the attendance and participation of his wife and children at worship services.
- Every person of the church shall volunteer for at least one church-sponsored activity in the course of each year.
- When the Leader or the church deems it necessary to provide education or training to any person for the purpose of glorifying the Kingdom of God upon the Earth, such person does not have the option to refuse.
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"A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace." (Ecclesiastes 3:8, ESV)
"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet." (Matthew 24:6)
"You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms." (Jeremiah 51:20, ESV)
And therefore:- Men of the church may volunteer to join the armed forces of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth. They are eligible to become officers.
- Men of the church may send their slaves into military service for a limited time. Slaves enlisted in this manner are not eligible to become officers.
- Men of the country who are not of the church may be conscripted to serve in military actions at the discretion of the Leader or his delegates. They are not eligible to become officers. Such conscripts may be used as a buffer for an attack or defense, to absorb the enemy's initial fire, or used as subjects to test weapons of any type.
- Individuals who have been incarcerated for crimes, and who possess skills or knowledge deemed useful in a miltary conflict, may be conscripted to serve in the military at the discretion of the Leader or his delegates. They are not eligible to become officers.
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"The man who acts presumptuously by not obeying the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Israel." (Deuteronomy 17:12, ESV)
And therefore:- Those who violate their obligations to the Kingdom of God upon the Earth shall be cast out from Israel and no longer considered "of the church." They will then be subject to the same treatment as any other outsider.
- When a man is cast out, so too are his wife, children, and any relatives under his care.
- When a man is cast out, all his property, including slaves, becomes the property of the church.
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