Is The Separation of Church and State Biblical?

To many Christians, the gospel of Christ denotes the process of personal salvation to one and all who believe. To those same Believers, there is seldom much more than a thought as to why Our Creator offers such salvation. Such a thought could be stated another way…….

What is the purpose of man?

Without a doubt, personal salvation is of necessity an aspect of The Gospel, however, does the will of The Almighty stop there? A careful, critical thought of what defines the gospel of Christ would reveal, there is much more to this Christian-based theology of “The Gospel” than the churches of modernity are teaching these days.

Christ himself first defined the Gospel, very early in His ministry, as……

The Gospel of The Kingdom of God.

“Yeshua was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the KINGDOM, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” Matthew 4:23

Later, Luke writes:

“But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the KINGDOM of YoHeWaH and the name of Yeshua the Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.” Acts 8:12

The key word in these two texts is “Kingdom”, as the true gospel is defined, biblically, apart from man’s teachings. The Bible will interpret itself if you know where and how to look.

A Kingdom is defined as having four parts:

1 — A King

2 — A Territory or Land

3 — A People, The Governed

4 — A Set of Laws

A King of any worth within the context of righteousness has a governing body to aid in His mission to the governed or His Kingdom. Today, we might call that body, The Cabinet of The Presidency. Advisors to the King (in this case the President) to help Him rule accordingly.

The mission of The Gospel was no different. Christ stated the goal, “The Kingdom” within the pronouncement of The Gospel. That goal was in essence, all about Government… And not just any government. It was to be a government of righteousness.

We see this from a passage concerning The Infancy of Christ, proclaiming His mission stated by The Prophet Isaiah. Read these words from chapter 9, with the context of “The Gospel” in mind.

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the GOVERNMENT will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Within the infancy of Christ's 3.5-year ministry, we see this proclamation of The Gospel of The Kingdom or Government, but we also see another event taking place within the story of Christ's ministry, in the very beginning….

He was choosing Disciples… Disciples that were to one day become Apostles… Apostles that were to one day become rulers in His coming government here on earth.

Consider these two passages from the end time book of Revelation, written by The Apostle John, and a very important passage from the Pen of The Apostle Peter:

“And He has made us unto our God, kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10

“But you are a chosen race, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a set apart nation, God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1Peter 2:9

“And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Revelation 21:14

These Apostles, after the death, burial, and resurrection of Our Lord, were commanded to go forth and do what?

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to OBSERVE (OBEY) all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19–20

Again, using critical thinking, let’s bring to light the depth of meaning packed within this passage.

1. The use of the words “baptizing them” denotes a church aspect of the mission, does it not?
2. The words “teaching them” denote a priestly aspect, for a priest is in the service of teaching, educating, edifying, admonishing, and even chastising when needed.
3. The word “observe or obey” causes a set of laws to be brought forth, within the critical thought process. In fact, in light of what we have seen defines The Coming Kingdom of God, law has to be in place for The Kingdom to operate properly.
4. The use of the words, “to the end of the age” lends to us a time setting when the fruit of this two thousand-year mission will finally be recognized.

So, in essence, what we are seeing from all of these passages is a government that has two sides to it. One side pertains to the matters of a King and his advisers and one side pertains to matters of a Priesthood.

Thus it can be said that the Kingdom of God is not a separation of “King and Priest” or as we would say today, “Church and State” but rather it is a union of Church and State, a union of King (Physical Governance) and Priest (Spiritual Guidance).

So, let’s look further into the biblical evidence of this matter. For instance, did you know, the prophet Zechariah prophesied, that within the time setting of the end time, there would be two thrones established within the coming Kingdom of God? One for The Builder (one BRANCH of Government) and one for the Priest (another BRANCH of Government).

Zechariah writes:

“ And the word of The Eternal came to me: ‘Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. Take from them silver and gold, AND MAKE A CROWN, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.’ And say to him, Thus says The Eternal of hosts, ‘Behold, the man whose name is THE BRANCH: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of The Almighty. It is he who shall build the temple of The Almighty and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. And the crown shall be in the temple of The Almighty……as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Chen the son of Zephaniah.” Zechariah 6:9–14

There is so much in this text, we simply must break it down, again using critical thinking, in light of what we have witnessed from the passages, we have looked at thus far from The New Testament, concerning The Gospel of The Kingdom or Government of God. Point by point…….

1 — There is a crown created for the express purpose of identifying the leader of a Royal priesthood. The words, “High Priest” denotes a lower priesthood of servants, working under the said “High Priest”. I submit to you, this One is Christ. In fact, His name is the very same as that of Christ, for Christ’s name truly isn’t Jesus as we have all been born into the knowledge of, but a careful study will reveal, the true name of Our Savior is actually Yeshua translated into English, Joshua. Thus there is a Royalty and a Throne set aside for the priestly side of the governmental equation.

2 — Later in the text we see the outright statement, “ And there shall be a priest on his throne”, proving there the priesthood shall be headed by a High priest sitting on a throne.

3 — Beginning with the words, “Behold, the man whose name is THE BRANCH”, we see a totally separate player, apart from that of The High Priest, and a second throne. This One is called The Builder and His role is tied to a branch, as in a branch of government.

Teachable moment — The Church has taught, incorrectly, that this One called THE BRANCH is Christ.

Why?

Catch this… Because of the false teaching instituted DUE TO YEARS of a tyrannical church and a tyrannical government within two millennia of modern history. This teaching can be traced back to the “thought to be” constitutional theory called “The Separation of Church and State”.

Did you catch the words, “thought to be”? Most people falsely believe ‘The Separation of Church and State” is a constitutional truth, when in fact, “The Separation of Church and State” is nowhere to be found in The Declaration of Independence, The Articles of Confederation, or The United States Constitution.

This knowledge, combined with the overwhelming fact of the “God / Biblical Based” theology of the three documents listed in the above paragraph would overwhelmingly lead anyone with a brain to conclude the government spoken of by Our Savior concerning the Gospel or good news of the coming Kingdom / Government of God here on this earth, by process of elimination must be in its infant stages here in the land of America…….All be it, held up in its growth by an end-time attack by The Enemy, of which Scripture very clearly identifies… Back to our critical points being made from the text in Zechariah 6.

4 — The use of the words “the temple of The Almighty” causes most Believers to think about a religious church building of some sort. However, truth be told, a temple anciently was a place of governmental business, as much as it was a place of worship and/or judgment. Fact is, once you factor in this concept of “The UNION of church and state”, you can more readily come to see this restored meaning of “The Temple of God”. It refers to the fullness of government, both King and Priest, Church and State. A modern-day picture, apart from the concept of righteousness, would be Capitol Hill, where our “thought to be” public servants conduct their business on behalf of the people, supposedly… As I reiterate, “apart from righteousness”, for there is no righteousness within our government today, but there once was… I believe the years 1776 through 1791, as there is no doubt The Almighty’s fingerprints are all over the Founding Fathers writings, signs of righteousness, indeed.

5- So, without a doubt, the One brought forth “to build the government, restored” is the Kingly (physical governing) side of the equation, and He “shall BEAR royal honor”.

The word “BEAR” in the Hebrew text is the word “nasah” (H5375) and it roots from two words. One word means to end or tare down a thing. The other root word means to begin a new, as in, the end of one year beginning a new one.

Thus placed in the context of a government, this One (The BRANCH) shall tare down what we know as a corrupted government and shall begin the building of a new process of another (renewed) government, one that will be righteous and true, BEARING the Royal Honor of The Almighty.

6 — Notice this One (The BRANCH) shall sit on one throne and a completely different entity (The High Priest) shall sit on another throne …Two Thrones, within the coming government of God. And there shall be peace or unity (not separation) between the two thrones.

King and Priest in perfect unity, under one God, The Father, as He wills through these two offices, restoring the earth, for we know from other passages, it will take 1000 years to accomplish… The Coming Kingdom of The Father.

7 — There is yet one more, very important, critical thought we just take from this passage in Zechariah 6. This 7th point is a teachable moment unto itself and one that must be carefully considered with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Remember those Disciples who were to become Apostles, who were to teach all nations to obey all things, who were to be the foundation of the coming government of God, set here on this earth? Remember those guys in this story of The Gospel? They are the leaven that is to be worked into the loaf, which was to be permanent all over the world before the end came. Remember this parable from Christ:

“He told them still another parable: ‘The kingdom that comes from heaven IS LIKE LEAVEN that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.’ All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ‘I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.’” Matthew 13:33–35

The initial leaven begins as a very small thing, not having very much effect at all upon the dough, yet the Kingdom or Government which comes down from Heaven is like unto this leaving process. One once more this is a Hidden theology or doctrine, little known to most passive Believers and certainly to all of the world, at large.

The establishment of these two thrones, spoken of in Zechariah 6, within the end time, prophesied, that the coming government of God was to be a sign or a reminder to whom?

“as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.” Zechariah 6:14

Teachable moment — There is an understanding that can be gleaned, a layer down from that of the surface of scripture, which can be ascertained and added to the topsoil meaning of the text, lending greater meaning and understanding to the story being told. This is accomplished in several ways. One of which is applying the meaning of names to the context of the story being told. Consider the meanings of the names given here in this text:

Helem — To be in good standing which one has dreamed of all his lifetime, of good courage and strength.

Tobijah — The goodness of God (YHWH), to the full.

Jedaiah — The full knowledge of God (YHWH).

Chen — Favor or Grace from One Higher

Zephaniah — Those HIDDEN, treasured of God (YHWH), Saved for a time yet to come.

Thus the two Offices, (thrones), and Positions of Leadership spoken of as the very foundation of The Father’s coming government or Kingdom here on earth will be a sign to those Believers who have been prepared to be the very advisers to the office of the King and to the office of the Priest in that coming government. These are rooted in the foundation of what Our Savior was building in the very days of His ministry, the very infancy of the government spoken of by Isaiah in chapter 9.

If you have eyes to see these advisers (The Cabinet if you will) hold the following characteristics, as told by the meanings of the names of these at the end of Zechariah 6:14.

They are in good standing, in the eyes of YHWH, The Father. They are of good courage, full of strength, fulfilling the very thing they have dreamed of, which is to play the role they have been prepared for within the coming government of God. They are favored by God, actually mirroring the very goodness of God’s character. Having the very mind or knowledge of God, sharing His thoughts, and being in perfect unity with His will and plan, for they have fulfilled the commission to grow in grace (favor) and knowledge. They are God’s treasure, BEING HIDDEN like the leaven spoken of by Christ in Mark 13:33–35

At the beginning of this article, I asked the question, in the context of the true meaning of the Gospel of Christ:

What is the purpose of man?

The answer to that question is to become as these men listed here in Zechariah 6:14 and to fulfill the qualities listed above, for the express purpose of preparing one’s self to be the ready-made advisers to either The King or advisers to The Priest of YHWH, The Father, The Most High.

Joey Thompson

joeythompson777@aol.com