Chess – “The Game of Dictators”

I’ve been thinking about the game of Chess lately. As I was thinking about it, it suddenly hit me how much this game is like dictators and their people. As I was doing some research about the game, I came across a website that said it has sometimes been called “The game of Dictators”.

For those of you who do not know much about the game let me try and explain how the game is played. It is a strategy type game played on a checker board. There are two players and each player try to capture their opponent’s king to win the game. The two players start off with an equal number of pieces to play with. Each piece can only move in specific directions and can capture opponent pieces in specific ways. Some pieces are considered more important than other pieces because of their power. Next to the king, the queen is the most important, the pawns are least important.

Here is what struck me about how this game is much like dictators and their people. In the game, it is just as important to protect your own king as it is to try and capture your opponent’s king. Every piece is expendable. Everyone, even the queen, can and will be sacrificed to gain the upper hand against the opponent, or to protect your own king.  

With dictators, the same is true. Every member under the dictator’s control is expendable even those closest to them. If it is prudent to eliminate someone, the dictator will do everything in his or her power to make that happen.

In the United States of America, our forefathers understood this and tried to design our government to help prevent us from ever having a dictator in control. They were smart to separate the three branches of government, Judicial, Legislative, and Executive. They also saw the value of ALL people. Abraham Lincoln said it most beautifully when he wrote ‘The Declaration of Independence’. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights (See note below), that among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This idea is the soul of our US Constitution. We have made some steps over the years towards this end but we have a long way to go and there are always people who make us go backwards, our present president included. 
Note to above: The original version said that all men had certain inherent natural rights. When it was changed to 'endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights', it was meant to exclude slaves because slaves were considered property.

In this present world of dictators, the most important person under the dictator (king) is just as expendable as the least important. We fight and do all the evil things we do to each other for what reason? To keep dictators in power or to try and become dictators ourselves? It makes no sense. We will all be judged by the things we have done in this life.

I have said this many times and will say it again. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus are so different and worthy of our adoration. If I were to put Them, Father God and Jesus, in a chess game, here is how it might look. God, our Father would be the One playing the game, Jesus would be our King, and we the playing pieces. God would sacrifice King Jesus in order to save us, game over.

Our Heavenly Father's desire is that there were no chess games at all. Instead, that there would be peace on earth. But, we are too stupid to achieve peace on our own or even to desire it. 

What sets Yahweh (Father God) and Yeshua (Jesus) apart from all else.

When I go through my ‘almost daily’ exercises, I think a lot and I talk with God too. I have to keep up with my exercises because of the issues I am having with my spine. If I don’t exercise, I will regret it sooner or later with debilitating pain. My thoughts sometimes are centered around my medical issues I am going through right now. Thoughts like why are these things happening to me. I think about the book of Job in the Old Testament of the Bible. I think about my dream (Funny Dream) how the Lord and I shook hands with Him saying my spine issues won’t be as bad as I think. I think about Satan, why he is the way he is and why does God leave him be. So many questions.

In my last post ‘Dictators And Wannabes’   I talked about dictators and their characteristics and what happens when they are in power. As I was thinking about Satan, he is just like a dictator. In a way I think of him as a dictator wannabe in heaven. He wants to be like God Most High where he gets the praise and others fall down to worship him.

In the book of Job (Job 1), it shows that Satan is free to move about on Earth and in heaven. He has great power because it was he who caused the bad things to happen to Job, his children, and all that Job had; everything that God had blessed him with. Satan was able to do this only because God the Father allowed him to. Even with all that Job went through, he still blessed God.

Job 1:20-22 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

²⁰ Then^[a] Job arose and tore his outer garment^[b] and shaved his head; then^[c] he fell upon the ground and he worshiped. ²¹ Then^[d] he said, “Naked I came out from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there. Yahweh gives, and Yahweh takes. Let Yahweh’s name be blessed.” ²² In all this, Job did not sin and did not charge God with wrongdoing.^[e] 

I wonder, is it maybe Satan who causes much of the pain and suffering that we humans experience and it’s God Who gets the blame? From the story in Job, it seems possible. But still, God would have to allow it. I don’t think it is always Satan who causes our pain and suffering. A lot has to do with us and our evil hearts. I think about how we humans are. If there was no Satan doing what he does, would we ever turn from our evil ways?

We are born sinners. We have evil thoughts in our hearts right away in our youth (Genesis 8:21). Our inclination is not to seek after God (Romans 3:11), it is God who seeks after and wants to save us  (Luke 19:10). This is what stands God apart from all else, that God can continue loving us when we do nothing to deserve it. He sent His only begotten Son, Yeshua Jesus, to Earth to take all our sins upon Himself, He who knew no sin. Jesus didn’t have to do that. He could have told His Father no. He could have said, “Why should I go through all that pain and suffering for humans who care nothing about You, Dad?” But He was obedient. He came to Earth and took our place so that we could live. Would a dictator ever do such a thing for his people? Dictators only care about themselves.  

Ezekiel 34:16 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Dictators And Wannabes

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it – George Santayana.

Hitler promised the Germans that he would make Germany great again. He did do that; great and powerful, but at the expense of millions of lives. Hitler was a dictator. People are forced to obey dictators. Any opposition to dictators is quickly squashed. During Hitler’s reign no one could say anything bad about him without being severely punished, they even wanted to know about private conversations of people talking about Hitler. With dictators, the only law of the land is the law of the dictator. Putin is a dictator. He has said that the only law in Russia is Putin’s law.

President Donald Trump is a dictator wannabe. Anyone can see that. You just have to open your eyes to the things he says and does.  During the presidential debates he made the comment that he sees nothing wrong using torture on people. He praises dictators because he likes the control they have over their people. After meeting with Kim Jung Un, Trump said this about Kim on a Fox News interview, “He’s the head of a country, and I mean he’s the strong head. Don’t let anyone think different. He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.” He likes and wants to be praised. After he was elected president, right away he started campaigning for his 2020 presidency. I watched one of them. It was a big production of him flying in on Air Force One, the door of the plane opened and Trump descended the stairs, and as he walked to the stage to speak, they played “The Battle Hymn of The Republic” and the words sang out, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord” (lord Trump.) He has double standards for law enforcement; severe punishment for those he doesn’t like because they speak out against him and leniency for those he likes, even though they have broken the law and have been convicted in court. He calls most all news agencies “enemies of the people” because they say things he does not like. He wants loyalty from those close to him and confidentiality agreements to be signed by those who work for him. There is much more I could say about him to show that he envies dictators and desires to be like them and I believe he is working towards that end with Putin’s help.

We are living in dangerous times. All our US national security teams agree that Putin and his people worked in our 2016 election to help get Trump elected. Putin has said out right that he wanted Trump to be elected. There are no other Americans in the room when Trump and Putin gets together to talk, usually for multiple hours at a time, so we do not know what they talk about. If Trump succeeds to kill our constitution then there will no longer be anything in place to prevent him from becoming a dictator. If this happens, I foresee that Putin will eventually own the United States of America. Dictators can take control of another dictator’s domain simply by throwing out bigger and better bones to the other dictator’s people or infiltrating that dictator’s domain with his own people. If this happens, Putin can control the world.

I’ve painted a pretty bleak picture, I know, but I believe there is hope for all who will be alive during this time, those who will keep on believing and trusting God the Father and in Yeshua Jesus. All through the New Testament of the Bible there are words of encouragement to persist in believing during the troubling times and you will be blessed. It is another way of telling us that if we continue believing even though it may appear that there is no God, no hope, we will be glad that we did, we continued.

 The book of Revelation in the Bible is a tough book to understand and I believe God made it that way for a reason. It is so that even Satan cannot understand. Satan uses things about God all the time to deceive us. When he tempted Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), he said, “surely you wont die if you eat the fruit. Your eyes will be opened and you will be like God.” When he tempted our Lord Jesus (Matthew4:1-10) he tried to get Jesus to question who He was/is, he used scripture, and lastly, he offered Jesus earth if He would just bow down and worship him (Satan). 

Matthew 4:8-10 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

⁸ Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, ⁹ and he said to him, “I will give to you all these things, if you will fall down and^[a] worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”^[b]

In Revelation 20:8-9 it tells that God Himself will act on behalf of His people.

Revelation20:8-9 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

⁸ and he (Satan) will go out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to assemble them for battle, whose number^[a] is like the sand of the sea. ⁹ And they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the fortified camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

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God is All Powerful. Who shall I fear?

Our World ---> Going towards peace or war? (2/22/19 -- added stuff)

There is scripture in the Old Testament of the Bible (same as the Jewish Bible called the Tanakh) that I think about sometimes.

Isaiah 11:6-9 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

6 

And a wolf shall stay^[a] with a lamb,

    and a leopard shall lie down with a kid,

and a calf and a lion and a fatling together

    as a small boy leads^[b] them.

7 

And a cow and a bear shall graze;

    their young shall lie down together.

    And a lion shall eat straw like the cattle.

8 

And an infant^[c] shall play over a serpent’s hole,

    and a toddler^[d] shall put his hand on a viper’s hole.

9 

They will not injure and they will not destroy on all of my holy mountain,^[e]

    for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh,

        as the waters cover the sea.

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What a picture of perfect peace. This kind of peace has not happened yet. I wonder how close we are to this. The way our world seems to be heading right now is towards war, not peace.

Whatever it is going on between Putin and Trump concerns me. If I didn't believe in an All Powerful God who has a plan of saving us, I would be more than concerned. I have no problem with our United States of America becoming friends with any country as long as the leaders of those countries are looking after the welfare of all people of the world, both poor and wealthy, great and small. I just don't see this in any one of our two leaders.

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Had I read these scriptures a little further, I would have seen when this peace will happen.

Isaiah 11:10 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

2/22/19

I was thinking about this post, mainly about the picture of perfect peace as described in Isaiah 11:6-9, about when this would happen as described in Isaiah 11:10, and about my most resent post "God Hates The Deeds and The Doctrines of the Nicolaitans -- Revelation 2:6 and 15"; mostly about Jeremiah 31:34. 

It hit me how these seem to be interrelated. Jeremiah 31:34 essentially says that man will no longer teach man about Yahweh (God) because God will place that knowledge into everyone. Isaiah 11:10 essentially says that Yeshua (Jesus) will become evident to everyone and that evidence will lead to the perfect peace; 'the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.'

Love Thy Enemy

Matthew 5:43-48 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

The Sermon on the Mount: Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’^[a] and ‘Hate your enemy.’^{[b] 44} But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is remarkable? Do not the Gentiles also do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore you be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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I've been thinking about this trying to relate this to the actions of Jesus. Jesus had many run-ins with the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. Many of them wanted to end His life and silence Him. He often had strong words to say to them. So I thought, "How does this show Jesus' love to them?" 

I think it is much like parents with their children. Sometimes we as parents get so frustrated with our children we just want to pull our hair out but we still love them. It is exposing their wrongdoings in hopes of them changing and coming to the light (Jesus). Wickedness should be exposed, not wishing for bad things to happen to those doing it but because it's the only hope for change in them. As long as wickedness and wrongdoing is hidden, it will continue.

I think part of this too is not to Hate our enemies because hate makes us want to retaliate for their wrongdoings to us. God says that vengeance is His.

Deuteronomy 32:35-37 Common English Bible (CEB)

³⁵ Revenge is my domain, so is punishment-in-kind,
    at the exact moment their step slips up,
    because the day of their destruction is just around the corner;
    their final destiny is speeding on its way!
³⁶ But the Lord will acquit his people,
    will have compassion on those who serve him,
        once he sees that their strength is all gone,
        that both prisoners and free people are wiped out.^[a]
37 The Lord will ask, “Where are their gods—
    the rocks they trusted in—

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Something else to think about, something I have to keep reminding myself of, is that our battles or struggles are not with flesh and blood.

Ephesians 6:10-12 New International Version (NIV)

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 Common English Bible (CEB)

³ Although we live in the world, we don’t fight our battles with human methods. ⁴ Our weapons that we fight with aren’t human, but instead they are powered by God for the destruction of fortresses. They destroy arguments,

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Paul’s Prayer Request

3 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may progress and be honored, just as also it was with you, ² and that we may be delivered from evil and wicked people, for not all have the faith^[a]. ³ But the Lord is faithful, who will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. ⁴ And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are both doing and you will do the things that we are commanding. ⁵ Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God and toward the patient endurance of Christ.