General Shepherd A New Perspective on the Mission of the Messiah is presented as seven chapters

Christian Nseka’s General Shepherd A New Perspective on the Mission of the Messiah Revised and Expanded Edition is a readily comprehensible, heavily researched work ideal for those who enjoy in depth biblical and theological study and learning. General Shepherd A New Perspective on the Mission of the Messiah is presented as seven chapters including God’s Champions, New Perspective on the Mission of Moses, God’s Plan for the Protection of Jesus, The Public Life and Mission of Jesus Christ, The Mission of the Messiah, The Messiah and Perfection, General Shepherd. Chapter One: God’s Champions discusses in length Heroes, Israel and the Messiah, qualifications for a Central Person and qualifications for the Messiah. Chapter Two: A New Perspective on the Mission of Moses addresses The Slavery of the Israelites in Egypt, The Birth of Moses, Overview of the Mission of Moses, along with The Mission God Intended for Moses. Chapter Three: God’s Plan for the Protection of Jesus presents The Conception of Jesus Christ, The Birth of Jesus Christ, Similarities at Conception and Birth, Protective Shield, and Spiritual Connection. Chapter Four: The Public Life and Mission of Jesus Christ includes The Mission of John the Baptist, John the Baptist’s Testimony of Jesus, John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, Jesus, The Three Temptations, The Initial Steps in His Public Life, and Mount of Transfiguration. Chapter Five: The Mission of the Messiah includes discussions regarding Jesus and the Messianic Mission, The Fulfillment of the Mission of the Messiah, The Scope of the Mission of Jesus Christ, The Number Three, Challenges at the Second Coming, God’s Children Chapter Six: The Messiah and Perfection outlines Jesus and Perfection, Misinterpretation , Satan’s Ingenuity, The Number Twenty-One, Back to Point Zero, The Kingdom of Heaven and Paradise, Jesus’ Path to Perfection, and Perfection: Conclusion. Chapter Seven: General Shepherd, illustrates Lessons from John the Baptist, Sense of Judgment, God’s Will, The General Shepherd Effect, Lease Agreement, Living in Denial, Satan and the Messiah, The Messianic Concept, plus Beware and Be Ready. It is Nseka’s understanding that ‘Everyone born in this world is born with a mission: be it becoming the president of a nation, a pastor of a church, a doctor, a judge, a bus driver, an astronaut, a teacher, or a football player, just to name a few. Whether or not one fulfills this innate mission depends on the choices one makes.’ Nseka goes on to explain that there are various life levels or aspects as to the particular mission one is born to fulfill. It is how one comprehends and then undertakes their mission whether within their own family, or in a public way at city, national or world level that denotes the difference. Nseka notes that it is even possible that there are those who may have a mission at the universal level. To illustrate his point Nseka notes the shepherd lad David of Old Testament writing who without military training would lead his nation, along with others of history including Joan of Arc, Washington, and Martin Luther King, all of whom time, place and history have heralded as important to the situation at hand. God’s Champions per writer Nseka may be led not so much by what they personally want. Often what we need and what we want just may not be identical, it is the invisible power of God coupled with total faith in the name of God Almighty which allows God to send each person out on the mission they are to fulfill. ‘Those who may be nobody in the eyes of the world become somebody in the eyes of God Almighty.’ Continuing his work Nseka; explains something of the teaching of the Unification Church regarding the ‘Central Person’ which refers to an individual who has engaged in or is carrying out an important role in the work of God toward fulfillment of God’s will for their lives. Nseka details five factors which are the mark of a Central Person; including being born in a population where the populace has a considerable history for belief in God, is of devout lineage, has the ability to perform the mission at hand, coupled with the essential experience to actually achieve the mission at hand, and must execute his or her mission at the precise time and place that God employs to meet the criteria as a central person for the recognition of God’s principle. Nseka’s well researched, well written reference work forwards an in depth discussion of Moses and his role and life as Nseka clarifies the perception that everything occurring in life is not God’s plan or will; He does not plan for some to have misery and others to have joy. This work includes a dialogue regarding Qualifications for the Messiah, as well as a new viewpoint regarding the mission of Moses, and a discussion of God’s will. Writer Nseka follows Moses from his birth, to his life mission, the Exodus of the Children of Israel, and his fulfilling of his life mission. Nseka guides the reader toward understanding scripture, that the fulfillment of the mission God intends is somewhat dependent upon the human focus of the person involved. Nseka proffers the notion that Moses served as a Symbolic Messiah. Jesus Christ, including God’s plan for protection of Jesus, his pedigree, and spiritual connection as well as the life of Christ and his mission, are discussed as well. A study of John the Baptist helps to clarify his role as well as the mission of Christ. This resource work guides the reader to greater understanding of God’s Canaan and the Promised Land, the role of the family of Abraham, a realization of God’s ideal through reconciliation as well as a greater understanding of God’s Children. As with Nseka’s The Messiahship of the Lord Introducing a New Perspective on the “Resurrection” of Jesus Christ, General Shepherd A New Perspective on the Mission of the Messiah is also a work of 200+ well written and heavily researched pages. I found General Shepherd A New Perspective on the Mission of the Messiah to be a compelling, very comprehensible work filled with the significances of the writer’s investigative work in scripture, and other writings from the ages. Nseka presents an understanding for the will of God in the lives of individuals using a gentle, parental guidance mode of writing backed with his own personal experience, understanding, and research. I like that Nseka adds appendices, a large comprehensive index, and notes concerning himself and how he has come to his personal religious perspective. Happy to recommend Christian Nseka’s General Shepherd A New Perspective on the Mission of the Messiah Revised and Expanded Edition. ------------------------------ The full Table of Contents is presented here to guide the reader into a better understanding of the scope of this work. Acknowledgments .....................................i Preface............................................................................................iii Chapter One: God’s Champions............................... ...... ...................1 I. Heroes ................................................................. .......................1 II. Israel and the Messiah ............................... ......... .......................4 III. Qualifications for a Central Person ............... .......... ....................7 IV. Qualifications for the Messiah................. ... .................................10 Chapter Two: A New Perspective on the Mission of Moses .......... .......13 I. The Slavery of the Israelites in Egypt............ .... ............................13 1. Understanding the Cause...............................................................13 2. Not God’s Will...............................................................................14 II. The Birth of Moses............................... .......................................18 III. Overview of the Mission of Moses .............. ...... ..........................21 1. Moses in the Palace.......................................................................21 2. Moses and the Pharaoh at the Exodus................. ............. .............22 3. The Predicament of Moses......................................................... ....23 IV. The Mission God Intended for Moses.......... .......... ........................24 1. His God-intended Mission................................................................24 2. The Lost Foundation.......................................................................25 3. Unfair Advantage............................................................................28 4. Not Protecting the Heavenly Foundation............. .............................32 5. Fulfilling His Mission........................................................................34 6. The New Foundation.......................................................................36 7. Moses as the Symbolic Messiah................................... ....................37 V. A New Perspective on the Exodus .......... . ......................................40 1. God’s Original Rescue Plan................................... ...........................40 2. God’s Secondary Rescue Plan...........................................................44 VI. Precedence ......................................................... .........................46 VII. What Would Have Happened?................... .............. .....................47 Chapter Three: God’s Plan for the Protection of Jesus... .........................51 I. The Conception of Jesus Christ............. .............................................51 1. Mary’s Pregnancy..............................................................................51 2. Jesus’ Pedigree.................................................................................53 II. The Birth of Jesus Christ...................... .................. .........................55 III. Similarities at Conception and Birth ........ ............ ..... .....................58 IV. Protective Shield..............................................................................60 1. The Protection of Moses....................................................................60 2. The Protection of Jesus Christ............................................................61 V. Spiritual Connection....................... ..................................................64 VI. Conclusion .....................................................................................69 Chapter Four: The Public Life and Mission of Jesus Christ .......................73 I. The Mission of John the Baptist..........................................................73 1. Baptism............................................................................................74 2. Forerunner........................................................................................77 II. John the Baptist’s Testimony of Jesus.................................................80 III. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ .....................................................82 IV. Jesus as a Prophet...........................................................................83 V. The Three Temptations .....................................................................85 1. The First Temptation..........................................................................86 2. The Second Temptation......................................................................91 3. The Third Temptation.........................................................................96 4. Overview of theVictory of Jesus over the Three Temptations.................102 5. Jesus as the New Adam......................................................................103 6. Lessons from the Three Temptations...................................................105 VI. The Initial Steps in His Public Life..................................................... 108 1. His New Family..................................................................................108 2. The Few Prepared Ones.....................................................................110 VII. Mount of Transfiguration................................................................. 111 1. The Reason Jesus Spoke to Moses.......................................................111 2. The Reason Jesus Spoke to Elijah........................................................113 Chapter Five: The Mission of the Messiah .............................................. 115 I. Jesus and the Messianic Mission …………………….................................. 115 II. The Fulfillment of the Mission of the Messiah ..................................... 117 III. The Scope of the Mission of Jesus Christ .......................................... 120 IV. The Number Three .......................................................................... 124 1. The Fulfillment of God’s Will................................................................124 1.1 The First Three Central Families........................................................124 1.2. God’s Canaan and the Promised Land................................................127 1.3. The Third Adam...............................................................................128 2. Another Reason God Continued to Use the Family of Abraham...............129 2.1. Vertical and Horizontal Foundations...................................................129 2.2. Within the Family of Abraham............................................................131 2.3. Abraham’s Family as a Model.............................................................132 V. Challenges at the Second Coming ……………………................................. 134 1. The Realization of God’s Ideal through Reconciliation.............................134 2. The Reconciliation with the Satanic-type Older Brother...........................138 3. The Reconciliation with the Heavenly-type Older Brother........................140 VI. God’s Children................................................................................... 143 Chapter Six: The Messiah and Perfection..................................................149 I. Jesus and Perfection............................................................................149 II. Misinterpretation ................................................................................152 III. Satan’s Ingenuity ..............................................................................155 IV. The Number Twenty-One (21).............................................................156 V. Back to Point Zero ...............................................................................158 1. The Restoration of the Position of Adam…………………..............................158 2. Should Jesus Have Married?..................................................................160 VI. The Kingdom of Heaven and Paradise...................................................162 VII. Jesus’ Path to Perfection.....................................................................167 VIII. Perfection: Conclusion......................................................................168 Chapter Seven: General Shepherd ............................................................171 I. Lessons from John the Baptist...............................................................171 II. Sense of Judgment..............................................................................172 III. God’s Will ..........................................................................................177 1. God’s Will Centered on Jesus.................................................................177 2. God’s Will Centered on the Lord of the Second Advent…………………….......182 IV. The General Shepherd Effect ...............................................................184 V. Lease Agreement..................................................................................186 VI. Living in Denial ...................................................................................194 VII. Satan and the Messiah........................................................................199 1. Satan’s Strategy on Jesus.......................................................................199 2. The Opportune Moment.........................................................................201 3. Satan’s Strategy on the Lord of the Second Advent..................................204 VIII. The Messianic Concept.......................................................................205 IX. Beware and Be Ready ..........................................................................209 Appendix...................................................................................................213 Index........................................................................................................217 Works Cited...............................................................................................223 About the Author ......................................................................................226 =========================== Reviewed by Molly’s Reviews molly martin =========================== Title: General Shepherd A New Perspective on the Mission of the Messiah Author: Christian Nseka Genre: theological, study, education Product Details Publisher: Millennial Mind Publishing An imprint of American Book Publishing 5442 So. 900 East, #146 Salt Lake City, UT 84117 Language: English ISBN-13: 978-1-58982-645-8 ISBN-10: 1-58982-645-0 About the Author Christian Nseka was born in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire). He joined the Unification Church in 1987 in his homeland and thereafter became a lecturer of the Divine Principle, which he uses as a guide in his life. He moved to the United States in 1994. His interests include, but are not limited to, reading inspirational materials, meditation, travel, and spending time with his family. His hope is to see a world where individuals from different religions come together in the effort to build God’s Kingdom.