by Just Another Christian
by Just Another Christian
Philologos Religious Online Books
Philologos.org
Chapter 17 (part 1) | Table of Contents | Chapter 18
THE GREAT DREAM
by Just Another Christian
THE SITUATION AS IT STANDS | |
| When you visit one of these churches for the first time, you are confronted by a closed society that is dominated by a few influential "volunteers" and their families, around whom most of the activity centers. If you manage to offend any one of these "key people" you are "on the outs" for good. It will do no good to appeal to the others, or even to the Pastor, for the determination to keep these "volunteers" pacified and cooperative will overwhelm any sense of obligation to Truth: and this is a perfect picture of how bureaucracies work! Even if you are able to gain a little sympathy from the Pastor, he is usually surrounded by a "board of directors" that like to be called "elders", whose main qualifications for a position of "eldership" are their power to split the church; their capacity to give or withhold money; and their readiness to close ranks instinctively against all intruders. The Pastor is unlikely to risk alienating one of "them" in order to defend you! This "circle the wagons" and "break out the weapons" mentality is typical of every bureaucracy whenever one of the bureaucrats is challenged. The Pastor KNOWS that he has simply been "hired" to fight their battles for them; and he has no liberty to follow his conscience or to denounce their errors. Many a young man full of avowedly pious ambition has entered the ministry, only to end up drowning in compromise in order to keep his "job". Wherever the Holy Spirit reigns, the right men are recognized by those who obey the Spirit: NOT because they are admired by the world; NOT because they are quick to flatter their superiors; nor because they are pledged to affirm and defend a "party line" in disregard for The Truth. The Holy Ghost SAID, Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them (Acts 13:2): they didn't take a vote; they didn't hand out ordination certificates; and afterwards, neither Barnabas nor Saul displayed any respect of persons (James 2:1) for those who SEEMED to be somewhat (Gal.2:6). But today, anyone who wishes to obtain respect and authority in the churches, must be ready to speak great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration FIRST (Jude 16). In every other area of life, we denounce those who "hear no, see no, and speak no evil" for their own advantage as "boot lickers", "brown nosers", and worse.....but when it comes to religion, somehow, this kind of pandering for personal profit and popular approval gets relabeled as "humility" and "loyalty". You know what I mean. | |
| That form of BUREAUCRACY, in which authority is gained by attrition through conformity, complicity, and flattery, has been described, DENOUNCED, and REJECTED by Our Lord Jesus Christ: it is NOT God's way of establishing spiritual authority in His Church. | |
| BUT, just as He did in the days of King Saul, God Almighty has given a rebellious people what they ask for: | |
| 1Sam. 8:7 | And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. |
| Note! They were willing to keep Samuel around as a sort of "mascot", but because he wouldn't lead them to the fulfillment of their worldly ambitions, they still had to have a king. They rejected the government of God, because in their view, the practice of religion and the pursuit of piety were not being sufficiently rewarded with the things they wanted out of life. | |
| Those who lack personal assurance in the things they profess to believe want an earthly king to reign over them, that is: become the final court of appeals concerning what is good or bad, true or false, inspired or uninspired: even though as a "hired king", he is required to verify their presumptions in order to keep his "job". Because they have hired for themselves a king to do this, they feel like they have escaped all RESPONSIBILITY to apprehend, understand, and obey The Truth on their own. They no longer need to care WHY they believe what they say they believe, nor are they ever concerned about anything that challenges or contradicts their "pet doctrines": for they have their HIRED MAN who has been trained to come up with some kind of long winded, complicated "explanation" that will obscure the obvious, ignore the facts, and nurse them through their moment of insecurity. Like the Nazi's at Nuremburg: when called upon to excuse or explain their sins and errors against The Truth, they think to escape personal responsibility by reminding us that they "Were just following orders, and submitting to the DULY CONSTITUTED AUTHORITY: as if by this transparent lie, they will deceive and confuse God, Who knows exactly WHY they chose to take shelter under such "authority" in the first place! Every one of those Nazi's could have fled the country, rather than allow themselves to be "used" for the perpetration of another man's errors: but THAT would have meant the loss of their properties, their privileges, and their positions of "authority": We all know WHY they didn't leave; the judges at Nuremburg knew WHY they didn't leave; and God knows why you don't leave. | |
| BUT WOE unto the pastor that has some doubts about the doctrines he has been HIRED to defend! After all, THEY HIRED HIM, they PAY HIM, and they can FIRE HIM as well. | |
| Not only have they hired themselves a "Bible scholar" who is obliged to defend and dignify their own opinions, but they have also hired a "public relations man" who is supposed to personify their faith, be highly esteemed among men (Luke 16:15), and THUS, make them look good. They want their HIRED MAN to go out before them, and fight their battles. They want their HIRED MAN to be a PUBLIC EXAMPLE of "their faith" that they can defer to, just in case they are called upon to explain their own failures and shortcomings. They HIDE in his "shadow", thinking that all is well with themselves as long as they continue to defer to this other person, whom they insist, has "got it right". He becomes the idol before which they genuflect, in order to excuse their sins, their ignorance of the Bible, and their failure to be "model Christians" themselves: an idol, that they only exalt as long as he will continue to personify and publicly dignify their own doctrines and aspirations. This is why most professing Christians are so eager to tell you which church they attend; their identity and their security are derived from their willingness to defer to the "authority" they have invented and then invested in other men. This is also why they are so concerned about identifying which gang you take your security from: for if you have none or need none, you remind them that they cannot ultimately hide from God in crowd. But our security, and OUR IDENTITY is supposed to come from our loyalty to The Lord Jesus Christ: NOT from our place in a crowd, nor from some 'other' man that we HIRED to personify and represent True Religion in our place. | |
| A spiritually apathetic multitude is always willing to pay a high price for these services: even to endure a certain amount of ABUSE, if they can only get someone else to personify True Religion for them, as also says the Apostle Paul: | |
| 2Cor.11:20 | For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage(emotional slavery), if a man devour you (use up your money), if a man take of you (order you around like a servant), if a man exalt himself (boast ungraciously), if a man smite you on the face (insult and slander you). |
| Yes, they are willing to endure ALL of the above, as long as their HIRED MAN doesn't embarrass them in a public scandal, or begin to doubt or question the peculiar doctrines by which they think to distinguish themselves from the other churches: those with whom they are competing for members, applause, and money. There is little risk that the HIRED MAN will make such a "mistake" though, for he knows where his PAYCHECK is coming from. | |
| OBSERVE with me, my friend; how PERFECTLY King Saul represents the majority of the clergy in Christendom today: | |
| 1Sam.8:11 | And he said, this shall be the manner of the king that shall reign over you; he will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. |
| 12. | And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and will set them to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. |
| 13. | And he will take your daughters to be his perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. |
| 14. | And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. |
| 15. | And he will take the tenth (tithe) of your seed (income before expenses) and of your vineyards, and give them to his officers, and to his servants. |
| 16. | And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. |
| 17. | He will take the tenth of your sheep: and you shall be his servants. |
| 18. | And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day. |
| OH, how simple and obvious this all is! Can you be so blind as to not see that this is EXACTLY what is happening in Christendom today? You may spend YEARS laboring in one of these "churches"; putting in your time and your money for the Kingdom of God (and God does reward (Matt.10:42) all such service): BUT THEN, there comes a day in which you are compelled by conscience to protest against something, and SUDDENLY you are dismayed by the realization that you are being dismissed with contempt! There are, you will be told, other churches in town that MAY be able to appreciate your opinions. You are free to leave if you wish: but you will have left behind all the time, energy, and money you have invested there, and these will then be used to perpetuate the very errors you have protested against! If you dare to demand a public hearing on your complaint before the whole assembly, you are sure to find out what "the bum's rush" is. If you refuse to leave or be quiet in the face of this, they can always call the police: and you are, after all, trespassing. THAT'S RIGHT FRIEND, he will take from yours; what he takes will become his; and there will be nothing you can do about it! Oh, GO AHEAD! Try and remind them that you have the Bible AND the witness of a clear conscience on your side! Try and remind them of all that you have given and done in service to The Church! Try and remind them that you deserve a respectful hearing, and that they should give you a sincere and honest answer! Try and remind them that God is witness; that He knows who all the liars (Rev.21:8) are; that He knows who is mistreating who; and that anyone who says to his brother, 'Thou fool' (worthless and contemptible fellow), shall be in danger of hell fire (Matt.5:22). Oh, GO AHEAD my Friend, and discover, as I have, that nothing less than the power to cut off their money, lead away a crowd, or publicly implicate them in a crime or a scandal, will gain you the sober and respectful hearing you think you deserve. The centuries have passed, the costumes have changed, but The Pharisees and the Sadducees are STILL IN CHARGE. | |
| Just as it was in Our Lords time, the PUBLIC clergy is divided into two camps that APPEAR to be in opposition to each other; though finally, they are NOT! | |
| The Sadducees are those who profess to see little conflict between religious fidelity and cooperation with the needs and goals of society at large. They were the "respectable" upper class of Organized Religion in their day: but we still have this kind around in our day! They are quite ready to play down the requirements and soften the judgements of Biblical Religion in order to obtain the friendship of the princes of this world, and the social prominence that comes with such friendships. The Sadducees de-emphasize the scriptures, and do not expect any plain display of the power of God (Mark 12:24). Since they do not expect God to interfere with the affairs of men in any conspicuous, miraculous way, they think it wise and profitable to compromise or ignore any religious consideration that appears to be politically, socially, or economically inexpedient. They consider themselves to be "realists", and anyone who insists that being not of this world (John 15:19) means that we should come out from among the unbelievers, and be separate (2 Cor.6:14-21), they regard with bemused contempt. For example: Our Lord Jesus said, Swear not at all (Matt.5:34); and James said, ABOVE ALL THINGS, SWEAR NOT (James 5:12): but they are PROUD to be seen on the stage with the newly elected political big-shot when he swears an oath; NOT to support and defend the Bible, but The Constitution; NOT to be loyal to Jesus, but to the interests of The State. No, they say they see no conflict here, and they have already rehearsed a veritable deluge of "interpretations, explanations, and excuses" to sputter out at anyone who dares to suggest that a Christian who swears to represent and defend the interests and policies of The State has entered a conflict of loyalties. These are typified by those "clergymen" who are called in as consultants by the princes of this world (2 Cor.2:6); they are the ones who are invited to "say nice things" at the funerals of the great, and they love to list business tycoons, sports heros, kings and Senators among their friends. | |
| The Pharisees policed the personal morals and the religious performance of the masses: they occupy most of the lower, more local stations of public religious authority. They like to sneer at the Sadducees, and condemn them as backsliders and compromisers. The Pharisees imagine themselves to be the "faithful holdouts", and they like to boast about how they will never go along with what they like to call "compromised, big time religion". They love to publicly rebuke and accuse the "religious big-shots" and the "theologians" we all hear so much about; who seem to be so ready, willing, and able to explain away or dismiss certain parts of the Bible. But, what makes their complaint rather comical, is that while they reign over a group of 20 like minded fanatics, they take the liberty to preach a bold and exclusionary doctrine; in which all those who do not agree in every detail are to be openly rebuked, or disfellowshipped and condemned. But as the size of their audience and their income begins to increase, they claim to be "maturing" and learning what "love" means: they become more and more "broadminded" and they "soften" their tone, so as to "not offend": and then they, in turn, get criticized for compromising by all the other "zealots" who are still at the bottom. | |
| To all appearances, the Pharisees and the Sadducees would seem to be in opposition to each other. but.............. | |
| In spite of their differences, the Pharisees and the Sadducees had no problem with joining forces to get rid of Jesus, and later to persecute the rest of the disciples. Caiaphus the High Priest was a Sadducee, and he sent Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, to arrest all the Christians and bring them bound unto Jerusalem (Acts 9:1-2). And OF COURSE, they had NO PROBLEM with enlisting the aid of the local police to get this done. Fact is, MY FRIEND, that most of the Christians that have been martyrs for their faith were persecuted and executed by some sort of "State Police Force", who were acting in behalf of the LEADERS of Organized Religion. | |
| But you say, "That was the Jews and the Romans; we Christians don't do things like that". On the contrary, my Friend: most of the people who have been martyred for being 'some kind' of Christian were executed by the "State Troopers" of the Holy Roman Empire, who did the "dirty work" for the Roman Catholic Church. | |
| BUT maybe you are not a Roman Catholic, but a Protestant, so you say, "My people don't do things like that"! On the contrary, my Friend: After the Reformation, when it became obvious that neither the Protestants nor the Catholics would be able to crush each other out of existence, there arose a third notable party, composed of defectors from both camps. These came to be called 'Anabaptists', because they denied the validity of infant baptism (Acts 8:37). History records that most of the Anabaptists were very moral, harmless, and hardworking people: BUT, they renounced both the Catholic and the Protestant Churches, and were gaining converts from these churches every day. Of course, those who joined the Anabaptists brought their families, their friends, AND THEIR MONEY with them. They were seen as........COMPETITION. | |
| In 1529, the emperor Charles the Fifth met with representatives of both the Catholic and Lutheran churches in the city of Spires, Germany; where they agreed upon and enacted a law, which I here quote for your horror and amusement: | |
| "By the plenitude of our imperial power and wisdom we ordain, decree, oblige, declare, and will that all Anabaptists, men and women who have come to the age of understanding, shall be executed and deprived of their natural life by fire, sword, and the like, according to opportunity and without previous inquisition of the spiritual judges". | |
| and thus began the extermination of some 85,000 people, many of whose only "crimes" were their unwillingness to collaborate with The State, and their refusal to join and support the "State Authorized Religions". I'll bet you never heard about this! This persecution continued for almost 200 years; even while the Protestant Churches were in their "hey day". | |
| SO, the Catholics and the Protestants found a thing they COULD agree on: get rid of those Anabaptists! But they needed some kind of excuse, for every man likes to anesthetize his conscience a little bit before he sets out to sin: so in 1534, when they found a "compound" full of seditious religious fanatics in Munster, Germany, they labeled them as "Anabaptists"; besieged the town; killed them all; published their crimes; and then, set out to "get the rest of them". | |
| On October 26, 1553, Michael Servetus was burned at the stake "for heresy" in Geneva, Switzerland while the mayor of that city, John Calvin, "The Great Reformer" looked on, consented, and did nothing. As a matter of fact, Mr. Calvin (the great reformer) was the prosecutor at Michael Servetus' trial for "heresy". The history of the arrest and trial of Michael Servetus reveals that Mr. Servetus, having already been condemned as an heretic by the Office of the Catholic Inquisition in Spain, fled eastward to the territories of the Reformation, seeking refuge. The judge at his trial in Spain, anticipating this move, wrote to John Calvin, appealing for assistance in apprehending and exterminating Mr. Servetus. By the time that Mr. Servetus arrived in Geneva, the police were already looking for him, and he was quickly arrested. Mind you, Michael Servetus was charged with no civil crimes, such as theft, or adultery, or murder; but only with heresy. Thus we have Calvin the Protestant, and the Catholic Inquisitor, acting together to suppress freedom of religion and freedom of speech. There then followed upon the arrest, what could be described as the supreme example of a sham trial; in which Mr. Servetus was accused of the most trivial and ridiculous things you can imagine. When Mr. Servetus was finally allowed to speak, the sitting judge responded by characterizing Mr. Servetus' defense as "the slobberings of a foul dog". They dragged Michael Servetus into the street, tied him to the stake, and set him on fire. From the stake, he cried out, "Lord Jesus, have mercy on me!". These words were duly noted in the public record, as "evidence" that Mr. Servetus was truly and indeed, a child of Satan! And this, that I have just shown you, is only "the tip of the iceberg"; for never has there been in the recorded history of western civilization, a more tyrannical and oppressive despot than was John Calvin "the great reformer", over the citizens of Geneva. Another man wrote, "rubbish", on one of Calvin's tracts, and pinned it to the door of a local church. For this, he was imprisoned for a month, during which many "confessions" were extracted; and at the end of which, he too, was burned at the stake. The town was filled with "spies" who were either bought, or blackmailed into cooperation: AND YOU, WHO ARE READING THIS, DON'T KID YOURSELF!: were you there, and then, you too, would have to either "bow or burn" just like the rest! | |
| One of the most well known men in the history of Christianity; John Bunyan, wrote his famous book, "Pilgrim's Progress", while in jail in England, for preaching without the approval of the State Church. | |
| By 1726, when Alexander Cruden was composing his famous concordance WHILE IN THE JAIL and FOR THE SAME REASONS, the Anabaptists had all but utterly disappeared from the face of the earth, and they didn't just "fade away". There is no record that the Anabaptists ever mounted any kind of organized resistance to their persecutors, who pursued them for almost 200 years: executing them, jailing them, and confiscating their property. It seems that most of them went as sheep to the slaughter (Acts 8:32), and perhaps this was because they had respect to the teaching of Jesus, Who said: Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matt.5:39); and, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matt.5:44). The State was most willing to perform this "service" with the blessing of the "Official Churches", and thus to fulfill this prophecy: | |
| John.16:2 | They shall put you out of the synagogues (houses of public worship): yea, the time cometh, THAT WHOSOEVER KILLETH YOU WILL THINK THAT HE DOETH GOD SERVICE. |
| Don't ask me why.....I'm going to tell you anyway. You see; if ALL the people who CLAIM to be Christians were to suddenly begin taking the COMMANDS of Our Lord Jesus Christ seriously and conduct their lives in conformity to what Jesus said, the present social and political order would COLLAPSE almost overnight. | |
| How can a Christian schoolteacher, who knows that we are commanded to Swear not at all, command a classroom full of children to put their hand over their heart, and "Pledge Allegiance to the Flag"? | |
| How can a man who feels obliged to love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you (Matt.5:44) be of any use to the armed forces? | |
| How can a policeman that knows that the throne of iniquity has no fellowship with God, when it frameth mischief by a law (Psalm 94:20), be trusted to enforce what he KNOWS is an unfair law, when by doing so he will bring ruin and hurt upon otherwise decent, harmless, and productive people? Can he say, "I was just following orders"??? | |
| How can any lawyer that claims to be a Christian deal with these words of Jesus: And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also (Matt.5:40). Did not the Apostle Paul also say, Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? (1 Cor.6:7). Is there ANY WAY to "incorporate" these teachings and commands of Jesus Christ into the affairs of this life? (2 Tim.2:4)........NO. THE STATE knows this: so it is IN THEIR INTEREST to keep the "right people" in the pulpits of the churches. This is done by regulating and licensing the practice of religion. In some countries this is done by enacting "laws", wherein one who preaches without "official permission" from a State Authorized Religion is exiled, jailed, or executed. This is whathappened to Michael Servetus, John Bunyan, and Alexander Cruden. In America, where we still have considerable Freedom of Religion, this is done by offering a financial and social advantage to those churches who will call themselves a "Corporation Not For Profit" (characterization not without significance). They will be required to establish a bureaucracy, conform to all the rules of a worldly corporation, and apply to The State for "official" recognition. Those 'churches' and those 'preachers' that THE STATE "recognizes", get to bribe and reward their contributors by granting them a TAX EXEMPTION for all the money they give to their church. THINK ABOUT IT: You may also give some money, goods, or services to the poor family down the street; but for this, you get NO tax exemption. You may decide to send some money to me, in the belief that God wants you to affirm and support the message of this book; but for that, you will get NO tax exemption. By this means, The State is funneling money into particular churches, while discouraging any giving or charity outside these "official channels". Those who will "sign up" with The State also gain public authority by having "official credentials" that are recognized and honored by THE WORLD. With these "official credentials", the pastor gets special privileges in the jail, courthouse and hospital that are denied to everyone else who is not an officer of The State. This is truly "State sponsored Religion", because these "special privileges" amount to a "security clearance", and a tax-exemption is the same thing as a subsidy. This also means that every tax-payer is supporting Organized Religion whether they want to or not! The Bible applauds those that for His namesake went forth, TAKING NOTHING OF THE GENTILES (3 John 7), and we should follow this example. Jesus said to Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's (Matt.22:21): NOT to "make a deal with Caesar", in which the independence of The Church is compromised for filthy lucre's sake (Titus 1:11). The desire to gain worldly respect and authority, and the love of money (1 Tim.6:10), are the ONLY reasons why professing Christians will seek recognition as a "Non-Profit Corporation" from The State. | |
| The modern Pharisees and Sadducees stand "arm in arm" with the policeman, the postman, the fireman, the doctor, the mayor, and the schoolteacher: together they present a UNIFIED front line of RESISTANCE to all revolutionaries, and a seamless wall of contempt for any prophet that does not have his credentials in hand and a mob at his back. This ALIGNMENT of the RELIGIOUS leaders with those who represent the interests of THE WORLD is continuously implied, and often directly affirmed to our children every day, to PREVENT them from realizing that The Truth requires that they come out from among them, and be ... separate (2 Cor.6:17). Instead, they are encouraged to entangleth themselves with the affairs of this life (2 Tim.2:4), and are told they will be serving the purposes of God by doing so. And of course, when the children are led to believe that the pastor, the policeman, and the school teacher are all in "cahoots": they are afraid to disobey the pastor for the same reasons they are afraid to disobey the police or the school teacher: they KNOW that condemnation, rejection, and punishments equally await them should they offend on any of these fronts; because they KNOW that these all work together and that they will defend each other. When the POPULARLY ACKNOWLEDGED and PROPERLY LICENSED clergy speak "for God", the children always see them as representing the same agenda as the policeman, the President, and the schoolteacher: in their sight these are all the kings of the earth, who lord it over their subjects, and CALL themselves benefactors. By duplicating the organizational principles of The World, and by acting in practical unity WITH the institutions of This World, they reveal, that what they are, in fact, is just another "department" of The World. | |
| James tells us that Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world (KOSMOS), is the enemy of God (James 4:4). | |
| But some people try to make this word "world" out to refer only to "bad citizens" like drug addicts, porno peddlers, and common criminals: when in fact, by aligning themselves with secular interests and meddling in politics, THEY ARE the world. "THE WORLD" does NOT describe any little sub-group on the fringes of society; The Greek word for world (KOSMOS) means "the system", and is the DIRECT EQUIVALENT to what we all call THE ESTABLISHMENT: and we all know what "The Establishment" IS: it's all those social, political, and religious structures of mankind that have common operating principles (they are bureaucracies) and work together for a unified cause. "The world", always means whatever represents or personifies the regional majority. | |
| James also calls those who will be friends of the world, ADULTERERS and ADULTERESSES in the same verse. They are comitting adultery against Jesus Christ, and for THIS, Christ has claimed the right to DIVORCE them (Matt.5:32,19:9). They have broken their vow of fidelity to Christ and have gone after another "husband" to "save" them from sickness, crime and poverty. This other "husband" has become their new "savior", and their new "savior" is personified by whosoever wields the power of THE STATE. As it was then, it is now: when confronted by a choice between Jesus which is called Christ (Matt.27:17), Who went as a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7); and Bar-Abbas, THE POLITICAL REVOLUTIONARY who was approved by the people for resorting to political intrigue and deadly force to overcome those "pagan Romans" (Luke 23:19)....they choose Barabbas. It may be of some interest to you to know that Bar-abbas means "son of his father", and is not a personal name. Some ancient manuscripts give this Bar-abbas a first name: and GUESS WHAT? his first name was... JESUS. They had a choice....between "Jesus the political revolutionary" who would lead them to victory by force, and the Jesus who was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief...who went as a lamb to the slaughter. We know who they chose; whom do you choose? | |
| Isa.57:8 | Behind the doors and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than Me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed (to include those who are not really Christians), and made thee a covenant with them (in which votes are exchanged for cooperation); thou lovest their bed where thou sawest it (because they exercise the power to control other men). |
| 9. | And thou wentest to the king (the political rulers) with ointment (religious approval), and didst increase thy perfumes (make yourself attractive to them), and didst send thy messengers afar off (to boast of your adulterous alliance), and didst debase thyself (lowered your standards and diverted your purpose) even unto hell. |
| 10. | Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; (tired of proffering the theology of religion to the bored and unresponsive masses) yet saidst thou not, There is no hope (no way to gain authority and control): Thou hast found the life of thine hand (the power of social and political influence through your multitudes); therefore thou wast not grieved. |
| 11. | And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered Me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held My peace (withheld judgement) even of old (for a long time), and (still) thou fearest Me not? |
| 12. | I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee. |
| They commit spiritual adultery with The World by mingling religious, cultural, and political loyalties: when in fact, for Christians, there is only ONE FAMILY (Matt.12:46-50), only ONE CULTURE (Col.3:11), and only ONE CITIZENSHIP (Eph.2:19). The Biblical descriptions of Godliness are simply ignored whenever they appear to conflict with social and political expediencies. They see a man with a Bible in one hand, the flag of some nation-state in the other, and they applaud. The State has no problem applauding such "Christians", for they can be depended upon to ignore their religion whenever it conflicts with the duties of "citizenship". They can go to war with another "equally sincere" Christian from another nation, and "kill him for God". The fact that the teachings of Jesus prohibit us from doing any of these things, and even tell us to resist not evil (Matt.5:39), has no restraining effect on them whatsoever. They see CULTURAL or POLITICAL LOYALTIES and RELIGIOUS PROFESSION as 2 equal legs on one 'whole' man. Our churches are now full of such HALF-BREEDS: Christendom may be their MOTHER, but the world; THE WORLD SYSTEM; THE ESTABLISHMENT is their father. AND..........by making common cause with The State and becoming the Public Advocates for the social concerns of the Godless Multitude, Christendom has grown from an oppressed minority into an OPPRESSING MAJORITY. | |
| Isaiah.57:3 | But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. |
| 4. | Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom do ye make a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood? |
Chapter 17 (part 1) | Table of Contents | Chapter 18
Philologos | Bible Prophecy Research | The BPR Reference Guide | Jewish Calendar | About Us