by Just Another Christian
by Just Another Christian
Philologos Religious Online Books
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Chapter 19 | Table of Contents
THE GREAT DREAM
by Just Another Christian
| Daniel.3:4 | Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, |
| 5. | That at what ever time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, Ye must fall down and worship the Golden Image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. |
| 6. | And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, shall in the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. |
| Several years ago, a Christian friend asked me: WHAT IS MUSIC? This question perplexed me for several months, until one day when I was watching a Rock Concert on the television. There were thousands of people all standing on their seats in excitement. The front of the auditorium was jammed with people crushing each other forward to reach the stage; and all these people had at least one arm fully extended forward and upward, as if they might reach out and touch their idols. I suddenly realized and was fully convinced that MUSIC IS WORSHIP. | |
| THINK ABOUT IT: Men sing about whatever they wish to honor. They sing the National Anthem to honor their country. They sing about the kind of people that they think should be admired. They sing about romantic love more than any other subject; imagining as they do, that ultimate fulfillment awaits them in some ideal man or woman that they have invented as the object of their lust. They worship these "imaginary lovers" in song: ascribing to them qualities and perfections not found in any fallen man. They will even sing the praises of ruthless ambition and flagrant immorality, in order to glorify and dignify their own sins. The purpose of all music is to praise, honor, or dignify whatever the music is about. Poetry is the same. A poem about trees seems to make a tree into "more than just a tree". A song or a poem about suffering or sorrow gives the moans and cries of humanity more significance than the squealings of a wounded beast. Religious music is a form of worship. Every religion has it's own "hymns". When people sing these "hymns" they worship and honor their gods. Every religion also has it's own poetry, and catch phrases, which are meant to identify and honor the god of that religion. The Mohammedans say, "GOD IS GREAT" on all occasions to show their allegiance to their religion. Christians might say "PRAISE THE LORD" for the same reason. Even though Christians may believe "God is great", they won't answer the Mohammedan catch phrase by repeating it, because the "gods" are different. When the Mohammedan looks you in the eye, and proclaims "GOD IS GREAT", he is testing you: and by your answer, he will know whether or not you honor his god and respect his religion. If you don't answer him with the same "catch phrase", he KNOWS that you do not believe in his god, or practice his religion. | |
| Christians often do this same thing to each other. They utter a "catch phrase" which indicates their religious beliefs, and wait to see what the other person will do or say. If that other person does not "sing along" with them, they presume there is a difference in religious beliefs. Catholics expect all the other good Catholics to be ready to say "Hail Mary" on cue, to prove they are good Catholics. Protestants expect the other Protestants to say "Praise the Lord" on cue, to prove that they are good Christians. The Mohammedan expects you to say "God is great" on cue, to prove that you are a good Mohammedan. These "catch phrases" are just short poems, or songs of worship. If you won't "sing along", you evidently do not agree with the Religion that is represented by the "catch phrase". These "catch phrases" are PASS WORDS; that if spoken ON CUE, indicate your "membership in good standing" in the group that is identified by that particular "catch phrase". In Nazi Germany, you had to be ready to say "HEIL HITLER" on cue, or you were in BIG TROUBLE. | |
| This is a problem for Christians because there are so many "versions" of Christianity. When someone looks you in the eye and says "PRAISE THE LORD", he is looking for you to "praise the Lord" along with him. These "catch phrases" are all CALLS TO WORSHIP. If you don't "sing along", then you are refusing to praise the SAME god as the one who is testing you with the "catch phrase". A man who greets you with "PRAISE THE LORD" is really asking you if you worship THE SAME GOD that he does. If you don't "sing along", then you are DENYING HIS GOD, and his VERSION of Christianity. If you say the PASS WORD on cue, then you are acknowledging that you and he have THE SAME GOD, and THE SAME RELIGION; and therefore you are "brothers". | |
| JESUS SAID, | |
| Matt.11:16 | But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, |
| 17. | And saying, We have piped unto you and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. |
| Now there can be no doubt that the Jews of Ancient Palestine claimed to worship the God of The Bible; and there can be no doubt that they lifted their "catch phrases" directly from the Old Testament. BUT, in the end, in spite of their "official catch phrases", and their claim to have one father, even God (John 8:41), Jesus said to them, Ye are of your father, the Devil (John 8:44). They were greatly offended at this, and they took up stones to cast at Him (John 8:59). JESUS WOULDN'T DANCE when they piped. | |
| And NEITHER WILL I. Many a person has been offended at me in recent years because I wouldn't IMMEDIATELY "sing along" with them. They want to shake hands, implying that we AGREE about something that we haven't yet discussed. They want me to "hug them back", to prove that I acknowledge that we are True Brothers, before we even know each other. They greet me with "Praise the Lord"; and are shocked when I won't "join the choir" and sing along with them immediately. I don't mean to offend; but I have to make sure that we are really talking about THE SAME GOD before I am going to do any worshipping. Jesus said: Thou shalt worship the Lord THY God, and Him ONLY shalt thou serve (Matt. 4:10). I have the RIGHT, and more than that, the OBLIGATION, to determine whether the "Lord" that I am being called upon to "praise" is truly the LORD that I personally worship. The name of the god of Babylon was BAAL. BAAL is one of the Hebrew words for LORD. The god of Babylon was called "THE LORD". When someone says "praise the lord" to me; I want to know just which "LORD" he is talking about first, BEFORE I "sing along". Just because someone uses familiar religious phrases doesn't mean that we truly have the same religion. Even if someone says "JESUS IS LORD", I still won't dance until I learn more about his "Jesus": the Bible says that there is such a thing as another Jesus (2 Cor. 11:4). You could write the word "medicine" on a bottle of poison, and it would still be poison. | |
"BOW OR BURN" | |
| Nebuchadnezzar's Flutes are those "calls to worship" that are ever emanating from Apostate Christendom. EVERY TIME YOU HEAR THE MUSIC you must "sing along" or they warn you that you will end up in the fiery furnace of HELL. They say "Praise the Lord"; and all of us are expected to genuflect on cue, to THEIR "lord". If you refuse to fall down and worship when they are "singing their hymns", they accuse you of insulting God. If you don't want to embrace or shake hands, they accuse you of lack of love, or pride, or schism. If you are a True Believer; a BORN AGAIN Child of God; YOU KNOW there is SOMETHING WRONG with all these "calls to worship". That something is this: Their religion is the religion of Mystery Babylon, and their "lord" is the god of Babylon. Jesus wouldn't dance. I'm not going to dance. And YOU don't have to dance either. | |
| Jeremiah 15:1-2, 19 | |
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| THE END | |
Chapter 19 | Table of Contents
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