Ghosts of Pride and Ignorance ...

Word of mouth, or a good recommendation from someone you know, might be the best publicity out there.  No matter how it comes to you, the opinion of someone you know and perhaps trust, will outweigh what billboards, or advertising, or any other paid medium can offer.  When we connect with someone, understand where they are coming from, have memories of shared experiences, it gives us a much better context for something they like when they recommend it to us.  This is a basic human phenomenon that has existed long before mobility gave us pictures, and 140 characters to disseminate data to our collection of friends.  In the time of Christ, it was the only vehicle for spreading the good news.  The fame of Jesus was spreading widely already, but instituting His followers and sending them out 2-by-2 had exponentially increased the word of mouth regarding the Messiah.  Instead of only Jesus performing miracles on a grand scale, now 12 other followers were doing it too.  At this rate, there would hardly be a demon-possession or sick person left in all of Israel.  The nation itself was moving from weakness to strength in so short a time, every disciple was certain the Messiah was soon to fulfill the mission they all believed He came for … to become our earthly King.

But there was already a king of the Jews, or at least a tetrarch.  Herod Antipas, was still formally in charge of Israel (or this part of Galilee).  The Romans had dispatched a governor to maintain military discipline, but continued to honor their original agreement with Herod the Great, dividing his kingdom into three parts at his death and letting his sons rule in each section of the greater Palestine area.  Herod Antipas in our section had no great military ambition, and was more focused on insuring a relative peace, in order to maintain his rule, than to see it given over to one of his brothers Archelaus or Phillip, or another Roman puppet altogether.  He spent the majority of his life attempting to maintain what he had been given.  But this Herod Antipas had grown up in Israel, he had learned from his father who was familiar with Jewish scripture.  Herod remembered the act of his father murdering the baby boys up to 2 years old in Bethlehem to prevent the coming Messiah and deny scripture its fulfillment.  Herod’s son Antipas developed an intelligence network to keep an “eye” on goings on that may indicate the Messiah had come anyway.  And this intelligence network yielded its first real person of interest in the form of John the Baptist.

The scribes, priests, Rabbi’s, Pharisees and Sadducees; basically the entire ruling class, was easy enough for Herod Antipas to deal with.  They were greedy and power hungry themselves, so their motives were easy to read, and their actions followed their hearts.  They may have spoken about religion and tradition, but their focus had nothing to do with the changing of hearts or minds, only of maintaining the flow of offerings to the Temple (and themselves by proxy).  The laws of Moses were generally restrictive in nature, and where Moses had left off, the Temple traditions had added a whole host of further restrictions required in order to achieve piety.  These additional man-made restrictions also greatly increased the profitability of the Temple (and its servants).  So this very corrupted religious institution was well known to Herod, and he never paid it that much credence.  When his brother Phillip’s wife caught his eye; when she clearly made it known, she wanted Antipas, not her husband Phillip, Herod decided too many restrictions prevent happiness and he took her home with him.  In the eyes of Herod Antipas, taking a woman who wants to be taken is hard to call a sin, particularly if he was willing to marry her as well, and treat her like a wife.  After all, Herod was not establishing a multi-wife situation, he was only stealing one.

Herodias however, came with Phillip’s daughter Salome.  She had baggage, but the apple did fall far from the tree and Salome had a reputation for excellence at exotic dancing.  Herod Antipas was now quite comfortable.  He the wife of his choosing, despite some regrettable acquisition details.  He had the clergy under his thumb.  He had the people relatively calm.  Then came John the Baptist.  John was unlike the hypocrites Herod was familiar with.  John was real.  He lived in humility and preached it.  He had no monetary ambitions, and Herod’s spies quickly figured out that John was not looking to become king of anything, so he was no threat; at least no military threat.  John however, was endowed with the Holy Spirit and his preaching was powerful and convicting.  In fact, Herod secretly went to hear John preach, and despite John’s call for repentance, Herod “heard him gladly”.  Herod liked John.  He liked his authenticity.  He liked the power in his message.  He did not even mind when John called him out on it not being lawful to have his brother Phillip’s wife as his own.  Herod knew John was right, and because of his admiration for John, he was OK with it.  He was not ready to give her up, but he knew John was right, Herod was sinning against his brother Phillip.

Herodias however, was NOT OK with it.  She wanted John dead, and would have gotten it right away, but her husband had zero intention of putting innocent blood on his own hands, particularly of someone he admired.  But that is exactly what happened because of pride, and of ignorance.  After being sent out 2-by-2 the disciples uncovered this story.  Peter recalls to John Mark in his gospel in chapter six beginning in verse 14 saying … “And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.”  Herod’s first response reflected both fear, and hope.  He imagined that the great miracles going on in Israel, the idea that the disciples were also healing and casting out demons, might mean that John the Baptist had risen from the dead and was responsible for all of this.  Perhaps John would forgive Herod for his death.  After all, both Andrew and John the beloved, were both originally disciples of John the Baptist.  And 2 other disciples were their brothers including Peter.  So at least 4 disciples had direct connections to John the Baptist, and it was through the Baptist that they had met Christ.  To Herod this idea made good sense.

But despite wishful thinking on Herod’s part, it was not a risen John the Baptist, nor any ghost version of him that was behind the miraculous transformation of Israel from extreme weakness to extreme strength.  Herod’s intelligence network and the people at large had other ideas.  John Mark continues in verse 15 saying … “Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.”  The coming of Elias (or Elijah) had also been prophesied, and perhaps he or one of his other contemporaries had arisen in Israel.  The question raised was the most key issue then and now.  Who exactly is Jesus Christ?  If Jesus is only a prophet, then His divinity is moot, and our salvation along with it.  If Jesus is only a good teacher, an upright man, then His life is no more meaningful than any other good soul who has ever lived.  But if Jesus is the only Son of God, then there can be no salvation from our desire to sins, outside of coming to Him in surrender.  This has been, and always will be the key question every man must answer for himself, who is Jesus Christ.  Herod remained unconvinced of these other theories.

John Mark continues in verse 16 saying … “But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.”  This was Herod’s greatest wish.  He wanted John back from the dead.  He wanted to be forgiven for making John a headless corpse.  He, like Saul of old, wanted to hear a word from the Lord from the mouth of His prophet.  But Herod had made himself blind to the fact that he could have word directly with the Lord who truly was responsible for the miracles everyone was reporting.  This set of scripture begins with Herod’s recognition of the name of Jesus Christ being reported to him.  But Herod twisted the identity of Jesus, transforming Him into a risen John instead; because that idea made Herod happier.  If Jesus was not John, then John remained dead, and Herod figured he could never be forgiven.  How like us.  We attempt to transform God into the image we want, in order to gain acceptance for the sins we commit, instead of seeking forgiveness and transformation from them altogether.

Peter then recalls the story of John the Baptist that he and the other disciples had uncovered in their mission of ministry.  Mark transcribes it beginning in verse 17 saying … “For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. [verse 18] For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.”  No whore likes being called that.  John the Baptist had out’d Herodias as being an adulteress.  John had made it known to Herod, it was a sin to keep her.  And Herodias had no intention of being sent back to Phillip, or kicked out on the street.  John posed a threat, and she wanted him dead.  So after nagging Herod to death, likely withholding sex, and making his life miserable, Herod finally agreed to put John in prison, where at least he could not publicly call her a whore anymore.  Even though Herod would still regularly visit John there.  Mark continues in verse 19 saying … “Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: [verse 20] For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.”

Herod “did many things” based on the preaching and message of John the Baptist.  Herodias perceived the threat as being even greater to her, now that John was in prison where Herod could see him regularly.  In fact scripture says that Herod “heard him gladly”.  Herod embraced the true message of repentance John was preaching.  He did not make him shut up, instead he wanted more.  He began to reform his actions because of it.  Herodias rightly reasoned, that if this kept up, she would be back in Phillips home, or out on the street in no time at all.  Something had to be done.  Mark continues in verse 21 saying … “And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; [verse 22] And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. [verse 23] And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.”

So there are a few things to consider in this sequence of events.  First, it is highly likely Herod was not getting any with Herodias because she still wanted John dead.  So as a gesture to put Herodias in her place, Herod asks her talented daughter to dance at his party for him.  This was meant to further un-nerve Herodias, and it worked at first.  But Ghosts are created by pride, and exist in ignorance.  Herod had made his birthday celebration a public one with only the ruling class of important attendees.  Where better to show off his niece’s dancing skills, and the wealth and privilege he had amassed.  Word of mouth was important, perhaps more so in his own day.  And the word of a king had to be trusted and absolute, or the monarchy would degenerate into chaos.  But parties then and now, are opportunities for people to let their hair down, and have a good time.  Herod would not be driving so why not take in a little wine, and add drunkenness to the enjoyment of the day.  Drunkenness was another one of those restrictions the Rabbi’s were always making too much of anyway.  But in this condition, it seemed reasonable to offer the dancer anything she wanted.  It would be another slight to her mother for not being willing to keep Herod entertained.  Herod’s lack of clarity of mind, clouded his judgment, and he over-promised, not thinking what she might ask for.

John Mark records what happened next in verse 24 saying … “And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. [verse 25] And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.”  Salome was no innocent, she was the daughter of a whore, and appeared to have taken up the family profession.  She had succeeded in arousing the passion of the king, who was thinking to buy her intimacies later this evening for his birthday.  But Salome would ultimately share the fate of her mother.  If her mother were sent back to Phillip or cast out on the street, she would follow.  John the Baptist did not tolerate partial sins, he was looking to free his audience from all of them.  Herod could not marry his niece any more than he could lawfully steal her mother.  So if the threat of John persisted, she would be cast out as well.  She did not argue with mom, or even suggest an alternative, rather she embellished her demands by wanting John’s head in a basket for her to toy with.  She returned to the king “straightway with haste”.  Not tempted by immediate rewards like jewels or wealth or land, she would rather play the long game and terminate the threat of John, so ultimately she could inherit it all.

Mark records the outcome in verse 26 saying … “And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. [verse 27] And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, [verse 28] And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.”  Ghosts are created by pride.  The king had sworn an oath.  He could have argued with her.  He could have simply refused her, and had her executed herself from making such a request.  If he was worried about maintaining his power, that would have sent a strong message to those in attendance.  But Herod was weak in sexual matters.  This is how Herodias gained entrance into his home in the first place.  It was now, his weakness that would submit to his pride, and end the life of the only holy man he knew, and admired. 

Herod was “exceeding sorry”.  The repentance John had been preaching was now fully in the heart of Herod, but alas his pride remained greater.  The daughter of the whore, took the head to her mother, and despite his weakness, Herod would not want to be seduced any further on this birthday, he had already lost too much.   It was in this context, that Herod so desperately wanted to believe that Jesus was a risen John.  He wanted a second chance.  He wanted to undo the consequences of his sins.  But Herodias and Salome had remained in his home, and in his heart, and in his weakness.  So while Herod preferred a better Ghost story, he had denied himself access to the only person who had the power to free him from his sinful and addictive desires.  By denying the identity of Jesus Christ, Herod had cut himself off from his only cure.  When later Herod would be given power over the fate of Christ, his only interest would be in seeing a miracle for himself.  By then the corrupting influence of the whores in his life, would have sapped all the repentance he had ever felt when listening to John.

Peter contacted Andrew and John to collect the remains as Mark writes in verse 29 … “And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.”  Herod released the body to the disciples of John the Baptist, but never bothered to know who it was they served now.  His interest in Jesus would only be if it could confirm what he wanted Jesus to be.  Finding out directly from the disciples that his theories of God were incorrect was not something he wanted to hear.  Are we any different?  When we concoct our images of who God is, do we craft Him in our image instead of the other way around?  Do we attempt to rationalize or minimize the effects and consequences of our sins, instead of seeking a freedom from them in the first place?  It would have been hard for Herod to let go the love of his life, and the seductress of his bedroom.  It was harder still for Solomon of old, to let go 600 wives, 900 concubines, and nearly 4000 of his own children and keep only one… but that is what he did when his conversion finally took hold.  It was hard for Abraham to lose Sarah.  But life goes on.  And Herod could have trusted in God to find him a helpmate that was good for him not only sexually, but spiritually. 

If Herod had been willing to trust his sexuality in the hands of His God, the outcome of his life might have been an order of magnitude better.  To experience real love is far cry better than lust that masquerades as love.  To know intimacy not only with a woman, but a woman who is equally intimate with God, allows God a level of access into our family units that is how it was intended to be.  Herodias and her daughter were not fans of God, they were his enemy.  They used their feminine powers of seduction to get what they wanted, but were incapable of intimacy with God or man, because they had cut themselves off from the source of love and intimacy.  We are quick to criticize Herod for his pride, lack of judgment, and willingness to sin for sex.  But we are slow to look into the mirror, and lay the love of our lives on the same altar of our God.  We are slow to pledge to God ahead of our own sexual interests.  Instead like Herod, we want both.  We want a religion and set of restrictions than is not too tight for us to enjoy what we have, instead of being open to so much more that God might have in mind for us.  Our sin limits us, it does not free us.  Our sins enslave us, and keep us bound to pain and mediocrity, instead of allowing our God to offer us His boundless treasures that no one can take away.

Perhaps the only real winner in this tragedy is Phillip.  Phillip was rid of the whore who masqueraded as his wife.  While he lost his daughter as well, perhaps Phillip feared she too was beyond the desire for redemption.  Perhaps were Antipas would not accept the identity of Christ, Phillip might be better inclined to listen.  At least he would be free of the corrupting influence of a woman who knows the boundaries of lust, but has yet to discover the bliss of love.  If we are to live differently than Herod, and see another outcome in our lives, we must begin to trust God with our MOST cherished possessions, the core of who we are.  We need the Lord in our homes, in our hearts, in our bedrooms, and at the core of our marriages.  If we shut God out of these things, we deny ourselves the potential for bliss He so longs to give us.  Better the bliss of God, than the counterfeit his enemy offers that brings only pain and regret.  Let us make no Ghosts from pride, and let none exist from our willful ignorance.

Epilogue of a Woman ...

 The seeds of a counterfeit are planted early.  They require careful attention to detail.  They must emulate the original thing they impersonate as much as is possible in order to be believed.  People want the original, and will only accept the counterfeit if it cannot be perceived to be what it is, a counterfeit.  So the lie must look as much like the truth as it can.  Mix the lie with elements of the truth and it becomes harder to distinguish.  In heaven “Love” reigns supreme.  “Love” is the reason, the motivation, the means, the method for salvation, perfection, and fulfillment of life and existence itself.  Lucifer took what was holy and perfect and made only one slight alteration; he altered “Love” for others, into “Love” for self.  It was still “Love” after all.  How could that little change be so bad?  Why would God counsel him not to pursue a love of self?  Was God trying to hoard all the “Love” for Himself and not share any with anyone else?  They all loved God, why was it so bad that they should choose to love themselves as well?  What kind of God would deny them, the love for self, that they were surely due, that they had surely earned?  A conflict of ideas had been born.  There was no supporting evidence, other than “God’s words” that the new idea was somehow going to be bad.  And why should a “selfish” God, who appears to only be hoarding all the love, be believed anyway?  This was perfection right?  How could altering something perfect turn out bad, and what was bad anyway?

But a counterfeit is always a counterfeit.  It does not perform to the specifications of the original, for by definition, it cannot.  A counterfeit might appear to look like the original, it may function much like the original, but in the end, it cannot be anything other than what it is, a counterfeit.  The alteration of Lucifer, the transformation of “Love” for others, into “Love” of self, proved the definition of evil itself.  His counterfeit quickly degenerated into the defining of the entire opposite of the word “Love” in any way.  Instead he had only defined “Selfishness”.  Self cares only about self.  But Self cannot find enough to make it happy.  Happiness can be found only in loving others, not loving self.  So the counterfeit of Lucifer, now Satan, must be covered up, and masked.  He could not market the pure love of self without quickly revealing where it leads.  So he markets a “blend” of love of self, and love of others.  Satan proposes that we must love ourselves first, in order to sustain ourselves, and insure our survival and dignity.  Once that is achieved, we should also love those who are closest to us.  We should love those who love us, and provide a support system to us that makes us happy.  We should do things for them to show them we love them, as long as they are doing things for us, and it is “balanced”.  BUT, should the balance ever appear to be one-sided, our love of self dictates that we move on, and find someone else to love, someone who will love us in a more “balanced” way.

And so the counterfeit does not perform as the original, it brings a facsimile of happiness, that might last for a moment, but it does not bring the long lasting, deeply fulfilling happiness that the original intended.  But the idea of “blending” truth with error, of “balancing” love of self with love for others, continues to make the counterfeit appear like the original.  So a counterfeit religion is launched to compete with the true religion of God.  The counterfeit will have many varieties, many names, many alternative theories, deities, and ideologies – but at its heart – it will have only one central premise; the idea that self and love of self must play an active role in the achievement of perfection.  Self-reliance, whether by words, or deeds, will be the cornerstone of every counterfeit religion that will emerge on planet earth.  Even within Christianity, the ideas that our salvation is a “partnership” with God, or that our salvation is somehow dependent upon “us” will come to be the majority view within every church.  The ideas that salvation is a pure gift, will be augmented by a “then what?” strategy that leads the believer to determine that his own actions following his declaration for Christ, are what save or lose him his own salvation.  The insidious idea is to immediately cut off the new Christian from a dependence upon Christ, and instill the need for him to save himself and perfect himself now that he is a Christian.

So the counterfeits of self-reliance and the balance of self-love, are not new ideas, but seeds planted long ago by the master of lies.  They have given rise to many false churches and false religions all through time.  And over time, they have infected the church of Christ, until what was formerly the church of Christ becomes indistinguishable from the church of Satan and Self.  Satan is far too smart to eliminate the “name” of Christ from His own church.  Instead he simply eliminates the power of Christ from eliminating sins.  Satan offers us our own beautiful self to eliminate sin, gradually over time, as we read the word, and forget the role of its Author.  Satan skillfully teaches us the role of “self” in our salvation; never that it is only self, but always that self cannot be eliminated from salvation.  And so through insidious ideas of balance and partnership, we become content to rely upon grace to save us in spite of our sins, instead of a dependence on grace to change us from within to the point where we no longer wish to commit those sins.  We remain content with the idea that sins are a part of who we are.  For self is inextricable from sin.  The counterfeit can never actually do what only the original can do.

And herein is the mystery: if the original is free, why would we choose to pay so high a price in pain, suffering, and death for the counterfeit?  If the love of self can be demonstrated to never fulfill us, and bring us only inevitable misery, why would we choose to remain its slave, if there is a free alternative?  In short, why freely choose to die, when life is so easy to choose instead?  It is the mystery of addiction.  It is the mystery of self-destruction.  It is the mystery of sin.  It makes no sense.  It is a counterfeit that is empty of meaning.  For when once the love of self is embraced over the love of others, what was perfect becomes the definition of evil, what was free becomes a slave that can no longer ever save itself. 

In order for the slavery of the love of self to be broken, it will require a Savior, something outside of self, to see us made free from self.  This is no partnership.  This is a purely an external action and mission.  It will be done FOR us, not by us, or it will never happen at all.  We will have no role in our own salvation, except to embrace it, accept it, and allow it to occur.  We only need to choose it, and then let Christ do it within us.  We will take no actions that see it done.  We will be no partner in the demise of our sin.  And we will be left with ZERO love of self, when the process completes, because it is the love of self in any amount that is the source of all evil.  The pure love of others, without attempts at “balance”, and with no consideration for how others love us, is all that remains in the salvation our God brings to us.  The original will see us free to love, free to live, and happy beyond our imagination in both.  To choose to remain slave to misery and death becomes a mystery no sentient life can understand.

So after the climactic events of the series of seven are largely over, in the aftermath, an epilogue of revelations are presented.  John has just revealed in chapter 16 the final seven last plagues that have befallen the world.  Evil has met its first rewards.  And in the aftermath of so great the destruction and consequences of sins, of counterfeits, of “balance” between love of self and love of others, an angel who carried one of the plagues upon the world takes time to come to John to reveal what has befallen the counterfeit religions Satan has given rise to. 

He begins in Revelations chapter 17 and verse 1 saying … “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: [verse 2] With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”  Throughout the book of Revelations, the image of a woman has always aligned with a church.  In this case, the “great whore” has been fully unfaithful to the idea of a singular belief in Jesus Christ alone as the method of our salvation.  Instead the whore has sought to blend any other ideas into the process of salvation. The counterfeit has been successful if measured by the sheer number of people who embraced her ideas of mixture and self-reliance, even within Christianity.  So the angel begins the epilogue of what happens to these ideas, and how they were to be judged by God in the end of all things. 

He continues in verse 3 … “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”  First, notice that what appears to John are two distinct entities, the first is a woman.  The second is a scarlet colored beast.  It is the beast who is full of names of blasphemy.  It is the beast who has seven heads, and ten horns.  This is the beast described earlier, the second beast (after the dragon), which first gave rise in the dark ages.  The woman, or great whore, or false church, rides upon this second beast.  John continues in verse 4 … “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:”  This woman is no pauper, she has not given away all her wealth to others so as to make her poor.  She retains her wealth and puts it on display, in opulence, in public without shame or embarrassment at its lavish extreme.  She wears the finest clothing, and decks it with the finest in jewels and precious gems.  She also carries a golden cup and its contents are described as abominations and filthiness of her fornication, a substance of perversion one would not wish to explain to children.

John continues in verse 5 … “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”  Three named elements are offered that describe this woman, this false church.  First is MYSTERY; the mystery of sin.  From the perspective of unfallen beings, of sentient life who have never known the slavery of self-love, it is pure mystery to them why anyone would choose this course.  Those who never broken trust with God, do not understand why anyone would.  It is plain to see, what happens when someone breaks trust with God, when someone chooses to trust themselves and their own wisdom and common sense, instead of trusting in God.  This is why Lucifer pursued a course he was counseled against.  And once embraced, he degenerated from Lucifer to Satan.  Self-love has led to the genesis of evil, of pain, and of death, even requiring the life of the creator.  There is nothing compelling about it.  It is mystery why anyone would ever freely choose it.

The second name assigned to this false church is BABYLON THE GREAT.  In this context, the false doctrines of the church are inextricably married with the power of the state.  In this context, the compulsion of the conscience is born and carried to its logical extremes.  There will be no dissent in the church of Satan, no reliance on Christ; reliance on anything else is fine, just not on Christ.  Those who would choose to rely solely upon Christ for salvation would find it; therefore they must be exterminated by the power of the state.  Babylon has the power to do just that.  Babylon was a universal power, not bound by the limits of any one government, but infected in all of them.  There will be no free will, no power of choice in this false religion.  There will be only slavery to its edicts and its power.  Any dissent will find only martyrdom.  The power of the state will back the false ideas of these religions, even the ones who bear the name of Christ, but have no idea what it means to love.

The third name of this false church is THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.  One false Christian church the original Catholic one, did not end alone in its false ideologies and adoption of self-reliance.  Instead it gave birth to other Harlots.  What emerged from the reformation and great protestant movement no more stayed purely aligned with their roots, as did the Catholic Church from the apostles who first gave it the light.  Over time, corruption entered the doors of the protestant faiths until they too adopted the ideas of “balance” and “self-reliance” in the method of our salvation.  In the times of the end, it is not just the mother of harlots that aligns herself with the power of the state to enforce her edicts over the conscience of men; it is her many harlot daughters who are equally content to do the same.  It can no longer be blamed on the Popes of the past or future who alone are thought to be responsible for what will transpire; for every protestant faith will also bear its share of blame in the coming woe.  None are exempt from the idea of using the law to enforce the ideas and edicts of men over the simple individual following of Jesus Christ alone.

The abomination of the compulsion of conscience is no longer reserved only to the mother church; it is shared by those who she gave birth to.  And it is not just one abomination that exists because of this woman, it is many.  She lies.  She thinks herself equal to God.  She kills those who dissent.  She persecutes and tries to force those who are weak in their beliefs to acquiesce to her demands.  She offers them sex, and perversion, and momentary pleasures that come from a whore, instead of the wholesome monogamy and intimacy that Christ would have desired for them.  She collects the fruit of her sexual promiscuity in her golden cup, and puts it on display proudly without shame or remorse.  She is content to be the mother of harlots.  She is content to be the purveyor of abominations upon the earth.  She has no shame, but much pride.

John continues in verse 6 … “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”  The first part of this text concludes the imagery associated with the false church, this woman of harlotry and now murder.  The woman is drunken.  The blood of the saints and martyrs for following Jesus Christ alone and not adhering to the edicts of men has not only been shed, it is has been drunk.  She has become inebriated with their blood, happy, giddy, joyful, relaxed, and engorged with the blood of those who follow Christ.  Murder is not a thing of disdain, or something to be avoided, it is to be embraced by her. 

Lest you believe you are immune to this kind of thinking, consider your own level of acceptance in embracing the ideas that to keep your faith pure, how many would you allow to die?  How many would you kill yourself, or allow others to kill for you, in order to preserve your church, your doctrines, your ideas.  Or how many “sinners” who remain unrepentant would you wish to see die?  How many homosexuals, or pregnant mothers heading into the abortion clinic, or atheists, or Satanists, or militant Christians carrying placards filled with hate speech, would you take pleasure in seeing meet their early demise?  The false churches take pleasure in these things.  The woman becomes drunk on blood.  Sure we could argue she is drunk on the blood of saints and martyrs not sinners.  But then which saint was not also a sinner?  Which of us was perfect from birth?  Who of us, did not require the intervention of Christ in order to think differently, love differently, and become someone else?  We have all sinned, we all need a Savior, and as such we are all sinners, and all re-created saints.  It is our blood this woman seeks.  Do you find yourself aligned with the ideas of seeking blood, or of redeeming it?

In the second part of this passage John states “when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”  John does not imply that he admires the whore for her grandeur, beauty, and wealth.  His admiration is in the mystery of her imagery and who she is.  It is a great mystery to him as to her identity.  He cannot immediately figure it out.  So this is the situation, the angel will rectify.  He continues in verse 7 saying … “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.”  John being overwhelmed at the imagery presented was not the intent of this epilogue.  So the angel intends to decode the imagery so that John will understand better who she is, who the beast is, and what these things mean.  For the point of this epilogue is to understand what happens to the counterfeit and why the original is so much better.

The angel begins in verse 8 saying … “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”  The angel begins first with the beast.  The life cycle of the beast is first described.  The beast was, and is not.  Meaning the beast existed for a time and was powerful for a time, but then it lost its power.  After that loss of power, the beast will ascend out of the bottomless pit.  So after the loss of power, it gains again in influence throughout the world.  But the end result of the beast remains constant, it will again go into perdition.  The ultimate end of this beast is to be consumed in the lake of fire.  Those who have not embraced the salvation of Jesus Christ alone, who find their names are not written in the book of life, will “wonder” after this beast.  They will marvel at its ability to have regained so much power and influence after having lost it earlier.  They will embrace the ideas of this beast. 

John continues in verse 9 … “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”  The angel here pretty much spells out to John in as clear a clue as possible, who this beast is, or rather where she is based.  The seven heads of the beast are the seven mountains, those where Rome is based.  The second beast has already been identified in previous chapters as the Papal power of the dark ages.  In this epilogue of false churches, the angel shows that when false ideas infect even a Christian church, it can become the tool of the enemy, the mother of harlots, and a beast raised by the dragon himself. 

Catholicism embraced using the power of the state to enact and enforce its edicts upon men.  Catholicism propagated the idea that one must have association in good standing within the church first, in order that salvation be achieved.  In that sense it made itself equal to Christ in the process of our salvation.  This beast carried power until the beheading of the Pope when its power was taken.  But Mussolini restored the Vatican city with its wealth and power back to the Roman church.  Since then it has only gained in power and influence around the world.  It is not the same persecuting entity it once was, but its underlying “blend” of actions required for salvation has never gone away.  Nor has the idea that church association in good standing is required as part of the process of our salvation.  Those who are not rooted in their salvation from Jesus Christ alone, have no problems with these ideas.  They see the charity and love of the current Pope as evidence that things have changed and the mixture of doctrines might not be so bad.  And in truth what the Pope espouses is not much different today than what any protestant church espouses, including your own.  Christian ideals are not a bad thing.  Love and charity are not a bad thing.  But to mask the idea that self continues to play a role in our salvation is the fundamental premise that turns a church of Christ, into a church of His enemy.  This is not a condemnation of Catholics, or Protestants, or sinners in general – it is an exposition by the angel of what constitutes the counterfeits Satan promulgates in ANY ideology.

John continues in verse 10 … “And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. [verse 11] And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. [verse 12] And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [verse 13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”  Frankly little is understood from these passages.  The seven kings are often interpreted as the 7 powers that ruled the world affecting the people of God.  Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and a blended United Nations style power (mixture of clay and iron described in the ten toes of the feet of the statue of Nebuchadnezzar to Daniel).  Five of them had fallen in the time of John, the sixth was in power then.  The ten kings which have received no power as of that time where John lived, could be interpreted as the members of the UN security council.  They are said to represent the great powers of this world in the current times.  The eighth kingdom, being connected with the previous seven, is a worldwide power and will exist in the light of the Mark of the third beast.  This is often interpreted as the kingdom of the antichrist, or the time when Satan has direct rule over the planet just prior to the return of Christ.

The idea of having the UN security council align itself with the image of the beast, and enact a worldwide series of edicts that restrict commerce unless the mark of the third beast is accepted is not that farfetched.  Keep in mind, the computer systems needed to run the finances of the world are already chiefly run by the United States today.  Should Satan impersonate the return of Christ, and Allah, and Buddha, and Ganesh, and the Messiah, how quickly might he align the nations of the world under a single banner with his leadership at its front.  The ideas of having a one-world-government, or having the ten powers of “one mind” in offering their allegiance to the beast under these conditions is quite predictable.  The most important characteristic here remains the same, it is the alignment of worldly powers of the state, to enforce the religious edicts of man to compel the conscience that is at issue.  Once these ideas have been accepted on a worldwide basis, the fate of the great whore will have been decided, and the false churches, even the ones bearing the name of Christ, will be sent into perdition.

John continues in verse 14 … “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”  The Armageddon war to end all wars will be waged by these 10 powers, by this worldwide coalition against the Lamb, but they will not prevail.  The counterfeit cannot compete with the original.  The plagues recently described are to be poured out upon the evil in this world.  The false churches, even those who carry the name of Christ, will experience the results of those plagues.  It is not the name of Christ that will protect people from the final seven plagues, it is the following of Christ, the dependence upon Christ alone for our salvation, that will determine whether we are truly His, or only borrowing and blaspheming His name.  Those who by declaration, or by refusing a full surrender to Christ, have adopted the Mark of the Third Beast, will see firsthand the wrath of God’s judgments, the full consequences of their choices revealed in the final plagues upon evil in the world.  The angel revealing these things to John was one of those who carried these plagues.

John continues in verse 15 … “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”  The ideas spread by all of the false churches of Satan are worldwide.  They are not constricted to a particular set of doctrines, or peoples, or geographies, but instead have infected the entire planet.  Religions who plainly deny the divinity of Christ share the same self-reliant ideas of salvation as those who do carry His name.  John continues in verse 16 … “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. [verse 17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.”  If we interpret the ten horns as being the powers defined by the UN security council, then it would seem to indicate that religions who do not carry the name of Christ are to be hated and persecuted by these powers.  The kingdom of the beast (whether the second of Papal origin, or the third of likeminded Protestant origin) is to have the allegiance of the final 10 powers upon the world.  In short, those who do not unite under the banner of the antichrist and his impersonations of worldwide religious leaders are to feel the wrath of the 10 powers.  The compulsion of the conscience remains the key principle upon which all of this is based, and upon which the kingdom of Satan is founded.

John concludes this epilogue in verse 18 saying … “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”  The woman or false church remains aligned inextricably with the power of the state to rule over the kings of the earth.  Her fate was decided in the previous chapters.  Her identity was revealed in this one.  She is the counterfeit.  She is the seeds planted long ago.  She is the introduction of self-reliance into the process of our salvation and of our perfection that dominates the religions of the world, and has even infected the Christian religions as well.  She retains the altered ideas of balancing self-love with love for others.  She makes sense.  She is more logical, and more alluring.  The pleasure of self after all seems like quite a wondrous thing.  But she is a lie.  She is a mystery of choosing death over life, of choosing pain over happiness and contentment, of choosing slavery over real freedom. 

The angel who carried one of the final plagues upon this world takes time to speak to John, so that he will see the fate of the counterfeit over the original.  He speaks to John, in the time of John, so that John is not seduced by the ideas of control and power that already infect the church of Rome who carries the name of Christ.  The seduction of self-reliance that leads to a quest for power, control, and wealth will inevitably take over the church with the name of Christ and turn it into the mother of harlots, so that no church carrying Jesus’ name will be immune to these counterfeit ideas.  All will succumb to the notion of compelling the conscience of others, and challenging their identity as followers of Jesus Christ alone.  The daughters of the harlot will be no better than their mother.  The abominations wreaked by these counterfeit ideas will lead to the destruction described earlier.  The union of church and state to enforce these religious compulsions will not end, until the return of King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

But there is one more epilogue and epitaph to be written …

 

Messages to the Church Revealed (Thyatira) ...

The fourth church of the seven singled out for a revelation of Jesus Christ as our God, was in the city of Thyatira.  Historically, the city was renowned for its artisans related to the making of clothing, particularly of royal clothing, dying of purples and blues.  The city itself is said to have been renamed to Thyatira upon the announcement of the birth of a daughter to the old king Seleucus while he was away in battle in the year 290 BC, though the name itself may have had more meaning to the Lydian culture of the day.  Paul and Silas encountered a woman who was actually named Lydia in Acts 16:14 who was a dyer of purple from the city of Thyatira, who became baptized and a devout Christian.  It may be that these historical and cultural references added meaning to the message the Jesus would reveal of Himself through John to this particular church.  The message begins with a focus on yet a different characteristic of how Christ looked to John during that initial encounter of Him walking among the seven candlesticks.

In revelation chapter two, in verse 18 John begins … “And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;”  The eyes of Christ are alive and brilliant and as the Son of God, they see everything.  Nothing can be hidden from our God who is able to read the desires of our hearts as well as the things we display in public.  His feet are like fine brass, they reflect the image of service and love, and inform us that He is more than human, but still walks amidst His church.  Jesus then exhorts his followers and reassures them that He is well aware of the fruits of His Spirit that have been poured out in this church community.  John continues in verse 19 … “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.”  The works prompted by His Spirit were listed twice, with an accentuation of the latter being even more than the former.  This may have more significance if we consider its application to be over a wider time span than just the audience of the day who composed that particular church community.  If each of the seven churches were to represent the church of Christ’s followers over a corresponding period of time, the works done in the beginning of the time period in this case, might have been out-shown by the works done in the latter part of the time period.

But none-the-less as with the previous messages revealed to the other churches, Thyatira was in need of a message of redemption as John continues in verse 20 … “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.”  This message may have both literal and spiritual application.  First you will notice what is under attack once again is intimacy.  Christ uses the idea of a woman, the most corrupt in Old Testament writings who was named Jezebel.  In Old Testament days Jezebel was an evil queen married to King Ahab of the northern 10 tribes who broke away worship from Jerusalem that held the true sanctuary of Israel’s God.  This woman inspired Ahab to destroy intimacy with God thru the worship of sexual promiscuity.  This would eventually degenerate into the sacrifice of the unwanted offspring of unprotected sex with temple prostitutes.  Girls would be preserved to make a new crop of temple prostitutes, boys would be slain in the fires of Molech, or Baal, and an assortment other false gods.  The first casualty of spiritual infidelity however was not the results of infidelity, it was the original intimacy between ourselves and our God.  As we begin to entertain other “loves” outside of our God, we find what we “love” most is ourselves, and our gratification, not our God, and the needs of others.

Jezebel of old was forever trying to kill the real prophet of God, Elijah.  Elijah had the message of truth for the people of God in his day.  But the queen would not allow for truth to be spoken to the people of God, lest she lose her power and control over the people.  So Jezebel was forever hunting Elijah to be killed.  And in her day, she did not do the hunting personally, a woman had no real power.  Instead she would have the power of the king (her husband), and his soldiers and army to do her bidding.  In spiritual terms this would equate to a false church using the power of the state to maintain control and power over the people, with its origins of denying access to the truth of the word of God.  Attempting to supplant the true word, with false words of her own.  Notice too, that Jezebel is not out to convert the world itself to her ideas and false doctrines, but instead is looking to “seduce my servants”.  She tempts the servants of God with the seductive ideas of power, control, and self-gratification.  The idea that we can please self while still claiming to please God, is at the core of Jezebel’s false seductive message to the church of Christ.

It may not have been lost on the members of the Thyatira community that Jezebel and many other women of a royal class wore garments of fine purple’s and blue’s and in general were used to living with the excesses that wealth provides.  Perhaps even some of the workmanship done by members in Thyatira would be used by Jezebel to make herself happy.  The literal piece of this message was very similar to the churches that preceded it.  A destruction of intimacy through sexual immorality, followed by the symptom of eating to please self without regard for the consequences or implications to those in need; were indicators that true reformation of the heart had not yet been experienced by those who purport to follow Christ.  If anything, wealth is here identified as NOT being the goal of the follower of Christ, in that the danger of using wealth on self rather than on the needs of others seems to outweigh its benefits.  Jezebel, as a queen, had wealth but used it to hold control over others, not to love and meet their needs.  That the church of Christ did not denounce Jezebel and expose her as having nothing to do with the real followers of Christ was the fact Jesus was revealing to His church that He was not happy with.  Jezebel and her teachings were wrong, and associated with the most evil woman in the scriptures, yet the church of Christ “suffered” her.  The church made no separation from her, or denunciation of her.  Instead it seemed the church embraced her as a part of it.  This was the revelation Christ was pointing out that was in error.

John continues the message of reformation to Thyatira in verse 21 … “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.”  Even Jezebel is offered redemption through repentance.  Even the most wicked woman penned in scripture is not without hope, or opportunity, or a chance to repent and become part of the fold of Christ.  But repentance and humility cannot be forced, just as love cannot be forced.  If the church who uses the name of Christ, is unwilling to submit and have the heart of Christ created in it, what follows is the destruction that is inevitable in our choice to embrace the pain and death of sin.  This is not a choice our God takes lightly.  So He does not have us make it instantly, but instead he offers us time to consider it.  During this time, He makes every effort to reach out to us in love, and hopes to lure us back to Him, through the power of His so great love.  But for the heart that will not yield, that will not submit, that will not see its own need, He cannot force it to comply for the use of force is not His tactic, but that of His enemy.  Despite giving Jezebel herself time to consider her decisions and repent, she does not repent.

John continues in verse 22 … “Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. [verse 23] And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”  Ouch.  The rebuke here is severe.  The punishment for her refusal to repent, is to bear the weight of her own choices and actions.  The “works” of evil that will result in pain, are to be allowed to be experienced.  We sometimes do not know the full weight of our sins, because as we repent, the Lord is generous and protects us from the pain our choices should have resulted in.  We therefore miss the full weight of our sins and choices, because of the mercy of our God.  The punishment identified here for Jezebel however, is simply a removal of that protection.  Those who embrace the ideas of self-love and self-gratification are going to be allowed to see just what pain and death accompany those choices.  The hand of mercy will be removed, and the full weight of our embrace of pain and death will be experienced … “except we repent.”  Even in our disaster, the hand of repentance remains outstretched from our God.  But while we refuse it, the results that come upon us, will reflect that God does denounce the sins we embrace, that His hand of mercy will not forever spare us from the pain of our un-repented sins.  It is not only our actions that are allowed to bear fruit, but our motives as well, both the “reins” and “hearts” are known of our God.  The weight of our sin is to be a clear message to the world and the church of where sin leads, and what it truly means, if we continue to refuse to repent.

John continues in verse 24 … “But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. [verse 25] But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.”  Here again is hope outstretched.  Notice Jesus begins by addressing “you”.  “You” who is reading this message, by virtue of reading and reaching out to God, He identified “you” as being separate from those who have refused to repent and suffer the fate of their choices.  “You” are different than them, because this message has not been lost on “you”.  He continues “and unto the rest” in Thyatira, and in the space and time associated with this period of church history.  Both “you” and “unto the rest”, and “as many as have not this doctrine”, in effect to everyone who has refused to adopt the false doctrines of control and self-gratification, there is to be a promise. 

This group which has refused to embrace the false prophecies and doctrines and teachings of Jezebel, this is a group which in so doing has not known the “depths of Satan as they speak”.  Those who would compel conscience, and put to the sword any who should disagree with them, and in the name of our God, have truly come to know the depths of Satan in what they say.  For since the war in heaven began, Satan has blamed all death on God, taking no responsibility for it himself.  Satan has forever attempted to enslave and compel the minds and hearts of men, for he does not desire the choice of love, but instead the mindless compulsion of slavery.  Satan wishes to rule the universe on pain of death.  Whereas God rules it because we choose to return the love to us He has already offered.

The promise given to those who have remained faithful to their intimacy with Christ, who have not abandoned Him through love of other gods, or of self, to them is given the promise that they shall bear none other burden but that which we already have.  This is the essence of salvation itself.  A submission of our will, a repentance born of humility, is already the “hardest” part of our salvation.  It is after all a refusal to repent that has seen Jezebel and those who would commit adultery with her bearing all the pain of their choices.  A stubborn refusal to repent is why Jezebel is being allowed to bear the weight of her sins.  If she, and we, would have repented, the mercy of our God would have kept us from seeing the full weight of the choices and sins we had embraced.  But the outstretched hand of mercy is consistently rejected, and so what comes, comes.  But “you” were not meant to suffer the fate of Jezebel.  “You” were meant to refuse her false words and instead embrace the words of Christ.  “You” were meant to know the freedom of repentance and submission, and salvation by being remade by Christ.  “You” were meant to be saved from yourself and your natural inclinations.

John continues in verse 26 … “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: [verse 27] And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. [verse 28] And I will give him the morning star.”  Now the giving is going to just get ridiculous, as usual.  The works of Christ in His ministry were works of love for others, healing for others, meeting the needs of others.  He did these works without condemnation, or judgment, but to redeem, to save, to reconcile us to Himself.  These acts of charity we are charged with keeping until the end.  Notice this is the ONLY doctrine, the doctrine of His actions of love to others, that He charges us to remain within.  For it is love alone that accomplishes our salvation, and leads others to want that same salvation with our God.  It is not our hate, or judgmentalism, or legalistic views of right and wrong that inspire salvation in others, instead it is ONLY our unconditional love for them.  What must be overcome then, is the idea that we can compel the conscience of others, that we can deny others access to the true word of God, that we can put faith in our wealth and fineries rather than in Christ alone, that we can corrupt our intimacy with God through the false doctrines of self-gratification.  These things can only be overcome as we submit our will in repentance and humility to Christ, who alone can remake and recreate us in His image.

The power that comes over nations, the iron rod that splinters the vessels of potters clay, is the steadfast love that is given unconditionally to everyone we encounter.  Think of it, Christ took no violent actions in His day, yet the entire Roman empire was brought to its knees by the fundamental doctrines of love and submission in the hearts of true believers.  Pagan Rome is a thing of the past, despite its iron grip in the time of Christ.  No dictator, including Satan, is able to maintain control over a people who embrace love of others as their primary premise.  Evil itself, will be forever removed from the universe, by the free-will choice of sentient beings in the universe, including us, because we choose to embrace love of others instead of love for self.  This is the truth that shatters evil and cannot be broken.  Love wins.  Love conquers all, including evil, and Love will see evil finally and fully defeated.  As Christ received love from His Father, so we are to receive Love from Christ who we follow and submit our will to.  Christ was forever doing the will of His Father, not of Himself.  So we are to do the will of Christ and not of our own.  And in so doing, we are further promised the “morning star”.  We are promised the gift of Christ Himself, poured out in our lives, in our families, in our churches, in our communities, and in our world.  The gift of Christ is the greatest gift God could make to us, and is the basis of our salvation from beginning to end.

Jesus concludes his message of revelation to the church of Thyatira as John writes in verse 29 … “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”  Once again the message to the church is joined by the power of His Holy Spirit.  For without the power of His Spirit, we will be unable to overcome, unable to understand, and unable to be removed from the power of our choices and sins.  But as we submit to our God, we come to know the power of His salvation to us.  This is the promise to Thyatira, and of way more importance, the promise Jesus makes to “you”.

And the messages were not over yet …