The Exposition Of A Failed Church, Pagan Worship Part #3B

There is a specter of witchcraft and voodoo hanging heavily over many church worship services as pastors and worship leaders strive to replicate the powers manifested by Jesus Christ and his apostles.  The use of God’s name in rituals that have no spiritual edification has become commonplace.  God is often introduced in the social media, making vain promises to award money and special favors to those who type “Amen”.  I got a message from God that says your prayer is about to be answered, is a familiar ploy designed to elevate the status of the speaker.  It usually evokes an emotional response equivalent to the home team scoring a touchdown.   Reminiscent of the day when  the minister began his message to a crowd of fifty or more listeners with,  “God said there is somebody in here with a headache…” Exodus 20:7  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.  Somewhere in all of this a grain of common sense was missing.

Many church leaders are traveling to third world countries and are attempting to commune with Pagan deities in search of the familiar powers.  Church and worship leaders are engaging in rituals and dances that exposes the fabric of the soul to the dark influences of the world.  Paul warned the church in Ephesians 6:12, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. What began as an experiment with chicken blood and chicken parts have morphed into an elaborate scheme of mind control that is being played out through a process of indoctrination, cute clichés and misquoting the scripture.  

Ceding from the position of offering spiritual guidance to a spiritual body, the new church of today has taken on the role of a Provocateur of Pagan or earthly values, offering earthy richness, and emotional edification of the flesh in exchange for money, and Jesus is left standing at the door knocking. 

The Christian life is and always been a warfare against sin, Satan, the world, and the flesh.  The Gospel teaches us that we must never yield to our spiritual enemies.   Jesus promise to the spiritual church in Revelation 2:10 was, “… be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life”.  There is nothing in that statement that says I will give you a big bank account.  As Christians, if we are faithful unto death, we shall have a glorious triumph and reward. All who persevere, shall derive from Christ, as the Tree of life, perfection and confirmation in holiness and happiness, not in the earthly paradise, but in the heavenly.  The Gospel of the Kingdom never was intended to deliver one from the suffering of this world, but to minister to those who chose to suffer to follow Christ.  The questions that the Christ asks today is, “do you love me?  Will you suffer for me? Will you die for me?”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Gospel of the Kingdom is often made of none effect by the desire of those who wish to be a wonder or a superstar.  Many are  making spurious promises in the name of God.  From the pages of social media to the alter of the church, God is making promises to fix situations, to heal sick bodies and to fight battles for us.  The promise of healing and blessings is used to promote our earthly agenda.  The earthly promises that were made to an earthly people (Jews) are now being transferred to a spiritual body (the church), creating contradictions in the Word of God.  With hungry hands uplifted to God, we beg for the blessing of Abraham. 

What was it that caused the church as depicted in the Book of Revelation 2:3 to abandon its position?   Jesus said it began with the church losing its first love.  "… And you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lamp stand out of its place-- unless you repent.…"  What was the church’s first love?   Was the church promoting a love affair of earthly goods? 

The church’s love for the bridegroom had declined.  The church’s love for spiritual things had declined.  The church was warned that it  must be grieved and ashamed for its sinful declining, and humbly confess it faults in the sight of God. The church must endeavor to recover their first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness, and must pray as earnestly, and watch as diligently, as did when it first began its Christian journey.  If the presence of Christ's grace and Spirit is slighted in the least bit, we should expect the presence of Christ’s  displeasure.   

The early sixties saw the rebirth of Paganism in the United States as a religion.  The sixties also  herald the birth of a new type of consciousness that was described in song as the dawning of the age  of Aquarius.  The Age of Aquarius, an astrological term denoting either the current or forthcoming astrological age, depending on the method of calculation.  An age when mankind takes control of the earth and its own destiny, as  its rightful heritage. As such, mankind will become the "Son of God"  Jesus or Christianity was no longer promoted as the only way, they were characterized as one of many ways, by those whom we had lifted up. 

One of the keywords of Aquarius is "enlightenment". The destiny of mankind in the Age of Aquarius is the revelation of truth and the expansion of consciousness.  These also are the attributes of Paganism made possible through the  proliferation of the forbidden knowledge of good and evil.  Paganism is no longer a loosely constructed group or ideology.  As a religion, it is a way of life and it affords all of the protections that other religions are entitled to under the constitution of the United States.

How can this be in a God fearing country such as the United States?  How could a country that prided itself in being, one nation under God, fall so far from grace?  How can the God of our salvation be cast about and discarded so easily?  It's really not a hard question to answer when we consider that it began in our school systems where the young minds are shaped.  A slow erosion of Christian values replaced by a Pagan view of the heavens and the earth, this left the church in an untenable position.  Many church leaders were not prepared or even qualified to stand against the onslaught of this Pagan knowledge and found themselves changing to accommodate the viewpoints of this younger generation.  It was a necessary act to increase the body count and sustain the cash flow of a failing organization.

The United States, was once considered a Christian nation until it was forced to acknowledge the sins of its past.  In an overt attempt of self correction, new laws were enacted, but not without forethought and extensive planning.  The church, sided with the minority population, using the world as a stage was instrumental in chastising the government.  The church along with other groups had presented itself as entities that needed to be punished and brought under the control of the government. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 enacted July 2, 1964 was considered to be a landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the United States.  In the simplest terms, it outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.   In churches across the nation this piece of legislation was hailed as a blessing from God, diverse and ethnic groups joined hands and danced in the street at the awakening of a new day for America.  Like the rat who only see the cheese while anticipating the feast, the subliminal control was never noticed until the trap sprung shut.  In less than forty years, Christianity a two thousand year old religion was downgraded from the true religion to just one of many religions, and the church is being brought under the control of the government. 

President George W Bush's first executive order created the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in the White House. This action expanded on the "Charitable Choice" provision, passed as part of President Clinton's 1996 welfare reform bill, that allowed smaller and more overtly religious groups or churches to receive government funding for providing social services.  There are many varied definitions of religion which allow for the inclusion of all types of belief structures, thus Christianity is but one of many religions.   In 2003, faith-based social services grants is said to have totaled more than $1.17 billion dollars. Critics of the government’s action, including some evangelical Christians warned that it will lead to the entanglement and endangerment of the church.  Jesus frowned on this type of relationship.  

The warnings proved to be especially foresighted. It soon came to light that under Bush, promises of faith-based money were being dangled in front of religious communities in return for political support.  Throughout the bible, this type of relationship is called, “playing the whore.”  In 2002 and 2004, staffers from the White House faith-based office appeared at rallies alongside GOP candidates, implying to voters that the best way to get faith-based grants was to support the GOP.  Faith-based grants were also used to silence critics of the program.  A well known TV preacher was an early opponent of the initiative, asserting that churches would become dependent on government aid, which would become “like a narcotic.” He stopped voicing these concerns, after his charity was given a $1.5 million grant.

Faith-based grants forces the church to operate as a business, and when a business receive funds from the federal government it must operate according to the mandates of the federal government.  Under The Civil Rights Act of 1964 the government has gained control of  the message of many mainstream churches.  Marriage, a Christian institution is now being defined by the government.  Church conventions or meetings that once were held for spiritual empowerment, now give space to teach budding ministers how to get money from the government. After decades of chipping away at the facade of, In God We Trust”,  first the schools, then the courts, the president of the United States was finally able to go on national television and declare to the world, “America is no longer a Christian nation”, and the church said, Amen. `

In the book of Revelation we have the symbol of seven golden lamps, signifying the Church in its completeness and perfection here upon the earth. The true Church is perfect, and without spot or wrinkle.  Not the local assembly, the visible church, but the invisible Church as described in Ephesians 5.  So the “seven golden lamps” symbolize the Church in its perfect estate. The seven Asiatic lamps have long since been removed according to the divine threat (Revelation 2:5). And a similar judgment is about to overtake the professing church as a whole (Romans 11:22). Where are the lampstands of gold today? This should be a solemn and a searching question for the church on earth today.