APOSTASY:
The Marriage of the State and
Religion
through
Economic Gain
Chapter 4 of The False Prophet
By
Doug Krieger
“SO
HAPPY TOGETHER” (tune)
Expositors
are loathe to correlate the Jezebel of King Ahab with the Jezebel of the
Church in Thyatira (I
Kings 16-22; II Kings 9-10; Revelation 2:18-29)—that great Church of
apostasy that bespeaks, according to G. H. Pember, of the State and Church merger under Rome and survives to
this day.
However, the allusions
and comparisons are so striking, that one would have to be theologically
moronic not to recognize the identity of the woman in Thyatira is the
spiritual counterpart to that woman, Jezebel in the book of the Kings.
Furthermore, as Jezebel clearly represents all that is apostate, that Mother
of Harlots that Woman of Wickedness— even so, the Jezebel of Thyatira is the
epitome of the same and the tragic display of absolute apostasy within the
Church!
And, what did the Lord
have against the Church in Thyatira:
“Nevertheless I have a few things against
you, because you allow that (lit., according to M., “your wife Jezebel”) woman
Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach (or “teaches and seduces”)
and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed
to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality (lit.,
“repent, and she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality”), and she
did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit
adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am
He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you
according to your works. Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as
many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as
they say, I will put on you no other burden” (Revelation
2:20-24).
Commentary on this could
be exhaustive. Suffice it to say, the “depths of Satan” are found within the
Apostate Church. There are those who overcome therein, but the mixture she
imbibes in the cup of her fornication is so potent—it is a miracle that they
who abide therein can still “hold fast what you have till I come.”
Both
Israel’s apostasies of antiquity, and the Church’s aggrandizements with the
Merchants of the Earth—yes, her unmitigated interplay with today’s wealth and prosperity gospel, all the while fomenting rationalizations
that these alleged “blessings” of materialism bespeak of successful Christian
living in the modern era, able to ingratiate themselves before their fawning
leadership through their abundant contributions—bear unbelievable resemblance
to the tactical deceits of Jezebel. Recently (2008) these high-flying spenders for Jesus have been called
before the US Senate to investigate their excesses.
Again, no amazement that
the HARLOT of Babylon the Great sustains her identity through both Revelation Chapter 17 and Chapter 18! She is APOSTATE, not only because
she relishes the support of this Beastly State, but she is APOSTATE in that
she inculcates herself by her mercantile associations who bewail her rapacious
inferno. Is there not a correlation between her Babylonian reliance upon the
State and her fraternization with the wealth of the world and its merchants?
How is it that the
leading lights of American Evangelicalism could be seen with Republican
politicos and the business elites of the U.S.A.? The sight was despicable—how
dare they flaunt their associations with the politically powerful and business
magnates in galas and party boats during the 2000 Philadelphia Convention?
They, the Church, providing her foot soldiers to battle at the polls, well
deserved a table in the presence of the Kings and Merchants of the earth!
Yet, their Jesus once said: “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have
their nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay His head.”
APOSTASY: MIXING THE GOSPEL WITH GENTILE WORLD POWER
Although much more can be
said of the commercial entanglements of numerous “born-again” brethren
throughout, in the main, the USA and how this despicable characteristic
equates to the Father’s house becoming a latter-day “House of Merchandise”;
however, we must excuse ourselves from this “alliance made in hell” between
the Members of His Body and the Merchants of the Earth, and give further
exploration to the deceit of mixing religion with politics—for it is here that
the stark outrage of the divine is measured!
Notably, The Pew Forum on
Religion and Public Life conducted an extensive survey on the impact of
religion in the American body politic (Religion
and Politics: Contention and Consensus). Certainly, their
findings demonstrate the emergence of the Church-going population with the
Republican Party and of the non-church with the Democratic Party (with Black
Evangelical the exception to the rule):
“Attention to Kerry's personal religious
commitments comes at a time when experts are touting the "religion gap" as the
most fundamental divide in the current political landscape. Pollsters have
found that an individual's degree of religious commitment (measured by how
often they attend worship services) is a more significant indicator of voting
behavior than education, income level or gender. According to a November 2003 survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 63% of voters who
attend religious services more than once a week say they will vote for
President Bush in the upcoming election (2004), while 62% of voters who seldom
or never attend services say they will vote for the Democratic nominee.
However, such figures can oversimplify the often-complex relationship between
personal religiosity and voting behavior. Black evangelical Protestants, for
instance, tend both to attend church frequently and to vote Democratic. But
commentators have used the figures to underscore the need for the Democratic
Party to reach out to religious audiences.”
The establishment of the
Evangelical-Republican alliance—virtually in ALL AREAS of the nation (not just
the South)—bespeaks of the on-going strategies used by both politicos, as well
as religious leaders within the evangelical community. The Pew Research
figures indicate the on-going politicization of the believing Church is
unprecedented in the annals of American religious history:
Let it be clear from the
outset that when we speak of APOSTASY in its most “definitive form” we allude
to the Bible’s clear and present prophetical declarations relating to
religion’s contaminating engagement with politics; and, specifically, “power
politics.”
The above statistics
demonstrate a rather antiseptic predisposition for evangelicals to be so
politicized—i.e., welcome the involvement of religion in political dialogue
and discourse. Again, the initial appearance of this attachment may initially
disguise itself as benign; however, the “temptation” to “take up the sword”
(as Peter did in the Garden of Gethsemane—John
18:10)—as a “manifestation” to “seize the kingdom now” and to “defend
kingdom rights” is what so deeply concerns.
THE
OCCULT vs. RELIGIO-POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
The
initial two parts of this series alluded to the impact that the occult (i.e.,
what the Bible calls “sorcery” and today we label it “New Age”), has had upon
the Church. These, what the Bible calls, “doctrines of demons,” compromise
the purity of God’s witness through His people. Likewise, our stress was upon
the “commercial hype” that has had a deleterious affect upon the Church. The
alleged “success” created by excessive “materialism”—especially demonstrated
within the Meta-Church Movement—has propelled its evangelical leadership into
the realms of “power-politics.” Money talks—the subject quickly turns to
politics and the influence it bears upon domestic and international policy.
However, Christendom’s
greatest threat (and here I specifically designate the “believing Church”)
comes not from the incursions of such compromise and “doctrines of demons” but
from Apostasy’s purest from: The Marriage of the Church and the State—the
linkage of “power politics” and “religious contrivance.”
THE
AMERICAN LEFT REFUSES TO COME TO TERMS WITH RELIGIO-POLITICAL REALITIES –
Much to the chagrin of
the Left, President Bush has NOT betrayed his alliance with the Religious
Right in America—rumors of “their demise” and fragmentation has been greatly
exaggerated and the Left has skewed this distortion for their own
political/social agenda (and for this—Cutting
Edge should hang their heads in SHAME!).
What the Left does NOT
realize is the tantalizing mutuality that now exists between the two—nor does
the Left perceive the MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP that currently exists
between the evangelical wing of the Church and the political power structures
of this nation!
When evangelicals say
that “they
led the charge for the GOP” in Bush’s re-election, they
mean it. When President Bush says he gained some “capital” he wants to spend
in the next four years—he knows precisely who was involved in giving him that
capital! For liberals and the likes of Barry Linn (through Barry Boston) to assume otherwise, is
foolhardy and only demonstrates how alienated the Left is from this American
strata of society.
Why
is it that PRAVDA (Russia) is clear about this relationship? They do
NOT underestimate the convergence of the Religious Right and the ascendancy of
George Bush in this nation! But, again, why is it that the American Left is
so blinded by the Evangelicals’ impact upon this election?
Fortunately, however, TheocracyWatch’s impassioned articles synthesizing the
impact of the Religious Right in this nation gives some hope that someone “out
there” has come to terms with what is happening and why. But, alas! Theocracy
Watch makes this absurd remark:
“The kind of political momentum of the 2004
election needs to be sustained. Dominionists have historically targeted
midterm elections because voter turnout is much smaller than in Presidential
elections. Those who favor Democracy and a pluralistic society need to be
passionate, and they need to be involved in politics. We can replace
dominionist legislators in the 2006 elections, but it will take hard,
sustained work, and lots of passion -- the same kind of hard work and passion
that began with the 2004 elections.”
A sort of schizophrenic
interpretation of the impact of the Religious Right upon the past election
transpires amongst groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State; Alliance for Justice; Political Research Associates; People for the American Way; Interfaith Alliance and the Institute for Democracy Studies. They anxiously announce
there’s this deep dark boogieman called the Religious Right—while, at the same
time, demeaning its influence upon the election or, for that matter, politics
in general. “The truth is out there” – someone’s influencing someone but
could Sara Diamond be right? Listen, maybe she’s found the truth:
“Christians are mandated
to gradually occupy all secular institutions until Christ returns” Definition
of Dominion Theology by sociologist Sara Diamond.
Furthermore, the
ludicrous and superfluous remarks made by Air America’s airheads regarding the
Religious Right’s clout (i.e., “all bark and no bite”) continues to remind one
of the West’s ignorance of Hitler’s intentions leading up to the stupid
diplomatic efforts by Chamberlain and his absurd and worthless document
entitled: “Peace in Our Time!”
Yet, Air America will somehow have the perspicacity to print
this:
“It's payback time for the Religious Right and
they mean to collect in full. Bob Jones III, of Bob Jones University, sent a
congratulatory note to George W. with the following admonition: ‘Put your
agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They
despise you because they despise your Christ. Honor the Lord, and He will
honor you. If you have weaklings around you who do not share your biblical
values, shed yourself of them.’ Clear enough? Newsweek reports that the evangelicals "now hold daily conference calls and meetings to review
a long legislative wish list: conservative judicial appointments, a federal
amendment banning gay marriage, abortion restrictions, tougher obscenity laws,
school vouchers, a ban on all human cloning.”
Sure, it’s payback
time—but “you don’t have to pay that much back because you don’t owe them that
much” – how do you spell “dumb” backwards: MUD!
Finally, the so-called
“Evangelical Left” of Sojourners—they are the last ones to look into the
crystal ball and discern the impact of the Religious Right on the election of
2004—listen to their gibberish:
“The
much-touted Religious Right is now a declining political factor in American
life. The New York Times’ Bill Keller recently observed, ‘Bombastic
evangelical power brokers like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have aged into
irrelevance, and now exist mainly as ludicrous foils.’ The real theological
problem in America today is no longer the Religious Right but the nationalist
religion of the Bush administration—one that confuses the identity of the
nation with the church, and God's purposes with the mission of American
empire.” (Jim Wallis, Editor-in-Chief, Sojourner’s Magazine, Sept.-Oct., 2003)
Both Keller and Wallis
should resign! Stoning of false prophets may not be such a bad idea after all
(just kidding)—but, when are these guys going to get a brain?
PURE
APOSTASY – JEZEBEL-STYLE
The truest meaning of
“Apostasy” (i.e., “the falling away from the faith”) in its “Babylonian
context” has far less to do with “sorcery” (Revelation
18:23) and the accouterments thereof (e.g., “the wise men, the
astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers” (Daniel
2:27); or channelers, diviners, new age movements in general,
self-actualization/realization, theosophy, transcendental meditation, ad
nausea).
However, not to demean
the significance of the threatening blast to True Christianity that these
“winds of doctrine” pose to the Church, yet they are in no way equal to the
image of the Woman who rides the Beast!
Pointedly: Apostasy,
akin to what took place in ancient Israel—especially in the reign of King Ahab
and his Gentile-born Queen Jezebel of Tyre and Sidon—is the absolute
convergence of the religion of the One True God with that of the power of the
State! Here we have a princess, Jezebel, whose father, Ethbaal, king of the
Sidonians, was a zealous participant in the worship of Baal. Well did she
know the mysteries of the Canaanite religion and its entanglements with the
mystery religion of Babylon.
Her peculiar familiarity
with religion and politics, as well as Tyre’s commercial intrigues and how
their international trading empire incorporated temple “worship” to spread its
economic hegemony throughout the Mediterranean, represents an ideal
Trinitarian form of apostasy wherein religion, politics and commerce depict
prophetic Babylon.
Her
expertise in religious subterfuge and commercial exploitation, coupled with
political power—and how to manipulate the three—was unexcelled. King Ethbaal
was unsurpassed in his ruthlessness, having been High Priest of Baal; he now
sought, through assassination, the kingship of the ancient Phoenicians.
Indeed, he sought to bring the “counsel of peace” between them both: The
State and Religion – the kingship and the priesthood, the Church and the
State. So, it is within this context, did “that woman Jezebel” and Israel’s
seventh and worst king (I
Kings 16:33) ascend the throne of Israel and become her king and queen.
Their “commercial tryst”
bore no semblance of commitment and matrimonial bliss. No, as Solomon (I
Kings 11:1-5), King Ahab sought commercial alliances to enforce his
political control over the masses and to suffice his sensual and greedy
aspirations. The fact that Ahab had some seventy sons by “women of the court”
demonstrates the degradation and charade of the marriage bed (II
Kings 10:1).
Furthermore, the fertile
soils of apostasy were found between Israel and Tyre through Dan’s unholy
inheritance grab centuries earlier, wherein the tribe of Dan seized the
northernmost territory of Israel—for its environs were predisposed to trade
with Tyre and Sidon. Dan’s ancient apostasy is legendary—integrating the true
religion of Jehovah with the Canaanite deities of Baal and Ashtaroth (vide. Judges 17 and 18).
We must consider the
inspiration of the Scriptures in leaving out the Tribe of Dan in sealing the
first mentioning of the 144,000 as a rebuke to this compromise (Revelation
7:5-8), but reconsider their possible repositioning within the Holy City (Revelation
21:21) as a triumph of grace and faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God.
Now, is that overt
enough? Or, are you going to go Garrison Keillor on me and do a Lake Woebegone?
“I’m trying to organize support for a
constitutional amendment to deny voting rights to born-again Christians . . .
I feel if your citizenship is in Heaven—like a born-again Christian’s is—you
should give up your citizenship . . . sorry, but this is my new cause . . . if
born again Christians are allowed to vote in this country, then why not
Canadians?”
So—what doth it profit a
man if he gains the whole NPR audience, but loses his own soul? Think of
it—living among so many Lutherans for so many years has caused Garrison to go
mad! Again, it’s this overweening sense of the Left’s propriety and their
flippant attitude concerning the Religious Right’s impact that reminds me of
the Cabaret comedians who joked about Hitler!
THE
ENTANGLEMENT OF RELIGIOUS POLITICS - BABYLON
I’m
going to go “Biblically heavy” on you—so, bear with me . . .
Having superficially
explored the prototype of Biblical apostasy, may I concentrate your attention
upon the earth’s most unique religious/secular mixture to date: The United
States of America and its burgeoning relationship with conservative
Christianity, again, in particular, evangelical Christianity—for it is here
that apostasy’s most prophetically grotesque appearance is recognized.
I do this at the risk of
accusations that such political analysis has little to do with spiritual
matters; however, understanding the times in which we live is a Biblical
injunction that bears credibility:
“. . . of the sons of Issachar who had
understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do . . .” (I
Chronicles 12:32).
At first glance, and
since “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (I
John 5:19), it appears that an argument can be made in support that little
difference exists between nations insofar as evil is concerned; however, the
Bible is altogether clear regarding such differentiation along many lines and
levels (e.g., in the Image in Daniel there are “principalities” identified as
“the prince of Persia” and the “prince of Greece” – let alone copious Biblical
examples that delineate differences among nations, tribes, peoples; the “sheep
and goat” nations (Matthew
25:32-33), etc.).
Even so, regarding the
end-time’s Babylon, which shall arise at the “End of Days” (i.e., the last of
the Last Days, for the “Last Days” or “Latter Days” surely commenced at the
time of Jesus’ earthly ministry), we observe that its physicality bears
remarkable resemblance to a multitude of Biblical descriptions, which
resoundingly point to our shores! But, the chief evidence that convicts us of
Babylon’s identity is this insidious characteristic of ancient apostasy.
Consider: the nations of
Russia, Germany, Japan (of course), and even of Canada, etc., have little or
no claim upon professing a Christian character—even the European Union’s
Constitution (notwithstanding the Catholic heritage of many of its states, let
along the long history of Christianity (Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox)),
with secular revulsion refuses to acknowledge its Christian heritage within
that document to the chagrin of its more Catholic constituents.
Yet, it is here that a
glaring differentiation is noted: The United States of America—with
multitudes of its leaders and people—feign to be “of Christ” – when, in point
of fact, she (i.e., America) is part and parcel of the “prince of this
world’s” empire. Her service to the prince of this world, notwithstanding the
Christian protestations to the contrary, is fraught with abominable
indignities—so much so, that to decry her ties with both Egypt and Sodom, and
of her many curses written on both sides of the Flying Scroll, could literally
cover the entire earth if pen could be found to write such a despicable
diatribe.
The iniquity committed by
the aforementioned nations (for there is sufficient wickedness to go
around—especially now that we have absolute proof of the UN’s indiscretions in
the “Food
for Oil Program”) is done outside the pale of
Christianity—i.e., they hold no claim to divine proclivity. They bear no
mystique with the “Light
and the Glory” ascribed by a vast list of Christian
Americans who see our history as a “City set on a hill which cannot be hid.”
The concept of the
“Christian nation” is highly esteemed by a growing number of American
Christians and is cloaked in a variety of platitudes—everything from “God
bless America” to “holding forth the traditions of our founding fathers.”
Think it not peculiar the film “Of Gods and Generals” premiered to our troops
prior to its official release and invasion of Iraq—virtually deifying the
coming battle as if God fully blessed the coming onslaught!
Indeed, President Bush’s
first term witnessed regular “prayer sessions” with Attorney General (John
Ashcroft) and the head of its National Security Council (Condoleezza Rice), as
well as a multitude of members from both Houses of Congress, including scores
of military, business, and entertainment leaders—let alone tens of millions of
its nearly 300 million population, claim the nation for Christ and the
Church. It is no small phenomenon in modern times that America bears a unique
distinction of holding forth the most vibrant “Patriotic Church” on the
globe.
A CITY
SET ON A HILL?
And
for all her religiosity—what testimony is held forth to the nations who behold
the “city set on a hill which cannot be hid?” How do the “have-nots,” and for
that matter, “the haves” of the world view the Woman of Wickedness within her
commercial ephah? (Zechariah
5:5-11). Where do the Two Women with Wings of a Stork place this woman in
the basket whose name is WICKEDNESS? On the plains of Shinar in the center of
Babylon (Dura)! Coincidental—hardly.
The world witnesses,
regrettably, and increasingly, a nation permeated by violence, oppression,
murder, war, thievery at the highest levels; while trafficking in the bodies
and souls of men (cheap labor)—all from a nation, which allegedly bears
witness to the claims of the Savior. Indeed, our prisons are stuffed
full—America incarcerates over 2M (the world’s highest prison population).
And yet, she says: “I
sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow” (Revelation
18:7) . . . but God Almighty shall have the final word:
“Therefore her plagues will come in one
day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire,
for strong is the Lord God who judges her . . . the kings of the earth who
committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for
her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear
of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty
city! For in one hour your judgment has come” (Revelation
18:8-10).
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