Quote:
Originally Posted by votivesoul
Those men would be on the worst side of extreme, as examples of what I mean. But from that worst side of extreme, one could still scale down and find another situation, while less horrific, still qualifying as idolatry (spiritual whoredoms).
Balaam and Jezebel in Revelation 2 come to mind. Now, they weren't getting men to castrate themselves or mothers to force poisoned juice drink down their babies' throats, but the idolatry spoken of by the Lord was present, and these two, whoever or whatever they actually represent, had sufficient pull in the assembly to overthrow the faith of some and get people to actually idolize them (Simon Magus also comes to mind. Diotrephes, too. Absalom, Korah, and etc.). And in the case of Jezebel, Jesus said plainly He was going to execute her and her children. Maybe there's a metaphor in there, and it's not literal, but maybe it is???
I don't know, but the end result is the same. Idolatry in the church. Someone in the church is the idol. That idol's word carries more weight than Christ's. Jesus condemns the idol and the members of the church participating in the idolatry and threatens to annihilate them if they don't repent right quick. Literally or metaphorically, it results in spiritual damnation and the second death. |
Antichrist actually means to be in His place. Positional more than opposing. William Marion Branham never ordered mass suicide, neither did the Rebbe Mendel Schneerson. Yet, both William Branham and Mendel Schneerson never ordered anyone to put them into a position. Never taught lengthy studies on how they were to be obeyed. People do that all on their own. You and I make freewill decisions whether “Biblical” or secular on a vast variety of choices. Yet, there is church government in the New Testament. Paul advocates his own position, also points out to others there own position. John concerning Diotrephes points out his position as someone who could be a stop to a rouge minister. But with Diotrephes he didn’t work alone. No one ever does. To beard or not to beard, or whatever standard you like or dislike, the group accepts or rejects. This isn’t one man controling by himself. He has to have help enforce his goals and ideas. So, guess what? Whether good or bad, the group all file on the plane fly down to Mexico City to get castrated. I have an Pentecostal church down the road from me. This churches pastor believed that the Tribulation was to take place in 2001. So he had the women in the church get sterilized. But this is the thing, not all the women complied. Some did, the so called true believers. Yet, others didn’t do it and are still sitting on the same pews next to their sterilized sisters. Don’t get me wrong, some did actually leave when 2001 came and went. But even Harold Camping’s group didn’t leave him, a good chunk stayed even to this day. But do I blame Harold Camping? Do I blame Pastor Sterilization? Those who teach mandertory bearding or mandertory shaving? No way! It is all on me and you. What we allow or disallow. In Nuremberg Germany at the end of WWII. Nazi officers were placed on trial. Death penalty for some. But their plea was they were following orders. That defense wasn’t a defense. So before we start a campaign to storm the ecclesiastical Bastille. We must remember before we go to liberate the prisioners. They have a huge part in their own captivity. Again, me shaving ever since I set a foot in an Apostolic church never caused me one issue. So, for me I understand it is all about choice when we get down to the skinny answer. Choice whether to accept, reject, leave, or stay. We still hold the option to vote with our feet. To build idols or take down idols.
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