It Was Foretold That Satan Would Rule The Church: It has been said that the greatest deception of all time is seen in the success of Satan in his ability to convince man that he does not exist.  If this is so, then Satan's second deception is perhaps even greater than the first -- in that, he has fooled the very elect -- i.e., the very religious authorities of the church who have been warned and taught of his existence.   In total disregard of the admonition of the scriptures themselves, the greater majority of Christians believe that the church is beyond the reach of Satan -- that God somehow drew a line that Satan cannot cross over -- and because of this force of Divine protection, Satan has not immersed himself in every aspect of their lives!  Yet, to their own detriment, the leaders of the modern church ignore the warning of the Apostle: “let no man beguile you in any wise: for (it will not be,) except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God” (2 Thes 2:3-4 ASV).

What the Apostle is herein very clearly predicting is that there would come a time when the god of the Christian Church will be a false god.   Historically speaking, it has been almost universally recognized that the period in time that the Apostle could have been referring to was in the fourth century when the church made a covenant with the Roman Emperor Constantine.   With regard to this falling away, the Adam Clark Commentary writes of this passage of Paul's Epistle: “[Except there come a falling away first] We have the original word apostasia in our word apostasy; and by this term we understand a dereliction of the essential principles of religious truth, either a total abandonment of Christianity itself, or such a corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation. But what this apostasy means is a question which has not yet, and perhaps never will be, answered to general satisfaction” (from the Adam Clarke Commentary). 

Not to depreciate or make less the significance of any one of the individual statements presented in the above words, what the modern believer must recognized is the far-reaching totality of the statement: “But what this apostasy means is a question which has not yet, and perhaps never will be, answered to general satisfaction”.   Ultimately, what this means to the modern believer is that each and every church authority from the fourth-century to the present, as well as every single preacher of the gospel, speaks from the position of concession -- which concession is that there is a great void in their knowledge of the truth.   Thus, one of the core presumptions upon which our present-day doctrine of faith is based, is that these words of the Apostle Paul are not true.    What the average person of faith fails to realize, is that this presumption which is widely embraced today, is truly dangerous to each and every Christian’s spiritual well-being!

In our quest to restore the pure Word of the Gospel, it is important for us to question just what these words of the Apostle mean to the modern believer?   It means that the church today is doing the best that it possibly can, under the circumstances that it has been forced to function under.   If both historians and biblical experts are unable to tell us with certainty to what degree these words of the Apostle effect our perception of the gospel today, then we cannot be sure of a single thing!   While we have faith that our beliefs are authentic, when it is recognized that our faith requires us to physically die before we can be sure of the validity of anything that we presently believe, we may be playing Russian Roulette with all the cylinders loaded -- and hoping for a misfire.

The Churches Troubling Past: Unlike the believer who merely accepts what he is told, modern religious authorities know that the history of the church is extremely troubling.   Men of wisdom are alarmed that the religion of the common faith that still survives even today, was brought about by the power of the sword -- and this fact is well documented in my article entitled The Death Of The Religion Of Jesus.   Again, contrary to what they tell the uninformed believer, biblical experts know that the condition of the scriptures is extremely disturbing -- as documented in my article on The Orthodox Corruption Of The Scriptures.  Further, they also know that each and every conflicting sect and opinion that calls itself Christian, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with these almost uncountable number of conflicting opinions, bases its theological position on seemingly valid scriptural statements of fact. 

What this ultimately means is that each sect and school of doctrinal opinion has been forced to accept one biblical theory over the ideas of other schools of thought, which are also represented in the Bible as an article of faith that their choice is the correct one -- regardless of the fact that there is often strong biblical reasons for the opposing opinions they reject.   The Evangelical Christians, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Quakers, and the Unitarian Universalists, all embrace conflicting beliefs -- and yet, each is able to use the Bible to affirm their doctrines.   The Jehovah’s Witness, Evangelical Christians, Quakers and Unitarian Universalists each take certain biblical passages and give them more weight and prescience than other biblical passages that conflict with their opinion.

Regardless of what they preach to their parishioners, each one of these sects arrives at their particular conclusion over the rest, because they have faith that they are doing the best they can under the circumstances they are functioning under.   If they were to be truly honest, each one of them could write a really long list of the many important fundamental elements of the gospel that confuses them -- but since they have faith that there is nothing better.  They of course reason that only God knows for sure.  The uncountable number of explanations that have been offered by each sect and authority are equally confusing to them.   From their very limited perception, they have therefore long ago recognized the fact that they are powerless to do anything about the biblical/religious dilemma that confronts them.   What is their alternative?   Give up the gospel?   Because this alternative is unacceptable, and something within them strongly conveys that there is truth in the pages of the scriptures, they have no other choice than to have faith that either what they see in the scriptures is the truth, or they will be saved by virtue of their belief in Jesus as their Savior.

Counterfeit Christianity: One of the major causes of the present state of doctrinal chaos is the failure of modern pastors and church authorities to recognize that the key to their dilemma is found in the prediction of the Apostle that there would come a time of total abandonment of the Gospel with respect to the desolation of all genuine spiritual Christian ideas and concepts.   What this means is that the Apostle predicts that in the near future, the true religion of Jesus would cease to exist in this world.   In this respect, the words of the Apostle are quite clear in their assertion -- i.e., from the time period of the first century of our Common Era when it was written by the hand of Paul, it prophetically speaks of a time in the near future when the teachings that Jesus placed in the hands of mankind would cease to exist -- and it is the correct assertion of many Christians that this in fact took place in the establishment of an institutionalized church under the control of Pagan Rome in the fourth century.  

What the modern Christian fails to realize is that the total corruption of the doctrine of the church which the Apostle speaks of was in fact brought about by the adoption of the Christ of Constantine, which resulted in the rejection of the Messiah Yeshua of Nazareth.   While it is true that we use the name Jesus, and we call ourselves his followers, what we have lost sight of is that the essence of the religion of the New Covenant is spiritual, and where the physical body of Messiah/Christ was crucified by the carnal Jews in the first century, the spiritual body of Messiah/Christ was crucified in the fourth century.

In further explanation with regard to this crucial prediction of the Apostle, the Adam Clark Commentary then goes on to provide us a vivid description of Constantine and the formation of his new church: “[Who opposeth and exalteth] He stands against and exalts himself above all divine authority, and above every object of adoration, and every institution, relative to divine worship, sebasma, himself being the source, whence must originate all the doctrines of religion, and all its rites and ceremonies; so that sitting in the temple of God -- having the highest place and authority in the Christian church, he acts as God -- taking upon himself God's titles and attributes, and arrogating to himself the authority that belongs to the Most High” (from the Adam Clarke Commentary).

That these events came to pass is well documented from a historical perspective -- i.e., the church was ruled by Satanic forces that dictated every aspect of Christian doctrine.   And while it is true that many faithful believers, clergy, pastors and religious authorities today have recognized the defilement of the church that took place beginning in the fourth century, what could not be revealed until now was the absolute certainty that, because we have never fully recovered from the darkness and corruption that was imposed upon the teachings of the church by the ruthless political despots of the past, essential foundational principles, as well as indispensable elements of New Covenant knowledge of what is constantly referred to in the Bible as the Mysteries of God, is presently absent from the thinking of the body of the faithful believers to this very day.

Satan Speaks To The Christian Elect: The Apostle warned: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph 6:12 NKJ).  
From a biblical perspective, the supernatural being referred to by Paul as Satan, who the Apostle refers to as the god of this realm, easily speaks to Christians and impersonates God, Jesus, or an angelic being, and thus successfully gains control over the thinking of the religious people of any given generation by speaking to their imagination.   What does this mean?   He begins the process by inspiring within them a vision of a kingdom that is to come at some later time.   Where Jesus preached that the Kingdom is here -- at hand, and could be entered through a change of mind -- the forces of darkness blinds the hearts and minds of the believer to the Kingdom that is already present and has been set before them.   The result is that the Prince of Darkness continues to rule over the hearts and minds of the believers because, in their state of spiritual complacency, they continue to live in accordance with the culture of this world, and never actually take up their crosses and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.   And while they think they are different than the unbeliever, often it is found that they are different only in the words they speak. Thus, while they believe and have faith, their faith is misdirected.   In failing to recognize the warning of Paul with respect to the total “…dereliction of the essential principles of religious truth, either a total abandonment of Christianity itself, or such a corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation…”, Satan successfully alters the believer’s perception of the scriptures, and induces them to wait -- rather than begin the journey into the Kingdom where the Son of God awaits them.

The Satanic powers of darkness that are revealed in the scriptures gains the upper hand by moving the hearts and minds of unsuspecting men and women to become attached to this world by whatever means possible.   He controls religious people by seducing them into adopting a life of spiritual complacency and impotence -- using religion to effect within the believer a false vision of their own level of spirituality as being exalted and heightened.   He often accomplishes this deception by inducing them to judge and compare themselves to non-believers, and those who have already surrendered their soul over to the Prince of Darkness.  

It was easy for Lot to perceive himself a righteous person in comparison to the inhabitants of Sodom.   It is in like manner easy for the average Christian today to view themselves as being a faithful and believing people in relation to the criminal element that is portrayed in our newspapers and media.   The flaw in this perception is seen in the fact that the Bible does not require us to be better than the unholy -- but rather, to be Christ-like -- and ultimately as perfect as our Heavenly Father (Matt 5:48).   Thus, because we judge ourselves in accordance with the standards of this world, the result is that the religious person sees himself as being in accord with the gospel message, because he can easily perceive a difference between himself and the people he views as being turned out of The Way.   From the perspective of what the Apostle calls the god of this world, this false vision of righteousness is absolutely necessary in order to implant within their minds a strong delusion that induces them to believe that they are fulfilling the Word of God.  

The Ministers of Satan: A great truth that the Bible continually warns the religious person about -- a truth that he must come to terms with if he is to become a disciple of the Light -- is that this supernatural being which the Apostle calls the god of this world has the power to ordain servants to mislead the flock of believers -- and more importantly, even those servants are unaware that they have become the ministers of Satan.  More importantly, the servants of Satan are very often the people who the flock of believers regard as the most well meaning of individuals -- men and women who the believing community perceives as religious allies, and perhaps even saintly.  

Throughout the course of human history it can be demonstrated that large numbers of true believers have permitted themselves to be deceived and led into error and captivity, because they failed to heed the lesson of the biblical account of Samson and Delilah -- where the betrayer appears to be good, and yet saps their strength, and then attacks the believers in order to enslave them.   If, then, we are to break the bonds of slavery, and succeed in safeguarding ourselves from being deceived, we must become acutely aware of the important biblical warning that: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov 14:12 KJV).  

From the perspective of the Prince of Darkness, we are more easily conquered and led into a life of servitude by those who appear to us as allies and champions of the faith, than those who would oppose us.   No doubt many Christians will immediately reject this argument -- saying, God would not permit this to happen to His church.   But this claim is quickly proven counterfeit when it is demonstrated that God has indeed permitted the church to fall into error.   Can the believer trust the affirmation of the leaders of the church with respect to their claim of doctrinal purity and Divine protection?   The Bible very clearly states that the opposite is true, and it is the leaders of the church who will be in error when they make this claim.   In confirmation of what was predicted by Paul, Jesus said that the powers of darkness which seek to enslave us, and will accomplish this by fooling the very elect of the church (Mat 24:24; Mk 13:22).   The Apostle warns that Satan will appear as an Angel of light, and he will transform his ministers and servants of darkness to make them falsely appear to you as good, in order to deceive you (2 Cor 11:14).   In this respect, the Bible warns us that what seems right to the carnal mind of man, is the very thing that will bring about the ways of death (Prov 14:12).  

What Jesus warned his followers was to: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:15-16 KJV).   In understanding the far-reaching reality of these words, we must comprehend exactly what the fruits are that Jesus makes reference to which we should use to judge the validity of our religious leaders!   Fruits in the scriptures relate to works and accomplishments -- and the works of the spirit is seen in the ability of the shepherd of the flock to place within the hands of the believer the Key that opens the door to what the Bible calls the house of knowledge -- and then demonstrate how to use that knowledge to guide the believer into the Kingdom -- a Kingdom that will never come upon the earth as our present-day church authorities proclaim (Luke 17:20-21), but exists at this very time in a parallel dimension.  

The Seductive Power of Satan: From a biblical perspective, the Messiah is the one who opens the door to the Kingdom and permits us to enter therein.   Throughout the scriptures the essence of New Covenant thought is that the disciple of Messiah/Christ must pick up their own cross and follow in the Masters footsteps.   Satan is the power that draws the believers consciousness away from the Inner Kingdom and into the outside world.   Satan does not want us to begin the journey into the Kingdom, and can only maintain control over us so long as our mindset remains attached to this realm.   Where the Apostle warns us that Satan will raise up ministers and prophets who appear to be spiritual, but are not, what he is making reference to is clergy and religious authorities who keep us focused on redemptive prayer, ritual, and dead works that are of this world, and do not move us along the journey into the Kingdom.   The primary focus of the prayer the Yeshua taught was for the Kingdom to come -- but instead of looking for the Kingdom to come within us, Satan has redirected our perception and we look for the Kingdom to come upon the earth where Yeshua taught it will never come so as to be seen by men (Luke 17:20-21).  When Yeshua therefore warned us that the pseudo-prophets will appear to us as sheep, and deceive us, he was confirming that Satan will attempt to use our own religious authorities to enslave us.   Satan knows that freedom, and the appearance of choice, defeats more foes than does conflict.   It is therefore important for us to understand that the Prince of Darkness knows more about us than we do.   He understands human nature -- and he knows that we will stand firm against one who appears to be an enemy, and in the manner of Sampson be readily seduced by one who appears to be a friend.    

If a stranger approached a child and put on a mean and evil demeanor, the child would instantly retreat and seek a place of safety.   Thus, the stranger who will successfully abduct and do harm to the child, lures the child away with candy -- the promise of some reward -- or even fear not to obey, which is the most effective means to control an individual.  

Once seduced, the Prince of Darkness maintains control over the people by herding those he has successfully deceived into groups, religious institutions, governments and nations.   He does this to take advantage of another of man's inherent weaknesses, which is the pack syndrome where man finds safety in numbers.   This mindset manifests itself in the concept that, if a group of people all agree, then we convince ourselves that it has to be right.  Or, if a whole group is wrong, we reason that God will somehow overlook the error, because no one else knew the truth.   In the manner of schoolchildren, we believe that God will mark our test of life on a curve -- and so long as we attain a certain grade that is within the upper and lower limits of other people, we will have past the requirements of life.  

So long as we can maintain the belief that no one really knows for sure, or that ultimate truth is beyond man’s ability to realize, then we feel secure in the belief that we will not be held accountable for our indolence with respect to seeking the knowledge of the truth for ourselves.   We take this one step further when our religious institutions ordain ministers, priests and religious authorities whose job it is to know all there is to know about God and the requirements of life.   We place other men in the position of priest and clergy, so as to make them responsible for knowing the Will of God.   We then reason that all we have to do is live in accordance with what these religious authorities say, and we will have passed the test of life.   What we therefore fail to recognize is the fact that this is the same exact flaw that Jesus condemned in the Jewish sects of the Sadducees and Pharisees.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses feel secure in the belief that God talks to the leaders of their sect who publish their pamphlets in Brooklyn.   So long as they are Jehovah’s Witnesses in good standing, they will be saved.   Evangelical Christians believe that by virtue of their accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and they worship in a Christ-centered Church, they will be saved.   The mainline Protestant sects believe that so long as they have faith in Jesus, they too will be saved.   In each and every case the people feel secure in their association with a particular church or church doctrine of belief.

In biblical times when Jesus exhibited great compassion and understanding for the lost sheep, he did not extend this same compassion to the false religious leaders who he condemned -- religious leaders who performed rituals and dead works -- religious leaders who praised a God that they did not understand because they were impostors, and were unable to manifest the Light before the lost sheep of the Lord.   A genuine religious leader is one who leads the flock into the Kingdom, and brings them into the presence of the indwelling Word.  

While it is true that Jesus condemned the Sadducees and Pharisees as false religious leaders, from an historical perspective the sin of the Jews in no way compared to the eventual sin of the later church that called itself Christian.   If the sin of the Jews was that they killed the Christ at the time of the crucifixion, then what we fail to understand today is that the sin of the Gentile Christians was that they killed and annihilated the very presence of Christ in this world -- thus, plunging both the Jews and the Christians into the depths of spiritual darkness.  

The truth of the matter that is beyond the comprehension of the greater majority of the people who call themselves Christian today, is that when the Lord physically departed from us, and returned to the heavenly realms from which he had emerged, he did not abandon mankind -- i.e., he visited those who were worthy, and he left us a people who continued to live and dwell in the manner that he prescribed.   For three hundred years there existed a society of people who continued to live a spiritual life in the Light and The Way that Jesus taught.   During this time this group of observant Hebrew/Christians helped both Jew and Gentile-Christian alike to understand and embrace man's innate spiritual nature.   Thus, because they maintained the Lord's teachings in the purity of the Word, people from all walks of life were able to embrace the Light and open the door of the great divide that separates this world from the Kingdom of the Father.  

In the fourth century a very carnal sect of people who called themselves Christian, entered into a covenant with the secular political powers of darkness that ruled this world.   The result was that, whoever did not accept and adhere to the religion of the supreme ruler -- which at that time was the emperor -- was immediately deemed heretics, and silenced by the power of the sword.   Thus, to the Christians own demise the warning of the Apostle was ignored where he wrote: “But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now” (Gal 4:29 NKJ).   In a very short amount of time the Christians of the flesh totally annihilated and exterminated the genuine disciples of the Light -- with the result being that the Christian world was cast down into the very pit of darkness from which the Lord had come to lead them out of.  

Once the remnant of Light that the Lord had left to guide the people was extinguished and annihilated by the very power of the church's alliance with Caesar, Satan was free to not only alter the gospel message, but to place his own disciples in the position of church authorities.   Then, in the manner of more modern despots such as Adolph Hitler, the soldiers were sent forth to exterminate all who opposed the religion of the emperor.   It was during this time that man's perception of God, the nature of Jesus, and matters and concepts pertaining to spiritual things, became embodied in creeds and dogma, and was then published by a class of priests who were totally ruled by a carnal mindset.  

Genuine Spiritual Christianity ceased to exist, as the religion of the emperor became an institution of secular law.   We fail to understand these words today because we erroneously view the teachings of the New Covenant as a body of people who believe in the Son of God.   What we fail to comprehend is that true belief means that we open the “narrow gate” and enter the Kingdom, and learn directly from the indwelling Word.   Because Christianity was thrust into a world of ritual, dead works, the worship of the gods in the form of saints, the unrestrained hunger for political and material wealth, the religion of the New Covenant was converted from a spiritual journey that builds a bridge between this realm and the Kingdom, and a typical religion of the Nations where the people worshiped the gods, the emperor, and lived in subjection to the priests who were ordained by the Roman Government.

With the threat of death, no one was permitted to disagree with the creeds of the Church of the Roman Empire.   Moreover, the men who were enacting these creeds -- the priests and bishops who ruled the church, did not become priests and bishops because of their holiness or manifest spirituality -- but rather, by alliance with the Emperor's Church, and often by purchasing these positions with money -- positions that had in every way become secular in nature, and very much a part of the government.   In modern times we call this a political payoff.

As just one example: In the sixth century when Pope Sylverius had been removed from office by Theodora, the Emperor's wife who had previously been a prostitute and circus performer, and who disagreed with the pope on many theological positions -- one of which was the pre-existence of the soul -- Gibbon writes: “At the emperor's command, the clergy of Rome proceeded to the choice of a new bishop; and after a solemn invocation of the Holy Ghost, elected the deacon Vigilius, who had purchased the papal throne by a bribe of two hundred pounds of gold” (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire).  

Thus, it was these religious politicians who controlled and impacted Christian doctrine -- a doctrine established in the fourth century.   More importantly is the fact that what believers today fail to realize is that it is these same fourth-century doctrines that continue to remain at the very core of accepted beliefs of the modern church, right up to our present time.   And what was the objective of these beliefs?   When these religious politicians submitted their decrees with regard to the nature of God, Jesus, and the Bible, these decrees always supported the religious priorities of the government -- which objective was always mindful of the true secular purpose of religion, which was to assist the government in its rule over and control of the masses of people.   That our whole modern perception of Creation that continues to be a foundational principle of modern church doctrine, has been authored by a circus prostitute who had the pope killed, and then had her own doctrines of belief installed in the creeds of the church, should be sufficient to cause every sincere believer to re-evaluate their understanding of the Gospel.

To what degree the church had fallen under the control of blind carnal men can perhaps best be envisioned in the words of Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, when he wrote: “It is a thing equally deplorable and dangerous, that there are as many creeds as opinions among men, as many doctrines as inclinations, and as many sources of blasphemy as there are faults among us; because we make creeds arbitrarily, and explain them as arbitrarily.  The Homoousion is rejected, and received, and explained away by successive synods. The partial or total resemblance of the Father and of the Son is a subject of dispute for these unhappy times.  Every year, nay, every moon, we make new creeds to describe invisible mysteries.  We repent of what we have done, we defend those who repent, we anathematize those who we defended.  We condemn either the doctrine of others in ourselves, or our own in that of others; and, reciprocally tearing one another to pieces, we have been the cause of each other's ruin” (Quoted by E.Gibbon; The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire).

Led by religious politicians, the Christian world became immersed in a sea of manmade doctrines -- doctrines that attempted to explain spiritual concepts that was beyond their ability to comprehend.   The result was that for over a thousand years Satan ruled the church that is today known as Christian -- and when the church eventually emerged from the pit of darkness in the Middle-Ages, it had been reduced to a mere shadow of the genuine church that was annihilated by the very Pagan Christians of the fourth century.   The result was that these doctrines that formed the foundation of this very Pagan church were then adopted by the Middle-Age reformers, and have continued as foundational doctrines right up into our present time.   Thus, we can observe the success of Satan and the fulfillment of the prediction of the Apostle Paul.   From the perspective of the god of this world, his mission to overcome the Light has been successful, as he continues to perpetuate the manmade doctrines that cause the lost sheep to be ruled over by the powers of darkness.

It is true that during the time of the Reformation there was a break with the mother church that had become seated in Rome, but because the reformers themselves did not possess the spiritual foundation of the original church of the first century, and they continued to embrace many of the doctrines that had been infused upon the teachings of Jesus by the emperors and religious politicians of the past thousand years, it was beyond their ability to re-establish what the Apostle himself warns they were incapable of understanding -- and ultimately beyond even their comprehension.   Because they lacked the spiritual vision and knowledge of the original followers of Jesus, the many churches that emerged from the Reformation continued to be established upon the very carnal mindset that was instituted by the Pagan Christians of the fourth century.

No doubt the majority of Christians today will reject the idea that the modern church has been turned out of The Way.   As an article of faith they will reason that God would not permit such a thing to happen -- i.e., He would safeguard His Church from being overcome by Satan.  Yet, as demonstrated above, this article of faith is in conflict with the very words of the Apostle at 2 Thes 2:3-4, wherein the Adam Clarke Commentary explained that what Paul is predicting is “…a dereliction of the essential principles of religious truth, either a total abandonment of Christianity itself, or such a corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation…”.   If the Apostle predicts the “total abandonment of Christianity”, and a further “corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation”, then our present-day assertion that God will safeguard the church is in total conflict to the warning of the Bible itself.

If this is true, then the present-day religious authorities will counter that God would then communicate with His people and correct the error of the past!   The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe this!   The Evangelical Christians believe this!  So do the very liberal mainline churches that promote the feel-good doctrines of faith and belief in an all-inclusive savior!   Yet each one of these major groups view the others as cults that have been greatly deceived in their interpretation of the Bible.

The great truth we fail to realize is that we dwell in the very presence of God, and it is our own blindness that causes us not to see Him.   God calls out to us, and we do not listen.   God continually reaches out to us, and we fail to take His Hand.    Why?   Because we have permitted ourselves to become blinded by the god of this world.   Moreover, if a more pure copy of the scriptures were placed in our hands, we could spit upon them.   Yet, all we have to do is begin to live in accordance with the scriptures we already have, and seek the Lord with a pure and consecrated heart, and we will succeed in opening our eyes and senses to perceive our true reality.

Can we call ourselves the people of God when we live and believe in accordance with the doctrines and customs of carnal men?   Why do we cling to the quasi-religious doctrines of a man who not even the Pagan priests would offer redemption?   Why do we limit our perception of Creation to the doctrines of a circus prostitute?   Who taught us what is true?   Who taught us what is error?   When more pure scriptures are placed in our hands that conflict with our traditional doctrines of belief, do we seek the Lord to enlighten our understanding?   The great truth that modern Christians fail to realize is that God has attempted to communicate with the faithful flock, but few Christians today possess sufficient freedom to break loose from the powers of darkness that rule this world.   Jesus proclaimed that his followers would be alien to the culture of this realm -- in the world and not of it -- and yet, the modern Christian is under the delusion that they can ignore the mandates of the Bible and still be of Christ, while simultaneously a part of today’s culture.

The Table Of Demons

 

The teachings of Jesus are spiritual, and embody the reality that the disciple will learn from the One Teacher who he will find in the Temple and Kingdom within.  It is also taught by Jesus that the people who live in accordance with the teachings and customs of this world, will be severely influenced by demons and discarnate spirits -- as seen in the teaching of Peter in the Clementine Homilies: "But the reason why the demons delight in entering into men's bodies is that, being disembodied spirits and having perverted desires after meat and sex, but not being able to partake of these due to being spirits, and wanting organs fitted for their enjoyment, they enter the bodies of men in order to gain organs with which to satisfy their lusts, both meat and sex."   Peter further taught that we open the door to these demons and discarnate spirits when we eat dead flesh at the table of demons: "But you are still ignorant of this law, that everyone who worships demons or their idols, or sacrifices to them, or partakes with them of their table, shall become subject to them and receive all punishment from them, as being under wicked lords. And you who, on account of ignorance of this law, have been corrupted beside their altars, and have been satiated with food offered to them, have come under their power, and do not know you have been in every way injured in respect of your bodies. But you ought to know that the demons have no power over any one, unless first he be their table-companion; since not even their chief can do anything contrary to the law imposed upon them by God wherein the demons have no power over any one who does not worship them by being their table-companions in the eating of flesh.... But you, being ignorant of the foreordained law, are under the power of the chief of demons through evil deeds, wherefore you are polluted in body and soul, and in the present life you are tyrannized over by sufferings and demons.... If therefore, ye wish to be the vesture of the Divine Spirit,.... neither believe in idols, nor partake with them of the impure table...."

What Peter is stating is that the very presence of dead animals in the body opens the door for the vibration of death -- i.e., demons and discarnate spirits -- to bring the person under their demonic control.  It was for this reason in the Gospel of the Nazirenes that Jesus stated that those believers of the simple faith could not be admitted into the inner core of the New Covenant while still eating the flesh of slain beasts: "And again that one asked, If anyone comes to us who eats flesh and drinks strong drink, how shall we receive them? And Yeshua said to him, Let such a person abide in the outer court until they cleanse themselves from these grosser evils; for till they perceive, and repent of these, they are not fit to receive the higher mysteries."  What this is further teaching is the reality that those who eat meat cannot enter the Kingdom within, and cannot learn directly from the One Teacher.

In the original teachings of The Way, the followers of Jesus were required to do no harm to any living creature -- whether animal or man. Jesus was called the Prince of Peace -- he preached a Gospel where peace was the essence of the disciple’s life and manner of thinking. In the Nazirene Gospel it is expressed in numerous places that God expected man inflict no harm to any living creature -- and for food, man was to eat only the vegetation and fruit of the earth, as seen in the words: "And God said, See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day" (Gen 1:29-31 NKJ).

Unlike the carnal Jewish sects of the Sadducees and Pharisees, Spiritual Israelites (Essenes-Ebionites-Nazirenes) who were the true people of the New Covenant, were always vegetarians.   If the objective of the teachings of The Way is to return the prodigal son to the Kingdom from which he originally emerged, then he must live in the manner of God's original vision, and do no harm to any living creature.   With respect to the above verses in the Book of Genesis, the Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament writes: "From this it follows, that, according to the creative will of God, men were not to slaughter animals for food, nor were animals to prey upon one another; consequently, that the fact which now prevails universally in nature and the order of the world, the violent and often painful destruction of life, is not a primary law of nature, nor a divine institution founded in the creation itself, but entered the world along with death at the fall of man, and became a necessity of nature through the curse of sin. It was not till after the flood, that men received authority from God to employ the flesh of animals as well as the green herb as food (Gen 9:3); and the fact that, according to the biblical view, no carnivorous animals existed at the first, may be inferred from the prophetic announcements in Isa. 11:6-8; 65:25, where the cessation of sin and the complete transformation of the world into the kingdom of God are described as being accompanied by the cessation of slaughter and the eating of flesh, even in the case of the animal kingdom."   

What the Keil & Delitzsch Commentary clarifies is the fact that if man is to return to the Kingdom, then he must inflict no harm upon any living creature.   This is one of the main tenets of what is referred to as the Royal Law of the Most High.  With respect to the above verses sited at Isaiah 11:6-7, Keil & Delitzsch Commentary writes: "There now reign among irrational creatures, from the greatest to the least -- even among such as are invisible -- fierce conflicts and bloodthirstiness of the most savage kind. But when the Son of David enters upon the full possession of His royal inheritance, the peace of paradise will be renewed, and all that is true in the popular legends of the golden age be realized and confirmed. This is what the prophet depicts in such lovely colours. The wolf and lamb, those two hereditary foes, will be perfectly reconciled then. The leopard will let the teazing kid lie down beside it. The lion, between the calf and stalled ox, neither seizes upon its weaker neighbour, nor longs for the fatter one."   

Unlike the Old Testament, in the New Testament there is the very clear and open declaration that the Kingdom of God will never come upon the earth as carnal man expects, because it already exists within us (Luke 17:20-21).   The objective, then, of the teachings of The Way, was to prepare carnal man for the next stage of birth that will enable him to gain access into the inner Kingdom.   In order to accomplish this, he must live his life in the manner of God's original vision, and inflict no harm to any living creature.   This requirement which was very clearly presented in the scriptures in their original form, was altered and removed from our Bibles by the Gentiles and Pagan Church of the Roman Empire. 

Perhaps the most clear explanation was given by Jesus in the thirty-third chapter of the Nazirene Gospel where he taught: "Jesus was teaching His disciples in the outer court of the temple and one of them said to Him, Master, it is said by the priests that without shedding of blood there is no remission. Can then the blood offerings of the laws take away sin? And Jesus answered, No blood offering, of beast or bird, or man, can take away sin. For how can the conscience be purged from sin by the shedding of innocent blood? Nay, it will increase the condemnation. The priests indeed receive such offerings as a reconciliation of the worshippers for the trespasses against the Law of Moses; but for sins against the Law of God there can be no remission, save by repentance and amendment. Is it not written in the prophets, Put your blood sacrifices to your burnt offerings, and away with them, and cease from the eating flesh. I did not speak to your fathers nor commanded them, concerning these things, when I brought them out of Egypt. But this thing I commanded saying, Obey my voice and walk in the ways that I have commanded you, and you will be my people, and it shall be well with you. But they did not listen, nor inclined their ear. And what doth the eternal command you, but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God? Is it not written that in the beginning God ordained the fruits of the trees and the seeds and the herbs to be food for all flesh? But they have made the house of prayer a den of thieves, and for the oblation with incense, they have polluted my altars with blood, and eaten of the flesh of the slain. But I say to you, shed no innocent blood nor eat flesh. Walk upright, love mercy, and do justly, and your days shall be long in the land".

What Jesus is teachings is that if we wish to dwell in the Paradise of our Creator God, and inherit the promise of eternal life, then we must live in the manner that God intended when mankind dwelled in Eden. We must do no harm to any creature -- we must cease to do evil -- and we must "do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God". And if you say that such a thing is impossible -- that you cannot live your life in this manner -- then your soul has eternity to aimlessly wander this world of suffering, death and pain, until which time you desire to enter into the Paradise that awaits you.

Natural man often has great problems when he attempts to embrace such a manner of life. He reasons: The animals were put here for me to eat. The problem is that because he is ruled over by the beasts of his animal nature -- i.e., carnivores -- he craves the blood and fat of slain beasts. In scripture, the good animals are always portrayed as vegetarians that inflict no harm upon any other creature -- i.e., the lamb -- and if we are to make any progress in following in The Way, we must convert the lower nature within us from a beast, to a subdued companion that supports our quest of higher consciousness.   We cannot even begin to accomplish this transformation while our physical bodies are the tombs of dead animals.   Why is this truth not more clear in our Bibles today: It is near impossible for carnal, sensually driven men not to eat the flesh of slain beasts.   In like manner, the teachings of The Way were unacceptable to the Gentile-heathen world, so they simply eliminated what was objectionable in the scriptures they inherited from the holy men of Spiritual Israel.

Even among the biblical manuscripts and texts we use, there still remains references to Jesus condemning the eating of flesh -- but we choose not to place these condemnations in our English translations: The oldest known complete copy of our Gospels is called the Evangelion Da - Mepharresh and in it we find Jesus saying at Luke 21:34: "See that you do not make your minds heavy, to do this, never eat meat or drink wine."   In my own experiences, on my very first journey into the Kingdom when I was brought into the Presence of the Light, I was told to cease from eating any flesh for food.

Modern Christians often point to the biblical verse where the Pharisees ask Jesus: "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!" (Matt 15:2 NIV) -- and the answer of Jesus to affirm that Christians were not required to observe the dietary restrictions in the Old Testament: "What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean… Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean’" (Matt 15:11-20 NIV).

Regardless of the fact that what is being presented here is true -- the question remains, is it the whole truth? What should make us question the completeness of what is being presented, and give us an immediate clue that these verses have been doctored, is the fact that we know the author of this scripture -- i.e., the Apostle Matthew -- was himself a vegetarian, as seen in the words of Clement of Alexandria: "Accordingly, the apostle Matthew partook of seeds, and nuts, and vegetables, without flesh" (Clement; The Instructor). In the Clementine Homolies, the Apostle Peter is quoted as saying: "I live on Olives and Bread to which I rarely only add Vegetables."   

If we add to this the witness of Eusebius, who quotes Hegesippus and writes of James, the brother of Jesus, and first leader of the New Covenant Church: "He drank no wine or strong drink, nor did he eat meat".   Hegesippus is further cited by Eusebius and tells us that "...the Lord's brother...was Holy from his birth. Everyone from the Lord's time till our own has called him the Righteous", and that "[b]ecause of his unsurpassable Righteousness he was called the Righteous, and Oblias," the latter being a strange word he describes as meaning "Bulwark of the People, and Righteousness," (E.H. 2.23); for Epiphanius, the word means "Wall"; for Eusebius, the "Protection of the People."  James was considered to be such a true holy man who was a Nazirene (of the vow) from birth, that Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis (315-404 CE), who had access to works he said were called the Anabathmoi Jacobou (the 'Ascents of James') and the Gospel of the Hebrews, and writes that: "once during a drought, he [James] lifted his hands to Heaven and prayed and at once Heaven sent rain...Thus they no longer called him by his name, but his name was, rather, the Righteous One" [in Hebrew, the 'Zaddik'].   

Is the vision of the perfect life of the Disciple of Yeshua manifest in the example of James?  Peter is quoted as saying with respect to James: "Our lord and prophet, who has sent us, declared to us that the Evil One, having disputed with him for forty days, but failing to prevail against him, promised that he would send Apostles from among his subjects to deceive them. Therefore, above all, remember to shun ANY APOSTLE, TEACHER OR PROPHET WHO DOES NOT ACCURATELY COMPARE HIS TEACHING WITH JAMES...the brother of our Lord...and this, even if he comes to you with recommendations" (Clementine Homilies 11.35).  Thus, we are able to see where the present-day doctrines and lifestyle associated with the Christian Church today, is merely the work of the apostles of the Evil One.

In view of the fact that it is well documented that all the Messianic followers of Jesus did not eat the flesh of animals, we should question why a religious society of vegetarians would promote the eating of animal flesh?   They did not!  Even among the Gentile converts, the earliest of Christians abstained from the eating of flesh.  The Church Father Irenaeus recounts how, when the followers of Jesus were accused of cannibalism with respect to the eating of the Lord's body and drinking his blood, the martyr Blandina replied: "How should those persons endure such accusation, who, for the sake of the practice of piety, did not avail themselves even of the flesh that was permitted them to eat?"  In like manner St. Jerome wrote: "The eating of Flesh Meat was unknown up to the big flood, but since the flood they have the strings and stinking juices of Animal Meat into our mouths, just as they threw in front of the grumbling sensual people in the desert (Essenes). Jesus Christ, who appeared when the time had been fulfilled, has again joined the end with the beginning, so that it is no longer allowed for us to eat the Flesh of Animal Meat."   In total agreement St. Basil wrote: "The steam of Meat meals darkens the Spirit. One can hardly have virtue if one enjoys Meat meals and feasts. In the Earthly Paradise, no one Sacrificed Animals, and no one ate the Flesh of Animal Meat."   Clement of Alexandria in like manner explained: "Sacrifices were invented by men to be a pretext for Eating the Flesh of Animals."

That the New Testament in like manner condemned the eating of flesh is seen in the Gospel of the Nazirenes, where we can see what the original message that Jesus taught conveyed to the reader: "And Jesus said, ‘Well has Moses commanded you to be clean, and to keep your bodies clean, and your vessels clean, but you have added things which ofttimes cannot be observed by everyone at all times and in all places. Hear me therefore, not only unclean things entering into the body of man defile the man, but much more do evil thoughts and unclean things which pour from the heart of man, defile the inner man and others also. Therefore take heed to your thoughts and cleanse your hearts and let your food be pure. These things ought you to do, and not to leave the others undone. Whosoever breaks The Law of Purification of necessity, are blameless, for they do it not of their own will, neither despising The Law which is just and good. For cleanliness in all things is great gain. Be not therefore followers of evil fashions of the world, even in appearance; for many are led into transgression by the outward seeming, and the likeness of evil" (NG 43:13-16). Thus, the original words of Jesus paint an entirely different picture than the corrupted texts of our modern biblical translations.

Further confirmation that the original people of the New Covenant ate no flesh foods is seen in the Clementine Homily 7, chap 4, where it reads: “Wherefore, as then ye were deceived by the forerunner Simon, and so became dead in your souls to God, and were smitten in your bodies; so now, if you repent, as I said, and submit to those things which are well-pleasing to God, you may get new strength to your bodies, and recover your soul’s health. And the things which are well-pleasing to God are these: to pray to Him, to ask from Him, recognizing that He is the giver of all things, and gives with discriminating law; to abstain from the table of devils, not to taste dead flesh, not to touch blood; to be washed from all pollution; and the rest in one word, — as the God-fearing Jews"  

While these teachings of Jesus might sound alien to us today, there are countless first century writings that demonstrate their genuineness.   In another writing known as The Essene Gospel of Piece which was found by a priest who was working in the Vatican Library, these same teachings are very clearly presented when Jesus tells the carnal Jews why they are blind to man's indwelling spiritual reality: "Jesus said: You do not understand the words of Life, because you are in Death. Darkness darkens your eyes and your ears are stopped with deafness. For I tell you, it Profits you not at all that you pore over Dead Scriptures if by your deeds you deny him who has given you the Scriptures. I tell you truly, God and his Laws are not in that which you do. They are not in Gluttony and Wine-Bibbing, Flesh Eating, neither in Riotous Living, nor in Lustfulness, nor in seeking after Riches, nor yet in Hatred of your Enemies. For all these things are far from the True God and his Angels. But all these things come from the Kingdom of Darkness and the Lord of all Evils. And all these things do you carry in yourselves; and so the Word and the Power of God enter not into you, because all manner of Evil and all manner of Abominations have their dwelling in your body and in your Spirit. If you will, that the living God’s Word and his Power may enter you, Defile not your Body and your Spirit; for the Body is the Temple of the Spirit, and the Spirit is the Temple of God. Purify, therefore, the Temple, that the Lord of the Temple may dwell therein and occupy a place that is worthy of GOD."

In our search for truth, we are presented with a uniform all-pervading doctrine which emerges from the first century people of the New Covenant -- a doctrine which portrays the absolute need to live in harmony with the Royal Law of the Most High.   Moreover, these same words are relevant to the people who portray themselves as the followers and believers in Jesus today.   The body is the Temple of God -- and those who defile the temple are wasting their time when they philosophically call upon the name of the Lord.   Those who purify the Temple, are those who truly believe in the Son of God, live in strict accord with his teachings, and permit the indwelling Light to fill every aspect of the True Christian's Life.

The Voices That People Hear