"Satan is the adversary of God, and as Yahweh’s adversary he continually seeks to lead mankind into rebellion against God, and to defile everything that God calls holy. Satan is angry at the fact that God cast him out of heaven when he attempted to make himself like the Most High. He is filled with violence toward Yahweh, and is enraged with a bitter hatred of God. Satan disagrees with the judgment of Yahweh in casting him out of heaven and therefore he seeks to inflict every offense toward God that he can imagine. One such way that he seeks to offend God is by defiling those things that Yahweh has declared to be holy."
This got me thinking about the abomination of desolation which stands in the temple of God proclaiming to be God. Since we know the temple of God is not a temple made with human hands and that we as Christians are the temple then we must ask ourselves whether this abomination has set itself up within our hearts and defiled our bodies. I know it can be easy to overlook all the overwhelming input we receive from the world and miss what we are feeding on. Something is bound to sneak in. That is exactly what has happened over the course of time. Desolation has crept into our hearts through enticement and slow compromise of our faith. We tend to justify that which we desire. For example, most Christians cite 1 Corinthians 8 in defense of their idolatrous behavior.
1 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.
4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
7 However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
9 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? 11 And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? 12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
The problem with using this passage to justify partaking in things of this world that are defiled is that we take into ourselves unknowingly the things which defile us. This passage is talking about God-given food that has been sacrificed to another god, yet it can be applied to other areas of life if we discern the depth and height of the meaning in order to arrive at the truth. If we fail in this we open ourselves up to idolatry in our hearts. As I've discussed many times on this blog, idolatry is far more than what is portrayed in the old testament as carving a figure and bowing down or praying to it. The New Testament defines idolatry as anything arising from the human heart and the works of man's hands that causes you to stumble into sinful desire and thus distracts you from the truth in God. Is this not what He meant by, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods?" Covetousness IS idolatry. Why do you think people offered their children to Marduk? They wanted prosperity. Why do you think Lot's wife looked longingly back at Sodom and Gomorrah?I was traveling in my friend's truck a couple of weeks ago and we pulled up next to an expensive, new shiny vehicle that he really liked. He and the driver were commenting on how awesome it was and how they would like to have one. I made the comment, "Let's not covet now." My friend's reply was, "I'm not coveting, I'm just trying to figure out how to get one of my own."
Stop and think about what it means to covet. Most people think it is directly trying to take what is your neighbor's. They give no thought to the error in thinking, "Since my neighbor has that thing and now I want it then I should have one too." Some would call this good economics, even progress. I call it Mammon, and I think Christ would too.
If you are distracted by such things as the perceived progress of establishing yourself in this life then you are not able to focus on seeking Him with all your heart. This is why Paul warned of marriage. You would be more concerned about how to please your wife than God. The same with your children, and you career, community... soon your life takes over and you have no time for studying the Bible and seeking Him. The truth is not easy to understand or accept. It comes at a great cost. Make no mistake beloved, this world IS CORRUPTED on all fronts. It has been that way since the fall in the garden of Eden. Under this present sun nothing will change that. God has decreed that a New Heaven and Earth will be necessary and that we should be storing up our treasures in Heaven. We are sojourners here because of the fallen state of this world. That is why we are discouraged from debt and covenant relationships in the Bible. That is not to say we sin by doing these things because certainly God intended for some of these things to be a part of our lives (like marriage), however, they are corrupted and the only way out of this corruption is by letting Christ be your life.
This is also the essence of the subject at hand: The abomination of desolation is the mark of the beast. This is not to say that there will not be some physical expression of these things as spoken of by interpreters of prophecy. However, I'm trying to show how it is far more important to be proactively prepared now, spiritually, and guarded against the seeds that will bring about the fulfillment of such a prophecy. By then it will be too late because Satan is bringing the mark about by deception. You won't even know you've taken it unless you are spiritually prepared to avoid it. Remember, the Israelites had no idea why God was punishing them. Neither does the church. So you must take heed to the warning to come out of Babylon NOW. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God that which is God's. See the distinction there? Christ was telling us that this physical life revolves around the traditions of idolatrous hearts. We must recognize that and place Yahweh first. Then all the things we need to operate in this world will be provided for us, but not that we are setting up our own kingdom or empire, rather we are building God's kingdom in the hearts of those who are being called out of this beast system. That is our calling. I hope that you hear it because all of what you are building will be shaken. Examine your life to determine what will be standing when God is finished with you. Just like the temple was destroyed and no stone was left on top of one another, and just as Christ's body was broken, so too will the temple of His body be broken again, the church. Yet Yahweh will take a rib from the second Adam's body to form His bride. I aspire to be one of the remnant overcomers who sit with Him on His throne and have access to His most holy things. Don't you?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.