Thursday, April 7, 2016

The United Nations and That Old Time Religion

While Christians all around the USA are heatedly debating over which power-hungry politician should sit in the White House, something absolutely nefarious has been happening right under our noses.

 

In March of this year, the New York Times reported that on April 19, 2016, a replica of a 50-foot arch to an ancient temple of Baal (Bel) would be erected in Times Square of New York City, and in London as well.

The builders of the arches (Who are being backed by the United Nations in this project) have plans to erect 1,000 of these Baal arches in major cities all over the world.

Why is this even happening? Because in August of 2015, ISIS destroyed a Syrian temple to Baal that was dedicated in 32AD, and the United Nations declared this act a “war crime” and “an intolerable crime against civilization”.

Really? Do you know what happened at temples of Baal? Scholar Ray Vander Laan writes, “At times of crisis, Baal’s followers sacrificed their children, apparently the firstborn of the community, to gain prosperity. The Bible calls this practice ‘detestable’ (Deut. 12:31, 18:9-10).” Baal temples were also famous for wild acts of sexual perversion.

“Yeah,” you might say, “but that’s Old Testament stuff. The New Testament doesn’t really deal with Baal.” Actually, it does. Jesus basically equates Baal with Satan in Luke 11:14-20. In Revelation 2:12-17, Jesus says that, practically speaking, there are Baal worshippers in the church of Pergamum. In the church! And He says if they don’t repent He will personally make war against them.

God hates Baal worship, but evidently His people have a strange affinity for it.

You may be thinking, “I don’t care if they build one of those dumb arches in my city, I will never worship Baal.” I pray that’s true, but can we think through a few passages of Scripture together?

In 1 Kings 18, the prophet Elijah has a confrontation with 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel over who is the true God: Baal or Yahweh. Many Israelites are there who have been trying to worship both Baal and Yahweh at the same time. Elijah proves that Yahweh is the real God by praying, and having God send fire down from heaven to consume an animal sacrifice. Elijah then kills all the prophets of Baal.

In Revelation 13, the apostle John describes a scene from the last days, where the false prophet of the Antichrist is revealed. Verse 13 says that like Elijah, the false prophet, “performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.”

What happens next? In verse 15, the false prophet of the Antichrist declares that, “whoever does not worship the image of the beast will be killed.” Kind of seems like Satan wants some payback, doesn't it? And honestly, if you saw a man actually call fire down from heaven in the name of the lord (Baal means ‘lord’ or ‘master’), can you say that wouldn’t shake your belief system, even in the slightest?

Paul warns Christians in 2 Thessalonians 2 against being deceived in the last days. He tells us that Jesus will not return until the great apostasy, a falling away from the faith, occurs first, and the Antichrist is revealed. Paul calls the Antichrist the man of lawlessness, the one who leads the world to disregard and disobey the commands of Jesus.

Paul then says that the actions of the Antichrist will be infused with the power of Satan himself, “with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved (Vs 9-10).”

Those who are deceived by the Antichrist and false prophet will perish because they refuse to love the truth. Perhaps they will acknowledge the truth. They just won’t love it enough to forsake wickedness and cling to the commands of Jesus alone.

Baal, or Bel, was one of the main gods of the Babylonians when they basically ruled the world. When Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, asked Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to include worship of the image he erected into their religious practices, they refused to practice syncretism. They respectfully and steadfastly refused to combine two opposing religions or worldviews just for the sake of attaining worldly comfort, safety or success. It’s a good pattern for us today.

So may we heed the advice of early Christian, Cyprian, and imitate the three Judean citizens of God’s country who courageously lived in a foreign, idolatrous land:

Let us imitate the three children Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, who … when bidden to worship the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had made, stood forth stronger both than the king’s threats and the flames, calling out and attesting their faith by these words: “O king Nebuchadnezzar … the God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us out of your hands, O king. But if not, let it be known unto you that we do not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.” …

The uncorrupted and unconquered might of the Holy Spirit broke forth by their mouth, so that the words which the Lord in His Gospel spoke are seen to be true: “But when they shall seize you, do not worry about what you shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you shall speak. For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.” – Cyprian 250CE Volume 5, p. 617 [CD-ROM]

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