Deception is the byword of the Age. Combinations of human forces; – the New Agers, the Illuminati, and others, – have set about achieving a complete transformation of mankind.
They are abetted in this endeavor by beings from a spiritual dimension, outside of our human experience whose aim is the deception and destruction of as much of the human race as they can take with them. Knowingly or not they are in the employ of Satan, the adversary. 1Peter 5:8 tells us “the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Consult the New Age literature, or that of Islam or the Eastern Religions or the Mayans or the Neo-Pagans and you will find that this transformation they seek will be ushered in by a man bringing the ‘Christ Consciousness’ with him, – moving mankind to a new level of spiritual existence. The Bible too speaks of that coming time, when the “man of sin” will reign. He will come to power using “the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish.” (2Thessalonians 2:9-10) In today’s offering we will begin to explore the ties that connect all of human religious experience; from the supernatural interactions described in Genesis 6 through the ancient pagan fables to the “close encounters” with aliens in our own time; – from the dawn of spiritual awareness to the coming reign of the Antichrist.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Mark 13:22)
Previously we’ve looked at the connection between the Nephilim of Genesis 6, the demons of old and the reported characteristics of ‘space aliens’. With that in mind, it is interesting to note the beliefs of the early Church Fathers with regard to the Antichrist. They believed strongly that he would have his origins in a union between demon and human, – a mocking parallel of Christ’s nature, who was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit. No less a thinker, philosopher and theologian than St. Augustine validated his belief in the existence of, and human interaction with, demons in his seminal work, City of God. Seventeenth century theologian, Fr. Ludovicus Somostrari de Ameno described a generation of hybrid beings akin to those described in Genesis 6, writing: “It is by this process that Antichrist must be born”. This was a common thought among early Church thinkers.[i]
It all brings us back to the beginnings of the rebellion recorded in Genesis when “the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful” (Genesis 6:2) and took them as wives producing the beings known as Nephilim. It was these offspring that inspired the pagan rebellion that resulted ultimately in the Flood and the attempt by Nimrod to set up a society completely independent of God and His moral law.
It’s all connected. Let’s review for just a moment. This Biblical story of the Nephilim & Nimrod & Noah & the Flood is reflected in pagan beliefs found all around the world. The legend of Nimrod and Semiramis grew and took on new names and forms in civilizations throughout the ancient world. A mother-child cult developed about her as both mother & son took on divine attributes to their devotees found around the globe. Statues depicting the queen mother holding her infant child, – often with halos around their heads, – were found as objects of worship in ancient pagan cultures throughout the world.
Even the Israelites, exposed to solid and repeated revelation from the God of the Bible, – were not immune to this goddess worshiping cult. The Scriptures record that God’s Chosen People fell from faith and took up the worship of the “queen of heaven,” (see Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-25), a form of goddess worship coming out of Baalism. This was indeed, the worship of Semiramis herself. The torch of leadership of the organized branch of paganism passed from Babylon to Pergamos to Rome. There, we will see, things took an interesting turn.
Now when the Israelites were not straying into worship of pagan gods, they were developing a system that honored the One True God of Creation. Here is where we get down to the essential difference between Biblical “religion” and every other form. You see God’s “religion”, in one sense, is really no religion at all. It is an offer of relationship with the God of the Universe through His Son, Jesus the Messiah. Just look at all the other religions of the world and you will find that they have one thing in common: They are all an attempt to find a way to God, to please Him, – through human works of righteousness or ceremony or sacrifice. God’s way as laid out in the Scriptures, is entirely different. It is God who makes the way to salvation. Abraham found the truth of this when he went in obedience to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mt Moriah. When asked by Isaac he told his son, “God will provide for himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” (Genesis 22:8) The sacrifice of the God-Man Jesus Christ on the Cross, satisfied the righteous requirements of the Law and paved the way for man’s redemption. Christ is a fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures of the Old Testament. He became our Passover sacrifice, the Lamb of God. (See 1Peter 1:19) The prophet Jeremiah had promised such a development, just as so many of the prophets had promised a coming Messiah. “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah…. I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31, 33)
We must remember that Christianity began simply as a sect of the Jewish religion. The Hebrew Scriptures had promised a Messiah. In fact, through a reading of the prophecy of Daniel 9, the Rabbis were expecting the Messiah to come in the first century, right when He did. The prophecies of Micah, Zechariah, Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, gave clear clues as to the identity and events of Messiah’s life, – and Jesus fulfilled them all. So when Peter preached on that first Pentecost following Christ’s Resurrection, – he spoke in Jerusalem to a Jewish audience, familiar not only with Christ’s ministry but the Law and the prophets as well. He built his case on Jewish Scripture and addressed his audience as “Men of Israel.” (Acts 2:22)
Thus Peter began his peroration with “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36) Even that Jesus that he preached, was ‘Jewish to the core’, living the life of a Jewish Rabbi, (steeped in Torah), and dying for the violation of Jewish, not Roman law.[ii] The “three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41) that surrendered to God that day, accepting Yeshua as Mashiach, were Jewish souls. It was the Jews that served as the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ. They put their faith in Jesus as the fulfillment of Scripture; – The Torah and the Prophets.
So, the original church started as a Jewish sect; – a fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. It maintained Jewish practices, – with the earliest Christians organizing themselves as communities within the Jewish traditions. Indeed, they likely thought of themselves simply as Jews with an enhanced understanding of the Scriptures. Salvation comes not through the Law but as a “free gift of God” through His Son the Messiah.[iii] So many had seen those Scriptures fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. They knew and therefore lived the truth of their faith.[iv]
But it did not take long for the character of the Church to change, rejecting the Jewish roots that served as its foundation. The background for this process was the ongoing Jewish rebellion against Roman rule and the subsequent persecutions conducted by the Romans in response. The Jewish rebellion which culminated in the siege and sack of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple and the slaughter of 1.1million Jews in AD 70 by the future Emperor Titus of Rome; – certainly was a blow. However, a second rebellion ending in 138 AD was the real blow. It ended with the complete destruction and rebuilding of the city and the scattering of its population; – eventually to the far corners of the earth. In addition both circumcision and the Sabbath were banned. This of course was the end of the very influential Jerusalem church.[v] So all that was left of the Jewish Christians were a few scattered Synagogues, with waning influence that pretty much died out entirely by the 4th century.[vi]
The result of all of this was that the now dominant Gentile church began to throw off Jewish customs and practices in an effort to distance themselves from the persecuted Jewish population. In addition, they began to twist apostolic teaching, slowly becoming anti-Semitic in character.[vii]
[i] Material taken from Tom Horn, Stargates, Ancient Rituals, And Those Invited Through The Portal, Part 12
[ii] Don Finto, Your People Shall Be My People, Promise Keepers, 2001, pg 76-77
[iii] Don Finto, Your People Shall Be My People, Promise Keepers, 2001, pg 78
[iv] Norbert Brox, A Concise History of the Early Church, pg 4, as referenced by Scott Ashley, Modern Christianity’s Forgotten Roots, GN Magazine, Nov / Dec 1997
[v] Scott Ashley, Modern Christianity’s Forgotten Roots, GN Magazine, Nov / Dec 1997
[vi] Don Finto, Your People Shall Be My People, Promise Keepers, 2001, pg 84
[vii] Scott Ashley, Modern Christianity’s Forgotten Roots, GN Magazine, Nov / Dec 1997
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