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HOW UNREAL CHRISTIANITY SET ITSELF UP FOR SPIRITUAL RUIN
This year’s Lockdown revealed the lowdown on the state of Christianity in America. The hidden truth long since discovered by real Christians was exposed to everyone paying attention.
Church leaders all over the country were notified this past March that they must shut down their churches. They said it would likely be for only a short time. Rather than ask the right questions or even attempt to take a stand, the majority weakly complied without a fight. Once the brief interval of closure passed they were told in no uncertain terms that conditions had changed. The church lockdown would be permanent until further notice. And just like that American Christianity changed forever.
There will be no recovering from this. The enemy that hates Christianity was allowed to dictate the terms. There were certainly a few who fought the order and they were made to pay. They were made examples of and shown what will happen to those who don’t toe the mark. Some of those who invoked their Constitutional rights did everything right in obeying the dictates of the order but were attacked anyway. Local governments and police were quickly on the scene to enforce “the law,” which was actually a violation of the law. Fines were issued, force was used, ministers were abused. And all the other Christians and church leaders looked on in shock that some actually refused to comply. The majority, ensconced in their homes, watching church online, were embarrassed. Don’t these people know we must always obey?
REAL CHRISTIANITY WAS FOUNDED ON SPIRITUAL REVOLT
Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened; for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. [Acts 4:13-22]
Some people study history. Some people study church history. Some people make themselves aware through much hard work and prayer of not only New Testament truth but the background of the times that birthed it. This is a vital component of understanding real Christianity. Knowing at least the general timeline of the Old and New Testaments is absolutely necessary for knowing what is expected of a follower of the Lord Jesus.
As I stated in my prior post, the Lord arrived among His people during a time of national darkness. It is very important to understand this in context. Though the land was shrouded in a mysterious and sinister dark gray undulating spiritual cloud, brooding and foreboding, as before the onset of a great storm than never seemed to fully arrive, the nation was also captured by life-sucking religious entities intent on dominance and submission. The people were the host.
Then, suddenly, it was Genesis 1:3 all over again:
‘The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a Light dawned.’ From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [Matthew 4:16-17][1]
The people had been told by those in charge what to believe, how to conduct themselves, and what they must do to support the official organization. Individuals did not matter whatsoever. There was no love here. Whoever might resist such encroachments were targeted with abuse. The majority knew their social standing and ability to earn a living demanded compliance to the dictates of the order. Some managed to make it on their own. Most were far too fearful of the prospect.
If there had been a prophet the truth would have been shouted from the housetops and every high hill. The Hebrew prophets were sent directly by God with a powerful spiritual anointing sufficient to overcome the dominance of the religious and secular hierarchies when they strayed (which was often). Their voices were always heard. But the establishment hated prophets. The prophets revealed the rebellion of the controllers and the disgusting personal lifestyle sins hidden behind the walls of false piety. Why do you think the fakers had to dress up in such outlandish costumes and affect such fake religious attitudes? They had to hide what they really were. They had to fake the people out to gain and remain in power.
But there hadn’t been a real prophet in the land for centuries. There were likely individuals here and there that had some semblance of diffused spiritual light but such was obviously not enough to stave off the rise of evil disguised as holy. Some could see the pretenders for what they were but had no power to fight or stop them. This is what always happens when the strong, powerful correcting voice of God is not around to speak spiritual truth and light, and counteract the perpetrators of evil.
When there were prophets the evil ones did their best to oppose and defame them, and often resorted to murder. They saw the latter means as the only reliable solution. Many prophets were killed. As their voice was eliminated it allowed for evil to rise exponentially.
If the nation prayed earnestly for deliverance and brought forth the fruits of real repentance God would respond.
He would send another prophet, as pure salt and light, not necessarily to defy the idiots who had wrested control but to save the nation. If the nation didn’t care there was nothing God could do other than be there for the remaining faithful Remnant. The people composing the Remnant had the double whammy of standing for God in a Godless society but also being under constant attack by the despots in charge.
Understanding this dynamic should cause one to get the big idea regarding our present circumstances. In the not too distant past, if the government sent out a directive to shut down all the churches, Christians would have fought back with holy fervor. Such a directive would never work. Other directives did, however. There are many ways the sly ones can force compliance to their will, the central tenet of which involves compromising and diluting the strength of Christianity, if not causing its outright destruction. Sadly, Christians in general were too dumb to understand the ulterior motives utilized to neutralize them.
As the great compromise advanced, the day arrived when church leaders made a deal with the devil, so to speak, and aligned themselves with governmental monetary dictates, such as the 501c3. This worked out great for both parties, except for the simple fact that free speech in the pulpit was erased. Ministers could no longer speak out against the government (you know, like a prophet), or speak the will of the congregation regarding candidates for government office.[2] The congregants weakly complied with the plan also because if they didn’t, their social and monetary status would likely suffer. Couldn’t have that.
I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE THINKING
Somebody would have stood up and said something. Oh yes, they did. And they were eventually showed the door. If Mr. Big Bucks in the front pews did this it would be different, of course. He had money. Preachers have always traditionally listened to money and would generally back off. If you don’t see this happening outwardly it’s because both are already in it together. No, the one who would stand up and oppose the non-New Testament garbage being spouted would most often be a man of no means, exactly like the Old Testament prophets. He stood no real chance of being effective toward actual reform without the support of the people and would be silenced or removed. Therefore, even when God sent a corrective it was most often rejected. Sound familiar?
Some went out and started new churches. They had no choice. They knew too much. They would likely only be accepted elsewhere if they kept their mouths shut. Why this strange attitude toward New Covenant truth? Why were the big boy controllers so afraid of the real teachings of the Lord? Because it exposed them as frauds.
THE HIGH COST OF DISCIPLESHIP
I remember, a long time ago, a certain church leader, who appeared to be a good guy and sincere, was talking about how easy it was to live for God. There is no doubt this man had mastered some of the requisites for discipleship. He was Spirit-filled and had a good attitude. He had a good record. But he was also on the payroll. Guess what percentage of solid real disciples are on a ministry payroll? We have this strange tradition in Christianity that only very few believers are qualified to gain monetary compensation for their Christian service. 99% of Christians are thus on their own. It’s a good thing some are with the Lord while on their own. They are forced even among believers to seek a secular means for making a living. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that if it came down to the apostle Paul getting paid or pretty much anyone else in church, including the majority of preachers, I would go with the apostle Paul. Why? Because most preachers could not perform like the apostle Paul in a million years. They are not there to “follow Paul as he follows Christ.” They don’t even pretend to be like Paul.
But guess what? There were a great many believers in Paul’s day, a large percentage, who were doing the same spiritual things Paul was doing. They were certainly not the evangelistic teaching apostolic dynamo Paul was, but if that’s the criteria for getting paid then most preachers and church leaders in America must go off the payroll immediately. That was not the criteria, of course. The Lord always took care of His people and still does. Yet, I submit that if the majority of Christians, the very ones who make Christianity work and supply the lion’s share of money and effort, are deemed officially unworthy of compensation then so are the majority of Christian ministers. There are enough ministers who do the same work sans donations or paychecks and work like anyone else and should be commended for it. And there are certainly ministers who do the will of God and should be supported financially. But the Lord in general only obligates Himself to support those who do His will and not those with mere titles who pretend to be something they are not.
Regarding the first century AD, there was simply not that much money to go around back then among believers. It never meant the Lord did not provide for His own but that a higher level of discipleship was necessary. They had relatively hard lives. Real Christianity was illegal. Rome could be brutal. Unbelieving gentiles thought Christians were at least strange if not lawless cultists. The unbelieving Jews were constant threats for open attack. Who do you think killed the Lord Jesus? And instigated the death of James the apostle? And Stephen? And almost Peter? Who was trying to kill Paul every day of his Christian life? Each of these men were Israelites who were deemed “strayed” and “heretics” by the Sanhedrin. The greatest persecution ever faced by the Early Church was by the unbelieving anti-Christian Israelites who saw Christianity as a vile heresy.
Despite this and all the rejection, the believing Israelites held on, continued honoring and working for the Lord Jesus, were later joined by great numbers of believing gentiles, and both together eventually prevailed against great odds. However, there was no way it would have been possible without the game-changing indwelling Holy Spirit of God. The devil got in his licks but could not stop the juggernaut.
OPENING THE GATES FOR DEMONIC INVASION
But what about the persecutors? What happened to those opposing the Lord? —The same thing that is happening to Unreal Christianity at this very moment. This overall entity has traditionally rejected real believers who do their best to know and comply with the Lord’s teachings, even if they clash with church doctrine, until many churches have none left. Without them there is no spiritual salt and light. Without the presence of the Lord it becomes easy for the devil to invade the premises. Their lack of spiritual strength makes it impossible to make a stand for God. In the effort to keep themselves in control and honor a different gospel, they have set themselves up for ruin by having no one left to come to their rescue.
The only choice remaining is to accept the terms of surrender.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
[2] President Trump promised to change this but the ministers involved probably decided against it because it might wreck their funding.
THE MORE FALSE AUTHORITY THERE IS, THE LESS SPIRITUAL LIBERTY THERE IS
All Christian authority is possessed only by the Lord Jesus. He permits the use of His authority only by those who completely submit to Him. His authority within others is never disconnected from Him.
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And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” [Matthew 28:18]
Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” [Luke 24:44-49]
It is not possible to be real witnesses of the Lord in the way He intended without receiving His power. This is why, forty days after the Resurrection and right before His ascension to heaven, He told the relatively few disciples He still had that they must receive His power first and be His witnesses second. To receive His power they were instructed to go back to the Upper Room, the same place where they had the Last Supper on the night of His arrest. They were to prepare themselves and wait in expectation for the promised outpouring of His Spirit.
HIGHER POWER
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free?’”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
“The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” [John 8:31-36] [1]
(Notice how the Lord said there were slaves of sin in “the house.”)
Many Christians have no understanding of the spiritual liberty made possible by the death and resurrection of the Lord. If He had not undergone that process He would not have had the means to release us from the power of sin and make us “free indeed” (instead of pretend free). In spiritual terms, repentance is representative of death. Without the death of the old there can be no birth of the new. We must hate sin and turn away from it. We must do our part to kill it. We must “lose” our life in order to find it.
His resurrection had to precede our resurrections. But before we experience bodily resurrection we must experience a spiritual resurrection. We must be born again in order to gain spiritual liberty. But one does not become free from the power of sin by osmosis. One’s spiritual resurrection is an event! One knows when it happens! Thus, those Christians indifferent to spiritual liberty and the Lord’s spiritual power have yet to experience these events and are likely unaware of their existence. He knows we all need His authority and power to overcome the power of the evil one. Without it we are defenseless and unaware. He would never send His witnesses into the world (from then until now) without properly training and equipping them. Most important in this regard, of course, is receiving His Holy Spirit.
BYPASSING THE SPIRIT
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. [2Corinthians 3:17]
Various substitutions for the Lord’s correct spiritual model have been made by Christian religious authorities throughout the Church Age. It began in the early centuries with a drift toward philosophical thought and authoritarianism. This was a wrongheaded attempt by religious dullards to establish the Lord’s authority within unregenerate wannabe potentates.
The result was nothing more than political authority dressed up in a ridiculous religious costume.
Rather than having authority spread out and shared among several equal elders within Christian gatherings the way the Lord taught and the early Community demonstrated, the faux Christians developed a pyramid scheme with one guy at the top, whether it was local bodies with a single overseer in which all authority was vested, or hierarchical structures with a false “bishop” over large geographical areas.
The alternate models perhaps reached their fullness during the 16th through 18th centuries at the time of the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment. What transpired was a high degree of ecclesiastical intellectualism and the strict authority thereof which continued to serve as a replacement for the Lord’s spiritual Kingdom. The clergy class had been well formed by this time, as Protestants learned well by the longtime example within Catholicism. Individual spiritual liberty, for the most part, did not exist within these structures. Due to their high level of spiritual pride and worldliness, the clergyites deemed the process of repentance and spiritual birth distasteful.
Even the laity, the voiceless and largely Biblically ignorant masses (by design) refused to forsake the false models constructed by those who transformed Christianity into a deceptive Nicolaitan power grab and money siphon over unsuspecting followers.
The followers are just as guilty as the false authority that rules over them and obstructs their freedom.
© 2019 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
THE GREAT PRETENDERS OPPOSING THE GREAT AWAKENING
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. [Isaiah 11:9]
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They appear to be for real. They have garnered great market share and popularity. Yet, they not only refuse to preach the real Gospel, they oppose the Lord Jesus whom they claim to serve.
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AWAKE, O SLEEPER
False prophets are nothing new. Ancient Israel was plagued with them. Once the Lord’s Community came forth they began appearing at that time as well. The Lord Jesus warned us against them. The apostle Paul spoke of them often. The false apostles, prophets, teachers, etc, soon grew to large numbers and after a century or so eventually replaced the unbelieving Jews as the chief persecutors of the Lord and his people. They opposed all that was real. They created their own version of the way things ought to be and demanded that their followers fall in line.
Which brings us to the present. Because America is largely Biblically illiterate, most people are easily deceived. Of course, they don’t know that. The bigger question is why so many Christians are so easily deceived. It’s the same answer. Most Christians are also Biblically illiterate. They may know much more Bible than secular non-believers but their Biblical knowledge is largely denomination-based. Their beliefs follow the dictates of their preachers, churches, and groups. If they want to be members in good standing wherever they happen to be they must adhere to whatever their preachers, churches, and groups teach.
They don’t really care so much about truth. They don’t care about the Lord’s real teachings put forth plainly in His Word. They only care about what they have chosen to believe. They thus reject Scripture that can free them from the clutches of deception. Most preachers know they better preach what their denomination tells them to preach or they will be out of a job. They preach what their people want and expect for the same reason. When they do this they get great positive feedback. They climb in the ranks. They make more money. They become more popular. They garner more love and respect from the Christian masses. Millions follow them on Christian TV. They live in expensive houses, drive new cars, their kids go to big universities, they can afford to live in relative luxury, and their entire lives become models of the classic American success story.
This is all because they refuse to teach the truth because they align themselves with money. They pay special attention to the biggest donors. They act, they put up false fronts, they master fake smiles like politicians, and instead of suffering persecution life just keeps getting better. As their stars rise the people they preach to are most often no better off and continue to struggle. But the church leaders don’t really care. They write off those who struggle as slackers who won’t obey the program. They blame the people for not being as good as them. They understand they themselves must be special, have arrived, and get it right because of their great place in the Christian world and secretly have contempt for those Christians who will never gain what they have.
YOU CAN’T HIDE FOREVER
We keep hearing about all the fake preachers, their dastardly deeds behind the scenes, their money grubbing, and pedophile priests. But the Catholic Church protected all the pedophile priests and kept moving them around so they could abuse even more children. They still do it today. They know there is a big priest shortage. Some Catholics are livid about this but their voices never go anywhere for the most part. Most Catholics have their heads in the sand. It is same with Protestants. Many live on fossils of many years past and have been overcome by the growing sinful culture. All of these people who have such great and powerful platforms could do something to turn it all around if they wanted to. They have the money. They have the support. But they refuse.
They have joined up with the devil. They made friends with the world. They like life the way it is. They are pretenders one and all.
Many of these evil fakers were exposed beginning in the late 1980s. The pedophile priest problem began seeing the light about that time also. Yet nothing has changed. Most of the guilty saw what was happening and quickly tried to give off the impression that they cleaned up their act. A few evil ones got busted. Most not only got off scot free but once the heat was off went right back to doing the same things they had always done.
We live in different times now, however. It is now possible for anyone to gain a platform and begin speaking out. Millions are doing this. We live in a time of an emerging Great Awakening in which Truth is coming forth like never before and evil is being exposed far beyond anything that has happened in the past. They are quickly running out of places to hide. Their only chance is to keep convincing people to stand by them and attack the honest ones.
This is why the major social media platforms are no longer even pretending to not be the great discriminators they are. Their censoring is obvious to all. They must do all in their power to shut it down. They cannot afford to be exposed. But they will all be exposed anyway. It is happening as we speak. There are just too many truth tellers. There are too many who want justice. There are too many who want to be free. And for Christians, there are growing numbers who want the Lord’s real teachings to come forth and for all the false doctrines that hold people in spiritual bondage to be exposed for what they are.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. [Ephesians 6:12-13]
“It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.” [Matthew 10:25-27][1]
When I was a rookie many years ago and was out witnessing all the time something really profound happened that led to a spiritual victory. But because I was still a new Christian and had not yet experienced such a thing on that level I went to my pastor after a church service and told him about it. I’ll never forget what he said. He got a big smile on his face then laughed and said, “You’ve got the devil on the run!” I just stood there. I didn’t know what to say. But it felt great. It felt like I was actually having an impact. I later saw that the strange things happening around me when I was witnessing and teaching were manifestations of evil coming forth that would normally remain hidden. They were protecting their turf against attack. I was shining my light in the darkness and exposing error and sin. I wasn’t necessarily trying to do this but was only obeying the Lord under His anointing. I realized that even a young new believer could expose the enemy on his own ground and make a difference.
But what if millions could do this at the same time? Those that know the spiritual present know this is exactly what is happening right now. But all the sleepy Christians remain blissfully unaware. They are too busy listening to pretenders.
© 2019 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
REVEALING THE ILLUSION: SIMULATED IMITATIONS OF ORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY
The religious worlds that many Christians happen to exist within are likely mere illusions…
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There is only one original Christianity.
There are many imitations of original Christianity.
Most Christians exist in one of the many imitations.
The imitations are not spiritual reality but only possess some aspects of spiritual reality.
There is not enough truth or reality in these imitations to make any substantial difference in the spiritual world.
The majority of members in the imitations feel just fine within their imitations and both give and gain continuous support and affirmation from one another that they are in the right place.
The Lord had total control and authority in the spiritual world. We see this in His ministry. We do not see this in many of the imitations though some imitations are closer than others.
Consider this on a percentage scale: The Lord’s real curriculum, the one He taught, is 100% correct. All imitations of His teachings have eliminated some percentage of His teachings and replaced them with other teachings, understandings, or incorrect interpretations. This waters down His overall curriculum and reduces its effectiveness. So let’s say one imitation (denomination or whatever) is 90%, another is 60%, and another is only 30%. These imitations are lacking the fullness of His curriculum and can therefore not manifest the results He achieved. Even lacking 10% is making what remains for the most part ineffective and allows a path for the enemy to invade.
The existence of imitations is almost always due to (1) Someone or someones wanting to gain and maintain control instead of surrendering to His full control, and (2) Introducing a teaching, a doctrine, a way of thinking, a precept, etc, that He never taught.
Again, the only way to get it right and have the exact results He had is to believe everything He taught, surrender to Him completely, obey Him completely, and teach exactly that which He taught. How else can one be His disciple, or follower, if one doesn’t do everything He said to do? Obeying the Lord partially simply doesn’t work. It causes a relationship problem.
This is why most Christians end up by their own choices in man-made Christian imitations, some of which are possibly also influenced by the invisible bad guys. The results that the Lord had are simply not there. The people involved are deceived. They believe they are in the real world of the Lord but are actually in a simulated world. The simulated worlds cannot produce the fruit He produced or the fruit of those who followed Him in the beginning produced. That they did it proves it can be done. They achieved it. We must follow their example as they followed His.
The simulated, illusory Christian imitation worlds are thus usually completely unproductive on a spiritual level and in the spiritual world. Because total surrender to the Lord does not exist in these places, (because the people there have never completely surrendered), sin is present, primarily disobedience and unbelief. These are often well-hidden and are based on ignorance due to trusting the wrong people. These sins are further compounded by an insistence that the members are right regardless of the actual facts or obvious lack of fruit.
Alternative fruit is put forth. False reasons for authenticity and legitimacy are put forth. A stubborn attitude ensues. People become so persuaded and conditioned by their incomplete Christian belief systems that they insist they are right when, according to the real teachings of the Lord, which can be relatively easily verified by New Covenant Scripture, they are clearly wrong. But they can’t see it from where they are at since they exist in the midst of an illusion. They have not only rejected further truth but reject searching for it.
The only solution is for one to go back to the beginning and adopt the full curriculum of the Lord. To facilitate that process, one must develop a complete love for the truth. One must be willing to let go of untruth. One must receive the Holy Spirit. In time the blinders will come off. One will gain eyes to see and ears to hear.
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” [John 16:13]
The problem with buying into a Christian imitation is that one buys into an illusion. One invests in something that is not real on a spiritual level. And because one’s interests become so powerfully vested and interwoven socially and possibly economically, one prefers the simulation to reality, and will even reject leaving if they ever figure it out, preferring the mere promise of fruit that is never actually produced to the real spiritual fruit of the real kingdom of the Lord which is always being produced. It is often the case that people refuse to leave the illusion due to conditioned fear. After a while, the subservient believers in the false illusion grow tired from never seeing the reality they desire and become mentally sluggish though strident in their religious repetitions, as if sticking to an empty game plan will eventually work (it never will). This is why the following prophecy of Isaiah appears often in the New Covenant Scriptures:
“‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’” [Matthew 13:14-15]
The Pharisee religious leaders, a very small group that ruled over the mass laity under their control, created a religious simulation in which they were the chief beneficiaries, in that they possessed not only religious control but also, because they were lovers of money, great financial benefits and economic control, especially by being in league with the Sadducees. The Sadducees controlled the temple complex and were also in bed with the Roman government. This means they benefited from having governmental and economic control over the then current nation of the Jews/Israel.
The Pharisees and Sadducees differed in that the Sadducees only followed the written Torah (superficially) and eschewed any belief in an unseen spiritual world or resurrection. They did not agree with the Pharasiac man-made Oral Law, which in its purest essence, was the teaching fabric of the religious illusion they created.
These facts should sound familiar because all Christian imitations have their own version of an oral law put forth by the leaders thereof that serves to amalgamate the membership. It trumps pure Scripture and thus overrides the original teachings of the Lord Jesus and the clear example of His original followers whether the imitation members realize it or not. Most do not.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. [Matthew 7:24-29] [1]
© 2018 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Invasion of the (Invisible) Body Snatchers: Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. [Matthew 13:10-13]
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Everything false and deceptive has a dual nature.
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There is the outer form, the one presented to the world which makes use of spectacle and illusion.
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And then there is the inner form. It is unseen and hidden. Few can perceive it. Few know of its presence outside those that are part of the delusion.
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The inner form wears a costume—the outer form—which it presents as its actual form…
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Q: Why?
A: Because the inner form does not operate in good faith. It is stealthy by nature. It has a hidden agenda.
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OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND
The aim of the inner form is to fool the public by putting forth a false outer form, that which is essentially mere window dressing. People are drawn toward it and eventually taken in by it.
In its best manifestation, the inner form within is hidden by the outer form without to the point that the inner form becomes completely invisible and effectively ceases to be.
Throughout history, the majority of people have often been deceived into thinking the outer form they see is the only form there is. Because they never see or perceive the inner form, they believe it does not exist.
Much of the reason the majority of people do not believe there is any actual inner sinister presence is because their natural senses are overwhelmed by the outer pretentious costume.
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
Hupokrites (hoop-ok-ree-tace’) Greek. (1) One who answers, an interpreter, (2) An actor, stage player, (3) A dissembler, pretender, hypocrite [2]
There is a reason stage actors and orators have traditionally depended on ostentatious costuming and loud, somewhat strange methods of speaking. Their voices must be loud and clear enough to be projected to the farthest seats and end of the crowd. They must never miss a beat in their speaking in order to keep the attention of the audience. Distractions are anathema. They must command attention at all times. That’s why they are there. The audience must be riveted upon their every move and word.
This is also the reason costuming, or branding, is so important.
Of the five senses, only two are most applicable to the thespian art and therefore must be appropriated fully by the stage player. These two senses are: Sight and Hearing.
Stage productions must do everything possible to grab the full attention of the entire audience and maintain it from beginning to end for any chance at all to be successful.
In former times this depended greatly on the appearance, voice, and emotive ability of each actor, especially the lead actor, including gaudy costuming, quasi-gymnastic bodily movements, and extreme facial expressions.
It was all pretend, of course, and completely overblown. It was not real and everyone knew this, but everyone also wanted to be entertained. Everyone was mindful of the few people in their lives that possessed the ability to command attention in social groups. They also knew that some of those people were mere put-ons, having learned how to take advantage of others by their looks, charm, natural skills, confidence, and speaking ability.
The best ended up on stages making good livings at being nothing more than super-emotive fakes. They could turn it on in a second and right back off again once the curtain dropped with most spectators being none the wiser.
In these times, the success of the two-faced process has gained considerably. Many millions are completely fooled not only by the false appearance of the body snatchers, but are completely oblivious to anything beneath the surface.
Image is Everthing.
As a result, the world is quickly becoming a purely surface-oriented entity. Motives and morals no longer matter. It is a world dominated by the present, by phonies, photographs, illusion, tweets, and sound bites.
The inner form has completely disappeared. The outer form has taken over.
CONFUSED BY LIES, BLINDED BY SIN
Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue mutters wickedness. No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.
They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.
Their webs will not become clothing, nor will they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and an act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, devastation and destruction are in their highways. They do not know the way of peace, and there is no justice in their tracks; they have made their paths crooked, whoever treads on them does not know peace.
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, but behold, darkness, for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope along the wall like blind men, we grope like those who have no eyes… [Isaiah 59:1-10] [1]
RELIGIOUS PERFORMANCE ART
In the first centuries AD, it did not take long for the emergence of those with a hidden agenda to make use of stages, clerical costuming, acting skills, and theater props to appropriate and further their personal and denominational cause.
They had joined the ancient cult of the outer form.
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” [Matthew 7:15]
These were hypocrites—religious stage players of the highest order. They learned well from the originals and the best at their craft—the demonic enemies of the Lord Jesus.
Their spiritual descendants of the present have multiplied exponentially, invaded many other fields since that time, captured minds by the billions, and are presently all over the landscape.
Their dual-natured, double-dealing method and ability to deceive has made possible the acquiring of incredible wealth and power, the means to successfully sway public opinion toward their hidden agenda, and the diabolic skill to induce millions into believing in and accepting the opposite of that which the Lord Jesus died to give them.
But no one knows they are there. They are perfectly hidden by their outer form.
Unless one has eyes to see.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
[2] Strong’s Concordance
Your Jesus Ain’t My Jesus
Real Christianity is based on the real Jesus. It is based on the teachings of the real Jesus. The real Jesus can be found in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but He can also be found throughout the New Testament. He is also featured prominently in the Old Testament.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” [Mark 4:9]
The move toward a different Jesus began from the start. “Who do the people say that I am?” [1] was already in vogue as soon as He began his ministry. In other words, “Who is this guy?” was fresh on the lips of everyone from the very beginning and the devil began sowing the seeds of deception regarding the Lord’s identity from the get-go.
He knew he must. When people discovered who the Lord really was they would become Satan’s avowed enemy. His game is deception and lies, and more people took the bait and believed his lies than believed the truth. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” [2] Only few will be saved. That is, the majority of those who ever lived will be deceived about the Lord and blow their chance at redemption.
Nowhere is the deception stronger than within official, institutional Christianity. Many different images of the Lord have been presented over the last twenty centuries. Most are the result of misunderstandings and misapplication of Scripture and a limited desire on the part of the faux bro’s to seek and know the real truth. Every society attempts to bend and fashion the Lord Jesus to their own liking. Each Christian culture must have its own Jesus. He is different in every denomination. The Torah includes a very strict command of God that His people should never ever make any graven images, yet “Christians” down through the years have repeatedly violated that command.
They have made a God to suit themselves. They have created a false Jesus, and another, and another, and another, to suit their own tastes and comfort level. Some have created a peace-love-dove hippie Jesus who lets them get away with anything. This Jesus never preaches sin and would never send anyone whatsoever to hell (except maybe Hitler, etc.).
Others have created an eternal obedient Son Jesus who is basically emasculated, has no power, and defers everything to His Father, even though He clearly stated:
“ALL AUTHORITY HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH.” [Matthew 28:18]
Some make a Jesus that fits their quirky man-made religious principles. There are so many ridiculous man-made traditional doctrines within Unreal Christianity it has become a mockery of the Lord’s original teachings and commands. The proof is in the application and results. Dead Christianity produces nothing but death. There is no life or joy or miracles or anything that characterized the Lord’s ministry. Christians go about like a bunch of zombies and ghosts pretending they live when they are in fact as dead as the day they were born. Though the Lord said everyone MUST be born again, the majority of Christains have never experienced a new birth though they insist otherwise. This is strong demonic deception. For many, the blinders will not come off until after their physical death when standing before the Lord—when all will be lost regarding their soul’s destination.
How does this false Jesus application work? How does the process happen? It is really not all that hard to see: Strong religious personalities apply their own limited understanding in such a way that they convince others. They gain a following. Some followings bud up and become fruitful but fade out. Some followings become very large and in time hang around in a fossilized state. They do not actually represent the Jesus of the Bible but think they do. They are not aware of their deception.
That’s what deception is.
Their followers countinue to soldier on, insisting that their way is the right way. They will not give up. They will fight to the death protecting their false form of Christianity. They will not listen to reason. They will not consider a multitude of Scripture verses disproving their made-up Christian religion. Because of their gross sin and idolatry (the worst sin), they have no ears to hear and no eyes to see. How can they possibly correct their steps without real repentance?
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron… [1 Timothy 4:1-2]
The Real Jesus is the Jesus of Scripture—every Scripture—every verse and every word which He came to fulfill:
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew 5:17-20]
He is the one entire Jesus comprising everything contained within His holy Word, even the parts that make us all very uncomfortable and even fearful. He is not a God to be messed with, though His love and mercy fill the universe.
Due to long centuries of hate and persecution handed out by false Christians, Real Christians and Real Christianity have become a sideshow, the same way the Lord Himself became a sideshow in His time. He was rejected by all. They called Him every name in the book. He suffered betrayal and rejection and was lied about and gossiped about routinely.
This is the legacy of His real followers.
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!” [Matthew 10:21-25]
Thus, fake Christianity, in its many and varied forms, seeks to do an end run around persecution. It seeks to find a way of compromise with this world. It seeks to gain authority against the authority of Jesus and create its own kingdoms ruled by religious potentates and their toadies.
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance.” [Matthew 24:24-25] [2]
There is only one Real Jesus.
© 2011 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Luke 9:18
[2] Matthew 7:14
[3] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
