We haven’t had a good “end of the world” scare craze in a
while. We seem to have gone through all the silly superstitions of blood moon,
tetrads, harbingers, Mayan calendars, and special secret planets flying into
our solar system, seen only by a special few, only to realize they were all
lies. I do believe there have been quite a few hirelings scamming the innocent
within the Body of Christ. In our time, social media spreads these juicy fables
quite quickly, and many spend money on books and lectures that were all
superstitions. The promotors of those falsehoods walk away with pockets full of
cash and never apologize for being wrong. Daniel had to point out a couple of
scams to a new ruler in Babylon. It seemed that in Daniel’s day fables and the
craft of deception were just as popular as they are today. This tells us that
it is the same old story just a few thousand years later.
This past week Britain’s people voted to leave the European
Union, and as usual the ones who lost are having emotional meltdowns. People
across the pond were told if Britain voted to leave the EU the stock market
could suffer. Um, really the stock market would have tumbled no matter which
direction the vote went. Nervous investors don’t need much of an excuse when
the economy is in a recession to create volatility. Yet these types of votes,
which are not what the ruling class wants, are always promoted as harming the working
class, so the working class better get in line if they don’t want to lose their
retirement savings. This is the same kind of “warnings” the American people are
receiving in advance of the Presidential Elections. Again the market will
tumble regardless of who the next President is. The scam seems to be like a
cowboy with a cattle prod shocking people no matter which way they turn, just
as long as the cowboy keeps the cows (the masses) in fear and in emotional
instability, all is well.
Similarly, as long as the hireling keeps the masses in
fear, all is well. The masses will make poor decisions in elections and in
making purchases when they are scared. It is the same within the Body of
Christ. The one hireling with the special secret knowledge of an ancient
mysterious formula proving the end of the world is near, is in need of funding
to spread the word that the sky is falling, thereby keeping the multitudes in
the Body of Christ in fear and in emotional instability. If we recognize the
game we can learn to beat it. Let me stress that again, if we know how the hand
will be played, we can learn to win the card game. This week’s vote in England
does not affect the coming of Christ, the revised Roman Empire, or the start of
the tribulation. It simply means that a little more than half of Britain’s
residents do not like the globalization of their country. They like their
society, customs, and laws; and are not happy with the way their nation has
been run as part of the EU. But this is perfect fodder for the deceivers and
scammers to spin a tale and play a game that includes emptying the pockets of
the average person. Let’s be alert beforehand so we do not become victims. Paul
tries to help us.
Eph 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to
and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men,
and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; KJV
Eph 4:14 So then, we may no longer be children, tossed
[like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with
every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of
unscrupulous men, [gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in
inventing errors to mislead. AMP
Eph 4:14G2443that G3371no
longer G1510.3should
we be G3516infants,
G2831being
swelled G2532and G4064carried
round about G3956by
every G417wind G3588of the
G1319instruction,
G1722in G3588theG2940cunning
G3588 G444of
men, G1722in G3834cleverness
G4314to G3588the G3180craft G3588of the
G4106delusion
We see that Paul refers to us as infants. Instead, since we
know that there will be people trying to confuse us and give us “new rules” to
live by, we can stop listening to them regarding their mystical knowledge of
biblical laws. Notice that delusion is a craft. The shyster slyly beguiles
people into listening to him, and his false sincerity and concern for his
audience fools people into a new wind of doctrine.
Years ago, a man gave a talk about his “ministry” and how
important it was, and how he was now speaking across the country gathering
wonderful saints to help with his mission. The mission was to bring about the
end times by flying a helicopter over the temple mount and dropping a brick, a
corner stone, on the temple mount, to start the new temple. Oh brother. The man
went from church to church collecting donations, yet the man himself didn’t
believe in Jesus. The money that good “infant” Christians gave was a waste. It
was a clever scheme. Likewise I wonder how many emergency food packets and
MRE’s people have bought that are now passing their shelf life. Let’s not be
fooled again.
2 Peter 1:16 For we were not following cleverly devised stories
when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the
Messiah), but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty (grandeur, authority of
sovereign power). AMP
2Peter 1:16G3756For
not G1063 G4679[2discerning
G34543fables
G18111following
after] G1107did we
make known G1473to you
G3588the G3588 G2962[4of
our Lord G1473 G*5Jesus G55476Christ
G14111power G25322and G39523arrival],
G235but G2030[2spectators
G10961having
been] G3588 G1565of
that ones' G3168magnificence.
Peter refers to cleverly devised stories or fables. Peter
gets defensive that they were not scamming anyone, which means that people were
aware of others who did come up with cunningly devised fables. This is a way
people will attempt to mislead others, such as the secrets behind red moons and
the miracles of full moons during equinoxes that fall on feast days which are
on a lunar cycle. Cleverly devised fables that stole money from infants in the
Body of Christ. Paul tells us not to give importance to legends fables and
myths.
1 Tim 1:3-4 As I urged you when I was on my way to
Macedonia, stay on where you are at Ephesus in order that you may warn and
admonish and charge certain individuals not to teach any different doctrine, 4
Nor to give importance to or occupy themselves with legends (fables, myths) and
endless genealogies, which foster and promote useless speculations and
questionings rather than acceptance in faith of God's administration and the
divine training that is in faith (in that leaning of the entire human
personality on God in absolute trust and confidence) — AMP
If we observe what Paul says, people were spinning tales,
and bloviating about their own genealogy. Someone paints colorful stories,
whether about themselves or some other mystical subject, and sells them to the
Body of Christ, the mature ones must stand up and warn the immature. This is
tricky as the stories seem so believable, but the innocent will be fooled. Some
deceivers wear ridiculous clothing just to seem more believable, but as Paul
continues, we are to refuse and avoid these things.
1 Tim 4:7 But refuse and avoid irreverent legends (profane
and impure and godless fictions, mere grandmothers' tales) and silly myths, and
express your disapproval of them. Train yourself toward godliness (piety),
[keeping yourself spiritually fit]. AMP
If this is the game the devil uses to keep us occupied with
meaningless things, we can be sure he will disguise every story with premier
urgency and expediency. The devil will make every story seem as if we must do
something immediately. Read this book, give a donation, buy useless items,
cloister ourselves with others who “believe” just like us, we will be the only
ones who know, hurry do it now. Paul tells Timothy the time is coming.
2 Tim 4:3-5 For the time is coming when [people] will not
tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching
[for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one
teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own
liking and to foster the errors they hold, 4 And will turn aside from hearing
the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions. 5 As for you, be
calm and cool and steady, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship, do
the work of an evangelist, fully perform all the duties of your ministry. AMP
Manmade fictions inspired by evil. Once there are a group
of people who start to believe one fable, they seek out other deceivers
together, as a group, to hear from them. They move from one con artist to
another all being deceived together. This can be micro groups within the church
or entire churches. We can see a pattern here of keeping Christians off
balance.
Titus 1:14 [And may show their soundness by] ceasing to
give attention to Jewish myths and fables or to rules [laid down] by [mere] men
who reject and turn their backs on the Truth. AMP
Paul says to show our soundness by not giving attention to
Jewish myths, fables, and rules. The book of Ecclesiasticus writes about how
the rich take advantage of others. Sometimes it’s those who want to be rich who
mistreat others as well. Let’s take this apart line by line.
Ecclus 13:4-8 The rich man hath done wrong, and yet he will
fume: but the poor is wronged and must hold his peace.
Interesting and self-explanatory. Even though an innocent
or immature person would expect the rich man to repent for doing wrong, usually
the rich person will throw a fit, attempting to convince everyone he is right.
Let’s not be surprised when we see this happen. Let’s take note here as well, a
poor person in context is not someone who is homeless and on government
assistance. Poor people are working class people, those who have less wealth
and must work for what they have.
Ecclus 13:5 If thou give, he will make use of thee: and if
thou have nothing, he will forsake thee.
If an immature person gives to a rich person, the rich
person will make use of the poor person, wanting more money over and over. I
remember I was registered to vote under a certain political party. Instead of
mail advertisements and phone solicitations asking me to vote for their
candidate, they must have thought that it didn’t matter who I voted for since I
was registered under their political party, instead they spammed me with
solicitations for money. I thought about that for a while because the reality
is, there are people in my community who can’t afford a sandwich. Yet half of
these people running for political office have oil wells in their back yards
and the other half have insider trading secrets. Isn’t it interesting that rich
people ask for money from poor people. And again a working class individual is
compared to someone who has wealth so as not to have to work quite as hard as
the average person. The rich person’s “work” is to take the money from the
working class. I bet many people didn’t realize there is a “class” war going on
which is irrespective of nations, borders, and land mass.
Ecclus 13:6 If thou have any thing, he will live with thee,
and will make thee bare, and he will not be sorry for thee.
The rich or the rich wannabe’s will move in with you and
use everything you have and not feel bad about it. This is a boorish house
guest.
Ecclus 13:7 If he have need of thee he will deceive thee,
and smiling upon thee will put thee in hope; he will speak thee fair, and will
say: What wantest thou?
The rich will pat you on the head and make you feel
special.
Ecclus 13:8 And he will shame thee by his meats, till he
have drawn thee dry twice or thrice, and at last he will laugh at thee: and
afterward when he seeth thee, he will forsake thee, and shake his head at thee.
Douay-Rheims
The rich will expect the best food from you and eat until
there isn’t any more left, not once but two or three times. When you are broke
he will forsake you and shake his head at you as if you are not good enough for
him. It is funny that there are many hirelings in the church who do the exact
same thing.
If we remember, we are trying to stay ahead of the games
and the schemes of evil people who want to take advantage of the immature. We
have a story from the Book of Daniel that was taken out by the Masoretes, but
had been included in the older Septuagint. It is about the temple of Bel and its
deceitful priests.
We should be aware that many people are emotionally
attached to their canon of scriptures. But what many people do not realize is
that canonization evolved and changed over the years. There are varying cannons
of scripture worldwide as well. The Masorete’s and the Romans made some of the
final alterations around 300 AD to 1000 AD, but during the first century there
were many books included in the regular canon that do not appear in today’s
Bible’s. The Septuagint was part of the first century canon, and three of the
missing chapters in the Book of Daniel were also included in that canon. This
is the last chapter in the Book of Daniel in the Septuagint. This takes place
near the end of the captivity or after the captivity during the time that Cyrus
is King. Daniel holds a high government position as he had during his entire
time in captivity in Babylon. Remember that Cyrus is from Assyria and had conquered
Babylon and was now acquainting himself with their gods.
Chapter 14
Bel and the Dragon
14:1 And king Astyages was gathered to his fathers,
and Cyrus of Persia received his kingdom. 2 And Daniel conversed with
the king, and was honoured above all his friends.
3 Now the Babylonians had an idol, called Bel, and
there were spent upon him every day twelve great measures of fine flour, and
forty sheep, and six vessels of wine. 4 And the king worshipped it
and went daily to adore it: but Daniel worshipped his own God. And the king said
unto him, Why dost not thou worship Bel? 5 Who answered and said,
Because I may not worship idols made with hands, but the living God, who hath
created the heaven and the earth, and hath sovereignty over all flesh.
6 Then said the king unto him, Thinkest thou not that
Bel is a living God? seest thou not how much he eateth and drinketh every
day? 7 Then Daniel smiled, and said, O king, be not deceived: for
this is but clay within, and brass without, and did never eat or drink any
thing.
8 So the king was wroth, and called for his priests,
and said unto them, If ye tell me not who this is that devoureth these
expenses, ye shall die. 9 But if ye can certify me that Bel devoureth
them, then Daniel shall die: for he hath spoken blasphemy against Bel. And Daniel
said unto the king, Let it be according to thy word.
Daniel has put himself into quite a position, but he has
done this sort of thing before. At the time of King Darius, Daniel was thrown into
the lion’s den for praying to Yahweh. Now let’s notice how many priests there
were. Darius set 120 priests over the kingdom and Daniel was one of them. At
this time however, there were 70 priests of Bel and Daniel was not numbered
among them. Now it was not just the 70 priests that we want to pay attention
to, but their wives and children. That means under the priesthood of Bel, there
would have been over 140 adults and maybe a minimum of 70 children.
Dan 14:10 Now the priests of Bel were threescore and
ten, beside their wives and children. And the king went with Daniel into the
temple of Bel. 11 So Bel’s priests said, Lo, we go out: but thou, O
king, set on the meat, and make ready the wine, and shut the door fast and seal
it with thine own signet; 12 And to morrow when thou comest in, if
thou findest not that Bel hath eaten up all, we will suffer death: or else
Daniel, that speaketh falsely against us. 13 And they little regarded
it: for under the table they had made a privy entrance, whereby they entered in
continually, and consumed those things.
14 So when they were gone forth, the king set meats
before Bel. Now Daniel had commanded his servants to bring ashes, and those
they strewed throughout all the temple in the presence of the king alone: then
went they out, and shut the door, and sealed it with the king’s signet, and so
departed. 15 Now in the night came the priests with their wives and
children, as they were wont to do, and did eat and drink up all.
16 In the morning betime the king arose, and Daniel
with him. 17 And the king said, Daniel, are the seals whole? And he
said, Yea, O king, they be whole. 18 And as soon as he had opened the
dour, the king looked upon the table, and cried with a loud voice, Great art
thou, O Bel, and with thee is no deceit at all.
Well we know there is more to the story, remember the ashes
Daniel threw on the floor?
Dan 14:19 Then laughed Daniel, and held the king that
he should not go in, and said, Behold now the pavement, and mark well whose
footsteps are these. 20 And the king said, I see the footsteps of men,
women, and children. And then the king was angry, 21 And took the
priests with their wives and children, who shewed him the privy doors, where
they came in, and consumed such things as were upon the
table. 22 Therefore the king slew them, and delivered Bel into
Daniel’s power, who destroyed him and his temple.
So the priests and their families came in through a secret
door, ate the food, and then left. There would have been more than 200 people
going in to eat the offerings to Bel. There have been many stories of these
types of scams happening in the temples and churches around the world. It seem
as if people who trust in Yahweh mistakenly trust in all people. Yahweh is the
Creator, men and women are not. This is the deception the devil promotes, that
Christians should trust everyone, because everyone is good and upright,
especially if they are in the church. If we remember not to blindly trust
people, we won’t fall for the next big end of the world scam. Jesus told us of
wolves wearing sheep’s clothing.
In the same temple of Bel there was a dragon. What is a
dragon? No one knows for sure. There are lizards and reptiles in the Middle
East, and this could be an extinct version of our medieval dragon. Whatever it
was, we know that Daniel had dominance over it. It seems from Cyrus’s words
that this could have been a “one of a kind” or the only one of its kind left in
the region.
Dan 14:23 And in that same place there was a great
dragon, which they of Babylon worshipped. 24 And the king said unto
Daniel, Wilt thou also say that this is of brass? lo, he liveth, he eateth and
drinketh; thou canst not say that he is no living god: therefore worship him.
25 Then said Daniel unto the king, I will worship the
Lord my God: for he is the living God. 26 But give me leave, O king,
and I shall slay this dragon without sword or staff. The king said, I give thee
leave. 27 Then Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and did seethe
them together, and made lumps thereof: this he put in the dragon’s mouth, and
so the dragon burst in sunder: and Daniel said, Lo, these are the gods ye
worship.
Daniel boiled together pitch, fat and hair. Pitch is a tar
resin derived from plants, and depending on the type of plants, in large doses it
could be poisonous. The fat and the hair probably disguised the pitch and when
ingested, the animal’s intestines burst. That tells us the pitch had some type
of fermentation in the intestines. Imagine the people who worshipped in that
temple, first the priests and their families are exposed for eating the food
dedicated to Bel, and now the beloved dragon dies. The people are mad at Daniel
and they throw him, once again, into the lion’s den. .
Dan 14:28 When they of Babylon heard that, they took
great indignation, and conspired against the king, saying, The king is become a
Jew, and he hath destroyed Bel, he hath slain the dragon, and put the priests
to death. 29 So they came to the king, and said, Deliver us Daniel,
or else we will destroy thee and thine house.
30 Now when the king saw that they pressed him sore,
being constrained, he delivered Daniel unto them: 31 Who cast him
into the lions’ den: where he was six days. 32 And in the den there
were seven lions, and they had given them every day two carcases, and two
sheep: which then were not given to them, to the intent they might devour
Daniel.
They regularly fed the lions; and just like the last time they stopped feeding the lions, the lions
didn’t eat Daniel. But Daniel was going to go hungry, so Yahweh sent Daniel
food. The Prophet Habakkuk brings Daniel some food.
Dan 14:33 Now there was in Jewry a prophet, called
Habbacuc, who had made pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl, and was going
into the field, for to bring it to the reapers. 34 But the angel of
the Lord said unto Habbacuc, Go, carry the dinner that thou hast into Babylon
unto Daniel, who is in the lions’ den.
35 And Habbacuc said, Lord, I never saw Babylon;
neither do I know where the den is. 36 Then the angel of the Lord
took him by the crown, and bare him by the hair of his head, and through the
vehemency of his spirit set him in Babylon over the den. 37 And
Habbacuc cried, saying, O Daniel, Daniel, take the dinner which God hath sent
thee.
Notice that the Prophet was not living in captivity in
Babylon. He had never been there. Habakkuk was one of the Prophets that did not
live in Judah, and was probably part of the Essene/Nazarene/Therapeutae
culture. Imagine an angel dragging the Prophet to a place he had never been,
while carrying a bunch of food. Yahweh is concerned for Daniel. By this time
Daniel must have been 80 to 90 years old, as we know the captivity was 70 years
and he was a young man when he went into Babylon. What do you think would have
happened when Habakkuk lowered the food into the den? We would think the lions
would have eaten it. But instead they even left that food alone. If Habakkuk
was going out to feed the reapers, this was a large amount of food, not just a
bowl for one person. So Daniel had enough food to sustain him for the seven
days.
Dan 14:38 And Daniel said, Thou hast remembered me, O
God: neither hast thou forsaken them that seek thee and love
thee. 39 So Daniel arose, and did eat: and the angel of the Lord set
Habbacuc in his own place again immediately.
Habakkuk had the same experience as others in the Bible.
Just like Phillip, he was transported back to where he had been. Daniel just
proved again to another King that Yahweh is Great.
Dan 14:40 Upon the seventh day the king went to bewail
Daniel: and when he came to the den, he looked in, and behold, Daniel was
sitting. 41 Then cried the king with a loud voice, saying, Great art
Lord God of Daniel, and there is none other beside thee. 42 And he
drew him out, and cast those that were the cause of his destruction into the
den: and they were devoured in a moment before his face.
We might think that this is a wild story; and standing
alone this seems farfetched until we realize that all the other stories in the
Book of Daniel are just as lively. Three young boys hanging out in a burning
fiery furnace with an angel, a king who turns into a beast and lives outside,
handwriting appearing on a wall during a party, Daniel being thrown in the lion’s
den for praying to Yahweh, plus various dreams and visions and prophetic truths
that have an incredible accuracy concerning Jesus’ triumphal entry in to
Jerusalem.
We don’t know why the Masoretes threw out this chapter, as
well as the other two. But there are some things that we learn from it. First
of all, there are scammers everywhere, and religious scammers are everywhere.
Once someone makes the truth known, the scammers rally to suppress the truth.
In this case they attempt murder. Just like the rich who do wrong and get mad
over being caught, those who are doing wrong scream, cry, and fight, trying to
spin the truth and put up a smoke screen. They tell people to “pay no attention
to the man behind the curtain” and try to distract people from seeing the
truth. One man brought the entire sham of the temple of Bel and it’s dragon to
light. One man against thousands of Bel worshippers. Instead of the Bel
worshippers recognizing they had been had, they got mad at Daniel for proving
the truth. This happens in many church groups, once a popular “end of the
world” story is proven wrong, the few naysayers who had been speaking the truth
are persecuted, instead of the deceiver who profited from stealing people’s
money. The majority would rather throw those telling the truth to the lions
rather than the deceiver. The deceiver will go on to another deception with his
group of followers.
Noting these things, the way we look at current events is
to take a huge step backward. Take note of all the players, look to where the
money is going. Look to where the loudest crybabies are melting down. Observe
all sides of an issue or story. Who has the colorful stories, who is
exaggerating, who has a financial stake in this, then do not get involved
unless the Holy Spirit is leading the way. It would be far better to be pulled
by the hair into a situation by an angel rather than to attach ourselves to a
“movement” that is not from Yahweh. It doesn’t matter what kind of fear people
are promoting, if it involves you giving someone money for knowledge, walk
away. The Holy Spirit has more knowledge than a two hundred page book written
by someone making a living off their own speculations. Maybe we should go through
our bookshelves and noticed how much money we have spent on people’s
speculations only to now recognize that it was a waste of time and money.
Cunningly devised fables will continue to permeate the church in part because
there are many hirelings in sheep’s clothing and in part because the sheep
attempt to take the easy road and follow hirelings and false prophets. If we
remember, at the turn of the century (2000) the big news was that the EU was
now the revised Roman Empire and the end of the world was near. Then there were
too many nations in the EU and that didn’t seem likely. Today a revised fear
has emerged regarding Britain’s exit from the EU. But if we are told this vote
means the end is near, we will forget to look at the Bible, as to what things
must take place before the start of tribulations on the earth. Let’s hang onto
our wallets this go round and be the lone voice of reason among the Body of
Christ. It’s time to show the world our soundness, Titus 1:14.
