I read a short summation yesterday of the conflict between Christians and Muslims. Many of you may even believe that the war was started by America, when it has actually been going on almost since the dawn of Mohammedanism. Not that all Christians or all Muslims believe in, support, or understand the rationale for this Holy War, but it is part of a longer protracted struggle between the church of Christ and the church of Lucifer.
Before you jump up and cry foul, I chose on purpose not to capitalize church, because it is not a particular church. It is about an individual man's faith rather than the Faith to which he happens to belong. Where this really began was in Heaven, when Lucifer, that son of the morning, rebelled against God and tried to enforce his will over that of his Father. Before Mohammed's vision, the Christians had other opponents. First, it was the Sanhedrin, then the Romans, then other Christians, and only then did Lucifer buy up whole armies and navies with which to slay the saints of God.
Holy war between Christians and their enemies was never started by the Christian Faith. It was started by a few sad souls among either Christian congregations or those of their enemies who took it upon themselves to exact justice upon those who knew not where to find truth. Peter was the first guilty of this, when he smote off the ear of the guard who came to take Jesus. Peter learned quickly after the crucifiction and corrected his course and became wise. Others were otherwise. If you watch "Barabbas", it depicts him during the reign of Nero I believe join in when he hears that the "christians are burning the city of Rome". Well, maybe some were, but it wasn't the Faith as a whole that started it.
By the time of the first Crusade, the Christians had been attacked for many centuries. Until Constantine, they were constantly involved in 'wonderful contentions' with people of other faiths. Even after the unification, there arose disputations even among the Christians- Henry VIII, Martin Luther, and many others who disagreed with philosphies of men mingled with scripture being taught by their leaders. However, by 1050 AD, the Mohammedans had launched several attacks of their own on Christians and were by no means any more innocent than popes of that same name. When the Christians made their Crusades, they gave up their high ground and hurt themselves, because when you pay attention to something annoying, you give it credence.
Lucifer is founder and god of the great and abominable church. The "abominable church" isn't a specific church. It is really churches founded and led by men to get gain and deceive people. Far too many people, particularly preachers, "Clothe [their] naked villainy with odd old ends stolen forth from holy writ and seem a saint when most [they] play the devil" (Richard III Act I Scene iii). They draw near to God with their lips while their hearts are far from Him. They tell people that it's ok to commit a little sin and that either they can be forgiven for money or that in the end God will save all men regardless. They teach the philosophies of men mingled with scripture and proclaim doctrines that are pleasing to the carnal mind. They teach that salvation is easy (which it is), but not how it happens, because they have not set their hearts to understand the doctrine and therefore cannot teach it to others. When a man of God comes among them, they will call him a lunatic and cast him out and slay him if they can because he threatens their economic enterprise and position of power. Even if they cannot slay him with their swords, they will slay him with words, assaulting his character and slandering his standing in the Faith. It's very diabolical and inconsistent with the principles taught by Christ during His mortal ministry.
The church of Christ is His church if it is founded on His gospel and in His name. If the church be the Church of Moses, then it's Moses' church, or the church of Mohammed, then it's Mohammed's church, or the church of the holy sepulcher, it's the holy sepulcher's church. Only if it's the Church of Christ and is also founded on truth and teachings of Christ will it be Christ's church. While there are good people in every Faith and evil people in every Faith, a Faith that is founded on the principles taught by Christ that teaches men to come to, partner with, learn of, serve, and become like Christ is the only Faith that is endorsed by the Christ. Also, that Faith must be given authority by Christ to officiate in the saving ordinances. Just because men of a particular Faith profess to have the priesthood doesn't mean God licenses the practice of sacred sacraments; Paul told the Hebrews that no man taketh this honor unto himself save he was called of God as was Aaron.
The holy war is between the followers of Christ and the followers of Lucifer. As such, there are gorilla groups of both camps in every church. Lucifer has bought and paid for false priests to deceive men, tyrants to oppress men, and armies to slay the saints of God. Christ teaches us to turn the other cheek, because His kingdom is not of this world. I think we do ourselves a great disservice when we get attached to the earth and try to establish on earth, which is fallen, the utopia that only heaven can sustain.
Even among Christian Faiths, the assault on faith continues. Their chief weapon is the Bible. Originally, they kept it from people so they could tell people who could not read it even if they were literate and call the priest's bluff. After Guthenburg (who did the world a great disservice by giving them the Bible without training them how to use it), the foist was over and people discovered deception by clergy. When it was written, it contained the fulness of the gospel. For various reasons and at various times, men have changed the actual content and context and connotation of the passages found in the current Bible. For my own part, I own several different translations in several different languages although I primarily read the King James Version. Even by that time, no matter how meticulous King James' scribes were, many plain and precious parts had been removed, because the Catholic Church in various councils and meetings prior to, during, and after the reign of Constantine decided what belonged and what did not. As far as I know, they did not ask God to validate their choices or guide their decisions. It was done democratically and politically. They censored the Bible in essence to serve their own purposes, to secure their own power, and to establish a tyranny over the mind of man. Even today, no matter how well-meant the efforts may be, people change the Bible to 'mean more to modern man'; I heard last night on the Dave Ramsey Show an excerpt from some version that used the word "cosign" which is not a word that Solomon would have used while writing Proverbs. I know what it means (first recorded use 1865 according to Oxford English Dictionary), but that might not be what Solomon meant when he wrote whatever Aramaic word it was that was originally put into the Bible.
This is why it is absolutely critical that you develop, live worthy of, and work to maintain a personal relationship with your Father in Heaven. That way, when men try to deceive you even if it's "for your good", you can check with Him and find out, and when you read what men write, you can discern through His Spirit between truth and speculation. As you learn to listen, He will speak to you about those plain and precious things and give you further and specific instruction to guide you where you need to go, because different things will help you to become Celestial (like God) than will help me get there, and His work and glory is your immortality and eternal life.
Ironically enough, good will win in the end. You see, God's aim is different from the devil's, and the devil cannot understand why He loves men and wants to populate the universe with billions of copies of Himself. Then again, Lucifer is only the father of lies, whereas God is our Father, and like every real father loves His children.
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