The Apostasy of the Christian Church

THE APOSTASY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

R. Dawson Barlow

Copyright © 2005 by R. Dawson Barlow

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

(ALL SCRIPTURE REFERENCES ARE FROM THE AUTHORIZED VERSION, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED) (All Scripture references with phrases in capital letters, underlined, or comments in brackets are made by the author for emphasis)

Once, one of my (then) five-year-old twin daughters (the one who was not noted to keep an impeccably clean room like her twin sister) was told to clean her room but, as was usual for her, she kept getting sidetracked. Finally, I went upstairs with her, to personally supervise. I plopped down on her bean bag, and started reading a book. Realizing that she now had to deal with the problem of HER mess and there was no chance of getting sidetracked, she assessed the situation and must have felt a tad overwhelmed. (If you had seen the room, you would understand why!) She looked over at me, hands on her hips, tears forming in her eyes and with a slight tremor in her voice, said, Daddy, how did we ever get to be in the mess we be in? I burst out in laughter at her choice of grammar to describe the situation. After the laughing subsided, I finally managed to communicate to her that she was the only one who knew that, and she cleaned up her room (which lasted almost two days)! When we members of the Christian community gaze intently on modern Christendom in this 21st century, we often feel like asking the same question – "…HOW DID WE EVER GET TO BE IN THE MESS WE BE IN?

DEDICATION

I, with deepest admiration and love, dedicate this book to my many Christian brothers and sisters in China, especially the ones I was privileged to know and teach. In reality they taught me so much more than I ever dreamed of teaching them. I watched them endure hardship, adversity, imprisonment, persecution and social ostracism for the Lord they love and worship. Words like champion, valiant and hero perfectly describe those in that land who have not bowed the knee to Baal. The widespread propaganda that claims the communistic government of China is tolerant toward Christianity is a myth, regardless of its fanciful claims to the contrary.

The message of this book was gladly received and enthusiastically spread all through the vast networking of the underground churches of China in every province and it brought to them a renewed encouragement in their understanding of the Word of God, and a revival of interest in the study of the Holy Scripture and a renewed zeal for evangelism. Through key contacts in the underground church, this book is being translated into Mandarin and placed on the Internet so that every interested believer in China, who has access to the millions of net bars, can have access to the book. The basic concepts of the message of this book were ‘gladly received’ in that vast land. Our only opposition was from the established church, i.e., the Three Self Churches which were under governmental domination – and the Westerners who brought with them many of the traditional misconceptions of the apostate church.

I know without doubt that this book will be offensive to those who are emotionally wedded to traditional, westernized religion, for that was exactly my reaction at first. I also know that it will be, with equal joy, received by those who have a hunger for a system of interpretation of the Bible that will harmonize many of the agonizing seeming inconsistencies that arise from a random, devotional study of the Bible. There is a great need for God’s people to cease their casual reading of the Scripture and begin to seriously and deliberately study the Word. I have seen that happen, in reality, through personal observation of many House Pastors in many provinces of China.

This book is sent out so that those believers may never experience the tyranny and anguish of soul that results from a failure to observe things that differ from each other and be delivered from the corrupt Western form of apostate Christendom, which is built on the traditions of man and not on the rightly divided Word. It is my heart’s desire that many of the Lord’s confused people may be made aware of the nature and strategy of him who is the adversary of our souls, so that their hearts may be more fully opened to the Word of him who is the Lover of our souls.

R. Dawson Barlow

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROLOGUE: THE BIBLICAL FOCUS OF THIS BOOK

CHAPTER 1: Apostasy of Israel – Part I

CHAPTER 2: Apostasy of Israel – Part II

CHAPTER 3: Apostasy of Christendom -Part 1

CHAPTER 4: Apostasy of Christendom -Part 2

CHAPTER 5: Apostasy of Christendom -Part 3

CHAPTER 6: Both Israel and the Church

CHAPTER 7: Constantine’s Contribution

CHAPTER 8: The Person and Work of the LORD

CHAPTER 9: The Greatest Source of Error

CHAPTER 10: Error of the Reformation

CHAPTER 11: The Canon of Scripture

CHAPTER 12: Influence of Gnosticism

CHAPTER 13: Observing Distinctions

CHAPTER 14: The Stalemate of Confusion

CHAPTER 15: Reformers and Radicals

CHAPTER 16: Major Denominations Speak

CHAPTER 17: Baptism Controversy Settled

CHAPTER 18: Paul Is Ignored

CHAPTER 19: Marcion

CHAPTER 20: How To Be A Workman and Unashamed

PROLOGUE

THE BIBLICAL FOCUS OF THIS BOOK

One of the most rigid, powerful and plain warnings to be found in the epistles of Paul is found in Galatians:

…but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed, As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed…. But I certify you brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man, For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:7-12

That warning sounds very narrow minded and very exclusive to most anyone who reads it. That is because it is. This book reveals how this Gospel, committed to THE Apostle of the Gentiles, has been neglected down through the centuries until the very day in which we live. That warning in Galatians, Chapter 1, about the other gospel, is not a warning against any of the modern day cults, though it could be applied to them. Rather in its historical context, it is a reference to the other gospel that the twelve apostles were commissioned to preach to Israel. It will be seen that, in time, the gospel formerly preached by the twelve was laid aside, and God then revealed his heart, his eternal plan, to his most avowed enemy, Saul of Tarsus, and had established that gospel as the prescribed body of truth that was applicable to the saints of this intervening age which separates the two Advents of our Redeemer.

In that stern warning there are no nebulous, hypothetical ambiguities lurking. It is a simple, plain warning that believers in the Gospel of God are to acknowledge and obey the Revelation of the Mystery, i.e., the gospel that Paul was commissioned to teach the Gentile believers. That the twelve apostles and Paul did indeed preach two different gospels is plainly seen in Galatians, Chapter 2. In the very first chapter of Galatians, Paul explains that the gospel he was given came directly from Christ, and not from any of the apostles. The context of that chapter demonstrates that the gospel committed to Paul was separate and distinct from the gospel the twelve apostles were commissioned to preach. The warning is: But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. [lit., damned] Gal.1:8 & 9. The warning is given so plainly it should not be passed over. The warning was not just given and forgotten, IT WAS IN FACT, GIVEN TWICE. This adds a heavier weight to the strength of this warning. It is worded so clearly; then repeated. Yet most professing Christians in western culture are totally ignorant that this most somber warning even exists and are oblivious to this warning and the reason it was given. This widespread ignorance is plain to see and is the issue which forms the focus of this book.

There is no doubt that it will be said that the focus of this book is narrow, exclusionary and very negative. That, of course, is only true depending upon one’s viewpoint. If one’s theology is based on the study of biblical doctrine, and not the church of western civilization, the book will be perceived as very POSITIVE. If the opposite is true, the perception will be that the book is extremely NEGATIVE. In fact this book has been written with the basic, positive goal of drawing attention to the above Biblical warning that was so lovingly given to us by our Lord through his chosen leader of this present age.

This volume is a study of the historical development and decline of Christian Theology and philosophy in the western world. There is another equally tragic story that explains how the Supplanter crafted his web of deception in both the near and far east under the guise of Christianity, and that, in itself, is another volume. This study presents a panoramic view of some key issues and personalities that contributed to the downward spiral of the Church’s path. It is an attempt to trace the path of Christian theology from its pristine purity as it was revealed in the Holy Scriptures, to the present day confusion, a word which best describes modern Christendom as it is most widely known in western culture.

The three-fold purpose of this study is simple. It distinguishes the differences between (1) The Angry God of Christendom, and the living Christ of Christianity, (2) The primary belief system that separates them into two entirely different faiths and (3) the foundations on which each belief system of thought is based. It traces the historical development of this apostasy from those persons who are commonly thought to be friends of Christianity, but have been proven to be corrupters of the message of Christ that God has ordained for members of the body of Christ.

CHAPTER 1 THE APOSTASY OF ISRAEL – PART I

The basic theme of this work is the apostasy of many of God’s professing people throughout this present age. Why then do we open with two chapters dealing with the apostasy of Israel during the age of the Law? After I studied through this entire concept and discovered the tremendous lessons concerning this theme, I decided that the material for these two chapters had to be included for at least two reasons. (1) The material was helpful to my own perception and understanding of the Biblical theme of apostasy and I was totally convinced it deserved a hearing in print. The material contained in these chapters brought to light and resolved so many issues for me, I could not, for my reader’s sake, leave it out. (2) When this material concerning Israel’s history is compared with the issues facing the Body of Christ and its failures, the results are overwhelming. It seems as though we are singing, same song, but different verse. This will become clear in the pages to come.

It will also become abundantly clear to each reader, as the arguments are presented, that the identical issues which brought about Israel’s failure are the exact same principles that brought the church of Western culture and Eastern culture to ruin. Of course, the particular facts and events of history were different, and yes, there were different characters involved in the two dramas, but the basic plot was left untouched! The devices of that Wicked One worked so well with our first parents and with Israel, it will become clear that he has ordained that he will not change his original, strategic battle plans. During this present age, as he deals with members of the Body of Christ, and in his diabolical scheme to deceive the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, his battle strategy remains unchanged since the beginning.

The resemblance of the attack of the prince of the power of the air on the nation of Israel and on the Body of Christ is real and so strikingly similar, it must be noted. It must be taught to our youth as well as all babes in Christ. I well remember how successfully this strategic plan worked on me. I honestly do not believe it would have worked so well if I had been forewarned in advance and had been instructed in the Word about these themes.

The account of this desolate story of Israel’s apostasy helps the Bible student to expand his panoramic view of the flow of Biblical history. We will discover how it greatly enhances our understanding of the theme of apostasy as it relates to us in this present age. The material left us without an option as to whether or not we could delete this section of the theme of Israel’s apostasy just as it is presented in the Old Testament. In fact, this work would have been incomplete, and decidedly weakened, without these first two chapters.

In the Old Testament we have Gentiles looking at Jewish failures as seen in their stubborn denial of the divine authority of Moses. All such instances are faithfully recorded in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the failure of the Gentiles can be seen in their refusal to acknowledge the divine authority and message of the one apostle to the Gentiles, the apostle Paul, who said:

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office. Romans 11:13

THE OLD TESTAMENT IS NOT ANTI-SEMETIC -IT IS ACCURATE HISTORY

It is an unmistakable fact that the Old Testament presents a consistent, uncomplimentary and scathing historical account of the rebellion of the Jewish people against their God and his prophets. This rebellion covers the time from the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and on through Moses) throughout the time of the prophets, and extends, tragically, even to our present day.

If we did not truly believe that God inspired and preserved the Old Testament, we would almost be persuaded that it originated from anti-Semitic (i.e. anti-Jewish) sources. A casual reading of the Old Testament reveals the sad, repetitive cycles of rebellion, unbelief and apostasy of the Jewish people. This theme of Israel’s apostasy is redundant and prominent throughout the Old Testament narrative. If someone ever decided to remove all the references to Israel’s repeated apostasies, the Old Testament would be robbed of one of its major themes. First, for semantics sake, let us clearly define our chosen theme for this study. We have found many people who do not have a workable idea of the meaning of the word apostasy. The American Heritage Dictionary says:

"Apostasy) n., pl. apostasies. Abandonment of religious faith, a political party, one's principles or a cause."

The word, broken down, is APO, (from) and the last half of the word means to stand, which results in, to stand away from. It speaks of those who have once embraced a faith, a message or cause, but now no longer do so. It is, in fact, not only a major theme of the Hebrews in the Old Testament, but also of the Body of Christ in the New Testament. But more of that later, for that is the main emphasis of this study, with the exception of these first two chapters. Why do we include these chapters on the apostasy of Israel, while we have set out to observe the apostasy of the Christian church of this age? Simply to illustrate that flesh is flesh, whether it is Jew or Gentile. The Jewish people are but a slice of the pie of humanity, and there is no difference in any human family in our basic rebellion against God and our own lascivious wanderlust in straying from his revealed plan. have yet to be fulfilled. That nation, if the writings of Moses are to be taken seriously, should have been the envy of all its surrounding nations. The special promises, protection, and preeminence given to them were never given to any other nation. Listen to Amos as he proclaims God’s message to Israel:

Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Amos 3:1-2

Why punish them? Because they were God’s people by covenant and they had disobeyed him. Of course all the other nations were doing wrong, but they were not God’s people. Even the most principled people do not discipline children who are not their own and neither does the LORD. God had chosen Israel in a special covenant relationship, to be his special people, and they became his own people. In that context God rewarded them for obedience and chastened them for disobedience. Note the prophet’s words:

Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Amos 2:10-12

ISRAEL’S APOSTASY PROPHETICALLY REVEALED FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE AGE OF THE LAW

The most explicit statements declaring and detailing Israel’s apostasy are the recorded words of Moses, the most prominent and revered man of the Old Testament. At the very beginning of the age of the Law (circa 1,400 BC) Moses foretold Israel’s pathetic prophetic history. Moses had endured the repeated rebellion and almost constant murmuring of the Hebrew people during the forty years of the wilderness wanderings. He said to the Hebrew nation, just before he died:

For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death? For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside (i.e. apostatize) from the way which I have commanded you... Deuteronomy 31:27, 29

This information was not uttered as a mere opinion of Moses. It was not a matter of speculation! He knew for a certainty of this deepening and widespread apostasy, which would come about after his death. He knew it not only because the murmuring nation had expressed the tendency all through their wanderings in the wilderness but because God had revealed it to him. Note the testimony of Moses himself:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Deuteronomy 31:16

The above prognostication became, in a very short amount of time, a shameful and scandalous reality. All the details of the prophetic apostasy Moses uttered against the favored nation were faithfully recorded in the Old Testament. A thorough reading of the Old Testament will attest to this. We recall the awful treatment given to the Old Testament prophets when they dared to stand against the status quo of Israel’s unbelief, disobedience and skepticism of their respective generations. The Jewish people inflicted intense persecution upon those faithful prophets of God.

AN ANTI-SEMITIC CHARGE AGAINST THE JEWISH PEOPLE

Note how the Old Testament summarizes the treatment of the Jewish prophets by their own people, i.e. the Nation of Israel. Actually, it is not really anti-Semitic; it is merely a statement of fact. However, when the same type of statements occur in the New Testament, it is immediately designated as anti-Semitic by the same Jewish scholars.

Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; (a reference to idols) and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes (early), and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place. But they [i.e. the nation of Israel] mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy (i.e. healing). II Chronicles 36:14-16

THE WITNESS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The New Testament Scriptures proceed with this theme of the Old Testament and continue this sad, pathetic tale of Israel's apostasy. Note the words of our Lord Jesus:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee . . . Matthew 23:37

Or, listen to the words of Stephen just before he was murdered by the Jewish people: Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them who showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers. Acts 7:51-52

When the above scripture is referred to, most modern-day humanists are sharp in their vituperation against the New Testament and criticize its promotion of racism and anti-Semitism. These passages are a true delight to all who wish to cast the New Testament in a bad light and by doing so, attempt to undermine its veracity. These Scriptures, we are told, illustrate the bias of the New Testament writers against the Jewish people. However, such a charge is totally without merit. The New Testament Scriptures, in relating the unbelief and rebellion of Israel, do not exhibit a bias! It is nothing more than a restatement of and a continued reference to Israel's rebellion and apostasy as it is continuously reported throughout the Old Testament!

If, therefore, anyone wants to maintain that the New Testament has an anti-Semitic (anti-Jewish) bias, then he would just as dogmatically and logically contend that the Old Testament has an even stronger anti-Jewish bias! I say this without flinching. The Old Testament is the strongest indictment of the continual disobedience of the Sons of Jacob to be found anywhere. The New Testament record, while scathing, is mild compared to the Old Testament, and fair. Objective, well-balanced scholarship will readily admit to that fact. Such empty bellowing of anti-Jew’ and unfair Jewish bias" do not move us.

The New Testament does not fabricate new, damaging material against Israel and make an attempt to reinterpret Israel’s history. The New Testament record of Israel’s apostasy could not by any stretch of an intelligent or an educated imagination, be called historical revisionism, i.e., an attempt to reinvent, and reinterpret history. Let this be said just as plainly as words will allow us. The New Testament is only guilty of faithfully agreeing with the Old Testament record of Israel’s failure and shameful unbelief. Any statement found in the New Testament, which sounds anti-Jew, or anti-Semitic, is found many times over in the Old Testament! This is not negotiable and we will not be moved from this position by any intimidating charges of anti-Semitism.

We would suggest that all who think that the New Testament has an unfair and unique bias against Jews, (watch out, this may hurt) are those who have never thoughtfully read the Old Testament (or else did not retain what they did read). We would challenge anyone, Jew or Gentile, to read the Jewish Scriptures, especially Numbers, Deuteronomy, and the book of Judges in its entirety, just for starters. And then patiently read all the prophets. How those prophets were treated by the apostate chosen nation is a shameful, deplorable record of a militant, defiant rebellion against the God of their fathers. It is a lamentable, tragic account of a people who would not revere the message of their God.

As Israel failed so miserably in their spiritual progress, we are told in the New Testament that they are like each individual believer in this age. We too have failed the Lord many times. A mature believer will not mount his hobbyhorse and berate the Old Testament saints and their failures. Rather we will learn from them and will be warned by their experiences. Paul discusses this in 1 Corinthians 10:6-12. The point is that all [Jew and Gentile] have sinned and come short of the Glory of God (Rom.3:23). We detest anti-Semitism and all those who fabricate lies and denigrate the Jewish people through revisionist history and lies, like the Rev. I. B. Pranatis, a Roman Catholic scholar who wrote in the early 20th century and whose works are still read as fact to this very day.

There is nothing in the New Testament to compare with the sharp, caustic castigations and reprimands recorded in the Old Testament concerning Israel’s unbelief and rebellion against her God. Some of the most commonly asked questions from students of the Old Testament are, "What happened to Israel? Why did they go astray? Why is it that Israel repeatedly retreated into a state of rebellion and anarchy? And why did the people of God so utterly and dismally fail?"

A CAVALIER ATTITUDE TOWARD THE WORD OF GOD

The singular biblical answer to the above questions is usually rejected because it is too simplistic. But since fools rush in where angels fear to tread, here we go. Israel's failure was – and is – (just like the Body of Christ in this dispensation) based on her defective, debonair attitude toward the Holy Scriptures which have been entrusted to her. In my own generation I already anticipate those who will choke on this diagnosis. Those are the same people who now exhibit the same attitude toward the Holy Scriptures as did ancient Israel. Throughout the generations of man’s history, philosophers and humanists have balked at the mere suggestion that failing to adhere to the divine authority of God's Word has anything to do with Israel's failure and the seemingly endless trail of tears she has shed throughout history. All individuals within the family of mankind, which naturally includes Jews, possess a sin nature which universally rebels against divine authority. After our first parents sinned, their first instinctive reaction was to run and hide from God. How significant, we think, for all Adam’s descendants have been doing the same thing ever since that time. So says the Apostle Paul:

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Rom. 3:10-11

The famous American philosopher Will Rogers so aptly expressed it, Man was created a little lower than the angels…and he has been getting lower ever since. The sin nature, which all the posterity of Adam and Eve possess, most generally manifests itself as follows: "I need no outside authority. Whatever I believe in my heart is right for me. Thus, anything that opposes my thinking and the way I feel about things in my heart, [conscience, etc.] I reject!" That was Israel's fatal mistake!

THE DECEITFUL HEART – AN IMPORTANT OBSERVATION

All of us who constitute the human family have a choice before us. We may believe the Word of God or the reasoning of our own hearts. The most tragic, yea, pathetic commentary upon mankind is that most of us have rejected this marvelous communication from God without the slightest investigation on our part of what the Bible is all about. God has ordained that faith only comes one way.

Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17

Jeremiah, the prophet, told us why trusting the data received from our hearts is not a very good idea. He said:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately Wicked: Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

May writer and reader alike soberly reflect on God's diagnosis of our hearts! God's evaluation is simple, though not very flattering. The most deceitful thing in the world is the human heart. It is extremely interesting to note that the Hebrew word for deceitful is the equivalent of the name, Jacob. When we read back in the book of Genesis and review the life of Jacob, we gain a deeper insight of God’s diagnosis of our deceitful hearts. Every new chapter in Jacob’s life reveals him deceiving and beguiling someone. That he lived up (or down) to his name is without question. The Bible says the heart of man is just like Jacob, i.e. truly deceitful, -Yea, my own heart! Is it any wonder then that King Solomon wrote:

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool:... Proverbs 28:26

THE TRUE NATURE OF APOSTASY

This then, is the root of the unbelief and rebellion of the Jewish nation and of the professed Body of Christ in this age. But just to make sure we are not deceived by the niceties of some people, and human sweetness, it is at this point we must be very clear about the nature of apostasy. Apostasy does not usually deny the existence of God. It does not behave itself unseemly and cry out that it hates God. In fact, apostates are pretty nice people whose life philosophy is to get along with everybody, offend no one and attempt to make the world a better place. Apostasy pursues to serve a god of his/her own imagination and serve he, she, or even it through a form of religion whose foundation of authority is the subjective feelings they have on a certain matter.

It matters not what the revelation of God says, the final, ultimate authority is, how I feel about any issue in my heart!

It rejects the objective authority of the Word of God as the final court of appeal, and, in the process of this rejection, embraces the deceitful, subjective message of the human heart and misinterprets it as God's authoritative message. The ‘buzz word’ of this growing number of people is, "Well, you have to do whatever is right for you." The conclusion is that nothing is really right or wrong, but what is right and wrong for me! This is nothing but a denial of any absolute truths.

A DECEITFUL COMPASS

Imagine two men, one a pilot and the other a passenger who depart together on an airplane excursion. Just before the plane is scheduled to take off, a technician, an expert, if you will, tells the pilot that his compass is malfunctioning and is giving a false reading. With the reception of that warning, the plane rushes down the runway, takes off and flies out over the ocean. After several hours of flying, the pilot notices that the plane is low on gas and prepares to head home. He then checks his compass for information to help him navigate. The passenger, noting the calculating of the pilot, asks, Why are you checking your compass for information? We were told by the technician, before we took off, that your compass is malfunctioning. The pilot simply says, I have used this compass for years. I disregard the technician's diagnosis. I choose to make my plans according to the data the way I always have, by using my compass. If you were the passenger you would label that man who was willing to risk his (and your) life by calculating from a faulty compass, a fool! That is exactly God's evaluation of a person who believes the data received from their own deceitful heart. That is why the Scripture says:

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. Proverbs 28:26

That illustration of the deceitful compass depicts exactly what happened to the nation of Israel and all the rest of us. God told them their hearts were deceitful, but they, like the foolish pilot, chose to believe their own faulty compass, i.e., their lying hearts, rather than the word of their God . . . Who cannot lie. Titus 1:2

GOD'S PROPHETS AND FALSE PROPHETS

God had compassion on his constantly erring chosen nation. The major theme of Old Testament history is God’s loving call to his people to turn from their idolatry and return to his heart. He periodically sent his messengers, the prophets, to Israel, calling them to repentance and to turn from their apostasy. While those faithful prophets of God labored and preached to Israel, their work was hindered by another array of prophets who were not sent by God. This common occurrence is demonstrated most clearly in Jeremiah 23. There we are told that there arose many other false prophets, who proclaimed a message that was not tainted with such negative themes as personal accountability to God. Their message was Peace, peace ... when (in fact) there was no peace. These were the (false) prophets, of whom Jeremiah spoke. He said they spoke:

…a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. Jeremiah 23:16

Those false prophets merely echoed the humanistic philosophy and viewpoint that already reverberated in the hearts of their hearers. Moreover, their message was readily received by the masses "who despised the LORD (Jeremiah 23:17). It is sobering, indeed, to read God's description of those who despise him. As stated previously, when one despises the LORD, it does not mean that one denies the existence of God or takes God's name in vain, or says – consciously or unconsciously, I hate God!" No – it is far more subtle than that. Note God's own evaluation and definition of those who despise him and how it cuts through all the niceties of semantics:

Jeremiah 23:17 They (i.e., the false prophets) say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. Jeremiah 23:17

There it is! God's own evaluation of one who truly despises him is one who has rejected his word and walks after the imagination of his own heart. What sorrows and confusion could be obliterated if all the descendents of Adam could be alerted to this biblical reality. If we delight in or seek after any message, which questions, denies or adds to God's Word, we, according to God's own estimation, despise him. We have deemed his Word, which he has exalted above all his name as unfit for our trust and obedience!

I will venture to be even more exacting in this diagnosis. Those who adhere to different messages, even former biblical messages that were not prescribed for this present age, are denounced by God as false. Admittedly, this was the most difficult concept for me to grasp. The following anathema is not for following false pagan philosophy, but for embracing biblical practices and commands that were given by God to another people of a different age. This is the summary of the warning we noted in Galatians 1:7-12.

So that this extremely pivotal issue will not be missed, I state the thrust of Paul’s warning again. When Paul penned those words he was not denouncing a cult or pagan influences such as Gnosticism. Actually, this passage has been used for so many years in reference to most any cult that has received a new revelation. That is a good application, but the heartbeat of Paul’s warning has been lost. He was not referring to extra/anti-biblical teaching, but biblical teaching that was not given to the present day saints, i.e., the Body of Christ. Paul was denouncing the message that was given to the Jews through

Moses, which was for the age of the Law, i.e., the kingdom message preached by the twelve apostles. They were removed from the message of Grace and were back preaching the message of the kingdom. They were not preaching the message that the risen, glorified Christ committed to the Body of Christ, which he had ordained to be proclaimed during this present age of Grace! So whether a message is preached that is extra-biblical, anti-biblical or even extra-dispensational (a biblical message, but not ordered for this present dispensation), it is equally offensive to God. Those who have anchored their faith to a message other than that message which God has ordained for this present age, would have no proclivity at all to take the name of God in vain, yet they will scorn his Word. In contrast, the Bible says:

I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. Psalm 138:2

THE CLIMAX OF UNBELIEF

The unbroken succession of Israel's persecution, torture and execution of God's prophets continued throughout the Old Testament. It has already been demonstrated how the chronological end of the Old Testament informs us of Israel’s apostasy (II Chronicles 36). Now, note the sad commentary of this same theme as it is recorded in the New Testament. The book of Hebrews tells us, in retrospect:

And others [i.e., Jewish prophets] had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, [historically thought to be a reference to the prophet Isaiah] were tempted, (tested) were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Hebrews 11: 36-38

Again, we must remind ourselves, if any charge of anti-Semitism is laid at the door of this New Testament passage, then the same identical charge must also be attributed to II Chronicles 36:15-21. Keep in mind this was how God's prophets were treated by Israel – not by the Godless, Gentile nations! Is it then any surprise that when that Blessed One came unto his favored nation and presented himself to them as their Messiah, (in perfect accordance with their own Scriptures), he also was rejected, refused, and murdered? It should have never happened (i.e. from man’s viewpoint), but it did happen! From the beginning of our Lord’s earthly ministry, the religious leaders had an instant hatred of him. Many national and religious leaders plotted to kill him. (The perplexity of these strange phenomena will be discussed in the following chapter.) Those religious leaders continued to persecute the followers of Christ even in the days of the Apostle Paul. Paul, reflecting on this, said:

...the Jews, Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their