Copyright © 2007 Ron Schwartz
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Domesticating Christians

Part 2. Unnatural Selection – The Perversion Of God’s Order

July 23, 2007

By Ron and Karen Schwartz

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In the previous note, we began a series that considers the natural order God established in nature and how it parallels the spiritual order.

From Part 1:

Romans 1:26-27 KJV

26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

In this first chapter of Romans, Paul begins to describe perversion.  He tells how that some men “did change the natural use into that which is against nature (Romans 1:26).”  He is, of course, describing homosexuality.  But let’s take this idea to its logical conclusion.  When men change the “natural use [order]” that God established, what happens?  Nothing, and that’s the problem.  The “natural use [order],” which Paul describes, is for the purpose of procreation.  When this “use” is perverted, there can be no procreation.  Men who change this order not only disregard God’s design but do so to satisfy their own twisted pleasure.

God has established a certain order in nature.  Any effort by mankind to alter this order is a perversion of God’s natural order.  As with nature, God has established a spiritual order.  Man was created for the purpose of carrying on that spiritual order (i.e., “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:27).”).  Rather than carrying on that order, those who should know better often disrespect Him and pervert the (spiritual and natural) order of God.

And now…

Part 2. Unnatural Selection - The Perversion Of God’s Order

Genesis 6:1-6 KJV

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Who were these sons of God?  Jude writes the following concerning this event:

Jude 6 KJV

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

We discover in Jude that it was the angels who abandoned the position God created for them and chose to live among the humans.

Genesis 6:6 tells us that “it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth.”  It’s difficult to imagine why this event “grieved him [God] at his heart” to such a degree that God would virtually seek to end humanity through a flood. 

Hebrews 1:13-14 KJV

13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Angels were created to minister to mankind, not to marry them.  They were to serve (minister), not to rule as the head of the household.  They were to be servants, not rulers.  By coming down to live among (and rule) the humans, they were guilty of perverting God’s order.

God meant for women to marry men, not angels.  How could men possibly compete with angels for the affection of women?  For “angels, which are greater in power and might (2 Peter 2:11)” are nearly perfect beings.  They exercise tremendous strength and miraculous power.  Angels surely used their power to captivate the attention of human women.  Human men could not contend with such powerful beings.

This perversion of God’s order created offspring who were “mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”  It is quite possible that this is from where the legends of Hercules and the other Greek gods came.  It is easy to understand how their offspring could be seen as gods.  Nevertheless, these “mighty men” were a perversion of God’s order.

It is interesting that prior to this event in the scripture there is no evidence of idolatry.  There is no evidence that mankind worshipped idols.  We can conclude that, up until this event, mankind recognized only a single God.  They may not have acknowledged or worshipped Him, but they still knew that He was God.

The creation of these “mighty men… men of renown” could, in one sense, be viewed as a fulfilling of the destiny of mankind.  God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth (Genesis 1:26).”  So when godlike beings began to emerge, those angel beings could have claimed to be doing God’s will.   But even though their offspring appeared godlike, they only appeared that way.  In reality, they were made in the image of angels, not in the image of God.

What are we to learn from this?  Today this same type of perversion is occurring only the messengers are different.  Rather than angels (“ministering spirits,” Hebrews 1:14) they are those who call themselves “ministers of the gospel.”  Back then the anger of God was kindled, which resulted in the destruction of humanity.  Today humanity is racing toward judgment and certain destruction typically referred to as Armageddon.  Let’s consider how this natural perversion of God’s order parallels the spiritual events of today.

Classes Or Classless

Hebrews 2:6-7 KJV

6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands.

Angels are in a class above humans.

The Old Testament was a system of classes.  There was a class for the priests, a class for the High Priest, and a class for the king.  The priests ministered and the king ruled.  The New Testament, however, does not follow that class paradigm.

Revelation 1:6 KJV

And [He] hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 2:9 KJV

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

There is no need for a king or priest class in the New Testament since all believers are both kings and priests.

If you believe that only some believers are called “into the ministry,” then you are perverting the order of the New Testament.  Men who portray themselves as a priestly class of ministers to the Body of Christ are perverting the order of the New Testament.  They are creating a class society where none was meant to be.  They, like the angels, have “kept not their first estate (Jude 6).”

In the New Testament, all believers are priests and therefore ministers.  All are part of the “five-fold ministry,” which is the “ministry of reconciliation.”

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 KJV

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

When men separate the ministry to themselves, excluding the rest of the body, they are telling other believers that only certain men are qualified.  They are saying that only certain people are qualified to preach, to baptize, to operate in a spiritual gift (unless they are subject to one who is qualified, usually one who calls himself “the pastor”).  It is this class system within the church that is responsible for its paralysis.  The institutionalization of a ministry class has not improved the church but negated it.  It has made the institutional church irrelevant.

Angels were created to “minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb 1:13-14).”  But the angels of Genesis 6 perverted God’s design by ruling mankind.  In a similar fashion, those believers who go by such titles as “Father,” “Reverend,” “Pastor,” etc. have perverted Christianity by ruling over their church(es).  They control the meetings, they decide how the Spirit will move, and they decide what God wants.  They rule their churches; they do not serve them.  They have left the spiritual order that God called all believers to fulfill - to be a minister – and have taken positions of rulership that are supposed to belong to God.

Additionally, angels used their perfection and power to captivate women.  This was a perversion of God’s order that had ordained men to marry women.  The men who were meant to marry these women could not compete with angels.  In today’s institutional church, we find a similar perversion.  Men use their spiritual gifts to gain power over an assembly of believers.  The Spirit of God (the true gentleman husband) working through His people cannot compete with the easily seen charisma and overt persuasive nature of these gifted men.  When faced with such a truly dynamic individual, many people do what the women did in Genesis 6: they submit and thereby prevent the spiritual order of God.

Idolatry

Hebrews tells us that angels are “all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb 1:13-14).” 

When angels saw the “daughters of men… and they took them wives… mighty men… men of renown” were born.  These great men were eventually worshipped as gods, and idolatry was born into humanity.  In like manner, gifted men have abused their spiritual gifts and have profaned the ministry calling by taking the church as their own wife – they rule over her, and she serves their ministries.  Such behavior is idolatrous (and adulterous).

Christians are no longer clear concerning what is sacred and what is to be worshipped.  It has become unthinkable to criticize “the pastor” because he is the “man of God.”  In this modern age of church idolatry, the Bible is sacred and said to be the Word of God (the real Word of God is Jesus: John 1:1, Hebrews 4:12-14, Genesis 3:8).  Likewise, the church building is also treated as sacred.  Men who have perverted God’s order treat it like their own personal throne room.  People act differently in it than they do at home and call it “the sanctuary.”  The true sanctuary is the people of God, and they are His only Church.  It is a place where men can never rule, and that is why it so important for every perverted Christian leader to find or build a church building (where s/he can rule).

Some people worship dead saints, and some worship live ones.  Some worship Mary and the angels while others treat Church leaders as if they are angels to be worshipped.  Contemporary Christians are confused.  Idols have been born into Christianity and abound all around them.  The God of the universe has become just another sacred relic in the institutional church.  It is perversion of God’s order.

The worst part of this perversion is that most Christians do not recognize it as such.  They are convinced that the current construct is actually God’s making.

Each new Christian leader who takes on a position of power and authority places yet another idol in the church.  Each of these leaders creates yet another church building and ministry as offspring that is destined to become sacred, and idolatry grows and flourishes.  It is Babylon rising from the ashes.  Well-intentioned believers believe that they doing the will of God.  They are deluded into believing that the perversion of the church today is the creation of God.  When Jesus said that “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (Matthew 24:24),” He had to be referring to something very subtle.  If it were even remotely obvious, there is no way the elect could be deceived.  But the perversion of today’s institutional churches is so subtle that many of the elect have bought into its deception.  At least, they have up until now.  Many are becoming wise to the deception and coming out.

Jesus said that, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service (John 16:2).”  This happened to the First Century believers when the Jews (God’s chosen people) failed to recognize that they had perverted the covenant of God.  Their persecution of Christians was the result of their own deception – deception that had come about from their own leaders.

Again, Christians are confused.  The institutional church, the creation of Christian leaders, has formed so many idols – sacred relics – that just about any form of worship is acceptable.  Many of the elect, which are still part of this system, must come out and repent of their idolatry.  They must recognize that Babylon is the modern day construct of the institutional church that encourages a class system of ministers and refuses to truly recognize all Christians as ministers (they give it lip-service but fail to act on its truth).  Babylon is not any particular denomination, denominationalism, or the Catholic Church.  Babylon is any Christian institution, organization, church, denomination, or ministry that promotes, encourages, or practices a class system of ministry, a system that exalts individuals as rulers in the church.

The Great Delusion Of The 20^th Century

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 KJV

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The word “delusion” comes from the Greek word “plane,” which means, “a wandering.”  A good analogy is when a fence that is meant to contain and control animals is suddenly taken away and the animals summarily scatter and roam freely over the countryside.  Such a description unquestionably fits 20^th (and 21^st) century Christians.

Consider the Bible.  Each translation of scripture produces yet another sacred relic.  Set aside the fact that men create these translations and consider how these sacred relics can be used to prove that the other versions are not sacred.  Set aside the fact that up until a few centuries ago they did not exist in great enough numbers to be readily available to most Christians in a language they could read.  All these translations have given birth to a sort of race of “mighty men” – libraries of commentaries, self-help books, sermons, etc. from hundreds of thousands of authors and preachers.  All these conflicting opinions have caused God’s people to literally wander around from truth to truth.  When everything is sacred, then nothing is sacred.  When every sacred thing points to the other sacred things as not being sacred, then what can be regarded as sacred?  When every denomination points to the others as being wrong, then none are right.  Consequently, there is no truth anywhere, and God’s people are left to roam.  We are in the midst of a great wandering, a great delusion where truth has become polluted.

The delusion of the 20^th century also promotes the class system (ministry and laity) previously described.  This class system subtly teaches that “ministers” are more mature and therefore have a deeper spiritual walk and greater revelation.  Because of this, they are “called into the ministry” (according to the delusion) where they are given special rule and authority over other believers.  You find this influence in all Christian faiths, Protestant and Catholic alike.

The result of such an influence is that believers have come to suppose that in order for them to develop spiritually, they need to “enter the ministry,” and unless/until they do so, they will not have achieved God’s perfect will for their lives.  Therefore, most mature Christians aspire to enter some form of “recognized” ministry.  But if there is no place of ministry available for them in their existing church, they will eventually leave to either find a church where they can minister or start a church of their own.  Quite often, mature Christians bounce from church to church looking for a place where they can minister.  However, the existing local “ministers” usually view these mature Christians with skepticism and avidly defend their own “turf.”  They will usually try to find something for them to do, but they still make it clear that they run the show.  Such behavior frequently ends in conflict between the mature Christians and the established “pastor,” but that conflict can also lead to church splits.

It is not uncommon for many of these mature Christians to start their own churches/ministries.  And because they don’t know any different (they have been brought up in the institutional church, so it’s all they know), they usually end up recreating the same perversion as that from which they came.  As a result, institutional-style churches are popping up everywhere like mushrooms, including home churches.

Just when the mature Christian feels like he has reached “spiritual maturity” (because s/he now has his/her own “ministry”), s/he finds that “ministers” also have classes.  There is a lower basic class for your everyday run-of-the-mill pastor and another class for those who have large churches.  There is another class for those who publish books and have radio programs, and yet another for those who have television shows.  Therefore, just when the mature Christian feels like he has reached a position of authority, he finds that he still has a long way to go.  Thus begins an unending cycle of building bigger and bigger churches, and getting more and more people to follow them.  But it is all a delusion!  Nothing about this class system is measure of spiritual maturity. It is a perversion of God’s order.

Nevertheless, the Christian masses have bought into this class system and support it.  They have come to accept that any pastor of any church is God’s authority and is spiritually mature – and the bigger their churches, the more authority they have.  Ministers from larger churches are treated like celebrities.

Almost all of these new churches teach a different “truth” and draw clear lines between themselves and the other community churches.  Such behavior directly implies that the other churches of the community are wrong.  As communities are inundated with more and more churches, Christianity becomes more and more polluted until truth cannot be found.  Satan has learned that he does not need to destroy the truth.  All he needs to do is to dilute it by offering thousands of versions and counterfeits.  God’s truth is eventually lost in the flood.  And just what is the result of this?  People “wander” or roam about without restraint, and hence the great delusion runs rampant and unchecked.

In the days prior to Noah, when the angels took “the daughters of men” for wives, God became so angry that He nearly destroyed mankind altogether.  Earlier we asked, “Why?  Why would this make God so angry?”

The angels not only introduced idolatry but also polluted the bloodline of mankind.  A new race emerged as offspring that was neither angelic nor human.  It is questionable whether they even had a soul.  How could they be judged?  What would become of them after eternal judgment?  Could they even die?

Today this same type of perversion exists as Christian ministers (i.e., like the angels, ministers are “all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:13-14)”) have replaced Christ as the head of the church and are now polluting its bloodline.  God’s church was born from the blood and Spirit of Christ.  It had His blood flowing through it.  But most of our institutional churches are birthed not from God but from Christianity’s union with men.  They are a perversion of the Spirit.  They have neither the blood nor Spirit of Christ in them.  They are perversions of what was meant to be the Bride of Christ.   Christians wander from church to church.  They read and listen to conflicting truths.  They are lost in a fog of delusion that is Babylon.

Conclusion

Just as came to pass in the events of Genesis 6, great influential men have managed to pervert God’s order for the His church by replacing Him as head.  They go by the titles of “Reverend,” “Pastor,” “Father,” etc.  Some have even the audacity to pervert the perverted: they call themselves “Prophet” and “Apostle” in a lame attempt to control those who are in control.  This class system has been a part of the institutional church for centuries.  It is the great delusion of our time.  Many of those who leave the institutional churches fail to recognize this perversion and end up recreating it in the very places to which they fled.  This construct is not of God.  It is the creation of men invented by those who desire to rule their brother than serve him.

We will leave you with this last thought to ponder:  the angels who took “the daughters of men” for wives produced a class of “mighty men.”   These are comparable to the many Christian leaders who take upon themselves the titles of prophets and apostles but have perverted God’s order by placing themselves in positions of rule in the church. These leaders continue to promise that God will raise up a great army as a result of their spiritual ministry (or union) with the church.  They have been promising this for centuries.  They claim that we just need more prophets and apostles (i.e., angels).  What we see as a result of this union is an army of “mighty men.”  They appear godlike.  They have much knowledge.  They are articulate.  They are going out creating even more churches until even the smallest community is filled with churches.  They give inspiring sermons and produce entertaining services.  But this army, though full of knowledge, is virtually barren of God’s power and presence.  This offspring grows in numbers and stands by idly as the powers of darkness advance upon our nations.

Which is more likely:

1)                           that this “army” of powerless, compromising Christians will be the salvation of mankind, or

2)                           that this “army” is made up of nothing more than imitators?

This offspring - the perverted union of the ministry class and the Church - are just an army of imitators who appear and claim to be God’s army, but it only appears that way.

A mighty army may someday arise, but it will not come from the ranks of their perversion.  It will not come from Babylon.  It will come from those who have abandoned the construct of Babylon with its class system and the perversion promoted by its Christian leaders.  It will come from those who have not been polluted by the idolatry of the institutional church system.  So what of the great Christian leaders of today who sit in positions of power and rule, who make sacred the edifices of men?  They will have no part in it.  In fact, they will condemn it

.

Amen.