For thus says the
LORD of hosts,
The God of Israel: Do
not let
Your prophets and
your diviners
Who are in your midst
deceive you,
Nor listen to your
dreams which you
Caused to be dreamed.
For they
Prophesy falsely to
you in
My name; I have not
sent them,
Says the LORD.
Jeremiah 29:8-9
History
divulges this fact: deceivers, and those who teach false doctrines are to be
found within the people of God. This is true today for there are many false
teaches that tickle the ears of people and misleading them to believe a lie.
Oh! It sounds good, it even sounds holy, and that they teach the truth: but do
they? The goal of this blog never changes even though the subject matter is
different, it is to teach what it means to be an Authentic Biblical Christian,
to aid a person to change from the inside out and this is possible through the
power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, we are still fallen creatures, our nature is
deformed in sin and we have a need to know the truth and how we have gotten to
the theological, ideological, place we are now in. History reveals to us that
men of all ages have professed to be wise and have invented theologies to fit
their ideologies even though the true God and creator was manifested to them in
the visible showing the invisible. Men are without excuse for not knowing God,
and His power (Read Romans chapters. 1 & 2). We who are seeking the truth
will not shun this work for in it we will lay another brick in the wall of our
faith, ready to give an answer to those who ask (1Peter 3:15). So I begin.
I will
begin with the return of the Israelites from the hand of the Persian government
by the decree of Cyrus the ruler. After the 70 years of captivity and the fall
of the Northern tribes of Israel by the Assyrians the Israelites returned to
their homeland to rebuild it and to return to the worship of Jehovah God. They
looked back in their history and saw that when they left behind Jehovah God and
began to follow after the gods of other nations that God brought upon them
destruction. This was a driving force for the Israelites to do all that is
possible to remain faithful to their God Jehovah. The Israelites knew of the
promised Messiah and they looked for His appearance but what they did not know
is how this appearance would occur. Therefore some invented ways that this
Messiah would appear and what He would do when He appeared. What the Israelites
did not know that God had already orchestrated the coming of His Son into the
history of man before they had been captured by the Assyrians, the Babylonians,
the Persians and their return to Israel. We also fall into that ignorance. We
know that God has promised the return for His children by His Son and at this
return the world as we know it will be demolished and a new world without sin
would take its place. God works through second causes and by His Providence
caused the events of history to do His will.
In 753 B.C.
Romulus began to form Rome, while Romulus and his twin brother Remus are often
considered myth, the fact remains that there are historical facts that cannot
be denied. The city of Rome was named after Romulus. An interesting note is
that Romulus Augustus (c.460-476 A.D.) possibly was alive in 500 A.D. is
sometimes considered to be the last Western Roman Emperor (others will give
this designation to Julius Nepos who reigned 475-476 A.D.). Traditionally this
date marks the end of the Western Roman Empire, the fall of ancient Rome and
the beginning of the Middle ages in Western Europe. Romulus in his attempt to
build a nation did many things that will be seen in the Roman Empire at the
time of Jesus’ entry into this world. Romulus developed an infantry, and
cavalry, and selected men to serve as his council. They were called Patricians
who are the fathers of Rome, they were citizens and cared for Rome and its
people. Some men, known as elders were to become Senators and Romulus
inaugurates a system of government and a social hierarchy. These events were
occurring across the Mediterranean Sea, but with the many wars and the
accumulation of people from those wars Rome was becoming the largest world
empire ever known. The people of Israel did know this but what they did know
was that they were to return to their homeland and to be faithful to their God
Jehovah. At the same time the Greeks were becoming a nation of people who would
overtake the nations of Syria, and even into India, bring with them their
culture, their ideologies, and their theologies. In the 8th century
near Naples Italy Cuma became a Greek colony, (near Naples) and this was the
first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy. It was there that the Cumaean
alphabet was adopted (800-100 B.C.) and then by the Romans (300-100 B.C.), and
then this alphabet became the Latin alphabet. Many wars and battles occurred by
these two nations, Rome and Italy and with each war each grew stronger as a
nation. Feel the emotional minds of the
everyday people, they were subjected to these wars, and they were affected by
each win or loss.
Enter into
this arena of the building of nations came a man known as Alexander III of
Macedon, Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.). Alexander the Great was tutored by
Aristotle until the age of 16 and by the age of 30 he had created one of the
largest empires of the ancient world. In 334 B.C. Alexander invaded the Persian
ruled world of Asia Minor and he broke the power of Persia and conquered the
Persian Empire. In 323 B.C. Alexander the Great died and the after a series of
civil wars his empire was torn apart and given to Alexander’s surviving
generals and heirs. The Israelites are now affected by this invasion by
Alexander the Great and by the generals that became rulers over portions of the
Syrian peninsula. Israel is placed in between to warring Grecian generals. This
will be where we begin in the next blogs. Yet, can you smell the stench of war,
the fear of the people, especially of the Israelites who have been in history
the subjects of nations who captured them and forced them into slavery, into
subjection to those rulers who seemed to care little for their lives. Greece
has become a force so great, that their culture would and does affect people of
ancient time, Rome, the Romans, and the Western world at large. We have seen,
up to this point the political element leading up to the coming of Jesus Christ
and the world that He entered.
We must
know the reasons why there were many theological and ideological beliefs that
confronted the Church of God and still to this day confronts His church. God is
in control even when we do not see or know how that is possible. Behind our
knowledge many things are occurring that will not come to light until they
occur and it is in our study of history that we can see that all is occurring
to bring this world to judgment as God has promised He would do. What and who
has affected your understanding, your core beliefs and how do those beliefs
affect your understanding of God?
And even as they did not
Like to
retain God
In their knowledge, God
Gave them
over to
A debased mind, to do those
Things
which are not
Fitting……
Romans 1:28
Let God Be True And Every Man A Liar
Richard L. Crumb
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