Exile! (Bible's Story parts 9 and 10)

To catch up on previous installments, you can read parts 7 and 8, along with  Part 1, Parts 2 and 3, Part 4, and Parts 5 and 6.

In 587 BC, the Babylonian armies once again marched across the now-destroyed “Northern Kingdom” of Israel, and what was left of the “Southern Kingdom” of Judah, completely looting and leveling everything in their path, including Solomon’s great Temple in Jerusalem.  A vast majority of the Hebrews they encountered where either put to the sword or carried off as slaves into exile in Babylon.  In other words, the Israelites were now enslaved and in exile in what is present-day Iraq.

Why?  Why did God let this happen?  It could be said that history does indeed repeat itself, especially for those who fail to learn from it.  Recall the great enslavement of the people in Egypt and the great event of the Old Testament: The Exodus from Egypt, where God leads his people out of the chains of slavery into a new land, with the understanding that they were to honor and glorify God and God alone.  Sadly, honoring God rarely happened.

Conditions throughout the kingdoms were horrific.   Morality had crumbled and society was in chaos.  The people by-and-large were morally and spiritually bankrupt as they engaged in open prostitution even within the temple, and filled the temple with shrines to all manner of false gods.  Its leaders were fiscally irresponsible, enslaving their own people and letting greed run as the center of their existence.  Taxation was through the roof.   Leaders only looked out for themselves (this includes the majority of the kings), and were as morally and spiritually bankrupt as the people.  As the end of Judges testifies, people were doing as they saw fit, not as God had commanded them.  God’s Word meant very little in those times.  The laws that Israel had to honor God by honoring their neighbor had long disappeared.  Prosperity had completely ruined them, and as a result, they had forsaken God who had given them this prosperity in the first place.  As a political note: if you change a few names, dates, and place locations, are we describing our own country?

Therefore, because Israel had forsaken God, who had granted them the prosperity they once enjoyed, God now threatened through a small remnant of faithful followers (the prophets) that disaster would fall on them if they did not return to their Lord and God and forsake the many sinful, selfish ways that God deemed destructive to them and the common good.  Warnings were issued for dozens, even hundreds of years, that went unheeded.

The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles essentially retell the story of the kings, but this time for a remnant of God’s people now in exile that would be restored.  If God had something to say before the exile, did God also have something to say even now to those who were in exile?  Was God still interested in them?  The answer is a resounding “yes.”  Israel needed to recall what had gotten them into this new slavery and this new mess in the first place: they themselves did.

Continuity with the past was perhaps the best way they could prevent the same thing from happening once more.  And of course, during this whole period of time, the prophets - those elusive, sometimes reclusive, often reluctant but faithful messengers of God, were not only warning them of disaster, but also reminding them that God’s covenant with Abraham was not fulfilled yet.  While their “predictions” of disaster did indeed come to be fulfilled, would their words of comfort and encouragement regarding the restoration of Israel and a coming Savior from God also be fulfilled?

There are numerous books of prophesy in the Old Testament.  They are divided into “major” and “minor” prophets.  These correspond largely to the size of the books.  Therefore, the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel are considered “major,” while the majority of the prophets (Hosea through Malachi) are considered “minor.”  Other prophets also existed that do not have their words recorded in the Bible, such as Elijah, who was a prophet of God in the early years of the kings.  Nearly half (17 of 39) books of the Old Testament are books attributed to these elusive messengers of God.

What is a prophet?  It is someone, called by God, to deliver a message to God’s people.  A prophet’s primary mission for God is not to predict the future, but to deliver the message.  God’s prophets had a universal message that recurred over and over.  It is not unlike the message we saw throughout the history books telling us of the kings: the people had rebelled against and turned away from God, and needed to renew their commitment to the LORD.  Spiritually, the people were terminally sick.  Morally, the people were bankrupt.  Socially, however, things never appeared better, despite the lies, deception, corruption, and greed on a national level.

As God’s messenger, first and foremost, what is often associated with the prophet’s words is a statement such as “thus says the Lord...” (Jeremiah 2:2 and elsewhere).  Though the prophets spoke for God, their message was often ignored.  So how then, one might ask, does a person know if the prophet’s message is for real?  It can be measured on whether or not it conforms to the past history, and on whether or not its message comes true.

In the case of the Biblical prophets, they really weren’t telling the people anything new that they had not heard before.  If we recall the covenant God made on Mount Sinai (the 10 Commandments), there were certain stipulations that went along with it.  The prophets were simply reminding the people and the leaders of those stipulations, and warning them that the disasters foretold for them disobeying the covenant would take place soon if they did not change their ways (Deut. 27:15-26).

However, the prophets, in addition to warning the people of impending disaster according to the conditions of the Sinai Covenant, also foretold of a “restoration” after disaster hit, that would also be brought about by God.  The “restoration” prophesies all center on a future “Messiah” or “Savior” that was yet to come.  Some of these prophetic words are even affirmed when we read the four Gospels, especially in the Gospel of St. Matthew.  For example, Isaiah 7:14, which says “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son...” is confirmed to be fulfilled in Jesus when we read Matthew 1:23.  So even though the disaster scenario of the Israelites disobeying their part of the covenant was going to happen, God wasn’t done yet, and had additional plans for not only Israel but also the whole world, Isaiah 11:10, 12 and elsewhere.

Though Israel was God’s chosen, eventually all peoples are chosen by God to live in covenant with Him through the examples both good and bad given us by the Hebrew people.   The foretold Messiah is to be the fulfillment of this future hope.  Today, we know this Messiah as Jesus.

A Sad State of Affairs

I recently joined (and have since left) a facebook page for pastors about Christian ministry.  The reasons for leaving are pretty simple, really.  It was not about Christian ministry, but about appealing to some bland, faceless, nameless worship of some generic god.  It demonstrated clearly that such things as the sovereignty of God, absolute truth, salvation through Christ, and the like, are simply lost on too many, including those shepherds who ought to know better and should be about certain convictions and certainties when it comes to the Christian faith.  It was a sobering indictment of the state of clergy today.  Sadly, the following exchange is becoming all to common in today's "Christian" world.

This is the thread that precipitated my quick departure from the page.  The original post was a question:  "On Thursday I must conduct a funeral for a 21 yr. old transgender girl who committed suicide yesterday. I am transgender myself so I understand the issues surrounding this situation. I am asking for words/ prayers to use for the service."

Now many responses simply offered prayers and thoughts, in a spirit of compassion.  But from there, it descended into paganism, as one response went thus (red comments are mine, in case it is not obvious):  "In Genesis 1, we read that God created male and female in God's image. This means God is male and female  (NO, it Doesn't). Our transgender siblings may very well resemble God more than I (cis), as their "image of God" bodies are complex and less definable... like our God."

Another response went like this:  "I have often times wondered this. If the pronoun Ze (Uh, "ZE" is NOT a pronoun...)  that is preferred by some transgender are more theologically accurate for God as well."  And from there it continued to descend:  "And a gentle reminder to all not to use the phrase "committed" suicide. Preference is for "died by suicide." It is not a criminal act, but a sad and tragic one."  There was more than one posting grasping at such trivial and pointless semantics.

Explicit references to Christ were absent, with the exception of some very pagan prayers offered, such as this one:

Jesus, as a mother (But he was a man?)  you gather your people to you:

You are gentle with us as a mother with her children;

There were two glaring exceptions to this appeal to a bland, generic god, and both of which came from Lutheran pastors within the "North American Lutheran Church."  They both commented that what was needed was to preach Christ alone, and also asked why the need to bring transgender into it at all?  Here is the dialog on one such comment:

Q:  Why the need to bring "transgender" into it? It is a death of a child of God. Preach to that, in the name of Christ Jesus.
R: Because being Transgender was an important part of who she was and the family has requested I do so.
Q: My point is that being transgender did not save her. Neither does my not being so save me. It is Christ who saves and Christ alone, in the midst of things the world cannot ever understand. That's what ultimately matters.
R2:  Why the need to put transgender in quotes in your original post? That makes it seem like you don't believe transgender is a real thing.
Q:  Oh good grief. really? Grammatically, that is the way the sentence should have been written is all. Did you happen to notice that in my followup where it is not enclosed by quotations? I'm guessing not.
R3: Being a woman or being 21 didn't save her, either, so does that mean those shouldn't be mentioned, either? Where is the line?

This whole, surreal denial of salvation through Christ culminated with the original poster and this comment:  Thank you for all your wonderful support and comments. I used many sentiments in writing the service. I am also Transgender and spoke of my own experiences. The family is Druid and I led a Druid Death Ritual which comforted the family greatly. Your support through this unbelievable tragedy was really appreciated.

Seriously?  A pagan ritual offers more comfort than salvation through Christ?  For those that think so, it is clear that they do not know Christ Jesus at all.  If in the midst of tragedy, some clergy turn to all manner of pagan rituals which deny the death and resurrection of Christ, then the state of pastors in America is in dire trouble (and the church is on a parallel track to it's own collective demise as a result).  I'm reminded of a quote by evangelist John Stott recently, who said "The modern world detests authority but worships relevance. Our Christian conviction is that the Bible has both authority and relevance, and that the secret of both is Jesus Christ."  Yes.  Simply yes.  That conviction is the supremacy of Christ Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords.

This is just the tip of the iceburg in observing the sad state of the Christian church today.  Paganism, apostasy, lawlessness, and cheap grace abound.  They abound because a majority no longer have the capacity to comprehend that God stands above us all.  When we are  no longer mastered by God, we become masters of our own carnal lusts and desires.  I weep for the Christian church as it descends into 21st century paganism.  And I, like the psalmist, pray "How long, O Lord?"

Brainwashed

So-called "fake news" made the headlines with then-candidate Trump's criticism of media bias in 2016 (If you do not think there has been a largely one-sided bias in the media for quite some time, you may want to stop reading now).   Following the election, "the other side" began claiming that it was fake news that cost them the election.  What's more, there really are "fake news" sites out there that present either intentionally misleading information, or simply downright false narratives.  the presentation of false narratives or intentionally misleading information is far more widespread than we might think.  In fact, it is the rule, rather than the exception, on both sides of the current political debate.  Why?  Because it helps further a pre-set agenda that often ignores reality and any semblance of absolute truth in life as a whole.

The problem is not so much the actual false storylines that sometimes are presented as fact, or even the intentionally misleading narratives that rule the day.  No, it is that people believe them without fact checking (yes, even many of the so-called "fact checkers" themselves need to be fact-checked).  In other words, the media AND the government are indoctrinating the masses in telling them what to believe.  This indoctrination is done to selfishly gain what the individual or group is attempting to accomplish, no matter how noble or misguided that accomplishment might be.  In other words, society is being largely brainwashed today, and has been for quite some time.  In an age where it seems we trust no one, it is awfully strange that we trust the media to tell us the truth, when most often what we get from them is far from it.

As but one example, I would defer back to an earlier blog entry on a false quote from one of the founding fathers being quoted as factual today.  Not only is it intentionally deceptive in supporting a false narrative, but no one has really bothered to fact check it to see if Thomas Jefferson actually said what it was claimed he said.  (spoiler alert:  I did, and he did NOT in fact say it at all, and yet the quote is used to support a false narrative on separation of church and state all the time).  I am reminded of the Jedi mind control trick used by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars movie, where the stormtooper repeats back to him "these aren't the droids we're looking for..."  Yes, it really is that bad:  people often believe contradictory things, usually contradicted by reality itself, and yet we persist in trusting that those entrusted to report the truth are actually doing so!  The net result is a mimicry of talking points and social media memes that are usually untrue, and at the very least, distort the truth into something it is not.

Now today many claim that religion in general (and Christianity specifically) is just another form of brainwashing.  Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to my faith in Christ.  While ultimately one cannot "prove" the existence of God, yet by a preponderance of the evidence, it is clear that God exists.  Yet don't take my word for it:  Read the Scriptures yourself and test it all to see.  The Lutheran Reformation was about just that, among other things:  getting the written account of the "Divine drama" into the hands of everyone so they were not believing simply because they were told to, but because they could read it for themselves, test it, and believe independently.  The recent book-turned-movie, "The Case For Christ," demonstrates just that.  While no one can ultimately prove it to be true, the preponderance of the evidence heavily weighs in favor of it all being true.  Now the difference between the Christian faith and every other religion on the face of the earth (and there are some pretty major and fundamental differences which sets the Christian faith alone among world religions) are also worth independently studying and verifying, but that is a topic for another day.

So back to the brainwashing of society in general.  What is the end result?  It is the extreme polarization of society, and the civil war mentality that now exists.  It is the confusion of what has widely been held as the distinction between good and evil for thousands of years within society.  That there are people who believe murder to be an acceptable solution to issues or problems (be it to attack police or just people at random) shows just how far down the rabbit hole of moral depravity we've gone.

The relativism of truth is also a victim.  There are no longer any absolutes, simply because of the false and misleading information that seeks to minimize the concept of any sort of absolute truth  It is this confusion of good and evil, along with the complete and total loss of absolute truth that hits at the heart of this nation's problems currently.

It could all be reversed in a matter of moments.  How?  By independently fact checking everything, and calling foul whenever someone either shares a false narrative or presents it as truth.  Stop the spin.  Stop the lies.  Stop the brainwashing.  More importantly, it is time that the American society speak with one voice and say that we are no longer going to tolerate the lies and deception that is brainwashing us.  And let us use our brains to ensure that we are not mere sheep, following helplessly as we are led to the slaughter eventually.  These are my thoughts as I watch the perpetuation of "fake news" all over TV Land.