Kingdom Crossroads

three different "religious communities": the Jews, the Catholics, and the Protestants.

Jews tend to think and act like a family. They have a diversity of personalities, but tend to stick together and defend one another, as families do. That is because they are a family. They are all descendants of Abraham. One clan. One tribe.

Catholics usually act like children. They are obedient to leadership, and do as they are told, expecting that if they do as they are told they will be saved from Hell. They depend on someone higher up to understand God and God's word, and then explain to them what they need to know about it. They wait for their leadership to provide them with all they need: advice and counsel, direction, protection, even food and clothing when need be. They behave as children, looking expectantly up to those above them, because they worship Mary as a "holy mother." And the ones in leadership are eunuchs. The Catholic Church is led and directed by a mother figure, and the only way to be accepted in such an atmosphere is as an innocent child.

Protestants act like a young virgin bride, waiting for her knight on a white horse to come sweep her off her feet and carry her away. They dance and sing and show kindness, always endeavoring to turn the other cheek. They rarely know how to do battle, and so when attacked by the forces of darkness, they usually weep and cry out to their "bridegroom," but do little else. The bride identity is a passive one.

There is something wrong with each of these identities. In 2nd Corinthians 13:1, Paul writes that "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." So, if something is to be taught as "doctrine" it should be referred-to at least two times in Scripture.

No where in Scripture is the church referred to as the "Bride of Christ," but this doctrine is taught in 90 percent of the churches in America today. There are a couple of references to the church having a relationship to Christ like that of a bride to her husband (2nd Corinthians 11:2 and Ephesians 5:24-32). The key word in these passages is as. The church is as a bride. That indicates relationship, not identity. Nowhere does Scripture say the church is the bride of Christ. It does say we are "sons" and "heirs" (Galatians 4:1-7). Now, just picture this: what if the church went from seeing itself as a giddy young bride to seeing itself as a son of God -- an heir to the King of kings? How would that alter the way we behave? The way we confront attacks of the enemy? The way we approach evangelism?

No where in Scripture is Mary referred to as "the Mother of God" or "the Queen of Heaven," but this doctrine is widely promoted in the Catholic Church worldwide. In fact, the only reference in the King James Bible to "the queen of heaven" is found in Jeremiah (chapters 7 and 44), where the Israelites are accused of offering cakes and incense to "the queen of heaven" -- a pagan goddess they worshipped in defiance of the true God of Abraham. Mary was a real person -- a young Israelite virgin. God chose her to bring his son into this world because she was faithful and true to her God. She was not, however, divine. She did not remain a virgin her whole life; she had other children, and Joseph was their father (Matthew 13:55-56). She does not intercede for us with God. Neither do any of the "saints" that the church has chosen to designate as such. 1st Timothy 2:5 says, "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Poor Mary -- honest and godly woman that she was -- would be shocked by the worship and prayers that are offered up to her. Thank God she probably doesn't know! Now picture this: what if the Catholic Church left off worshipping Mary, and playing the part of little children waiting for someone else to tell them what they should do? What if the people of the church began to search out Scripture for themselves, talking to God Himself, and letting Him talk to them? What if a man or woman could be a leader in the church without becoming a eunuch? How would that alter the way each Catholic believer behaves? The way they live their lives before their God?

Whereas the Protestant Church and the Catholic Church have trouble understanding their identity, the Jews have a different problem. They have a good grasp on their identity; they fail to grasp the identity of their Messiah. Jesus (Joshua in Hebrew) came as a Jew, and fulfilled all the Hebrew prophecies about the Messiah except the ones most palatable to the Jews: the ones referring to him coming as a conquering King. Those will be fulfilled when he comes again, at the end of time. Some of the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus when he came the first time (as God's Passover Lamb) are found in: Isaiah 53; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7. Think about it...God is more concerned with the heart of man than with his outward circumstance. Don't you think his first priority would be to change the heart of his people? Jesus was crucified during the Passover celebration. John the Baptist -- the prophet who came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for the Messiah -- called him "the Lamb of God." God prepared his own Passover Lamb. One that would take away the sin of his people permanently, so that there would be no more need of continual sacrifices. God's answer to the sin question is the perfect one: put God's spirit in human flesh that is undefiled by the sin of Adam. Allow that child to grow up into a man without ever succumbing to sin. Then he is able to fulfill the role of the perfect, spotless Lamb. And when he is sacrificed (on the cross), he takes away man's sin forever. He pays the price so we don't have to. And all who turn to him in faith, receive that free gift of deliverance that he bought for them with his blood.

All three of these groups -- the Jews, the Catholics, and the Protestants -- are discouraged from understanding these truths by those who have the most to gain by their ignorance: their own leaders. Priests, rabbis, and pastors all earn their living, and a god-like prestige, by misinterpreting Scripture. By keeping their "flock" docile and dependent on them. Yet it need not be so.

You will not go to Hell for questioning the truth of what you are being taught. In Acts 17:11, Luke writes that "these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether these things were so." If your leader encourages you to search out God's word to see "whether these things are so," then he may be a good leader, worthy of your trust. But, if he discourages such independent research, then you need to pull out. He has ulterior motives, and can not be trusted.

There may be many of us who will hear God's call in Revelation 18:4, to "come out of her, my people." It may be time.