Cutting the Apron Strings

From the Mother Church

Part 2

If you have not read part 1, this may sound quite confusing, and I highly suggest you go back . Cutting The Apron Strings from the Mother Church Part 1 I originally wrote this, about three or four years ago on one very long post, and like many with short attention spans, I have decided to revise it again for a second time. The second revision turned it into a three-part post, and it's my goal to bring it down to only two. This time, not only am I better educated and informed, my opinion of the Protestant movement has changed drastically with the new information I've acquired over the years. Part 1 was about the origins of GOD's Work with His people and how he constantly had to pull out a Remnant of one or a few to start over. This will follow that pattern out of the dark ages and into the Renaissance.

Before Constantine and the Papacy created their own religion called Christianity, the Roman empire terrorized any religion that did not worship the current emperor as lord over all. The only change Christianity made was it terrorized and killed anything who did not submit to the Papacy for another thousand years. How did that make anything better? It did not. It transferred one inhumanity with another. The printing press invention increased this terror for awhile until enough people caught on and the power of the press stopped the Papacy's terror on humanity.

The Reformation beginning with Martin Luther began as GOD calling out a remnant from the very corrupt tyrannical mother church. The only problem with this movement is what I call the rebellious daughter leaving the mother, but still taking too much of the corrupted mother's teaching. Basically, as humans, we can't completely disassociate ourselves with our foundation, but we can take out what we don't like and keep what we do. I call this cut and paste religion. Most religions are replete with cutting and pasting, taking Scriptures out of context and making them fit our man-made doctrines. Christianity has made an art form of it, no pun intended, well maybe intended a little. That is an aggreges sin worst of all, because we take what GOD said, make it match what we want it to say and completely twist the Absolute Truth that GOD wanted us to learn from in the beginning. What happens then is hundreds of years of cutting and pasting then when told enough become absolute truth to man but a completely apostate religion in the eyes of GOD.

The age of discovery had begun and new territories and lands were discovered. After about 200 years, GOD was unhappy with those incomplete reforms, and He stirred up another remnant who decided they did not want to be married to the state religion. They were called Separatists, and they decided to rent a boat and put a huge body of water between them and the state controlled religion. I imagine everyone must know with whom I am referring. As it turns out, seven years ago, my daughter did a search of our ancestry and traced it all the way back to George Soule, who was on that ship. He even signed the Mayflower Compact, which was the first primary and preliminary form of government run by the people for the people. This nation of separatists would not be governed by the (religious) monarchy, but be a free nation ruled by the people. It's official and adopted Constitution was built on the foundational conceptual purposes of GOD's Judeo-Christian principles, and it called for a freedom OF religious practice, not freedom from religion as some like to incorrectly quote. That meant the government would have no power to govern any religious practice or activity, assembling, or infringe on a person’s right to believe what they believe GOD has taught them to believe.

   

   

This wonderful little remnant was free from the adulterous relationship of the church married to the state and was free to be the true Bride of Christ, however, and with flawed humans, there is always a however, this reformation, again, remained true to the central location structural style of worship, but it's cathedral system was somewhat limited in size and scope for a time. By the 1700's, GOD would have His people on the move again, but this time, in a missionary fashion all over the world to bring grace and truth to peoples in unknown portions and undeveloped regions of the world. The Protestant Reformation introduced the major theme of Grace into Christianity over Sacraments and works and obedience to an institution.

Thousands of denominations were birthed out of that reformation, and for some reason, I can't see that as a movement of GOD, but rather a movement of man. Men will never be able to agree on anything, it goes as far back as Cain and Abel. Why do we think in this modern age we will ever get unity correct. I would like to say that we got it right, finally, but as the human condition falls even further from GOD's original intent, it became warped, again. Eventually, Grace warped into almost a religion of its own. It was preserved, but warped into a different kind of grace, a cheap hyper grace.

Universities became learning centers to carry on, carry out, and train pastors to believe what their professors taught them to believe, and how to perform in and operate the business of a church as the leader of the flock. If you know your Scriptures, you know that was the intent of Balaam, a false prophet of old, told a wicked king, "If you can't beat them, corrupt them." My friends, contrary to popular belief, the devil, a created being, by the way, and not a divine one, is not hanging around the red districts in downtowns. No, he likes being in the churches where he sends his minions to do his bidding to mess with people so they can mess up GOD's good work. Thousands of denominations, millions of men teaching in error, and like the book of Judges say, "There was no "king" (central truth), and everyone did what was right in their own eyes." Now if ever there was a truth in our churches today, that is it!

These incorporated religious institutions have grown so elaborate and sophisticated that it’s not just one central building of worship, but there are huge multi-structural campuses, thus having to hire a staff of employees to keep the business running, bringing in more “customers," I mean converts, to keep the pews filled, the offering plate full, as well as the staff busy running the programs. A board of director is required with any incorporated business, because the corporation answers to the state in lieu of audits of their finances. They claim non-profit status, but really, they are very profitable, (Revelation 3, the rich church) it’s just doled out in huge salaries for men and women making a career out of climbing the corporate ladder of the corrupt incorporated church entity.

If a John-the-Baptist walked into today’s church, would he be recognized? How about a Jeremiah, or an Ezekiel, or even a Daniel. I venture to say, no, they wouldn’t. In fact, if one of those guys walked into a church, they'd be told to go seek professional counseling for their delusional faith, and be ostracized. Take it from one who knows. These huge conglomerate incorporated churches became so self-sufficient, and marketed by man, that the worship of GOD, by the congregations became just a past-time. For nearly all, this movement became a way of life for sleeping participants, who are now bottle-fed the same old select verses in a typical New Testament church, in weekly segments, in many different styles, degrees of complexity, with grace and truth further being watered down and less defined by the Scripturally-dumbing down of GOD's people.

Currently, GOD's people basically fit into two different but equally damaging sects. The Epistles of Paul are now the new Law, and what Paul says, is what the Christian must do to prove his or her salvation. It's as if the New Testament Epistles have become the New Testament Leviticus. The second type is so worldly that one cannot tell the difference between GOD's people and the secular world. It's a social club where being fed and wanting GOD to do for them instead of them doing for GOD is the true main motive. These congregations have rock-star pastors who are worshiped by their followers. They are rich beyond measure and as of late, we are seeing corrupt sexual abuse which had been carrying on in secret finally being exposed by the younger, smaller grass roots leaders who are fed up with the hypocrisy and corruption. Are these corrupt leaders stepping down? No, they are lawyering up. They don't want to lose the empires they built with their man-made marketing technique that promised happiness and riches to those wanting their bellies filled.

The Gospel, which GOD intended to be constantly on the move is now holed up in four walls and a ceiling, constricted by the "law and profits." GOD is calling out His Remnant to do a new work, to return to the original design and intent of the Apostles, which began right after Pentecost. What does that look like? Read the book of Acts, and between you and GOD, you can decide. I do believe GOD is bringing another small remnant back to His TORAH, which means instructions, the pure Holy and Sacred truth. It's holy because holy means set apart and that what GOD keeps doing over and over and over again, setting apart a people who want to work for Him for the greater good of the Kingdom, not for our own selves.

It was nearly a whole lifetime in what I call the fiery furnace of affliction that broke me and brought me to my knees to seek and search for a higher and deeper truth, to seek GOD for help just to stay alive. For the past eight years of brokenness, rejection, hardship, and solitude, I have had to basically live in the Bible, day and night, both the Old and the New Testaments. I did not do it to act, look, or become more righteous, but to find some ray of hope that these days of despair and scorching burning flames of the fiery furnace of affliction may someday end. One thing I know for sure is that despair and my days of sadness, disappointment, frustration, and hope deferred will not follow me to my Heavenly home, being prepared for me by my very own personal Savior, Jesus Christ, aka, Yeshua, Messiah, Mashiach.