- It’s Christendom that Makes Me Cringe

by Brett Jacobsen

It has been the assumption of some that people, like myself (ones who have left behind Christianity’s crumbling institutions), “hate the church”. In fact, any who venture out from the status quo of contemporary Christendom are usually alleged to be church hating heretics by those who remain planted on the pews… or parading in the pulpits. Then we have the crazy Christians who are called and graced to speak biblically and prophetically into the church as God, “according to His eternal purpose,” reveals, reforms, and subsequently revives THE church in order to reflect His glory. These apostolic “antagonists” and prophetic “perpetrators” are more often than not categorised as trouble makers and rebellious, loveless thugs, despite the fact that they are usually motivated by “Love” Himself (1 John 4:8, 16).

Without trying to justify, neither wishing to vilify, I write this small letter to hopefully clarify for some the motivations and intentions of both myself and others who God has, and is, making discontent with the anaemic human efforts of the “church” system. Of course there are also many others who are hatefully bitter at both the true church (those existing in The Kingdom of God) and/or the false church (carnal Christendom). These I will leave in God’s hands, as He is the judge and they are not a group that I represent, or am represented by.

Who are the real troublers of Israel?

In order to arrive at a clearer understanding of who they are that “hate the church” at present, we will identify the real troublers of Israel in Ahab and Elijah’s time. We know that in compliance with Deut 11:13-17 God had “shut up the heaven, that there [was] no rain”. He used Elijah the prophet to declare, “there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kin 17:1). Just like in ancient Israel, God has sounded a prophetic declaration that has virtually drained the nation of Christendom of the revival rain of God’s tangible presence and manifest glory. Thankfully, the proverbial drought is coming to a close and God is again raising a prophetic move to re-align THE church in order to receive His glory. It was, and now is, in this part of the story that we see the confusion between the real troublers of Israel (church haters) and those who were, and are, merely obedient servants sent by God to proclaim and provoke much needed reformation:

And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Are you he that troubles Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and you have followed Baalim. (1 Kin 18:17-18)

Because Elijah simply heralded the Word of the Lord he was vilified by the leaders and became a fugitive for a season. When God caused him to reappear in the presence of the king he was accused of being a church hating troubler of Israel. However, that very accusation presented the opportunity to make plain who the real troublers were. Of course, we know that evil, pagan Jezebel was partially responsible for the trouble in Israel. However, it is never the pagans’ fault when God is resisting His church, for the sake of reforming it. The responsibility always lies squarely in the hands of the kingdom leaders. Elijah correctly points Ahab’s finger straight back at both himself, and his “father’s house”. They were the ones who had continually led Israel into idolatry instead of faithfully adhering to God’s Word. They were the ones who really caused the drought, not the prophet who merely prophetically enforced the Word of the Lord.

Now, when we examine the Dark Age church, which still lives on in many respects throughout Christianity today, we see similar confusion. The monarchical type leaders of both historical and contemporary Christianity (Senior leaders/hierarchical heads [1]) who led the nation of Christianity into an extended Dark Age drought, are calling the current apostolic/prophetic [2] proclaimers church haters (troublers of Israel). This is because these prophetic preachers are pronouncing the demise of human inspired constructs while pointing the “narrow … way, which leads to life” (Matt 7:14). As Ahab represents the modern hierarchical leaders, Ahab’s “father’s house” represents the man-ordained lineage that our modern extra-biblical leadership has stemmed from; right back to Ignatius and company.

And so we see that the saints who are willing to “hear what the Spirit [is saying]” and then rearrange their lives accordingly, despite roughly nineteen hundred years of tradition stacked against them, are usually not the “church haters”, though we all overstep at times (Rev 2:7). Likewise, the true apostolic/prophetic leaders who are stirring the stale systems of men with biblical and prophetic proclamations of the fall of human rule and the subsequent rise of Christ’s reign, are typically not “church haters”, though they too can overstep their mark. In fact, it is, for the most part, the hierarchical heads who are the real “church haters” as they are obviously too gripped by position and power to love the church (eklessia – called out saints) enough to give them wholly to Jesus [3].

It would do us well also, not to forget that whenever Israel was rebellious the people rejected, persecuted and killed all the prophets that God sent to them… including His own Son Jesus (Matt 5:12 Matt 21:33-39 Matt 23:29-31 Matt 23:37). This pattern has been repeated throughout church history, as the generations, organisations and movements which had once been greatly used by God often persecuted the next group of saints who were willing to go further with Him. We must not underestimate the viciousness with which stagnant Christians often persecute fluid followers of Christ. Surely we are naive to think that we will advance with God without such vehement persecution paying us a visit.

The bride or the whore

Just to clear the “church hater” thing up a little more, we will briefly present a truer definition of what the church is. Again, many more saints are beginning to question the “church” systems which they have been a part of over the last season. When this happens they are usually told things like: “don’t touch God’s anointed”, “stay Under Cover where the anointing runs down Aaron’s beard onto you” or worse still: “don’t speak against the church, its God’s wife, He’ll smash you”. Sadly, many fall into line because of such manipulative power plays, being too scared, or too respectful, to question anymore. But are they really speaking against God’s wife if they are questioning the wayward methods and structures of these organisations?

There is a theme woven throughout the pages of the Bible drawing a distinction between brides and harlots. God’s covenant people are depicted as His bride while they adhere to the covenant. When they go whoring after strange gods and idols, even when the idol is self-rule, they are classically represented as a harlot. We see this theme become obvious in Revelation where John speaks of the nation of Israel, who had mostly become apostate, as a whore riding on the back of a beast (Rev 17:1-18, 19:2). In stark contrast, spiritual Israel (the celestial nation of both Jews and Gentiles who follow the Lamb) was presented as a bride descending from heaven (Rev 21:2, 9) [4]. Unlike the loose interpretations for the “whore” like Roman Catholicism, America, and others, first century apostate Israel is a biblical interpretation. The Bible doesn’t just call anyone a whore/harlot, it reserves that label predominantly for nations (mostly Israel) who know God yet turn away to other lovers. One needs only to scan the pages of the Old Testament looking at the specific word harlot to see its primary use after this manner:

The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen that which backsliding Israel has done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot. (Jer 3:6)

Harlot = apostate Israel/Jerusalem - Is 1:1-31, Jer 2:1-37, Jer 3:1, 3:6, 3:8, Ezek 16:15, 16:16, 16:28, 16:31, 16:35, 16:41, Hos 2:1-3:5, Hos 4:1-19, Amos 7:1-17.
Harlot = Israel and Samaria - Ezek 23:1-49, Mic 1:1-14.
Harlot = Tyre- Is 23:15-16.
Harlot = Ninevah- Nah 3:4.

There are numerous references to add to this list which don’t use the word harlot, but do however, use harlot terminology to describe apostate Israel (God’s then covenant people).

As for the bride in Revelation being the ‘Kingdom of God people’ who tabernacle with God in the heavens, existing in the Holy City, I will present just a few of many scripture quotes to demonstrate this point:

Bride = covenant Israel/Jerusalem OT- Is 49:1-18, Is 61:1-11, Is 62:1-7, Jer 2:32, Joel 2:16.
Bride = covenant church – John 3:29, Eph 5:22-33, 1 Cor 6:15-17, Rev 18:23, Rev 22:17.
Temple/tabernacle = covenant church – Acts 7:46-50, 2 Cor 5:1-4, Heb 8:1-2, Heb 9:1-11, Rev 13:6, Rev 21:1-3, 1 Cor 3:16-17, 1 Cor 6:16-19, 2 Cor 6:16, Eph 2:20-22, Rev 3:12, Rev 7:15.
Holy city = covenant church - Heb 12:22-24, Rev 3:12, Rev 21:2, 10, Heb 11:10-16.

Although the actual interpretation of Revelation’s bride and whore are spiritual Israel/New Jerusalem (bride) and apostate national Israel/Old Jerusalem (whore) history has been repeated many times in varying degrees. Is the Roman Catholic Church THE whore of Revelation? No. Is it a whore who has strayed from covenant with God to worship idols and false gods? Evidently, yes. In the same manner, the modern institutional church, although not being the actual whore referred to by John, is becoming more obviously whorish. Remember that while the bride dwells with the bridegroom in heaven, the whore leans on its carnal kingdom, therefore establishing the synagogue of Satan (Rev 21:2-3. Rev 2:9, 3:9).

My apologies for my verbosity in laying a foundation for my point, which is: is it the bride or the whore who many are standing against in this current season? Those who are speaking and acting in opposition to the covenant people of God, who themselves are increasingly becoming more free to worship and serve God in “the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not [man’s]”, they are attacking God’s bride (Heb 8:1-2). However, the ones who are pursuing this freedom, while confronting the carnal kingdom of modern Christendom are, or should be, merely pronouncing the fate of a whorish system which God Himself is de-constructing, then destroying. So, again, the church haters are the ones who ‘hate he church’- the called out saints who dwell with the Lord. The church lovers are most often those who love the bride yet hate the whore.

Freedom fighters not vicious vigilantes

Having said all that, it is imperative that the people of the bridegroom do not become vicious vigilantes, trying to pull down the system in their own efforts. It is God alone who deals with covenant breakers and whores. Although we are to prophetically breathe out the Word of the Lord in biblical judgment of the whorish system we should not be found condemning people. And despite the fact that many people, like myself, cannot stomach participating in any activities of carnal Christendom, we must resist resentment and wrong attitudes towards those who yet remain captive to the corrupt kingdom. We ought not to forget that not only were we there ourselves, we still are affected to a degree. There is no-one who walks in a perfect example of the Kingdom of God on their own. Also, there is no reason to gloat or relax in our current state, as there is always further to go, and there are many people in the institutions who are going to join us on the journey.

During the 16th century reformation Martin Luther and his contemporaries were speaking against corrupt church systems while presenting biblical revelation for the sake of freedom for God’s people. As this volatile season unfolded, some of Luther’s followers began vandalising church buildings and even harming priests and parishioners [5]. They were experiencing freedom from religious bondage yet they became reactionary in their approach. Anger towards the carnal kingdom became the driving force for some of these agitators.

In this current reformation season there are many who are graced to speak both prophetically and biblically against corrupt Christendom and for freedom for the people. This is sometimes misunderstood by some saints as licence to harshly disrespect those who have served God somewhat faithfully in the old corrupt system. We must remember that, despite the fact that these clerics of Christendom have erred in many ways (as we also have); God has worked with them for seasons in the past. In regard to the sometimes vigilante revolution at Wittenberg, Luther said: “the intimidation of the clergy is a good thing, nevertheless tumult [uproar] is the work of the devil, and all Christians should keep aloof from it and labour only by word of mouth [6].” I would go as far as to say that we should only use our “word of mouth” to interrogate church leaders if it is from a respectful loving heart, always refraining from personal slander and “jesting” [7] (Eph 5:4). Although God uses prophetic people to “root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down” before they “build, and … plant”, they ought to tread carefully in the way they communicate with other believers (Jer 1:10). Remember, we are primarily freedom fighters, fighting “the good fight of faith”, not anarchistic antagonists (1 Tim 6:12). Our ultimate goal is “to build, and to plant” not to just tear things down. Also, some people are called to speak out against false foundations while the majority should be wholly focused on living, and modelling, the freedom that is synonymous with true New Testament community.

Love never fails

Reformation seasons are not dissimilar to the process of evangelism and salvation. Yes, people need “the truth” if they are going to be set “free”, and yes, they need to realise their utter corruption in order to receive grace, but ultimately it is “the goodness of God [that] leads [them] to repentance” (John 8:32, Rom 3:19-20, Rom 2:4). In like manner, the church, which is in desperate need of reformational repentance, does need the truth and the Word, but it is the example of Love that will lure her from her harlotries back to her Bridegroom. It is a loving display of The Kingdom of Christ through New Testament community that is going to provoke the people of God to transition form man’s tabernacles to Jesus’. It is imperative that the saints who have been delivered from the constructs of man walk in Love -not some removed love principles, but in the Spirit of Love Himself, as in actuality “God is love” and “love never fails” (1 John 4:8, 16, 1 Cor 13:8).

 

Notes

1. Headship positions are not New Testament inspired. They were brought in by man’s pragmatic presumption in order to keep the kingdom of Christendom successful. Sadly, this was in many respects at the expense of The Kingdom of Christ. This began at the start of the second century at the instigation of ones like Ignatius of Antioch. For a deeper look into both New Testament leadership and where it went wrong see the author’s five part series called Heaven’s Underground Leadership Blueprint or obtain the book Heaven’s Underground Blueprint which can both be found at www.christisall.org.

2. When I refer to apostolic and prophetic proclaimers I am in no way speaking of the “Apostles” and “Prophets” who stage strut and preside over congregations and movements, wearing official titles and more often than not, “receive honour [doxa] one of another” (John 5:44). I am, however, referring to true New Testament examples of these graces: ones who merely function in this capacity as they lay down their lives to see the foundation of Christ built upon.

3. This statement is thoroughly qualified by the author’s other teachings on leadership, as mentioned in note [1].

4. It has been ignorantly overlooked in popular modern eschatology that the book of Revelation speaks primarily about John’s contemporary generation:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show to his servants things which must shortly come to pass… (Rev 1:1).

‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ’ was written “to show His servants” – “the seven churches which are in Asia” (4) “things which must SHORTLY come to pass”. The word shortly in this verse comes from en tachos which explicitly means SHORTLY, or according to Strong’s, “a brief space (of time)”. He went on in verse three to declare “the time is at hand [eggus – near, ready]” (Rev 1:3). It is absurd to say that Revelation’s main discourse is in relation to the end of the world, some thousands of years after its penning. It is primarily speaking of the period leading up to, and including, the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Its principal focus was to encourage ‘spiritual Israel’, especially those in Asia Minor, with truth about their victory in Christ. This victory was through the transference of God’s covenant to them from natural Israel who had apostatised and was now their fiercest persecutor, albeit through the vehicle of the Roman beast.

John also ended the letter affirming his intention of imminent fulfilment: “These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show to his servants the things which must shortly [en tachos] be done” (Rev 22:6).
Further, the angel in chapter twenty two also backed up his “shortly be done” comment with “the time is at hand [eggus]” (Rev 22:10).

In the light of this, and many other, foundational interpretive facts which provide the context of Revelation’s discourse, we can clearly see the meaning of the symbols throughout Revelation.

5. See pages 124-125 from ‘Spiritual Lives – The Life and Letters of Martin Luther’

6. ‘Spiritual Lives – The Life and Letters of Martin Luther’ (pg: 125)

7. I must confess that I have struggled at times with the urge to mock some leaders and “churches” that act atrociously in their own kingdom building. I endeavour to keep to speech “which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Eph 4:29).

 

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 at 12:29 pm and is filed under Biblical Leadership, Brett Jacobsen's teachings, Church Structure, Eschatology (End Times), Living Christianity, Reformation/ Revival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.