The Gateway to the Human Heart - Pt II

Have you ever wondered why you are not demonstrating the power of Jesus Christ in your life through manifestation of answered prayer? This is the test that all of God’s people must face at times; even the great ones: Abraham; Job; King David; John the Baptist; Apostle Paul; and many others had moments of weakness, doubt or disobedience during periods of need. But one thing these men all had in common during those episodes of drought in their lives; they never gave up on the promises of God, and stood steadfast until deliverance came, or in the case of John the Baptist and Paul…death.

If we could examine the spiritual life of the great patriarchs of the past, and even the great spiritual leaders of the present, we would see that in most instances during times of unanswered prayer, they had a weakness in their life that hindered their walk with God: Abraham battled doubt; Job struggled with fear; King David suffered severely because he was unable to control his sexual appetite; John the Baptist also experienced doubt’s wrath; and ironically, Paul disobeyed God’s Word, forbidding him to go to Jerusalem. These spiritual parasites that we all struggle against for time-to-time; some to a greater degree than others, are the handy work of satan.

Over the millenniums the satanic forces have choreographed very cunning plans to strip us of our destiny; which is to operate in a realm that reflects the image and likeness of God Almighty. Many of us have fallen prey to the devious, satanic scheme to disrupt our Christian walk. The despot forces of darkness had good reason to interfere with Abraham’s walk, Job’s walk, and King David’s walk. However, these forces have more motivation to keep you away from your destiny than they did with the patriarchs before us, because we are armed with the name of “Jesus,” and that name, used properly, will do more damage to satan’s kingdom than anything Abraham, Job or King David could have thrown at him.

Since the beginning of Christianity, satan has crept into the Church and has been held up in a place where he is doing much harm. In fact, during Paul’s missionary journey through Asia, he lamented as he prepared to depart for Jerusalem that “grievous wolves” would come in and not spare the flock:

^28.Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. ^29.For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. ^30.Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. ^31.Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears (Acts 20:28-31).

Just as satan said that he would ascend above the heights of the clouds and be like the most high in Isaiah 14, he has said many things that are not recorded in God’s Word. No doubt, much of his venomous tirades have to do with keeping you and I away from abilities that could adversely affect his kingdom. When Paul and Silas were in Thessalonica in Acts 17 teaching in the synagogues, the religious leaders persuaded a group of lewd men to spread dissension throughout the city that Paul and Silas had “turned the world upside down.” The opposition was so intense against Paul that the elders sent him to Berea for his own safety; however, when the word reached the Jews of Thessalonica that Paul was in Berea, they came to inflame the Bereans against him as well:

^1.Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: ^2.And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, ^3.Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. ^4.And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. ^5.But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people…^10.And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews…^13.But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. ^14.And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still (Acts 17:1-5, 10, 13-14).

[satan] staged a constant vigil against Paul and the apostles to keep them from doing further damage to his kingdom. In II Thessalonians, Paul referred to this satanic offensive as the mystery of iniquity (click here for the 5-part series that I did on the Mystery of Iniquity). Just as satan has surreptitiously entered the church, doing much harm, he has furtively laid traps for all of God’s people; particularly those who seek to have a closer walk with Jesus.

I believe that the most effective move that satan has made to keep God’s people from equaling the effectiveness of the apostles was to rob us of our ability to believe with our heart. A quick look at any lexicon will demonstrate that God speaks about the human heart on scores of occasions, but ironically not one verse of Scripture is devoted to the virtues of the brain! This is no coincidence, but it requires me to consider how the world evolved from seeing the heart as the seat of cognition during the ancient age to believing that the brain is our seat of intelligence today.

The notion that the brain was the seat of intelligence was foreign to the ancients. It was the Egyptians who believed that the all knowledge and wisdom lie on the heart, and in fact, the heart is an organ of perception that we as a civilization of people no longer use as such. Most Western theologians advance the notion that when the Scripture refers to the heart, it is talking about the spirit of man. Perhaps it is in a few instances, but the majority of times that the Bible talks about “feeling” within the heart, “believing” with the heart, “sinning” with the heart, it is referring to that biological pump that circulates blood throughout the body. Social scientists have determined that the average person only uses about 10-12 percent of their brain capacity. Perhaps that is because the brain was never designed to take on a full load of cognitive (or spiritual) activity, and was primarily designed to control all of the body’s involuntary biological functions.

…to be continued

The Gateway to the Human Heart - Pt I

This is a three part series that will examine the lost art of believing with the heart. This first article will address the qualities in the human species that birthed a jealousy in satan that led to his downfall. The second article will demonstrate why we are so disconnected from who God created us to be. And the final article will look at what I believe is the single most important key to understanding our full potential as physical and spiritual beings: the human heart.

During the most recent series that I published at Jacob’s Ladder titled, [s]atanic Obstacles to Human Ingenuity, I attempted to appeal to the human mind, and for some, it was the deathbed of their minds. This was, perhaps, the most important series of articles that I have ever published. In fact, I cannot overemphasize the urgency of the messages that I delivered, because over the centuries the satanic forces have choreographed a very cunning plan to strip us of our destiny; which is to operate in a realm that reflects the image and likeness of God Almighty.

In the beginning when God created Adam, he fused into his biological makeup the potential to be like Him...In other words, we were manufactured with divine qualities:

^26.And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ^27.So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:26-27).

Here in the first chapter of God’s message to humanity, He gives us an extraordinary depiction of Adam’s, and by extension, our, vast potential. And I use the word ‘potential’ here to refer to the upper limits of human ability, not simply one person’s dormant ability to reach higher levels of achievement. There is a distinction between the men and women who successfully landed Neil Armstrong on the moon and returned him safely to earth or the men and women who successfully unleashed nature’s fury in the atomic bomb and the men who reached the pinnacle of human ingenuity.

Splitting the atom and traveling through space are among the most remarkable achievements of modern society; however, they do not compare with Enoch escaping death; Noah building an oceangoing vessel with no formal training in physics; Nimrod’s discovery of the physics secret of ingress and egress to and from Heaven; or the ability of the ancient alchemist to transform the molecular structure of one substance to another; e.g. see Exodus 7 when the magicians of Egypt duplicated Aaron’s miracle of converting a wooden staff into a serpent.

Those who can transcend death, as Enoch did; spontaneously create massive, industrial structures with no formal training, as Noah did; convert the structure of one substance to another, as the ancient, Egyptian wise men did; and perhaps, the greatest human achievement of all, discover how to travel back and forth into eternity, are bumping up against the limits of human ability.

If satan simply had to entertain the fact that humans have a remarkable capacity to achieve, his ego would have never been bruised to the point of rebellion. According Psalm 8, we know that humans were made a little lower than the angels: ^4.What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? ^5.For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ^6.Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet (Psalm 8:4-6). However, it is verse six of Psalm 8 and Genesis 1:26 that I believe caused a destructive jealousy to lodge in lucifer’s heart. God entrusted his human creation to carry the mantle of his image and likeness, along with granting us dominion of all things in the earth.

Despite the charge that was given to Adam to take dominion over God’s creation, his ability to discover, achieve and invent was not on par with the angelic host. However, I believe that satan considered not only the fact that God had given man dominion over His creation, but he also reflected on the fact that God also created Adam and Eve in His image and after His likeness, as well as gave them the nearly 'magical' power to procreate. I believe that it was these characteristics of Adam that caused satan’s tumble into perdition.

Since satan was dethroned from being like God, he has made every attempt to dethrone mankind from being like God. [his] motivation of destroying God’s image in us, has compelled him to employ a highly deceptive strategy that has been so effective, many of us no longer see the demarcation between our current state of being and what God said that we are supposed to be. And this is one of the greatest deceptions of all – that one does not recognize the urgent need to rediscover the charge that God gave Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

To draw a parallel to the previous series at Jacob's Ladder, titled [satanic] Obstacles to Human Ingenuity, the devil understands that in order to blind us from seeing who we really are, as humans first and then as Christians, he has had to control what we consume intellectually and spiritually for thousands of years. In fact, he has been so cunning that he once controlled his entire domain from the church at Pergamos in the book of Revelation:

^12.And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; ^13.I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth (Revelation 2:12-13).

Each time I read the letter to the church at Pergamos, I wonder how much damage has satan caused in local churches today by either, erecting his own headquarters, or dispatching one of his demon followers to divert the church’s path away from a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. However, notwithstanding the devil’s cunning scheme to limit our walk with Christ, those who have been blessed to have their physical and spiritual senses of perception tuned into the voice of God, they are less likely to fall into satan’s snare.

…to be continued

[s]atanic Obstacles to Human Ingenuity - Pt V

Many of the most profound achievements throughout human civilization have been diminished in our eyes, or even completely removed by the anti-christic forces so that we do not see them. Why is this significant? Although the satanic forces have access to our vulnerabilities through temptations, they cannot manifest themselves in the physical world and cause the havoc to our bodily existence as they have done to our spiritual existence. Consequently, satan must work through fleshly beings to peddle his merchandise in the earth. And the men, who he has endowed with his ungodly favor, understand the significance of keeping us blind to our true potential, because once we understand who we are, as humans first and then as Christians second, then we become threats to their kingdom.

Suppose for sake of argument, you, who are reading this article, discovered how to ‘tame’ the hydrogen atom in water to burn in an internal combustion engine; or better yet, suppose you created a new type of motor that ran on water. Do you realize the enormous implications of this discovery/invention? Your discovery would effectively alter the balance of power in the earth, because it would change the direction that society is headed. If you consider how powerful the oil industry is today – five dollar per gasoline destroyed the housing market, the banking industry and the automobile industry – your ‘taming’ of the hydrogen atom would transfer that power away from the oil companies to a new energy industry.

[satan] understands that the most affective way in keeping us blind to our potential is to control what we consume intellectually. This is why most of us have no idea who Job really was; or who Noah really was; or who Cain really was; or who Moses really was; or, my favorite, who Nimrod really was. As long as our greatest desire is to be like Mike, as in Michael Jordan, or to be what Oprah tells us to be, then the satanic forces will have achieved their goal: keep us blind to the true figures of social progress.

Now don’t get me wrong, Michael and Oprah have made some remarkable achievements; however, their accomplishments, as great as they may be, will never place satan’s kingdom in peril. However, discovering the physics secret of space/time travel, as Nimrod did, would create an enormous advantage on the battlefield for those who possess that knowledge. And if the satanic forces can spoon-feed our minds through the education process, then they will have effectively conditioned our thinking and marked the boundaries to what is intellectually attainable. This is why we only see Moses as the man who God used to lead the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage.

Most Christians are unaware that Moses was an initiate of the highest spiritual order in the mysteries of Egyptian knowledge: And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds (Acts 7:22, emphasis mine). This begs one question: If the Scripture says that Moses “was mighty in words,” then why did he claim that he had a speech impediment after God assigned him to confront Pharaoh? (And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue (Exodus 4:10).)

Moses, as well as the other Egyptians, saw Pharaoh as a god. Although the pharaoh of the Exodus is not the Pharaoh of Moses’ younger life in Egypt¹, he still had a profound fear of Egypt’s supreme leader. This was no mere phantom fear that most of God’s people struggle against, but this was a deep seated fear and respect, I may add, because Moses was an initiate in the temple wisdom of Egypt, and he was aware that Pharaoh had abilities and secret knowledge that even he as an initiate could not attain.

When the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob manifested himself to Moses in the burning bush, he was not so sure that this God was greater than Pharaoh; consequently, his claim that he was not an eloquent speaker was simply an excuse for God to send someone else to confront Pharaoh. In fact, during the first confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh, he was not startled when Aaron cast down his rod and it became a serpent. He had his magicians perform the same miracle:

^10.And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. ^11.Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. ^12.For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods (Exodus 7:10-12).

The showdown between the Moses character (Charlton Heston) and the Pharaoh character (Yul Brynner) in the movie, The Ten Commandments, when Aaron cast Moses' rod down on the ground is, in my opinion, one of the most profound confrontations in cinematic history:

Pharaoh: The power of your God is a cheap magician’s trick. Jannes.

Wise men throw their rods down and they become serpents, but Moses’ rod swallows theirs.

Moses: You gave me this rod to rule over serpents and scorpions, but God made it a rod to rule over kings.

If you study Exodus 3-12, you will notice that the more confidence that Moses developed in God, the more he lost his fear of Pharaoh and was willing to confront him directly; of course in the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Eventually, Moses did most of the talking during his encounters with Pharaoh, debunking the notion that he had a speech impediment.

Although the wisdom of Egypt is beyond the scope of this book, Moses was initiated in a school of learning that has been unrivaled in human history. We see the visible evidence of this with the pyramids and the funeral practices of the Egyptians, but we also see Biblical evidence of their ability with the wise men’s capabilities in Exodus 7-8. What they performed during the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh were not simply illusions like those of David Copperfield or Siegfried and Roy. These men were alchemists who possessed the ability to control matter with their minds; an incredible mental prowess that has been lost to our generation.

Now, I am not suggesting that we study to become alchemists; however, what I am attempting to do is demonstrate the profound, upper limits of human ability. I shared in Part IV of this series how Cain used this ability to spontaneously learn the physics of building engineering to construct a city, and the human ingenuity that was exhibited by his offspring.

Every culture is familiar with the story of Noah and the flood; however, how many of us have considered that God only gave Noah the dimensions of the ark and did not provide any instructions on how to build it? After a short conversation with Him, Noah built an ocean going vessel that withstood the greatest weather event in human history. This is a truly remarkable achievement considering the fact that Noah had no previous concept of what a ship should look like, and he had never had any academic training on how to build a ship.

Although there are numerous characters in the Bible who demonstrated a profound, human ability, I’ll end this series with Job; the greatest social activist ever. Job 1:1 introduces us to a perfect and upright man, who feared God and eschewed evil. In chapters one and two of Job, satan interrupts two meetings between God and his angels, and the Lord asked him on both occasions if he had considered his servant Job, because there was none like him on the earth (see Job 1:8, 2:3). Now these declarations by God concerning the character of Job are very significant, because most scholars agree that Job was a contemporary of Abraham, and notwithstanding Abraham, God basically places Job in a league by himself by saying, There is none like him in the earth.

Do you think there is something about Job, beyond his patient faithfulness, that God wants us to understand?

In chapters 29-30, Job laments over his former stature as he endures the ridicule of the children of men, who he would not have permitted to sit with the dogs of his flock:

· God shares with Job profound secrets (Job 29:3-4);

· Job was a great leader in his town (Job 29:7)

· The men of mischief ran from Job; the elderly rose in his defense; the aristocracy couldn’t believe what he said; the ruling class resisted the temptation to speak against him, but those who did were struck down with a stroke (Job29:8-10);

· Job cures the ailments of the poor, the orphans, the destitute, and the widows (Job 29:12-13).

· Job is recognized as a king, as he reverses the conditions of the people who had been betrayed by their political leaders (Job 29:14-17);

· Job was the greatest social leader of that era (Job 1:8, 2:3, 29:25-29);

· After his satanic attack, Job patiently endured the derision by the children of men who were the vilest men on earth (Job 30:1-14).

If I named a dozen men and women to pattern one’s life after, Job would be at the top of the list, because he devoted his life to representing those who were most at risk in society. Although he was a wealthy man, he had no desire for wealth, because he understood that riches would divert his attention from his life’s mission. For those who missed the metaphor, it is no coincidence that our word job is a heteronym (words that are spelled the same, but have different pronunciations) of the name Job. Job is the perfect role model of work, but for him it was working to bring relief to the ills of society.

The satanic forces have spoon-fed society an intellectual diet that has alienated us from grasping the significance of the great men of the past; Cain, Noah, Job, Moses and dozens more, so that we would not understand…first, the great achievements of our ancient ancestors in spirit, and second, the latent, genetic ability that lies within each of us that waits to come forth to achieve things that we have been conditioned to believe are unreachable!

As a footnote, this lesson on Job has inspired me to do a separate article on him and demonstrate how he, along with those who advocate on the behalf of the most downtrodden in society, will potentially disrupt the social, satanic power structure. Look for this subject in an upcoming article on Jacob’s Ladder.

¹ It is believed by many scholars that the Pharaoh of the oppression was Thutmose III, and the Pharaoh of the Exodus was most likely Amenhotep II.

[s]atanic Obstacles to Human Ingenuity - Pt IV

This is a five-part series on why God placed a divine mark of protection on Cain after he murdered his brother Abel. The first three articles demonstrated satan’s success in influencing some Churches, and how he has parlayed this success to control certain aspects of our belief. This fourth article will address why God capitulated to Cain’s appeal that his punishment was too severe. And the fifth article will examine a few other Cain-like figures in the Bible and explain why we don’t see them in their true light. As an example, if all you have seen regarding Job is that he patiently endured his satanic affliction, then you have missed the greatest social crusader of all time.

As you read this article, I will be speaking to your spirit, as I’ve attempted to with all the articles at Jacob’s Ladder; however, I will also be appealing to your mind, and in some cases, the death bed of your mind. Why is it important that I speak to your mind? Because the mind is the tool that God created in this human existence that aids us in reaching the highest ideal of the human spirit; which I believe is achievement and the sense of satisfaction that accompanies it.

There is a universal recognition that achievement is central to our existence. This is why when we accomplish something, whether great or small – an award; a promotion; a new job; an invention; a degree; a discovery; or marriage to name few – friends and colleagues usually send congratulations our way. In fact, if Adam and Eve had not achieved that one vital skill to human existence once they were evicted from the Garden of Eden – agriculture, or the ability to grow food with proper nutrition – humanity would have perished in the wilderness.

Humans experience a great sense of satisfaction when they accomplish something. This is why many men, who lack the drive, skill and determination to achieve anything worth publicizing, boast to their friends when they have achieved a sexual conquest: “Yeah dog. I banged that [usually an expletive] last night.” And in fact, sexual conquests for men/women who are so inclined, is an achievement. However, it is a triumph that takes no human skill, which is why sexual predators (and that’s what they are) remain empty inside, because they lack the sense of satisfaction that is affixed to achievement.

Our sense of achievement is like most things in life: The more effort we expend to accomplish something, the greater our sense of satisfaction, which is why boastful, sexual predators lose any sense of accomplishment once they leave a bragging session with their friends. Conversely, after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, he returned to the United States with a greater determination to not only be an advocate for civil rights, but one for human rights as well. This was his motivation for condemning our public officials for going into Vietnam, which he saw as an unjust war. I believe Dr. King’s opposition to the Vietnam War ultimately led to his assassination. (For more on Dr. King’s assassination, click here for the two part series I did at The People's Pulse.)

Although our achievements are usually cheered on by those closest to us, as well as our distant admirers; this was not always the case for Dr. King, and neither was it the case for Abel after God accepted his offering. The story of Cain and Abel is as old as civilization itself, and it goes on record as the first homicide in human history:

^3.And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. ^4.And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: ^5.But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. ^6.And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? ^7.If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. ^8.And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him (Genesis 4:3-8).

Cain’s fruit of the ground offering would have been satisfactory if it was a first-fruit sacrifice. In fact, God gave Cain an opportunity to make a resubmission in order to have an acceptable offering; however, he did not take advantage of God’s Grace (see Genesis 4:5-7 above). God’s rejection of his offering had nothing to do with the type of offering that Cain gave. In fact, a fruit of the ground offering was an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord in the Old Testament:

^1.And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; ^2.That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there…^10.And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God (Deuteronomy 26:1-2, 10).

The seeds of hatred that have germinated into every murder were planted by Cain when he struck down his brother, and out of this act of vengeance evolved one of the most unusual acts of God in the Scripture:

^11.And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; ^12.When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. ^13.And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. ^14.Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. ^15.And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him (Genesis 4:11-15).

Cain laments that his punishment is more than he can handle, and he predicts that social justice will end his life violently. God seems to agree with him, and then He places a divine mark upon him that protects the murderer from justice. Something about human achievement that is not taught by Western theologians emerges from this divine act of Grace. God has done some things throughout the Scripture that stretch the limits of my imagination, like when he charged King Saul to kill every man, woman, child and beast of the Amalekites (see 1 Samuel 15). To shield Cain from ‘an eye-for-an-eye’ justice seems to betray everything that symbolizes divine justice. However, if we examine this situation in its deeper, social context, we discover something glorious about God our Father and indirectly something remarkable about the human species.

The short answer to why God insulated Cain from his own death is that he was protecting human ingenuity during the incipient stages of civilization. However, before we analyze the purpose of this divine mark, let’s first follow Cain and then it will become clear why God insulated him from social justice.

God placed a curse on Cain that the land would not give its strength, and this would force him to frequently relocate his family and all of his farm equipment to more fertile territory and then the cycle would repeat itself: ^16.And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. ^17.And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch (Genesis 4:16-17). It occurred to Cain that his ability to achieve great crop yields would be restricted by the curse, which was only on his profession as a farmer, but if he changed professions, then the curse would not apply, and that is exactly what he did.

If Genesis 4:16 above, we see that Cain went to the land of Nod and knew his wife, and she gave birth to Enoch. Here we see in Genesis 4 after Enoch was born, one of the most extraordinary acts of human ingenuity ever recorded, when Cain, who never took one course on civil or structural engineering; physics; or architecture, accomplished a feat that would be a challenge for the most skilled engineer of our modern time: He built a city.

Within Cain and the rest of the human family (you and I included), lie the genetic ability to spontaneously learn things that we have never been taught. The difference between Cain and the majority of humankind is that he pursued and developed this genetic ability. It was this passion for achievement that God saw in Cain, in spite of his murder, which motivated Him to spare his life from the social verdict that would have surely caused him to reap what he had sown. Furthermore, God also looked down Cain’s lineage and recognized that if he permitted Cain’s life to be snuffed out, it would have barred him and his brilliant offspring from giving mankind the benefit of their achievements and ability:

^20.And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. ^21.And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. ^22.And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah (Genesis 4:20-22).

· Jabal was the fifth grandson of Cain, and he discovered how to domesticate wild animals. We’ve been taught that early civilization was hunter-gatherers for their daily sustenance; however, we see in Genesis 4 that thanks to Jabal, early men raised cattle.

· Jubal was the first to invent and teach music; however, his ability would have never been recognized if it was not for his brother, who discovered that most consumable products cannot be manufactured until the minerals that make them up are mined out of the earth (see below).

· Tubalcain created the process to mine minerals from the earth and then turn them into consumable products. He taught men how to fashion these products, including the classical instruments that Jubal taught people how to use, from minerals that were mined out of the earth. He was the forerunner to our mining industry, the foundation of all productivity in our modern society.

It is the upper limits of human ability that lies within our genetic makeup that satan opposes. [he] has spent thousands of years creating a fertile environment for the rise of his man of sin, and he understands better than most Christians that if anyone discovers who they really are, as humans first and then as Christians, they would have the potential to disrupt all of his years of preparation. Consider for a moment if you or your child could discover how to ‘tame’ the hydrogen atom and make water burn in an internal combustion engine; or better yet, create a totally new type of motor that burns water. One of the great paradoxes of nature is that water puts out a fire, but it conducts electricity, and if someone could manipulate this conductive ability and turn it into fuel, it would alter the balance of power in the earth. Imagine selling an additive to convert tap water into automobile fuel and selling it for $3 for a 20 gallon tank. The implications are mind boggling.

…to be continued

[s]atanic Obstacles to Human Ingenuity - Pt III

This is a five-part series on why God placed a divine mark of protection on Cain after he murdered his brother Abel. The first three articles will demonstrate satan’s success in influencing some Churches, and how he has parlayed this success to control certain aspects of our belief. The fourth article will address why God capitulated to Cain’s appeal that his punishment was too severe. And the fifth article will examine a few other Cain-like figures in the Bible and explain why we don’t see them in their true light. As an example, if all you have seen regarding Job is that he patiently endured his satanic affliction, then you have missed the greatest social crusader of all time.

As a disclosure, this article contains material that will be offensive to some Christians. I present it, not to be offensive of course, but to demonstrate an accurate depiction of the evil heart of man.

It is difficult for some to appreciate (I use this word loosely) the deceptive nature of satan. However, if we are to be victorious over sin and root out every other barrier to a ‘Mount Sinai’ experience that he has erected in our path, then it is imperative that we understand his capability. [he] deceived one third of the angels; he disguised himself as an ally of Adam and Eve and caused their fall; he pushed Jesus to the threshold of leaping from a tall building to his death; he furtively ascended to the apex of the church leadership in a number of congregations in Revelation 2; and he will create a social environment where billions of people will worship him. In fact, Jesus warned us that at the end of the age, men with incredible ability would rise up among the people claiming to be Christ and deceiving everyone with the exception of the ‘very elect’:

^22.And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. ^23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. ^24.For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. ^25.Behold, I have told you before (Matthew 24:22-25).

The only reason that the very elect cannot be deceived is that they have been insulated from deception through the Holy Ghost and the deep walk that they have developed with Christ. If we consider that he ruled his kingdom from the Church at Pergamos (see the first article in this series), then we must acknowledge that he is not to be taken lightly.

[satan] has been pervasive in virtually all segments of society; from television to entertainment to education to religion to literature to art and to everything in between. In fact, art has been one of his most affective areas of influence, because a work of art has the potential to create a convincing allusion. Some of you may be familiar with the 1987 photograph by Andres Serrano called [piss christ], which depicts a plastic crucifix that had been submerged in a glass of the artist’s urine. Serrano won a number of awards for his desecration of one of the most sacred symbols of Christianity, including an award that was sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts, a United States Government agency that offers support and funding for artistic projects.

Although [piss christ] stirred enormous controversy when it was exhibited, and rightfully so, it has done less damage to our ability to grasp the deep things of God than other, apparently innocent works of art. When we come in contact with Serrano’s painting, we instantly reject the message that it sends; that contemporary society has not simply trampled Christ and the Gospel under its feet, but it is has ‘pissed’ all over him. In other words, there is nothing subtle about the message; however, other works of art have done severe damage to our sense of spiritual understanding, because of the subliminal nature of the message. For example, although Serrano’s photograph of the crucifix being placed in a glass of his own urine is offensive to many, it is the crucifix itself that has done more damage to our collective ability to properly understand who Jesus is and by extension, who we are.

The crucifix is a ubiquitous, some would even say ‘sacred,’ symbol of Christianity. It has become the icon whereby Christians and people of other faith recognize the crucifixion of Jesus. However, in the early centuries immediately following the crucifixion, no artist dared to depict Jesus in that moment of absolute humiliation, because he hung naked on the cross:

^23.Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also His coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. ^24.They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted My raiment among them, and for My vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did (John 19:23-24).

If we understand this fact; that Jesus was hoisted as a spectacle of contempt before his captors and the ravenous crowd, then it would prompt the question: Why have the Western artists depicted him in a loin cloth while hanging on the cross? Former Jesuit priest, Peter De Rosa, calls it the ‘biggest cover up in history,’ which has claimed millions of lives and has been perpetrated by great artists and not so great artist. The cover up that he is referring to is the piece of fabric that has been affixed to the loin of Jesus on the cross.

Some may argue that the loin cloth was added for modesty’s sake. However De Rosa puts it more succinctly: “What stayed the artist’s hand was not propriety but theology. The artists were not to blame. After all, how could they see that the pain of the recrucified Christ, without the ultimate truth that only complete nakedness brings, would lead to a catastrophe? In giving Jesus the final shreds of decency, that loin-cloth took from Him His Jewishness. It literally covered His pride and turned him into an honorable Gentile. For what it hid was not just his sex but that knife mark in his flesh, the circumcision, that showed he was a Jew.”¹

Thanks to the Western artists, when we look at a crucifix we do not see that Jesus’ ethnic background was Hebrew, and that as a Jew he followed the Mosaic Law, which required circumcision. Would the Caesars, the Popes, Hitler, or any other anti-Semitic been audacious enough to institute acts of genocide against the Jews if every time they gazed at the crucifix, they saw the Jewish mark of circumcision starring back at them?

I believe that it could be argued that the Western World’s perch at the top of humankind is the direct result of this false depiction of Christ hanging on the cross, along with the notion that the New Testament is an original Greek document. It is not disputed that Jesus and his apostles spoke Aramaic, yet Western Christians have been conditioned to believe that the New Testament is Greek. Western Christians have become so accustomed to hearing the minister refer to the New Testament in its ‘original Greek’ that they don’t give it a second thought.

Over the years, people have asked me, “Why this is important?” The reasons are too numerous to address here; however, without going into a extensive theological argument, I can say that it perpetuates the notion that the Western world is the custodian of God’s word, when this is not so. It also leaves us to debate the fate of the Jew, without understanding God’s perfect plan for them. If we look at the great lies of all time, I believe the deception that satan initiated in Heaven to deceive the angels into rebelling against God, has to be at the top of the list. In fact, I believe that this satanic plot was so deceptive that God refused to lay it out in His Word, so that it would not cause some of those destined for salvation to stumble. I mean, how does one deceive angelic beings, unless it is a plan that is supremely clever and immensely deceptive?

Notwithstanding the heavenly rebellion, the dual hoax of the loin cloth and the Greek Lexicon, acting as the guardian of the New Testament are two of the greatest lies of all time. And therein lay the great deception: On its surface, the crucifix is a dramatic image of a persecuted prophet and the New Testament, Greek Lexicon is a theological aid; however, at its more mystical level, Western Christendom, (I use the term loosely to describe Western Civilization), has used the Greek New Testament and the icon of the crucifix to institute the Crusades, invade the Americas, carryout the Holocaust and other acts of butchery, including the slave trade.

…to be continued

¹ Peter De Rosa. Vicars of Christ The Dark Side of the Papacy, New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1988, p. 4.