THE RISING PHARISAICAL SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST

WARNINGS ABOUT THE RISING PHARISAICAL SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST, HIRELINGS & THE 8 WOES

THE WARNING SIGNS OF WOE

(An Expression of Grief or Denunciation)

It is interesting to me, that in this postmodern age of religious humanism, those infected with the Pharisaical spirit and the Hirelings who do their dirty work, will attack the Biblical Church by calling it names such as “Legalist”, “Fundamentalist” or “Pharisees”, which meant to be derogatory, but is in fact façade, a mask or a diversion to cover their true identity: The workers of the antichrist, possessed by the spirit of the antichrist, “which you heard is coming, and even now, is already in the world”. (1 John 4:3)

Jesus spoke directly to this matter in…

Matthew 23:1-3, “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying:

“The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them.”

Jesus led by example. At the risk of overemphasizing this statement: Jesus is our Lord, Teacher, Leader, Master and King. He taught by example and He led by example. He did everything He expected of His disciples.

Does the pastor of your Church, and the elders, the deacons or other ‘church leaders’ DO what they tell (or expect) you to DO? Do they witness Jesus to others, lead others to Jesus? Do they greet those coming in the doors? Do they spend time with ‘the flock’? Do they Invite others or bring others to Church? In other words, do they lead by example? Or do they just wait for you to do these things so they can ‘finish the job’ and take the credit? (Roles and responsibilities within the Church are about Spiritual Gifts, and not a façade invented to avoid following Jesus’ example.)

Matthew 23:4-5, “And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.”

Do you not hear it all the time: “Give sacrificially; Give until it hurts; Bring your friends”. Then they stand in the pulpit, in their classrooms at their positions, trumpeting their accomplishments. We may not see phylacteries and tassels, but these same ‘officials’ substitute identifying garments and garbs to project ‘the look’ of authority and self-importance..

Matthew 23:6-10, “And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people.”

This is easy enough to figure out. If your pastor and ‘church leaders’ cluster together at the ‘head table’ or gather at the same table together, excluding ‘you and the others’ to watch and listen to them, then Matthew 23:6-10 applies to your church. Advice? Find a Church.

But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ.

This one is too easy. There is a reason ‘the clergy’ does this – using titles reserved for God – and it is never good.

Words are powerful. And these words (Rabbi, Teacher, Father, Leader), create perceptions, ideas, and religious ideologies. This is where the ‘form of words wrongly creates the false image of religious function’. The deliberate misuse of these words when relating to the Church has led many astray, and has deformed the image of the Church of  Jesus.

Matthew 23:11-12, “But the greatest of you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

Who sets up and cleans up? Who leads in prayer? Who tends to the needs of the ‘sheep’? When within this paradigm do the ‘sheep’ visibly become THE CHOSEN PEOPLE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S OWN POSSESSION, so that they may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light? Or is the spotlight always on the hirelings and the credit given to the professionals?

Eight Woes – The Indictment

(Try to read these WOES at face value as you are able and whenever possible relate them to the Church in this age – especially to your Church. However, since some of these statements are from a time and an era with which we are unfamiliar, I am providing a commentary page for your convenience. Enduring Word Commentary.)

Matthew 23:13-14, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not enter it yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

The word ‘hypocrite’ here, is a Greek word meaning ‘an actor or a pretender’. These are the men (or women) who put on a good act of being holy and righteous but do not follow Jesus. You can know them by their fruit if you are willing. These are the ones always putting on and leading the ‘show’, but never doing the things Jesus has done. Their destination and fate is “depart from Me, I do not know you”. Do not follow these men or you will find the same end.

Matthew 23:15, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Matthew 23:16-22 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering that is on it is obligated.’ You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore, the one who swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. And the one who swears by the sanctuary, swears both by the sanctuary and by Him who dwells in it. And the one who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

These verses have to do with the complex system the Pharisees invented for the making oaths in order to circumvent the plain prohibition of making oaths sound grave and authoritative by swearing on the temple (sanctuary) or the altar. However, it is also reminiscent of the inordinate and unrighteous value placed on ‘church properties’ over the value of the Church (Body).

Sadly, I have seen members of churches who are not willing to ‘fall into line’ and obey the pastor’s or ‘church leadership’ wishes when it comes to building larger buildings or expanding facilities, sacrificed on these same ‘altars’. They are marginalized and eventually driven away.

Matthew 23:23-24, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

Matthew23:25-26, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean.

The ‘outside of the cup’; that which is visible to the audience. The illusion you want to display. Pastor salaries which put the Church and the members of the Body under financial stress or wasteful spending. Salaries that are twice, three times or more that what is reasonable – pastor’s being paid millions, “getting a percentage of the take” of the fleecing of the sheep! (And these ‘pastors’ justify their theft by their own greatness).

Matthew 23:27-28, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So, you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Matthew 23:29-36, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So, you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You snakes, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

“Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

These words from Matthew chapter 23 is both an indictment of the Pharisees of Jesus day and a warning of the coming Apostasy as prophesied in the Bible. This Apostasy is spreading and intensifying and is evident in many, if not most, so-called mainline churches.

There are still many good and well-intentioned Churches, pastors and disciples of Jesus working diligently to follow Jesus and to do the Works He has prepared ahead of time. But, even among these faithful, there are the temptations and distractions of the Pharisaical spirit which have crept into their hearts and minds, leading them astray.

So, what should our response be? In two simple words: Follow Jesus.

In a few more words: This will most likely be, both, the easiest thing and yet the most difficult thing you can do. But you CAN DO it.

1. Be the salt and light of the Gospel of Christ where you are. Make your closest associations with likeminded Christ following believers. But do not hide. Make His influence felt through your life and behavior, wherever you go.

2. Try to find a Church (a local Body of Christ) who are not staining themselves with the things of the world (see Galatians 5:19-21).

3. Seek to become “the living stones, being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.( 1 Peter 2:5).

Remember that you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

Please, dear friends, let’s take this as if our lives depend on it, because our lives and many other lives do depend on this.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

NEXT:  BE WATCHMEN – Signs of Christ’s Return.

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