Pastor John,
Way back in Greek, Roman etc. times…….times of old, when people worshipped “the gods”, they didn’t know that what they were doing and following was wrong or evil. They thought it was good. They didn’t know such power and miracles could possibly be evil. It looked and seemed good to them. They didn’t know the source of that power, Lucifer, was ‘evil’. Lucifer deceived (‘wowed’ them) all on earth, appearing good – just as he did with the angels in heaven that were ‘wowed’ by him, before he and they, were thrown out of heaven. They (humans) thought the spirits that were guiding, and doing miracles for them, were good spirits because they didn’t know that there could possibly be evil spirits doing such things. They appeared godly!
Am I getting this right? It seems so much bigger (and more) than what I’m writing down. I’m feeling something, and it’s not coming out fully or as awesome as I’m feeling.
John the connection between then and now — it’s the same isn’t it? People, or perhaps I should be saying God’s children, wander after what they see as good, thinking it is from God, but they don’t know that it’s actually evil.
Q:……..have we already been taught this and I’m just now getting it?
It’s wonderful that you’re back home!!!
Love you,
Kay.
PS I had a wonderful time in the Lord praising His name all the way home this morning. Sarah kept laughing because I was speaking in tongues and coughing at the same time. I praised the Lord for a long time at home too, and my ears popped! I’ve had fluid on them for some time now – praise Jesus! We were suppose to be doing school. Whoo hoo!!! Good lesson for Sarah. I’m sick, can’t do much, but I sure can make this body, in what ever little way I can, praise the Lord!!!
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Hi Kay:
I can tell that a light has come on for you. That is a wonderful experience.
Moses said, David too, and Paul, that the “gods” worshiped by people in the ancient world were in fact, demons. But if you had told that to those ancient peoples, it would not have been news to them, nor would it have dismayed any of them. Demons were simply seen as lower deities, whose aid was desirable and, so, whose favor was to be sought through whatever rituals they were told would work to that end. The greater deities were the more well-known gods such as those who were supposed to dwell on Mt. Olympus (Zeus (Jove), Ares (Mars), Athena (Minerva) etc.), whose favor was seen as needful and whose rituals were most emphatically to be observed. These greater deities were demons, too, just some of the more powerful ones.
That is a quick and broad-stroked description of ancient attitudes and facts, but the critical point, Kay, is that the goodness or evil of those demons was irrelevant. Some of the gods were unlikeable and known to be evil-hearted, just as some others were likable and known to be kind, but they all were seen as beings that must be pleased in order not to have unnecessary trouble in one’s life. To insult any of the gods, especially the most powerful ones, by neglecting their sacrifices was seen as foolishly asking for trouble. >From this, you might be able to tell what an opprerssed life poor people must have lived. Should they eat and survive? Or should they sacrifice their food to keep the gods appeased?
Overall, it appears that the common view of life in the ancient world was terribly oppressive, even for the rich in many cases. One had to constantly be aware of the expectations of individual gods and wonder if you had inadvertently provoked one of them. For instance, in a hunt, King Agamemnon innocently shot and killed a deer — but that particluar deer, he was told by a priest, just happened to be sacred to the goddess of hunting, and the king was forced by a priest of that goddess to slaughter and sacrifice his own young daughter as compensation for the slain animal.
One also had to wonder if someone among your enemies had offered to a god an especially pleasing sacrifice or built an especially beautiful altar, etc., so that the god’s mind was turned against you? You can see that there must have been fierce competition for the favor of the most powerful gods. And so, fear of unpredictable behavior from the gods was the norm in all of life because the gods were seen, basically, as great big people, having the same flaws and weaknesses as humans. Zeus, for example, was a notorious adulterer, and his wife was very crafty and manipulative. Moreover, the gods could be won over by flattery and gifts (sacrifices and other forms of worship).
So, the goodness or wickedness of a god in the ancient world was not a major concern of ancient people. What mattered was power. The gods had the power; therefore, they were to be feared and honored. The life of people in the ancient world really was a life to which the saying applies: “Might makes right.”
For those oppressed by such a religious system, the gospel must have been an astonishingly refreshing message: One God, who is always perfect in all His ways, and always good. One simple way to worship. And the knowledge that demons, whether seemingly nice or not, were evil, and their powers, though real, were delusive and unpredictable. And of course, the revelation of the Son that brought such a new and exciting knowledge of truth about everything! The glory of the gospel can hardly be expressed. All that it contained for those ancient people, and for us, cannot be written.
A few centuries after Christ, when the Roman Empire morphed into Christianity, the names of the gods were changed; and some of them became the “patron saints” of Christians, and the oppression began again. The Middle Ages in Europe was undoubtably the most horrific time for humans to live. Fear, cruelty, superstition, oppression, diseases, etc. There has never been a worse time to live, as far as I have been able to tell.
The story of the reviving of the Roman Empire as Christianity is a long and sordid story, Kay, and one that I hope to be able to write about in the future, but that is in the hands of God. Let’s just rejoice that He has shown us mercy and called us out of Christianity to serve Him in spirit and in truth. Oh, how God’s people need to learn these things and be set free! But who can Jesus count on to give up their own ambitions to prepare this food for them?
God, help your people!
jdc
PS And yes, you have already been told this, and yes, you are just now getting it. I think that’s wonderful! Do you want a list of the names of people who have also been told these things, and have never gotten it at all?
