Voice of the Kingfisher speaks out …from a different perspective by Elinor Montgomery And He Will Make You Fishers of MenFebruary 20, 2008 If one were to ask you if you go to church, and should your response be “Yes”, then it might follow that you would next be asked where you attend, or to what denomination you belong. With no hesitancy, you would likely respond that you are an Anglican, a Catholic, or that you attend the United, Pentecostal or Baptist Church, to mention but a few. Your response, quite likely, would be very matter-of-fact, for the question would seem to be the most normal thing in the world to be asked. It used to be that one did not openly declare oneself to be an atheist, and application forms for business, for government records, and for identity cards etc., nearly always had a box to be filled, which would identify one’s religious affiliation. In America, it was almost assumed by the nature of government forms that one were Christian, and it was more a matter of which branch it was to which one belonged – Catholic or Protestant. Infrequently, one might be of the Judaic religion, but almost never was there the expectation that one would respond by declaring him/herself to be Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist. Such religions were unheard of in America because one had to swear on the truth of the Bible in order to enter this land, a nation, which upheld this Book as the truth. At the heart of Islam is the doctrine of killing all infidels who will not submit to Allah. To swear on a Bible would be a gross infraction of such religious beliefs. It was the Bible, or truth, which kept our land free of religious factions that war with each other and do not live by the teaching of Jesus with respect to being one’s brother’s keeper. It was the Bible that kept America in separation from the rest of the world’s religious idolatry, in relative peace as the Law of God required Americans to respect individual liberties. Those who call themselves Christians are confused with respect to the term ‘religion’, and its application to their lives. Coming to America, as the early explorers and settlers, was a little like being freed from the religious ball and chain, which had bound the lives of ordinary people under religious regimes, where they were told what and how they were to worship. The only land of the free is the Israel of God. Left behind were the religious warring nations of the East, and God’s plan was for a religious-free zone where the state was no longer in bondage to religion, but rather was ruled by the truth of God, a God Who will not share His ruler-ship or glory with pagan gods. This was the light of Israel for which God was always searching among His people. Because so many claimed Christianity as their religious belief system, and all of the early explorers and settlers were Christian, without exception, America was identified as a Christian country. But the truth is, America was a country established on Biblical Law and truth, and there was no religious identification whatsoever in establishing our governments. Neither Canada nor the United States has a state church or state denomination. Both nations were under God until powerful tsunami-strength waves of liberalism were unleashed upon America, and the weakness of Christianity began to be exposed to the light. At the same time, the captive true apostolic church within the system began to separate and, along with it, the house church movement came into being. Those without discernment would fail to see that even this can be a movement still captive to religion. How did Judaism come about? It was a direct result of Judah’s involvement with the religious idolatry of the surrounding nations, so God finally turned her over to Satan’s world empire-building nation of her time; it was the Babylonian Empire under King Nebuchadnezzar. Then, as prophetically shown to Jeremiah, the prophet, she returned to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and repair the walls. Ezra and Nehemiah were charged by God to complete the task of re-introducing, into the nation, God’s plan for the purity of His people with their separation from the religions of other nations. But, sure enough, Babylonian religious laws crept back with the remnant and the birth of Judaism came about incorporating the world of religion into the Law of God to produce a religious stew called Judaism, a little of God’s Word and whole lot of religious doctrinal practices and dogma. What was the result? Jesus clearly told us what had happened. The chosen nation of God had taken on itself the mark of the beast about which we are warned in Revelation. Go to chapter 13 of this book of your Bible and read it carefully, for without wisdom on this matter you will unwittingly take upon yourselves the mark of the beast, the number 666. The religion of Judaism became fully entangled in the religious, economic and political systems of the world. It depended upon doctrine instead of God; it incorporated the economic mess of the world into its practices, which caused Jesus to overthrow the tables of the money-changers, in their house of worship, supposedly of God. The priesthood of the temple was appointed by Rome and responsible to Rome, the Babylonian empire of Jesus’ day, which meant the temple functioned according to the dictates of Caesar. It is the same today, with the Christian institutional church relinquishing its right to speak on matters concerning the rule of the land. It has turned over its voice to the dictates of Caesar in exchange for its tax-dollar exemptions. And so it has become a puppet on a string, owned by the state, instead of being a real live church, which speaks for the truth of God. It has been rendered impotent and unable to break the barrier of silence, inflicted upon it. There you have it folks – the mark of the beast. Jesus, not I, said that the Pharisees were sons of their father, the devil, not sons of God though they claimed to be the chosen ones, but by the time of Jesus they had long since lost position with God. Please take a close look at this situation. Israel was destroyed, the temple was destroyed, and her people were scattered to the four corners of the earth where they have roamed homeless, unloved and despised by the world, just as God’s Word had warned would happen. Ultimately, the nation took the sign of Molech on her flag, called the star of David, but, in fact, it was the symbol of pagan god worship, which Solomon brought into the nation and into the temple. This star was never the star of David, a man after God’s own heart. This is the pagan symbol over what remains of a nation ushered off to the smoking ovens of Hitler for all the world to see, with the mark of the beast firmly placed on the armband of each person exterminated. It was a terrible thing, which resulted from their ignoring the warnings of God, and their refusal to listen to the prophets He sent to them. Christianity has the same mark of the beast all over it. In its religious idolatry that rejects Jesus and His Word, and in its economic building programs that bind it to money-raising programs, it does not pay to Caesar that which belongs to him, and to God that which belongs to Him. Our politicians carry their Bibles in a meaningless display of hypocrisy having much closer ties to the political correctness of the world, than to the Word of God, upon which they swear. Is it any different from Judaism that had the Law but, in practice, had joined with the religious world, no longer a separated people unto God? Neither the nation in Judaism, nor the spiritual nation in Christianity has been the burning torch of light to the world, which God required His covenanting people to be. Instead, both have taken the mark of the beast upon themselves. This is why Satan has been unleashed at this time, for it is harvest time, and the sickle is being put to the vine of the earth where it will be thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God (see Revelation, chapter 14). Foolish, foolish people, who sit in church pews, week after week, listening to apostate ministers preaching the love of Jesus but without ever mentioning His wrath, and the fact that He is returning to this earth as the roaring Lion of Judah. They preach tolerance and acceptance of other religious groups – yes, you have heard it even coming from the mouth of Billy Graham who spoke of respect for the religion of Islam. The Lord said even the elect would be lost, if possible. “For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24).” We have smiley, cutesy, comfy, love-spouting mega ministries out there, which are conning the believers by the hordes. We have mega healing ministries, which are amassing fortunes while deceiving the public with signs, as they steal from the same ones they deceive with their little healing handkerchiefs and their healing bottled water. All is for free, they say, but in the same breath they remind the deceived to dig deeply into their pockets to keep such priesthoods living in lifestyles to which kings aspire. Deception is everywhere, and you shall be deceived and take the mark of the beast as a people and as a nation unless you stand on the one and only safe foundation. It is the same foundation upon which Jesus set His church. It is very simple and very straightforward – it is the foundation of the truth of God’s Word as delivered through the mouths and the pens of His prophets. There is no other foundation, which will survive the judgment to come but that which was given to the apostolic church, free and void of religious practices and temple building programs. Upon this solid rock foundation the church is called to witness to the truth. And the Kingfisher of men will raise up His voice again, to become witnesses to the truth and fishers of men as was His early apostolic church, before Satan took it into the tomb of religious Christianity. www.voiceofthekingfisher.ca
