Uncovering the MYSTERY of GCx
Introduction
My pastor commented once about how difficult it is to grasp all that is going on in false teaching. Perhaps because it is done in "substitute" churches and does involve believers.
A few days ago on our way home from our Christmas in the midwest I had been and kept asking God (silently, of course) for something more to be revealed in this foggy mess of false teaching that was present
and still is (according to much evidence on this site) in GCx. There was a BIG piece still missing - something that would make all the other pieces revealed more clear and complete. Nothing came. A little impatient and disappointed when we stopped mid way at our hotel, I accepted that God would give it in his own good time. But I by his GRACE still believed him for it.
That night my husband and I watched a PBS NOVA show entitled, The Quest for Solomon's Mines, where they dug for clues in the Valley of the Dead Sea (if that is correct) and archaeologists studied the finds. Only mineral pieces here and there were found, but nothing leading to confirm their quest, until the find of a piece of broken pottery. After examining it and highlighting the text they saw that it had Cannaanite writing of distinctive Hebrew words. I waited for them to reveal these Hebrew words. Though not all deciphered, the first two were clearly "Don't Do" and "Worship" followed later by another word which was something like "King". Perhaps, I thought they
might be "Do Not Worship any other king or god" since the Hebrews living among the Canaanites were warned by God NOT to serve or worship other idols like they commonly did. Pondering that I looked up one of God's warnings in Deuteronomy 13:6.
It says: "If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love secretly entices you,
saying, Let us go and worship other gods…do not yield to him or listen to him.”
I thought - it didn't say if a pagan entices you, it said a Hebrew brother - one of God's own people. Perhaps because you would be especially unsuspecting of a brother. Perhaps a subtle way to get caught up in it. The Hebrew word for
entices there is
suth. Now I am no Hebrew or Greek scholar, and only occassionally look up stuff in the Lexicon. (Bibleapps online is great!) It said it means: to incite, allure, instigate. If it doesn't bore you too much these are the NASB Translation words are: diverted (1), entice (2), enticed (1), incited (3), inciting (1), induced (1), mislead (2), misleading (1), misleads (1), misled (1), moved (1), persuaded (2), stirred (1). STRONG'S has: entice, move, persuade, provoke, remove, set on, stir up, take away. Now, I am in quite unfamiliar waters using all these references and someone more knowledgeable could do a MUCH better job, but until they do I am going to attempt explaining what I saw.
These references also said "Perhaps denominative from
shayith; properly,
to prick, i.e. (figuratively) stimulate;
by implication, to
seduce -- entice, move,
persuade, provoke, remove, set on, stir up,
take away." (Underlining and bolding mine) The Lexicon says this word is
thornbushes or in short
thorns. Woa! That is quite reminiscent of the New Testament fruit or actions of false teachers (Acts). Many of those same words are used in the New Testament to describe the actions of false teachers - seduce, persuade, remove (from Christ). One reference said "briers (as if put on the field)". Hmm...does that mean like a trap? So they can't escape. BROWN-DRIVER-BRIGGS says, of this Hebrew word
suth, "2.
instigate, in bad sense,
with accusative of person, + בְּ against, 1 Samuel 26:19; 2 Samuel 24:1; Jeremiah 43:3; Job 2:3;
with accusative of person alone 1 Kings 21:25; 2 Kings 18:32 = Isaiah 36:18,
compare.
So it seems from these that
the way the people of God would be persuaded to worship or serve these idols probably wouldn't have been "Hey, you want to go down that defiled temple where all the corrupt people are and put our children in the fire along with them?" Instead, perhaps they were much more likely seduced by accusations and implications against godly sound teachers of God's law, continually hearing comparisons against them, perhaps even accusative comparisons with God himself, like "Things just aren't going the way we expected with these leaders (i.e. Moses), and even our prayers don't seem to be answered anymore. That rich pagan idol worshiper seems to be doing better than we are, maybe even getting results from his idol offerings, let's go down there."
To me, God dropped my jaw. He showed me how
false teaching produces idolatry through this and some more research which I will share in a near future post. Summary, I believe the bible declares that believers can get caught up in idolatry through becoming captured by false teaching.
Does this resonate with anyone?