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Three Colors of Death
Green & White & Red
The Old Path Magazine | Vol. 1 No. 3 | 2005 |
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 he
colors green, white and red may spell spiritual
death, and more so if put together. Green as in
greed for the material actually comes first. Then,
white for false religion as a means for green to
come by. Finally, red as in sin to keep the whole
thing going. As in false churches, these three
support and fortify each another in a cyclic manner
to be able to thrive. But whatever the arrangement,
the end is still the same: spiritual death.
GREEN is for the Love of Money . . . . . and Lust
Money, money, money – all for the love of money.
Green is the color of a stable currency, and thus
carries a strong connotation to money, wealth, and
materialism. The love for green bucks comes from
inordinate desires to have, no matter by what means.
It may come from covetousness, from the drive to
acquire to have an easy life – but not at the
expense of one’s labor. Given the chance, one gets
to accumulate possessions: flashy cars of the latest
models of not just one or two, palace houses here
and abroad, yachts in the ocean for a month-long
song, wine in the glittering night life, jewelries
bedecking the body, women escorts in plushy hotels,
fat bank accounts in several banks. The love of
money can supplant everything including God. But
this is exactly what happens with false preachers.
And the shortest way is – start a religion. The list
of luck is long and still can grow, as long as there
are people to give. Mark 8:36 however warns -
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the
whole world, and lose his own soul?
Filthy lucre. Behind sowing fear among their members
that no one outside their church is to going to be
saved, false preachers have their own filthy take.
Ezekiel 22: 27 says -
“Her princes in the mist thereof are like wolves
ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy
souls, to get dishonest gain.”
Instead of teaching their members of the teachings
of Christ, in their church services they resort to
rituals, singing ready-made texts that have been
their fill of centuries. These are contained in
printed books or handout types. There is kneeling
and bell ringing and the members are taught choral
responses that have been memorized for generations
without thinking of their meaning.
There are collections for the day – an important
part for the minister – be they allowed in the Bible
or not. They collect all the time even in
thanksgiving, even during prayer meetings. These had
been foretold in the Bible. II Pet 2:3 says -
“And through covetousness shall they with feigned
words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now a
long time lingereth not, and their damnation
slumbereth not.”
For their “sermons,” the preacher more than tells
stories without as much referring to the Bible. Some
reader is asked to read the Bible for a time, he or
she who is tasked just to read without giving any
understanding. Each one is implicitly expected to
understand. The congregation rises up to sing and go
the run of things as every Sunday goes. Then the
whole thing is over – the Word of God made business
of by false preachers. They are discussed in Titus
1:11 as -
“Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole
houses, teaching things they ought not, for filthy
lucre’s sake.”
A hundredfold. Religion has become business in these
modern times. This is an open secret of false
teachers who have enriched themselves unabashedly to
the detriment of their members, with nary a care for
their salvation.
To lead sincere Christians to expect an automatic
financial return of a hundredfold simply because
they gave their money is to corrupt the very purpose
and nature of giving. It leads to selfishness, not
godliness. This suggests the practice of the
upside-down umbrella of a group in the country who
counted on their gives to multiply a hundred times.
In the Bible, money is not singled out, in fact not
even mentioned. The scriptures also say …mothers,
fathers, children, houses, speaking of our
relationship with others in the church.
The interpretation indicates a preoccupation with
the luxuries of this life, focusing attention on
material possessions. Meanwhile, the abundant life
Jesus spoke about is said to be the blessings of the
kingdom - one characterized by justice, truth,
righteousness, not a kingdom characterized by
wealth, glory and power.
Sexuality. One symbolism of green in Western culture
started with the Celtic myths where the green man
was the god of fertility. Later in the millennium,
early Christians banned green because it had been
used in pagan ceremonies. But the symbolism attached
to the color continued up to the latter part of this
century. Anyone who chooses a green M & M (an
American candy which contains an assortment of
different colored chocolate sweets) is sending a
somewhat sexual message. Green has been
reinterpreted by late 20th century American culture
to signify a state of heightened sexuality.
Fertility and with its color green became suspicious
as possible effects of unrestrained sexuality.
One would expect church leaders to be harmless, but
the opposite is true for some. They take advantage
of the trust given them by the members. Stories have
been told of church leaders having multi-families,
either legal or not.
Fish Rot from the Head. There’s an old Russian
proverb that states that “The fish will rot from the
head.” This adage was used to describe the belief
that real corruption begins at the highest levels.
As the corruption spreads throughout the entire
system it will become apparent that the rotting at
the head begins to smell.
A leader or preacher who is a rapist or polygamist
cannot effectively lead God’s church, much less be a
member of God’s nation. If a leader is such, it
cannot be kept secret and there’s a way the smell
will let out. Raped victims will talk; the children
borne will talk – no matter how many years the
secret laid still. Worse yet, the congregation will
not be disciplined, because what moral ascendancy
will he have then? If the leader is such, it
strongly suggests that it is all right for the
members to follow.1 John 2:26 says –
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
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Doctrines of
Christ
