And when Joshua heard
the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the
camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery,
neither is it the
voice of them that cry
for being overcome: but the
noise of them that sing
do I hear.
Exodus 32:17-18
There is probably not a better day than today to discuss the spirit of antichrist. On the Hebrew calendar it is the 17th of Tammuz—the day that Moses smashed the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. Why? Because the people wanted a god they could control, their own god, and not the LORD God of Heaven and Earth. In their wicked celebration they show another aspect of the outbreak of the spirit of antichrist. It is the spirit of unbridled lust.
GOD spoke to Moses as the prophet was about to descend the mountain telling him that the people had corrupted themselves (Exodus 32:7). This Hebrew word also carries the connotation of perversion. He descends to a point where Joshua finally heard and proclaimed that there was a noise of war in the camp. This verse is not an accident, but a statement about the spiritual warfare that is taking place behind the scenes. We don’t wrestle flesh and blood! God’s people were found naked to their shame. They were first exposed by their sin to the judgment of God. This is what is behind satan’s attempt to turn people away from sex ordained by God in a marriage relationship between one man and one woman. The enemy wants them exposed to the LORD’s righteous anger. When the spirit of antichrist runs rampant in a land or around the world, perversion and lust, disguised as “love” follow. What kind of love is it? Not what God defines for "God is love" so the definition of love is defined in His person and teachings.
It is no secret that all of the ancient cults and mystery religions (all of them trace back to ancient Babylon) contained acts of sexual perversion. This is one of the many reasons that idolatry was forbidden, and this is seen often in the Bible. So, secondly, the people of God were actually naked and dancing provocatively before the calf. In Numbers 25 the people are also caught “naked”. The wicked prophet Balaam counseled a pagan king to have temple prostitutes set up shop near the tents of the Israelites. The spirit of antichrist would once again lead the people to a place where God’s redemptive correction would bring punishment. Notice that the worship of idols is directly linked to sexual immorality. Paul would later deal with the same thing in 1 Corinthians as men in the church were visiting the temple brothels of the town’s patron goddess. There is nothing new under the sun. America and the nations of the world are dealing with the same thing. It is a universal outbreak and a sign of the lateness of the hour.
“And they called the people unto the
sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled
against Israel…And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust
both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So
the plague was stayed from the children of Israel (Numbers 25:2-3, 8).”
Notice that the Midianite temple prostitute and the man of Israel were in the tent caught in the act. It says that they were even brazen about it. Had it not been for the righteousness of Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, the antichrist spirit of unbridled lust would surely have caused greater judgment. As a side note for a future post, the children of these immoral liaisons were later offered on the altars of the pagan gods. It was post birth abortion—another sign of the presence of the antichrist spirit is the murder of children in the name of convenience.
Look at the above map which currently is a slight bit outdated now after last week with the wicked debacle at the Supreme Court. Left unchecked, a spirit of lust and perversion will lead to homosexual behavior and the persecution of the righteous (for another post). This is the point of the Holy Spirit in Romans 1. “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet (Romans 1:26-27).” Many argue about the meaning of a falling away first but their arguments are moot at this point. These nations above (and America just joined the ranks) are all former Christian nations. Yes, the spirit of Antichrist is alive a well and growing universally.
In the prior post “The Spirit of Antichrist” the demented
ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, was mentioned as a type of the antichrist
related to the prophecies of Daniel. He
wanted the definition of morality changed and tried to lead the people of
Israel into idolatrous perversion including homosexuality. Antiochus was a follower
of Zeus and desired to unite all humanity under one perverse and godless
religion (another future post). This was the normal thing to do. The Hellenistic culture was steeped in
homosexuality. Zeus, himself, was a
homosexual god and a pedophile. His
affair with the youth, Ganymede, is the stuff of myths and legend. The worship of Zeus included homosexual
priests and homosexual worship (as well as the sacrifice of children from
female prostitutes). Changing his name
to Jupiter during the days of Rome didn’t do much to change the perversion—of
course not. Whether it is Bel Marduk,
Baal, Molech, Osiris, Zeus, or Jupiter, they all are the same sex worshipped idol. Behind the disguise of these and any false
gods or goddesses, it is the face of satan, the founder of the antichrist
spirit. Did I mention that all of these gods had a "bull" form much like the calf worshipped by the Israelites? Hmmmm.....
A Statue of Zeus and Ganymede
God calls us to willingly offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. This is to be done lovingly in view of the great cost of salvation purchased by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ for our sin. Paul clearly addressed this in Romans 12:1-2, and he often added that God forbids us to willfully sin that grace may abound. Offer yourself freely and call on the LORD if you are corrupted and compromised lest your nakedness cause the punishing hand of God to act. Thank God for His eternal promises. The same Apostle John who warned us of the coming of the antichrist spirit also left us with a glorious promise, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).”
There is a noise of war in the camp accompanied with a noise of godless, perverse worship and immorality. Take to war saints and expose it for what it is because Jesus Christ is Soon2Come!
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