AGAINST THE BODY POLITIC

Jesus, speaking in parables to the chief priests and elders did so, so that they could judge themselves. As it turned out the message was that publicans and harlots would go to the Kingdom of God before them (Mat 21:31).

Publicans were tax ‘farmers’ who worked for the government to collect taxable revenues for the Roman and Judean governments. Think of them as the IRS coming at you with guns. The people despised them because they cheated as well as collected!

Harlots were those engaged in pornography; both graphic pictures and their own bodies were for sale. Jesus was defining the worst of the worst as those two professions, but the chief priests and the elders were worse than them! The religious men were worse than the irreligious.

The chief priests who dictated to the religious and the elders were bureaucrats who administered the laws of the chief priests. In other words, the chief priest and his ‘court’ were the ‘church’ and the ‘churchmen’ of that era.

During colonial times in the Americas, there were state religions, depending on the state. The most prominent were the Church of England (Anglican/Episcopalian) and the Congregational in New England.

Even the Regular Baptist Church was thought of as ‘churchmen’ that made up the church and ran it. A ‘churchman’ is one more dedicated to the church than to God.

The chief priests and elders were the primitive ‘churchmen’ of Jesus’s time. Their assemblies were much like ours with the Temple and synagogues. The government was what is called Episcopalian in the Americas. In Episcopalian polity there is often a patriarch or archbishop over a house of bishops that administer the church. To be truthful, the early Church government was the model for the Episcopalian polity but like any good government it went astray, even punishing those who would separate from their form of government.

Hence, ‘churchmen’ were those who stood fast with the body of polity even when it deviated from scripture.

Christianity is not a body of those with a common government and governors, but a body of believers in Christ. Therefore, churchmen are dedicated to the church and Christians dedicated to Christ. Since early Christianity, the Church Polity has gone estray, beginning with the Roman Catholics, the Congregational, the Reformers, and now even the Methodists, Baptists, and Restorationists.

In fact, the entire Church body has gone astray with each body focusing on their own doctrine, church polity, and denominational beliefs. Some have even tried to restore the ancient system of worship and by doing so have founded a new church whose foundation is not Christ but water.

As it stands now, most church organizations consist of one central figure with deacons or elders that are allegiant to them, or for Catholics, a Pope, Cardinals, and Bishops.

The Invisible or truly catholic (universal) Church is the ‘Confessing Church’ as Diedrich Bonhoeffer called it in Nazi Germany.

The body polity went along with the extreme Nazi government and caused it to be divided into two very different churches: (1) The true Confessing Church and (2) the Nazi led German Church of  ‘Positive Christianity.’ The Lutheran and Catholic Churches would be reunited in a sense under the Nazi Symbol rather than the Sacred Cross of Jesus. (The swastika is considered by many as the broken cross as is the 1960s peace symbol which consists of an Algis rune within a circle.)

The German version of Positive Christianity was the absence of Judaism and the Jewish Christ. Jesus was made into a very Aryan god and made Positive Christianity the religion of the Aryans wherein Jesus did not die for all but a select few. (That was very ‘Jewish’ of them when compared to the gospels.)

The German Church was no more Christian than any heretical organization professing positivity or not. It was an exclusive organization that alienated real Christians — those who would not conform to government standards — those who confessed Christ and disregarded the tenets of Nazism.

What distinguishes a true church body? Whether they are the of the Body of Christ or not. The Positive Christianity German Church were with the body of Hitler; he was in essence their ‘chief priest’ and they would do his mandates. His ‘elders’ would rule the German Church.

In a less conspicuous way, the pandemic of 2020 revealed whose church the American church body belonged. They trusted the government that has since proved they cannot be trusted. ‘In God We Trust’ was replaced with ‘In Fauci We Trust’ and perhaps he dictated in the manner of Caiaphas what the people should do. By now, most churches since the pandemic have eliminated Sunday evening services in deference to the now reconditioned congregation.

By now, the Lord’s Day has become a family and/or entertainment day.

The new government of the American body of churches, and perhaps the world, is more sublime. Wokeness and the government dictates how church people should believe and behave. They must all believe that God created three genders that can do as they please, and many church bodies have now adhered to the Awoke Commandments, most recently the Roman Catholic Church that finally adhered to the decadent protestant organizations.

In this age, the reformed church is in a bad of state as the Catholics, if not worse!

The end of time decadent church for you proud protestants is not only the Roman Catholics but many of your denominations, even those who reject denominationalism.

Not one of you will remain faithful as the seven churches of Asia reveal. You will all be to blame! The True Church is not a body of believers, but all those of all denominations who stay true to the Doctrine of Jesus — that He alone is God in the flesh and it is His Will that you must do!

Our will is our bias away from scripture, and so many have the same bias that they organize and become a church.

How many are organized strictly on the tenets of Jesus? That invisible organization is not one church denomination but believers around the world who believe and practice that Jesus is the Way to eternal life and that obscure doctrines are merely hurdles to be overcome.

Jesus wrapped up His sermon with this observation: “When the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that He spoke of them” (Mat 21:45).

He was speaking to everyone who are churchmen but not Christians. There is a vast difference between going to church and walking the Way of Jesus.

The chief priests and the elders represented the Judean hierarchy but sought to undermine Christ for doing so would diminish them. The truly religious would have diminished themselves and magnified Jesus.

Now it seems that so many churches of most congregations tend to magnify their leader, their church and building, their doctrine, or their church government, and some even their elders.

In many churches, some even scramble to preach when the only one that calls them is themselves. Mony can buy anything in all times. Follow the money and see who has the power!