Out of the House of Bondage

[David Kone]

When Moses came down from the mountain he brought a great blessing from God for his people. God’s commandments were special gifts for His chosen people. Those who followed them would prosper and grow in His care. Each of the commandments if followed improved the life within society. It is easy to understand how the social commandments, such as not stealing or not giving false witness improved lives but the first few commandments are harder to understand even though their value to the followers of the Commandments is beyond measure. No blessings could have a greater social impact than those given in the first few statements of Exodus 20.


The first thing God does is to identify Himself as the one who led them out of slavery.

I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Exodus 20:2

God Almighty demonstrated that he wants His people free by taking them out of bondage. Even the great Pharaoh of Egypt with all his gods, armies, and wealth had no power before Him. So the very first of these great blessings is the knowledge that God wants his people to be free.

Next, God tells them to concentrate only on Him.

You shall have no other gods before Me. Exodus 20:3

Why is this a great blessing? Because it freed His people from ignorance by eliminating the hopeless task of sifting through all the senseless babble that was offered by so many different religious systems. Those beliefs would only enslave them again. He just told them the ultimate truth. Singular devotion to Him is the only religious endeavor that is going to benefit them; it is the only act that will keep them free.

Next we learn why He is the one and only God who really watches after his follower’s interests.

You shall not make to yourselves any graven image, ….. Exodus 20:4

He sets them free from the enslavement by deceits of men who would manipulate them with cleverly crafted symbols. They are to be free of the limitations of human constructions. Because His followers are not filled with preconceived notions about God’s likeness they have room to receive his true teachings. Much like the practice of Zen meditation clears the mind so one can be more in tune with the real world, keeping the spirit clear of false images of our Creator clears our spirit so we can receive true understanding of His creation.

…… or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Exodus 20:4

Knowing the deceitful nature of men He specifies in no uncertain terms that we can only understand He means He is not to be likened to anything anywhere.


The Iniquity of the Fathers

I feel sorry for those who have the creations of man between themselves and the One who wishes to free us from bondage.

You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them. ……. Exodus 20:5-6

They bow and serve contrivances of man as if they are before God. They are lost in a sea of confused symbols from diverse traditions lacking coherence and are subjected to spiritual babble. They miss the clear vision offered by the Holy, Almighty, I Am; the truth of existence, as it is, unembellished. Instead they are seduced by the worldly renditions of a human crafted god. They close themselves off from God by not accepting the great blessing of freedom from limiting images. The three chambered house they seek sanctuary in will not stand for it is a house divided. It is a house of bondage where adherents are kept away from the face of their Creator.

Because they have not understood the Bible of the Hebrews, as the people for whom it was given understand it, and have substituted foreign meanings from other philosophies they have fallen into a wicked trap of their own making. Much of the foolishness being presented to Christians as truth makes sense only if we disregard the faith of Jesus Christ, of his parents, of his neighbors and accept instead the belief systems of those Greeks and Romans who changed its meanings with their biased translations.

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

It quickly turned into a sad history of murder and torture revealing the true nature of man’s created work. Christians tormented Jews who clung to the teachings of their fathers, they held fast to the same Torah taught by Jesus. While the wicked hid under the cloak of a false god with the mask of Old Testament authority they murdered righteous Jews many of whom went to their deaths with, ‘Hear, Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is one' on their lips.

Most Christians do not know about the history of the very un-Christ like brutality that was used to enforce the trinity doctrine. Most are not aware that such discrimination still exists in many denominations. Even if a follower of the triune god has not personally persecuted anyone they lend their tacit approval by holding to the symbol of such crimes up before God. There is a great storm of confusion brewing on the horizon and the pathetic umbrella of forced trinitarianism will only draw the lightning of truth upon those who still cling to it.

It would not be so awful if those pagans had held to their charming pagan traditions but some of them created a cleverly crafted lie so they could control and enslave the minds and souls of those who are born into or are drawn to Christian churches. They bound the seekers with their contrived new "Christian" dogma. God told us through Moses there is one God and it is He who saved His people from slavery. The self appointed keepers of the gate to Christian participation on the other hand tell us He is many and we must be slaves to their opinions for our salvation because they have unexplainable knowledge passed to them not by Moses, or the prophets, or Jesus, or the Apostles but by Tertulion. Tertulion spoke Latin and was well educated in Greek. Even though he claimed not to be influenced by Greek philosophy his lack of knowledge of the Aramaic language and of Hebrew philosophy caused him to make fundamental semantic errors. To make things worse he was prejudiced against Jews, he lumped them all together as if every one of them had personally condemned Jesus on the way to the cross. His bigotry against Jews prevented him from learning from them important concepts about the spirit, the soul, and other fundamental beliefs, these were the same beliefs held by Jesus and the Apostles, which differ significantly from that which was to become widely adopted by Christianity. Who do you suppose offers you the way out of the house of bondage Moses or Tertulion?

Most Christians are innocent of this great crime that was done against God in the name of orthodoxy. They have been held in ignorance. Ignorance is the worse kind of slavery because we can not see who the masters are. It is time to look again at the old things we take for granted. Look carefully to the source of those long held beliefs. Do not be fooled into thinking that their antiquity is proof of their validity. Not long ago it was thought proper to own fellow humans and treat them as cattle. The wicked spirit of prejudice and contempt for human rights runs deep into our past.

For I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation of those that hate me, and showing mercy to thousands of those that love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 20:5-6

Let our generation be the last to perpetuate those things that keep us from God’s Kingdom.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32
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[Augustines Error]

Once again, very well written! I greatly enjoy reading your insightful commentary!

[jimmywilletts]

Thanks David.

As a bit of a biblical newbie, reading your posts is very interesting and thought provoking.

Keep on posting them :D

o:)

Jim

[David Kone]

Whose Fault Was The Downfall of Man?

From the time of the early church many have blamed Eve for man's downfall. She was portrayed as the weak one who gave in to temptation and then used her wiles to cause Adam to eat of the forbidden fruit.

…….you are the devil's gateway: you are the unsealer of that (forbidden) tree: you are the first deserter of the divine law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On account of your desert----that is, death----even the Son of God had to die. Tertullian on women's clothing styles

This is totally absurd. God told Adam not to eat of the tree in the center of the garden when Eve had not even been created yet. She was made of his flesh so he, as her senior partner in one flesh, was responsible for not only his actions but hers also. She was tricked by the craftiest of all creatures and was motivated by the prospect of wisdom. Eve only gave the fruit to Adam and the immature Adam just blindly followed.

Not only did he show no strength of will but he immediately shifted the blame to God and the woman.

……..And the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. Genesis 1:12

He pointed to others to explain his fault. It was that woman. You gave her to me. What Adam did not do when he left the path of righteousness is admit that he was responsible. Adam was responsible for Adam's downfall; man is responsible for man's downfall.

The Blame Game
It is no accident that this is exactly what most of the Trinitarian churches do; the blame game. First, they still use the myth of Eve's culpability to suppress women. They relegate them to inferior roles because they are weak and seductive. Then they state that of course Jesus Christ is God for only God could save the world.

.......only God, very God, truly God Incarnate could reconcile and redeem fallen man to holy God. Athanasius

It is as if God needed to redeem himself for his own mistake with Adam so He came to earth to repair the mess He made with Adam. Adam (mankind) is let off the hook on the whole deal. Under this paradigm man is hopelessly incapable of rectifying his shame before God and our salvation comes purely from God's action of mercy. There is no scriptural basis for this exclusion of man from responsibility before God.

Another consequence of this line of teaching is the creation of a rational for the diminished appreciation of the role of women. If God incarnated as a man therefore God must male. Man must then therefore be more like God than his counter part; he therefore is superior to women. This implied line of thinking is in direct contradiction to the teachings of the Torah that God is totally unfathomable and can not be likened to anything we know. Some might reply that man is created in God's image. In what way is any mere image, an admitted illusion, really like reality except in the realm of metaphors?

Only Man

Man fell because of Adam's sin of disobedience. Only man can restore man to the grace of God by his obedience to God. Jesus by following his Father's instruction from the beginning of his ministry, even to his death, demonstrated a maturity of being far in advance of the pathetic blind follower Adam.

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Romans 19

There was a previous follower of God whose obedience saved man. Noah by following God's exact instructions saved us all from physical extinction. Noah, the man, saved the world by following God. He could have done many other things and came up with all kinds of excuses. In the eyes of his neighbors his actions of building a huge boat and filling it with animals must have appeared very strange. Noah cared more about God's will than what his neighbors thought and we all benefited. God did not become man at that time so he could save the righteous from the wicked. He did not take the form of a human to save us from his own anger and disgust's at man's sinful nature. It was the man Noah's responsibility to save man.

Jesus likewise accepted the moral responsibility of saving the righteous from spiritual death. Because Jesus cared more about God's will than his own life he redeemed us so we no longer have to hide our shameful selves from God.

And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God in the middle of the trees of the garden. Genesis 1:8

He proved that man can be morally mature and righteous. God, because of the obedience of one man, a man who became his first spiritual son, restored access to the tree of life to all those who follow Jesus' path of obedience; those who are willing to become children of God. Jesus saved us from the spiritual death that is being separated from God’s grace by our sinful nature. The ground we till no longer needs to be cursed except as we ourselves curse it by our dishonor.

.......The ground is cursed for your sake. In pain shall you eat of it all the days of your life. Genesis 1:17

The Curse of Trail an Error

Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The consequence for Eve was she would now bare children (good) in pain (evil). She would desire her husband (good) and he will rule over her (that spineless knucklehead, ouch). Adam, on the other hand, must work the cursed soil (aching back pain) to eat (pleasure and sustenance) every day. The land will also grow thorns and thistles (painful crops) among the herbs (sustaining food). Adam is left in world of trial and error without God's guidance. Whereas in the garden there was only one sin now every step from the right path resulted in evil consequences and God was not guiding each step. Each step on the road of knowledge had a potentially painful lesson. Adam's task is to learn to discern the herbs from the thorns and painfully separate enough food to sustain his lowly life. It is an endless task if man is to be forever limited to his own guidance.

Jesus came to his ministry with full understanding of both man's nature and his own.

And behold, one came and said to Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?
And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. Mathew 19:16-17

Now Jesus with all his following and his royal linage could have said something quite different but instead he said the truth. Man is not good, not even great men such as he are good. Life (the ultimate good, the tree of life) comes from following God's commandments. They are the only guidance that will restore the land to the good that was in Eden.

Jesus demonstrated with his very life to both man and God that lowly man can follow the will of God against all pressures that would give him an excuse not to be obedient. He demonstrated to God that man has the potential to once again live obediently in a garden free from trial and error.

The truth is .... only man, very man, truly carnal man could reconcile and redeem fallen man to Holy God.

This is not a grand statement for man is not grand. It is not a tricky slogan that will rile the mobs in the streets. It is, however, a true statement because He who created us is a loving compassionate God who like a loving father looks after our best interest. When the prodigal son learns his lesson he returns to the father. What would have been the results if the father had kept coming to him and giving him more money beyond his inheritance? Would the son ever mature in his understanding of the father. How many children today are made worthless by the indulgences of their parents? No adult is saved by keeping them immature but only by the growth of their own responsibility. The choice is ours alone to follow the path of the word of God, being as His true children, obeying his loving counsel and no longer hiding in the shame of disobedience or we can go some other way through the thorns and thistles of error.

But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the type of Him who was to come; but the free gift shall not be also like the offense. For if by the offense of the one many died, much more the grace of God, and the gift in grace; which is of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. Romans 5:14-15

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[Danage]

Very thought provoking.

The Fall of Man is man's fault. This makes more sense.