How far do we dare bow to Baal? Is a little genuflecting okay with God? Just a little to make our lives easier, so that we don’t get hassled? We can convince ourselves that we are just obeying the government and that therefore we are in obedience to God, right? Or as the chorus I grew up singing says, should we dare to be a Daniel?
Daniel was taken captive into Babylon as a youth of probably 12-15 years old. He was barely more than a child. How far might one anticipate a youth of that age going to honor his values and beliefs, when taken captive by a nation over which Baal reigned? How much was he willing to compromise? Unlike thousands today, apparently this young teenager, and a few others, weren’t willing. Even upon pain of death. We are told several stories about Daniel and three others, who were not willing to compromise their faith. They defied the government. When first told to eat the meat and drink the wine sacrificed to idols, Daniel and three others of the youths chosen out of Israel to be trained for the courts, refused. What was the big deal? The rest of the children of Israel that were chosen apparently did it. Okay, so they weren’t supposed to do that according to the Law, but we know from the New Testament that it really is of no real spiritual consequence to do so, as long as you aren’t worshiping the god to whom it is sacrificed or feel compromised in partaking of the food. The consequences could have been great for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah when they refused, but God not only protected them, because of their unwillingness to compromise and bow the knee even a little to Baal, He made them flourish compared to their counterparts.
Then there was the government mandate that everyone fall down on their knees, ostensibly in worship to the golden idol, when the instruments were blown, or be cast in the fiery furnace. No doubt like in any society, there were some who did this because they believed in the king’s law, (no matter how wrong it might be) and those who complied merely to avoid getting into trouble. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abed-nego could have just fallen on their knees in pretense and prayed to their own God. Who would have known? It would just be outwardly complying with a government mandate that they really didn’t believe, but it would keep them from standing out and getting into trouble. Serious trouble. Would just bowing the knee a little be such a bad thing? Especially given the consequences? Would it have ruined their testimony of belief in the God of Israel in front of a pagan society? There’s a question to be pondered. The fact is that they refused and ended up in a furnace that was so hot. that the men who threw them in perished from the heat. (A job constantly having openings, I’m sure). The pre-incarnate Christ met them in that furnace, and they came out of the ordeal without even a hint of smelling of smoke.
Then there was the situation when Daniel was set up by jealous peers, who had the king sign a law that said nobody could petition any God or man for thirty days. Of course the first thing Daniel did was defy the law and go pray. Has God required any particular number of prayers daily, or even that we pray daily? No. We are free to pray as often or as little as we want. The spiritual consequences of that are on our own heads, but God has not made a particular requirement to my knowledge. So why would Daniel not just go along with the mandate? Why do it in deliberate defiance of a mandate that didn’t actually challenge his beliefs? Why not pray in a closet where nobody would know? He knew it would be trouble when found out, and he was smart enough to know he was being set up and would be found out. Why do it in front of an open window where he could be seen? Why put himself in jeopardy when all he had to do was wait out thirty days? Surely God wouldn’t punish him for not praying that length of time would He? This refusal to cooperate even a short time with a mandate that made him forgo his communication with God had dire consequences. He was thrown in a lion’s den. But again, God protected and honored Daniel, because he was honoring Him. Daniel would not bow the knee to Baal even in things which did not actually make him forsake his beliefs, but rather were merely acts of evil to try to control him and ultimately destroy his relationship with God. As such, it was not acceptable to him to comply.
So why would Daniel and these three other boys/men refuse to bow the knee, just a little, to Baal to appease the powers that be. Why not let themselves be controlled in this manner? Why not give Baal just a little genuflecting to live in peace and comfort? Maybe Daniel realized something that a lot of people do not. If you start compromising just a little bit, you find yourself walking not on the road, but rather the shoulder of the road. You are still following the road, but you are not really on it. The next time you are asked to bend the knee a little deeper, it isn’t that far to go, for you already have bowed a little. You’ve already moved from the center of the road to the shoulder. It seems like it is no worse than the first little bow, because it isn’t any farther a distance than that first step. But the difference is, while it is the same amount of distance as the first time, this time it isn’t from the center of the road, it is from the shoulder. Now you are in the ditch. The next time, you may turn onto another road altogether, as a ditch will not cross an intersection but follow the path of the intersecting road. Or you find yourself out in the middle of a field. Now you aren’t on the road, you aren’t near the road. You are lost. Every time we convince ourselves that bowing the knee a little doesn’t hurt, we find ourselves moving from the middle of the road to the edge and beyond. This country (and also the world) has for a long time been compromising and bowing the knee to Baal. Now it is so clear that it is unmistakable that Baal is this country’s (and world's) god and is in charge. Are you daring to be a Daniel? Or are you compromising? Do you see that a little compromise only leads to further compromise, or are you convincing yourself that what you are doing is for the common good and in obedience to the higher power that God has allowed to be in charge? Are you seeking out the truth, or just complying to make life easier? Have you considered that like Daniel, God has allowed Baal to be over you, to see if you will choose to be faithful or choose to not get thrown in the fiery furnace or lion’s den? Who is in charge of your life? Baal or God? I am daring to try to be a Daniel. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Dare to be a Daniel.
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm.
Dare to make it known.
Excellent message! The boldness of the believer. The most recent compromise that I have heard uttered(just yesterday).."I took my shots, but I am praying that God has my back." I have heard many and yet this one dumbfounded me..
ReplyDeleteI understand the temptation to equate the vaccine with bending the knee to Baal; I've even heard it equated to taking the Mark. It is neither. At worse, its a money grab scheme of Big Pharma and a social experiment to gauge control. Could it be the 4th seal - the pale horse (engineered viruses) that kills? Should we not protect ourselves against death? Reserve our resistance for the chip? The transhumans? Taking medicine to combat illness need not be a vehicle to stray off the narrow path; we just need discernment and faith to stay strong enough to fight the good fight!
ReplyDeleteOh, I think that it is far more worse than just being a money grab scheme and social experiment. What is in those vaccines or rather the gene therapy, for they aren't vaccines, is causing death at worst and lifetime disabilities for others in hundreds of thousands of cases. It is more than just a social experiment, it is social programming to prepare people for the mark of the beast. This whole system is under Satan's control. If you are not aware of that, then you need to get into your Bible and see how the NWO is the antichrist system and we are well into it. If you believe the jab protects you against death, you are sadly mistaken. It is killing many, and it will continue to do so over the next few years. I am far more willing to trust God to protect me than a bunch of people who have an evil agenda. You are free to trust whom you want. If you are already buying into the narrative, the odds of you resisting the chip or whatever the MOTB is, are far less. Resistance does not come in an instant after you have given in over and over again for the sake of comfort. If you are scared of death now, what will happen when certain death (not imagined possible death) is the choice in taking the MOTB. If you are afraid enough now of a disease that has a 99 plus percent rate of survival to take an unknown thing into your body that is literally killing people, why on earth would you resist the MOTB to save yourself from certain death? C.S. Lewis said it best. “In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth -- only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair.”
DeleteYour response is full of presumption on what I am or am not aware of. Don't mistake what I am saying - I'm not buying into the narrative - and I don't intend to "give in over and over again" - I'm saying that the real evil is the ENGINEERED VIRUS with GAIN OF FUNCTION, not necessarily the (mostly) ineffective mRNA vaccine that, yes, has side effects, and yes, is not the solution. I clearly see everything that is wrong with this event including the insane censoring of natural immunity (which I have, having survived COVID). I totally agree with you that vaccine mandates will eventually lead to a worse shot (one that Bill Gates is developing with tracer ink), but, I also recognize misplaced fear in mRNA technology that is based on misinformation. I don't advocate getting the vaccine, but I also don't think that those who do get it, at this point, should be equated with bending their knee to Baal. This vaccine - THIS one - does not have a chip, does not change DNA, does some good for those most at risk - has side effects for 'some' like everything else, so, if getting it is equated with bending the knee, so should taking anything to combat this virus. That said, I'd be interested in getting your opinion on this interview from Amir Tsafati - https://youtu.be/CWPkGh1rzx0
DeleteI agree that the virus is an engineered creation. I also believe that the jab is just as evil. What I know about it not only comes from doing research, but having a son who works in the field of DNA, and who has friends who are virologists and listening to what he and they are telling me as to what the mRNA does to your body. All I know is that I, members of my family, and a number of other Christians, some whom I know personally and some whom I do not, have been told by God not to take this jab. To not listen to God and take it in disobedience is for us, at least, to bow the knee to Baal, for it is putting belief in and fear of this virus and the gov't above obedience to God. And some who took it after God has told them not to have found their spiritual lives seriously impeded. I have heard several testimonies to this effect. I think if more Christians were less concerned about comfort and more concerned about obeying God in this Laodicean age, maybe more would have heard God's warning. This whole agenda is evil from start to finish and to just go along with it and comply as so many are, without any knowledge as to what is happening, is to go along with the evil. There comes a point when you need to take a stand against an evil gov't. If you don't, then I believe (you have said you do not) that a person is bowing the knee to Baal in that they are choosing comfort over taking a stand against evil. You may or may not disagree with that and that is your opinion to have, as is mine. I will have to take the time to listen to Mr. Tsafati before I can comment on what he says.
DeleteI agree with you on so much and we are really on the same page as far as the NWO, Great Reset, and discerning evil in these perilous end times. I found your blog when your book review of Matthew Wilson's "The Ruthless Church" showed up while trying to find extra copies (I read it years ago, recently re-read it and wanted to form a bible study on it). I appreciated the info you glean from your own experts and in my heart off hearts, I know that you are right. My only contention was the 'bending the knee to Baal' and I suppose that comes from listening to MY experts - my husband is an Emergency Medicine Physician in a large county ER in NYS, who has been working the front lines of the COVID pandemic. He sees the sickness up close and like the virologist in the video I shared with you, he believes that there are certain 'at-risk' people for whom getting the vaccine would be better for them than getting the disease. I feel that it's unfair to say to them (the most at risk) that they are bending their knee to Baal. On the other hand, a lovely(unvaccinated), relatively young woman in our congregation died last week after suffering terribly with respiratory issues caused by the COVID infection. My only point is that those who are at risk face a terrible conundrum. The vaccine technology (gene therapy) was previously used in treating cancer. Would you say to those fighting cancer that they are bending their knee to Baal for using the mRNA gene therapy; that they should just accept death as their only option? Don't get me wrong - I see where these vaccine mandates are going, believe me, we are on the same page as far as that is concerned. I just took a little bit of an offense at the absolutism of your statement. In closing, let me be clear - I'm a resister sister, and I am not afraid of death because I know who I am and what I have in Yeshua, my Lord and Savior..
ReplyDeleteDaniel didn't eat the meat because he knew that it was spiritual compromise. Does that mean he should never eat any meat? No. Wouldn't a little compromise on his part have been better? The meat certainly would not have hurt his health. When a person tells me I have to partake of something that is clearly coming from a Satanic agenda, is a little compromise bad? Can't we bow the knee just a little? Daniel seemed to think it was wrong, as did the other three boys. Truth has never been something people like or find comfortable. Soft soap and wishful thinking is more what they want to hear. Non-acceptance does not negate truth's veracity. I don't look for people to feel comfortable with the spiritual truths I point out and yes, what I say probably offends people 99% of the time. I am called to point out what God tells me is the truth. Whether people want to accept it or not is up to them. Whether they get offended or not is up to them. I just put the truth out there. It's not my job to get people to agree. Glad you know the Lord. You'll need Him in the dark days ahead. We all will.
DeleteAnd I don't believe mRNA therapy is the only alternative to death in any case. God is the great Physician. He is the one who decides who dies and who lives.
DeleteConnie, I appreciated both sides of the above discussion. You mentioned in your response that "All I know is that I, members of my family, and a number of other Christians, some whom I know personally and some whom I do not, have been told by God not to take this jab".
ReplyDeleteWould you be so kind as to describe how that happened please? Is it an addible voice? If not an audible voice, then how can we know that an entity described by Paul as one that is often "disguised as an angel of light" is not the one "speaking"?
I'll have to put this in several sections as it is too long and I don't know how to change that setting to allow it to be longer. In answer to your questions, no, it was not an audible voice. I personally don’t know anyone who has claimed to have heard God speak in an audible voice. It may happen in some places where persecution is great, where the Bible is forbidden, and in special cases, but I do not believe that is how God works these days in the more westernized settings. First of all, you have to be seeking God’s answer, which if you aren’t praying, you probably won’t get it. So prayer is the first step in making decisions. If you just decide to make your decisions based on your own choice alone, without His input, without seeking knowledge or wisdom, you may or may not make a right decision. It will be chance that determines your choice.
DeleteThe next step after prayer is to await the answer. God speaks through a number of ways. First there is His Word. If you are seeking an answer to a question, often the Holy Spirit will guide you to a Scripture that answers your query. Next there is His people. Often an answer will come via someone else who brings wisdom or knowledge to the situation that allows you to see what God’s answer is. Then there is general knowledge. In a situation such as the vaccine, simply doing adequate research to understand the situation first is an absolute necessity. That requires actively doing something to find the truth, not just sitting back and listening to what people are saying which may or may not be truthful. God has told us not to trust man, so we shouldn’t. We should always question everybody over everything and do our own research, so that we are always seeking truth. Prayer for guidance in finding that truth is also essential. And it is not just Scriptural truth, which is paramount and first in priority, but truth about everything else as well. That requires looking into things and not taking people’s word for it. And by research I do not mean just listening to someone that is promoted as an expert, but checking what all sides of an argument are and what they offer as evidence to back up their positions and examining that evidence. You not only have to look at the data they present, but look into their motive, their agenda, their history, etc. It is time consuming, and most people do not want to waste the time, so they simply believe whatever they are told. This is how Satan deceives the masses.
Next there is the very common sense that God has given us to help us in life. Sometimes we merely have to look at a situation, ascertain what the logical answer is based upon what we should have in the way of common sense knowledge about it, and make the best choice possible. In the case of this inoculation, never has a vaccine been produced so quickly, because vaccines cannot be produced so quickly, and be anywhere near safe. This gene therapy is relatively new and untested and this one in particular had no trials whatsoever. The giving of it to the world populace has been its “animal” trials per se. The long term results of this will be seen in the years to come, while the short term results are being seen already, and they are not good. Normally a drug is tested for years for these short and long term results on animals before it is ever even tested on humans. This was not the case. Drugs that have been used for years and are relatively safe were shown to alleviate this disease if given soon after symptoms set in, yet they were outlawed for doctors to give. That right there smacks of something not being right. Doctors who used these drugs to save people’s lives in spite of this mandate, actually had their licenses removed. Why on earth would that be? Those facts alone should make a person question the motives of the government and what is going on and not trust them. This behavior and mandates smelled to high heaven of something terribly wrong, and when somethings smells that bad, it is best to stay away. If the meat in the fridge smells rotten, are you still going to eat it? Common sense says, “NO,” yet people ran to eat this rotten meat.
DeleteAnd lastly there is what I call the urging of the Holy Spirit. Some people might like to call it a gut instinct or women’s intuition, or any other euphemism, but I believe it is the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There are times when somehow you just know, from a powerful internal feeling that something is wrong, or something must be done. It is the urging of the Holy Spirit. The reason many may have missed the Holy Spirit telling them to not take this inoculation is because they have quenched the Holy Spirit. Today there is so much apostasy, so many straying from truth, so many living on the edge of sin, that these people have had to quench the whispers of the Holy Spirit in their conscience to be able to continue living as they are without feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt. The consequence of that is that when the Holy Spirit tries to warn them of something, they also do not hear that either.
In the case of the inoculation, I know one relatively new Christian who did not take it simply because she felt God telling her not to. There was no audible voice, nobody advising her, simply the gut feeling that this was terribly wrong. In not taking it she was fired from her job, but God in His gracious way, provided another for her immediately. She did not suffer a loss of income from her obedience. And the fact that God did immediately supply another job shows that she was right in her choice.
DeleteIn my case, I did a ton of research, I used my common sense, and I also had a gut feeling that there was something terribly wrong afoot. Plus my understanding of Bible prophecy and having followed the workings of the antichrist system that has been in place for hundreds of years showed me what was really going on. Satan’s fingerprints were all over this entire situation. It was unmistakable.
In all of the cases of the people I know who did not take this, because they felt it was not only physically dangerous but spiritually dangerous, none of them have suffered the consequences that others may have. If jobs were lost, they were immediately replaced or some other thing presented itself as a solution. Some were miraculously protected within their jobs, as for some reason they were excused from taking the shot while others took it. God was with each one, no matter the situation and blessed them for not having taken it. And each did not take it for different reasons. Medical research, common sense, gut feeling, whatever the source, they listened and were blessed.
So that is how people knew not to take this inoculation.
As for a situation where someone hears an audible voice, or has a vision or dream for that matter, they need to do what the Scriptures say and challenge it with the challenge we are told to use. They also need to see if it is in alignment with Scripture. But they have to know Scripture to do that. And as for being deceived by the aforementioned supernatural phenomena, because they did not challenge it, because they erroneously assumed that Satan couldn’t possibly deceive them, and they don't know if anything they've been told goes against Scripture, they (and those who listen to them) assume it is from God when it is not. To be able to discern that though, you have to know the Scriptures to begin with, which seems to be the biggest problem I have seen with Christians these days. They have no idea what God’s Word actually says. It seems that thousands are looking for signs, dreams, and visions to give them a special word or revelation from God. What did God tell us? An evil generation seeks after a sign. We have prayer, we have the Scriptures, we have common sense, we have the Holy Spirit, we have other Christians whom God can put in our path whether in the way of face to face interaction, or reading something they have written, to give us insight, and we have our own ability to search a matter out. We do not have to rely on signs and supernatural phenomena to find God’s leading. Will there be prophecies and dreams at the very end, yes, we are told there will be, but I have a feeling it will be more for the Jews, who have not had the New Testament to help them understand what is going on. Christians should not need these signs. They already have a great deal at their disposal, just as the Jews did when Christ came, but they were not listening or paying attention to God’s Words so missed it all. The problem seems to be that people today do not use these resources.