Abominations

Kim Myers, warning teenagers and young adults, who will be starting their own families shortly, to avoid the world's holidays (Satan's counterfeit 'Holy Days'), explains the pagan origins of New Years, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and birthdays. The most universal of the counterfeit festivals is New Year's, derived from the Saturnalia sun worship, involving orgies, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, and child sacrifice. The accoutrements surrounding Easter-eggs, rabbits, ham, and hot-cross buns all derive from the Babylonian mystery religion involving Semiramis, Nimrod, and Tammuz. Halloween and the Day of the Dead derive from the Celtic Festival of Samhain, a time the Irish lit bonfires and put on costumes to ward off ghosts. These ancient customs began two generations after Noah and his family left the ark, with Ham's grandson Nimrod. Most thinking people are aware of the pagan origins of these customs, but Satan entices them into accepting them through the appeal of pleasing children and grandchildren with something fun. As God's called out ones, we should not let Satan guilt us into compromise; we should not be afraid of being weirdos and oddballs, swimming upstream against a Satanic culture hurtling toward perdition and disintegration.

John Ritenbaugh, lamenting that the course that America is taking has destroyed her virtue, claims that breaking the first commandment is the worst sin because its violation is the epitome of self-centeredness, putting the self before God, the most blatant form of idolatry. The secular humanists, infiltrating education, entertainment, and government, boldly placing their reprobate minds above God's holy law, have undermined the virtue and sullied the purity of America. In 1972 and 2003, the satanically inspired Supreme Court of the United States respectively "legitimatized" murder (of innocent unborn babies) in the name of 'women's rights' and sodomy (calling same-sex marriage a right in the Constitution) as the law of the land. The seven things God absolutely hates, recorded in Proverbs 6:16-19, have been boldly practiced by secular, humanist, 'progressive' leftist media, educators, entertainment, politicians, and judges for the last 50 years. This nation is a mere shell of its former greatness, and has been begging for God's wrath. Our Heavenly Father will not keep His patience forever.

Ronny Graham, reflecting upon mankind’s propensity to selectively filter events, forgetting the bad and remembering the good when assessing “the good old days,” asserts that our civilization has undergone a terrifying free-fall of morality and ethics for multiple decades. Some feel the good old days are a myth, while others claim that we do not realize how good we have had things until they are gone. French novelist Marcel Proust proclaims that “remembrance of things past is not necessarily remembrance of the way things really were.” We have myriads of memories of the way things used to be in the church, including multiple choices of feast sites, social and athletic activities, abundant TV and print media, as well as full-fledged educational institutions. Many of the splinter groups in the greater Church of God are trying to reproduce this elusive bygone milieu and nostalgically return to those times. When our forebears on the Sinai faced frustrating challenges, they longed to return to the good old days, when there were plenty of pots of meat with garlic and leeks to go around, forgetting, of course, the bitterness of bondage. To be sure, there was a time when the children of Israel did enjoy prosperity in the land of Egypt, as Jacob’s offspring began to multiply, rivaling the Egyptian population, a time they genuinely feared God. When Jacob’s offspring began to assimilate into Egyptian culture, practicing idolatry, their foolish apostasy cost them God’s protection. Israel’s greatest problem was their failure to remember the terms of God’s Covenant, including His Sabbaths. God put Israel into slavery because they profaned His Sabbaths and statutes. Our previous fellowship was likewise blown apart because of apostasy from God’s Covenant; we need to solemnly remember that fact and purpose to get back to the old faith once delivered.

Richard Ritenbaugh posits that the thesis of the books of Chronicles is that, if one follows the terms of God's Covenant, blessings will accrue, and that, if one does not, curses will ensue. God sternly warned ancient Israel never to make covenants with the people whom He had dispossessed, nor to have anything to do with their sensual gods, but instead they were to destroy and tear down their idols and remove their high places. If Israel would honor the covenant, the people could be absolutely assured that God would richly bless them. God desires to bless and prosper His people. Decidedly, the worst king Judah ever had was Manasseh, the restorer of all the pagan religions, erecting altars to Baal, all the gods of the Zodiac, making groves to Ashera, worshiping the sun, moon, and stars, sacrificing several of his sons to Milchom, seducing Judah to compromise for the sake of political advantage to make alliances with the enemies of God. Traditionally, he is the person responsible for the death of Isaiah. Even though Manasseh was absolutely the worst king ever to lead Judah, shedding more innocent blood than any of his predecessors, leading to the captivity of his people, and of his own humiliating capture, being led around by hooks in his nose, Manasseh finally got the message that God only is God, and sincerely repented. As a result of this repentance, God restored him to his place on the throne of David. Manasseh is testimony that God's grace is astounding in magnanimity; even the worst of sinners can repent and receive God's forgiveness.

In an interview on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, former President Jimmy Carter waded into the current American cultural and political debate on homosexuality. ...

Ronny Graham, reflecting on the frequent assassinations which have occurred in history throughout the world and in the pages of the Bible, focuses on an extremely dangerous kind of assassination— namely character assassination through murmuring and gossip, a kind of assassination of which many of us have been guilty. In Numbers 12:1-9, we learn about God's anger leveled against Miriam and Aaron for gossiping about Moses, complaining of his marriage to an Ethiopian woman. In Proverbs 6:16, of the seven things God loathes and detests, thre pertain to the tongue and spreading discord among the brethren . Every time gossip is repeated, murder and character assassination is endlessly repeated. We dare not sell our birthright for a bowl of gos-soup.

Bill Onisick, characterizing the Pharisees as separatists, meticulously following man-made rituals and traditions, but oblivious of the weightier matters of the law, examines the deadly leavening of a Pharisee. The Pharisees performed their roles like actors behind mask, wanting the approval of men by his role-playing of piety. Pharisees are condemned for their proud look, their puffed-up attitude, their sowing discord among brethren, and causing contention. If we feel we are better than our brethren, separating ourselves from them either by avoiding them physically or holding hostility against them secretly, we are hypocrites and actors, harboring the leavening of the Pharisees in us. We need to rid ourselves of the pretentious hypocrisy of the Pharisees and avail ourselves of a pure humble heart, pouring out agape love to our brethren.

"Abomination" is a word that is quickly becoming archaic in modern usage because so few things are considered abominable anymore. Martin Collins provides both secular and religious meanings for the term, as well as a survey of biblical Hebrew and Greek words that convey a similar idea.

John Ritenbaugh, reminding us that Ecclesiastes chapters 1-6 contains a sub-theme of materialism—specifically an indictment of the supposed satisfaction one receives from it suggests that materialism contains no lasting fulfillment. According to some studies, the higher a person is on the economic scale, the less altruistic he is inclined to become. The only lasting enjoyment comes from establishing a relationship with God, understanding that: (1) life is God's gift; (2) He desires us to spend our time preparing for an eternal relationship with Him; (3) the fruit of active involvement with God is eternal life; (4) by faith, seeking God will lead to an above-the-sun life; and finally, (5) if there is no kingdom of God, then nothing matters except what is going on in the here and now. We desperately need to seek Godly wisdom, a multi-faceted spiritual gift which helps us make practical use of all the other spiritual gifts. Wisdom is practical skill in living, coexistent with the fruits of God's Holy Spirit, a whole collection or spectrum of skills for living God's way—something that takes a lifetime to learn.

Martin Collins, reflecting on an advertisement in which a slick, liberal actor endorsed the concept of pro-choice (murder of the unborn) while making fun of the pro-life concept, states that during the past 40 years, the American people have murdered 54 million babies—far outdistancing the deaths in Auschwitz, Dachau, and all the other death camps throughout the world. The number of babies slaughtered annually far exceed combined military deaths. Disgusting brain suction abortions are routinely performed in pregnancies that have gone beyond three months. Abortion is a result of an insane mental disposition on the part of the befuddled mother, and encouraged by a callused medical community. Medical publications like the Journal of the American Medical Association have indicated that the mental problems of the post-abortion mothers who experience guilt, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, and even suicide, have mushroomed out of control. Not only do the mental disorders of the mother hopelessly deteriorate, but the mental health of the siblings, the spouse, and the extended family degenerate as well. As modern Israel rejects God and His Law, God has taken a hands-off approach to the sinning populace, leaving them to come to terms with the consequences of their turpitude. Legalized abortion reveals the moral decadency of a nation, people, and culture—a culture which has totally rejected God. Life begins at conception; science cannot alter that reality. Studies have shown that babies begin learning language within 30 hours of being in the womb. The Scriptures reveal that even before conception, God has planned the future course of the future being. This country, for the past 40 years, has not repented of murdering its young; how much longer will God withhold His wrath?

David C. Grabbe:  In earlier times, food and other goods were measured out by weight using a balance. A standard weight (typically made of stone) was placed on one side, and the material being measured was put on the other. When the balance was level, both buyer and seller knew that the amount had been measured correctly. ...

God's prophets have a difficult job. They see the world around them through God's eyes, and they are tormented by the rising tide of sin and the coming destruction it will bring. Charles Whitaker focuses on a few of Ezekiel's visions to reveal what is really happening behind the scenes and how God's people should respond to it.

Ryan McClure:  By now, most of America has heard of Proposition 8—which proclaims, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California"—and the events in California over the denial of rights for homosexuals to marry. ...

John Ritenbaugh, reflecting that one perennial theme of the major and minor prophets is the deplorable faithlessness of Israel, depicted as a fickle, spoiled, pampered, well-dressed streetwalker, suggests that the day of Israel's calamity is right upon the horizon. To the remnants of this decadent civilization of modern Israel, God's begotten children, God provides the book of Proverbs as an antidote. Wisdom is inextricably linked with fear and reverence for God. Without wisdom, genius and brilliance is useless at best and dangerous at worst. Wisdom warns us not to let the world squeeze us into its mold. Unfortunately, as a nation, we have rejected wisdom in favor of foolishness, bringing about major devastating calamities: famines, pestilence, earthquakes, cosmic disturbances (graphically depicted in Deuteronomy 32, Jeremiah 4, and Ezekiel 2-3,6-7) upon our apostate faithless people after the prior devastation of Gentile nations who didn't have a relationship with God.

And [God] called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer's inkhorn at his side; and the LORD said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it. ...

Richard Ritenbaugh, reflecting upon Wordsworth's lament, "the world is too much with us," comments that the fast pace of the world - the hurry or rush mode - threatens to crowd God out of our thoughts. We cannot allow the cares of the world or the stress of the world's pressures, or the pride of the world (self-sufficiency)to crowd God out of our thoughts or to defile our minds, bringing about abominable works or evil fruits. The spiritual battle we fight is in our minds and in our thoughts. We are what we think - what we put into our minds. We need to actively lay siege to our carnality and hostile thoughts, bringing them into captivity to God's Holy Spirit. Our thoughts (hopefully filled with the knowledge of God) determine the content of our speech and the contents of our actions- i.e. our fruits. What we sow we will reap.

John Ritenbaugh focuses upon conditions for acceptable sacrifices and offerings, differentiating the holy and authentic from the defiled, unclean and strange. God will only accept as sacrifices those things He has given to His called out ones in their covenantal relationship with Him (including the clean and unclean designations in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14). Because God has explicitly prohibited a foreigner's grain for the wavesheaf offering (Leviticus 22:24-25), for one to infer a wavesheaf offering from Joshua 5 would be to infer an abomination. The wavesheaf offering, depicting Christ as the first of the firstfruits, to be undefiled and free from corruption, had to come from the produce God had given them from their own labor on their own land.

Is there a distinction between black and white magic? Martin Collins in his exploration of the fastest growing religion in the United States (witchcraft) traces both practices to Satan the Devil. The Bible clearly condemns charmers, divination, gnosticism, necromancy, soothsayers, sorcery, spiritism and witchcraft, identifying all of these practices as hideous abominations, based upon lying, idolatry, and contacting evil demonic spirits.

Halloween has seen a recent surge in popularity, now ranking second only to Christmas in retail sales. There is no doubt, however, that Halloween should never be celebrated by true Christians. Not only is it pagan in origin and practice, but it also promotes self-indulgence, deception, and other ungodly behaviors. Far from being a harmless holiday, Halloween has the potential to destroy our relationship with God.

In many respects, America has lost its moral and ethical foundation. Richard Ritenbaugh presents evidence from the fields of medicine, politics and religion that the slide into immorality is quickening.

What is pornography? Is nudity wrong? Discover the attittudes behind pornography and why Christians must strive for purity. This article also includes the insets, 'Government Research and Conclusions on Pornography' and 'Modesty in Clothing.'

Jesus says the end times will be like the days of Lot in Sodom, meaning that rampant homosexuality is a sign of the end. Earl Henn analyzes this growing, worldwide trend.

John Ritenbaugh warns us that where our eyes are fixed upon (looking to for guidance and direction) determines how we will conduct our lives. Like our forebears in Ezekiel 20, we have also been influenced by our father's idols, placing us (ignorantly perhaps) in opposition to God's laws and judgments. Immorality is the natural cause-effect consequence of rejecting God's counsel, forcing one to embrace evil as good and reject good as evil, totally perverting standards of morality. Rejecting the true God automatically leads to idolatry, worshipping the rulerd of this world, a being bent on our destruction. Idolatry constitutes the fountainhead from which all other sins flow, all of which amplify obsessive self-centeredness and self-indulgence. We need to educate our conscience to worship (cultivate a relationship with) the true God rather than misconceptions manufactured by our misguided imaginations.