by Brad Sherman

17

Satanic Sacraments


But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense
 to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." 
- Matthew 16:23 (NKJV)



     I was walking through the student union at the University of Iowa when I stopped to observe the information table belonging to the Iowa International Socialist Organization (a student organization on campus). They had several pieced of literature promoting their views and since the group openly identified itself as a socialist organization, the typical leftists slogans, derogatory information aimed at conservatives, and the words “Got Marx?” on the yong man’s T-shirt came as no surprise.  But two of the most prominent posters read: “Defend Abortion Rights - Free Abortion on Demand,” and “Gay Marriage - Yes.”

     Have you noticed that socialism, abortion, and homosexual issues always seem to be in the same camp? Where you find one of these, the other two are nearly always connected. This chapter will address this and show that they share common roots. We will see that the real battle we are dealing is not simply political, cultural, or social. It is spiritual. This common connection can be explained when we think of these things as sacraments of a pagan religious belief system.

Basic Satanism
     Perhaps the most sacred of the Christian sacraments is the Lord’s Supper. The bread and the wine, of course, represent the sacrifice of Christ’s body and blood as payment for our sins. The Bible documents the concept of blood sacrifice from the beginning and throughout the Old Testament. But Jesus offered Himself once and for all, the supreme sacrifice for the sins of the world. The price has been paid and atonement for sin is not appropriated through faith in the work of Christ and his shed blood. 

     Nevertheless, pagan or satanic cultures still offer the blood of animals, even humans, as part of their rites. One example was discovered in 1989 when two protégés of Aleister Crowley (an English occultist/Satanist) and Anton LeVay (the founder of the church of Satan), were found sacrificing humans, believing that the sacrifice would make their drug shipments invisible to law enforcement. A Texas deputy made the grizzly discovery and said:

"I thought in my twenty-two years of law enforcement I had seen everything. I hadn't. As we drew near, you could smell the stench...blood and decomposing organs. In a big, cast iron pot there were pieces of human bodies and a goat's head with horns." 1

In the spiritual world and the conflict between light and darkness, the dynamics of blood sacrifice are very real; it a Christ-Antichrist issue. The Bible speaks of these opposing sacraments:

“...the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.  You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons.” — 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 (NKJV)

     The belief system of Satanism is surprisingly simple and explains why we see people with such an unyielding commitment to these perverted sacraments in our world today.  In Aleister Crowley’s book, The Book of the Law, the inspiration for which he attributes to a demonic spirit, He writes:

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. The word of sin is restriction ... So with thy all; thou hast no right but to do thy will. ...For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.2

     So in Crowley’s view, one should do whatever he or she wants. To call something sin (wrong) is unacceptable because it is restrictive. In his view, life should be lived with total commitment to pure will (desire) without any purpose or result in mind. In other words, this view embraces pure chaos and lawlessness. It is the belief that humans are a law unto themselves and can create their own law. Personal desire is above any other human consideration.  This is the same philosophy that has been promoted in government schools through the philosophy of relativism, often called “values clarification.” Children are taught that values are relative and are encouraged to make up their own according to what they think or feel.

     Jesus actually addressed this element of the fallen human nature of man who wants to do his own will. He had been revealing His plan and purpose to the disciples, explaining to them that He would suffer and be crucified. But Peter objected because his will was not for Jesus to suffer and die, but to be installed as King of Israel - immediately! So he took Jesus aside and rebuked Him saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You.” Jesus’ response reveals the source of Peter’s thinking:

“But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’ ”  — Matthew 16:23 (NKJV)

     This response is quite revelatory!  Jesus' reply, speaking to Peter as Satan, shows that to be mindful of the things of men, the will of man, and man’s desire, is of Satan. This is why the mark of the beast in the Bible (666) is called the number of a “man” (see Rev 23:18).

     Contrary to Crowley’s philosophy, those who submit their wills to God become part of a plan and a purpose which will have a definite result. Even Jesus took up His cross, not because He wanted to, but because He submitted to the plan of the Father. We know this because in the garden before the crucifixion, Jesus said: "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).  Therefore, to seek one’s own will above God’s is the foundation of Satanism. By this definition, we can begin to see just how far down the road to satanism our self-centered culture has traveled.

     Just because people wrestle with self-will, however, does not mean they are satanists.  Like Peter, even those who are genuine followers of Christ can be influenced and misled by Satan. But to give one’s self over to self-will is to yield to Satan and start down the wrong road.

     Depending upon the translation used, the Bible describes this “cult of self” as having jealousy, bitter envy or selfish ambition and regards such things as demonic or demon-like.

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”  — James 3:14-16 (NASB)

     Left unchecked, the selfish tendency of human nature will lead one deeper and deeper into “disorder” (lack of purpose) and “every evil thing” (satanic beliefs and actions). We also see in this passage that “natural” is in the same category as demonic. This word "natural" means according to the senses, or feelings. This is the root of the “if it feels good it must be right” philosophy.  The writer of Proverbs warned us regarding this philosophy saying: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death” (see Pr 14:12). But, “the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” (see Ps 19:7). Contrary to humanistic teaching, humanity has been corrupted and needs the restraints of God’s law.

The Depths of Satan
      Writing to the church in Thyatira, Jesus spoke about those in the “depths of Satan.”

"Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.” — Revelation 2:20-24 (NKJV)

     In this passage we see that even some who are considered part of the church have entered into the depths of Satan. Those who teach that sexual immorality and idolatry are acceptable would qualify as such. In the eyes of God, such people have developed a satanic belief system, a belief system that rejects all restraint of God’s law. The only law they recognize is: “Do what thou wilt.”

Three Satanic Sacraments
     Many have noticed and commented on the extremely radical commitment that many on the political left have to socialism, homosexual rights, and abortion. This high level of uniformity points to an underlying system of beliefs that is nothing short of religious in nature. When we understand the definition of Satanism described above we begin to understand why these things really are their revered sacraments, albeit sacraments of an unholy nature. This man/self-centered system is the religion called ‘humanism,’ which like all religions, has its sacraments.

Socialism
     Socialism is an economic issue which deals with wealth. Wealth can be defined as tangible goods useful to people generated by labor or ingenuity. Money is a way of converting wealth into a condensed easily transferable form making trade and access to the products and services of others more convenient and efficient. The value of money is based on trust, since money in and of its self, has no real value. Therefore, money could be defined as: A token-based system of trust used to facilitate the transfer of goods between persons or entities.

     People often misquote the Bible and declare that money is the root of all sorts of evil, but it its not. It is the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil, not money itself. Ideally, money should simply be a tool to make certain tasks easier and therefore produce greater freedom. But there are those who have manipulated money into a tool for the purpose of controlling and enslaving others. Their system is called socialism.

     Socialism ignores the fact that wealth is the product of labor and promotes the idea of equal wealth without considering weather one has invested his labor for wealth, thus undermining personal property, individual responsibility, and incentive.  Though socialism purports to be about equality and sharing unselfishly, history shows the opposite to be true. Equality and sharing is simply the sales pitch used by unscrupulous political salesmen seeking to enrich themselves. They skillfully plant the seeds of discontent and promote class warfare because they know that socialism can only be sold to the masses if there is envy and selfish desire to get something for nothing. The real result of socialism is not freedom, but a class of slaves who serve and enrich a small group of elites who have gained control of money and manipulate prices, exchange rates, and the supply of money for their own gain.

     The only thing that ever moved Jesus to physical violence involved the manipulation of money out (see John 2:13-16; Mark 11:15-17). Jesus saw them selling of animals for sacrifices, which cheapened the whole idea of what the sacrifice was, but he also saw the money changers. There was only one type of coin accepted for the temple tax,3 the Hebrew shekel and 1/ 2 shekel. Most other commerce was conducted using Roman currency. Since the Hebrew coins were not common currency, it was in high demand at the temple when it was time to pay the temple tax. Due to the high demand at this time, the moneychangers could take advantage of the people by demanding a higher normal exchange rate. When Jesus saw what was going on, Jesus went into the temple, overturned the moneychanger’s tables, and using a whip, drove them. To Jesus, they were simply thieves.

     The elites understand that the entire idea of socialism turns on the human vice of envy. They know that socialism only gains ground when the level envy and selfishness is high among the people which, as we saw above, is the basis for disorder and every evil thing (see James 3:14-16).Without the envy of those who have less toward those who have more, there is no class warfare and without class warfare socialism has no base.

     This is why socialists work to undermine all Christian values, one of which is to be content with what we have. Ironically, contentment with what we have is actually a means of great gain (see 1 Tim 6:6).  But selfish people caught up in bitter envy simply want what they want— immediately! They will vote for a free living with no regard for the far-reaching, long term destructive results. This mentality is reminiscent of Crowley’s satanic philosophy: “For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.” How shortsighted! Therefore, socialism is zealously defended by humanists and revered as sacred making it a satanic sacrament.

     However, socialism begins to collapse when the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living (a modified quote from Thomas Sowell). A quote attributed to former Prime Minister of Great Brittan, Margaret Thatcher, puts it this way, "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."

Same-sex Marriage
     One of the most holy and important Christian sacraments is marriage. Marriage, the relationship between a man and a woman, is intended to be God’s model representing the relationship between Christ and the Church. It is only within the covenant of marriage that sexual intimacy between a man and a woman is sanctioned by God.

    Though premarital sex and adultery are certainly sinful, homosexuality takes sexual perversion to a different level. When homosexuals demand the right to call their relationships “marriage,” it is a direct attack against the church and seeks to destroy God’s model for defining His relationship with the Church. It is an attack against the very concept of Christianity. Therefore, those who ardently defend homosexual rights are simply being true to their anti-Christian religion of humanism. It is sacred to them and that is why they fight for it. Same-sex marriage, and the homosexual agenda in general, are a satanic sacrament.

Abortion
     The ultimate satanic sacrament is human sacrifice. Besides examples like the one mentioned above from Texas, we have a much more prevalent form of human sacrifice that is cleverly disguised in medical and political jargon. Of course, what I am referring to is abortion. Instead of calling the baby a baby, it is called a "fetus" or a "biological mass." Instead of crushing and tearing the baby apart with cold steel tools, it is called a "surgical procedure." Instead of killing unwanted children, it is called "birth control" and "family planning."

     Some have consented to abortion without clear understanding or under pressure from others. Many have found forgiveness from God and He continues to offer grace and forgiveness. But the fact remains that abortion in our culture is nothing less than a human sacrifice to the idols of selfish convenience, irresponsible sexual gratification, or both.

     The holy Christian sacrament that we call “Communion” or “the Lord’s Table” is representative of Christ offering His own human flesh and blood. Abortion is the antithesis of Holy Communion—it is an offering of human flesh and blood upon the satanic alter of human selfishness. Those who treat the right to abortion as a sacred right and tirelessly defend it are simply following the satanic belief system that has penetrated deep into their hearts and minds. Abortion is a satanic sacrament.

Collision Course
     As pointed out, the nature of a sacrament is that it is revered and protected with great zeal. Such is the case with those who militantly and politically defend socialism, homosexual rights, abortion, and other anti-Christian values. Like Jezebel in the church of Thyatira, they may say they are Christian, but they are not. Nevertheless they are deeply religious, holding deep commitment to their anti-Christian religion of self-will called humanism. They believe in and are totally devoted to their religion and its sacraments which are simply their expression of worship, albeit satanic worship. The conflict between the kingdom of God and the powers of Satan is being played out in front of our eyes politically and culturally, and they are on a collision course.

     Like the church of Thyatira, the Lord has something against us as a nation. We have tolerated those who hold that satanic doctrine which places the will of man above the will of God. If we continue to tolerate this religion of humanism as our state religion, and allow the practice of its sacraments, we will suffer the consequences of our actions. As individuals, we must take our stand for God regardless of which way our nations goes and at the same time keep building the city of God with living stones.

     We cannot remain neutral. We must engage the culture with the understanding that we are in a spiritual war and be bold enough to call socialism, homosexuality, and abortion what it is—satanic. We must get in involved in the political process to resist all legislation and those organizations that are favorable to socialism, destructive to marriage and the biblical model of the family, and abortion. But resisting evil in not enough. We must also actively support those organizations and legislation that stand for and support biblical economics, biblical morals, and life.

God Offers Forgiveness
     The line has been drawn and choices must be made. However, those who embrace the religion of humanism and participate in its satanic sacraments are not without hope. Even when accepting these hard-hitting truths, we must remember that Jesus also offered the opportunity to repent when He confronted those who had "known the depths of Satan" (see Rev 2:21). God has grace and forgiveness for them and He is giving them time to repent.  Many have turned to God and become wonderful Christian people.

     Therefore as we take a bold stand for truth, may we also remember that, apart from God’s grace, we too would be mired in the depths of Satan.  May our speech be with grace, seasoned as it were with salt, that we may know how to answer each one as we share the good news of the coming Kingdom.

Paradigm Builders:
     Basic satanism is to follow one’s own desires instead of God’s plan. Socialism, homosexual activism, and abortion are connected by satanic roots. By design, they are aimed at the destruction of freedom, our nation, and life itself.

How would you describe your position regarding this concept?
    Before reading the chapter :
        1- I disagreed
        2- I was unaware or ambivalent
        3- I already agreed

    After you read the chapter/book:
        1- I disagree
        2- I am considering
        3- I agree   

____________________
1  Kovar, The Matamoros Murders, http://goodfight.org/a_co_matamoros_murders.html
Crowley, Book of the Law, Chapter 1; lines 41,42, 44
3 Temple tax coin. http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=828


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(c) Copyright, 2013, Brad Sherman