An Open Letter to the Church: From John

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne

Revelation 1:4

I quote Revelation chapters two and three in my blog posts frequently because these letters say some very hard things to the church. As far as I am concerned these sayings are neglected in today’s apostate churches just as it is prophesied. I am hoping to break through the delusion of dispensational theology, where the church thinks it is going to be whisked away, somewhere beyond the sunset, with Santa and the Easter bunny.

The featured image is that of Krampus, Santa’s helper who handles the “naughty” children, a tradition more familiar in Europe than in North America. Krampus helps us understand the origins of the myth. The featured picture is an entry by Alessio Zacarria on Unsplash.

Rev 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Some of the harshest warnings from Jesus are to church people who continue in the practices of Balaam and Jezebel. Sadly, many people do not try to understand these things and how they still apply today.

Rev 2:20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
Rev 2:21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,
Rev 2:23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
Rev 2:24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.

What were the great sins of Jezebel and her husband Ahab? They are spelled out for us in scripture. No one needs to look any further than the books of the Kings, even though one could spend a life time reading books about all the ancient religions and their disgusting fertility rites.

1Ki 16:29 Now Ahab son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah. Ahab son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.
1Ki 16:30 But Ahab son of Omri did evil in the eyes of Yahweh more than all who were before him.
1Ki 16:31 If it wasn’t enough that he went after the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he also took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal the king of the Sidonians. He went and served Baal and bowed down to him.
1Ki 16:32 And he built an altar to Baal in the house of Baal which he had built in Samaria.
1Ki 16:33 Ahab also made the sacred pole, and he continued to provoke Yahweh the God of Israel more than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

“Ahab made the sacred pole”. I will admit that the ancient religions are confusing. These ancient religions melded together over thousands of years by many cultures. Baal is a generic name for the god they worshipped. Usually Baal had a wife, and she went by many names. The sacred pole, along with groves, is a common theme with these religions. As things moved away from the Canaanite and Moabite religions, they went into Persian, Greek and Roman. The Baals were Adonis, Mithras, Jupiter etc.. The associated goddesses were Diana and Venus. There were many different sacred trees, poles and traditions throughout the different cultures.

1Ki 18:17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you who throws Israel into confusion?”
1Ki 18:18 He said, “I did not throw Israel into confusion; rather you and the house of your father have by forsaking the commands of Yahweh when you went after the Baals!
1Ki 18:19 So then, send word and assemble all of Israel to me on Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at the table of Jezebel.”

Committing adultery with Jezebel is playing around with these other gods by using their symbols and special days. Revelation 2:22-23, “Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works”. This is Jesus telling church people He is going to throw them into great tribulation and kill their children for doing these things. Shouldn’t we pay attention and figure out what He is talking about here? This sounds important.

Many of these fertility based religions with sacred poles and trees were centred around the spring equinox. Easter is a remnant of these rites from Ishtar and Diana. The May pole is also one of these sacred poles.

Rev 2:24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.
Rev 2:25 Only hold fast what you have until I come.
Rev 2:26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,
Rev 2:27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.

Jesus also calls these things the “deep things of Satan”. Most of the remnants of these “deep things of Satan” have been with us and remain with us in 2021. The following is taken from wiccaliving.com.

The significance of the Winter Solstice has been recognized for thousands of years, ever since human beings first observed the ever-changing patterns of sunrise and sunset over the course of the seasons. The ancient Romans, Greeks, and Persians all held festivals at this time, many of which celebrated the birth of one or more gods. Of course, the leaders of the early Christian church decided that this was a good time to celebrate the birth of Jesus as well, since one of their strategies for winning converts was to align their holidays with already-existing pagan festivals. The name “Yule” actually comes from the pre-Christian festivities of Germanic tribes, and is believed to have been handed down to us from the ancient Norse in particular.

In the Wiccan belief system, the God is reborn at Yule, having died at the previous Sabbat (Samhain) [halloween] at the end of October. The weak quality of sunlight during these still-short days is symbolized by the God in his infancy, just born and needing sustenance before he can come back into his full power. The Goddess, who has been in her Crone aspect these past few months, is now once again in her Mother aspect, having just given birth to the God. She represents the Earth, remaining still and silent for awhile yet as she rests from her labor.

This is a celebration of the renewal of life, but compared to other Sabbats it is a relatively quiet, indoor holiday, as people gather within the warm shelters of their homes to be merry and give thanks. As a Yule ritual, many Wiccans decorate their altars with evergreen branches, such as cedar, pine, hemlock and spruce, as well as bright sprigs of holly, pinecones, and other festive winter flora.

Candles are paramount to this Sabbat, of course, with Yule traditions emphasizing the colors red, green, white, and gold. Images of the Sun are also appropriate. Those lucky enough to have a fireplace can burn a sacred Yule log, but you don’t need an actual hearth to brighten up your home with candles galore! Interestingly, many traditions which are generally thought of as belonging to Christmas—including the Yule log, a decorated tree, wreaths, and even caroling—are actually rooted in pre-Christian pagan traditions. So it’s quite likely that you’ve already been celebrating Yule for years, with or without your knowledge!

“So it’s quite likely that you’ve already been celebrating Yule for years, with or without your knowledge!” The Wiccans know what these holy days are about: how is it Christians are so ignorant when it comes to these things? What about the warning? Rev 2:22-23, “Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead”.

Who would know the “deep things of Satan” better than the Church of Satan? This is from their website churchofsatan.com:

“The Christians stole this holiday from the pagans—Santa Claus has come to signify indulgence, and he is a combination of Dionysos and Silenus from Roman and Greek myths (the Romans celebrated the orgiastic Saturnalia at this time). The Nazarene has little place in the general public’s celebrations of this season, which were meant by pagans to be celebrations of abundance during a season of cold and emptiness. So for the Yule holiday season we enjoy the richness of life and the company of people whom we cherish, as we will often be the only ones who know where the traditions really came from!”

If you didn’t know where these traditions come from, now you know. The apostles sent a letter to the pagans coming into Christianity to not have anything to do with things polluted with idols.

Act 15:19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,
Act 15:20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.

Jesus gave a stern warning about acting like Jezebel with the sacred pole, yet everyone will be putting up their sacred pole, along with all the fertility symbols that go along with it in the coming weeks.

1Ki 21:25 Truly, there was no one like Ahab who had sold himself by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, whose wife Jezebel urged him on.
1Ki 21:26 Also, he acted very abominably by going after idols like all the Amorites had done whom Yahweh had driven out from before the Israelites.”

Jesus calls out people in the church for doing these same abominations of Balaam, which are very similar to those of Jezebel.

Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
Rev 2:15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Rev 2:16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

Balaam couldn’t curse the children of Israel as Balak hired him to do. However, he did show Balak how to get the chosen people of Yahweh to curse themselves.

Num 25:1 When Israel dwelled in Shittim, the people began to prostitute themselves with the daughters of Moab.
Num 25:2 And they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and worshiped their gods.
Num 25:3 So Israel was joined together to Baal Peor, and Yahweh became angry with Israel.
Num 25:4 Yahweh said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and kill them before the sun, so the fierce anger of Yahweh will turn from Israel.”
Num 25:5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill his men who are joined together with Baal Peor.”

Balaam was the one who was accredited with leading the Israelites astray. The Moabite women enticed the Israelites with their form of worship, which was very unpleasant to Yahweh.

Num 31:15 And Moses said to them, “You have kept alive every female?
Num 31:16 Behold, these women caused the Israelites, by the word of Balaam, to be in apostasy against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, so that the plague was among the community of Yahweh.

The prophet Micah brings up Balaam and the terrible events surrounding the people’s apostasy.

Mic 6:5 O my people, remember what Balak the king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you might know the righteous acts of Yahweh.”

Baal of Peor was the god of the Moabites which the Israelites joined themselves with by celebrating the feasts with the Moabites. They were actually drawn in by the women of the Moabites. “The people began to prostitute themselves with the daughters of Moab. And they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and worshiped their gods”. These are the same fertility rituals that are practiced today where Christians openly take part in “eating food sacrificed to idols”. It was also going on in Corinth during Paul’s day. He brings up the Baal of Peor incident.

1Co 10:7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
1Co 10:8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.

Paul also warns us again not to partake in these feasts of other gods.

1Co 10:19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
1Co 10:20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
1Co 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
1Co 10:22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

All the symbolism of Christmas comes from these foreign gods. The witches know this, the Satanist know this, yet church people are ignorant and still partake. Jesus is very clear about not engaging in these stumbling blocks.

Rev 2:16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

This sword Jesus speaks of is not something to take lightly.

Rev 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
Rev 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Rev 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,
Rev 19:18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”

I suggest the words of Jesus be taken very seriously. These feast days of foreign gods have not vanished, they have simply been assimilated into Christianity. It is no different than what happened at Shittim, bringing a curse on the people.

Eze 3:20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.
Eze 3:21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”