Tag: Zeus

Investing

What do you think of when you read or hear of “walking in the truth”? Is it more than worshipping according to the New Testament pattern and baptizing for the remission of sins? What does the epistle of 2 John teach us about this important character trait?


Gary Pollard

II John 3 talks about living in truth and love. John was happy that they were following the truth, but they apparently weren’t following the way of love. We’ve looked at how John defines this love in I John 3, but as a quick refresher: “This is how we know what real love is — Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for each other. Suppose a believer who is rich enough to have all the necessities of life sees a fellow believer who is poor and does not even have basic needs. What if the rich believer doesn’t help the poor one? Then it is clear that God’s love is not in that person’s heart” (16-17). He uses almost exactly the same formula in II John, which reads like I John if it were condensed to one chapter. 

In II John 6 he says, “Loving means living the way he commanded us to live. God’s command is this: that you live a life of love. You heard this command from the beginning.” We won’t have “grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and his Son” if we aren’t living in both truth and love (3). This lady and her family had the truth thing down, but their love needed some work. John seems to go back and forth between the truth and love theme in this letter. 

There’s a warning sandwiched between two “truth” statements. “Be careful! Don’t lose the reward we have worked for. Be careful so that you will receive all of that reward” (8). Be careful about what? “There are many false teachers in the world now,” and, “Everyone must continue to follow only the teaching about Christ. Whoever changes that teaching does not have God” (7 and 9). The teaching about Christ is that he came to Earth and became human (cf. 7). 

We may take this for granted and/or may not appreciate its significance. Many gods competed for the hearts of nations, and most of world had a pantheon. Paul said that these gods are actually just demons (I Cor 10.19-20; cf. Deut 32.17, I Enoch 19.1), and there is compelling evidence of certain of these taking different names throughout history. The Egyptian god Thoth was worshipped by the Greeks as Hermes and the Romans as Mercury. Amun (Egypt) was Zeus (Greece) and Jupiter (Rome). Isis (Egypt) was Aphrodite (Greece) and Venus (Rome). Ra (Egypt) was Zeus (Greece), Jupiter (Rome), and Indra (Hindu). Hathor (Egypt) was a fixation for some time over the last couple of centuries, and has also been associated with Aphrodite (Greece) and Venus (Rome).1 This list is far from exhaustive. They’re all just archetypes used by demons to manipulate and derail civilizations. 

No god took human form23 and lived a very public life doing good for others in the most selfless possible way. No god was perfectly innocent. But God made himself human, was morally perfect, and sacrificed his physical body before coming back to life. That last action was a promise — we’ll get that too! God becoming human for our sake is the most beautiful narrative ever conceived. God becoming human revealed the Great Mystery to all of humanity for the first time (Eph 3.4-6, Col 4.3): there is a greater power, he wants a relationship with humanity, and he’s coming back to save his family when earth is destroyed. 

With this truth in our hearts, God expects us to capitalize on any opportunities we have to show selfless love to our Christian family, and then to all people we encounter. 

Don’t save treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them. Instead, save your treasures in the heavens, where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will be where your treasure is (Mt 6.19-21). 

1 Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2017, October 27). 11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/list/11-egyptian-gods-and-goddesses
2At the very least it’s curious that many polytheistic cultures believed in an incorporeal afterlife. A physical God and a physical resurrection repulsed the Gnostics, who were certainly influenced by Egyptian theology. The Egyptians believed in a non-physical afterlife, as did many or most other religions (sadly, many Christians do, too). While it may or may not be accurate, Enoch claims that demons are the spirits (consciousness) of human/watcher offspring who’ve been relieved of their bodies (15.8-9). If that’s true, it’s at least interesting that most of the cultures they influenced also despised the concept of a physical afterlife. Our God came back to life in a real, physical body and promised us the same. It’s real hope. Their gods are smoke and mirrors and offer no tangible, practical hope. 
3I’m not talking about humans whose actions ultimately led their deification, but primordial “gods” considered superior to humanity by the cultures who worship them. 

Power, Leadership, and the Consequences of Human Desires

Brent Pollard

In 1215, the English nobility threatened to use force if King John did not sign the Magna Carta, which limited the monarch’s authority. We herald this document as a crucial step towards constitutional democracy. It laid the foundation for protecting individual rights and the rule of law. Before the Magna Carta, the monarch had unchecked power and could make decisions without limitations or accountability. It was the era of the “divine right of kings.” The Magna Carta challenged this concept and established that even the monarch was subject to the law.

In 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites asked Samuel to appoint a king to rule over them, despite God’s warning that a king would take away their freedoms and rights. Since they expressed a desire for a king, Samuel sought guidance from God on how to proceed. God told Samuel they could have a king but that when they cried out for relief, He would not answer them (1 Samuel 8.18). Even so, the Israelites said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 18.19–20 NASB).

After the Israelites established a monarchy, they experienced a gradual erosion of their freedoms and rights. Kings had the power to impose taxes, conscript soldiers, and make decisions without consulting the people. This centralized authority often led to abuses of power and a lack of accountability. Additionally, the Israelites’ dependence on a human king shifted their focus away from God and placed greater trust in human leadership, which ultimately had negative consequences for their spiritual well-being.

Consider what the prophet Jeremiah said of King Jehoiakim:

And the Lord says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim, who builds his palace with forced labor. He builds injustice into its walls, for he makes his neighbors work for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace with huge rooms and many windows. I will panel it throughout with fragrant cedar and paint it a lovely red.’ But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” says the Lord. “But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.” (Jeremiah 22.13-17 NLT)

Jehoiakim is an excellent example of what the kings of Israel and Judah had become. And God kept His word and did not heed their cries. Instead, He allowed them to suffer the consequences of their actions. As God warned through Isaiah, “They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward” (Isaiah 8.21 NASB95).

What lesson can we learn from Israel as it emerged from the period of the judges when every man did what was right in his own eyes? Trying to impose our will upon God can harm us. Hence, “Be careful what you wish for.” Supposedly, that expression originated with Aesop’s fable “The Frogs Who Wished for a King.” But the plot of that tale is similar to the account in 1 Samuel, with the frogs asking Zeus to give them a king. In response, Zeus initially gave them a log. When they complained, Zeus gave them a crane, which gobbled many of them up.

Jesus taught us to pray that the Father would do His will in our lives (Matthew 6.10). He also set an example by surrendering his will to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22.42). The latter meant that Jesus would offer His life on the cross (see Philippians 2.5-8).

In reflecting upon these historical and biblical narratives, we are reminded of the enduring lesson that desires for earthly power and authority, when unchecked and pursued without heed to moral and divine principles, can lead to unintended and dire consequences. The Magna Carta, born out of the need to limit unchecked royal power, is a testament to establishing legal and moral boundaries on leadership.

Likewise, the story in 1 Samuel 8 and the subsequent experiences of Israel and Judah are cautionary tales about the potential pitfalls of pursuing human kingship without due consideration of the divine will. The consequences of their insistence on having a human king ultimately led to oppression and spiritual decline.

In light of these lessons, we are encouraged to approach our desires and aspirations with humility, seeking alignment with higher principles and the divine will, as exemplified by Jesus’ prayer for God’s will to be done. As Christ’s selfless act on the cross demonstrates, giving up our will for a greater cause can result in outcomes that honor God and the welfare of humanity.