The Church: The Synagogue Of Satan

    "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Revelation 2:9

     Several years ago as I was watching the movie "Gladiator"  there was a scene that showed a panoramic view of the city of Rome outside of Caesar's balcony. Although obviously animated it portrayed a beautiful city engulfed in a fine mist with hundreds of buildings and structures exemplifying Rome's superior architecture.

     Watching the scene intently the Lord spoke to me and said, "Where do you think the design for this city came from?" I answered and said, I don't know, and He said to me, "Satan copied what he saw in heaven." I was amazed as the fact hit me that the devil, who doesn't possess any creative ability counterfeited the kingdom of God. It made sense, where did man get the idea for such design if it had not been copied from something?

     Satan is the father of lies and is the master of disaster when it comes to making something look real that in actuality is false. From the beginning of time he has incited man to worship anything other than God, from the tower of Babel to the man-made religious structure of today that we call church, Satan has succeeded in deceiving the masses by his cunning craftiness.

COUNTERFEIT KINGDOM

     "When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger." Ezekiel 43:8

     When Jesus was crucified for our sins on the cross the angels ripped the curtain in two that separated man from God's presence. This allowed access directly to the Father and man would no longer need a priest to go to God for him. This was the very entrance into the kingdom of God, a new and living way to come boldly into the throne of grace. This was God's threshold!

     Satan was furious because he no longer could deceive and manipulate the priesthood such as the Pharisees for now everyone that was born again became a priest and was granted access to the throne of God. When this new priesthood of believers rolled out of the upper room full of the Holy Spirit and on fire for God it looked like the devil's plan was ruined forever, but was it?

     If you are going to mislead someone that is trying to find the entrance to God's kingdom you just stick up a false threshold, a facade to cover up the real entrance and that's exactly what Satan did. He resurrected the old priesthood complete with their own synagogue on every corner and called it church. He has deceived billions by his trickery in that people erect a shrine to worship in and set a pastor over them just as the Jews had a priest, add a little law to it, sprinkle in a little Jewish tradition and you've got a full blown "Synagogue of Satan!"

     "Now let them put away their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings ( false priesthood ) far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever." Ezekiel 43:9

     The church of God has silently fallen into apostasy and lost it's first love and the vision it received from the Lord to harvest the world. Traditions of selfish men and generations of polluted doctrines have poisoned the body to the extent that she is totally paralyzed spiritually and unable to function as the Lord intended.

     "Then it was so, after all your wickedness- 'Woe, woe to you!' says the Lord God- "that you built for yourself a shrine, ( a place where Devotion is paid to a saint or a deity ) and made a high place ( a place of pagan worship ) for yourself in every street.

      "You built your high places at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. Ezekiel 16:23-25

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

     And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; "come let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and go up out of the land." Exodus 1:9,10

     When the children of Israel entered Egypt under the reign of the Pharaoh that favored Joseph they began to multiply and become a strong nation within a nation. The Egyptians began to fear an uprising so they divided the people of God and appointed cruel taskmasters over them to greatly diminish their strength. So it is today, the "Church of the Living God" has been divided by denomination, race, selfish ambition and competition and in most cases have become little isolated pockets of lukewarm, apathetic social clubs with little or no power to defeat the enemies of God.

     The world networks, corporations network, even the devil networks, but for some reason the church refuses to unify under the banner of the cross and come together for any reason other than some memorial service or lunch. Pastors are so afraid that someone will steal their sheep or infringe on their ministry when in actuality the sheep and the ministry don't belong to them, they belong to Jesus.

     The church of God has been successfully divided up into little sheep pens unable to lift a finger to minister to anyone at all or to make any difference in a world that is dying and so desperately needs a Savior. Encapsulated from the world's ills and closed to the sinner, the church has become an exclusive "For members only club", no different than the country club, they offer golf, shopping sprees, fine dining and wonderful music to anyone who wishes to join. Always on a retreat, but never on the offensive and the enemy is having a field day!

THE PRIESTHOOD OF ELI

     "Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people." I Samuel 2:29

     Generations of pastors and ministers have emerged from seminaries that are devoid of God's Spirit, teaching the doctrines and traditions of it's elders, passing down their poisonous mix of deadly training. Turning out "Professional Clergy" instead of passionate men and women of God, the church has become inundated with thousands of ministers desiring to become successful by worldly standards.

     The priesthood of Eli represents the lack of nurturing and training that is passed on to spiritual sons. Eli was devoid of discernment, overweight and spiritually blind to the things of God while his sons made a mockery of the priesthood, stealing the offerings and committing immorality with the temple prostitutes, sound familiar? It is no different today, there are no spiritual fathers to train spiritual sons so they end up falling into immorality and bring about great destruction and dishonor to the ministry, I know, been there, done that!

     This demonically inspired model for the church that has been passed down through the ages is for one man to shepherd a flock of people thus standing in the "Headship of Jesus." With no accountability and in most cases totally ignorant of what he is stepping into, he creates a seemingly spiritual place of worship that is diametrically opposed to the Teachings of Christ and the Holy Spirit is greatly hindered in enabling the body to function properly, thus producing a "Synagogue of Satan."

     Although there are many godly pastors and in some cases churches that function properly with the "Fivefold Ministry" in place, this is not the norm and most never replicate or grow much past a certain number because the pastor ends up doing the work of the ministry instead of the saints, and ends up burning out. Over 2000 ministers leave the ministry every month because they have taken on what is rightfully the ministry of the saints of God and the Holy Spirit.

     "Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents." Jeremiah 19:4

THE PRIESTHOOD OF SAMUEL

     "Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever." I Samuel 2:35

     The difference in the priesthood of Eli and the priesthood of Samuel was the fact that Samuel was led by the Spirit and was given discernment to hear and distinguish the voice of God and the voice of the enemy. The priesthood of Eli was only interested in the things of the world and the lust of the flesh that ultimately brought death and destruction to them and the people of God, the outcome being: the Glory departed.

     So it is today, there is a true and false priesthood, the sons of God and the sons of the devil. Those that belong to Jesus are led by the Holy Spirit and obey His word and those who belong to Satan are driven by the lust of the flesh. Most who call themselves "Christian" don't have any discernment whatsoever to tell who is false and who is true because they have allowed themselves to be filled with the traditions of men and with doctrines of demons.

     Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits." In other words you will have to distinguish what kind of tree is bearing what kind of fruit. Fruit trees are known by their fruit, but men are known by what comes out of their heart and by what God has or has not done in their lives, such as putting His divine nature within them. The children of God are known by the Spirit of their Father who dwells within them and the children of the devil are known because of the darkness that dwells in them.

     In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. I John 3:10

QUIT GOING TO CHURCH AND REPENT!

     "Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern." Ezekiel 43:10

     The devil has convinced people that they have to go to what is called church when in actuality they are to be the church. This diabolical scheme is not just a matter of semantics, nor a play on words, it is a full blown demonically inspired plan to divide and conquer the people of God. For centuries this plan has worked successfully and seduced millions of unsuspecting sheep.

     The Greek word for church is ekklesia, meaning: ones called out, in other words a congregation of born again believers called out of darkness with the sole purpose of following Jesus and fulfilling His will in the earth. All the devil had to do was convince folks that they had to attend rather than obey the great commission by following and just show up and the pastor will do all the work.

     This demonic model is man-centered and only allows people to acknowledge Jesus as Savior and not Lord. Worship is reversed so that man becomes the focal point and not God, for instance: the music is for man, the chairs are to make man comfortable, the Message is geared toward man to make him feel at ease although in all probability he is going to hell! Everything in the man-centered church is for man and not God, including the schedule, being geared for man so that he does not become bored and go some place else where they are sensitive to his timetable. Sound familiar?

     The devil has been successful in totally perverting the true gospel of Jesus Christ and replaced it with a man-made, man-centered religion incapable of changing anyone's life. The blood, the lordship of Christ, repentance and the preaching against sin and it's ultimate penalty of hell has been neatly clipped out and a much cleaner version has been put back in. After all we don't want to offend anyone with that hard old story that Jesus preached, why we might upset someones theology and run off some big tither!

     But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this world has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

    For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bond servants for Jesus sake. II Corinthians 4:3-5

A HOUSE OF DESOLATION

     "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." Matthew 23:13

     Jesus confronted the leadership of His day with their sin and rebuked them for shutting off the entrance to the kingdom of heaven. He acknowledged their spiritual pride and greed and called them hypocrites for parading around acting like little gods perverting the way of salvation.

     The Pharisees like the leadership of today have become an elite group of professional clergy, seeking the accolades of the world by being called Doctor so in so, or professor, they love the respect and honor that they receive from poor unsuspecting sheep, when in reality they have becomes "Sons of Hell!"

     "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves." Matthew 23:15

     What would Jesus say today of what man has erected and put his sign on? Would He be pleased at what He would see in our comfortable churches with their bookstores and coffee shops, ignoring the needs of the poor but catering to the wants of the rich? What would He say of the billions of dollars spent on useless cathedrals that sit empty during the week but have no capability to house or feed anyone?

     I know what He thinks, it is an abomination today just as it was when He confronted His own leadership. Millions are falling into hell, thousands are starving to death, and many are becoming homeless as this great depression begins and it is only going to get worse! The world is perishing before our very eyes and we continue to sit in our little pews and fall asleep totally unaware and oblivious to whats happening right outside the church doors. May God have mercy on our souls!

     Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them! The harp and the strings, the tambourine and flute, and wine are in their feasts; but they do not regard the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of His hands.

     Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore hell has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure; their glory and their multitude and their pomp, and he who is jubilant descend into it. Isaiah 5:11-14

Your servant in Christ, Timothy Laughlin
Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ