"And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name..."
(Genesis 11:4)
FAME!
FAME!
"Let's make a name for ourselves!" Society today is absolutely obsessed with celebrity. Being famous - for whatever reason! - is the ultimate elixir, the intoxicating "magic potion" of this bewitched generation which readily and steadily consumes it by the cauldronful! Those who are the most rated and revered by the masses are those who can be seen to have "arrived," and whose paparazzi-snapped pictures adorn the pages of the tabloid newspapers and glossy magazines like 'Hello!' and 'OK!' The stars of film, TV, sport and music are the feted heroes and heroines of contemporary culture, and the lyrics of the hit song 'Fame' from the 1980 movie of that name completely encapsulate that whole egocentric ethos:
"I'm gonna live forever
I'm gonna learn how to fly high
I feel it coming together
People will see me and cry!
Baby, I'll be tough
Too much is not enough
I can ride your heart till it breaks
Ooh, I got what it takes!
I'm gonna make it to heaven
Light up the sky like a flame
I'm gonna live forever
Baby remember my name!"
"CHRISTIAN" CELEBRITIES
It is heart-breaking to have to record that the fleshly obsession with celebrity in the secular world is to be found everywhere in the "Christian" world also. Pulpits globally are occupied by "celebrity" preachers with big names, big bank balances, big "ministries" and big, big followings. The darlings of the duped, men like Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince and T.D. Jakes are the front-pagers of secular and "Christian" magazines alike, as the above illustrations clearly demonstrate. From every part of the planet, millions tune in to see the televangelist superstars of the TBN schedules...
It is heart-breaking to have to record that the fleshly obsession with celebrity in the secular world is to be found everywhere in the "Christian" world also. Pulpits globally are occupied by "celebrity" preachers with big names, big bank balances, big "ministries" and big, big followings. The darlings of the duped, men like Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince and T.D. Jakes are the front-pagers of secular and "Christian" magazines alike, as the above illustrations clearly demonstrate. From every part of the planet, millions tune in to see the televangelist superstars of the TBN schedules...
Why should this be so? Quite simply, it's because such men - and women! - are not preaching the true, unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ, but a false pseudo-gospel which has its focus on MEN. They present to the itchy-eared a candy-coated "GOD" who has been made in the image of MAN. Theirs is a COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANITY, a "designer" brand of religion guaranteed to be ATTRACTIVE to people, not to CHALLENGE them! And at the diseased heart of their message is the notion that what they have, you and I can have too... as long as we follow THEM of course, for THEY are God's anointed and appointed leaders...
Concerning such flesh-pleasing MISrepresentatives of the Faith, the TRUE Apostle Paul wrote:
"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."
(Galatians 1:10)
Such men are indeed not genuine servants of the Lord, but the unashamedly compromising servants of self-interest, making merchandise of those who heed their persuasive and pernicious sales-pitch. Consumers are buying a carefully-crafted and attractively-packaged product, designed to PLEASE. The advertising is slick; those who sell Satan's latest "must-have" are skilled in the art of marketing. For who will want to invest in a deception if it doesn't LOOK and SOUND like it's something well worth having, right? If it's going to fly off the shelves of the Warren Warehouse, the Osteen Emporium, the Meyer Mart or the Hinn Bin, then it's got to be seen to be highly desirable... and keep the impressed (and head-messed) punters coming back for more...
So just where did all this preoccupation with celebrity stem from in the first place? Would you believe way back in Eden, and the very first temptation of all? When the serpent slyly snuggled up to Eve and hissed in her eager ear, "In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as GODS...!" And men and women have desired to be celebrities, "little gods," ever since! Today, many celebrity "Christian" teachers hold to such a Luciferian "little gods" doctrine. Such well-known Word of Faith heretics as Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes, Creflo Dollar and Morris Cerullo, have all declared the divinity of man. They are all still listening to the same old hissing of the snake, and beguiling others to listen too!
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF NIMROD!
"He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel..."
(Genesis 10:9-10)
Just as Nimrod was a hunter, so too are the likes of the above-mentioned - and many, many others on the contemporary conveyor belt of false teachers and preachers in what passes itself off as the Church today! They are hunters of men's minds and souls, skilled at the chase, and deadly. And just as it was Nimrod the hunter who founded Babel and its false religious system, so too are these wolves-in-sheep's-disguise constructing a new Babel to the glory of man, creating a counterfeit "Christianity" that is a million miles removed from the real thing! They are engaged in nothing less than preparing the ground and laying the foundations for the One World Religion of Antichrist, the 'Mystery Babylon' of Revelation.
The original Babel-onians wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to be famous, to be celebrities and to be associated with other celebrities, "little gods." Theirs was the first attempt at a New World Order in defiance of God's ordained order, and what we are witnessing everywhere in the world today is the second - and final - attempt to create such a religious, political and economic monstrosity. Nimrod, in a classic example of Biblical typology, was the forerunner of Antichrist. How incredibly and unspeakably horrible to see droves of supposedly evangelical Christian leaders so foolishy following in his footsteps! And to see multitudes of the misled following in theirs! But as Paul warned right from the start:
"For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."
(Acts 20:29-30)
Celebrities? As God's Holy Word tells us, in no uncertain terms:
"For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself."
(Galatians 6:3)
And the fruits of such folly? Well, Galatians 6 goes on to say:
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
(Galatians 6:7-8)
FOLLOW GOD - NOT MEN!
