Those of us who have been excommunicated or otherwise severely reprimanded
for our extra zeal for Zion are in good company. This is not the only
time in history that sincere believers in God have been cast out of the
synagogue by fellow church goers.
Back in '95, I compiled a list of all the verses of scripture that use the
word "cast" and "out." I found quite a large
collection that speak of the righteous being cast out by the wicked.
www.GreaterThings.com/ScriptSearch/cast_out.htm
Included in that list of victims of such unfairness are names like Jesus,
Moses, Isaiah, Joseph of Egypt, Samuel the Lamanite, Lehi, Nephi son of
Helaman, the prophets in general, and the humble followers of Christ.
We're in pretty good company, and we certainly are not the first.
One of the four Greek spellings for "Messiah" is MESSIAS.
The numeric value of the letters of this name in the Greek Alphabet are as
follows:
M (40) + E (5) + S (200) + S (200) + I ( 10) + A (1) + S (200) = 656
The 656th word in the New Testament Lexicon (lists the Greek words
alphabetically along with their definition) is "aposunagogos," which
translated means "Separated from the synagogue, excommunicated; denotes
one who has been excommunicated from the commonwealth of the people of God and
is given over to the curse; SYNONYM: (579), a rejected or cast off one."
The word before it means "To hate, abhor, detest with horror,"
which is how Jesus was received by the Jews in general, and is how many of us
are received today by those we are endeavoring to help.
Page 656 of the LDS Topical Guide/Bible Dictionary is where the definition
for "Devil," along with the explanation, "One of the major
techniques of the devil is to cause human beings to think they are following
God's ways, when in reality they are deceived by the devil to follow other
paths."
(For more on this see
www.GreaterThings.com/Word-Number/364-KRH.htm
)
How many times have those of us on this "David's Outcasts" e-mail
discussion list been reminded of that truth by well-meaning people concerned
about our "apostate" comments. We shouldn't feel badly about
our fellow "saints" being so concerned about us in this
manner. The Jews said Jesus had a devil too.
The irony is that in these latter-days, it is the entire church that finds
itself in that mode -- calling themselves the "only true and living
church upon the face of the earth with which the Lord is well-pleased,"
when in reality they are under condemnation for neglecting the Book of Mormon
and the doctrine of Christ it contains. They have become as salt that
has lost its savor which is about to be trodden under feet lest they repent.
Isaiah calls them the "Drunkards of Ephraim," drunkenness being a
state of impaired judgement regarding reality so that they will say, "All
is well in Zion, yea, Zion prospereth, all is well."
www.GreaterThings.com/Parallels/Hybrids/Isa28=2Ne28Par/
They say, "Look at how fast the church is growing, how many new stake
centers we are building, at the new magnificent assembly hall that will seat
so many more people at general conference. Carry on, you're doing just
great." They do not realize that these statement's reflect
statements of delusion, as we are on the brink of disaster because of our
blindness. The enemy is about to overtake us. The beast is about
to cement it's hold, imposing a brutal grip on the humble followers of
Christ. The vineyard, which the husbandmen said was in no need of a
tower by which they could see the enemy coming, seeing as it appeared to be a
time of peace, is about to be trodden down by the enemy.
This has been the warning voice of those called after the order of the
Davidic Servant ministry. Their voices have been rejected.
There is one verse in the entire Old Testament (many elsewhere) in which
the word "cast" and "out" are grammatically connected in
the context of the righteous being cast out by the wicked.
It is Isaiah 66:5, in the context of the Lord speaking of sending strong
delusions that the people of God will believe a lie because they chose not the
truth but insisted on going about things their own way. (Isa. 66:4; compare 2
Thes. 2:11)
See Isaiah 66 = 2 Thes. 2 Parallel
www.greaterthings.com/Parallels/Hybrids/Isa66=2Thes2PAR.htm
Verse 5 of Isaiah 66 says, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble
at his word [who heed the warnings of God]; Your brethren that hated you, that
cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified [Many shall
say, Lord, Lord]: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be
ashamed."
I made this discovery regarding the verses about being "cast out"
the evening after completing the parallel between the entire chapter of II
Thes. 2 and the first half of Isaiah 66.
That was April 6, 1995, just four days after the April 2 solemn assembly
Gen. Conf. in which the successor to Howard W. Hunter was put in. That
evening I discovered the chiasm of II Thes. 2, whose center point is "He
it is who now worketh."
Just six months prior, during the solemn assembly when "all is well
and all will be well" Howard W. Hunter was put in, I had the following
experience while sitting awaiting the conference to begin.
I had invited a Catholic friend of mine to attend the conference. She
was investigating the church by my introduction.
Earlier in the morning I had asked her what her favorite scripture
was. She didn't know off the top of her head. As we were sitting
listening to the Tab. Choir broadcast, she leaned over to me and said,
"Zephaniah."
ZEPHANIAH!!! She was catholic, and most Mormons don't even know there
is such a book in the Old Testament. She then explained that it was the
name given her as a child in a Catholic ceremony.
I then turned to Zephaniah and read the three chapters. Before I
quote to you one of the last verses there, let me tell you that on the
previous day I had the embarrassing situation of being at the front of a stake
center when the congregation was called upon one quorum at a time to stand and
sustain the new president of the church. Because I was excommunicated, I
could not participate, and I could feel the looks of wonderment and rebuke of
those behind me who guessed that something was amiss.
Here I as sitting in the very front, next to a window so I could take notes
and soak in the messages of conference, and I was considered the
"apostate." It hurt. At this time in my life I was
endeavoring to get back into the church, doing virtually everything asked of
me to do so except deny my conscience of what I knew to be true. (The
Stake President had said that what I needed was a "mental enema.")
Verses 18-20 read, "I will gather them that are sorrowful for the
solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a
burden. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I
will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get
them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame."
In the chiasm of that chapter, these verses match up with the following
statement at the beginning of the chapter.
"Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening
wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. her prophets are light and
treacherous person: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done
violence to the law."
www.GreaterThings.com/Parallels/Bible/Zeph3_Chi.htm
So, are we to just sit here and let these injustices go unchecked?
Moral responsibility and accountability before God say NO.
One of the lies of Satan that has put this people in such a slumber,
shifting responsibility for their own salvation onto the shoulders of their
leaders is the statement that "if the prophet were to say something that
was wrong and you were to do it, you would be blessed; but don't worry, God
would remove him first."
How do you think Nazi Germany happened?
Did you know that there were German bishops who turned in members of their
congregation because they were with the underground resistance movement?
If that was a true principle, that God would merely remove a wayward
leader, thus as long as the leader breathes you can trust him to be speaking
the truth, then why does D&C 107 give provisions for even the President of
the High Priesthood to stand before the council of the church, and even be
removed by the decision of that council?
D&C 64:38-40 reads, "The inhabitants of Zion shall judge all
things pertaining to Zion. And liars and hypocrites shall be proved by
them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known. And
even the bishop, who is a judge, and his counselors, if they are not faithful
in their stewardships shall be condemned, and others shall be planted in their
stead."
The focal point of this chiasm of the last half of this chapter puts verses
37 and 38 in the middle, emphasizing the responsibility that rests on the
shoulders of the members of the church to be discerning in their sustaining.
www.GreaterThings.com/Parallels/D&C-PGP/dc64-chi.htm
If we just throw our hands up mindlessly, why then is the sustaining
ordinance in existence in the first place?
It is not a show of support but one of moral cowardice to just go along so
as to not create a stir.
The responsibility of servants of God is to stand boldly for those truths
God has revealed to them.
Yes, there are many who have been put out of the church for taking such a
stand, and yes, there will yet be many more who will even loose their lives by
traitorous neighbors and bishops in the coming days of horrendous persecution.
But God's house will be set in order, and it does not do our salvation well
to just stand by and wait for someone else to do something about the blindness
that currently effects the body of the church. If we just "go along
to get along," we will be severed from the true body of Christ, for that
is where such lukewarm individuals end up.
Charity suffereth long, but it suffers -- it pleads, it urges, it invites,
it beacons. It doesn't just stand by while those around get overcome by
deception and the slumber of death.
May we all have more courage to stand up for the Lord and be counted as
valiant soldiers for his cause.
May we awake and put on strength, that the curse which has been placed upon
this people might be lifted and the gifts of God be finally poured out in rich
abundance.
This is my humble prayer.
Sincerely, your friend in Christ,
Sterling D. Allan
http://www.GreaterThings.com
new scripture word studies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
