Someone told me several months ago that the Bible was an “idol” and we should only be led along by “Holy Spirit” (minus the grammatical article; “the” … This casual use of a proper pronoun always smacks to me of the sacred name movement. Jesus never referred to the third person of the godhood in that manner, nor is it stated that way anywhere in the New Testament. But I digress…) The one claiming that the Bible was an “idol” is a proponent of the “Mandela Effect,” specifically, the belief that God’s Word is being supernaturally changed through demonic/ alchemical “Quantum” means. I looked into that a while back and found that most of the suspected “Bible changes” had to do with different translations of the Bible (ie. the NIV used to be popular and now most people routinely read other version). Other suspect incidents were brought about by images that have embedded them in our minds a certain way. For example, there’s the infamous “Lion and Lamb” which is actually “wolf and lamb:”
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them. (Isa. 11:6).
Just how important is God’s written Word? My recent video shows how powerfully it is used to control the masses. But I thought it might be good to look at what the Word of God is and how it comes to us.
To begin with, God’s Word is not just words on a page, Scripture tells us it is alive (Heb 4:12). The fact that God’s Word is supernaturally alive is why men don’t find faith in Christ by merely reading the Bible and reasoning out what it says.
Most essentially, God’s Word is God.
In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1, also Luke 8:11; Philippians 2:16; Hebrews 4:12)
The Word of God Acts.
Just think of it! God is so powerful that the act of Him merely speaking brought the entire creation into existence! God’s spoken Word is referred to as rhema (literally “utterance”). God’s Word is recorded, written in scripture so that we don’t forget His spoken Word. There is a dangerous teaching among charismatics that we can receive a “rhema” Word from God outside of, and possibly of higher authority than God’s written Word. But essentially, the two (logos and rhema) are synonymous.
Martin Luther famously put the written Word of God back into the hands of the people. His purpose, simplified, was to declare the true gospel of Jesus Christ which had been corrupted through the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther was not a rigid biblicist, but he did seek to make the Word of God “the starting point and final authority of his theology.” (Packer)
“Once sure that the doctrine we teach is God’s Word, once certain of this, we may build thereupon, and know that this cause shall and must remain; the devil shall not be able to overthrow it, much less the world be able to uproot it, how fiercely soever it rage.” – Martin Luther
Here is what the late Canadian evangelical theologian J.I.Packer wrote about Martin Luther’s view of scripture.
“What [Luther] understood by the Word of God was more than the writing of the Bible. In its primary sense the Word of God is nothing other than God. This is supported by the first verses of the Gospel of John where it is written that, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Bible itself declares that, strictly speaking, the Word of God is none other than God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, the Word who was made flesh and dwelt among us, therefore, when God speaks we are not simply given information..
Also, and above all, God acts. This is what is meant in the book of Genesis when the Word of God is a creating force, God said, “let there be light and there was light.” When God speaks that which is uttered is also created. God’s Word, besides telling us something, does something in us and in all creation. That creative and powerful word was incarnate in Jesus who is both God’s greatest revelation and God’s greatest action…
Luther loved to talk about the deus dixit, “the God who speaks,” for even as God spoke creation into being, so he speaks us into renewed relationship with himself. He puts the old to death and raises the new up to life and this is done and accomplished by the Word of God.
Luther in his little treatise What to Look for and Expect in the Gospels says that the Gospel is primarily a spoken word and we only have the written word because we might forget the spoken word, so the written word is written down for us. So the Gospel, in the first instance, is a living word.
The Bible is the living Word, because in it Jesus the Word incarnate comes to us. Any those who read the Bible and somehow do not find Jesus in it have not encountered the Word of God.
In Jesus, God was revealed to us, and also in Jesus, God overcame the powers of evil that had us in subjection…” Read more…
Through the Roman Catholic Church removing God’s written Word from the people, satan was able to obscure the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the very fulfillment of the Old Testament; the Good News; the coming of His Spiritual Kingdom and hope of eternal life beyond this fallen world. Men were taken back to a doctrine of works to overcome sin, which is common to all the world religions/control systems. (We see the same in the teachings of many “denominations” today through the twisting of scripture.) Satan always seeks to distort God’s Word.
There’s another important aspect of all this that I stumbled upon, and that’s the source of the teaching that ‘we don’t need God’s Word.’
Go to MM 3:00 of this video (actually the entire video is very informative. I wasn’t able to find it on Youtube anymore, but fortunately I downloaded it a while back.):
Occultists teach of a “Seventh Initiation” as the “plane” of ascension to be reached where the initiate remains in the physical world but is no longer bound by it. This occult, esoteric teaching is found in The Zohar, and not in God’s Word. – see threshold dot ca / “ascension techniques.”
Occultists make no secret of their plans to infiltrate the Christian Church and indoctrinate it into Mystery School teachings.
“The Christian church in its many branches can serve as a St. John the Baptist, as a voice crying in the wilderness, and as a nucleus through which world illumination may be accomplished. I indicate the hope. I do not assert a fact. Its work is intended to be the holding of a broad platform. The church must show a wide tolerance, and teach no revolutionary doctrines or cling to any reactionary ideas. The church as a teaching factor should take the great basic doctrines and (shattering the old forms in which they are expressed and held) show their true and inner spiritual significance. The prime work of the church is to teach, and teach ceaselessly, preserving the outer appearance in order to reach the many who are accustomed to church usages. Teachers must be trained; Bible knowledge must be spread; the sacraments must be mystically interpreted, and the power of the church to heal must be demonstrated.”
“There is no question therefore that the work to be done in familiarising the general public with the nature of the Mysteries is of paramount importance at this time. These Mysteries will be restored to outer expression through the medium of the Church and the Masonic Fraternity, if those groups leave off being organisations with material purpose, and become organisms with living objectives.”
– Theosophist Alice Bailey – The Externalisation Of The Hierarchy, pp. 510, 514
I also came across this 2016 article by author Paul Rosenberg on the Freeman Perspective website, Paul is described as “a fascinating renaissance man who is an engineer, philosopher, occasional theologian, and cryptographer” (ie. not a Christian).
How the Bible Became an Idol – by Paul Rosenberg
Again I am raising a difficult subject, but again, it’s something that needs to be said. And my title is true. The Bible – the holy book of more or less all Christians – has become an idol. And yes, I do mean idol as in “false god.”
A book, no matter how good, remains a book and should be treated as a book. A deity is something far different.
Not every Christian uses the Bible as an idol of course, but many millions do – probably a majority in North America – including nearly all of the TV preachers… read more here if you’re so inclined…
Rosenberg clearly has no understanding of the true nature of scripture. And it’s noteworthy that his is the same conclusion reached by some who believe in “Mandela” supernatural Bible changes.
While the Bible itself is not an idol, it can be misused for idolatry. It’s been done in the past and it is being done today. When we read only the letters we are in danger of ending up in rigid orthodoxy or pulling verses out of context, as is done again and again by false teachers/idolaters. Scripture is certainly not, as Mr Rosenberg claims, merely “a book.” It needs to be studied prayerfully. God speaks through it into our innermost being as we are guided along by His Holy Spirit. It is precisely because of the sinful tendency of men to try and understand God’s Word through mere intellect, and without a true encounter with Jesus, that the twisting of scripture is a primary method the adversary uses to deceive men.
Is God able to preserve His Word? Absolutely! We read it in His Word, it was evidenced by Martin Luther, and God has proven it throughout the centuries against all manner of adversity.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. – Isaiah 40:8
Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. – Psalm 119:160
All things are under God’s control, not man’s, nor the devil’s. (Isa 13-23) Martin Luther refers to the devil as “God’s ape.”
“For, where God built a church, there the devil would also build a chapel…In such sort is the devil always God’s ape.” Martin Luther
Even in the midst of the madness in our world; the threat of medical tyranny, food tyranny, spiritual deception, gender confusion and everything else, we are not to question God’s justice or power in the world. Rather, He is over all these things. He has ordained then and is using them to His glory. It’s also interesting that madness has historically evidenced of the beginning of God’s judgment.
The nations rage like the rumble of a huge torrent. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills and like tumbleweeds before a gale. (Isa 17:13)
That is the foundation upon which we need to consider the claims of the advocates of Mandela-supernatural-Bible-changes. The question for those who believe that “Quantum” or demonic forces are supernaturally changing scripture, is this:
Do we truly believe that nothing in this world happens outside of God’s divine control?
Scripture assures us that all things are under the feet of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:27).
This is yet another insidious way that Futurism/Dispensationalism moving God’s kingdom to a future time on earth is robbing the world of the truth; that God’s kingdom has come and the devil is bound as the gospel goes forth!
Is there an effort underway to change our perception of history? Absolutely! Through virtual technologies, almost anything can be made to look like reality. I have sadly seen believers pulled into straight-up Mystery School doctrines by following the threads of hidden history … on the internet, of course. All of it designed to make us question God’s Word and make us fodder for satan’s lies.
“If you can’t trust history, if you can’t trust God’s Word, then what can you trust?”
Truth goes up-for-grabs when we’re listening for the leading of “Holy Spirit” apart from scripture. We need God’s help, His Word, especially in these days of judgment and general madness. Jesus admonished that we “Take heed that no one deceives you” (Matt 24:4). This warning is given more than once in the New Testament. The Bereans knew about the importance of the scriptures, which is why they investigated whether what was preached and heard was true (Acts 17:11-12). We should do nothing else – and for that we need His help, His Word, Jesus Christ, and therefore the book of books, which tells about Him from beginning to end.
God’s Word tells us that while the devil seeks to destroy our souls and pridefully claims that they will defeat God, he is, in fact, a defeated foe and the very tool of God (John 16:11, Colossians 2:15). God gently reminds me of this through His Word when I get overwhelmed by the rising flood of evil.
Love His Word. (Ps 119:105)
His Word is the Truth (17:17)
It can be trusted. (2 Tim 3:16)
He is well able to preserve it. (John 17:17)
God bless you.
