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Mormonism
RV27-02© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1993)
Please open your Bibles to Revelation 2. We are studying the letter which was written to the church in Asia Minor in the city of Thyatira.
Some of the church members of the church at Thyatira followed a prominent woman into the phallic cult worship of ancient Babylon. It was an
immoral lifestyle which violated a divine absolute which had been laid down for human conduct relative to sexual matters. Today, Americans,
on the whole, accept the same violation of the moral absolute relative to sexual relations, and some of them who accept this violation are
even Christians.
The Judgment of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ in this letter warns these reversionists to abandon their immorality or suffer the consequences of death. Believers who
participated in the worship practices of the phallic cult led by this Jezebel-like woman were guilty of the sin unto death.
Unbelievers in the congregation who were involved in the phallic religion, were doomed to the eternal death of hell. Jesus Christ,
in His omniscience and in His integrity, promises to judge the attitude of each church member toward sexual morality and toward doctrine.
Those guilty of spiritual adultery will not escape the consequences. What one believes and feels is expressed in his conduct and his
lifestyle. It is not expressed in his words, and we should not kid ourselves that the people who are saying the right things are the
people who are indeed responding to the principles of the Word of God. What we do is more important than what we have to say.
We looked at the last part of verse 23. We now pick up the last phrase in which Jesus Christ is describing what He will do to these who
do not repent: "And I will give unto every one of you according to your works." Here is the judgment of works and of personal consequence.
The word "will give" is the Greek word "didomi." "Didomi" is a word that indicates an action which is going to be taken directly by Jesus
Christ, and it will be a consequence which each church member will receive. This consequence is based upon the true evaluation of a person's
mental and his emotional attitudes. You remember that earlier in this letter, the Lord Jesus has indicated that He would examine the
mentalities, and He would examine the emotions of these people, and He would determine exactly where they stand.
This is in the future tense which means that, after a period of grace in which to correct evil, Jesus Christ is going to act. He is using
this word "I will give" in reference to these who have been following the Jezebel-like woman. That is the group to whom he is specifically
speaking here. This is in active voice, which means that Jesus is going to do the judging, so there'll be no mistake. It's indicative. It's
a statement of fact.
Individual Responsibility
Any He further says that he is going to give this to everyone. This is the Greek word "hekastos." This is an adjective, and it means "each
member individually:" "I am going to give to every one of you," meaning each member in the congregation will be dealt with as an individual
– not as a whole. Jesus Christ holds every person responsible for his own spiritual status. There are a lot of Christians who never
seem to be able to learn that. Jesus Christ holds you responsible for your own spiritual status.
There are people who are responsible for informing you. If you're a young person, your parents are responsible for informing and for guiding
you, particularly until you are up to the age of 20. They are your priests; they are the ones who make decisions for you; and, they are
responsible to give you information. But nevertheless, what you do with that information is now your responsibility. Whether it's a Sunday
school teacher; a training union leader; or, a pastor-teacher, the information they are responsible to give you, you are responsible to apply
and to use. God holds each of us individually responsible for our spiritual status.
So when our lives fall apart in some way, it is because we have put ourselves in a bad spiritual status. Anytime somebody enters a marriage,
for example, and you end up in a divorce, well, right away, all the world knows one thing about you. When you entered that marriage, you were
in a state of reversionism. That's simple. It is nothing deep and nothing complex. You were in a spirit of reversionism. You were out of touch
with the mind of God. You were in a position where you did not know what was going on spiritually. You had neglected your own spiritual
condition, and you are responsible for the consequences – temporal and eternal, that flow from that.
If you make a business decision, and it blows up in your face, it is because you were in a state of reversionism. And remember that
reversionism begins with the first neglect of the intake of doctrine on a daily basis. The first time you start starving your soul,
you've moved in the direction of breakdown. It is inevitable, like night must follow day. And you are responsible for preventing that
kind of breakdown. If things come apart, it is because you made decisions when you were out of touch with the thinking of God. You are
in the status of reversionism. In any situation in life, you can apply it. If God is there, there is blessing; there is success; and,
there is prosperity, which is what He wants for us. God never wants anything but success; blessing; and, prosperity.
When you look back and say, "Boy, was that a terrible decision? I wish I hadn't done that. I don't know what possessed me to have made a
decision like that." I'll tell you what possessed you. You were in a status or reversionism. You got sloppy in maintaining your Christian
life. You got sloppy in maintaining your relationship of fellowship to the Lord. It all started because you were indifferent toward the
Word; you were negative toward the Word of God at some point; and, you were negligent in the Word of God.
So, when the Lord Jesus says, "I'm going to give unto every one of you," He is the judge of full integrity, and He is going to give to us on
the basis of what we personally deserve because of our responsibility. Just because you associate with mature and spiritual godly Christians
does not remove your personal responsibility for your own status before the Lord.
The basis of this judgment is also spelled out for us. Jesus says, "I'm going to give to each one of you personally, and hold you personally
accountable for something very specific. My judgment to you will be according to." "According to" is the Greek word "kata," It's a preposition.
It indicates the basis of the judgment of Jesus Christ. It is going to be according to our "ergon" – "our deeds," or "our works." The
judgment of God is based on our actions which result from our thinking.
We do not Escape God
You can always fool other people. There are always people who are very vocal; they're smooth talkers; and, they're slimy talkers. They know
how to slither around. They went to politician's school and so they learned how to do this. They are able, therefore, to talk in a way that's
very impressive. But what is in the heart; what is in the mentality; and, what is in the soul does not escape God, and that's what eventually
comes out. The Lord says, "Your works are going to demonstrate your thinking."
Salvation is not by Works
The deeds of the unbeliever prove to be useless – human good and sins, and this will be demonstrated at the Great White Throne judgment.
These evils, of course, have been paid for by Jesus Christ in His death. But because the unbeliever has rejected this payment of Jesus Christ
(the payment to receive Him as personal savior), he failed to appropriate the atonement. Therefore, that unbeliever is lost no matter what
Christ has done. A person is not saved by his good works, nor is he lost by his bad works. He is saved by accepting Jesus Christ, and
he's lost by not accepting Jesus Christ. That is the issue that the Bible constantly stresses. Your works, if they are good or bad, it merely
reflects your status of being saved or lost.
The deeds of the carnal reversionistic believers proved to be worthless human good at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Believers are also going
to be judged, though this passage here stresses particularly the unbelievers who have been following the Jezebel woman. Nevertheless, the
principle still applies to us as believers that we too are going to be evaluated and judged for our works.
So this remark of Jesus Christ is a very severe statement to the followers of the Thyatira Jezebel in her pagan worship practices. A
person's evil words do not go unpunished. That's true whether you're a Christian or whether you're an unbeliever. Our evil works do
not go unpunished. That simply is never possible. Our evil is always punished. As believers, confession of sin and repentance, and
turning around can avoid the punishment – sometimes (most of the time). But if we do not come to confession, our evil will be
punished. So our works determine how God is going to deal with us. They reflect what we really are and what we think. Our works also
determine the degree of punishment for those who go to hell. And works determine the degree of rewards for those who go to heaven.
So this is an important stress upon works. Jesus says, "I'm going to judge each of you by my divine integrity – personally and
individually. And I'm going to judge you on the basis of what you do. Your works are important." So sloppy living and indifferent moral
attitudes and expressions are not unnoticed by the living God.
In verse 24, Jesus now turns to the remnant group. This is the group within the congregation at Thyatira which refused to join forces
and follow this female Jezebel: "But unto you, I say." "The word "but" is the Greek conjunction "de." It indicates a change now in the
group which is being addressed. It indicates a contrast of instructions from Jesus Christ. The word "you" is this word "su." It's a
personal pronoun. It's in the plural here, so it's referring to the group of believers – the congregation in its specific part
of those who are positive to the Word of God. It is not just the leaders. To them, Jesus says, "But unto you, I say." The Greek word
for "say" is "lego." "Lego" is the word meaning "to declare," with emphasis on what is expressed rather than on the words used. Whenever
you use "lego" for the word "say," it means that the Holy Spirit is stressing the content rather than the actual words. Jesus Christ is
giving a directive. You should pay attention to this directive very specifically.
This is in the present tense, which means it's the continual position of Jesus Christ (what He is now going to say). This is His continual
position. It is active. Jesus is making a statement. It is indicative – a statement of fact: "But unto you, I say." The word "unto"
is not in the Greek, and the rest is the Greek word "loipos." This is an adjective, meaning "the remaining." It identifies who He means when
He says, "And I say unto you." Who is "unto you?" Well, it's the rest. It modifies Thyatira. It is the rest who are in Thyatira. So we
would translate this: "But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira;" that is, the rest who have not followed the Jezebel woman. These
are the church members who have not fallen into reversionism. That's what's apparently happened to a large part of this congregation.
"But unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as," "As many as" is the Greek word "hosos." This indicates quantity here. Not all by Thyatira
church members are included into this group. This word identifies the rest who are in Thyatira? Who are the rest? "But I say unto you."
Who are "you?" Well, they are the rest of the people in Thyatira. Who are the rest of the people in Thyatira? They are "As many as
have not" done something. The word "have" is "echo." Here the word means "to hold," and it is modified by the negative "ou." So you do
not hold something. It is present. These people constantly did not hold this. It is active. It is their personal choice not to hold this.
It's indicative – a statement of fact.
Doctrine
What is it that they did not hold? They did not hold this "didache." This means "teaching" or "doctrine." They do not hold this teaching.
They do not hold this doctrine. What is the Lord referring to? Well, He's referring to what He has been talking about in this context? He
is referring here to the phallic cult worship which was being taught to some of the people in this congregation by the Thyatira Jezebel.
This false teaching was rejected by another group within the church. They would have nothing to do with eating meat that had been offered
to idols which was an act of worship. They would have nothing to do with trying to relate themselves to God through sexual immorality
through the system of temple prostitution. The group, which was not willing to be subject to a female authority in spiritual things, is
what is referred to here. And her doctrine was the doctrine inherited from the Babylonian mystery religions. The phallic worship doctrine
was popular with people, but it was totally condemned with God.
It says, "Who have not this doctrine." The word "who" is "hostis." This is an indefinite relative pronoun. It refers back to the group in
Thyatira who are sound in doctrine: "Who have not known something." This is why they are sound. They have not known something. And notice
the word for "know:" It's "ginosko." This is a word you probably have learned by now. This is one of two basic words for receiving knowledge
in the Greek New Testament. But this word, "ginosko" is receiving knowledge through personal experience. Here is a word for evil through
personal experience, and it has "ou," the negative, so that it is saying that there is a group of people in the church who did not enter
the experience of evil with the Thyatira Jezebel that others did. It's in the aorist which is the status of positive believers viewed as a
whole. It's active, meaning that they personally never experienced this kind of phallic cult practice and worship. It's indicative. It's a
statement of fact.
Satan
Specifically, what they have not personally experienced is then spelled out for us. "They have not known (by experience) the depths."
The word "depths" is the word "bathus." "Bathus" means "deep," It's in the neuter plural, so it means "the deep things." What it refers
to here is something that is not just elementary, but something that is advanced. This word, as an adjective, modifies the word "satanas"
in the Greek. You can see that this is the word for Satan, and the word means "adversary." So this is referring here to the advanced
teachings and practices of Satan worship.
What was happening with the segment of the congregation in Thyatira that was listening to the Jezebel woman was that they had gotten into
witchcraft. This was the attractive thing. It is what was the drawing power, no doubt. When you're in witchcraft, you're in a system of
power. You are able to make things happen. Demon powers comes to your capacities. Remember that demons are angels. Angels have fantastic
powers. That entrance at Gordon's tomb has a groove at the bottom in which that huge stone was placed in front of the tomb in which Jesus
was buried. That stone was rolled out of place just by an angel. Angels have huge capacities. And the demonic angels deliver those
capacities to those who are their devotees, and those who follow and worship Satan. So these people were making a big impact.
This is the same argument that Satan uses through the charismatic movement: "I'm going to show you the miraculous powers to prove that God
is in this. That's exactly what the devil is always doing. He is giving miraculous demonstrations to show that God is doing this. One of
the basic teachings of Mormonism is that if it's good, that thing comes from God. If it's evil, it comes from the devil. Nothing could be
further from the truth. The world is full of good things that the devil is the author of in order to deceive people. He puts his capacities
to produce what people want and need – to do what people call good.
Deep Things
So here inside Thyatira, there were some deep things. These were not just the elementary things. These were not just the hocus pocus things.
These were not just the cross-my-heart and hope-to-die if what I'm telling you is not true type of thing. This was a real kind of stuff.
This was the kind of stuff where suddenly a human being had supernatural powers. A human being had capacities
that only a demonic spirit could give him. Those who did not possess the deep things of Satan in Thyatira, however, were not poverty struck
in spiritual things. They were not without deep things.
It is interesting that this precise word, "bathus," this word for "deep," is also used in 1 Corinthians 2:10 by the apostle Paul to describe
what the consequence is to us who are related to Jesus Christ because we are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit: "But God has revealed them unto
us by His spirit. For the spirit searches all things: yes, the deep things of God." So the believer also has these things, but he has the
deep things of the Spirit of God.
So here is the standoff. Here is the believer, and here is the unbeliever. Both of them have deep things. The origin of the deep things of
the unbeliever is Satan. The origin of the deep things of the believer is God the Holy Spirit. The deep things of the Holy Spirit are
compatible with divine viewpoint, personal prosperity, and blessing. These things of Satan are compatible with human viewpoint, personal
disaster, sorrow, and grief. And everybody in the world is faced with the deep things of one or the other.
This is the reason for the campaign by a large number of churches (numbering 5,000 now) to clean up public television. It is because public
television has, by and large, devoted itself to promoting the deep things of Satan. Everybody who watches is trained in the deep things of
Satan. This is why doctrine is so critical to the believer, because the only way he's going to be trained in the deep things of the Holy
Spirit is through the intake of doctrine into his soul. You are someplace in one or the other, or someplace in between, and each would have
to judge himself as to where he stands as to how much he's into the deep things of the Spirit of God, how much he's into the things of Satan.
You need to judge how much of your mentality is divine viewpoint, and how much of it is human viewpoint. How much of your emotions function
on divine viewpoint? How much of your emotions function on human viewpoint? And the same thing is true of your will. But it's one or the other.
The Doctrine of Demons
Satan has his deep things, and the followers of Satan get those things. God has His deep things, and the followers of the Spirit of God have
access to those deep things. The deep things of Satan are, of course, expressed today primarily by the cults. The followers of the cults today
epitomize the deep things of Satan. The cults always claim to have a restoration of God's truth, which in reality is what 1 Timothy 4:1 calls
the doctrine of demons. The doctrine of demons is always presented as a restoration of divine truth. All cults claim to have a restoration
of divine truth.
Mormonism
The Mormons use that very word: "restoration." The Mormons, if you go through their temple at Salt Lake City, as some of us did on the Berean
Youth Club trip camp that we just returned from, you will find that the Mormons speak about a reformation, but they also speak about the need
for a restoration. They say that they have been brought into a position of restoring the deep things of God. In Mormonism, you will find that
these things are of Satan, not of God. For example, notice a few of the deep things that Mormons say that they have as a direct revelation, and
what they claim is a restoration of truth from God, but which in fact are the deep things of Satan. I think that you, as educated believers
will immediately realize that most of these things, in terms of scriptural revelation, are not the deep things of God as they claim, but
rather the deep things of Satan.
The Preexistence of Souls
For example, one of the deep things that the Mormons presented to us in their temple in Salt Lake City with a very special high-class,
really fine quality movie was the concept of the preexistence of souls. They teach that everybody came into this world after he existed
before in heaven with God the Father as a soul. He was a preexistent soul who then took on a human body. Some of the people in our party
had a hard time not to break up and laugh when they were sitting and watching that movie, because it is really ludicrous. They had people
on the screen with their eyebrows all scowled up, and they're trying to think: "Who am I? Where did I come from?" Well, I think about myself
sometimes: "What am I doing here? Who am I? Where did I come from?" But this nonsense of this subjective examination of yourself is to try to
tell people, "You see, you existed before you were born."
Polygamy
That's a doctrine of demons, because that doctrine leads to another very important doctrine of demons in Mormonism, and that is the concept of
polygamy. They teach that there were so many souls out there waiting to come into this life from the heavenly Father that they just had to do
something to speed up the production of human bodies so that these preexistent souls could come into these bodies. Well, what nicer arrangement
than to have several wives all working at the same time getting those bodies made. Isn't that attractive? Wouldn't you like to be part of a
religion like that? Well, some of you might. That has a lot of appeal. That's called plural marriages. It's called polygamy. 50,000 people
in the state of Utah are engaged in polygamy. They're called the fundamentalists. They are not fundamentalists like we are, but in Mormonism,
they're the fundamentalists. They hold to that doctrine, which, of course, is still on the books as a revelation from God. That's a doctrine
of the demons. It's not a doctrine of God.
Celestial Marriage
The Mormons also believe in the concept of celestial marriage for all eternity. If you're married in a temple, you'll be married to this
man or to this woman for all eternity. There are a lot of people that have been sorry that they were married in the temple, as time unravels,
I'll guarantee you. They wish they had had just kind of an ordinary marriage without tying it up forever like that. Along with that is the
concept that their families (their children) will all be a family together. They'll be bound to them for all eternity. Their children will
always be their children, and they will always be a family.
Baptism for the Dead
Mormons believe in baptism for the dead. Some Mormons have this as their ministry. They constantly go into the temple; they step up; and,
they say, "I am now to be baptized by proxy for so-and-so." Sometimes it's just names that they have gotten up in the genealogical library
– that huge building in Salt Lake City where they're trying to collate the names of everybody that ever lived in order that they can
be sure that there's been a baptism performed for anybody so that, on the other side, you have a chance to be able to accept Mormonism and
the true gospel.
Jesus Christ Appearing in the Western Hemisphere
They teach that Jesus Christ appeared after the resurrection to the heathen here in the Western Hemisphere. They teach that the religious
ruins; the pyramids; the ziggurats; and, the altar sites – these religious points that we find throughout this North and South
American areas, that these were expressions of worship to the true God. Well, the truth of the matter is that we know full well that those
altars were altars of human sacrifice. The concept of Jesus Christ appearing to these people over here after His resurrection, as well as
appearing to the disciples in the east, is pure doctrine of even nonsense.
Salvation by Works
Mormonism teaches salvation by pursing good works rather than (as they say) getting something for nothing. One lady who guided our tour put
it in point blank words. She said, "Salvation is by works." I have read in Mormon literature this concept laid down that, "Everybody thinks
you get something for nothing, and that's how people think they're going to go to heaven, so they talk about salvation by grace." That's
doctrine of demons. So they teach salvation by your personal good.
Universalism
The Mormons teach eternal life for all. If you talk to a Mormon about somebody who's going to hell, they look a little puzzled at you. They
don't quite know how to answer that question. They don't think in terms of anybody going to hell. We were frequently and repeatedly told
that, because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross, we have all had eternal life provided for us. There will be different stages of eternal
life they call exaltation (three stages of exaltation), which comes very close to the biblical concept of rewards. But which stage of
exaltation you are in will be determined by your works. But everybody goes to heaven automatically, and nobody gets into the third stage of
exaltation (which I think is a celestial stage) unless he is a polygamist. There's a second chance to accept Mormonism after death and to
receive the blessing of God.
Becoming Gods
Mormonism teaches that God is a human being with flesh and bone body. I asked the lady guide about that, and her answer was, "You don't
think that Jesus Christ had a body?" And I said, "Yes, but God the Father and God the Holy Spirit don't. She looked a little puzzled about
that. I'm amazed how ignorant they are of Scripture. The doctrine of demons says that God is a human being. Therefore, Mormons are taught
that they are becoming gods in order to populate other worlds in the universe.
Protective Underwear
Mormons wear protective underwear with special signs on them in order that they would not be injured. Some of them are such sincere believers
that they don't ever take that underwear off even when they take a shower. They take a shower with the underwear on, and they take one arm
off and put one arm of the underwear on, and then they take the other arm and put it on. They slip out of the old and into the new, and they
never leave that protection off of them. It's a one-piece sort of old-time bathing suit arrangement. I haven't been able to get anybody's
underwear to show you, but I'm trying to get one of those. I haven't quite figured out how to do it yet, but I have seen it. It would be
interesting. I'd like to show it to you, with the special markings on it at certain critical points on the body for protection. That's
doctrine of demons. That's pure hocus pocus like cutting the rooster's head off and carrying it around your neck as a charm.
Self-Atonement
Mormon's teach that some sins are so gross that the atonement of Jesus Christ cannot provide for them, and therefore you must provide for
that atonement by shedding your own blood. That is why the state of Utah, alone in the union, permits a person to be executed by firing
squad. Those who have been brought up in the Mormon tradition who face capital punishment in the state of Utah will ask to be executed by
firing squad so that they may shed their own blood to atone for the sin that was so gross as to require capital punishment. That's a
doctrine of the demons. That is the deep things of Satan.
Rituals
They teach special endowments through the performance of Mosaic-like rituals in one of the Mormon temples. These are indeed identical
to what goes on in the Masonic order and the Masonic rituals. It's the doctrine of demons – these things are of Satan.
The Church Prophet
They believe and teach current revelation from God through their church prophet who can tell them what God wants them to do. Ezra Taft
Benson, who was Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower, and who was next in line to be head of the Mormon Church, declared
... that what the current prophets say is more important than past revelation. So, he is setting the scene for when he becomes prophet,
what he says will have a papal-like authority that all Mormons must subject themselves to; that is, the deep things of Satan.
The Aaronic Priesthood
They teach things that include the concept of membership in the Aaronic priesthood (even though these people are gentiles), rather than
of the tribe of Levi and of the family of Aaron.
Healings and Tongues
They believe in the miracle gifts of healing and tongues. That's the doctrine of the deep things of Satan.
Regeneration by Water Baptism
They teach water baptism by regeneration. Every Mormon meeting place has this huge fount, which is built on the back of 12 oxen, into
which a person must step to receive water baptism. Without that water baptism, you cannot go to heaven. That is a doctrine of hell itself.
It is the deep things of Satan and the doctrine of demons.
Laying on of Hands
They teach receiving the Holy Spirit, not by believing in Christ as Savior, but by the laying on of the hands of those who are elders.
Skin Color
They teach that the color of the skin that a person has indicates the degree of divine wrath upon that particular race.
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is written in King James English. A lot of phrases like, "And it came to pass" are presented as Scripture for the Western
Hemisphere, as the Old and New Testaments were Scripture for the Eastern Hemisphere. These were brought to light on golden plates which had
been buried in New York State.
Adam as God
They teach that Adam was the creator God.
God's Wife
They teach that God has a wife through whom God produces the spiritual children for whom then the bodies are produced through polygamous marriages.
The Ten Lost Tribes
They teach that the ten lost tribes of Israel migrated to North America and became the Indians.
The deep things of Satan are obviously signified in Mormonism with morality and with sincerity. Frequently we heard in Salt Lake City, "I
really believe these things. I really believe the Book of Mormon."
After our group left one of the demonstration sessions and they were going to go to another guide, I hung behind. I wanted to talk to this
lady. She has two sons. She told us one of them has served his two years as a Mormon missionary, like these two boys going up and down the
streets of our town on bicycles. The other one is now learning Japanese so that he can go and spend two years as a Mormon missionary in Japan.
All this is done at the personal expense of the family. 30,000 of their sons are around the world teaching and winning Mormon converts.
This woman expressed the personal attitude that she had gone to God and asked him, "I really want to know if this is true – what
I've been taught about Mormonism. She's a descendant of Brigham Young, and she wanted to really know the truth. I sensed that she was
somebody who was really genuinely sincere. She expressed the fact that when she believes (when she knows something is the truth),
she tends to come on too heavy. She said, "That's just how I am. If I believe this thing to be true, then I have to go all out for it."
The Book of Abraham
So, privately after we got into conversation, I asked her if she was acquainted with the problem of one of their sacred Scriptures called
The Book of Abraham which is in the Pearl of Great Price. She was not aware of the problem. Well, the problem is that Joseph Smith, in his
day, had bought four mummies – real Egyptian mummies. In unwrapping the wrappings around them, he found some papyri, and writings on
these papyri in Egyptian hieroglyphics. And he announced to the Mormons that, lo and behold, the documents which he had found in one of the
mummies were written by father Abraham, and were the book of Abraham, and were part of sacred Scriptures which God had restored.
The Chicago Fire came along in 1871, and the Mormon Church and all the Mormons believed that the papyri was in the possession of people
in the city, and that it had been burned. In the middle 1960s, lo and behold, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City
discovered that it had these papyri. Joseph Smith had made copies of the circular diagrams on the papyri. These matched precisely. I
think it even had some of his notations on the papyri. They felt this was important historical value to the Mormon Church, so they gave
them to the Mormon Church.
The Mormon Church leadership was ecstatic: "We will prove once and for all," they thought, "that our prophet can indeed translate Scripture
as he has claimed. Remember that the translation of hieroglyphics in Joseph Smith's day was an infant skill, if it existed at all. It only
came into the realm of possibility with discovery of a black rock that Mrs. Danish and I touched a few weeks ago in the British Museum
in London called the Rosetta Stone on which was written in Egyptian hieroglyphics in Coptic Egyptian and in Greek the same message. Once
this was discovered by Napoleon's troops, they knew from the Greek what the hieroglyphics were saying. This was an infant capacity of
translating, but Joseph Smith said, "I've got it."
Well, the church made the mistake of giving this, first of all, to one of their professors at Brigham Young University who dealt with
historical and oriental matters. But he did not feel himself fully qualified to translate the papyri, so he gave it to a man named Dr.
D. J. Nelson, who was a lifelong Mormon, and who had considerable skills in the translation of hieroglyphic writings. Lo and behold, he
translated it and said, "This is not what Joseph Smith said it was. It is a Book of Breathings. It's a burial ritual which the Egyptians
included with a mummy (with a corpse) in order to carry it to the next world."
The church fathers sat on the information. This lady knew nothing about it. Dr. Nelson finally published it himself, and was excommunicated
from the Mormon Church, and I read the letter he wrote back to them: "You can't excommunicate me. I resign. I wouldn't be part of a church
which plays this kind of a deception upon its people. And the whole basis of authority of the Mormon Church has been unraveled."
The first thing I asked this woman was that if what she has told was all based upon the authority of the revelations through Joseph Smith.
She says, "That's right." I said, "So the basis of your authority is the reliability of the Scriptures which he has brought to the Mormon
Church from God." She's said, "That's absolutely right. You're really thinking straight." Then I asked her about the book of Abraham. She
knew nothing about it. When I told her what happened, I said to her, "Now, if I were in your position, and I have a feeling that you are
a very sincere person, and I'm very concerned for you, your dedication is to a message from a prophet that has been demonstrated to
have been deceitful in what he claimed was on those papyri."
Dr. Nelson's translations were further confirmed by the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, and those boys know their
hieroglyphics there. I'll guarantee you. They confirmed the translations of Dr. Nelson, and the whole thing is a fraud. The average Mormon
knows nothing about this. This woman said, "I can't believe this. Our leaders would have told us this." So I said, "If you are interested,
I'd be happy to send you a few tapes. I have some studies that I have made on this. You might be interested in hearing about the further
details about this." Then I directed her to a source there in Salt Lake City who publishes materials on this, The Modern Microfilm Company. She
said, "Well, yes, I would." She didn't have any place to write her name down for me. So she had to use one of her own cards that I was
supposed to fill out for her. And I got her to fill out one for me.
So I'm going to send this information to her, and I hope you'll pray for her. This is a woman that needs enlightenment who is obviously a
very sincere, dedicated person, but who's made one serious mistake. She has followed the deep things of Satan as recorded in special
Scriptures, and she has put her confidence in that instead of the living and powerful Word of God. Now, if she reads this information,
and if she follows through on the materials we send her, she is going to have a tough problem because of her personal sincerity and the
nature that she has to be forthright with herself. She's going to have a real problem on what to do with Joseph Smith who lied about what
was on those papyri writings.
In desperation, Brigham Young University professors have said, "Well, there's a secret meeting ... (on) the hieroglyphics, and Joseph Smith
saw the secret meanings, and that's where the book of Abraham was. Do you know who the last guy was who brought that up back in the early
history of the Christian church? That was a fellow named Origen. He came up with the idea and said, "You know, what the Bible says is not
the words. It is the secret meaning under the words. You must have spiritual discernment and insight to get that meaning." Do you know what
that gave birth to? To amillennialism. Up to that time, the church was uniformly dispensational premillennial. When he brought in that
system (non-literal interpretation of what the words mean), amillennialism came into the church as the Roman Catholic system was developed.
So here was Satan up to his old tricks again, trying to salvage the prophet of the Mormon Church – the deep things of Satan over
against the deep things of the Spirit of God.
So, to these people in Thyatira, the Lord says, "You who have not known these terrible deep things that the devil has produced." In the
phrase, "As they speak," the word "speak" here is our word "lego" again. "Lego" means "to call" or "to name." The idea was that what the negative
crowd in Thyatira called advanced spiritual secrets were, in fact, the deep things of Satan; that is, they call them the advanced spiritual
knowledge. We would translate this "as they call them," or "the so-called." This is present tense. This was continually their attitude
toward Satan's false doctrines. It's active. They choose to believe these things. It's indicative – a statement of fact. The so-called
secret in advanced truths of the cults today are nothing more than the false doctrine of Satan.
So what does the Lord say that He's going to do to them? He says, "I will put" ("ballo"). That means "to place" or "to impose:" "I will impose
no further burden upon you." It has the Greek negative "ou." I won't do this. It is present tense – the Lord's continual attitude.
It is active. Jesus makes this decision. It's indicative – a statement of fact. "Upon" is the Greek preposition "epi" which indicates
a location: "Upon you." "You" is plural. It is the group of believers in Thyatira: "I'll lay no other burden on you." The Lord says, "You're
in a tough spot. You're surrounded in a climate where everybody is going bananas over powers that these demons are producing in this witchcraft.
The followers of the Jezebel in Thyatira are riding high. They seem to be the in-crowd, and you people are hanging on to the old ways and to the
old Scriptures. And I want to tell you that you have the deep things of the Spirit of God. And I'm not going to lay any burden upon you, but
there is one thing I am going to tell you. There is one thing I will expect of you."
And this is our guideline today too, folks. It's in verse 25: "But," and that is this: "That which you have already, hold fast till I come.
I'm not going to place upon you any other weight." This word is interesting because it was used in Acts 15:28 where the Jerusalem church
council used the same word "ballo" when it spoke about the gentile Christians and said, "We will lay no other burden upon you except certain
things we do ask of you." And two of those things they stressed were: don't be engaged in idolatry; and, don't be engaged in sexual immorality.
These are the two things that the Jezebel in Thyatira was promoting. So it almost seems as if God the Holy Spirit is thinking in terms of the
passage in Acts, and He uses that same word to call their attention to the fact that he's not going to lay a great burden upon them, but simply
that the positive believers are to do this: "Stand separated from the Jezebel movement and its evil practices." That much the Lord requires us
to bear faithfully.
Evidently, there was no hope to restore the Jezebel faction. They in fact went on historically to become the Roman Catholic Church. But verse
25 says, "Plen." It introduces a responsibility here: "Nevertheless, that which you have." "Have" is our old word "echo." Here it means what
you possess in the form of sound doctrine: "Hold fast." This is the word "krateo." This means to "hold firmly." The idea is to retain something.
This is the call to retain a firm grasp on what? On the deep things of the Spirit of God that you few people have who have not been part of the
Jezebel movement. This is aorist tense. It sums up God's plan for you. You have sound doctrine, and God's purpose for you is to hang on to it,
not to be rethinking it and to be seeking some new advancement. Stay on the basis of what Scripture has revealed. It's active. You have to decide
to stick with it. It's imperative. This is a command.
The Lord says, "You hang on to the sound doctrine you already have. Don't be so foolish as
to go chasing after this woman. You've done the right thing. You've separated yourself from her. I will put no other demands upon you. I'm not
going to ask you to try to stifle this movement; to try to undermine it; or, to try to neutralize it in some way. It's spreading, but you have
stood firm. You hang onto the doctrine you have. How long? "Acrhi" – "until." Until when? "Until I come." The word is "heko." And this
word means not just come, but "Until I'm present." "Until I stand right there with you." It is future. In the future, Jesus physically returns.
It's active. He himself does the returning. It's indicative – a statement of fact. Hang in there with the Word of God; with the doctrine
you have; and, with the deep things of the Spirit of God until I come. Keep rejecting the deep things of Satan."
The advice of the people in Thyatira is advice which is very apropos for you and me as we face our society with its monumental delusions
in every realm: socially; politically; religiously; educationally; and, entertainment in every direction. It is necessary for you to realize
that you're not going to turn this country around. You're not going to turn the society around. You're surrounded by a monumental evil. And
what the Lord says is, "I want you to hang in there with the truth of the doctrine that you have. And I want you to make it known. I want
you to stay with what you have. And I don't want you to be entrapped in the deep things of Satan. Stay with the deep things of God. They
will carry you from here to eternity as a winner in every sense of the word."
Dr. John E. Danish, 1977
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