Religious Decoys -- Playing God

 

Playing God: Religious Decoys

Life-Threatening Deceits

 

February 6, 2021

 Larry R Evans

 

Introduction

 

I am not a hunter. However, I do remember the first and only day I ever went hunting. I was a teenager and a friend lent me a 410 shotgun—not very powerful, but it can be effective. I was with a small group of high school students walking across a field in a place called the pheasant capital of the United States. As we walked, we scared a pheasant hiding in the brush. Out of fear, it flew up into the air to getaway. I aimed and fired. To my surprise, the bird dropped to the ground. I ran over to it and discovered it was only wounded. What I did next to kill the bird remains with me to this day. I haven’t hunted since then.

 

Some hunters use decoys. Those who hunt doves will tell you that doves, before landing, like to examine the ground for predators before doing so. They are aware that danger is everywhere. They’ll first sit on a powerline or in a nearby tree to evaluate the area. Decoys help trick the dove. Hunters carefully place decoys in the field to give the image to doves flying overhead that they are missing something that others have found. Decoys simply help draw the birds into an effective range where the hunter can make the fatal shot. The once careful bird would be tricked by a decoy playing like the real thing.

 

Our study today is about a religious decoy called Babylon. Babylon is deceitful. The first book of the Bible begins with the words, “In the beginning God” (Gen. 1:1), and the last book closes with the words, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:21). This suggests that God has definite plans to finish what He has begun! However, between these two phrases are generations of pain, disappointment, despair, and anxiety but there are also echoes of hope, signs of grace, and dreams of restoration. The journey has been a difficult one for God’s people throughout the ages. We are among them. We live in a world that has been pulled away from God’s plan. We are not alone. God is traveling with us but there are decoys, religious decoys, that are at work trying to keep us from realizing God’s plan for us. 

 

In the book of Revelation, John tells of a rebellion in heaven that led to Satan being cast from heaven. (Rev. 12:7-9). Isaiah introduces us to how that rebel’s heart sought to eventually become a religious decoy (Isa. 14:12-14).

How you have fallen from heaven,

morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!

You said in your heart,

“I will ascend to the heavens;

I will raise my throne

above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,

on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.”

But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,

to the depths of the pit.

The good news is that the story doesn’t end there! Isaiah reassures us with these words, (Isa. 25:9)

In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;

we trusted in him, and he saved us.

This is the LORD, we trusted in him;

let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

 The Rest of the Story

Isaiah 13 opens with these words, “A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw.” Then in verse 13, we are told “The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war.” In Revelation 1:8 we are told that the Lord Jesus is “the Lord which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”  

 

What we are studying today is not only about the book of Isaiah but about the Lord and His conflict with Babylon. Babylon becomes synonymous with the enemies of God. It waged war, not only on God, but on His people, and God’s purpose for them. 

 

It is essential that we see the big picture and how our study of Isaiah fits into that picture. The New Testament has about 1,500 quotations of sentences and phrases from the Old Testament Scriptures. There are multiple phrases taken from Isaiah in the book of Revelation, which by its own declaration, is the revelation of and from Jesus. Jesus is the central figure throughout the entire Bible. Today we study Jesus combating the decoy of power and religious influence represented by Babylon. The ultimate outcome is certain,

They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings —and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” (Rev. 17:14)

The Rise of Babylon

 

The seeds for what was to become the Babylon of prophetic prophecy can be seen in Genesis 11 with the erection of the Tower of Babel. Today’s search and even fight for “personal identity” is not new. Canceling culture is not the way to find it. Those building the tower sought to cancel God’s plans. They did it “to make a name for ourselves” (11:4). God had already given them a name, His family name when He declared, 

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Gen.1:26)

It was a gift of God to be called into His family. The tower builders, however, sought by their own works to reshape God’s plan by creating a different name of their own making. Legalism, self-righteousness became the mark of Babel and later of Babylon itself. The defiance towards God and His plan is carried to the extreme by future selfish efforts—efforts that served as a decoy for the real thing, for the real blessings God intended from the very beginning. Such defiance and deception bring misery and death. So serious is the deception and the misery caused by the Babylonian influence that dramatic action must be taken.

“The Day of the Lord”

 

Isaiah 13 and 14 present the idea of judgment by using the term “the day of the LORD” and for good reason. Nebuchadnezzar stood on the roof of his palace and cried out, “Is this not Great Babylon which I have built . . . by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30) The “Day of the Lord” rightfully, at times, means future destruction as in Isa. 13 & 14. The initiative of judgments is the Lords and is imminent.

Wail, for the day of the LORD is near;

it will come like destruction from the Almighty.

Because of this, all hands will go limp,

every heart will melt with fear. (Isa. 13:6,7)

It can also mean the coming of a new age of joyful experience (Isa. 42:1). 

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen one in whom I delight;

I will put my Spirit on him,

and he will bring justice to the nations.

The Assurance of Victory

 

The end-time implications of Isaiah’s prophecies include the entire earth. Sin has impacted the people and the earth. Every aspect of life is under judgment. (Isa. 24:1,2)

See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth

and devastate it;

he will ruin its face

and scatter its inhabitants—

it will be the same

for priest as for people,

for the master as for his servant,

for the mistress as for her servant,

for seller as for buyer,

for borrower as for lender,

for debtor as for creditor.

It is clear that the issue is not against the earth as an element of creation. Rather it is against the transgression upon it. The good news, in the end, is that “the LORD of hosts shall reign” (Isa. 24:23). Through it, all the Lord is with His people in their times of trouble. Isaiah 25:4 says that He is “a shelter from the storm” and the people testify,

In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;

we trusted in him, and he saved us.

This is the LORD, we trusted in him;

let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (Isa. 25:9)

The World and All Who Live Within It

Character Revealed

 

Isaiah 25 and 26 are chapters of praise for what God has done and describe those who are welcomed to come into the city of God. In chapter 26 we find a strong or protected city. The chapter provides the answer to the assumed question, “Who is able to enter into the gates and to participate in the banquet of celebration?”  The answer is the theme of the chapter. The faithful may enter (Isa. 26:2). The faithful are described in verse 3, 

You will keep in perfect peace

those whose minds are steadfast,

because they trust in you.

Verses 8 and 9 add more descriptive character traits:

Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws,

we wait for you;

your name and renown

are the desire of our hearts.

My soul yearns for you in the night;

in the morning my spirit longs for you.

Those who do not enter into the city and the banquet hall are described in three ways, 

When your judgments come upon the earth,

the people of the world learn righteousness.

But when grace is shown to the wicked,

they do not learn righteousness;

even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil

and do not regard the majesty of the LORD.

LORD, your hand is lifted high,

but they do not see it. (Isa. 26:9-11)

Despite God’s generosity, “the people of the world”:

1.    do not learn righteousness.

2.    go on doing evil

3.    do not regard or see the majesty of the Lord.

 

The deceptions are believed as fact and they have led “the people of the world” have chosen to believe a lie about themselves and their God.

 

The deceptive power,

The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. (Rev. 12:9)

Can you even imagine their reaction when they hear the multitude of voices cry out? 

“Surely this is our God;

we trusted in him, and he saved us.

This is the LORD, we trusted in him;

let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

 

Closing Reflections: Beware

A World of Deceitfulness

News release:

“The actress, 59, told Kelly Clarkson that when she was on vacation in Hawaii many years ago, she met a pair of friends and thought of an ingenious way to date them both.

 

"Quite a few years back, I did come to Kauai. When you come and you're on vacation alone, you can kind of create anything you want," the "Legally Blonde" star said Friday on "The Kelly Clarkson Show."

 

"I ended up meeting these two guys that were best friends, and I liked them both. And so, I told them that I had an identical twin. And I dated both guys — for two weeks," Coolidge continued.

 

Clarkson said to her guest that the trick must have been "exhausting" to pull off.

"I don't know if I would have the guts to do that now, but at the time it really was sort of a great decision," Coolidge joked. "You know, when you're younger, you can just about get away with anything." -----Jessica Napoli/Fox News (Feb. 3, 2021)

 

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Eph.6:10)

 

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. (2 Thess. 2:15)