1917_The_Finished_Mystery_Text

FM409O thou of little faith, who dost thou fear?The tempest hath no power when I am near;Will not the angry waves be still at Mycommand?Step out, I'll hold thy hand,Then, wherefore dost thou fear?EZEKIEL 8MOLECH, THE TORMENT DEITYEzekiel 8:1.And it came to pass in the sixth year, in thesixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as Isat in mine house, and the elders of Judah satbefore me, that the hand of the Lord God fellthere upon me.— Chapters 8 to 24 continue therecital of the sins of Jerusalem, Christendom,and the Divine punishment to be inflicted on her.Chapter 8 refers literally to the temple, and itsdefilement by the seating of an idol of Baal at thedoor near the Brazen Altar, by the desecration ofits interior with symbols of Egyptian heathenism,and by the practicing of heathen worship withinthe temple.This types the condition of the spiritual Templeof God, "which Temple ye are", the Church ofGod, originally pure and holy, but defiled by theclergy with pagan practices. The type refers backto 2 Chronicles 33:1-9, where King Manassehestablished heathen worship throughoutPalestine, set up a carved image in Solomon'stemple and "made Judah and the inhabitants ofJerusalem to err and to do worse than theheathens whom the Lord had destroyed beforethe children of Israel."This resulted in Manasseh's overthrow at thehands of the Assyrians. The name Manassehmeans "causing forgetfulness." He typed Satan,the god of this world, who, by his lyingdeceptions has made professing Christians forgetGod. Satan's chief "angel of light" is the pope ofRome, ably seconded in keeping the people inthe dark by the cardinals, bishops, priests, monksand sisters of apostate Rome and by the bishops