FAILURE OF THE PRIESTHOOD (CLERGY)
By W. G. Guy
When reading the Book of Judges in the Bible it is recorded that the people of Israel failed to obey God’s commands. What is troubling is that they had the same failure over and over, even after God restored them after dealing with them by allowing them to be oppressed by their enemies.
What was the cause of the Israelites turning away from God, disobeying His commands in defiance, and worshipping idols and the gods of their neighbors and enemies? That cause was because of the failure of the priesthood to properly do their job.
The Levites, the descendants of Aaron, were designated by God to perform the role of priests, as well as the care of the Tabernacle, referred to as the House of God. The priesthood failed to do their job of keeping the people’s focus on obedience to God and worshipping Him. Thus the people strayed into idol worshipping which made God angry with them and causing Him to deal with their rebellion and defiance. The failure was with the priesthood as God told the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel.
Isaiah 56:10-11 – His watchman (priests, prophets, elders or pastors and ministers) are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark (give warning); sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his own gain, from his quarter.
God’s Word to Isaiah says the spiritual leadership was self-indulgent and failed to lookout for the spiritual wellbeing and development of their people.
Ezekiel 22:26 – Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
The failure of the shepherds is further spoken by God to Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 34:1-4 – And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
At first it is assumed that the shepherds referred to here were the kings and rulers over Israel; but the term “shepherd” does not refer to a ruler or king, but to those charged with the care of the flock (sheep) of God. This indicated that it is referring to the spiritual leadership of Israel: the priesthood or pastors.
An example of just such a failure of the priesthood is given us 1 Samuel regarding the priest sons of Eli. They were doing exactly what the LORD described to Ezekiel above by living off of the people, (the sheep).
1 Samuel 2:12-14 – Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord. 13 And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; 14 and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself.
The problem was further exacerbated because their father, Eli the high priest, when he admonished them, they ignored him.
1 Samuel 2:22-25 – Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord’s people to transgress. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.
Could a similar thing be said about many of the pastors/shepherds in the churches of today? Because it seems to be so divided, lukewarm, and has come to embrace all manner of false doctrines and perverted forms of worship. The Church of Laodicea is representative of much of what is seen in churches today that has left Jesus standing on the outside knocking to get in, waiting for people to open up to Him.
Revelation 3:14-20 – And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Why would there be such a failure in the roles of the clergy today? Most likely because too many in the ministry are man trained, not God trained, in how to build His church.
Matthew 7:21-27 – Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Disobedience and negligence of what God, or Christ, commanded is the cause of the failure of the church to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Thus the majority of the church today fails to be the positive influence that it was in the first century; turning the world upside down.
Luke 6:46 – And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Failure to do as Jesus instructed is causing the same condition that existed in the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22 that left Jesus outside wanting to get in and make it alive unto Him. Thus the church today is acting much like ancient Israel did as they drifted away from God and into the world.
So many church leaders are more concerned about adding numbers or membership to their congregations than they are about building up their members in their holy faith and forming Christ in them. They do not preach and teach what the people need to hear; instead they preach and teach what the people want to hear in order to pacify them, tickle their ears, and give them “feel good” messages. I have even heard several of them say they refuse to preach anything negative, but will only speak what is positive and uplifting to satisfy their flesh. This means they never preach on sin, repentance, hell, the evil that is in this world that surrounds us, or what kinds of negative influences we are subjected to.
Why do they do this? They want to draw people into their church to add to their membership and then they can build a bigger church to hold even more people. They are actually building their own kingdom and enhancing their own identity. Their message is compromising with the world rather than separating them as the children of God.
These become churches where Jesus is left outside, wanting to get in to reveal Himself to the people in pure and intimate fellowship and worship: thus allowing Him to move on them for their spiritual enhancement; and conforming them to His image. It is those preachers and teachers who are doing their own thing, called iniquity, which are failing the church and causing it to lose the true Christian character and nature.
Consider the proper work of the ministry as described by the apostle Paul using the Gifts that Christ gave for the perfecting of the saints after He ascended back to the Father.
Ephesians 4:8-14 – Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
It appears that the wicked, the false preachers and prophets, the wolves in sheep’s clothing, that are the ones that are in positions of power, influence and control in such churches and denominations. Jesus told us this would happen, especially in the last day when there would be great deception.
Matthew 24:4-5, 11 & 24 – And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. …. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. …..For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Note: the word Christ is from the Hebrew Messiah, which means “anointed one”. Thus the deceivers will be false anointed ones, or claiming to anointed; but they are not anointed by God, but by Satan.
We should recognize also that the evil children of the devil are mostly in control of our educational system, our entertainment industry, the news media, major corporations, banks and financial institutions, and especially our government and the political establishment; as well as in many churches. It is mostly because of the failure of the ministry, (the modern priesthood), to properly address the issues of corruption, sin and evil to their congregations. Thus the people in such congregations are not equipped to oppose or address such issues; they simply accept those corrupt conditions; they even continue to vote to elect those that are corrupt, and go along with their ungodly dictates.
The apostle Peter specifically identified the problem in his first epistle:
1 Peter 4:17 – For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
That time has come, and it is those in leadership in the churches that will be held accountable. Look for the true servants and ministers of the Lord; they are being used of Him to build His church, not the failure that is man’s church. Jesus said in
Matthew 7:15-20, “It is by their fruit you shall know them”, not by their talents or gifts. We are to judge those who bring forth false doctrines, those false teachers, preachers and false prophets, who lead people away from God and Jesus Christ, as God declared in Deuteronomy 13.
Deuteronomy 13:1-4 – If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
Therefore church, we all need to be “fruit inspectors”; because:
Matthew 7:15-20 – Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
This fruit is not their works but the character and nature of Christ that should be seen in them. This fruit is the Fruit of the Spirit which cannot be produced without the life of Christ, (the vine) flowing through them.
John 15:1-5 – I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Let no man deceive you by any means: by his title; by his position; by his fame; by his gifts; by his talent; by ANY MEANS!
Ephesians 5:6-7 – Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
