- Spiritual Acrophobia
- The Fear of High Places
-
by Dr. Ken Matto
shorter version - you look up the Scripture
references
There seems to be a new mindset among some Christians and that is Spiritual Acrophobia.
Acrophobia by definition means a fear of high places. There is a teaching being propagated
by Harold Camping of Family Radio that the organized church is no longer being used of God
to send forth the gospel. This is because he claims that the churches are all corrupted
and invaded by false gospels AKA high places. He links this with his Latter Rain belief
that the church no longer is sending out the true gospel and God is now using the
electronic media to accomplish the task before the return of Christ. Since December 24,
1906, the electronic media has been used to send forth the gospel simultaneously with the
organized church.
To a certain point he is correct in that many churches are dead and useless because they
simply do not have a grasp on what the true gospel is. Much of the modern day clergy teach
a moral and political gospel but are neglecting the spiritual aspects of the gospel. This
means they are teaching a gospel that does not go beyond the portals of death. The
teachings of heaven and hell are absent in many churches and much feel good philosophy is
being taught as truth.
(Isa 30:9-11 KJV) That this is a rebellious
people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: {10} Which say to the seers, See not; and to the
prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy
deceits: {11} Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of
Israel to cease from before us.
Part 1 - The High Places in Scripture
Now when we turn to the Old Testament we will gain a
better understanding of what a high place is. The Temple was the center of the worship of
Jehovah during the times of Ancient Israel and Judah. After the Exodus from Egypt, Israel
wasted no time in constructing a high place because of the extended time Moses was on the
Mountain (Ex. 32:1-8) waiting to receive God’s Law. This was a testing program for
the nation of Israel and they failed horribly by culminating their failure in the
construction of a golden calf which symbolized their quick slide into apostasy.
I am not an over-zealous proponent of the clergy system we have in the church but more
and more I am coming to the conclusion that it is necessary for a godly man to be in
charge of the local church. We saw what Israel did when there was no leader. The sinful
tendencies of man took over right away. Whenever a godly man is in charge of a church, it
prospers spiritually but when a spiritually unqualified man is in charge, the church
plunges into apostasy rapidly.
(Exo 34:12-13 KJV) Take heed
to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest,
lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: {13} But ye shall destroy their altars, break
their images, and cut down their groves:
After the incident with the golden calf, God is now giving Israel both instruction and a
warning that if the pagan images are not destroyed along with the places of worship, then
Israel will become snared and will forsake the worship of the true God in the temple and
in the biblically prescribed manner. God even warns that Israel is not to make any kind of
covenant with the pagan inhabitants of the land. A covenant would probably have been
something to the effect of allowing them to worship their false gods on a concurrent
basis. This would mean that they would be separated in worship but dwelling in the same
land which would ultimately lead to spiritual disaster for Israel.
(Lev 26:30 KJV) And I will
destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the
carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
(Num 33:51-52 KJV) Speak unto
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of
Canaan; {52} Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and
destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all
their high places:
Here God plainly tells the nation of Israel that He is going to judge them fiercely.
Because of their apostasy God would ultimately destroy both nations and send them into
captivity to serve the pagan nations they chose to follow. Israel may have kept to the
belief that if they kept a place for the pagan gods of the surrounding nations, they would
appease them and would live in peace. The problem is that peace with the world is war with
God This is akin to what many churches are doing today by being world friendly they feel
they will appease the government and the unbelievers but they will be crushed.
(1 Ki 3:1-3 KJV) And Solomon
made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her
into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house
of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. {2} Only the people sacrificed in high
places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days. {3}
And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he
sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
These passages teach us that before Solomon built the temple, the people were
worshipping the Lord in the high places. This no doubt was borrowed from the wilderness
wanderings in which the Tabernacle was the center of worship. However, until the Temple
was built there was really no order of worship so the people chose to worship the Lord in
these places. Here they were not worshipping false gods but for lack of a central place of
worship, they made their own individual places of worship. It states that Solomon loved
the Lord yet he himself sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. This is an
important revelation when comparing the contemporary teaching on high places in the
churches today. I will make the application a little later in the study.
(1 Ki 14:22-23 KJV) And Judah
did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which
they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. {23} For they also built them
high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
It was not bad enough that Israel was taken into captivity for their spiritual harlotry
but Judah did not learn the lesson and became an apostate nation by adopting the customs
and false gods of the other nations. This resulted in them going into captivity with the
Babylonians for 70 years. When they were finished with the captivity, they were no longer
a pure nation but became mongrelized. Their pure lineage was adulterated because of their
disobedience. This is easily seen in the book of Ezra.
I wanted to preface this article by bringing to light the harsh realities of the high
places and how they affected an entire nation which was divided, who were supposed to be
serving the same God.
The high places were attributes of the Canaanite religion in which God commanded the
Israelites to destroy them upon their entering the land of Canaan. The high places were
normally associated with profligate sexual and sacrificial behavior. Along with this there
was a sacred pole at many of the sites which had phallic affiliations which normally had a
figure of Ashteroth on the top of it. This was the worship of the fertility goddess of the
Canaanites. This practice went back as far as the 15th century BC as being recorded on the
Ugaritic tablets of the Ras Shamra find.
(Isa 57:5 KJV) Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the
children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
This verse condemns the practice of some of the pagans at the high places in Gezer,
where Canaanites dwelled, in which the first-born babies were killed and their bodies
placed in earthen jars. Many of these have been unearthed by archaeologists who actually
found the bones of many babies in jars as well as walls of houses where it was believed
that the bones of babies in the walls would keep away the evil.
Many of the ancient false religions constructed high places for the worship of false
gods. The Babylonians constructed the Ziggurats. The Greeks had an Acropolis and Mt.
Olympus. The Mayans and the Egyptians had their pyramids. They had high altars in various
places in the land in opposition to the idea of one place of sacrifice in the temple,
which was the pattern given by God. Of course, the one place of sacrifice in the temple
represented the one sacrifice of the Lord Jesus in which Christianity is centralized. The
temple in ancient Israel also was a central place of worship.
Part 2 - Are there High Places in the
Church today?
Having some knowledge of these high places and the
purposes they served for the pagan nations which surrounded the nation of Israel, it now
behooves us to look at these high places and see if they can really be applied to the
church in our time. Before I summarize I want us to look at many verses taken from the Old
Testament, mainly in Kings and Chronicles, to gain a better understanding as to what these
places were and the nature of them. It is important to do this to see if we can make an
application of a "type" without stretching the verses or using the anathematized
method of eisegesis. There will be much repetitive analysis of each verse because
basically they all say the same thing as there is a single thread which runs through all
of them.
(Lev 26:30 KJV) And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast
your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
Here we see that God is going to condemn the high places along with the images.
(1 Ki 12:26-32 KJV) And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the
house of David: {27} If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at
Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto
Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
{28} Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It
is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee
up out of the land of Egypt. {29} And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in
Dan. {30} And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even
unto Dan. {31} And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the
people, which were not of the sons of Levi. {32} And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the
eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and
he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had
made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
Here we see the false religion of the worship of two golden calves.
(1 Ki 13:32-33 KJV) For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the
altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of
Samaria, shall surely come to pass. {33} After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his
evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever
would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.
Here we see that Jeroboam set up the high places in Samaria as well as the ones in
Bethel.
(1 Ki 14:21-23 KJV) And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty
and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the
city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And
his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. {22} And Judah did evil in the sight of the
LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above
all that their fathers had done. {23} For they also built them high places, and images,
and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.
Here we see Judah provoking the Lord with the construction of high places on the hills
and groves. Remember Isaiah 57:5?
(1 Ki 15:14 KJV) But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was
perfect with the LORD all his days.
Here King Asa, whose heart was right with the Lord, did not remove the high places
(1 Ki 22:42-43 KJV) Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the
daughter of Shilhi. {43} And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not
aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high
places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high
places.
Here is the son of Asa whose heart was right toward the Lord, yet he did not remove the
high places.
(2 Ki 12:2-3 KJV) And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his
days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. {3} But the high places were not taken
away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
Jehoash was under the tutelage of a godly priest yet he did not remove the high places.
(2 Ki 14:1-4 KJV) In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned
Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. {2} He was twenty and five years old when he began
to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was
Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. {3} And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet
not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. {4}
Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt
incense on the high places.
Amaziah who also did right in the sight of the Lord did not remove the high places.
(2 Ki 15:32-35 KJV) In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began
Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. {33} Five and twenty years old was he
when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name
was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. {34} And he did that which was right in the sight of
the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. {35} Howbeit the high
places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high
places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD.
Jotham also did right in the sight of the Lord, yet the high places were not removed.
(2 Ki 16:2-4 KJV) Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen
years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God,
like David his father. {3} But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made
his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the
LORD cast out from before the children of Israel. {4} And he sacrificed and burnt incense
in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
Here we see Ahaz also sacrificing his son to the false gods and offering sacrifice in
the high places.
(2 Ki 17:6-11 KJV) In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and
carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of
Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. {7} For so it was, that the children of Israel had
sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt,
from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, {8} And walked in
the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel,
and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. {9} And the children of Israel did
secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them
high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. {10}
And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:
{11} And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD
carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:
Here we see a massive program of constructing the high places for the false gods.
(2 Ki 18:1-4 KJV) Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of
Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. {2} Twenty and five
years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in
Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. {3} And he did that
which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. {4}
He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in
pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel
did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
Now if we are going to say that Ancient Israel and Judah typified the church in the
manner of high places, what do you do with the section of Hezekiah when he completely
cleansed the land and temple. As the Scriptures teach he removed the high places with all
their paganism. So if you are going to hold to the pattern, then sometime during
the "Latter Rain" the church is going to be purified completely, to wit, before
the Lord’s return. There will be a church on earth with no false teachings.
(2 Ki 21:1-3 KJV) Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned
fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah. {2} And he did
that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom
the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. {3} For he built up again the high places
which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a
grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
Here is Manasseh who was the son of Hezekiah. When he became king, he rebuilt all the
paganism his father destroyed and went after false gods.
(2 Ki 23:5, 8, 13, 19-20 KJV) And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of
Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the
places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to
the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. {8} And he brought all the
priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had
burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that
were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a
man's left hand at the gate of the city. {13} And the high places that were before
Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king
of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the
abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did
the king defile. {19-20} And all the houses also of the high places that were in the
cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah
took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel. {20} And
he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned
men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
Here is King Josiah who initiated another total cleansing from the worship of the false
gods. We see here that he even slew the false priests which would be akin to removing the
false teachers from the churches if we follow the type. This section on Josiah
would be another period in the "Latter Rain" that would look to a purified
church on earth.
(2 Chr 11:5 & 15 KJV) And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence
in Judah. {15} And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and
for the calves which he had made.
Here we see another high place being built for the purpose of worshipping false gods.
(2 Chr 21:11-14 KJV) Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused
the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto. {12} And
there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of
David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor
in the ways of Asa king of Judah, {13} But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel,
and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the
whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house,
which were better than thyself: {14} Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy
people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods:
Here is King Jehoram who is being chided by God for his evil ways and as a result the
Lord sent the enemies after him
(2 Chr 28:24-25 KJV) And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut
in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD,
and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. {25} And in every several city of
Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD
God of his fathers.
Here is Ahaz raping the temple of the treasures and making them into instruments to
worship the false gods.
(Psa 78:58 KJV) For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to
jealousy with their graven images.
Here we see a general description of Israel provoking God with the high places.
(Jer 3:21 KJV) A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the
children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD
their God.
This verse describes the worship of false gods which replace the worship of the true
God.
(Jer 7:31 KJV) And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of
the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded
them not, neither came it into my heart.
Here is another high place for the worship of the false gods by means of human
sacrifice. Jesus used this place as an example of Hell.
(Jer 19:4-6 KJV) Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have
burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor
the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; {5} They have
built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto
Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: {6} Therefore,
behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor
The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
Here God specifically states that the people have forsaken Him and have sacrificed unto
other gods.
(Jer 32:34-35 KJV) But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my
name, to defile it. {35} And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley
of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire
unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do
this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
Here God is stating that the abominations of the heathen were set up in the temple which
defiled it but God also states that the high places were also built as separate entities.
Here we are seeing two distinct locations.
(Ezek 6:3-8 KJV) And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus
saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys;
Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. {4}
And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down
your slain men before your idols. {5} And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of
Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. {6} In
all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be
desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be
broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. {7}
And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. {8}
Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the
nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
Here God is pronouncing a destruction of all the high places and the altars and the
idols which Judah was using for their pagan worship.
(Ezek 16:15-17 KJV) But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot
because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his
it was. {16} And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers
colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall
it be so. {17} Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I
had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
Here God is stating that Judah was doing the same thing as the idolatrous nations by
dressing up their idols and their high places. Remember that the religion of the heathens
also included prostitution. Here God is condemning them for spiritual prostitution.
(Ezek 16:39-40 KJV) And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down
thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of
thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. {40} They
shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and
thrust thee through with their swords.
The word "eminent place" is the Hebrew word "gav" which simply means
a back, brow, or a rounded elevation. The word basically describes anything with a curve
or something which is rounded. This would have been the place where the pagan altar would
have stood.
(Hosea 10:8 KJV) The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed:
the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the
mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
Aven means iniquity or sorrow. God here is saying that the high places will be destroyed
but do you notice that he is saying that thorns and thistles would come up on the altar.
Notice that thorns and thistles are growing in the out of doors.
(1 Ki 3:1-3 KJV) And Solomon made
affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the
city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the
LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. {2} Only the people sacrificed in high
places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days. {3}
And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he
sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
I wanted to give a comment on this passage. It is also taught in the
High Place study that those doctrines which are not 100% biblical are flippantly called
high places. The types of doctrines I am speaking of are: Pre-Trib, 1000 year reign,
pre-Trib rapture, etc. It is also taught that those who hold to these types of doctrines
are not saved. Well, if we are going to parallel the high places of Israel with the end
time church, then this, like the Hezekiah and Josiah portions of Scripture must be
factored in. Here was Solomon who loved the Lord yet he partook in the high places. We
know Solomon was saved based on the following verse:
(Neh 13:26 KJV) Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?
yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God
made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.
No person can be beloved of God and be unsaved. So here we have
Solomon who walked in the laws of his father David yet partook of the sacrifices of the
high places, yet he was saved. This verse teaches us that a person can hold a wrong
doctrine and still be saved. Just because a person does not know the doctrines of election
and predestination, does not make them unsaved. There are many in free will churches today
who have a strong desire to share the gospel with the world and are doing just that. The
efficacy of the gospel being taught is measured by its ability to bring people to Christ.
I personally was saved under the ministry of two free will preachers in 1980, Jack Van
Impe and Billy Graham. Was it them that saved me or was it God? Of course, it was the
Lord. Even if a person thinks they "accepted the Lord" the bible clearly teaches
that a person responds to the gospel because they have been qualified by God to do so.
Summary of the High Places
We have looked at many verses which speak of
the high places. I did not go into deep analysis of each verse because I wanted to
establish the thread which ran through these verses. While I did not list every verse, I
have looked at every verse and they all speak of the high places as:
1. Being a separate place of worship
2. Places specifically built for the worship of false gods.
3. Using a separate set of pagan priests
4. Places for pagan rituals
5. Places for human sacrifice
6. Places which did not even mention the worship of the true God
except a few
times in the pre-temple era such as after the fall of Shiloh but
these places
were built when there was no order of worship and no central place to
worship God until the Solomonic temple was built.
Therefore, based on the biblical evidence, the present manner in
which the high places are being taught is erroneous and deceptive. To compare a place of
intentional worship to a false god to someone or to a church holding a false teaching is
like comparing apples and oranges. The High Places in Scripture are in no way connected to
the temple. Since the High Places are separate entities, they cannot be compared to the
church either as I have never heard of or experienced a Christian church which is
dedicated specifically to the worship of and/or to sacrificing to a false god. The
heathenous High Places were not originally built for the worship of God and then over time
there was a slide into false religion. They were heathenous from their inception until
their destruction because that was the purpose they were built for.
Let me give a quick analogy about comparing separate
entities:
I live in New Jersey where I am about 152 KM (95 miles) North of
Atlantic City. There are many gambling casinos there. Now I would say a casino
is a high place because it is dedicated solely to the things of this world plus they serve
the god of this world and it is totally detached from the church. To look at a
casino and then summarize, that based on what that casino is doing, the First Presbyterian
Church of Happyville is dead. This is akin to looking at the high places, which were
dedicated to paganism and then saying all the churches are dead. Water and Oil
do not homogenize neither does that method of Bible study.
The Dangers of the High Place Study
When people start believing a study simply based upon who has
originated it without checking them out in Scripture, there will always be consequences.
One of the most dangerous consequences of this study will be to undermine the spiritual
foundation of the Christian. Christians will now be going to church, not to see what they
can glean from the ministries offered but to see how many high places there are. When they
start counting the high places, the next move is to leave the church. So they leave and go
to another church and lo and behold, there are high places there too. So they visit
another church and wow, more high places.
So now the Christian leaves the church and sits home because
according to the high place study, every church is now fallen away and has high places. So
the Christian who has swallowed this deception begins to stagnate in their Christian walk
and they become weaker and very accusatory toward every church. They have no fellowship
nor accountability. Eventually their love will wax cold and become very lonely and
acrimonious because the only fellowship they will have will be the world on the job.
But the man on the radio says we can all fellowship around the radio.
In other words, we can sit spellbound and listen to his opinion on the bible while he does
not even know what he is doing to the body of Christ and how he is really causing many
Christians to stumble. The problem is that they are still alone and in violation of the
mandate to gather together on the Lord’s day. Computer churches, telephone churches
or radio do not offer the Christian anything of a permanent status.
There is no doubt in my mind that many of the churches are in
apostasy but that is not an intentional worship of false gods nor is it human sacrifice.
The present High Place study should be scrapped because it is nothing more than one
man’s tirade against the church with a mishandling of God’s word. My fear
is that many Christians will never go back to church because they will be suffering from
spiritual acrophobia. Maybe it is time we turn our radio off for a while. The Bible
in Jeremiah says that we are to call upon God and He will answer us. He doesn't tell
us to ask a man for an answer. Think about it!
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