Addendum to "A Tale of Two Kings"

Please add this to "A Tale of Two Kings". As we ponder the revelation the Lord's given in this epistle, turn your attention to Hosea 13:9-11. This is God's heartfelt response to Israel's desire for a man to rule over them instead of God - listen to God plead with them (and today with us)
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> "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in Me is thine help. I WILL BE THY KING: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? And thy judges of whom saidst, give me a king and princes? I GAVE THEE A KING IN MINE ANGER, and took him away in my wrath".
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> O my people, this confirms what I've said in "A Tale of Two Kings". Yes, God gave them a king but it was not His will for them then and it is not His will for us now. If it displeased Him then, God changes not, it displeases Him now. And the whole denominational system of Pastor-ruled churches is nothing more than a fulfillment of people's desire for a man, for a king and princes, to rule over them.People are basically lazy, especially when it comes to spiritual disciplines. They would rather turn over their spiritual responsibilites to a Pastor, to a man in other words, a king, then have to deal with it themselves. God hates this. He died so he could have a personal relationship with each one of us. We are not to approach him through our church or pastor or anyone else. We are to approach him directly, though we do recieve correction and counsel from wise elders he places in our lives. Catholicism is firmly entrenched in this, in having men rule and lord it over the people, but when Martin Luther came out of Catholicism, he did it physically but not spiritually. Spiritually, the protestant system he set up was identical to the Catholic Church. What I mean is, the Pastor took on the role of Priest in the lives of the people, performing every duty the priests did except for one major change (the confessional). So the protestants under Martin Luther were in just as much spiritual bondage as the Catholics because they are all submitted to the spirit of religion. He just wears a different guise in different churches. They're all in a mess, no one is better off than any one else. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. Come out and be separate, my people! Let no man lord it over you, Jesus himself is your head and no man. When you submit to a man it must be a man chosen by God who is fully submitted to Him and therefore it is Christ you are submitting to, not that man. Amen. Selah.
> God Bless, Chris Waxman