Question received:
I would like to learn more specifically about how many of the worlds religions have angered God. Are those of us who question the pretend preachers and prophets for profit have we angered God as well?
My Reply:
In reply to the first part of your question, please consider Luke 4:5-6
"5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish."
Did you notice in verse 6 above that all authority of the world's governments, was "delivered" to Satan?
As we read at 1John5:19...
"We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one."
Notice in 1John5:19 that a contrast is made between those that are under the influence of the Devil (Eph.2:1-2), and those that are of God.
Those groups of people (the good, the bad, and the undecided) are described in the Bible as belonging to 3 distinct symbolic realms.
For instance, the disobedient world that harbors the spirit of the Devil,
is described as the SEA (Isa.57:20) - (Ps.37:10; Rev.21:1).
What about those who "are of God" as 1John5:19a stated above?
Well, they are symbolized by two realms.
The Bible refers to them at Acts 7:49 where we read;
"‘Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool."
Jesus referred to these two groups also, at Matt.28:18...
"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."
Neither the heaven or earth, are the sea.
If heaven is where God's throne resides, that is where His kingdom, sovereignty, authority, and power is upheld.
Jesus prayed that eventually, God's will, desire, and purpose would also be done on earth as it is already being done in heaven (Matt.6:10).
Earth is God's footstool, which means that it is God's own wayward people who are being disciplined, in the hope of bringing them into subjection to Him (ie. Ps.110:1; 1Cor.15:25).
Each individual has free will. Those of earth will either choose to become of heaven, or they will be tossed back into the realm of the sea/wicked, as unsuitable fish (Matt.13:48-49).
From all this we learn, that God made a judgment in Eden, to deliver creation into the hands of the Devil (Rom.8:20-21).
Why?
Because God gave everything in creation to Adam and Eve (Gen.1:26-28).
When Adam subjected himself to the Devil; everything Adam had dominion over, was now under Satan. God allowed this, which is why Satan said that at Luke 4:6 quoted above.
You may be wondering how all this addresses your question.
God does not get angry about the world's religions. He already knows that they are veiled by the wicked one. God Himself handed down the judgment for this to be so.
This was why the conversation that Jesus had with Pilate is relevant.
At John 19:10-11 we read;
"10 Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
So, who delivered Jesus over to Rome?
Who was it that had a greater sin before God... greater than the pagan Gentile Pilate who practiced one of the world's religions?
(Matt.15:24; John 1:11; 15:22-25; 7:1; Matt.27:1-2; John 19:11; Matt.23:37-38,31-33,35-36)
...It was the Jewish nation who were God's people!
God gets angry with His own people, when THEY become wicked. They should know better. God's people had God's Laws and they were in covenant with Him. They were supposed to be set apart from the world/sea, as His own chosen and precious possession.
It might be easier to understand this if we think of God's covenant with His own people, as a marriage.
We may not feel any anger at all, if a distant neighbor commits adultery.
But, ...isn't it very different, if our own beloved spouse, cheats on us? The betrayal becomes quite personal.
-- Pagans don't belong to God. God well knows that they already belong to the wicked one.
Why would God become angry about His own righteous judicial decision regarding the delineation between His own dominion and that of the temporary dominion of the Devil?
Now for the second part of your question:
"Are those of us who question the pretend preachers and prophets for profit have we angered God as well?"
Jesus taught all those who wished to be a part of the symbolic earth and heavens, how to handle preachers and prophets.
You will see that our questioning them does not anger God or Jesus at all. In fact, Jesus teaches us that we must question them.
At 1John4:1 we read
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God or not; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
Do we want to be mislead by a false prophet or lying preacher who is inspired by demons?
Rev.16:13-14; 1Tim.4:1
Does God want us to be mislead? (2Pet.3:9)
What about Jesus?
He said;
"15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."
Clearly Jesus expects us to be wary of being mislead by false teachers, preachers, ministers, and prophets (Matt.24:4-5,24-25; Rev.2:20). Of course! ...because he wants us to walk in the way, the truth, and the life. We cannot have any of those blessings, if we are mislead.
To close, I would like to recommend three links that I believe would provide additional help:
and
and
Thank you for your good questions,
Pearl Doxsey
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