Living in a World Where People Play God

A Study Outline

I. Introduction

A. We live in a world of many paradoxes, not the least of which is people wanting to place themselves above their Creator and decide for themselves what is right.

B. The latest example of this is the Supreme Court decision of June 26, which rules that all states must now issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

C. When I heard this ruling I was dumbfounded that the U.S.A. could have such an insane and ungodly ruling.

D. This prompted a friend of mine to send me a message: “I had a bit of a rough Sabbath. The so called Supreme Court’s decision to legalize sodomy really hit me hard. I am ashamed for this country, angry and grieving. What a mess we have become; the land will vomit us out in time.” (Ron Saladin, June 28, 2015)

II. Let’s ask some questions about this ruling.

A. Will This Supreme Court ruling have any effect on God’s plan and timetable of prophecy?

1. God’s plan is right on schedule!

2. This is actually part of His timetable, and helps show us where we are in the progress of God’s great plan.

3. “As in the days of Noah …. “ Luke 17:26-39.

Marriage —-> homosexual marriage?

4. We are heading toward the days like Sodom and Gomorrah!

5. There are only about 2 to 5% of the people in the nation who are homosexual, but look at what great influence they wield:

a. They control the media and shape opinion.

b. They control politics; our president is homosexual.

c. They control education.

B. Is there even such a thing as “homosexual marriage”?

1. The idea is ludicrous, and violates God’s laws and the laws of nature (which also are His laws).

2. Marriage was instituted and defined by God Almighty: Genesis 2:20-25; Matthew 19:4-6.

3. It is obvious from the way male and female are designed that they are meant for each other, not male for male and female for female.

4. God has commanded that man be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth (Genesis 1: 27-28; Genesis 9:1). Same-sex couples cannot do this, showing that their “marriage” is outrageous and totally against God’s will, and why He comes down so hard on homosexuality, as in Leviticus 18:22; this was deserving of death, as were many other sexual sins.

III. These Supreme Court justices were clearly putting down God’s divine law and setting up Satan’s laws in their place … and encouraged by the president and Congress.

A. We need to recognize that Satan is perverted.

B. Secret Luciferian societies have rites and initiations that include such perversions, like Skull and Bones, etc.

C. These “lusts of the flesh” an clearly outlined in Scripture:

1. Galatians 5:17-21.

2. Romans 1:18-32.

3. II Timothy 3:1-5.

IV. We see examples throughout Scripture and in secular history of people who have placed their own views above their Creator’s laws.

A. Satan. Of course, he is the one who has misled all of the other humans who have been misled … the blind leading the blind, as it were.

1. Isaiah 14:12-15.

2. Ezekiel 28:12-19.

His end: destruction: Revelation 20:1-3, 10.

B. Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel 4:28, 12-19.

C. Nimrod.

1. Genesis 10:8-12.

2. His end: tradition says that Shem killed him.

D. Antichrist.

Daniel 11:36-37.

Revelation 10:11-18.

II Thessalonians 2:3-12.

His End: destruction: Revelation 19:19-20.

E. Hitler. He was deified by many.

His end: killed in a bunker in Berlin(?).

F. The pope. See the article below.

G. Many others. See the article below.

V. What about us?

A. We are to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

B. Whomever you yield yourselves as servants, you are his slave (Romans 6:16).

C. The second commandment forbids us to make an idol of anyone or anything (Exodus 20:3-4), and the first commandment requires you to have no God before the one true God.

D. Do not lose hope in the face of evildoers who declare evil good, and good evil, who make light dark, and dark light (Isaiah 5:20-21); see Philippians 4:4-9.

E. God will stand up for you, only, like Joshua was told (Joshua 1:5-9), “Be strong and of good courage ….”

F. Heed God’s words to shut our eyes to evil, and our ears from bloodshed (Isaiah 33:14-16), for those that do will dwell with the Eternal.

G. Pray as never before that you will be accounted worthy to escape those things that will come to pass and to stand before Jesus Christ (Luke 21:36).

The Pope Claims to Be God On Earth (From www.babylonmysteryreligion.com)

Summary: Read proof that throughout the Roman Church’s history. The Papacy has often claimed that the Pope is divine.

Throughout the centuries of Rome’s existence, the popes have regularly claimed to be divine. As the supposed successor of Peter, the Pope claims infallibility, the position of God on Earth, and the ability to judge and excommunicate angels. The Catholic Council of Trent in 1545 declared this: “We define that the Holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff hold primacy over the whole world.”

In the same century, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine stated this: “All names which in the Scriptures are applied to Christ, by virtue of which it is established that he is over the church, all the same names are applied to the Pope.”

In 1895 an article from the Catholic National said this: “The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ, Himself, hidden under the veil of flesh.”

This belief has so assimilated into society’s thinking that it is believed by many beyond Catholic circles. According to TIME, Pope John Paul II’s assassination attempt prompted a young Jewish man to say, “Shooting the Pope—It’s like shooting God.”

Further Quotes from Vatican Documents show the Papacy’s belief in Papal Infallibility: “He [the Pope] can pronounce sentences and judgments in contradiction to the rights of nations, to the law of God and man…. He can free himself from the commands of the apostles, he being their superior, and from the rules of the Old Testament…. The Pope has power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ.”

In 1512, Christopher Marcellus said this to Pope Julius II: “Take care that we lose not that salvation, that life and breath which thou hast given us, for thou art our shepherd, thou art our physician, thou art our governor, thou art our husbandman, thou art finally another God on earth.”

The Gloss of Extravagantes of Pope John XXII says this: “To believe that our Lord God the Pope has not the power to decree as he is decreed, is to be deemed heretical.”

And speaking about the same document, Father A. Pereira said this: “It is quite certain that Popes have never disapproved or rejected this title ‘Lord God the Pope’, for the passage in the gloss referred to appears in the edition of the Canon Law published in Rome by Gregory XIII.”

Papal documents also say this: “Those whom the Pope of Rome doth separate, it is not a man that separates them but God. For the Pope holdeth place on earth, not simply of a man but of the true God….dissolves, not by human but rather by divine authority…. I am in all and above all, so that God Himself and I, the vicar of God, hath both one consistory, and I am able to do almost all that God can do…. Wherefore, if those things that I do be said not to be done of man, but of God, what do you make of me but God? Again, if prelates of the Church be called of Constantine for gods, I then being above all prelates, seem by this reason to be above all gods”.

“The Pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth…. By divine right the Pope has supreme and full power in faith, in morals over each and every pastor and his flock. He is the true vicar, the head of the entire church, the father and teacher of all Christians. He is the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter of the world, the supreme judge of heaven and earth, the judge of all, being judged by no one, God himself on earth.

“The pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God, and the vicar of God…. The Pope alone is called most holy…. Hence, the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of hell. Moreover, the superiority and the power of the Roman Pontiff by no means pertains only to heavenly things, but also earthly things, and to things under the earth, and even over the angels, whom he is greater than. So that if it were possible that the angels might err in the faith, or might think contrary to the faith,they could be judged and excommunicated by the Pope…. The Pope is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of Christ, chief of kings, having plenitude of power.”

Words from the Popes themselves: In 1302 Pope Boniface said this in a letter to the Catholic Church: “Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”

Pope Pius V said this: “The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth.”

Pope Pius XI said this about himself: “PIUS XI, Pontifex Maximus.”

Pope Leo XIII said this about the role of the Pope: “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”

People Who Claim, or Have Claimed By Themselves or Others, to Be God

Egyptian pharaohs. 3050 – 30 BC. Egyptian pharaohs were kings of Ancient Egypt, and were considered gods by their culture. Their titles equated them with aspects of the likes of the hawk god Horus, the vulture goddess Nekhbet, and the cobra-goddess Wadjet. The Egyptians believed that when their Pharaoh died, he would continue to lead them in the next life, which is why his burial was grand and completed to perfection—to please him in the next life and ensure his immortality to protect his people.

Chinese Emperors. 221 BC – AD 1911. Deified as “Sons of Heaven” since the Qin Dynasty under Qin Shi Huang.

Roman Emperors. 42 BC – AD 363. Following Julius Caesar who in 42 BC was formally deified as “the Divine Julius”, and Caesar Augustus henceforth became Divi filius (“Son of the Divine One”), some (not all) Roman Emperors of the 1st to 4th centuries claimed divinity, including Tiberius 14–37, Caligula 37–41, Claudius 41–54, Hadrian 117–138, Commodus 161–192, Constantine I 306–312, Julian the Apostate 361–363.

Japanese Emperors. 660 BC –. Claimed, at least by some Shintoists, including government officials, to be divine descendants of the goddess Amaterasu. Hirohito, the Showa emperor, repudiated the “false conception” of his divinity in the Humanity Declaration in 1945.

Natchez rulers. 700. The Natchez were a theocracy ruled by “The Great Sun.” This ruler has sometimes been deemed a God-king.

The Sailendras. 700. The Sailendra dynasty of Java were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the plains of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, including the world famous Borobudur.

Dalai Lamas. 1391 –. Considered re-incarnations of Avalokiteśvara in Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lamas are incarnations of Amitābha.

Inca Emperors. 1438. The Inca Emperors had a status very similar to that of the Pharaohs of Egypt.

Nepalese monarchs. 1768–2008. In Nepal, the kings of the Shah dynasty were considered incarnations of Vishnu.

Imhotep. 2600 BC Ancient Egyptian architect and physician, who two thousand years after his death, was raised to that of a god, becoming the god of medicine and healing.

Queen Dido of Carthage. 814 BC. Founder and first queen of Carthage, after her death, she was deified by her people with the name of Tanit and assimilated to the Great Goddess Astarte (Roman Juno). The cult of Tanit survived Carthage’s destruction by the Romans; it was introduced to Rome itself by Emperor Septimius Severus, himself born in North Africa. It was extinguished completely with the Theodosian decrees of the late 4th century.

Homer (hero cult). 8th century BC. Venerated at Alexandria by Ptolemy IV Philopator.

Romulus and Remus (hero cult). 771–717 BC. Founders of Rome, sons of Mars, Romulus served as first king. After his death, Romulus was defined as the god, Quirinus, the divine persona of the Roman people. He is now regarded as a mythological figure, and his name a back-formation from the name Rome, which may ultimately derive from a word for “river”. Some scholars, notably Andrea Carandini, believe in the historicity of Romulus, in part because of the 1988 discovery of the Murus Romuli on the north slope of the Palatine Hill in Rome.

Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha. 563 BC(?). Believed a god by some Mahayana sects, and worshipped as an avatar of Vishnu by some Vaishnavas.

Hephaestion. 356–324 BC. Deified by Alexander the Great

Alexander III of Macedon the Great (hero cult). 356–323 BC. Some believe he implied he was a demigod by actively using the title “Son of Ammon–Zeus”. The title was bestowed upon him by Egyptian priests of the god Ammon at the Oracle of the god at the Siwah oasis in the Libyan Desert.

Antinous. 111 AD–130 AD. Deified by Hadrian. He is the last non-Imperial human formally deified in Western civilization.

Mary (mother of Jesus). 300 AD. In 300 AD she was worshipped as a Mother Goddess in the Christian sect Collyridianism, which was found throughout the Thrace. Collyridianism was made up mostly of women followers and female priests. Followers of Collyridianism were known to make bread and wheat offerings to the Virgin Mary, along with other sacrificial practices. The cult was heavily condemned as heretical and schismatic by other Christians and was preached against by Epiphanius of Salamis, who discussed the group in his recollective writings titled Panarion.

Guan Yu. 581 AD–618 AD, Guan Yu has been deified as early as the Sui Dynasty and is still popularly worshipped today among the Chinese people variedly as an indigenous Chinese deity, a bodhisattva in Buddhism and a guardian deity in Taoism. He is also held in high esteem in Confucianism. In Hong Kong both police and gangsters consider him a divine object of reverence. In certain schools of Taoism and Chinese Buddhism he has been deemed divine or semi-divine status. The reverence for him may date back to the Sui dynasty.

Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib. 599 AD–661 AD. According to the Alawite faith, Ali ibn Abi Talib is one member of a trinity (Ali-Muhammad-Salman the Persian) corresponding roughly to the Christian Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is considered the second emanation of God by Yarsan and the supreme deity in Ali-Illahism.

Sugawara no Michizane. 845 AD–903 AD. Japanese Imperial courtier banished from the capital and deified upon his death to appease his angry spirit. Worshipped as Tenjin, kami of scholarship. El-Hakem b’Amr Allah. 985 AD–1021 AD. Sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, ruling from 996 to 1021. The members of the Druze faith believe that the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is the Mahdi. The Muslim scholar and early preacher Nashtakin ad-Darazi claimed that the caliph was God incarnate. Because of that he was executed by al hakim who did not proclaim he that he was God. The druze today do reject Ad-Darazi’s preaching completely.

Majapahit Kings. 1293–1597. Javanese rulers of South East Asia’s largest ever kingdom, in Indonesia. After death, they were depicted as Hindu gods (see for instance Raden Wijaya).

Tokugawa Ieyasu. 1543–1616. Deified posthumously with the name Tōshō Daigongen by his successors.

L. L. Zamenhof. 1859–1917. Considered a god by members of the Oomoto religion.

José Rizal. 1861–1896. Deified by some people in the Philippines due to his contributions to the Philippine Revolution.

Wallace Fard Muhammad . ~1877 – ~1934. Posthumously (?) deified by Elijah Muhammad. He is also given other titles by the Nation of Islam.

Kanichi Otsuka. 1891. Shinreikyo states of its founder “God became one with a human body, appeared among humanity, and founded Shinreikyo.”

Ezra HaSofer. 458 BC. Ezra established Second Temple Judaism[26] and is regarded as a very important figure in Judaism. The Quran claims that Yemenite Jews believed Uzair was the son of God.[Quran 9:30]

Antiochus II Theos. 286–246 BC. Seleucid ruler. The younger son of Antiochus I and Stratonice, succeeded his father in 261. He liberated Ephesus, Ionia, Cilicia and Pamphylia from Egyptian domination, and in return for their autonomy the cities of Asia Minor gave him the title Theos (“God”).

Zheng He. 1371–1433. Worshiped by some Chinese and South East Asians.

Jiddu Krishnamurti. 1895–1986. Renounced the status of messiah and Maitreya incarnation given him by the Theosophical Society.

Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. 1892–1975. Among most followers of the Rastafari movement, Haile Selassie is seen as the second coming of Jesus Christ, God incarnate, the Black Messiah and “Earth’s Rightful Ruler” who will also lead African peoples to freedom. Rastas say that his royal titles (i.e. King of Kings, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and Root of David) were prophesied as belonging to the returned Messiah in Revelation 5:5. Their faith in his divinity first appeared in Jamaica, soon after his 1930 coronation in Addis Ababa. Before his coronation he was called Ras (meaning Prince) Tafari.

Kumari. -?. These are little girls who are worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists as the incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Durga (Nepali Taleju) in Nepal. They are picked when they are prepubescent and are worshipped until they reach puberty. Their cult is in South Asian countries, especially in Nepal.

Naram-Sin. 2255 – 2119 BC. The first Mesopotamian king to claim divinity.

Pharnavaz I of Iberia. 326–234 BC. Iberian king (reigned 299-234 BC).

Antiochus IV Epiphanes. 215–164 BC. Seleucid ruler (reigned 175-164); the only Seleucid king to claim divine honors, calling himself Theos Epiphaneus “God Manifest” and Nikephoros “Bringer of Victory.” Nearly conquered Ptolemaic Egypt, the primary rival of the Seleucids among the Diadochi states. Famously attempted to impose ancient Greek religion on the Jews by persecution, leading to the Maccabean Revolt; remembered as a major persecutor in Jewish tradition.

Simon Magus. 1st century. Considered a god in Simonianism. According to Irenaeus, he “was glorified by many as if he were a god; and he taught that it was himself who appeared among the Jews as the Son, but descended in Samaria as the Father while he came to other nations in the character of the Holy Spirit. He represented himself, in a word, as being the loftiest of all powers, that is, the Being who is the Father over all, and he allowed himself to be called by whatsoever title men were pleased to address him.”

Veleda. 1st century. Germanic prophetess considered a deity during her lifetime.

Ismail I. 1502–1524. Self-claimed to be an emanation of God and was considered such by the Kızılbaş-Safaviya order, Qizilbash-Turkman subjects and Alevis.

Danila Filippovich. 1700. He believed that he was God and started the Khlysts. (There are various transliterations of his name including Danila Filipov, Danila Filipich, and Daniil Filippovich.)

Kondratii Selivanov. 1780s. Kondraty Selivanov proclaimed himself both as the late Peter III of Russia and Christ himself, and started the Skoptsy.

Hong Xiuquan. 1814–1864. Chinese man who claimed he was the younger brother of Jesus, and thus a son of God. Led the Taiping Rebellion, conquering a large part of China before defeat and suicide.

Taher Saifuddin. 1888–1965. Claimed to be Ilah’ul-Ard (God on Earth) in Bombay High Court.

Francisco Macías Nguema. 1924–1979. In 1978, he changed the motto of Equatorial Guinea to “There is no other God than Macias Nguema.”

Juanita Peraza (Mita). 1897–1970. According to the Mita faith, Mita (Peraza) was the incarnation of the Holy Ghost on earth.

Lou de Palingboer. 1898–1968. A divorced Dutchman named Louwrens Voorthuijzen who proclaimed himself “Lou the Eel Vendor”, this being the translation of his proclaimed name “Lou de Palingboer”. He was a figure who mixed marketing European eels with proselytism. His followers also considered him a living God on a mission against evil.

Nirmala Srivastava. 1923–2011. Guru and goddess of Sahaja Yoga, has proclaimed herself the incarnation of the Holy Ghost (Adi Shakti), claimed that all other incarnations (e.g., Krishna, Christ, etc.) were aspects of her.

Jehovah Wanyonyi. 1924–. “I am the one who created Adam and Eve. I made their bodies and their blood”, […] “I still use human beings by speaking through them, like I spoke through Jesus Christ until he went to Heaven.” There are between 120 and a 1000 followers who consider him God.

Sathya Sai Baba. 1926–2011. Hindu guru that followers believed was a reincarnation of an avatar of Dattatreya. He alleged that he had the ability to heal, raise the dead, appear in more than one location at the same time, materialize objects, such as jewellery, etc.

Jim Jones. 1931–1978. Founder of Peoples Temple, which started off as a part of a mainstream Protestant denomination before becoming a personality cult as time went on. One of Jones’s devotees claimed that Jones said “If you see me as your savior, I’ll be your savior. If you see me as your God, I’ll be your God”; however Jones also described himself as atheist.

Yahweh ben Yahweh. 1935–2007. He was born as Hulon Mitchell, Jr. and his self-proclaimed name means “God, Son of God.” He could have only been deeming himself son of God, not God, but many of his followers clearly consider him God Incarnate.

Mitsuo Matayoshi. 1944–. In 1997 he established the World Economic Community Party (世界経済共同体党) based on his conviction that he is the God and Christ.

Claude Vorilhon. 1946–. Claims to be Maitreya, messenger of the “Elohim.”

Vissarion. 1961–. Claims to be Jesus Christ returned, which makes him not “God” but the “word of God”.

Joseph Kony. 1961–. Proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a spirit medium, and has been considered by some as a cult of personality, and claims he is visited by a multinational host of 13 spirits, including a Chinese phantom.