Pastors..Again

So I asked in my last post, what is a "pastor" because I don't see the word anywhere in my literal translation of the bible. I do see the word shepherd though, and about here is where all the "pastors" say "a pastor is a shepherd" at which point I ask "really? Who says they are shepherds?" And the answer to that question is quess what? Men say that pastors are shepherds, which is my point all along. Instead of allowing the word of God to dictate to us who does what, men have taken over, and anytime men try to outsmart God, trouble is the result.

The bible calls for a plurality of elders to oversee the church, not the one man show idolatrous pastors we see everywhere today. There is one shepherd of the flock, and his name is Jesus Christ. The sheep know the voice of the shepherd so they also know the sound of voices that are not their shepherd (pastors).

Judgement starts with the house of God, we see this clearly in what our Lord says to the churches in Rev 2-3. In Rev 2-3 we see something the Lord hates....the deeds of the nicolaitans. Many people have speculated on what nicolaitans are, but we don't need to speculate, just break the word down into its parts. Nico=conquer laitan=laity=YOU. Jesus says that this clergy/laity system he HATES and yet we see it on every street corner in every so called church today...why? The traditions of men, control, power, pride, lust, money etc etc.

In the true church Jesus alone is the head of the body, and all the rest of us are just different parts with no part more honorable than the other. Can the toes boast over the elbow? Or the shoulder over the leg? But men have setup a hierarchical system so one group (clergy) has set itself up over the rest of the body, in a place it should not be. To call another brother in christ a "layman" is the most insulting thing a someone could say. Not only does it insult the brother, but it is a direct insult to the Spirit of God WHO LIVES WITHIN US. The Spirit of the living God is within me and you call me (and everyone else not in their "clergy club") a "layman?"

The pastors themselves are part of the problem, the other part are those people who willingly submit themselves to that idolatrous system. Jesus says he hates the teachings and deeds of the nicolaitans, but men LOVE the teachings and deeds of the nicolaitans. We were told that judgement starts with the house of God. Go reread Rev 2-3 today. The nicolaitan problem is only one of the things Jesus had a problem with in the churches. We must make sure that we please him in every way. Why? Because we love him.

Time is short. My sense is that things will go on as they are today until the day that destruction falls and the escape takes place (same day). We are in a holding pattern, holding to see who will wake up, who will repent, who will seek the Lord with their whole hearts before destruction falls. I have no idea when the day will be, I don't think knowing the day is as important as being ready for the day when it shows up. Remain in him, grace and peace.