Baal Worship in Today's Culture

As some of you know, I am teaching on the Return of the gods again for the first 3 weeks in November. Teachings will take place during our morning services if any would like to attend.

In continuation of each Sunday's study, I am writing an accompanying blog for further insight into each specific god for further examination. Today's topic is Baal worship today. We will take a brief look back in time to see how this entity lured God's people away and take a close look at how this god is at work in today's culture.

Baal was the chief demon in a pantheon of entities known as the Baals. This particular chief entity is the first in the Dark Trinity at work in America and across the globe at this very hour. Baal is the most frequent enemy of God in the Bible. We are going to take an in depth look at 3 different occurrences in the Old Testament. In Exodus 32 with the golden calf. In Judges, and also in 1 Kings. That study will be titles, the Baals through time. Keep an eye out!

Baal worship dates back to around 4,000 years ago! He is revealed on ancient cuneiform tablets from excavations in the ancient city of Ugarit (modern-day Ras Shamra, Syria).

The picture above shows the Temple of Baal in Palmyra, Syria.

Baal is represented by a bull a symbol of power, strength, and prosperity. People worshipped Baal for increase. Increase in power, position and wealth. He appealed to the "lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life." All three are common ways for the enemy of our souls to attempt to turn us away from following the One true God.

Over the course of the last 60 years, our culture has moved God out. Out of schools, out of the courts, out of the law, out of the hearts and minds of an entire generation. Baal was more than happy to step in. He offers a false sense of prosperity in what we can earn, in contrast to the blessing and provision that God provides for those who trust in Him. Those who follow the god of this culture, who gets his directives from Satan himself, trust in their own education levels, their own ability to accumulate wealth. They trust in the stock market that promises to increase wealth with little investment or effort. That is why there is an idol stationed at Wall Street in NYC. A good stock market is known as a bull market for this very reason.

We are also forewarned by Jesus and His disciples about these demon gods. About how they move in and bring with them 7 more entities even worse than they. This too has happened since God has been moved out of the public sector. The disciples warn us throughout the New Testament to be aware of false teachers and false doctrines. We are told that they come in disguised as angels of light with a "new" gospel. This too has happened. There are many teachers and preachers and evangelists out there now that proclaim a gospel of prosperity. Of divine healings. But we are called to test the spirits to see if they be of God. While God is fully capable of giving us our healing by faith in the stripes that Christ bore for us, these offer up healings by "other powers." They do perform. But it isn't of God. We are to be watchful and mindful of who we let pray for us. Of whom we follow, and of who we listen to.

2 Corinthians 11: 13-15: "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So, it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds."

Now more than ever we need to be quickened in the Spirit so that we can distinguish between what is true and what is from this entity's influence. We, as a nation, have been lulled by our prosperity. We have been corrupted by false doctrines from without and within. We have been spoon-fed their programming since birth, at least my generation has, my parents before me, and if nothing changes, subsequent generations as well. The advent of radio and television and internet has allowed these beliefs to spread globally, rapidly, in the past 80 years.

You can't walk into a store, go into anyplace in public without being inundated by the effects these demon gods have brought into our culture.

How do we see their worship today?

Our nation was founded by people seeking religious liberty. A people who wanted to seek and serve the One true God without being told by the government what was allowed and what wasn't. We were founded on godly principles, by a moral, Christian populus. Oh, how we have strayed! As a nation, we have turned from worshipping God to worshipping Baal by:

• Turning from faith in God to chasing worldly lusts

• Turning from biblical principles to secularism, socialism, materialism, and pagan values

• Turning from instructing our own children about God and righteousness, to allowing the government to instruct them according to the pattern of these gods.

• Turning from the 10 commandments as a guide for the legislation we are governed by to allowing legislation to pass that goes in direct conflict with God's will and ways set forth in the bible.

• We have traded what is good and right for a lie. What was considered right by a moral people is now considered wrong to a "woke" people. What was considered wrong by a moral people is now considered right by our society at large.

Steadily, as we get further and further from our God, our nation is changing into a possessed, pagan culture. In further posts this week we will look at what happened to Israel when they fell for the same trappings of these entities and how it affected them as a nation. This study should shed light on what is taking place in our world today and what will come of it if we do not turn back to God.

I hope you learn something from these studies. I pray you'll be blessed.