Deut 3-4 Moses Commands Obedience
Proverbs 8
Deuteronomy is the bridge between the first four books of the Bible (outside the Land) and the next seven (inside the Land). In this passage, Moses commands obedience at a national level. Continuing our analysis about how we think and why we think the way we do, look at Daniel 2. This is Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. Rome phase 1 happened during Jesus’ first coming. Rome phase 2 is perhaps here and is a prelude to Jesus’ second coming.
With Deuteronomy commanding the people to obey the Lord their God, lets step over to how Rome thought back in its day and its impact on how we think today. It is interestingly and sadly similar... There is nothing new about the New Age.
What is the Worldview going into each Awakening that preceded each crises?
Every success and failure in a Saeculum begins in a worldview
Focus on the fundamental ideas that shaped culture in each Saeculum
All societies prior to the West were religious – probably because life was intrinsically precarious.
Until the 1800s, more people died in cities than were born in them
Infant mortality extremely high
Famine, Epidemics, and Diseases rampant
In the Roman empire, average lifespan around 30 years
Two pictures of Rome
Glittering Empire
Rotten Core
Three sets of core beliefs that converged into Rome’s Worldview
Paganism
Nature worship
For most worshippers, the gods were feared, not loved
In conquests, adding another god to the pantheon was not a problem.
Educated people thought of this as being broad minded and inclusive.
Considered virtuous AND cosmopolitan
Mystery Religions
Promised salvation and mystical experience of diety
Not exclusive but were inclusive
Neoplatonism (Plato)
What is real (metaphysics)
What can we know and how do we know it (epistemology)
Epistemology (determining truth) depends on metaphysics
Last thought - In John 8: 58, after intense and angry questioning by the Pharisees, Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Essentially, Jesus was saying, ‘Remember Moses? Well, I was in that burning bush.’
In other words, Jesus is God and far above the Roman pantheon. He is the ONE who Moses fells us to obey and worship in Deuteronomy. The tough part will be pulling our hearts and heads out of Rome and putting it firmly in God’s word.
Jay