Chapter 9 Temples and Churches

Part 5 The Temple of Satan

The Hasmonians had already mixed the left and right hands of government a century before. They had the power to do so because the voice of the people had already chosen a central government that had grown powerful and arbitrary, while the people became more subject and impotent. Some were discovering the ancient paths and some remained rooted in their Jewish religious fables, national pride, and decadent affluence.

About 78 BC, the Pharisees, which were a political party, thought they had a better idea. They decided to exercise authority over the people. They managed to enact a law upon the people to enforce the collection of temple tribute.¹ The right hand of government used its power on the left side of God’s Kingdom, thereby increasing both sides, while, at the same time, reducing the position of the people. Not only were the people drained of funds, but they also lost the maturing benefit of exercising the responsibility and right to choose.

The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. Pr 12:24

At first, wealth was plentiful and the money flowed in the fluid halls of commerce, but, again, with the taxation, corruption, and the moral dissipation of the people, new sources of revenue for government were introduced. The practice in Rome of selling tax-collection contracts to companies and their joint stock holders was common, but, in the last years of the millennium, Augustus put the tax collectors on the public payroll, which evolved into something very similar to modern tax agencies and continued during the rest of the New Testament period and beyond. These lucrative positions often went to the person who could extract the most funds, not content with their wages, and often taking by force.

Administrating these complex programs in Judea was done by many officers of government. There was now a need for professional lawyers to interpret the law. These became officers of the Jewish court, giving their opinion as law, regulating the accounting and payment of taxes. More power meant more laws. The more people became dependent on the lawyers, the less they understood the law.

“The more corrupt the state, the more laws.” Tacitus

Scribes filled a number of positions. The Greek word for “scribe” was grammateus, meaning “a clerk, scribe, esp. a public servant, secretary, recorder, whose office and influence differed in different states.” They were the clerks or clerics in a complex system of accountants and lawyers.² In the Talmud, there is a distinction between two classes of the tax-collectors, the Gabbai and the Mokhes or Mokhsa.

“The Gabbai, or tax-gatherer, collected the regular dues, which consisted of ground [property tax], income [income tax], and poll tax… If this offered many opportunities for vexatious exactions and rapacious injustice, the Mokhes might inflict much greater hardship upon the poor people. There was a tax and duty upon all imports and exports; on all that was bought and sold [sales tax]; bridge money, road money, harbor dues, town dues, etc. The classical reader knows the ingenuity which could invent a tax and find a name for every kind of exaction, such as on axles, wheels, pack animals, pedestrians, roads, highways; on admission to markets; on carriers, bridges, ships, and quays; on crossing rivers, on dams, on licenses-- in short, on such a variety of objects that even the research of modern scholars has not been able to identify all the names. But even this was as nothing compared to the vexation of being constantly stopped on the journey, having to unload all one’s pack animals, when every bale and package was opened, and the contents tumbled about, private letters opened, and the Mokhes ruled supreme in his insolence and rapacity.”³

 

Footnotes:

Table of Contents

Peace be to this house,

The Prologue
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCa1-0Prologue.html

1. The Kingdom of God

     Is Righteousness
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCa1-1IsRighteousness.html

     A Man as King
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCa1-2AManasKing.html

 

2. Abraham Uncivilized

     The City State
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCb2-1TheCityState.html

     Two kingdoms/ The Merchants of Men
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCb2-2MerchantsofMen.html

      The Hindu Connection
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCb2-3HinduConnection.html

     Abraham and the Legend, The Prodigal Son
     Our king and our god?
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCb2-4Legend.html

     The Code of Abraham
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCb2-5code.html

     Abraham and the Family
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCb2-6Family.html

 

3. The Altar of Abraham

     Moses and the Altars
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCc3-1AltarsofClay.html

     The Altar of Sin
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCc3-2Sin.html

     Sacrifice
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCc3-3Sophistry.html

 

4. Moses, Moses

     The Civil State
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCd4-1CivilState.html

     Gods Many
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCd4-2godsmany.html

     No Kings
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCd4-3NoKings.html

     Servant Priests of a Nation
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCd4-4Servants.html

 

5. Joshua’s Altar

    White Altars of Joshua
     King over us
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCe5-1WhiteAltars.html

     Adultery of a Nation
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCe5-2Adultery.html

     Fear, Faith and Foolishness
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCe5-3RearFaith.html

 

6. The World

    Of Rome and Judea
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCf6-1Rome.html

     The Remarkable History of Israel
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCf6-2Israel.html

     Rome the Believer
     The Commander in chiefs
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCf6-3RomeBeliever.html

     A Father’s offer
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCf6-4TheOffer.html

     The Hasmonean Appeal
     Socialization of Rome
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCf6-5SocialAppeal.html

     The Love of kings
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCf6-6LovingKings.html

 

7. Factions at the Altar

     The Pharisees and The Sadducees
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCg7-1Factions.html

     The Essenes
     The Healers of a Nation
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCg7-2Essene.html

 

8. A King is Born

     A King is Born
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCh8-1KingBorn.html

     What is redemption?
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCh8-2Redemption.html

     Kingdom in Turmoil
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCh8-3Turmoil.html

     The New Deal
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCh8-4NewDeal.html

 

9. Temples and Churches

     The Church
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCi9-1TemplesandChurches.php

     Investing in Diana
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCi9-2InvestinDiana.php

     One Father
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCi9-3OurFather.php

     Arts of the Temples
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCi9-4TempleArts.php

     The Temple of Satan
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCi9-5SatansTemple.php

     The Royal Treasury
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCi9-6RoyalTreasury.php

10. Two Paths

     God’s dominion from the Beginning
     The revenue of the wicked
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCj10-1Paths.html

     Beams in our eyes
     Removing the Beam
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCj10-2Beams.html

     These two Kingdoms
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCj10-3TwoKingdoms.html

    Faith is actions
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCj10-4Action.html

     The kingdom appointed to Liberty
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCj10-5AppointedLiberty.html

 

11. Where is the kingdom

    The kingdom comes
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCk11-1Kingdom.html

    Eating in the kingdom
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCk11-2Eating.html

    Washing in the kingdom
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCk11-3Washing.html

     Where is the Church?
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCk11-4Where.html

     We are all kings
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCk11-5AllKings.html

 

12. Apostasy

     The Ship of State
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCl12-1Ship.html

     The Allurement of Wolves
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCl12-2Wolves.html

     The Church
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCl12-3Church.html

     The Separate Church
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCl12-4Separate.html

13. The Kingdom of Heaven

    The State of the Nation
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCm13-1Heaven.html

    Seeking the kingdom, The Law of God
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCm13-2SeekLaw.html

    What does the Kingdom look like?
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCm13-3looks.html

    Assembling a congregation
    Where to start seeking the kingdom of God
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCm13-4Start.html

Appendix

    Appendix 1. Kingdom of Heaven and God
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCn-1Appendix.php

    Appendix 2. The things He says
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCn-2AppenSaid.php

     Appendix 3. What is Worship?
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCn-3AppenWorship.php

     Appendix 4. Who are the Nicolaitans?
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCn-4AppenNicolaitan.php

     Appendix 5. Who is a god?
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCn-5Appengods.php

     Appendix 6. Oaths and Swearing
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/TKCn-6AppenOaths.php

    The Cover of the book,
The Elixir of Love.
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/tkczzwa.html

     About the Author
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/TKC/tkczzwb.html

 

Other publications:
The Covenants of the gods
The Free Church Report