Moving The Boundary Stones

The leaders of Judah are like men who move boundary stones; I will pour my fury out upon them like water. (Hosea 5:10)

The leaders referred to in the book of Hosea, men called by God to teach His people where His established boundaries were, were “like men who move boundary stones” in God’s eyes. In the time of the writing of Hosea, stones were used to mark the boundaries of someone’s land, much like fences are used today around our home’s lot lines or to fence a ranch in. Back in the day, men moved boundary stones to enlarge their land holdings illegally, much like moving a fence in the middle of the night to take someone’s land without their knowledge and enlarge yours. The leaders of Judah were like those men, moving God’s boundaries illegally through false teachings.

A generation of leaders move the boundary stones out, and the next generation moves them out even farther.

Emperor Constantine was not a leader of Judah but of the Romans and the Roman Catholic religion. He appropriated the Judeo-Christian religion of his time and celebrated it with an orgy of boundary stone-moving.

One of the boundary stones moved was the fourth Commandment, the observing of the Sabbath, which was changed to Sunday. Sunday was the Roman pagan religion day of worship of the sun god. Thus the name Sun-day.

Another boundary stone he moved was the second Commandment. The Romans worshipped a multitude of gods, whom they represented with images of marble and stone and with paintings. Constantine had the genial idea of integrating the statues venerated by the Romans with the memory of the dead saints, changing the names of the statues to the names of the saints. This is called syncretism (the combination of different forms of belief or practice). An example is the statue of Saint Peter in the Vatican, whose right toes are worn down because of being kissed constantly by the Catholic worshipers. If I remember correctly, it was originally the statue of Zeus/Jupiter, the main god of the Roman and Greek pagan religions.

Constantine presided over the first general Council of the Roman Catholic Church in Nicaea, so he can be considered the first Pope (Peter was never a Pope). Every council held moved more boundaries.

The leaders of Judah had also moved the stones of the first and second commandment:

My people consult their piece of wood, their diviner’s wand speaks to them; for the spirit of whoring makes them err, they go off whoring deserting their God. (Hosea 4:12 CJB)

Since Israel was married to God, the Lord considered their idolatry unfaithfulness, whoring. However, Constantine made idolatry official and blessed in the Judeo-Christian community.

Today the protestant and evangelical communities move boundary stones also. At some point in history someone–maybe Constantine–decided that the Old Testament teachings do not apply today. The teaching of today is that we are under the blood, so we can do whatever we want to do. These teachers claim that God the Father looks at us through the blood of the Son and thus cannot see the sins in us, and so, we are home free.

Most Christians fear and obey the laws of men more than they do the laws of God. They see tangible punishment when the laws of men are broken, but they don’t see immediate punishment when they break God’s laws, so they go along with the teaching. Christians are law-abiding citizens when it concerns the laws of men.

However, disobeying the laws of God brings immediate spiritual punishment, which later becomes physical distress of different kinds. Under this torment, the people of God blame Satan, and they are only partially right. They should blame themselves also.

When a person moves a boundary stone set by God, a demon receives a legal right to enter that person, and his work begins immediately. First, he works on the mind of the transgressor, speaking to it through thoughts and ideas, and making the person believe lies which may motivate him or her to sin even more. Doors are opened to other demons that will work in different areas of the life of the person. Thus diseases, troubles and poverty might overcome the person. God allows this because the person moved the boundary stone.

A truth has been stretched. A lie has been believed. A law has been broken. Legal rights were received by the demon, and he made use of them.

I have heard leaders tweaking the laws. Just pushing a stone an inch or two. Moving boundaries, increasing their activity arena for themselves and for their sheep. Not comfortable with the boundaries? Easily solved, move the stones!

Go in through the narrow gate; for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road broad, and many travel it; But it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:13,14 CJB)