Signing of The Declaration of Independence
One of the great failings of Christians is observed in their embrace of the historical views of nations thrust upon them by a godless society. The Scriptures declare that Christians are aliens and strangers in this world, yet all too often those who confess Christ Yahshua to be their Savior and Lord hold a world view that is based upon the myths and deceptions set forth by sinful and rebellious men and angels. Nowhere is this spiritual blindness among the people of God seen more clearly than in America. The churches have bought into the lie that America was founded as a “Christian nation.” American patriots fill the pews of churches all across the United States. An attack on America is deemed by myriads of Christians to be the equivalent of an attack on God Himself.
I grew up in churches in the 1960s and 1970s where it was a common practice to have a Christian flag and the flag of the United States set up front on the platform where the minister preached. The congregation faced these flags week after week, and no one ever questioned whether this practice was right, or whether the Holy Spirit had been the initiator of it.
Church Displaying Flags
The practice of displaying the American flag next to a flag that symbolizes Christianity, establishes a mental connection of there being a oneness and unity of purpose in the government of God and the government of America. The two flags stand side by side as brothers in arms. There is nothing to suggest that there is any antipathy between the entities and persons signified by these emblems.
One of the reasons this deceit has been swallowed so freely is that Christians in America have not tested the claims of America’s founding that they heard while attending the public and private schools of the nation. They have not heeded the counsel of Christ to His disciples.
Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Is it wisdom to accept the claims of American history without examining carefully those stories set forth so widely to see whether they be true? Should the Christian automatically embrace views that proclaim America’s form of government to be divinely inspired, that infer the framers of the nation’s documents to have been guided by the hand of God, and which presuppose that the men involved with the establishment of the government were believers in Jesus Christ/Yahshua the Messiah? A critical testing of the views adopted by the masses of professing Christians in America reveal that a work of great deception has been accomplished. The church has not acquitted itself as the noble Bereans whom the apostle Paul praised for examining the claims they heard to see whether they were true.
There have been some very popular books in recent years such as The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel that have promoted the idea of America being a Christian nation. The effect of these books has been to reinforce the false notion that America has a divine destiny and the founding fathers of the nation were guided by God to create a form of government that is pure and righteous. Such books and teachings fall woefully short in the area of exercising a healthy skepticism. They assume that everyone who names the name of Jesus, or who speaks of “God” are referring to the same beings that are set forth in the pages of Scripture. Christ cautioned His disciples with the following words:
Matthew 24:5
“For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.”
The naive and ignorant are ever prone to believe lies. God does not declare it to be a virtue to be either naive, nor ignorant.
John 7:24
"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
There was no man among the founding fathers who was more involved in the formation of the nation of America than John Adams. Although Jefferson penned The Declaration of Independence, it was largely the influence of John Adams that saw its adoption. Jefferson referred to Adams as “The Colossus of that Congress—the great pillar of support to The Declaration of Independence, and its ablest advocate and champion on the floor of the House.”
In his, "A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America" [1787-1788], John Adams wrote:
The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature; and if men are now sufficiently enlightened to disabuse themselves of artifice, imposture, hypocrisy, and superstition, they will consider this event as an era in their history. Although the detail of the formation of the American governments is at present little known or regarded either in Europe or in America, it may hereafter become an object of curiosity. It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work upon ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses.
[End Quotation]
This is a true and accurate statement of the origination of the founding documents of America and its governmental structure. Some might object that the men who framed these documents made mention of God. A Christian is not manifesting wisdom if they accept all things at face value. They will surely be led astray into forming false conceptions of the birth of America and the merits of its governmental forms if they do not perform due diligence and investigate the men who penned these seminal documents, while looking into the influences that guided them.
We need not guess as to the beliefs of these men for their writings have been preserved for posterity. We can examine their own statements to know what they thought about God, His Son, and the Christian religion. The following statements of Thomas Jefferson reveal his opinion of the Bible and of the person of Jesus Christ, Yahshua the Messiah.
Among the sayings and discourses imputed to him [Jesus] by his biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of the most lovely benevolence; and others again of so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism, and imposture, as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from the same being.
[Source: Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Short, April 13, 1820]
In a letter to John Adams, Jefferson wrote the following, revealing his justification for creating his own version of the gospels of Christ.
The whole history of these books (the Gospels) is so defective and doubtful that it seems vain to attempt minute enquiry into it: and such tricks have been played with their text, and with the texts of other books relating to them, that we have a right, from that cause, to entertain much doubt what parts of them are genuine. In the New Testament there is internal evidence that parts of it have proceeded from an extraordinary man (Jesus Christ); and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds. It is as easy to separate those parts, as to pick out diamonds from dunghills.
[Source: Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, January 24, 1814, (parenthesis added)]
It is observable from this statement that Jefferson did not believe Jesus to be anything other than an “extraordinary man.” What Jefferson referred to as the work of inferior minds includes the virgin birth of Christ, as well as all of Christ’s miracles of healing, casting out demons, and His bodily resurrection. In another letter he penned the following comment:
And the day will come when the mystical generation (birth) of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerve in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer of human errors.
[Source: Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823]
That this discourse occurred between Jefferson and Adams, two men most intimately connected to the writing and passage of America’s Declaration of Independence and Constitution, reveals not only that they did not accept Jesus Christ/Yahshua the Messiah as the Son of God, but they looked forward to the overthrow of beliefs and claims of Christ’s divinity and virgin birth that they considered to be deplorable fables. The Bible testifies the following:
I John 4:1-3
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
What does the apostle John mean when he states that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh?” We can look at John’s own writings to answer this question.
John 8:42
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.”
I John 4:15
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
I John 5:5
Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Since Jefferson denied that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, the Scriptures testify that God was not Thomas Jefferson’s Father. The apostle John says that those who testify lies concerning the Christ, denying His deity, denying that Jesus was God come in the flesh are manifesting the spirit of antichrist. As more evidence is presented in this teaching series it will be made readily apparent that it has been the spirit of antichrist guiding the American government from its inception down to this day.
Many Christians have been fooled by false historical accounts of the nation’s founding and of the character and beliefs of its founding fathers. They have not “examined all things carefully” as the apostle Paul admonished them to do. Nor have they been “as wise as serpents, but harmless as doves” as Christ commanded His followers to be in this world. Some look at the inscription on the Jefferson Memorial in Washington and are beguiled into thinking that Jefferson was a defender of the faith of Christianity. On his memorial is the following quotation:
“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”
There are very few Christians who have done their homework in order to understand the context of this Jefferson quotation. Thomas Jefferson penned these words while he was running for election to the Presidency of the United States. There were numerous ministers from the area of Philadelphia who were aware of Jefferson’s antichrist spirit. They understood that Jefferson was a deist who believed in a god of nature that could not be known on a personal level. Jefferson viewed all teaching of a personal God who is active in the affairs of men as rubbish. He discounted the divine inspiration of the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. A number of ministers from Philadelphia put out pamphlets warning the local citizenry about Jefferson’s beliefs.
In a letter written to Benjamin Rush in 1800 Thomas Jefferson commented on the opposition of these Christian ministers.
"The returning good sense of our country threatens abortion to their hopes, & they (the clergy) believe that any portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly; for I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this is all they have to fear from me: & enough too in their opinion, & this is the cause of their printing lying pamphlets against me. . ."
(Parentheses added)
What many Christians have mistakenly taken as evidence of Jefferson’s belief in the God of the Bible, is actually an extract from statements he wrote in defense of the local clergy’s reproof of his lack of belief in the deity of Christ.
Since Jefferson played so large a part in the foundation of America, and the writing of her most influential documents, one must ask what truly shaped his thoughts. Jefferson studied the philosophers of what has come to be known as The Enlightenment. These philosophers believed that reason was the highest principle upon which to base all science and politics. These same philosophers discounted revelation, such as that identified as Holy Scripture, and they denied the miraculous, clinging only to those things that the rational mind could conceive. Jefferson’s thoughts are revealed in the following quotation:
“Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear.”
[Source: Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Peter Carr, August 10, 1787]
In evaluating this statement by Jefferson one must remember that he had read the Scriptures and was familiar with their testimony. Yet Jefferson rejected the God of the Bible, clinging to a notion of some unknowable deity that created the Universe and established it upon certain laws. In seeking to understand these natural laws, Jefferson thought that not only could science be advanced to a much higher degree, but that one could establish a more perfect government than the world had known before.
It is noteworthy to point out the correlation between the name of the movement known as The Enlightenment and the name Lucifer. Lucifer means “light bearer.” Satan is the origin of the mythological being known as Prometheus who brought the wisdom of the gods down to man. Prometheus was said to have taught men the secrets of fire, violating the commandment of Zeus.
Statue of Prometheus (Lucifer) at Rockefeller Center - New York City
II Corinthians 11:14-15
Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
The Greek word translated “angel” is also rendered as “messenger.” Satan makes himself appear as a messenger of light to mankind. The EnLIGHTenment’s adherents embraced a philosophy that was Luciferian in its origin. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and numerous others who were among the founding father’s of the nation were guided by this Luciferian light. The Enlightenment was guided by a central philosophy that manifested an elevated regard for reason. The thought was adopted that men could by the employment of pure reason, separated from all superstition (religious thought) and selfishness, form “a more perfect union.” Jefferson, Adams, and those others working alongside of them, believed that the principles set forth by the luminaries of The Enlightenment could be employed to create a governmental system far superior from the monarchies and other political forms that were common to the nations.
The apostle Paul had encountered many such “enlightened” philosophies in his day. There were many among the Greeks and Romans who had their various schools of enlightenment. The Greeks elevated philosophy to a national religion.
I Corinthians 1:22-23
For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness...
What these men call wisdom is actually the subtle deception of Satan. Satan has persuaded men that they are capable of self-rule, following in his own path of rebellion against the God of heaven. Paul calls the philosophy of man what it truly is.
Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty DECEPTION, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
It was the empty deception of The Enlightenment that Jefferson and Adams were following. As the Christian recognizes Lucifer to be the source of this rational philosophy, it should not be surprising that students of The Enlightenment manifested an antichrist spirit as they declared the divinity of Christ to be false, the virgin birth to be a myth, and the resurrection of the Son of God to be a detestable lie.
The godly man and woman who has the mind of Christ will recognize that Thomas Jefferson was a natural man without spiritual perception to whom the words of God appeared as foolishness. Jefferson named those philosophers whose teachings he admired in a letter to Adams, while disparaging Christian belief.
To talk of immaterial existences is to talk of nothings. To say that the human soul, angels, god, are immaterial, is to say they are nothings, or that there is no god, no angels, no soul. I cannot reason otherwise: but I believe I am supported in my creed of materialism by Locke, Tracy, and Stewart. At what age of the Christian church this heresy of immaterialism, this masked atheism, crept in, I do not know. But heresy it certainly is.
[Source: Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, Aug. 15, 1820]
It was Locke who first penned a phrase that was later modified and made famous by Jefferson. John Locke discussed natural rights in his work, and identified them as being "life, liberty, and estate (or property)." Jefferson modified this statement and made it famous.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
We can see, then that rather than being influenced by the Bible, or by the teachings of Christianity, the author of The Declaration of Independence was influenced by the philosophers of The Enlightenment. The wisdom of The Enlightenment was that which derived from Lucifer.
When this truth is perceived one can then recognize how men who had embraced The Enlightenment could join hands with Freemasons in their work of forming a new nation. Both groups ultimately had Lucifer as their head.
The Great Seal
To men like Jefferson and Adams, the all seeing eye atop the pyramid represented the attainment of enlightened reasoning whereby great and lasting things could be built. To men like George Washington it signified the attainment of mankind’s highest state through the study of the mysteries of Freemasonry. The motto of Freemasonry is “Making good men better.” Because both Freemasonry and The Enlightenment are works of the great deceiver, these men found that they shared a common spirit and purpose. This common spirit is the spirit of antichrist.
In the following letter Thomas Jefferson shared his opinion that the God of the Bible was no better than a demon.
I concur with you strictly in your opinion of the comparative merits of atheism and demonism, and really see nothing but the latter in the being worshipped by many who think themselves Christians.
[Source: Thomas Jefferson, letter to Richard Price, Jan. 8, 1789 (Richard Price had written to Thomas Jefferson on Oct. 26. about the harm done by religion and wrote “Would not Society be better without Such religions?”)]
In this view, Jefferson, who was never a Freemason, shares the perspective of high level Masons who declare Lucifer to be the true god of wisdom while Yahweh (Adonay) is judged to be the God of darkness and evil. On July 14, 1889, Albert Pike, Sovereign Grand Commander of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, and author of numerous Masonic books, addressed the 23 Supreme Councils of the world. His words were recorded by Abbe Clarin De La Rive in La Femme et l' Enfant dans la Franc-Maconnerie Universelle (Woman and Child in Universal Freemasonry), published in 1894.
That which we must say to the crowd is - We worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without superstition.
To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General [of the 33rd degree], we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st, and 30th degrees - The Masonic religion should be, by all of us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine.
If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay, the God of the Christians, whose deeds prove his cruelty, perfidy, and hatred of man, barbarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his priests, calumniate him?
Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also God. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two Gods: darkness being necessary to light to serve as its foil as the pedestal is necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive...
Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy; and the true and pure philosophic religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.
[End Quotation]
Thomas Jefferson deemed the God of the Bible to be demonic in character. How is it that this man, who was a student of The Enlightenment, arrived at the same conclusion as the most esteemed Freemason of America, Albert Pike? Pike described God’s deeds as proving his “cruelty, perfidy, and hatred of man.” Pike attributed to Yahweh barbarism, and so too did Jefferson. The answer lies in the fact that both Freemasonry and The Enlightenment have Satan as their author.
Myriads of Christians have been propagandized to believe that America’s government was divinely inspired and perfectly compatible with the teachings of Christ and His disciples. Having neglected to search out this matter themselves, they believe the lies which advance the notion that the founding father’s of the nation were godly men who honored the God of the Bible. The truth as set forth in these men’s own words reveal that they held the Scriptures in contempt.
It is between fifty and sixty years since I read it [the book of Revelation], and I then considered it merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams.
[Source: Thomas Jefferson, letter to General Alexander Smyth, Jan. 17, 1825]
Jefferson compiled his own version of the four Gospels which has become known as The Jefferson Bible. Jefferson removed from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John every passage that mentioned Christ’s virgin birth, His deity, His miracles, and His resurrection. He left in only that which his rational mind could accept as plausible. Jefferson’s contempt for other portions of Scripture is revealed in the note above where he described The Revelation written by the apostle John as akin to “the ravings of a maniac.”
Is it possible that such men would create a form of government on Earth that is in harmony with the teachings of Christ and His apostles? This subject will be discussed further in the next chapter.
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