| Free Indeed - Part 1 : Introduction To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:31-36 _____________________________________________________________________________________ Civil liberty is a good thing. I, and any rational person, would much prefer to live in a society based on principles of freedom, with as many guarantees of human rights as the state can offer me, than to live in one that is oppressive. It is safe to say that no society has ever enjoyed greater civil liberty than that we enjoy in the U.S.A. I can't think of anywhere else I would rather live, in all of human history, than right here. Other than heaven, of course, where we ultimately have our citizenship. The report I am currently working on is a multi-part work in progress about the Queen of Heaven in her manifestation as False Liberty as one of the prevailing spirits in our culture. In doing the research for this report I have looked extensively at the development of the symbols of Freedom used in this country as evidenced in documents, seals, statues, and civic monuments. I believe that the iconography of civil liberty is more than mere decoration. I believe that the valuable, but limited in scope, principles of civil liberty in the U.S.A. have, from the beginning of the country, been taken by many to include spiritual values and blessings that a state is not capable of bestowing. Through this deception, in many ways the state has become deified, or over-identified with God Himself. This report will show some of the origins and characteristics of this iconography. Since there is no country in the history of human kind that has ever been more free, in terms of civil liberties, and since there is no country in the past 2000 years where the church has had more freedom to operate unfettered, or more resources at her disposal, we as the Body of Christ must ask ourselves why it is that the gospel has not more thoroughly transformed this society. While it is true that the Church in the U.S. has had many historic strengths, and has played an enormous role in the fulfillment of the Great Commission throughout the world, it is also very puzzling to hear of revival on other continents, in other countries, many of them not enjoying anything like the civil liberties we enjoy here. We must ask ourselves why we do not see more of it happening here. What are the central strongholds that allow darkness to continue to linger in our society, and what are the prevailing spirits over the entire country that hold back the free move of God? A year or so ago an American missionary to Africa spoke at my church. He said that when he first got to Africa he had never seen a demon manifest before, but right away he began to see such things and learned how to take authority over them and how to operate in this realm. While many of us in the U.S. have seen such things happen, I have heard it said again and again by missionaries that the enemy operates more openly in other societies than he does in ours. This seems to be the flip side of the question of why the Church has not had more victory in our culture, relative to its freedom to operate and the resources at its disposal. If the Church is somewhat stifled relative to what we would expect given its freedom, at the same time the enemy appears to operate largely covertly. An important example of this covert activity is Freemasonry. Most of its members deny that it has any spiritual power at all, and describe it as a kind of civic club. It is as if both the Church and the enemy are reflecting different aspects of the concept "having a form of godliness [or idolatry] but denying the power thereof." While the Church operates at less than full capacity when it denies the power of God, the enemy in fact gains power when he is thought not to exist or not to possess power. One of the ways in which the enemy is thought not to possess power is that symbols and statuary are considered to be only symbolic or decorative in nature. Few people overtly worship images of Minerva, of Civic Liberty, or of dead human heroes in our society. Nevertheless, they are in many ways considered sacred. The language and actions used around them belie the real power they hold. There is a reason that the first commandment is immediately followed by the second. Graven images by their very nature tempt many to place other gods before Jehovah. God is a jealous God, and He is not pleased with rationalizations or double speak about allegorical figures and personifications. Although our society is so diverse that the particular types of darkness that linger in our communities vary from area to area and even from person to person, my area of mapping has to do with the overall, dominant culture, especially as expressed in public monuments and architecture, and especially as related to France and, largely through her, to the origins of Western Civilization. It seems to me that the two phenomena I mentioned above, the Church seeming not to approach her potential despite the greatest freedom and resources ever known in history, and the work of the enemy operating in secret rather than in the open, may be related to a common set of deceptions and strongholds. I do not yet have a clear picture of what many of these entail, but through much research and prayer a picture is beginning to emerge of False Liberty as one of the major strongholds. Much of the material in the bibliography on Minerva was discovered through late night online and telephone sessions with Joanne Pannetieri of NYC. I am very grateful for her friendship, encouragement, humor, and willingness to share her expertise and knowledge with me. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Free Indeed - Part 2 : Who is Minerva and What is She Doing in My Library? Free Indeed - Home |