The Road to Hell

Is Paved With Spiritual Sodomy

In a previous series, we addressed what it is to be a spiritual sodomite. This is a very real spiritual condition about which many in the churchworld are blinded...even while being affected by it.

Simply put, a spiritual sodomite is someone bound by the fallen nature or what the Scriptures call the "old man".  Just as physical sodomy perverts the physical nature of man, spiritual sodomy perverts the spiritual nature of man.

Man was created so that his spirit would take input from the Spirit of God, which in turn would dictate to his soul (mind, thoughts, emotions) as the body carries out those directives.  However in spiritual sodomy, this natural order is reversed.  Man's spirit is held captive by his soul, which prevents him from hearing God and makes him soulish as the body carries out the desires of the flesh (Romans 8:5-9).  This is the reason people go to Hell; because they are led by their own five, carnal senses instead of by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14).

The foundation of Babylon is built upon spiritual sodomy.  The life-changing force of God is replaced with a pseudo imitation which mimics life via stimulation of the flesh.  Being powerless to actually impart new life to its followers, expansive "amusement parks" of religious systems & structures are created to keep the flesh entertained and the people blinded to the reality of their true spiritual condition. Since they cannot reproduce the life of God or manifest the fruit of the Spirit in its followers, this harlot hides behind an array of "good works" so that it can appear (self-)righteous before men. 

As I watched a news interview with Carlton Pearson, it struck me how his life mirrors the tragedy of one who has been stuck in Babylon and never really known God.  "How can you say that?", some might ask.  He was a power preacher who had thousands of followers and headed some of the most popular Christian conferences in the nation.  I would suggest that you listen to his own words.  Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  While you can see the entire interview for yourself here, I have referenced a number of his words (in green text below) which illustrate how he has been raised in, and deceived by, that great amusement park called Babylon.

This article is not about Carlton Pearson the man, but is a glimpse into the mind and soul of those who are being tormented in this unrighteous system to which Pearson's testimony speaks.

Fear of Man More Than Fear of God

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28

"I was afraid of their [his former parishioners] disfavor."

"I had introduced her [his wife] to all these wonderful, stellar human beings who preached, who commanded ministry in church, and I had convinced her that we were bosom, covenant brothers and sisters, that these people really loved me and loved her.  And when they turned either away or against us so violently, it stunned her, and I was embarrassed.  I was embarrassed because I had told her that my world was solid, and my friends were solid."

"I was hurting.  Everyone I knew had thrown me away."

One of the primary attributes of Babylon is that your identity comes from man and not God.  As a result, you find yourself constantly seeking man's approval; having to live up or down to someone else's standards.  You are never able to be made whole in Christ, but you become a slave to the opinions of others.  Through a fear of rejection, they are able to manipulate and deceive you...even while promising to set you free (II Peter 2:18-19).  Pearson's whole world was based upon the acceptance of men, and when that was no longer there, he felt he had nothing.

This is why God says that the fear of man brings a snare (Proverbs 29:25).  We cannot trust in the arm of flesh because doing so is the evidence that your heart has departed from the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5).  The truly born again believer has been made accepted in the Beloved because Jesus Christ is our Justifier (Acts 13:39; Romans 3:24, 5:1-9; I Corinthians 6:11; Galatians 2:16-17; Titus 3:7).  We have our source, identity, and purpose in Him alone (Acts 17:28).

Seeking God's Hand and Not His Face

"When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." Psalm 27:8

"We didn't come here [to his former church] just to worship God.  We came here to avoid His Hell."

"If we don't come here and bow at those altars, light these candles, do what people do to appease the presumed angry God, you go to Hell.  That is the only alternative."

The hand of God is often symbolic of His power, including His supernatural provision. Seeking God for what He can do for us (His hand) versus for who He is (His face) is not experiencing true communion with Him.  It is a selfish and self-centered attitude where we expect God to do for us with no regard for Him personally. Even in the natural, this type of relationship is described as one being used.  When this is our motivation we become like the men at Mars' hill; overly religious, worshiping a God we neither know nor understand while offering Him sacrifices in the hopes that He will grant us His favor and spare us His wrath (Acts 17:22-31).

My friends, this is not what it means to be in relationship with God.  Whether we are attempting to get prosperity, healing, a spouse, or even protection from Hell, true fellowship with God can only come when we seek His face and nothing else. We must come to Him for who He is, our Savior and Lord.

Sodomizing Church Members

"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." I Corinthians 2:4-5

"You have to get the people happy.  You have to sweat, shout, spit and get emotional.  You had to deliver.  And in my tradition, it wasn't just a good sermon.  You had to get them jumping, screaming, clapping, saying Amen and crying.  If you don't perform in that pulpit, you're a dead man. I am good.  I am one of the best of them."

Pearson describes himself as a master performer in the pulpit.

perform: to act (a play, part, etc.), as on the stage, in movies, or on television. 

In his church experience, from his teaching and discipleship (in Babylon), Pearson learned that being a minister of the Gospel was not about demonstrating the Spirit and power of God, but the theatrics of man. You have to put on a good show.  You have to entertain the flesh.  You have to sodomize the people in the church.

"But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." Job 32:8

God's words are spiritual seed and they are life (Luke 8:11; John 6:63).  He inspires us by having His Spirit communicate to our spirit so that our soul and body may in turn be conformed to His will.  That is how we get understanding.  Spirit calls out to spirit, and deep unto deep (I Corinthians 2:10-11).  Like in the natural, as that seed is planted on fertile ground, it germinates, grows, and brings forth life (Luke 8:5-15)

God does not lead us through the realm of our soul; such is unnatural and contrary to the way He has designed for us to commune with Him.  This is, however, how Satan operates and it is spiritual sodomy because he is gaining access to our souls illegally.  Since the old man is carnal (I Corinthians 2:14), those influencing the old man must appeal to his soul.  Instead of spiritual seed being planted to enlighten our minds with knowledge of the truth, the 'master performer' must manipulate the soul in order to bypass the mind so that the masses will become susceptible to his control, his influence, and his sorcery.  As a musician plucking the strings on a guitar, he directs your soul like a ventriloquist with a puppet to make you jump, cry, laugh, and shout...all at his prompts.  When preachers start putting on a show to entertain your flesh, just know that you are being sodomized; you are being bewitched.  They are sowing to your flesh and you will in turn reap from the flesh corruption (Galatians 6:8).

Building Earthly Kingdoms

"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world." John 18:36a

"Collection income [at Pearson's church] was up to $60,000 a week." Keith Morrison, NBC

"This [his church empire] was Heaven."

"All this together is 30 acres.  And we added that 41,000 sq. ft. building called the Destiny Center...$1.6 million just that." [Pearson describing his church expansion plans].

"Now I am a stranger in my own house [the church building]." [Pearson speaking after the church property was foreclosed upon].

"You're there at the invitation of the President of the United States.  That was pretty big stuff."  [Pearson describing being invited to the White House during his campaign for President Bush in 2000.]

Babylon loves the earthly kingdoms it erects.  Just as the Jews attempted to get Jesus to marvel at the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:1; Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5), the unregenerated man views these structures as extensions of themselves; of their earthly power & influence.  As in the days of old, they idolize the work of their own hands.  Remember, like an amusement park, it has to be bigger than life, grandiose, in order to keep the soul enthralled and entranced.  If there is no pomp and circumstance, no bells and whistles, you might just see how dead it really is.

It may be claimed that all of this is done "for the Lord", but look at Pearson's reflections on his church empire.  It was "Heaven" to him; it was "his" house, not God's house.  Yet this idolatry of self is not only seen in church structures.  Whether it is political influence or other secular affiliations, their actions become less about promoting the kingdom of God and more about sustaining their own worldly empires.  They have to keep their earthly presence billowing in order to sustain the illusion that this is a great move of God.

Questioning the Word of God

"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." I Thessalonians 2:13

"The Bible is an idol."

"[My personal studies in Hebrew and Greek] made me question the term that the Bible is inerrant and infallible...To say that the Bible is not the word of God, but is the word of man about God - as best as man has perceived God - is troubling, even for me to say it."

"I respect the Bible.  I take it very seriously, I just don't take it literally."

Rooted in Babylonian's control and sorcery over the people is the attempt discredit the Scriptures.  From the beginning, Satan has used this tactic starting with when he asked Eve, "Hath God said?"  A primary defense God has given to protect us from deception is His word (Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Isaiah 8:20; Galatians 1:8-9).  By denying the authority of Scripture, you can effectively blind the people as God's will becomes grounded in the personality and wisdom of men.

Deep Down Inside, You Really Hate God

"If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause." John 15:22-25

"I resented God.  If you fear God the way we are taught to fear Him, you'll serve Him, you'll believe in Him, you'll worship Him, but you probably will never really love Him."

"When I was able to convince my father that day that his parents were not in Hell, he literally lit up...I think he forgave God that day, if you can do such a thing.  And I think I have forgiven Him, cause He was killing too many of my people and sending them to Hell."

"Religion is all about control...Now I consider myself a freedom fighter, trying to get people free from the paranoia and the penalty of following people who say, 'It is our way or the highway.'"

Please take note of this.  The reason that people hate the Lord is because He removes any cover for their sin.  In order for Babylon to flourish, it must keep the people carnal and bound to sin; that is the basis of its control.  If you are not through with sin, if you have not repented of your sin, then Jesus Christ will be an offense to you...and He is to Carlton Pearson.

Carlton Pearson resented God and never really loved Him!  While he was studying at Oral Roberts University and serving on their Board of Regents, while he was preaching in pulpits, while he was singing with choirs, while he was leading others in prayer...he harbored continual resentment against the Lord.

resentment: the feeling of displeasure or indignation; animosity, bitterness, wrath

Why did Pearson hold animosity against God?  Because God was sending too many of "his people" to Hell.  Instead of identifying with believers in Christ as "his people", he feels more affinity with those who have rejected God.  Pearson has more of a sense of kinship for "the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars" than he does for God.

Further, Pearson judges God as unrighteous by presenting himself as being more loving and compassionate for humanity than God.  Instead of standing in need of God's forgiveness, Pearson presents a God in need of his forgiveness and that of his father.  In this type of assessment, who is divine and who is in need of redemption?   

The truth of what Pearson describes is the torment of man trying to serve God through religious performance (soulish activity) apart from being born again.  No matter how much you try to constrain the sinful nature, no matter how much you try to be spiritual, you grow to resent God for demanding a holy life that you cannot produce.  Is God trying to frustrate you?  YES!!!  God doesn't enjoy your turmoil, but He wants you to finally stop performing and come into true relationship with Him. It is His hope that you will see the futility of existing in the witchcraft of Babylon and begin to yearn for true revival and renewal in your hearts. 

People don't go to Hell because they aren't a Christian.  They go to Hell because they are a sinner.  You can claim to be a Christian all you want, but if you are still bound by sin and carnal, you will be damned to Hell.  Every other man ever born is a sinner, but Jesus Christ is the only sinless offering made as a propitiation for the sin of man.  As Jesus stated above, Pearson's resentment against the Lord bore down to one issue: God's condemnation of sin. 

A New Gospel

"For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." II Corinthians 11:4

"God, I can't save this whole world."  And that's when I heard this voice say, "Precisely!  That's what we did.  And if you tell them [all people] that they are redeemed, you won't create those types of problems."

"If He [Jesus] came to save the world, then the world is saved unless He is a failure."

"For the first time in all my life as Christian, I really not only loved God, but I started liking God."

"There is a great shifting coming now, I feel it.  There's a great anointing coming...We are turning this thing [Christianity] around."

To get around the issue of sin, Carlton Pearson had to come up with a new gospel message.  Under this "Gospel of Inclusion", all people are redeemed.  And having done away with that pesky little issue of sin - the one precursor to hating God - Pearson can finally love and even like God for the first time in his "Christian" life.  This is why he had to be a master performer in the pulpit.  It was all a charade, a masquerade to live up to a caricature of what he thought Christianity was supposed to be...and what the people expected him to be.

Yet, Carlton Pearson is not alone.  In many a church - indeed, in many a pulpit - there are people who hate God, even while calling themselves Christians and ministers of the Gospel.  Why? Because they have joined themselves to a Harlot Church.  As a result, they are ensnared into a life of religious performance defined by the acceptance of man where they are never really able to gain the victory over sin.  Instead, they struggle to live out by the flesh the new life which can only come by the Spirit of God.  In the end, they will either finally repent and submit to God to be born again or erect a new god with a new gospel that will accommodate their sin.

Pearson says that his plan is to turn Christianity around with this message of inclusion so that there will no longer be simply one Way to God.  He calls this a great shift; God calls it a great falling away.

In the next post, we will examine the roots of Babylon and why a doctrine of inclusion is needed to empower this entity and deceive the masses.

UPDATE:  See Babylon in action in this CNN article entitled "Black Preachers who 'Whoop' Minstrels or Ministers?"