Ezekiel 4:3 Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

For those who look for a sign, here is a sign. Defensive posturing invites attack.

Compare this verse with the amour of God in Ephesians 6. You will not find an iron pan among those things listed. An iron pan is not a weapon of a warrior. It is a thing being set in place as a defensive posture, for protection, which it was not created to do. Yet the face is set against it, protected, shielded, so much so that the countenance of one’s face cannot be determined.

This would be laughable if it were not such a serious thing. What do you hide behind? What defensive posture do you take that does nothing more than hide your countenance?

Revelation 4:15-17 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Number 6:24-26 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

If Christ be in you, do not hide the countenance of your face, let Him shine.

Galatians 1:6-7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

It is very disconcerting to see two contradictor phrases placed so close to each other. This occurs here as “another gospel which is not another”. It is not fair to automatically label this “other gospel” as a cult if here Paul says it is not another gospel. If you are not confused please understand that others can be easily confused and still firm in their beliefs.

The first use definition of cult in the Merriam-Webster definition is a formal religious veneration. Under that definition we are all cults. In this we must be careful in throwing around labels we do not understand. In religious circles a cult is considered to be a different opinion. I know that does not sound dangerous but the use of the word itself screams danger, avoid at all cost.

What if a religion believes in the total depravity of mankind and that man is powerless to save himself? Jesus Himself said it is impossible for a man to save himself in Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27 and Luke 18:27. What if in this awareness of the weakness of man, they set in order rules to follow to hold their members closer to Christ? In their understanding adherence to rules makes an attempt to have unity in the body. Is that a cult? They do not intent to preach another gospel but place demands on their members that the bible does not.

Perhaps this does not speak to their faith in Christ but rather their trust of you. How does that make you feel, not to be trusted? Does that make you feel defensive or were they who will not trust you taking a defensive posture?