Mammon

Pastor G asked: "

When Jesus said: "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations..."... did he meant that they, the apostles, were to receive offerings from the coin or currency in use...? or does it mean to accept alms like the Mendicant Orders...? "

Yes, Jesus said be friends with the unrighteous Mammon.

What is Mammon?

Scholars do not agree about the etymology of the word. Some say it means riches but some say it is what you trust. In truth it is both. It is intrusted wealth.

If Mammon is entrusted wealth, which usually means some sort of government treasury, then

Righteous or unrighteous mammon must refers to the way that wealth or treasury is collected.

The conflict with Christ and some of the Jews in power certainly revolved around money and treasuries more than religious theologies.

Since most of religions categories themselves today by their theology and church doctrines many people might not want to see the connection even though it is right in front of them.

Jesus mentions mammon four times in the Bible. Once in Matthew^[1] and three times in Luke.^[2]

In Matthew Chapter 6 Jesus started talking about giving alms to take care of the needy of society. This was an essential element of society and certainly a major part of the Gospel of Christ and a duty of the Church. It is one of the major defining characteristics of the meaning of religion, especially pure religion.

He then talks about the prayers of the hypocrites. They pray in the Churches of that day and in the streets but he says if they pray to the Father in heaven they do not have to make a big demonstration of it and certainly not by a hypocrite about it pretending to pray to the Father in heaven when you really pray to the fathers of the earth if you need anything like bread or aid.

Jesus warns later in verse 20^[3]that central treasuries where thieves and robbers can break in and steal the funds and where some how moths and rust can eat it up their value should not be trusted.

Jesus makes this reference to moths eating up your treasure three times which appears to be related to Isaiah 51:8^[4] where he talks about those who get eaten up by the worm of the moth because they are not following the righteousness of God from generation to generation.

He sums up this criticism of centralizing stored wealth in treasury when he says in Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." This is wht the people did when they put their wealth in a Golden calf. Building golden monuments was a common way of establishing a central bank for a city state and binding the people together for common defense. If all your wealth was in a central depository this forced the people to trade amongst themselves and gave them a reason to stay and defend others of their community.

This was the reason behind the building of the golden calf.

Mammon, NN Video Series:3-10 4:22

Jesus was just talking about the lord commending the "unjust steward" for forgiving those who could not pay what they owed.

The IRS who collects for the unrighteous mammon of today are not like the "unjust steward". They do not forgive debt.

The people were bound like they were in Egypt and like they are today.

The Pharaoh does not want to let the people go.

But though many want to think so they should not just rebel and denounce their obligations.

What Jesus is saying is the same as when he said about pay Caesar what is Caesar, don't be a rebel.

Jesus knew the unrighteous mammon, which the entrusted wealth of the people in system of [Corban] would fail. It always does.

He knew that ministers were excluded if they met certain criteria.

He knew there would come a time when the people could opt out but only the righteous would bear fruit and show the Christ character needed in a truly volunteer society.

Many people just want out but are stingy about setting the table of the Lord.

Remember there is no division of funds in the US treasury and most other world system treasuries.

Social Security and the general fund are one.

They are the entrusted wealth.

Fed notes are not wealth although they played a part in creating debt. The issuing of those notes is the biggest violation of the Sabbath.

They were saying we will take our rest now and pay you later. J. Wellington Wimpy was a soft-spoken, very intelligent, and well educated, but also cowardly, very lazy, overly parsimonious and utterly gluttonous who was famous for saying "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." Which is the ultimate Sabbath breaker.

There are no Wimpys in the kingdom.

Being friends with the unrighteous Mammon is just like Moses who had the people pay their tale of bricks. But they both told the people to love one another and care for one another through the famines.

We are suppose to be building the alternative system based on charity. we can start now or wait to the last minute.

Also note that the Greek word skene translated "habitation" appears in the Bible 20 times but this is the only place it is translated habitation Normally it is translated tabernacle. The tabernacle was always a place of worship but worship is not what people commonly think.

God is not so insecure that he needs our praise.... Most of what is posing as praising God is don by people who are workers of iniquity.

Mendicant orders are religious orders which depend directly on charity for their livelihood. Christian mendicant orders, in principle, do not own property, either individually or collectively (see corporate poverty), believing that they are thereby copying the way of life followed by Jesus, and able to spend all their time and energy on religious work. The mendicant orders are marked by two characteristics: poverty, practiced in common; and a way of life that combines praying together in community with the work of the public ministry of the Church.

Mendicant orders own nothing at all.

The early Church owned all things in common. It is clear they, the ministers of the Church, owned property but not as a personal estate. There were numerous suits in the mid to late 200 AD to get Church land back that was illegally taken.

The Church, like the Levites needed land to do their job and take care of their own. The Church was the trustees of the righteous mammon based on faith, hope and charity.

Since social security is the means by which society takes care of their widows and orphans it is religious in nature. It is public religion.

It is spotted by the world and it is not forgiving if you owe it money.

In fact everyone with a social security number are members of a religious order under a vow of poverty. But in their order men exercise authority one over the other.

While the Church minister are dependent upon charity they can also earn a living. The ordain ministers who are members of orders must do so without a social security number. This is explained in The Free Church Report.

Money vs Mammon
Chapter 11. of the book The Covenants of the gods
http://www.hisholychurch.org/study/gods/cog11movma.php
Audio file related to
http://www.hisholychurch.net/kkvv/cog11MoneyvsMammon56.mp3

Mammons
From the book The Higher Liberty, Sec. 39
http://www.hisholychurch.org/media/books/THL/mammons.php

Mammon, NN Video Series:3-10 4:22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG5sp5bCpSc

Footnotes

↑ Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
↑ Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. Luke 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
↑ Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
↑ Isaiah 51:8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

[1] Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

[2] Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. Luke 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

[3] Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

[4] Isaiah 51:8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Mammon

Footnotes

Navigation menu

Search