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Imposters
Does anyone remember the "Left Behind" books and movies? I spent a lot of time doom reading them. (Before doom scrolling was a thing...) I was TERRIFIED of Nicolae Carpathia, the man written as the anti-christ of Revelation. He was just as slimy, conniving, creepy, snakey as I've ever imagined. And lots of you know this, but I grew up so so scared of the book of Revelation in general, the anti-christ in particular. We wonder who might rise up as the anti-christ, the end time beast. But let me tell you, the spirit of the anti-christ is already here. It is not just an evil force wrapped up in one person, it is an evil ideology that has been here since page 2 in my Bible.
I don't know who to credit for this phrase I've heard many times, (could be Abraham Lincoln if you believe the internet 😒) but it goes something like this:
What God creates, Satan perverts.
Satan doesn't have an original thought on his own, he can only try and fail to take what God does and twist it for his own evil plans. We are going to look at a few imposters who wore the colors woven into the veil that covered the Holy of Holies. I'm not saying wearing blue, purple, or scarlet is evil--obviously this whole study is about God choosing these colors for His priestly garments and placing them all over the tabernacle and temple. It's their motives, actions, hearts that are evil, and the scripture just so happens to mention what colors they're either surrounded by or wearing. The symbolism meant something to them then, and we can learn from it now.
Esther 1:5-6
King Ahasuerus was the ruler of 127 provinces, with his palatial headquarters in Susa. He threw a huge banquet for all the nobles, officials, staff, army to display his wealth. The party lasted 180 days!! At the end of this 6 month shindig, he hosted a week long banquet for all the people. He decorated the garden courtyard with white and blue linen hangings, that were fastened with fine white and purple linen cords to silver rods on marble columns. White the color of purity, blue the color of heaven, linen the fabric of righteousness, and purple the color of royalty. But by his actions, we know that while God was sovereign over this king's story, this king did not follow God. He was not pure, he was not of heaven, he was not righteous. He banished his wife, he held a beauty contest to pick a new wife, he cared more about riches than right-living. He has no red, no sacrifice to give because he lives for himself.
Proverbs 7:6-27
Folly is compared to Wisdom in Proverbs 7-9. A father (likely King Solomon from yesterday!) is teaching his son to tell the difference by comparing them as if they were two women. The father spies Lady Folly seducing a young man who surrounds himself with inexperienced simpletons. She is dressed like a prostitute and has covered her bed with richly colored linen from Egypt. As we learned in our "A Tale of Two Ladies" study, she also seduced him with what she thought was a lovely perfume, but it was the recipe for embalming--death. Lady Folly Her linen did not represent righteousness, but was a pathway to death and destruction.
Jeremiah 10:1-10
The idol makers are not that different than the skilled craftsmen and women who made the tabernacle and the temple. They cut down a tree, carve it, decorate it with silver and gold. But like "scarecrows in a cucumber patch" they are worthless. They can't talk or walk--they can't do harm or good. The idols will not declare that they have come to dwell among their people. Compared to the LORD God, they are both stupid and fooish, the idols and their makers. They are clothed in blue and purple at the hands of skilled artisans, but they do not come from heaven, they are not pure nor righteous, and they can't offer a sacrifice that can atone for one's sins. Imposters.
Ezekiel 27:1-7
The city of Tyre has some connection to our temple story. Hiram of Tyre provided many temple elements for King Solomon. His mother was a Jew, but his father was from Tyre. Tyre--often mentioned with Sidon--is a port city. The city is noted for its rejection of God and His ways, especially in comparison to God's people, Israel. The city is being lamented, mourned, because it has declared itself beautiful in every way. They are bordered by seas and the builders have spared no expense. If compared to a boat, only the finest from surrounding lands have been cultivated; including fine embroidered linen from Egypt as the sail, and blue and purple as the awning. But their beauty becomes their downfall. The blue is not of heaven, the purple is not royal, the linen is not righteousness. A lament is cried over them as they are destroyed by sinking, like the useless, worthless ship it is.
Revelation 17:4; 18:16, 24
Babylon. The enemy. The spirit of anti-christ personified as a woman. Dressed in purple--royalty but of the worst kind of kingdom, the kingdom of darkness. Dressed in scarlet, but only interested in the blood of the saints and martyrs. Babylon. The enemy. The spirit of anti-christ portrayed as a city. Dressed in linen, but no righteousness to be found. Dressed in purple--wealthy beyond imagination, riches made from cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, linen, purple, silk, scarlet, fragrand wood, ivory, fine metals, stones, spices, wine, olive oil, grains, livestock, horses, carriages, human lives. Scarlet--the color of their destruction, not sacrifice. In her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all those slaughtered on the earth.
We can often learn as much from what something ISN'T as what it is. The colors alone mean something, symbolism was a big deal to the ancient world, maybe even more so than now. The colors separated in our examples meant someone or something trying and failing to imitate God. But the colors of the veil are a holy combination--blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen. They colors are chosen by God to weave a tapestry that tells a story--to those before, of a coming Redeemer. To those after, of a Redeemer come. It's the story of Holy Week.
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