THE ORACLE OF THE REVOLUTION: THOMAS PAINE

While often overlooked or marginalized by modern historians, the American Revolution, in many ways, begins with Thomas Paine.  The Marquis de Lafayette said, “A free America without her Thomas Paine is unthinkable.”  Paine wrote the famous pamphlet, Common Sense, which is called “by far the most influential tract of the American Revolution” by not a few historians, who also maintain that it influenced Jefferson’s writing of the Declaration of Independence. 

Paine also published The Crisis pamphlet series, some of which were read aloud by George Washington to his troops during the revolution.  John Adams is known for saying,

“Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain.”

These words (sometimes attributed to Joel Barlow) are engraved on the very tombstone of the revolutionary author, whose words are said to have “stirred the American colonies to independence.”  Another quote appears on his tombstone, saying: “History is to ascribe the American Revolution to Thomas Paine.”  With these things in mind, consider that Paine wrote:

“Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would seem more consistent that we called it the word of a Demon than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my own
part, I sincerely detest it …” (Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason)

Paine & Glenn Beck

Paine continues to be hailed by many as a great American hero today, even by those promoting America’s “Godly” heritage.  When Glenn Beck began his “take back America” movement, he began by having an actor play Thomas Paine and lecture the country about current events.  Beck also published a book, the full title of which is: Glenn Beck’s Common Sense: The Case Against an Out of Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine.

Deist or Antichrist?

While some will tell us that Paine was a deist and “critic” of Christianity, the reality is that he was an antichrist by biblical definition.  Paine did not merely disagree with Christianity, but specifically made it his business to denounce it.  He wrote:

"It is the fable of Jesus Christ, as told in the New Testament,
and the wild and visionary doctrine raised thereon, against which
I contend.  The story, taking it as it is told, is blasphemously
obscene" (Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason)
Reason, the god of the Revolution

“I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church,
by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church,
by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own
mind is my own church.” (Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason)

Paine, a mere man, worshiped the thoughts of his own mind.  This is idolatry of the highest order.  His most nefarious work was The Age of Reason, wherein he glorifies his own ability to think, above the revealed words of God.  The concept of “reason” is not merely to think soberly or to be reasonable, as we are taught in scripture; but is specifically the rejection of things divinely inspired by God in favor of the natural reasoning powers inherent in men.  Yet the scripture makes it clear that the wisdom of God is not as the wisdom of man.

“… we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth,
but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things
with spiritual.  But the natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him …”
(1 Corinthians 2:13-14)

The above scripture perfectly describes the condition of Paine, Jefferson, and those who embraced the ideas of reason, pitting their own minds against what they called the superstition of believing the miraculous things of God.  By this, they were usually referring to the virgin birth, the resurrection of Christ, inspired revelation, etc.  This argument was also supported by John Adams who wrote: 

“When philosophic reason is clear and certain by intuition
or necessary induction, no subsequent revelation supported by
prophecies or miracles can supersede it.”  (John Adams, as cited
in Views of Religion, by Rufus K. Noyes)

If you read more of the writings of Adams, Paine, and Jefferson in particular, you will learn that what they are collectively saying is: “If something in the bible does not make sense to our natural understanding, we must reject it.” 

To say that reason was worshiped by the Revolutionaries is no exaggeration.  Men like Paine, Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin spent years interacting with the revolutionary Masons in France, who even set up a goddess they called Reason in the midst of the French Revolution.  This was done specifically to denounce Christianity, which the French attempted to destroy completely from their midst.  What French occultists tried to do literally overnight, the ACLU and other leftist groups in America have been working to accomplish over a number of decades.

There can be no question that Paine (along with others like Thomas Jefferson) was in lock-step with the intellectual Masons of France, and his contempt for the Bible was without equal:

"What is it the Bible teaches us? -- rapine, cruelty, and
murder. What is it the Testament teaches us? -- to believe that
the Almighty committed debauchery with a woman engaged
to be married, and the belief of this debauchery is called
faith." (Paine, The Age of Reason)

The evil fruit of men like Thomas Paine, and as you will see, Jefferson, Franklin and Adams, continues to fuel the fires of atheism to this day.

The Culture War

The current cultural conflict in America is not between conservatives and liberals; it is a contest between Christianity and the occult; a battle that can be traced to the very beginning of our country, and one that reached a peak during the revolutionary era.  As leading historian, Dr. James H. Billington put it:

“The revolutionary faith was shaped not so much by the
critical rationalism of the French Enlightenment (as is generally
believed) as by the occultism and proto-romanticism of Germany.”
(Billington, Fire in the Minds of Men, p. 3)

The above reference to Germany has to do with Bavaria, in particular, and the influence of the Bavarian Illuminati founded by Adam Weishaupt.  Billington goes on to say:

“If Freemasonry provided a general milieu and symbolic
vocabulary for revolutionary organization, it was Illuminism
that provided its basic structural model.  The organizational
plan … was simply lifted from the Bavarian Order of Illuminists.”
(Ibid, Billington, p. 93)

Paine & the Illuminati

Not only was Thomas Paine not a Christian, but he was an especially immoral man for his day.  According to Billington:

“Thomas Paine … lived in a ménage a trios with [Nicholas]
Bonneville and his wife from 1797 to 1802 …” (Source: Fire in
the Minds of Men, by Dr. James H. Billington, p. 103)

A ménage a trios is when a married couple and a third party live together and have sexual relations.  It is also worth noting that Paine’s associate in this adulterous affair, Nicholas Bonneville was directly involved with the Bavarian Illuminati.  We read that:

“Nicholas Bonneville was … the decisive channel of
Illuminist influence.  He was converted to Illuminist ideas
during the first of two visits to Paris (in June 1787) by
Weishaupt’s leading associate … Christian Bode.”
(Ibid, Billington p. 96)

Adam Weishaupt’s indirect association with Paine seems to have come years after the American Revolution; yet they may have been associated earlier.  It seems unusual that he would coincidentally end up living with one of the Illuminati’s top men.  Considering that his good friend, Ben Franklin, operated in many secret circles, it is very likely that Paine interacted with these men before.  It is beyond doubt that his writings were entirely in keeping with Weishaupt’s own antichrist philosophies and those of the French Revolution. 

Paine and Freemasonry

Like many other founders, Paine’s involvement in Freemasonry is debated.  He wrote a history on the Origins of Freemasonry as if he knew about it personally.  Paine was specifically brought to America by Freemason, Benjamin Franklin.  It was Franklin who, (with the support of Freemason, George Washington) made Paine’s “great swelling words” an acceptable sensation in the American colonies.  He published Common Sense after having been in America for less than a year.  It is almost as if his entrance into the country and subsequent popularization were planned with a specific intent. 

We read that: “Paine’s writing skills and friendship with Franklin and Washington enabled him to stay at the forefront of the political action and he was made secretary to Congress’ Committee for Foreign Affairs from 1777-79. After Paine left this position, he continued to be active in foreign affairs, and letters from Paine to Washington reveal a personal friendship at this time, Washington arranging a hefty salary for Paine.” (Thomas Paine, Freemason? by David Harrison, Freemasonry Today, Autumn 2008, Issue 46)

When Paine left America, he joined up with the revolutionaries in France and “with the help of friends like Freemason, the Marquis de Lafayette, he entered the political arena, assisting in forging the new French Constitution.” (Ibid, David Harrison)

While in France, Paine lived for a time with Freemason (and later, U.S. President) James Monroe, while his close friend Nicholas Bonneville was also a Freemason.  “A number of (Masonic) lodges in the USA were also named after Paine, and when he died many lodges throughout America honoured him.” (Ibid, David Harrison)

The Death of Paine

Even in his parting words to the world, Paine was defiant with his dying breath.  An account is recorded of an old Christian woman visiting him before he died.  We read the following from The Life of Thomas Paine, as recorded by Moncure D. Conway:

“While Paine was one day taking his usual after dinner nap,
an old woman called, and, asking for Mr. Paine, said she had
something of great importance to communicate to him.  She was
shown into his bed-chamber; and Paine, raising himself on his
elbow, and turning towards the woman, said: ‘What do you
want with me?’  ‘I came,’ said she, ‘from God, to tell you, that
if you don’t repent, and believe in Christ, you’ll be dammed.’ 
‘Poh, poh, it’s not true,’ said Paine; ‘you are not sent with
such an impertinent message.  Send her away. Pshaw!  God
would not send such a foolish ugly old woman as you.  Turn
this messenger out.  Get away; be off: shut the door.’ And so
the old woman packed herself off.” (The Life of Thomas
Paine, by Moncure D. Conway, pg. 450)

Other accounts reveal that Paine was repeatedly warned.  It is one of the strongest testimonies about the Christian nature of American citizens that believers of every denomination came to his home over and over and literally told him that “whosoever does not believe in Jesus Christ shall be damned.” (Source: Six Historic Americans, by John E. Remsburg) 

Nevertheless, Paine rejected every warning.  In his last will and testament, he listed what he thought were his great contributions to the world, in which, we find the following:

“I, Thomas Paine, of the State of New York, author of the
work entitled Common Sense … which awaked America to
a Declaration of Independence … author also of a work lately
published, entitled, Examination of the Passages in the New
Testament, Quoted from the Old, and called Prophecies
concerning Jesus Christ, and showing there are no Prophecies
of any such Person …” (Source: The Writings of Thomas Paine,
collected and edited by Moncure Daniel Conway, 1896) 

Apparently, Paine wanted to be sure he got in the full denial of Christ in the title of his “lately published” work right before he died.  Ask yourself: was this the man that God sent to help start the Christian Revolution?  If the pen of Paine was the spirit behind the war of independence, what spirit was it? 

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit
of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come;
and even now already is it in the world.” (1John 4:3)

Revolutionary Religion Defined

It seems now appropriate to speak about the idea of “religion” or “the Christian religion,” or even “the religion of Jesus Christ” as spoken of by certain founders.  Such quotes are often given as proof that this founder or that one was a Christian.  But the idea of being a Christian to this era often had more to do with moral conduct than faith in Christ. According to scripture, rejecting the doctrine of Christ is to be without God.

“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the
doctrine of Christ, hath not God.”  (2 John 7, 9)

Next, consider this 19th century view of “religion.”  In spite of all that he clearly denied concerning the Gospel, here is what the editor of his published writings tells us about Thomas Paine: 

“His attack on Christianity was indeed directed at the
gross corruptions of it … Few or none of his sneers affect
the religion of the New Testament.” (Source: The Writings
of Thomas Paine, collected and edited by Moncure Daniel
Conway, 1896)

Notice, that “the religion of the New Testament” had nothing to do with believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  In other words, the Christian Religion they often refer to is not Christianity at all.


Comments

[J Pritchard]

Hmmmm. I knew of Paine's anti-Christ views, but I was unaware of his perverted ties to the occult. It is very suspicious that he was "placed" as he was in such a short time prior to the revolution and after. You made a very good point in this piece that should sound the alarm for every Christian in America.

You have my ear.