Perhaps one of the most intriguing epics of Greek mythology is the legendary story of the Trojan War. For ten years the Greeks had besieged the ancient city of Troy, yet despite their best attempts they could not break the will of its inhabitants. However, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of thirty men inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the Horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the Horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greek army entered and destroyed the city of Troy, decisively ending the war. It was this stratagem known as the ‘Trojan horse' that allowed the Greeks too finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. Why was it that after ten years of holding fast the inhabitants of Troy was overcome in one night? The fall of Troy to the Greeks can be described in two words, ‘no discernment!' The undiscerning citizens of Troy were led to believe that the ‘Trojan Horse' was harmless, unsuspectingly they allowed it into the city, and the result was devastating! In modern usage, a "Trojan Horse" has come to mean any trick or stratagem that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place. The failures of lessons of Troy could be applied to the Church of Jesus Christ today. As we look at the Church of Jesus Christ on a worldwide scale, she has opened her gates to all of Satan's Trojan Horses. It seems as if discernment has been altogether abandoned! There needs to be a closing of the gates on Satan's Trojan Horses! |
