Much controversy surrounds the fourteenth-century couple named in the above caption, and for several reasons. First, Ahkenaton (also Iknaton or Amen-hotep) decisively broke with longstanding polytheistic tradition in Egypt in favor of the Aten, which shows up as a brilliant disk-like figurine in Hieroglyphic representations. Was he a monotheist? Some suggest instead that he practiced "henotheism," your new vocabulary word for the day.
Henotheism differs from Monotheism in that the latter is defined as "belief in AND the worship of, but one God," and the former (henotheism) as "belief in one chief deity, not to the exclusion of others altogether, but only in terms of personal worship choices." In other words, the Henotheist might worship only Zeus, "chief of the [alleged] Greek gods," while acknowledging the existence of the entire Greek pantheon of putative deities.
Debate still rages among historians over just which of these two words best describes Akhenaten and his wife. Second, Akhenaten married a woman well known to history because of her beauty as captured in something of an historical portrait of the kind forbidden under the second commandment (and plainly ignored by the Egyptians). Nefertiti is interesting to historians for a few reasons, but most relate directly to her controversial husband.
Third, Akhenaten's chronological situation places him in Egypt shortly after the biblical exodus. The wikipedia article on Pharaoh Ahkenaten reads thus:
"Amenhotep IV succeeded his father after Amenhotep III's death at the end of his 38-year reign, possibly after a coregency lasting between either 1 to 2 or 12 years. Suggested dates for Akhenaten's reign (subject to the debates surrounding Egyptian chronology) are from 1353 BC-1336 BC or 1351 BC–1334 BC."
In either case, this puts Akhenaten about 100 years after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, and one cannot help but wonder if this provides the best reason for Akhenaten to have turned away from the "unworkable and well-conquered" old polytheism. There's nothing that can change a pharaoh's theology for the better (if only a little) like a good old-fashioned butt-kicking from on high.
It appears that Akhenaten underwent something of an attitude adjustment after hearing what happened to the last guy who waxed ultra-polytheistic in God's presence. Those who do not share my historical interpretation (technically called the "divine butt-kicking" interpretation) -- surprise, most radical ancient historians do not -- are at a complete loss to explain this sudden alteration in Egyptian attitudes toward the old-regime polytheism.
Do you hear laughter Rameses? (I always loved that line from Cecil B DeMil's movie). Anyway, he who laughs last is probably not the one who got attacked, totally overrun, and utterly humiliated in the sight of all nations by ten divine plagues, and a general demotion called a "mass drowning." If you must "walk like an Egyptian," whatever you do, don't swim like one.
Lesson for the day? Polytheism and safety don't mix. Even Ahkenaten figured that one out. It is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God [The God of the Bible, not a sun-disk], and serve Him only." There is no divine, golden frisbee. We are not simply supposed to worship but one God, we are supposed to worship the One that actually exists.
And now for a word about true monotheism.
When you pray, if you are unsure of this, just say,
"God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner, for Jesus' sake."
Whatever you do, do not go forward at an altar call. Don't go around "making decisions for Christ" 500 times. Repent, believe the Gospel, and get on with it already. Repent every day, and pray the above prayer. Do not go confess your sins to Padre Jack in the Box at a cathedral. Never trust "churches" that do what fast food chains do.
Do not go to any church that does not acknowledge that the Bible alone - meaning you do not need other writings (not that you do not need teachers or elders to help you learn the Bible) -- is sufficient for the faith and practice of the saints. Do not ask, "What would Akhenaten do (WWAD)?"
If you are Evangelical and want to know what Jesus would do, I can tell you. He would sing the Psalms. I know this because 1. That's what He did, and 2. That's what the whole Christian Church did for the first three centuries, and 3. The phrase quoted of Jesus in the book of Hebrews from the Psalms, has Him singing God's praises. When Jesus sang this Psalm, the part quoted in Hebrews, "in the presence of the congregation, I will sing your [God's] praises," He was doing the thing that He was singing. In other words, when Jesus fulfilled this prophesy, we know what "praises of God" he was singing -- the ones in the Psalms.
This means the Bible thinks of "God's praise" in terms of "the Psalms." So when you see commands like "Praise the Lord, for he is good," it means, "sing Psalms." Thats' what Jesus would do. That is the stuff of true monotheism.
Sing psalms, and you will advance so far ahead of the achieved understanding of most Christians today, as the internet is ahead of the telegraph (they are still stuck in 19th-cenury man-made songs that are not a means of grace like the Word of Christ). Buy a Psalter, and sing that. This will teach you outstanding theology, that is 150 times better than the competition's.
And read your Bible. If you find the AV (King James of 1611) too difficult, start with the New King James Version, and work your way up. The NIV is something like the eleventh plague. Avoid it.
To get a superb understanding of the worldview of the Bible, read and study the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), and its two attendant catechisms. This will speed up your understanding of the Bible considerably. The people who constructed this confession understood with excellence what they read in the Bible. These helps came from the True, International Church of Jesus Christ, so you know they are trustworthy, and worthy of full acceptance.
They all have Bible references to show you where they got this or that idea. It's all good. If anyone tells you something other than this, you can learn to show them where and why they are wrong (and they are). But that comes later. First, you have to know which are the verities you are supposed to be defending.
If you sing the Psalms long enough, you will begin to realize that all the truths you are singing show up in that confession somewhere or other. Coincidence? Nope. The Psalm-singers wrote the confession. This means people whose minds were saturated in the Word of Christ wrote a confession which looks and sounds like the Psalms in many places. If the Psalms could write a confession themselves, this is what it would look like.
Think of the Psalms as the songs of true monotheism, which Ahkenaten never had - sun-disk not included.
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