Steward's Portion

In which is your faith based?

“Live today in such a way that you’re sure to fail unless God helps you. That’s Living by Faith. Trusting requires risking.” – Pastor Rick Warren

THE IDEA IS MOTIVATING, but the notion is immature.   The motivation comes from Christ Himself, who said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27, KJV). If we meet God in the impossible, we’ll see Him perform the impossible.  This is such an exciting reality that it motivates us into action.  But here’s where the immaturity enters the picture. How are we supposed to meet God in the impossible?  This notion assures us it’s by taking risks.   But what exactly is “risk” when it comes to faith?

THE RISK OF BLIND FAITH vs THE GUARANTEE OF GENUINE FAITH:

Risk implies the potential for loss and failure. It has no place in a genuine faith and the reason for this is simple. God cannot fail. If man fails, it is because of sin. So as soon as our faith embraces any form of risk in its relationship with God, it becomes a form of unbelief.  At that point our so-called faith is nothing more than a religious gamble of uncertainty, otherwise known as “blind faith.” So it’s rather ironic when people speak of a risk based faith, because risk is introduced not by faith, but by our lack of faith. Risk is what we are left with when we don’t trust God or know His will.

Consider for a moment the origin of genuine faith in contrast to the origin of blind faith.

Genuine faith is likened to the faith of a child (Matthew 18:3). A child observes the love of their earthly father. They see the fathers trustworthiness and provision demonstrated over and over again. The father’s will for the child is revealed in small things that require very little faith, but as his will is revealed in greater measures, so are the measures of faith required to please him. This builds the child’s faith upon a history of the father’s demonstrated faithfulness.

So when the day comes when the father asks the child to do something that could have serious consequences for them if the father doesn’t come through, the child has faith. That faith is not blind, because it has already seen the father’s faithfulness and dependability. And that faith is not by sight either (2 Corinthians 5:7), because the child is trusting the father to come through for him under circumstances and conditions that he has never seen the father perform under before. This is the faith of a child, being both secure on established history, and yet able to trust in unproven situations.

Blind faith, on the other hand, can be likened to the faith of an orphan. This kind of faith grows from a broken relationship. It rises from the heart of one who has grown up hearing more about what  father ‘s are like rather than learning from personal interaction with a father. Such children never know what to expect. They can never be sure of what they can ask for and what they cannot. They neither know the ways of their father, nor the means by which he provides for his own. So they must guess. They must rely on what others tell them. They must rely upon the image of Fatherhood they have crafted in their heart. And they are often disappointed because of their errant assumptions and failed gambles.

The only reason a believer would operate in blind faith is if he or she has never left the orphaned lifestyle. It may be true that they were adopted, but they are not living in their Father’s house. They never interact with Him except during special visitations. Thus they neither know His will, nor His calling upon their daily life. Yet they want to please Him, so they motivate themselves to take risks. They do what they hope the Father will be pleased with, but their efforts are always mixed with uncertainty. They are prone to leaps of faith. And they are counted among those who “are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).

Every success story that I have heard about risk taking was a success not because someone took a risk, but because they finally did what God had been asking them to do all along. So of course it was a success! Yet they are amazed that it worked because their minds are still focused on the risk introduced by their lack of genuine faith.

JUMP!

Now some argue that risk taking is still justified when you have certain guarantees. Meaning, if for whatever reason, you know for a fact that God won’t let you be destroyed in something, you can go ahead and take risks. You can take leaps of faith because God has to catch you, it’s guaranteed. But is that really Christ-like to focus on risk? Should we jump because we know that God will catch us? No.

Risk based faith is not inspired by God, but by Satan.

Then the Devil took Him up into the holy city and set Him upon a pinnacle of the Temple. (6) And he said to Him, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it is written, “He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time You dash Your foot against a stone.” (7) Jesus said to him, It is written again, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” (Matthew 4:5-7, MKJV)

Satan told the truth. The safety of Jesus was guaranteed. Jesus could have thrown Himself off the edge and God would have used the angels to catch Him. That reality was not in question. The issue wasn’t wether God would catch Jesus or not, but whether or not Jesus would act apart from the revealed will of God. God had not commanded Christ to jump. Jesus didn’t need to take that “risk” of doing something apart from the revealed will of the Father even though it was guaranteed that God would come through for Him anyway. Jesus wasn’t motivated by risk taking, or even by guaranteed success apart from the leading of God. He was motivated by the revealed will of God, for He said:

Then Jesus answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do. For whatever things He does, these also the Son does likewise. (John 5:19, MKJV)

Jesus had such intimacy with the Father that He could see what the Father was doing (via the Holy Spirit) and participate in it. That is our example, because the Father is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, in whom we are commanded to abide (John 15:4-5).

The immature will take their risks, but the mature will seek the face of God. That’s the contrast between “blind faith” and “revelational obedience.”

INVESTING WITHOUT RISK:

Truly, Jesus was not a risk taker, but an investor. Jesus taught people how to count the cost of obedience and invest in guaranteed rewards.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it; (29) lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all those seeing begin to mock him, (30) saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. (31) Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not first sit down and consult whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? (32) Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. (Luke 14:28-32, MKJV)

Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which when a man has found it, he hides it, and for the joy of it goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. (45) Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls; (46) who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:44-46, MKJV)

When you count the cost in order to obtain the greater reward, that’s the faith of calculated investment, not risk. You know what you will give up for the sake of what you will gain. This is the value of serving an all-knowing God who desires to make His will known to those who will stop taking risks long enough to hear His will.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15, MKJV)

IT’S GUARANTEED

The cost of obedience is guaranteed. The reward for obedience is guaranteed. If you have counted the cost of obedience, and deemed it worth the suffering and loss to gain the reward, where is the risk? There is none.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith– (10) that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (11) that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:8-11, ESV)

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21, ESV)

IN SUMMARY:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6, KJV)

For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7, KJV)

You cannot please God without faith.  So we had better come to terms with what faith really is.  Some teach that if you are walking by faith, then you are not walking by sight, and that if you are walking by sight you are not walking by faith.  The assumption being that faith is the opposite of sight.  But this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The sight mentioned by the apostle Paul was in reference to natural sight.  We must never walk, which is to say, live our lives according to what we see in the natural realm.  The reason for this is simple: the natural realm is subject to the supernatural realm by which it was created.  The natural can be supernaturally defined at the will of the Spirit.  So we must not act as though the natural realm determines our reality when in fact the supernatural does.

So what Paul was actually saying was this: we are to walk by the spiritual sight of faith, not by the natural sight of our eyes.  Our example in this is Jesus.  Of Him we are told:

Then Jesus answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do. For whatever things He does, these also the Son does likewise. (John 5:19, MKJV)

We are not to walk by natural sight, but are to do what Jesus did — we are to do NOTHING apart from what our faith sees the Father doing via the Holy Spirit because “everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23, NIV).  In other words, every effort to obey apart from what the Father reveals as obedience is sin.  You cannot expect to please God if you are blind to what He is actually doing.  This is why it is impossible to please God apart from the spiritual sight of faith.  Thus Jesus did what He saw (John 5:19), and spoke what He heard (John 5:30) because to do anything less, or anything more, is to cease from walking by the spiritual sight and sound by which our faith is to guided.

Risk is introduced into our lives by failing to hear the Lord, or see His work spiritually.  Therefore, the risk of taking risks is that you will fail to please God.  When we stop taking risks, and blind leaps of so-called faith, and begin to see and hear the Lord, the fear of risk will be replaced by the security of God’s guarantee.  In this there is no anxiousness, only anticipation of what God promised and our desire to lay hold of it at any cost.  When you have seen and heard the will of God, and counted the cost of obedience, there can be no more risk, only an exchange of suffering for reward and glory, all of which is guaranteed prior to our first step of obedience.

If you are living a life that constantly forces God to come to your rescue instead of doing only what God reveals to you through your intimate fellowship with Him, you are not walking by faith.

ARE ALIENS REAL? People seem to be quite divided on the subject. Even in the church this confusion remains, with some believing that God created other species on distant planets, and others dismissing their existence as nothing more than a modern day deception orchestrated by demons. With growing proof that intelligent life not only exits, but is interacting with humanity, it’s time that we come to terms with what God has revealed in His word about this seemingly modern subject.

STUDY SYNOPSIS:

In this study we examine what I believe is Satan’s most elaborate and powerful lie – the alien deception.  This deception involves more than mere mental trickery.  It stands as the reason for the global flood of Noah’s day, and will lead to the great lie of the Antichrist that will sway the world’s view of history.

After sin had manifested in Adam and Eve, God prophesied that the seed of Eve would crush the rebellion of Satan through a descended child of Eve.  The devil responded with an extraordinary, if not ingenious, plan. He would make it impossible for the Messiah to be born as a representative of Adam.

The plan was simple.  Satan would move Adam’s descendants to forget God and begin worshiping created creatures and objects.  Then he would appoint certain demons (fallen angels) to take on a physical form.  These masquerading demons would then appear to men as physical gods come from the heavens.  They would take to themselves willing brides and bear children with them.  The resulting offspring became known by many tribal names, but were collectively known as the Nephilim, or simply as “giants.”

By extending themselves into the bloodlines of mankind, the pure seed of Adam would eventually be thoroughly corrupted and turn man from what Adam was into a transgenic race of half-breeds.  What purpose would that serve?  It would put an end to God’s plan of redemption through representation.  God promised to send the Messiah who would stand in Adam’s place, being flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bones.  Thus, the Messiah would have to be born of Adam’s seed, and not of a transgenic seed comprised of man and angel.

So God flooded the entire earth killing off all living things, save Noah, his immediate family, and animals in his care.  After the flood, Satan attempted to re-initiate his plan.  However as giants began to be born from these unholy unions between demons and women, God raised up the nation of Israel to stand against them, and wipe them from the face of the earth.  Eventually, the giants disappeared from the earth.  But the alien god’s behind the deception did not.

Satan continued to parade his alien “gods” before men, creating a long standing history of interaction between aliens and mankind.  Eventually, the human Antichrist (possessed by Satan) will officially reintroduce these aliens (demons in physical disguise) to the world as co-rulers with him.

• Proof that the sons of God are in fact fallen angels.
• Biblical examples of how angels could impregnate human women.
• Why God flooded the earth but spared Noah and his immediate family.
• The reason why God commanded Israel to kill every man, woman, child, and beast in their wars against certain corrupted nations.
• Find out what happened to the angels involved in the unauthorized reproduction.
• Read the Bible’s description of aliens in the New Testament.
• Get a glimpse into the lie that deceives the whole world prior to Christ’s Second Coming.

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THE PROPHECY AND THE DECEPTION:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”  (Genesis 3:15, NASB)

This prophecy revealed the existence of God’s plan for both man and Satan alike.  The “seed” that would come out of the woman, and the seed that would come out of the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, would be at enmity with one another, but the woman’s seed would be victorious over the Serpent’s seed.

From history, we can see the fulfilment of this Edenic prophecy.  From out of Eve came the lineage of Jesus Christ, who secured eternal salvation for mankind.  Out of the Serpent came Satan, who stirred the hearts of men to crucify Christ.  Thus, Satan “bruised” Christ’s “heel” with the cross, but Christ crushed Satan’s “head” with resurrection from the dead, having defeated Satan’s only tool of power – the power of death brought about by sin (Hebrews 2:14).

However, Satan didn’t wait until the Messiah was born in order to eliminate Him.  He started devising a plan against Christ from the moment God gave the prophecy of the coming Messiah.

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, {2} That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. {3} And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. {4} There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that [great flood], when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. {5} And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. {6} And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. {7} And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. {8} But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. …{13} And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6:1-13, KJV)

This passage raises several questions that must be answered.  First, we must determine who is inferred by the phrase, “sons of God.” Second, we must address questions pertaining to how the “sons of God” impregnated human women.  And third, we must identify the nature of the giants born from this unholy union.

SONS OF GOD

The term “sons of God” is not a designation of righteousness, but of origin.  It therefore only applies to those who were born directly from God Himself.  This interpretation is quickly validated when one identifies those to whom God has applied this title.

The angels were the first sons of God to be created (Job 38:4-7).

Then came Adam.  Like the angels before him, Adam was created supernaturally, and is also called a son of God (Luke 3:38).  After Adam, and aside from the pre-incarnate presence of Jesus Christ (Daniel 3:25), the only human references to sons and daughters of God in the Old Testament are found in prophecies that foretell of the redemptive work of the Messiah under the New Covenant (Isaiah 43:6, Hosea 1:10).

That includes references to the nation of Israel which speak of them as being the children of God in purview of God’s redemptive promises (Deuteronomy 14:1 ).  In other words, just as sheep and bulls could not actually cleanse the sins of the people (Hebrews 10:4), yet were counted as if they had (Hebrews 9:13-14), so were the children of Israel counted as the children of God on behalf of the power that the promised Messiah would give to them.  Were they counted as the children of God?  Yes.  Were their sins considered cleansed?  Yes.  Was there anything that made those realities true in the day in which they were ascribed to the people?  No, that would come with Christ.  It was a truth of promise, but not of actuality as was illustrated by the need for Christ to come and give the Jews the power to become the sons of God thereafter.

Aside from that specific and national reckoning of promise, every other instance in which sons of God are spoken refer to the angelic host, be they holy or fallen (Psalms 82:6-7 ).  The point, therefore, is this: mankind is not counted as the children of God by reason of direct creation.

Now here is a crucial point to comprehend.

It was the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that enabled Him to give men “the power to become the sons of God” through the spiritual rebirth of redemption.

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: {13} Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  (John 1:12-13, KJV)

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”  (1 Peter 1:23, KJV)

Here we are given the Divine definition of a “son of God.”  A “son of God” is one who is “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” This fact alone reveals that men of natural birth are not sons of God until they are given the “power to become” what they were not by natural birth.  It takes a supernatural birth to qualify for such a designation.

It should not surprise us therefore, to discover that aside from the pre-incarnate presence of Jesus Christ (Daniel 3:25), the only human references to sons and daughters of God in the Old Testament are found in prophecies that foretell of the redemptive work of the Messiah under the New Covenant (Isaiah 43:6, Hosea 1:10).  Every other instance speaks of the angelic host, be they holy or fallen.

If the “sons of God” are not human, we must therefore conclude that these giants of old were fathered by the same “sons of God” who once “shouted for joy” when God laid the foundations of the earth at its creation (Job 38:4-7, KJV, NKJV, NASB, ESV), and is a reference to the fallen angels we now call demons.

THE MYSTERY OF PROCREATION

Opponents of the view that angels impregnated human women are thus forced to fall back upon the core logic behind their objection.  Many argue that angels have no gender (Galatians 3:28), and do not marry in heaven (Luke 20:34-36, Mark 12:25).  On this basis, they then argue that it is impossible for the fallen angelic host to marry and impregnate human women.  In other words, if God did not intend for angels to procreate, he would not have given them sperm by which they could impregnate anyone, be they angel or human.

In response, many who understand that the “sons of God” are in fact angels, attempt to argue in favor of gender.  They contest the idea that angels are genderless, and like to point to the fact that almost every time an angel manifests itself in human form, that form is masculine (the one possible exception being Zechariah 5:9).

However, the persuasiveness of either side of this argument is founded upon a humanistic presumption – that life results solely from the genetic transfer of reproductive organs, and that without them, no life can be produced.  Angels, however, do not need reproductive organs of either gender, in order to procreate.  The reason for this is simple, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6, KJV).  It takes a spirit to produce a spirit.  And the transfer of spirit does not require fleshly reproductive systems in order to be imparted as the life of another.

In the book of Genesis, we are taught that God’s creation of Adam was completed in two stages.  The first stage involved the creation of Adam’s body.  Instead of commanding Adam to exist from out of nothing, God first formed Adam’s flesh from the dust of the earth.  It may seem strange that a body of flesh was derived from the same chemical elements as rock and soil (such as: oxygen, nitrogen, calcium, water, etc.), nevertheless, this is something modern science has been able to test and examine, and as a result, has confirmed this scientific statement to be true.

While atheistic men do not contest that man’s body came from the natural elements of the earth, they cannot bear to accept the next claim – that life is not derived from the same chemical elements.  The living spirit of man has never been identified or catalogued showing it to be comprised of natural substances.  Nor shall it ever be, for a spirit is not natural to the elements of the earth, but is instead supernatural and comes from a Supernatural Creator.  It was God Himself who breathed life into the body He formed from the dust of the earth.  This is the second step God took to create Adam.  God’s “breath,” which is to say, His Spirit, became the life called Adam (Genesis 2:7).

How do we explain this?  How do we describe the spiritual means by which part of God became a being who was distinct and separate from the Being of God?  This Divine knowledge has not yet been revealed to the limited minds of men.  However, its fundamental principle stands as the foundation for procreation: life proceeds from life, and spirits beget spirits.

When men and women join together in sexual union, they too contribute a portion of themselves to form a new life after their own image.  And because a man is comprised of flesh, soul, and spirit, we find that it is flesh, soul, and spirit that they impart to their children.  If men and women only transferred their flesh to their children, and it was God alone who directly infused the flesh with His “breath” or Spirit, then all men and women would be called the sons and daughters of God.  But as we have seen, there is a distinction between sons “of men,” and sons “of God.” That distinction is defined by the origin of one’s soul and spirit.

With this truth in mind, consider the parent of Eve.  The parent of Eve was Adam.  God did not breath into a body to make Eve, He took Adam’s rib, containing Adam’s flesh and blood (in which was a remnant of his soul and spirit), and formed Eve.  Thus, Adam was created in the “likeness” or “glory” of God’s image, as a son of God, but Eve was fashioned after the “likeness” or “glory” of Adam, as a daughter of man.

“…Adam, which was the son of God.”  (Luke 3:38, KJV)

“..since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. {8} For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;” (1 Corinthians 11:7-8, NASB)

The fact that God makes this distinction of origin, or direct descent, between Adam and Eve reveals its significance.  There is a spiritual transfer in procreation that originates from one’s parents.

So we must ask, how did Eve receive her spirit from Adam?  Contrary to arguments that insist that reproductive organs are needed in order to transfer life, life was transferred to Eve without their help.  That spiritual transfer was made, at least in part, through human blood.

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood…”  (Leviticus 17:11, KJV)

While this transfer of life was accomplished supernaturally, it employed the same principles used in natural birth.  Is it really so difficult to understand, then, that fallen angels were able to impart a portion of their spirits into the blood of men?  If you are still struggling to embrace this idea, consider how the Messiah was formed, keeping in mind the supernatural union of angel and man spoken of in Genesis chapter six.

We are told that the Holy Spirit “came upon” a woman named Mary in such a way that she became pregnant with the Son of God, Jesus Christ (Luke 1:35).  So we must ask a question.  What needed to take place in order for this pregnancy to produce a being who was both a son of God, and a genuine son of man?  Our answer must be that the descended flesh, soul, and spirit of Adam would need to be offered by Mary, in her blood, and infused with the Spirit of God the Son.

No creation was necessary, only a supernatural transfer of Spirit that would be molded together with the descended spirit of Adam.  Thus, the virgin birth was not an act of creation, but of formation – a molding together of two spirits into one.  Scripture tells us that:

“..the LORD…formeth [yatsar] the spirit of man within him.” (Zechariah 12:1, KJV)

STRONGS EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE:

• FORMETH: 3335. yatsar, yaw-tsar’; prob. identical with H3334 (through the squeezing into shape); ([comp. H3331]), to mould into a form; espec. as a potter; fig. to determine (i.e. form a resolution):– X earthen, fashion, form, frame, make (-r), potter, purpose.

To form or fashion something is to take preexisting elements and mold them into shape.  For example, God created the earth void, and formless, but afterward, He formed its shape to be inhabitable.

“In the beginning God created [bara'] the heaven and the earth. {2} And the earth was without form, and void;….”  (Genesis 1:1-2, KJV)

“For thus saith the LORD that created [bara'] the heavens;… He formed [yatsar] it to be inhabited: …”  (Isaiah 45:18, KJV)

The Hebrew word bara’ is a primary root word which means “to create,” and can be qualified to speak of formative processes.  For example, God created all men, in that He created Adam from whom we have all descended through the process of procreation.

“…I have created [bara'] him for my glory, I have formed [yatsar] him; yea, I have made ['asah] him.”  (Isaiah 43:7 (KJV)

In saying that God created all men, must we imply that the reproduction of flesh is purely a supernatural event?  Does flesh supernaturally appear from out of nothing?  No, flesh is transferred from parent to child through natural processes.  And yet, this system of reproduction has been designed and empowered by the ordination of God, and thus qualifies as both a natural and supernatural event.  In this way, God can be said to be the Creator of the flesh and spirits of all men, and yet not be held accountable for validating the ungodly and unrighteous conception produced through rape, incest, or even depraved applications of science.

In fact, abuse of God’s created order is the hallmark of sin.  We should not be surprised to discover, then, that the system of reproduction can be abused and manipulated in ways contrary to God’s design, and without the direct participation of reproductive organs.  Gender is, after all, nothing more than a contrivance of the flesh that serves as a natural mechanism to impart the fleshly and spiritual image of two human beings.  As a mechanism, it can be bypassed either technologically or supernaturally.

This brings us back to our initial objection to the scriptures assertion that genderless, sperm-less, spirit beings fathered children with human women.  We can only speculate about the reproductive requirements a spirit would need to satisfy in order to beget life.  We need not assume, however, that the natural functions of fleshly systems would inhibit a spirit being who can manifest flesh at will, and supernaturally effect matter in ways that men cannot.  It did not hinder the creation of Eve, nor the Messiah produced from her descendant (Mary), both of whom were formed from preexisting elements and spirits, having received no created materiel.  This was, after all, the same means of virgin birth that the fallen angels used to bear children with their willing female hosts.  While the exact details of this process are up for debate, its success in procreation cannot be ignored on the basis of ones ignorance.

As a single cell is capable of dividing and multiplying into many cells, so are the spirits of men and angels capable of imparting or extending part of themselves to create life.  We must therefore accept that just as the Spirit of God “came upon” Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:35), so did the fallen spirits of angels “come in upon” (Genesis 6:4) willing human women, imparting life into their wombs.  The result was a new, and unauthorized, extension of both human and angelic life (Genesis 6:1-5).

THE SCOURGE AND THE MESSIAH

The Hebrew word translated as “giants” in the King James Version of the Bible, is the word nephiyl, also rendered nephil (both pronounced, nef-eel’) which means “a feller–in the sense of tall trees which have been felled by a lumberjack, and by implication, a morally fallen bully or tyrant; which together can mean a fallen giant.” These words come from the root naphal (naw-fal’), which simply means, “to fall.” Together they speak of “fallen-down-ones,” or depraved giants.  This is in part because these creatures were the offspring of beings that “fell from heaven” in more ways than one.

Scripture tells us that the fallen “sons of God” saw that the daughters of men were “fair” and took them for wives.  These unlawful unions gave birth to half-breeds who’s stature towered above pure born men.  These towering monstrosities became renowned among men for their size and great cruelty.

“…the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. … {4} There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”  (Genesis 6:2,4 KJV)

Most Bible versions give the impression that the demons were impressed by the beauty of human women, and lusted after them.  Beauty, however, was not what made the women desirable to these fallen angels.  The word fair is translated from the Greek word towb (tobe), and while it can be used to mean “beautiful,” its primary meaning is “good, or favorable.” For example, in the Garden of Eden, Eve “saw that the tree was good [towb] for food…and a tree to be desired to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6).  It was in this sense of the word that the demons saw that human women were “good” vessels and “desirable” for the purpose of extending themselves into the bloodlines of Adam.

By extending themselves into the bloodlines of mankind, the pure seed of Adam would eventually die off and be superseded by a transgenic race of half-breeds.  What purpose would that serve?  It would put an end to God’s plan of redemption through representation.  God promised to send the Messiah who would stand in Adam’s place, being flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bones.  Thus, the Messiah would have to be born of Adam’s seed, and not of a transgenic seed comprised of man and angel.

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. {15} Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.  {16} We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. {17} Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. ” (Hebrews 2:14-17, NLT)

The children of God, whom Jesus came to represent, had the flesh and blood of Adam, “For this reason He had to be made like his brothers in every way” for the purpose of representing them before God (Hebrews 2:17, NIV).  Thus if the flesh of men were corrupted, God’s promises to men would fail, in that any Messiah born from a physically transgenic parent would no longer be able to represent Adam.  It was for this reason that giants were born as a plague of transgenic flesh upon the earth, in whose blood flowed a spirit not wholly human.

Had these offspring been genuinely human, albeit degenerate humans, then the corruption would have been purely a moral problem.  If that were the case God could have responded by calling for repentance, just as He did during the remainder of the Old Testament.  However, with a world full of transgenic flesh, redemption was impossible (Christ could not represent them before God, just as He could not represent their angelic fathers).  So God judged this corruption with a total annihilation of land based life by releasing a global flood, sparing only Noah and his family.

Why was Noah spared over other men, and made the patriarch of all future families on earth?  We are told that God expanded His covenant with humanity under Noah for two reasons: “Noah was a (spiritually) just man and (physically) perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9, KJV, italic content added by author for clarity).  In God’s choice, He noted the spiritual and physical wholeness of Noah.  Consider why this was so.

We are told that Noah was a “just” man, which refers to his spirituality.  That was God’s first reason for selecting Noah. There were no other righteous men living as contemporaries of Noah and his family.  However, that was not the only reason he was chosen.  We are also told that Noah was “perfect in his generations” which refers to his physical descent.  The word “perfect” was translated from the Hebrew word tamiym (taw-meem’) which means “entire: as in without blemish, complete, full, without spot, undefiled.” Noah was physically whole in the descended “generations” of his humanity.  It was not Noah’s spiritual perfection that was passed down physically from generation to generation, but the undefiled wholeness of his humanity.  In a world filled with transgenic corruption, this was a qualifying feature of Noah and was duly noted alongside his righteousness as a reason for his divine appointment.

THE RETURN OF THE GIANTS

After the flood, God made a promise to Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with water (Genesis 9:11).  As time passed, the hearts of men drifted once again from the knowledge of God.  The fallen angelic host took advantage of this spiritual darkness, and of God’s promise not to flood the earth again, and reinstated their deception.  And so, for a second time, the Nephilim began to rise among men.

God responded by selecting Abram (whom God would later rename Abraham) to be the “father of all them who believe” through the righteousness of faith (Romans 4:11-13).  Thus, two “peculiar” peoples began multiplying on the earth, the Nephilim in the sense of being “strange or odd,” and the seed of Abraham in the sense that they would be “a peculiar treasure unto [God] above all people” (Exodus 19:5, KJV).

This second insurgence of transgenic flesh again began to spread on a global scale, with outbreaks occurring all over the world (as evidenced by modern archeology).  But in proximity to God’s chosen people the Nephilim were concentrated predominantly in the land of Canaan.  By the time Abram came to Canaan, the Nephilim were already known as “Rephaim” and “Emim” and had established themselves at Ashteroth Karnaim, and Shaveh Kiriathaim (Genesis 14:5).

In fact, as they spread in the land, they bore many tribal names in addition to Emim (ay-meem’ – Genesis 14:5; Deuteronomy 2:10-11), and Rephaim (re-fa’-im, from raw-faw’ – 2 Samuel 23:13; 1 Chronicles 14:9), for they were also known as Zamzummims (or zam-zome’ – Deuteronomy 2:20-21), and Anakims (an-aw-kee’ – Deuteronomy 2:10; Joshua 11:22, 14:15).

Scripture only provides us with a few descriptions of what these Nephilim looked like, but they are enough for us to understand that the Nephilim were not simply tribes of exceptionally lanky men.  For example, when Israel came to the borders of the land that God had promised to give them, Moses sent Caleb and a few other spies to scout out the land.  “And there we saw the giants,” one of the spies reported, “the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:26-33).

And prior to his becoming king, David found himself toe to toe with Goliath (gol-yath’ in Hebrew), an Egyptian giant.  Goliath was a fierce champion of the Philistines.  He towered over his opponents standing approximately 9 ½ feet tall (1 Samuel 17:4).  When David stood against him in the valley of Elah, Goliath was wearing a coat of bronze scale armor that weighed somewhere between 125-195 pounds (1 Samuel 17:5).  The iron tip of his spear alone weighed 15 pounds (1Samuel 17:7).

One of Goliath’s four brothers (1 Samuel 17 & 2 Samuel 21:15-22), Lahmi (lakh-mee’), stood approximately 7 ½ to 8 feet tall (1 Chronicles 11:23), and fought against Israel with a giant spear; the shaft of which “was like a weaver’s beam” (2 Samuel 21:19).  Another giant who stood against Israel “had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number” (2 Samuel 21:20). All three of these monstrosities were fought in Gath (2 Samuel 21:16-22), and were the descendants of the transgenic Rephaim.

So God set the sword of Israel against the peoples who partook of the Nephilim corruption.  In some cases the spiritual and fleshly corruption was so thoroughly spread in a nation or people that God commanded Israel to “utterly destroy” them, sparing no man, woman, child, or even beast in these corrupted dwelling places (1 Samuel 15:3).  Thus, all life touched by the corruption, be it human or animal, was destroyed–just as the flood had previously done in the days of Noah.

After these wars, artifacts and accounts of their history remained for years after the extermination of the Nephilim.  For example, a bed (or coffin) was found that belonged to a Rephaim king named Og.  It measured 13 feet long and 6 feet wide, and remained on display in the Ammonite town of Rabbah, possibly as late as 700 B.C.  (Deuteronomy 3:11, see also Deuteronomy 1:4; Joshua 9:10; 12:4; 13:12, 31).

It is interesting to note that Greek mythology was based upon similar accounts estimated to have occurred sometime around 1200 B.C..  However, these accounts were embellished over time and eventually degenerated into the popular myths of 500 B.C that we are familiar with today.  These are the myths that tell of the demigod, or Titans, who were said to be partly of celestial and partly of terrestrial origin.  It’s interesting to note that the word “Titan” comes from Shaitan, a Babylonian derivative of the Hebrew word Satan.  And in God’s word we are told that these half-breeds, or Titans, “became mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4).

Even today, the skeletal remains of Nephilim are still being discovered by archeology, although these findings are rarely published in the major media.  The sheer abundance of bones and artifacts being discovered all over the world reveals that the demonic realm had intended to repopulate the earth with transgenic flesh, even after the flood.  Naturally, many of these reported cases must be received with some reservation as to their authenticity, and not blindly accepted.  Men are apt to deceive and be deceived, which is not only the nature of man, but also of the fallen angels who spawned these ancient relics of the past.

THE ANGELS BEHIND THE SCOURGE

The fallen angels who participated in this sexual corruption were imprisoned until the Day of Judgment at the end of the world.

“And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, {7} just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these [fallen angels] indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”  (Jude 1:6-7, NASB, italicized content added for clarity by author)

“…God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; {5} and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;” (2 Peter 2:4-5, NASB)

These angels had left their domain to make a preemptive strike against any and all potential bloodlines of the coming Messiah.  Thus they were charged with engaging in reproductive sins that God considered akin to those committed by Sodom and Gomorrah, in that both those cities and the fallen angels went after “strange flesh.”

The word “strange” used in Jude 1:7 is translated from the Greek word heteros, which means “other” or “different.” We can easily recognize this word as the prefix for the word “heterosexual” which means “other, or relating to a different sex.” However, when used in reference to “flesh,” the meaning implies flesh “other” than what is natural, or lawful, for one’s gender to be joined to in sexual union.  Therefore, these passages reaffirm that fallen angels sinned like the homosexually dominant cities of Sodom and Gomorah, in that they “came in upon” flesh with which it was unlawful for them to engage in reproductive transfers of their spirits.

When the Messiah completed His work on the cross, He spent the next three days preaching to those spirits who were involved in the corruption intended to eliminate the possibility of His birth.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, (19) in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, (20) because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” (1 Peter 3:18-20, ESV)

Jesus was not preaching to everyone, just those spirits (fallen angels) who, in the days of Noah, made an attempt to eliminate His work of redemption.  To them Jesus preached the fullness of God’s plan and explained to what end their actions had brought them, and to what end Christ’s work would affect the world instead.

THE MODERN AGE

Despite the failure of their second attempt at world domination through the Nephilim, and the subsequent imprisonment of those angels who participated in the pre-emptive strike against Christ, the fallen gods who had impregnated humanity with corruption did not abandon their deception and it’s work against Christ.  Instead they matured and advanced it’s hold over the minds of men.  That which was alien to man continued to make a show of itself, and further its grip on the minds of mankind.  Pottery, paintings, texts, and tapestries throughout history all contain references to celestial beings that traverse the skies in strange flying machines.  Even today our culture is filled with sightings, abductions, and messages from extraterrestrial beings.  And these aliens continue to hint at their angelic origin as exhibited by their contact with humans through occult channeling, and their inexplicable obsession with Jesus Christ.  In fact, “aliens” frequently seek to discredit, or “enlighten” men about the “true nature” of Jesus.

These distinctly anti-Christ spirits have also set themselves to the task of equipping the governments of the world with the technology required for global rule.  When this technological power is coupled with sufficient “spiritual wisdom” to put and end to the perceived lies of the worlds most prominent religions, it will produce a very potent deception indeed.  After all, forbidden knowledge and power is an alluring proposition that humans have been vulnerable to since the Garden of Eden.

THE THRONE OF ZION

As altruistic as these offerings of power and knowledge appear in the eyes of fallen men, there is a sinister purpose for equipping humanity with technology, and for enlightening them with “revelations” about Jesus Christ and the future of mankind.  Satan intends to set up a technologically empowered global regime on the earth, and set his throne upon mount Zion in Israel.

“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:” (Isaiah 14:13, KJV)

Details of this global kingdom can be found in the books of Daniel and Revelation.  Consider, for a moment, a few of these prophetic revelations.

In the book of Daniel, God reveals the sequence of earthly kingdoms that would precede the Lord’s final kingdom, which would crush them all under Divine rule.  This sequence was first presented through a dream to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.  But its interpretation was given to the Lord’s prophet, Daniel (Daniel 2:31-44).

In this dream, king Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue.  Its head was made of gold.  Its chest and arms were made of silver.  From its belly to its thighs it was made of bronze.  And its legs were made of iron with feet that were a mixture of iron and clay.  Then, the king saw a large rock fly out of heaven and strike the toes of this statue breaking the entire image into pieces.  The rock then grew to the size of a mountain becoming both the proverbial “unmovable object” and “irresistible force” against which no other kingdom could stand.

Through Daniel, God interpreted this dream for the king.  The head of gold was the kingdom of king Nebuchadnezzar.  The kingdoms that would follow his reign would be inferior in terms of their glory, but increasingly greater in terms of their strength.  At the end of time, a final kingdom–the Kingdom of God–would come from heaven and crush the ten kings of the final human kingdom (represented by toes of iron and clay).  God’s kingdom would then last for eternity.

It’s this last kingdom of men, the one represented by feet and toes, prior to God’s Kingdom, that is of particular interest, for it will be in this kingdom that Satan fully manifests his alien deception.  Listen to God’s description of the final degenerate kingdom of “iron” and “clay.”

“And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. {42} And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. {43} And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.”  (Daniel 2:41-43, KJV)

In Satan’s first alien presence, fallen angels not only mingled with the seed of men, they clung to them in marriage and sexual union.  But in the end, “they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay” (Daniel 2:43, KJV).  The word “mingle” means “to join or take part with others,” but the word “cleave” means “to penetrate or pass through something,” being a reference to sexual union.  God first used this word in Genesis, saying, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24, KJV).  Instead of cleaving to mankind in sexual union as they have done in the past, the fallen gods of old will move to impress mankind with their strength and advanced knowledge.  Further support for this interpretation is found in another vision that God gave Daniel, which appears to reveal how aliens will come to rule over the earth alongside men.

FALLEN GODS OF THE ANTICHRIST

In the last two chapters of the book of Daniel, we are told that Satan will choose a man through whom he will dominate the world.  It will be through the “antichrist” spirit of this man that Satan will achieve his goal of ruling from Jerusalem “on the sides of the north” (Isaiah 14:13).  And it will be through this man, as the embodiment of the spirit of antichrist, that the alien deception will be brought to full fruition.  For this man of evil will introduce the world to his alien “gods.”

“Then the [Antichrist] king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath [of God] has been accomplished [against him]; for what has been determined [by God] shall be done. {37} He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. {38} But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. {39} Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.” (Daniel 11:36-39, NKJV, bracketed content added for clarity by author)

The Antichrist king will neither pay respect to, nor acknowledge the existence of, any ethereal spirit gods, and will specifically target Jehovah (God Almighty), with blasphemy.  Instead, he will acknowledge “a god of fortresses,” also translated as “the god of forces” (KJV).  The word translated as “fortresses” or “forces” is the Hebrew word ma’owz (variously pronounced: maw-oze’, ma’uwz, and maw-ooz’), which means “a fortified place” and speaks figuratively of “a defense or force, a fort (-ress), a rock, or strength in general.” This god of force or strength is a fitting reference to “the strength of the iron” used earlier in Daniel’s prophecy.

The god that the Antichrist introduces to the world will not be a single entity.  Instead, they shall be many, for Satan’s man of sin “shall cause them to rule over many.” They will be the alien gods of old, who once gave birth to the Nephilim.  They are the “iron” of the last kingdom.  However, the strength of their rule shall be mingled with the weakness of men, as iron mingled with clay.  And the last kingdom will be divided into ten regions, symbolized in Daniel’s vision as ten toes, ruled over by “alien” and human kings.

DEMONS UNMASKED

Lest we have any doubts as to the identity of these gods of technological and spiritual force, God tells us who they are, and what their disguise will look like.

During the reign of the Antichrist, Satan will be cast out of heaven permanently, never again being allowed to stand before God and accuse His saints.  Satan will then know that his kingdom on earth will soon be confronted by the wrath of Jesus Christ.

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. …{12} Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” (Revelation 12:10-12, KJV)

With Christ’s arrival immanent, the Antichrist, now fully possessed by the Dragon (Satan) will send three of his “alien gods” to convince the human kings of the world to go to war against Christ when He arrives.  They will impress and deceive the human kings with “miraculous signs” aimed at giving false impressions of the reality they are being called to face in war against the returning Messiah.  While we are not told what the motivation will be for warring against Jesus, or who they think they will be fighting against, it’s possible that they will be told they are rising up against a rogue alien, or aliens, who are responsible for instigating the Christian myth, having willfully passed themselves off as gods and even the Christ figure in times past.  Regardless of their understanding and motivation for war, the three alien ambassadors sent to call the kings of earth to war “gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon (Revelation 16:16, NKJV).  There, the combined power of iron and clay, of alien and human forces, will stand against Christ at His second advent.

Now listen to the description of these three alien ambassadors:

“Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. {14} They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.”  (Revelation 16:13-14, NIV)

The evil trinity of the last empire, Satan (symbolized as the Dragon), the Antichrist (symbolized as the beast), and the False Prophet (the Antichrist’s primary human spokesperson), together send out three demons, whose features resemble the features of frogs, to call the kings of men to war against a returning Christ.

Think about this for a moment.  The Antichrist will have denied the existence of all ethereal spirits, exalting himself and physical aliens above all else, and yet it will be he who sends these “evil spirits,” the “spirits of demons,” to convince the world to go to war.  What human ruler of earth will listen to a band of demons, and heed their call to war unless those demons first be hidden behind a guise?  Are these not the “gods of forces” whom the Antichrist set as rulers over his kingdom?  Is the disguise of these evil spirits not the frog-like appearance commonly associated with modern depictions of aliens?  To what else in the ancient world, during which this prophecy was penned, would one compare the large black eyes, and small nose slits, commonly reported to be the appearance of gray aliens? Even today, people use the features of frogs to describe the appearance of the “aliens” they encountered.

In that day, the alien deception will have come to its full fruition in the minds of men.  The kings of earth will heed the call to war, even though the call was issued by demons, because those evil spirits will be hiding behind the guise of something globally embraced by deceived men.  The Antichrist is called the “Great Dragon” because the Great Dragon of the Garden of Eden (the Serpent) was used as a front for Satan, therefore, just as the Great Serpent or Dragon was used to bring the first deception to mankind, so shall aliens be Satan’s final front through which his global deception is issued.  And so history will repeat itself one last time.

WHEN THE OLD BECOMES NEW AGAIN

While this will all be new to the modern world, the old world was more than familiar with these beings.  For example, many nations worshiped Baal, who Jesus identified as Satan (Matthew10:25, Mark 3:22, Luke 11:15).  Baal was known to be a lord of war, and of the sky.  Many titles were given to Baal by adding endings to his name. Two examples found in scripture are Baal-bamoth, “Lord of the high places,” and Baal-zebub, “Lord of those who fly, or flit.” In fact, the extension “zebub” is a Hebrew verb which means, “to flit from place to place,” not unlike the quick and angular movements commonly witnessed in UFO’s.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul tells us that, “…we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere” (Ephesians 6:12, italicized content added by AMP Bible).  Hence Satan is called the “ruler of the kingdom of the air,” and “the prince of the aerial host” (Ephesians 2:2, NIV).  The skies are the realm in which Satan has chosen to deceive the world.  King David recognized this fully when he wrote:

“For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD?  Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD?” (Psalms 89:6, NASB)

The fallen “sons of the mighty” God made a show of themselves in the skies even in the days of king David, but their technological wonder could not be compared with the wonder of the Lord.

And of the fearful day of Armageddon when God descends to meet the combined forces of alien “gods” and men, Jeremiah wrote:

“But the LORD is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting king: at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation. {11} Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.”  (Jeremiah 10:10-11, KJV)

The alien gods introduced by the Antichrist will be powerful and bring fear to the hearts of men, but “even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” Thus, God wrote though the prophet Isaiah:

“The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall, and not rise again. {21} It shall come to pass in that day that the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth. {22} They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; after many days they will be punished.”  (Isaiah 24:20-22, NKJV)

In that day, the earth will wobble on its axis as a drunkard, and its foundations will be unstable.  Some speculate that this will have been the result of the abuses of super technology used to dominate the world and bring it under submission.  The scriptures seem to connect this instability with the darkened knowledge of alien technology.  Though advanced, its effect on the earth will reflect the unstable knowledge of its creators, the fallen angelic host.

“They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. {6} I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. {7} But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. {8} Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.”  (Psalms 82:5-8, KJV)

When the foundations of the earth are “out of course” (KJV), which is to say, when the “foundations of the earth are shaken” (NIV), then “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut” (Isaiah 24:20, KJV).  What is said to cause this?  It’s the fruit of ignorance, of spiritual “darkness,” that causes it.  All the advanced knowledge of the wicked, both angelic and human, will fall before God, having been revealed as a darkness of understanding.  Its affect upon the earth will be disastrous.  For by “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22, KJV).  Men will boast in the knowledge Satan brings them, but in the end all will know that it was nothing but the foolishness of rebellion and deception.

Though mighty and powerful, these alien gods (demons in crafted fleshly bodies) “shall die like men” (Romans 8:7) by the hand of God’s judgment.  They shall be bound in hell until the Day of Judgment delivers them over to the second death of the eternal lake of fire.

Therefore, let us not deceive our minds with doctrines of alien redemption, or any other displayed ignorance of Divine revelation.  Let us not buy into the lies of Satan.  Let us not strain against the clear teaching of the word, nor imagine alternative gospels by which creation can approach God.  Especially when such gospels are “alien” to the word of God, and void of scriptural substantiation.

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1, NIV)

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! {9} As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”  (Galatians 1:8-9, NIV)

WHERE DO PEOPLE GO WHEN THEY DIE? Do they cease to exist?  Do they sleep in a state of unconsciousness?  Do they go to Heaven?  Do they wait in Paradise or Hell until their appointed time for judgment?  Is there an intermediate state and a final state of the dead?  What does the Bible say?

In this study we will take a comprehensive look at what we can expect after death.  Rather than merely pitting one argument against another, we’ll endeavor to discover the truth about our eternal destination from God’s stated purpose for death and the abode of the dead.

STUDY SYNOPSIS:

In this study, we begin by looking at the account that Jesus gave of two men who died.  One was a godly man named Lazarus, and the other was an ungodly rich man who knew him.  Upon their death, both were buried, but their spirits were carried to Sheol by angels.

Sheol is identified in scripture as the temporal realm of the dead.  The Greek name for Sheol is Hades.  It’s located deep within the earth and is divided into two compartments that are separated from one another by a great chasm.  The upper compartment is a kingdom known as Paradise, while the lower compartment contains the prisons known simply as Hell.

Both compartments in Sheol/Hades are temporary.  They exist as an interim between our life on earth and our appointed time to stand before God and give an account of all that we have done, thought, and said.  During our stay in Sheol/Hades we will not be able to observe the living.  We will not know what God is doing among the living or what men are doing in response.  Instead, we will know our reward, be it peace or torment.

When Jesus returns for His church, Paradise will be emptied, and the dead saints will be resurrected to life, never to die again.  Then both the resurrected dead and those who remained alive, will be caught up together to Christ’s side.  The earth will be put under Christ’s rule for one thousand years in accordance with God’s promises.  After this, Hell will be emptied and its dead will stand before God to give account.  Their final judgment will be worse than what they experienced in the prisons of Hell, for all who are not found to be written in the book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire for eternity, never to be freed.

• Was Jesus’ account of Sheol a parable?
• Do we lay unconscious in our grave after death?
• Can the dead contact us, or can we contact them?
• Do the dead watch over us, and can they see what’s happening amongst the living?
• When Jesus died on the cross, where did He go for three days?
• Why was Jesus dead for three days, and what is the Sign of Jonah?
• Why do the dead have to wait for Christ and the resurrection?
• Are Enoch and Elijah already in Heaven?
• What is Jesus waiting for, and why is it taking so long?
• What does the Bible say about the Second Coming of Christ?

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ACCORDING TO JESUS:

No one spoke more about the fate of men than Jesus.  This is because Jesus had eternity in view at all times.  He was acutely aware of the significance and purpose of our tenure upon the earth.  But few comprehend the reality in which they live, so Jesus enlightened men about the difference between mere existence, and the infinite fullness of God’s eternal life.  He did this by contrasting life and death; the love of God and the wrath of God; theosis and exile; Heaven and Hell.

We do not exist in autonomy, but in subordination to our Creator.  Thus our existence is already defined.  We have a created purpose.  A single purpose.  And that purpose is in God.  And in light of this purpose, we experience freedom of choice only so much as we are free to accept the grace of God’s purpose for our life, or oppose it.  We have this mortal life to decide our answer and our fate, but after death, our fate is sealed.  The judgment of God, for glory or wrath, is final and cannot be overturned.

In fact, it was this finality of judgment that was in view when Jesus recounted the story of Lazarus and the rich man in the realm of the dead.  His account is more detailed and revealing than any other description of the temporal abode of the dead recorded in scripture.  It’s revelation is so sobering that many have attempted to divorce the details of His teaching from reality by suggesting that He was telling a parable rather than testifying of actual fact.  There is great irony in this attempt to lessen the impact of His words by calling them a parable when you consider the definition of a parable.

PARABLES:

A parable is a story that coincides with the truth in order to illustrate through comparison.  The English word parable is a transliteration of the Greek word parabole. It’s a derivative of paraballo, which comes from two Greek words para and ballo. Para means “alongside or by the side of” something.  And ballo means “to place, or lay down beside” something.  Therefore a parable lays down a true-to-life story alongside reality.  The parable parallels reality like the second rail of a railroad track.  They do not deviate from one another but remain forever in tandem so as to keep from derailing the message.  Thus the truth of the message rests equally upon the parable and reality, which is to say, what is true in the parable is true in life.

Naturally, if a parable is not properly identified, it can easily be mistaken for a testimony about real people.  Therefore, true parables never give proper names to the people in their illustrations.  This, then, is one of the primary identifiers that separates a parable from a testimony.  Whereas a parable allows for the identities of the characters involved to be attributed to the listener and their circumstances for the purpose of teaching a lesson, a testimony bears record of fact and history.  Thus, as soon as proper names are given, and or historical figures involved, a story can no longer be called a parable, for it bears witness to a real event.

So when Jesus spoke of a conversation between Abraham, a poor man named Lazurus, and an unnamed rich man after they had all died, it cannot be said to be a parable.  It must be understood to be a real conversation that Jesus witnessed in His preincarnate state (which is to say, something God the Son witnessed prior to being born in Adam’s flesh as Jesus Christ).  After all, to claim that Abraham said something that he did not say is to bear false witness.  Jesus does not bear false witness.

So listen to what Jesus testifies about Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man, and their state of consciousness in the realm of the dead.

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. {20} “And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, {21} and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. {22} “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. {23} “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. {24} “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’  {25} “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. {26} ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’  {27} “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house – {28} for I have five brothers – in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’  {29} “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ {30} “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ {31} “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31, NASB)

JESUS’ TESTIMONY:

Historically, Jesus spoke of this conversation prior to His crucifixion.  Thus, for the sake of argument, whatever we extrapolate from this passage will be recognized as being true exclusively of Old Testament saints until we can establish what, if anything, changed as a result of Jesus’ resurrection.

So what can we learn from this teaching?

BEYOND THE GRAVE:

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word used to described the realm of the dead is “Sheol.” It simply means the “place of the dead” or the “place of departed spirits.” In the New Testament, the Greek word that is used for the place of the dead is “Hades.”

Unfortunately, Sheol and Hades are translated into several different words in most English Bibles, and that has led to much confusion in the church.  For example, in the New Testament, the Greek word Hades is sometimes translated as grave.  This has led some to believe that, upon death, we rest in our graves, unconscious and unaware of our state of being.

However, Jesus expressly contrasts the grave with Hades in His account, stating that the rich man died and was buried, but that his spirit did not remain in the grave, but went down to Hades.  Lazarus, too went to Hades, only he was carried by angels to Abraham’s side.  So we see that there are two vastly different compartments in Sheol/Hades; a place of torment, and a place of paradise and comfort.

Jesus’ testimony is confirmed elsewhere in scripture.  For Abraham was not left in a grave, but was gathered to his people just as Lazarus was.

“Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.” (Genesis 25:8, NIV)

When it says that Abraham was gathered, we must ask, “by whom,” and “from where to where?” Scripture teaches that God sends his angels to gather both the wicked and the saints to their appointed judgments (Matthew 13:41; 24:31).  That agrees with Jesus testimony about Lazarus being gathered by the angels.

And with regard to “where” people are gathered, it’s quite clear that men are gathered to a place beyond the grave.  We know this because Abraham’s grave did not contain his people.  Because Moses and Aaron were also both “gathered unto their people,” and neither of them were buried in the same cemetery (Numbers 20:23-29; 27:12-14; Deuteronomy 32:48-52).

This distinction between the grave and Sheol/Hades is also seen in the account of Joseph, son of Jacob.  Joseph’s brothers conspired against him and sold him into slavery which eventually landed him in Egypt.  However, the wicked brothers who did this told their father, Jacob, that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal and eaten (Genesis 37:26-36).  They then produced Joseph’s torn coat, which they had stained with animal blood, as evidence.  Jacob was inconsolable.

“All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “in mourning will I go down to the grave to my son.” So his father wept for him.” (Genesis 37:35, NIV)

Jacob was not intending to be buried in the same grave as his son Joseph because he believed Joseph had no grave, having been devoured by a wild animal.  In fact, Jacob never spoke of going down to a grave, but to Sheol, the place of the dead.  The New American Standard Bible (NASB) renders the verse properly restoring logic to Jacobs statement:

“Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. (Genesis 37:35, NASB).

So men are gathered by angels to one of two compartments in Sheol/Hades.  In Jesus account, we learn that the rich man was taken to the lower part of Sheol/Hades, a place of torment.  We know it was in the lower realms of Hades because he was said to have looked upwards in order to see Abraham and Lazarus in the paradise of the upper compartment of Hades.

The upper and lower compartments of Sheol/Hades are further separated by a great chasm.  It is this chasm that completely cuts off the wicked from the righteous so that none may cross from one side to the other.  Jesus spoke of this chasm a second time when warning the people to “strive to enter the straight gate” of God’s Kingdom.  In death, many people will find themselves in torment, and when they look up they will see God’s saints in the comfort of Paradise.  It will be then that they realize that they are cut off from God’s kingdom by the great chasm, but it will be too late.

“There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” (Luke 13:28, KJV)

This statement was not a figurative warning, but reference to a reality already experienced by the rich man who, in his weeping and gnashing of teeth, looked up and saw Abraham in the kingdom of God.  Truly, Paradise can be seen from the prisons of Hell, and woe to those who find themselves cut off from the reward of God.

DEAD RISING:

The rich man knew he could not leave his punishment.  But what about those in Paradise?  The saints were not in prison, perhaps they would be free to rise from the dead for a good cause.  So he pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus to his family.  His family would recognize Lazarus, and would listen to his warning and repent.  Abraham’s response was puzzling and questionable.

“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ {30} “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ {31} “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:29-31, NASB)

This answer gives the impression that Abraham, and God by proxy, believed that raising the righteous from the dead as witnesses is a useless endeavor and therefore not part of God’s plan.  However, we know from scripture that this simply isn’t true.  People were raised from the dead in both the Old and New Testaments.

In fact, the dead have been raised for the express purpose of witness.  Take for example, the account of Christ’s death on the cross:

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.  {51} At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. {52} The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. {53} They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.  (Matthew 27:50-53, NIV)

So why then did Abraham suggest that this could not be done for the rich man’s family?  I believe his statement hinges upon one simple truth – repentance unto salvation is a work of God, not circumstances and preaching.

Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” {29} Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”  (John 6:28-29, NASB)

For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.  (Philippians 2:13, NASB)

For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” {16} So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.  (Romans 9:15-16, ESV)

With this revelation in view, we turn again to the rich man’s request.  Could Abraham do as he requested?

“What man can live and not see death?  Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?  Selah.” (Psalm 89:48, NASB)

Neither Abraham nor Lazarus could rise from the dead by the power of their own will.  They would have to be sent by God.  But even if they could rise from the dead at will, and go and preach to men upon the earth, would it have any effect?  Jesus answered this question when He said:

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.  (John 6:44, NASB)

Men may be astounded at the rising of the dead.  They may attempt to change their lives as a result of such an encounter.  And, yes, they may even repent.  But unless it is by the Lord’s working, it will all come to nothing.

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.  (2 Corinthians 7:10, NASB)

God must grant “the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18, NASB).  It is not something that man can generate on his own.  Here’s why:

For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.  (Romans 7:5, NASB)

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  (1 Corinthians 15:56, KJV)

When a man is confronted by the word of God, he will be convicted of sin.  And even if he is sorry and tries to keep the law of God, it will only stir up more sin within him.  Because sin only gets worse when you introduce it to the law.  The more laws a man is given, the more laws he will inevitably break.  And the more he tries to obey, the more he will fail and come under greater and greater judgment.  That is why “the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10, NASB).  Therefore it must be God Himself who not only gives men the will to repent, but the power to obey.

So then, apart from God’s mercy, and the power of the Holy Spirit, not even a man risen from the dead would be enough to effect Godly repentance unto salvation.  It was for this reason that Abraham contrasted the effectual power of the risen dead verses the effectual power of God’s word.  Sending Lazarus by the will of man would accomplish nothing outside of God’s will.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2…

The Nature of Clean and Unclean Meat Today

THOSE WHO OBSERVE the dietary laws of the Old Testament do so from a strong desire to please God.  In fact, the same is true of those who intentionally refrain from observing those laws.  It’s the conviction we hold to remain faithful to the heart of God that stands behind our actions.  Those of us who hold strong opinions on this subject matter would rather please God than dismiss the significance of His instructions as quickly as some of our peers.

Nevertheless, I have noted that in most discussions about meat, there is more presumption at work than actual knowledge.  Many who advocate the observance of clean and unclean meats often presume that God’s purpose in this distinction was given for health reasons, and impute this notion into every verse they find.  And many who feel the laws governing clean and unclean meats no longer apply under the New Covenant often do so because they categorically dismiss all laws from the Old Covenant.  While this is not true of everyone, it is true of enough people for us to realize that we need to do more than observe or dismiss the law of God based on presumption.  We need to discover the Spirit behind the law, and stand on the spiritual truth that God’s laws stand upon.

God defines every symbol He uses in scripture.  While men may postulate and speculate on the meaning of words, their true meaning is defined by how they are used.  Thus, the significance behind the symbol is found in how God uses the symbol in His word.  There is a spiritual truth behind God’s introduction of meat, and the laws pertaining to it.  So whether we are speaking of the flesh of animals or the flesh of Christ in communion, we must define their significance as God defines it.

STUDY SYNOPSIS:

Meat was just one of many items that served as a token or sign of the distinctiveness of God’s people as a people set apart and distinct from the world.  Meat was usually at the forefront of public attention due to it’s role in covenant sacrifice.

In the days before meat was permissible to eat, clean meat represented the Messiah and His distinction from other men.  Clean meat was later expanded to represent the Messiah’s covenant people.  Likewise, unclean meat pictured the Gentiles who were outside of covenant and unholy in the sight of God.

Therefore “uncleanness” is a spiritual designation, and not a physical one.  As such, there is no such thing as something that is “unclean” in and of itself.  In fact, the apostle Paul explained to the church in Rome that he was persuaded of this fact by the Lord Jesus Christ who had taught that “uncleanness” was unrelated to physical properties, being connected instead to spiritual realities.  The healthiness of meat neither made a meat clean or unclean.  Proof of this fact can be seen in the law itself.  However, before one becomes consumed with the laws governing clean and unclean meat, we must remember one incredibly important fact – the law changed.

We must not forget that these symbolic distinctions pictured the spiritual economy under the Levitical priesthood.  When the levitical priesthood was legally replaced by the Melchizedek Priesthood of Christ, the laws legally changed as well.  This is truly the crux of the matter.  There was a change in both the priesthood and the law that occurred with the Advent of Christ.  When you understand the significance of this change in the law, you will understand God’s will concerning clean and unclean meats today.  What was once a command set forth for men to observe is now an insult and offense to God when we ignore the change of Christ’s priesthood and how it affected the symbol of meat.  We are bound by covenant to honor these changes today!

So now that the law has changed, and ceremonial symbolism has been replaced with the truth it represented, how are we to understand the nature of terms like “clean” and “unclean” as they exist today?  The distinction between things that are clean and unclean is now to be understood by the cleansing power of Christ’s atonement, and its application to both men and material through the blessing of prayer and thanksgiving.  We understand that this cleansing is applied through faith.

Nevertheless, we also note that if something can be cleansed, it can also be left unclean.  In other words, if a man’s conscience refuses to embrace the truth, and clings to a past reality, then what that man calls unclean remains unclean to him by reason of conscience.  Therefore, if your conscience will not permit you to either marry or eat on account of uncleanness, then that becomes a law unto you of your own creation.  It is not a law to you because God made it to be, but because you have made it to be.

Let our consciences be conformed to the truth, and not ignorance, so that we may honor God in all things.

[CLICK FOR A QUICK ANSWER]

• How clean and unclean meat was understood before men were even allowed to eat meat.
• What is the significance of meat?
• Why was meat governed by law?
• Why was there a change in the priesthood?
• How can an immutable law of God change?
• What the law says regarding the physical properties of meat.
• How the Melchizedek priesthood of Christ governs meat under the NT.
• What you are preaching by eating or abstaining from certain meats.

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CLEAN AND UNCLEAN MEATS

When we speak of clean and unclean meat, it is natural for our minds to instantly jump to the laws found in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.  However, the first mention of this distinction is actually found in Genesis.

“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. {2} Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.” (Genesis 7:1-2, KJV)

There are two important points to consider from this verse.

First, when the distinction between clean and unclean animals was made known to men, it was revealed in a day when covenant law limited men’s diet to that of vegetation.  Under the Edenic Covenant, “…God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat” (Genesis 1:29, KJV).  God did not add meat to men’s diet until after the global flood of Noah’s day.  This passage in Genesis, however, takes place prior to that flood.  Thus, we must seek to understand what the primary significance of this law was to mankind in a day when men did not eat meat.  What did this law mean to Noah?

Second, God did not explain what he meant by “clean” and “unclean” when He gave His commandment to Noah because Noah already understood the purpose behind the distinction.  But many generations later, in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, God gave extremely detailed explanations to the people concerning how to properly distinguish between that which is clean, and that which is unclean.  It was not assumed that they understood the difference apart from the explanation.  What did Noah know that was forgotten so many generations later?

The first question is answered by what Noah did with some of the clean animals he gathered for the Lord.

“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”  (Genesis 8:20, NKJV)

Noah’s actions reveal that the primary purpose for this distinction was to teach men about sanctification and holiness as it related to God’s purposes in atonement.  For example, something that is sanctified is designated as pure and set apart for the purposes of God.  And something that is holy is consecrated or dedicated to the Lord.  Noah understood that clean animals were assigned this designation for the purposes of atonement and its sacrifice.

This knowledge had been passed on for ten generations, from Adam to Noah.  Clearly, God’s instructions to Adam and Eve contained more revelation than what was recorded in scripture. After all, we are told that Able offered an animal sacrifice by faith, revealing that he had been given revelation not previously recorded in scripture.  And so this information was passed from generation to generation between Adam and Noah without interruption.

However, when God’s people became enslaved in Egypt, this knowledge was forgotten and replaced with the customs of those they were forced to serve.  This answers our second question concerning why Noah did not need the explanation that God later gave through Moses, as recorded in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.  Moses was addressing a people who were born under the laws of Egypt.  And so when God delivered them from slavery under the leadership of Moses, God’s sacrificial distinctions between that which was clean and unclean had to be reintroduced, and the ways of Egypt purged from the people.

It’s important, therefore, to pursue the spiritual significance of sanctification and holiness as taught by the sacrificial system, and understand how it made the transition from animal sacrifice to the cross of Christ.

BE YE HOLY AND SEPARATE

We know from the revelation of the New Testament that God instituted animal sacrifice to symbolically prefigure the sacrifice of Christ.  The sacrificial system, and its ceremonial laws, were intended to “foreshadow” the holiness and sanctification of Christ as a Lamb; a Lamb who was pure and set apart for the purposes of atonement (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 8:5, 10:1).  In the beginning, this foreshadow of Christ’s sanctification and holiness applied only to meat.  But under Moses, God expanded this principal of distinction and separation (between the clean and unclean) to be applicable to the nations that had formed after the days of Noah.

God covenanted with Abraham to form a nation from his descendants.  They would be a unique people, separated from other nations, and sanctified for the Lord’s purposes.  And so when they were delivered from Egypt, this spiritual distinction between things “clean” and “unclean” was reintroduced through ceremonial law.

“For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. {45} For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. {46} This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: {47} To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.”  (Leviticus 11:44-47, KJV)

This distinction was not a natural one, but was a difference that had to be made by law.  It’s purpose was memorial.  It reminded the people that God wanted them separated, which is to say, sanctified and set apart from the unholy nations around them.

“But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. {25} Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.  {26} And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.” (Leviticus 20:24-26, KJV, emphasis mine)

In this passage God clearly establishes His motive for “making a difference” in the law between the flesh of animals.  The flesh of the beasts symbolized men and women before God.  The clean beasts represented God’s people, whereas the unclean represented the Gentiles.  So God decreed that because He had separated the Jews from the Gentiles, this separation was to be symbolized in the animal kingdom for the purpose of remembrance.

However, this holy distinction was not limited to flesh of beasts, but extended into all areas of daily life as an ever-present reminder of sanctification.  While we may wax eloquent on the virtues of abstaining from meats today on the basis of health concerns, we must remember that this law was in no way limited to meat.  For example, if we believe that we must hold to this distinction as it applies to meat today, we must also decry the planting of two different kinds of seeds in a field, we must not breed two different types of cattle, or mix two types of thread in a cloth (Leviticus 19:19).  After all, these laws were all introduced by the same principle of separation that governed meats.

Meat was just one of many items that served as a token or sign of the Jew’s distinctiveness as a Covenant people.  And yet, meat was at the forefront of public attention due to it’s role in covenant sacrifice.

In the days before meat was permissible to eat, clean meat represented the Messiah and His distinction from other men.  Clean meat was later expanded to represent the Messiah’s covenant people.  Likewise, unclean meat pictured the Gentiles who were outside of covenant and unholy in the sight of God.

That being true, we must not forget that these symbolic distinctions pictured the spiritual economy under the Levitical priesthood, not under the Melchizedek Priesthood of Christ.  There was a change in both the priesthood and the law that occurred with the Advent of Christ.  We are bound by covenant to honor these changes today!

COVENANT LAW:

The Laws of Moses can be generally divided into two categories: the Moral Law and the Ceremonial Law.  Together, these two areas of the law stood as the Old Testament version of the Gospel message before the Advent of Christ.

MORAL LAW:

The moral law was, and is today, the embodiment of two great principles: 1) our love towards God, and 2) our love towards one another.  When a lawyer asked,

“Teacher, what is the most important commandment in the Law?” {37} Jesus answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. {38} This is the first and most important commandment. {39} The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” {40} All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40, CEV)

The moral law of Moses helped God’s people to understand, at least in part, how they were to love God and their neighbors.  It revealed God’s moral standards to which men were held accountable.

CEREMONIAL LAW:

The Ceremonial or Provisional Law was added because of the transgression of the Moral Law.  Its laws illustrated the principles of atonement and redemption.  They consisted of ordinances, ceremonies, and sacrifices, all of which typified the mysteries contained in the plan of redemption.

For reasons we will examine shortly, the power and authority of the ceremonial law was canceled when Christ became High Priest and made an atonement for sin on the cross.  Thus, the apostle Paul explained this canceling of the law to the Gentile believers, saying:

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, {14} having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. {15} And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. {16} Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. {17} These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:13-17, NIV)

Under Moses, the law stood against the Gentiles.  The law opposed them through its circumcision, meats, and other such observances.  But then the Old Covenant under Moses met the New Covenant under Christ.  The Law met The Holy Spirit.  The type met its antitype; the shadow was transcended by the substance, the example was replaced by the reality, and the ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary redefined the ministry of priests in the earthly sanctuary.

“This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.  {10} They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. {11} When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.” (Hebrews 9:8-11, NIV)

The moral and ceremonial law are now understood in the Spirit, apart from the letter of the law.  Their exercise and application under Christ no longer conforms to the examples of the Old Covenant, but are now experienced as the realities of the Holy Spirit.

LAW OF THE SPIRIT:

So what does this mean?  Does it mean that the moral law of the Ten Commandments has been set aside with all the ceremonial laws of the Levitical priesthood?  Yes and no.  The letter of the law was limited in its ability to convey the holy nature of God.  Thus it only gave glimpses of God’s nature to those who observed it.  But the time came when the very nature of God was to be given to men so that they would no longer look to the letter of law, but to the Spirit of the law, for instruction on how to walk and live in the eternal life of God.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. {4} Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”  (2 Peter 1:3-4, KJV)

“For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. {21} But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.”  (Romans 3:20-21, NLT)

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. {18} I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.”  (Matthew 5:17-18, NLT)

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”  (John 16:13, NKJV)

Jesus came to set us free from the letter of the law, by giving us the Spirit of the Law.  “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:2, NASB).  Tragically, many believers are carnal, and do not have ears to hear what Christ is teaching.  And so they interpret His words by the letter of the Old Law instead of by the revelation of the Spirit of the Law.

This has been the error of religious men since Christ’s First Advent.  There, at the beginning of God’s New Covenant with man, the rabbinical teachers of God’s word could not comprehend Christ’s illumination of the law. His revelation of the law’s full meaning transcended what the letter seemed to allow.  They did not realize that the paradigm, or pattern, of canonical interpretation was being replaced, and that the Messiah alone held the key to its interpretation.

By Divine edict, Jesus withheld this key from most people, until their flesh had been fully revealed as the enemy of the Messiah.  Only then would the transgression of the flesh reveal its true nature; only when the flesh of men had reached out and struck God in brutality could men see the depth of its depravity.  “Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” (Matthew 18:7, NKJV).  Only after the Messiah was glorified would the key to understanding the law be poured out upon men.  The Holy Spirit is that key.

Before that day of outpouring came, Jesus regularly confounded even the wisest of men as He lived by the full intent of the law, yet free from the condemnation of law.  Though the masses did not yet have ears capable of hearing, Jesus taught them that there was more to the law than what the letter revealed.  Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in a sermon recorded in Matthew chapter 5, verses 18-48.

There, on a mountainside, Jesus taught that the Mosaic Law must be interpreted according to the intent of the Spirit, and not only by the common understanding of the letter.

“For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. {19} Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. {20} For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  (Matthew 5:18-20, ESV)

When we lean on our own wisdom, the logic of our flesh will relax the spiritual implications of the law to satisfy our carnal desires.  If this is done, our righteousness will not exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees.  And if we insist upon interpreting scripture in this manner, we, like the Pharisees, will be denied access to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Approaching the law in the righteousness of the Spirit, as Christ did, is a pursuit of eternal importance.

To illustrate the difference between the letter and the Spirit, Jesus revealed the full nature of several commonly “understood” laws.  This sermon was recorded in Matthew 5:21-48.  What does a completed law look like in contrast to an incomplete law?  Jesus provided several examples:

• “You have heard it said” under the Mosaic Law that you are guilty of murder when you physically kill someone apart from self-defense and the authority of judicial government.  “But I say unto you” that if you do nothing more than harbor hatred toward someone in your heart, you become guilty of murder.

• “You have heard it said” under the Mosaic Law that a married man or woman is guilty of adultery when they have sex with someone other than their spouse.  “But I say unto you” that any spouse who lusts in their heart after one to whom they are not married is guilty of adultery.

• “You have heard it said” under the Mosaic Law that we are not to break our oaths (commit perjury).  “But I say unto you” that if your word is true, as it must be, there is no need to swear by anything in order to indicate one’s genuineness in word.  Your “yes” must mean yes, and your “no” must mean no.  Your every word is your oath.

• “You have heard it said” under the Mosaic Law that all crimes against your person must be punished in kind – an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. “But I say unto you” that a man must endure the wrongs done against him without retribution. “Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work” (Proverbs 24:29, KJV).  This commandment in no way nullifies the judgment of law, but instead forbids men from using the law to seek personal revenge.  For there is a fine line between the righteous judgment of law, and personal revenge.  Even the Mosaic Law made this distinction: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18, NIV).

• “You have heard it said” under the Mosaic Law that we are to love our neighbor as our self (Leviticus 19:18).  “But I say unto you” that we are not only to love our neighbor, but our enemies as well.

In no way did Jesus change the law.  Instead, He revealed its full intent. He revealed that the law was far deeper in its application than what men had assumed from the letter of the law.  “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine: {29} For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29, KJV).

Jesus’ authority came from the Holy Spirit.  Jesus never reasoned from the limitations of His human nature.  This set Him apart from the Scribes and teachers of the law.  While they reasoned from their own wisdom, Jesus preached authoritatively according to what the Holy Spirit revealed to Him.  In this way, Jesus was able to obey the full intent of the law without error. Thus, by the leading of the Spirit, Jesus was perfect in His tenure on earth, just as God the Father is perfect.  His example would be the model after which all men would be required to follow.  That is why Jesus concluded His sermon with the summary command:

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  (Matthew 5:48, ESV)

It is not our adherence to the letter of the law that can make us perfect.

“For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” (Hebrews 7:19, KJV)

The letter of the law is, quite literally, the character of God in written form, because the written word was fashioned after the Living Word who is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (John 1:1-2, 14).  Because God is the Word after which the written letter was fashioned, the law must not be approached carelessly.  We must look at it carefully in our study, and apply what we learn in obedience.

“But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience).”  (James 1:25, italicized content added by AMP Bible)

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”  (Philippians 2:13, KJV)

The “liberty” mentioned by James, is not found in the law itself, but in the Spirit of the Law after which the letter was fashioned.  Thus, we can only truly obey the spirit of the law when the Spirit of that law is interpreting the word for us.  And because it is the Holy Spirit who leads us into liberty, human wisdom cannot know the law as it must be known.

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”  (1 Corinthians 2:14, NIV)

WHY DID THE LAW CHANGE?

The moral and ceremonial laws of God, as expressed under Moses, changed (not in purpose, but only in their expression) because the Levitical priesthood to which they were bound and dependant was only a temporary institution.  As such, the whole economy of laws and ordinances connected with this priesthood were, by necessity, replaced by the economy of Christ’s “Melchizedek” Priesthood.

“For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”  (Hebrews 7:12, KJV)

God had introduced the laws governing Israel’s ceremonial separation from unclean things through the Levitical priesthood, conducted by men from the tribe of Levi.  It was the priesthood which gave power to the law.  As long as God recognized the Levitical priesthood their laws would remain in effect.

However, the Levitical priesthood was imperfect, which is to say, incomplete.  It still looked forward to the final priesthood that would come with the Messiah.

“If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?”  (Hebrews 7:11, NIV)

There are many things made by God that serve a temporary purpose and then become useless when a more perfect stage of development is reached, such as a chrysalis for the butterfly.  The book of Hebrews provides many ways in which the Levitical priesthood, under Aaron, was merely an incomplete stage of revelation, and therefore unable with the blood of bulls and goats to address the problem of sin eternally.  So with the advent of Christ the Levitical priesthood and its laws were changed forever.

In this change, God was not merely finalizing the Levitical priesthood by introducing Christ as the last in a long line of priests under Aaron, but was moving to replace it entirely with a new, and perfect, Priesthood.

“For the priest we are talking about belongs to a different tribe, whose members have never served at the altar as priests. {14} What I mean is, our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.  {15} This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. {16} Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. {17} And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” {18} Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. {19} For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. {20} This new system was established with a solemn oath. Aaron’s descendants became priests without such an oath, {21} but there was an oath regarding Jesus. For God said to him, “The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever.’” {22} Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God.” (Hebrews 7:13-22, NLT)

When the scriptures says that the Priesthood of Christ is “like Melchizedek” (Hebrews 7:15) it does not employ the Greek word “allos” which means another of the same kind, but “heteros,” which means another of a totally different kind.  Specifically, it refers to a High Priest who was a stranger to the house of Aaron.  This is significant because, under the Law of Moses, it was impossible for anyone but a Levite to enter the priesthood (Exodus 29:33, Leviticus 22:10, Numbers 16:40).  By law, a man had to be a legal descendant of the tribe of Levi to qualify.  The only way this could change would be if the Levitical priesthood was legally superceded by a higher order.

And so the author of Hebrews points out that Abraham, from whom the tribe of Levi was descended, paid tithes to a priest named Melchizedek, which legally acknowledged that the priesthood of Melchizedek was superior to any that would come from Abraham.

“This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High.  When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. {2} Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.” {3} There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.  {4} Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle. {5} Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham. {6} But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God. {7} And without question, the person who has the power to give a blessing is greater than the one who is blessed.  {8} The priests who collect tithes are men who die, so Melchizedek is greater than they are, because we are told that he lives on. {9} In addition, we might even say that these Levites—the ones who collect the tithe—paid a tithe to Melchizedek when their ancestor Abraham paid a tithe to him. {10} For although Levi wasn’t born yet, the seed from which he came was in Abraham’s body when Melchizedek collected the tithe from him.”  (Hebrews 7:1-10, NLT)

The priest king Melchizedek typified the Priest King Jesus Christ, and in Israel’s history, placed the Levitical priesthood in a temporary position of service before the Lord.  This had tremendous legal ramifications, because the sacrificial and ceremonial laws of the Levitical priesthood were dependant upon the existence of the office from which they were issued, “for on the basis of it the law was given to the people” (Hebrews 7:11, NIV).  With the Levitical priesthood superceded by a greater priesthood, the power of the Law of Moses was removed.  In other words, when Christ was established as High Priest after an order other than Aaron’s Levitical priesthood, it put a legal end to the Levitical laws just as surely as it put an end our looking to anything or anyone else but Christ for salvation.

WHAT OF THE PERPETUITY OF THE LAW?

If the letter of the law was replaced by the Spirit of the law, and was always destined to come to an end, or better yet, to an advanced administration through Christ, why, then, does scripture speak of the Levitical laws of Moses as being perpetual and never-ending?

“It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” (Leviticus 3:17, KJV)

PERPETUAL: 5769. ‘owlam, o-lawm’; or ‘olam, o-lawm’ From H5956; properly concealed, that is, the vanishing point; generally time out of mind (past or future), that is, (practically) eternity; frequentative adverbially (especially with prepositional prefix) always: – always (-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, [n-]) ever (-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end). Compare H5331, H5703.

There are two important things that we must understand when attempting to interpret verses such as this.  The first is that scripture’s usage of words like “forever” or “everlasting” are not limited to the definition of the words themselves, but are further defined by context.  For example, consider this passage in the book of Exodus.

“Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.”  (Exodus 21:6, KJV)

The words “for ever” are translated from the Hebrew word ‘owlam.  This is the same word that was translated as “perpetual” in Leviticus 3:17, noted above.  If we assume that ‘owlam means “all eternity” in Leviticus 3:17 when speaking of the law of Moses, how are we to understand its usage in Exodus 21:6 when speaking of a man’s bond-servant?

When it comes time to set a servant free, but that servant wishes to remain indentured to their master and become a bond-servant “for ever,” are we to understand that they will be a man’s servant for all eternity?  Certainly not.  The servant will remain bound to their master for the duration of their life.  The context and nature of the subject matter is what ultimately denotes the actual length or duration of words like ‘owlam.  This is because it’s possible for a greater law or authority to break the understood duration of words like ‘owlam.

So when we speak of examples of perpetuity, such as found in this case with the bond-servant, we must understand that the servant’s service is subject to the higher law of death and judgment (Hebrews 9:27).  So when the servant dies, the higher law of judgment breaks the law by which he was indentured.  And after death, if he is judged worthy to enter heaven in Christ forever, or damned to hell forever, the ‘owlam of his time in either place will continue forever, since there will be no greater judgment or issue of authority that will break the length of his time there.

This brings us to the second point of consideration when interpreting scripture and its usage of time.  Double meanings can be implied, that are not necessarily understood by the strict translation of words.  These meanings can even be hidden from the contexts of surrounding verses.  For example, consider the context of Hosea 1:10-11.  There we read:

“Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.‘ {11} The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.” (Hosea 1:10-11, NIV)

In context, who does this verse refer to as those who are not God’s people?  It refers to Israel, because just a few verses earlier, we were told:

“…I will no longer show love to the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them. {7} Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God.”  (Hosea 1:6-7, NIV)

If we were restricted solely to the Old Testament, we might argue rather conclusively that this is a reference to Israel alone.  However, there is a secondary truth hidden within this statement that was not revealed to men until the priesthood of Christ had come into effect.  For in the book of Romans, the apostle Paul explains that Christ’s work as High Priest expanded this passage to include the Gentiles:

“And we are among those whom He selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.  {25} Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea, “Those who were not my people, I will now call my people.  And I will love those whom I did not love before.” {26} And, “Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’” (Romans 9:23-26, NLT)

Who could have known that Hosea was speaking prophetically of the Gentiles as well as the Jews of Israel?  Not even Hosea himself could have deduced this.

Now consider also God’s command to Abraham:

“And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. {10} This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.”  (Genesis 17:9-10, ESV)

In this passage, this command is perpetual.  It is to be observed as law indefinitely, from generation to generation.  However, this perpetual commandment was brought to a definite end when the Priesthood of Christ was established.  For under Christ, we are told:

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Galatians 5:6, ESV)

Did Christ abolish the law?  No.  The spiritual purpose behind the law was merely fulfilled in a better way.

“When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure.  Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.” (Colossians 2:11, NLT)

This termination point for the law was not communicated at the time the commandment was given.  Thus, laws and commandments such as these can easily be construed to be applicable to us today when the revelations of the New Testament are not remembered.  For how can you argue against a “perpetual statute” (Leviticus 3:17, KJV) that prohibits the eating of fat or blood when you are unaware that the law was superceded by a greater Priesthood?

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2…

MY WIFE AND I like to go out on “spiritual dates.” A spiritual date involves the trinity of marriage, which is to say, it involves you, your earthly spouse, and your heavenly spouse. So a “spiritual date” is a mixture of romance and revelation. For my wife and I, it plays out like any normal date would, except that our conversation is conducted as an open prayer, where we expect God to be a participant. Anything can happen when God is present. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20, KJV).

We were on one of these dates just the other night when my wife recounted a notion that has always bothered her. That notion is that “Satan’s greatest mistake was sending Christ to the cross.” The implication being that Satan thought crucifying Christ would put an end to His work of redemption. When this concept is spoken in church, it always gets a resounding “Amen!” from the people. It’s meant to speak to the failure of Satan’s rebellion and the wisdom of God that confounds the wicked. But it has always been followed by a check in my spirit, and I echoed my wife’s uneasiness about accepting this notion as Biblical.

So as we were casually discussing why we felt this way, God commented on the matter.  In an instant He brought to mind a series of verses and topics I had been studying over the last few months, and reminded me of what His word actually says about the corrupted genius of Satan.

I wont’ take the time to present those studies here, but it basically boiled down to this, “Satan isn’t that stupid.” Even more to the point, Satan did his best to keep Christ off the cross.  Satan knew exactly what Jesus had come to do, and was vested in keeping Him from becoming an atoning sacrifice for humanity.

CORRUPTED GENIUS

God reminded me of the dual rebuke He delivered to Satan and the king of Tyre via Ezekiel.  The king of Tyre was operating according to the influences of Satan, so the Lord sent the prophet Ezekiel to rebuke the king by addressing the spirit behind him.  In that rebuke, God said this about Satan:

‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.  (Ezekiel 28:12, NIV)

When heavens greatest angel sinned and became Satan, his intellect was not taken from him, rather it was corrupted with self-interest.  This means that Satan has remained creations most brilliant mind.  Please don’t misunderstand me here, recognizing Satan’s created brilliance is not a glorification of the creature, but of the Creator.

“For who makes you differ from another?  And what do you have that you did not receive?  Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7, NKJV).

Having reminded me that Satan is not an ignorant being, God then pointed out that Satan knew, long before the crucifixion of Christ, that the Messiah would one day arrive to die as an atoning sacrifice.  How did Satan know this?  His knowledge came from God’s covenant promises to mankind, all of which pointed to the need for Christ’s death.

REVEALED FROM THE BEGINNING

Remember, when God confronted Adam, Eve, and Satan over their sin, a prophecy was given.  Satan was behind the Serpent’s actions in the garden of Eden, so God gave a dual rebuke to both of them.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15, NKJV)

When God said “He shall bruise your head,” Satan instantly knew that God was telling him that he would be defeated by a male descendant of Eve.

Satan then observed as God proceeded to demonstrate for Adam and Eve how their sin would be atoned for.  God took an animal, killed it, and clothed Adam and Eve with its skin (Genesis 3:21). This revealed that the prophesied male descendant of Eve would become an atoning sacrifice for mankind.

God’s establishment of animal sacrifice is confirmed in the first generation of mankind, with Cain and Abel, when they brought their sacrificial offerings before the Lord.

“Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.” (Genesis 4:3-4, NIV)

Abel brought an animal sacrifice, but Cain brought an offering “of the fruit of the ground” (Genesis 4:3, KJV).  Scripture tells us that, “the LORD respected Abel and his offering, {5} but He did not respect Cain and his offering” (Genesis 4:4-5, NKJV).  So we must ask, why were they sacrificing anything in the first place, and where did Abel get the idea that God would be pleased with an animal sacrifice?

The book of Hebrews informs us that Abel was acting by faith.  In other words, he was obeying God’s revealed will – the specifics of which He had demonstrated for their parents when He killed the first animals and clothed Adam and Eve with their skin.  This revelation about covenant sacrifice was then passed on to their children.  Cain, however, ignored the details and reasoned that any kind of sacrificial offering would suffice.

“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.”  (Hebrews 11:4, ESV)

So Abel took the instruction of God seriously and acted by faith, but Cain was only interested in appeasing God, as would every heathen culture thereafter.  Abel’s sacrifice of faith, and Cain’s sacrifice of appeasement, were founded upon the first covenant sacrifice of Eden, at which Satan was present.

More covenant extensions followed, and with each came more and more revelation about God’s plan for redemption.  Eventually, every prophetic detail was provided in clear detail, and Satan planned accordingly.

If you study the corrupted belief systems of those nations that influenced Israel to sin, you’ll find many perverted gospel messages.  All this goes to show that Satan had a working knowledge of God’s plan of redemption prior to Christ’s first advent, and was working hard to pervert its truths in the minds of men.  So when Christ finally arrived, how did Satan oppose Him?

TEMPTATION TO SKIP THE CROSS:

Dominion had been given to man over the earth.  Man was to govern it, and rule.  But Satan usurped that government by enslaving men to sin.  This allowed Him to move and control men through their sinful lusts and desires, like a horse led by the bit in its mouth.  This placed spiritual control over the nations of the earth in Satan’s hands.

For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.  (Ephesians 6:12, AMP)

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.  (2 Corinthians 4:4, KJV)

Satan is the god of this present darkness, and holds dominion through corrupted men.  Jesus, however, had been sent to redeem men back to righteousness, take dominion as a man, and rule over the earth.  In order to do this, Jesus would have to suffer greatly on the cross.

As would be revealed, Jesus was desperate for another way to accomplish God’s will:

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.  (Matthew 26:39, KJV)

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.  (Matthew 26:42, KJV)

Knowing this lay ahead of the Lamb of God, Satan challenged the Father to let him tempt Jesus after a 40 day fast.  The Father agreed, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus to the place where He would be tempted.

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.  (2)  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.  (Matthew 4:1-2, KJV)

Satan’s final temptation of Christ involved an offer that would allow Jesus to seemingly accomplish His mission to take back dominion over the earth, but apart from the suffering of the cross.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. {9} “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

{10} Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”   (Matthew 4:8-10, NIV)

After this rejection, Satan attempted to force Jesus to be King, and then moved to kill Him apart from the cross.

LONG LIVE THE KING!

Jesus made a point of keeping a low profile.  His aim was not to create a scene and get Himself killed, nor was it His intention to impress everyone so much that they would promote Him to King over Israel.  His purpose was simply to reveal the nature of the Father to Israel.  The rest would play out naturally.  This is why he often commanded the people that He healed to not make Him known before the appointed time.

“And charged them that they should not make Him known: 17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall show judgment to the Gentiles. 19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory. 21 And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.” (Matthew 12:16-21, KJV)

So when demons spoke out and identified Jesus as the Messiah early, they were silenced.

“Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!”" (Mark 1:23-25, NIV)

Much was expected of the Messiah.  Jesus, however, had not come to fulfil their misconceptions of Him.  If Jesus’ identity as the promised Messiah was known too early, the people would move to see their expectations realized, and if disappointed, they would move against Jesus.  Truly that day would come, but before that day, Jesus needed time to accomplish the Father’s will and demonstrate it before the people.  God’s aim was not to make the people understand, but to reveal the sin within them that kept them from understanding.  So Jesus spoke the truth of the kingdom to the people, but in parables.  If they knew God as they all claimed, then God would make the meaning of Jesus’ words understood to them.  If they were cut off from God, they would have no understanding.

“Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And He answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’” (Matthew 13:10-15, ESV)

The identity of Christ could only be properly received by those whom The Holy Spirit had awakened spiritually.

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17, KJV)

When natural men viewed Jesus, they responded to His words and miracles contrary to the will of God. For example, when Jesus multiplied fish and bread to feed the multitude, the people responded contrary to the Spirit of God, and sought to make Jesus King.

“When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone.” (John 6:15, KJV)

Jesus had not come to rule over the people as a mighty prophet, or king. But that is what men desired. Men would work to protect a holy man working mighty miracles. They would not permit such a man to die.

But die Jesus must, but not as the result of murder or natural causes. Jesus must die by the will of the people in order to become a sacrifice. And while Satan surely wanted Him dead, he did not want Jesus to die as a sacrifice. For example, listen to how Jesus responded to the will of Peter and Satan when they both opposed Jesus’ sacrificial death:

“From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16:21-23, KJV)

“Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee” was the will of Satan expressed through Peter. Satan knew that the death and resurrection of Christ would rob him of his primary power over men – the fear of death. Therefore Satan shared the desire of men, in that he wanted to keep the Messiah off the alter of the cross at any cost.

I tell you the truth, on the day of Christ’s crucifixion, heaven was rejoicing, and Satan was the one in mourning.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. 17 Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:14-17, KJV)

MURDER

This is not to say that Satan didn’t want Jesus dead, but only that he didn’t want Jesus to die as an atonement for the people. For Satan “was a murderer from the beginning,” and desired nothing more than to kill Jesus (John 8:44, KJV). However, the sacrificial system pointed to the fact the Messiah needed to die as a sacrifice for sin. And Satan knew that Christ’s death would be upon a crucifix of Rome, just like the serpent that was lifted up in the wilderness foreshadowing Jesus being lifted up (Numbers 21:9). Because of this, Satan knew that Jesus could not be a victim of murder, commit suicide, or die a natural death if He were to be a sacrifice for the people. No, Jesus would need the people of Israel to select Him for a death that He would willingly submit to.

So Satan moved to cause Christ’s death apart from the will and knowledge of the people. He began early, planting his murderous fear of Christ into the hearts of useful vessels. For example, when Christ was born, Satan placed his own concern into the heart of king Herod. A star had appeared in the east, that was unlike any other star that had ever been seen. It was clearly a sign, and it disturbed the king and all of Jerusalem. So Herod sent for the wise men, the Magi, who could interpret this sign.

The Magi informed Herod that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. So he requested that when they found the child’s exact location that they return and tell him. For Herod secretly desired to kill the newborn Christ. But upon discovering Jesus, God warned the Magi in a dream not to return to Herod. And when the king realized that the Magi had defied his request, he broadened his murderous intentions. Instead of simply identifying and killing the Messiah, he would have to kill every child two years and younger in and around Bethlehem in order to ensure that he killed Jesus (Matthew 2:3-16). Jesus, however, was moved to Egypt the same night that the Magi discovered Him, and remained safe.

Later, as an adult, the religious leaders of Israel made plans to murder Jesus. However, they intended to kill Jesus secretly, and apart from the will of the people.

“Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; 4 and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him.” (Matthew 26:3-4, NASB).

Secrecy was key. To murder Jesus in private, apart from the cross, and apart from the will of the people, was mandatory. It was to this end that Satan entered Judas Iscariot.

“Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. 4 And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.” (Luke 22:3-4, KJV)

The plan was simple. Betray Jesus into the hands of the chief priests and the elders who “plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him.” Jesus would be taken before a private council, found guilty, and killed privately. Eventually, he would fade from minds of the people. But this is where things went contrary to plan.

“At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67″If you are the Christ,” they said, “tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” 70They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You are right in saying I am.” 71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.” 23:1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate.” (Luke 22:66-23:1, NIV)

Instead of murdering Jesus themselves, the pious leaders didn’t want to soil their own hands, so they tried to get Rome to execute Jesus for them. This is where things began to escalate into public view.

“When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. 7 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. … 11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12 And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves. 13 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:” (Luke 23:6-14, KJV)

The publicity of Jesus transfer from Pilate to Herod and back again provoked national attention. It brought to the forefront the question of who Jesus was and why Rome should put him to death on behalf of Israel.

After much questioning and accusations, the identity of Jesus became known. Jesus claimed to be God come in the flesh. He believed Himself to be the Messiah. And while this was not a crime in Roman law, it provoked the people to anger. For the people believed that the true Messiah would have come in glory and power, and would never be subject to imprisonment by Rome. They could receive Jesus as a great prophet, but not as Messiah. The rest is history.

What should have been a private murder became a public execution. And that execution became a sacrifice when Christ submitted to the will of the people to put Him to death, as a sacrificial lamb is led to the slaughter at the will of sinners.

CONCLUSION

The importance of understanding the true nature of Satan’s “greatest mistake” is correctly understanding the nature and purpose of Christ’s death.  If Jesus was killed by men, He failed.  If Jesus was killed by Satan, He failed.  If Jesus was murdered or died of natural causes, He failed.  Only a sacrificial death has any value in God’s plan for redemption.  Death is not the focus of the cross, but sacrifice.  Satan tried desperately to distract and alter that Divine purpose, but failed.

A secondary value in understanding Satan’s greatest mistake has to do with the nature of his intellectual devices.  Our ignorance of Satan’s motivations can be used against us.

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11, KJV)

The Greek word for “devices” is “noema” (no’-ay-mah), and means “the disposition and or purpose of the intellect.”

We must not be ignorant of Satan’s intellectual purposes. For Satan is the author of many perverted doctrines and manifestations of supernatural power, all of which appear to be in line with God’s truth. These intellectual perversions are as subtle as believing Satan wanted Jesus on the cross, as opposed to privately murdered. The spiritual ramifications of murder verses sacrifice illustrate the importance of understanding the purposes of both God and Satan. Far too often we ignore Satan as a defeated foe, and loose sight of his subtle devices, some of which, come into the church through the mouths of saints, who not unlike the apostle Peter, have failed to grasp the spiritual battle at hand.

Question: Why did God deceive Abraham? Why did God invoke child sacrifice as a teaching tool? Can you please explain the purpose of God’s command?

OVER THE YEARS, I have heard many, sermons, articles, and papers, written by professing Christians, lambasting God for how He taught Abraham and Isaac about the coming sacrifice of Christ.  In each case, God was charged with cruelty, dishonestly, and child abuse.  But I have long noted, first from scripture (Numbers 23:19, Romans 3:4), and secondly from experience, that if God ever appears to be in error or sin, the error and sin belongs not to God, but to the man or woman who has ignorantly accused God in thought or word.

God has, throughout the history of men, provided living pictures to illustrate His divine lessons.  By drawing us into the lesson, and placing us in a position to care about its outcome, God moves beyond the academic instruction of the scriptures and into our very lives.  Because all the lectures in the world cannot equal one lesson learned from experience.  Consider this as we examine the living lesson of Abraham and Isaac.

“And [God] said, Take now thy son, thine only son [of promise,] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” (Genesis 22:2, KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

Note how God touched upon Abraham’s parental affections by speaking of Isaac as Abraham’s only son, whom he loved dearly.  Any parent knows the emotions this elicits.  This sentiment is only deepened by the call to deliver him over to death.  Here we learn, in type, the emotions God would experience when He “spared not His own Son” (Rom. 8:32).

For God had sent Abraham to “one of the mountains” of Moriah, which by no coincidence, was home to the mountain called “Calvary,” which is no doubt the “place of which God had told him” (Genesis 22:3).

It is significant that “Moriah” means, “the Lord will provide.” For it would be here on Calvary that the promises made to Abraham would be fulfilled.  And by God’s design, it would be on Calvary that Abraham learned the message of the cross intimately, and experienced the heart of The Father as a father himself.

But before all this was known to Abraham, what might he have thought of God’s command?  Before we put words in Abraham’s mouth that serve our assumptions, let us turn to scripture.  For we need not speculate because both the apostle Paul and the author of Hebrews tell us, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that:

“Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all {17} (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed–God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; {18} Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” {19} And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. {20} He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, {21} And being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. {22} And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:16-22, NKJV)

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, {18} Of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” {19} Concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.” (Hebrews 11:17-19, NKJV)

Abraham knew his God.  He knew that if God could raise a son out of a dead womb, He could easily raise him from the dead after Isaac had been slain as a sin offering to God.  For Abraham knew that Isaac was the promised seed through which nations would be born.  Therefore, Abraham rested in the promise of God, which gave him the strength to obey God.  In this faith is the essence of the gospel message encapsulated.

“And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. {4} Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. {5} And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. {6} And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.”  (Genesis 22:3-6, KJV)

Here we see in type the Father setting apart the Son for sacrifice.  Just as we find the Passover lamb was separated from the flock several days before it was to be killed (Ex. 12:3), so do we find Isaac separated via a three day journey to the base of a mountain upon which the offering is to take place.

Once at the base of the mountain, Abraham and Isaac left the mules and servants behind and traveled alone up the side of the mountain. They had brought the wood needed for the sacrifice from home, and having left the mules behind, the burden of carrying the wood now fell upon Isaac.

It is here that we must correct some common misconceptions about Isaac.  Most story book accounts portray Isaac as a small child.  This has led some critics to charge God with child abuse.  Because what kind of God would subject a child to the threat of certain death, especially a death that he cannot understand?  And what kind of father forces a small child to haul a heavy load of wood up a mountainside?  But all such objections are silenced when it is learned that Isaac was not a child by our modern standards.  He was an adult child of Abraham, capable of bearing his own burdens, both physical and emotional.

With that understood, we can turn our attention to the parallels found between Isaac and Christ, as the type and anti-type of God’s sacrificial solution to mankind’s sin problem. Immediately we see that Isaac’s bearing of his own sacrificial wood up the mountainside clearly foreshadowed Christ’s own trek up Calvary while bearing the wood of His cross.  And what of the two men who journeyed with Abraham and Isaac?  Why was Abraham inclined to bring them with him but not directly involve them in the sacrifice?  God placed this upon Abraham’s heart that these men might serve as witnesses, but not participants in the sacrifice.  These two men witnessed Isaac carrying the wood on his shoulder up the mountain, but were not allowed to witness what took place personally between Isaac and his father at the altar.  Looking to the cross, we find “two men,” the two thieves, who followed Abraham’s greater Son of promise (Jesus Christ), but whose vision of Jesus was also obscured for the space of three hours:

“And [the repentant thief] said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. {43} And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise. {44} And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.”  (Luke 23:42-44, KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

Now consider Abraham’s answer to Isaac when he inquired as to where the sacrificial lamb they would be offering would be found.

“And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? {8} And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”  (Genesis 22:7-8, KJV)

Some would count this as a lie, reckoning that Abraham knew only that Isaac was to be the lamb of sacrifice.  Yet this presumption forgets the presence of God in this matter.  For the Holy Spirit of God was with these two men, and inspired Abraham to prophecy to Isaac a true answer apart from his own understanding.  For we will shortly discover that God prevents Abraham from going through with the sacrifice of Isaac and provides a lamb for them to sacrifice instead.  Thus, every word of Abraham’s reply was true.  This is called a word of knowledge, and is supplied by God wholly separate from our own perceptions of God’s intentions.

“And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.” (Genesis 22:9, KJV)

The conversation between Abraham and Isaac is not recorded, but it’s outcome is clearly understood. Isaac, as an adult son, could easily have overpowered the ninety-nine year old patriarch had he objected to God’s command.  But instead of resisting, Isaac quietly allowed himself to be bound and positioned on the very wood he had carried up the mountainside.  Isaac offered no protests, but obediently humbled himself, setting aside the strength he could have used to free himself, and thus submitted to the will of God.  This would picture the disposition and attitude of Christ.

“And being found in fashion as a man, [Jesus] humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”  (Philippians 2:8, KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

“Therefore doth my Father love Me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. {18} No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”  (John 10:17-18, KJV)

Isaac, as an illustrative type of Christ, also had this power.  He was not a scared little boy who was overcome by the strength of his father.  He was not a confused youth who had no understanding of what was happening to him.  On the contrary, Isaac was a man of strength who foreshadowed the strength of Christ, and who knew full well what God had asked of him and willingly submitted himself to the will of God no matter what the cost.

“And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. {11} And the Angel of the LORD [Jesus incarnate] called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. {12} And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. {13} And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. {14} And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.’” (Genesis 22:10-14, KJV, italicized content added)

Jesus, pre-incarnate, which is to say, before He took on the flesh of men, came as a messenger (which is the definition of the word “angel”) and stopped Abraham from killing Isaac, but not from offering a sacrifice.  Here the type passes from Isaac to the ram “offered up in his stead” which is a beautiful foreshadow of Christ dying in the stead of sinners.  Similarly in other scriptures we find this double type (both Isaac and the ram) wherein two goats are offered on the Day of Atonement, and two birds at the cleansing of the leper.  This is how the Gospel was “preached unto Abraham” by the living lessons of divine instruction (Gal. 3:8).

Thus Abraham stood on Calvary as The Father, with Isaac portraying the surrender of Jesus Christ His Son.  Both Abraham and Isaac learned, first hand, what God was willing to suffer in order to satisfy justice and free mankind from the bondage of sin.  Jesus would be offered up in the very place Abraham offered up Isaac, with Christ raised again from the dead on the third day, just as Abraham received Isaac back again on “the third day.”  For from the day Abraham received command from God to offer Isaac up as a burnt offering, to the day he reached Calvary three days later, his son was as good as dead to him.

Death is something in which we, as men, want no part.  It is natural to seek after life, and so are we called to live in God.  But there is something that we must die to if we are to be acceptable in His sight.  We must die to ourselves and no longer serve the sins of the flesh. It is this dying to self that God requires of all His children.

“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: {6} Knowing this, that our old man [our old life of sin] is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. {7} For he that is dead is freed from sin.”  (Romans 6:5-7, KJV)

Isaac was planted “in the likeness of Christ’s death,” when he did not seek to save his life, but gave it willingly to God.

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:35, KJV) (See also: Matthew 16:25; Luke 9:24, 17:33)

For he knew that he belonged to God and would forever be with Him no matter what happened to his body.

“For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”  (Romans 14:8, KJV)

Therefore he offered himself as a living sacrifice to God as a natural act of faith.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2, NKJV)

For just as Jesus willingly gave up His temporal life for the sake of the eternal, so are we counted as sheep for the slaughter, in that we overcome sin even at the cost of our lives.  And this we do with the mind of Christ who went before us.

“As it is written, For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. {37} Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. {38} For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, {39} Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:36-39, KJV)

We are killed all day long as sin strives against the will of God in our hearts, and yet in this we are conquerors, overcoming sin through righteousness though it means the death of our fallen desires and will.  It’s not our intellect, our talents, our money, but our heart, which God asks for first.  “Son, give Me thine heart (Prov. 23:26).  When we have responded to God’s requirement, He lays His hand on something especially near and dear to us, to test the genuineness of our response, for God desires that we serve him from our hearts, not just our lips.

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: {8} Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: {9} Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”  (1 Peter 1:7-9, KJV)

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”  (2 Corinthians 4:16, KJV)

God is not lacking in knowledge, and thus need not test our faith for His own instruction. Rather, He tests us to reveal to us where we stand with Him.  As we successfully pass each test, we become stronger in our faith, and more confident in God’s provision for all that He asks of us.

THE OBJECTIONS:

Though all this is true, objections are still raised.  Here then are two common objections.

1) God commanded Abraham to violate the fourth of the Ten Commandments, which states: “Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13, KJV)

This commandment was given to men to restrict them from taking a man’s life apart from the authority of God.  When a man kills another apart from Divinely granted governmental authority and the law of God by which all government is bound to obey, that is called murder.

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”  (Romans 12:19, KJV)

God alone is worthy to judge men with death for their crimes.

“See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. {40} For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. {41} If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate Me. {42} I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenge upon the enemy.”  (Deuteronomy 32:39-42, KJV)

This authority has been delegated to the governments of the world.

“For [law abiding] rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: {4} For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”  (Romans 13:3-4, KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

Abraham, as the Father and patriarch of the nation of Israel, was delegated such authority by God Himself.  God had in fact delegated to Abraham His authority over life. Who can say to God, “you have no right over this life to do with it as you alone know best!”  Therefore, God in no way caused Abraham to transgress the law that forbad men from taking life at the command of their own will.  For Abraham was at all times in submission to will of God and not his own which would, no doubt, have spared his own son from death if we were in control.

2) It was wrong of God to mislead Abraham into thinking He wanted him to offer his son as a burnt offering.

This argument claims that if God didn’t mean what He said, He is a liar.  So we must ask, did God want Isaac to be offered as a burnt offering?  Yes He did.  Did Isaac become a burnt offering on the day he was offered?  Yes he did.

A burnt offering involves more than fire and charred flesh.  While it always includes a kind of death, physical death is not always what is meant by the phrase.  Consider the story of Jephthah who gave his daughter as a burnt offering.

“And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, {31} Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. {32} So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. {33} And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. {34} And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. {35} And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter!  thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. {36} And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. {37} And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. {38} And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. {39} And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, {40} That the daughters of Israel went yearly to [the temple so as to] lament the [perpetual virginity of the] daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.” (Judges 11:30-40 KJV, italicized content added for clarity)

When Jephthah made his vow to God, he had no intention of killing anything or anyone in order to offer God a burnt offering.  If he had intended to offer an animal, he would never have vowed to offer the first thing that came forth from the front door of his house, for his house is not where he kept his flocks or livestock.

No, he had intended to offer one of his servants to serve the Lord as a eunuch in the temple for the rest of his or her days.  This was not outside his authority, for all in his household belonged to him in one way or another.  Imagine Jephthah’s surprise and dismay when his own daughter pressed passed his servants and was the first to rush out the front door!

Upon learning of her father’s vow, what was her response?  She said, “Let this thing be done for me.”  Note that she did not say “to me.”  For nothing was to be done “to” her, but preparations were to be made “for” her departure to the temple.  And what was her one request? Did she ask to mourn for the impending loss of her life?  No, she asked to mourn for her virginity because it would now be perpetual as she served in the temple.

So Jephthah gave his daughter permission to go to the mountains for two months.  When she came back, her father took her to the temple.  There she followed the ceremonial custom observed by all women who entered the temple in life service.  Her head was shaved at the door of the temple and she put on a long robe. She then remained in the temple for the rest of her life.

When word of Jephthah’s “burnt offering” spread throughout the land, it became a yearly custom for the daughter’s of Israel to visit his daughter at the temple and lament her virginity. For she had been dedicated to the Lord in the spirit of a burnt offering.  For a burnt offering is one who has died to self and is wholly dedicated to the Lord.  While the details can vary in application, the essence of this kind of offering is always the same.

Isaac became a burnt offering when he willingly died to himself and submitted to the will of the Lord.  In this way he became a living sacrifice, just as Jephthah’s daughter did.  Therefore, when God asked Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering, He meant exactly what He said. Isaac was to die that day. The last thing he had to let go of was his will to live at the cost of obedience.  Once he let go of that, he died just as God had commanded.  At that point the picture of Christ’s sacrifice was complete.  Like Christ, Isaac offered himself willingly without protest even when it meant the loss of his life.  Likewise, every believer is called to offer themselves as a living sacrifice, not with the burning of flesh, but with the death of the will of their flesh.  In this way we all dedicate our lives for the lifelong service before God.  This is our reasonable service of love, and is in no way an imposition of terror by God, as some would interpret it.

WHEN YOU COMMENT on a post here on the Stewards Portion Blog, you’ll notice an icon to the left of your comment.  This is an Avatar, or picture icon that represents you.  However, unless you have chosen a picture of your own, you will simply see the default avatar called “Mystery Man.”  That’s rather boring, so in this post I’ll show you what to do if you want something more interesting to appear by your comments.

WordPress doesn’t use regular avatars, but now employs what is known as a Gravatar.  A Gravatar is a “Globally Recognized AVATAR.”  This simply means that when you sign up for a free Gravatar, and assign it to an email address, that Gravatar will automatically show up in any comment you make on any site or blog that supports Gravatars.  This eliminates the need to set up an avatar at every site you visit.

Here’s a short video explaining how this works:

To set up your own Gravatar acount, head over to Gravatar and get started!

Then come back here and test it out.  Simple. 

QUESTION: I’ve heard that we become angels when we die. Is that true?  Can you address some of the arguments that teach this?

QUICK OVERVIEW:

• The few ways in which we are equal with angels are specified because we are not equal in every way (Luke 20:35-36; Matthew 22:30)
• We do not replace or become angels because angels “minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation,” an eternal assignment for beings who will never become men (Hebrews 1:13-14 KJV)
• We will judge the angels, not become angels (1 Corinthians 6:3).
• We will be transformed into the image of Christ, not angels (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2) What will Christ be for eternity?
• Christ’s humanity is eternal because He eternally represents Adam and his descendants (Hebrews 2:16-17, 7:22-25)
• We are glorified above the angels in Christ (Hebrews 1:4).

THE BIBLE SAYS that in the resurrection the saints will be equal to the angels.  Does that mean that we will become angels?  Some think so.  In this study we’ll take a look at what the Bible actually teaches.  I believe that an honest examination of the scriptures leaves no room for the interpretation that we’ll become angels when we die.  Why?  Well, there are at least two reasons.  The first has to do with the nature of equality.  The Bible tells us that we will be equal with the angels in some ways, but not in every way.  In fact, it’s the ways in which we are told we will not be like the angels that stands as our second reason for knowing that we won’t become angels.

EQUALITY:

Let’s start with the issue of equality.  In what way is the Bible speaking of equality?  There is more than one way to be equal with something.

For example, when speaking of the equality of mankind, we might say that all men are created equal.  But how are we all equal with one another?  Are we all equal in gender, intelligence, strength, appearance, talents, or even in mobility?  Certainly this cannot be implied, nor inferred, by the phrase “all men are created equal.” This statement is thus qualified by the specific parameters of a defined plain of comparison.  In the realm of intrinsic value, all men have descended from Adam, and are thus equal in the created value of their humanity.  Even in the realms of individual calling, appointed service, and eternal reward, there is inequality, and yet, this inequality in no way nullifies the other realms in which men are found to be equal.

Equality can mean several things.  It can mean that two things are identical in every respect, or that they have the same rights, or that they are balanced in relation to one another.  Equality can imply impartiality, in that one person is treated no different from another.  Or it can simply mean that two things are equivalent in some ways, but not others.  So when we are told that mankind will become “equal unto the angels,” what is being implied?

“But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: {36} Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”  (Luke 20:35-36, KJV)

“For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”  (Matthew 22:30, KJV)

These passages identify two realms of equality: 1) men will no longer marry or be given in marriage, and 2) men will never die.  The fact that these two scriptures make a point of identifying the ways in which we will be equal reveals that they are not teaching that we are equal in every way.

These comparisons of equality were presented to a group of men who had failed to grasp that in the resurrection the symbols employed on earth will no longer be in force.  They did not understand that in the resurrection, men, like angels, will neither marry nor be married to one another, 1) because they will no longer be under the command to populate the earth, nor will they be under the command to produce godly seed (Genesis 1:28, Malachi 2:15), and 2) marriage as seen on earth will no longer have a purpose because earthly marriage is a symbol of heavenly marriage – the eternal union of God and His church (Ephesians 5:31-32) and this symbol will be fulfilled when we rise to be with Christ for eternity.  Within these two realms – celibacy and eternal life – men and angels will be equal.

I’m confident that we can all agree that, at the very least, we will be equal with the angels in these two ways.  The question that must now be answered is whether there are realms in which men and angels are not equal, and within this, what distinction, if any, will remain between men and angels in eternity future.

THE REPLACEMENT THEORY:

There is a belief that postulates that God created mankind to replace those angels who fell in sin.  It’s then reasoned that if we are going to become angels, and we are said to abide in Christ, then all angels must be partakers of Christ equally.

There are several biblical teachings that I have been unable to reconcile with this theory.  These teachings revolve around:

• The eternal incarnation of Christ as a representative of humanity.
• Christ’s human inheritance.
• And the marriage between Christ and the human church.

THE ETERNAL HUMANITY OF CHRIST:

In order to save Adam and his descendants, it was mandatory for the Messiah to be both Human and Divine.

“For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. {17} Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”  (Hebrews 2:16-17, NASB)

Why was God compelled to take on the nature of those He intended to save?  Why couldn’t He accomplish what He did as an angel?  Or for that matter, why did He have to become anything at all? The simple answer is that redemption requires representation, and representation requires equality in the truest sense.  A human must represent humanity.  (For more information, see “The Secret of the Flesh [COMING SOON].”

What God requires of mankind must be satisfied by mankind.  This is why animal sacrifice gave a picture of what God required of sinful men, but the blood of bulls and goats could not truly satisfy justice against sin (Hebrews 10:4).  Obedience to the symbol could sanctify a man to the postponement of justice, but it could not ultimately satisfy it (Hebrews 9:13) It was just a picture of what was to come.  And for the same reason that animals were unable to satisfy God’s justice against sin on behalf of mankind, neither could angels.

The solution?  God would do what angels and animals could not – God would become a Man.  Jesus came to represent Adam, and by reason of representation, all who have partaken of Adam’s flesh and spirit through birth.

Now consider the eternal work of Christ’s incarnation as the representative of mankind.  Jesus didn’t become a man temporarily, He became a man for all eternity.  This fact rests, once again, upon the requirements of redemption and representation.  The humanity of Jesus Christ was appointed by God to stand eternally before God the Father as an eternal High Priest on behalf of Christ’s brothers in the flesh.

“And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, {21} but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’ ” {22} Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. {23} Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; {24} but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. {25} Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:22-25, NIV)

This priesthood is established on the laws of representation. Again, this is why Jesus was obligated to become like His brethren in the flesh so that He could, as High Priest, stand eternally as the atonement for men.  If He ever ceases to be human, He will cease to represent humanity and we will cease to be covered by His sacrificial priesthood.  Because just as God’s wrath against sin is eternal, so is the office of the atoning priesthood that covers it.  And to that end God has sworn by an unalterable oath that the human priesthood of Jesus will “continueth forever” as “an unchangeable priesthood.”

This is why Melchisedec, the symbolic forerunner of Christ’s eternal priesthood, was introduced to Abraham as one who was:

“Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.”  (Hebrews 7:3, KJV)

If the humanity of Christ stands forever in the office of High Priest, then Jesus cannot thereafter cease to be a man, and take upon Himself the nature of any other being.  For this reason we must understand that Jesus “…took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham” so that He could live forever in the “unchangeable priesthood” of men as “a priest forever” (Hebrews 2:16, 7:24-25; 7:3, KJV, NIV).

BETTER THAN THE ANGELS:

When Jesus became a man, His humanity naturally made Him lower than the angels.

You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands.  (Hebrews 2:7, NKJV)

So what happened when He was resurrected and glorified?  Was He raised to a place of equality with the angels?  No, He was made far greater than the angels.

“Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”  (Hebrews 1:4, KJV)

Christ’s humanity was not simply a temporary mechanism used to laboriously generate angel-like replacements, but an entire legal system through which the inheritance of God would be presented to men alone.

FIRSTBORN OF CREATION:

No one, be they angel or human, may be counted as a co-heir with Christ in His inheritance apart from adoption into the Firstborn.  Consider what this means, and why this is so.

In the eternity past, Jesus was simply known as “The Word.” It was through “The Word” that Jehovah created, or gave birth as it were, to all things.  By this creative act through The Word, Jehovah gained the new title “God the Father.”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. {2} He was in the beginning with God. {3} All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.  (John 1:1-3, NASB)

Later, God the Father would send “The Word” to earth to be born as both a Son of Man (being of Adam’s descended flesh and spirit) and a Son of God (having come from God the Father).

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John 1:14, NASB)

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” (Hebrews 1:5-6, NIV)

It was at this point that “The Word” became known as Jesus Christ, the Firstborn, the Son of God. The term Firstborn does not necessarily imply that someone was the first to be born (Psalms 89:27), but rather stands as the title of one who has all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of an heir; one who enjoys a special relationship with God.  As such, the focus of the word is not on one’s priority in time or origin, but of appointment as heir.

Speaking of king David as a prophetic type of Jesus, it was said:

I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. (Psalms 89:27, NIV)

And again of Christ’s appointment as Firstborn, we are told:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, {2} but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. {3} The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. {4} So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. {5} For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? {6} And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”  (Hebrews 1:1-6, NIV)

This appointment had always been intended to be received by Jesus in light of His incarnation as a man.  Thus all things were created for Jesus, with His eternal humanity in view, a position that even the angels were commanded to worship.  (The fact that Lucifer, Heaven’s highest ranking angel was condemned for calling upon the other angels to worship Him reveals, once again, that Jesus was never an angel to begin with).  Jesus was appointed to be preeminent over all of creation, in every way, as the heir of God the Father.

For He [God the Father] rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son [Jesus Christ], {14} in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. {15} He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. {16} For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him. {17} He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. {18} He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.  (Colossians 1:13-18, NASB, bracketed content added for clarity)

INHERITANCE BY ADOPTION:

So we see that the right of inheritance was not something that is given to the sons of God, but to the Firstborn, the legal heir of the Father.  So how does one gain access to the Firstborn’s inheritance?  Do we need to become sons of Christ?  Does Jesus need to become our Father?  No, in order to partake of Christ’s inheritance, God the Father would have to grant a lesser son co-heir status with His legal Firstborn, God the Son¹.  How is that done?  And to whom?

To be an heir, is to be Abraham’s seed.  So while it is true that both redeemed men and angels are called the sons of God, men have been adopted into this position and angels have not, and it is this mechanism of adoption and baptism into Christ that elevates us above the angels.  It’s not that we were adopted and made sons as the angels are sons, it’s that we have been adopted and baptized “into Christ.” In other words, we have been adopted into the position of the firstborn son, and are thus eligible for the inheritance of the firstborn, a privilege not associated with lesser sons who are not the firstborn.

Angels would have to become what Jesus is – human – in order to even be candidates for adoption into the human Firstborn.  But God the Father has never adopted the angelic sons of God into the Firstborn, nor called them co-heirs with the Son of God.

For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? {6} And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”  (Hebrews 1:5-6, NIV)

But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?  (14) Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?  (Hebrews 1:13-14, KJV)

The angels are already the sons of God by the fact that they were created by God (Job 38:6-7).  However, the author of Hebrews is focusing here upon the incarnation of Christ as the human Messiah and the ways in which this is superior to every other position.  It is a position to which the angelic sons of God are not promoted.  Rather, it is expressly stated to be a position under which the angels serve and minister.

THE TESTIMONY OF THE WORD:

“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”  (2 Corinthians 6:18, NIV)

• Men are co-heirs with Christ according to promise.

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.  (Galatians 3:29, NIV)

In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. (Romans 9:8, NIV)

• If you are made a son of God, it was through Christ, and if through Christ you became a son, then you are a co-heir with the Firstborn Son of God.

Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir by the aid of God, through Christ.  (Galatians 4:7, AMP)

• The Firstborn is head over all of creation.  Co-heirs with Christ will therefore rule over the lesser sons of God.

Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!  (1 Corinthians 6:3, NIV)

• All who are elevated to co-heir status will be conformed to the image of the Firstborn.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  (Romans 8:29, KJV)

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  (1 John 3:2, ESV)

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  (1 Thessalonians 4:17, KJV)

But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.  (1 Corinthians 6:17, ESV).

FINAL THOUGHT:

We don’t need to imagine what God’s purpose for creation is, especially when that purpose has been revealed in God’s own word.  Let’s be faithful in our study and seek after the heart of God in everything.  What seems good to us is rarely good in the eyes of God.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV)

1. I’ve heard that if a father wanted ALL his children to have equal shares in the inheritance with his firstborn son, then the father could legally “adopt” all of his children into a firstborn relationship. To do this, the father would go to the city gate and present his wishes to the elders. He would then execute a covenant of salt whereby he adopted his children into the position of equal heirs with the firstborn. I have been unable to confirm this however. [↩]

BEFORE WE PROCEED, we should define the question a little further.  This is not the belief that Jesus is an angel.  That is an entirely different argument.  The Deity of Jesus Christ is not being questioned in this assertion.  Rather, it’s the suggestion that scripture also calls God the Son by the name of Michael, the archangel of God.

This notion is inspired by references in scripture to the preincarnate Christ being called “the angel of the LORD” (Gen 22:11-12).  And since the term “angel” means messenger, it’s reasoned that Jesus can appropriately be understood to be Michael the archangel, or chief of angels.  Men such as Charles Spurgeon, John Gill, and Matthew Henry, all believed that Michael is another name for Jesus, and all of them teach the Deity of Christ.

However, every argument I have ever run across, that was in favor of Jesus and Michael being two names for the Son of God, has always been mired in semantics.  The strength of this notion is not found in clearly taught passages, but in similarities, titles, and the subtle meanings of words.  If it were not for Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists, I don’t think this teaching would be as popular as it is today.

Personally, I have never found a rational justification for its pursuit as a doctrine.  If it were true, it would be the one time in scripture where a name of God was not directly stated to be a name of God, but left instead to be discerned from laborious comparisons of possible inference – not one of which could be decisively argued to as proof of the notion.

But I digress.  Here are some of the arguments in favor of the idea that Jesus and Michael are one and the same, and why I do not hold to them.

JESUS THE PRINCE:

In scripture, both Jesus and Michael are both identified as princes. That much is not disputed.  However, this fact is then put forth as evidence that Jesus and Michael are one and the same.  Granted, if Jesus and Michael were two names for the same person, then both would be said to be princes.  But there’s also an obvious problem with using this similarity as evidence – more than one person can hold the title of “prince.”

The strength of this argument rests wholly upon an assumption.  You must already believe that Jesus and Michael are one and the same before this “evidence” can carry any weight.  Because, by itself, it proves nothing, and is evidence of nothing.

What’s ironic is that one of the very arguments used to show that both Jesus and Michael are princes also proves that they are separate individuals.  Read the following verse about Michael the Archangel carefully.  What does it say about Michael as a prince?

“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” (Daniel 10:13, KJV)

Michael is identified as “one of the chief princes.” So we must ask, is Jesus but “one” of many chief princes?  Is Jesus equal to other princes in this capacity?  If Jesus is understood to be The Chief of the angels, then He cannot be said to be Michael who is but “one of” the angelic chiefs. Here is where semantics break against identifiers. Michael is but one of many chiefs in Christ’s angelic army, whereas Jesus is said to be head over all of creation (Ephesians 1:20-23) and the very fullness of God (Colossians 2:9).

THE VOICE OF JESUS:

A second example of arguing from semantics is derived from God’s call to resurrection.

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, KJV)

Does this verse teach that Jesus will descend alone? Must we conclude that the “voice of the archangel” is the literal voice of Jesus? Or is this verse simply saying that as Christ descends, His archangels and their angelic armies go before Him heralding His arrival? This question is answered quite plainly by scripture:

“And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:31, KJV)

“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” (Matthew 16:27, KJV)

“And then shall He send His angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” (Mark 13:27, KJV)

These verses tell us that Christ will send His angels with a heralding cry and blasts of trumpets. We need not assume that the trumpeting and voices are proceeding from Christ’s mouth. Nor do we need to assume that only one archangel, or trumpet, is involved in the heralding of Christ’s return.

This argument attempts to prove itself by interpreting 1 Thessalonians 4:16 as if the proposition that Jesus is an archangel was already established as true. It is assumed that Jesus is the sole archangel in existence, and then reasons that when He descends “with the voice of the archangel” its teaching that the voice is His own.  When an argument assumes that its central point is already proven, and uses this in support of itself, you have circular reasoning. This kind of approach to the scriptures is what begins heresies and false teachings.

HIS ANGELS:

Presumption is further extended into other verses such as this one:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,” (Revelation 12:7, KJV)

It’s argued that this verse shows that angels belong to Michael. This argument is again made on the presumption that Michael has already been proven to be Jesus. The evidence here is assumed to imply that Michael owns the angels under his command by right of creation, thereby proving that He is Jesus. But is this the conclusion demanded by this passage?

The archangels are chief angels. There is more than one of them; as scripture pointed out when we were told that Michael was but “one of” these angelic chiefs. They are the generals who lead heaven’s legions, the army of God. And in an army, the chief, or leader is given troops over which he is responsible. Those troops become “his,” in the sense of responsibility. Therefore, the angels under Michael’s command are no more “his angels” by right of creation and ownership than those angels under Satan’s command. Any interpretation that demands that Michael must be Jesus because the angels are “his” must also demand that we believe that Satan created the angels that are “his.” If angels can belong to Satan and not imply creation, on what basis are we arguing that Michael is Jesus? We are again arguing from the standpoint of semantics and presumption.

Thus we see two angel commanders with authority over legions of subservient angel warriors. No ownership need be assumed. We must be careful not to force the scriptures to serve a preconceived notion, because this interpretation is only valid if this duality has been expressly taught elsewhere, which it has not. In the void of direct instruction, we have no authority to imply meaning.

OF POWER AND SIGNIFICANCE:

It is also argued that because Michael is seen to obtain victory in battle quicker than other angels, this somehow implies deity. In my mind, this is nothing more than a desperate attempt to gather a crowd of potential witnesses to give the impression of being a substantial teaching.

If I take scripture at its normal meaning, and understand Michael to be “one of” many leaders of God’s angelic army, I would naturally expect that his classification as a chief prince would imply a greater power and authority than those angels who are not chiefs. Naturally I would expect him to obtain victory quicker than an angel of lesser power and authority. So the notion that Michael’s victory is proof that he must be Jesus is an unnecessary leap of assumption.

Where do we draw the line between operating in the imparted power and authority of God and actually being God? The book of revelation shows us that it is the angels who pour out God’s vials of wrath in many cases without forcing us to conclude that each angel is God Himself. And Jesus told us that we would perform greater works than He did on earth, saying: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12, KJV), and yet this does not make those who perform “greater works” than Jesus another Messiah. Success, or the “greatness” of supernatural works is not a basis for determining the identity of Jesus, but certainly reveals an imparted authority.

THE WITNESS OF A NAME:

Can the very meaning of the name “Michael” stand as evidence that Jesus and Michael are one and the same?  It’s suggested that because the name Michael means “who is like God,” this means either that Jesus is like God, or that the name is asking the rhetorical question: “who is like Jesus.”

The archangel Michael and I share the same name. So what would happen if someone observed me performing greater works than Jesus, and then realized that my name is Michael.  Would they naturally assume that I must be Jesus?  Is that really a foregone conclusion?

Names are important, but not every name is exclusive to God. The most potent example is seen in the fact that both Jesus and Satan bear the name “morning star.”

Satan is the Morning Star:

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12, KJV)

• LUCIFER: 1966. heylel, hay-lale’; from H1984 (in the sense of brightness); the morning-star:–lucifer.

In other translations this is simply rendered:

“How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12, NIV)

Jesus is the Morning Star:

“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” (Revelation 22:16, KJV)

“And I will give him the morning star. {29} He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” (Revelation 2:28-29, KJV)

The name, “Morning Star” falls under the same category as “chief prince” and “Lord.” While they can, and do, apply to Jesus, they can also apply to created beings. The swing vote in our interpretation must be the identifiers found in the verses themselves that differentiate Jesus from Lucifer, and Jesus from Michael. But if we ignore them, then we can easily begin to argue by the strength of semantics and come to some very errant conclusions.

THE LORD REBUKES YOU:

In the book of Jude, we find a dispute between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses.  In what is probably the most revealing verse in the Bible about the identity of Michael, we read this:

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”  (Jude 1:9, NIV)

Immediately, we notice something striking about Michael’s response to Satan.  There is something that he does not dare do.  He does not dare rebuke Satan by His own authority.  Why?  Because Michael is an archangel, and has no intrinsic authority over other angels.  Michael’s authority comes from the Lord, therefore he appeals to the Lord.

It’s here that some people interrupt, and attempt to draw attention away from the real point of this passage by focusing the argument on whether Jesus would rebuke Satan in the Lord’s name.  They point to the following passage as proof that this could have been Jesus rebuking Satan in the name of the Lord.

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. {2} The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”  (Zechariah 3:1, NIV)

Here we see “the angel of the LORD” who is clearly the pre-incarnate Jesus rebuking Satan in the name of the LORD.  In scripture, when you see the word LORD capitalized, that indicates that the actual word used in the text was JEHOVAH, the proper name of God.  Thus Jehovah rebuked Satan saying “Jehovah rebukes you.” And since the name Jehovah means “Self-Existent one, or Eternal One,” that is the equivalent to saying “I AM (Exodus 3:14) rebukes you,” or simply, “I rebuke you.” However you word it, the meaning is the same.

But arguing over whether or not Jesus would ever say “The Lord rebukes you” or “I rebuke you” is irrelevant when we return to our initial reference in Jude.  The real issue at hand is whether Jesus, pre-incarnate or not, would dare to rebuke Satan.  The word “dare” comes from the Greek word tolmao (tol-mah’-o) which means “boldness, by implication to be courageous, to dare.” This word cannot be ignored within the context of this discussion.  It has meaning.  It affects every word that follows it.

If Michael is another name for Jesus, and Jesus was simply rebuking Satan in one of the names of the Father, there would be no need to speak of His lack of courage or boldness in doing so.  Jesus, even as a man, was given the titles “The Mighty God” and “The Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6, KJV) and is held back by no created being.

Yet we are told in no uncertain terms that this character, “Michael” regardless of who we say he is, did not dare to rebuke Satan directly.  The fact that Michael does not dare take authority himself reveals that this cannot possibly be the pre-incarnate Jesus.  At the time of this dispute, Jesus had not humbled Himself as a man, and held equal and supreme authority with God the Father.  In other words, at the time of this dispute there was no greater authority than Jesus, being an equal part of the Trinity.

But there’s more.  Even when Jesus was born as a lowly man He did not hesitate to rebuke Satan.  In fact, he rebuked Satan by name at least two separate times in recorded scripture.

And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Luke 4:8, NKJV)

But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23, NKJV)

There is a distinct difference between one who does not dare rebuke Satan himself, and Jesus who, even as a Man, has no fear whatsoever to rebuke Satan directly.

IN CONCLUSION:

When looking at the idea that Jesus and Michael are one and the same, I simply cannot accept the idea based upon the arguments presented above.  The reason that the archangel Michael features so prominently in scripture, as opposed to other archangels, is that Michael is a guardian of Israel, and therefore appears in references to that nation and the spiritual events associated with them.  Just as there is a spiritual prince of Persia, there is also a spiritual prince of Israel, both of whom serve their masters without being divine themselves.  Suffice it to say, semantics and presumption are the bane of sound doctrine, and we ought to guard ourselves very carefully against adopting any scriptural interpretation who’s primary force is the guesswork and appeals for support from human logic.

QUESTION: Why aren’t dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible?

I ’VE BEEN ASKED this question on several occasions.  My response is always the same.  I explain that the Bible was translated into English long before the word “dinosaur” was coined in 1841.  So if you look for the word, “Dinosaur” you won’t find it.  But if you look for a description of dinosaurs, you’ll find at least two.

For example, some of the best descriptions of dinosaurs are found in the oldest book in the Bible, the book of Job.  The book of Job was probably written around 2000 B.C., which was approximately 4000 years ago.  Although the exact date is unknown, Probe Ministries offers compelling evidence that suggests Job lived around the time of the Patriarchs, such as Abraham.

Job lived in the land of Uz, near Edom, which extended both southwest and southeast of the Dead Sea. This area is mostly a desert today.  But in Job’s era, dinosaurs roamed the land.

THE PURPOSE FOR GOD’S DESCRIPTION:

In Job chapters 40 and 41, we find Job involved in a conversation with God.  In this conversation, God points to two contemporary creatures with whom Job was familiar: Behemoth, and Leviathan.

Now, as a reader, you may have already come to your own conclusions about whether the Bible is true or not.  That is not the argument we are discussing here. The issue is what the Bible itself is teaching.  Does the Bible speak about dinosaurs?  Does it teach that they existed as contemporaries with mankind?  Within that discussion, men’s opinions are irrelevant.  The Bible either speaks of them or it doesn’t.  And that is what we are discussing.

So before we even begin, we need to become familiar with the context in which these descriptions are found.

Disaster and tragedy have befallen Job.  But they are not accidental.  It was all brought upon Job by Satan himself.  And to make matter’s worse, God allowed it to happen.  This puts Job in a difficult position.  He is struggling with anger, hurt, and offense.  And perhaps worst of all from a human perspective, he is ignorant of the motivations and intent behind what has happened.

So Job begins to call God into question, and steps out of humility and into accusation.  So God replies with a rebuke.

Here’s is the text just prior to God’s description of the Behemoth.

Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?  (9)  Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?  (10)  Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.  (11)  Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.  (12)  Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.  (13)  Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret.  (14)  Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.  (Job 40:8-14, KJV)

Enter God’s descriptions of the Behemoth and Leviathan.  God proceeds to produce examples of creatures beyond the strength of man to illustrate that even those mortal creatures that stand before Job are beyond his strength to rebuke.  So after considering the Behemoth and the Leviathin, Job says this:

Then Job replied to the LORD:  {^2} “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  ^{3} You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’  Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

^{4} “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’  ^{5} My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. ^{6} Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”  (Job 42:1-6, NIV)

This sets the stage for our discussion of Behemoth and Leviathan.  God’s purpose in His descriptions is to challenge the pride of Job that was emerging in his prayers.  The message is humility in the face of something far greater than yourself.  Within this context, it is textually absurd and contradictory to assert that the creatures God is describing are those that man has humbled.  To assume such foolishness is to render God’s whole point meaningless.

Now consider what Job considered.  Listen closely to God’s own testimony.

BEHEMOTH:

“Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. {16} Lo now, his strength is in his loins [the waist or small of the back], and his force is in the navel of his belly. {17} He moveth his tail like a cedar [cedar tree]: the sinews [thong] of his stones [a testicle] are wrapped together. {18} His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. {19} He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. {20} Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. {21} He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. {22} The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. {23} Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan [the Jordan river] into his mouth. {24} He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.”  (Job 40:15-24, KJV)

Right from the beginning, within the first sentence of God’s description, we learn that God is not speaking in mythological hyperbole.  He is not referencing the fantasy of any culture.  In fact, the Behemoth is no more fictional than Job, because God declared that the Behemoth was that “which I made along with you” (Job 40:1, NIV).  This creature lived as a contemporary of Job.

The Behemoth ate grass, like Oxen.  However, unlike the Ox or the Hippo, it’s strength was found primarily in the muscles of it’s belly.

What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!  (Job 40:16, NIV)

The word translated as “loins” is the Hebrew word môthen (mo’-then), which means, “to be slender, properly the waist or small of the back.”  So the “GOD’S WORD” translation of the bible renders the passage this way:

Look at the strength in its back muscles, the power in its stomach muscles.  (Job 40:16, GOD’S WORD Translation)

Then we come to it’s tail.

He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.   (Job 40:17, KJV)

There is some question as to the best way to translate this passage.  The point of confusion has to do with the phrase, “moveth his tail like a ceder.”

The word “moveth” in Hebrew is chaphet, and is most predominantly used when speaking of men and God to mean: “to incline, be favorable, to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with.”  However, it can also be used to mean: “to move, bend down, to curve,” and is, in fact, only translated that way once, here in the book of Job.

The Hebrew word translated into English as “tail” is the word zânâb (zaw-nawb’), and means exactly that, “tail.”  It’s from the root word zânab (zaw-nab’) which mean’s “to wag.”

Thus many translators have rendered the passage to speak of the creature’s literal tail and it’s likeness to the swaying movement of a ceder tree.  This could certainly be the meaning of the passage.

Others contend that the word “tail” is used figuratively as a phallic euphemism.  Thus the passage is thereby understood to imply that the creature’s reproductive organ is comparable to a ceder tree when it erects, or “moves” in the sense of pleasure, and then adds that even it’s testicles (stones) are tightly wrapped or woven together in strength.  This too, could certainly be the implied meaning of the passage.  It best joins together the two halves of the verse.

To the modern mind, this might seem offensive and vulgar.  As a result, some may refuse to believe that God would reference the Behemoth’s genitals as a feature of strength.  The fact of the matter is that God has long used the male reproductive organ as a symbol of male strength.  The mark of God’s covenant with Israel was circumcision (Genesis 17:10-14).  Why?  Because it’s through the male organ that the strength of life is transferred.  It’s a symbol for God’s creative power, and ultimately, it pictures Christ.  Christ would receive the cut (seen in circumcision) that made God’s covenant with mankind possible.  As such, men with injuries to their “symbol” of covenant power were not allowed to become priests or participate in their duties (Deuteronomy 23:1).  And any women who reached out to harm a man in this area, even when fighting for the purpose of saving the life of her husband, was to have her hand cut off (Deuteronomy 25:11-12).  This illustrated the seriousness of the symbol in God’s eyes.  It’s also why He may have pointed to this symbol of power and life in the Behemoth in order to illustrate it’s reflection of God’s own power of creation.

So the Behemoth’s ‘tail,” literal or figurative, is comparable not merely to a tree, but to a Cedar.  Cedar’s are the tallest trees in the region.  They were also used to build with because of their strength.  Thus, whether we are speaking of it’s size, or it’s strength, we are speaking of something above and beyond that possessed by other animals of creation.

It’s bones are compared to tubes of bronze, and it’s limbs to rods of iron.

In fact, so great is this creature that God even goes so far as to say that the Behemoth is the “chief of the ways of God.”

He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.  (Job 40:19, KJV)

The Hebrew word for “chief” is rê’shiyth (ray-sheeth’), which means “the first in order or rank.”  In other words, within the animal kingdom, this creature is the greatest example of God’s expression of power and might.  God’s ways are neither weak nor feeble, and this great creature stands as the chief of all God’s created examples of strength.

To crown this point, God claims that only He can approach it with the sword.   If men could kill the Behemoth with swords and spears, it ceases to be an example of God’s might.  Thus, the Behemoth is only threatened by the might of God.  Against it no man can bring the sword.

That eliminates the hippopotamus, and even the elephant, both of which are hunted by men.

It grazes upon the hills, lays in the shade of the trees, and even rests in the reeds of the river.  But listen to what God says about the river.

In the King James Version, it speaks of the massive amounts of water it is able to drink up.

Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. (Job 40:23, KJV)

The word “hasteth” means “hurry away.”  In other words, despite the entire river rushing against his mouth, he is confident that he can withstand it.  Drawing from another manuscript for its text, the New American Standard Version of the Bible reads this way:

If a river rages, he is not alarmed; he is confident, though the Jordan rushes to his mouth.  (Job 40:23, NASB)

Raging waters are not found at the shoreline, but in the depths of the river itself.  No hippo can stand against the Jordan river when it rages, because Hippos swim, and they would be carried away in the torrent, thus they would have cause for concern.  Thus, this is not a reference to those creatures that cautiously lap up water at the shoreline, but to a very large creature that can withstand the rushing torrents surging into it’s mouth without fear.  While an elephant might be able to wade out farther than a hippo, elephants do not let water rush into their mouths, instead they spray water into their mouths from their trunks.  Yet the Behemoth confidently lets raging waters surge into it’s mouth.

No one can catch it off guard or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.  (Job 40:24, NLT)

If not even the raging waters of the Jordan river can overpower the Behemoth, nor can men overpower it with brute force, or tame it as one would a pet.

In light of the totality of these descriptions, there can be little doubt that this is the description of a dinosaur.  It cannot be a mythological or fictional creature because God claimed to have created it along with mankind.  It cannot be a hippo because it is the chief of God’s land swelling creatures, and can only be overcome by the sword of God, not men.  And it cannot be a elephant because they do not let rivers flow into their mouths.

God’s description of the Behemoth, however, is tame in comparison to His description of the chief of His seafaring creatures, the Leviathan of the deep.

LEVIATHAN:

1 “Can you catch Leviathan with a hook or put a noose around its jaw?
2 Can you tie it with a rope through the nose or pierce its jaw with a spike?
3 Will it beg you for mercy or implore you for pity?
4 Will it agree to work for you, to be your slave for life?
5 Can you make it a pet like a bird, or give it to your little girls to play with?
6 Will merchants try to buy it to sell it in their shops?
7 Will its hide be hurt by spears or its head by a harpoon?
8 If you lay a hand on it, you will certainly remember the battle that follows.  You won’t try that again!
9 No, it is useless to try to capture it. The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down.
10 And since no one dares to disturb it, who then can stand up to me?
11 Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine.

12 “I want to emphasize Leviathan’s limbs and its enormous strength and graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its hide, and who can penetrate its double layer of armor?
14 Who could pry open its jaws?  For its teeth are terrible!
15 Its scales are like rows of shields tightly sealed together.
16 They are so close together that no air can get between them.
17 Each scale sticks tight to the next.  They interlock and cannot be penetrated.

18 “When it sneezes, it flashes light!  Its eyes are like the red of dawn.
19 Lightning leaps from its mouth; flames of fire flash out.
20 Smoke streams from its nostrils like steam from a pot heated over burning rushes.
21 Its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its mouth.

22 “The tremendous strength in Leviathan’s neck strikes terror wherever it goes.
23 Its flesh is hard and firm and cannot be penetrated.
24 Its heart is hard as rock, hard as a millstone.
25 When it rises, the mighty are afraid, gripped by terror.
26 No sword can stop it, no spear, dart, or javelin.
27 Iron is nothing but straw to that creature, and bronze is like rotten wood.
28 Arrows cannot make it flee.  Stones shot from a sling are like bits of grass.

(Job 41, NLT)

While some people argue vehemently in the effort to reduce God’s example of strength (the Behemoth) to nothing more than a hippo, few even bother to associate God’s example of dominion (the Leviathan) with anything less than a mythological creature of fiction.  They are happy to assume that God went from reality to fantasy.  But is that the claim of the Bible?  Not at all.

Like the Behemoth, the Leviathan was a very real contemporary of Job.  God’s whole purpose in using the Leviathan as an example rested on men’s experience with the creature.  Hence, God asked Job a series of experiential questions, each contrasting the strength of man with the might of the Leviathan.

Lay your hand on him; remember the battle; you will not do it again!  (Job 41:8, NASB)

You cannot lay your hand on a fictional creature.  God was not suggesting that men engage in imagination in order to create memories of battle.  He was speaking to mankind’s personal experience with Leviathan.   God was making a point in this to Job.

Job was angry over his loss of children and earthly possessions.  God had taken everything away.  Why was this done?  Why would God take what belonged to Job?  In answer to Jobs pointed questioning, God invoked men’s fear of disturbing the Leviathan, and asked some questions of His own.

…Who then is able to stand against me?  ^{11} Who has a claim against me that I must pay?  Everything under heaven belongs to me.  (Job 41:10-11, NIV)

If the men of Job’s day dared not stir up the wrath of the fire-breathing Leviathan, how much more fearful should they be to stir up the wrath of God who calls Himself a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).

Are we really to believe that the Leviathan was a fire breathing dragon?

Smoke streams from its nostrils like steam from a pot heated over burning rushes.  {21} Its breath would kindle coals, for flames shoot from its mouth.  (Job 41:20-21, NLT)

According to the testimony of God, the answer is yes.

I’ve heard it asked, “Who would have thought that an electric eel or firefly was real if we had only heard of them as tales of creatures long extinct?”  I think that is a valid question.  We need to be careful that we do not fall into the pride of assumed knowledge.  Modern scientists fantasize about what they could learn from observing a living dinosaur.  Why?  Because they don’t know everything, and expect that they would discover a great many things through observation; things they might never have assumed from fossilized remains.  But to assume we know all that there is to know about the many kinds of dinosaurs that once existed is foolishness.  That includes denying that some were capable of breathing fire to some degree, especially when it is not known how this might have been accomplished.  To assume that there is only one way to breath fire is again, prideful ignorance.

DRAGONS IN SCRIPTURE

While we are familiar with many fanciful stories involving fictional dragons, those stories are derived from real world accounts of dinosaurs that lived alongside men, as in the days of Job.

The word “dragon” appears 21 times in the Old Testament alone, and is translated from the Hebrew word “tanniyn” (tan-neen’), which means “a marine or land monster.”  Because of this, the term “dragon” can be used to describe everything from a snake to an extinct dinosaur of old.

For example:

“Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.” (Psalms 91:13, KJV)

Here we find a reference that could easily refer to any modern day snake, especially since this verse uses a double statement – first speaking of “the lion and adder (snake),” and then repeating it again with different words such as “the young lion” and “the dragon.”

However, the term can also speak of very large creatures like Leviathan:

“Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.” (Psalms 74:13, KJV)

Just as it would take God Himself to divide the sea by pure strength, so would it take the strength of God to break the head of a dragon like Leviathan.

Many Satanically inspired stories, both of old and of present day Hollywood, often portray dragons as regal, wise, and powerful, to which men come for wisdom.  And alternately, there are many more depictions of dragons as evil, crafty, and terribly deceptive creatures.  Both depictions “tip their hat” to the original grand dragon whose mind was influenced with the wickedness of Satan.

Leviathan means “serpent.”  So consider, for a moment, that other great dragon of scripture, the Serpent of Eden.

God tells us that this particular Serpent possessed a clever intelligence that, today, is only associated with humanity.  This attribute of intelligence has caused much consternation among scholars.

The debate centers on the word “subtle.”  It’s translated from the Hebrew word aruwm (aw-room’), and means  “cunning: crafty, prudent, and subtle.”  When this description is combined with the serpent’s ability to talk, it implies an intellect far above what we observe in animals today, which is why some people have difficulty accepting the literal meaning of the text.  Must we assume, however, that no animal has ever been able to talk simply because none do today?

In scripture, intelligence is always equated with speech.  For example, when God elevated the intellect of a donkey, she spoke in protest to the prophet Balaam, and in fact spoke from her own experience with him (Numbers 22:22-34).  In contrast, when God judged the pride of king Nebuchadnezzar, his understanding was removed and he became as a dumb, speechless, animal grazing on grass in the fields (Daniel 4.31-34).

Our only knowledge of creation before corruption and judgment is found in Genesis.  Shall we ignore it’s teaching on the basis of what we have personally observed in today’s post-curse world?  Such an approach to scripture is manipulative and contrary to the instructive purpose of God’s word, especially when it describes a time and place expressly stated to be different from what we witness today.

So it was this dragon that Satan entered to deceive Eve.  When God judged Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, God declared that Jesus Christ would come out of Eve (as her “seed”) through her descendants, and thus be called the “Son of Man” (having come from man).  And in contrast, when Satan came out of the Serpent, he became the typological “seed” of the Serpent.  And as one who came out of a serpent, Satan was henceforth viewed as a typological serpent or dragon himself.

What was the name given to Satan as the seed of the Serpent of Eden?

The Great Red Dragon.

“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”  (Revelation 12:3, KJV)

“…the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan…” (Revelation 20:2, KJV)

Leviathan is also likened to Satan on account of Satan’s typological title of Great Red Dragon:

“In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” (Isaiah 27:1, KJV)

In the Psalms, we read again of God’s might against the mighty Leviathan who’s silhouette is seen sailing with the ships on the sea:

“There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.”  (Psalms 104:26, KJV)

“It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. ^{14} It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.”  (Psalms 74:13-14, KJV)

In fact, one such dragon, or sea monster, became sufficiently well-known to the ancients to be given the special name “Rahab” (an epithet of Egypt).

Awake, awake, arm of the LORD, clothe yourself with strength!  Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old.  Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through?  (Isaiah 51:9, NIV)

UNICORN:

The word translated as “unicorn” in the KJV Bible, is the Hebrew word pronounced “re-em”(reh-ame’, reh-ame’, rame, or rame).  Strongs Concordance defines the word as “From H7213; a wild bull (from its conspicuousness): – unicorn.”

Old illustrations from Mesopotamia depict one horned oxen, at least from the perspective of their profile.  These oxen were referred to as “rimu.” The Assyrians referred to the wild ox as “rumu” and also depicted from a side profile giving the appearance of possessing a single horn.  This could explain the origen of the word “unicorn.” But regardless, the Bible clearly describes Unicorns as having more than one horn.

His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.  (Deuteronomy 33:17, KJV)

Even Psalm 92:10, which mentions only one horn of the Unicorn, does not exclude the possibility of a second horn.

But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. (Psalms 92:10, KJV)

Of the Unicorn’s temperament, the Bible has this to say:

Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?  (10) Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?  (11) Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?  (12) Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?  (Job 39:9-12, KJV)

This sounds less like an Ox, and more like a Rhino.  But either way, the text does not require a dinosaur to be it’s focus.

On a side note, the Congo has had quite a few sightings of creatures that resemble dinosaurs, some of which appear to match the description of the Unicorn.

Of Dr Roy Mackal, it’s has been oft quoted:

Dr. Roy Mackal’s explorations in the Congo brought back reports of a rare, single-horned animal called “Emela-ntouka” or “killer of elephants.”  Those reports came from tribes who were more than familiar with what a Rhinoceros is, yet this was something different.  And in a recent expedition, pygmies in Cameroon identified the horned creature (there called “Ngoubou”) with a Ceratopsian dinosaur and claimed it could sport from one to four horns. In fact, modern researchers believe that the ceratopsian dinosaurs likely did use their great horn for combat (Dodson, Peter, The Horned Dinosaurs:A Natural History, 1996, p.123.) (Original source unknown)

Accounts of Dr. Roy Mackal are interesting and thought provoking to be sure.  But in the end, they cannot be cited as proof that the Unicorns mentioned in the Bible were dinosaurs.

FLYING SERPENTS:

Isaiah twice mentions the “fiery flying serpent” (Isaiah 30:6).  In that passage the Lord warns Israel against returning to Egypt, because it wold take them south where they would run into “the lion, the viper, and the fiery flying serpent.” The viper mentioned in this passage likely refers to the Desert Horned Viper.  But the “fiery flying serpent” is almost certainly a “leaping” venomous snake, known as the Israeli Saw-Scale Viper, which have been known to propel themselves off the ground as they strike.  Their bite has also been compared to the pinch of “red hot pliers.”  This would be a fitting description of a fiery flying serpent to be sure.

Support for this interpretation comes from the scriptures that speak of this creature.  When God commanded Moses to erect a brass version of the serpent on a pole to heal the people, they were in the Arava Valley.  The Arava Valley is full of rocky terrain, a perfect environment for the Israeli Saw-scale Viper.  More than this, the Saw-scale Viper has a slow acting venom which would give the people time to run to the erected cure Moses set up.  This snake still lives in that valley today.

However, some have speculated that descriptions of the fiery flying serpent also fit with classical authors describing Pterosaur populations in Egypt and Arabia.  While initially intriguing,  I have found such theories unsubstantiated.

CONCLUSION:

In every discussion of the Bible, critics always demand proof while at the same time poudly proclaiming the conclusions of their theories as fact.  It’s a contradiction they cannot see on account of their pride.  Yet proof is what they must be given, and proof is what every born-again believer has access to.

What proof is that?

Divine encounter.

Here’s the problem.  In every argument against the truthfulness of the scripture that I have heard, the proof against it is, literally, ignorance.  You will hear about what men do not know, and about what they have not seen, implying that if something was true, science would have revealed it to them by now.  You will never win an argument outside of the proof of a personal encounter with the very thing you are arguing over.  It’s the doubting Thomas syndrome.  Men must see to believe.

The solution?  Genuine faith, as opposed to blind faith.

Genuine faith is based on Divine encounter, whereas blind faith is based on guesswork (be it in the science of men, or religious belief).  In other words, if you want someone to believe the word of God, you must first provide them with an encounter.  When you encounter the living God, His testimony is proven along with His existence.  Apart from that, men (both religious and atheistic) can do nothing but reason and argue from the limitations of their own experience.  Nothing is proven apart from observation and experience, and that includes the existence of God and the theories of humanistic science.

Well was it said by the Psalmist:

Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.  (Psalms 40:4, KJV)

There is nothing wrong with evidence, but evidence is not proof.  And no man can embrace God’s word apart from first embracing God Himself through encounter.

FURTHER REFERENCE:

If you’re interested in pursuing this topic further, and tackling greater questions about the Bible and dinosaurs, I encourage you to visit Dr. Brown’s website and browse his free book:

In The Beginning

For extra-biblical evidence, consider the ancient dinosaur depictions found all over the world.

Regardless of what you study, and where you found it, remember that the Bible is the sure record that God has provided us.  We must not ignore its revelations.