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Victory Over Death

"And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and of Hades." Revelation 1:17-18

{keys κλείς kleis} {of death θάνατος thanatos} {and of Hades ᾅδης hadēs}

What are the keys of Death and Hades? How would the people of the Greco-Roman world understood what this verse said? I believe they would have taken this very literally and assumed that Jesus did in fact descend to the underworld as they knew it. I believe they would have had understanding of what this meant from a spiritual warfare point of view. I believe they would have assumed this verse meant that Jesus actually fought and won the keys in the underworld. The Greco-Roman world had an acute understanding of "who" held power in the underworld. I want to share with you a few of the principle characters, namely Thanatos, Hecate, Hades and Persephone.

I believe the people of that time would have been keenly aware of what Jesus had accomplished by stating that he had "the keys of Death and Hades". What a wonderful testimony of the power of the cross, resurrection and life everlasting. What hope for people to know then and now that Jesus holds their lives in the justice of the cross and no longer in the curse and injustice of these gods{the Devil}. That no man will enter the realm of Hades without going through Jesus first. He now decides in grace and perfect justice.

Thanatos is the Greek word for death. But in Greek mythology Thanatos was an actual god that was the personification of death. He was usually depicted with wings and a sacrificial sword{see picture above} and was the priest of Hades. Looks a little familiar doesn't he? The angel of Death, that is the Devil. The picture is from a relief that was in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.

From Goddess to Witch

So we have been discussing the time of the middle ages after the fall of the Roman Empire. Speaking in very general terms covering many years. We find that the church fathers had fallen into a fear of women's sexuality and closeness to the spirit realm. So if you were a woman in the church at that time{speaking in very general terms} you were kept close to home. Sex was only for procreation , if at all, as we know most catholics of the time were celibate. Woman had no role in the church and only learned of God what the men taught them which was most often skewed.

So during this time throughout we have a resurgence of pagan folklore sort of mixing with the old Greco-Roman pantheons. It was mostly woman who were involved in these practices and they became known as witches. We could spend a lot of time discussing all the evil practices, the witch hunts, the trials. But what I want to focus on is the scheme of the enemy and his arsonist firefighter trick. Once again he had created a misogynist oppression{this time within the church} then created a goddess to save them. What I find very interesting is that the principle goddess was Diana{Artemis}.

Remember Artemis/Diana was the goddess with the most disdain for men. She was the one that required virginity as a part of her worship of being subject to no man. We also found that much of the practice of infanticide in that time seemed to be loosely connected to her. Women would either consume or sit in baths of wormwood{artemisia vulgaris} to induce abortion. What changes about the goddess Diana/Artemis in the middle ages is that she is no longer a virgin. Given that the oppressive spirit of celibacy was already being taken care of by the church the devil used Diana to loose the chains of chastity or "procreation only" sex. But being the devil of course he didn't create a freedom of sexuality in a Godly sense but instead hearkened back to the damaging sexuality of blurred gender and lack of intimacy or relationship.

Slay the Woman Loose the Dragon

Out of the wonderment and the power that was the very early church came a very angry dragon. The time of equal right and unity between men and women within the new faith was unfortunately short lived. The dragon had lost his hold over the woman and the huge polytheistic pantheons had begun to crumble. So the devil had to come up with a new way to revive the goddess and the catalyst came from within the church.

Remember how I discussed earlier that the woman seem to have a better perception of the spirit realm? I believe that is a gift that God gave woman that was intended to be coupled with mens strength of sober evaluation. So that together the perception of the woman and the evaluation of the man could produce proper judgement in situations. In Eden Eve could perceive the serpent but Adam was silent in his evaluation of the situation. Therefore proper judgment was not made. Maligned judgement of the situation lead to deception for both Adam and Eve.

Now we saw that the devil chose the woman not only because she was the one that bore the seed of man but also because of her spiritual perception. In this way the devil could use her for his spiritual deception via her sexuality and power of persuasion based in her spiritual sensitivity. This is how the role of the goddess flourished from the time of the Sumerian Inanna all the way through to the Greek goddesses like Artemis/Diana. What added fuel to the flame is that spiritual power was the only power that women were "allowed" to have in a man driven world. Then we saw how Jesus changed all that. The very early church was a spiritual power to be reckoned with because of the unity between men and women.

Greek Myth of Pandora

Before we move on I wanted to be sure to share one last Greek myth with you. You will see as we move into the time of the early church how this attitude towards woman was adopted by many a "church father". It was this attitude that fueled the fire while women were burned at the stake! If only these "fathers" had remembered the words of Paul to the Ephesians instead of seemingly ascribing to the paganist thought they were suppose to be rooting out! Again, you can not slay the dragon by killing the woman.

"For our struggle is NOT against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 5:12

The Greek Myth of the Mortal Pandora

"The gods keep hidden from men the means of life . . . Zeus in the anger of his heart hid it, because Prometheus the crafty deceived him; therefore he planned sorrow and mischief against men. He hid fire; but that the noble son of Iapetus stole again for men from Zeus the counsellor in a hollow fennel-stalk, so that Zeus who delights in thunder did not see it. But afterwards Zeus who gathers the clouds said to him in anger : `Son of Iapetos, surpassing all in cunning, you are glad that you have outwitted me and stolen fire--a great plague to you yourself and to men that shall be. But I will give men as the price for fire an evil thing in which they may all be glad of heart while they embrace their own destruction.'

Slay the Dragon Not the Woman

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

I was going to try to avoid the verses in the new testament that have caused so much division in the church between men and woman. These verses have been re-hashed so many times you almost don't want to hear of them again! But because of what we have been discussing I find it necessary to visit a few of them. Many women have been deeply hurt by the way these verses have been taught. Which is a big indicator to me that they are not being taught correctly because God is not in the business of hurting people. I am hoping that you maybe see them in a different light putting them in context as to what type of women Paul was speaking to.

The words of Paul to women seem very harsh at times. But we have to remember that many of the people he was writing had never heard the gospel. The most common explanation is that the majority of the female coverts of the new testament church were prostitutes. It is true that prostitution was rampant throughout the Roman empire; both street and temple. They were always scantily clad, loaded with make-up, jewelry and spoke brazenly. Like most sexuality during that time there was an attitude of "anything goes". Sexuality was not an intimate male/female thing it was a ritualistic/hedonistic thing{as we have discussed in the other posts}. Infidelity, adultery, drugs and alcohol fueled the fire!

Power of the Goddess

So we have been discussing the word of the goddess through the old and new testament. I find it so interesting that in the way of "fertility goddesses" we went from Inanna and Ishtar whose temple practices involved copious amounts of sexual activity, a generous blurring of the lines between genders, and the consecration of any virginity or loss there of to the goddess herself.

As we moved into the new testament we have the goddess Cybele who still requires copious amounts of sexual activity for her worship but it is done in such a way that there in no fertility. Meaning that the sexual activity was between same sexes making it impossible to produce a child. Then we found Artemis to really be the antithesis of fertility in that she required anyone who worshipped her to never marry. This wasn't for virtuous reasons, this was because of the refusal to be attached to any man. Not only that but if one did marry and have a child it was quite possible you would suffer her wrath. Remember any woman who died in childbirth was attributed to Artemis. Their tunics would be taken to her as sacrifice. {according to the picture above maybe it was their bodies too!?!}We also discovered the eerie connection between a known abortion causing herb of the ancient world wormwood and the goddess. The herbs Latin name was Artemisia Vulgaris.

Blueprint of a Goddess...Artemis

So now we have come to the best known new testament goddess, that is Artemis. Artemis is a many faceted goddess whom I have not totally figured out. Some say she was a fertility goddess other say she was goddess of the hunt. Most seem to say that she was the goddess of both. So in that respect she will fit in quite nicely with the other goddess we have been discussing. Her most famous temple was in Ephesus on the west coast of Asia Minor but she also had temples in Sparta and Brauron.

In the Roman world she was assimilated with the goddess Diana. However when you look at the sculptures of Diana and Artemis side by side you see two very different looking goddesses. Where Diana looks very refined; Artemis has a more bohemian feel. {see pics} One theory is that the Artemis of Ephesus was an incarnation of the goddess Cybele because of the close geographically proximity and the similar look. For the sake of this post we will discuss the general consensus that Artemis and Diana are one in the same.

Artemis was known as a virgin goddess much like the others we have discussed. However with Artemis the term 'virgin' didn't mean 'single and having sex' as it did with the others. From what I can tell she was truly chaste. In fact I haven't found any evidence of ritual sex associated with Artemis or her temple. Which was a big surprise to me too! It is for this reason that Artemis became the patron goddess of young unmarried woman.

Blueprint of a Goddess...Cybele

So we have discussed some of the goddesses during the old testament times; mainly Inanna and Ishtar. Now we will jump ahead to the new testament times.

I have chosen to discuss the goddess Cybele because of her androgynous beginnings and her very interesting temple rites. When we think of the Greco-Roman world during the times of the new testament the more commonly known gods and goddesses come to mind...Aprodite/Venus, Dionysus/Bacchus, Eros/Cupid etc. While these gods and goddesses were no strangers to orgastic temple rites with sexuality of all kinds it is the myths of Cybele that have intrigued me.

Cybele was known as 'The Great Mother' or 'Great Virgin', guardian of the dead, goddess of fertility and wild life. Her myths actually date back to about 1500BC in Asia Minor{modern day Turkey}; specifically the region of Phrygia{yellow region on map}. In the older original myths Cybele is called Agadistis who possessed both male and female attributes. It was said that this gave rise to such wild and uncontrolled nature that the other gods began to fear her/him. So the gods gave Agadistis a potion to put her/him to sleep. While asleep Dionysus{god of intoxication} put a rope around her/his phallus so that when she/he awoke to get up her/his phallus was riped off. This blood dripped into the ground and a almond tree sprouted.

Blueprint of a Goddess...Pictures & References.

It really is amazing to see these fertility goddesses side by side. They all have the same symbolism; just from different times and different places. Most all have a serpent of some kind. We all know what that represents.  Here is an interesting take from a secular point of view---

"The serpent first appears as a serpent mother goddess in the Neolitic era, and is also drawn coiling around the womb and the phallus as principle of regeneration.  In the Sumerian cities of Ur and Uruk, in the lowest level of excavation, were found two very old images of the Mother Goddess and her child, both having the heads of snakes.  As the male aspect of the goddess was differentiated, the serpent became the fertilizing phallus, image of the god who was her son and consort, born from her, married with her and dying back into her for rebirth in unending cycle.   As we have seen, in images of the goddess in every culture the serpent is never far away, standing behind her, eating from her hand, entwined in her tree...Genesis is no expection to this, unless it be that, formally, there is no goddess, only a woman..."
The Myth of the Goddess, Anne Baring and Jules Cashford

Might I add that Genesis is no different!  The serpent hoped to make Eve the first goddess, but instead found a woman of God!  Also notice many of them also have wings, which makes it clear to me that they were a favorite manifestation of the Devil. Almost all of them have a lion in one way or another. It is my understanding that in mythology a lion represents the sun and earthly dominion. Therefore is usually in reference to the principle male deity. Remember, the fertility goddess is a moon goddess. So I am assuming that the symbolism is to show her power over the earth and the male deity.  In alchemy the lion is the symbol of sexual passion where as the serpent/dragon represents the circular nature of things or constant re-invention.  In alchemy this symbol is called 'ouroboros'.

In this post I will also include some of the biblical references where they apply.

Inanna/Ishtar{Sumerian/Babylonian}

'Queen of Heaven' Jer. 7:18, Jer. 44:17-19,25

'Morning Star' Isaiah 14:12

'Lilitu'{screech owl} Isaiah 34:14

Blueprint of a Goddess...Ishtar

In the last post we discussed the Sumerian fertility goddess Inanna. In this post we will see the next incarnation that was the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. Ishtar and Inanna are nearly the same goddess. Both are moon goddesses, both are related to Venus. Both call themselves the Morning and Evening Star. Ishtar is often depicted with lions, serpents or dragons. Both descend to the underworld. The parallels go on and on. Ishtar was just the latest incarnation of the goddess.

Now the in the last post we read of Inanna descended to the underworld, passing through the gates, then presenting herself naked before her sister, the queen of the underworld. Then she is killed by her sister and left hanging on a post. In the meantime her faithful friend goes to her father Enki{god of wisdom} to tell him she has not returned. So Enki creates two beings {neither male or female} to take her the water and food of life. Inanna comes back to life but the queen of the underworld tells her someone must die in her place. So Inanna goes to look for someone. When she comes upon her husband, Dumuzi{the shepherd god} she discovers that her was not mourning her death. In her anger she chooses her husband to take her place in the underworld. Therefore Tammuz is sacrificed for the sake of fertility.

Blueprint of a Goddess...Inanna

Continuing from our last post. We are discussing the very first fertility goddess; Inanna. She was the sex, fertility and goddess of war to the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. We discussed in the last post the Sumerian creation myth that there were six people created in the beginning. Four of whom were androgynous and the other two a barren female and a castrated male eunuch. So we can see the death wish that the devil had for both Adam and Eve. He was furious that Adam and Eve had the capability to produce life.

We also discussed the myth of Inanna and the Huluppu Tree. This was a tree that the god of wisdom had planted and that Inanna took and planted in her own sacred garden. She makes a throne in her tree, to rule. She makes a bed in her tree to reproduce. Later the serpent, the Anzu bird and the Lilitu all make a nest in her tree. We see later that these three beings were all aspects of Inanna's personality.

So this gives great insight as to the enemies side of the story. As I have discussed in other posts, I do not believe that God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil {or function and dysfunction, in the Hebrew} in the garden. It was God's Tree of Life that was in the midst of the garden, the other tree was a tree that the devil had made his nest in. To make his throne and his bed as the myth points out. The Devil wanted to be ruler of the earth and he also wanted rule over the seed of the woman. So he tempts the bearer of the seed; Eve. More on this in a bit. First lets discuss 'Inanna and the Mes'.

According to the Sumerian myth, once Inanna made her throne out of the Huluppu Tree she decided she would need more power than what Enki{the god of wisdom} had given her. Enki was the keeper of the Mes or Me. The Me was the wisdom of civilization. It was the code of how the spirit world and the physical world interacted. So one day Inanna goes to Enki and asks for a larger allocation of the Me; since it was handed out among all the other gods each with their own sphere of influence. Enki denies his daughter Inanna her request and Inanna is not happy. So she gets him drunk. Then in his drunkenness he hands over ALL the Me to Inanna. Inanna flees quickly in her boat up the Euphrates.

When Enki comes to and realizes that he has been tricked, he is furious. So he sends out demonic creatures of all kinds to retrieve the Me. But Inanna's trusty female companion Ninshubur fights off all the demons. So what do you think was the prize of all the Me to Inanna? Choice!

"Of all the Me Inanna received, the one she valued most, as did Enki, was the power of making decisions. Knowing the other gifts would be worthless without this power -- which involves will, initiative, and independence." from Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth by Eloise Hart

So a background picture should be forming in your mind as to what was behind the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Isn't interesting to see how the Devil made myths to show himself the good guy in all this? Or actually good gal! LOL. Seriously though. The devil knew he could tempt Eve because he knew she had the freedom of choice. That is why he set up shop in the garden. He wanted Adam and Eve to worship him in place of God. He wanted Adam and Eve to think that he was the one that would make them 'fruitful and multiply'. He wanted Adam and Eve to think he was the one with all the wisdom. But as we know it was a lie. Adam and Eve gained no good knowledge from the tree, they only gained the death of the devil. There is another eerie parallel and that is Inanna's decent to the underworld.

It is still unclear to me as to why Inanna decides to go to the underworld. However her sister Eriskegal is the goddess of the underworld and the dead. As Inanna descends she passes through seven different gates guarded by demons. At each gate she is required to remove a piece of clothing or earthly attribute including her priestly office, her sexual power and her royal power. By the time she gets to the underworld she is naked before her sister the goddess of the dead.

"Naked and bowed low, Inanna entered the throne room.
Ereshkigal rose from her throne.
Inanna started toward the throne.
The Annuna, the judges of the underworld, surrounded her.
They passed judgment against her.
Then Ereshkigal fastened on Inanna the eye of death.
She spoke against her the word of wrath.
She uttered against her the cry of guilt.
She struck her.
Inanna was turned into a corpse,
A piece of rotting meat,
And was hung from a hook on the wall...."www.inanna.virtualave.net/tammuz.html

So here we really have the culmination of what took place in the garden. The Devil as Inanna has built his throne in the garden. He thinks he has outwitted God by using his choice to make his throne in the garden. The devil thinks that he can 'get' Adam and Eve by offering 'his' wisdom. But what he really wants is the seed of man, that is born of the woman. So the temptation of Eve was that she would 'be like God' or in this case be a goddess. This temptation goes against what God had already put in place by His truth.

Man and woman were created male and female, separate but equal. They were to take dominion over the earth together. They were to be fruitful and multiply together. They were to be in intimate relationship with God and in an intimate marital relationship together. But the Devil doesn't like that idea. So he seeks to destroy. But the trick offered to Eve was that she didn't need Adam as an intimate husband to co-rule with. The way of the goddess is to rule over man and use him only as a fertilizer. So Eve fell for it and Adam stood there like a future male fertility prostitute; succumbed to the way of the goddess and ate the lie as well. Then the lie was revealed.

They stood there naked and laid bare just like Inanna before the queen of the underworld. And part of the death was to their sexuality. Remember the Sumerian creation story? A barren woman and a male eunuch. That was how Adam and Eve stood. The Devil had made that which was male and female, married, intimate and able to produce life---androgynous, unequal, ritual and dead. Women are reminded of the death every month! That is what menstruation is; death of a potential life. This was part of the consequence for Eve's choice. Pain in conception and childbirth because of the 'death' caused by the Devil. This wasn't Gods plan. Sin is the punishment. Sin is causing the will of the Devil to take place. Moreover what the Devil accomplished is the unequal state between a man and a woman. Again not God, remember he has given them equal dominion, they were to be co-rulers. So God's response to this now unequal relationship is...Eve desire your husband{not the schemes of the enemy} and Adam take care of your wife! In other words look out for one another and be aware of the destructive plans of the enemy.

So in a way we can look at what happened in the garden as a victory. Or at the very least God working a seemingly hopeless situation for good. Adam and Eve repented. Adam and Eve were covered by God in skins of atonement. The next we hear of the couple it is that Adam knew his wife in the intimate, marital, sexual union. Eve conceives life by her husband and gives birth to life in her son Cain. Eve exclaims "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth the life of a man." {Gen 4:1} Proclaiming the life of God's truth and at the same time discounting the lie that the enemy had told.

So the Devil creates his own story. He dreams up the goddess Inanna as the one he wished Eve had become so that he would have held the power to use her to his evil purpose. In a weird way it almost seems that the Devil himself takes on the personae of the goddess. It's like the fireman who is an arsonist by night. He lights the fires of destruction in the shadows then by day shows up as the hero who saves everyone. That is the narcissistic character of the enemy. You will see as we follow the other fertility goddesses through ancient times that the are the ones who claim fertility but always have a dark side of war and death. It was the devil that gave birth to misogyny, but he covered his evil intentions in a the form of a goddess so that he might cause the most damage against her.

Next we will look at the transformation of the Sumerian Inanna into the Babylonian Ishtar. We will also be discussing where the female aspect fits into a patriarchal God.

Blueprint of a Goddess

So as discussed in the last post we are going to take a dive into the world of ancient mythology. This is in no way to glorify the devil or discount the Bible. This is to instead expose the schemes of the enemy and see things from "his" perspective. You will see very quickly how the devil created his own history in which he is the giver of life, sex and fertility. So for this post I will presents some of the myths of Inanna--Sumerian goddess of sex, fertility and war. She is considered the first fertility goddess. Then in the next post we will compare it with our story of Adam and Eve and how the devil assaulted sexuality.

I have never been more grateful for God as the true God and his Word. He is straightforward, simple and to the point. The polytheistic pantheons of the ancient world attest to the panic of the devil, that somehow "quantity" would make up for the "quality" that is "I AM". The myths are very complex and confusing. I have only been studying them for a few weeks, so it is hard to keep them straight. But it is obvious that the enemy used these gods and goddesses to destroy the truth and principles God had created. All the while he takes on the role that he was the one screwed over by God. Moreover that Adam and Eve had been screwed over by God as well.

Father Knows Best

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"Out of Egypt I Called My Son"

As we continue to travel through the old testament and the battles of good vs evil; it is impossible to skip over the righteousness of Egypt. I would imagine that when most people think of Egypt in the bible they think of the oppression of Pharaoh and the plagues. But Egypt was so much more than that. Without the righteousness of Egypt the seed of Jesus would have never come to pass. So let's take a look at Egypt the kingdom that God longed for relationship with.

Now we must keep in mind the close proximity of the physical and spiritual worlds in the old testament. Remember there is a battle of good vs evil in full swing. Also remember that sin effects that which we have dominion over...creation, humanity, the devil and man himself. In the old testament the sin or righteousness of one man can effect a whole people group.

One of the first glimpses we get of Egypt is through Abraham and Sarah. (Gen 12:10). There is famine in the land so Abraham and his wife set out to Egypt for relief. While Abraham is there he lies that Sarah is his sister and Pharaoh takes her as his own. Exactly the same thing Abraham does to Abimelech. (click to read that blog) Abraham isn't very good at trusting that the Lord will provide a son through barren Sarah. Anyways Pharaoh gets pissed because the household became inflicted with disease due to Abraham's lie. So Pharaoh rightful kicks Abraham out of Egypt. But Pharaoh also allows him to keep all the livestock, donkeys, camels and workers that he acquired there. Just like Abimelech Pharaoh sacrificed by giving to Abraham and in turn Abraham was vindicated. That is righteousness! Pharaoh atoned for the sin of Abraham. He also provide for him so that when he returned to the place of famine he would not starve. It says in the next chapter that Abraham had become very wealthy! That wealth was because of Egypt.

Egypt was the largest, most wealthy, mighty kingdom in the land. It was a beautiful, green and fertile. Abraham's nephew Lot compared it to the garden of Eden in Gen. 13:10. The people of the time were the most advanced in arts, writing and architecture. But along with all that Egypt was one of the biggest spiritual stronghold's of the devil. That is NOT to say that Egypt had all of those things because of the devil. The Egyptians were being who God created them to be; except for the lacking of relationship with the one true God. The devil was unfortunately let in to take all the credit. But God did not forget about Egypt.

Later in Genesis we learn that Abraham had acquired a particular Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. (Gen. 16) She becomes pregnant with Abraham's son at the request of Sarah. But then Sarah mistreats her for doing so. So Hagar runs away. But God sees that Hagar has done no wrong. God comforts Hagar and blesses her. She names her son Ishmael at the request of God and says "Now I have seen the One who sees me." Gen 16:13. Ishmael means "God has heard".

After the birth of Isaac to Sarah. Sarah acts unjustly once again and sends Hagar and her son Ishmael away. But once again God is faithful to Hagar the Egyptian woman. God hears the cry of Hagar and her son and comforts them and gives them water. God assures Hagar that her son too will father a great nation. Genesis 21:20 notes that God was with Ishmael as he grew up. He married an Egyptian wife and settled in the land of Paran (Sinai peninsula).

So God was not rejecting Hagar and Ishmael; Sarah was. Hagar was a righteous woman who honored and listen to God. In turn God blessed her and her son. Sarah too was blessed but only on account of Abraham; not by her own righteousness. As far as I know the only time that Sarah talked to God she lied. (Gen. 18:15) Of the two woman it was Hagar who had relationship with God.

Next we find the Hebrew Joseph in the prosperous kingdom of Egypt. Ironically he has been sold to a caravan of Ishmaelites (decedents of Hagar's son) traveling down to Egypt. Really the Ishmaelite's save Joseph's life. While in Egypt Joseph finds success in the house of Potiphar then in the house of Pharaoh himself. Joseph is put in charge of the whole land of Egypt; only second to Pharaoh himself. Joseph does not hide his belief in God and Pharaoh still honors him and in turn honors God. For this reason God blesses Egypt with provision. Meanwhile his brothers who are suppose to be righteous men are struck by famine. Remember when we sin it effects that which we have dominion over. I am sure that the devil was pissed that he was being pushed from his territory in Egypt but thrilled he was able to attack the so called righteous. In the end of this story it is again by the righteousness of Egypt that the twelve sons of Israel were kept alive. God even commands Jacob in Gen. 46:3 to take his whole family "...to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down with you..."

Between the book of Genesis and the book of Exodus there is about 350 years. The end of Genesis describes a tribe of about 70 Israelites going down to Egypt. The beginning of Exodus says the the Israelites had "multiplied greatly and were exceedingly numerous" Ex 1:7 At the time of the exodus the bible says there were about 600,000 men (Gen 12:36) so add women and children and the number is thought to be closer to 2 million. At any rate...WAY more than 70.

So what happened during those 350 years? I personally think that for the most part Egypt was a fine place for the Israelites. We know from the story of Joseph that they were being treated quite well. But when the bible is silent for that long it tells me one thing...nothing was happening that had to do with God. I think that during those 350 years the Israelites did not keep there righteous influence. The Egyptians fell back into their polytheistic worship and the Israelites fell with them. The lack of righteousness regarding both parties brought sin and the will of the devil back to the land of Egypt. Egypt was once again under the dominion of the devil.

The Pharaoh at the beginning of Exodus was fearful of the growing number of the Israelites and so began to oppress them. So the devil really kills two birds with one stone. He has dominion over Egypt through the sin of Pharaoh and has dominion over the Israelites who had allowed themselves to become oppressed via their own rejecting of God. We know that once the Israelites are out of Egypt that they struggle with idolatry and other pagan practices they were a part of in Egypt. Some of them even want to go back! The Israelites had forgotten God. They had sinned and death was on their doorstep.

The devil plays on Pharaoh's fear that the Israelites are growing too large. So he orders the Egyptian midwives to kill all the newborn Hebrew sons. Interestingly the midwives do not listen for they fear the Lord. Righteous Egyptians again save the Israelites. Exodus 1:20-22 says "So God was kind to the midwives...because they feared the Lord...he gave them families of their own." Then Pharaoh gave the order to all the people of Egypt "Every boy that is born to the Hebrews; you must throw into the Nile..." Ex. 1:22. It is during this time that Moses is born. In another ironic twist Moses is saved from death by the daughter of Pharaoh. She raises Moses as her own in the royal house of Pharaoh. Can you see how over and over again if it wasn't for the righteousness of Egypt the Israelites would have been screwed! Remember good vs evil.

One day after Moses is already grown he murders an Egyptian foreman. It is the first time that he does anything against the house that raised him. He fears for his life and flees to the desert. During the time that Moses is in the desert Pharaoh dies. It is also at this time that the Hebrews finally after 350 years cry out to God. An what do you know? God steps into action. It is a good thing to remember that God will not save us from sin and oppression unless we cry out in repentance. Until that time He will not cross our freewill choice to sin. So God prepares Moses in the desert. A significant prelude to the preparation the "nation" in the desert. And in both instances it is going to be a great battle of good vs evil.

The basis of the battle when Moses returns to Egypt is this...God has heard the outcry of repentance from His people. They have been oppressed because of their own sin and now God wants them released to the desert. Namely so that they can sacrifice for their sin and once again worship God. In the long run so that God can form this people into a righteous nation. On the flip side the devil through cooperation of Pharaoh has enjoyed the oppression of sin on God's righteous people. The devil has had dominion over them for nearly 350 years. So the devil through Pharaoh will not release them. See once they sacrifice in the desert; the devil no longer has dominion...the sin is atoned for.

So the plagues are God giving Pharaoh 9 chances to act righteously and break dominion of the devil. On the other hand we can look at the plagues as God allowing the consequence of sin to ride. Remember sin=death. Sin is the punishment. The plagues can be seen as warfare against the devil and the deities of Egypt. Or simply as a result of sin which is being in the will of the devil. The will of the devil is always death and destruction. Here is breakdown of the plagues...the dominion they effect...and how they would effected some of the many deities of Egypt.

Now a few things that I want to point out. When it says that "God hardened Pharaoh's heart". {I ended up doing a short, separate post concerning the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. Click here to read it.}

Now for the most difficult part of the story...death of the firstborn by the hand of God. For sake of time I will tell you my personal view on the situation. If you don't agree that is fine. Please seek out answers. But again I do not see any reason that God would have an "angel of death". Death only entered the world through sin. Before sin there was no death. So why would God have an angel of death? Moreover if it was God who was destroying why would He need the sign of blood on the door? Doesn't our all-knowing God know who His people are? Yes, God does know the heart of all men and no God is not a destroyer. However the devil is.

In the Hebrew text Gen 12:23 it says this "...He[God] shall not allow the Destroyer to come into your houses to scourge." God allowed the devil to take the sin in Egypt to the greatest denominator which is death. The blood on the door was a sign to the devil not to God. It was blood sacrifice that brought those people out of sin and protected them from the death of the devil.

Now it gets better. We know from the laws given to Moses after the exodus that their were many "resident aliens" among them. The laws all specifically state not to oppress them the way you were oppressed in Egypt. These "resident aliens" were Egyptians. I believe that several Egyptians were righteous just like the midwives. I think they would have been living with the Hebrews in Egypt. Therefore I think they would have been in the homes with blood on the door for protection.

On the other hand I think there were unrighteous Hebrews that did not repent and did not put blood on the door. Why would I think that? 1 Corinthians 10 starts out reminding the Jews of the time not to sin as the Israelites did in the old testament. It is talking about things like idolatry, sexual immorality, that some were killed by snakes etc. Then 1 Cor. 10:10 says "And do not grumble, as some of them did-and were destroyed by the destroying angel." This verse is referring to the Israelites not the Egyptians. We know that even at the Red Sea many Israelites wanted to go back. So that tells me that many didn't leave in the first place. The Destroyer killed by who was was in sin Egyptian or Israelite. Those that repented and gave sacrifice lived; both Egyptian and Israelite. Really think of how many Egyptians saw the hand of God by the plagues and repented. I think many of them did. I believe there was still righteousness in Egypt even with Pharaoh working along the evil schemes of the devil .

It it after this last plague that Pharaoh lets the Israelites go. Pharaoh sees that he really isn't the gods of gods, he doesn't have dominion. It was the devil that had dominion over him. And Pharaoh does maybe have a temporary change of heart. Gen. 12:32 tells Pharaoh saying "Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And pray for me also." Do you see the battle in the spirit for Pharaoh? Then before the Israelites even get to the Red Sea God makes two things very clear. Any resident alien or foreigner(Egyptian) that goes with you must get circumcised. Circumcision was a sign in the spiritual and the physical that you belonged to God. So this shows God welcomed the new"converts" among them. Also God commands to consecrate the first born male offspring (man and beast) to Him. At this time it was these first born sons that were to be the priests (later it is the Levities) and the livestock for sacrifice. God was making a powerful statement to the devil in the spirit. Pharaoh may have killed the firstborn and God allowed the devil to kill the firstborn but now they were Gods! Priest of atonement.

Now when we look back over all these stories concerning Egypt in the old testament what do I see? It is very clear to me that Egypt was a righteous nation at times. Without them the nation of Israelites would have never made it. Moreover the seed of Jesus would have never made it. I think the most wonderful redemptive story for the country of Egypt is the story after Jesus is born.

Herod is being influenced by the same fear that the devil used on Herod. He is afraid someone is going to take his dominion. So he orders all the male children age 2 and under to be killed. It is at this time that the Lord prompts Mary and Joseph to take the newborn Jesus to Egypt for safety. They are protected in Egypt till Herod dies. It doesn't say how long they were there but possibly a few years. And so the prophecy in Hosea concerning Jesus was fulfilled. Matthew notes the same in chapter 2:15 "Out of Egypt I called my son."

Really this is the fourth time that God has called his son or the seed of his son out of Egypt. Father Abraham was saved, the 12 tribes were saved, the nation of Israelites were saved and Jesus himself was saved by the righteousness of Egypt. God had and still has a heart for Egypt. The battle for Egypt still continues. We need to be the witness. We need to intercede that they may be released from oppression. I believe the righteousness of that people is still alive. At the very least we need to be grateful for the righteousness of Egypt. We need to pray for the blessing and redemption that Egypt has long for for thousands of years. God created all nations and one day all nations will be redeemed unto Him.

Love & War (Part Five)

Click here to read part four.

I want to take a quick look at a story in Genesis 20. We have been seeing a lot of how the wicked are destroyed because of their sin and the righteous are spared. But what happens when it is the righteous who sin against the pagan? Does God still intervene? I am happy to say yes...our loving, gracious God does. I give you Abimelech king of Gerar.

Abraham and his wife Sarah are traveling through the region of the Negev. When they come upon the region of Gerar Abraham is afraid that these people don't honor his God; so he lies. Sounds a little backwards I know. None the less Abraham lies and says that Sarah is his sister. Maybe the whole Sodom thing was still fresh in his mind. I don't know. Bottom line he lied-sinned-stepped out of the will of God. So Abimelech upon seeing this hot, single woman in her 90s takes her to be a part of his harem.

On night God comes to Abimelech in a dream. Not Abraham, Abimelech. God says "You are a dead man because of the woman you took, as she is another's wife." Gen. 20:3 Oh my goodness God is speaking to a pagan! And look the pagan responds "Lord will you destroy a nation even if it is innocent? He told me she was his sister...with a pure heart and clean hands I have done this." Gen. 20:4-5 God then says to Abimelech "Yes I know you have a clear conscience so I have keep you from sinning. That is why I did not let you touch her." Gen. 20:6

So here we have God speaking to a pagan king and Abimelech responding un-alarmed and unafraid. This shows us that along with the close proximity of the spirit realm in ancient times God did not only appear or speak to the righteous. God was made known to pagan and righteous people alike. (I am going to talk more on this latter.) Interaction with the spirit realm in ancient times was common.

So God goes on to tell Abimelech to return Sarah to her husband Abraham so that "you and yours" will not die. Remember sin=death and in the old testament prior to Jesus that meant actual death. What a gracious, loving God to warn Abimelech. Just as warning Cain "sin is crouching at the door" Gen. 4:7 But unlike Cain this pagan heeds the words of a righteous God and returns Sarah to Abraham. Wow...a God fearing, righteous pagan. Who knew there was such a thing. LOL.

So Abimelech returns Sarah. He is a little pissed at Abraham but does not let the devil take hold of the situation. Instead of being pissed...he honors Abraham and Sarah. And in turn he honors God in the situation instead of the devil. Warfare! He brings Abraham sheep and cattle. He offers Abraham workers to work for him. He tells Abraham he can live anywhere in his kingdom. To top it all off he brings 25 pounds of silver and gives it to Sarah. "I am giving this to your brother...to cover the offense against you...you are completely vindicated." Gen. 20:16 Love how he still says "brother". Come on he had to get a little jab right? :D But what Abimelech did was sacrifice goods that he owned for the vindication of Abraham. He atoned for Abraham's sin. That is righteousness!

At the end of the chapter Abraham intercedes for Abimelech that he too will be vindicated from any wrong doing. In the face of Abimelech's righteousness and honor how could God refuse? Well he didn't. God gave life back to the household of Abimelech. The surprise ending is that God had made all of the women in Abimelech's household barren because of Abraham's sin. If Abimelech had refused to return Sarah and sinned; death would have come to his household via infertility. The other catch is that Sarah had not yet bore Isaac at this point. What a mess it would have been if Abimelech did have sex with her and nine months later Sarah would have been wondering who the baby daddy was! Wow, what a good, gracious, loving God to both the pagan and the righteous. Let's check the sin/dominion formula on this one...

Creation-"You and yours will die" Yours meaning all your livestock and land.
This was averted because Abimelech did not sin.

Humanity-Death via infertility. Averted because Abimelech did not sin.

The Devil-Gains no dominion. The devil looses out on account of Abimelech's and Abraham's
righteousness.

Man himself-Abimelech does not sin and vindicates Abraham for his sin. Life for both!

Too bad that they don't all turn out that way. But this shows that all through the old testament God was known to many. It also shows that God honors the righteous man whether he is pagan or not. Righteous is righteous full stop. Finally God wants to bring life into any situation he can. Death and destuction is not the heart of God. The heart of God was and will always be love, life, and grace. Aren't we lucky!

Love & War (Part Four)

To read part three click here.

Continuing to look through the old testament at the concepts of sin and punishment. Building off the idea that sin is a stepping out of the will of God and into the will of the devil. When we do this we in fact punish ourselves. We make the choice to step out of God's plan that is life and righteousness and in turn we step into the devil's plan of distortion and death. We have also been discussing that when we sin it effects all that we have dominion over...creation, humanity, the devil and ourselves. If you are totally lost it may help to read the prior blogs. :D

When we meet Abraham in Genesis 12 we learn quite quickly that he is a righteous man who has relationship with God. (At this time his name is actually Abram but that's another story. We will just call him Abraham to simplify) We also in chapter 12 meet his nephew Lot. They have been traveling and living together. But they come to a piece of land that is unable to feed both of their herds. We also learn that their workers or herdsmen are not getting along. So they decide to go their separate ways. Abraham leaves to the high country of Hebron and Lot to the plains of Sodom.

Genesis 14 give a great snapshot of the constant battles between the people groups of this time. Remember this is before the "Israelites" even exist. But the devil was already getting very good at stealing man's dominion and causing his will to come to past. Death and destruction. It is during one of these battles that Abraham's nephew Lot gets carried off as a prisoner. Abraham hears of this and sends a rescue party. The rescue is a success and upon return Abraham runs into two very different kings. Melchizedek king of Salem is a righteous man who has relationship with God and the king of Sodom who does not. To honor the king of Salem Abraham gives him a tenth of the spoils. The king of Sodom sees this gesture and says to Abraham "give me the people and keep the goods for yourself." Gen. 14:21 Notice Abraham's response "I have raised my hand to God...I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or strap from your sandal..." Gen. 14:22-23. Can you see the battle in the spirit here? Abraham is refusing to hand even a shred of his dominion to anything unrighteous. This is warfare. Lot on the other hand after just being rescued returns to Sodom. Sodom means burning.

A couple of chapters we find Abraham in his tent in a town called Hebron; which means fellowship. Abraham looks up to see God an two angels. Remember the spirit world and the natural world were nearly one in the same in ancient times. As soon as Abraham sees them he bows down in respect and invites them to stay for a feast. He gets Sarah to make bread from the best flour. He has one of his men kill the best calf. He brings other choice food to complete the feast to honor his guests. One funny note here...the Lord asks "Where is Sarah?" when she is standing just a few feet away. Remember in Eden? "Where are you?" or with Cain "Where is your brother?" Sarah has a lacking relationship with God. So even though she is in the presence of God; He can sense the separation of her spirit. So here they are feasting with Abraham having a little chit chat. Then God says "the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin is grievous." Gen 18:20 Robert Alter's commentary for this verse notes two things:
1) the Hebrew word here for "outcry" "is often associated...with the shrieks of torment of the oppressed."
2) the Hebrew text reads "the outcry of Sodom..." not "the outcry against Sodom..." This is how it reads in the KJV as well.

Now is this sounding at all familiar from the last blog? Remember the outcry of torment of the people prior to the flood. It was so bad that Lamech even names his son Noah; which means comfort. See how the devil was once again using the dominion he gained from man to twist and distort God's created? These people on a physical level were engaged in "grievous sin" but even still their spirits were crying out in torment. Isn't the devil twisted! This is the spiritual battle of good vs evil.

So Abraham catches on pretty quick that these cities, five in all, were to be destroyed. He bargains with God not to destroy the cities if at least 10 righteous people are found. Abraham is trying to save his nephew Lot. God agrees and sends the two angels to Sodom to check things out. Lot happens to be at the front gate when the angels arrive. When he sees them he too bows down in respect and invites them to his home for something to eat. So what feast does Lot prepare? Flat bread. Flat bread and cheese? NO. Flat bread and meat? NO. Flat bread and wine? NO. Flat bread and beer? NO. Just flat bread. A far cry from the feast or shall we say offering that his uncle had prepared. Think relationship or lack there of. So while they are eating "all the men from every part of the city-both young and old-surrounded the house." Gen 19:4. Kinda sounds like the all encompassing wickedness of the people prior to the flood doesn't it.

So "all the men" it turns out want to have sex with the new men in town. Makes you wonder if Lot got the same treatment when he moved in. If he did...makes you wonder why he is still living there. Anyways...Lot in his demented sinful mind offers the huge group of men outside his two virgin daughters instead. What a loser huh! Well the men of Sodom are not satisfied with that offer and try to break into the house. The angels strike the men of Sodom with blindness...a physical blindness to mirror what was obviously a spiritual blindness. Lot's name by the way means "covering or veil" in the bad sense. The angels then have to basically drag Lot and his family from the city before it is destroyed. I think they really would have preferred to stay. They are totally clueless as to how wicked things are there and don't really believe the cities are to be destroyed. Total deception till the death is a specialty of the devil.

Now I would like to note here that sexual deviation was not the only sin of Sodom. In fact I believe the sexual deviation was just secondary to the underling often deep rooted sin. Ezechiel 16:49 says "This was the sin of Sodom...she was arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and the needy." Think of these things on a spiritual level. A spirit of pride, a spirit of lust, and a spirit of broken will. Sodom was immersed in the wicked schemes of the devil because they had given away their dominion. A broken will breeds complacency and it is always a door for the devil to come in and take over. So just like the flood the wickedness of the devil is destroyed by the righteousness of God. The fact that a total loser like Lot was considered righteous enough to be spared gives a good picture of how unrighteous the others in those towns were. I also think it was because Lot was related to the righteousness of Abraham if only by a small thread. Remember Abraham was the one who interceded for Lot. So lets check our sin/dominion formula...

Creation-Fire and brimstone (or pitch) Gen. 19:24
Vegetation of the land destroyed Gen. 19:25

Humanity-The outcry of Sodom is great & the sin grievous Gen. 18:20

The Devil-Total dominion via the broken will of the people Eze 16:49

Man himself-Death by total disassociation with righteousness

Is this starting to make sense? I hope so.

Sad to say this story ends much in the way that it ended for Noah. Lot even after being rescued from Sodom does not seek God or righteousness. The angels implore him to flee to the high country. I think spiritual they were saying "Get back to the righteousness in Hebron. Get close to God! Take charge of your dominion!" But Lot doesn't listen. Days later we find him drunk in a cave(wandering) and having sex with his daughters. It sounds like the pride, lust and broken will of Sodom had claimed another victim even after the physical cites had been consumed. The devil was still on the prowl for dominion and man was falling for it. The battle of good vs evil continued. Click here to read part five.

Love & War (Part Three)

Click here for part one...click here for part two.

Between the time of Adam and the time of Noah there isn't too much information in the bible. Genesis chapter 5 is really just a genealogy that connects the two. It does also give us the hope that even though there wasn't much righteousness in the earth there still seems to be a tread of commitment to God via the seed of Adam. Remember this is the seed that will strike the devil's head...Jesus.

Back to Noah whose mane means "rest". It was said of Noah by his father Lamech "He (Noah) will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands." Gen. 5:29. The Hebrew word for toil in this verse is "itstsabown" which means pain or sorrow. It is only used in the bible 3 times. Once in Gen 3:16 where God is telling Eve of the curse now on humanity because of sin. And second in Gen. 3:17 where God is telling Adam of the curse now on creation because of sin. So Noah's dad is saying that Noah will be a comfort from those curses. Remember sin is the punishment. Sin also effects that which we have dominion over...creation, humanity, the devil and ourselves. Lamech's words make evident that both on a spiritual level and a physical level the whole world both human and earth is greatly suffering from the torment of sin and the devil. The overwhelming choice to give the devil dominion through sin has become a crushing weight. Evil is winning the battle.

Now Noah was a righteous man. Righteous meaning just, upright or straight. So to be righteous is not allowing sin to bend, twist and distort. When we are righteous it automatically takes dominion back from the enemy and ceases the bending and twisting of the devil. This is warfare! At this time Noah was the ONLY righteous man. Genesis 6:5 tells that "every inclination of man's heart was evil all the time." Meaning that their heart or their spirit was set on evil not just their mind but their whole being. It goes on to say "all the people on earth had corrupted their ways." Gen 6:11"the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was filled with outrage" Robert Alter's commentary notes here that this was "a perversion of nature by man [that then needed] a reversal of creation by God." I would like to add to this comment that it wasn't that man himself was evil. Man had become evil by coming in line with the will of the devil to distort and destroy. The word evil and wicked are from the same Hebrew word "ra" meaning bad, hurtful, malignant; giving pain, unhappiness and misery. Notice that humanity at the time of Noah is simultaneously wicked and tormented. Sin is the punishment. Sin and the punishment thereof is the will of the devil not God.

So the devil was having a grand time. This grieves the heart of God to see His beloved creation once again falling prey to the schemes of the devil. Remember God came out of the garden because He still longed to have relationship with us. So when it says in Gen 6:6 " The Lord was grieved that He had made man...and His heart was full of pain." It is because He didn't think that we would continually and so easily take our God given dominion over to the devil. We were meant to be battling the devil, not joining forces with him. God is in pain over the painful (both physical & spiritual) state of His created.

God takes a drastic measure to remedy this situation. If you trust in a God that is full of love, justice and grace you must assume that His choice was the best choice. It must also give you a picture of how extremely wicked things were. These were not people that just skipped church on Sunday, they were people totally consumed by the demonic of the devil. So God floods the entire earth. The flood is an act of spiritual warfare against the devil. God washes the earth clean with the waters of the Holy Spirit. He saves the animals(since they are only subject to wickedness via mans sin)and He saves Noah and his family. Noah was the only righteous man who was walking in relationship with God.

So lets see if our dominion/sin formula worked this time. What had the sin in the time of Noah effected? (Those of you confused read part one and two first :D)

Creation-"painful toil of our hands" Gen 5:29
Plus most every living thing was flooded and died.

Humanity-needed comfort in their pain. Gen 5:29
they had corrupted their ways Gen 6:12

The Devil-had almost total dominion of the earth via man
"man was only evil all the time" Gen 6:5

Man himself-wandering in wickedness & torrment . Death by association.

Another way to look at the loss of life in this situation is something that I alluded to earlier. That the people were saved from the dominion and tormenting of the devil by the cleansing water of the Holy Spirit. Remember it was said of Noah that he would comfort the people. For all we know our gracious, loving God gathered all those people lost in the flood back into His arms in their death. Released from the clutches of the enemy. Just a thought. Also BTW there is no mention of the words wrath, sin or punishment concerning the story of the flood in the bible.

When Noah comes out of the ark God very quickly makes a new covenant with him that is a kin to the covenant with Adam & Eve. God says "TAKE DOMINION! Over the earth, over humanity and over the devil! Quit giving your dominion of these things to the devil! I don't have the heart to flood the earth again so get it right this time! Multiply righteousness instead of wickedness!" Gen. 6 translated by Cherie. See the flood wiped out the the physical world and people but it did not wipe out the spiritual realm of the devil. The devil is poised and ready for round two. So it is enormously important that Noah heed the word's of God. See when fail to use our dominion righteously it is an open door for the devil to use it wickedly. Unfortunately for Noah he didn't lock the door and fell prey to the schemes of the devil.

Genesis 9:21 says that Noah became drunk and laid uncovered in nakedness. He gave his dominion away just like in the garden. Noah gave way to his own desires instead of God's and sin laid bare the nakedness of his unprotected spirit. And so it was that the battle of good and evil continued to weigh heavy against the goodness of God. But God keeps His promise never to flood the earth again. Soon after there was another man who walked with God in righteousness. A man that God makes covenant with. A man that God implores to take dominion. A man whom God will multiply into a righteous nation. Until now man was implored to multiply themselves. Now God is stepping in saying "I will multiply you". Until now man was implored to seek God and righteousness themselves. But now God is stepping in saying "I will show you how to be righteous." God has now stepped up His personal involvement in the battle of good vs evil. And the man at His side was Abraham.

Click here for part four.

Love & War (Part Two)

To read Part One click here.

What are the principles of sin & punishment in the bible? What does it mean to sin? What is the consequence? How does God punish sin? Does He punish sin? or Does man punish himself? I believe that when we sin the consequence goes far beyond ourselves. I believe this to be true because of what God gave us dominion over. Sin in my definition is stepping out of the best that God has for you. In turn it is a separation of relationship between God and man. The first time that we see the word sin in the bible it is the Hebrew word "chatta'ah" which simply means sin. It is from the Hebrew root word "chata" meaning to miss the mark or wander from the way. So all together sin is wandering from the plan and relationship of God.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden it affected everything that they had dominion or rule over. What do we have dominion over? Psalm 8:6 says "You made him (man) ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet." Man has dominion over all creation, all humanity, the devil and ourselves. Now this isn't to say that God isn't sovereign, He is. But he chose to give us rulership of these things. Not that God doesn't have His own plan for these things but so that we could work His plan together in relationship. At least that was the hope before we chose otherwise. So when we sin it effects that which we have dominion over. It separates us from God, creation from God, humanity from God and the devil from God. Now with the devil it gets a little interesting. The devil wants to be separate from God. He chose that before man first sinned. So when we sin it further separates the devil and we come in line with his will instead of God's. So our sin gives the devil allegiance in his separation and we end up by default glorifying the devil instead of God.

Let's look at Adam and Eve and what fell prey to their sin. After they sin God says to Eve your pains in childbirth will increase and man will rule over you. (Gen 3:16) This is the consequence over humanity. Physical pain, disease and death. On an emotional level He says you will seek mans rule instead of God's. God was not saying men will now rule women. (Though it has been interpreted incorrectly that way) It was broader than that. You have chosen humanity to rule you instead of God. Your desire is humanity and not God.

To Adam God says "cursed is the ground because of you..." Gen 3:17. This is the consequence over creation. This is natural disasters, global decay, drought etc. I even believe that some of the carnage and suffering that we seen in the animal kingdom is due to our sin. If you think in the simple terms that sin=death and prior to sin there was no death...then our sin has had a huge affect on the animal kingdom.

To the devil God said "cursed are you...I will put enmity between you and the woman." Gen 3:14 God goes on to say that the seed of the woman will crush his head. This being the first prediction of Jesus. I also want to note here that in the original Hebrew of these verses God only personally curses the devil. To both Adam and Eve he is just stating fact. That because of their sin things are going to change. Not God's curse/consequence the sin's curse/consequence.

Finally sin separates us from God personally. Notice the first words out of God's mouth after Adam and Eve sin. "Where are you?" Now why is an all-knowing God asking where someone is? Because sin had brought separation. This was further illustrated by Adam and Eve being sent forth from the garden. God didn't banish them. The Hebrew word is "shalach" which means to let go, set free, or send away.

So when we sin it effects all humanity, all creation, the devil and ourselves. It effects that which we have God given dominion over. And the effects are from the sin not from God. Remember sin is stepping out of God's plan so the result of sin is not God's plan. Sin is the punishment. More on this in a bit.

Let's see if our little formula works with the next recorded sin in the bible. The murder of Abel by his brother Cain. What I first want to point out is that God did not stay in the garden after Adam and Eve left. God came out of the garden because of his longing for relationship with man. And now that sin has entered the world He comes out of the garden to protect us. So God sees that Abel's heart isn't in his sacrifice the same way that his brother's is. He isn't giving God his best, not offering wise but relationship wise.

So what does God do? Well he doesn't curse him or cause him to burst into flames. God comes to Cain and sits down for a little chat. A heart to heart if you will. "Why are you angry?" God asks "And why has your countenance fallen?" Countenance meaning face. Since we are created in the image of God our countenance is the reflection of God in us. See with Cain God can feel the same separation as He did with his parents in the garden. "Why has your countenance fallen?" is similar to "Where are you?" God already knows that Cain has sinned in his heart. So God is desperately trying to intervene before this sin goes any further. God is trying to protect Cain. God goes on to say "If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if you don't do right, sin is crouching at the door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Gen 4:6-7

This is a wonderful visual of the battle that the devil has wages for mans dominion. It is also a fantastic showing of God's longing to protect us from the destruction of sin, that is the devil. See it is sin that is crouching at the door with desire to destroy man. It is not God waiting for us to screw up so He can punish us. The sin is the punishment. Just as God is trying to save Cain from that punishment so it is through the whole old testament. The battle of good vs evil.

Cain then by his own freewill chooses not to listen to the warning of God. Cain murders his brother. Then God comes back to Cain to have another little chat. "What is this you have done? Your brother's blood cries out from the ground. Now you are under a curse...the ground will no longer yield crops...you will be a restless wanderer on the earth." Gen 4:10-12. Now lets check our formula. What has Cain's sin affected?

Creation-"the ground will no longer yield crops".

Humanity-"your brother's blood cries out".

The Devil- his desire has been fulfilled.

Cain himself- "will be a restless wanderer" a wander from God

Woo Hoo it worked!

Now where is God in all this? I mean He must be pretty pissed since this is the first murder in all history. He should probably make an example of Cain so man will know not to piss off God by sinning. Nope! Not our loving, gracious God. Cain comes to God and says "My punishment is more than I can bear!" This is exactly what mankind does. We blame God for the consequence of the sin that we chose over the better advise of God. God is no more sending Cain from His presence than Cain has chosen to leave His presence by sinning. Just like in the garden. But God sees Cain's heart is in a place of repentance. So God puts a mark on Cain to protect him from the death he fears in wandering the earth. This is the loving, gracious God of the old testament.

Now let me point out in this little chat between Cain and God it is the first time that we see the word "punishment" in the bible. The Hebrew word used here is "avon" (no not the make up lady) which means iniquity or guilt. The root word is "avah" meaning to bend, twist or distort. What does iniquity mean? Websters says "wickedness or evil". Does God heap guilt on us? No, the devil does. Does God twist or distort his beloved creation? No, the devil does. So see the sin is the punishment. Punishment is the will of the devil, not of God. So when Cain is saying "My punishment is more than I can bear". What he is really saying is this wickedness and distortion of the devil is not what I wanted. He is repenting and that is why God accepts his heart and puts a mark on him. A mark that takes Cain out of the will of the devil and back into the will of God.

Click here to read part three...

Love & War (Part One)

As we move deeper into the old testament you must force your mind to think in terms of good vs evil. Think of Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Star Wars...whatever. It sounds silly but it will help; I promise. Let me explain.

The entire old testament is centered around two themes...Love & War. It is the longing of a loving creator God to have relationship with His creation. It is a war against the devil who wants to steal that relationship for his own selfish gain. The devil is primarily doing this to gain dominion and secondly to destroy man and "the seed" (Gen 3:15) that will strike his head. JESUS. The devil will stop at nothing to see that Jesus doesn't come to pass. This is the warfare of the old testament.

Now in the old testament the warfare is both spiritual and physical. The spirit world being God/devil...angels/demons. The physical world being man. So it is not just "evil forces" fighting "good forces". Man is caught right in the middle. Are you thinking Lord of the Rings? Good.
So why does man have to mess with all of this? Because man is the free will being that has dominion over the earth. So in the old testament just as the devil was using people and nations to further his plans of destruction, so God chose a nation and people to further His plan of life and redemption. Unfortunately the greatest cost in the old testament was bloodshed and loss of life. Man and animal. Remember creation suffers from sin too.

Now the reason I suggest getting your mind to think in terms of Lord of the Rings or something as such is because the way the earth and society was 3000+ years ago is way different than or world today. There are obvious differences of this in the physical realm. They had chariots/we have cars. They had primitive tools/ we have electric saws. This is nothing new to our thinking. But these huge differences were also true of the spirit world. So even though the old testament is real -not fairy tale- our modern minds have an easier time thinking in those terms. Most modern western people have never had any experience with the spiritual realm. It is totally foreign to them. Modern non-western countries and peoples still have quite a bit of interaction with the spirit realm because of certain beliefs and religions. Now times that that interaction by 1,000,000 and you have the old testament. There was very little, I mean minute separation between the spiritual realm and physical realm. So what exactly does that mean?

It means that the spirit realm was actually visible to the physical realm. Certain people actually walked and talked with God. Angels and demons interacted with people. These things were not unusual. Witchcraft, wizardry and sorcery were real things that were practice by most every ancient people group. Do you know that the Hebrew word for wizard comes from the root word "Yada" which means to know, to have knowledge, and to perceive and see. It is the same Hebrew word that described "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil". Blood sacrifice, both human and animal were practiced by almost every ancient people group. Rituals and patronage to gods was something that nearly every ancient people group participated in. Sexual deviation, pedophilia and zoophilia (bestiality) was some thing that was practiced by nearly ever ancient people group. Are you getting the picture? These were not just Bible things. The people of this time both pagan and righteous "saw" the spirit world. They regularly interacted with the spirit world. There was nothing hidden about whose side they were on if you will. There was only two choices good and evil.

So in this sense there was a greater degree of responsibility for the people of this time. You know the old saying "the more knowledge the more the responsibility". They could not pretend not to know because everything was out in the open. They saw all these things with their own eyes. The spirit realm was not hidden. So this means that the consequences of sin was actual death. Remember man chose sin, and the consequence of sin is death. Not because God wants you to die but because the devil does. Sin and death was never God's plan for His creation. He warned us not to do it but we did. Think...Lord of the Rings.

Finally in reading the old testament we need to steer clear of two major things.
1) That we don't just right the whole thing off as one big allegory or myth. People think it is just too hard in modern times to imagine the spiritual and physical world in such close proximity. Or the fact that there is a spiritual world at all. So people decide it isn't plausible for it to have been real and don't believe it. Well it was real. And funny enough one of the devil's biggest attacks in modern times is to get you to believe it was all just a myth. Do this...type "demon" into google, or go to your local bookstore to the witchcraft section to see the huge amounts of intense believe still today. This isn't just a christian thing.
2)People go to the other extreme and think the the ways of the old testament need to be how we operate in our physical world today. This is how in post biblical times we ended up with the horrors of the crusades or burning people at the stake. Wrong , wrong , wrong. Why?

JESUS! Now Jesus does not cancel out the existence of the old testament. The principles and truth of God in the old testament were fulfilled in the man Jesus. But along with Jesus and the Holy Spirit came a new way of doing things. For one, 3000+ years of old testament sin and separation from God has begun to bring separation between the spiritual world and physical world. This isn't to say that the spiritual world no longer exists by the time we get to the new testament. It surely did! Jesus and the Holy Spirit bring the principle of physical warfare and sacrifice to spiritual sense. We no longer fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. (Eph 6:12) We no longer sacrifice at the temple, Jesus has been the ultimate sacrifice. You no longer worship at the temple, you are the temple and your life is worship. Just the same is true today. The spirit realm is still in full swing. But modern humanity has pushed it into hidden places so we don't see as many manifestations as in the bible. But that is a whole other blog.

Here and now I want to focus on the old testament. I hope to show you that through the warfare and bloodshed there still remains a gracious, loving, just God. A God that longs for relationship. A God who will stop at nothing in that grace and love to see that ALL creation and humanity will have the choice of redemption and eternal life. Jesus. Remember that we ate the fruit. We wanted to know. What we choose was war and God has been fighting to save us from death ever since.

Continued in part two...click here.