Blessings?

I recently watched a pastor from a San Antonio on TV giving his sermon. His message to the congregation was that they were all blessed.

His back-up scripture was from Deuteronomy 28.  I am a fan of the blessings and curses teachings of Deuteronomy 28, and I have used these passages quite a few times to break curses in ministry. In this case, the pastor was talking only about the section on the blessings.

This pastor has a dramatic delivery of sermons which makes him very credible and stirs emotion in the listener. I have heard him several times, and mostly I agree with him. Not this time.

Now, some would think that I am judgmental or critical. I hope some would instead think that I have discernment, or perhaps a good knowledge of the scriptures.

I was once in a big Baptist church, and at the beginning of the service, a minister came to the podium to read scripture, announcing he was about to read from Acts chapter two. I was surprised he chose Acts 2 because this chapter tells about Pentecost and speaking in tongues, which the Baptist church does not practice. I was indeed surprised again when he smoothly omitted certain verses without missing a beat. It was so flawless that I realized he had his reading typed up and inserted into his Bible to appear that he was reading directly out of the scripture. You can guess what he omitted.

At that time I was a naïve churchgoer and could not believe that out of the fear of God, this kind of deception could happen in church. I know better now.

So, what was wrong with the aforementioned “blessings” sermon? As I said, the pastor was telling the congregation that they were blessed in all kinds of ways as described in the scripture, just because they were Christians, or just because they were sitting there. However, this is not necessarily the case. He omitted reading the beginning verses of this passage. These omitted verses make the receiving of God’s blessings conditional. In other words, there are conditions to receiving blessings–if you do not meet the conditions, you don’t receive the blessings.

I disagree with conventional church thinking that the death of Jesus removed the conditions of the original covenant from Christians. I do not find anything in the Bible that says that.

Here is the “blessings for obedience” scripture in Deuteronomy 28:2:

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God…

But wait, there’s more!! A corresponding scripture heads up the receiving of curses in Deuteronomy 28:15:

However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you…

In ministry, before I break these curses that a Christian person has (and cast out the demons that came with the curses), I read the person this scripture. I tell them if they disregard the scripture, the demons will come back.

Luke 16:17 (NIV) ¹⁷ It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

Matthew 5:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

The Erroneous Belief That A Christian Cannot Be Cursed

Included in the deliverance ministry is the breaking of curses and the casting out of demons that come to perform the elements of the curse. The majority of Christians think they cannot be cursed and base this belief on the following scripture:

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Galatians 3:13 (AKJV) 

In this writing, the apostle Paul was referring to this Old Testament scripture, but he failed to include the underlined condition below:

22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: 23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged Is  accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.  Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (AKJV)

Most churches erroneously teach that since Jesus was made a curse for us (according to Galatians 3:13), we are shielded from any curse that might come our way.

But, as aforementioned, the scriptures in Deuteronomy that Galatians 3:13 are based upon are a “cause and effect” or conditional warning. The cause or condition for the hanging on a tree is, “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death…”. The effect is that he is accursed of God.

But what if an innocent man who did not commit a sin worthy of death was hanged anyway? 

Would he be accursed of God? No! God’s justice is righteous and perfect. Did Jesus commit a sin worthy of death? No! Even when He was “hanged” on the cross, the curse could not alight on Him.

It is possible that this portion of the Galatians scripture has been tampered with. In his book, The Orthodox Corruption Of Scripture, author Dr. Bart D. Ehrman wrote the following, found on page 17 under the subtitle, The Use Of Literature In Orthodox Polemics:

“…the way that scribes modified their texts of Scripture, in light of the polemical context within which they worked, altering the manuscripts they reproduced to make them more orthodox on the one hand, and less susceptible to heretical misuse on the other.”

Elsewhere he explains that the Hebrew scribes took extreme care to copy the Torah and the Prophets exactly, while the Greek scribes would change text to reflect their own thinking.

This might explain the difference with the original Old Testament scripture. It may be that Paul, who had studied the Torah very well, never wrote this paragraph, but that it was inserted by someone copying the epistle at a later date.

KEEP IN MIND, WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE IS NO REMISSION OF SINS.

1- There is not remission of sins if there is not a blood sacrifice.
2- They are two separate actions.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Before the shedding of the pure blood of Jesus, the Jewish people had their sins forgiven once a year on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. The atonement involved two sacrificial goats: one was to be the blood sacrifice, and the other, the scapegoat, which was not sacrificed, was set free. God decided which one would be sacrificed “by lot.” In other words, God Himself selected the goat to be sacrificed.

The animals that were sacrificed had to be perfect and without blemish. The blood sacrifice had to be perfect and without blemish, as Jesus was.

8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.  

20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: 21 and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: 22 and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:8-10 (AKJV) and 20-22 

The goat selected by God to be the blood sacrifice for the atonement of sins would be killed and his blood shed, and the other goat would bear the sins of all the people. This live goat would symbolically absorb all the sins of all the people as it was released to the wilderness. This was the remission of sins, the sending away of the sins of the people.

Remission: the act of remitting or sending, as money in payment, remittance. (Webster’s Dictionary)

This word has several different meanings. As applied to the above scripture, the meaning of “sending” is the one that makes sense: “…and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man…”

THE REPRESENTATION OF THE TWO GOATS AT THE CROSS.

18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: 19 (who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) 20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. 21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. 23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 25 And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. Luke 23:18-25  (AKJV)

6 Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. 7 And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. 8 And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them. 9 But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 10 For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. 11 But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. 12 And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? 13 And they cried out again, Crucify him. 14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. 15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. Mark 15:6-15  (AKJV)

15 Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. 16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? 18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. 19 When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. 22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. 24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. 25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. 26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Matthew 27:15-26  (AKJV) 

The perfect goat without blemish was sacrificed for the forgiveness of the sins of all the people. Jesus represented this. The other goat was ceremoniously endowed with the sins of the people and freed into the wilderness. Barabbas represented this.

And this was the final blood atonement.  Jesus did not have sin or blemish, nor was He accursed when he was crucified.

Notice the emphasis that Luke, Mark and Matthew made in the appearance of a murderous criminal during Jesus’ trial, and the fact that a choice of a selection between Jesus and Barabbas was offered.

The selection of the One without sin or blemish to be the sacrifice was a move of God. The Jewish men who clamored for Barabbas did not even know that God had prepared this from the beginning.

The disciples were well acquainted with the Day of Atonement procedures, and in their gospels the emphasis put on the criminal and the procedure in the trial suggests they knew what was going on.

So, in summary, Galatians 3:13 cannot state that Christians are free of curses. Christians can and do have curses. These curses come from several different sources. Regardless of the source, the curses have to be broken and the demons that entered with the curses have to be cast out.

To the Christians who still think a curse cannot alight on them:

JESUS INSTRUCTED HIS FOLLOWERS TO CAST OUT DEMONS. 

Jesus did not become a curse on the cross to redeem us from any curse. We are open to be demonized and cursed due to legal rights that demons have, and for this cause He gave us the power and authority to break curses and cast out the demons that come with curses. And He wants us to do this work. When we break curses and cast out demons, He is with us.

 

My Journey Through the Churches

First church.  As a baby Christian, I attended my “kindergarten” church, an Assembly of God church that The Lord supernaturally led me to in the 1970s. The pastor was very nice, and when he found out I had an interior design business, he wanted me to join the design committee.

I learned a lot about “church” there, but I started to feel that the sermons were repetitive and something was missing. The Lord confirmed my feelings. By then I had been there a little over a year. 

Second church. A friend told me about a Baptist church that had split to become a spirit-filled church. The church elder had hired a young man to be the pastor, and my friend was acquainted with him. This pastor had experienced a near death experience (NDE).  I started attending this church and soon they needed a cassette tape copier. I was tithing to the church from my salary but also from my business earnings. I offered to buy the equipment they needed with that tithe, which was unfortunate, because the pastor decided I was Santa Claus. 

The pastor had a handheld mic attached to a long cord, so to lay hands on people he would hold the mic under his arm. I offered to get a small lapel mic for the church. 

The pastor and I went to a store to get the lapel mic. I left him with the sales person and went browsing. After selecting what he wanted, he came over to where I was which happened to be in front of a miniature TV. He looked at it and excitedly said, “This is what I need at the office!” Believe me, I was still very naïve about church, since I had only been attending church about a year at this time. So, I was not being sarcastic when I said, “I thought all pastors were reading the Bible at their office!”

The pastor did not like that comment at all.  

At that time during the services I would feel pains in  my body that I had not experienced before. Then when driving home from the service, I would realize the pains were gone. This happened two or three times and I was puzzled. A short time later, prophet Bill Hamon came to teach one Sunday. As he prophesied to the congregation, he looked at me and told me that I would feel pains in my body, and it meant that someone in the congregation ailed wherever I felt pain, and that I needed to come to the pastor and tell him to call out that person to be prayed for and healed.

I did this for a time, but when the pastor realized that I would not buy him anything that he was hinting for (a gold ring, a fur coat for his wife, a pedigree dog, a go-kart for his child, and more) he would not call out the people when I gave him my notes.

Another incident happened that made me leave. It was shocking and incredible. When it happened, I was so stunned that I could not sleep that night. When I called upon the Lord about this, He put me in a supernatural sleep that was the best rest that I had ever had.

Third church. I visited one time. I knew the pastor. He had gone to the first church I went to. He did glass work, and I had given him work for a hotel for which I was designing the interiors. He was just starting the church. I attended and started having the pains. After the service I explained to him what was happening. Even though he had attended a Pentecostal church, He looked at me as if I were crazy and ignored the message. 

Fourth church.  It was a spirit-filled church in a nearby town. I asked the pastor if he would like to have a regular Friday night meeting in my house, and he did. 

At that time, the Lord told me that I had demons and had to have them cast out. I called a couple of mature, Christian friends to ask if they knew anybody who could cast out demons. They wanted to know why I was asking this question. I told them I wanted demons cast out of me. They laughed out loud and told me I did not have any demons. They said that I was a church-going, born again Christian, I read my Bible and I even had a church meeting in my house, and people like me did not have demons.

One of those people called me a few days later and told me about a book he was reading. It was written by the pastor of Hegewisch Baptist Church near Chicago. He told me I would be interested in reading it. I ordered the book and with it was included an invitation for a weekend deliverance seminar! I promptly arranged to attend it.

When the pastor came on Friday, I asked him if he had heard of the pastor or the book. He made a face, so I knew I had better not tell him that I was going to the seminar. A young woman, who the pastor had invited, came to the meeting and sat in a chair behind me. She seemed to be depressed. When the pastor finished his teaching, he came and sat directly behind me next to the girl and started praying for her. I started praying in tongues silently, and the Lord told me to put my hand on the girl. Still praying, I reached her knee. The girl then started to act funny and I perceived it was a demon manifesting. The pastor got mad, rose up, went to another chair and sat down, almost sulking. His wife started ministering to the girl which caused her to be thrown to the floor. Most everyone got scared and left. As soon as the girl was left alone, she came back to normal and left.

The Sunday after that Friday, I went to church with my children. At the end of the service, the pastor called for whoever needed prayer. A Mexican woman came up for prayer, and the pastor looked at me and motioned me to come up front. I was not sure if he was calling me or someone else, because I had never ministered at the front before. But he motioned again and I went. He told me the lady could not speak in tongues anymore and to pray for her.

I did not know what to do, but a scripture came to my mind and I told her that we would both agree together and the Lord would do it. “I will pray in tongues and you try,” I said. I started praying in tongues and the Lord told me, ”Put your hand on her stomach!” I did and a demon started manifesting. And I knew what was happening because I had seen it the previous Friday!

“Who am I to cast out a demon,” I thought. The pastor was standing on the platform talking to a man, his wife nearby talking to a woman, and the only elder was also there. I started waving to the pastor, who was looking in my direction, but he was not paying attention to me. I started waving at the wife, who was also more or less looking in my direction. This was a very small church, but she seemed to be unaware of me. I was getting frustrated soI started waving at the elder. Same thing. It was an eerie feeling, like I was invisible. The moment that thought came, the Lord told me, “I AM with you, and I AM enough!”

When He said that, I commanded the demon out, and it left. This was the beginning of my ministry of deliverance. 

A few days later I went to the deliverance seminary. I learned a lot more about deliverance, and I was ministered deliverance. Several demons came out of me. Some had come into me because I had an Idol in my house that I did not realize was an idol. (“My people perish for lack of knowledge.”) Others could have been inherited demons or demons that entered by curses placed on me by witchcraft or by spoken curses.

Note: most Christians think that demons cannot enter them because the New Testament says that Jesus became a curse for us, but deliverance ministers know it does not work that way. In fact, deliverance ministers only minister to Christians. Jesus said that deliverance was “The Children’s Bread.”

I was so impressed by the seminar, witnessing the enormous power that the Name of Jesus has, that I wanted others to know about it. So, I called my friends and, of course, my pastor. Most of them did not know what to think of it, and one lady that had a ministry told me, “If I had demons cast out of me, then I was not a Christian.”

My pastor did not want me in his church any longer after hearing about my deliverance.

Fifth church. My friends invited me to join their church. I noticed the pastor favored a young man in the congregation who was or was trying to become a prophet. Once the pastor went out of town on Sunday and left the pulpit to the young man, who I will call Ed. I was having a meeting at home with two ladies, and I invited Ed to minister to us in prophecy.  He called me about the meeting and mentioned that he was looking for a job. I asked what kind of work  he was looking for and he said clerical. I was looking for a secretary at the time, and he told me he could do the work so I hired him. Soon enough he started asking me to let him leave early, and then he would come in late. 

He had the key to the office because he was responsible for opening the office in the morning. One Monday I arrived to find out he was not there yet and my employees were waiting. I called Ed but he was not answering the phone. I called my friends from church to get the pastor’s phone number, and when I told them what was going on, they came to my office and we went altogether to the pastor’s house. By then it was almost noon. The pastor drove us to Ed’s place, told us to stay in the car, and he knocked on Ed’s door. Turned out that he had been on drugs or alcohol and he was sleeping, plus he had a woman there. I asked the pastor to get my office key. I did not want Ed at the office again. We drove back to the pastor’s house, and on the way there the pastor admonished us in a rough manner not to talk about this incident to anyone at the church.

Back at the office I cut the last check for Ed.  Then I got a call from a parole officer asking me about Ed because he had missed a meeting. It turned out Ed was on parole! The officer told me to mail him Ed’s check, which I did. When Ed called me about his money, I told him where the check was.

My friends and I were upset about this incident and even more about the way the pastor told us to keep our mouths shut, so we left the church.

Sixth church. Another friend told me about this church which I started attending. It was a small church with very young couples, a few singles and no one over 45. I got the impression that the pastor had led a group of young people that had grown up, married and had kids.

The pastor’s wife started asking the ladies to teach bible school to the kids. No one was offering to do it. I finally took it. I had to purchase all the materials and also Kool-aid and cookies. I bought stick-on prints to put up on the Velcro screen. I started the teaching and as I finished the lesson, the kids came running to tear the prints off the screen. It was an avalanche. Later when I served the snacks, one of the kids who was about eight years old, pouted, crossed his arms and told me he did not like the flavor of the drink, and he was not going to drink it. So, I took it and drank it myself. The kid then started crying and accusing me of drinking his drink.

The children were very unruly. Once I was talking to the pastor in front of the nursery door. Two of the kids were running around and they came to enter the nursery. The pastor stopped them and told them sternly that they could not enter the nursery. They looked up at him silently, turn around and entered the nursery. The kids did not respect even the pastor. I quit teaching. No wonder there were no takers!

In one of the services, the Lord told me that the young mother sitting next to me was anemic and to pray for her. I told her and asked if I could minister to her and she agreed. I prayed and also cast out the spirit of anemia, everything done quietly. However, her young husband looked at me ferociously. 

Once the pastor went out of town and asked me to fill in for him with a teaching on deliverance. The single ladies liked the teaching, but the young men were very upset. So upset that they complained to the pastor. The pastor called me to find out what went on and asked for my notes. I mailed them to him but left the church. A few days later one single lady from the church called to tell me the pastor quit the church and moved out of town.

Seventh church. It was a Hispanic church and the Lord wanted me to go to it, but I did not want to go there. I wanted to go back to the first church I had attended, so I made an appointment with the pastor who was glad to hear from me. When I told him about my deliverance, and that I was starting to minister to friends, he told me he did not want me back. Remember, this was a Pentecostal church!

I made an appointment with the pastor of the Hispanic church at his home with his wife. I told him the same story. He replied that deliverance was necessary in his church and he was glad for me to attend. But he did not let me teach deliverance. Instead, he wanted me to teach the Bible before the service.

I stayed in that church because the ladies wanted me to minister to them in their homes. Meantime, something was transpiring in the church. This church had been started by an evangelist and a group of hard working, humble Hispanic couples. The evangelist/pastor wanted to leave to continue evangelizing, so he called another pastor who might know someone to pastor this group. The pastor did not know anyone, but a man at his church wanted to take the job. The pastor told him he was not qualified, but the man insisted until the pastor allowed him. This man was then the pastor that I had.

I was seeing some things I did not like, but I was staying. 

The church building was a small house that was converted to church. The lot was a good size, and after a while the pastor wanted to build a metal building at the back of the lot for the church. He mentioned to me that he did not know if he could or not on that space. I told him that if he had a survey of the lot I could tell him about the building lines, set-backs, easements, and size of the building. He looked at me strangely and said he did not have a survey. I told him he had it in the deed of the building he had now. He again looked at me so strangely that I thought he was thinking I wanted to steal his deed. He never showed the survey to me.

At that point, I was unhappy about other (unholy) things happening there so I left. 

About a month later, my friend from the church called, urging me to go to a meeting they were having with the pastor. She told me the pastor had gone early to the home of each couple in the group, when the men were getting ready to go to work. He came with a paper for each of them to sign. Since they were in a hurry, they signed and some who did not read or write signed with an x.

What happened was that the pastor was changing the ownership of the lot and building to him. When he talked to me about building the new church, he realized he did not have the ownership of the lot, and he conceived a plan to take it away from the legal owners.

I declined to go to the meeting.

Eighth Church. A friend advised me that a pastor we knew who had been at Hegewisch Baptist Church for a meeting was taking the pastorate at a church near my home. I started going to the church. The pastor installed a big sign on the back wall that said, “Salvation, Healing, Deliverance.” I was glad to see that. He started an evening teaching about deliverance but this did not last. 

During regular services, there was a call for prayers at the front. When the pastor prayed for someone and a demon manifested in the person, the pastor would call me to take the person away for deliverance. 

The pastor decided to make home cell groups more interesting by having us come up with ideas for cell groups. A good amount of people came up with fun ideas to meet, and of course, these people would open their homes and be the leaders of the meeting. One lady came up with a jogging cell group which got approved. I believe they would jog quoting scripture. When I saw this one on the roster, I decided to submit a deliverance teaching cell group. 

This was approved by the elder who had hired the pastor, and people started enrolling in this cell group making it the one with the largest enrollment. It was held at my house on a weekday morning. Soon a lot of working people complained they could not attend. My husband did not want another group at the house, so I brought the issue to the council of elders. They approved that I would use a room at the church on Saturdays.

When the pastor found out, he did not like it at all, and he put up all kinds of roadblocks. This was a pastor that not only promoted deliverance, but he had also seen the power of God for deliverance of demons out of Christians. He finally canceled my group at the church and a lady friend opened her house up for the group.

By now I had seen several things in the church that I did not like, but I was staying because the pastor was not completely against deliverance, and members of the church would call me for ministry at their homes. 

But there were a lot of red flags. One of them was an event that I did not attend but caused many women to leave the church. The topic of discussion was so shameful that I am not going to describe it here. Not even the pastor asking from the pulpit to be gifted a Jaguar (car) was not as bad. And having a mural painted on a wall of the sanctuary that sported a hexagram, a well known witchcraft symbol, and refusing to paint it over was another red flag. I gave him plenty of printed information about what that symbol really was, but to no avail.

I finally left after about 12 years. I realized he was using the deliverance ministry as a marketing tool.

Seventh church. This was a Messianic Synagogue. My daughter and I enjoyed the teaching, the worship and the sound of the shofar in the services. 

We decided to become members, but I wanted the rabbis to know that we had a deliverance ministry before taking the new members class, just in case…

I made an appointment with the two rabbis. The main rabbi was not Jewish, and the other one was Jewish but had attended a Baptist church. During the meeting, the main rabbi sat at the desk with his hand holding his chin, just staring at us. The other rabbi perked up when we mentioned deliverance because at some point he had ministered it. I told them our interest in being members, and I said they did not have to reply right away. I gave each of them one of my books.

Days passed and the date for the new member class approached, so I called the main rabbi. As soon as he knew who was calling, he told me, “We are not on the same page!”

Eighth church. Another Messianic synagogue. The services were held in a small sanctuary of a big Baptist church. I found out that the Baptist church is very interested in turning Jewish believers in Torah into New Testament Christians. Not really into Messianic believers.

The lady that ran the synagogue was the music director. The worship was wonderful. The main rabbi was not Jewish but Baptist. Other rabbis there were also not Jewish. The main rabbi was okay with my daughter and I ministering deliverance (although not at the Baptist synagogue, of course.) At least he was not completely opposed to it. He was a righteous man. 

There was a monthly women’s meeting at this synagogue. I offered to bring a teaching. The second time I brought a teaching, it was titled, “Ways that we open doors to the enemy”.  It was based on experiences of deliverance ministers, with scriptures backing up those experiences. The problem was that the scriptures all happen to be from the Old Testament, and particularly a scripture that prohibits the intentional cutting of skin. 

It is proven that intentional cutting of skin is an opportunity for a demon to enter the person. Deliverance ministers encounter this in the case of surgeries. In the case of surgeries, not only can a demon enter, but also evil soul ties can be formed with the surgeon who cuts the skin. In my experience the demons that enter are not very strong, but they are demons anyway.

When I touched this subject, one lady jumped up and screamed at me telling me that she had a long scar and did not have any demons! And the leader of the church told me the scripture did not apply because we were not “under the law.”

This made me abandon the synagogue, not because they were very ignorant of deliverance and not wanting to learn, but because they paraded the Torah around the sanctuary every Saturday, along with reading it aloud, but she was telling us that we are not under the Torah. This was either confusion or hypocrisy, and I do not like either.

Epilogue. My daughter wanted to add one more experience that she had:

I started visiting a church that a friend of mine was very enthusiastic about. The first thing I didn’t like was that the music was ear-splitting loud. You had to scream at the top of your lungs into the ear of the person next to you just to be heard. For the few weeks I attended, whenever it was time to take the offering, we got a mini sermonette, every week, on the tithe. Then, I found out that the pastor’s pet project was a ranch that either he or the church owned that served as a pastor’s retreat (probably mostly used for HIS personal retreat). He was on a mission to raise money to build a pond, stock it, build some recreational facilities like a basketball court, etc. and he was campaigning HARD.

He had the church stage decorated like the set of a play to drive the point home of what he needed to have done, and every week we had to hear about it. The last time I attended was the last straw. It was Pledge Sunday, and if you had pledged money to his little pet project, you were supposed to wear your “I pledged” t-shirt to church to shame everyone else who had not pledged. 

I have never forgotten the manipulative and high-pressure sales tactics this church pursued.

Spiritual Beings

Jesus was not a Christian.

Jesus had to be born in the land of Israel. He had to be born of the lineage of King David. He looked like a human being but he was not a human being. He was the creator of human beings.

He was a powerful Spirit with a mission, and He created a human embryo for Himself so he could be born as a human being in order to accomplish His mission.

Before this event, He had created many spiritual beings of different appearances and capabilities, and they had different purposes.

Colossians 1:16 for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him.

Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities 

and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

1 Peter 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.

Ephesians 3:10 to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

At the time theses scriptures were written, not only the Jewish people but also other cultures of the Earth were aware of the existence of these beings. It is possible that other beings were created besides those mentioned above. 

We do not know if the Universe was created before or after these beings were created. We know that at least some of these beings were created already when God created mankind:

Genesis 1:26. And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness….

God had the company of some spiritual beings. It is preached in churches that these were the Son and the Holy Spirit, but these are ONE, as Jesus said in John 10:30, I and my Father are one.

These immortal spiritual beings of diverse appearance obviously continue to exist today in the spiritual realm, and at least some of them are capable of materializing in the realm where human beings exist.

The Garden of Eden.

When God lived on this Earth, His abode was called Eden. This building must have been impressive. Eden was set on a large piece of land called the Garden of Eden. The place was so large that a river went through it toward the east. The water was flowing from Eden, the building.

Genesis 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

God lived there with His entourage of spiritual beings. One of them, named Lucifer, had the charge to cover His throne.

What Was Eden?

Eden was God’s place or temple where His throne was. It was the governmental authority seat of the whole Universe, His whole creation.

The prophet Ezekiel had a very elaborate vision when God transported him to a mountain where a spiritual being took Ezekiel on a tour of the temple. Compare to the description of Eden:

Ezekiel 47:1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.

The writer of Revelation also had a vision that included a similar sight:

Revelation 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

The creation of the first human being.

When God created man, He had already created humanoids (more on this later). He had also created animals. 

The “One New Man Bible” has this footnote: Although translated “garden”, the basic meaning of the Hebrew word “gan” is “enclosure” referring to the walls or fences that surrounded a grove of trees in ancient lands, built to keep animals out.

Hence all of Eden’s property was enclosed by a tall wall. The only opening was where the river went out toward the east.

The humanoids previously created might have been hunters-gatherers, since God created this new human being to be a farmer or a gardener, with the ability to till the ground.

Genesis 2: 5-7 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground

God put the newly created man in the enclosed garden:

Genesis 2:8 And the Lod God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. 

Genesis 2:15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

God created other, different, animals to be in the garden and also created Eve, the woman.             

At this point Lucifer became jealous of both the man and the woman, because of the relationship that God had with them. Lucifer became reptilian-looking when he fell (the serpent in the garden), but Adam and Eve were created in the image of God.

Lucifer planned to deceive Eve into disobeying God. She did, and Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden through the opening at the East, where the river flowed.

Genesis 3:24 So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubins, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

He probably put one Cherubim on each side of the river and a sword above the opening in the wall for the river. (A Cherubim is a spiritual being.)

Some spiritual beings can materialize.

We humans were made in God’s image: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” Genesis 1:26. So God and the spiritual beings He created also in His image materialize to look like us. This happened to Abraham, except that Abraham discerned who they were:

Genesis 18:1-4 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat at the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from  the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.

Also, they can eat when they materialize:

Genesis 18:8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

Notice that they also spoke the language that Abraham spoke.

Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares

Luke 1:26-35 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, from the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what kind of salutation this should be

Notice that Mary was not troubled when she saw the angel appear, but troubled at what he was saying.

Some spiritual beings disobeyed God.

God gave humans free will to obey Him or not, and He may have done the same with all His created beings. Just as Lucifer chose to disobey, other spiritual beings disobeyed also.

Genesis 6:1-2 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the Earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair;

And they took them wives of all which they chose. 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.

The Hebrew translated here as “sons of God” has been explained several ways, the interpretation is “spiritual beings” or fallen angels.

These spiritual beings disobeyed God in more than one way. In having intercourse with human women, they produced a hybrid offspring that grew to gigantic stature and created havoc.

These was the time of Enoch, the one who walked with God and lived 365 years but did not die. 

Genesis 5:24: And Enoch walked with God; and he was not: for God took him.

The Book of Enoch.

Among the finds in the Qumran cave of the dead sea scrolls, was found a scroll written by Enoch, or at least attributed to him. The book of Enoch was not considered canon before this find.

Theologians and historians feel the 220 scrolls were put in the cave for preservation by the early messianic church leaders at the time of persecution by the Romans. It is assumed that the book of Enoch was studied along with other scriptures, and some Bible scholars feel it should be canon.

In 1768 a copy of the book of Enoch was found in Ethiopia. This book has been in print for several years and can be ordered from artisanpublishers.com.

In his book, Enoch names some of the two hundred spiritual beings that came down to Earth in human bodies. Their assignment was to watch what was going on upon the whole Earth. They were called “watchers”. The book says that they not only had intercourse with the women, but they also were teaching the inhabitants of the Earth how to make weapons, jewelry, cosmetics, sorcery, astrology, astronomy, root work and other arts and sciences. They took this upon themselves; it was not their assignment.

The giants ate an enormous amount of food, which became depleted. When they could not find enough food, they began to eat human beings.

Genesis 6:5-9 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. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the Earth, and it grieved Him at his heart.  And the Lord said, I will destroy ma n 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. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Note that “perfect in his generations” means that he did not have hybrid DNA, no hybrid ancestry.

The giants, sons of the Watchers, were called Nephilim. It is believed by some scholars that when they perished by the flood, their souls could not go to heaven or hell, so their souls remained on Earth. Since they used to have a human body,

they look for a human body they can inhabit. Because of this it is believed they are what we call “demons” which enter a human body when they find they have a right to do so.

This might be true. In my deliverance ministry, I encountered a manifesting demon who very proudly told me (through the host’s mouth), “I am very tall.”  My gut reaction was to tell him, “Jesus is taller than you,” and his proudful stance was gone. He was easily cast out.

Spiritual beings have spiritual vehicles.

It is believed that the sight of “unidentified flying objects” (UFOs) is a more or less recent event, because of the encounters with foo fighters by the Air Force during WWII, amd also because of the famous abduction of Betty and Barney Hill in 1961. But UFOs have been around a lot longer than that! And all along they have been flown by spiritual beings. Just as spiritual beings materialize and dematerialize, their vehicles do also.

Several antique oil paintings show what appear to be UFOs in the sky. There is antique painting that depicts a battle of UFOs. These are very old works of art.

There are skeptics that don’t believe that UFOs exist, and there are believers that think that they are from alien planets.

Clouds.

Clouds, fogs or mists have to do with their appearance. I believe that when the spiritual realm touches the material realm, a fog, cloud or mist is formed.

Mark 13:26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Daniel 7:13 I saw visions in the night, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven.

Mark 14:62 And Jeshua said, “I AM and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of the sky”

1 Thessalonians 4:17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so will be with the Lord forever.

Revelation 1:7 “Look, He is coming with the clouds” and “Every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him”; and all peoples on Earth “will mourn because of Him.” So shall it be! Amen.

Revelation 11:12 They ascended into heaven in the cloud.

God has vehicles, and so do some of the spiritual beings He created. Scriptures that hint at this fact follow:

Deuteronomy 4:10-11 specially the day that you stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the Earth, and that they may teach their children. And ye came near and stood under the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire   unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds and thick darkness.

2 Samuel 22: 9-12 There went up a smoke out of His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth devoured: coals kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under His feet. And He rode upon a Cherub, and did fly: and He was seen upon the wings of the wind. And He made darkness pavilions round about Him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.

Deuteronomy 33:26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun; who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in His excellency on the sky.

Job 26:9 He holdeth back the face of His throne, and spreadeth His cloud upon it.

2 Kings 2:11-12 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind unto heaven.

And Elisha saw it, and he cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his clothes and rent them in two pieces.

Psalm 68:4 Sing unto the Lord, sing praises to His name, extol Him that rideth upon the heavens by His name JAH, and rejoice before Him.

Psalm 68:33-34 to Him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, He doeth send out His voice, and that a mighty voice. Ascribe ye strength unto God: His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds.

Psalm 104:1-3 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great, thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: who layers the beams of His chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds His chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind.

Isaiah 19:1 Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

Excerpts from Ezekiel chapter 1:

4: And I looked and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

16 -18 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Consider these scriptures in Matthew chapter 2:

2 Saying where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed, and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 

This is the Christmas story of the three wise men. They were guided by something in the sky that seemed to be a star. But this star moved, guided them on their journey, and then stopped over where the child was. It was a lighted vehicle flying in the sky that appeared to be a star.

Bible “abductions” and UFO abductions.

There is nothing new about the UFO abductions we hear about lately. The first abduction recorded was the taking up of Enoch. 

Genesis 5:24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; and he was no more, because God took him away.

Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death.  He could not be found because God had taken him away, for before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

The taking up of Elijah:

2 Kings 2:11-12   And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more, and he took hold of his clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

Elisha recognized the vehicle and knew the name of the vehicle: “The Chariot of Israel,” To Elisha it was not a “UFO.” He did identify this vehicle and we can conclude that it was because the vehicle had been seen before by the people and they had named it.

The ascension of Jesus:

Luke 24: 50-51. When He had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into the sky.

Mark 16:19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into the sky and He sat at the right hand of God.

Some translations say “taken up to the clouds”.

These instances of being taken up by God are the only ones recorded on the Bible, so it is possible that other similar instances happened but were not recorded.

UFO abductions.

UFO abductions are similar in that people and/or animals are taken up to a flying vehicle. 

Dr. Carla Turner PhD wrote a book about her abductions titled, Taken. It is worth reading.

Abductees encounter beings of different appearances. The small grays are better known because they are also seen outside the vehicles when the vehicles land. The greys seem to be the lowest rank of beings. Abductees taken inside the vehicle report that they have seen beings that look like reptiles (reptilians) and insects particularly praying mantis (Insectoids.) Others less seen are called Nordics because they have blonde hair. 

Remember that Lucifer in the Garden of Eden had a reptilian appearance (the serpent).

Consider this scripture:

Luke 10: 19 Behold, I give you power to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Jesus gave us power over reptilians and insectoids. He also gave us power over demons, but the UFO “aliens” are not demons. They are fallen angels, spiritual beings of a higher rank which disobeyed God.

Paul was referring to this kind of spiritual beings in this verse:

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Interbreeding.

Abductees also report that one of the purposes for abduction is interbreeding, just as the times when the watchers came to Earth and had children with the women, engendering giants.

They grow the embryos in glass containers with a liquid that takes the place of amniotic fluid. 

Who gets abducted?

Not Christians! Christians who walk with God are protected. Some abductees have become born again Christians after their experience. The fact that dedicated Christians have not been abducted indicates a spiritual connection, as if the crews of the UFOs know just who they can take and who they are not allowed to take. Or perhaps they do not take Christians because we have the power to tread on serpents and scorpions?

God also has flying vehicles. They form a cloud when they materialize, and a person can be “taken up” to the cloud as the Bible relates. The Bible has only one instance where God’s vehicle almost landed, and it is described in the book of Ezekiel.

The spiritual beings that disobeyed God have the same technology, and their vehicles have been  active for centuries. 

All scripture references are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted

Note: the point of this writing has nothing to do with salvation or deliverance. It has to do with obedience to God.

Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11 You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. 14 Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.” (Genesis 17:9-14)

In other translations “foreign-born” is translated “strangers”. Both foreign-born and strangers mean that the people are not related to Abraham by blood, that is, members of Abraham’s family. We know that Abraham had a male child, Isaac, and Isaac had two male children, and one of them was Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name to “Israel.” Israel gave birth to 12 males who founded the 12 tribes of Israel. All of them were circumcised.

The Foreign-Born Servants.
The foreign-born servants were not members of Abraham’s family, but in order to be employed by Abraham, they had to convert to his “religion”. Abraham was the first evangelist in the Bible. And although the foreign-born were not what we consider today to be Jews, they had to be circumcised to stay under Abraham’s protection and serve in his army. They did not have a choice. Abraham was not seeker-sensitive; in fact, whoever objected to being circumcised would not be a member of Abraham’s group.

Circumcision is the Sign of Being in Covenant with God.
Covenant: A binding and solemn agreement by two or more persons, to do or keep from doing some specified thing, a compact; agreement; contract (Webster’s Dictionary).

If you have ever been under a contract, you know that breaking a contract usually has costly consequences. Just imagine that you contract a builder to build a house for you based on your specifications for construction. He builds the house, you finish paying him, and you move in only to find out that the slab is cracking because the builder did not put steel rebar in it as specified. He broke the contract/covenant with you. How would you feel about it? You would probably sue the builder.

A covenant with God is a most serious thing. This covenant was made with all the descendants of Abraham, from generation to generation as the above scripture says, and the Jewish people have been keeping it to this day. The aforementioned scripture says it is “a continual responsibility”.

Until Heaven and Earth Disappear.
Jesus speaking: 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. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:18-19)

Until heaven and earth disappear. They have not disappeared yet.

Paul Says That the “Strangers” are Engrafted Branches”.
16 And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too. 17 But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18 But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. 19 “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.”20 Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. (Romans 11:16-20)

If you have ever tried to graft trees, you know there is no guarantee that the grafted branch will “take”. And is not the blessing that God promised Abraham and his children conditional to being circumcised?

We Can Believe in Jesus But Yet Not Do What He Told Us To Do.
Jesus speaking: 46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? (Luke 6:46)

Paul’s Opinion About Circumcision.
Paul was angrily opposed to circumcision because he was “the apostle to the Gentiles” who were pagan. Paul wanted a following, and he became the first “seeker-sensitive” evangelist/pastor. Consequently, his doctrine was based on the two things pagans objected to: circumcision and the food laws. Thus, to gain more converts, he turned against both.

What Paul Was Teaching About Circumcision.
25 The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile.26 And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people? 27 In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God’s law but don’t obey it. (Romans 2:25-27)

This is a convoluted statement confusing the reader. In verse 27 he says, “In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law…” Well, if they are uncircumcised, they are not keeping God’s law!!! This sentence is a contradiction.

He calls circumcision a “ceremony”, ignoring the fact that it is a covenant with God. He states his reasons to avoid circumcision, when Genesis 17 is very clear that circumcision is a command.

Paul’s teaching is full of antagonism against circumcision and the circumcised. When the Messianic Jews of the time were trying to persuade Paul’s followers that they should be circumcised, this is what Paul said:

2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. (Philippians 3:2 NIV)

2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! (Philippians 3:2 NKJV)

2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! (Philippians 3:2 NRSV)

The NLT version added the words “to be saved”, and in other versions it states, “beware of the mutilated”.

There is More.
28 For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. 29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. (Romans 2:28-29)

9 Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. 10 But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised! 11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. 12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised. (Romans 4:9-12)

God accepted Abraham before his circumcision, but then required that Abraham be circumcised as part of the covenant between them. Abraham was righteous, but if he had disobeyed God in this matter, would he still have been righteous?

Jesus, being the Son of God, was circumcised. Even Jesus, the Son of God, never said a word against circumcision or that Abraham was the spiritual father of the uncircumcised. Instead, Jesus said:

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. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:18-19)

And Paul is Teaching People to Disobey God’s Laws.
19 For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments. (1 Corinthians 7:19)

Again, if you are man who wants to keep the commandments, you get circumcised, because it is an “everlasting” commandment (Genesis 17:13), not only for the Jew, but also for the “stranger”. Another contradictory statement.

Paul Confronts Peter.
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? (Galatians 2:11-14)

Note that Paul says, “When I saw that they (Peter and the friends of James) were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter…” Paul implies that Peter and James, the brother of Jesus and head of the Jerusalem Church, were not preaching the truth, but that he, Paul, was the one preaching the truth of the gospel.

15 You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. (Galatians 2:15-16)

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. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:18-19)

Until heaven and earth disappear. They have not disappeared yet.

Nowhere in the Bible do I see that Peter discarded the Jewish laws and was living like a Gentile. It is a historical fact that the church in Jerusalem was keeping the laws and feasts just as Jesus did.

6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. 11 Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. (Galatians 5:6,11)

11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. (Ephesians 2:11)

11 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)

11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. (Colossians 3:11)

10 For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. (Titus 1:10)

18 For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. (1 Corinthians 7:18)

2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. (Galatians 5:2)

What “Christ” is Paul referring to? Jesus said:

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. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:18-19)

12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples. (Galatians 6:12-13)

11 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)

As We Will See, Both Circumcisions Are MNeeded.

15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. (Galatians 6:15)

11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. (Colossians 3:11)

Paul’s teaching that spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of our sinful nature, the circumcision of the heart—is the only circumcision needed is in direct opposition to the scriptures. The church today continues to teach that circumcision of the heart is all that is needed.

And you will say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel. Thus says Adonai the Lord, O you House of Israel, enough of your abominations! In that you have brought in strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my Sanctuary, to pollute it, My House, when you offer My bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of your abominations. (Ezekiel 44:6 One New Man Bible)

Thus says Adonai, the Lord, no stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, will enter My sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. (Ezekiel 44:9 One New Man Bible)

6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. (Malachi 3:6)

God says He does not change. He requires both the circumcision of the heart and of the flesh.