Angels and Demons Part 6

Greetings,

                This week we are going to pick up where we left off and explore the issue of hybrid creatures. First of all, does the Bible speak of hybrid creatures? Did things like Centaurs and Nagas exist? Could they exist today? Let’s begin our conversation around the satyr. A satyr according to mythology was a human/goat hybrid. Does the Bible acknowledge their existence? Absolutely!

                “But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.” (Isaiah 13:21)

                The most common rebuttal I get when I point this verse out to skeptics is that their version of the Bible translates this word as shaggy goat. Could it be that the translators of the King James Version were just being sloppy?

                “But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there.” (Isaiah 13:21 NASB)

Let’s take a closer look shall we? The Hebrew word translated satyr in Isaiah 13:21 is the word sa’iyr. According to definition given by Strong’s Concordance this word can mean a devil, a goat, a kid, hairy, rough, or satyr. So how do we distinguish what meaning is actually being implied here? To answer this question we will look at two seemingly unrelated scriptures.

“And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.” (Leviticus 17:7)

“And he [Rehoboam, son of Solomon] ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.” (2 Chronicles 11:15)

So what do these verses have to do with our topic? Everything! Notice that I have bolded the word “devils” in both passages. The Hebrew word translated devils in these passages is—you guessed it—sa’yir! Trying to argue that sacrifices were being made to “shaggy goats” is about as ridiculous as pouring coffee into a coke bottle and arguing that the drink is actually coke. The context and interpretation is obviously speaking to more than an animal that produces milk and cheese. God literally rebuked the Israelites for making sacrifices to satyrs after He delivered them from Egypt. The Israelites actually whored themselves after these creatures. Moreover, Rehoboam moved to reinstitute this type of sacrifice and worship. The hybrids were real because the Bible says so—plain and simple.

Moreover, we must understand that the Bible reveals to us that these hybrids were inherently evil. It straightforwardly associates these creatures with a demonic nature in the original language and word use. This is our biblical premise for moving further into this study. The Bible supports the concept of hybrids, and it helps us to understand that when they occur, their nature is demonic. It can be deduced by simple logic that like nephilim, when hybrid creatures die, their spirits also join the spirit realm as demons. They are not treated like human spirits, and they are certainly not angels.

It is true that the Bible does not make reference to every mythological creature referenced by various mythologies. However, by simply understanding that the Bible speaks about the existence of hybrids, it makes room for the possibility that any and all of the so-called mythological creatures of other cultures may have existed at one time. This leaves us at a veritable Pandora’s Box. How do hybrid creatures come about and what is the agenda behind their creation?

In the book of Revelation we find that during the fifth trumpet judgment, bizarre creatures are being loosed from a place called the pit. I hinted at this earlier this year but the pit actually resides in another dimension. It’s is not something you will encounter while driving to your local grocery store. The king over this place is a fallen angel named Abaddon. It is from this passage that we can begin to gain a better understanding regarding hybrid creatures.

“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power…And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. (Revelation 9:1-3, 7-11)

When we go into the original language it is confirmed that the entire description of these creatures is anatomical. Even the breastplates that this passage describes are an anatomical feature of these abominations. They are very much physical in nature and they are described as part human, part horse, part scorpion, and part lion with something else mixed in there to cause them to grow wings. What do you call a living organism that appears like this? It is a hybrid. When we take into account that their king is a fallen angel we also glean that the agenda to create hybrid creatures is something that originates with fallen angels. This allows fallen angels to expand the army of darkness. When hybrid creatures die, their spirits are then subjugated and still used to further the satanic agenda.

Although these particular hybrids of Revelation 9 are specifically reserved for release at the fifth trumpet, the agenda for hybrids has never been limited to the last days. Hybrids clearly existed in the Old Testament and with thousands of years to refine their technologies, what do you think Satan and his minions are up to today? They are tinkering with all kinds of possibilities in order to create their own army. Why don’t we see them today? Much of the work being done to this end has taken place in the heavenly places (or other dimensions) where fallen angels are located. Some things do seem to take place on earth, usually as part of black projects in underground bases, but to this end I will leave you to do your own research.

In any case, this is why the Bible discusses a population in the last days that was never written into the book of life. When we understand how the book of life works, our conclusion can only be that this is a non-human population.

It is not just angels working on this kind of thing, but humans are involved now as well. Just this past summer a news article was released reporting that 150 human animal hybrids were grown in UK labs. As a matter of fact, one woman actually testifies to being used as a ‘psychic’ in order to astral project into the bodies of hybrid creatures (being grown in underground bases as part of black projects) and assess their thoughts and feelings (note that she is not Christian if you choose to listen to her story).

The conclusion of the matter is that all of these problems are our responsibility as God’s people in the earth. We will be confronted with all of these forms of evil, and we will be called to continue to establish the victory of Jesus Christ in spite of them. The only reason any of this would scare a Christian is if that person’s view of God is too small. If you’re scared, it’s time to change your perspective on just how powerful God is. Not only does God have solutions to all of these problems, He has chosen you to be a part of the army that He will use to confront them. Even if you don’t want to, it is my assessment that the day will come when you won’t have a choice. You will fall away, stand for Jesus, or hide behind someone that thinks like me. When everything I have discussed over the past several weeks has manifested, the eschatological season for the following verse will have been established. I will stand firm and do great exploits for God. What about you?

“And such as violate the covenant he shall pervert and seduce with flatteries, but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].” (Daniel 11:32 AMP)

Angels and Demons Part 5

Greetings,

                We have been in a series that is intense and at times very stretching. There are purposes for this knowledge, and what we will discuss this week will be one of those purposes. We left off by saying that the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2:7 is primarily responsible for maintaining the divide or “veil” that separates our dimension from the dimensions where many of these fallen angels are trapped.

                “Do you not recollect that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining him [from being revealed at this time]; it is so that he may be manifested (revealed) in his own [appointed] time. For the mystery of lawlessness (that hidden principle of rebellion against constituted authority) is already at work in the world, [but it is] restrained only until he who restrains is taken out of the way.” (2 Thessalonians 2:5-7 AMP)

                In order to understand the job of “he who restrains” it really becomes necessary to understand what the mystery of lawlessness is. The word translated as mystery is the Greek word musterion. This word primarily means that which was hidden now being revealed. Its primary relevance in the Roman culture was the information which was known to the mustes or initiated ones. The initiated ones were the practitioners of the mystery religions. In other words, the mysteries were the secret knowledge practiced and passed down by occult adepts. Here Paul makes the distinction “mystery of lawlessness” because he uses the same word musterion in other writings to refer to mysteries found in Christ. Here he wants us to know that the activity associated with mystery religions was well and alive in the earth. This is still true today.

                Mystery religions practice the occult. That’s what they do. They are responsible for doing rituals associated with summoning demons or even fallen angels. In order to summon certain fallen angels, as we discussed in last week’s email, they must be called out of their dimensions and into ours. This means that the mysteries these people practice will allow them to “sidestep,” so-to-speak, the barrier that separates our dimension from others. It is this activity that Paul is relating to the work of the restrainer. In other words, while the restrainer maintains dimensional separation, there is an ongoing effort to sidestep what the restrainer was put there to do.

                I’m not going to try to prove the identity of the restrainer to you but I will say this: the text does not tell us who it is. Some say it’s the Holy Spirit. The problem with this idea is that the Holy Spirit is God and God is omnipresent. How can an omnipresent being ever be “taken out” or removed from anywhere?

                In any case, whoever this restrainer is, he will one day be taken out of the way. If you have followed me up to this point then you have probably figured out what I am getting at. The problem is that when the force is removed that separates the earth from the dimensions where many fallen angels are trapped, our world will quickly change in many ways that elude the imagination. Today we deal with disembodied spirits of dead nephilim. They are like cupcakes when compared with the power of beings that are the direct creation of God.

                Consider this: the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 men in one night (2 Kings 19:35). No destruction like this has ever been affiliated with a petty demon. We are talking about two entirely different classes of entities. Are we really prepared for spiritual warfare to move to a whole other echelon? This is why I am spending an entire year on the topic of spiritual warfare. In Christ we have the victory, but we need to be prepared to enforce it. As what I am explaining to you begins to manifest, those that are unprepared and those that are lukewarm will undoubtedly fall away.

                The passage in 2 Thessalonians 2 continues to link the removal of the restrainer to the manifestation of the lawless one, otherwise known as the antichrist.

                “And then the lawless one (the antichrist) will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to an end by His appearing at His coming. The coming [of the lawless one, the antichrist] is through the activity and working of Satan and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of [pretended] miracles and signs and delusive marvels--[all of them] lying wonders--And by unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (going to perdition) because they did not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that they might be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 AMP)

                Notice that as we learn about the coming of the antichrist the Bible is clear that many signs, pretend miracles, and lying wonders will accompany him. I have previously explained that this is synonymous with what we see described in the sixth seal. Sure enough, as we read about the sixth seal in the book of Revelation we find that “stars will fall to the earth.” These will include the stars (angels) that are currently kept from us by the restrainer—they will return.

                “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” (Revelation 6:12-13)

                Now that we have established that many fallen angels will be coming to the earth at some point in the future, we have greater clarity on what Jesus meant when He said that the last days would be like the days of Noah. There was a point during Noah’s lifetime when fallen angels, their children, other related abominations, and men all occupied the earth at once. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.

                “And as it was in the days of [Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” (Luke 17:26)

                However, even in saying all of this there is still activity I have yet to address. We have established a scriptural understanding for many things, but now we are prepared to dive even deeper. Next week we will get into the topic of genetic engineering and the creation of hybrid creatures and abominations. What we will find is that this is not something to be unveiled in the future. This is already happening.

                To be continued…

Angels and Demons Part 4

Greetings,

                We are now in the fourth part of our series on fallen angels and demons. Last week we left off by stating that the war in heaven described by Revelation 12:7-9 may have actually taken place while Jesus walked the earth. This week we are going to build upon this thought. This will allow us to understand what truly comes of the hosts of heaven that rebel with Satan in Revelation 12:4. We have already established that demons are the departed spirits of nephilim (hybrids). Since we primarily encounter demonic activity (as opposed to fallen angelic activity) in the earth, where are these heavenly hosts that followed Lucifer?

                Before answering that question let’s return to the war in heaven and look at the passage again. This time I have included verse ten which describes the results of this particular war.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come [1] salvation, and [2] strength, and the [3] kingdom of our God, and the [4] power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:7-10)

Verse 10 is the true crux of this passage. It describes the results of the war, and when we understand the results we realize that these are the promises associated with the salvation we currently possess. These promises didn’t come prior to the Garden of Eden nor are we still waiting for them. In other words, because of the stated results, this war must have ended prior to the resurrection of Jesus. As we will discover, the true ending of this war came as a result of the work that Jesus accomplished between His death and resurrection. Let’s begin by looking at the results.

1.       Salvation - “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9–10).

2.       Strength – “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).

3.       Kingdom - “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:9).

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).

4.       Power of His Christ - “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:12–13).

                Could the Bible really be any clearer about what resulted from this war? I don’t think so. Everything that came about with the end of this war aligns perfectly with what the Bible discusses in regards to the promises of salvation in Jesus Christ. Therefore, this becomes the third definite angelic rebellion, the first being the fall of Lucifer and the second being the rebellion of the angels involved in Genesis 6. The concept of multiple angelic rebellions is what scripture actually speaks to. There was not just one rebellion prior to the fall of man.

                Moving forward, it was the hosts of heaven referenced by Revelation 12:4 that Jesus spoiled and triumphed over between His death and resurrection.

                “And having spoiled principalities and powers [types of angelic spirits], he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:15)

                This is why when Jesus was resurrected He explained that He had all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). This is also why we now have the victory in all things through Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:57). However, this is not where the story ends. By the time we reach the New Testament Epistles we are told where the rebellious heavenly hosts (not associated with the pre-flood incident) are currently found. We are told that they reside in something called heavenly places.

                “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV)

                I’ve explained heavenly places before so I’m going to move right along. The fallen angels that rebelled with Lucifer in Revelation 12:4, as a result of the work of Jesus, are largely found in the heavenly places of the second heaven. Note that there do seem to be some that are still found in the earth like Lucifer (1 Peter 5:8).  Heavenly places can also be understood as alternate dimensions. Although there are ways for these beings to have some degree of influence upon the earth, many of them are trapped where they are. This is why groups like the illuminati will conduct very powerful rituals to bring these beings over for brief amounts of time in order to communicate with them. Consider this testimony from one woman who claims to have been involved with this kind of activity.

                “…during the rituals, you had to have psychic ability. You have to be very powerful in that way to call out The Old Ones…that come from another dimension. They actually materialize from out of another dimension, and are present at rituals. And they are so powerful, and there is such an evilness about them, that they want out of this other dimension. And they have to be called out by someone who has that power.”

-          Arizona Wilder

Not only can they be brought here but there are apparently ways for humans to travel to where these beings are located. Consider this quote:

“Archiometry… is a very advanced branch of black magic and voodoo, which involves cultivating the ability to enter into alternate universes, and then you go into these universes and you try and energize the universe, become the god of that universe, and then draw power from that universe back into your own universe. This started out, basically, as part of the worship of the star god Sirius, which is known in Egypt as Set, which is the Egyptian version of the Devil. The idea is that because there was a black dwarf star of Sirius next to the white star Sirius, it became known as Sirius A and Sirius B. Ancient magicians realized that they could use that black star as a gateway into an alternate universe, and so that’s how they discovered universe B. Then later on there was universe C and D and E and etcetera, etcetera… The person who comes back invariably seems to have amped up their power by a whole order of magnitude… It’s believed by these people [that] this is a very easy way of becoming a living god… The fact of the matter is [that] you‘re doing it by demonic power and if you’re indeed entering other universes those are universes that are populated by extremely evil beings and extremely wise cruel beings.”

-          Bill Schnoebelen (Interview with an Ex-Vampire DVD)

What keeps these beings where they are? This is the job of the restrainer reference in 2 Thessalonians 2:7. We will be picking up here next week…

Angels and Demons Part 3

Greetings,

                We have spent the past two weeks scripturally proving that angels and demons are in fact two different classes of beings. In order to come to this understanding it became necessary to prove that giants (otherwise known as nephilim) were hybrids. They were half man and half angel. This week we are going to dive further as we begin to flesh out what this means for us today.

                We are now going to return to the topic of angels. We have already gone over the fact that Lucifer was the first angel to rebel. However, when we took a closer look at what happened during the Genesis 6 incident we realized that Lucifer had little if any involvement in that rebellion. This is further proven in that while the angels discussed in Genesis 6 were cast into hell (2 Peter 2: 4-5) and placed in everlasting chains under darkness (Jude 6) Satan wasn’t. Satan was clearly roaming the earth during the time of Job.

                “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” (Job 1:6-7)

The fact that there were two separate rebellions proves something important for us. There were and have historically been multiple angelic rebellions. This week we are going to discuss how this relates to the twelfth chapter of Revelation. Instead of jumping right into a particular verse and using it out of context to prove something we think we should believe, we will begin at the beginning.

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” (Revelation 12:1-2)

There is a great wonder in heaven. As we proceed to define this wonder we are going to allow the Bible to interpret itself. In other words, where do we see the Bible using the same description and how does that fit with what we are being presented with here? In the book of Genesis, one of the twelve sons of Jacob (renamed Israel) is Joseph. He has a dream in which the sun the moon and eleven stars bow down to him. That dream is interpreted by his father who responds as follows:

“And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” (Genesis 37:10)

Based on this interpretation Jacob is represented by the sun, his wife is represented by the moon, and the twelve stars are the twelve tribes of Israel. Thus the woman that is in the midst of all of these symbols represents the nation of Israel. Sure enough, Israel is represented by a woman on numerous occasions throughout scripture (Hosea 3:1, Ezekiel 36:17). Therefore, Revelation 12:2 is describing the time when the nation of Israel was ready to deliver the Messiah to the world. This is the exegetical timeframe for the next comment.

“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” (Revelation 12:3-4)

As we read the next portion of Scripture we see a dragon having seven heads and ten horns. We know that this is a symbolic representation of Satan because Revelation 12:9 says so. Regarding the seven heads and ten horns, heads on a beast are scripturally significant of successive kingdoms while horns tend to mean rulers within a kingdom ruling at the same time. In any case, the tail of this dragon draws a third of the stars of heaven and casts them to the earth. Allowing the Bible to define itself, stars are in this case are symbolic of angelic beings (Revelation 1:20).

Notice that in verse 4 the purpose for drawing them to the earth is clearly given. It is to devour the child, the Messiah, as soon as it is born. The timeframe for this angelic rebellion led by Lucifer does not seem to be prior to the Garden of Eden. If we accurately exegete the passage and simply read what it says it gives us a timeframe of some point prior to the birth of Jesus (but after Israel becomes a nation).

Verses 5 and 6 go on to discuss that Jesus was born anyway, He was not devoured, and He was ultimately caught up unto God. As we know Jesus lived, died a horrific death upon the cross, was raised to life, and at some point afterwards was caught up into heaven. Verse 6 goes on to discuss the nation of Israel and how she will flee into a place prepared for her in the wilderness for 1260 days. This seems to jump forward in history quite a bit correlating with the timeframe given for the coming great tribulation (Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:31, Matthew 24:15-21, Revelation 13:5-7).

The passage in Revelation 12 picks up in verse 7 and now we are at a significant war in heaven.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9)

In this war Satan and the fallen angels with him are cast out of heaven. The question is: when does this war take place? Some have suggested that it happened prior to the Garden of Eden. If this were true, why is Satan still coming before God in the book of Job? This conclusion makes no sense. The passage is clear that after this war “their place was no longer found in heaven.”

Others have said that this war is yet to come. They suggest that during the great tribulation Satan will make war with heaven. Could that be what this passage is referring to?  

I am firmly persuaded that neither of these possibilities is the truth of the matter. Instead, I am convinced that this war actually occurred and came to its end during the time that Jesus conducted His ministry on earth. In order to grasp this, it is essential to understand the implications of the next verse: Revelation 12:10.

To be continued…

Angels and Demons Part 2

Greetings,

                Last week we left off in the midst of our discussion on how the angels were able to procreate with human women as described in Genesis 6:1-4. We also realized that although Lucifer had already rebelled, it is unlikely that he was involved in this since he was not locked up like the angels that were involved (2 Peter 2:4). On this note we will resume our discussion as we seek to understand the difference between fallen angels and demons.

I want to make you aware of an ancient text known as 1 Enoch. Although it is not canonized, it is quoted by the Bible and gives information that the Bible is relatively silent on. Note how it is quoted by the Bible:

“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 14-15)

“And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones, To execute judgment upon all, and to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (1 Enoch 1:9)

The following quote is from the book of 1 Enoch and if it is correct, it sheds additional light on the incident of Genesis 6:1-4 and helps us to understand that there were exactly 200 angels involved in the incident. Furthermore, the record in 1 Enoch confirms what I pointed out in the last email. Lucifer had little if anything to do with this rebellion. His name is not listed among the names of the captains.

“And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children…' Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaqlel, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens.” (1 Enoch 6:1-3a, 5b-8)

                Thus far everything that we have discussed has been in relation to angels. However, now that we have established what Genesis 6 actually explains we can move on. The word translated as “giants” in the book of Genesis is the Hebrew word nephilim. It was primarily due to nephilim activity that the flood was sent. This activity threatened a pure human seed which would be necessary to bring about the birth of the Messiah. God could not let that happen. Moreover, this activity also played a role in bringing about total lawlessness and evil (Genesis 6:5).

                After the flood the nephilim show up again, particularly in the Promised Land (Canaan). When they show up there are different races of them:

Ø  Rephaims: a tall ancient people in the land east of the Jordan. The dead ones (Genesis 14:5)

Ø  Emims: Fearful ones (Deuteronomy 2:11-12)

Ø  Anakims: long necked ones (Deuteronomy 2:11-12)

Ø  Zamzummims (Deuteronomy 2:20)

Ø  Horims: a race of nephilim conquered by the descendants of Esau (Deuteronomy 2:12)

Ø  Avims: Conquered by the Caphtorims (Deuteronomy 2:23)

Ø  Caphtorims: giants from the lineage of Mizraim (Egypt) (1 Chronicles 1:11-12)

Etymologically related to the Hebrew word Rephaim (one of the tribes of the giants) is the Hebrew word rapha. They both carry the connotation of being dead—rapha referring to the dead Rephaim. It is no coincidence that rapha actually means ghost or shade according to Strong’s Concordance. This leads us to a particularly interesting passage in the book of Isaiah.

“They are dead, they will not live; They are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, And made all their memory to perish.” (Isaiah 26:14 NKJV)

This passage is speaking to the resurrection of the dead. How are there some “deceased” that will not rise? I bolded the word deceased because it is translated from the Hebrew word rapha. Remember that while this word means ghost and shade it is etymologically related to the word Rephaim. In essence, Isaiah is actually saying that as ghosts, the spirits of dead nephilim will not have a resurrection. Trying to interpret it as pertaining to humans is straightforwardly impossible; this is the only conclusion that makes sense.

The Bible is clear that all humans will have a resurrection. From the book of Revelation we learn that there are two resurrections. One resurrection is for those that have died in Christ (Revelation 20:5-6) and the other is for everyone else (Revelation 20:12-13). The important point is that every human will experience a resurrection for judgment at some point. It is impossible to be human and not receive a resurrection.

Isaiah’s comment in regards to the word rapha is actually for the purpose of setting up a comparison. Just a few verses later Isaiah continues to speak to the resurrection of the dead. He is intentionally making a distinction between human spirits and nephil spirits.

“Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.” (Isaiah 26:19 NKJV)

Although the Bible doesn’t specifically tell us what happens to the spirits of dead nephilim, the fact that the word rapha means ghosts or shades is enough to draw our conclusion. Demons are not angels, but the disembodied spirits of dead nephilim. Having proven this with the Bible, we can verify it by returning to the account of 1 Enoch.

“And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. [As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling.] And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless hunger and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them.” (1 Enoch 15:8-12)

To be continued…

Angels and Demons Part 1

Greetings,

                We are going to begin a journey this week in order to answer the following question: Is there a difference between fallen angels and demons? Why does this matter? If we remain unable to differentiate between fallen angels and demons it will hinder our ability to effectively conduct spiritual warfare. My job is to equip you for success. Only once we begin to make this distinction can room be made for God to explain to us the truth about what the kingdom of darkness is really up to. Therefore, over the next few weeks I will discuss the difference between fallen angels and demons and then move into deeper elements regarding the kingdom of darkness.

                We will begin by setting up the typical misunderstanding of Satan and demonology. The theology most Christians believe goes something like this. Satan (also called Lucifer) is in heaven as the anointed cherub (Ezekiel 28:14). The multitude of his merchandise (Ezekiel 28:16) and the incredible beauty and wisdom he possesses (Ezekiel 28:17) among other things leads to the iniquity that God finds in him (Ezekiel 28:15). As a result there is a war in heaven (Revelation 12:7-9) and God kicks Satan and his army of angels out (Revelation 12:4). This army comprises one-third of heavens hosts. As a result of getting kicked out of heaven, Satan slams into earth. This is why Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Satan is then present for the Garden of Eden incident and all of the hosts of heaven that fall with him become demons. Is that simple enough?

                The problem with this theology is that it’s too simple. Not only is it too simple, it’s actually very sloppy when we begin to apply careful exegesis.

 In order to begin discussing the issue of fallen angels we will begin with Lucifer, the first and most powerful angel to rebel against God. The two famous passages dealing with the history of Lucifer are found in Ezekiel 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:12-17. Interestingly enough, neither of these passages mentions other angels joining him in his rebellion. While Lucifer did birth iniquity (Ezekiel 28:15) and as a result was cast out of the mountain of God as a profane thing (Ezekiel 28:16) it seems that at least initially he was relatively alone in these things. Note that there was only one serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Not a serpent with a huge army of cronies.

After the incident at the Garden of Eden, the Bible does not mention any more activity specifically attributed to Satan for a long time. However, the next event involving heavenly hosts occurs in Genesis six. The story goes as follows:

“When people had spread all over the world, and daughters were being born, some of the heavenly beings saw that these young women were beautiful, so they took the ones they liked. Then the Lord said, I will not allow people to live forever; they are mortal. From now on they will live no longer than 120 years. In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and the heavenly beings. They were the great heroes and famous men of long ago.” (Genesis 6:1-4 GNT)

So according to Genesis 6, giants began to exist because heavenly beings (or angels) began to produce offspring with human women.  This was obviously a separate rebellion from the fall of Lucifer and it was a rebellion based on different reasons. Lucifer rebelled because of the multitude of his merchandise, his beauty, and his corrupted wisdom (Ezekiel 28:16-17). The angels in Genesis 6 rebelled because they lusted after human women. The Bible is clear that the angels that sinned were cast down to hell when God chose not to spare the old (pre-flood) world. These angels that rebelled were locked up in chains under darkness until the judgment of the great day. Since they were locked in hell while Satan wasn’t, it actually suggests that Satan had little if anything to do with this rebellion.

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:4-5)

                “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 6)

                According to the book of Jude these angels did not keep their first estate (Greek arche), which was their origin or original heavenly appointment. They left their own habitations (Greek oiketerion) which were spiritual bodies and assumed physical bodies in order to accommodate the act of physical union with human women. We know that the term oiketerion is referring to their spiritual bodies because the same term is used to describe the spiritual bodies we will one day receive.

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house [oiketerion] which is from heaven” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)

The idea that angels can put on physical bodies like humans put on clothes is illustrated when God and two angels visit Abraham. That these angels are wearing physical bodies is obvious because they eat food and get their feet washed.

                “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men [the LORD and two angels] 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… 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.” (Genesis 18:1-4, 8)

                Thus it is established that physical union between an angel and a human woman is not really much of a feat at all. The rebelling angels assumed physical bodies and began to have children with the human women. These children were hybrids being half human and half angelic, and as a result of their hybrid nature they were also giants when compared with normal men. This is why the Bible says, “In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and the heavenly beings” (Genesis 6:4 GNT).

To be continued…

The Necessity of Spiritual Warfare

1/7/12

Greetings,

I am excited for the arrival of the New Year! I hope that you enjoyed the holidays. I was personally blessed to spend quality time with both my side of the family as well as my wife’s. However, with all of the festivities finished we are at a crossroads. As with every New Year, it brings with it the potential for change. Many view the changing of the year as an opportunity to change direction, to pursue new dreams, or to simply right old wrongs. At BRIDE Ministries this year will bring several new things which I am already thanking God for.

This year, and actually within the next couple weeks, we will be able to begin receiving tax-deductable donations. That’s right! BRIDE Ministries is being incorporated as an official 501c3 non-profit ministry. The donations that we will be able to receive will allow us to pursue greater projects and bring into the realm of possibility many things that up until now have remained ideas written on paper. I want to challenge those of you that have found true value from these letters or the online teachings to prayerfully consider giving towards the vision. For those of you that are newer to this letter, my vision is to promote unity in the body of Christ worldwide and assist in the creation and development of sheep nations.

Last year the focus of these weekly emails was the power and purpose of unity in the body of Christ. All of those teachings have been titled and posted to my blog if any of you would like to review the concepts and lessons that were shared. This year we are going to transition into spiritual warfare.

               It is truly unfortunate that this still seems to be a relatively controversial subject in certain circles of Christianity. Spiritual warfare, plain and simple, is something that Jesus said Christians would do. Furthermore, when He said we would do this, He used a covenant word—“shall.” Covenant words like “shall” and “will” indicate absolute resolution that what has been said will be.

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.” (Mark 16:17)

Understand that the casting out of devils is not to be approached narrow-mindedly. Some assume that casting out devils is limited to driving demons out of individual people. If this were the extent of spiritual warfare it would certainly be nice, but the issue is much larger than this one aspect of “casting out devils.” Devils, otherwise known as evil spirits, not only occupy people, but can be attached to objects, ritual sites, homes, neighborhoods, cities, states, and nations. There are even spirits with international authority like spirits attached to religious systems. Beyond this there are spirits that rule over other dimensions like Abaddon who is the fallen angel that rules a realm known as “the pit” (Revelation 9:11). At the very top of the hierarchy is Lucifer, otherwise known as Satan, who is called by the Bible the “god of this world”.

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

I am going to approach this subject very similarly to the way I approached the subject of unity. Each week will be a nugget of truth. At times, I may string one lesson across two or three weeks but for the most part each letter will address one aspect of spiritual warfare.

               I do not plan on censoring myself in this process. Jesus has walked me out into the realm of the spirit for a reason. I am not setting out to read a doctrinal thesis and regurgitate it to you. I am going to keep this very real, very relevant, and grounded in the Word of God. I will be sharing personal experiences and explaining things to you the way the Holy Spirit has explained them to me. Many of the things I will be sharing will stretch you, but my goal is to equip you to be a threat to the enemy.

The sad truth is that the enemy scoffs at many people that consider themselves Christian. The reason is because they do not know how to exercise the power of Christ against him. Furthermore, many do not want to and some even try to oppose those that do. The devil looks at them like idiots, and rightly so. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute.

Imagine that you are trying to build a factory that will manufacture nothing but poison. Poison will be packaged and sold for a profit and more poison will be released from the smoke stacks. Moreover, poison will even be illegally dispensed underground so that it can get into the water supply. Eventually, everyone in the city will die from the impact of the factory. You’re not worried about it though, because that is actually your purpose for building the factory. When you begin building you purposely go out to hire all of the crooks and bad guys in the city. When you waive the cash and opportunity in their faces they immediately get on board. However, there is a group of people that has just been sent to the same city to establish a beautiful and healthy environment.

As you await the inevitable opposition you watch as an illogical thing begins to occur. The group that was sent in to establish a beautiful and healthy environment begins to argue. Some begin to declare that you are not actually building a poison factory and that everyone that believes you are doing that is crazy. Others say that if they talk about the factory too much, it glorifies evil, so they should only sparingly talk about the factory and not commit to opposing it lest evil be more greatly glorified. You begin to chuckle when some of them come to you in secret to ask for jobs. It gets even more ridiculous when the group begins to punish and mock the members that suggest it is time to oppose the factory. By the time the factory is completely built and a large portion of the city is already dying from its impact you are rolling on your back laughing that the group is still failing to organize and oppose your efforts. The most ridiculous part is that they actually hold the title deed to the land you built the factory on and can evict you from it at anytime.

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:18)

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18)

“For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.” (1 Corinthians 10:26)

Jesus is the ultimate authority. He has all power in heaven and in earth. He has legal rights to the earth and “the fullness thereof” right now. In the parable, the poison represents sin and things leading to it. The devil and his cohorts propagate sin through the various devices that they erect (2 Corinthians 2:11). This is represented by the factory in the parable. The devil receives rights to build his empire in this earth from people who choose to cooperate with him. This is because God appointed men to have dominion over the earth even though He owns it (Genesis 1:26). Through his deceptions the devil has usurped authority to the point that the Bible declares him the god of this world. However, when his rights are taken away by the people of God (because that’s our job) the devil and his cohorts must evict the territory. This territory can be an individual’s life, a home, a city, a state or a nation.

My goal is to help Christians give the devil a major headache and take his stuff away according to the power granted to us by Christ. In order to do this, I must give you understanding on new levels. If someone tells you that you can get coconuts from a tree you might get excited. When you get to the tree however, you will promptly realize that you cannot get any coconuts at the base of the tree. If you’re a real thinker, you will realize that the tree must be climbed in order to get to the coconuts. Most Christians, when it comes to spiritual warfare, do not look up and obtain a vision of their potential inheritance or try to climb the tree which requires training, time, and effort. Instead, they just stand there. Every once in a while, by the grace of God, gravity will pull a coconut to the ground and they will exclaim, “Aha! Our faithfulness has produced progress and it fits our belief system!” Please don’t be that guy.

I am going to show you what it means to climb the tree towards the inheritance we can have as experts in spiritual warfare. These letters will inform, train, and equip you throughout the year. In addition, I will attach an audio file (.mp3) to every email of me praying. These prayers will be based on the lessons and concepts contained in the emails every week. They will provide you with both impartation as well as a model for incorporating the information into your own prayers. These will replace the question section of last year’s emails.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Corinthians 10:4)