When An Angel Teaches A Different Gospel

Since the foundation of the Church, there have been many claims of supposed truth that has come down from heaven after what Jesus, and The Apostles of Jesus have made known in scripture.  Three most notable is what founded Islam, Mormonism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.  All of these claim an Angel revealed something to their founders, different from the gospel that was proclaimed in scripture; either attempting to correct or add to it.  But, interestingly, The Holy Spirit knew this would happen and thus specifically said something about it.

Galatians 1:6-9

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; ⁷ which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! ⁹ As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” 

Papyrus 46 is the oldest manuscript of Galatians currently discovered.  It is dated around the end of the 2nd century.  It contains significant portions of Galatians.  With it is Romans, Hebrews, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, and possibly others.  The reliability of this is unquestionable.  It is important to note the date and relation Galatians has with the other scriptures discovered with it.  Though the original was written before this manuscript, the date of this specific manuscript is only two of three generations from Jesus himself. Secondly, it is also in agreement with all that which is revealed in the other letters discovered with it.  This is important later.

People, at the time of this writing, were ‘deserting’ the true gospel message preached by the Apostles to a ‘different’, ‘distorted’, and ‘contrary’ gospel.  The source of the ‘different’, ‘distorted’, and ‘contrary’ gospels came either from men or even spirits.  The Holy Spirit, through Paul, declares that even if the Apostles themselves begin distorting the original gospel preached, they are wrong.  Even if an Angel from heaven came and taught a distorted gospel, they are also wrong.  In other words, there is no other gospel no matter the source; natural (men) or supernatural (spirits) besides the original gospel that was first proclaimed.

The True Gospel

This is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ which includes the person and work of Jesus.  Jesus, The Son of God and God Himself, willingly, humbly, and voluntarily came down from heaven, to be born of a virgin, lived a perfect sinless life, and was the perfect sacrificial lamb to once and for all atone for the sins of all those who believe.  He then rose from the dead three days later validating his power over death and the power as the source of eternal life.  This is The Gospel message proclaimed by Jesus and The Apostles.   But, as time went on, human nature lead some to teaching something different, distorted, and contrary to this.

Gnosticism

This is a general term given to different early teachings.  Some of these early ideas are still apparent in cults and other religions today.  There are similar ideas in all these teachings.  They deny the foundational aspects of The Gospel message: The sufficiency of scripture, the incarnation of God as The Son and the sufficiency of Jesus death on the cross.  Some even deny the death of Jesus on the cross all together.  These Gnostics claimed that the source for their teachings came from divine sources and heightened states of spiritual awareness.  When people fail to understand and believe Galatians 1:6-9, their hearts and minds are open to just about any claim.

Islam

Around 610AD Mohammed, in a cave on Mt. Hira, hears the an angel who he believes to be Gabriel tell him that Allah is the only true God.  Right off the bat, this conflicts with what The Holy Spirit made known 500 years earlier (Galatians 1:8).  This belief system is different and contrary to what which was made known by Jesus and the Apostles.  It denies that Jesus was the Son of God and God in the flesh.  It denies that Jesus even died on the cross.  It denies Jesus’ sufficient atoning death for sin and denies the sufficiency of scripture.  In 746AD John of Damascus wrote about the claims of Islam where he said that Mohammad’s ideas of what Christianity believed derived from an Arian monk; of which Arianism is a distortion of the The Gospel as well.  Not only would Mohammad’s understanding of Christianity be influenced by a distorted gospel to begin with, but he then created his own system from there.  Regardless, at the premise, the birth of Islam conflicts with Galatians 1:8.  Either Galatians is false, or Muhammad’s teaching of a ‘different’, ‘distorted’, and ‘contrary’ gospel is false, both can not be true.

Mormonism

On Sept. 21, 1823 an angel revealed to Joseph Smith of the location of golden tablets and told him that he had been chosen to translate the book of Mormon.  The book of Mormon created an entire new system of religious beliefs that splintered off from Christianity.  A basic problem of the book of Mormon is that there are no archeological evidences to support any of its extreme historical claims.  Mormonism denies that Jesus is the One Triune God, in fact, Mormonism teaches that there is more than one god.  They deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus and the sufficiency of his death to forgive all sins once and for all.  They also deny the sufficiency of scripture alone and require other divine writings to aid in ‘correctly’ interpreting scripture.  Just like in Muhammad’s situation, Either Galatians is false, or Mormonism’s teaching of a ‘different’, ‘distorted’, and ‘contrary’ gospel is false, both can not be true.

The Easy Way Out

When an unverifiable person jumps up and declares that he has been given a vision or told by an angel to write a divine writing; it is then easy for them to explain away any true contradictions with scripture.  In the case with Galatians, it is then easy to say something like “God isn’t talk about me, but others after me”.  Or, even, claim that Galatians is a corruption of the original.  And people have no choice but to accept this unverifiable claim.  The major difference between Muhammad, Joseph Smith, and others who make this argument is that God never actually verified their claim for others to see.  Muhammad never performed any miracles and his prophecies failed.  Joseph Smith never performed any visible verifiable miracles.  The prophecies of the Jehovha’s Witnesses are continually failed and have been re-explained and failed again.  The Apostles were healing the blind and crippled and raising the dead to life.  Aside from the biblical recorded accounts, early church teacher, Papias, validated this as he knew of people who were raised from the dead in his day.  Membership growth and wining Wars do not validate someone’s spiritual truth claim.  Atheist church membership is growing and atheists have caused and won many wars.  Declaring “I will raise myself from the dead three days after I die” and then doing just that is validation. Declaring that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, then raising people from the dead is validating the source of power.  Anyone can claim that Galatians is wrong.  A 12 year old can just make that sort of claim just to reject the authority and justify themselves, but again, that does not make is so.  Its easy to make any claim, deny facts, and avoid being verifiable.

Not a Forgery 

So how do we know that Galatians is not a later forgery with the name of Paul as the author later inserted?  Well, its quite simple actually.  We just compare the vocabulary, writing style, theological point of view, cultural first hand knowledge, and presupposed historical situation to all the other Pauline writings.  Clement of Rome (and other early ancient church teachers) quoted from Romans and he wrote around 90 AD.  So we have outside sources to validate Paul’s Letter to the Romans.  When comparing such validated letters we see the commonalities of the letters from one author style.  Such is with Galatians, it is the same in vocabulary, writing style, theological point of view, and presupposed historical situation as the other validated Pauline writings.  Now of course no one now saw Paul pen the letters first hand; just like all other ancient writings, yet, given the evidences, we can be certain that this letter is in fact from Paul.  Even in Islam, Muhammad never wrote anything;  Joseph Smith never showed the supposed Gold Tablets to anyone; Jehovah’s Witnesses only have the unverifiable claims (and failed prophecies) of their founders.

This is a major problem for Islam, Mormons, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.  They are forced to claim that the words in Galatians are not of Paul but must be later insertions and corruptions.  They are forced to go against the certainty of evidence support for the authenticity of Galatians.  Because if they admit the truth of Galatians, they are then exposed to the truth stated by Paul in Galatians 1:6-9.  So, of course, they take the easy way out and just flat out deny it.

Conclusion

Sense we can be certain that Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ validated by the other Apostles (Galatians 1:18-19, 2:9; Acts 9:26-29), wrote Galatians and a copy exists from the 2nd century we can conclude that his statement in Galatians 1:6-9 is from an Apostle of Jesus Christ validated by the other Apostles.  Therefore, the Apostolic statement must be true.  That if anyone and even an angel preaches a different gospel message, it is wrong.  Islam, Mormons, and Jehovah’s Witnesses do just that, preach a different gospel from other angels.  But unlike them, he is validated by Apostolic support and miracles through preaching the true gospel and declaring Jesus as Christ and eternal Son of God.  Sense Galatians 1:6-9 is true, the claims of Islam, Mormons, and Jehovah’s Witnesses can not be.

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The Son of God and sons of God

Throughout the Bible, various persons are stated as being sons of God or as God but what makes Jesus more unique than all them?  We must first properly understand what scripture means when it calls Jesus and others a son of God.  This helps us properly understand the uniqueness of Jesus.

sons of God

First let us understand who sons of God are.   Rulers and kings are refereed to as gods (Ps 81:6) but are they literally gods?  Of course not, there is only one God (Isa 46:9).  So to properly reconcile the passages and correctly understand them together, the kings and rulers were god in the sense they had the ruling authority and power like God but in their own role and position in the world.  Just like how Moses is described in Exodus 4:16, he was “as God” and not The God.  Therefore we can see that men being gods is referring to their position and status in the world as being like God.

God himself adopts men (and women) to become his children (Ephesians 1:5).  The children of wealthy parents are heirs to the wealth of the father.  Thus, those who are adopted by God have the God given rights to his Christ’s inheritance (Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 3:24; Hebrews 9:15) which is the total sum of eternal salvation.  And thus, sons (children) of God (Romans 8:14) are heirs to a divine inheritance which in a worldly sense was typically passed down to the first born male in that culture (Romans 8:16–17).  

Then who are the sons of God in Genesis 6:2-5?

This takes more discernment and inclusion of more passages to help interpret.  Sons of God can relate to angels (Job 2:1,1 38:7, Psalm 29:1, 89:7). We also need to understand that angels are spiritual beings (Hebrews 1:14), they can appear in human form (Mark 16:5). The men of Sodom and Gomorrah wanted to have sex with the two angels, in the form of men, who were with Lot (Genesis 19:1-5) but this does not say they are literally IN physical bodies.  

A point made in Gen 6 is that these sons of God had sexual relations with the daughters of men.  BUT Jesus declares heavenly angels do not marry (Matt 22:30) and marriage includes becoming one flesh (Gen 2:24).  The idea it seems that angels (sons of God) had sexual relations of women.  This is present in The Book of Enoch 15.  This book was written between 300 and 100 BC but was not seen by Ancient Israel as a book written by God.  But this seems to also be supported in 1 Peter 3:19-20 and Jude 6-7.  How can angels marry and become one flesh with daughters of men?  We see throughout the Bible instances of Demonic possession (Matthew 4:24, 10:1; John 7:21, 8:48; Mark 1:25-27, 5:15; Luke 4:51-56; Acts 8:7).  In light of the sum of all these passages we can see that fallen angels did not need their own literal physical bodies but could possess men, and then be capable to have sexual relations with women; for the purpose of sin and leading women and the people of the days of Noah away from God.  Their unique offspring are named Nephilim.  Which also explains why they are in the post-flood era (Numbers 13:33).  The offspring, being unique, and empowered by their parental figure, a fallen angel, explains why they were “mighty men who were of old, men of renown”.  Because they had the support of supernatural beings.  Demons were worshiped in ancient cultures (Deuteronomy 32:16-17).   These angels were sons of God in the sense they were directly created by God and did not have an earthly father.  Their beginning is from God but their rebellious sinful acts is out of themselves.  Like Eve, they saw something they desired and chose to take it for themselves (Gen 3:6, 6:2).  

So what makes Jesus’ claim of being The Son of God different?

Jesus is the “Son of David” because He is the fulfillment of God’s promise that David would always have a descendant on the throne (2 Samuel 7:10–13). In these cases, Abraham and David become more than people or patriarchs; they become the embodiment of an idea—specifically, God’s work in humanity. To be a son is to partake in the grand purpose of another’s life (Matthew 13:38; Luke 6:35).  But Jesus did not have an earthly father.   Luke 1:35 declares, “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’”

Son can also refer to a person’s character or identity. A “son of Aaron” was a priest, a “son of Asaph” was a musician and songwriter (2 Chronicles 35:14–15), and a “son of the prophets” was a prophet (2 Kings 2:3). “Son of” was also used metaphorically to identify one’s nature or a personality trait.  John 17:12 where Judas is described as the “son of perdition.” John 6:71 tells us that Judas was the son of Simon. What does John 17:12 mean by describing Judas as the “son of perdition”? The word perdition means “destruction, ruin, waste.” Judas was not the literal son of “ruin, destruction, and waste,” but those things were the identity of Judas’ life. Judas was a manifestation of perdition. In this same way, Jesus is the Son of God. The Son of God is God. Jesus is God made manifest (John 1:1, 14).   Hebrews 1:3 expresses this very clearly, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”  Jesus is God’s Son in the sense that He is God made manifest in human form (John 1:1, 14).  The Jewish leaders understood exactly what Jesus meant by the phrase “Son of God.” To be the Son of God is to be of the same nature as God (John 19:7;  Matthew 26:63-64). 
 
But does Psalm 2:6-7 mean The Son of God is created by God alone?

John 3:16, which reads in the King James Version as, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The phrase “only begotten” translates the Greek word monogenes. This word is variously translated into English as “only,” “one and only,” and “only begotten.” 

So what does monogenes mean? According to the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BAGD, 3rd Edition), monogenes has two primary definitions. The first definition is “pertaining to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship.” This is its meaning in Hebrews 11:17 when the writer refers to Isaac as Abraham’s “only begotten son” (KJV). Abraham had more than one son, but Isaac was the only son he had by Sarah and the only son of the covenant. Therefore, it is the uniqueness of Isaac among the other sons that allows for the use of monogenes in that context.  So if angels are called sons of God, and believers in Christ are adopted and become children of God, what then makes Jesus, as the Son of God one of a kind with a specific relationship?  

What does Jesus have that no other can offer?  He is not only sinless and only acceptable sacrifice for sin for all time but he is also the only one that existed before creation with God the Father, came down in the form of man, but is the embodiment and exact likeness of God in nature.  John 14:7 and John 10:30 are literal just as Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 2:9 and Ephesians 3:19 point out.  This unique specific relational position that only Jesus Christ possesses is “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” which “all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form”.  Jesus was with God equally glorified before the creation of the world (John 17:5) and not only with God but was God (John 1:1).  This is THE Son of God.  More than just a child that will inherit the wealth and authority of the father.  More than being simply like God or acting as God in this world.  He is OF God in glory, nature, and deity.  And there is only ONE God that is glorious and divine; thus, the unique sonship of Christ is God incarnate.

 
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Commonalities of Cults

There are many subgroups of the Christian faith.  These subgroups tailor their teachings and focuses in different ways.  That is exactly how the Body of Christ functions BUT there are some groups that claim to be ‘Christian’ when in fact, they are not.  Some deny being ‘Christian’ but claim to have similar beliefs and ‘more correct’ views than that of orthodox Christianity; but how can you identify a cult?

The Teachings

Cults proclaim a NEW teaching or a more correct teaching revealed by a NEW prophet or writing.  Regardless of the source for their teaching, it is new a part from Christian orthodox.  They may even teaching an old teaching that was NEW in prior history but which is still outside of orthodox Christianity.  New writings are generated by the new prophet or group and followers are obligated to rely on the new writing along with or instead of The Bible.  Essentially, Cults teach that The Bible is not enough, cherry picked sections are only ones correct, or over all incomplete.

• Doubt or discredit the primary source (The Bible) as sole authority
• Generate secondary source(s) of authority to make new/morphed teachings authoritative
• Only approved teachings come from secondary sources.

 

The Rituals

Cults push followers to focus on their works by adhering to certain rituals or even abstaining from certain Christian orthodox acts such as communion and baptism.  Some even morph these acts and teachings of the acts to fit their new or more correct revelations.  Some rituals include financial indebtedness and status gains.  Essentially, they become controlling, isolating, and works based.

• Self centered rituals- “do this yourself to be good in yourself”
• Materialistic or worldly focus rituals- “give something tangible to get something tangible in return” 
• Pseudo love-  A false sense of loving others that which actually gratifies and justifies the self.
• End goal is deity of the self- “work hard and become a greater self or best self”

Verifiable

Their revelations and teachings tend to be non-verifiable and use circular reasoning to justify them.  A prophet is a prophet because it was revealed to him that he was.  Or the writings are divine because they were written by someone who said his writings are divine.  Some claim that they were given revelations in visions or by angels, and that’s that.  Essentially, the founder and their writings are unverifiable and have to be believed simply based on claim alone.

• Unable to verify or not supported with known history or testable natural phenomena
• Circular justification – “It is true because it is said to be true” 

Morality

Cults typically strive to be ‘good’ and do good.  They attempt to satisfy psychological, emotional, and intellectual issues of their followers.  They make their followers feel accepted and feel as though they have a purpose.  Some even provide financial security and promises of material and spiritual rewards.  But, this begins to fall apart once someone starts to question the groups teachings and wants to leave the group for what ever reason.  Those who question and desire to leave are guilt tripped, become more isolated, and more controlled by the group and its leadership.  The threat of destruction from God or their version of holy judgement is often deployed.  Those who do leave are shunned, and persecuted.  Those who remain in the group are caused to be depend greatly on the group.

• Emotional or materialistic moral justifications – “I feel or have therefore it is or should be” 
• Right and Wrong is defined through the secondary source of authority; which teaches how adherents should think and feel.
• Selective encouragement/ social conditioning- “You did good because you did what the organization/religion approves of; you did bad because you did what the organization/religion does not approve of”
• Decent or questioning the organized religion is a moral absolute evil.

Limit Learning

Cults often limit the source of their followers studies.  The groups that use the bible as part of their system discourage studying the bible alone and require the use of their writings.  This indoctrination allows for the cult to interpret how they want the bible to be interpreted to match their new teachings while at the same time allow the follower to feel as though they are learning what the bible says; even when they are not.  This is another form of manipulation and control.

• Instructed how to think only through secondary sources of authority as primary means to understand.
• Studying sources outside of the secondary authoritative source is discouraged by the organization or religious leaders and approved teachers.  Some may even actively restrict access to outside sources.
• Self teaching and self study is discouraged without the use of approved teachers or materials.
• Isolation is imposed to limit reaching outside sources of information.

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Who and What Is Satan?

Scripture reveals everything we need to know to recognize Satan and his schemes and temptations.   We will address where he came from, who he is, what he does, how he does it, and what his effects are and what they look like in the world around us.  We are commanded to test the spirits, and we can’t do that if we don’t know the difference.

 Where did Satan come from? 

He, and all the other angels of heaven were created at some point during creation (I John 3:8).  After he became full of pride and sin, he was caste out of heaven and to earth.  He was not annihilated from existence because, through being sin, he came dead already.  The death that which is separation from God.  He was not sent to hell but was allowed to remain on earth (Revelation 12:9).  Through his continued disobedience and deceptions on earth we see God’s power and righteousness more clear and greater- but by only those who haven’t been blinded by him

In Ezekiel 20:13-17 we read:

You were the signet of perfection,
 full of wisdom and perfect in beauty

Satan was made by God in perfect beauty with extraordinary wisdom.  He was given all the most beautiful wealthiest gifts and status. 

You were an anointed guardian cherub.
    I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;
    in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
¹⁵ You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created,
    till unrighteousness was found in you.

He was anointed by God for a high role in the hierarchy of angels.  When he was created he was extremely powerful and beautiful; he WAS the standard of angels.  BUT, all that splendor and power ultimately corrupted him.  In the process of that corruption, sin was born in him. 

In the abundance of your trade
    you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
    and I destroyed [banished] you, O guardian cherub,
    from the midst of the stones of fire.
¹⁷ Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
    you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;

He became so proud of himself and all his power and beauty that he then thought he could make himself to be like God and above God.  And THIS is the essence of all sin.

“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the North.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:12-14)

He was ordained and placed by God himself a high status, with deep wisdom, wealth, and power.  A kind that no other angels had.  This closeness to God lead to a natural desire with all that he had, to be greater than God.

This pride lead to his rebellion and fall.  But his rebellion with a third of the angels failed, and thus, he enlisted the support from man by tempting them to succumb to the same choice that he made – to love themselves so great they also desired to become autonomous from God, defy Him, and be their own god.

It is important to notice how Satan uses others for his agenda.  Isaiah was also speaking of the King of Babylon, and Ezekiel was also speaking about the King of Tyre.  Satan enlisted angels, Eve, and others throughout history. 

Why would a wise and powerful angel, who was so close to God, think a rebellion would be successful?

It is important to see that his wisdom was not perfect and since he was not God, neither was his power.  Secondly, his pride corrupted him, thus infecting his limited knowledge.  He became so blinded by his own pride, that he really thought he could win.  Therefore, believing he could win, he then tried. 

Did God create an evil angel?

No, scripture is clear that God did NOT create Satan evil, but Satan, in his own self became evil.  Then, after sin was birthed in him, he was caste out of God’s presence.  Same with mankind.  Man was NOT created evil, but good (notice perfect is not stated).  It was then, when temped by Satan, did that same sin and corruption spread into the minds and hearts of mankind.

But Why Create Satan?

If God is all knowing and perfectly loving, why create a being that would ruin creation in the first place and save all the heart ache?  First, consider this:  What is greater than executing a punishment? Mercy.  What is greater than hatred?  Forgiveness.  What is greater than never being able to earn something?  Grace.  What is greater than never knowing what is right?  Truth.  How could you see righteousness without anything less?  How meaningful is a love that costs nothing?  By allowing Satan to do what he did, God’s glory shines brighter.  By allowing creation to be corrupted, he then gets to restore it in a greater, grander, most glorious way.  Its not about the necessity of evil, but it is about illuminating what already exists to a greater extent.  We would not see the vastness of God’s righteousness, glory, and love, if Jesus did not have to suffer on the cross. How would we ever see the greatness of God’s Love, Mercy, Forgiveness, and Grace; if he never revealed it?  And how could he forgive, if he never needed to?  How could forgiveness exist without something to forgive?  He allowed sin so that He would show the creation that he loves, that he is greater than all.  And at the end of time, when we see all that has taken place, and we will fully know God and his absolute glory, perfect love, mercy, forgiveness, and completely understand his amazing grace.

God is not ignorant or lack knowledge of time.  He is outside of time, created time, and had knowledge of all time at once.  He knew Satan would pull his dirty tricks and infect the world.  Which is why he already knew his Son would be sent to redeem the world.  This is hard for our finite minds to grasp because we see things through the lens of time.  We must see and understand God through his attributes, one of which is his eternal attribute.  He is eternal.  Thus sees all of time.  He is all knowing and good.  Thus he already had the perfect plan to redeem his creation, before it was created.  Which also he uses to reveal himself in a greater way to his creation, through his creations downfall.  Though God is not responsible for sin, he works around it for a greater end- His eternal divine glory revealed to creation on the most grandest scale.

If Satan is so obviously evil, how is he ABLE to deceive? 

Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

Satan masks his agenda and temptations like something good and desiring.  This pseudo-light is actually darkness and corrosive BUT is purposefully not made to seem that way.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.  Gen 3:1

With this pseudo-light and false hope that seems like God’s light and hope, but is actually not, he is crafty in how he presents it to individuals.  The Apostles warned of this false light and pseudo-gospel.

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8)

It is critical to see HOW Satan deceived Eve.  They were in the very presence of God! Yet, were still able to be deceived.  How?  To see HOW it is possible to be deceived by Satan, we look at HOW he deceived in scripture.

HOW he deceives

Gen 3:1-8 Satan start off distorting what God said and in question form.

“he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

Notice that Satan adds in some words that God did not say, but speak as though God did say it.  He rephrases God in a different way.  His confusion and deception leads Eve to consider what he is actually asking.  God never actually said “any tree” yet, Satan says “has God said?” 

Eve then honestly responds with what God told her.

“The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’””

She was faithful to the Lord in her response.  That is exactly what He said and she needed to have complete faith that what He said was true.  But then Satan, after distorting what God said, follows up with casting doubt on what God specifically said.

The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

After distorting and proposing doubt, he then manipulates the meaning of what God meant by “you will die”.  God was speaking about his spiritual relationship with man (James 1:15).  THEN Satan proposes the ultimate temptation in all the universe; to be like God.  THE sin that was born in Satan.  She then felt, for the very first time, temptation due to the distortion, doubt, and twisting the meaning of Gods words.

“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”

She considered the question and meaning that Satan proposed.  This temptation lead her to consider what Satan told her and forget what God made clear.  She saw, was delighted in herself, and desired to be like God [his wisdom].  She then felt justified in her self.  She took for her self and disobeyed God.

Now fast forward to Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11.  Satan goes to the second Adam, the Son of God and God incarnate, and pulls out the big guns to get him to stumble just as he got Adam and Eve to stumble.  Satan sees the Son of God in the form of man, tired and hungry in the body, and goes straight to the point.

“the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’””

He was hungry in the body so Satan challenged him to satisfy himself, knowing he was fully capable of doing so.  The point was for Jesus to do a selfish act and satisfy himself.  That the pride of who he was would over shadow his mission of God the Father.  Where Adam and Eve failed, Jesus did not.  He did not forget the Words of God and instead of considering Satan’s idea, he quoted from the Words of God alone. 

Realizing Jesus had a firm knowledge of Gods words, he then attacks that.  He distorts what God said to confuse Jesus and manipulate him to spark a prideful selfish act. 

Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will command His angels concerning You’;

and

‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Satan even quotes Psalm 91:11-12.  BUT again, distorts the meaning and purpose.  Satan attempts to tempt Jesus into thinking about himself.  It is not for Jesus to take selfish advantage of the protections of God but so that God The Father’s will is done, not his.  By proving to Satan this is about him, that would be a prideful and selfish act.  He has nothing to prove to Satan.  He only seeks the approval of his Father in Heaven.  Again, Jesus responds with Deut. 6:16 and uses God’s words alone. 

Then, here comes the biggest temptation yet.

“the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹ and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.””

Seems like an easy request with massive rewards.  Jesus could have all the kingdoms of the world, given to him; no more struggles with the dark forces in the world.  All he would have to do is bow down and worship Satan; and all the world would belong to him right then and there.  Of course, Satan, the great deceiver, would never really allow that; after all, he is still be the prince of the world  and be worshiped. 

Jesus could avoid the torture, pain, suffering, and try to put an end to it all right there; of course after worshiping Satan.  BUT, that wasn’t why he came.  He knew why he came.  He came TO be tortured, feel the pain of the world AND suffer FOR the world. AND he already knew he was going to retake the whole world and reconcile it back to God at his second coming anyway.  He kept his focus on God’s Will, God’s purpose, and God’s glory, not his own.

“Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’””

Jesus did not even consider his offer.  Instead, he again, quotes God’s word and the ultimate purpose for everything; to worship God and God alone.  Satan had no more tools greater than these, so he left him alone.  Also notice that once Jesus said “Go”; he left.  Even though Satan is opposed to God’s interests, he must still obey God’s commands. 

In each one of Satan’s temptations we see that they are all self-centered for self seeking satisfaction and tickle a desire to satisfy wants, and be like God in control and power.  A side note: notice that Satan’s temptations are very similar to the modern health, wealth, and happiness teachings of modern charismatic preachers.  The most important take away is Jesus’ responses to all the various temptations: God’s Word.

He distorts and twists God’s words by manipulating the meaning or adding in words that were not said.  After this, He then attempts to tickle a self-centered, self seeking, self justifying, prideful, desire to be like God or be our own god, in our own way.

His temptations are appealing and at times seem to satisfy an actual need.  But he doesn’t do it for us, he tempts us to do it ourselves.  He didn’t give Eve the apple, she took it.  He didn’t give Jesus bread, he told him to turn stone into bread.  He leads us to see something in a selfish light and encourages us to take it for ourselves.

Satan’s Authority

After being caste out of heaven and into the world, he still maintained his power (1 John 5:19).  John 12:31 states that He is the ruler of this world.  Ephesians 2:2 states the he is the prince of this world and is at work influencing all those who follow his scheme.  God allows him to have control in the world but only those who God has not called for himself (Colossians 1:13).  Those who do not believe in the true gospel message of scripture have been caught in Satan’s snare and do his will, knowingly or unknowingly whether they believe it or not (2 Timothy 2:26; James 1:13,14).  Satan is the god of this world in the fact that he is worshiped and his ideals are worshiped (2 Corinthians 4:4).  Thus because people of the world knowingly or unknowingly worship Satan and his ideals, they are his (John 8:44) until God redeems them from Satan’s grasp (I John 3:8). 

Satan Hunts

Satan searches the world for opportunities (1 Peter 5:8-9) to plant a selfish desire in our hearts and minds.  He seeks to do this by confusing us about what God clearly means in scripture.  He whispers in the ears of those who are or seem weak (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:2) and tries to infect them with a selfish desire to be like god in their own way.   Satan roams the earth, even embedding himself with believers (Job 1:6-8).   Satan leads man to put mans interests before God’s (Matthew 16:23).  When people reject the person and work of Jesus, Satan swoops right in and influences their hearts and minds (Mark 4:15).

What other characteristics of Satan does the Bible teach us?

Satan influences people to do things contrary to what God desires (1 Chronicles 21:1).  Satan has the ability, when allowed by God, to inflict health issues (Job 2:6-7).  Satan tries to accuse those chosen by God of things worthy of condemnation but God rebukes Satan (Zech 3:1-2).  The best weapons against Satan, is God’s Word (Matthew 4:10).   “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11).   Simple belief in God does not protect you from being deceived, Satan and the Demons believe in God (James 2:19)

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

 Other Religions 

You can see Satan’s influence in other religions.  Some claim to have been visited by an Angel or given information by an angelic source; yet seem to forget God’s words in Galatians 1:8.  Those religions then have self justifying rites, rituals, or belief systems that its followers must perform regularly or adhere to in order to be saved or maintain their supposed salvation.  These religions distort and twist God’s words by manipulating the meaning or adding in words that were not said.  They even generate their own writings and justify themselves.  Their teachings tickle a self seeking, self justifying, prideful, desire to be the originator and maintainer of their own salvation- through that chosen religion.  They seem satisfying as long as the religion is consistently practiced or performed enough, for less devote followers, to feel satisfied and justified in their efforts.  Secularism and Atheism is no different, this too requires a faith in something else besides biblical truth; a religious like devotion.  These religions seem appealing, self justifying, and self satisfying.  See the similarities with what Satan offered Adam and Jesus?

Questions to ask yourself:

1. Is someone else telling me how I should understand God’s word?
1. How do I know they are not distorting, twisting, and manipulating the true meaning?
2. Am I blindly believing what I am told to believe about the bible?
1. Are they telling me they are most correct, simply because they say they are?
3. Does what I am taught, lead me to justify myself by what I do?
1. Am I taught that I make myself right in God’s eyes by my works?
4. Is my religion based on a revelation from a later angelic source outside of scripture?
1. How do I explain Galatians 1:8?
1. If I am told by the religion establishment how to explain Gal 1:8, how do I know what I am told is true?  Simply because they say they are?
5. Does what I am taught, make me feel righteous based on how devoted I am in my deeds to the faith?
1. Am I taught that can earn and merit my place with God by how devoted I am to what I am told by the religious establishment?
6. Does what I am taught lead me to a greater devotion to God or the religion?
7. Does what I am taught lead me to see a greater need for Jesus and love for others?
1. Or does it lead me to feel a greater need for the religious establishment- as though it was god?
8. Do I really know who Jesus is or do I just believe what I am told about him by a religious establishment?
1. How do I even know the religious establishment is teaching the real Jesus?  Simply because they say they are?
9. Is my faith in The true God or in the religious establishment?

Satan’s temptations can seem appealing, may seem right, and may even seem like truth BUT the end result is always the same.  Worship of the self.  There is no greater deception than to convince people to worship themselves or a counterfeit god(s) that makes themselves feel justified by their works or what they are taught.

How is Christianity is Not a Scheme of Satan?

1. Faith is solely based in the person and works of Jesus; not the self or religious establishments.
2. The Bible is directly influenced by God, it interprets itself
1. Vague passages are understood in light of explicit passages
2. What is not explicitly stated is understood through what has been explicitly revealed.  What is not explicitly stated is understood through what is revealed about the Character of God himself in scripture (2 Timothy 2:15). 
3. Correctly understanding the language and culture the Bible was written in helps in correctly understanding the true meaning of what is written.
4. The Bible is correctly understood in light of the totality of scripture, not self interpretations of cherry picked verses (2 Peter 1:20).
3. Everything done in action and deed is for God’s Glory alone (Matthew 22:37,38).
4. The Gospel message as stated in scripture, does not and has not changed.
1. It is solely about the purpose, works, and person of Jesus. 
5. The mindset and focus of the Christian is eternal and heavenly and not material or earthly.  
1. Good deeds for others is not for personal validation or satisfaction but for salvation of others and God’s Glory.
2. Christians seek God’s Will and not their own.
6. Christianity is not faith in the church but faith in Christ, who is the head of the body of believers.
1. The difference between the visible church and the invisible church are those who claim to be Christian for selfish self seeking worldly means and those who are Christian because of faith in the gospel message which compels them to love, serve, and worship God.
7. Christians are saved by grace through faith.  This grace is unearned and unmerited. There is no amount of effort, deeds, or works that can earn the free gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).  This free gift from God is only through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; 14:6)

Ability to Reject Satan

Because of Christ, man has been enabled by God to reject Satan; but only through faith in Christ (Mark 16:17).  Faith in Jesus enables us to then resit Satan (James 4:7).  And at the end of it all, the source of sin, Satan, and all his followers will be caste into Hell forever (Matthew 25:41).  

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Who Is Jesus Really?

The debate about the historical existence of Jesus is not a debate at all.  Genuine historians, even secular non christian historians accept the fact that Jesus actually existed.  E.P. Sanders, a highly respected secular historian stated: “…we have a good idea of the main lines of his ministry and his message. We know who he was, what he did, what he taught, and why he died. ….. the dominant view [among scholars] today seems to be that we can know pretty well what Jesus was out to accomplish, that we can know a lot about what he said, and that those two things make sense within the world of first-century Judaism.”  So, who is Jesus?


A Moral Person

We can most definitely conclude that, in the least, he was a ‘moral’ person.  But even stopping at this claim runs into problems.  Moral people don’t lie about highly serious and offensive matters.  Jesus did just that.  To the point that the Jewish community was so offended, they had him killed.  Stopping at ‘a moral person’ does not explain who he was.  In fact, he could not be a moral person if he lied his whole life up to his death, for lying about how he claimed to be.  He would actually be a liar, counterfeit, and con-artist.  The ‘moral person’ identity just does not cut it and falls a part.  

A Good Teacher

Maybe some could say that he wasn’t necessarily a moral person, but he was a good teacher.  He did teach and gain a rather large following.  But if what he was teaching was a lie or simply untrue, how then could he be a good teacher?  If he was upsetting people and spreading lies about them, how is that being a good teacher?  It is not.  Thus, we must take into account what exactly he taught to determine if he was a good teacher or not.  This is the problem for those who just want to go only as far as to say he was a good teacher but deny what he taught as though they were untrue or lies.  Just being a ‘good teacher’ is insufficient in who Jesus was.

A Lunatic 

If we do not believe in the supernatural or spiritual, we must then conclude that Jesus was just a crazy person.  If there is no God than he can not be a good person because he had to have been a manipulative compulsive liar that got himself and his followers killed.  For the same reasons we then can not conclude that he was a good teacher.  Therefore, given the nature of his teachings and if there is no god, than he was just crazy.  But, if there is a God, and he did do good works in the name of God and taught highly moral spiritual truths then he can’t be some ancient lunatic. 

A Prophet of God

Because just being a moral person fails or just being a good teacher fails, rational people when investigating the person of Jesus, must then go a step farther and take into consideration what exactly he taught.  Thus, they can conclude that he was a prophet of God.  He taught of spiritual things and religious truths coming from the God of the bible.  He lived a moral life according to the practices of that religion in that region.  But as we dig into what exactly he claimed; just being a Prophet of God falls short according to his claims.  It is clear that he made claims of deity, hence the reason for the offensive nature of his message and for the local religious community to kill him.  Claiming that Jesus was just a Prophet of God also falls short of his own claims and insufficient in his absolute identity.

A god

When applying what is recorded about him in the bible, his miracles and claims, some are then forced to admit that he very well could be a god.  These would though reject him being The Almighty God maker of heaven and earth.  How could he be that, being a man and getting killed?  Some people just stop there.  The fact that he was a man and was killed is enough for them to say that he was some sort of demigod or a god of a lesser extent.  But this is where the truest of his characteristics that makes who he actually was comes into play.  We must examine the totality of scripture and look deeper before we can make an educated decision about him.  Claiming that he is ‘a god’ is only taking into account some hints in scripture but ignoring the defining statements about his being and nature.

The Archangel?

When we make assumptions that aren’t in scripture it is easy to draw untrue conclusions.  Some believe that Jesus is nothing more than an angel.  Hebrews 1:5-8 makes a distinction between Jesus and angels.  This passage even shows that angels worship Jesus (Hebrews 1:6).  Again, some change the words around to say “bow down” instead of worship, but the word used is the same word used for worshiping God.  THEN the next verses actually proclaim Jesus’ deity.  “Of the angels he says…his ministers a flame of fire” then in verse 8: “But of the Son he says, YOUR throne, O GOD, is forever and ever…”.  Angels may be called sons of God (Genesis 6:2-4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7) (see The Son of God section), but THE Son of God is reserved for Jesus (Hebrews 1:8; Matthew 4:3-6).  

The major issue with this belief is that the Archangel is limited in power and authority; Jesus is not.  Jesus rebukes Satan directly with righteous authority but the Archangel “dared not bring a judgement of blasphemy” against Satan and then calls on the Lord to rebuke him.  Jesus is the eternal God incarnate (John 1:1, 14) (see God Himself section) while the archangel is only a created creature.

Some attempt to use 1 Thessalonians 4:16 as a proof text but again they fail to understand the verse and make false assumptions that are not specifically stated in the text (lead by outside biblical influences).  No where in that verse does it state that Jesus is the archangel.  2 Thessalonians 1:7 does say that Jesus will come with angels.  Given what both texts actually state, we see that Jesus will come with the archangel who issues the shout.  When this argument fails in light of what the text actually states, some resort to Job 38:7 where it calls angels sons of God. Again, Hebrews 1:5 refutes this and they fail to understand the uses and difference between ‘sons of God’ and The Son of God.   Check out more information at http://www.4jehovah.org/.  To get a foundational understanding of Jesus, we must first look at who ancient Israel was looking for.

Who Was Ancient Israel Waiting For?

Ancient Israel was looking for someone who was coming.  Moses, all the way down to their last prophets, proclaimed that someone was going who would free them from bondage and be a great king.  It starts in Genesis 3:15 where “he” would come from Eves offspring.  This “he” will be a descendant through Abraham and will bless “all nations” (Genesis 12:3).  This coming ‘he’ will be out of Judah which the rule and scepter belongs (Genesis 49:10).  He will come from Jacob with the scepter (Numbers 24:17).  This ‘he’ will be a great prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  He will be out of the line of David and the kingdom will be his (2 Samuel 7:12-16).  This ‘he’ is anointed by God and declared his begotten Son (Psalm 2:1-12).  This anointed holy one who is coming will not be abandoned in death nor will he see corruption (Psalm 16:8-11).  He will not be understood, instead, he will be mocked, his body will be tortured, his hands and feet will be pierced and his garments will be taken but through all this he will be vindicated and God will be praised (Psalm 22:1-31).  He will be unjustly hated and afflicted, yet he is righteous and God will be praised (Psalms 69).  He will rule, people will follow after ‘the day of your power’ and he is the highest Priest forever (Psalm 110:1-4).  He will be the corner stone of God’s kingdom, yet rejected (Psalms 118:22-24).  He shall be born from a virgin and his name means God with us (Isaiah 7:14).  This child will be the mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, wonderful Counselor, and he will have no end (Isaiah 9:6-7).  He will be a Nazarene from Jesse which is from a low status (Isaiah 11:1, 53:3).  He will perform many healings (Isaiah 35:5-6). Someone will go before him and proclaim his arrival (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1).   He will be preceded by Elijah as the voice in the wilderness (Malachi 4:5-6).  He is the direct servant of God the Father who will bring perfect justice to all nations (Isaiah 42:1-6).  He is the Suffering Servant of God (Isaiah 52:13-53:12).  He is anointed with The Spirit of God and the gospel to all (Isaiah 61:1-2).  He will come declaring the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31).  He will be one like a son of man and given glory and an everlasting dominion where people of every nation will serve him (Daniel 7:13-14).  A count down till his arrival is predicted around 30AD (Daniel 9:24-27).  He will be born in Bethlehem but actually be from somewhere else (Micah 5:2).  He will at some point come out of Egypt being called God’s son (Hosea 11:1).  He will be King riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).  Just as stated being the Suffering Servant of God, he will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver and pierced (Zechariah 11:12-13, 12:10).  

To sum up the key points of identification that they Jewish people would have been looking for:

•  A single male individual 
•  A descendant from Abraham, Judah, Jacob, and David
•  Rightful ruler over all nations
• A great prophet like Moses- who speaks with God directly.
• The Anointed One
• The begotten Son of God
• The Highest Priest 
• He will be like a son of man
• Born by a virgin in Bethlehem, then go to Egypt where God will call him back.
• Someone like Elijah will proclaim his arrival.
• He will be made known around 30 AD.
• He will be praised as a king and ride a donkey.
• He will be rejected and betrayed for 30 pieces of silver then pierced.
• Wont be recognized and instead will be hated, mocked, and tortured.
• Will physically pay for the sins of people and bring justice to all nations.
• Will die but wont stay dead.
• He will remain righteous, blameless, and be glorified.

Symbolism of Messiah’s Life 

He is the willing sacrifice (Genesis 22:1-18).  He is the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:1-51).  He will be lifted up, become the sin of the people so that they can be healed (Numbers 21:6-9).  

Now, with the key points of identification from the Old Testament, let us now compare with the witness of the New Testament.

• A single male individual (Galatians 4:4; Luke 24:25-27)
•  A descendant from Abraham (Acts 3:24-26), Judah (Luke 3:33), Jacob (Matthew 2:2), and David (Matthew 1:1; Luke 2:1-7; Revelation 22:16)
•  Rightful ruler over all nations
• A great prophet like Moses- who speaks with God directly (Matthew21:46; Luke 24:19; John 7:40; Acts 3:22; Luke 1:76-79)
• The Anointed One (Matthew 12:15-18; Luke 4:17-21)
• The begotten Son of God (Luke 1:32-33; Mark 1:11; Hebrews 1:5; Acts 13:33)
• The Highest Priest (Hebrews 5:5)
• He will be like a son of man (Matthew 12:8; Mark 8:31; Luke 6:22; John 3:13-14)
• Born by a virgin in Bethlehem (Matthew 1:22-23, 2:1-6), then go to Egypt where God will call him back (Matthew 2:13-15).
• Someone like Elijah will proclaim his arrival (Matthew 3:1-3, 17:9-13; Mark 1:1-3; Luke 1:16-17, 76, 7:27).
• He will be made known around 30 AD. (Matthew 24:15-16; Mark 13:14-15; Galatians 4:4)
• He will be praised as a king and ride a donkey. (Matthew 21:1-7)
• He will heal (John 6:14; Matthew 11:4-6; Luke 7:20-23.
• He will bring a new covenant of God (Luke 22:20; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:6-13)
• He will be rejected and betrayed for 30 pieces of silver then pierced. (Matthew 26:14-15; John 19:31-37; Revelation 1:7)
• Wont be recognized and instead will be hated, mocked, and tortured (Matthew 27:39, 43-44.46; John 19:24; John 15:25
• Will physically pay for the sins of people and bring justice to all nations (1 Corinthians 5:7-8; 1 Peter 1:19; John 3:14-18; Acts 8:32-35).
• Will die but wont stay dead (John 1:29,36; Acts 2:22-32, 13:35-37).
• He will remain righteous, blameless, and be glorified (1 Peter 2:21-25; .

 As you see, as time went on, more and more was gradually revealed about this person.  By the time all the prophets ended, they have all the details they needed to recognize the person perfectly.  Some did.  But some, blinded by other things, did not.  However, we do see some key details that leave the door open for what Jesus himself will reveal once he arrived.  

It is important to notice already that he is God’s own Son.  This makes him of divine origins.  He was ‘born’ by a virgin in Bethlehem but ‘is from ancient of days’.   He is glorified and his kingdom has no end.  Death doesn’t even kill him.  He is not merely a man, though he ‘is like a son of man’ he is more than that.  He is not just a high priest, he is The highest Priest.  He is not just chosen for a task, but he is The only Anointed One that can fulfill the task.  Anything and everything human, he is that plus more.  But that is where the Old Testament ends at describing him.  Why? because he then comes to describe himself in a greater way than the prophets of the Old Testament ever could.  A declaration only reserved for God.  But before we get to that ultimate declaration, let us first reflect on what he has made known about himself up to this point.

Jesus Is The Perfect Life

Jesus was blameless and lived a perfect life.  He was perfectly without sin (1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).  Be be in union with God The Father, he must be sinless to begin with (John 10:36-38).  Isaiah even declared that he never committed any sin (Isaiah 53:9).  This sinlessness was pleasing to God The Father (Luke 3:22).  Even the sinner on the cross knew Jesus never did anything wrong (Luke 23:40-43).  Though temped, he remained without sin.  Jesus was, also, able to avoid sin. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Psalms 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He did use scripture to overcome the temptations and defeat the devil (Luke 4). 2 Peter 2:9 says, “. . . the Lords knows how to rescue the godly from trials. . .” and Isaiah 28:26 says, “His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.” Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin..  This made Jesus alone the perfect sacrifice for sin. 1 Peter 2:24 explains: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed”.  If only God is perfect and holy, how then can Jesus be perfect and holy?  The fact of his life points us to the ultimate claim.

Jesus Is The Perfect Satisfying Sacrificial Lamb 

Every year, Israel had to sacrifice a spotless lamb for the sins of their people to temporarily satisfy God as payment for their offenses against him.  But it was not perfectly satisfying because they had to do it every single year.  Even the high priest had to do a very specific ritual to atone for his sin before he could conduct the ceremony to atone for the rest of the people’s sin.  Every year.  Jesus Christ came as the perfectly satisfying sacrificial lamb to perfectly pay for the sins for all those who believe, once and for all.  Isaiah 53:5-6, 11-12 makes this clear.  “with his stripes we are healed… the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all… for the transgression of my people was he stricken… He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities… and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”  His sacrifice satisfied God’s justice.  He interceded for the sinner, bore their sins, and this perfectly pleased God.  “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ” (Romans 8:1).  Hebrews 10:1-18 makes the value of his sacrifice absolutely clear.  we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10).  How is it that only Jesus was absolutely perfectly pleasing and satisfying to God?  This fact of his perfect satisfying sacrifice points to his ultimate claim.

Jesus Is The High Priest 

Hebrews 2:17, 4:14 makes clear that it is Jesus who is the ultimate High Priest for us.  High Priests were responsible for making intercessions for the people to God himself by offering sacrifices.  They alone would enter the Holy of Hollies on the Day of Atonement and place blood on the Ark of the Covenant (Hebrews 9:7).  See the symbolism already?  Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice on the actual Day of Atonement where he offered himself.  But he being the ultimate sacrifice secured atonement for all eternity (Hebrews 9:12).  He alone is our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14) and enables all who believe to come to the throne of grace and obtain mercy.  The fact that he alone has the authority and power to enable sinners to enter the holy of hollies points to his ultimate claim.

Jesus Is The Greatest Prophet

The Prophets of God would receive direct truths from God himself and they convey these truths to God’s people.  They never had the authority to speak divine truths themselves except for which God instructed them to do.  Not only was Jesus understood to be a Prophet of God (see verses above) be he, himself, made prophetic proclamations with authority.  He made prophetic announcements regarding those who were following him (Matthew 26:21-25, 31-34).  He made prophetic proclamations of truth regarding specific cities (Matthew 11:20-24).  He even stated what was going to happen to The Temple itself (Matthew 24:1-2; Luke 21:20-24).  Jesus declared that he was not only going to be killed but will rise back up three days later (John 2:19-21, 12:38-40; Mark 8:31, 14:58).  He then spoke of future events like his second coming and events leading up to it (Matthew 7:15-23, 24:4-5, 11, 23-26; Luke 21:8).  He had the authority to speak the words of God The Father that no other prophet would or could do.  Not only did he relay what God said but he, himself, had knowledge of the unseen and of the eternal (John 3:11-12).  Even stating that he has been entrusted with divine judgement; an authority that God only has (John 5:22-23, 27).  This divine prophetic knowledge and authority points to his ultimate claim. 

Jesus Is The Messiah and Christ

Remember, the people of Israel were waiting on the foretold Messiah who is called Christ to save them.  But, they of course, were thinking of a valiant war general who will lead the Jewish army against Rome, win, and free them from the rule of the Roman Empire. But some of them recognized the Christ as a savior in the spiritual sense too.  Peter understood this when he proclaimed it in Matthew 16:16.  The Apostles proclaimed this every day in the temple (Acts 5:42, 17:3).  Jesus himself even claimed this title as Christ in John 4:25-26.  Jesus Christ saved all those who believe from the penalty of sin and freed them to truly worship God in spirit and truth (Hebrews 9:28; 1 Corinthians 15:23-24).  After paying the price for sin and satisfying God’s perfect justice, he was resurrected from the dead (Acts 2:31; Romans 7:4).  Thus making him the only possible Messiah that could completely redeem people from their sins and save them from the wrath of a just and righteous God. 

Jesus Is The Second Adam and son of man

Adam was the first man. Created from the dirt and brought sin and death into the hearts of all mankind.  Jesus is revealed as the second Adam.  The first Adam, which was from that which was created (dirt), the second Adam was from that which eternally existed, the presences of God.  The first Adam brought sin and death into the world, the second Adam brought life and salvation to the world (1 Corinthians 15:45-49).  From the place of eternity he willingly and voluntarily humbled himself and entered the world in the form of man.  A limited form.  The first Adam was proud and took the self-centered initiative to disobey God.  The second Adam humbled himself and took a selfless God-centered initiative to perfectly obey God, even until death.  Where he came from and his perfect contrast to mankind points to his ultimate claim.

Jesus Is The Son of God 

This claim is huge in and of itself.  God does not need to reproduce.  He speaks and creates.  The idea of being the Son of God is not in offspring-family standing, because again, God does not need to reproduce.  The designation of being the Son of God means that he is of the same nature as God because he is “of God”.  Being the Son makes him have rights to inherit all that is God’s.  That phrase “like father like son” is exactly what is being expressed here.  Jesus, being the Son of God, is described as being the exact radiance of the glory of God.  Exact imprint of God’s nature.  The exact authority and power of God.  Where he alone gets to sit at the right hand of God because he is exactly like his Father in every way (Hebrews 1:3; Luke 1:35).  A right that not even angels in heaven have.  A right that no person has or will ever have.  He alone, is The Son of God in spirit and nature.  The Jewish religious leaders understood this and that’s why they wanted to stone him for blasphemy.  Not because he was a godly righteous person; because, after all, they thought they were (John 19:7).  But simply because he claimed to be directly related to God himself because his claim was OF God in spirit and nature.  The word “son” can also mean “possessing the nature of” given the context.  An example in Ephesians 2:1-2 we see “sons of disobedience” this isn’t literally “son” by birth but “son” in nature, the sinful nature. Same in 1 Kings 20:35 where we read about the “sons of the prophets”, not literally being the offspring of Prophets; they were equal in nature.

Another important fact is even Demons knew the difference between The Son of God (John 5:25) and being sons or children of God (Luke 20:36; John 1:12).  A recognition they never gave to the Apostles.  This Son of God is granted the same glory of God (John 11:4).  We aren’t talking about Jesus being the Son of a god, but THE only Son of THE God The Father (2 John 3).  Now Adam was a son of God in the fact he was created directly from God and had no earthly parents.  BUT, he was not The Son of God in nature and spirit; hence by disobedience.  The most important truth is that Jesus, The Son of God has been with God for all eternity (John 1:1-18).  If this was not true, than Adam would have been counted as someone who has seen God The Father; either that or Jesus is a liar.  Jesus is the Son of The Most High, a unique position no other will ever have in all eternity (Luke 1:32, 35).  

Jesus was not only The Only Begotten co-eternal Son of God literally (not by offspring), but also in nature and spirit.  Colossians 2:9 expresses this perfectly.  “The fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form”.  ‘The Fullness’, which means he is not lesser or lacking but complete and equal.  John declares that Jesus is THE Son of God; equally eternally God (1 John 5:20).  AND BAM, there it is, the ultimate claim.

“God the Father, the angel Gabriel, His own disciples, the Apostle Paul, and even the demons acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. Although Adam, angels, Israel, peacemakers, and Christians are all called “sons of God” the Scripture designates Jesus as the unique Son of God. He possesses the same nature as the Father – God. However He is not a literal offspring for He has existed for all eternity. The Bible often uses the word “son” in the sense of “possessing the nature of.” Jesus is the “Son” of God in this sense- possessing the nature of God. The title “Son” does not, in any way, suggest the Son if inferior to the Father.” – Don Stewart

The Ultimate Claim: Jesus Is God Himself

Jesus makes himself equal to God (John 10:30) and the religious leaders who knew scripture front to back knew exactly what he was stating (John 10:33).  God The Father told Moses that his name is IAM (Ex 3:14), Jesus then claims that name (John 8:58).  John 1:1-14 is undeniable.  Jesus’ blood was shed for the church, Acts 20:28 tells us that GOD bought the church with HIS OWN blood.  Thomas declared that Jesus was both Lord AND God (John 20:28).  Peter says the same when he connects Jesus as being both savior and God (2 Peter 1:1).  Isaiah understood this too when he called the coming child that is to be born, mighty God and eternal father (Isa 6:9) and stating his name is Immanuel which literally means “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23).  The author of Hebrews also understood the connection of Jesus as God (Hebrews 1:8).  So did Paul in his letter to Titus in Titus 2:13.  Jesus accepted the divine worship of his followers (Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38).  Then Paul in Colossians 2:9-10 bluntly declares in Jesus dwells the fullness of Deity.  The early christian church, after the Apostles, understood this all through its history to this very day.  Please read this page that addresses objections to these passages.

Attributes of God The Father and of Jesus:

• Omniscience:  (1 John 3:20; Psalm 147:5; John 16:30)
• Omnipresent: (Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 23:24; I Kings 8:27; John 1:48; Matthew 18:20; 28:20)
• Knows the heart of mankind  (1 Kings 8:39; Jeremiah 17:9-10; John 2:24-25; Rev. 2:18, 23)
• Sanctifies (Exodus 31:13; Hebrews 10:10)
• Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6; 1 Corinthians 1:30)
• Immutable: (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8)
• Only God to be served (2 Kings 17:35; Col. 3:24)
• Only God to be worshiped (Exodus 34:14; John 5:23; Revelation 5:11-14 compare with Rev. 4:10-11; Revelation 22:8-9)
• Only God is due glory (Isaiah 42:8; Jn. 17:5)
• Only God is prayed to (Exodus 23:13; John 14:14)
• God is the first and last (Isaiah 44:6; 48:12; Revelation 1:17-18; 22:12-13, 20)
• Only God is the great judge (Psalm 98:9; Deuteronomy 32:39; Jeremiah 17:9-10; John 5:21-22; Revelation 2:18, 23)
• Only God can forgive sins (Mark 2:7; Daniel 9:9; Mark 2:10-11; Luke 24:46-47)
• God is Lord of Lords and Lord of all (Deuteronomy 10:17; Revelation 17:14; 19:16; Matthew 11:25;
  Acts 17:24, 10:36; Jude 4) 
• God is the savior and there is only one (Isaiah 45:21-22; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1; Isaiah 43:11)
• God created the universe and there is only one creator (Psalm 102:25-27; John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-19;10. Hebrews 1:10-12; Isaiah 44:24).

Once we truly understand that Jesus Is THE Son of God and Lord God himself, we can then begin to understand THE ONE TRIUNE GOD and know God himself in a deeper more intimate way, the way he wants us to.  (The Triune God of Christianity)

Also read Manuscripts of The Bible and Textual Criticism | Why The Bible is Divine: Miracles  | Why The Bible Is Divine: Christology  | Why The Bible is Divine: Prophecy  |  Is God Perfect? Does God Make Mistakes?  |  Test, Discern, and Righteous Judgement  |  The Absolute Greatest Message To Tell Everyone  |  What is ‘Doctrine’ and does it matter?  |  Modern Secular Historians and The Bible  |  Correctly Interpret and Understand The Bible  |  Early Accounts of Christianity from Non-Christians  |  Did the Apostles distort what Jesus taught?  |  Why The Disciples of The Apostles Matter Today  |  The Satisfaction of Christ Jesus  |  Christology; Pre-incarnation  |  DANIEL 9: Timeline To The Messiah  |  The Virgin Birth  |  Jesus Christ’s Hypostatic Union  | Jesus, The Son of God |  Jesus, The One Like a Son of Man  |  Has The Bible Changed?  | God The Father  | By Christ’s Work Alone  | God’s Glory Alone  |  The Triune God of Christianity  |  Scripture Alone  |  Witnessing to Jehovah’s Witness: Identity of Jesus  |  Witnessing to Jehovah’s Witness: The Watchtower  |  Jesus Is God

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Ghosts, Hauntings, Spirit Possession; and God.

What are Ghosts?  Are there supernatural hauntings? What causes paranormal activity?  These are all questions that are growing more common in a modern scientific world.  The questions are not if a supernatural realm exists but what is the source of the supernatural elements.  When looking at what God reveals we can come to understand what the world is having a hard time understanding.

Do Ghosts Exist?

This is an obvious answer; yes.  The bible is extremely clear and explicit there are supernatural beings that are allowed to interact with the natural world.  BUT the KIND of ghost is where it is different. 

What is a Ghost?

A ghost is a supernatural, spiritual, beings that is able to interact with the natural world.  They are able to stimulate our senses. But WHO are they?  To answer this question we need to remove our worldly biases and seek what God reveals about ‘ghosts’ in scripture.

John sees souls of past believers in Rev. 6:9 and Rev. 20:4.  Earlier, in Matthew 17:3 a couple Apostles witness seeing Moses and Elijah standing next to Jesus.  Key distinctions here is that these individuals are seen in visions with Gods authority and do not interact with the natural world.  These ‘ghostly’ individuals do not appear out of their own will or purposes.  This leads us to the next question:

Can Ghosts of dead people appear and interact in the natural world; outside of God’s Will?

Luke 16:19-31 will explicitly answer this.  “between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ ²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”  Not only is the person who is in torment unable to communicate with his living brothers, but Lazarus is not able to either.  It is described as ‘a great chasm’ that ‘has been set in place’ preventing natural and supernatural interactions.  Also notice that after their death, they are judged and sent.  There is no waiting or secondary purification process. After death, they are just judged and rewarded.

When someone dies; does their spirit linger on earth?  

Looking at the example above, the man in the place of torment did not have a chance to warn his brothers.  Hebrews 9:27 states that people die once, and then go straight to judgement.  This is because there is no time after death; at death, there is no ‘waiting’.  For believers, once we die, we wake up in the presence of The Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23) with no waiting.  Same with those who do not believe, they die, and are placed where they ultimately chose to go
(Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:22-24).  There is no ‘spiritual waiting room’ or purgatory.  Roman Catholics continually try and explain and reinvent the human idea of purgatory but the concept itself is not in scripture.  This “final purification” placement where the person goes through purifying agony with the assistance of living people’s prayers and church donations… is nonexistent in Holy Scripture.  Another scheme to raise money and justify legalistic acts.  Since our spirits do not linger around, this now makes us ask; 

Who are Ghosts, if they are not once living people?

These beings (ghosts) may look and sound like a loved one or someone we knew living, but as revealed above, it is not them because God does not contradict what he reveals to us about spiritual truths.  2 Corinthians 11:14-15 is a hard pill to swallow for those who long to see their loved ones again; especially after ‘thinking’ they have been in communication with their spirit.  Even, unholy spirits can ‘do good’ and make people ‘feel good’ but the end goal is to steal your faith in God alone and God’s due glory.  Medians, psychics, and spiritual readers may in fact be in contact with spirits.  These spirits may give details that only someone personal may have known.  They may even say the most positive and feel good things and 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 reveals to us they can.  But, they are not good and their ultimate intentions are not holy or for God’s glory.  Seeking them and trusting in them as spiritual support is spiritual adultery to God.  Believing in them and their answers as sources of spiritual truth is spiritual idolatry.  That is their goal; and coming disguised as ‘servant of righteousness’ is one of many ploys to sucker us into taking our focus off God and Holy Scripture.

Can people be possessed with evil spirits?

God makes this clear as day as well; yes.  BUT true believers CANNOT be possessed by an evil spirit.  Period.  For unbelievers, possessions can take over someones thoughts and actions (Matthew 17:14-18; Luke 4:33-35; 8:27-33).  These spirits attack people spiritually, unknowingly,
and encourage and support their sins to keep them perpetually away from God.   Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). The Holy Spirit would not allow an evil spirit to possess the same person He, God, is indwelling. It is unthinkable that God would allow one of His children, whom He purchased with the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19) and made into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), to be possessed and controlled by an evil spirit.  Even Satan himself had to ask God permission to only inflict harm around Job but never possess Job.

Do Exorcisms Work?

Again, putting aside folklore and stories and look at scripture alone; we see NO instance were the believer is told to cast out evil spirits.  Rather, the believer puts on metaphoric armor (Ephesians 6:10-18) and resist evil spirits (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9).  The ‘exorcism formulas’ come from extra biblical Apocrypha writings that was later included in Roman Catholic bibles.  Exorcisms may seem to work, but again, that would be a deception by evil spirits to make you think one way or another.  Most of the time, faith in exorcism, leads to self-righteousness and spiritual legalism; exactly what a manipulative and deceptive evil spirit would want. 

What About Exorcisms In The Bible?

The key is noticing WHO performed them.  Jesus and his direct Apostles.  The ability to cast out evil spirits validated The Apostles claims of direct discipleship and eye witnesses of God in the flesh.  This validated their Apostolic authority which is extremely important to the church and throughout history.  Interestingly, the writings of The Apostles do not tell or teach new believers and future believers to cast demons out like they did.  Instead, they only said to be careful and personally ‘resist’ evil spirits.  ZERO instances of telling believers to cast them out.  The Book of Ephesians discusses specifically how to have victory over spiritual forces; yet, never mentions performing exorcisms.  The disciples of the Apostles do not mention exorcisms.  The disciples of the disciples of the Apostles do not mention performing exorcisms.  Another important detail to notice is that WHEN a legitimate exorcism is performed by Jesus or an Apostle, the demon leaves instantly (except for the attempt when the Apostles’ faith was not strong).  No hours of thrashing and moaning or cursing; boom, gone, at the command of God or his appointed actual witnesses of His Son, the Apostles.

Key Highlights

• Ghosts and Spirits are NOT once living people
• Ghosts and evil Spirits are purposely manipulative and deceptive
• Ghosts and evil Spirits can communicate details to fortune tellers, psychics, and medians to manipulative and deceive.  Evil Spirits can appear as messengers from God, when in fact they are not; (ex: The Spirit that appeared to Muhammad and Joseph Smith) 
• Christians CAN NOT be possessed by a evil Spirits
• Christians are NOT told to perform exorcisms
• The Disciple of the Apostles did NOT performed exorcisms 
• The Disciples of the Disciples of the Apostles did NOT perform exorcisms.

 
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What Language do Angels Speak?

Angels come from heaven and were created by God.  They are either messengers from God or fallen angles, punished to earth and awaiting judgement with no hope of redemption.  As messengers and servants of God, how do they communicate with mankind? There are a lot of writings on angels but what does God’s Word make known about angles?  In this article we will look at how angles interact and communicate with mankind.

Rev 9:11 records a hierarchy of fallen spirits with an actual name in human language. In 2 Kings 1:2; 16 we see the name of another chief fallen angel and even could be another name for Satan of whom communicates through the language of that culture. 

Angels from God, such as Gabriel, which means ‘man of God’ appears to people as a man and speaks to them in a real intelligible language of that culture as well. In Daniel 8:16 and Daniel 9:21 he uses his man-form and intelligible language in a dream and in person.  In Luke 1:19; 26 we see Gabriel sent to relaying intelligible messages in real human languages in person. Jude 9 records the chief created angel, Michael, debating with Satan using a real human language.  Jesus himself spoke a real intelligible language to Satan in Matthew 4:10 and those whom were possessed by Demons, replied to Jesus in real intelligible languages. 

From all that is revealed about how angels communicate we see that they can speak the language of the culture they are sent to.  Even in dreams they still speak the known real intelligible language. 

What about “Tongues of Angels” in 1 Cor 13:1?

First, understand there is zero references to a heavenly language in all of scripture.  Second, 1 Cor 13:1, when correctly understood is this: “having the ability to speak with “divine eloquence.” As one well-known Bible scholar put it, “Paul is simply saying that, were he to have the ability to speak with the skill and eloquence of the greatest men, even with angelic eloquence, he would only become a noisy gong”.  Also read our article Tongues of Angels.

Fluid Babbling

Some will claim they have experienced ‘a heavenly language’ and heard it for themselves.  First, truth is not based on how you feel or your experiences.  That is the first biggest mistake.  Second, Fluid semi-pattern babbling is not proof of anything other than it being babbling.  In fact, if it is not a real intelligible human language, in contradicts what is recorded in scripture.  That is not how angels spoke.  That is not how the Apostles spoke at Pentecost, and that is not how Jesus sounded when speaking to Satan. All of these are recorded in scripture.

Conclusion

Angels, of God or fallen, all spoke in a real understandable language of the culture they were sent to and were in.  There is nothing in Holy Scripture to justify otherwise.  If an angel came to someone who spoke English, the angel would speak English.  If an angel came to someone who spoke Arabic, the angel would speak Arabic.  There are zero proofs for a ‘heavenly language’ from God himself in scripture.  

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Statement of Faith: Angels, Satan, and Demons

          The real existence and personality of angels.  God created the angels to be His servants and messengers (Nehemiah 9:6;Psalm 148:2;Hebrews 1:14).  There is a spiritual realm of angels and demons. Angels serve God and carry out his will.

          Demons are fallen angels (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6) who war against God and who will ultimately face eternal punishment (Matt. 25:41; 2 Per. 2:4). Christians cannot be demon-possessed.  The existence and personality of Satan and demons.  Satan is a fallen angel who led a group of angels in rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-17;Ezekiel 28:12-15).  The demons are his servants and seek to mislead, blind, and cause evil.  He and his demons will be eternally punished in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41;Revelation 20:10).