THIS IS THE ULTIMATE REASON BEHIND GOD'S HATRED OF "SIN"AND WHY HE ERADICATED THE PEOPLE OF THE PROMISED LAND FROM THE LAND!

PART 1

PART 2

Deuteronomy 10:20 Amplified

"You shall [reverently] fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and by His name and presence you shall swear “

A soul tie is the knitting together of two souls that can either bring tremendous blessings in a Godly relationship or tremendous destruction when made with the wrong persons,THE PROMISED LAND WAS FILLED WITH DETESTABLE SEXUAL SINS OF “SOUL TIES” BETWEEN HUMAN, ANGEL, AND ANIMAL SOULS.

A soul tie in the Bible can be described not only by the word knit, but also by the word cleave, which means to bring close together, follow close after, be attached to someone, or adhere to one another as with glue.

WHENEVER A PERSON HAS SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH ANOTHER,THEY GIVE A PART OF THEMSELVES AWAY TO THAT PERSON OR THING TO WHICH THEY HAVE COMMITTED THE ACT,AND AS THEY KEEP HAVING RELATIONS WITH MANY,MANY PARTNERS THEIR SOUL TIES ARE SPREAD OUT OVER THE EARTH LIKE A SPIDER WEB AND THEY ARE “LESS THEMSELVES EACH TIME.”

“The hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives.” (Ecclesiastes 9:3)

While a soul tie will develop between any two people who are open to one another, the strength of those soul ties depends upon how deeply involved with another their heart becomes.

You can become soul tied to family, friends, co-workers and the leadership you are under,THIS IS WHY “DENOMINATIONALISM CAN BE A PROBLEM; because you become “soul tied” to your churches VIEW OF SCRIPTURE,WHICH MIGHT BE COMPLETELY WRONG!

The Unity you have with others is an open expression of a soul tie.

It was this “UNITY”that the people of the promised land had with ALL MANNER of creature from Human to Angelic fallen beings,and even ANIMALS IN THEIR LUST THAT POLLUTED GOD’S PLANS FOR THIS LAND,THESE PEOPLE WERE SO “SICK & DEPRIVED” THAT THEY SACRIFICED THEIR OWN CHILDREN ALIVE INTO FIRES TO APPEASE “MOLUK” THEIR FALSE DEMON GOD!

Carefully examine your friends (male or Female) before it becomes a covenant or relationship, because people that come into your life can influence the shaping of your life and your walk with Jesus.

2 Cor 6:14

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”

2 Cor 6:15

“And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?”

2 Cor 6:16 

“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

2 Cor 6:17

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,”

2 Cor 6:18

“And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

Check their motives, here are a few things to watch for:

1. Is this person a compromising person or is it their way or no way.

2. Are they self-centered?

3. Do they have a giving spirit or do they always want to take?

4. Are they kind, gentle and above all loving?

5. Are they saved and walking with Jesus?

6. Are they controlling or manipulative? 

Beware!

When a person who is bonded to another is governed by impure motives or the desire for selfish gain, the soul tie between them can enable (make able) that selfish one to manipulate and abuse the other. A person can actually control another through soul ties, because the minds of the two are open to one another.



In ungodly relationships these soul ties may place us in emotional and mental bondage to others and causing us to do and say things to our own hurt.

THIS WAS THE CASE IN THE LAND OF PROMISE,THESE PEOPLE WERE “TIED UP” IN BONDAGE TO WHOEVER THEY HAD RELATIONS WITH IN GENERATIONAL “CURSES” BOUND TO THE ANIMAL “INSTINCTS”OF LOWER FORMS OF LIFE!

Rom8:15 

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:15 Amplified

“For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father”

Ungodly soul ties can potentially establish if the relationship is not under the Lordship of Christ. God demands first place in our hearts, spouses are to be second, followed by children, family, friends and associates.

When our strongest soul tie is to God, there is a divine covering and protection that will enable us to withstand forming ungodly soul ties. 

The Holy Ghost.

Isa 54:5

“For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”

Eph 5:30-31

“For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.”

Ephesians 5:31-32 Amplified

“For this reason a man shall leave his (“Soul Ties” to his) father and his mother and shall be joined (“Soul Tied”) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning [the relation of] Christ and the church.”

God, designed the universe to function perfectly UNDER natural and spiritual laws that bring freedom when obeyed, but bondage and destruction when broken and violated. Just as two souls can be knit or made to cleave together in a covenant relationship, they can also be tied or knit together to form bondage and enslavement.

Sexual union was ordained by God to make two marriage partners one flesh before God, but promiscuous premarital and extramarital affairs can mysteriously tie ones soul to many partners. We seem to misunderstand the seriousness in these soul ties. It is because of lack of knowledge that we perish. 

Paul warns us in 1 Cor.6: 16-18

1 Cor 6:16-18

“Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.”

1 Corinthians 6:16-18 From the Amplified

“Or do you not know and realize that when a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? The two, it is written, shall become one flesh, But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. Shun immorality and all sexual looseness [flee from impurity in thought, word, or deed]. Any other sin which a man commits is one outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.”

Many find it hard to believe that a born again believer can have a demonic spirit simply because they don’t understand the difference between the soul and the spirit of a man. They believe everything is made new the moment a person accepts Jesus (which is true for the man’s spirit), but they naturally accept the fact that a person can be born again yet they can still be in bondage to sin (darkness or evil).

The soul and the spirit are not the same

Even though our Bible uses the words soul and spirit interchangeably, there is a very distinct difference that we cannot ignore. These passages in God’s Word that make a very clear distinction between the soul and the spirit:

Hebrews 4:12,

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23,

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So what is the difference between the soul and the spirit?

We are a spirit being, we live in a body and we possess a soul. The real person inside of us is our spirit. Our soul consists of our mind, will and emotions. Our bodies are obviously what we live in while we are here on earth. How did demonic spirits vex and possess (control) people in the Bible? It was through their souls (minds, as in mental illness and insanity), and their bodies (as in the woman who had the spirit of infirmity).

Example of physical (bodily) demonic affliction: 

Luke 13:11,

“And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.”

Example of mental (soul) demonic affliction:

Matthew 17:15,18,

“Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water… And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.”

Our spirits ARE born again!

The moment we accept Christ, our spirits become brand new. We are a completely new person, we are born of God, and we are made alive with God:

2 Corinthians 5:17,

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

This is speaking of our spirits, which are instantly made new the moment we accept Christ.

The Bible even tells us that the old man in us has (PAST TENSE) died with Christ, and that we are raised to new life through Christ’s resurrection:

Romans 6:2-6,

“God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him (our spirits that were alive to sin), that the body of sin might be destroyed (speaking of the evil in our souls), that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

Even though we have died to sin, and been raised to new life through Christ Jesus, our souls (that is, our minds) still need to be transformed and purified by the washing of the Word:

Ephesians 5:26, 

“That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

Our souls are NOT COMPLETELY born again!

THIS IS THE BATTLE ZONE OF THE DEMONIC REALM,WHERE SOUL TIES CAN DESTROY US & OUR MINISTRY!

The Bible is clear that even though our spirits are born of incorruptible seed, our minds (souls) still need to be purified, that is, cleansed:

1 Peter 1:22-23, 

“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”

Our spirit is instantly reborn and made new the moment we accept Christ, but the soul is not born again. Our souls are transformed by the renewing of our minds:

Romans 12:2, 

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Remember:In the Old Testament,they DID NOT HAVE THE NEW BIRTH,SO THEY WERE EVEN MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE DEMONIC REALM.

The people of this land were generationaly deceived and bound to “millions of soul ties

“WHICH THEY WILLINGLY GAVE THEIR LIVES TO AND SACRIFICED THEIR CHILDREN TOO! SEXUAL DISEASE AND IMPURITY WAS RAMPANT AND ACCEPTED AS NORMAL!

Whichever voice you listen to will crowd the other one out: If you have two dogs who fight all the time, and you can only afford to feed one of them, how do you know which one will win? The one you feed! The same is true in the spiritual realm. 

The more you listen to Satan’s lies and deception, the more he will build strongholds in your mind, and the more strongholds that go up, the harder it will be to hear God’s voice. The other side of the coin is true too… the more you feast yourself on the truth in God’s Word, the more it tears down strongholds and makes it harder for the enemy’s voice to penetrate your system.

If you listen to Satan’s lies that you are a failure, he will continue to feed you that lie, and it will grow into a stronghold (a lie that is believed, or an incorrect thinking pattern). Your feelings are quite often a direct result of your thoughts. 

If you think you are a failure, you will feel like one.As you can see from this study,the people Satan had deceived were at the END OF HELP,but God DID SAVE A FEW WHO WERE WILLING-SUCH AS “RAHAB,THE HARLOT..WHO HELPED JOSHUA AND CALEB HIDE FROM HER PEOPLE.” GOD HAS NEVER BEEN WITHOUT MERCY EVEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Whatever you keep your mind on (think about often) will affect your whole being.

Isaiah 26:3, 

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

An exception to the rule IS THAT Evil spirits are known to directly affect our emotions, feelings, etc. 

King Saul was tormented with fear and depression directly. 

However, evil spirits often use our thoughts to ,THIS IS HOW DEMONS {SEEM} TO “READ OUR MINDS”BUT THEY ONLY DRAW OUT OF US WHAT THEY PLACE IN OUR MINDS IN THE FIRST PLACE. 


Renewing the Mind: The Foundation of Your Success 

Renewing Your Mind in a Mindless World: Learning to Think and Act Biblically 

Renewing Your Mind: God's Prescription for Wholeness 

By the Renewing of Your Minds: The Pastoral Function of Christian Doctrine 

Heirs of Promise: Renewing Your Mind to Receive Your Predestinated Inheritance 

Handbook to Renewal: Renewing Your Mind With Affirmations from Scripture 

Renewing Your Mind: 40 Day Devotional 

Transforming Your Life By Renewing Your Mind 

Renewing Your Mind with R. C. Sproul, Radio Broadcast (Complete 3 Audio Cassette Tape Set in Clam Shell Case) (Radio Broadcast, Objections Answered)Renewing Your Mind with R. C. Sproul, Radio Broadcast (Complete 3 Audio Cassette Tape Set in Clam Shell Case) (Radio Broadcast, Objections Answered) 

Renewing Your Mind (Scripture Memory Songs) 

Set Your Mind (Colossians 3:1-3 - Nkjv) 

The Renewing of Your Mind 

Renewing Your MindResurrection: Transform Your Life. . . by Renewing Your Mind 

Fulfilling God's plan for your life (Renewing the mind library) 

Renewal for Your Life & Mind (Renewing the Mind Library) 

Get Ready for Your Future (Renewing the Mind Library) 

Cross Words Renewing Your Mind with Acronyms of HOPE 

Pleasing God (Renewing Your Mind) 

What’s the true connection between “IDOL WORSHIP” and God’s seeming violent reaction toward it?

Exodus 20:4-6

“You shall not make yourself any graven {refers to the household gods of idolaters. “Every nation and city had its own gods. Yet every family had its separate household or tutelary god.” } image [to worship { A title of honor, used in addresses to certain magistrates and other of respectable character.} or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,But showing mercy and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments."

THIS COMMAND IS VERY CLEAR TO ME, IS IT NOT CLEAR TO YOU? 

HOW COULD ANYONE "MISINTERPRET"THIS CLEAR STATEMENT AGAINST HAVING PERSONAL OR NATIONAL IDOLS TO WORSHIP (Give credit for life) or BOW DOWN TO (Give over control of life too).

WHAT DO THESE "MILLIONS AND MILLIONS" OF IDOLS AROUND THE WORLD MEAN IN THE BIG PICTURE OF WHAT GOD SEES?

KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE WERE "NO IDOLS WHATSOEVER"BEFORE THE FLOOD!

Why ?

I believe that the CLOSER that one gets to the time of Adam & Eve, the greater the PURE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LIVING GOD'S EXISTENCE & PRESENCE IS BOTH "FELT BY THE SENSES"and "SEEN WITH THE PHYSICAL EYES".

BUT THE FARTHER YOU GET FROM THE TIME OF THE GREAT FLOOD, AFTER GOD CAME DOWN TO "CONFUSE THE LANGUAGES & SPREAD MAN OUT INTO ALL THE FACE OF THE EARTH, THE PRESENCE OF GOD DIMINISHED IN THE "PRESENCE OF MAN" AND MAN ONLY "PASSED GOD ON AS A STORY OF THE PAST.

THAT STORY TELLING WAS PASSED ON FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR MAN TO RECALL GOD.

THEY "INVENTED IDOLS" FROM THE "MYTH" and THE FACT OF GOD MIXED TOGETHER.

IDOLS BECAME THE REPRESENTATIVE'S OF WHAT GOD WAS TO THOSE WHO TOLD THE ANCIENT STORIES AND FROM "INNOCENT INTENTIONS", FROM HEARTS THAT WISHED TO WORSHIP THE GOD OF ANCIENT HISTORY WAS BORN AN ABOMINATION THE BIBLE CALLS "WILL WORSHIP".

This is where we actually worship our own reason,and understanding of God as we see him,rather than what the bible teaches about God.

{From our MINDS are born false idols, the reflections of those mis-understandings.}

Exodus 34:14

"For you shall worship no other god; for the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous (impassioned) God,"

NOW, LOOK CAREFULLY AT THIS VERSE ...GOD'S NAME IS IMPASSIONED, IN OTHER WORDS HIS "AUTHORITY TO DO WHAT HE DOES AGAINST "IDOLS" IS IMPASSIONED, HE'S VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS AND WILL NEVER BACK DOWN!

NOW ASK YOURSELF WHY IS HE SO IMPASSIONED ABOUT THIS?

Deuteronomy 4:24

"For the Lord your God is a consuming{Burning; wasting; destroying; expending; eating; devouring.} fire, a jealous { An Impassioned} God."

Deuteronomy 6:15 

"For the Lord your God in the midst of you is a jealous {IMPASSIONED} God; lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and He destroy you from the face of the earth."

WHY?

Because of IDOLS!

Deuteronomy 32:16,21

"They provoked {Excited; roused; incited; made angry; incensed.} Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations they provoked Him to anger....They have moved Me to jealousy {IMPASSIONED} with what is not God; they have angered Me with their idols. So I will move them to jealousy {TO BE IMPASSIONED TOWARD} with those who are not a people {GOD PLACED THEM IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO "INVENTED" THEIR FALSE gods,to show them that these gods could not save them from his judgment!}; I will anger them with a foolish { Nation without UNDERSTANDING, A} nation { that WORSHIPS OTHER GODS THAT MY PEOPLE "THINK" ARE GODS,THAT ARE "NO GODS"}.

1 Samuel 15:23 

"For rebellion {An open and avowed renunciation of the authority of the government to which one owes allegiance; or the taking of arms traitorously to resist the authority of lawful government; revolt. } is as the sin of witchcraft{ The practices of witches; sorcery; enchantments; intercourse OR interaction of powers of deception with the devil}, and stubbornness {Perverse and unreasonable obstinacy; inflexibility } is as idolatry { The worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God.

Idolatry is of two kinds

the worship of images, statues, pictures, made by hands; and the worship of the heavenly bodies,the sun, moon and stars, or of demons, angels, men and animals. Excessive attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration. } and teraphim (household good luck images).

"Because you have rejected {Thrown away; cast off; refused; slighted. } the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king."

THIS IS KEY HERE ABOUT GOD,HE WILL NOT PUNISH WHAT THAT WHICH HE HAS NOT PRE-WARNED US ABOUT,WE MUST "REJECT" WHAT GOD COMMANDS TO BE DONE OR NOT DONE BEFORE HIS JUDGMENT FALLS!

"Detestable or Extremely hateful; abominable; very odious; deserving abhorrence." An intolerant word that does not belong in the mouths of enlightened people. Or does it ?

We live in an era where native religions are looked upon with respect and interest, almost with longing. Native American religions are the current fad in the US, while in Britain there is a renewed interest in the religion of the ancient Druids. One question that is not asked very loudly is, "What does the true God think of these religions?"

Scripture indicates that God takes false religions with extreme seriousness, since they pose a great threat to the purity of his people's faith.

Canaan was populated by a conglomeration of many emigrant peoples, there were many variations and some local deities, not to mention the many gods worshiped in Egypt.

Dagon was worshiped by the Philistines. Chemosh, Milkom, and Molech are probably different names for the same god worshiped by the Ammonites which involved child sacrifice.

Baal and Ashtoreth

The chief Canaanite fertility gods, however, were Baal and Ashtoreth. Baal (the son of El) was revered as the god with power over rain, wind, clouds, and therefore over fertility. Ashtoreth was a Semite goddess derived from the Babylonian god Ishtar. As worshiped locally in Canaan, she was the consort of Baal, and supposedly brought fertility to the people who worshiped her.

While temples are occasionally mentioned, Canaanite worship often took place in open-air sites at the tops of hills, referred to in the Bible as "high places." Usually there was a masseba or stone pillar erected as a symbol of the male deity and an asherah representing the female counterpart, some sort of wooden pole or image of the goddess. In front of these was a sacrificial altar.

Cult Prostitution

Craigie and Wilson describe some of the worship:

"Characteristic of Canaanite fertility ritual is the association of male and female 'holy ones' (cult prostitutes) with temples and shrines of the fertility deities. By joining in the activities of cultic sexuality, common people could participate in 'stockpiling' fertility energy, which ensured the continuing stability of agricultural as well as human and animal productivity. 

Archaeological excavations in Canaanite locations have uncovered temples with chambers where sexual activity took place. Also, many iconographic representations of the fertility goddess with exaggerated sexual features have been discovered. The influence of the fertility cult was widespread; it was combated fiercely in Israel as alien to the covenant faith (e.g. Hosea 1-3)" (P.C. Craigie and G.H. Wilson, ISBE 4:100).

But an even greater danger than the detestable practices of Canaanite religion, were the assumptions that underlay them, which were diametrically opposed to the worship of Yahweh. We need to consider carefully how the worship of the true God differed.

Monotheism

We take monotheism, the worship of one God, for granted. But the Israelites lived in a culture, both in Egypt and now in Canaan, where many gods were worshiped. The First Commandment was clear:

"You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). 

The great saying of Israel, the Shema, became its hallmark and identifying feature down through the centuries, even quoted by Jesus (Mark 12:29):

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

The TRUE Christian understanding of the Trinity is also monotheistic. We believe in a tri-unity, "God in three persons.

But Canaanite religion challenged this monotheism, and Israel was constantly tempted to worship additional gods for added "insurance" against bad crops or infertility of herds JUST IMAGINE,HAVING TO HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH AN ANIMAL TO PRODUCE "FERTILITY" for your herds...that is what these gods demanded of their worshipers.

Idolatry

Another earmark of the worship of Yahweh was that He was invisible.

Paul's doxology in 1 Timothy 1:17 summarizes this unique understanding of the true God:

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (KJV).

" Even though various prophets have had visions of God, "No one has ever seen God {IN HIS COMPLETE REVEALED GLORY}, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known" (John 1:18). 

He lives in glory, glory so unapproachable that Moses could not see God's face but only his backside (Exodus 33:20-23), and speaking to him left a glow on Moses' face (Exodus 34:29).

Though God is spoken of in various places in Scripture as having human attributes -- the hand of God, the arm of the Lord -- these are figurative, anthropomorphisms, just as is the reference to him sheltering his people under his wings (Psalm 91:4).

According to Jesus, God is spirit, not flesh (John 4:24) and must be worshiped that way.

The miracle of the Incarnation is that "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Failure to understand the invisibility and immortality of God is serious. In our day, Mormons misunderstand this. They teach that God the Father had a body just like us. Their God is intensely physical.

What does this have to do with idolatry? 

Idolatry stems from a basic misunderstanding of the immortal and invisible spirit-nature of God. It tries to depict God in a physical way so he can be visualized and worshiped concretely. 

In the Ten Commandments God gave very specific commands against this:

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" (Exodus 20:4; KJV).

The Tabernacle in the Wilderness had no physical God in its "Holy of Holies," only an ark, which represented his throne. The absence of an image on this throne was a telling reminder that the true God transcended a desert tent. Even Solomon, when dedicating the glorious temple in Jerusalem, prayed, "The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27)

The Protestants stripped sanctuaries of any kind of decoration. They KNEW that the Catholic images of the saints had become idols to be worshiped in and of themselves.

Catholic theologians counter that the Church has always taught that these images are not to be worshiped, but to serve as reminders.

BUT that's the exact same thing ALL IDOLATERS SAY ABOUT THEIR FALSE WORSHIP!

Nevertheless, there is always the danger that we will try to HARDEN God into an image or icon or statuette which we can venerate.

That is what Israel's neighbors were doing with their household idols and the statues of their gods at their high places. And this danger of idolatry is always a threat to a true understanding of God. 

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Tim. 1:17).

Detestable

While we may be "Forgiving and tolerant, the very survival of the people of Israel depended upon them being intolerant of the religions around them. Most of us in the Western world live in pluralistic societies that are governed as a democracy, where the majority rules.

We cannot understand ancient Israel unless we understand it as a completely different kind of nation, a theocracy ruled by a king -- God himself (and through human kings who are to rule on God's behalf). A theocracy cannot tolerate other religions any more than a democracy can tolerate organizations whose aim is the violent overthrow the constituted government. If we tolerate subversives and traitors to our government, we sow the seeds of the destruction of our way of life. Treason against the king in a theocracy is worship of another king or god, and cannot be tolerated.

The Bible refers to these false gods as detestable. God, through Moses, commanded them, "Completely destroy them -- the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites -- as the LORD your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy. 20:17-18. See also Genesis 15:16; 2 Kings 21:11; Ezra 9:1; 1 Kings 11:5-7; 1 Kings 14:24; 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 23:13; 2 Chronicles 36:14; Ezra 9:11; Judges 10:6.)

The beliefs and practices of the Canaanites were not only detestable, they also defiled and degraded the people who practiced them { The LAND ITSELF WAS COMPLETELY POLLUTED BY THEIR SEXUAL AND HUMAN SACRIFICE and After a list of sexual sins, God commands the Israelites in Leviticus:

Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways { In incestuous copulations and marriages, in adultery, corporeal and spiritual, and bestiality , God made laws against unnatural lusts, sodomy and bestiality, sins not to be named nor thought of without the utmost abhorrence imaginable, Lev_18:22 "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. "

Lev 18:23 

"Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion"...OF WHAT ? Think about this for a moment,sexual sins with men can lead them to mental confusion by the very "spiritual nature" of sex..so HOW MUCH MORE WITH ANIMALS!"

Other sins level men with the beasts, but these sink them much lower. That there ever should have been occasion for the making of these laws is bad enough, since they were published by God to men that they should ever have been broken is even more disturbing, it is the perpetual reproach and scandal of human nature; and the giving of men up to these vile affections was frequently the punishment of their idolatries; so the apostle shows,

Rom_1:24 

"Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:" }, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you must keep my decrees and my laws."

 

The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled.

" And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you (Leviticus 18:24-28).

These seven nations of the land of Canaan, which God ejected out of their land to make room for the them, and on account of the above shocking common vices which abounded among them; so the land they dwelt upon was defiled by there personal & national sins, even the land called for vengeance on them as Abel's blood called out to God, as even loathing its inhabitants.

Think about how you would feel as a parent if all your training and loving personal touch were being consistently threatened by an outside source every time you released your children into the hands of their school by "DETESTABLE" teaching about unnatural things TAUGHT AS NORMAL EVERYDAY OCCURRENCE THAT SHOULD BE TOLERATED AND ALLOWED TO HAPPEN AS A NATURAL LOVE BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS. 

How would you feel about that happening to you? 

WELL THAT'S JUST WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO GOD, HIS PLANS ARE BEING CONSTANTLY OVERTHROWN,NOT BY SATAN; BUT BY HIS OWN CHILDREN...CAN WE HONESTLY TRY TO CONVINCE OURSELVES THAT GOD HAS NO RIGHT TO BE "JEALOUS" AND POSSESSIVE OF HIS OWN CREATION, JUST AS YOU AS A PARENT ARE OF YOUR CHILDREN?


Idolatry in the Pentateuch: An Innertextual Strategy

 A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice of the Mass is Idolatry 

The Baal Conspiracy: An Expose' of Everyday Idolatry 

The Idolatry of Black America 

At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry Workbook 

A STARTLING TRUTH REVEALED ABOUT IDOL WORSHIP & ITS CONNECTION TO THE QUESTION OF WHY GOD ERADICATED WHOLE PEOPLES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT!

For the first 2500 years of human history there is not one record available (and certainly not in the Bible) which shows the use of idols in the form of stones, metals, woods, or any other earthly substance as a means through which humans worshiped the true God in heaven — or even in the worship of false gods!

This fact can be abundantly proved by the Bible and the historical records that have come down to us from antiquity. This proves that FALSE religion CAME LATER and was not a part of God's original plan. It did not enter into the thoughts of men to worship anyone or thing but God himself.

 
This truth means that for well over a third of recorded human history, no one in civilized society thought it proper to worship divine beings through images made of earthly materials. Such early people would have considered that procedure to be silly and absurd. 

  When it finally occurred, it represented a major departure — actually, a degeneracy — into a form of worship that the earliest people on earth would have found ridiculous and childish! Believe me, this includes those who would have been living in the areas of Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Rome, or Palestine.

This may be difficult to believe but it is a truth that can be absolutely proved from the biblical revelation if one is willing to pay attention to what it teaches. But people are more prone to conveniently overlook (either by accident or design) what the Bible actually says on these matters. This is a sad state of affairs because the Bible is so clear and understandable if people would just pay heed to what it says.

What emerges is this: Pagan idolatry (in which images made of stones, metals, woods, etc., were used) had its origin only about 3500 to 3600 years ago. It developed at a time when almost the entire world went into a wholesale idolatry IN A VERY SHORT TIME. 

The series of historical events that brought about its evolution occurred within a one-hundred to a two-hundred year period. The biblical record shows that hardly anyone in the civilized world used images through which to worship God, and then suddenly the whole world seems to have gone over to the error of using material substances to worship God.

Sacred Cows are SIMPLY cows in the end!

It is time that this historical truth is made known to the general public. 

If people of the present (and those who have lived since the introduction of images and idolatry) could thoroughly understand how the pagan gods originated and how images and idolatry developed (and how silly the whole thing is), people would have long ago been able to appreciate and comprehend the simple truths of God which He revealed to mankind from the beginning.

Strangely these false teachings, which should have been jettisoned by thinking people years ago, have become firmly entrenched within the very fabric of modern Christianity itself!

The Bible tells us that the move into idolatry was a deliberate attempt on the part of some intelligent people to corrupt the simple teachings of God. 

Paul gives us some facts about the origin of idolatry, and he is very pointed in saying that the people who devised such erroneous beliefs were well aware of their falsity.

 Do you worship the Cross of Christ or Carry your cross?

Romans 1:20–21, 18

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they KNEW GOD, they glorified him not as God … [these were they] who HOLD BACK [original Greek] the truth in unrighteousness.”

Paul goes on to say that mankind’s determined will was to “hold back” the real truth and to change the glory of the incorruptible God into, “corruptible man, birds, fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Romans 1:23).

There was a definite reason why paganism and idolatry were inaugurated. And though many false teachings began to emerge not long after the Flood of Noah, the use of image/idolatry was something that came on the world scene at a particular time.

That period was just after the death of Joseph (who had ruled as second in command next to Pharaoh in Egypt). By the time of the Exodus from Egypt by the Israelites, idolatry was a prime religious factor in the worship of all deities.

Why Was Idolatry So Wrong?

 

 

The representation of divine beings in image forms, or planting trees in commemoration of divine favors, or making pictures was not wrong in itself! In the time of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph such things were done without the slightest condemnation by God. 

They only became idolatrous when persons reckoned the image itself to have some power from God, or that the image partakes of some kind of “life” or “spirit-essence.” When Jacob set up the first Bethel-stone he did not believe that God entered the stone, which was what the later pagans came to believe.

It was simply a memorial stone to Jacob. But from the time of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, images of various creatures (human, animal, etc.) were then being acknowledged as containing the efficacy of God himself. This is what made God so angry when Aaron made the calf and presented it before the Israelites as their God who brought them out of Egypt.

“These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4). This was a great error and God showed how evil it was in the latter part of the Exodus 32. Even Israelites became idolaters!

This was the main reason that there is a prohibition against making any images of anything in the Ten Commandments. The only exceptions were statues of the two cherubs in the holy of holies and their pictures on the curtains. 

Since these were within the holy place of the Tabernacle (and later the Temple), God allowed these images to continue under the supervision of the priests. But the common people were prevented from making any other images or pictures.

What this shows is that people are prone to turn things that God allows (or even ordains) into illegal and promiscuous uses. This is why God forbade the common people to employ any images, pictures, etc., in the worship of Him. 

They misused what God once allowed!

The same thing happened with the brazen serpent. God actually commanded Moses to construct such an image as a symbol (or as a reminder) of God’s protection from the serpents at that time (Numbers 21:8).

Within a few generations (as normally happens with special items connected with religious symbolism), the people turned it into an idol and began to worship it — or to worship God through it. 

The righteous king Hezekiah saw the evil of this Mosaic image (commanded by God himself) and he ordered it destroyed (2 Kings 18:4). Our modern medical profession has adopted the image as a symbol

Frankly, this is perfectly all right as long as it represents a mere symbol (as did Moses’ first caduceus) and not an idolatrous emblem to be worshiped or through which to worship God. If the latter is done, it turns the innocent image into a dangerous idol — as far as the biblical revelation is concerned.

Do you Worship the Alter or Sacrifice Self upon it?

Another example of a righteous ornament being turned into an idolatrous emblem is that of the ephod which was ordained of God to be a part of the High Priest’s official wardrobe (Exodus 28:4, 6). But in the time of the judge Gideon, the Bible says he,

Judges 8:27

 

“… made an ephod, and put it in the city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.”

The fact is, it makes no difference how holy and proper something might be (and even if previously ordained of God himself ), if people misuse the item in a wrong way, the biblical writers would call the thing idolatrous.

 Your Faith must stand out, not blend in!

 And that means anything — even if it included Sabbaths, new moons, and holidays (Galatians 4:10; Colossians 2:16)! Men have sorely mishandled all these things over the centuries, as well as images, caduceuses, ephods, trees, pillars, temples, etc.

With mature Christians, however, any type of image, picture, or once holy artifact is of little worth in the worship of the true God. Paul makes it clear that even idols themselves are nothing (1 Corinthians 8:4; 10:19).

One could even eat meat which had been offered to idols, and even do so within an idol’s temple, and be none the worse off, if one truly believes that such things are mere ornaments and have nothing to do with real religion or Christianity (1 Corinthians 8:4–13). 

If one sees, however, the slightest spiritual influence in an image (be it good or bad), such things should be avoided because they take a person away from a proper relationship with Christ Jesus and the Father in heaven (1 John 5:21).

A survey of the origins of religion shows that great numbers of heroes worshiped as gods and goddesses were at one time individuals who lived on earth, and were deified by later human beings.

Not all of these deified people were evil or especially bad. Many had done great exploits for the benefit of mankind and who were wrongly honored after their deaths by deification. Some were even the righteous people of the Bible such as Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samson, Ruth, and others.

Even many of the rituals and emblems of religious worship which we associate today with outright heathenism were in many cases corrupted forms of solemnities which were once acceptable to God.

What has happened is the fact that people of later times have taken even the good things given to mankind by God and turned them into evil. This has happened with almost everything that one can imagine.

In the early parts of the Bible it was perfectly respectable to call God by the name of Baal WHY?

Because it simply means Lord, Master, or Owner. But the name got so connected with heathen worship that God expressly prohibited even the phonetic use of the name in association with His true worship (Hosea 2:16).

This same thing has happened since the canonization of the New Testament. 

It was quite common for the false prophets of the New Testament period and later {The Catholic Church} to use the names, the offices, institutions, ceremonies, and personages of New Testament fame and turn them into corrupt and alien forms of Christianity.

 2 Corinthians 11:13–15 

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness: whose end shall be according to their works.”

It has always been the common custom of the false prophets mentioned in the Bible to use the righteous institutions, ceremonies and offices which ordinary people recognize as being God-ordained, in order to twist their meanings for their own gain. 

This even applies to those who misuse such Old Covenant ceremonies as the seventh-day Sabbath, new moons, and the Mosaic holy days. 

There have been men who have adopted such things into their church for the purpose of ruling and dominating people. If this is done for wrong reasons, the Bible shows that God would be displeased.

It is taking something that God gave to ancient Israel as a blessing and turning it into a curse for people to live under today. God destroyed the holy Temple in Jerusalem (the holiest physical structure on earth at the time) — and He did it twice! Jeremiah warned people about trusting in physical things wrongly (Jeremiah 7:4–16). 

This is idolatry!

Even people who claim to walk with Christ and have many charismatic gifts are not immune to corrupting the simple teachings of Christ. Because people look good and righteous on the surface is no standard by which to judge the issues regarding pure and undefiled religion. 

We live in EXTREME DAYS, and we CANNOT EVER lose sight of that;or we all lose out!

 Matthew 7:21–23

“Not every one that saith unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils?

and in thy name done many wonderful works?’ And then will I profess unto them I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity [lawlessness].”

The law that should now govern all Christians is that of love —And not to follow AS LAW, the law of Moses or the rituals of the Old Covenant,or any RITUALS from any church (Romans 13:8, 10). 

We should now be ruled by the law of faith by which we should see and practice these things (Romans 3:27), and having the fruits of God’s Spirit actively in our lives (Galatians 5:22–23), “against such there is no law.” 

In truth, no law is against those fruits — this means that the principles of love, joy, faith, peace, patience, etc., are the laws for Christians today!

BUT LET ME BE VERY CLEAR HERE :

If some OF US wish to keep the Old Covenant rituals as Jewish Christians DO,THIS IS PERFECTLY FINE AND WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM as it adds to our MUTUAL HERITAGE AS BELIEVER’S IN YESHUA, as long as people realize that there is not one ounce of salvation in any ritual or ceremony (Ephesians 2:8). 

A person could keep every day mentioned in the Old Testament if one wants (and Jewish Christians normally wish to do this — and it is perfectly all right), but even in doing this there should be certain modifications to account for later Christian teaching. 

For example, it would not be Christian to fast on the Day of Atonement, since it is made clear that Christ has forgiven us of all our sins and it would be wrong to recall them every year by fasting on the Day of Atonement. This is even testified in the Old Testament itself.

In Zechariah 8:19 God said the period of the Messianic age will cause all the official fast days (including the Day of Atonement in the seventh month) to be cheerful days of joy and feasting, NOT FASTING!

However, the use of images, rituals, holy days, and other physical ceremonies have always been acceptable to God as long as such things are not turned into idolatrous actions —or misused to enslave people or to MISLEAD PEOPLE TO BELIEVE WHAT IS NO LONGER TRUE, it should be obvious to all who is guilty of doing this in the religions of the day.

This is where ALL RELIGION GOES WRONG!

They first worshiped idols and second they worshiped days and customs! Both of these practices enslaved men. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

The truth is, many of the men and women that later pagans deified, or rituals and symbols that God once allowed, have been turned into false deities or idolatrous institutions.

It is such supposed supplements to the truth that have so corrupted the teachings of Christ.

If one had the ingenuity to strip away all the nonsensical additions that have been attached to some of the early teachings, it might be possible to discover many truths of early mankind and to see that God has never let any of the human race to be utterly destitute of His divine truths.

It is hoped that some of these truths may one day be discovered within the records. 

The key, however, to interpreting all data, both of a historical or religious nature, is the Holy Bible.

It is the only vehicle by which all teachings (both ancient and modern) can be properly judged. But even here, one must be careful because over the centuries men have even turned the pure teachings and artifacts of God into idolatrous things.

The Christian, however, should hardly have trouble with any of these matters provided that the principles of love (and the fruits of the Holy Spirit) are firmly placed in his or her life. 

The apostle who emphasized that essential principle of love was John. After devoting almost all of his epistle called First John to the subject of love, he closed with a solemn appeal:

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols!” (1 John 5:21).

Such things happen with all of us. It is the nature of us humans to supplement stories with ideas that originate with ourselves. In most cases it is not an attempt to deceive deliberately. It occurs simply because we want to make the accounts more interesting. 

Tracing the True Worship of God 

 Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots 

Christmas Celebration - History of Its Hidden Origins (Traditions of North America and the Western World) 

The Easter Celebration - History of Its Hidden Origins (Traditions of North America and the Western World) 

Mysteries of the Bible: The Primeval Era: The Dawn of Creation to the Fall of Babylon 

Description, Translation, and Explanation of Babylonian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, Ugaritic, Anunnaki and Phoenician Cylinder Seals, Slabs, Inscriptions, ... the Middle East, Near East, and Asia Minor.) 

The Mathematics of Mystery Babylon