Kenneth Copeland Doesn't Believe That Jesus is God

 

By Shofarsound/Endtimeshofar

Kenneth Copeland, the famous Word of Faith Preacher, Teacher, and so-called Prophet, holds the belief and teaches that Jesus isn't God. Copeland has been well-documented for his antichrist belief that Jesus wasn't God manifested in the flesh.

In this short blog post, let us examine Kenneth Copeland's blasphemous statements about Jesus not being God:

 

 “Why didn’t Jesus openly proclaim Himself as God during 33 years on Earth? For one single reason. He hadn’t come to Earth as God. He’d come as a man.”(1)

In another instance, Copeland claims he received this prophecy from Jesus, in which he states the following:

They crucified Me for claiming I was God. But I didn’t claim I was God. I just claimed I walked with Him and that He was in Me. Hallelujah. (2)

 

The Holy Scriptures vs Kenneth Copeland

1 John 4:2-4

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (3)

 

Philippians 2:5-11

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (4)

1 Timothy 3:16

New King James Version

16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

 God was manifested in the flesh,

Justified in the Spirit,

Seen by angels,

Preached among the Gentiles,

Believed on in the world,

Received up in glory. (5)

Always be a student of the Word, and constantly search the scripture for yourself. Don't go off every wind of doctrine that some Christian celebrity preacher preaches or teaches. They can be leading you down the broad of deception and destruction. 

 

Sources:

1. Kenneth Copeland, Believer’s Voice of Victory Magazine, August 8, 1988 P. 8

2. Kenneth Copeland, Take Time to Pray Believer’s Voice of Victory 15, Feb 2, 1987

3. New King James Version Bible

4. New King James Version Bible

5. New King James Version Bible

The Day of Atonement(Yom Kippur) in Leviticus 16: A Goat for Azazel

 

Source: Dr. Michael Heiser

I recently offered a distilled response to the question of what’s going on in Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) chapter, which mentions (correctly) in some translations that one of the goats was “for Azazel.” Azazel, the comment noted, was a demonic figure. So what’s up with that? I have copied in two responses below. The first is a pre-edited version of an article published in Bible Study Magazine. The second is drawn from the draft of my eventually-to-be-published book on the divine council worldview of the Old Testament. Enjoy.

Short Version: A Goat for Azazel1

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement described in Leviticus 16, is an important element of Judaism familiar to many Christians. Though not practiced today as it was in ancient times in the absence of the temple and Levitical priesthood, this holy day is still central to the Jewish faith. But while numerous Christians have heard of the day, most would be startled to learn that a sinister figure lurks in the shadows of Leviticus 16. There’s a devil in the details.

The Day of Atonement ritual required a ram, a bull and two goats (vv. 3-5). The ram was for a burnt offering, a general offering aimed at pleasing God (Lev. 1:3-4). The bull, taken from “the herd” served as a sin offering for Aaron, the high priest, and his family. The purpose of the sin offering was purification—restoring an individual to ritual purity to allow that person to occupy sacred space, to be near God’s presence. Curiously, two goats taken “from the congregation” were needed for a single sin offering (v. 5) for the people. Elsewhere the sin offering involved only one animal (e.g., Lev 4:1-12). Why two goats?

The high priest would cast lots over the two goats, resulting in one being chosen for sacrifice “for the Lord.” The blood of that goat would purify the people. The second goat was not sacrificed and was not “for the Lord.” This goat, the one that symbolically carried the sins away from the camp of Israel into the wilderness, was “for Azazel” (ESV; vv. 8-10).

Who or what was Azazel?

The Hebrew term azazel occurs four times in Lev 16 but nowhere else in the Bible. Many translations prefer to translate the term as a phrase: “the goat that goes away” (the idea conveyed in the KJV’s “scapegoat”). Other translations treat the word as a name: Azazel. The former option is possible, but since the phrase “for Azazel” occurs in parallel to “for Yahweh” (“for the Lord”), the wording suggests that two divine figures are being contrasted by the two goats.

Two other considerations argue in favor of Azazel being a divine being—a demonic figure associated with the wilderness. First, Jewish texts of the Intertestamental period show that Azazel was understood as a demonic figure.2 The Mishnah (ca. 200 AD; Yoma 6:6) records that the goat for Azazel was led to a cliff and pushed over to kill it, ensuring it would not return. This association of the wilderness with evil is evident in the NT, as this was where Jesus met the devil (Mat 4:1). Second, in Lev 17:7 we learn that some Israelites had been accustomed to sacrificing offerings to “goat demons.” The Day of Atonement replaced this illegitimate practice.

It is important to note that this goat was not a sacrifice—it was not sent into the wilderness as an act of sacrifice to a foreign god or demon. Rather, the act of sending the live goat out into the wilderness—unholy ground—was to send the sins of the people where they belonged—the demonic domain. By contrasting purified access to the true God of the first goat with the goat sent to the domain of demons, the identity of the true God and his mercy and holiness was visually reinforced.

Longer Version: Yahweh and Azazel3

The Day of Atonement ritual provides a fascinating convergence of all the ideas discussed in the chapter: holiness, realm distinction, restoration, sacred and profane space, and Yahweh and his family versus the nations and their Elohim.

If you’ve at least flipped through Leviticus on your way to another book of the Bible, you may know that the Day of Atonement ritual is described in Leviticus 16. Part of that description goes like this:

7 Then [Aaron] shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. (Lev. 16:7-10; ESV)

Why is one of the goats “for Azazel”? Who or what is “Azazel”? Here’s where things get a little strange, unless you are acquainted with the cosmic geographical ideas we’ve discussed.

“Azazel” in Hebrew can be translated as “the goat that goes away.” This justifies the common “scapegoat” translation (NIV, NASB, KJV). The scapegoat, so the translator has it, symbolically carries the people's sins away from the camp of Israel into the wilderness. Seems simple enough.

However, “Azazel” could also be a proper name. In Lev. 16:8 one goat is “for Yahweh” while the other goat is “for Azazel.” Since Yahweh is a proper name and the goats are described in the same way, Hebrew parallelism suggests Azazel is also a proper name, which is why more recent translations, sensitive to the literary character of the Hebrew text, read “Azazel” and not “scapegoat” (ESV, NRSV, NJPS). So what’s the big deal?

The point of importance is that Azazel is the name of a demon in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient Jewish books. In fact, in one scroll (4Q 180, 1:8), Azazel is the leader of the angels that sinned in Genesis 6:1-4. The same description appears in the book of 1 Enoch (8:1; 9:6; 10:4–8; 13:1; 54:5–6; 55:4; 69:2). Recall that in Intertestamental Judaism, the offending sons of God from Genesis 6 were believed to have been imprisoned in a Pit or Abyss in the Netherworld. As we saw in Chapter 6, he apostle Peter uses the Greek term Tartarus for this place (2 Peter 2:4). Tartarus is translated “Hell” in some English versions, but the term actually refers to the lowest place in the Netherworld, which was conceived as being under the earth humans walk upon. In Greek thought, Tartarus was the prison for the divine giant Titans defeated by the Olympian gods. In Jewish theology, Azazel’s realm was somewhere out in the desert, outside the confines of holy ground. It was a place associated with supernatural evil.

Azazel is best taken as a proper name of a demonic entity. In the Day of Atonement ritual, the goat for Yahweh—the goat that was sacrificed—purifies the people of Israel and the Tabernacle/Temple. Sins were “atoned for” and what had been ritually unclean was sanctified and made holy. But purification only described part of what atonement meant. The point of the goat for Azazel was not that something was owed to the demonic realm, as though a ransom was being paid. The goat for Azazel banished the sins of the Israelites to the realm outside Israel. Why? Because the ground on which Yahweh had his dwelling was holy; the ground outside the parameters of the Israelite camp (or, nation, once the people were in the Land) had been consigned to fallen, demonic deities back at Babel. Sin could not be tolerated in the camp of Israel, for it was holy ground. Sins had to be “transported” to where evil belonged—the territory outside Israel under the control of gods set over the pagan nations. The high priest was not sacrificing to Azazel. Rather, Azazel was getting what belonged to him: the ugly sinfulness of the nation.

Taking Azazel as a proper name explains another weird statement in the very next chapter of Leviticus (17:7): “So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore” (ESV). The Day of Atonement ritual was part of the solution to the practice of some Israelites to sacrifice to “goat demons.” We are not told why they did this, but the period of bondage in Egypt may have introduced them to deities identified with goat sacrifices, or they conceptually thought the demons of the wilderness needed to be kept at bay while on the way to the Promised Land. The latter has an Egyptian flavor to it, since Egyptians considered territory outside Egypt to be full of perils and chaotic forces. For Israelites, such sacrifices were ineffective and could descend to idolatry. Restrictions and prohibitions had to be made with respect to sacrifice. All sacrifices needed to occur at the tent of meeting (Lev. 17:1-7), and the Day of Atonement ritual was the only sanctioned “expulsion of sins” ritual.

 [1] Jewish texts of this era spell the name “Azazel”, “Azael”, and “Asael”. The figure is cast as either a fallen angel or the serpent of Eden in texts like (1 Enoch 8:1; 9:6; 10:4–8; 13:1; cf. 54:5–6; 55:4; 69:2; Apoc. Abr. 13:6–14; 14:4–6).

1. A pre-edited version of the article, “There’s a Devil in the Details,” Bible Study Magazine 5:6 (Sept-Oct, 2013). ↩
2. Texts of this era spell the name “Azazel”, “Azael”, and “Asael”.  The figure is cast as either a fallen angel or the serpent of Eden. See 1 Enoch 8:1; 9:6; 10:4–8; 13:1; cf. 54:5–6; 55:4; 69:2; Apoc. Abr. 13:6–14; 14:4–6. ↩
3. Drawn from the first draft of my Myth That is True book. ↩

Aleister Crowley and the Enigmatic Occult Connection with Cannabis

 

By Shofarsound/End-Time Shofar 

Aleister Crowley, often called the "Great Beast" or "Wickedest Man in the World," was a complex and controversial figure in occultism and esotericism during the early 20th century. Known for his involvement in various mystical practices, including Thelema, Crowley's life and writings continue to captivate and mystify people today. Among the many aspects of his life, one intriguing element is his reported use of cannabis. In this blog post, we'll explore Crowley's relationship with cannabis and its role in his spiritual and mystical pursuits.

 

 

Before delving into the connection with cannabis, it's essential to understand who Aleister Crowley was. Born in 1875 in England, Crowley was a prolific writer, poet, occultist, and ceremonial magician. He founded the religious and philosophical movement known as Thelema, which centers on the idea that individuals should follow their true will to attain spiritual enlightenment and self-fulfillment. His writings, particularly "The Book of the Law," serve as the foundational texts for Thelema.

 

Cannabis and the Occult

 

Cannabis has a long history of use in various mystical and spiritual practices worldwide. From ancient Hindu rituals involving bhang to Rastafarian sacramental use of marijuana, the plant has been associated with altered states of consciousness and spiritual insight.

 

In Crowley's time, cannabis was not as widely discussed or understood as it is today. However, there are references in some of his writings that suggest he may have experimented with the substance. One notable example is his book "The Diary of a Drug Fiend," where he discusses the use of various drugs, including cannabis, in a quest for spiritual awakening.

Aleister Crowley was known for pursuing altered states of consciousness to connect with higher spiritual realms and explore the boundaries of human perception. While he employed various methods, such as meditation, ritual magic, and sexual practices, his experimentation with substances like cannabis was part of this quest.

 It's essential to note that Crowley's approach to mind-altering substances was not limited to recreational use. He saw them as tools for self-exploration and transcendence, believing that certain substances could facilitate spiritual experiences and insights. Cannabis, with its psychoactive properties, was one such substance that intrigued him.

 

Thelema and Cannabis

In Thelema, the use of mind-altering substances, including cannabis, is not explicitly mandated or prohibited. Instead, the emphasis is on the individual's ability to discern their path and follow their true will. Some Thelemites interpret this as a license to explore substances like cannabis as part of their spiritual practice, while others choose to abstain from such substances.

Crowley's 1907 Essay, The Psychology of Hashish-Marijuana Forbidden Drug in the Garden of Eden  

In his 1907 essay titled "The Psychology of Hashish," Aleister Crowley wrote about the mystical and psychological aspects of the use of hashish and cannabis. In one particularly intriguing passage, Crowley asserted that marijuana was prohibited or forbidden in the Garden of Eden. If not the Tree of Life, at least of that other Tree, double and sinister and deadly?”  In rhetorical response to Jehovah’s ancient taboos, the Beast wrote: “Nay! for I am of the Serpent’s party; Knowledge is good, be the price what it may.”

 

Drug Use and Magic in The Bible- Old Testament Septuagint

We heard of the  Greek word pharmakia, which means drugs and sorcery. However, another Greek word used in the Septuagint for drug-using magician is epano. Epano has a much broader meaning than pharmakos. Here are some scriptural references for epano being used to show drug-using magicians:

Exodus 7:11: pharmakos, epano, pharmakia

Exodus 7:22: epano, pharmakia

Exodus 8:7: epano, pharmakia

Exodus 8:18: epano, pharmakia

Exodus 8:19: epano

Daniel 1:20: epano

Daniel 2:10: epano

Daniel 2:27: epano

Daniel 4:7: epano

Daniel 4:9: epano

Daniel 5:11: epano

What Aleister Crowley taught and wrote was nothing new under the sun(Ecclesiastes 1:9). Crowley's satanic inspirations go back thousands of years, with the connection to drug use and sorcery/magic. The Bible predicts that in the End-Times, a massive Satanic revival and a revival of pharmakia(drug use/sorcery) would take place.

Superman: Sun-god and Antichrist Mark of the Beast 666- Part 1

 

By Shofarsound

Few are as iconic and universally recognized as Superman in the vast pantheon of superheroes. With his vibrant red cape billowing behind him as he soars through the sky, Superman has become a symbol of hope, justice, and invincibility. Yet, beneath the surface of this beloved character lies a fascinating connection to ancient mythologies—the notion of Superman as a modern incarnation of a sun god. Join us as we delve into this captivating interpretation that infuses the Man of Steel with an aura of celestial divinity.

 

Superman: The Embodiment of Solar Power:

 

Throughout history, various cultures have worshipped sun gods, attributing to their attributes of power, life-giving energy, and invincibility. In many ways, Superman embodies these qualities:

 

Solar Energy Absorption: Superman's power comes from Earth's yellow sun, granting him extraordinary abilities. This concept mirrors the idea of sun gods drawing strength from the sun's radiant energy.

 Life-Giving Force: In numerous mythologies, the sun is associated with the source of life on Earth. Superman, too, is portrayed as a protector and savior of humanity, shielding it from threats and ensuring its safety.

Ancient Parallels:

 

When examining Superman's characteristics and narrative, intriguing parallels emerge between the Man of Steel and various sun gods from mythology:

 

Apollo (Greek Mythology): Apollo, the Greek god of the sun, was renowned for his strength, healing abilities, and connection to prophecy. Similarly, Superman possesses incredible strength, has the power of self-healing, and is often portrayed as possessing a keen sense of justice.(1)

 

Ra (Egyptian Mythology): Ra, the Egyptian sun god, was associated with creation, life, and protection. Much like Ra, Superman's role in protecting Earth from threats aligns with this symbolism of guardianship. (2)

 

Huitzilopochtli (Aztec Mythology): Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec sun god, was revered as the deity who protected his people in times of conflict. Superman's role as Earth's protector draws parallels to this aspect of guardian deities. (3)

So, is the Man of Steel like Jesus Christ or a Sun God?

 Is Superman Really a Sun God?

In Superman: The Last God of Krypton by Walt Simonson, Greg Hildebrandt, and Tim Hildebrandt, published in 1999. A Kryptonian god named Cythonna(the villain) awakens to find Krypton destroyed and seeks out the last remaining member of its civilization. She discovers Superman on Earth and, after a display of his power, believes him to be a god-like her. The two later have an altercation when Cynthonna realizes Clark is mortal, only growing more outraged when he tells her he belongs to the House of El. Cythonna tells Clark that the Els are the descendants of her greatest enemy, Rao, the Kryptonian sun god. (Souce)

 

 While this look at Clark's celestial heritage came from an Elseworld story, it would help explain why Superman is as powerful as he is. Fans already know that the inhabitants of Krypton gain powers when exposed to yellow sun rays, as seen with Clark, Kara, and even Krypto. But the father of Clark's house is Rao, the most powerful figure in the Kryptonian pantheon. Rather than his biology, the Man of Steel's steadily increasing levels of power could be credited to his divine bloodline and bathing himself in the rays that Rao is connected to. Perhaps Superman's trip to the solar system wasn't a last-ditch effort to save him but a matter predetermined by the gods of Krypton. (Source)

 Famed comic book writer and Chaos Magician Grant Morrison had this eye-opening statement that Superman doesn’t represent Jesus Christ, but a mythical sun god. Morrison’s quote from an interview with Zach Smith in 2008, called Allstar Superman:” Superman is by no means a pacifist in the Christ sense. Superman would never turn the other cheek; Superman punches out the bully. Superman is a fighter. When did Christ ever batter the Devil through a mountain? A lot of the mythical sun god elements which are layered unto the Christ story also appear in the story of Superman.” (4)

 What is the Association Between The Sun, Sun Gods, and 666?

Within the mystery religion circles and the occult, esoteric knowledge, and teachings, the Sun and Sun gods have connections with the number 666, which in the Bible in the Book of Revelation is the Mark of the Beast(The Son of Perdition, The Beast, The Antichrist).  

In astrology, the sun is associated with the number 666. Some astrologers know that 666 is the summary number of the sun god. The sun itself traces a path through the sky, moving through the constellations, which the pagan astrologers count to 36. If you add all the numbers together between 1 and 36, you get 666. (Source)   

666 in Kabala is also associated with the sun. In Hebrew Kabbalah, the names of the Intelligence of the Sun and the Spirit of the Sun were designed to equal 111 and 666, respectively. (Source) 

The number six within Kabbalah is also considered the solar number, but the number of man, because man was created on the sixth day. 666 is looked at as the number of man raised by virtue of the Trinity( special note: Satanic Trinity The Dragon/Satan, Antichrist/ First Beast, and The False Prophet/Second Beast in Revelation 13) to the highest degree; as Revelation tells us that it not only the number of the Beast but also the number of a man. (Source) 

Notice how, within the pagan occult world, they turn the Bible upside down, calling evil good and good evil. Most people believe that Hollywood portrays Superman as a type of Jesus Christ figure, but in reality, Superman is more or less the Antichrist. We will explore more on this subject in a later blog post series. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Greek_Mythology/Gods/Apollo

2. https://www.worldhistory.org/Ra_(Egyptian_God)

3. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Huitzilopochtli

4.  All-Star Memories: The All-Star Superman Companion, The Grant Morrison Interview by Zach Smith. P.45      

https://partner.logosbible.com/click.track?CID=431490&AFID=562267

https://partner.logosbible.com/click.track?CID=431852&AFID=562267

https://partner.logosbible.com/click.track?CID=437858&AFID=562267

https://partner.logosbible.com/click.track?CID=432105&AFID=562267

  

Stunning Proportion of Americans Report 'Interacting With Dead Relatives'-Necromancy?

Article Source: CBN.com

A stunning proportion of Americans recently reported “interacting with dead relatives” through dreams and other means, according to new survey results from the Pew Research Center.

In fact, more than half — 53% – of Americans have had such interactions with deceased loved ones, with that proportion saying they’ve interacted with the individual in a dream or through “some other form.”

Parsing through that statistic a bit more, 46% of Americans reported the interaction happening in a dream, while 31% said it unfolded another way, Pew noted.

Some of the other metrics only add to the intrigue, as 34% said they’ve “felt the presence” of a deceased loved one, 28% have told this person about their lives, and 15% said they’ve had a deceased family member “communicate with them.”

And for anyone pondering the frequency of such encounters, 44% of Americans said they had at least one of the aforementioned experiences unfold over the past year.

The data does come with some caveats. Respondents weren’t asked for explanations that would shed further light on their self-reported interactions with deceased family members.

Thus, Pew noted there’s no way to tell whether respondents view these moments as “mysterious or supernatural, or whether they see them as having natural or scientific causes, or some of both.”

The differentiator here comes, for instance, from dreams versus more overt communication attempts. It’s one dynamic to have a dream about a favorite memory involving a dead family member; it’s another issue entirely to believe that a family member has tried to communicate in the temporal space.

It’s also important to note Pew found Americans with medium levels of religious adherence and commitment are more likely than those with low or high commitment to report feeling the presence of a deceased family member.

“People who are moderately religious seem to be more likely than other Americans to have these experiences,” Pew wrote in an analysis. “This is partly because some of the most traditionally religious groups — such as evangelical Protestants — as well as some of the least religious parts of the population — such as atheists and agnostics — are less likely to report having interactions with deceased family members.”

Just 34% of agnostics and 26% of atheists report being visited by or interacting with a dead loved one. Meanwhile, 42% of evangelical Protestants said the same. These proportions were much higher for historically Black protestants (67%) and Catholics (66%).

The polling results bring up an important reminder: attempts to communicate with the dead, known as necromancy, are precluded in the Bible. Leviticus 19:31 (NIV) reads, “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.”

It’s unclear if these practices led to any Americans’ responses in this survey, but considering the subject matter, the topic is certainly important to consider.

Pew collected the survey results from March 27 through April 2, 2023, among 5,079 U.S. adults. 

 

Satan is The GOAT: Satan is The Greatest Opponent Against Truth!

 

Here are some excerpts from our podcast on 8/17/23 entitled Satan is The GOAT: Satan is The Greatest Opponent Against Truth! Spirit of the Goat: Baphomet, Azazel, and Pan:

H.P. Blavatsky The Secret Doctrine: Baphomet, Azazel, and Pan

  

In The Secret Doctrine P. 406, Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky writes a footnote comparing Baphomet to the Azazel:

In Demonology, Satan is the leader of the opposition in Hell, the monarch of which was Beelzebub. He belongs to the fifth kind or class of Demons (of which there are nine according to the medieval Demonology), and he is at the head of witches and sorcerers. But see elsewhere the true meaning of Baphomet, the goat-headed Satan, one with Azazel, the scape-goat of Israel. Nature is the God Pan

 

 Leviticus 17:7, “ They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.”

 

Se’irim-Hebrew word (singular: se’ir) are goat-shaped Semitic spirits. Their name derives from sai’ir meaning “hairy” or “shaggy goat.” In Leviticus 17:7, the Children of Israel are forbidden to sacrifice to them.

 

Baphomet: The Union of Babylon and The Beast  

On a biological level, Baphomet represents all life:

The scales of a fish and reptile.

The body of a man and woman(representing both sexes as hermaphrodites).

The wings of bird.

And the head of a beast.

Source: The Pagan Book of Wisdom and Knowledge: Baphomet Lodge P. 9, Jonathan Ludd 

 

Baphomet is the Union of Babylon and the Beast.

The “Sat” and “Tan” become one, thus becoming Satan.

Source: The Pagan Book of Wisdom and Knowledge: Baphomet Lodge P. 9, Jonathan Ludd 

Goat Azazel in Leviticus 16

The word “Azazel” in the Hebrew text can be translated “the goat that goes away.” This is the justification for the common “scapegoat” translation (NIV, NASB, KJV). The scapegoat, so the translator has it, symbolically carries the sins of the people away from the camp of Israel into the wilderness. Seems simple enough.

However, “Azazel” could also be a proper name. In Lev. 16:8 one goat is “for Yahweh” while the other goat is “for Azazel.” Since Yahweh is a proper name and the goats are described in the same way, Hebrew parallelism suggests Azazel is also a proper name, which is why more recent translations, sensitive to the literary character of the Hebrew text, read “Azazel” and not “scapegoat” (ESV, NRSV, NJPS). So what’s the big deal?

 

In the Day of Atonement ritual, the goat for Yahweh—the goat that was sacrificed—purifies the people of Israel and the Tabernacle/Temple. Sins were “atoned for” and what had been ritually unclean was sanctified and made holy. But purification only described part of what atonement meant. The point of the goat for Azazel was not that something was owed to the demonic realm, as though a ransom was being paid. The goat for Azazel banished the sins of the Israelites to the realm outside Israel. Why? Because the ground on which Yahweh had his dwelling was holy; the ground outside the parameters of the Israelite camp (or, nation, once the people were in the Land) had been consigned to fallen, demonic deities back at Babel. Sin could not be tolerated in the camp of Israel, for it was holy ground. Sins had to be “transported” to where evil belonged—the territory outside Israel under the control of gods set over the pagan nations. The high priest was not sacrificing to Azazel. Rather, Azazel was getting what belonged to him: the ugly sinfulness of the nation.

Source: The Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16: A Goat for Azazel, By Dr. Michael Heiser

The Goat god Pan and The Gates of Hell

To the pagan mind, the cave at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld, where fertility gods lived during the winter. They committed detestable acts to worship these false gods.

Caesarea Philippi's location was especially unique because it stood at the base of a cliff where spring water flowed. At one time, the water ran directly from the mouth of a cave set in the bottom of the cliff.

The pagans of Jesus' day commonly believed that their fertility gods lived in the underworld during the winter and returned to earth each spring. They saw water as a symbol of the underworld and thought that their gods traveled to and from that world through caves.

To the pagan mind, then, the cave and spring water at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld. They believed that their city was literally at the gates of the underworld the gates of hell. In order to entice the return of their god, Pan, each year, the people of Caesarea Philippi engaged in horrible deeds, including prostitution and sexual interaction between humans and goats.

Source: https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/gates-of-hell-article

 

All Goats Are Going to Hell

Matthew 25:31-34, 31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

 

Matthew 25:41, 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Celebrities: Shamanism Ayahuasca and Pharamakeia and Sorcery

Ayahuasca, a powerful plant medicine derived from the Amazon rainforest, has gained attention recently for its potential to facilitate transformative and healing experiences. Central to the traditional use of ayahuasca is the practice of shamanism, an ancient spiritual and healing tradition found in indigenous cultures worldwide. This blog post will explore the fascinating world of ayahuasca and shamanism, exploring their origins and rituals. Celebrities such as actress Megan Fox and her boyfriend, music artist Machine Gun Kelley, NFL all-pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Academy Award-winning actor Will Smith, social media personality/influencer Jake Paul, and podcast host/commentator Joe Rogan all have been the major psychedelic drugs prophetic voices on the use of ayahuasca.     

 Understanding Ayahuasca:

 

Ayahuasca, also known as "the vine of the soul," is a sacred brew prepared by combining the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with leaves from the Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana plants. The brew contains a potent psychoactive compound called DMT (dimethyltryptamine), which induces powerful visions and altered states of consciousness when consumed under the guidance of experienced practitioners.

 

Shamanism and Ayahuasca Ceremonies:

 

Shamanism, a spiritual practice dating back thousands of years, encompasses various indigenous traditions. Shamans, spiritual leaders or healers, facilitate connections between the physical and spiritual realms(demonic realm), serving as intermediaries to access wisdom, healing, and guidance. Ayahuasca ceremonies, guided by shamans, are central to the tribal use of a medicine man/witch doctor. These ceremonies involve consuming ayahuasca in a carefully prepared and controlled environment, often accompanied by ceremonial songs, chants, and other ritualistic practices.

 

Testimony From Ex-Shaman on the Real Spiritual Realities That Ayahuasca Use is Demonic

 

Despite the leading ayahuasca/psychedelic drug celebrity prophetic voices out there, such as Joe Rogan, Aaron Rogers, Will Smith, and Jake Paul, among others, giving positive views and opinions on the use of ayahuasca, it has a demonic component to it, and it promotes what the Bible states as pharmakeia(sorcery). We look at an article done by Mission Padamo Aviation that gives an account/testimony of Chief Shoefoot, who was once a feared shaman in Amazonas, Venezuela. Chief Shoefoot, eventually came to faith in Jesus Christ, renounced his occult practices, and was delivered from the demonic forces that once enslaved him. Here is Chief Shoefoot's interview/testimony that he did with Mission Padamo Aviation, which debunks the star-studded celebrities that push a satanic agenda on the use of psychedelic drugs:

    Bautista, what was your life like before you came to Christ?

 

“I was in bondage to Satan and his demons. I had so many evil spirits living within me that I was in total darkness filled with hate for everyone. I was a Shaman healer of my people but my demonic Spirits were at their happiest when through my spells we were trying to kill someone. They would scream with joy when ever I would abuse or rape some woman. The darkness that I wondered in, there was no way out for me. Even my own people began to fear me and would only whisper my name. Then God sent your father (Joe Dawson) to my village and he presented Christ to me and Jesus gloriously set me free.”

How did Jesus change you?

 

“All the things of my old life became filthy to me, the drugs that I took, the bone drinking orgies of my people, the dances, the spirit songs, even my precious tobacco became filthy to me and I began to abhor all the things of my culture that had been introduced to my people by Satan himself. The verse that has become my life’s verse where God specifically tells us what to do is found in 2nd Corinthians 6:17. This verse says this: Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. Verse 18 then tells us if we obey God, and do what he told us, then he says. ‘And I will be a father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.’”

 

Bautista, I have heard other people even other missionaries say that you have only changed because my dad gave you coffee to drink, gave you clothes and other things that you and your people so desperately needed. How do you answer them?

 

“First off, I just say ‘shädayai’ (Oh me oh my)! They do not know what they are talking about at all. Your dad told me about Jesus Christ one day when I was naked and in a drug induced stupor sitting on a log your mother and father set down beside me one on either side. I stunk because I had vomited all over myself, but these two beautiful clean people put their arms around me and your father told me that he two had been in bondage that he too had been filthy with sin but that he had cried out to Jesus, God’s son, to set him free. That day he told me the truth about the God; that we all feared the God who terrifies Satan and his demons. Even I had been terrified of him in the Spirit world. He told me how this God creator of everything loved me so much that he sent his son to this earth to become a person and to take the punishment of my sin and that he died in my place. That he rose again and was waiting for me to cry out to him and that he would set me free and that he would cleanse me. But not only that but, wonder of wonder, he would drive out the demonic forces from me and set me free from their power.”

 

“I staggered away from that encounter with your parents and went off into the jungles by myself. I found this huge log that had been blown over by the wind and I sat down and began to talk to God. ‘God I know you from a far, my demons fear you. God you see me and you know how filthy I am. You know the hate and anger in my heart. You know that I am completely controlled by the demons, even now they are clamoring for me to stop talking to you, making so much noise that I can hardly think. Oh God if you can please set me free.’ I looked up and for the first time I saw Satan himself come running through the jungles towards me he grabbed my arms and began to chant the old demonic chants and began to make me dance. Once again I cried out, ‘Jesus if you can set me free I want you oh set me free.’ There was a blinding flash of light between me and Satan I felt some one grab me away and a voice of total authority say, ‘Leave him alone and never come back he is mine now.’ That day Satan and his demons left and have never come back.”

 

“So for those who think I am a Christian just because your father loved to share with the Yanomamö just don’t get the fact that Joe and Millie Dawson shared the greatest gift of all with us Yanomamö and that is Jesus Christ the Son of God. Once again I say to Pepiwä and Milimi (Joe and Millie Dawson) thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing the gospel with me.”

 

Bautista, since you were saved what are some of the things that God has allowed you to do to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ?

 

“The first thing has to be the privilege that he gave me the job of working with my dear friends Joe and Millie in the translation of the New Testament into our language. The word of God in our own tongue has blessed and continues to bless many many Yanomamö. Even though we are old now Millie and I continue to work on getting the Old Testament completed, and I thank God for raising you up to continue and to finish where we will leave off. He has also given me the privilege to share the Gospel all over this jungle and even allowed me, an old ex-shaman, ex-devil worshiper the joy and the honor to go as a missionary to your father’s country many times. I was able to talk about Jesus Christ, the son of God, in many many universities all over that beautiful country. And guess what, I found out that the demonic forces are there also and that your dear people are being blinded by them also. Many many of them are also in darkness and do not realize the very one they curse every day is the only one that can truly give them peace of mind. I saw a beautiful great country with beautiful people being sucked into the darkness that we have come out of. A people who knew and many still know the truth but prefer to swallow Satan’s lies, and refuse to stand on the facts of the word of God. I always wanted to make one more trip to that country but it never worked out for me to go again. I have many fond memories though.”

 

Bautista, you now are one of the oldest living Yanomamö. What is it that you want most for your tribe?

 

“I want my people as a whole to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I want God’s word to become the new foundation of our culture. This will offend some people even some missionaries but there is nothing good in our old culture. It is a culture based on self, a culture saturated by Satan and his demons. I want it all to be changed for a culture based on God’s word. The Bible is so clear, it says that if we are in Christ we become a new creature; old things are past away and all things have become new. How can any one claim to know God and his word and then want the Yanomamö to hold on to an evil demonic culture. To me this is just plain stupidity. My people need Jesus Christ and they need his cleansing power and they need to be changed by the power of his word. If you do not believe that then don’t come to my people because we are looking for a new and better way.”

 

Bautista I have heard a lot of missionaries say that the Yanomamö are different, that they are not easily changed and that they have not readily accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Why is this so and what is the answer?

 

“The Yanomamö people have a culture that is based on a lie. Their hero and the one they want to emulate is Satan. God says he was a liar from the beginning. So because our culture is based on a lie and the father of lies we can only come to the gospel by truth. That truth is the word of God. I am frustrated by the very missionaries that have come to our people, especially those that came after the first group of missionaries. Here is why. They come in telling us all that we had been taught was wrong and they are going to teach us right. The next thing I know they are telling my people how good our culture is and that we don’t need to change. I was shocked by what they were teaching. Colossians, the third chapter, talks about the change that we need to experience. It names all of the sins that so dominated my old life, but here they are those who are supposed to be God’s sent ones telling me that our way of life was fine. I am thinking to myself “what arrogance, for those who do not know the bondage that I was in to try and tell me that my old Satanic life was ok.” Maybe they did not mean it that way but the Yanomamö heard it that way and so many of them falsely professed Christ while holding on to a destructive demonic way of life. Missionaries argued with me about our old dances, completely Satanic, trying to tell me they meant nothing. They argued with me about tobacco because I said it was no good for the believer. I still believe that. In our old stories Satan is the first one to use tobacco and we Yanomamö copied him. Why would I still want to hold on to something that was given to my people by Satan, it just doesn’t make sense. No wonder the gospel floundered every where. They denied the very power of God to set us free from bondage and to make us NEW CREATURES in Christ. This topic just makes my old blood boil because I wonder how many Yanomamö could have and would have been saved had they been shown clearly that the old way is done away with by the new and better way in Jesus Christ.”

 

I stopped here for a bit as I really had the old chief worked up. Wow what a lesson to me to just continue to preach the simplicity of the gospel and let God change their hearts.

 

Interview continued:

 

Bautista my last question really got a rise out of you and I understand where you are coming from, but in defense of the missionaries, I believe their desire is to see the Yanomamö come to Christ but they, maybe in ignorance, went about it wrong.

 

“Gary that is where I disagree with you, many of us leaders had too many discussions with them to believe they were talking in ignorance. When I traveled your country and spoke in many, many universities, the foremost question was why I couldn’t be a Christian and still hold on to my old culture. When I would tell it like it is, the university students always seemed to get it. I believe that the missionaries, because of pressure from the world, wanted to be able to claim that they were not changing culture. I believe that in their own minds they convinced themselves that they were right because they themselves were holding on to so much of their old way of life. They forgot that the Bible says that if you are in Christ your are a new creature. You can not hold on to a culture saturated by Satan and his demons and claim that you know Jesus Christ.”

 

“If those of you who are reading this are preparing for service as a missionary, be sure that you have your sights based on the Word of God. If you are only concerned about learning and preserving another culture we do not need you. We want people who will stand up for the Word of God and be proud of the change that He brings. I was lost and undone without God or His Son until He came and reached way, way down into the pit of despair that I was in; cleansed me, set me up on high ground and gave me a position in heaven. Yes, I am a changed man by the power of what Jesus did for me on the cross. Yes, my culture is being changed and new foundations are being laid, the foundation of the word of God and the power of the resurrected Lord.”

 

Bautista, if you could talk to pastors again in the USA what would be your words to them?

 

“Stand up like men, stop compromising the Word of God. Stop worrying about offending the world. The world hated Jesus and if you are doing your job the way God wants you to do it, the world is going to hate you too. Be kind and gentle but firm on the principles of the Word of God. Let your congregation see Jesus in you but never, never water down the gospel and it’s saving power just to make it appealing. Remember you are just the mouth piece; it is God and God alone who can save a lost soul.”

 

Thank you Bautista for sitting here with me and allowing me to put your words on my computer so that many can read your words of wisdom.

 

January, 2014