Leviticus 18:24-30 – See the note below.
24 "'Do not defile [2930- “to become unclean, to become impure, to pollute”] yourselves in any of these ways [see the previous verses for what “these ways” are], because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled [2930].
25 Even the land was defiled [2930]; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out [6958- “to vomit up, to spue out (expel or eject from the mouth, to flow or let out in large amounts)”] its inhabitants.
26 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,
27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled [2930].
28 And if you defile [2930] the land, it will vomit you out [6958] as it vomited out [6958] the nations that were before you.
29 "'Everyone who does any of these detestable things — such persons must be cut off [3772- “to cut down, to cut off a body part, to eliminate”] from their people. [See Isaiah 48:8-11 below, and the Bible study Cut Off for much more.]
30 Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile [2930] yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.'"
NIV
The Lord warned the Israelites that in the land of their inheritance, the place being given to them, that they should not practice the ways/customs of the previous tenants whom He drove out because of their detestable practices (see Leviticus 20 below). The whole chapter, beforehand, describes their immoral sexual practices. It was because of this that they, and the land, became defiled.
While encamped at Shittim, the last encampment before crossing over into the Promised Land, the devil incited the Moabite women to seduce Israel’s men to commit sexual immorality with them (see The Scourging Of Shittim Bible study; it’s also in Book 5, The Final Healing);
“While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger burned against them. The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord's fierce anger may turn away from Israel.’ So Moses said to Israel's judges, ‘Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor.’”
(Numbers 25:1-5/NIV)
Moses was commanded by God to kill and expose the leaders of His people in broad daylight who were involved with this, so all could see. It’s as if the Lord was saying, “Because you did this openly before Me, I will now do this openly, in broad daylight, exposing you before everyone else.” I’m sure this placed the fear of the Lord in their hearts for future reference. When the body of Christ stands at the doorway to entering into our eternal inheritance in Christ, at the “opening” so to speak, we are being reminded that we too are not beyond God’s judgment if indulging in sin with no desire for repentance. It’s a somber warning to today’s church leaders to not lead their people in false teachings and “sensual” worship lest they too are exposed in front of everyone and killed by God (see the Bible study Perpetual Priesthood).
In Revelation 18:1-5, the Lord warns His people to come out of Babylon, the spiritual whore that has joined together with demons, so that they will not be partakers of her sins and then receive of her plagues of death, mourning, and famine that will be poured out on her (Revelation 18:8). The amount of torment and mourning she will receive will be according to the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, or luxuriously (Revelation 18:7).
Baal of Peor, which means “lord of the opening,” was the name of a false god of the Moabites (Numbers 25:3; 31:16; Joshua 22:17), worshipped by obscene rites. I see the practicing of this idolatrous worship by a Christian as an open door for the enemy in our lives. Because of its effectiveness, this is why the devil is bombarding us with the same spirit of sensuality at the end of this age. Understanding what happened to those of God’s children who wholeheartedly joined in this immoral practice, giving themselves over to its power, “let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1) We must quickly repent and turn away from that which so easily entangles us before it’s too late and we receive their judgment. Lord, in mercy help us!
In Revelation 2:12-16 we read of the judgment of God on those who hold to “the teaching of Balaam.” In the Bible study Perpetual Priesthood, I wrote the following;
In the Lord’s rebuke of the Christian’s in Pergamum [Revelation 2:12-16], He begins by commending them for holding fast His name, not denying His faith. One of the things He had against them, though, was that some held to “the teaching of Balaam” who put a stumbling block (see Matthew 13:41 below) before the sons of Israel, causing them to fall away from devotion to Him. His teaching included eating things sacrificed to idols, which is to participate in idolatry/idol worship (Numbers 25:1-3 and 1 Corinthians 10:16-22), and to commit acts of immorality. His teaching is alive and well today in the church. It’s a doctrine that says, after turning to Christ by “receiving the knowledge of the truth,” that even when you continue to sin willfully without repentance, you’ll still retain your right to the inheritance in Christ (i.e. eternal life). This is where we began our study, when Phinehas rose up in the zeal of the Lord and physically stopped the irreverent trampling under of God’s word and His honor [Numbers 25:6-9].
In Numbers, chapter thirty-one, the Lord told Moses to take full vengeance on the Midianites for what they did in the matter of Peor. Israel then made war against them and killed every male, as well as the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam, the son of Beor, with the sword.
When Moses found out that they did not kill the women he became angry and said to them;
“Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the Lord.” (Numbers 31:16/NASU)
Moses then told them to kill all the women who were not virgins, along with every male child.
In Revelation, chapter two, “The One who has the sharp two-edged sword” declared that He was going to make war against those in the congregation of the church in Pergamum who held to Balaam’s teaching (doctrine) with “the sword of My mouth.” I believe this is His word of judgment coming through the mouth of His prophets…
In Jesus’ word to the church in Thyatira [Revelation 2:24-29], He begins by letting them know that He knows of their works, love, faith, service, and perseverance, and that their works of late were greater than at first, but He had something against them; “that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.” (Rev. 2:20) This “woman Jezebel” has the same teaching as Balaam. It’s obviously a very effective doctrine of demons against the church.
Jesus warns us to hold fast to what we have until He returns. If we keep His deeds (works) until the end we will be given His authority over the nations, as well as “the morning star.” (See the Bible study Satan’s Fall for more on this.)
A Polluted Land
One of the definitions for “defiled” is “to pollute.” In His final instructions for the Israelites regarding their behavior once in the Promised Land, the Lord said to Moses;
“Do not pollute [2610- “to soil, to be profaned, to be defiled, to corrupt”] the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes [2610] the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do not defile [2930] the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.”
(Numbers 35:33-34/NIV)
In the New Testament, Jude speaks of men who secretly slipped in among the church, “They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord [i.e. lordship].” He goes on to say;
“Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed [622- “to destroy utterly, to lose utterly, kill”; see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 below] those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home — these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion [in Lev. 18, these immoral sins were the reason for the Israelites becoming defiled]. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. In the very same way, these dreamers pollute [3392- “to stain, to tinge or dye with another color; to pollute, contaminate, soil, defile”] their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings.”
(Jude 5-8/NIV)
The warning from the Lord for Christians is to not do as the angels did, abandoning their “home” with the Lord, but rebelled against Him and are now “kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.” We, the church, are not to be like Sodom and Gomorrah who gave themselves up to immoral sexual practices, polluting their own bodies, thereby suffering the punishment of “eternal fire.” This flies directly in the face of those who foolishly hold on to, and propagate even further their false teaching of “once saved, always saved.” The context of the whole book of Jude testifies against that. That doctrine actually creates the exact opposite among those who fall away from Christ with a false sense of security (i.e. eternal insecurity).
Part of the definition of the Greek word for “pollute” is “to stain, to tinge or dye with another color.” The Bible tells us that the Lord is returning for a bride without stain or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27). This is why we must separate from all that defiles before the Lord’s return. His delay is His mercy, giving His people time to come out and be separate so as not to participate in the world’s pagan practices, thereby receiving their judgment (Revelation 18:4-5).
Peter refers to these stains in the body of Christ as those who have left the “straight way,” the pure and undefiled way of the Lord (Matthew 7:13-14), wandering off instead for the “wages of wickedness.” They are those;
“…who follow the corrupt [3394- “the act of defiling (the process), defilement, pollution”] desire of the sinful nature and despise authority [in particular God’s!]. Bold [5113- “shameless and irreverent daring”] and arrogant [829- “self-pleasing, self-willed, one dominated by self-interest, arrogant], these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute [249- “irrational, unreasonable”] beasts, creatures of instinct [5446- “governed by natural instincts”], born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight [like the Israelites at Shittim; see Numbers 25:1-13]. They are blots [4696- “a spot, stain, or blemish; fig. a moral blemish”] and blemishes [3470- “a blemish, blot, a shame, a moral disgrace”], reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed — an accursed brood [KJV- “cursed children”]! They have left the straight [2117- “straight, level, upright, true”] way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.”
(2 Peter 2:10-15/NIV; see these verses below for more insights. Also see the Bible study Noah; A Sign Of The End for more on the stain free, unblemished, “blameless” body of Christ that will enter the ark of His deliverance at the end of this age.)
James said;
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted [784- “unblemished, spotless, unstained”] by the world.”
(James 1:26/NIV)
Any other walk with the Lord is unacceptable and must be repented of, before it’s too late, as pictured by the foolish virgins who heard but did not do (Matthew 25:1-13).
I write these things knowing my own weaknesses, understanding all too well why we need to encourage each other to “fight the good fight” and stand firm as we see the day of the Lord quickly approaching. The writer of Hebrews does this in his book, saying;
“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly [2722- “keep secure, detain, retain, to possess”] till the end the confidence [5287- “a setting or placing under, substructure, foundation, steadiness of mind”] we had at first.”
(Hebrews 3:12-14/NIV)
The text makes it clear that the subjects of this exhortation to not turn away from the Lord are “brothers” in Christ. You cannot turn away from Him unless you have already turned toward Him.
The writer also makes it clear that in order to continue sharing in, or being a partaker of Christ after turning to Him, we must “hold firmly till the end” of our race our willing submission to be under His lordship that we possessed at the beginning of our conversion. As Paul taught, it’s only when we finish the race in Him that we will receive His prize of eternal life (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). Be encouraged then, “brothers,” and stand firm knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of trials so as to be weaned from this world and made ready to enter the presence of our King.
It’s interesting to note that the Greek word interpreted as “confidence” in this passage is hupostasis (hoop-os'-tas-is). Per Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, it literally means “a standing under (hupo, “under,” stasis, “a standing”); that which stands, or is set, under, a foundation, beginning; hence, the quality of confidence which leads one to stand under, endure, or undertake anything (2 Cor. 9:4; 11:17; Hebrews 3:14. Twice in Hebrews it signifies “substance,” 1:3 (KJV, “Person”) and 11:1.”
This is from Prophecy At Evangel:
“Undergirding foundation” – A strong, steadfast confidence in the Lord, under His lordship over you. It is a sure, secure foundation in the Lord that was built upon the “rock” (i.e. Jesus Christ; 1 Corinthians 10:4) through continued obedience to His commands (see Luke 6:46-49 right below, and the Bible study Who Do You Say That I Am).
“undergird(ing)” – To make secure; to form the basis or foundation of; to support something by forming a strong base for it; to provide with a sound or secure basis; to strengthen or support; provide supportive evidence for.
Luke 6:46-49 – See the note below.
46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord [2962- “owner, master, lord, dominion power”],' and do not do what I say? [This is THE question all who call themselves a Christian must answer.]
47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.
48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep [900- “to deepen, make deep, went deep”] and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck [4066- “to break against, break by dashing against, beat vehemently (in a forceful, intense manner)”] that house but could not shake [4531- “to waver, to agitate, to cast down from one’s (secure and happy) state”] it, because it was well built.
49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed [4844a- “to fall”] and its destruction [4485- “something torn, a fragment; a fracture, breach, cleft”] was complete."
NIV
Jesus teaches about lordship in this parable (i.e. doing what He says; v.46). By doing what He says, putting His commands into practice (as He said in Leviticus), our foundation in Him becomes strong, able to withstand the storms in life, in particular the final “torrent” at the end of this age that will test the quality of every Christian’s foundation.
A torrent is “a violent rushing stream of water or other fluid; a stream suddenly raised and running rapidly, as down a precipice; a violent or rapid stream.” Only that which has been built upon obedience to the Lord, putting into practice His words, are those who “dug/went deep” in Him and will possess a secure foundation that will be able to withstand the “violent, rapid stream” of the Lord’s judgment at the end of this age. Otherwise, it will collapse, falling in the final shaking on earth by the Lord (see the Bible study Shaking). This is the great apostasy, the falling away from Christ that Paul prophesied would occur right before His return (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).
Leviticus 20:22-26 – See the note below.
22 "'Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out [6958].
23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred [6973- “to be grieved, to feel a sickening dread”] them.
24 But I said to you, "You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart [914- “to divide, to separate, set apart from, to make a distinction”] from the nations [5971- “people, relative”].
25 "'You must therefore make a distinction [914] between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile [8262- “to be filthy, i.e. (intensively) to loathe, pollute”]; to make detestable”] yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground — those which I have set apart [914] as unclean for you.
26 You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart [914] from the nations to be my own.
NIV
This reinforces what the Lord declared in Leviticus 18:24-30 above. The keeping of God’s decrees and laws, doing what He said, was crucial for the Israelites remaining in the land He was giving them. They were not to live according to the same customs of the people groups that He just drove out. As it was for them, it’s essential that we, as His people who have been set apart for Him (i.e. sanctified), to “make a distinction” between that which the Lord considers as being clean and unclean.
Paul, in his second letter to the church in Corinth, exhorts them by saying something similar;
“Do not be bound together [2218- “a yoke, serving to couple two things together”] with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.’ Therefore, ‘COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,’ says the Lord. ‘AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement [3436- “a stain, a soiling, defilement; fig. immorality”] of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
(2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1/NASU; see the Bible study Touching The Unclean)
Isaiah 48:8-11 – Through Isaiah, the Lord declared to His unfaithful people that had been rebellious against Him since their birth, that it was for the sake of His name that He was delaying His wrath, “in order not to cut you off.” I believe that it’s because of this very thing that He now delays His wrath against the United States. He is giving those of His who are called by His name (i.e. Christians) time to repent in order not to cut off His unfaithful children from His body when He pours out His wrath on this nation (see the Bible studies Cut Off, Wholly Illumined No Dark Part, and Profaning The Covenant).
8 "You have not heard, you have not known. Even from long ago your ear has not been open, because I knew that you would deal very treacherously [901- “treacherous (i.e. faithless, unfaithful), deceitful”]; and you have been called a rebel [6586- “to rebel, to transgress, to revolt; i.e. apostatize)”] from birth.
9 "For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, and for My praise I restrain it for you, in order not to cut you off [3772].
10 "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned [2490- “to defile, to pollute, to desecrate”]? And My glory I will not give to another.
NASU
(See part 2, "Defiling The Temple Of Christ' Body")
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