I’m calling this series of messages BlackOut and basing it on a scripture in Isaiah chapter 60 verse 2 which says: “Behold, darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you”. The scripture describes a darkness over the earth and a thick darkness upon its inhabitants. However, in the midst of great darkness we have the promise that the glory of God will be seen upon us.
What I am hoping to do through this series of messages is to help give you a framework for understanding our times in light of the word of God. It’s a view that has helped me navigate some complex topics throughout the years up to the present. Deception has become so widespread that it affects all of us today. It’s what compels me to do this series of messages because this series of messages titled “Blackout” is about deception. In a world of confusion, distortion of facts, extremism and outright falsehood the church is supposed to be a place of sound truth. Paul in I Timothy chapter 3 verse 15 called the church “a pillar and foundation of the truth”.
We ended the last lesson talking about the false gospel of Pharisaical legalism. In Galatians, Paul was dealing with outward conformity to a legalistic system bringing people under bondage and rejecting the gospel. The author of Hebrews talks about this same subject. The book of Hebrews main audience was Jews still living under the law. It was written in 63 AD which was 7 years before the second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans.
The author of Hebrews says in 10:29 that when we turn back to the law of Moses or any other system seeking to be justified, then we are: trampling “underfoot the Son of God.” rejecting “the blood of the covenant by which” we have been sanctified and we are outraging “the Spirit of grace.”
It’s what Jesus called blaspheming the Holy Spirit in Luke 12:10. It is the Holy Spirit who points us to the blood of the cross as the only means of our redemption, our only mediator and if we reject the blood of the covenant, it has eternal consequences. Our freedom from sin and death is only found in the tree of the cross. The Holy Spirit is always pointing us to Christ who has come in the flesh to redeem, restore and reconcile us back to God the Father.
If we turn to the law of Moses to be justified, or any other man made system then we are building back the walls of separation. Paul was addressing narcissistic wolves who had set themselves up as the new mediators between God and man; turning the Galatians from the crucified and risen Christ to a rule-based religion centered on submitting to them. Paul called it a false gospel of legalism.
Confronting Gnosticism: Paul's Battle in Colossians
It’s in the book of Colossians that Paul addressed another form of legalism based on Jewish Gnosticism. Colossians is the companion epistle to Ephesians even as Romans is to Galatians. It was written in the same period and sent by the same messenger Tychius. The central theme of Colossians is Paul unveiling the mystery of Christ, while that of Ephesians is Paul unveiling the mystery of the church.
The legalism Paul is confronting in the book of Colossians is much more elusive, mystical, equally exclusive and harmful. In Colossians Paul is dealing with a specific type of Jewish Gnosticism. Paul seemed to be addressing something similar in Titus 1:14 when he wrote about those who devote: themselves to “Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.” It’s the same thing he warned Timothy about who was overseeing the church in Ephesus.
It was a form of spiritualism that was very mystical, espousing enlightened ideas of hidden gnosis and wisdom. The group that Paul was addressing had set themselves up as enlightened mediators to the spiritual world. The mystical spiritualism that Paul was confronting were those who went into great detail about the spirit world, giving great attention to angels and mystical visions.
It seemed to promote extreme dedication to the Jewish calendar making it into a mystical time clock that you could use to discern the times. It used the Jewish calendar much in the same way astrologists use the calendar to determine your destiny. Everything was a hidden mystery that only the initiated understood and everyone else was living in darkness without this hidden gnosis, but if you would submit to them, you too could become an elite spiritual warrior.
The Perils of Strict Spiritual Ritualism
Paul in Colossians was confronting a false spirituality that put a strong emphasis on a strict adherence to spiritual ritualism. It was a rigorous form of abstinence which is based on the belief that by rejecting the desires of the flesh and trying to control them through religious ritualism you can bring yourself into a higher spiritual state.
Paul seems to be addressing a very similar mindset in 1 Timothy 4:1 - 3 when he says: “the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” It’s the only place Paul uses the actual term ‘teaching of demons’ or some translations say ‘doctrine of demons’.
Let’s look at this text in Colossians and see what Paul was saying to the church in Colossae and how we can apply that to us today. In Colossians 2:8 Paul starts describing this false spiritualism based around mystical legalism warning them to let: “no one take you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (emphasis mine).”
Paul talks about this philosophy in 1 Timothy 6:20 - 21 telling Timothy to: “avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge.” Yes, knowledge in this text that is the Greek word gnosis. Paul goes on to say “for by professing it some have swerved from the faith.” The word deceive is the Greek word planao and means to wander. Deception causes you to swerve and wander away from sound doctrine into the ditch of extremism.
In regard to empty deceit Paul said it this way in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 6 to: “let no one deceive you with empty words.” The empty or useless words that will not profit your spiritual growth in Christ is what Paul called human tradition based on ‘elemental spirits’ of the world.
Deciphering the Meaning of 'Stoicheion' in Biblical Texts
Let’s see if we can figure out what Paul is wanting us to understand about the ‘elemental spirits’ of the world. You will see that some translations call it ‘elemental principles’. In the Greek there is just one word, stoicheion which is sometimes translated ‘elemental spirits’ in Colossians. In Galatians it’s translated as ‘elemental principles’. In the book of Hebrews, it’s translated as ‘first principles’. The Greek word stoicheion is used in Hebrews 5:12 when the author says: “by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.”
The ‘basic principles’ or some translations call them ‘first principles’ are the A,B,C’s of our faith. We know that because he goes right into describing what he is talking about. Hebrews 6:1 - 2 says: “not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and doctrine of baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. It’s what I teach in the first section of the Foundation Publications School of Discipleship. You can find that at www.FoundaitonPub.org lessons 1 thru 22.
Peter also used this word in his second epistle when describing the second coming of Christ in fiery judgment. 2 Peter 3:9 - 10 Peter says: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed (Emphasis mine).”
In other translations ‘heavenly bodies’ is translated ‘elements’ the same Greek word stoicheion. Peter just spoke of God using water to judge and to cleanse the earth of unrighteousness during the days of Noah. The ‘elements’ seem to refer to God’s beginning. The A,B,C’s of God creating the heavens and the earth described in the first two books of Genesis.
The Lexical Aids To The New Testament says the usage of the word in this context is the elements or first principles of matter. It’s atoms which are the A, B, C’s of matter. Atoms are the building block holding all things together in this present creation. At Christ's second coming everything is going to change in the same way it did in the days of Noah except this time the fire of God will be the agent of judgment and transformation. It seems that God’s fire is going to change things on a molecular level which will transform us from mortal to immortal through the resurrection power of Christ.
Paul seems to refer to something similar happening at the second coming of Christ in Romans 8:21 - 23: “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
At Christ second coming the fire of God is going to burn up or transform the ‘elements’ of creation. We along with creation at that time will be resurrected and changed. Hebrews chapter 12 talks of this same transformation ending the chapter saying, “our God is a consuming fire.”
It’s why Paul called the resurrection a mystery. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 50 thru 53 Paul says, “I tell you this brother's flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” It’s the final stage of our redemption and the fullness of our salvation.
The word stoicheion is used 2 other times in the New Testament and they are found in the book of Galatians and Colossians. In Galatians chapter 3 Paul is dealing with the law of Moses that was given to him on Mt. Sinai. It was the covenant that was made with Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
God spoke to Moses on Mt Sinai. Exodus 19:16 - 19 says that when God came down to meet with Moses: “there were thunders, lightnings, a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled…Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.”
In Galatians 3:19 Paul says that the law was “ordained through angels.” Stephen in Acts 7:53 as he is preaching his last message to his Jewish audience before he was stoned says: “you who received the law as ordained by angels.” The word ordained in both texts is the same Greek word. The Greek Lexical Aid to the New Testament comments on this word saying the law of Moses was given in the midst of thick dark clouds, blazing fire and winds. It’s not saying the law of Moses was given by angels but witnessed by angels as described in Hebrews chapter 12 which basically repeats Exodus chapter 19. The angelic host who witnessed the giving of the law was the dark clouds, blazing fire and winds. It was the author of Hebrews who in 1:7 compares angels to ‘winds and a flame of fire.’
The author of Hebrews starts his epistle going out of his way to make the point that Christ is the eternal God who created all things and is therefore superior to angels which he clearly lays out in 1:4 - 14. In chapter 1 and chapter 2 he speaks of the supremacy of Christ to both the law of Moses and to angels.
Hebrews 2:1 - 3 starts out saying: “we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” The author is referring to what he just talked about in chapter 1 concerning the supremacy of Christ and him being superior to Moses and the law which was given in the midst of angelic activity on Mt. Sinai.
F.F. Bruce says the law was given to bring sin to light. The Mosaic law defines sin. It clearly says don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t commit adultery etc. The law reveals the wickedness in man’s heart. The law was not meant to free us from sin, but to show us how sinful we really are. Paul called the law, “the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone” in 2 Corinthians 3:7. It caused the children of Israel to cower in fear when it was given because the intent was to show us our sin and lead us to repentance. However, it was inadequate to truly change the heart because that could only be done by the life-giving power of the Spirit.
The author of Hebrews is making a similar argument that Paul is making in II Corinthians and it's also the argument he is making in the book of Galatians and Romans. It’s that the crucified and risen Christ is the new and living way superior to the law of Moses which was temporary until the Messianic age of Christ. As believers in the Messiah, we are not to live lives under the veil of the law because it is not capable of changing our hearts; it only has the power to bring death and bondage into our lives.
Hebrews chapter 2 is teaching us the same thing that Paul was teaching us in Philippians chapter 2 concerning God becoming man through Christ the Messiah. Verses 7 thru 8 says: Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Hebrews chapter 2 starts out talking about Christ's ministry of signs, wonders and various miracles he performed during his 3 ½ years of ministry through the power of the Holy Spirit. He then says in verse 9 thru 10 that “for a little while he was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
The Role of Man and Angels in This Age
In these scriptures we can see that man is lower than angels in this age because we are mortal which means we are subject to death. Jesus said in the coming resurrection we will not be subject to death and will be like angels. Matthew 22:30 Jesus said that in the coming resurrection of the dead we will “neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
Paul in I Corinthians 6:3 says that in the coming age we will judge angels, but in this age until Christ returns man is lower than the angels. In this present age man is but mortal and subject to death. However, in the age of resurrection we will rule with Christ and be over angels. However, that will not be until: “the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God” according to 2 Thessalonians 1:7 - 8.
Jesus the eternal Son stepped into time to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth; to help aid and deliver humanity. He came to deliver us from a fallen angel, Lucifer, Satan, the serpent of old the devil. The author of Hebrews says Jesus became flesh and blood sharing our humanity feeling our frailty. In Hebrews 2:14 - 15 it tells us that Jesus became a man so: “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
At the moment when God stepped into time becoming a man, he was made lower than the angels so that he could justify, redeem, restore and reconcile man back to God. However, in Christ's resurrection and ascension he is now our Mediator. The resurrected Jesus is sitting on the throne with angels subject to him as the first man to be raised from the dead; the Last Adam.
Paul shows us in Ephesians 1:20 - 23 that Jesus has been raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of power in the heavenly places as scripture says, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.”
The law is no longer our mediator and angels are not supposed to be mediators between us and God either. Jesus is the only mediator between man and God. It’s not a holy man or holy woman. It’s not the law of Moses and it's not angels. As 1 Timothy 2:5 so clearly says: “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
The Speculation Surrounding Spiritual Warfare and Principalities
If you study the Bible, you will come to find out that it really does not give us a lot of details about angel’s along with their hierarchical structure nor Satan. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that: “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” We don’t have a lot of specific details about this unseen spiritual world.
The Bible does not give us a lot of details about this subject. However, you do have those who go into great detail and give a tremendous amount of time to the unseen spiritual world along with varying methods of spiritual warfare.
You have a multitude of books along with sermons concerning the mystery that surrounds angels and Satan. Two of the favorite pet principalities that are talked about among the spiritual warrior gurus are the Leviathan spirit and the Jezebel spirit. I’m not even going to get into the details concerning the lunacy of these false fairy tales and their very speculative teachings.
Leviathan is mentioned twice in the Bible in two very obscure passages; however, it never mentions a Leviathan spirit. Yes, I believe in spiritual warfare, but I don’t believe in making things up and saying things the Bible doesn't say. Yes, Jezebel was a wicked figure in the Bible, but show me where it talks about a Jezebel spirit? A false doctrine happens when we start making the Bible fit our speculation and pet ideas. In the Foundations Publication School of Discipleship, we have two lessons that cover this subject. If you want more information to study on this subject Lesson 41 and 42 called Spiritual Warfare will help you out on this topic.
Peter ends his second epistle talking about those who twist the scriptures to fit their ideas. Some of these so-called prophets take dream’s that they’ve had and make doctrines from their dreams. Darren, don’t you believe we have prophets today. Yes, I do, and I believe we have false ones too. False ones speculate on things that are not clearly revealed in scripture and teach vain imaginations produced through the vanity of their own hearts. Trust me I would rather not address this topic, but it’s a widespread cancer that is shipwrecking many people's faith.
Paul told us not to speculate in I Timothy 1:4. Speculation causes you to create a teaching about things the Bible does not give real clear understanding on. It will cause us to swerve and wander into vain discussions. 1 Timothy 1:7 talks of those who make confident assertions about things the Bible does not make clear. It’s one thing to look at an obscure passage of scripture and ask questions. It is a whole different issue when people start giving a ‘thus saith the Lord’ on an obscure text. It’s the same thing that happens when you start taking multiple texts out of context then bring them together making confident assertions.
Guarding Against Irreverent Babble: A Call to Sound Doctrine
Paul instructed us in 2 Timothy 2:15 - 17 to: “do your best to present yourselves to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness and their talk will spread like gangrene.” It’s not just affecting the one doing it, but it’s leading others into error. Paul called these people empty talkers and deceivers in Titus.
Christ should be our focus who is the foundation not the irreverent babble that leads to the fantasy world of mysticism. Trust me, I know this from personal experience, and I am trying to keep you from wasting your time on things that will not profit your spiritual walk nor will it help you have victory over the powers of darkness, but leads to deception.
Paul tells us the goal of all study and instruction in 1 Timothy 1:5 which is: “love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Simplicity is the main key to living the life of faith and godliness. It’s not endless speculations about angels and the spiritual world. Sound doctrine is important because it produces healthy living. It always goes back to the fruit and the root. Christ centered living and learning to abide in Him is our goal which should produce the fruit of the Spirit.
I’ve found those who focus on false ideas of spiritual warfare tend to live in a constant state of unrest, confusion and lack peace. Yes, we are in a spiritual battle as we walk through this evil age, but nowhere in scripture are we told that we possess the authority to pull down principalities and powers of darkness. It’s simply not in the Bible as authority given to believers.
Jesus has given us authority to cast demons out of individuals, but Satan along with his hierarchical structure will not be dismantled and destroyed until the second coming of Christ. He will displace the unseen spiritual powers that rule this present evil age and only at his return. Our mission is to pray and proclaim the mystery of Christ.
The Power of Prayer and Proclaiming the Gospel: Misconceptions on Spiritual Warfare
The linchpin of this false idea concerning pulling down principalities is built around II Corinthians 10:4 - 5. Go read the entire chapter for context, and you will see the scripture is not Paul telling us to bind dark spiritual forces and then to give apostolic decrees to displace the Leviathan or Jezebel spirits controlling churches, cities or regions.
Paul is talking about confronting false ideas that have created a stronghold in people's minds opposing the freedom we have through the cross and “bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” It’s called prayer and proclaiming the gospel under the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s what we are to be focused upon which is the Great Commission that Christ has given the church and demonstrated through the book of Acts.
Angels are not to be our primary focus. I refer to the subject of angels and the spiritual world as the back story. Yes, angels and spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places are both very real and involved in the affairs of man, but they are not the main focus of the redemptive story.
The apostolic writers make a point in wanting us to know what we need to know about angelic activity. However, neither angels which are the agents of God nor the agents of Satan are given a main role. It’s when we bring them to the front and center that we run into the potential to be led astray. Shining the light on angels and making them the main focus is a pathway to the spirit of error. That’s when we get into problems swerving over into the ditch of extremism and deception.
Exploring the Meaning of 'Stoicheion' in Galatians and Colossians
Let’s go back and look at the last three times the Greek word stoicheion is used. It is translated as ‘elemental things’ in Galatians and ‘elemental spirits’ in Colossians. In Galatians Paul uses this word two times in Galatians chapter 4.
In chapter 3 Paul is comparing faith in Christ to the faith Abraham possessed before the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. Verses 7 thru 9 say: “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” He contrasts relying on the works of the law which results in sin, failure and a curse; to justification by faith and the means by which we receive the blessing of the Spirit.
He ends chapter 3 saying: “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
The Law as a Tutor: Leading up to Our Inheritance in Christ
Chapter 4 opens talking about the law being like a tutor designed to protect the promise. The word tutor is the Greek word paidagogos from which the English word pedagogue comes from. In the ancient world, the pedagogue or tutor was one who had charge of the underage heir. The heir was in line to get the entire inheritance, but he had to be trained before it was given.
It was the tutors responsibility to keep the heir out of trouble and protect him until he reached manhood so he could receive his inheritance. Until he matured, he was no different than a household slave even though he was to be heir to the inheritance.
The law of Moses was restrictive, telling us what we could not do, and Paul compared it to a tutor, some translations say manager or gatekeeper. Analogies are always limited, but Paul defined his analogy of the law as being a tutor saying in Galatians 4:1 that the law made us like slaves and could not give us freedom.
Paul then says in verse 3: “In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the ‘elementary principles’ of the world.” It’s the same Greek word stoicheion. Paul then uses stoicheion again in this same chapter. Paul just tells them that Christ the Messiah had come in the fullness of time. He says in Christ we are no longer under the tutor of the law and subject to slavery.
Galatians 4:6 - 10 says: “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years!”
Here is what Paul is saying and it will help us understand his usage of this word stoicheion in Colossians. In Galatians Paul is telling them in 4 :8 that “formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those who by nature are not gods.” He was reminding the Galatians like he did to the Corinthians that the gods they used to be enslaved to were not gods at all, but demons.
Paul in warning the Corinthians to not turn back to idolatry says in 1 Corinthians 10:14 - 21 to: “flee from idolatry....consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.”
Paul in Galatians 4:8 is comparing them turning away from the crucified Christ and now turning to the law of Moses to be justified is just like turning back to idolatry. Observing days, months, seasons and years; Paul is referring to the Jewish calendar and the Jewish feasts upon which the law of Moses was based. It’s falling from grace! Submitting to the false gospel of legalism is a departure from the apostolic faith laid down by the apostles and Paul compared it to their former slavery to demons.
Paul was telling the Gentiles in Galatia that the Jews were subject to slavery under the law of Moses, but they were subject to slavery to demons attached to the ‘elemental spirits’ of the world. The only solution for both Jew and Gentile is the tree of the cross. If you go study the books of Hebrews and Romans you will see the same message which is that as believers in Christ, we are no longer under the ritualism of the law of Moses based on the Jewish feasts centered around days, months, seasons and years.
We have covered all the other times this Greek word stoicheion has been used. Let's now look at Paul's usage of it in addressing the heresy in Colossae. I’m only going to look at portions of Colossians chapter 2 in discussing this subject. I’m going to start with verse 20 and 21 where Paul said: “If with Christ you died to the ‘elemental spirits’ of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? (emphasis mine)”
The Mystical Spiritualism Addressed in Colosse
As I said earlier, the legalism Paul is confronting in the book of Colossians is much more elusive, mystical, equally exclusive and harmful. In Colossians Paul is dealing with a specific type of Jewish Gnosticism. Paul seemed to be addressing something similar in Titus 1:14 when he wrote about those who devote: themselves to “Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.”
In Paul’s first letter to Timothy 1:3 - 4 he tells him to: “remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations.” Paul never addressed this in his letter to the Ephesians church, but Colossians was a sister letter so it would have been read to the larger community in that area.
Paul was addressing a form of spiritualism that was very mystical, espousing enlightened ideas of hidden gnosis and wisdom. Here are some of the traits of this false spirituality:
It went into great detail about the spirit world and gave inordinate amounts of attention to angels along with mystical visions.
Angels were given a mediatorial role in revealing the hidden gnosis and mysteries of God.
It taught the scriptures had hidden mysteries that only the initiated understood and everyone else was living in darkness without this hidden gnosis.
It promoted extreme dedication to the Jewish calendar making it into a mystical time clock that you could use to discern the times. Using it in the same way astrologists use the calendar to determine your destiny.
Paul called this type of false spirituality being subject to the stoicheion. Instead of being crucified with Christ and being dead to this world. It’s being alive, focused upon and influenced by the ‘elemental spirits of the world’ which are demons. It’s making this mystical world of the spiritual: front and center instead of part of the background. It’s a fascination with angels, visions, dreams and ritualistic spiritual experiences. It’s denying ourselves through fasting to enter secret portals of heaven, focusing on dates, times and using the Jewish calendar as a sort of Ouija board to discern the times.
Paul was warning the Colossians not to give inordinate amounts of time, fascination and attention to angels. Angels had a place in the giving of the law of Moses. It seems that it was multitudes of angels that produced fire, smoke and a tempest around Mt. Sinai when God came down to speak to Moses giving him the law.
We know angels ministered to Jesus. Angels are seen assisting in the book of Acts. Angels are part of the redemptive story from Genesis to Revelation, but they are not the central focus. What Paul is addressing in Colossians chapter 2 is a false form of spirituality that sees angels as performing a mediatorial role between man and God. It is making angels and the spiritual world the main thing which leads to deception. It’s like pointing your car headlights at an animal and then following it into a ditch. It’s the Gnostic heresy that the apostolic writers were confronting.
The Role of Angels in the Jewish Gnostic Book of Enoch
The Jewish Gnostic Book of Enoch teaches a false idea that everything has its angel: the stars have their angels; each of the four seasons has its angel; each of the 12 months of the year has its angel and each of the 360 days of the year has its angel. In addition, it was the idea that angels give secret gnosis along with wisdom providing a role in helping us to understand and approach God.
Paul said in combination to this fascination with angels are those who go into detail about visions. He said these visions give them puffed up imaginations. I am one who believes in the manifestations of the Spirit and prophecy. I believe the Holy Spirit leads us, speaks to us and teaches us, but it all points towards Christ.
In Colossians Paul was dealing with a false spiritualism and mysticism that was leading people away from Christ. It was fanaticism that focused on the mystical, spiritual world and it produced this false reality detached from the soundness of truth. It was spiritually that saw the word of the cross as insufficient. The Galatians were seduced to turn to the law of Moses adding to the cross. The Colossians were seduced to turn to spiritual mysticism adding to the cross. It added angelic visitations, trips to heaven, spiritual visions, out of body experiences, spirit travel and the hidden gnosis to become an elite spiritual warrior of the last days.
I believe prophets are one of the five gifts Christ gave to his church and are for today. I was in the Prophetic Movement for the first 25 years of my walk with God. I speak as an insider and with a heavy heart because I know many who just want to sincerely know God in a deep intimate way. However, as an insider I am giving a warning because many have gone into the same ditch of mysticism that Paul was addressing here in Colossians chapter 2.
I lived in that ditch for many years, so I understand how it’s very easy to get into it. It’s easy to get lost in the fantasy land of mysticism and the first step to escape is realizing it’s a fantasy land. It leads you away from the simplicity of the cross.
The Dangers of Gnosticism: Distorting Truth and Distracting from the Gospel
What Paul is addressing in Colossians is a false spiritually that makes these mystical experiences the main thing where everything is spiritualized. Gnosticism is a demonic parasite that uses scripture and sounds very spiritual, but always out of context. It twists the truth and mixes in enough error so that the truth is perverted. It’s no longer preaching Christ crucified centered upon the gospel. It takes your eyes off the head of the church causing you to focus on spiritual sounding fantasies which leads to extremism.
It is those who are always talking about some mysterious dream or vision they had instead of the word of God and sound doctrine. You have some who make regular trips to heaven and angels stand at their beds almost nightly while Jesus appears to them regularly. It all sounds so spiritual and deep. It’s through these mystical experiences that they set themselves up as spiritual guides leading you into this spiritual realm.
Paul was warning the Colossians and us today not to get caught up in this fantasy world of mystical illusion. It’s when you start making these experiences the main thing that Paul said in Colossians 2:19 that you become severed from Christ the head. Instead of growing in the epignosis of Christ and maturing in your faith it is leading you down the pathways of deception of hidden gnosis. It’s why we are exhorted to test the spirits because deceptive spirits take us away from a life devoted to soundness of truth found in Christ.
I know a segment of the church who see themselves as this elite group of last day warriors who are pulling down principalities through their elite spiritual insight and authority. It is only they who can make apostolic decrees and angels will follow their orders. Yes, it is only they who possess this power that even Christ did not use, but they seem arrogant enough to think they can command angels.
Yes, that’s right there is zero scriptures of Christ or his apostles commanding angels. It’s a teaching based on speculation not clear apostolic teaching found in the Bible. All these so-called apostles teach something none of the actual apostles taught. That should say everything!
You will hear them tell stories of angels who visit them and give them hidden mysteries and insight into the spiritual battle plans of the last days. It’s these elite spiritual warriors who have been given governmental authority to bring healing to the nations. I tell you what it is: a whole load of puffed up, deceptive and delusional pride. It’s the fantasy land of mysticism. You might as well be watching a Marvel Movie.
In Colossians Paul was addressing this false Gnostic idea of secret mysteries and hidden wisdom that only the elite warriors of light could lead you into. All you must do is listen to them because they possess the hidden spiritual insight into the true mysteries of Christ. It’s only through their inside story that you can truly know God as you should. Paul cautioned us to let no one control you, manipulate you and deceive you with messages from angels or visions from their puffed-up minds.
Please listen to me carefully. If you hear this nonsense, do not give it a place in your lives because it is poisonous fruit. An overemphasis of the spiritual realm making it the main thing instead of the crucified and risen Christ is one of the main pathways to deception.
The Deceptive Origins of Islam and Mormonism: Angelic Revelations and False Spiritual Ideas
Do you know that the two greatest false spiritual ideas in the earth today were given through the message of an angel! Islam and Mormonism both originated through an angelic revelation creating puffed up imaginations of deception. You need to think about that truth before listening to some so-called apostle or prophet that starts teaching you about the revelation they got from an angel.
We are told to test every spirit. We are told to judge prophecy and to discern all things because there are people who will use their fanciful speculations to control, dominate and use you. You will know them by their fruit because the root of deception is always pride mixed with greed and the lust to satisfy some ungodly desire. It may take some time, but the truth always has a way of making it out into the light.
The Controversy of Legalistic Gnostic Ritualistic Practices
Paul was also addressing the legalistic Gnostic ritualistic practices of abstaining from certain foods and following regimented forms of ritualistic regulations to attain spiritual enlightenment. The Essenes, a strict form of Jewish Gnosticism, could touch neither oil, nor meat, nor wine. Sabbath-keeping was strictly followed.
The historian Josephus said they avoided the pleasures of the body; they prohibited marriage and took vows of poverty. It seems Paul was referring to this when writing to Timothy 4:1 when talking about the teaching of demons. It’s here in Colossians 2:23 when he said this type of spirituality has an: “appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” It’s trying to live holy through secret gnosis and it’s impossible. It leads to frustration and living in what I call the cycle of dead works. (In Lesson 7: The Cycle of Dead Works of the Foundations Publication School Of Discipleship I fully cover the topic of repentance from dead works.)
If you accept these false teachings, they begin to put a veil over your understanding and perverts the image of Christ. It’s what Paul told the Galatians that they had been bewitched. The Galatians had been seduced and persuaded by false teachers telling them that they needed to add to what Christ had already done through the tree of the cross. Paul said they were nullifying the grace of God in Galatians 2:21. In Galatians 5:4 he tells them that as a result they had “been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
It’s like what Paul said to the Colossians. What you think is making you a spiritual superstar results in bondage. If you allow this false spirituality to take root in your life it will cause you to no longer hold fast to Christ your mediator, head and high priest. The world of mysticism leads you to put your trust in angels, visions and hidden gnosis while rejecting the simplicity of the cross. It makes you an enemy of the cross. Jesus said we can know a false prophet, false teacher and false apostle by their fruit. Sound doctrine produces sound living, but false doctrines produce deception, confusion, twisted thinking and division.
The Destructive Impact of Legalistic Control
The fruit of legalism whether that is Pharisaical legalism or mystical legalism is described by Paul in Galatians chapter 5 when he talks of the works of the flesh. I break down the works of the flesh into 3 categories. Hedonism, Emotionalism and Legalism. The fruit of legalism is disputes, dissensions and heresies.
Have you ever noticed that those who think they are super spiritual are always at war with someone. It’s either fighting the devil or one of his agents on the earth, but they are always in a state of war. It’s because the legalistic works of the flesh couched in religious terminology produces this bad fruit.
Disputes can be translated as selfish ambition. It’s the type of thinking that always asks what’s in it for me? Only doing things with the motive of gaining and getting the advantage from what you do. The Pharisees were skilled legalists and used their man-made moral codes to gain advantage, power and get profit. It’s using others to get what you want or using religion to get advantage over others.
Selfish ambition can be understood as a motivation to elevate oneself or to put one’s own interests before another’s. Selfish ambition can be putting down others so that you can be lifted up. Have you ever been around that person who is always putting someone else down to try to gain advantage? How about church groups always putting down other groups as not spiritual so that you will join their special highly spiritual group. It is a self above others approach, which is the opposite of humility.
The next word is dissensions. Dissensions literally means division or sedition. It has to do with those who are actively trying to cause separation between individuals or groups of people. It’s more than just having a common disagreement or differing viewpoint, but it’s when an individual or a group of people are pursuing a goal to cause division. It’s an arrogant, unyielding attitude that will divide over trivial issues because one does not get their own way.
Pride is at the root of division in the same way Satan, through pride went his own way and took a 1/3 of the angels with him. A lot of people look at this as that one person who is always creating chaos in the church, and you do have those. It can also be seen when a pack of wolves closes ranks to try to protect the pack and their false system. We see the picture’s of the lone wolf, but wolves are normally pack animals.
Unveiling the Truth Behind 'Don't Touch God's Anointed'
Have you ever heard the term ‘don’t touch God’s anointed’? You will hear certain groups use this term within systems that promote the teaching of spiritual covering, culture of honor, covenant keeping and the armor bearers which are those who serve the anointed leader. You have variations of this perverted teaching on spiritual authority and I’m going to fully address this in later lessons.
The key text that is used is in Psalm 105:15: “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!” However, in the context of that Psalm it is not referring to any one person, but to the whole nation of Israel whom we’re all anointed as a kingdom of priests. Psalm 105 was David’s spiritual song that he sang when bringing the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem for the first time as recorded in, I Chronicles chapter 16. I encourage you to go read both of those chapters for yourself.
One of the other texts is taken from 1 Samuel 24:6 when David said: “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” In context David had been anointed king by the prophet Samuel, but Saul was still king and pursuing David to kill him. David was hiding in a cave with his men, and he had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he refused to kill him.
David didn’t kill Saul, but he did call him out on his injustice and perversity in persecuting him without cause. David did invoke God as a judge against Saul in front of the whole army of Israel and openly asked God to punish Saul. David also told his allies that God Himself would in due time kill Saul for his sins which all can be found in I Samuel 26:9 - 10. David confronted Saul just in the same way that Paul stood up to Peter in Antioch confronting him about the error of his ways.
To use these texts to insulate yourself from correction, legitimate criticism and feedback; that’s a blaring red flag waving in the wind. Prophets are not infallible but should be tested. Every leader has blind spots and when we think we are infallible that’s when we wind up in a ditch. Humility is being able to listen to others. It’s being humble enough to know that you are not always right. It’s knowing that you are just a small part of the whole. It’s being able to listen to the least of them. Jesus said out of the mouth of babes God has perfected praise.
Paul commended the Bereans because they “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” What were they doing? Checking to make sure what Paul was saying was correct. Paul said test all things. John told us to test the spirits and we have a responsibility to hold one another accountable. We all have the propensity to fall into error because we are all just mortal. It’s why humility of heart is so important.
It’s the holy man myth to elevate someone to the place of an infallible oracle. If your authority, prophecy and doctrine are not able to be challenged then I would say you probably need to examine yourself. If you can’t handle being challenged and examined, then according to I Timothy 3 and other scriptures you should not have a place of leadership. Pride is what causes dissension in the body of Christ not legitimate questioning and accountability.
The Danger of Heresies: Divisive Opinions and Arrogant Attitudes
The last word in this list of the works of the flesh is heresies which means groups who divisively express their opinions creating factions. We think today of heresies in terms of wrong ideas and teachings. It is, but the word carries an emphasis on wrongfully dividing over opinions and speculations. Heresies can be thought of as hardened dissensions. There is all the difference in the world between believing that we are right and believing that everyone else is wrong. It is an arrogant attitude which believes the way we think is the only way to think and not giving room for any differing opinion.
It’s not standing on clearly stated doctrinal positions, but it’s taking obscure scriptural stances and making them non-negotiable. It’s the attitude that says: it’s my way or the highway and it creates a faction. Paul was dealing with this exact attitude when writing to the church in Galatia which had started listening to the heretical legalism that certain men started preaching contrary to the central message of the cross.
We have the same legalists today who want to turn believers away from focusing upon the cross of Christ to outward ordinances, legalism, mystical experiences or a combination of both. It’s simply false deceptive ideas that create factions because selfish ambitious people want to take you captive and control you. Legalism is living life by man-made moral codes that creates selfish ambition, dissensions and divisions. It causes you to become an enemy of the cross.
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