Lev 16:8 unlocked
Dear overcomer,
Jesus famously stuck a pin in Sadducee pride saying…
“You are wrong... you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.”
Matthew 22:29 RSV
'You are wrong' also translates...“You are deceived.”
No need to worry though.
Jesus warned us ahead in plenty of time…
“Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’”
Luke 21:8 NKJV
So we notice the deceived and deceiving a) Don’t know the scriptures. b) Don’t know the power of God.
For instance,
Look what happens when we unpack an EXTREMELY VALUABLE yet obscure scripture in Leviticus…
“And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel.”
Leviticus 16:8 ESV
Yet this strange line begs the question…
Who is Azazel?
How did he sneak into the Holy Book?
Hmmm,
To suss it out...
Let’s whizz up to Luke 8:31 in the New Testament.
In this passage Jesus is dealing with a gnarly Gadarene demoniac. He casts out four to six THOUSAND demons* from a single man, into a vast herd of swine.
These pigs are then driven straight off a cliff and into the ‘deep’ to their death it says in the KJV.
Or does it?
Well,
Not quite.
Rather it is better rendered…
‘Abyss’
“And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.”
Luke 8:31 ESV
Seeing it this way changes our picture drastically.
And reveals something extraordinary.
Because,
The Book of Revelation names the ‘Abyss’ seven times as…
‘The bottomless pit.’
(Revelation 9: 1,2,11. 11:7, 17:8, 20:1,3).
Obviously,
It's another name for the same place.
Abyss = 'The' Bottomless pit.
Either way,
Demons quake with dread at the mere thought of it.
They beg Jesus not to send them there. It's 'the' prison house for demons.
Which is why I propose saints can send demons there too. I believe there is a strong case Jesus did just that on this occasion.
(Note: In covering this today, I am following up on a promise I made in an earlier article on Spiritual Warfare here).
And as we know...
What demons fear is our massive ADVANTAGE.
Because,
As part of Christ's shock troops...
His missionary force... we have a divine mandate. We have His authority to remove these 'bastard spirits'* from those they oppress.
If that is...
We know His scriptures. His power too.
To us.
Jesus also gives this command He gave to His first disciples...
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
Matthew 10:8 NKJV
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised"
Luke 4:18 KJV
Then His best friend John reveals something very deep...
"In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so are we in this world."
1 John 4:17 RSV
Isn't Johns statement fascinating?
"As He is... SO ARE WE in this world."
Okay…
Pause for breath.
What have we unearthed so far?
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
Mysterious Azazel.
Gadarene demoniac (in Caesarea Philipi. This is a BIGGIE)*
Abyss/Bottomless Pit.
Christ's Supreme Authority revealed in US His saints*
So let's tidy this all up
First who Azazel actually is;
Azazel was the named scapegoat the high priest confessed the sins of Israel over on Yom Kippur. (It was the second of two goats. The first was sacrificed on the altar. The second sent to the wilderness).
See it for yourself...
6. “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.
7. Then he shall take the two goats, and set them before the Lord at the door of the tent of meeting; 8. and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Aza′zel.
9. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer it as a sin offering;
10. But the goat on which the lot fell for Aza′zel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Aza′zel...
20. “And when he has made an end of atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat;
21. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins;
And he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.
22. The goat shall bear all their iniquities upon him to a solitary land; and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness...
26. And he who lets the goat go to Aza′zel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp...
29. “And it shall be a statute to you for ever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves, and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you;
30. For on this day shall atonement be made for you,
To cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord. "
Leviticus 16: 6-8, 20-22, 26, 29-30 ASV
Very cool eh?
"You shall be clean before the Lord."
So a question...
Don’t you think that if the LORD commanded Moses to include Azazel in the most important ritual and holy day of Israelite life each year, Yom Kippur...
The Day of Atonement.
It is important?
Don't forget.
Moses mentions Azazel BY NAME.
Which shows...
a) He's obviously real...
b) Obviously important.
c) And known by the Jews (even in Moses days).
So...
Can we find out who this Azazel revealed in Numbers 16:8 (ASV, ESV, RSV, Darby, Septuagint et al, Second Temple Literature) actually is?
Absolutely.
Or put another way,
What is the BACK STORY to Leviticus 16:8?
And why is seeing the WHOLE PICTURE helpful to inform a Christians liberty over accusations, sin and evil powers too?
I’ll tell you.
The High Priest confessed the sins of Israel over the head of the goat, while laying hands on it. Thus he transferred the sins away from the people onto the goat.
(Standard stuff Dave. We all know this. Get to the point!)
Valid complaint patient reader.
So watch this...
Sins therefore left the people > Got transferred onto the goat (the goat was the carrier).
Once this was done, the sin laden goat was sent away into their wilderness and driven off a cliff.
There it plunged to its death.
Dashed to pieces on the jagged rocks in the ravine below.
Slashed,
Bones broken (so not I suggest, a type of Christ. Very important).
The Jews placed signallers below the cliff to watch the death of the goat. Once confirmed dead, they waved flags. Signalling back up to the top of the cliffs that the goat was dead.
Crucial note;
Those sins carried away were placed at the feet of Azazel.
And we find... all sin is 'ascribed' to this being too.
Hence,
The sins were 'ascribed to' or 'accounted to' him (the same way faith was accounted to Abraham. See Romans 4:9 "... faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness." etc).
Therefore.
For those with eyes to see,
This strange story takes us way out into even deeper waters...
"And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein.
And place upon him rough and jagged rocks...
And cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light.
And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire.
And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons.
And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.'
1 Enoch 10: 4-8
Well, look at that.
(Though the first Book of Enoch is not included in the Bible as Holy Scripture, it does provide a clear back story to both Leviticus 16:8 and Luke 8:31. Enoch's commentary was common knowledge in second Temple Judaism).
Especially note the phrase...
“To him ascribe ALL SIN.”
Interesting eh?
Very I’d say.
Final recap.
So the High Priest speaks all the sin of the people of GOD over the head of the second GOAT...
The goat is sent ‘to Azazel’ by the High Priest.
By doing so it appears he credits (lays, accounts, ascribes) all the sins of the people of GOD... to him.
ie The High Priest LAYS THE BLAME FOR 'ALL SIN' ON HIM.
Notice too the people of GOD are not to blame now.
So to conclude.
Let's go back to Jesus.
Keeping firmly in mind He is our Great High Priest* since His victory on the cross in Jerusalem...
Let me ask,
Where did Jesus deal with the Gaderene demoniac?
Caesarea Philippi?
Yup.
However...
Did you know this area was actually Bashan of the Old Testament?
Baal worship took place there. (See King Og of Bashan etc)
Caesarea Philippi = Bashan at the foot of... MOUNT HERMON!
Greeks worshipped the half goat-half human 'god' Pan here.
In fact,
Pan worship here was conducted here at a deep cave in the side of the mountain rock, (human sacrifice too).
The cave was known as 'The Mouth of the Abyss'.
And Jesus called it...
'The Gates of Hades.'
So here,
After setting the Gadarene demoniac free,
On this 'rock' (Mount Hermon) facing the gate of 'the bottomless pit' Jesus makes His famous declaration about His church...
"On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades [Sheol] will not overcome it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Matthew 16: 18-19 ESV
He demonstrates His power...
Then authorises His saints to do the same.
"The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
And he said to them,
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10: 17-20 ESV
Can you now see why Jesus cast the 'Legion of Demons' into the 'Abyss' here specifically?
I suggest.
That right here at the foot of Mount Hermon.
Where...
Azazel and the other 'Watchers' came down to commit their terrible sins (Genesis 6, Jude 6, 1 Enoch 6) and lead humanity into even more depravity and evil than Adam's original sin had done...
Jesus demonstrated He truly was GOD incarnate.
And that He'd come to let the demons know their rule was finished. That He was liberating humanity from them.
Serving notice...
That they too would be cast into the Abyss and chained in everlasting chains just as the original watchers like Azazel were (Jude 6. 1 Enoch 4).
So,
He demonstrates it by casting thousands down into this very pit.
At the same time He teaches His disciples they will do the same too, by believing what Jesus says and by acting on it.
And so can you!
You can absolutely destroy all demonic works and remove them from your friends, loved ones and even yourself if you need to.
All through the power of GOD as Jesus says.
He demonstrated it.
And you can do it today too…
He alone is King over all the earth.
He alone stands as heaven and earths great new High Priest.
He alone rules over all principalities and powers.
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
1 John 3:8 KJV
So thousands of years later so it is with you dear one.
Know the scriptures.
Know the power of GOD.
And go set others free.
It is our mandate.
Bless you,
Dave.
PS Points to ponder;
If believers just cast evil spirits out into the dry places ('wilderness') surely they can just come back later again?
Actually,
Jesus said this would happen. So does He want His saints to keep casting demons out only for them to return?
He says if that happens they'd also bring back seven more wicked ones with them to torment the one delivered even more.
Grim eh?
Obviously, the newly delivered one needs to abide in Christ. They must stay filled with the Holy Spirit to help retain their new found freedom.
That's a given.
However.
Jesus describes what happens if they are not dealt with properly...
"Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter the and dwell there, and the last state of the person is worse than the first."
Matthew 12:45 ESV
Jesus didn't do that with the Gadarene demoniac did He?
No.
It's assumed the man went on unaided. Surely therefore Jesus had total confidence the demons would not return because the man, it's assumed was freed by Him forever.
How though?
Where had those demons gone then?
I suspect after the pigs drowned in the Lake of Galilee...
They too were taken down to the Abyss, the same prison Azazel and his henchmen are bound in chains to this day.
Yet...
I admit totally. That's conjecture ;)
Because it's clear...
Jesus did not specifically delegate any particular place to send the demons in this instance, or any other demons to anywhere in the New Testament either.
Interesting though.
However...
I do believe as coworkers with Christ,
GOD gives us a certain level of free will as to how to operate in such circumstances under His authority and mantle (as led by His Holy Spirit, in His word).
I certainly have confidence through the scriptural ground we have covered above to send the demons at the very least away into 'The prison houses of GOD.'
Peter gives me confidence we saints may operate this way too...
"If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 4:11 NIV
Which means,
This is how I tend to pray now…
1. Command the spirits out in the Name of Jesus Christ.
Bind them.
Yet also decree that the angels of GOD bind the spirits and carry and cast them into the abyss to be chained in 'everlasting chains' until the great day of the LORD as Jude says in Jude 6 (He was directly referencing the 'Bottomless Pit’ here i.e. where Jesus delivered the Gaderene demoniac).
(NOTE: If you are not sure, don't pray this. You must act in faith when confronting the enemy. You must do it boldly with confidence ‘in your weaponry and armour’.
If unsure you may instead pray along the lines sending the demons to the 'prison houses of GOD' etc. Or command them out and never to return as Christ did on another occasion).
Anyhow...
Example prayer.
Addressing the spirits;
"In the mighty Name of Jesus Christ, Son of the Living GOD I bind all you wicked [A,B,C] spirits afflicting [X,Y,Z person you are praying for]. I decree you be bound and cast into the Abyss in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ.
[Next addressing God the Father]
"And,
LORD GOD Almighty,
I also petition you...
To send your angels oh GOD RIGHT NOW to effect this for your glory Father and the great glory of your Son, Jesus Christ.
I thank you that Christ is now both our High Priest and our sacrifice for the Day of Atonement. That He once for all has taken away all our sins forever. He by His sacrifice has perfected us forever (Hebrews 10:1-23).
[Then back to addressing the demons directly out loud along the lines of...
"The LORD GOD Almighty rebuke you wicked spirit of [X,Y,Z]
Come out in the Name of Jesus Christ now!
Loose this person and leave them now in Jesus Name!
I bind you and hand you over to the punishment of the Most High GOD, through His Son Jesus Christ King of Kings and LORD of Lords.
[Remember, you are CO-WORKING with Jesus here by His Spirit]
He and His angels will bind and carry you away now because I have bound you. Whatever I BIND HERE ON EARTH is bound in heaven too - it is AUTHORISED BY JESUS IN HEAVEN so you cannot escape.
I have authority to do this because Jesus has made me a King and a Priest to GOD in Revelation 1:5-7 NKJV
[NOTE: When praying this, believe all this is taking place.
I certainly have confidence in Christ it is.
I believe the angels of God act in concert with the Holy Spirit as He leads us in the deliverance prayers like this. Then conclude as below.
Amen!"
Thank you for your authority in Jesus Father.
I seek only to exercise your 'heavenly authorisation' here correctly and only for your glory. Deliver this precious one from these wicked spirits in Jesus Name!
You are gracious and kind Father.
You alone are Mighty to save and deliver all who come to you in humility and by faith. For yours LORD is the glory, the power and the honour.
In Jesus Name.
Amen!"
Refs:
*If his name ‘Legion’ is anything to go by. A roman legion of the day contained between four to six thousand soldiers.
*'Spirits of the Bastards' 1 Enoch 10:9
*See Kings and Priests of our GOD (Revelation 1:5-7, 5:10 NKJV).
* These above are only Dave's personal thoughts affected by his personal journey and encounters with GOD.
He's not some great deliverance minister.
Far from it.
Having said that, what he's covered above does seem very effective out 'on the battlefield' in spiritual warfare so far. Happy to be corrected by wiser experienced Generals of the faith of course!