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Some time ago, I gave a study on the topic of blasphemy. Like many spiritual and holy terms, it is a little bit hard to define in regular language. We know that blasphemy is speaking “badly” about Yahweh, but that is not really a sufficient definition. We read a few verses where the Scriptures use the word:
“O Elohim, how long shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme Thy name forever?” (Psalm 74:10)
“When Yahshua saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, ‘Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.’ But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?’” (Mark 2:5-7)
I chose those two passages specifically, because the first seems to indicate the “classical” meaning of the word, as an insult to the Father, a “reproach” to His name in the people of Israel and the Sanctuary in Jerusalem. From the second, though, we see why we need to have a more nuanced definition, because Yahshua is not being accused of saying anything bad about Yahweh. In fact, He is claiming to be an agent of the Father, forgiving sins. Even so, the Scribes considered His words to be blasphemous.
The reason is that in both these cases, the Almighty is being subjected to something contrary to worship. Worship is the acknowledgement of Yahweh’s true qualities, whether it is His power, His mercy, His love, His patience, His Wisdom… when we reflect on these things with reverence, we are worshipping. It may involve testimonies of praise, and spiritual songs… but these are the outward acts of worship. Worship itself, as a thing, is a spiritual and mental exercise.
I will give you a recent example… we just experienced a hurricane in the past two days. We’ve had quite a few before, but this was the first time we had a really direct hit in many years. It wasn’t a very strong storm, probably a high-level category one, but it’s still more powerful than anything we have been through in a while. Fortunately, the public services here were quite effective in restoring power and Internet access within a few hours after it passed, and I haven’t heard of any loss of life, and fairly minimal loss of property, but when the wind is raging and the rain is beating on your roof, well, it gives you an opportunity to reflect on many things.
On the night that the hurricane made landfall, the electricity went out. So, we were in the dark with our thoughts, and I pulled aside the curtain covering one of the windows and looked outside. The air was thick with rain, and the trees were leaning over due to the force of the wind, and a thought struck me that filled me with wonder. Like many really impressive thoughts, they may seem to be quite “ordinary” to an outside observer, but in the moment – at least for me – it can feel like my mind is being stretched. At least, that’s the best way I can describe it.
So I was looking out at the storm and the thought occurred to me that Yahweh knows every single drop of water that is falling to the earth. He knows every molecule, the shape and weight of every raindrop that is falling infinitely faster than I could see or count. He holds together all the things that exist, and knows everything that can be known about them. Even that is a simplification, I realized, because He set the process in place thousands of years ago for each drop to come into existence for just this very brief period of time… and it is all a part of His grand plan. I felt like falling on my face. This was not from any fear, but from a profound sense of my Father’s majesty. As deep as I can go, as deeply as I can try to contemplate Him, there is infinitely more that I cannot grasp. How can we be worried, or anxious, about anything? How could we not trust every aspect of our lives to our Creator? How could we not be overwhelmed with gratitude that this Mighty One condescends to call us His own children and heirs? Who would hesitate to cling to Him and stand with the People that are resting under His wings?
I had quite a season of worship in the midst of the literal storm, and it was just my Father and I, and this extraordinary symbol of His power.
But blasphemy is the opposite of that. It is denying the Father His rightful praise. The enemies of His people do it, because – in fighting against them – they deny His power to protect those whom He has promised to protect. The world, the ungodly, and the persecutors blaspheme Yahweh, just as the pagan nations blasphemed Yahweh, because they raise their weapons, their insults, and their lawsuits challenging religious freedom… they bring them against the children of the Most High. They will be very afraid, not because of who we are, because we are nothing, but because of who Yahweh is.
In just the same way, the Scribes were accusing Yahshua of blasphemy, because they did not believe that He was One with the Father and so, in claiming to be able to forgive sin, He was (in their eyes) stealing the glory of the Father for Himself. In taking something that was rightfully God’s, they saw Yahshua as denying Him that reverence – hence, they judged Him to be a blasphemer.
This is an understanding of the term that fits every occasion that I can recall. All the way down in the Book of Revelation, we read, “And they [the world] worshipped the Dragon which gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’ And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” (Rev 13:4-7)
Revelation’s symbols can be quite mysterious, and there are some things about it that we still do not understand. Here, though, the meaning of this term, blasphemy, is supplied for us in the very same passage in which it is used. The people worshipped the beast. They took worship from Yahweh, and instead gave it to the human organizations that act according to the Dragon’s will. In receiving that stolen worship, the beast commits blasphemy.
By inspiring the people of the world to ask, “Who is like unto the beast, who is able to make war with him,” the beast blasphemes, because these are aspects of the Creator’s power: “And He smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the Ark of Yahweh, even He smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men; and the people lamented, because Yahweh had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Bethshemesh said, ‘Who is able to stand before this holy Yahweh Elohim? And to whom shall He go up from us?” (1Sam 6:19, 20) As reluctant as it was, these were words of worship. Who is able to resist Yahweh? Who is able to stand before him? When people say these things of Satan’s power, or of human power, whether it is an army or a civil court, it is blasphemy.
We could talk about that well-known verse as spoken by Yahshua: “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” (Mat 12:31) When we understand what blasphemy is, the meaning becomes perfectly clear. First of all, “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost” does not indicate that the Holy Spirit is a god. The Scriptures describe blasphemy – taking, disregarding or stealing power and authority – from a number of things that are holy, but not personal Gods.
The “mountains of Israel” which represented Yahweh’s power and authority, but were not, themselves, Yahweh, were blasphemed in Ezekiel 35:12, which is a pretty fitting example. A synagogue, representing the place where Yahweh dwells, but is not, itself, Yahweh, was blasphemed in Acts 6:13, as was the Law.
So yes, things that represent Yahweh, like His sanctuary, His Law, His people, His Spirit, His Word, these can all be blasphemed. Their significance and their authority can be ignored or rejected… and that is blasphemy, because they are intended to lead us to the worship of the Creator. At times the King of Israel would be blasphemed, (1Kings 21:10, 13) or Moses, whom Yahweh had appointed to be the leader of His nation for a time. (Acts 6:11) People often speak ill of the Church of Yahshua. This also is blasphemy, because if they would hear what the people of Yahweh was saying to them, it would lead them to worship. Instead, they disregard its authority, and say, “I want nothing to do with those people. Who are they to tell me how to live, or what God wants from me?”
They do not understand, its authority’s foundation is love, and if they do not answer the call that Yahweh is sending them through His messengers, they turn away from the very Source of life itself. He who knows the name of every drop of water wants to be in a covenant relationship with them, but they would not. This is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It is persistently disregarding Yahweh’s authority over one’s life, whether it comes to them directly through conscience, or through an evangelist, a Church member’s testimony, or through an angel that appears before them. Look at what Yahshua was talking about in Matthew 12, the context of that statement. The Pharisees were accusing Him of exorcising demons through the power of Ba’al-Zebub. The miracles that He was working, the very signs of His Father’s blessing upon His ministry, the thing that was intended to lead them to worship the Creator, they were taking these as evidence of an unholy nature and a deceptive ministry. You see the consistency here, I hope. They were taking something that was to lead them to repentance, to respect the power of Yahweh to forgive sin and release the devil’s captives, and they used it to harden their hearts against the voice of repentance calling out to them. In denying the authority, in stealing the glory, from the very thing that would cause them to seek forgiveness, they were closing the door to their own salvation. They could never have forgiveness, because they would never ask for it from Christ, whose Spirit is Holy. They were calling darkness light, and light darkness, and we read, “Woe [great sorrow, tragedy] unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa 5:20)
So far, I hope all this is clear, and it consists mostly of things that Yahweh has already revealed to His people. But there is another way in which men blaspheme Yahweh as well, a way that is not enacted by those who claim to be His enemies; rather, it is done by those who claim to be His friends, His own servants.
Let us read of the way that things were in the beginning, the way that they were supposed to be: “And Elohim said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So Elohim created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” (Gen 1:26, 27)
Yahweh created mankind, men and women, in His image. In this perfect pairing of two equals, flawlessly matched in glory, and yet distinct in purpose and role, we find the image, the likeness, of the Creator, of the Father and Son. This not only eliminates a Trinitarian understanding of the Godhead, as we often point out, but it also affirms our purpose, which is to reflect and represent Yahweh and Yahshua to the rest of the universe. Of no angel, of no unfallen resident of another world, did Yahweh say, “You are my child, created in my image.” No, this was only said of Yahshua, because He was begotten, (Heb 1:5, 5:5) and of Adam, because he was created for that specific purpose. (Luke 3:38)
The creation of Adam and Eve also demonstrates the role of Christ who, from the beginning, stood equal to the Father, and yet submitted to Him so that all facets of love would be revealed to the created universe. Love consists, on the one hand, of reasonable headship, of being a protector, a provider, a comforter, a guide. It also consists, on the other hand, of contented acceptance, of being a helper, a supporter, a devoted partner. One of these aspects, without the other, is not agape-love. If there is only leadership and guidance, that can become domination. If there is only obedience and service, that can become slavish.
It was therefore necessary that perfect love be expressed though a Father and a Son, so that righteousness may be taught to all, and clearly seen on all levels of the divine family.
But just as blasphemy is the stealing of worship, and the disregard of authority, so it can be done when this hierarchy is reversed. Man has been made in the image of God; and yet, because He will not use force lightly, Yahweh has submitted Himself to be made in the image of man.
What do I mean by that?
We read of a particularly deadly form of demonic doctrine in the writings of Paul, who describes it this way: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse; because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves, who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Rom 1:20-25)
This is exactly what we have been talking about… worship. Worship that is directed toward Yahweh is healing, strengthening, and educational to the soul. Worship that is stolen, and directed instead to the things of the earth is destruction itself. We find that they “changed the truth of God into a lie,” and they did so by imagining that Yahweh was like a creature, a snake, or an owl, or… a man like themselves.
It reads that they “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man.” It is this that has been the cause of many sorrows. It is this very thing that has been the source of a multitude of false teachings about the Father and Son, some of which so distort Their image in the minds of the deceived, that they cannot even discern righteousness from sin, and therefore do not know how to repent.
Caught up in the beauty and brilliance of their false doctrines, these people, who measure God by their own standard, cannot hear the voice of the Holy Spirit through the genuine messengers. They reject the teachings of Christ though His own people, and worship a god that is nothing like the Creator, but instead thinks, and acts, like them. Such a god is not worthy of worship, and cannot save the soul from death.
There are many specifics I could get into here, and each way that this error manifests could be explored in its own study, but it is important that we grasp the truth of this. That way we will not be deceived by any of the endless variations in which its opposite can appear.
There are some who say that God is vengeful, violent, and harsh. He is so cold, and distant, and indisposed to forgiveness, that one must approach Him carefully, through many layers of “protection.” We cannot approach a god such as this, but must speak to him through intermediaries… Christ alone is not enough, we must appeal to Mary, to the various saints that were more holy than ourselves, or the angels appointed to be our servants and protectors. Man was made in the image of God, but here we see the blasphemy, that God is made in the image of man, with his passions, his carnal wrath, and his intolerance. Such a god cannot save the soul from death, and we must pray and work to rescue people from such a gross deception. We are to teach them that the God of the hurricane loves them, and has given all for their sakes so that they may stand before Him without guilt, or shame, or fearfulness.
Then we have the other extreme, a view that appears to be gaining some traction among some of our Adventist people, who appear in many cases to be particularly prone to these winds of doctrine. Some say, rightly, that God is love, and goodness, and peace. Because they understand these words only on a limited, human level, however, their own level, they then say, “A god who is love could never be responsible for the death of anyone, even sinners. Therefore, when someone dies, even the worst of men, it is just cause and effect, which God allows, or the work of evil angels, which God permits to act.” This thought may be pleasant to some, because it emphasizes the “goodness” of our Father. The danger here is that it teaches love as an incomplete and sentimental emotion, rather than a righteous and deliberate choice to be dedicated to the best good of others. Genuine love will sever an infected limb in order to save the heart and mind. Genuine love will send angels to wipe out the enemies of Yahweh’s covenanted people. Genuine love will cast sinners into the lake of fire, because that is the only way that a sin-scarred soul will ever find peace.
These are things that are hard for the carnal mind, with its very shallow reference pool of spiritual things, to understand. But there are some who are beginning to understand it. The 144,000 awaken to righteousness and, through trust in the Father and Son, through devoted contemplation of their revealed Word, begin to understand love in a way that is beyond the human experience. We know that it was not an evil angel who slew the men of Bethshemesh for touching the Ark of The Covenant. We can read passages that describe how, because of their love for Yahweh, the Tribe of Levi cut down three thousand idolaters from among their own people. These passages do not bring us joy, to know that there were so many whose sin had forced them beyond the bounds of mercy, and that their blood needed to be shed to ensure a clean camp to prepare the way for the Messiah’s first Advent. They do not give us a sense of satisfaction that these people “got what they deserved,” or that Yahweh has employed these strange, extreme measures in the past.
The Bible acknowledges the difficulty that human beings may have in trying to understand these things, and rightly labels it a “strange act” in Isaiah 28:21. There has always been violence among mankind; the very first born son of man slew his own brother over jealousy and rage. To say that the “strange act” described here is Yahweh permitting violence to occur is to miss the message of the Bible. Mankind is in need of a Savior to rescue him from his violence and transgression. It is not a strange act for Yahweh to permit man to be violent, or to allow a fallen angel to be destructive. These things are perfectly natural, and according to their rebellious consequences. It is when Yahweh, the Holy One, the loving and merciful one, says, “It is enough. This person will never repent, and for the good of others, he shall be destroyed,” that is a strange work. That is a strange act. That is what the Scriptures describe.
Inspiration has told us that false teachers, and those who are ignorant of Yahweh’s nature, will not be able to find the balance between our Father’s love and His justice. They do not understand what it means that He will “by no means clear the guilty.” (Exo 34:7) And you know, this is not a new idea. There have always been those who, by making Yahweh into their own image, have denied the destruction of the wicked. There are books that have been left out of the New Testament, some of them Gospels supposedly written by individuals such as Barnabas, Thomas, even Judas, where they claimed to receive “secret teachings” from Christ that were withheld from the other disciples. In several of these, Christ tells them something that the others aren’t ready for, and in one case He imparted to His chosen disciple the very secret idea that nobody is ever really destroyed. Hell, for these gnostic believers, is essentially what the Roman Catholics call “Purgatory,” and that eventually, after spending enough time in the flames repenting of one’s sins, a soul eventually gains entrance to Heaven.
So yes, the teaching about eternal destruction, according to these false teachers, is just to scare people into “being good,” and shortening their time in hell. This is clearly a complete misrepresentation of what the Word of Yahweh clearly does teach, and the reason why is because the authors cannot see love, goodness, and righteousness beyond their own personal experiences, and so God never really destroys anyone. He may permit them to pass away physically, but eventually, everyone’s soul is going to be saved.
“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,” The Scriptures tell us. Yahweh takes no pleasure in the death of the sinner, and neither do we… nevertheless, divine and perfect love must have a clean universe, entirely free from suffering and sorrow. The death of the wicked is an act of mercy, both for those who are ultimately destroyed, and for those who are left alive. It is only when men come to believe that they know a better way, a more perfect way, that is when we see these teachings beginning to spread.
As I said, there are a number of other ways that blasphemy, rejection of the acknowledgement of Yahweh’s true nature, leads to false doctrines.
Because men believe that Yahweh is inconstant, like themselves, they conclude that the Sabbaths and New Moons were temporary measures, limited only to the Israelites, and only for a time. If that were the case, then Judaism and Christianity are failed religions, because the Jews never learned the peace that the Sabbath was to teach them, or the humility that the New Moon was to reveal to them, and Christianity never took up the banner of teaching these things to the gentiles and the rest of the world.
Because men believe that Yahweh is subject to appeasement and bribery, like themselves, they conclude that the religion of the Bible is based on works, on earning one’s way to Heaven by obedience. They do not understand how everlasting life could be given for free, because they themselves do not understand divine generosity, or how love and gratitude command obedience far more consistently than a fear of hell.
Because men are mistrustful and suspicious, they look with contempt on those who teach victory over sin. Their own lives have been a series of failures, and they are often resentful of those who claim to have overcome the sorrows of transgression. Because they cannot see past their own conviction, they do not hear that we have overcome “through Christ” and not because of our own efforts or merit. They despise the gift being offered to them, because they do not know how to rest in it, and they worship a god who is as imperfect as they are. Because they have made God in their own image, they do not let Him make them into His, and they reject the First Angel of the Gospel.
Because men are confused and inconsistent, they believe any number of contradictory doctrines about who God is. They make Him into their own disordered image, blaspheming His holy character, and cast about for Lunar Sabbaths, pagan practices, legalism, licentiousness, Trinitarianism, Sunday-sacredness, and so on, or alternatively, defining their righteousness by how strongly they oppose these doctrines. This is the core of many of the modern independent ministries. Because they have made God into their own image, they do not hear when His Spirit attempts to correct them through His servants, and they reject the Second Angel of the Gospel.
Because men are vengeful, violent, and greedy, they believe that God’s wrath and punishment are like theirs. They consent to using force, violence, in order to get their way, believing in many cases that God is blessing their self-appointed crusade. They find vindication when human authority stamps out their opponents, and feel that they are blessed when they triumph over those who contradict them, even when they triumph through secular means. Because they have made God into their own image, they do not see the spirit of the Beast in the unholy unions of Churches with states, nor in the oppressive laws that inevitably follow. And do not be deceived, the very ones who claim they would reject a Sunday Law, but agree with a law that trademarks God’s own spiritual property, these are the very ones who would have submitted to the pressure of the government’s might, or would have allowed themselves to be slain because of stubborn resistance to authority instead of any genuine love of Christ. Because all these have made God into their own image, and could not hear when the Spirit and the Bride said to them, “Come, come and see,” (Rev 22:17) they reject the Third Angel of the Gospel.
It is blasphemy that is the enemy of the soul. It is blasphemy that is Satan’s most versatile and effective tool. It is at the heart of every false doctrine, which turns the soul away from genuine worship of the only True God. It is in the heart of every stubborn rebel, who hears the voice of the Holy Spirit through the Bible, through conscience, and through the testimony of the saints, and decides that he has something better to do with his time than fall on his face in worship of the Creator.
Yahweh is not in the fire, or the earthquake, or the mighty wind and rain of the storm. We know that our Father is not subject to the limitations of His creation. And yet, these things represent Him to us, and guide us toward that still, small voice that leads us gently, but securely, along the path of righteousness that Eli-Yah the prophet once walked. (1Kings 19:11, 12) Let us worship. Let us rejoice, always, that our Father has loved us, and called us to Himself. And may that very same love drive us always to be agents and messengers of the Father and Son, so that others may also be made into His true image, and take their places as His sons and daughters indeed and in eternity.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“This illustrates the working of all false religions. They originate in man’s desire to exalt himself above God, but they result in degrading man below the brute. Every religion that wars against the sovereignty of God defrauds man of the glory which was his at the creation, and which is to be restored to him in Christ.” [The Desire of Ages, p. 286]
“God’s love is represented in our day as being of such a character as would forbid His destroying the sinner. Men reason from their own low standard of right and justice. ‘Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself’ (Psalm 50:21). They measure God by themselves. They reason as to how they would act under the circumstances and decide God would do as they imagine they would do [...] The plea may be made that a loving Father would not see His children suffering the punishment of God by fire while He had the power to relieve them. But God would, for the good of His subjects and for their safety, punish the transgressor. God does not work on the plan of man. He can do infinite justice that man has no right to do before his fellow man.” [Manuscript Releases Vol. 12, p. 207, 208]
“It was just before this that Jesus had a second time performed the miracle of healing a man possessed, blind and dumb, and the Pharisees had reiterated the charge, ‘He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.’ Matthew 9:34. Christ told them plainly that in attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, they were cutting themselves off from the fountain of blessing. Those who had spoken against Jesus Himself, not discerning His divine character, might receive forgiveness; for through the Holy Spirit they might be brought to see their error and repent. Whatever the sin, if the soul repents and believes, the guilt is washed away in the blood of Christ; but he who rejects the work of the Holy Spirit is placing himself where repentance and faith cannot come to him. It is by the Spirit that God works upon the heart; when men willfully reject the Spirit, and declare It to be from Satan, they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them. When the Spirit is finally rejected, there is no more that God can do for the soul.” [The Desire of Ages, p. 321]