CRYING OUT AGAINST IDOLATRY IN THE KINGDOM
September 10, 2002 (updated July 2013)
Deuteronomy 32: 1-5 “Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of YAHWEH: ascribe ye greatness unto our Elohim. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a Elohim of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.”
The children of Israel spent 430 years in Egypt in captivity and in idolatry. Yahweh raised up Moses to deliver his people out of the bondage of idolatry and set them back under true worship.
PP. 259-260 par. 2-3 “During all the years of servitude in Egypt there had been among the Israelites some who adhered to the worship of Yahweh. These were solely troubled as they saw their children daily witnessing the abominations of the heathen, and even bowing down to their false gods. In their distress they cried unto the Yahweh for deliverance from the Egyptian yoke, that they might be freed from the corrupting influence of idolatry. They did not conceal their faith, but declared to the Egyptians that the object of their worship was the Maker of heaven and earth, the only true and living Elohim. They rehearsed the evidences of His existence and power, from creation down to the days of Jacob. The Egyptians thus had an opportunity to become acquainted with the religion of the Hebrews; but disdaining to be instructed by their slaves, they tried to seduce the worshipers of Yahweh by promises of reward, and, this failing, by threats and cruelty.”
The elders of Israel endeavored to sustain the sinking faith of their brethren by repeating the promises made to their fathers, and the prophetic words of Joseph before his death, foretelling their deliverance from Egypt. Some would listen and believe. Others, looking at the circumstances that surrounded them, refused to hope. The Egyptians, being informed of what was reported among their bondmen, derided their expectations and scornfully denied the power of their Elohim. They pointed to their situation as a nation of slaves, and tauntingly said, “If your Elohim is just and merciful, and possesses power above that of the Egyptian gods, why does He not make you a free people?” They called attention to their own condition. They worshiped deities termed by the Israelites false deities, yet they were a rich and powerful nation. They declared that their gods had blessed them with prosperity, and had given them the Israelites as servants, and they gloried in their power to oppress and destroy the worshipers of Yahweh. Pharaoh himself boasted that the Elohim of the Hebrews could not deliver them from his hand.”
They had to be forced out of Egypt so they would be willing to give up their idols and customs of the heathen that they were in the midst of. All the plagues that fell on the Egyptians represented the idols that the Egyptians were accustomed to worshipping. The Israelites could not keep the Sabbath properly because of the oppression of the Egyptians. The Israelites were delivered so that they might observe the statutes of Yahweh, including the fourth commandment, and this placed upon them an additional obligation to keep the Sabbath strictly.
PP.pg 758 Note 5.to 760:1 “That the plagues were designed to destroy the confidence of the Egyptians in the power and protection of their idols….”
PP.758- 760. The different plagues destroyed the idols of the different things that were worshipped in Egypt. The serpent, the Nile River, the fish in the water, the frogs, the lice- an insect to contaminate the altars, which could not be used if contaminated. The priests wore only linen garments and shaved their heads and bodies everyday to avoid this contamination. While this plague lasted they could not perform any act of worship, and so keenly was this felt that the magicians exclaimed, “This is the finger of Yahweh.” The next plague was the fly which represented Beelzebub, the Fly-god; the cattle were destroyed because of the system of brute worship; The ashes that Moses took a handful of and cast into the air represented the ashes of human sacrifice thought to prevent evil, it brought boils and blains on all the land of the Egyptians. The next plague represented worship of Serapis who was supposed to protect the country from locusts & insects. Locusts destroyed the fruits of the field and the verdure of the forest. The eighth and tenth were directed against the worship of Isis and Osiris. They represented the worship of the sun and moon and were believed to control the light and the elements. The nation had worshipped Pharaoh as a representative of their god, but many were now convinced that he was opposing himself to One who made all the powers of nature. The Egyptian people were afraid of the Israelite slaves.”
“Thick darkness settled like the pall of death over the land for three days and nights. Yahweh used Nature to proclaim Him the true Elohim and his supremacy, and exert his power to degrade the idols, destroy idolatry, and liberate the descendants of Abraham out of bondage. The Almighty revealed himself as the true Elohim by miraculous agency, and pursued those measures, in exercise of his power, which were directly adapted to destroy the various forms of idolatry which existed in Egypt. And finally, the last plague was the smiting of all the first born in the land. This was to manifest to all the minds that Yahweh was the Elohim who executes judgment in the earth.”
Everything that was destroyed in the plagues represented idolatry in Egypt. Most of it was the work of the hands of the Israelites for the Egyptians. Only by totally devastating the whole land of Egypt were the people of Israel willing to leave idolatry. The only problem was that the people were leaving idolatry but they had not gotten idolatry out of their heart. They proved this when they got into the land and Moses went up on the mount, out of their sight. In reality they had turned to Moses and made an idol of him. In their minds they thought they needed a visible idol to worship because they had been so long in Egypt and had seen so much of idolatry. Here, Yahweh was trying to teach them to believe in him as an unseen Guide and Protector. He gave the evidence of His presence in the cloud of fire at night and pillar of cloud by day. They only needed to believe and be blessed. It is only by the removal of idolatry in the heart that the heart is given to Yahweh and He alone is worshipped. They only needed Faith.
True worshippers of Yahweh never indulged in the pagan idolatrous practice of annually celebrating birth dates (birthdays).
“Every Egyptian attached much importance to the day, and even to the hour of his birth; and it is probable that in Persia… each individual kept his birthday with great rejoicing, welcoming all of his friends with all the amusements of society, and a more than usual profusion of the delicacies of the TABLE.” – M’Clintock & Strong’s Cyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 817.
Josephus (BJ vii 3.1) refers to Titus’ celebration of his brother’s and father’s birthdays (genethlia) by slaughtering Jewish captives. By the time of the NT, genesia could be used to designate the birthday celebration of a living prominent person, hence Mt. 14:6; 6:21. When Herod celebrated his birthday he was acting in accord with Hellenistic custom; there is no evidence for the celebration of birthdays in Israel in pre-Hellenistic times.
Yahshua inaugurated a binding Memorial, not of His birth, but of His death (Luke 22:19). If early worshipers did not celebrate or memorialize an annual birth date for Yahshua, much less would they celebrate their own birth date annually.
Historian Augustus Neander writes: “The notion of a birthday festival was far from the ideas of the Christians of this period.” (The History of the Christian Religion and Church, During the First Three Centuries, translated by Henry John Rose, New York 1848, p. 190).
“Origen [a writer of the third century C.E.]…Insist that ‘of all the holy people in the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day on which they were born into this world below'” – The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911, Vol, X, p. 709.
M’Clintock & Strong’s Cyclopedia (Vol. I, p. 817) says the Jews “regarded birthday celebrations as parts of idolatrous worship, and this probably on the account of the idolatrous rites with which they were observed in honor of those who were regarded as the patron gods of the day on which the party was born.” In lew of this quote and the following information Funk & Wagnalls… it is clearly seen that the observance of birth dates (birthdays) is connected with Astrology, which is emphatically condemned by Yahweh in His Word. – Deuteronomy 18: 10-12; (Job) 31; 26-28; (Isaiah) 47:13.
If we, as the kingdom church of the living Elohim of today, do not follow the teachings of the Scriptures in putting away idolatry from our midst, we are going to be just like the children of Israel were, when they were summoned to meet Elijah on Mt Carmel with King Ahab and all the false prophets and false priests of Baal. Idolatry was the reason for the meeting Elijah had with the children of Israel and the priests of Baal and when Yahweh showed his displeasure of their idolatry. When it was over, Elijah destroyed 450 prophets and 400 priests of Baal before sundown.
PK.pg147: 1- 3 “Facing King Ahab and the false prophets, and surrounded by the assembled hosts of Israel, Elijah stands, the only one who has appeared to vindicate the honor of Yahweh. He whom the whole kingdom has charged with its weight of woe is now before them, apparently defenseless in the presence of the monarch of Israel, the prophets of Baal, the men of war, and the surrounding thousands. But Elijah is not alone. Above and around him are the protecting hosts of heaven, angels that excel in strength.
Unashamed, un-terrified, the prophet stands before the multitude, fully aware of his commission to execute the divine command. His countenance is lighted with an awful solemnity. In anxious expectancy the people wait for him to speak. Looking first upon the broken-down altar of Yahweh, and then upon the multitude, Elijah cries out in clear, trumpet like tones, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Yahweh be Elohim, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him.” The people answer him not a word. Not one in that vast assembly dare reveal loyalty to Yahweh. Like a dark cloud, deception and blindness had overspread Israel. Not all at once had this fatal apostasy closed about them, but gradually, as from time to time they had failed to heed the words of warning and reproof that the Yahweh sent them. Each departure from right doing, each refusal to repent, had deepened their guilt and driven them farther from Heaven. And now, in this crisis, they persisted in refusing to take their stand for Elohim.”
Now in this crisis that we are in, are we going to take our stand for Yahweh or for Baal? Are we willing to give up the idolatry in our lives and worship Yahweh with the whole heart and soul and body? If not, then we are going to be just like the children of Israel were at Mt. Carmel. Have we come this far only to lose out now because we don’t want to be told that we have to give up something we like, that is sin? Does sin feel that good? The scripture says in James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all.” It says we are guilty of ALL the law if we offend in one point. Are we too proud, too vain, to do what is lawful and right? We are facing some serious times and troubles, and if we have one sin on our record we will not be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil and we will be lost. We cannot go and get the harvest out of the world if we are doing the very same things that they are doing. We cannot condemn them unless we are without condemnation ourselves.
Are we going to hold a grudge against someone because they tried to show us the error of our ways? Gal. 4:16 “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?”
IF one lie has been told against someone and not repented of, any hate in your heart for someone, any resentment toward someone, all of this will keep you from getting your sins erased on the day of Atonement. The holding on to of just one sin. The Scripture says what soever you eat, drink, say or do, do all to the glory of Yahweh.
Eccles.7: 1 “ A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.”
Eccles.12: 8,13,14,Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Yahweh, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For Elohim shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
Psalm 39: 5-6 “… verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.”
The following is quoted from an article written by David C. Pack entitled “The Truth hidden behind Makeup”. (All emphasis is theirs unless otherwise stated).
Encyclopedia Britannica defines “cosmetics” as “…. products nobody needs-but wanting them is human nature. Today, the desire to look better, smell better, and thus feel better causes consumers worldwide – mostly women – to spend an estimated $65 billion annually on personal enhancement – cosmetics” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2001).
It is reported “An estimated 1,282 tubes of lipstick and 2,055 jars of skin care products are sold every minute” (“Beauty is in the Mind and wallet of the beholder,” Minnesota Daily Online, March 7, 2001).
Ancient Roots
When considering the origin of makeup, we must ask where it first came into use. The ancient roots of makeup offer the first great insight into why it is used today. The following quotes demonstrate its early use. “The use of cosmetics is very ancient. Evidence of the use of eye makeup and aromatic ointments has been found in Egyptian tombs dating to 3500 BC.
“By the 1st century ad the Egyptian, Roman, Greek and Middle Eastern cultures had developed cosmetics such as powders to whiten the skin; kohl to darken the eyelids, eyelashes, and eyebrows; rouge for the cheeks…” (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 5, p. 196).
Egyptian tombs represent the earliest recorded references to the use of makeup. But the Egyptians were by no means the only culture to use it. Many others followed suit. Here are some specifics:
“During the Predynastic period [ending in 3200 B.C.], men as well as women applied a line of green paint around the eyes. In dynastic times the colour of paint used was a dark gray. Red ochre seems to have been used to colour the cheeks and henna the palms, nails, and, in the late period at least, the hair. “Assyrians resorted to black dye for eyebrows, hair, and beard, whereas the Persians used henna, which produced an orange-red colour, a style that existed from 1900 BC. Gold dust, gold thread, and scented yellow starch were sometimes used in the hair and beard for festive occasions.” (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 5,1979 Edit, pp.1017-1018).
Plainly, the use of makeup started nationally in Egypt. The Bible uses Egypt as a type of the sins of this world, which Christians are commanded to come out of.
Even before its use in Egypt, the original painted harlot was Semiramis, the mother-wife of Nimrod, and the founder of the Babylonian Mystery Religion. Semiramis is known as the mother of all harlots. She used makeup, as well as suggestive whorish clothing, for various religious and sexual rituals. The following quote describes the kind of seductive, sensual clothing that she — and later the Egyptians—wore: “Modern knowledge of ancient Egyptian dress derives for the most part from ancient paintings and sculpture, since very few garments have been preserved. The earliest representations of women show them either nude or clad in tightly fitting white linen skirts down to the ankles” (Ibid. pp. 1016-1017).
Along with various statues, paintings and busts still in existence from ancient times, descriptions show how Egyptians used cosmetics and revealing clothing to appeal to their sensuality. They adopted this dress into their culture from Semiramis, in an attempt to appear more like the many gods and goddesses they worshipped.
Since the artwork described here also employed the use of makeup, it is no wonder that 100 years ago it was generally understood and said “only bad women wear makeup.” It is the same attitude of alluring through suggestion and sensuality that links near nudity and use of makeup. Both demonstrate a departure from modesty and virtue.
We read that the use of cosmetics spread from culture to culture. The Columbia Encyclopedia adds more about how each civilization adopted its own methods of applying and producing cosmetics. The following shows how the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian and Greek cultures all took their lead from Egypt: “preparations [were] externally applied to change or enhance the beauty of skin, hair, nails, lips, and eyes. The use of body paint for ornamental and religious purposes has been common…The Egyptians used kohl to darken their eyes; a crude paint was used on the face, and fingers were often dyed with henna…Beauty aides reached a peak in imperial Rome——especially chalk for the face and a rouge…” (Sixth Edit. 2001). The emphasis has always been on beauty——and desiring beauty has everything to do with pride and vanity.
Many women who used cosmetics in these cultures also took their lead from Semiramis and adopted the use of cosmetics for the purpose of harlotry. History shows how women applied makeup to change their appearance and seduce men. Harlots and ““matrons”” (the female leaders of prostitution rings) were specifically recognized by their silk, jewels and cosmetics.
Here is an example of how women who used cosmetics in ancient Sparta were specifically known for being prostitutes: “Women wore brightly colored dresses…they used a lot of cosmetics…which…a woman could do only if she earned her living through prostitution.” (Magna Grecia——An Overview, Prof. Gino Gullace). The first women to wear makeup were prostitutes! Changing one’s appearance by facial paint is a custom ancient prostitute have dictated to the modern age. Cosmetics were nothing more than a device used by harlots to teach mankind to break the Seventh Commandment. This is the message of history—yet the whole world lies in ignorance of these facts!
More recently, makeup first became common in the red-light districts of New York, Amsterdam, Paris and other large cities. Today it is found in nearly every supermarket and corner drugstore.
Jeremiah 4:30
Now that the history of cosmetics has been established, let’s look deeper into the subject. What does the Bible say about it? How does Yahweh feel about the use of makeup? Is facial paint mentioned in Yahweh’s Word?
Some people reason, “But I’ve never seen a reference to makeup in the Bible!” Understand that the actual words makeup, cosmetics, lipstick, mascara, etc., are not found in the Bible, but direct references to makeup and eye paint are found in three places, possibly four. After reviewing them, you will not doubt what is directly revealed from Scripture.
But let’s not play games with, or try to reason around, what Yahweh DOES say. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (I Thes. 5:21). Let’s prove what Yahweh says and be honest with what we learn. We will first examine four Old Testament scriptures. They establish the basic framework for understanding Yahweh’s view of facial cosmetics.
The book of Jeremiah depicts conditions at the end of the age among the nations that were Yahweh’s people, ancient Israel (the primarily English-speaking, democratic peoples of the Western World). We begin in chapter 4 and lead up to verse 30.
The setting is Yahweh inspiring Jeremiah with a vision of the destruction coming on these modern nations. National sins and “abominations”- things despised by Yahweh – are soon to bring a terrible punishment. Yahweh is even now offering these people a final chance to repent and return to Him. Notice what Jeremiah writes: “If you will return, O Israel, says the Yahweh, return unto Me: and if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, then shall you not remove [go into prophesied captivity]…O Jerusalem, wash your heart [mind] from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your vain thoughts lodge within you?” (vs. 1, 14). Elohim is pleading with His people to clean up their lives – to “wash” themselves.
Jeremiah continues, “Your way and your doings have procured these things unto you; this is your wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reaches unto your heart [these are very serious matters to Yahweh]. For My people is foolish, they have not known Me; they are sottish [drunken, stupid] children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge, all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Yahweh, and by His fierce anger.” (vs. 18, 22, and 26).
Yahweh’s indictment reaches a climax in Jeremiah’s vision. The modern nations of Israel (not Judah, which is just one nation) have, like a harlot, sought “lovers” (political allies) who turn on her: “And when you are spoiled, what will you do? Though you clothed yourself with crimson…” Most other translations translate the word ““crimson”” as scarlet.
This is important to understand. It is the Great Whore, called “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth” and described in Revelation 17:5, who dresses in ““purple and scarlet”” (vs. 4) and rides a ““scarlet-colored beast”” (vs. 3). This “woman” is a picture of the great false, counterfeit religious system now masquerading as Christianity. She is a great church with many daughter churches that came out of her in protest. Recall the ancient Semiramis, who started the Babylonian Mystery Religion. She was the first harlot, and a type of the religion she founded – which has survived her for thousands of years.
Jeremiah describes how modern Israel has fallen into the conduct of a whore among the nations. Now read verse 30: “…though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you rented your face with painting, in vain shall you make yourself fair [beautiful]; your lovers will despise you, they will seek your life.” (Bold Emphasis mine)
The peoples of the United States, Britain and her former Commonwealth countries have rebelled against Yahweh. As Yahweh reduces them in power and prestige, they have found themselves increasingly seeking “lovers” from among the nations on earth. All such “lovers” are prophesied to eventually turn on their courters. Israel has trusted in her outward appearance instead of Yahweh – and modern women unwittingly do the same.
Ancient Israel always sought to be like the nations around her. Instead of being an example to them, Israel wanted acceptance from them! Women today are no different. Not wearing makeup would make them stand out – and people want to fit in and be accepted. Please examine yourself and recognize this natural desire at work in your mind. Take verse 30 for exactly what it means. Do not add to or subtract from it. It is plain! The context is Yahweh condemning His people for abominations within their national conduct, their national behavior. One of the abominations that Yahweh hates is painting the face, thereby taking on the nature of a prostitute. I have seen some try to use this verse to justify wearing makeup as long as one is not a prostitute.
The whole point in verse 30 is that painting the eyes IS a common method of a prostitute, and any honest person, one truly seeking to please Yahweh and find His will, would admit as much! Like any prostitute dressed in red, modern Israel has painted her face with makeup. National captivity and a terrible time of punishment will be Yahweh’s remedy for His people and all who follow these practices——for those who will not wash and clean up their faces! Women of today may think they just want to ““look nice”” to the world, when they really look like prostitutes to Yahweh.
Ezekiel 23:40
The second scripture to be examined comes from Ezekiel. This book is almost entirely comprised of one great prophecy, also culminating in the second captivity of the modern-day descendants of Israel. Much of Ezekiel parallels Jeremiah. Yahweh reinforces what He said there.
The Prophet Ezekiel records the same kinds of national sins and conditions as Jeremiah. Chapter 23 contains a very graphic description, best read in the Moffatt translation. This translation does not always carefully delineate between verses as do the King James and others. Paragraphs begin wherever the translator chose to place them.
The context is of two harlot sisters. Bear in mind that Samaria was the capital of the ancient House of Israel (with ten tribes) and Jerusalem of the House of Judah (with two tribes). Think of the sisters as representing the modern capital cities of Washington, D.C. and Jerusalem/Tel Aviv. The context leads up to verse 40. Here is what Yahweh says. Read and grasp it!
‘‘Son of man, there were two women…when they were young, they played the harlot in Egypt, where men pressed their breasts and handled their virgin nipples. Their names were Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, the younger. They became My wives, and bore sons and daughters (as for their names, Oholah is Samaria, Oholibah Jerusalem).
‘‘But Aholah played the harlot, though she was My wife…and befouled herself with the idols of every man on whom she doted; she never ceased her harlotry since in Egypt men lay with her as a girl and handled her virgin nipples and had intercourse with her freely. So I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians…they exposed her nakedness…and they slew her with the sword; so punishment was inflicted on her, till she became a warning to women.’’ (Women, take this phrase for exactly what it says.)
‘‘Her sister Oholibah saw this, but she went further in depravity, in her lust and harlotry…I saw that she was befouling herself…But she carried her harlotry further; she saw men pictured upon walls, figures of Chaldeans drawn in vermilion…and when she saw them she doted upon them…Therefore, Oholibah—here is the Yahweh the Eternal’s sentence—I will rouse your lovers against you…I will mass them all around you, the Babylonians, all the Chaldeans…they shall attack you…with a host of nations…and they shall sentence you; I will vent My jealous fury upon you, and let them deal with you fiercely……” This is a sobering verse. The punishment described actually comes from Yahweh, though we have yet to read the rest of the reason why.
‘‘Since you forgot Me and flung Me aside, then suffer for your sensual harlot ways!’’ ‘‘Son of man,’’ said the Eternal, ‘‘arraign Oholah and Oholibah, and show them their detestable impieties…They did this to Me also; they polluted My sanctuary and desecrated My Sabbath [Modern Israel has trampled all over the true Sabbath of the Bible]…And this is how they behaved within My temple; they actually sent for men who came from abroad, sent messengers to them! And for them you bathed yourself, you painted your eyes, you put on your ornaments [vs. 40], you sat on a handsome divan [couch], with a table spread in front of it…and sounds of revelry arose!” This is an incredible series of verses. Yahweh directly likens Israel and Judah to harlots who have sent for men after painting their faces——exactly like whores awaiting their next customers. This is a clear, unmistakable condemnation of the use of eye makeup. Yahweh next issues a sentence, just like a modern court, to all those who have committed spiritual crimes (sins) in His sight.
‘‘This therefore is the Yahweh the Eternal’s sentence: Bring a host of folk against them, and hand them over to be maltreated and robbed! Let them be stoned and put to the sword…that all women may take warning and avoid your sensual ways…and so learn that I am the Lord the Eternal!’’
Women of the modern world – take warning! Be careful that you do not conclude that you are an exception to the punishment foretold in this prophecy. Yahweh connects eye paint directly to seduction for harlotrous purposes. Are you prepared to stand before Him and explain why this did not mean you? Be careful that you do not fatally miscalculate, with your eternal life at stake!
We will see that it was Satan the devil who deceived Eve on this very point of beauty and vanity. Will you follow Eve and allow yourself to be deceived by human reasoning contrary to Yahweh’s plain Word?
Isaiah 3:16
The third scripture comes from Isaiah, the longest book of the prophets. As in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the theme of this prophecy is the conditions, attitudes and national sins in modern Israel.
Yahweh thunders this indictment from heaven against His people: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Yahweh has spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me”(Isa. 1:2). Yahweh is angry at Israel. He continues by listing the ways in which they have rebelled against and disobeyed Him: ““Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity [lawlessness], a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Yahweh, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward” (vs. 4). They partake in ways that “provoke Him to anger.”
Before continuing with Israel’s sins, Yahweh inserts a description of how blessed these nations will be during the millennium, when Israel and the entire world will obey and be governed by Yahweh’s Law: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain [kingdom] of the Yahweh’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains [nations or kingdoms], and shall be exalted above the hills [smaller countries]; and all nations shall flow unto it” (2:2).
Yahweh then continues to describe Israel’s disobedience: “Therefore you have forsaken your people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made” (vs. 6-8).
This last statement is not a description of Israel at that time. Anciently, Israel never attained the level of wealth described here! This verse was not fulfilled until modern times. The United States is the wealthiest nation on earth today and the wealthiest nation of all time! It is our lands that are filled with treasures and idols. (Remember the phrase “replenished from the east.”)
Here are several verses that describe the terrible period of the Day of the Yahweh (or Day of Elohim’s Wrath). Yahweh describes the attitudes and idols that He will smash just prior to Yahshua’s Return: “For the day of the Yahweh of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low…And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols He shall utterly abolish” (vs. 12, 17-18).
Chapter 3 continues, describing a time when women and children rule the home, and when wealth and idols fill the land: “And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them” (vs. 4) and “As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people, they which lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths” (vs. 12). These attitudes and conditions prevail before the Return of Yahshua and the beginning of His millennial rule on earth. Look around you. This obviously describes today’s society! The modern peoples of Israel are occupied with pursuing pleasures and enjoying national wealth. While they have a “form of righteousness” (II Tim. 3:5), they completely ignore the true Elohim of the Bible and refuse to obey Him!
The next scripture specifically addresses the attitudes of women and the punishment in store for them: “Moreover the Yahweh says, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes…Therefore the Yahweh will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Yahweh will discover their secret parts” (vs. 16-17).
Verse 16 is blunt. It requires little explanation. But what does the phrase “wanton eyes,” mean? The Hebrew word carries a very different meaning than the English translation. Further study uncovers its true, fuller meaning. Strong’s Concordance defines “wanton eyes” as “…to blink coquettishly [flirtatious].” This obviously means using the eyes for seductive purposes. The American Heritage Dictionary amplifies the meaning of “wanton”: “Immoral or unchaste; lewd.” But what makes the eyes “immoral or lewd”?
Lange’s Commentary explains: “The order of thought is as follows: The luxurious pride of women, too, shall be humbled (ver. 16, 17). In ver. 16…The prophet here resumes the thread which had been dropped or broken at the close of ver. 12, and recurs to the undue predominance of female influence, but particularly to the prevalent excess of female luxury, not only as sinful in itself but as a chief cause of the violence and social disorder previously mentioned, and therefore to be punished by disease, widowhood, and shameful exposure.”
The Jamison, Fausset, Brown Commentary adds an additional, critical element to the phrase “wanton eyes” that is of central importance to what is being described: “16…and wanton eyes—Hebrew (mesha-ququeroth, from shaquar, to deceive), ‘‘deceiving with their eyes.’’…Lowth, after the Chaldaic, ‘‘falsely setting off the eyes with paint.’’ Women’s eyelids in the East are often colored with stibium, or powder of lead.”
Not every scholar agrees with this source, and other authors not included here. But the main thrust of both Jeremiah 4:30 and Ezekiel 23:40 strongly indicate the correctness of this commentary in its reference to eye paint.
The Clarke’s Commentary adds fascinating insight into the phrase “replenished from the east.” It is a reference to the Orient, where many cosmetics were produced and sold in ancient times. Notice his reference to Jeremiah and Ezekiel. It is understood that not everything Clarke says about Isaiah 3:16 is accurate, but he adds important information about this phrase.
“Her eyelashes, which are long, and, according to the custom of the East, dressed with stibium, (as we often read in the Holy Scriptures of the Hebrew women of old, Jer. 4:30; Ezek. 23:40)…’’But none of those ladies,’’ says Dr. Shaw, Travels, p. 294, ‘‘take themselves to be completely dressed, till they have tinged the hair and edges of their eyelids with alkahol, the powder of lead ore…’’ Ezekiel 23:40, uses the same word in the form of a verb, cachalt eynayik, ‘‘thou didst dress thine eyes with alkahol;’’ which the Septuagint render ‘‘thou didst dress thine eyes with stibium’’…compare II Kings 9:30; Jer. 4:30.”
Clarke identifies one of the earliest known sources of makeup, which was Israel’s source for these products.
Why would Yahweh include this phrase in Isaiah 2:6 if “wanton eyes” (just one chapter later) did not have something to do with the kinds of makeup that were obtained from the Orient? There is not enough space to reference the many other available historical facts. But allow the Bible to interpret itself!
Once the verses in Isaiah are examined and properly understood, it is clear why Yahweh is “provoked” to anger. Cosmetics are applied to mislead and deceive.
A 1770 Pennsylvania law once stated that a man could annul his marriage if he learned that his wife had worn makeup during their courtship, thereby misleading him about her appearance.
The first people in America to use facial paint were Indians wearing “war paint.” They did this to deceive their enemies by making themselves appear fiercer than they were.
Recall the phrase “stretched forth necks.” Only proud, arrogant people walk looking up in the air, full of vanity because of the importance they place on their beauty. Yahweh states that He “resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble” (James. 4:6). Many scriptures describe how He will punish those who do not repent of pride and other attitudes associated with it, such as using makeup for beauty enhancement. Here are a few:
Jeremiah 50:31-32 states, “Behold, I am against you, O you most proud. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all around about him.” Also “They [Yahweh’s people Israel] are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish”” (51:18).
Ezekiel 13:8 states, “Therefore thus says the Yahweh Elohim; because you have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, says the Yahweh Elohim.”
Malachi 4:1 reads, “…and all the proud, yes, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up…”
Finally, Psalm 144:4 adds, “Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passes away.”
While no one realizes this, and few would accept such understanding, vanity is a form of natural desire for worship and adoration from other people. Though it springs from inferiority, vanity is the human method of covering up this feeling by elevating oneself above others.
Only Elohim is to be worshipped and adored! When people take this to themselves, it is a form of idolatry and directly violates the Second Commandment.
We will later return to the subject of pride and where it ultimately comes from. It will become clear -plain- why women have always been particularly susceptible to the connection of beauty to pride.
II Kings 9:30 and Jezebel
The study of makeup would be incomplete without examining one of the most evil women in the Old Testament-Jezebel-and her use of cosmetics. This infamous woman was both a queen and a prophetess who practiced witchcraft.
The first reference to Jezebel is found in I Kings 16:29-31. It introduces background to her time period: “And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Yahweh above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Eth-baal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.”
Disobeying Yahweh is no “light thing.” It is serious and so are the consequences!
Jezebel married King Ahab of Israel, and is infamous for doing abominable things in Yahweh’s sight. Notice: “Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Yahweh. Jezebel slew the prophets of the Yahweh.” (I Kgs. 18:4, 13). She also sought to have one of Yahweh’s greatest servants, Elijah, put to death. These are but a few examples of her evil.
Eventually, Yahweh decided to wipe out Ahab and his entire house. His son Joram ruled in his place. A young prophet explained that Jezebel would die a horrible death, eaten by dogs. Yahweh declared, “the dogs shall eat Jezebel and there shall be none to bury her” (II Kgs. 9:10) and decided to replace Joram with a faithful servant named Jehu. This struck fear in Jezebel (Joram’s mother) and she took action to save herself.
Notice what she did: “And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and she looked out at a window” (II Kgs. 9:30). Jezebel put on makeup to try to seduce Jehu and escape impending death.
The Hebrew word used here for painted comes from a now unused root meaning to paint; dye (specifically, stibium for the eyes).
Clarke’s Commentary gives important explanation: “She [Jezebel] endeavored to improve the appearance of her complexion by paint. This casts light enough on Jezebel’s painting…and shows sufficiently with what design she did it, to conquer and disarm Jehu, and induce him to take her for wife…This staining of the eye with stibium and painting was a universal custom, not only in Asiatic countries, but also in all those that bordered on them, or had connections with them” (p. 513).
Keil & Delitzsch Commentary of the Old Testament: “When Jehu came to Jezreel and Jezebel heard of it, ‘‘she put her eyes into lead polish (i.e., painted them with it), and beautified her head and placed herself at the window’…It is prepared from antimony ore…which when pounded yields a black powder with a metallic brilliancy, which was laid upon the eyebrows and eyelashes…the object was to heighten the splendor of the dark southern eye, and give it…a more deeply glowing fire, and to impart a youthful appearance to the whole of the eyelashes even in extreme old age.”
Here is the sequence of events. Joram went to meet with Jehu, who had been appointed by Yahweh to replace him as king of Israel: “And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?” (II Kgs. 9:22). After this discussion, Joram attempted to flee, but Jehu caught and killed him. Jehu immediately went to Jezreel to execute Jezebel. Her makeup failed to seduce him and her abominations came to an end when Jehu had her thrown from a window. The dogs did, in fact, eat her flesh as Yahweh had declared!
A Warning to Yahweh’s Church
Jezebel is also mentioned in the New Testament as part of a specific warning to Yahweh’s Church: “Notwithstanding I have a few things against you, because you suffer that woman Jezebel, which calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols” (Rev. 2:20).
Yahshua Messiah promised to build His Church (Matt. 16:18). He also promised it would never be destroyed, though it has suffered terrible persecution from both within and without. Revelation 2 and 3 are a 2,000-year summary of the seven eras of Yahshua’s Church. We are currently in the last, or Laodicean, era.
The great false church of this world (recall the Great Whore of Rev. 17:5 with her harlot daughters) has continually sought to get into His Church, depicted in Revelation 12 as a very different woman, wearing a “crown of twelve stars.”
Jezebel’s whoredoms were so wicked that she is used by Yahweh as a type of this great universal church. Just as Jezebel tried to seduce Jehu in Old Testament Israel through the use of facial paint, the Great Whore has continually sought to deceive the world and seduce Yahweh’s New Testament servants by changing her appearance, cloaking her doctrines with “paint” and masquerading as Yahweh’s Church. History shows she has been able to successfully repeat her whoredoms upon those of Yahweh’s Church.
Through the seductive use of makeup, the Great Whore (Rev. 17:1) and Jezebel (II Kgs. 9:22, 30) both masquerade for the purpose of fornication. But there is an additional horrifying parallel of what happens to this Woman (and all those who follow her doctrines) and what happened to Jezebel. Both come to the same end, dying in the same terrible way. Revelation 17:16 states that the beast, which the Whore rides, will eventually turn and eat her, just as the dogs ate Jezebel.
In the Appendix of this booklet, you will learn how this Woman and her false doctrines, beginning with women using makeup, successfully crept into the true Church of Yahweh at the end of the age. We will see that her powers of seduction have not diminished over time!
Connecting Two Vital Scriptures
No other direct reference to makeup is found in the Bible. Yet Christ states, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh” (Matt. 4:4). So we must accept all of the additional principles found in Yahweh’s Word.
It is clear that some things are wrong – are sin – without being able to refer to a single verse that specifically addresses the subject. Smoking and drug abuse are examples. We have seen that makeup is directly referenced in the Bible. But there is no “Thus saith the Yahweh on this subject in Yahweh’s Word. There are, however, important spiritual principles that must also be considered.
In addition, most Old Testament accounts were actually recorded for us today. Paul wrote, “Now these things [Old Testament accounts and events] were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted…Now all these happened unto them for examples [RSV says ““as a warning”]: and they are written for our admonition [those of the modern age], upon whom the ends of the world [age] are come” (I Cor. 10:6, 11).
Do not overlook or minimize the great message in these verses. It is generally directed to Christians who live throughout the New Testament age, but most specifically to those who live at the end! Paul explains that the Bible is filled with examples of how Christians should model their lives. Following and applying these two scriptures, in pursuit of Bible principles, reveals a clear picture of Yahweh’s view of makeup.
Think carefully. Consider those who wore makeup: the false prophetess Jezebel, two whoring sisters, Aholah and Aholibah, and the adulteress Judah are the only Bible examples of women (real or by analogy) who wore makeup!
Now think of the most well known, righteous women of the Bible. Name a single one (Old or New Testament) who wore makeup. There is no mention of Sarah, Rachel, Ruth, Naomi, Mary (Yahshua’s mother), Deborah, Esther or any other virtuous woman ever applying or wearing makeup. The fact that the only examples of those who wore makeup are adulteresses, harlots and false prophetesses serves as a great warning to anyone who cares about the Word of Elohim and wishes to follow the Bible’s righteous examples instead of the wicked.
Let’s now consider other important principles.
Imperfect or Incomplete Creation?
Ad agencies are paid based on their ability to sell products. Their goal is to get you, the consumer, to buy whatever it is they are being paid to promote. The most successful agencies find and repeat a slogan over and over. The best slogans greatly increase sales!
The most creative that I have heard is one that honestly represents cosmetics for exactly what they are. It originated from a cosmetics manufacturer: “We’re selling hope in a jar, dreams in a bottle.”
Another slogan for a widely used cosmetics company tells women that its products will help “you look like you, only better.” Can one look like herself, only not like herself? Another states that you can be ““at your most beautiful” if you use their products.
These are all effective marketing ploys, because each appeals to the exact same drive within all human beings—the desire to be and feel pretty, attractive, beautiful—vanity.
But, does Yahweh want you to “look more beautiful” than you are? Is this the way He thinks? Did the One who made you neglect to add just the right amount of makeup, so that you can be “at your most beautiful?” Does He want you to attempt to improve on what He made?
Let’s read what Yahweh says!
Yahweh created our original parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 1:27 states, “So Yahweh created man in His own image, in the image of Yahweh created He…male and female.” Yahweh made human beings to look like Himself, to be in His image.
Verse 31 continues: “And Yahweh saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” That’s right! After Yahweh finished the creation week, He said that all (“everything”) that He had made was “very good.” He renewed and arranged the lights of the universe in all of their magnificent brilliance, and was satisfied with them. He made the intricate and delicate beauty of every flower and plant, and was happy with the result. He created every creature of the animal kingdom, and was pleased with what He had done. It was all “very good.” None of it was bad or even just partly good!
This included people, who were made in His image. The pinnacle of Yahweh’s creation is mankind. It is through man—not plants or animals—that He is reproducing Himself.
Yahweh does not agree with cosmetics manufacturers and their advertisements. While they believe their products will make “you look like you, only better,” or “you at your most beautiful,” YAHWEH SAYS OTHERWISE! Apparently, He did not feel that Eve’s eyelids needed to be light green or that her lips needed to be painted bright purple, red or any other unnatural color.
A few have suggested that lipstick is referenced in the Song of Solomon where it states, “Behold, you are fair, my love…your lips are like a thread of scarlet, and your speech is comely.” This is merely a reference to the natural color of a healthy woman’s lips. So many women of today are so pasty and chalky in the natural hue and color of their skin that some conclude this verse can only be a reference to lipstick.
Since nothing Yahweh makes is physically imperfect or incomplete, this includes you women. Trying to improve your face through facial paint is telling Yahweh, “I am not happy with the way you made me,” or, after applying makeup, asking Him, “Why didn’t you make me like this?” The clichés, “Let’s fix our faces” and “Wait until I put on my face, and I’ll be right there,” have been common expressions for two generations. Your face does not need to be “fixed” and being a “put on” is phony unless it fulfills Colossians 3:12.
Paul had to address this thinking in another context: “Who are you that replies against Yahweh? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus?” (Rom. 9:20). Is this something you want to ask Yahweh —either by word or action? Be careful that you are not guilty of questioning Yahweh’s judgment in creating you exactly as He did.
Paul asks, “What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of Yahweh, and you are not your own?” (I Cor. 6:19). Women, who knows better how to create the temple in which He resides – you or Yahweh? The Old Testament temple was probably the most beautiful building ever made. This is because Elohim’s Spirit resided there. Today He lives within His people-His Church-His New Testament temple! He knows better what His temple should look like than you or I do!
Consider carefully what you do with Elohim’s temple, because “…you are bought with a price: therefore glorify Yahweh in your body, and in your spirit, which are Elohim” (vs. 20). Yahweh owns you. He has not authorized you to erect a scaffold and paint His building any color other than the one He has chosen!
People may think that women are incomplete and need help to perfect their faces. But ask yourself: “What is important to me? The opinions of people—or the declaration of Yahweh?” Yahweh declares that all people were created good, complete, finished—His future temples!
If Yahweh had meant for women to appear as they do after painting their faces, He would have designed their faces this way from creation—and THEN said, “It is very good.”
Your Decision
“There is so much more that could be said on this subject that I could go on and on and fill 100 pages! But I think this is enough! Every woman who wants that deceitfulness and wickedness removed from her heart is going to remove that physical colored dirt from her face, once and for all!
“Those who yielded to Yahshua who paid such a price for this very cleansing will need no more. Those not so yielded would not repent and let the precious blood of Yahshua cleanse them, and their faces, though I write ten thousand pages! Yahweh lays down the Law. Yahweh tells us what is sin, and He tells us that this vain use of facial make-up is sin! “But Elohim leaves it to you to decide whether to sin! And never forget the penalty for this sin is death for eternity in a Lake of fire! It is truly, an awful – a frightful fate. You are warned! You are a free moral agent. That decision is now your responsibility! What are you going to do with it?”
What Will You Do?
But what will you do? When Yahshua told some who “believed on Him” (John 8:30) what they did not want to hear, they got angry and sought to kill Him. Yahshua responded, “But now you seek to kill Me, a Man that has told you the truth…” (vs. 40). (End of quotes.)
1TM.pg 133:1-3 “Yahshua is coming; and will He find a people conformed to the world? And will He acknowledge these as His people that He has purified unto Himself? Oh, no. None but the pure and holy will He acknowledge as His. Those who have been purified and made white through suffering, and have kept themselves separate, unspotted from the world, He will own as His.
As I saw the dreadful fact that Elohim people were conformed to the world, with no distinction, except in name, between many of the professed disciples of the meek and lowly Yahshua and unbelievers, my soul felt deep anguish. I saw that Yahshua was wounded and put to an open shame. Said the angel, as with sorrow he saw the professed people of Yahweh loving the world, partaking of its spirit, and following its fashions: “Cut loose! Cut loose! Lest He appoint you your portion with hypocrites and unbelievers outside the city. Your profession will only cause you greater anguish, and your punishment will be greater because ye knew His will, but did it not.”
Those who profess to believe the third angel’s message often wound the cause of Yahweh by lightness, joking, and trifling. I was shown that this evil was all through our ranks. There should be a humbling before the Yahweh; the Israel of Yahweh should rend the heart, and not the garment. Childlike simplicity is rarely seen; the approbation of man is more thought of than the displeasure of Yahweh. Said the angel: “Set your heart in order, lest He visit you in judgment, and the brittle thread of life be cut, and ye lie down in the grave unsheltered, unprepared for the judgment. Or if ye do make your bed in the grave, unless ye soon make your peace with Yahweh, and tear yourselves from the world, your hearts will grow harder, and ye will lean upon a false prop, a supposed preparation, and find out your mistake too late to secure a well-grounded hope.” End of quoting
Brethren, Sisters, we have a tough road ahead of us. My earnest prayer is that we are all of one accord and all have on the white garment of Yahshua’s righteousness. I am very grieved that we have not kept pace with the progress that Yahweh has demanded of his people. We can repent and change. Only if we want it will it happen. Yahweh bless and keep all of you is our prayer.