A CHANGE OF COVER

"Legends of the Bible" by Louis Ginzberg has an interesting account of "The Fall of Satan". It indicates that upon the creation of man, God dictated that the angels of heaven should come down to earth and pay homage to Adam. Satan (Lucifer) was jealous of Adam, and would not do so. Instead, he insisted upon a trial of wits to prove his superiority so he would be justified in his refusal to pay homage. The trial was granted, and he lost. This, however, only served to further infuriate him, and in spite of his proven inferiority, he adamantly refused to pay homage to man. The text states that Michael was "the first to prostrate himself before Adam in order to show a good example to the other angels." The reading continues, "Michael addressed Satan: "Give adoration to the IMAGE OF GOD! But if thou doest it not, then the Lord God will break out in wrath against thee." Satan replied: "If He breaks out in wrath against me, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I WILL BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH!" For this he was cast out of heaven with the host of angels who sided with him. Our Bible doesn't elaborate to such degree, but says nothing to disagree with this account. In fact it seems to collaborate, as it says in Isaiah 14:13-14 that Lucifer had said in his heart, "I will ascend into heaven, and I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I WILL BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH."

We should recall here a reference from Genesis 2:27, where God said, " SO GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Now recall, that in our "Legends of the Bible" we found the following wording when Michael was commanding that Satan pay homage to Adam, "Give adoration to the IMAGE OF GOD!" How might Daniel and Revelation link to this understanding?

In Daniel 3:1-7, King Nebuchadnezzar created an image and commanded that mankind "fall down and worship" it or be killed. In Revelation 13:14-15 an image is again created, and mankind is told to worship it or be killed. In each of these two Biblical passages, mankind is being forced, upon threat of death, to pay homage to an image of the King. It is the Satanic counterfeit of the command of God upon the angels to pay homage to Adam (mankind, i.e. THE IMAGE OF GOD)! In so doing, he hopes to flip the tables on God, and prove that God was wrong, that he is worthy of the worship of man rather than the other way around, AND he intends to put himself in a position where he is deemed to be LIKE THE MOST HIGH!

The legacy of Lucifer is most interesting. We find a large portion of it in Ezekiel 28:13-18. We see that in the day of his creation, he was elaborately adorned with precious stones. Listed here are the sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, emerald, carbuncle, and gold. Why was he so beautifully adorned? Verse 14 gives us the answer. He was "the ANOINTED cherub that COVERETH". He was anointed by God to cover and protect the angels of the heavens.

It is vital that we understand this properly. Upon his creation, he was anointed and adorned as a "cover". The Hebrew word here is "cakak", and means "cover over", "defense", "hedge in", "shut up", "join together", or "entwine as a screen". Thus we see that it is a protective concept which covers and enmeshes. The name Lucifer means "light bearer", "the shining one". Now, we should note that Lucifer was not stripped of his anointing when he was cast to earth. It was still in tact. He is the "lightbearer", the one who would like to "enlighten" us with his way of thinking.

Adherents to the pagan religion insist that Satanic worship is of the dark side, but that there is also a side that relates to the "light" - i.e. the Luciferian side of the equation. They see Satanism as the dark, and the Wiccan side as the light. They see black magic and white magic. This is the concept that will ultimately draw all of mankind (including many Believers) into deceit. As Believers, we have been taught in the "church" that Yeshua and Satan are opposites, the light and the dark. Thus, when Lucifer claims ultimately to be Yeshua, and works miracles to prove that he is the "light", even the elect will be subject to his deceit. We must understand that both Satanism AND Luciferianism are dark, they are just different shades of dark. The "light" which Lucifer bears is an ARTIFICIAL light, and is dark by the standards of the TRUE light, the light of Yeshua. Yeshua speaks in John 8:12:

Matthew 6:22-23 says, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! The eye referred to here is the eye of the spirit. If our one light is the TRUE light of Yeshua, then we "walk not in darkness". However if we allow the FALSE light of Lucifer to enlighten our lives with the light of darkness, how great is that darkness. It will lead to damnation of the soul and body for the Believer, as well as the spirit for the one who has not received Christ. (An explanation of the various forms of hell and damnation is found in our other writings.) Only through the TRUE light of Yeshua can we find "life", as the Word tells us here that it is the "light of life". The converse shows that if we do not appropriate it adequately, death in some manner awaits!

In Acts 26:18 we find that Yeshua has dispatched Paul to go to the Gentiles "to OPEN THEIR EYES, and to turn them FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, and FROM THE POWER OF SATAN UNTO GOD that they might receive forgiveness of sins, AND INHERITANCE among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." Why would he have to see to it that the gentiles were TURNED FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT? Yes, the Gentiles had been born with a sin nature, that being derived from their very descendancy from Adam. However, it seems that there is more to it than that.

Let's return for a moment to the garden when Lucifer came to Eve in the form of the serpent, and seduced her to eat of the forbidden fruit. Adam had communed directly with God and walked in His light prior to the fall. However, after he had consumed the forbidden fruit, he lost the fellowship he had with God. The "cover" of God had been removed. The enmeshing with God had been undone. The hedging about of God had been abolished, and he would now die a mortal death. He was no longer superior to Lucifer and worthy of his adoration. In fact, now Lucifer was superior to man. Lucifer and his anointing as one who "covereth" would REPLACE the covering of God and be the cover OVER man. Man would henceforth be subjected to (entwined with as a screen) the deceit of Lucifer, because man's rebellion had created a breach between man God, and enabled Lucifer to fill it. Lucifer was now the COVER over mankind!

It appeared that the governmental order of God had been indelibly altered. It appeared that Lucifer had won an indisputable, eternal victory. However, it was orchestrated from the foundation of the world that God would have the last say. Only an extraordinary miracle conceived by God could reverse it. Thus, Yeshua would come to earth to FILL THE BREACH - to provide for the atonement for our sins. By filling the breach, this MAN who redeemed us would RE-ESTABLISH the COVERING OF GOD OVER MAN, and restore MAN to the status once again OVER Lucifer. In Revelation 4:2-4 we find the throne of the Son of God, and note that the jasper, sardine stone, and emerald are there. Yeshua, the Son of God has won back the COVER for mankind to GOD, and He is adorned with the precious stones which are symbolic of this COVER. Again in Revelation 21:19-21 we find all manner of these precious stones present in the New Jerusalem, and here we find the Bride of Christ. You see, we too are to have these precious stones!

Romans 8:29 tells us that we are to be conformed to THE IMAGE OF God the Son. I Corinthians 3:11-15 tells us that we are to have gold silver and precious stones as a byproduct of our works which are built upon the foundation of Yeshua. As we walk in the light as He is in the light, we conform to His image, and produce the gold, silver, and precious stones which will endure the fires of judgment. Don't you see, we BECOME the IMAGE of GOD which is once again worthy for Lucifer to have to bow down to, as Adam was before the fall. Due to the atoning blood of Christ which we apply upon our Belief, We are endowed with GOD Himself within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as we yield to Him, HE bears HIS fruit through us, and HIS righteousness is seen emanating from us.

He is then able to raise us up before Lucifer and seal his fate. We are adorned with the gold silver and precious jewels with which he was adorned, and we are ANOINTED with the POWER of God as our COVER, thus WE now rank between God the Son and Lucifer, and we become Lucifer's cover and authority. We then have POWER over HIM. I Corinthians 6:2-3 says that we (as saints) shall judge angels. How can we judge something that is superior to us? This confirms that the superiority of mankind (as applicable to the SAINTS) has been re-instated! This does not mean that the angels are not superior to us physically, or in many other ways, but man was created with the power to CHOOSE to embrace the ways of God with his own free will, which enables him to be placed on a higher spiritual plateau in God's Governmental order, as established through the atoning blood of the Son.

In our context of "Legends of the Bible", we find a dialogue of God with Adam when he had eaten the forbidden fruit. God says, "... thou art the head, and not she." He had established that within His governmental system, man would be above woman. I Corinthians 11 corroborates this decree. in verses 3-5 we find, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head: ..." "Every man" here relates to "the brethren" to whom he wrote. It relates exclusively to those males who had RECEIVED the atoning blood of Christ. They had been restored to the covering of God through Christ, and the veil had been rent which would restore the fellowship with God that Adam had enjoyed. The Holy Spirit would come to abide in them and quicken their dead spirit so they could hear directly from God through their newly justified spirit!

The word "cover" here is linked in verse 10 with POWER. The woman is to wear POWER on her head BECAUSE OF THE ANGELS. Woman was deceived by the wiles of Lucifer. Her wearing of the cover signifies that she has now chosen the POWER of God. Her obedience to wear it forces Lucifer to accept the authority of God in his treatment of her, thus God's power (authority) usurps that of Lucifer in his dealings with the woman who wears this symbol of submission to the governmental order of God.

We have seen where Lucifer is the "prince of the power of the air", and Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against POWERS, against the 7 rulers of the DARKNESS of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. The stronghold of mankind which is attacked by Lucifer is the mind. He reasoned with Eve, and prevailed. Mankind is weak in his own ability to withstand the wiles of Lucifer. For this reason, both man and woman who honor the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were to cover their heads prior to receiving Christ. Their spirits being unregenerated, they needed the symbolic cover of power upon their heads to thwart the seductive reasoning of the enemy. It seems that God honors this symbolism, and endows the wearer with a special hedging against rampant deception. It seems that God the Father has ordained that both man and woman who honor Him as God should wear it UNTIL receiving the atoning power of Christ. Thus, Jewish people (both male and female) cover their heads. This represents their awaiting the promised one who will one day be their covering. The covering they wear is a temporal filler of the breach, and enables them to embrace God more efficiently than they would be able to do without it. Much as a battery provides power in the absence of the electrical outlet, the cover worn over the head links mankind to the power of the God he embraces. Upon receiving Christ, the Jewish male can remove the cover, because he has plugged directly into the outlet of his power source, and no longer needs the battery. The Son, Himself hedges the male Believer about with a glory of sorts that the spirit world acknowledges in like manner to the covering the woman is to wear. It would be akin to the countenance Adam had before the fall. ( The "Legends of the Bible" says that Adam and Eve were initially "enveloped with the cloud of glory", which dropped from them when they fell.) Though they are rebellious in nature, even the fallen angels and Lucifer himself must obey the unwritten laws of God in respect to their interaction with mankind. They are able to see the cloud of glory upon the male Believer, and it covers him. When he receives Christ, he is to remove the cover he had worn previously in order to honor the one who had redeemed him and alleviated his need to wear it! If he continues to wear it, the spirit world observes it in addition to the cloud of glory, and it is disrespectful to the One who bought his freedom from it. It actually implies to the spirit world that the wearer does not deem Yeshua as worthy to be his cover. It indicates that he is still relying upon his physical cover rather than his new spiritual replacement of it! Some of our most beautiful and dedicated .male Believers today wear the covering to show their affiliation to God and to their Jewish roots. Though they INTEND to HONOR God through the wearing of it, they do not understand that it actually dishonors their new cover, Yeshua. Though, I am sure God knows their hearts, it surely must grieve him. I pray that once they understand they will remove it in reverence of the One who redeemed them.

The symbolism of the cover (if in the physical, then even more in the spiritual) seems to place certain restrictions upon the wickedness of the spirit realm which would attack those who wear it.

Recall that the Hebrew definition of the covering includes a protection, a hedging about. As with any hedge, the protective barrier can be broken by the individual when they willfully disobey or quench the voice of the Holy Spirit within. Doors can still be opened through which the enemy can attack, but these can be closed again when the individual recognizes the sin and repents of it.

There may even be those whom God allows to fill the role of Job in our day. However, the implication of power and protection are by and large applicable today as it relates to the covering, yet the majority of Believers today do not apply it. We are instructed as Believers to don the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18, a part of which is the HELMET of SALVATION! Indeed this helmet may be the cover (physical or spiritually applied), and indeed the proper application of it may be our protection from (salvation from) not only physical harm inflicted by (the enemy, but possibly also from the very grips of the Luciferian deceit that would lead to death (damnation)!

Ephesians 2:2 indicates that PRIOR to our Belief upon Christ we walked according to the prince of the POWER of the air (Lucifer). Our spirits being dead, we were under the power and seduction of the COVER of Lucifer. Now, as Believers, we have a NEW COVER, a NEW HEAD, and we are to walk under the POWER of this NEW COVER. We are ALSO to HONOR this NEW COVER appropriately, in accordance with our instructions to symbolically cover our heads if we are female, and keep them uncovered if we are male.

So lets review the hierarchy of God's governmental order in the three dispensations.

1. Upon Creation
A. God
B. Man
C. Woman
D. Lucifer

2. After the Fall
A. God
B. Lucifer
C. Man
D. Woman

3. After the Victory of Christ
A. God the Father
B. Yeshua
C. Redeemed Man (as led by the Holy Spirit)
D. Redeemed Woman (as led by the Holy Spirit)
E. Lucifer
F. Unredeemed Man
G. Unredeemed Woman

As Believers, we are to be in authority over Lucifer. We are to embrace Christ, and leave no room for Lucifer to work in our lives. We are to take control over our thoughts and bring them into the obedience of Christ, allowing no wormhole to pierce the hedging provided by our covering. Yet we so often fail to do so, and we suffer the consequences. The "church" is being seduced on a massive scale by the false light of Lucifer today, and is rapidly falling into apostasy, at the expense of many souls! Could much of this be to the misappropriation of the covering as it relates to the body of Believers at large today? I pray that we will soon realize the importance of this ordinance (I Corinthians 11:2), as it was given to "all that in every place call upon the name of Yeshua our Lord" (I Corinthians 1:2). It serves a twofold purpose for the Believer today. First it is for our own protection and growth. Secondly, and more importantly, it was designed to bring honor to the One who died for us as it relates to the spiritual realm. Would we deny Him the honor that is due Him after what He did for us? Let us bring Him the glory that He deserves, and be about the business of producing those jewels that mark the Believer who is conformed to the Image of Christ.