Holiness: God’s Beauty College
By Harry A. Peyton
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
DEDICATION: PREFACE (2)
INTRODUCTION (4)
CHAPTER 1
WHAT DOES HISTORY TEACH ABOUT GOD’S OUTWARD HOLINESS STANDARDS? (6)
The
Origin of Worldly Fashions (7)
Ancient Ages: 1400 BC to 30
AD (9)
Ancient Jewish Culture
Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian and Sumerian Cultures
Ancient Grecian (BC 450) and Roman Cultures (BC 350)
The
Church Age: 30 AD unto Now (9)
AD 215 Clement of
Alexandria
AD 240 Commodian
AD 250 Cyprian
AD 250-1795: The Struggle of the Catholic and
Protestant Churches Against Long Haired Men
AD 1795‑1800: The First Moral Women in History
to Revolt Against God’s Hair Standards
AD 1914 – Present: Moral Women’s Revolt Against God’s
Outward Holiness Standards
CHAPTER 2
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT GOD’S OUTWARD HOLINESS STANDARDS? (17)
God’s Purpose in Giving Standards (19)
God’s Standard on Clothing (21)
God’s Standard on Jewelry (27)
God’s Standard on Makeup (30)
God’s
Standard on Hair (31)
God’s Creative Design for the Home
God’s Creative Design for Men
God’s Creative Design for Women
What Did the Apostle Paul Teach About the Oriental
Veil?
Why Should A Man Keep His Hair Short and A Woman Keep
Hers Uncut?
Did Jesus Have Long Hair?
CHAPTER 3 WHAT
DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT GOD’S INWARD HOLINESS STANDARDS (42)
Sins of the Flesh and Spirit (42)
God’s Holiness Standard on the Theater, Motion Pictures, and
Television (45)
An Exhortation to Repentance (46)
BIBLIOGRAPHY (48)
ENDNOTES (48)
Copyright May 30, 1996 by Harry A.
Peyton under the title of “The Doctrines Of Christ
A Note from the Author: Since Almighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ,
gives His Salvation and His Word to all freely (Rev 22:17, Mt 10:7-8), this
book, and all other books, written by Harry A. Peyton are given without charge,
and can be accessed through the Internet at the following address: http://www.DoctrinesOfChrist.com. Therefore, fell
free to copy it in digital or written form, and share it with others. Since
this book is copyrighted, the author forbids any alteration of its contents,
and the reproduction of it in any form for Marketing Purposes. This book may be
placed on anyone’s web page, as long as my website address is attached to it.
The
author believes that the Word of God is infallible in the ORIGINAL
LANGUAGE it was written in, and all translations of the Bible regardless of how
good they may be are NOT. Since the author has implicit faith in the infallibility
of the Word of God, the author has formed his beliefs firmly on the truth of
the Bible. This author uses the ancient ANTIOCHIAN LITERAL-HISTORICAL METHOD OF
INTERPRETING THE BIBLE, which was used by early Christian Prophets and Apostles
of the Bible.
I
definitely believe that the ancient Alexandrian Allegorical Method of
spiritualizing scripture, which was made popular by the ancient Jewish
philosopher Philo Judaeus (13 BC – 50 AD) and later used by the Ante-Nicene
Catholic Priests, especially Origen and his student Clement of Alexandria (200
AD), is an abomination to our Lord. Therefore, all scriptures will be
interpreted in a literal exegetical fashion, unless the language used and the
context demands a spiritual interpretation.
All CAPITALIZATION and ITALICIZATION in QUOTES used in
this book is always MINE. All Biblical quotes used in this book will be
in dark red, and from the New King James
version of the Bible, unless another version is stated as the reference. The
vast majority of all translations of the Bible, as well as Hebrew and Greek
Lexical definitions and grammar, will come from BibleWorks computer software program version 7.0. The author in most places will quote verses from the Bible
instead of commenting on a verse and giving a reference; for He believes that
the written Word of God’s has greater power to inspire and enlighten a heart to
understand and act upon truth, than the elegant oratory or writings of any
man.
If this book has been a
blessing to my beloved readers, and they would like to send an offering to the
author, feel free to do so. If anyone wishes to send any biblical or historical
materials to the author, my address is: 148 Little Creek Hills Rd.: Alto, NM
88312: Phone # 575-336-2800: Email address: DoctrineOfChrist@Hotmail.com.
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to all of God’s Children
throughout all ages, who loved and obeyed God’s inward and outward holiness
commandments. All who were mocked and persecuted by sinners because they would
not bow a knee and worship their gods and goddesses of worldly fashions, their
ungodly entertainment theaters or places of worship, and all their sinful
practices of immorality.
PREFACE
The Bible is the greatest source of Truth this world
has ever known. It is not just a truth, but it is “the Truth.” Every scripture
as it relates to any given subject is the guiding light that every Christian
uses to judge truth, for the Word of God is the final authority regarding the
validity of anything that claims to be truth. The Bible is a magnificent work,
profound in structure and without error in content. Every word on its Holy
Pages is God-breathed. This is why there is such an incredible and phenomenal
harmony in every book of the Bible, in spite of the fact that it was written
over the span of many centuries. Therefore, whatever God says about holiness
standards does not change with time, fashions, and man’s ideas. Jesus said it
this way: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will by no means
pass away” (Mk 13:31).
Those who agape love God will always keep His unchanging Word!
The
following quote is an excerpt from my book entitled: Law vs Grace or Works vs Faith: “God’s Holy Laws are our
protection against the physical, emotional, and spiritual hurts that a sinful
lifestyle can and will experience. The Creator did not create man because He
wanted to give them laws to obey, which would display His divinity and His
kingship over them, but He gave them good laws because He loved them and wanted
to protect them (Mk 2:27). God does not want us to hurt or do wrong to anyone
and vice versa, for example, there are many men and women today who suffer deep
emotional problems, because someone rejected their love in some intimate sexual
relationship, i.e. boyfriend or girlfriend.
Because certain people have
blatantly disregarded God’s laws against adultery, fornication, homosexuality,
lesbianism and etc., they now go through life suffering from a deep intensive
pains or wounds in their spirit, which will effect their emotions all through
life, unless they repent and forgive the offending party and their own self.
What is even worse than this: illegitimate children growing up with deep wounds
in their spirit, because their father and mother did not love each other, and
them, enough to give them a loving, godly environment to be raised in. This
terrible tragedy is a growing reality in the society we live in today.”
“Permit me to give you example
of this type of behavior. In the summer of 1976, I enrolled at the local State
College in Stockton, CA. One of the courses I had taken was entitled, ‘Marriage
and the Family.’ This title was very misleading, because it should have been
entitled, ‘Perversion in Marriage and Destruction of the Family.’ The doctor of
psychology who taught this course was a pervert. He strongly promoted the
philosophies of ‘no absolutes,’ and ‘situation ethics’ (or it is all right to
lie or do wrong if the situation calls for it). Because of the immoral value
system, this man believed in, he promoted homosexuality, lesbianism, and trial
marriages (or two single people living together and having illicit sex before
marriage), as normal relationship between two consenting parties. His
philosophy of ‘no absolutes’ was ‘there is no person or book that can tell us
what is right or wrong. Who are you to judge other people’s life styles? What
may be right for you may be wrong for someone else and vice versa.”
“As a young man, I said to
myself ‘no one believes this trash,’ so I bit my tongue and said nothing, until
certain young so-called ‘liberated women’ in the class, brazenly and
unashamedly talked about their love affairs. My prudence and patience at that
very moment came to an end. I stood up in class, looked at these women and
said: ‘I know your parents taught you better than this. But you have been brain
washed by certain so-called intelligentsia of our society, to believe a
perverted moral standard that will destroy you physically, emotionally and
spiritually.
I am no man’s judge, but God is.
Because He loves us, He gave us the greatest book of absolute truth the world
has ever known; it is called the Word of God or the Holy Bible. It and it
alone, gives us an understanding of what is right and wrong or good and evil.
If we get our life in harmony with God’s laws, we can know true love, peace of
mind and happiness. But if we scorn the teachings of the Word of God, it will
be our judge on the Day of Judgment.’ Before I could say another word, many in
the class started hurling insults at me. It became very obvious to me in this
particular class, the college’s policy of liberty of speech and broad
mindedness only applied to those who enjoyed hearing this kind of filth.”
“Because of our childish
carnality, we look at God’s laws as bondage. Permit me to give you an
illustration of this. In 1975, I lived in a house that had a park across the
street from it. As I was cutting the grass one-day, Kevin, my oldest son who
was four years old at that time, came to me and asked me to allow him to play
in the park. Since I had a lot of work to do, I said no and continued to cut
the grass. Because of his persistent appeals, I stopped for a moment and I
looked through his eyes and saw all the things he could play on and have a
great time, such as, the swings, the merry-go-round, the bars, and so on. The
only problem he had was his immaturity, for he could not look through my eyes
and see all the dangers. I knew that he could hurt himself if I was not there
to help him play on these things safely. Probably in his mind he thought,
‘Daddy you do not love me. Daddy you do not want me to have any fun. Daddy you
just want to control my life and boss me around.’ Because of his childish
immaturity, he could not perceive my love for him in that ‘no!’ This is exactly
the way many of God’s loving Children look at His loving commandments!”
INTRODUCTION
This book is about a very controversial subject. No
one really enjoys being told by a Holiness Pastor that internal and external
sinful practices can destroy them. For example, who enjoys being told that they
should keep God’s moral Laws on holiness, and that they should love their
enemies and do good to them, and not do or speak evil of them or anyone else?
Who enjoys being told how long to wear his and her hair, or if a woman and man
should wear makeup, jewelry, and immodest clothes, or if a woman should wear
men’s clothing and men should wear women’s clothing. The only reason I dare
write on any of these issues is because I know there are thousands of sincere
Christian women and men who love God, and want to please Him in their life.
As a Man of God who loves all of God’ Children, who are His
Holy Priesthood (1Pe 2:5, 9), even though many do realized that God has called and
ordained them to be His ministers, I give forth the following admonishment: A
DISCIPLINE LIFE is the safeguard of hope, the bond of faith and love, the path
that leads to virtue, the stimulus of a holy character, and a key element that
leads into obedience of God’s holy Word. The great apostle Paul said it this
way: “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself
should become disqualified [adokimos - in a moral sense a
reprobate]” (1Co 9:27). King Solomon
speaking of the proverbs of wisdom declared they were: “for acquiring the discipline for success, righteousness, justice, and equity….
[But] fools despise wisdom and discipline”
(Pro 1:1, 3, 7, Jewish Publication Society, TNK).
Paul also told God’s Children: “endure hardship as a
good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with
the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2Ti 2:3-5). Every
child of God should realize that they represent the Lord Jesus Christ on earth;
they are God’s Soldiers and Ambassadors (2Co 5:20). Therefore,
they should live discipline lives, just as any good solider of Uncle Sam
discipline himself or herself.
This is why the apostle of the Lamb told God’s
Soldiers: “I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God-- this is
your spiritual act of worship. Do not
conform any longer to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's
will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom 12:1-2,
NIV). Le us always remember, the only Christ any sinner in
the world will ever see is the Christ that is in you.
The Bible teaches that the Word of God is: “sharper than a two-edged
sword” (Heb 4:12).
Sometimes when God is operating on us with His Word it hurts; but after God
removes the disease and there is no more pain, oh what joy good health brings.
So with this in mind, let us claim God’s wonderful promise: “Great peace have they
which love Thy law [the Word of God]:
and nothing shall offend them”
(Psa 119:165). Jesus our Lord said
it this way: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn 14:15). The apostle John said: “He [or she] who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar,
and the truth is not in him [or her]. But whoever keeps His
Word truly the love of God is perfected in him [or her]. By this we know that we are in Him” (1Jn 2:4-5). Loving obedience to God’s Word has always been the true test of love
for God.
Every brother or sister in Christ, who loves God,
should ask himself or herself these questions: Am I will to love and obey God’s
commandments on inward holiness, which is His protection for my life, whereby
Jesus can manifest His life in me? Is there a clear outward holiness standard
in the Word of God for the length of my hair, the clothes I wear, the ornaments
I put on, and the things I cover my face with? If there is, am I willing to obey
it? Am I willing to make a decision not by what is convenient, not by what
others are doing, but simply by what I know the Word of God teaches? In other
word, do I really love truth, and am I willing to live my life by it. Beloved,
our holy Lord said: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free” (Jn 8:32, NKJ).
Now, I know there will be some carnal Christians who
will read this book, who do not agape love our Lord Jesus Christ. They could
care less what the Word of God teaches. They are going to do their thing,
whether God likes it or not. Therefore, I admonish them to read this book no
further, for it will only make them angry. But to those who are spiritual and
agape love God, and want to please Him in every area of their life, I admonish
them to read on.
I exhort my beloved brothers and sisters
in Christ, as a loving father would exhort his sons and daughters, let your
love for Christ cause you to strive for purity and holiness in your spirit, soul, and body. This is why Paul admonished all
of God holy Children: “May the God of peace Himself SANTIFY you completely; and may your WHOLE spirit, soul, and body be preserved BLAMESLESS at the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Th 5:23). In other words beloved, you and I should never forget that we
were redeemed from sin by: “the precious blood of Christ,” and our spirit, soul, and body does not belong to devil
any longer, or even to us, but to the One who loved us and died for us (1Pe 1:19).
Therefore, I lovingly beseech you to love both inward and outward holiness,
and “make no provision for the flesh, to
fulfill the lusts thereof” (Rom 13:14). Knowing: “you have been born again” of an incorruptible seed, of the One who said: “Be ye HOLY; because I am HOLY” (1Pe 1:23, 16, NIV). Therefore: “come out from them [worldly sinful people] and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch
no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and
you will be my sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty” (2Co 6:17-18, NIV).
My
beloved brother and sister in Christ, you know that you are engaged in marriage
to Christ, and that He is coming back for a Bide who is a “chase virgin” (2Co 11:2), one who is “holy
and without blemish”
(Eph 5:27), one who
has “made herself ready” (Rev 19:7). Therefore, I plea with you, as one who
shares in the hope of Eternal Life with you, to believe and obey the above and
following scriptures on holiness with all seriousness of your mind and spirit.
Remember, it is easy to overcome the devil, the world, and the flesh when we
love God with our whole heart, but it is very hard to overcome sin when we love
God half heartedly with a double mind or spirit. One holiness preacher said it
this way: “When you
are in love with the Lover of your soul, His slightest wish becomes your
greatest command!” Agape
love for our Savior and Deliverer is the key that unlocks all of the power He
placed in our spirit through His Holy Spirit to OVERCOME the world, the flesh, and the
devil (Acts 1:8).
Beloved,
please do not serve God as Lot’s wife did, that is, half heartedly; for here is
a woman who knew that the world she
lived in was going to be destroyed by God. The angel of God was pulling her by
the hand, and leading her to a place of safety. God commanded her not to look
back at the world that was under His fiery judgment, but to keep her eyes on
the mountain top that reached into heaven. Because this woman’s heart was
divided between two worlds, i.e., heavenly things and earthly things, she died
lost between both worlds. God has used her in His Word as an example to all His
Children, who loves Him half heartedly, i.e., as someone who has one foot in
the Church and the other foot in the world, and is trying to serve two masters
which will not work. What does our Lord say about this: “No servant
can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or
else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon” (Lk 16:13). Therefore, I plead with my
beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, to examine this book with an open heart
and mind. With the above great truths in
mind, let us begin our study of Biblical Holiness. I have placed God’s outward
standards of holiness in this book before His inward standards, so I can save
the best for last.
CHAPTER 1
WHAT DOES HISTORY TEACH
ABOUT GOD’S OUTWARD HOLINESS STANDARDS?
I have chosen to place the following historical
section in this book, before the Biblical facts, so that my readers could
receive a clear understanding of how importance this subject was and still is
in the eyes of God’s Church. This is not a new subject, but it is as old as man
himself. The Bible and history reveals that this subject was never taken light‑heartedly
by God’s preachers and children. What my beloved readers are about to read is
only a condensed history on this subject.
Most of the history in this book is taken from the Ante Nicene Fathers, who were Bishops
that lived from 100-325 AD, and Richard Corson’s book entitled Fashions in
Hair (The First Five Thousand Years). Corson, being a hair stylist, is
certainly not against worldly fashions that are contrary to the Word of God,
but I must confess that he gave an accurate and humorous historical account of
the subject. This very lengthy book has over a hundred pictures of hairdos and
how to fix them.
Even
though the author agrees with many of the outward holiness standards that the
ancient Apostolic Pentecostal Bishops, Catholic Bishops, and the later day
Protestant Pastors have taught in the following historical section, I do
believe they could have taught these holiness truths with MORE LOVE in their
TEACHINGS, so please keep this in mind. The Bible declares that we should “speak the truth in love”
(Eph 4:15). A preacher can be
right in the truth he preachers and teaches, but wrong in the way he presents
that truth. So with these things in mind, let us examine the history of this
most important subject.
The
Origin of Worldly Fashions
In the Book of Enoch, which was written around 3011 BC,
and was translated into English in 1912
AD by Professor R.H. Charles, and
published by The Clarendon Press of Oxford University, we can find the origin
of many of the modern fashions of the world today. Parts of the Book of Enoch
was quoted by Jude in verses 6,
14-15, and by several of the Ante
Nicene Fathers. Enoch spoke of two hundred angels, who departed from heaven and
apostatize from God before the flood of Noah (Gen 6:1-4),
and corrupted the men and women of the earth by teaching them ungodly arts and
fashions.
Enoch wrote:
It
came to pass when the children of men had multiplied, that in those days were
born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one
another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget
us children….' And they were in all two
hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon….
[They] took unto themselves wives, and each
chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile
themselves with them, and they taught
them charms and enchantments, and the cutting
of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they became pregnant, and
they bare great giants, whose height
was three thousand ells….
And Azâzêl
taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art
of working them, and bracelets [jewerly], and ornaments [jewerly], and the use of antimony [a mineral that
consists of the trisulfide… lead-gray crystals of metallic luster] and the beautifying of the eyelids [makeup i.e. cosmetics: Pro 6:25-26; 2Ki 9:30], and all
kinds of costly stones [jewerly], and all colouring tinctures [i.e. dyed, tint, or stained hair]. And there
arose much godlessness, and they
committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways….
And
the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjâzâ
and his associates who have united
themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their
uncleanness. And when their sons [the
giants] have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their
beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy
generations in the valleys of the earth [2Pe 2:4; Jude 1:6], till the day
of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is
for ever and ever is consummated. In those
days they shall be led off to the abyss
of fire: and to the torment and
the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned
and destroyed will from thenceforth
be bound together with them to the end of all generations …. You were formerly spiritual, living the eternal life, and immortal
for all generations of the world. And therefore I have not appointed wives for
you; for as for the spiritual ones of
the heaven, in heaven is their dwelling. And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits [demons] upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. [1]
Therefore, according the prophet Enoch,
dying the hair, painting the face, the wearing of jewelry, and immodest
clothing came from the above evil angels. The Bible speaks of these angels who
willfully left heaven and their spiritual bodies to dwell on the earth in the
following passages of Scripture: Gen
6:1-5, Jude verses 6-7 & 14-15, and 2Pe 2:4. These angels evidently not only adorned themselves with jewelry, but also
their wives. I wonder if these fallen angels did not learn these things from
Lucifer, who did the very same thing. The Word of God spoke of Lucifer’s fall
this way: “Thou wast in the delight of the paradise of God; THOU
hast BOUND [evnde,desai] UPON
THEE every precious stone, the sardius, and topaz, and emerald, and carbuncle,
and sapphire, and jasper, and silver, and gold, and ligure, and agate, and
amethyst, and chrysolite, and beryl, and onyx: and thou hast filled thy
treasures and thy stores in thee with gold” (Exe 28:13, LXE).
In the Greek Septuagint the verb evnde,desai i.e. bound is in the perfect tense, middle voice, 2nd person, singular
number, which means: Lucifer was the one who put all
these gems, ornaments, charms, or trinkets on the beautiful white clothing God
gave him! According to the Bible, one of
the reasons why Lucifer’s heart was filled with pride was because of all the jewelry he adorned himself with: “High hath been thy
heart, because of thy beauty, Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because
of thy brightness” (Eze 28:17,
YLT). Therefore, all this jewelry definitely
contributed to his pride, downfall, and lost condition! Evidently, Lucifer was
full of vanity and wanted all to notice how beautiful he was. He was not
contented with the glory, power, and position God gave him as an Archangel. He
evidently wanted more! He wanted to stand out above all of God’s Archangels and
everyone else, so he filled his beautiful white clothing with precious
gems.
Commodian, a
Oneness Bishop in 240 AD, speaking of the fallen Sons of God that Moses and
Jude spoke of wrote: Almighty God,
to beautify the nature of the world, willed that that earth should be visited
by angels. When they were sent down they
despised His laws. Such was the
beauty of women, that it turned them aside; so that, being contaminated, they could
not return to heaven. Rebels from
God, they uttered words against Him. Then the Highest uttered His judgment
against them; and from their seed giants are said to have been born…. By them [the fallen angels] arts were made known in the earth, and they taught
the dyeing of wool and everything which is done; and to them, when they died, men erected
images. But the Almighty, because they were of an evil seed, did not approve that, when dead, they should be brought back from death [thus becoming
demons]. Whence wandering they now subvert many bodies, and it is such as these especially that
ye this day worship and pray to as gods.”
Commodian
went on to warn Christian women not to follow the demonic fashions of the world
that the fallen angels of God introduced. He condemned the whole array of female ornaments with the strongest censure that language can afford. He wrote: Thou wishest, O Christian
woman that the matrons should be as the ladies of
the world….
Thou puttest on false medicaments, on
thy pure eyes the stibium [a mineral that
consists of the trisulfide… lead-gray crystals of metallic luster], with painted
beauty, or thou dyest thy hair…. God is the over looker,
who dives into each heart. But these things are not necessary
for modest
women…. A wife approved of her husband, let it suffice that she is so, not by her dress, but by her good disposition…. Thou who wast formerly most illustrious, givest to thyself the guise of one who is contemptible…. Do ye, O good matrons, flee from the adornment of vanity? [2]
Cyprian, a Catholic
Bishop in 250 AD, speaking of the fallen angels, who beguiled women
with devilish worldly practices wrote:
For God neither [invented]… necklaces with stones set in gold, and with pearls distributed in a woven series
or numerous cluster, wherewith you would hide the neck, which He made; that
what God formed in man may be covered, and that may be seen upon it, which the devil has invented in addition. Has
God willed that wounds should be made in the ears,
wherewith infancy, as yet innocent, and unconscious of worldly evil, may be put to pain, that subsequently from the scars and holes of the ears precious beads may hang? All
which things sinning and apostate angels put forth by their arts, when, lowered to the contagious of
earth, they forsook their heavenly vigor. They
taught them [women] also to paint the eyes with blackness drawn round them in a circle, and to stain the cheeks with a deceitful red, and to change the hair with false colors, and to drive out all
truth, both of face and head, by the assault of their own corruption. [3] The following historical quotes are from
Mr. Colson’s book, unless otherwise stated.
Ancient Ages: BC 1400 to 30
AD
The Ancient Jewish Culture: The Jews
in Moses' time, according to James Stewart... had innumerable rules as to the
mode of wearing the hair…. According to Sleight, the Jewish priests had their hair
cut every fortnight (14 days).... The Jewish
women... wore their hair long
dressed in a variety of ways…. The Jewish
men, however, in turn took to wearing their hair cut short as did the Greeks and Romans. [4]
Jewish men did not wear their hair short because it was the fashion of
the Greeks, the Romans and other ancient peoples; they wore it short because it
was a command given to them by God Himself. In the book of Ezekiel we read:
“They shall neither shave their heads nor
let their hair grow long; but they shall
keep their hair well trimmed” (Eze 44:20). The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB), by the
Jewish New Testament Publications, translated this verse this way: “They are not to shave their heads or
let their hair grow long, but must keep
their hair carefully trimmed.”
Jewish women did not cut their hair, but some braid and weave jewelry into
their hair. God spoke against this custom in both the Old and New Testament.
The Ancient Egyptian, Assyrian,
and Sumerian Cultures: None of the
heathen nations taught against women wearing makeup, jewelry, or immodest
clothing, but they did prefer their women to wear their hair long. Corson
declared: Once short hair was firmly established [for men], only some older men and elegant young men wore
theirs long... Pythagoras, while traveling in Egypt is said to have been so
plagued by insects and vermin in his hair that he cut it off and wore an
Egyptian wig.... Thespis, observing the remarkable change in his appearance
made by the wig conceived the idea of acting. [5]
The Ancient Grecian (BC 450)
and Roman Cultures (BC 350): Roman men,
like the Greeks, wore their hair short,
whereas the women wore theirs long. Roman women were very style
conscience; they ‘taxed their ingenuity in thinking up an unending parade of
new and increasingly complex arrangements....’
It is interesting to note that at one time prostitutes were required either to dye
their hair yellow or to wear yellow wigs.... A Roman by the name
of Ovid wrote, ‘Did I not tell you to leave
off dyeing your hair? Now you have no hair left to dye. [6]
The Church Age: 30 AD unto
Now
God’s Apostolic Pentecostal Churches, the Catholic
Churches, which started after 70
AD, and the Protestant Churches
that started in the sixteenth
century, all had a problem with
men and women violating God’s outward holiness standards. Let us read what
church history has to say about these problems.
AD 100 Clemens Romanus: This Catholic Bishop speaking to men in the Catholic
Church of Rome declared: It is unlawful for any Christian or man of
God, to frizzle or trounce, to powder or color his hair, to suffer [or allow] it to grow long, or to fold it together, or
tie it up with a hair‑lace, because it is effeminate and contrary
to the plan of God. [7]
Webster’s Dictionary defines these terms as following: Frizzle ‘to ‑form into tight curls.’ Trounce ‘to
whip, puff, or tease up the hair.’
AD
200 Tertullian: This Montanist
Bishop in his book On the Apparel of
Women, found in the so-called Ante
Nicene Fathers, also spoke of the ungodly teachings the fallen angels
introduced among women. He wrote: But,
if the self-same angels who disclosed both the material substances
of this kind and their charms of gold, I mean, and lustrous stones — and
taught men how to work them, and by and by instructed
them, among their other (instructions), in eyelid-powder and the dyeings
of fleeces, have been condemned by God, as Enoch tells us, how shall we
please God while we joy in the things of those (angels) who, on
these accounts, have provoked the anger and the vengeance of God…?” But how much more provocative of
blasphemy is it that you, who are
called modesty’s
priestesses, should appear in public decked
and painted out after the manner of the immodest. [8] Colson quotes Tertullian as saying: all personal disguise is adultery before God. All… paint, powder, and such disguises
are inventions of the devil…. God is not giving them, you must
necessarily have received them from the devil. [9]
AD 215 Clement of Alexandria: This Catholic Bishop in his book The Instructor, which can be found in the ANF, condemned all forms
of worldly adornments of men and women as sinful. He also condemned men and
women dyeing their hair. He admonished men to wear their hair of a moderate and
decent length, and not to suffer it to grow long, and women to allow their hair
to grow freely. Beloved, as one reads Clement’s inward and outward holiness
teachings, one should keep in mind, this was a common teachings of all
Apostolic Pentecostal and Catholic Churches of that day.
This Pastor Writing to Christian Men
Wrote: To such an extent,
then, has luxury advanced, that not only are the female sex deranged about this frivolous pursuit, but men also are infected with the disease…. As for dyeing of hair, and
anointing of gray locks, and dyeing them yellow, these are practices of
abandoned effeminates…. For they think, that like serpents they divest
themselves of the old age of their head by painting and renovating themselves.
But though they do doctor the hair cleverly, they will not escape wrinkles, nor
will they elude death by tricking time. For it is not dreadful, it is not
dreadful to appear old, when you are not able to shut your eyes to the fact
that you are so. The more, then, a man hastes to the end, the more truly
venerable is he, having God alone as his senior, since He is the eternal aged
One, He who is older than all things.
Prophecy has called him the ‘Ancient of days; and
the hair of His head was as pure wool,’ says the prophet.
‘And none other,’ says the Lord, ‘can make the
hair white or black.’ How, then, do these godless ones work in rivalry with God, or rather
violently oppose Him, when they
transmute the hair made white by Him? ‘The crown of old men is great experience,’ says Scripture;
and ‘the hoary hair of their countenance is the
blossom of large experience.’ But these dishonor the reverence of age, the head covered with gray hairs…. ‘But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye
have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that
ye put off, concerning the former conversation, the old man (not the hoary man,
but him that is) corrupt
according to deceitful lusts; and be renewed (not by dyeings and ornaments), but in the spirit of
your mind; and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness.’ [10]
Clement Writing to Christian Women
Concerning the Wearing of Jewelry Wrote: Christian women are not ashamed to wear the most manifest
badges of the evil one. For
as the serpent deceived Eve, so also has ornament
of gold maddened other women
to vicious practices…. O silly craze for display! They squander meretriciously wealth on what is disgraceful; and
in their love for ostentation [display] disfigure God’s
gifts, emulating the art of the evil
one…. Hence the WORD, upbraiding the Hebrews by the prophet, says, ‘They made
to Baal things of silver and
gold,’ that is, ornaments.’ And most
distinctly threatening, HE says,
‘I will punish her [Israel] for the days of Baalim, in which they offered sacrifice for her, and she put on her earrings
and her necklaces….’
Let us not take part in this meretricious adornment, nor commit idolatry through a specious
pretext. Most admirably, therefore, the blessed Peter says, ‘In like
manner also, that women adorn themselves not with braids, or gold, or costly array, but
(which becometh women
professing godliness) with good works.’ For it is with
reason that he bids decking of themselves to be kept far from them…. Let not their ears be pierced, contrary to nature, in order to attach to them ear-rings and ear-drops. For it is not right to force
nature against her wishes. Nor could
there be any better ornament for the ears than true instruction, which finds its way
naturally into the passages of hearing. And eyes anointed by the Word, and ears pierced for perception, make a man a hearer and
contemplator of divine and sacred things, the Word truly exhibiting the true beauty ‘which
eye hath not seen nor ear heard before.’ [11]
Now, God alone is in need of nothing, and rejoices most when
He sees us bright with the ornament of intelligence; and then, too, rejoices in Him who is arrayed in chastity, the sacred stole of the body…. Love of ornament has degenerated to wantonness…. It is not,
then, the aspect of the outward man, but the soul that is to be decorated with the ornament of goodness; we may say also the
flesh with the adornment of temperance. But those women
who beautify the outside, are unawares all
waste in the inner depths, as is the case with the ornaments of the Egyptians…. Those women who wear gold, occupying themselves in
curling at their locks, and engaged in anointing their cheeks, painting their
eyes, and dyeing their hair, and practicing
the other pernicious arts of luxury, decking the covering of flesh,
in truth, imitate the Egyptians, in order to attract their
infatuated lovers. [12]
Clement
Writing to Christian Women Concerning their Hair and the Wearing of Cosmetics
Wrote: But if one withdraw
the veil of the temple, I mean the head-dress, the dye, the clothes, the gold, the paint, the cosmetics… with the
view of finding within the true beauty, he will be
disgusted, I know well. For he will not find
the image of God dwelling within,
as is meet; but instead of it a fornicator and adulteress has occupied the shrine of the soul. And
the true beast will thus be detected an ape
smeared with white paint. And that deceitful serpent, devouring the understanding part of man through vanity, has the soul as its hole, filling all with deadly poisons; and injecting his own venom of deception, this pander of a dragon has changed women into harlots. For love of display is not for a lady, but a courtesan [an actress]….
The woman who dyes her hair yellow,
Menander [BC
444 the Greek] comic poet expels from the
house: ‘Now get out of this house, for no
chaste woman ought to make her hair yellow,’ nor, I would add, stain
her cheeks,
nor paint
her eyes.
Unawares the poor wretches destroy their own beauty, by the introduction of
what is spurious…. So they dishonor the Creator of men, as if the beauty given
by Him were nothing worth. As you might expect, they become lazy in
housekeeping, sitting like painted things to be looked at not as if made for domestic economy. Wherefore in the
comic poet the sensible woman says,
‘What can we women do wise or brilliant, who sit with hair dyed yellow, outraging the character of gentlewomen;
causing the overthrow of houses, the ruin of nuptials, and accusations on the
part of children?’
In the same way,
Antiphanes the comic poet, in Malthaca,
ridicules the meretriciousness of women
in words that apply to them all, and are framed against the rubbing of
themselves with cosmetics…. [He says the] ‘elaborate braidings, and infinite modes of dressing the hair… are characteristic of women who have lost all
sense of shame. If any one were to call these courtesans [an actress], he would make no mistake, for they turn their faces into masks….’ For the theater, and pageants, and many spectators, and strolling in the temples, and loitering
in the streets, that they may be seen conspicuously by all, are necessary to them. For those that glory
in their looks, [do] not in heart dress
to please others [i.e. their husbands].
For as the brand shows the
slave, so do gaudy colors the adulteress. ‘For though thou clothe thyself in scarlet, and deck thyself with ornaments
of gold, and anoint thine eyes with stibium, in vain is thy beauty,’ says the Word by Jeremiah…. Head-dresses and
varieties of head dresses, and elaborate braidings, and infinite modes of dressing the hair, and costly specimens of
mirrors, in which they arrange
their costume, — hunting after those that, like silly children, are crazy about their figures, — are
characteristic of women who have lost all sense
of shame…. If, then, the Lord counts the natural beauty of the body inferior to that of the soul, what thinks He of spurious beauty, rejecting utterly as He does all falsehood...? God wished
women to be smooth, and rejoice in
their locks alone growing spontaneously, as a horse in his
mane.[13]
Nor are the women
to smear their faces with the
ensnaring devices of wily cunning. But let us show to them the decoration of
sobriety. For, in the first place, the best
beauty is that which is spiritual,
as we have often pointed out. For when the soul
is adorned by the Holy Spirit, and inspired with the radiant
charms which proceed from Him, righteousness, wisdom, fortitude,
temperance, love of the good, modesty, than which no more blooming color was
ever seen….. ‘Winking with the eye, with guile, heaps woes on men….
Women that follow such practices, by
their looks offer themselves for prostitution.
‘For the light of the body
is the eye,’ says the Scripture, by which the interior illuminated by
the shining light appears. Fornication in a woman is in the raising of the
eyes. ‘Mortify therefore your members which are upon
the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, and concupiscence,
and covetousness which is idolatry: for which things’ sake cometh the wrath of
God upon the children of disobedience,’ cries the apostle…. Wherefore
thus saith the Lord by Isaiah, ‘Because the daughters of Sion walk with lofty
neck, and with winkings of the eyes, and sweeping their garments as they walk,
and playing with their-feet; the Lord shall humble the daughters of Sion, and
will uncover their form’ [14]
Clement
Writing to Christian Women Concerning Immodest Clothes and Earrings: Let the women wear a plain and becoming dress, but
softer than what is suitable for a man, yet not quite immodest or entirely gone
in luxury. And let the garments be suited to age, person, figure, nature,
pursuits. For the divine apostle most beautifully counsels us ‘to put on Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the
lusts of the flesh….’ Let desire for the admiration of their husbands
alone be proposed as their aim. I would not have them to devote themselves to personal display, but to
attract their husbands by chaste
love for them a powerful and legitimate charm…. Wherefore also women ought to
dress neatly, and bind themselves around
with the band of chaste modesty, lest through giddiness they slip away from the truth…. The Word
prohibits us from doing violence to nature by boring the lobes of the ears; for
why not the nose too? So that, what was spoken, may be fulfilled: ‘As an ear-ring in a swine’s nose, so is beauty to a woman
without discretion.’ [15]
AD
240 Commodian: This
man was a North-African Bishop. He was a one God, Jesus’ Name holiness
preacher, who taught the same things as Praxeas and other earlier Modalist Monarchian
bishops. In his book entitled, The
Instructions of Commodianus, he admonished Christian women not to follow
the vain heathen fashions of the women of the world, who served the demonic
gods of the nations. This Bishop pleads with his beloved sisters in the Christ
to repent and serve their Lord with their whole heart.
Commodian
Speaking Against Worldly Fashions Wrote: Thou wishest, O Christian woman, that the
matrons should be as the ladies of the world…. Thou givest the terror of the law from thy ears to the wind. Thou affectest vanity with all the pomp
of the devil…. And moreover, with
evil purposes, thou puttest on false
medicaments, on thy pure eyes the
stibium, with painted beauty, or thou
dyest thy hair that it may be always black. God is the overlooker,
who dives
into each heart. But these things are not
necessary for modest women. Pierce thy breast with chaste and modest
feeling. The law of God bears witness that such laws fail from the heart which believes; to a wife approved of her
husband, let it suffice that she is so, not
by her dress, but by her good disposition. To put on clothes
which the cold and the heat or too much sun demands, only that thou mayest be approved modest, and show forth the gifts of thy capacity among the people of God. Thou who wast formerly
most illustrious, givest to thyself the guise
of one who is contemptible….
Do ye, O good
matrons, flee from the adornment of vanity….
Overcome the evil one, O modest women of Christ…. Hear my voice,
thou who wishest to remain a Christian woman, in what way the blessed Paul commands you to be adorned.
Isaiah, moreover, the teacher
and author that spoke from heaven, for he
detests those who follow the wickedness
of the world, says: ‘The
daughters of Zion that are lifted up shall be brought low.’ It is not right in God that a faithful Christian woman should be adorned. Dost thou seek to go forth after the fashion of the Gentiles,
O thou who art consecrated to God? God’s heralds, crying aloud in the law, condemn such to be unrighteous
women, who in such wise adorn themselves. Ye stain
your hair; ye paint the opening of your eyes with black; ye lift up your
pretty hair one by one on your painted
brow; ye anoint your cheeks with some
sort of ruddy color laid on;
and, moreover, earrings hang down
with very heavy weight. Ye bury your neck with necklaces; with gems and gold ye bind hands worthy of God
with an evil presage. Why should I tell of your dresses, or of the whole pomp of the devil? Ye are rejecting
the law when ye wish to please the
world…. Thou, although thou mayest be chaste, dost not prove thyself so by following evil things. [16]
AD
250 Cyprian: This Catholic Bishop
in his book On the Dress of Virgins
also condemns the demonic fashions of the world. He wrote: The characteristics of ornaments, and of garments,
and the allurements of beauty, are not
fitting for any but prostitutes and immodest women; and the dress of none is more precious than of those whose modesty is lowly. Thus in the Holy
Scriptures, by which the Lord wished us to be both instructed and admonished,
the harlot city [in Revelations the
seventeenth chapter] is described more
beautifully arrayed and adorned, and with her ornaments; and the rather on
account of those very ornaments about to perish…. Let chaste and modest virgins
avoid the dress of the unchaste,
the manners of the immodest, the ensigns of brothels, the ornaments of harlots. [17]
Moreover Isaiah, full of the Holy Spirit, cries
out and chides the daughters of Sion, corrupted with gold, and silver, and raiment, and rebukes them, affluent as they were in pernicious
wealth, and departing from God for
the sake of the world’s delights…. He [God]
declares that virgins are corrupted; hence, that they have departed from the true and divine worship…. They cannot put on Christ; adorned with gold, and pearls, and necklaces, they have lost the ornaments of the heart
and spirit…. Not only virgins and
widows, but married women also, and all of the sex alike, should be admonished,
that the work of God and His fashioning and formation ought in no manner to be adulterated, either with the application
of yellow color, or with black dust or rouge, or with any kind of medicament
which can corrupt the native
lineaments…. When those things which belong to God are corrupted and violated,
you are engaged in a worse adultery. [18]
You have polluted your skin with a false medicament,
you have changed your hair with an adulterous color, your face
is violently taken possession of by a lie,
your figure is corrupted, your countenance is another’s. You cannot see God,
since your eyes are not those which God made, but those that the devil has spoiled. You have followed
him, you have imitated the red
and painted eyes of the serpent. As you are adorned in the fashion of your enemy, with him also you
shall burn by and by…. Therefore hear me, O
virgins, as a parent; hear, I
beseech you, one who fears while he warns; hear one who is faithfully
consulting for your advantage and your profit. Be such as God the Creator made you; be such as the hand of your
Father ordained you. Let your countenance
remain in you incorrupt, your neck unadorned, your figure simple; let not wounds be made in your ears, nor let the precious chain of bracelets
and necklaces circle your arms or
your neck; let your feet be free from golden bands, your hair stained with no dye,
your eyes worthy of beholding God.
[19]
Cyprian
exhorts Christian women to be chase virgins to Christ wrote: I admonish you, that you should before all things
maintain the barriers of chastity, as also you do: knowing that you are the
temple of the Lord, the members of Christ, the habitation of the Holy Spirit,
elected to hope, consecrated to faith, destined to salvation, sons of God,
brethren of Christ, associates of the Holy Spirit, owing nothing any longer to
the flesh, as born again of water, that the chastity, over and above the will,
which we should always desire to be ours, may be afforded to us also, on
account of the redemption, that that which has been consecrated by Christ might
not be corrupted. For if the apostle declares the Church to be the spouse of
Christ, I beseech you consider what chastity is required, where the Church is
given in marriage as a betrothed virgin….
Chastity is the
dignity of the body, the ornament of morality, the sacredness of the sexes, the
bond of modesty, the source of purity, the peacefulness of home, the crown of
concord. Chastity is not careful whom it pleases but itself. Chastity is always
modest, being the mother of innocency; chastity is ever adorned with modesty alone,
then rightly conscious of its own beauty if it is displeasing to the wicked.
Chastity seeks nothing in the way of
adornments: it is its own glory. It is this which commends us to the Lord,
unites us with Christ; it is this which drives out from our members all the
illicit conflicts of desire, instills peace into our bodies: blessed itself,
and making those blessed, whoever they are, in whom it condescends to dwell. [20]
AD 250-1795: The Struggle of the
Catholic and Protestant Churches Against Long Haired Men: It appears that the
Apostolic Pentecostal Churches, Catholic Churches, and later Protestant
Churches had a real problem with long haired men during this time period. It is
very evident that women in their churches, before this time, at this time and
after this time, did not have a problem following God’s long or uncut hair
standard. According to Corson: A great part of the history of hair during this period is
written in the struggles of the church to regulate‑both within the church
and outside ‑ the length of hair [for men].... Wulstan, Bishop of Worcester,
considered the wearing of long hair by men, ‘as highly immoral, criminal, and
beastly.’ The bishop always carried a knife with him; and whenever a
long-haired penitent knelt to receive his blessing, the bishop would whip out
his knife, cut off a handful of hair, and throw it in the man’s face. No doubt
long‑haired men began to think twice before asking his blessing. [21]
Corson also wrote: According to Reynolds, [the church] specified certain minimum requirements for cutting [men’s hair], namely, that part of the ear and the eyes should
remain uncovered. Corson
mentioned: Catholic Bishop Serlo
was particularly zealous in his denunciation of long hair and beards; and in 1105 when Henry I of England, convinced
by the bishop of ‘the evil of his hairy ways,’ agreed to being shorn and
shaved, Serlo was prepared. He brought forth a pair of scissors from beneath
his robes and did the job on the spot.
Corson also quoted Sleight as saying: An event happened in the year 1129
which seemed very wonderful to our young gallants, who forgetting that they
were men, had transformed themselves into women by the length of their hair.
Corson continued by saying: Thomas Hall, BD., [a Protestant Minister] broke into
print in 1653 with a volume twice the
length of Pryne's entitled, The
Loathsomeness Of Long Hair…. [In it he asked], ‘When may we say that a
man's hair is too long?’ The Reverend Hall is ready with the answer: ‘A)…when
it is an impediment to him and hinders him in the works of his calling. B)…when
it is so long that it covers the eyes, the cheeks, and the countenance, which
God has ordained to be visible. For the face is a special glass wherein the
glory and image of God… [is seen]. It is clear that long
hair is one of the sinful customs and fashion of the wicked men of the world. [22]
AD 1795‑1800: The First
Moral Women in History to Revolt Against God’s Hair Standards: The beginning of women’s revolt against God’s long
uncut hair standard. One should keep in mind that up to this time moral women
did not cut their hair. This revolt took place in Paris and other cities in
France, and it was a protest against the Guillotine, i.e., against hundreds of
men and women having their heads cut off by political assassins, who controlled
their government. According to Corson, in several cities in France during this
time: there was a dramatic change
in the styles when the ‘Titus cut’ (Plate 7‑C) ushered in the fashion of
short hair…. Thus women entered upon a whole new era of hairstyles, managing
to find an astonishing number of things to do with short hair…. But as with all fads
for very short hair among women, this one, though extremely popular while it
lasted, soon lost its novelty and was
discarded by the fashionable. Restless for change and unwilling to wait for
their short haircuts to grow out, women once again started wearing wigs. [23]
AD 1911: Moral Women Speak
Against Wearing Hair Puffs: In
this period, women struggled with their own conscience and peers about wearing
wigs, and placing objects in their hair to give their head different shapes.
Corson says it this way: In 1911 the Ladies Home Journal
interviewed six prominent, unnamed women to try to get an answer to the burning
question, ‘Can a woman's hair be done simply?’ The answer was apparently…yes!
The Journal reported: ‘In all of these six cases these women have found it
possible to wear their hair simply without resorting to the use of the
unsanitary and ridiculous puff….’
“One of these women said: ‘Many women fail to see that
in wearing of shams, they are living a lie… in far more instances than women
imagine. They have lost something of their subtle womanhood, something of the
respect that they crave and would have in the eyes of their husband and
children…. The step from the wearing
of a lie to the acting of a lie is
not a long one…. The question for women to decide is not…would I look better if
I wore this sham or that imitation? [But] the real question for her to ask
herself is… am I going to live a lie….’ It is probably safe to say that a good
many readers decided they were. However, the wigs were on their way out, and
the hair was beginning to conform to the shape of the head (see Plate 150). [24]
AD 1914 – Present: Moral
Women’s Revolt Against God’s Outward Holiness Standards: In this period, Satan uses his Hollywood harlots to
lead moral women into a total revolt against God and His Holy Word. Lucifer’s
plan was to change women’s godly outward appearance into the traditional and
historical look of harlots. He did this by enticing women to idolize His
demonic cinema stars. These harlots, like the harlots of old, chopped off their
God given covering, painted their faces, and wore revealing or immoral
clothing, with jewelry hanging down all over them.
Let us read what
Corson says about Satan’s Hollywood harlots: After the war [World War One] a few [so-called] brave souls bobbed their hair…. The Bob was a daring
new thing… it had been a hundred years since [moral] women cut off their hair, and the decision to take
such an irrevocable step was not an easy one to make. It rested with the film stars to lead the way…. With the coming of moving
pictures, Hollywood Stars
automatically set the styles. Garbo, Mary Pickford, Colleen
Moore, Jean Harlowe, Clare Bow ‑ any one of them had more influence then Queen Mary, Mrs. Vanderbilt, or Grace Coolidge. [25]
Corson went on to say: In January 1923, the Barber's Journal issued the latest report on the Boy Bob hair style. It was said,
‘Shearing short all the BEAUTIFUL golden, brown, and black tresses of hair. Women‑folk…are shedding their RESPECTED
GLORY…. The close snip rage is raging worse than ever, and soon, if no
indignant act of providence intervenes, masses of soft, LUSTROUS feminine
braids so much ADMIRED of man, since the ape
gave him his start, will be seen alone on elderly mothers and their surviving
mamas. [26]
Colson also stated: A HIGH PRIEST of BOBDOM, Signor
Pierro Raspanti claims credit for having sheared
the first locks that set women off on the Bob Haired trail…. [Raspanti
said], ‘3500 are
clipped there every week; hundreds are turned away….’ Signor Raspanti predicts,
‘Never, never will women WEAR their HAIR LONG again…. There was a time when I
had to have smelling salts on my
table here, so MANY WOMEN FELT FAINT when they saw their hair gone. I remember one Frenchwoman who cried and cried…. That
was the way with MANY of them…. In l924
the following advertisement appeared for the Tri City Barber School: ‘The Boy
Bob has the beauty parlors going. The Boy Bob is a taper haircut. [27]
In the
spring of 1925, Corson
says: Julia Holt wrote: ‘It certainly begins to look as if woman’s CROWING
GLORY is soon going to be a relic of the past…. Well, speaking for myself, I
had an enormous amount of women’s crowing glory…. I well remember the day, four
years ago, that I had my hair cut…. I must say that the first snip of the scissors
gave me a shock, like a cold bath or taking gas….’ Miss Holt then reported
that women in Paris were beginning once again to show their ears. [28]
Corson
revealed the biblical convictions of many godly men and
women in America, who were against this ungoldly fashion, when he wrote: It was
reported in the spring of 1926 that a
Missouri woman filed a petition for the return of her six children, who were
currently living with a guardian. When the oldest
girl, aged twelve, was asked by
the judge if they wished to return to their mother, she answered, ‘No. We don't
believe mother is a Christian woman.
She bobs her hair, and the Bible says in the eleventh chapter of First
Corinthians that a woman should not
cut her hair. The girl went on to reveal that her mother wore makeup,
jewelry and improper clothing. She then said: Christian woman shouldn't do
these things. [29] Jesus said: “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have
perfected praise?” (Mt 21:16).
Corson also
revealed the convictions of the Apostolic, Protestant, and Catholic Churches
around the world, who spoke out against this ungodly fashion, when he wrote: Objections
to the Bob on religious grounds were by no means confined to Missouri. In the
same year there was in circulation in England a tract entitled ‘Bobbed Hair:
Is It Well‑Pleasing To The Lord?’ In it the preacher pleaded with
women to shun this new hairstyle by saying, ‘Will our sisters in Christ, the
younger ones especially, suffer a few words of exhortation and entreaty? A new
fashion has come into the world that knows not
God…. No Christian would willingly defy
the Lord, and assuredly none would knowingly disobey His Word…. But why should Christian women fall victims
to all this? Let us turn to 1Co 11:3‑16…. In these verses we are told
that it is a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven. The new word bobbed
is only another way of saying shorn....
What will the Lord say to our sisters
about this when we all stand at His judgment seat…? The refusal to utter the word obey
in the marriage service, the wearing
of men’s apparel when cycling, the smoking of cigarettes, and the bobbing of the hair are all indicative
of one thing! God’s order is everywhere
flouted. Divine forbearance tolerates
the growing evil for the present, but
the hour of divine intervention in judgment approaches fast. [30]
In 1927 the Ladies Home Journal
asked Lucifer’s film star, Lynn Fontanne, to speak to the women of America
about painting their faces. In this article it is easy to see the anti-God and
anti-Bible spirit of this woman, who encouraged moral women to revolt against
God’s holy outward and inward holiness standards. Corson wrote: Cosmetics had gained acceptance of a SORT along with bobbed hair, but there still remained
some DOUBT in the minds of MANY that
it was quite RESPECTABLE. Miss Fontanne minced no words on the subject…. ‘Don't
mind what your husbands say. Let them
OBJECT as loudly as they please…. They'll get use to MAKEUP after a while, just
as they are getting used to SHORT HAIR. [31]
This woman, along with her friends, the Hollywood
harlots, has led moral women into Satan’s outward adorning trap, which
eventually change many women’s self-image from moral to immoral. If one would
stop and reflect on the above facts of history, they cannot help but be amazed
at how quickly Satan’s cinema harlots changed the godly image of good and moral
women into the image of the harlots of Hollywood. It only took seven years, or
from 1914 to 1921, for these cinema harlots to totally brainwash moral women of the world
to Satan’s outward standards of bobbed hair, wearing makeup, jewelry, immodest
clothing, and men’s clothing.
They can be no doubt that these harlots cast their
evil spell on moral women through the medium of motion pictures and later
television. From 1914 until the present time, Satan has used these
devices to preach all of his demonic and immoral messages. After the Devil
changed moral women’s godly appearance, he then used his Hollywood harlots to
change their inward character. He did this by FIRST giving them worldly values
and ambitions. He had his film stars make motherhood, and being a loving and
faithful housewife, appear boring and as bondage, while he glamorized women
being independent, career minded, and free from sexual limitations and
restraints. Those who like to play sex games with different men who appealed to
them. After ninety-two years of brainwashing, he has multitudes of women
believing his satanic doctrines. He even has our schools and universities
teaching his lies.
Godly women have no idea how they are affecting their
own value system, self-image, and how they feel, think, and act, when they fix
their hair, face, and clothes to make themselves look sexy or mannish. Whether
one want to believe it or not, God’s outward holiness standards does help one
to live holy, when they learn to appreciate God’s love and wisdom! Whether we
believe or realize it or not, our outward appearance does affect our self-image.
We will either program ourselves toward holiness or toward sin, by the way we
look and think of ourselves. We will subconsciously act out the part we are
manifesting to others, whether it is good or evil. After a period of time, we
will no longer be acting! We will put on the outward and inward image of the
one or ones we are imitating. Is it not time for us to cast out all of Satan’s
idols out of our hearts, and enthrone the Lord Jesus Christ? Is it not time to
break, destroy, and cast out all of the devil’s devices in our homes? We do not
need Lucifer’s one-eye demon brainwashing us and our children to immoral
values, ideas, and evil-images any longer!
CHAPTER 2
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH
ABOUT GOD’S OUTWARD HOLINESS STANDARDS?
We live in
a world today where evil men in our colleges and society teach blasphemous
doctrines. One of them, as I stated before, is the doctrine of “no absolutes.” This doctrine declares that there are no absolute truths, standards of
morality, and everything is subject to change as society changes, and so on. It
proclaims: “what may be right for
you, may be wrong for someone else”
and vise versa. For example: “if
one believes homosexuality and lesbianism is good, and it is alright for them
to adopt children, and raise them in that life style,” who are you to say it is wrong.
This doctrine does away with God and makes man his own
god! Since they teach that there are “no
absolutes,” the absolute truths
that are taught in God’s Word become void or must be changed to fit the times
in which we live. But as every Christian knows, the truths that are contained
in the Word of God are timeless. For “heaven and earth will past away,” but God’s Word abides forever! Therefore, this
doctrine of “no absolutes” is one more demonic link in chain called
humanism.
God warns His children to turn away from this and
every other false doctrine that would cause them to sin. He instructs them as a
loving and an omniscient Father to live discipline
and moral lives. Some preachers, who
hate inner and outward discipline and call it bondage, teach that God’s outward
standards of holiness was either done away with, or was for those who lived in
the days of the apostles and prophets. Therefore, they are really teaching the humanistic doctrines of “no
absolutes” and “relativism.” The Word of God is the “same yesterday, today and forever more.” God’s inward and outward holiness standards apply to
all times, cultures, nationalities, and races of people! It does not change
with the sinful whims of society.
God admonishes His backslidden children: “O house of Israel, I will
judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent!
Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid
yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a
new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the
death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live” (Ezek
18:30-32, NIV)! God instructed His
children to love and obey His Word, and to discipline their body. He says: “What right have you to
tell of My statutes, and to take My covenant in your mouth? For you hate discipline, and you cast My words
behind you” (Psa 50:16-17, NAS).
The
apostle Paul took heed to this warning, this is why he said: “everyone who competes for
the prize is temperate in all
things…. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty…. But I discipline my body and bring it into
subjection [to the Word of God], lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should
become disqualified” for the prize of eternal life (1Co 9:25, 27). The same apostle informs us that God is not only God
of our inward man but also of our outward body. He proclaimed: “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you, whom you have from
God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God
in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1Co
6:19-20).
Therefore, let us glorify and bear God in a pure and chaste body, with complete obedience to His Word. Let nothing
impure or profane be brought in or placed on or upon the temple of God, lest
His Holy Spirit becomes offended and He forsake
His temple, like He did with King Saul (1Sa 16:14). Paul also
declared: God’s grace teaches
us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for
the blessed hope-- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify
for himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good (Titus 2:11-14, NIV).
The apostle John,
like Paul, exhorted God’s children not to love worldly things. He wrote: “Do not love the world or
the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is
not in him. For all that is in the world-- the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life-- is not of the Father but is of the world. And
the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God
abides forever” (1Jn 2:15-17).
There can be no doubt that jewelry, make-up, immodest and expensive clothing,
and the cutting and dying of one’s hair, would fall in one of the categories mention
by John, which was the “lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”
Before we begin to
examine the teachings God gave through the apostles and prophets on inward and
outward holiness, one should remember that God’s holiness standards apply to
both men and women. One should always remember that the apostles and prophets
are NOT giving us their OPINIONS or IDEAS on this subject, but are declaring GOD’S WILL for all of His
children, and all who wish to become His Children. Therefore, I am asking my
beloved readers again, if the Bible teaches inward and outward holiness
standards, are you willing to obey it? With this in mind, let us proceed.
God’s Purpose in Outward Holiness
Standards
As we begin our biblical study on God’s outward
holiness standards, let us ask the question: “why is God against immodest clothing for both men and
women, or them wearing jewelry, makeup, or women cutting their hair and men
allowing theirs to grow long?” Is
it because God’s fallen angels introduced these things to mankind back before
the flood? It could be, for God has never used or approved of anything,
including worldly fashions, the devil and his demons have invented; but I think
the main reason is because God wants His Children to put on and maintain a
GODLY and HOLY SELF-IMAGE.
There have been many books written over the past sixty
years that speak about our self-image. It is a well-known fact, that the way we
look and dress can affect our self-image in a positive or negative way. From a
research article entitled “Positive Self and Body Image: A Crucial Link,”
we can ascertain the latest information on how our body image can affect our
self-image and self-esteem. The author declared:
“Self-image or self-concept is the most inclusive
‘self” term. It is used to describe how an individual perceives his or her characteristics
and abilities and how an individual evaluates his/herself. Self-esteem is
defined as the evaluative component (i.e., how worthy one feels) and is a part
of self-image…. Body image [or the way we look] helps form self-image, dissatisfaction with
one’s body can have a dramatic effect on how people feel about themselves….
Studies link low self-esteem with disturbed body image [or appearance]…. The relationship between self-image and body image
is complicated, and the specific dynamics vary from person to person….
Self-image, self –esteem and other important variables such as self-efficacy
and control are highly influence by social and environmental factors. This means that promoters of the VITALITY
approach need to focus beyond the individual, and make effort to create environments that reinforce positive self-esteem and
healthy lifestyles choices. The maintenance of positive self-esteem is both an
individual and societal responsibility.
Therefore, it is the job of the church to create a
positive, godly, and holy environment for saints as well as sinners coming into
it. If sinners are going to be truly transformed and live a victorious life,
they need to see a pure, clean, holy Christ living in His people. Preachers do
Christians a great disservice when they preach against God’s holiness
standards. Preachers should let God’s people know that they are called and
ordained by God to be His Holy Priesthood (1Pe 2:5, 9). Therefore,
they should be holy and look holy, as the ministers of Christ to a lost and
dying world.
Preachers who preach that Christians are nothing more
than sinners save by grace, and they have no power over sin to stop sinning,
then they will act and look like a sinner. In other words, this teaching gives
God’s children a sinner’s self-image. This type of teaching is totally against
what the Bible teaches. For the Word of God teaches that God’s people are not
slaves to sin. If one is a slave to sin, either they have not truly been born
again, or they do not believe in and confess the new holy self-image God gave
them at the New Birth. The Bible teaches that this self-image is: “Christ in you the hope of
glory” (Col 1:27). The
apostle Paul speaking of this new self-image said: “For we are predestinate to
be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29).
When we became born-again from above, God made us new
man or woman in Christ; for God has given us a new nature, which is the nature
of the Lord Jesus Christ: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things
have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2Co 5:17, NKJ). God has given us a new Spirit, which is the Holy
Spirit (2Ti 1:14). This new Spirit gives power to live holy (Acts 1:8).
God has also given us a new heart, which desires to
live holy and keep His commandments. God said it this way: “I will give you a new
heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of
your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and
cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them”
(Ezek 36:26-27). This heart
transplant or circumcision of the heart took place when we were immersed in
water in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Col 2:11-13; Act 2:38).
Therefore, we do not have a sinner’s self-image, and
Satan is not our god or pappy any longer! We do not act, talk, dress, and look
like Satan’s children any more but God’s Children. “For we know that our old
self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,
that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Rom 6:6, NIV). For this reason, the apostle admonished God’s
children to: “lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in
accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of
your mind, and put on the new self, which in {the likeness of} God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the
truth” (Eph 4:22-24, NAS).
It is absolutely necessary that God’s children believe in and feed their new holy
self-image in every way that they can! Daily, every Saint of God needs to
visualize and meditate on the new and holy Christ like self-image God has given
him or her. They also need to verbally confess: “I am a holy man or woman of God. Almighty God, the
Creator of the universe lives in me.”
An inner and outward holy and godly self-image is very important for God’s
people to have, if we wish to overcome
the world, the flesh and the devil. This is especially true of babes in Christ.
They need to burn every bridge that ties them to the world of sin and bondage.
Their outward appearance needs to match their inward profession of Christ; for
the only Christ sinners will ever see is the one living in God’s Child.
According to psychologist, we have a very strong tendency to act out in
our personality, the part we consistently,
visually portray in our outward
appearance. For example, if a woman dresses, paints her face, and fixes her
hair in such a way as to appear sexy to men, she will subconsciously act out
the role she is playing. If she repeatedly projects this image to herself and
others, after a period of time she will no longer be acting, for she will
eventual become what she act out and her self-image will change from godly to
ungodly. This self-image in time will cause a moral woman to slip and fall into
sin. You cannot play with Satan’s inventions without him eventually leading you
into captivity.
Therefore no one can say that a godly and holy outward appearance does
not help one to be holy on the inside. It is for this reason why I believe God,
the great mastermind or psychologist of the universe, has chosen to give His
children outward holiness standards to live by. If a child of God constantly
dresses in a decent and modest fashion, it will be easier for them to think of themselves as a holy man or woman of
God. Because Satan knows the power there is in a holy outward appearance, he
does his best to pervert God’s standards with his worldly and demonic fashions.
Let’s always remember, sin not holiness is bondage.
God’s Standard on Clothing
I have heard so-called gospel preachers mock holy
clothing by saying: “You can take
a prostitute and put her in a long dress that completely covers her body, and
these holiness preachers will think she was a saint of God.” This is true, but after one got to know her, they
would know that she was a harlot and not a lady. The opposite is also true, you
can put the same dress on a holy woman of God and no one would think she was a
loose immoral woman or a play thing! You can also put immodest clothes on a
woman, such as a low cut dress, mini skirt, shorts, or a two piece bathing
suit, and godly men will not think she is holy. Therefore, our outward
appearance does tell others something about our inward personality and
character. It will either leave a good or bad impression in their mind.
I know that there are some preachers who believe that
God is not concern about what kind of clothes, ornaments, or anything else His
Children put on. In 1980, I can remember talking to a pastor in Kingsport, TN,
who at one time believed in and taught outward holiness standard, but sad to
say, not anymore. No doubt, there will be pastors who will lose their salvation
because they allowed their wives to turn them from the truth, or in some cases
stop them from believing the truth. Jesus taught that if you love anyone more
than Him and His Word, you are not worthy of Him.
As this minister and I discussed the scriptures, this
pastor told me: “man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at
the heart” (1Sa 16:7). I
told this minister that he was taking this scripture out of its context, for it
had nothing to do with clothing, jewelry or any other outward adorning. God
told Samuel not to look at Jesse sons’ height and physical physique. This
pastor then told me: “Even though
this scripture was not referring to outward adornments, the principle still
holds true. God does not care about the ornaments or clothes we wear.” I then asked this pastor: “Do you believe or teach that God does not care if
His Children go around naked, or expose their private parts in public?” He said: “of
course I do not.” I said: “If that is true, then God does care about the clothes
we put on. Therefore, the question is how much clothing is enough, whereby we
do not commit the sin of nakedness that God so strongly hates and condemns in
His Holy infallible Word.”
The question is not what you or I think is enough
clothing, but what does the Holy Word of God teach on this very important
subject, and on other types of outward adorning. The apostle Paul speaking
under the unction of the Holy Spirit to all who claim to be Daughters of God
wrote: “I
also want women to dress modestly
with decency [aidos] and propriety
[sophrosune], not with braided hair or gold or pearls
or expensive clothes, but with good
deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1Ti 2:9-10, NIV). The New American Standard translation reads
this way: “Likewise, {I want} women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly,
not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly
garments; but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim
to godliness.”
Let my dear sweet sisters in Christ take note, God’s
holy and infallible Word mention the wearing of jewelry, and immodest and
expensive clothing as being offensive to God. Now no one can question what the
scripture means by jewelry and expensive apparel in this passage, for it is
obvious, but what does it mean by modest or proper clothing? The question is
not what you or I believe modest or immodest apparel to be, but what is modest
dress in God’s sight.
The apostle uses the Greek words “aidos”
and “sophrosune” as adjectives to describe modest clothing. The word “aidos”
according to Dr. James Strong in his Strong’s
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defined it to mean: (through the idea of downcast eyes): bashfulness, i.e. (towards men),
modesty. [32] This signifies a woman who dresses in such a way that
men perceive her to be holy and shy, which is the opposite of one who is
audacious, imprudent, and sexy looking. “soundness of mind i.e. self-control.”
Dr. Timothy and Barbara Friberg
in their Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament defined the word “sophrosune” to mean: (1) as a quality of life,
characterized by the ability to restrain
passions and impulses, self-control, moderation, sensibleness (1T 2.9);
(2) as intellectual soundness rationality,
reasonableness, good sense (AC 26.25). [33] This
signifies a woman who is self-discipline, one who has self-control, moderation,
prudence, and good judgment, not one who is self-indulgence and has no control
over her pride, lust and passions.
Therefore modest apparel must include in it the idea
of bashfulness and self-control, which definitely implies clothing that covers
a woman’s body from the view of men. Clothing that is proper and decent.
Clothing that will promote godly thoughts in men when they look upon a woman,
or in other words, clothing that will not cause men to lust after a woman’s
body. Modest clothing is definitely not sensual or sexy, whereby parts of a
woman’s body is exposed or naked. When a woman displays different parts of her
body in public, men automatically think she is a loose sensual woman or a
plaything. Definitely not someone a godly man would want to marry! Beloved, if
you do not have enough respect for yourself to dress modestly, men will not
respect you either.
All of God’s Children, both men and women, in the Old Testament wore
one piece of clothing that was the same. God commanded them to wear tassels with blue cords on the border
or end of their robes. The LORD spoke
to Moses and said: “Speak to the Israelites
and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments,
with a blue cord on each tassel You will have these tassels to LOOK at, and so you will REMEMBER ALL THE COMMANDS of
the LORD, that you may OBEY them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your
own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God’ ” (Num
15:37-40, NIV).
According to God, this piece of clothing was a visible
outward sign of Israel’s separation from the world and their dedication to Him.
Therefore, this piece of clothing was part of God’s outward holiness standards
for His children. In fact, one Child of God could recognize another Child of
God, whom they did not know, simply by this piece of clothing. Not only God’s
Children could recognize each other, but also pagans or sinners all around them
could look at their clothing, and tell that these were the holy People of God.
This piece of clothing was given to remind them that they belong to God, therefore
they were holy and should not live, talk, and use clothing that exposed their
bodies, like the heathens around them.
God wanted His Children to discipline their flesh and
live self-controlled lives, whereby the old sinful nature with it sinful and
lustful desires are place under subjection to the Word of God. This is what God
meant when He told His Children that they should “not prostitute” themselves “by
going after the lusts of” their “own hearts and eyes.” This is why Paul told Titus to have the older sisters in
Christ to: “Train the younger women to love their
husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy
at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will
malign the Word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.
In everything set them an example by doing what is good” (Tit 2:4-7, NIV). Beloved, are you a good example in and out of Church
what a godly woman and man of God should be?
According to the Bible, the evil influence of demon
spirits in someone’s life may cause then to take off their clothes or expose
their parts of their body to public view. Jesus tells the story of a
demon-possessed man who: “for a long time… had not worn clothes or
lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs….” But when Jesus cast the demons out of the man, the
man was found: “sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right
mind” (Lk 8:27-36, NIV).
Surely it must be obvious from the above passage that Satan wants men and women
to expose and show off their bodies in public, while God commands them to cover
their flesh with godly or holy clothes. No one can read passages on nakedness
such as Leviticus 18:6-19 and
20:11-21, and not know God hates
it. Men and women who dress immodest are obviously not in their right mind.
They are attracting demon spirits to themselves by their mode of dressing, and
if they continued in it, they could become demon-possessed.
God has always been against nudity. Adam and Eve tried
to conceal their naked bodies with fig leaves, but “The LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed
them” (Gen 3:21, NIV). Therefore God made robes of animal hides to cover
their nakedness. Since this was a type of God making atonement for their sins,
by shedding the blood of animals, God
did not partially cover their bodies but completely coved them. There is
not one scripture that shows any of God’s holy angels appearing to men in the
nude, but they always wore robes. God required His priests to wear robes that
went down to their feet; they also wore linen underwear that went from their
hips to the top of their knees (Exo 28:2-42). Jesus wore a robe that not only
covered his body, but also went down to His feet (Rev 1:13). When God’s
People go to heaven, none of them will go around nude or with parts of their
body exposed, but all will be “clothed with white robes”
(Rev 7:9).
Beloved, in the Hebrew culture, God’s Children had
strong outward holiness clothing standards. They believed that men and women
should completely cover their bodies from public view. Anyone who went in
public without an outer robe on was considered naked; even
though their body was fully covered
with an inner linen robe and an undergarment, i.e. linen shorts. A good example of this truth can be found in the
so-called nakedness of the apostle Peter.
The Bible says the apostles were fishing when the Lord
Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection. John said to Peter: “It is the Lord. Now when
Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat [i.e. his outer
robe] unto him, (for he
was naked [gumnos],) and did cast himself into the sea” (Jn 21:7, KJV, also see ASV, YLT). The New
King James, the NIV, NAS and other translations translated it this way, “It is the Lord!’ Now when Simon Peter heard that it was
the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.”
Drs. Friberg defined gumno as: (a) naked, unclothed, bare…. (b)
poorly dressed, (partially) naked (JA 2.15); (c) WITHOUT AN OUTER GARMENT,
thus UNPRESENTABLE for PUBLIC APPEARANCE (JN 21.7). [34]
Easton’s
Bible Dictionary speaking of the Hebrew concept of nakedness stated: In Old Testament times… both
men and women wore… an under garment or tunic, which was bound by a
girdle. One who had only this tunic on was spoken of as ‘naked’ 1Sa 19:24, Job 24:10,
Isa 20:2. Those in high stations sometimes
wore two tunics, the outer being called the ‘upper garment’ 1Sa 15:27, 18:4,
24:5, Job 1:20. [35]
King David was considered naked when he danced before
the Lord as they were bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. His wife Michal said to
him: “How
glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly
uncovers himself” (2Sa 6:20)!
David, a holy prophet of God, was not naked for the Bible said: “David was wearing a
linen ephod” which
was an inner robe (2Sa 6:14). David also wore linen undergarments as all Hebrew
men did. Since David did not have his outer kingly robe on, he was considered
naked.
Let us now examine the prophet Isaiah so-called
nudity. The LORD spoke to Isaiah the son of Amos, saying: “Go, and remove the
sackcloth [the outer robe] from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.’ And
he did so, walking naked [arowm] and barefoot.
Then the LORD said, ‘Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked [arowm]
and barefoot three
years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so shall the king
of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives,
young and old, naked [arowm, in Sept Gr. gumnos] and barefoot, with their buttocks UNCOVERED, to the shame of Egypt ” (Isa 20:2-4, NKJ).
Beloved take note, the Bible did not say their entire body was exposed to public view, but it
singled out their buttock only. This simple means their inner
linen robes were cut around their buttock area thereby exposing their buttock.
The very context of these scriptures interprets what the Bible means by naked in
this passage. Therefore, it means they only had on their inner garments.
Therefore the holy prophet Isaiah, according to Hebrew holiness standards, was
considered naked because he did not have on his outer robe in public, which was
made of sackcloth.
The only time nudity is acceptable in God’s sight is
when a man and his wife are nude in the privacy of their bedrooms. This is why
Adam and Eve were not in sin when they are nude in the Garden of Eden, for the
garden was their bedroom. There were no other people around to see them;
therefore their bodies were not exposed to public view. Let us not forget that
God put clothes on them before Cain and Able were born of them. Now, what woman
would dare say it is wrong for a husband and wife to go around nude in the
privacy of their own bedroom?
God also commanded men not to wear women’s clothing,
and women not to wear men’s clothing. God said: “A woman shall not
wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's
garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God”
(Deu 22:5). Even though both men
and women wore robes in Bible days, THERE HAD TO BE A DIFFERENCE OR THIS VERSE
WOULD BE A LIE! When I was reading the Jewish Talmud, I remember an old Rabbi
telling a younger Rabbi: not to
look at a woman’s garments, which were hanging up outside, least he sinned in
his mind.
Now, the Bible does not tell me what the difference
between the clothing of a man and woman in Old and New Testament was, and I
have never read anything in history that revealed this truth to me. But I do
know this, God’s clothing commandment was given so that a woman should use clothing that makes her look like a woman, and a man should use clothing that makes him look like a man. It should be very
evident to all my beloved readers, God ordained that there would be a clear and
definite distinction between the clothing of men and women, for he declared
that all who broke this distinction were an “abomination” in His sight!
Therefore, all unisex
clothing is an “abomination” in God’s sight. Merriam-Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary defined unisex this way: the
state or condition of not being distinguishable (as by hair or clothing) as to
sex. Beloved, you know we are
living in a unisex age, whereby the devil is doing his best to destroy all
differences between the sexes. In America our children are growing up with an identity crisis not knowing their God
given role in life; their mothers acting and looking like men, and their
fathers acting and looking like women, and the bewildered child imitating both
of them. This demonic unisex spirit that has pervaded our society is having a
drastic effect on our children. Therefore, we should do everything we can to
protect our children from this rotten spirit. This means the clothes momma’s
wears should make her look feminine and like a godly woman, and vise versa for
daddy.
Therefore Beloved, before you put on any clothing,
which does not produce the image of a genuine lady or woman of God in the minds
of men, think about the following scriptures: “To one who knows {the} right thing to do, and does not do it, to him [or her] it is sin” (Ja
4:17, NAS). These same truths also
apply to men of God! Therefore, I plead with my sisters and brothers in Christ
to be a true men and women of God. God through His apostle admonished His
Children “do not let your good be spoken of as evil” (Rom 14:16). Beloved do sinners ridicule
and reproach our Lord and His Church because you being a woman dress like a man
or a harlot, or you being a man dress similar to a woman? Let us always remember we are Christ’s body on earth,
and the only Christ saints and sinners will see is the one in us!
In Bible days, only harlots exposed parts of their
body in public. A prostitute would raise her dress up revealing her legs, when
men pass by whom she wanted to seduce. God, through the prophet Isaiah,
compared the nation of Babylon first to a virgin and then to a harlot. The
Bible says it this way: “Virgin Daughter of Babylon… no more will you be called tender or delicate…. Lift up your skirts, bare your legs, and wade
through the streams. Your nakedness
will be exposed and your shame uncovered. I will take vengeance;
I will spare no one” (Isa 47:1-3). Therefore, according to God’s Holy Word, immodest
clothes would be any type of clothing that would reveal a woman’s legs.
A woman of God should always bear in mind the awesome
responsible they have to God to dress modestly. If a woman dresses immodestly
and expose her body, such as her breasts, thighs, butt, stomach, and legs to
the view of men, thereby enticing them to lust in their heart after her beauty,
God will hold her as well as him guilty of sin! The very same truth applies to
a man who reveals his chest, butt, stomach, and legs of his body in public, and
causes a woman to lust after him. Beloved, let me remind you again, your
dresses and shirts should be to your ankles. This was the code of dress in
Bible times, and this will be the dress code when we get to heaven!
Our Lord compared the very act of adultery with that
of committing it in one’s mind. He said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not
commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully
has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:27-28, NIV). Therefore, any man or woman, who reveals his or her
body in public, either by wearing scanty, or see through, or very tight
clothing is sinning in God’s sight. If God’s holy apostles and prophets were
alive today and living in America, they would no doubt think they were living
in Sodom and Gomorrah. For women shamelessly go around with parts of their
breasts, buttock, stomach, and legs exposed to public view. The next step in
Satan’s fashion parade will no doubt be see-through-clothing; for he knows that
lustful, prideful women, who are engrossed in their own beauty, want men to see
their nude bodies and lust after them.
The apostle Paul commanded both
men and women to: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for
the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Rom 13:14); also “For we shall all stand
before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: ‘As I live, says the
LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.’ So
then EACH OF US shall give ACCOUNT of himself [and herself] to God. Therefore, let
us… not to put a STUMBLING BLOCK or a CAUSE to FALL in our brother's [and sister’s] way” (Rom 14:10-13). At the White Throne Judgment,
Jesus will pronounce a harsh judgment against all
those who cause others to sin. He said: “Things that CAUSE people to SIN are bound
to come, but WOE to that person THROUGH WHOM they come. It would be better for
him [or her] to be
thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his [or her] neck than for him [or her] to CAUSE one of these little ones to SIN” (Lk 17:1-2, NIV). Brother and sister in Christ, it would behoove all
of us to take heed to these scriptures, if we wish to make heaven and not hell
our home.
God’s Standard on Jewelry
In the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia we read this concerning
outward ornaments: In
common with all the Orientals, the Hebrews were very fond of wearing ornaments,
and their tendency to extravagance of this kind often met with stern prophetic
rebuke (Isa 3:16-24; Ezek 13:18-20). On this subject, little is said in the New
Testament apart from Jesus' (Lk 7:25;
12:23) and James' (Jas 2:2) invectives against meretricious
estimates of moral character…. But
everywhere, in divine injunctions, the emphasis of value is placed upon the
beauty of holiness as an inward grace rather than on the attractions of outward
ornament (Job 40:10; Ps 110:3; Joel 2:13;
1 Tim 2:9,10;
1 Pet 3:4) (I.S.B.E.
heading Ornament).
The apostle Peter, like Paul in first Timothy the
second chapter and verses nine and ten, taught that a Christian woman’s
adornment should be that of a gentle and peaceful spirit. He likewise
proclaimed that women should not fix their hair into elaborate hairdos with the
interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or changes of
clothes. Peter said it this way: “Whose (adorning) let it not
be the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of
gold, or of putting on apparel; but (let it be) the hidden man of the heart, in
the incorruptible (apparel) of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the
sight of God of great price” (1Pe 3:3-4, ASV).
The New International Version translated this
passage thus: “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so
that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without
words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity
and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward
adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry
and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the
unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great
worth in God's sight. For THIS is the WAY the HOLY WOMEN of the PAST, who put
their hope in God, used to make
themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like
Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. YOU are her [Sarah’s] daughters
IF you do what is right and do not
give way to fear” (verses 1-6).
Satan uses jewelry to fill the souls of women with the
spirit of vanity and pride. The apostles probably had Lucifer’s downfall in
mind went they wrote these things. For one of the things that caused Lucifer to
lose out with God was his pride in his physical beauty. His clothing was
covered with jewels, as I stated above when I commented on Ezekiel 28:13, 17. The apostle could have had the fallen angels in mind, who taught
women and men the art of jewelry that Enoch spoke of! However God revealed this
truth to the apostles, they all stood against men and women wearing jewelry
made of precious stones. You know those costly stones that shine because they
are highly polished, and some stones even sparkle mesmerize the eyes.
Paul told Christian
men and women, who truly agape love Christ, that they: “Have crucified the
flesh with the affections and lusts” thereof (Ga 5:24). A loving, sweet, and modest spirit in both Christian
woman and men will do more to beautify then in the eyes of God, than all the
magnificent stones Lucifer put on his God given white garments, which defiled
his spirit. I may add, in the eyes of godly men, no amount of jewelry could
begin to compare to the beauty of a Christian women, who has a loving, sweet,
and humble spirit. Every godly man seeks for that kind of woman to marry.
A good example of
some of God’s children rejecting God’s Holiness Commandments can be found in
the Book of Exodus. When the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, which is a
type of the worldly system that is dominated by sin, and received a type of the
New Birth when they: “all
were baptized into Moses in the cloud [God’s Spirit was in it] and in the sea” i.e. water Baptism (1Co 10:2), they then went to
Mt. Sinai to meet with their God.
“And the LORD said
unto Moses: 'Go unto the people, and sanctify
them to-day and to-morrow, and let them
wash their garments… And Moses
brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God” (Exo 19:10, 17). After this Moses
went up into the Holy Mount and received God’s Holy Commandments. Moses then
came down and: “told the people all
the words of the LORD, and all the
ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said: ‘All the
words which the Lord hath spoken will we do” (Exo 24:3).
Evidently some of God’s Children,
like those of today, did not like God’s Holiness Commandments; for shortly
after Moses went into the Holy Mount again to receive God’s written Law on
stones, they made a golden calf and worshipped it; thus violating God’s first
and second commandments. After 3,000 men were slain because of their sins
against God, Moses made intercession for the people, so God would not kill them
all. The Lord then said to Moses: “Say
unto the children of Israel: Ye are a stiffnecked [i.e. rebellious, self-willed,
hard hearted] people;
if I go up into the midst of thee for one moment, I shall consume thee; therefore now put
off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the
children of Israel stripped themselves of
their ornaments from mount Horeb onward”
(Exo 33:3-6, JPS – Jewish
Publication Society). Let my
beloved readers take note, God commanded them to removed all of their worldly
Egyptian jewelry and ornaments. If God was not against all these symbols of
pride and vanity of Lucifer, then why did God commanded them to take them off?
Good question is it not. What is your answer?
Several times in the Old Testament, God holy people,
deserted God and played the harlot by joining themselves to the Babylonian
human Trinity, i.e., Baal the father, Ashtoreth the mother, and Tammuz the son (Jug 2:13; Eze 8:13-14; Jer 7:18; 1Sa 7:3-4; 12:10). Because of all the harlotry of His people, God compared His people to
a prostitute in several passages of scriptures. He usually described her as one
who wore makeup and jewelry. God speaking through the prophet Hosea said: “Rebuke your mother,
rebuke her, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove
the ADULTEROUS LOOK from her FACE and the unfaithfulness from between her
breasts…. I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked
herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her LOVER, but Me
she forgot” (Hos 2:2, 13, NIV).
God used the prophet Isaiah to describe the jewelry Israel
wore as their played the harlot in their backslidden state. God said: “Woe to the wicked!
Disaster is upon them! They will be
paid back for what their hands have done. Youths oppress my people, women rule over them…. The women of Zion are haughty [i.e. vain, fully of pride], walking along with outstretched necks, flirting
with their eyes, tripping along with
mincing steps, with ornaments jingling
on their ankles…. The Lord will snatch
away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets
and veils, the headdresses and ankle
chains and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings and nose rings….
Zion will lament
and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground (Isa 3:11-12, 16-24, NIV). With all the jewelry they had on, they must have
sounded like a junk truck as they walked, i.e., jingle, jingle, clang, clang.
Now, I know some of our beloved sisters in Christ will
say that God does not hate jewelry, because He called it beautiful in the
sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel. Therefore, this passage of scripture needs to be
address. Since God cannot contradict Himself in what He teaches, we need to
allow the context of this passage, and the above passages, to interpret this
passage of scripture for us. No one can deny that God called His Children
Harlots in the above passages of Scripture and described their ornaments of
harlotry that filled them with pride; and not only this, but God calls His
Children prostitutes throughout this
chapter in Ezekiel.
Let us examine the context for this entire passage. No one cannot read the
beginning of this chapter and not realized that God is using HIGHLY SYMBOLIC
LANGUAGE to describe Israel. God says: “The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,
confront Jerusalem with her DESTESTABLE PRACTICES and say, ‘This is what the
Sovereign LORD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of
the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. On the
day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed
with water to make you clean, nor
were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths…. Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your
blood I said to you, Live….’ I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant
with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine” (Ezekiel 16:1-4, 6, 8).
In the following passages, God uses the SYMBOLISM of a
PROSTITUTE to describe how His wife, i.e. Israel, who entered into a marriage
covenant with Him at Mt. Sinai, deserting Him and joining herself to pagan
gods. Our Lord said it this way: “You took your sons and daughters whom you bore to Me and sacrificed them as
food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered
My children and sacrificed them to the idols.
In all your detestable practices and your prostitution
you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood [definitely symbolic language]…. You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your
lustful neighbors, and provoked Me to anger with your increasing promiscuity….
You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians too, because you were insatiable;
and even after that, you still were not satisfied. Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia, a land
of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied. How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign LORD, when you do
all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute…. You
ADULTEROUS WIFE! You prefer strangers to your OWN HUSBAND! Therefore, you prostitute,
hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says… I will sentence you to
the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed
blood; I will bring upon you the blood
vengeance of My wrath and jealous anger” (Eze 16:20-22, 26, 28-30, 32, 35, 38).
Now that we have established a
context revealing the highly symbolic language God used throughout this
chapter, let examine how God symbolically describes His beautiful, carnal,
worldly, and adulterous wife. It is very evident that God is using WORLDLY
SYMBOLS and ANALOGIES that Israel would understand and easily identify with in
her BACKSLIDDEN state. God said: “I adorned you with jewelry: I put
bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on
your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver; your
clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food
was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a
queen. And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty,
because the splendor I had given you made
your beauty perfect, declares the
Sovereign LORD”
(Eze16:11-14).
It is perfectly obvious to any unbiased Christian that God did not
literally give Israel any of the jewelry that is described above. The above is
a beautiful symbolic picture, how God make Israel beautiful by giving her His
Holy Laws of Righteousness, and by the keeping of which she rose up above all
the nations of the world. Because Israel for a time followed the Laws of
righteousness, God gave her victory over all of her enemies, and filled her
treasuries with the spoils of war, i.e., gold and silver in abundance. During
the reigns of King David and Solomon, all the nations stood in fear and in awe
at God’s blessings and protection on Israel! With these truths in mind, let us
move on to the next standard.
God’s Standard on Makeup
The first woman mention in the Bible to wear makeup
was Jezebel, who was the wicked high priestess of Baal that led God’s people
into apostasy. The Word of God says, Jezebel “painted her eyes, arranged her hair,” no doubt by putting jewels in it (1Ki 9:30, NIV). Many Bible commentators have declared that painting the face meant to
color the eyelids, eyebrows, lashes and even the cheeks with various paints.
According to God’s Word, one of the attributes of a harlot was she painted her
face. Solomon speaking of this said: “Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her
allure you with her eyelids” (Pro 6:24-26).
God rebuked Israel, His adulterous wife, through the
prophet Jeremiah when He said: “Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds
[of
marriage]; you said, 'I
will not serve you!' Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree
you lay down as a PROSTITUTE…. What are you doing, O devastated one? Why dress
yourself in SCARLET and put on JEWELS of gold? Why shade your EYES with PAINT?
You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life” (Jer 2:20; 4:30, NIV).
As I stated above, God rebuked Israel and Judah
through the prophet Ezekiel, and revealed that they were prostitutes. God told
Ezekiel: “Son
of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable
practices…. You bathed yourself for
them [your
lovers, you] PAINTED your
EYES and put on your JEWERLY…. Then I said about the one worn out by
ADULTRY, 'Now let them use her as a PROSTITUTE, for that is all she is” (Eze 23:36, 40, 43, 44, NIV). As my beloved readers can now perceive, God and His
holy prophets were very adamant against God’s children looking and acting like
prostitutes. If we did not have these Old Testament scriptures speaking against
immoral clothing, make-up, and jewelry, Paul and Peter’s writings alone should
be enough for every godly woman and man to abstain from the paraphernalia of
harlots.
Dear sisters in
Christ, let us take heed to our Brother Paul’s admonition: “Do you not know that your
bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of
Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never…. But he who
unites himself with the Lord is one
with Him in spirit” (1Co
6:15,17, NIV). God told us: “the adulterer and the
adulteress shall surely be put to death” (Lev 20:10). This also
means they will not inherit eternal life, unless they repent and turn away from
their sins. The apostle James said it this way: “You adulterous people,
don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a
friend of the world becomes an enemy
of God…. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble…. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you
double-minded” (Ja 4:4, 6, 8, NIV).
God’s Standard on Hair
Before we begin to examine the teachings God gave
through the apostle Paul in First Corinthians the eleventh chapter, there are
three points that must be clearly understood, if one wishes to apply God's
principles to their life. First ‑ God is not giving commandments to only
women, as some commentators would have us to believe. Even a casual examination
of these scriptures will reveal that God is giving commandments to men and
women alike.
Second ‑ One should always remember that this is
a New Testament teaching. It is not Paul's opinions that are being stated. It
is God revealing to His Church, His perfect will for them. Paul was just the
mouthpiece that God used to convey His message. The word of God emphatically
declared: “prophecy came not in old times by the will of men: But holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2Pe 1:21). Third - Paul speaking under the anointing and power
of the Holy Ghost wrote AGAINST TWO CUSTOMS that certain miss-guided preachers
were trying to introduce into the Corinthian Church. One was the ancient custom
of a woman using the oriental veil to
cover her head and face, and the other was the pagan custom of men wearing their hair long.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and
Ecclesiastical Literature, by Doctors M’Clintock and Strong, spoke of the
above Corinthian passage by stating: The
Hebrews... observed the natural distinction between the sexes by allowing the women to wear it LONG, (Luke 7:38; John
11:2; 1Co 11:6), while the men restrained theirs by frequent clippings…. The only person
among the more ancient Israelites who is expressly mentioned as having done in
ordinary life [meaning having long hair], what
is here designated a shame, is Absalom…. Roman…men usually wore the hair SHORT….
[Women wearing their hair
long and men wearing theirs short]
must have been quite general in the Gospel Age, so far as the head is concern
among the countries, which witnessed the labors of the apostle Paul; since in
his first epistle to the Corinthians, he refers to it as an
acknowledged and nearly UNIVERSAL FACT …. A criminal, who came to trial under
the assumed character of a Christian,
was proven to the satisfaction of the judge to be an impostor by the luxuriant and frizzled appearance of his hair (Tertullian, Apol. Fleury, Les
Mueurs des Chretiennes). With regard to women,
the possession of LONG and LUXURIANT HAIR is allowed by Paul to be an ESSENTIAL
ATTRIBUT of the sSEX ‑ a graceful and modest COVERING provided by nature. [36]
Easton’s Bible Dictionary spoke of the above passage this way: The women of Egypt
wore their hair long and plaited…..
In the time of the apostle, among the Greeks
the men wore short hair, while that of the women
was long. 1Co 11:14, 15, Paul reproves the Corinthians for
falling in with a style of manners which so far confounded the distinction
of the sexes and was hurtful to good morals. (See, however, 1Ti 2:9
and 1Pe 3:3 as regards women)…. Among the
Hebrews the natural distinction
between the sexes was preserved by
the women wearing long hair Lu 7:38 Joh 11:2
1Co 11:6,
while the men preserved theirs as a rule at a moderate length by frequent
clipping. [37]
The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia stated the above truth this way: If Hebrew men paid much attention to their hair,
it was even more so among Hebrew women. Long black tresses were the pride of the Jewish maiden and matron (Song 7:5; Jn 11:2;
1Cor 11:5,
6, 15)....
The braiding or dressing of woman's hair is expressed in 2Ki 9:30 and Judith 10:3. In New Testament times
Christian women are warned against following the fashionable world in elaborate
hairdressing (1Tim 2:9; 1Pet 3:3). [38]
As my readers read the following verses, they will
notice that Paul unequivocally
declared that HAIR not a woman’s veil or a man’s hat was the covering. The entire
context of this passage demands that HAIR be the SUBJECT that Paul is
addressing. He specifically speaks of HAIR LENGTHS, long or uncut hair for
women being their glory, and long, uncut hair for men being a disgrace. If we substitute the words “LONG or UNCUT
HAIR” for the word “COVER” in verses
one through thirteen, then the entire passage will harmonize and make sense.
God message then becomes clear.
In First Corinthians, if one compares verses four with
fourteen, and verses five through seven and thirteen with fifteen the truth the
apostle is teaching with be come clear. Verses fourteen and fifteen are the scriptural keys in understanding the
entire passage. As my beloved readers read the following passage of scripture,
let him or her ask their self, what is God’s covering for men and women. Is it
a hat for men and a veil for women, or is it cut hair for men and uncut hair
for women? Which makes more sense in the context God place it? Let my beloved
readers also take note to the fact that apostle Paul used FOUR DIFFERENT GREEK
WORDS to describe God’s covering for His Children in this passage:
Paul speaking to men wrote: “every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered [kata] dishonors his head…. A man ought NOT to cover
[katakalupto] his head, since he is the image and
glory of God…. Does not the very nature of things teach
you that if a man has long hair, it
is a disgrace to him” (vss 4, 7,
14, NIV)?
Paul speaking to
women wrote: “Every woman who prays
or prophesies with her head uncovered [akatakalupto] dishonors her head; it is
just as though her head were shaved [of all her hair]. If a woman does not cover [katakalupto] her head, she should have
her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover [katakalupto] her head…. Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to
God with her head uncovered [akatakalupto]…? For long
hair is given to her as [anti] a covering [peribolaion]” (vss 5, 6, 13, 15, NIV).
Dr. A. T. Robertson in his Word Pictures in the Greek New Testament
made the following comment on verses 5: slave-women wore the shaven head,
also a punishment of the adulteress…. One and the same thing as if she were shaven…. A woman convicted of adultery had her hair shorn (Isa 7:20). Verse 6: Aischron is old
adjective from aischos, bareness, disgrace. Clearly Paul uses such strong
language because of the effect on a woman's reputation in Corinth by such
conduct that proclaimed her a lewd woman.
Dr. Strong's defined katakalupto to mean: to cover wholly. [39]
It is a
compound Greek word that comes for kata and
kalupto. Kata
is: a primary particle; (prepositionally) down (in place or time). [40]
Kalupto
means: to cover up (literally or figuratively): [41]
Akatakaluptos
is: (a negative
particle) and a derivative of a compound of GSN 2596 [kata] and
GSN 2572 [kalupto]. [42]
Therefore, it
means: to be
without a complete or whole covering hanging down from their head. In the Septuagint Greek OT, the
Greek word kalupto is used several times to reveal
something that is COMPLETELY COVERED by something else. For example in Exodus 14:28 we read: “the water [of the Red Sea] returned and COVERED [kalupto] the chariots and the
riders, and all the forces of Pharao.” M. R. Vincent in his Word Studies in the New
Testament defined “kata” to mean: having
something hanging down from the
head. [43]
Peribolaion means: something thrown around one, i.e. a mantle, VEIL. [44]
The Greek preposition anti according to Drs. F. Wilbur
Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker, in their Shorter
Lexicon of the Greek New Testament means: 1. INSTEAD OF, IN PLACE OF, Mt 2:22; Lk 11:11;
Js 4:15: 2. for, as, in place of, Mt 5:38;
Ro 12:17; 1 Cor 11:15. [45]
This means the long uncut hair of a woman of God is given IN STEAD OF or in the
PLACE OF the traditional oriental veil, which was in common use in the OT and
NT. Therefore Paul uses the Greek
word “katakalupto” to signify a complete covering hanging down from the
head, and “akatakalupto” to mean to be without a whole or complete covering
hanging down from the head.
Now with the above truths in mind, let us examine these verses again; this
time substituting the words hat and veil for the Greek words kata, kalupto, and akatakaluptos, and also let us quote these verses again using the words uncut hair for
the above Greek words, and see which one makes more sense in context God places
it:
Paul speaking to men wrote: “every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered [kata - having a hat on] dishonors his head…. A man ought NOT to cover
[katakalupto - have a hat on] his head, since he is the image and
glory of God…. Does not the very nature of things teach
you that if a man has long hair, it
is a disgrace to him” (vss 4, 7,
14, NIV)?
Paul speaking to
women wrote: “Every woman who prays
or prophesies with her head uncovered [akatakalupto - without a
veil] dishonors
her head; it is just as though her head
were shaved [of all her hair]. If a woman does not cover [have a veil on] her head, she should have
her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover [katakalupto - have a veil
on] her
head…. Judge for
yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered [akatakalupto - without a
veil on her head]…? For long
hair is given to her as [or instead of or in the place of] a covering [peribolaion – a garment veil]”
(vss 5, 6, 13, 15, NIV).
Paul speaking to men wrote: “every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered [having uncut hair] dishonors his head…. A man ought NOT to cover
[kata - have uncut hair on] his head, since he is the image and
glory of God…. Does not the very nature of things teach
you that if a man has long hair, it
is a disgrace to him” (vss 4, 7,
14, NIV)?
Paul speaking to
women wrote: “Every woman who prays
or prophesies with her head uncovered [akatakalupto - without uncut
hair] dishonors
her head; it is just as though her head
were shaved [of all her hair]. If a woman does not cover [have uncut hair on] her head, she should have
her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover [katakalupto - have uncut hair on] her head…. Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to
God with her head uncovered [akatakalupto - without uncut hair]…? For long
hair is given to her as [or instead of or in the place of] a covering [peribolaion – a garment veil -]”
(vss 5, 6, 13, 15, NIV).
It should be
obvious to any unbiased reader that God’s apostle is teaching that the long
uncut hair of a woman of God is God’s covering for a woman; and she did not
need to have on her head, to appear in public, the oriental veil, which reached
to her waist and cover her head and most of her face. Therefore, a woman who
prays or prophesies without a complete or whole covering, meaning long, uncut
hair hanging down from her head, dishonors her husband and his head, which is
God.
If woman cuts her
hair or her God given covering, she is then without a whole or complete
covering in the sight of God, therefore she may as well as shave it off
completely and bear her full reproach. Also a man who prays or prophesies
having long, uncut hair hanging down BELOW his HEAD or CHIN dishonors his
Creator. Let us now examine the entire
passage, so we can clearly understand God’s hair message to all of His
Children.
God’s Creative Design for
the Home
1 Corinthians eleven chapter verse three: “I praise you for
remembering me in everything and for holding the teachings, just as I passed
them on to you. Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ,
and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” The very first law God has Paul to confirm is that of
positions of authority. The husband is God’s appointed head of the house. Just
as he is under submission to Christ, the wife is in submission to her husband.
Paul confirmed this teaching of headship in verses
eight through twelve when he wrote: “For man did not come from woman, but the woman from man;
neither was man created for the woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and
because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign [or symbol] of authority on her head.
In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent
of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But
everything comes from God.”
Paul told the Ephesian Saints the same thing when he
said: “Wives,
submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife
as Christ is the head of the Church, His body, of which He is the Saviour. Now
as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands
in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and
gave Himself up for her…. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives
as their own bodies” (Eph 5:22-28, NIV).
Let us not forget that authoritative positions did not
originate with man but with the angels. The Bible speaks of three Archangels,
who are Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer. It was Lucifer and the angels under his
authority that rebelled against God. They did not like the position their
Creator put them in, so they rebelled against His creative design for their
lives. As a result, they became devils. No one can continually rebel against
God’s Word and not become a devil.
God created men and women, like the angels, in a
certain position or station in life. The length of their hair was a symbol of
two things. First, it was to denote a physical distinction between them.
Second, it was to denote a distinction in the role or office each would hold in
life. Obedience and submission to God's creative design in our personal
appearance is the hidden or underlining principle behind every verse. According
to the Scriptures, if a man has long hair and a woman cut hers, they are not
only rebelling against the church, but also against their Creator.
Under the Mosaic Law, if a woman cut her hair, it was
a clear sign that she was rebelling against her husband’s and God's authority
over her life. The law of the “jealous
husband,” was a good illustration
of this teaching. If a man thought his wife had committed adultery, he would
bring her to the priest. The priest was commanded by God to put her through two
tests. The first was a “hair
test,” and in the second, she had
to “drink a sacred mixture.”
In the first test, the priest was commanded to “place the woman before Adonai, UNBIND [para`] the woman's HAIR and put the grain offering for remembering in her hands,
the grain offering for jealousy; while the cohen has in his hand the water of embitterment and cursing” (Num 5:18, Complete Jewish Bible). The NIV reads this way: “After the priest has
had the woman stand before the LORD, he shall LOOSEN [para`] her HAIR.” The
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament by R. Laird Harris, defined the Hebrew
word para` to mean: to let loose, used of the hair in
the sense of ‘CUTTING’ (Lev 10:6;
Lev 13:45; Lev 21:10)
or ‘UNBRAIDING’ (Num 5:18). [46]
According to the Bible, God commanded the priest to
UNBIND the woman's hair so that it could hang down freely. Since God does not
do anything without a purpose, why did God have the priest examine the woman’s
hair? If the priest did not do this so he could see if she had CUT her HAIR,
then please tell me why God had him perform this ritual? Let us remember the
Hebrew word para` has a double meaning of both UNBRAIDING and CUTTING.
The only way the priest could see if the woman had cut her hair was by first
unbraiding it. According to Paul, a woman who did not love her husband, and was
in rebellion to him, showed her disrespect to him by cutting her hair.
Alfred
Edersheim mentioned this law of God when he referred to the prostitute in Luke 7:36-50, who washed
our Lord’s feet with her tears and: wiped them away with the long tresses of her hair that had fallen down and touched Him. [4 It is certainly
NOT implied, that she had her HAIR DISHEVELED as in mourning, or as by women before drinking the waters of jealousy]. [47]
If our great Savior came into any of
our churches today, how many sister in Christ could wash His feet and dry them
with their hair. Beloved, is your hair long enough to wipe our Lord’s feet?
God’s Creative Design for
Men
Verses four: “Every man who prays or prophesies with his
head covered [kata - having
uncut hair hanging down from his head] dishonors his head” (NIV). In this verse God is giving us the answer to the
question: “How short must a man’s
hair be to be considered short?”
The Word of God emphatically declares that a man’s hair should never be long
enough to hang down from his head, meaning lower than his chin of his head.
Paul no doubt received this teaching from the commandment God gave the Jewish
Priesthood. God told them not to: “shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long;
they shall only poll their heads” (Eze 44:20). According to Corson: “The Jewish priests had their hair cut every fortnight
[i.e. 14
days].” [48]
Verse
fourteen: Does not the very nature of things teach
you that if a man has long hair it is a disgrace to him” (NIV). The word “disgrace” is the
Greek word “atimia.” Dr. Strong defined it as: infamy,
indignity, vile. [49]
Webster’s Dictionary defined these words as following: Infamy ‑
a public disgrace or reproach, lacking a good reputation; Indignity ‑
humiliating, degrading, has no self‑respect, insulting, of a base
character and conduct; Vile ‑ wicked, despicable, loathsome, disgusting,
of little worth.
The apostle
Paul used this same Greek word in connection with homosexuals when he wrote: “For this cause God gave them up unto vile [atimia] affections…. The men, leaving the
natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another” (Rom 1:26). Let us not
forget that our dear Lord and the Paul used sodomy as a definite sign of the
last generation (Lk 17:26‑30; 2Ti 3:1‑5). It is not
an accident that our generation has made long hair for men an acceptable hair
style, and has legalized and popularized homosexuality. Long hair and
homosexuality do not always go together, but they are very compatible. They
both represent a revolt against God’s creative design for men.
What does long hair on men represent today? Let us
allow Jerry Rubin, a well-known communist anarchist yippee leader in America’s
past, answer this question for us. He said: “young kids identify SHORT HAIR with AUTHORITY,
DISCIPLINE, unhappiness, boredom, rigidity, hatred of life; and LONG HAIR with
letting go. Wherever we go our HAIR tells people where we stand on Vietnam,
Wallace, campus disruption, and DRUGS. We are living TV commercials for the
Revolution. LONG HAIR is the beginning of our liberation from SEXUAL
OPPRESSION.”
Verse seven: “A man ought not to cover [katakalupto - have long
uncut hair hanging down from] his head, since he is the image [eikon] and glory of God” (NIV).
Dr. Strong defined the Greek word “eikon” to mean: a
likeness, i.e. (literally) statue, profile. It is used consistently in the Greek New Testament to mean the form
or appearance of something, such as: “Whose is this image [eikon] and superscription? And they said unto
him, Caesar's;” or “I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not
bowed the knee to the image [eikon] of Baal” (Mk
12:16; Rom 11:4). In this verse
seven, Paul gives us the reason why men with long hair are vile in the sight of
God, for it is totally against God’s creative design for their lives; for
according to the inspired apostle of God, short hair is part of GOD’S PERSONAL
IMAGE or appearance. Therefore Adam,
who was created in the image of God,
was created with SHORT HAIR. When men wear their hair long, they are defiling
or perverting the image of their Creator.
God’s Creative Design for
Women
Verse five:
“every woman who prays or prophesies with her head
uncovered [akatakalupto - without long uncut hair hanging down from her head] dishonors [kataischuno] her head - it is just as though her head were shaved” (NIV).
Paul declared in this verse that a woman who cuts her hair, may as well shave
it all off, for in the eyes of God she is without a covering. Therefore, she is
like a woman who is bald, she has no respect or honor. Vincent speaking about
this verse said: Among the Jews a
woman convicted of adultery had her hair shorn [cut short not shaven] with the formula: ‘because thou has departed from the
manner of the daughters of Israel.’
[50]
In
the Old and New Testament, for a woman to have her hair cut was the greatest
reproach that could be given to her. The Greek word “kataischuno” means: to be in
disgrace or dishonor. In other words, when a woman cuts her hair, she
disgraces and dishonors herself in the eyes of God, her husband, and the
Church.
Verse six: “If a woman does not cover [akatakalupto - have long
uncut hair hanging down from] her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a
disgrace [aisciron] for a
woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover [katakalupto - have long uncut hair hanging down from] her head” (NIV). In this verse, the Holy Spirit is
explicitly giving us the answer to the question: “How long must a woman’s hair be to be considered
long?” The answer is a
simple one. There are only THREE HAIR
LENGTHS mention in this verse or any other. They are: LONG UNCUT hair, SHORN or
CUT hair, and hair that has been SHAVEN OFF or COMPLETELY REMOVED.
Webster’s Dictionary defined “shorn”
to mean: the past participle of
shear. Shears are cutting
instruments, such as scissors or some other cutting device. Thus shorn means: to cut or clip the hair with an instrument. The word
shaven means: to cut hair close to
the skin. Long hair according to
the context of this verse must mean: hair
that is not, cut, clipped, bobbed, broken, burned or bitten off. In other words, hair that is completely natural, one
that is not touched with any type of cutting instrument. The word “disgrace”
in this verse is the Greek word “aisciron” which means: A shameful thing. [51]
Webster’s Dictionary defines this word as following: Shameful thing ‑ without honour, a disgrace or a
reproach.
Verse thirteen: “Judge for yourselves: Is it proper [prepo] for a woman to pray to God with her head
uncovered [akatakalupto - without long uncut hair hanging down from her
head]” (NIV). The word “proper”
is the Greek word “prepo” which means: proper, fitting, or right.
In this verse, the apostle is asking the church to make a judgment. One that is
not only based on the biblical arguments he has already presented, but also
from a social and historical bases. Let us not forget, a man wearing his hair
long, and a woman cutting hers, was socially unacceptable in the Jewish, Greek,
and Roman societies.
Verse fifteen: “If a woman has long hair [komao], it is her glory? For long hair is given
to her as [anti - instead of or in the
place of] a covering [peribolaion - a oriental garment veil]” (NIV). The word “long hair”
is the Greek word “komao” which means: to wear tresses of hair. [52]
According to the dictionary tresses of hair means: the long locks of hair, especially, the long unbound
hair of a woman. When we compare
the Greek word “komao” with “katakalupto,” the apostle Paul’s usage of these words becomes
extremely clear. He declared that a godly woman should have tresses of long
uncut hair hanging down from her head. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with a
woman allowing her hair to hand down freely, or braiding it in a simple
fashion, for it was the elaborate hairdo’s the apostles preacher against. Judge
for yourselves, is it right for godly women to spend hours before a mirror
fixing her hair and admiring her own beauty.
As stated above, the Greek word “peribolaion” has a completely different meaning than the Greek words kata, katakalupto,
and akatakalupto, which Paul used in the preceding verses, for it
means a veil, i.e., an oriental garment veil! It is clear from this definition
that Paul declared in verse fifteen that the long uncut hair, which hangs down
from a woman head, is the beautiful and magnificent God’s given covering for
her head. Therefore, the traditional oriental veil covering, which God never
gave a woman, has been permanently done away with.
The word “glory” is the Greek word “doxa”
has been translated by the Kings James Translated as: dignity, honour, praise, and worship. The Word of God clearly reveals that a godly woman
is truly worthy of dignity, honour, praise, and worship; that is, one who
submits to God’s creative design for her life. If any woman wants to show her
defiance and rebellion to God, her husband, and the Church by cutting her hair,
then let her also be willing to bear her disgrace or shame as verse six stated.
What Did the Apostle Paul Teach About
the Oriental Garment Veil?
As mentioned above, in verse fifteen,
the preposition “as” in the NIV and “for” in the KJV is the Greek word “anti.” Bauer's
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature
defined it to mean: instead of, in place of…. [It] indicate that one person or thing
is, or is to be, replace by another. [54] Their can
be no doubt that the great apostle unquestionably, undeniably and positively
taught that the long uncut hair of godly women REPLACED or DID AWAY WITH the
oriental veil! Theirfore, if a woman cuts her God given covering, she stands
uncovered in the sight of God, even if she wrapped an oriental garment veil
around her head, face and body. Since the Word of God emphatically declared in
this verse that the traditional oriental veil has been done away with, please
do not tempt God by holding on to this Jewish‑Catholic tradition any
longer. If you do, you may find Jesus telling you one day: “ye make the Commandments of God of no
effect with your traditions” (Mt 15:6).
Let all preachers who teach that a woman must wear a
veil or be lost, read Doctors M'Clintock and Strong comments about the ancient
oriential garment veil. They clearly revealed that the primary purpose of the
veil was: for
concealing the face. [55]
They define an it as: a LARGE general covering thrown loosely around the head and temples, and
hanging down in walking, yet so ARRANGED about the EYES as to allow the female
to see through the FOLD…. It COVERED the BOSOM, NECK, and CHEEK as far as the
NOSE while the eyes were left free. [56]
If these religious teachers and preachers truly
believe that Paul was referring to a ancient oriental garment veil in all of
these verses of Scripture, then why do they permit their women to wear
handkerchiefs and see through scarves on top of their heads, which would never
be a substitute for the oriental veil used in the Old Testament. Who gave these
ministers the power to change the definition of what constitutes a veil? Jesus
and His apostles absolutely did not know anything about handkerchiefs or see
through scarves being called a veil! These so-called garment veils do not hide
or conceal any part of a woman’s face, hair, head or bosom.
What about the Biblical command to: “pray without ceasing?” According to this scripture, a man or woman should
always be in an attitude of prayer, in which they are ready to pray at any time
and in any place (1Th 5:17)? For a woman to truly fulfill this command, she would
need to have her head covered day and night, in every kind of situation, no
matter how she was clothed. Let us not forget a woman’s prophesying or speaking
under the anointing of the Holy Spirit is not confined to church only. It could
be at any time or in any situation, where the Lord would speak through her in
witnessing. What does she do, slap a so-called garment veil over her face
before she speaks or prays?
What about a man’s covering? If the word covers in
verses four and seven means a garment veil, then it has to mean the same thing
in all the other verses. Those who teach this doctrine, quickly point out that
the Bible is not speaking of a woman's garment veil in verses four and seven
but that of a man’s hat. They say: “This
is why it is a shame or sin for a man to pray or prophesy with a hat or any
other garment on his head.”
If this is true, then why did God command Aaron the
High Priest to wear a Holy Mitre; and all the other priests to wear Holy
Bonnets or Hats when they went into the temple to render sacred service unto
Him (Exo 28:37‑40; 29:6‑9;
39:28; Lev 8:9‑13; Eze 44:18)?
God commanded the High Priest “not to uncover his head” or to take off his Holy Mitre when he went into the
temple to serve Him (Lev 21:10). The Bible reveals that the priests not only prayed
but also prophesied in the temple with a hat on his head. It is obvious that
God did not think it was a sin or a disgrace for them to do this, since He
commanded them to do it. Is God fickle whereby He breaks His own commandments?
There is not one scripture in the Old or New
Testaments where God ever commanded a woman to wear a garment veil. In fact,
the apostle Paul emphatically declared that the traditional oriental garment
veil of a woman has been permanently done away with or replaced by God’s
created covering, which is a woman’s long uncut hair. The Emphasized Bible
by J. B. Rotherham translated 1Co
11:15 this way: “if a woman have long hair,
it is a glory to her: for her long hair instead of a veil hath been
given her.” The Greek
New Testament reads this way: “unh. de. eva.n koma/|( do,xa auvth/|
evstinÅ o[ti h` ko,mh avnti.
peribolai,ou de,dotai auvth/|.” The Spanish 1909 Reina-Velera Bible and the La
Santa Biblia translated this verse the very same way; it stated: “Por el contrario, á la
mujer criar el cabello le es honroso; porque en lugar de velo le es dado el
cabello.” The 1989 R-V
Actualizada translated it as: “mientras que a la mujer le es honroso dejarse crecer el
cabello? Porque le ha sido dado el cabello en lugar de velo.”
What About the Contentious
and Rebellious?
Verse sixteen: “If anyone wants to be contentious about
this, we have NO OTHER practice - nor do the Churches of God” (NIV, also
see NIB). The New American Standard translated this verse thus: “But if one is inclined
to be contentious, we have NO OTHER practice, nor have the churches of God” (also see NAU). This is the
apostle’s final command concerning men wearing their hair short and women
leaving their uncut. This verse to the rebellious is a straw that the drowning
contentious have tried to grab a hold of; they think they see a loophole in
this verse that will justify their rebellion against God’s design for their
lives. The contentious twist this verse and take it totally out of context.
Their argument goes like this: “Did
not Paul say we could argue about this teaching? Did not Paul say he and the
churches of God had no such custom? Did not Paul say it was permissible for men
to wear long hair and women to cut theirs, if their did not believe in this
teaching?”
To any honest Bible student, this interpretation would
be absurd. Think about it! Is it reasonable to believe that Paul, speaking
through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would contradict himself or change
the commandments of God? Is it reasonable to believe that God inspired Paul to
write fifteen verses in His Holy Word, commanding men not to have long hair and
women not to cut theirs, and then in verse sixteen have Paul say: “But that is not what I or the Churches of God
practice?” This is an impossible
position, because the Word of God can never contradiction itself! The New
Testament in the Language of the People by Williams translated this verse
this way: “But if
anyone is inclined to be contentious about it, I for my part prescribe NO OTHER
practice than this, and neither do the churches of God.” It is very
evident from the above translations that Paul is saying that he and the
Churches of God had no other practice than long uncut hair for women and short
hair for men.
Why Should A Man Keep His Hair Short and
A Woman Keep Hers Uncut?
Beloved, if God’s People do not obey God’s Word in this matter: (1)
They will be rebelling against God’s authority over their lives - Vs 3.
(2) They will be dishonoring not only themselves but also their family and
their Creator - Vss 4-5. (3) They will have trouble in getting
God’s attention in prayer, for how can anyone expect God to listen to their
prayers, knowing they are PURPOSELY, WILLFULLY, DEFIANTLY transgressing the
Word of God - Vss 4-5. (4) They will be a disgrace in God’s
eyes - Vss
4, 6, 14. (5) They will be clearly declaring that they are not satisfied
with their Creator’s design for their lives - Vss 7-8.
(6) They are tempting the angels of God, especially their guarding
angel, to rebel against God by their rebellion. They will also attract demons
to themselves by their rebellion, for these devils will see that they are an
easy mark for temptation - Vs 10. Let’s also remember, pride and rebellion
are the two sins that caused God’s angels to fall from heaven (Isa 14:12‑17).
Stubbornness and self‑will is the root cause of all rebellion. What will
God do to you, if He spared not the angels that sinned (Jude 6)?
(7) They will be rebelling against their natural, inborn, intuitive
instincts that tell them they are doing wrong. If they fail to listen to their
God given conscience, they will sear their conscious, just as the women in
America did at the beginning of this century. If it was not nature and
the Spirit of God convicting these
women of their sins, then please tell me what caused these women to “cry, tremble and faint when their God given covering
was being cut - Vs 14?
(8) They would be defying the teachings of the Apostles, the Church, the Bible,
their own conscience, the angelic host, and finally God Himself, just to
maintain their own ways - Vss 1‑16.
So let us sum up the message God is giving to His
Church in these verses. It is a simple one. Men, if you do not want to be a
reproach in God’s sight, do not allow your hair to grow below your chin!
Ladies, if you also do not want to be a reproach in God’s sight, then keep the
scissors away from your hair from now on. To say these things grieves my heart,
for I do not wish to offend anyone; but, if I truly love you, I must tell you
the truth. When you stand before your God, on the great resurrection‑morning,
and give an account to Him for the things that you have done in your body, what
will you say to Him about your submission to His design for your life?
Did Jesus Have
Long Hair?
Most of the pictures of our Lord in Christendom today
portray Him with long hair. Those who believe that He had long hair made our
Lord a sinner, by declaring that He transgressed or violated His own Word as
the High Priest of God. The Word of God expressly, explicitly and emphatically
declared that He command Jewish and Christian men to keep their hair cut short.
Let us not forget that God Himself said through the apostle Paul that it is a
disgrace or vile for a man to have long hair.
God is not the author of confusion! Not only does the
Bible prove that Jesus had short hair, but history as well. Phillip Vollmer's
book entitled, The Modern Student’s Life of Christ declared: “archaeologists object to the conventional pictures of
Christ because they are not true history.” L. Fahrenkrog, a German painter, speaking of Jesus says: Christ’s “hair was beyond a doubt closely cut. For this, we
have historical proof. The oldest representations, [that are]… found chiefly in the Catacombs of Rome, …going back
to the first Christian centuries… and even later are of this kind.”
If you say He was a Nazirite, your have no Biblical
evidence to prove it. The Bible states that Jesus was a Nazarene. A Nazarene
was any person who lived in the City of Nazareth (Mt 2:23).
Furthermore, Jesus could not have been a Nazirite because: (A) He drank the
fruit of the vine - Mt 26:27‑29. (B) He touched the dead (Lk 7:12‑15). According to the laws of God, a Nazirite was
forbidden to do any of these things - Num 6: 3‑9.
According to
the Bible, a Nazirite vow was NOT long hair in the SENSE of a man allowing ALL
of the hair on his head to grow long. God commanded the Nazirite to never cut
the “seven locks” of hair
that was located on the CROWN or CENTER of his head. The crown is the highest
part of the head. The Word of God says it this way: “no
razor [shall] come [`abar] upon his head” (Num 6:5). The New American
Standard version translated this verse this way: “All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall pass [`abar]
over [i.e.
the very top or crown of] his head. He shall be holy until the
DAYS are fulfilled for which he
separated himself to the LORD; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long” (also see NAU).
The word “come” or “pass” is the
Hebrew verb “`abar” which according to Dr. Strong means: “to cross
over,” i.e. “pass over.” [57]
Dr. Young in his literal translation of the Bible translated this verse as: “All days of the vow of his separation a razor doth NOT
PASS OVER [i.e. the very top or
crown of] his head; till the fullness
of the DAYS…. [For] he is holy; grown up hath the UPPER PART of the hair of
his head” (YLT). Therefore, according to the Word of God, a Nazirite
was not to cut the hair located on the crown or highest part of his head, until
the TIME of his vows was completed.
Now how much hair on the highest part of the head of a Nazirite was to remain uncut during
the TIME of his separation? The
Nazirite vow, according to Samson, consisted of the “seven locks of hair.” These locks were never to be cut until his vow was
completed, but the rest of the hair
that surrounded the seven locks was
cut. In other words, the only long or uncut hair a Nazirite had on his head
were the seven locks that grew on the
crown of his head.
Samson told Delilah that he would loose his strength,
if she weaved “the SEVEN LOCKS [machlaphah] of” his “head into the web of the loom…. And it came to pass, when
she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was
vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her, ‘No razor has
ever come [`abar] upon
my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am
shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like
any other man…. Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man
and had him shave off the SEVEN LOCKS [machlaphah] of his head. Then she began to torment him,
and his strength left him” (Jud 16:13, 17, 19).
Dr. Strong defined the Hebrew word “machlaphah” to mean: a RINGLET of hair (as gliding over
each other). [58]
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defined ringlet as: 1: a SMALL ring or
circle 2 : CURL especially a long curl
of hair. Who would argue against the fact that a “ringlet of hair” is only a “few strands of hair.” Therefore, the Nazarite hair vow consisted of “one ringlet of hair” that was twisted together
with the other “six
ringlets”
to form a braid that sat on the highest part of his head, which took the shape
of a crown. After the Nazarite vow was completed, the Nazarite would cut off
the seven locks of his head and dedicated them to God (Num 6:18-19).
New Unger's Bible Dictionary speaking of the Nazirite hair vow stated: According to others, the word nezer, a ‘diadem,’
contains the original idea of nazar, which will then radically signify ‘to
crown….’ In accordance with this view the Nazirite is a ‘crowned one,’ because
‘his separation to God is on his head’ <Num. 6:7>…. According to the
Mishna the usual time was thirty days…. When the period of the vow was
fulfilled he was released from it…. He was to cut off his ‘dedicated head of hair’
(i.e., the hair that had grown during the period of his consecration) at the
door of the Tabernacle and to put it into the fire under the sacrifice on the
altar.
CHAPTER
3
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH
ABOUT GOD’S INWARD HOLINESS STANDARDS
Sins of the Flesh and Spirit
Beloved, in concluding this message, permit me to ask
you a question: “What are you
going to do with the Word of God concerning God’s design for your personal
appearance?” Are you going to love
and obey it, or are you going to rebel and hate it? The decision is yours! I
know that everyone who truly loves Christ will gladly, whole heartily obey it.
John, who is known as the great “apostle
of love,” speaking to all of God’s
Children said: “For this is the love of God, that we KEEP His commandments: and His commandments are
NOT grievous” (1Jn 5:3). He also declared: “Hereby we do know that we
know Him, if we KEEP his commandments….
He that saith, I know him, and KEEPTH NOT His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him…. Love not the
world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is the LUST of
the FLSEH, and LUST of the EYES, and the PRIDE of LIFE” (1Jn 2: 3‑4,
15‑16).
My beloved readers permit me to encourage you to love
our Lord Jesus Christ the way John admonish us in the above verses. Those who
truly love our dear Lord are not looking for loopholes or excuses for why they
cannot fulfill His commandments. They are not looking at the Word of God as
bondage, as false prophets with their serpentine tongue preach it. Satan
deceived Eve in believing that the Word of God was depriving her of happiness
and fulfillment, but the real truth was that God’s laws were her protection
against the devil and his rotten demons.
Real Children of God do not see the Word of God as
bondage, but our Heavenly Father’s wisdom, protection, and happiness for our
life, so that they may know: good
from evil, the truth from a lie, God's value system from Satan's materialistic
and perverted carnal value system, and the freedom and power that living holy
brings from the bondage of sin.
God’s people know that just because someone looks holy or like an angel of God
on the outside, it does not mean they are holy on the inside. They do not trust
in their own righteousness, but they trust in God’s grace to keep them every
day from all sin. They realize that Biblical inward and outward holiness
commandments are God’s love and protection for their lives, to keep them from
the destructive powers of the Devil and his demons. O' Praise God for His holy,
saving, protecting, delivering and transforming Spirit-Words.
Real Children of God know that obedience to God’s
outward holiness standards for both men and women, such as: short hair for men
and uncut hair for women, the wearing of modest clothing that is appropriate
for each sex, the shunning of worldly jewelry, and women not painting their
faces like Jezebel, will NEVER make them holy in the sight of God IF they
WILLFULLY COMMIT INTERNAL SINS OF THE HEART. They do not have the sinful
attitude of: since I keep God’s
outward holiness standards, surely God will overlook my sins of cursing, lying,
backbiting, gossiping, slandering, envying, coveting, resentment, bitterness,
hate, pride, arrogance, and so on.
They realize the importance loving and keeping all of God’s Word.
The apostle Paul speaking to the
Children of God in Galatia spoke of the above sins this way: The entire law is summed up in a
single command: ‘Love your neighbor
as yourself.’ If you keep on biting
and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So
I say, live by the Spirit, and YOU
WILL NOT GRATIFY THE DESIRES OF THE SINFUL NATURE. For the sinful nature
desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the
sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what
you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature
are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you,
as I did before, that those who live like this will NOT inherit the kingdom of
God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature with its passions
and desires. Since we live by the
Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited,
provoking and envying each other” (Ga
5:14-26).
Paul told the Children of God in
Rome the same thing when he wrote: “For
although they KNEW God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to
Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened….
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful
desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another…. Because of this, God gave them over to
shameful lusts. Even their women
exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed
with lust for one another. Men committed
indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for
their perversion.
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to
retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what
ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness,
evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and
malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they INVENT WAYS OF DOING EVIL; they disobey their
parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know
God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not
only continue to do these very things but also APPROVE of THOSE [Movie Stars, i.e. Actors and
Actresses] who PRACTICE them” (Rom 1:21-32).
The apostle told the Children of
God in Corinth the same thing, but he told them very clearly why they had power
over the old sinful nature. He wrote: “Do you not know that the wicked will
NOT inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy
nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of
God. And that is what some of you were.
But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the NAME of the
LORD JESUS CHRIST and by the SPIRIT of our GOD” (1Co 6:9-11).
According to Paul, the reason why God’s Children have victory over sin, or
are not slaves to the old man or sinful nature in man any longer, is because
the have been “born
again of water and Spirit” (Jn 3:5), i.e., they have
been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and received the Holy Spirit
nature of God, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. This is how they
became “washed, sanctified, and
justified” before their God: see my books: Preacher, What Must I Do To
Receive Eternal Life, or What Do You Mean, I Must Be Born
Again.
My beloved readers, let us always be thankful to our
Lord for giving us a New Nature in which He has written His Laws on the tablet
of our heart (Heb 10:16). He has taken away the hard stony heart that is
expressed in these attitudes: (A) Do I have to live, dress, look, and act like
the Bible teaches? (B) Do I have to obey my parents, husband, pastors or anyone
else? O' Thank God, Jesus our redeemer has redeemed us from these carnal and
binding attitudes, and has put in our hearts the attitude of love and obedience
for His Holy Word. Praise God, that when we received or entered into the New
Birth, it takes a lot less effort to let Christ live His life through us. When
we are in love with the lover of our souls, His slightest wish becomes our
greatest command.
Holiness is not a dirty word, but it is simply another
way of saying Christ living in us, fulfilling His Holy Word through us. Paul
said it this way: “your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and you are NOT
YOUR OWN? For you are BOUGHT with a price
[Jesus’
Precious Blood]:
therefore glorify God in your BODY, and in your SPIRIT, which are God’s” (1Co 6:19-20). Beloved, if you are a Christian, surely you know that your body and
spirit does not belong to you but to God, therefore God has a right to control
every area of your life, even your personal appearance and the things you
intently look at. The only Jesus people in the world will ever see is the one
that lives in you. What kind of Jesus do sinners see in you? Do they see a holy
and loving Jesus in you, or one that looks and acts the way they do? If you
fail to show sinners a Christ that is holy both inwardly and outwardly, they
will end up lost!
Let us not love our Savior with lip service only, but
also with a total surrender of our life and will. Let us not set our affections
on the things of the world, i.e., their worldly fashions, their movies or
television, their music, and especially their value system. My prayer for you
is that our Lord Jesus, the God of all power, will give you the strength you will
need to overcome all the false prophets of deception, and also any of your
family, relatives, friends, and peers, who may be worshipping the gods of
worldly fashions and amusements.
God’s
Holiness Standard on the Theater, Motion Pictures, and Television
Our eyes and ears
are the windows to our heart, and whatever we continually give them to will
become part of our self-image, and will control our desires in life. King David
learned this lesson the hard way, for the more he looked at Bathsheba’s nude body
as she took her bath, the greater his lust became. His passion became so great
that he was willing to rebel against the Word of God and violate God’s
Commandment on adultery. After God reproved him and sorely or greatly chastised
him, David said: “I will set nothing
WICKED before my EYES” (Psa 101:3).
God promise to give
eternal life to the righteous, who love Him and his brother and sisters in
Christ. He told His Children not fix their eyes on the IDOL in the Church or in
this world, especially the movie stars, TV stars, rock stars, and any of the
devils’ other stars. God said it this way as He compares eternal life with
eternal death:
“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul
of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. ‘The soul who sins will
die [i.e. the
second or eternal death]. But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, and
does not eat at the mountain shrines or
LIFT UP up his [or
her] EYES to the IDOLS
of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman
during her menstrual period, if a man
does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit
robbery, but gives his bread to the
hungry [i.e. the
Children of God] and covers the naked with clothing [i.e. the Children of God], if he does not lend money
on interest or take increase, if he
keeps his hand from iniquity and executes
true justice between man and man, if he
walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully, he is
righteous and will surely live [i.e. have eternal life],’ declares the Lord GOD” (Eze 18:4-9, NAU).
Catholic bishop
Cyprian in 250 AD warned his congregation against the evils of the
theater and public shows wrote: Believers,
and men who claim for themselves the authority of the Christian name, are not
ashamed — are not, I repeat, ashamed to find a defense in the heavenly
Scriptures for the vain superstitions associated with the PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS of
the heathens, and thus to attribute divine authority to IDOLATRY. For how is
it, that what is done by the heathens in honor of any IDOL is resorted to in a
PUBLIC SHOW by faithful Christians, and the heathen idolatry is maintained, and
the true and divine religion is TRAMPLED upon in CONTEMPT of God?
For that Elias is
the charioteer of Israel is no defense for gazing upon the public games; for he
ran his race in no circus. And that David in the presence of God led the dances
is no sanction for faithful Christians to OCCUPY SEATS in the PUBLIC THEATER;
for David did not twist his limbs about in obscene movements, to represent in
his dancing the story of Grecian LUST. Psalteries, horns, pipes, drums, [and] harps, were used in the service of the Lord, and not
of idols. Let it not on this account be objected that unlawful things may be
gazed upon; for by the artifice of the devil these are changed from things holy
to things unlawful.
If he [a Christian man] avoids idolatry, why does he who is now sacred TAKE
PLEASURE in things which are WORTHY of REPROACH? Why does he APPROVE of
SUPERSTITIONS [values, ideas, teachings, pictures] which are OPPOSED to God, and which he loves while he gazes upon
them? Besides, let him be aware that all these things are the inventions of demons, not of God. He is shameless who in the church exorcises
demons while he praises their
delights in public shows; and
although, once for all renouncing him, he has put away everything in baptism,
when he goes to the devil’s exhibition
after (receiving) Christ, he renounces
Christ as much as (he had done) the devil. Idolatry,
as I have already said, is the mother of all the public amusements; and this, in order that faithful Christians may
come under its influence, entices
them by the delight of the eyes and the ears.
But if, again, I
should ask him by what road he has come to that exhibition, he will confess (that he has come) by the NAKED BODIES
of PROSTITUTES and of PROFIGATE WOMEN, by (SCENES of) PUBLIC LUST, by public disgrace, by vulgar lasciviousness, by the common contempt of all men. And, not
to object to him what perchance he has done, still he has seen what was not fit to be done, and he has trained his eyes to the exhibition of
idolatry by lust. But now to pass from this to the SHAMLESS CORRUPTION of the
STAGE.
I am ashamed to
tell what things are said; I am even ashamed to denounce the things that are
done — the tricks of arguments, the CHEATINGS of ADULTERERS, the IMMODESTIES of
WOMEN, the SCURRILE [VULGAR] JOKES, the sordid
parasites, …in all cases immodest.
And though no individual, or family, or profession, is spared by the discourse of these reprobates, yet every one flocks to the play…. What does a faithful Christian do among these things, since
he may not even think upon wickedness? Why does he find pleasure in the representations
of lust, so as among them to lay aside
his modesty and become more daring in
crimes? He is learning to do, while he is becoming accustomed to see…. Let the faithful Christian, I say, devote himself to the
sacred Scriptures, and there he shall
find worthy exhibitions for his faith.” [59]
An Exhortation to Repentance
The Bible teaches
that all sins may be forgiven the man and woman who has turned to God with his
or her whole heart, and repents of their sins. In the eighty-eighth Psalm,
David spoke of the Messiah and said: “If His children forsake my law, and walk not in my
judgments; If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I
visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with
stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor
suffer my faithfulness to fail” (Ps 89:30-33).
The prophet Isaiah
spoke of repentance this way: “Woe to the rebellious children,’ says the
LORD, ‘Who take counsel, but not of Me, and
who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin”
(Isa 30:1); and “Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto
the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will
abundantly pardon” (Isa 55:7).
The prophet Ezekiel
speaking of God’s call of repentance declared: “Therefore, O house of
Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the
Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then
sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you
have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house
of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the
Sovereign LORD. Repent and live [eternally]” (Ezk 18:30-32,
NIV)!
The apostle Paul told us that: “godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not
to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2Co 7:10). Our Savior
admonished all of His Children to: “Remember
therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent,
and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove
thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Rev 2:5); Jesus
also told His Children: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent…. To him who OVERCOMES I will
grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also OVERCAME and sat down with My
Father on His throne.” (Rev 3:19,
21).
Books Written by the Author and
Given Away on His Website:
A Biblical, Medical, and Psychological
Account of the Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Heresy of the Nicolaitans
Biblical Creationism vs Pantheistic
Theories of Evolution (Nature Worship)
A Prophetic History of God’s Apostolic Pentecostal
Church (The Seven Prophetic Periods of the Church Age)
The Mysteries of Prophecy Revealed
What Do You Mean I Must Be
Born Again?
Preacher, What
Must I Do to Inherit Eternal Life?
A Historical Record of
Speaking in Tongues
The Mysteries
of the Godhead Revealed
A History of Oneness Throughout the Centuries (Baptism
in Jesus’ Name, the Godhead in Christ)
What Happens to Man’s Spirit, Soul and
Body Immediately after Death?
What Is Lost Man’s Eternal Destiny? (Immediate
Annihilation, Eternal Torment, Torment for a Time
and Then Universal Salvation, or Torment for a Time
and Then Annihilation)
The Mysteries of the Spirit and Soul of
Man Revealed
(What Are They? Does Each Nature of Man
Have Mind, Will, and Emotions?)
Holiness: God’s Beauty College
What Is God’s
Rest for the Believer: the Sabbath Day or God’s Sabbath Spirit
How to Study the Bible
A Calendar of
Biblical and Historical Dates and Events Beginning with the Creation of Adam
The Heresies of the
Pharisaical Jewish Ebionites
William Marion Branham: His Life,
Teachings, and Demonic Spirit-Guide
Nutrition and Nutritional Charts
Law vs Grace or
Works vs Faith
Water
Baptism: the Essentiality, the Mode, and the Formula
Glossolalia:
Ten Steps of Faith to Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Ghost
Glossolalia
and the New Birth
Benefits of Salvation and the False
Doctrines that Hinder It
Eternal Life vs Eternal Death
Christ’s Loving Servant,
Harry A. Peyton
148
Little Creek Hills Rd.
Alto, NM 88312
Telephone # 575-336-2800
Internet Address:
DoctrinesOfChrist@hotmail.com
Website:
DoctrinesOfChrist.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BibleWorks For Windows, 1996, Michael S. Bushell,
Hermeneutika™ Computer Bible Research Software: P.O. Box 2200, Big Fork, MT
59911-2200.
The following Lexicons and Dictionaries are from BibleWorks: 1) Analytical
Lexicon to the New Testament, by Timothy & Barbara Friberg; 2)
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
Literature, by Walter Bauer, edited by F.
Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick
W. Danker; 3) Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, edited by F.
Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick William Danker. 4) Word Pictures in the Greek New Testament, A.T.
Robertson; 5) The Theological Workbook of the Old
Testament, by R. Laid Harris, Gleason L. Archer, & Bruce K. Waltke; 6) The
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, by James Orr (new editor Stanley
Morris); 7) Easton Bible Dictionary; 8) Faussett Bible Dictionary; 9) All
translations of the Bible.
Cyclopedia Of Biblical, Theological, And
Ecclesiastical Literature,1969, John M’Clintock & James Strong: Arno Press:
NY
Fashions in Hair (The First Five Thousand Years),
1965, Richard Corson: Peter Owen, Limited: London
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1980,
James Strong: World Bible Pub.: Iowa Falls, Iowa
The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament
(The Book of Enoch), by R. H. Charles, 1912,
The Clarendon Press, Oxford University.
Word Studies in the New Testament, 2sd ed., M. R.
Vincent: Mac Donald Pub. Co.: Mac Dill AFB, FL
The Amplified Bible, 1974, Zondervan Bible Pub.: Grand
Rapids, MI
The Emphasized Bible, 1971 editor Joseph Rotherham:
Kregel Pub.: Grand Rapids, MI.
The New Testament in the Language of the People, 1937,
Charles B. Williams: Moody Press: Chicago, IL
ENDNOTES
1 The
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, translated by R.H. Charles,
The Fall of
the
Angels: the Demoralization of Mankind, chps 6: 1-2, 6; 7:1-2; 8:1-2; 10:11-16;
15:6-11.
[2] Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol 4, The Instructions
of Commodianus, chp 59, pg 460.
[3] Ibs., vol 5, Treatises of Cyprian, Treatise
2, sec 14, pg 934.
[4] Fashions In Hair (The First Five Thousand
Years), pg 30.
[5] Ib., pg 54.
[6] Ibs., 70-73.
[7] Fashions In Hair (The First Five Thousand
Years), pg 70.
[8] Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol 4, Tertullian, part 4,
bk 2, chp 10, pg 46 & chp 12, pp 48-49.
[9] Fashions In Hair (The First Five Thousand
Years), pg 76.
[10]
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol 2, Clement, The Instructor, bk 3, chp 3, pp 546-547.
[11]
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol 2, Clement, The Instructor, bk 2, chp 13, pp 532-536.
[12] Ibs.,
vol 2, Clement, The Instructor, bk 3, chp 1, pg 537; chp 2, pp 539.
[13] Ibs.,
vol 2, Clement, The Instructor, bk 3, chp 2, pp 540-544, 547.
[14] Ibs,
vol 2, Clement, The Instructor, bk 3, chp 11, pp 572, 575-576.