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What’s your opinion about a woman’s head covering? Should a woman cover her head during worship?
When I was involved with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, decades ago, if a woman was leading a Bible study, and a man was present, she always covered her head in deference to him. The three of us (my Bible study leader, her husband, and myself) were at the Kingdom Hall, and when we took out our study books, she glanced at her husband and said, “Oh, I guess, I need to wear this since you’re here.”
She opened her purse and pulled out a scarf and she tied it on her head. I laughed (I was young, only 18) because I didn’t understand what she was doing. I thought she was kidding. She then pulled out her Bible and we read 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 (quoted at the end of this blog post) – this was their basis for their head-covering convention.
She then further explained that when the sisters of the congregation would go out in service, or pray together, they would cover their heads since there was no man present.
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So, should a woman cover her head while praying? Should she cover her head in church, or while praying with a man? Verse 15 states that a woman’s long hair is her covering – does this mean that a woman should not cut her hair? Does this verse mean that a woman’s hair has already been provided as a covering for her head?
Or, is this scripture cultural – something that was only applied to the church during the Apostle Paul’s time? Do you recall being taught about women’s head covering when you were growing up in the church?
Please leave a comment about this thought-provoking subject!
1 Corinthians 11:1-16
New International Version (NIV)
11 1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. 3 But 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. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.
7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
There was a time when women wore hats to church. They also wore them when they went shopping, to lunch, etc. Then the big hair came to vogue in the early ’60’s, and there was no room for hats. Styles and circumstances change. For instance, the Apostle Paul had no concept of chemo and a woman’s bald head due to disease. If a woman feels more compliant with Scripture to cover her head, then she should. Let’s also remember that God loves us and appreciates our worship–even if we fail to do it with certain guidelines. God prefers a clean heart to a covered head.
Gay, that’s so true.
As far as wearing hats to church, the only time I see women doing it nowadays is Easter, and even then it’s not all women, just some. I guess, like you said, the big hair in the 60s took care of the hat-wearing church tradition.
I’m wondering if the hat-wearing tradition was born from the scripture quoted in my blog post.
This passage is explaining arguments between church factions. At the end, Paul confirms neither is wrong and that if this argument takes away from the focus of worshiping Jesus then do what puts the focus back on Jesus. It’s the same battles as eat meat/don’t eat meat or be circumcised/don’t be circumcised. These are old traditions that some people want to keep and others want to eschew. Neither is wrong unless it keeps your focus on the argument rather than God. Then the argument becomes a stumbling block. So if I visit a church that veils, I’ll happily veil to let me worship and not draw attention to myself or flouting their custom.
Great post 🙂
Angie
Thanks for your insightful comment, Angie. Much appreciated. If I attended a church that veiled, I’d gladly veil to comply and not draw attention to myself.
Hi Cecelia, just letting you know I agree with Gay and Angie. I think they made some great points. To God be the glory whether our heads are covered, not covered, bald from chemo or with hair down to our ankles.
Thanks for commenting, Debby!
As a Catholic child and young adult I was taught that women covered their heads in prayer or while in the church. It was just standard practice to see while growing up as a Roman Catholic. When I decided to worship in a Pentecostal Holiness church (I know, BIG leap!), the women were taught that wearing anything pertaining to men was against the Bible so most women wore skirts/dresses, long sleeves, very little if no makeup and did not cut their hair. Their hair was considered their covering, although some women did wear hats to church. I’ve experienced many different ‘seasons’ of my life and with those changes, so did my spiritual life change. I find that I was set free from certain things that were more condemnation than conviction, man-made doctrine versus Biblical knowledge/history only to find myself in a Charismatic church that believed that Jesus set us free from all things, including anything that was ‘forbidden’ in the Bible. Personally I disagreed with some of those beliefs as I saw them as the church moving away from what God did expect us to follow and had nothing to do with this new ‘freedom in Christ’. I still believe that women should cover their heads and dress modestly. Although still a Christian, I find that my beliefs on that are more in line with that of Muslim women and how they dress modestly. Head covering is a personal thing in every day life and can be cultural as well, but women dressing modestly in the church should be the norm. I find security and deep spiritual connection when I do cover my head, not that it’s not there when I don’t, but I feel that in prayer it brings me closer to God. I think the church today has moved away from God at times and that it is not the same church it was many years ago. We label everything as ‘freedom in Christ’ when we are not very free indeed if our hearts are not repentant before God. Expecting more from ourselves in honor of God, no matter what man says is something we all need to look deep within ourselves about. The ‘little’ things do count sometimes. I enjoy reaching for my ‘prayer shawl’ even at home when I pray in private, or read the Bible, despite my long hair or a man not being present. Sometimes our prayer ‘closet’ can be the best place to be to talk to God about what He thinks about all these things. Whatever peace He gives in our hearts, then I think we should go with that. Of course being respectful of foreign ways and customs when visiting churches…as long as they don’t compromise our own beliefs and relationship with God. Thank you for opening this discussion. God bless you!
Leah, thanks so much for that insightful comment. I do agree that women should dress modestly in church. Most women do wear makeup – I don’t, but I used to. I didn’t stop wearing makeup for religious reasons – I just stopped because…just didn’t want to be bothered with it anymore.
Other than the Jehovah’s Witness experience, I’ve never been in a church where the women covered their heads. However, I do notice that some women wear hats in church. I don’t see it often, though, mostly I see women wearing hats on Easter.
May the Lord bless you!
Thanks Cecelia for drawing attention to this passage of Scripture. I do feel like this is a neglected section of Scripture that is not often read from or preached on in church. I do believe it is still relevant today and should be practiced. I started http://www.headcoveringmovement.com to make a defense of it, answer objections and discuss with others who are interested in this topic.
Jeremy, thanks for commenting. I will visit your website. Do you think it should be practiced all the time, or, only during worship?
Sorry I’m only seeing this now. I’ve held to both positions in my life. Originally I thought it was for all the time and wrote a three page defense of that. However, certain pieces of evidence convinced me that Paul had only corporate worship in mind. I laid out a case for that here: http://www.headcoveringmovement.com/articles/where-are-head-coverings-to-practiced-in-church-or-everywhere
Thx for answering my question, Jeremy. I will read the article.
Hi Cecelia,
Thanks for stopping by my blog and redirecting me to yours!
You may recall I have recently made the decision to wear a head covering. I have several reasons for this which are explained in a later post from the one you commented on. The most significant reason is the head covering “directs” all glory to God when believers gather to pray and prophesy. Woman is the glory of man and her hair is her glory. A head covering thus covers the glory that she is and the glory that is hers. This directs all glory pointing to God. Man does not cover his head, because he was made in the glory of God. The 1 Corinthians passage refers to this. The head covering also serves as a visual reminder that the woman respects her position in God’s order: Father:Christ:Man:Woman. The passage also says a woman should wear a symbol of authority on her head, “because of the angels”. While it is unclear what that means exactly, most agree it is because the angels see the covering, a symbol of the woman’s submission to her God-given role, and rejoice. As for your question to Jeremy, I don’t know what he thinks, but I find myself wearing it whenever I think I may pray or prophesy. For example, I find myself praying throughout the day, with my children, at meal time, or even when alone. Also, I am wearing one right now since I am discussing the Word of God, which is a form of prophesying. The angels are always present, watching us, so if one of the reasons a woman wears it is because of them, then she should consider it when going about her day to day. The passage does not specifically say to wear it during the assembling together of believers. It just says when she prays or prophesies. I am not legalistic about it, but I do take it seriously and, honestly, find it an honor.
BTW-I am the only one in my group (church)that wears a head covering. I was raised to believe a woman’s hair is her covering, but I now disagree with that. We have a lady who wears a hat every week but it is more of a fashion statement than for the purpose of a head covering. Also, the woman with hair loss from chemo: that is an entirely separate situation and I don’t even consider it relevant to this passage.
Blessings,
Marcia
Thanks for stopping by my blog, Marcia. I appreciate your insightful comment.
Thanks, Marcia. This is one of the best and simplest reasons for covering that I have read.
James
Thanks for replying, James.
Covering for worship wasn’t a part of OT practice, but the priests were the only intermediaries. If they didn’t follow every detail they were struck dead. If “strange fire” was offered (incense) the same thing happened. Jesus told the woman at the well that the Father sought worshippers who would worship in spirit and in truth. If worship is Spirit led it will be according to Scripture. Paul addressed all believers (anywhere, anytime) in the beginning of his letter to the Corinthians. If you don’t understand it the same way that is one thing. But I wouldn’t assume that corporate worship is up to the individual.
Hi, KNN
Thanks for commenting.
Hello and thank you all for your interesting and insightful texts.
I was not raised nor used to women covering their heads other than for practical reasons (I live in Finland and the weather is quite cruel at least in winter). Recently however I have felt the calling to study further the head covering both in corporate worship and in public.
I have quite similar thoughts as Marcia and Leah, and I am praying to find clarity on the subject. My husband is not a practising christian (nor is he an atheist), but sort of struggling to not quite fit into the world but not quite relying on God. I am counting on the Lords word, that the wife brings blessing also to her husband.
This is one of the reasons I am reflecting upon the urge to start covering my head, in everyday life outside the house.
I think for me it is some deeper need to turn my back on the worldly fixation towards women’s hair and leaving something so desired (and controversial) just for my husband.
Hi Mirja-Head covering is not required all the time.According to scriptures it’s required only when you publically pray or prophesy-1Corinthians11:1-16.
Covering your head doesn’t make you holy,it’s the blood of Lord Jesus Christ that makes us holy(cleanses from all our sins/shortcomings).
You will not win over an unbelieving husband with the external clothing you wear according to scriptures.
This is what you should do according to scriptures-1Peter3:1-9-Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own 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, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, 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. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
With regards to divorcing an unbelieving husband/wife-1 Corinthians7:15-But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.
So God’s word clearly clearly says your husband should be one over to God by seeing your gentle and quiet spirit which is your true inner beauty.Your outward adornments will not bring about an lasting or real change in anyone.
Regarding your head covering confusion,i have clearly explained in my other comments to this post ,why women should cover their head only in public prayer and prophesy(christian ministry) unlike Mennonite/Amish christians and muslims.It’s conclusion is God see’s everyone whether in public or private,that is his presence is everywhere.But when you do public christian ministry you are gloryfying God in front of others.Since woman is the glory of man(1Corinthians11:7) this glory should be covered with a cap/viel ,so that only God’s glory is projected to the public/assembled people(along with angels-1Corinthians11:10).
These are certain pitfalls that every believer in Christ Jesus should avoid in day to day life,inorder to avoid eternal hell fire:-
1:Abstain from unbelief in God and his son Lord Jesus Christ who died for all the sins of mankind,by shedding his precious sinless blood on the cross some 2000 years ago so that all who put their trust/faith in him can have eternal life.1000s of bible prophecies have been fulfilled till date according to secular historic data,Jesus himself fulfilled more than 300 messianic prophecies,thus proving he is the christ,1000s of miracle healings happen throughout the world,few of which gets reported in christian media,is all open for verification and certified credible by many.For verifying some of the fulfilled bible prophesies (including more than 300 messianic prophesies fulfilled by Jesus thus proving he is the Messiah/Christ) click or copy/paste this link-yahwehword.wordpress.com/
1:Flee from idolatry(1Corinthians10:14),for it leads to eternal hell fire-Revelations21:8.The practice of intercession/veneration of saints among catholic/orthodox sects does amount to idolatry and medianism(contacting demons/evil spirits).Veneration means bowing or praying before an image/statue and it amounts to idolatry and when we pray/ask intercession to anybody other than Lord Jesus Christ(who is the only mediator between mankind and God),that prayer goes to demons and amounts to Medianism.
This is what those who practice occult magic do-contacting evil spirits/fallen angels.Those who do this occult magic are also condemned to eternal hell fire in Revelations21:8.
2:Abstain from all kinds of sexual immorality like adultery,fornication,homosexuality,cross dressing etc. for it will lead to eternal hell fire-Revelations21:8.
3:Abstain from telling lies about others and lying in general.Be bold and intelligent in all your actions,for liars,cowards,murderers and vile people will end up in eternal hell fire-Revelations21:8.
4:To do all this we need the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit of God.So we should pray to God for the guidance and power of Holy Spirit in our lives in the name of Lord Jesus Christ.Certainly God will save us,for God is near all those who call out to him in truth/sinceretiy-Psalms145:18.
God bless you and your family.
Hi, Mirja
So glad to see someone from another country visit my blog! I hope and pray your husband learns to lean on Jesus Christ and becomes a practicing Christian. This is a very deep, thought-provoking subject. Most of the Christians that I see regularly do not cover their heads, however, I can certainly understand why some women would want to do so.
This is the meaning of scriptures from 1Corinthians11:1-16-The natural glorious state of Man is without covering(with short hair) which points to the supernatural/spiritual reality that man reflects glory of Lord Jesus Christ(glory of God) and therefore man doesn’t require a covering in front of God.
Likewise a woman’s natural glorious state is with a covering(her long hair) which points to the supernatural/spiritual reality that woman reflects the glory of man which should be blocked/covered in the presence of God by a cap/veil.Full perfect covering is not required as it’s meant to be a symbol of authority.For this reason and because of angels(angels are servent spirits of God,sent out to help those who are being saved and angels like to look into things of the church) women should have a symbol of authority on their heads in the form of a cap/veil covering-v.10
So every women who pray/prophesy(preach) without covering their head with veil/cap dishonor her head- husband,God and angels.It’s same as being shaven because dishonor in supernatural/spiritual points back to dishonor in the natural-which means women has to cut all her hair with scissors(shorn) or razor(shave)-v5,6.
Likewise everyman who bring dishonor in the spiritual by covering his head by cap/veil should also have long hairs,since dishonor in the spiritual ,points back to dishonor in the natural.
God bless you.
Hi, Jan
Thanks for commenting on my blog. So, I guess you’re saying that a woman’s head should be covered (with a cap or veil), while praying or prophesying? Her natural hair provides that covering when not praying or prophesying?
The natural long hair covering of women is given by God to point to the spiritual reality that her glory need to be covered in God’s presence as she represent the glory of man.The whole of woman with her long hair covering represent the glory of man.This is what needs to be covered in God’s presence.
Likewise natural short hair of man indicate that he donot need to be covered in God’s presence as he is the glory of Christ Jesus.Thus every man who covers himself with a veil/cap in God’s presence blasphemes Lord Jesus Christ and God the father.It’s same as growing long head hair in man.
Also every woman that doesn’t cover her head with cap/veil blaspheme/dishonor her husband,Christ and God the father.It’s same as cutting all her head hair.
Yes,when not in supernatural state,women needs no external covering.In the natural state her long hair covering would suffice,but in spiritual/supernatural environment in front of others(publically) as in a christian meeting she should cover her head with a cap/veil as a symbol of authority while praying/prophesying(doing christian ministry from the stage/pulpit).
Even in a christian meeting women who are not praying/prophesying infront of others,that is those who are sitting and listening need not cover their head.Why?-Because all the time ,be it in public or private nobody can hide from God for his presence in everywhere.But when a person does christian ministry in front of others he/she is revealing the glory of God to others.So since women are the glory of men ,this glory needs to be covered when they do public christian ministry.
That is the essence/meaning of 1:Corinthians11:1-16.God bless you.
Apostle Paul says in 1:Corinthians 11:1-16 that women should cover their head while praying or prophesying.Prophesying means preaching as all preaching has an element of prophesy and prayer in it,likewise singing songs has has also an element of prayer and prophesy in it.By using the phrase prayer or prophesy it means that Paul is indicating public christian meeting as well as a family prayer group.It means whenever a woman pray or prophesy in front of others (not just direct prayer or prophesy ,but also other christian ministry which involve prayer and prophesy like preaching/music ministry)women should cover their head with a cap/veil-symbol ofauthority/credibility for women.
This head covering should be viewed with regards to restriction of Pastoral/overseer authority for women(1Thimothy2:11-15,1Corinthians14:33,34).
The “phrase women should keep silent in churches” in both these passages(1Thimothy2:11-15 & 1 Corinthians14:33,34) should be interpreted harmoniously with the rest of the scriptures.This is the golden rule for the interpretation of the scriptures.1 Corinthians 11:1-16 indicate that women are allowed to pray and prophesy in public.Apostle Paul himself congragulate a women apostle called Junia.Paul congragulates work of Phoebe,Pricillia,Tryphena and many other women in scriptures.In 2 John,the Apostle John indroduce himself as an elder/pastor and dyrects the letter to an elect lady and her ‘spiritual’ childeren.This lady was probably an evangelist and the children are the spiritual fruit of her labour.At the end of that letter John conveys regards from her sister who is also an evangelist and her spiritual childeren(thos whom she evangelized) to this woman,According to historians they are Philip’s daughters.
Whatever all this may be we can conclude from all these scriptures that women are allowed to preach,teach,evangelize,prophesy,do music ministry and all other ministries which men do,except for the pastoral/overseer/elder/bishop office.All these different names-Pastor/Elder/Overseer/Bishop all indicate the same office of a leader of a local church.This authoritarian teaching of Pastor/overseer is restricted only to men.This is the meaning of women “being silent” in the church that is they shouldn’t take up authoritarian teaching(pastoral authority) over men.
Thus the reason for head covering given in 1 Corinthians10:8,9 is same as that of the reason God gives for women ‘should be silent’/donot takeup pastoral authority over men,given in 1Thimothy2:13.We must understand that these restrictions given to women with regards to Pastoral authority and head covering is to maintain the divine order in the church,so that church may not be destroyed by disorder and confusion.
Only when all Christians start obeying these eternal principles of God,then only God will send true revival and restoration all over the world.
These are certain pitfalls that every believer in Christ Jesus should avoid in day to day life,inorder to avoid eternal hell fire:-
1:Abstain from unbelief in God and his son Lord Jesus Christ who died for all the sins of mankind,by shedding his precious sinless blood on the cross some 2000 years ago so that all who put their trust/faith in him can have eternal life,for all unbelievers will be sent to eternal hell fire-Revelation 21:8 and many other scriptures.
1000s of bible prophecies have been fulfilled till date according to secular historic data,Jesus himself fulfilled more than 300 messianic prophecies,thus proving he is the christ,1000s of miracle healings happen throughout the world,few of which gets reported in christian media,is all open for verification and certified credible by many.For verifying some of the fulfilled bible prophesies (including more than 300 messianic prophesies fulfilled by Jesus thus proving he is the Messiah/Christ) copy/paste this link-yahwehword.wordpress.com/
2:Flee from idolatry(1Corinthians10:14),for it leads to eternal hell fire-Revelations21:8.The practice of intercession/veneration of saints among catholic/orthodox sects does amount to idolatry and medianism(contacting demons/evil spirits).Veneration means bowing or praying before an image/statue and it amounts to idolatry and when we pray/ask intercession to anybody other than Lord Jesus Christ(who is the only mediator between mankind and God),that prayer goes to demons and amounts to Medianism.
This is what those who practice occult magic do-contacting evil spirits/fallen angels.Those who do this occult magic are also condemned to eternal hell fire in Revelations21:8.
3:Abstain from all kinds of sexual immorality like adultery,fornication,homosexuality,cross dressing etc. for it will lead to eternal hell fire-Revelations21:8.
4:Abstain from telling lies about others and lying in general.Be bold and intelligent in all your actions,for liars,cowards,murderers and vile people will end up in eternal hell fire-Revelations21:8.
5:To do all this we need the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit of God.So we should pray to God for the guidance and power of Holy Spirit in our lives in the name of Lord Jesus Christ.Certainly God will save us,for God is near all those who call out to him in truth/sinceretiy-Psalms145:18.
God bless you and your family.
Hi Cecilia i have a correction-According to God’s word-Bible,women should cover their head(not hair) by their natural God given long hair covering when they project glory of God to others while praying or preaching(prophesy) in public , in order to cover the man’s glory that woman’s body projects.This is the principle,unlike in pagan customs which is rooted mainly in modest dressing,christian head covering is rooted mainly in authority and modesty indirectly.Read 1 Corinthians 11:1-15.Paul clearly says in 1 Corinthians 11:15 that this covering is the natural long hair of women which is given in place of the pagan veil.That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:5,6 that if woman donot want to cover (that is to cut her long hair to resemble men) , then she should go all the way and cut all her head hair(shorn) or shave off all head hair , because the very purpose of the long head hair that God gave to you women is to cover the man’s glory that your bodies project.Therefore further covering in the form of veil is not needed , unless for some reason you women donot have hair as in cancer chemotherapy patients.
So understand that it’s an issue of authority (God-Christ-Man-Woman-1 Corinthians 11:3) first and modesty only secondarily.While when it comes to your bodily cloth covering modesty comes first and authority only second (1 Timothy 2:9-15).
Hi, Jan! Thank you so much for clearing that up for me! I appreciate your knowledge about this subject.
Hi Cecilia,after i made that comment about head covering some months ago,i always had this thinking that something was not right about extra cloth covering for head.
When i checked with the original greek translation of 1 Corinthians 11:15 ,it says long hair is given in the place of veil/cap.The newer translations like NIV has mistranslated it as “as a covering”,when the correct translation should have been “for a covering” as it’s in KJV.
Also regarding women’s christian ministry most people don’t know what scriptures teach.
1 Timothy 3:11 says women who wish to be deacons,rather than “deacons wives” which is a later mistranslation.Phoebe was a deaconess.The only position not allowed to women was that of Elder/Pastor based on 1 Corinthians 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2:11-15.Women were allowed to be Apostles and evangelists as in the case of Junia,Syntyche,Euodia etc.
Also every local church should have only 1 pastor/elder per church with a group of deacons to help him and the church.That is why elder is addressed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 in the singular and in 1 Timothy 3:12 it says male deacons should rule their children and household well and same instruction is given to the elder in 1 Timoth 3:4 and 5,but not to women deacons in 1 Timothy 3:11.In 1 Timothy 3:13 it says those male deacons who do their job well will be credited with a higher degree ,that is they can go on to become the elder/pastor one day.
God bless you dear Cecilia…
Thanks, Zirka
I seldom hear about women being a deaconess. Do you ever read Christian fiction? Have you ever heard of Janette Oake? Well, she wrote a historical novel and the main character is a deaconess. She’s sent to a town that has NO pastor or congregation. She’s actually head of the “church” there because there is simply nobody else there to lead the flock. However, she was not able to marry people, or bury those who died. It was an interesting book because it was a position that I don’t usually see for a woman, especially during historical times.
I will open up my Bible and re-read those passages you recommended. Thanks for your insightful comments on my blog.
The leadership heirarchy above the Pastor/Elder like bishop/pope etc. is also unbiblical.Only one who is above Pastor/Elder in church heirarchy is Lord Jesus Christ the head of the church.
God bless you and all those who read this to come to unity in Christ Jesus so that the living God will be glorified.
Hi, again, Jan
Yes, that’s so true. You know, cults are some of those who don’t consider Christ to be the head of the church. I recall when I was involved with the Jehovah’s Witnesses (that’s the faith in which I was raised) – Jesus was not considered the head of the church. The Society were the ones that decided the fate of all, what they said was supreme. They interpreted the Bible and decided what was to be done with “disobedient” ones. The Society sets rules that must be followed – like how many hours of field service to do per week, how many meetings were required each week, dress code, etc. I know churches have rules, but, their rules were over and above the norm. I could talk about this all day, but, bottom line, Jesus is the head of the church and I think some religions don’t adhere to this scripture.
Yes,the problem with JW is that they teach Jesus is an incarnation of archangel Michael.
That is a very wrong teaching according to Bible for in John 1:1-7 God says Jesus the word of God created all things along with his father God and that Jesus existed from everlasting past-this is also said prophetically in Micah 5:2. Thus degrading Jesus to archangel Michael is making creator God as a creation which is idolatry.
But the reality is even those who claim to believe in Jesus as Christ/ Messiah and the son of living God and Bible as God’s word do idolatry by the practice of intercession /veneration of saints-Catholic/Orthodox sects.Unless this idolatry is removed from the midst of those who claim to be Christians we will not see true revival and restoration in a global scale which will pave way for preaching the Gospel to ends of the earth,so that end will come-Mathew 24:14.
Hi, Jan
Yes, you are correct. JWs do teach that Jesus Christ is Michael the Archangel. To them, it’s blasphemous to put Jesus equal to God, to say Jesus is God. In their Bible version, their John 1:1 says: In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was [a] god.
Which makes no sense – by saying Jesus is [a] god, you’re saying that Jesus is a false god since there’s only one true God.
I agree with you about the idolatry in the Catholic church. The Catholics have statues and they appear to deify the Virgin Mary – they place her on an extremely high pedestal and claim she remained a virgin her entire life, which is totally inaccurate since she had other children – Jesus had other siblings.
I’ve also notice that they’ll sometimes pray to their saints, but, they need to pray directly to Jesus.
Thanks for sharing your insight with me, Jan. I appreciate it.
No,i haven’t heard about Janette Oake,but there is a book in the Bible which has the same story -it’s 2 John.
In 2 John ,apostle John calls himself as elder/pastor and address the letter to a leading/elected lady(a woman apostle/evangelist) and her children(church she planted) and ends the letter by saying the children of your sister(another woman evangelist) sends you greetings.Notice that Apostle John calls himself an elder but John doesn’t call these women as elder/pastor but rather as leading/elected lady.This means that this lady was probably in charge of a church that she recently planted,which was yet to elect a male Pastor/elder because 1 Thimothy 3:6 clearly says elder shouldn’t be a recent convert.
Phillipians 4:3 says 2 women Euodia and Synteche preached as evangelists along with apostle Paul,Clement etc.
Also Romans 16:3-7 says 3 women Priscillia,Mary and Junia worked as apostles and that Junia was prominent among apostles.
So from Bible-scripture it becomes abundantly clear that women can do all ministry in the Church like Apostolic,evangelization,teaching,deacons and even as Pastor/Elder in recently planted churches until there is male christians mature enough to take that post.
God bless you dear Cecilia,your words are so encouraging.
In 4th century AD Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the royal religion of Roman empire.Soon people began to convert in large numbers without any real conviction of their sins like idolatry,sexual immorality etc.
The corrupt state officials transmuted idolatrous practices to christianity inorder to consolidate their power by bringing one religion,so that Roman elite leaders can rule over masses more easily.So they changed the name of pagan idols to christian names like Jesus(serapis), Mary(venus/ishtar),Christ mass(solar mass of december 25th),easter-fertility goddess ishtar-easter eggs-reducing 1.5 days between crucifixion and resurrection inorder to fit the pagan Ishtar fertility goddess festival-Scriptures are clear that Jesus Christ will be buried for 3 days and 3 nights -72 hours like Jonah was inside the whale for 3 days and 3 nights.
Many christians opposed this idolatrous corruption of christian faith and they were branded as heretics and massacred by Roman military power,thus Europe and world at large fell into dark ages.
Some of these groups that opposed idolatrous corruption of roman catholicism are
1.Early Jewish Christians,Manichaens,Donatists,Celtic church(1-8th century AD)
2.Paulicians,Bogomils(6-12th century AD,they were behind the 1st iconoclastic movement of 8th century AD,Protestant Revolution is considered as the 2nd iconoclastic movement by scholars)
3.Waldensians,Cathars,Anabaptists,Hussites,Strigolnikis and finally protestants/evangelicals(11th century AD till today).
Note that catholics branded all these groups as heretics and massacred them.But as Jesus prophesied in Mathew 16:16-18,gates of hell like catholicism and other false religion will not prevail over the God’s Church(protestant/evangelical) that Lord Jesus Christ is building on the rock that is the revelation given to apostle Peter that Jesus is the son of living God and is Christ/ Messiah, and not over mortal corpse of Apostle Peter that certain catholics claim to be buried under Vatican.
Also apostolic succession teaching by catholic/orthodox sects is another lie because the “authority of keys” is given to all followers of Lord Jesus Christ in Mathew 18:18.
After the soon coming WW3 (1st Gog Magog war) all false religions including catholicism will be destroyed and people living on earth will become christians(non feminist protestants) atleast for namesake.
Then Jesus will come in midheavens with trumpet sound of archangel and take all faithfull christians ( rapture) from earth and leave behind the namesake Christians for 7 year great tribulation.At the end of that 7 year period Lord Jesus Christ will come with great power and glory along with 10,000s of saints and defeat the beast(antichrist) and the false prophet and their followers. Beast and false prophet will be thrown alive into eternal hell fire and their followers will be killed and Satan/Heylel will be chained for a 1000 years.
Those who became martyrs for Lord Jesus Christ and those who didn’t worship the beast or it’s image and those who didn’t recieve mark of the beast(666) will be resurrected and rule with Lord Jesus Christ for 1000 years-This is the first resurrection which has 3 parts-1 resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ some 2000 years ago.
2-Rapture of the God’s Church
3-Resurrection of saints and martyrs of 7 year tribulation period at the end of this 7 years when Jesus comes to set up his millenial kingdom.
After that Lord Jesus Christ will rule the earth from Jerusalem along with his many saints for 1000 years and peace and prosperity will be seen all over the world.
After that Satan will be set free for short while and he will decieve many to go to war against God’s people and the Holy city-Jerusalem (2nd Gog Magog war).But fire will come down from heaven and destroy them and Satan will thrown to eternal hell fire.
Then final judgment of all will occur and after that eternity of new heaven,new earth and new Jerusalem forever.
Hi Cecilia, How are you?
Thank you for posting my comments.God bless you and may your blog be a shining light to many.
Hi, Jan!
I’m good! How are you? Thanks so much for commenting on my blog! I enjoy reading your insightful comments!
Yes,i am fine,will see you around!
May God help us all to walk in love,selfless love to the eternal life that God has prepared for us through our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ…
Interesting article about Jewish women’s head coverings! I just recently found out that some Jewish women wear wigs to cover their hair! https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hair-coverings-for-married-women/