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PROGRESSIVE REVELATION:
Three paradigm shifts of beliefs and practices in the Bible:
Satan, Ritual animal sacrifices, Holy days
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The concept of progressive revelation in the Bible suggests that God gradually revealed truths as the Hebrews and Christians needed
the information, at a rate that the people were capable of absorbing. This produced a number of paradigm shifts in people's beliefs and
actions, in which old structures were replaced with new ones. Some are described briefly below.
The evolution of Satan:
The concept of Satan evolved throughout the Bible
 | Satan started out as a simple enemy or adversary: This is seen in the older
parts of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)
 | In Samuel and Kings, term "satan"
(root Hebrew word "s'tn"), was used to refer to a person who acted as an
accuser or enemy. Most translations of the Bible obscure this; they translate Satan as adversary, enemy, opponent,
etc. |
| In Numbers 22:22, an angel was sent by God as a satan to kill
Balaam. |
| In 1 Chronicles 21:1, Satan, a supernatural emissary acting on God's
behalf, convinced David to hold a census. |
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| Satan became a type of prosecuting attorney in God's court:
| In Job 1 and 2, Satan is
described as one of the members of the court of heaven. |
| In Zechariah 3:1-7, Satan
also appears as a member of God's council. |
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| Satan evolved into an all-evil supernatural being with great powers:
| Author G. Messandé 1 and many other
religious historians and theologians
theorize that from the middle of the 5th century BCE until 53 BCE and later, the
Hebrews were on particularly good terms with the Persians. Jews picked up a
number of concepts from the Persians'
religion: Zoroastrianism. These included the
immortality of the soul, Heaven, Hell, angels, and Angra Manyu, (a.k.a. Ahriman), the God of
Evil. |
| Hebrew theologians began to portray Yahweh as wholly good deity, and
attributed evil activity to Satan. History was seen as a battle between the two. Satan became
humanity's greatest enemy. |
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| Satan and his demons were viewed as the cause of mental illness, and as evil
figures:
| Satan figures prominently throughout the Gospels. Jesus and his
disciples accepted the common belief of the 1st century
CE that mental illness and some physical ailments were caused by
indwelling demons, led by Satan. |
| In Matthew 4:1-3, Luke 4:2, Jesus is tempted by Satan. |
| In Matthew 12:24, the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons in the name of "Beelzebub,
the prince of the demons." |
| In John 8:44, one of the most anti-Judaic passages in the Bible,
Jesus is recorded as accusing Jews of being children of the Devil. |
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| Satan viewed as an extremely powerful force for evil:
| In the writings of Paul and the other apostles, the character and range of activities
of Satan and his demons is further developed. The duality is established between
an all-good God and an all-evil Satan -- the two most powerful
forces in the universe.
 | 2 Corinthians 11:12-14:
Satan is
responsible for false teaching by "false apostles, deceitful workers." |
| 2 Corinthians 12:7: Satan has given Paul a "thorn in the flesh"
to trouble him. |
| 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18: Satan hindered Paul's travels. |
| I Timothy
1:19-20: Paul
excommunicated Hymenaeus and Alexander and "delivered
them unto Satan" for tormenting. |
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| In Revelation 2:8-9, Satan is portrayed as the power behind the Roman
Empire's persecution of the Christians. The author apparently condemns ex-Christians who
pretend that they are Jewish in order to avoid the persecution. They are referred to as
the "Synagogue of Satan." |
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| Satan involved in a great battle with God at the end of the world
as we know it:
| Revelation 12:9: Satan, viewed as the great dragon, and his fallen
angels were cast down to earth. |
| Revelation 20:2-3: Satan
is bound and sealed into an abyss for 1000 years |
| Revelation 20:7-8: Satan is released after 1000 years, deceives the
nations, and gathers them together for war. He eventually loses. |
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Ritual sacrifice of animals:
Through much of the Hebrew Scriptures, the ritual killing of animals was mandated to alleviate sin
or overcome ritual impurity. Much of the Mosaic Law in the Hebrew Scriptures required ritual sacrifices of animals as a
mechanism by which a person could either attain forgiveness for their sins or terminate an interval of ritual impurity. Some
procedures are quite elaborate and specific. For example:
| A person healed from a running skin sore -- called a "running issue" in the King James Version -- was to take:
"two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
and give them unto the priest. And the priest shall offer them, the one [for] a sin offering, and the other [for] a burnt offering;
and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD for his issue." [Leviticus 15:14-15]
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| If a ruler has inadvertently committed some sin, then he is to bring an offering: "a kid of the goats, a male without
blemish: And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the
LORD: it is a sin offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of
the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering. And he shall burn all his fat
upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin,
and it shall be forgiven him." [Leviticus 4:23-25] |
| Many dozens of such rituals involving animal sacrifices are contained in the book of Leviticus alone. |
But Isaiah 1:11 quoted God as giving to Isaiah a new revelation which essentially overthrew the ritual sacrifice system: "To
what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?...I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts;
and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats....incense is an abomination unto me;"
In place of the ritual sacrifices, they are to engage in good works: "put
away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to
do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for
the widow." Micah 's writings reinforce Isaiah's revelation that God
is not impressed with animal sacrifice. He asks believers to act with justice,
mercy, and humility. Micha 6:6-8 states: "Wherewith shall I come before the
LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt
offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of
rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my
transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee,
O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
Special religious observances and seasonal days of celebration:
The ancient Israelites were instructed to hold special observances on the new moons, Sabbaths and other holy days.
| Leviticus 23:2 records God speaking to Moses, stating: "Concerning
the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations,
even these are my feasts." Subsequent verses define:
| Weekly sabbath: This is a day of rest to be observed forever
on Saturday (actually Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown.
[Leviticus 23:3] |
| Passover and the feast of unleavened bread: These holy
days were held
on the 14th day of the first month of each year, and during the following week. It is a
remembrance of their period of slavery in Egypt and their Exodus to the
promised land. [Leviticus 23:5-8] |
| Feast of Weeks: This involves the firstfruits of the
wheat harvest. A sheaf was to be brought to the priest, along with an
unblemished lamb for ritual slaughter and sacrifice. [Exodus 34:22 &
Leviticus 23:10-22] |
| Seventh month sabbath: The first day of the seventh month was
to be "a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation."
[Leviticus 23:24] |
| Day of Atonement: This is another "holy convocation,"
to start on the tenth day of the seventh month. God promised to execute
any person who worked on that day. [Leviticus 23:27-32] |
| Feast of Tabernacles: This "holy convocation" starts
on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and is to last for eight days.
[Leviticus 23:34-44] |
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| Psalms 81:3 refers to a feast at the time of the new moon: "Blow up
the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day." |
But Isaiah
1:13-15 quoted God as giving a new revelation to Isaiah which essentially abolished the ritual sacrifice system: "the new moons and Sabbaths, the
calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto
me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide
mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands
are full of blood."
Related essays on this web site:
References:
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G. Messandé, "The History of
the Devil", Newleaf, London, England, (1996)
Copyright © 2003 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2003-DEC-23
Latest update: 2003-DEC-24
Author: B.A. Robinson
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