I have been discussing the subject of Esther lately on Facebook with a female acquaintance. At the leading the of the Spirit of truth it has been made clear to me just how deep the spirit of Jezebel has made it into the hearts of women, yes, even our most "godly" women. This post will expose some of the issues I have encountered not only with this acquaintance but with almost every woman I have met in my life. Dare I say, every woman? Before I get into this subject I understand that all women who have read this will have already been riled up at this statement. If you have a spirit of offense due to what I say I encourage you to ask yourself why. Often times our emotions get stirred by the wickedness in our hearts. Let your stubbornness subside for a moment and take the time to critically look at God's will as expressed in the Bible. Let us explore the subject of feminism in truth and love to see how our Almighty God feels about it. Put on your discernment caps brothers and sisters, and resist the pull of your emotional, soulish drive to reject the truth.
With that said, let me outline a few things I have encountered with this person. I will begin with a post I saw of hers promoting her business. Here is the text of the post in its entirety:
I love the story of Esther in the Bible. It's the perfect drama with all the dreamy beauty and transformation we love in Cinderella from orphan to beloved Queen, the drama of Joan of Arc with bravery and heroic selflessness, the perilous suspense of a WWII crazier-than-fiction story, and the faith and trust of a child.
I admire her poise, her dignity and cleverness, her understanding of men and how to be, -not controlling, but influential. To be the graceful neck which supports and gently turns the head. To fast and pray and commit her life or death into the hands of the Almighty, but simultaneously enlist her arsenal of beauty, fragrance, lovely clothing, food and submissive entreaty to move the heart of the capricious, harsh King.
I never could understand why all the movies don't just leave it well enough alone.
But on a lighthearted, fun note, I wondered if any of my fellow female Facebookers would like to join me in a Queen Esther natural beauty treatment month? I spent time researching the ancient spa treatments used for her entire year before her 'one night with the king", and found it utterly fascinating. I promise I won't bother you with advertisements for my products 
but I will share recipes and secrets that I've learned from the ancient beauties. For free. Herbs, essential oils, foods, and methods you most likely have in your pantry. I just thought it'd be fun to learn and enjoy it together, pretend we were in the harem for a few. (Without the one night with the King, thank you very much.) Hop on over to my page https://www.facebook.com/******/ if you're interested. Again, not to sell you on my stuff, but just to hang out with just us girls. (Since men tend to laugh at us and make fun of our concoctions. But enjoy the results. And still make snarky comments. Yeah they're weird like that.) Let me know if you're interested.
When I first saw this post I immediately saw the error in it. I prayed to the Father, asking if He wanted me to expose it. I received no reply, so I left it alone. Yet I still remembered it and it troubled me that this woman's heart was so deceived. About 6 weeks later I finally got a response from the Lord. I was well into a discussion with this person about a post I made regarding the error I see in the church regarding false doctrines. She takes a very defensive stance towards the "church" (look up the meaning and etymology of that word some time. Clue: Circe, the Daughter of the Sun, the French root "cirque" and the Germanic root, "kirk."). I won't go into that subject at the moment so as to keep things on topic. Needless to say, this woman has been trying to "subtly" and "humbly" convince me that my stance is wrong.
The Bible says, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." -Luke 6:45. So let us take a deeper look at what was said in this post and then go on to examine some of the things that were said in the more recent post from this past week. I can't cover all the issues I see with this and have chosen to not expound upon why I think it is wrong to use the Bible to promote your business in the manner she has done, ie; twisting Scriptures for self-promotional purposes. Let's just stick to the issue of feminism.
The opening statement reveals how "Disney" this woman's heart is. Anyone who knows me understands that is not a compliment. There is nothing wrong with dreaming but she treats the story of Esther like a fairy tale and that is evidenced in her words. This is an important point to understand. It reveals that she has been indoctrinated by the Hollywood mindset so common today, especially in women who crave the false imagery created by the wicked minds of men. Disney, as well as all of Hollywood and the vast majority of the entertainment industry, is controlled by none other than the satanic ruling elite. If this is not apparent to you I encourage you to look into the occult symbolism and sexual content embedded in Disney and other Hollywood movies. Again, this subject is too vast to address here. I just wanted to point out what is obviously influencing this woman's soul, whether she watches movies at this point in her life or not. There are more levels to this spirit than just watching movies. It is society that is effected and peer-pressure is quite powerful. The hive mind is dangerous to the Nth degree.
Notice in the second paragraph her subtle wording regarding how she thinks women can influence the behavior of men in clever, graceful and gentle ways. This is where we get to the real meat of the deception in the hearts of women today. Without going into a theological exposition outlining God's design for women I'll assume that you have read your Bible and understand the role a wife plays in her husband's life and in society in general. If you don't understand what I mean please take the time to read these books:
http://www.heart4god.ws/index_htm_files/Sarahs%20Children.pdf
http://www.heart4god.ws/index_htm_files/No%20Apologies.pdf
http://www.heart4god.ws/index_htm_files/The%20Marriage%20Covenant.pdf
I greatly respect the author of these works for following the Spirit of truth and standing for what is right in God's eyes.
What does it mean to be the "neck that supports and gently turns the head?" When you understand headship in God's design you will understand that this attitude comes directly from the spirit of Jezebel. This statement reveals that she believes a woman's role in her husband's life is to keep him on the right track through her beauty and clever influence ie;
manipulation. What this means essentially is the neck controls the head. This is not how it works in the kingdom of God. This is a reversal of roles and there is not an ounce of humbleness in this line of thinking no matter how you package it. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) or "nachach" as seen in the Hebrew of Genesis 3:1. So too was Adam not deceived, but Eve was (1 Timothy 2:14).
Why did Adam eat of the fruit in the Garden? It was not because he was deceived. It was because she did. What happened in the garden of Eden was a reversal of God's kingdom. Woman was deceived by Satan and Adam willingly gave into her lead. Satan took the lead over woman and woman took the lead over man. This is where the heart of goddess worship arose from and later became very prominent in pagan religions (even Catholicism, which I would argue is THE pagan religion - you know, Mary, the Queen of Heaven, the Grace of God - but I digress...). You don't have to carry the pagan label to have this spirit. In fact, most Christian women I have spoken to have revealed this spirit by their words and actions. It is not of the Spirit of God but of the devil.
Next let us get onto the subject of Esther, which really unveils what is happening in this woman's heart. She has clearly been deceived about the meaning of the story of Esther and has bought into a lie which has become prominent today. It is the core of Christian feminism, a real oxymoron of a term. To lay the groundwork for the rest of this blog let me explain how my conversation with this woman progressed. I was relaxing on my couch watching a documentary the other night when I got a sudden urge to turn it off and read my friend and minister's book, "The Remnant Bride" (http://www.heart4god.ws/index_htm_files/The%20Remnant%20Bride.pdf). You will notice I refer to his books a lot. I do this because the Spirit led me to his books and I have tested much of what he has to say finding it to uphold its weight in gold so-to-speak.
I read through the first couple of chapters quickly then came to one that expounded upon the story of Esther. As soon as I read it I felt the Spirit urging me to share it with this female acquaintance. It was the answer to my prayer weeks earlier. I shared the book with her. She read it and this was her response (the part that pertained to the story of Esther at least):
A couple things didn't sit real well. One, I have a hard time thinking the Father wants himself "typed" as Ahasuerus. Hmm. In the article, Vashti is villainized, and Hashi is the hero. I love the Esther story, but according to historians, there is a possibility that Hashi called Vashti to basically do a strip show for him and his partying, drunk entourage. We don't know the circumstances for certain. So he divorces her, and has a one night stand with 400+ of the most beautiful virgins throughout the empire. Hmm. God specifically did not want the kings to take many wives, he allowed it, but it wasn't his design. Not really a fitting representation of the Father, in my opinion. People do pull "types" out of thin air in the Bible to support whatever doctrine they come up with, just saying.
This statement reveals that she has been influenced by a feminist interpretation of the book of Esther. This is all too common today. First of all, she defends Queen Vashti by suggesting that King Ahasuerus was drunk and trying to get his queen to perform a "strip tease" for his friends. This is NOT what Scriptures say. It is what the Midrash says, which are rabbinic commentaries on Scripture based on oral traditions. These writings were highly favored by the Pharisees and eventually led to the formation of the Babylonian Talmud. If you've ever read anything from that book you would know just how depraved and inaccurate it is. Midrash is oral tradition based on the interpretations of men whom Christ Himself called hypocrites, brood of vipers and the blind leading the blind. If anyone can cite for me a source that is not highly questionable I'd love to read it. Here's what Scriptures do say:
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.
Then the king said to the wise men who understood the times (for this was the king's manner toward all who knew law and justice, those closest to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who had access to the king's presence, and who ranked highest in the kingdom): “What shall we do to Queen Vashti, according to law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs?”
And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: “Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes, and all the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen's behavior will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.’ This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king's officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath.
It is plain as day what the message is here. Nowhere in any translation does it say ONLY her crown as some suggest. I will also say that it is clear from Scriptures that Yahweh has put the wife under the headship of her husband and if he tells her to do something she is inclined to do it unless God specifically tells her not to. In this case then I would say that Vashti refused the king for her own dignity, ultimately doing more damage to the kingdom than if she chalked it up and did the thing she hated. Esther was completely obedient and only rebelled to save the lives of her people. BIG difference. This book is a clear exposition of when a woman is following God's will by going against what her husband says. In the grand scheme, though, we are never to go against what God is telling us. The trick is whether you are hearing His voice or some other voice. One thing to get clear is God's design for marriage. When a man takes a woman for a wife he is taking dominion over her. In this day and age it would be more accurate to say that when a woman gives herself to a man she is giving herself over to his headship. Women don't realize today the blessed freedom they have to choose and they don't honor God's design nor respect their husbands by their insisting on having their equal say, whether by subtle manipulation or by being a control freak (is there really much of a difference when you get down to it?).
Let's backtrack a bit here and look at history through the eyes of common sense. It would have been highly inappropriate and extremely bad for the king's reputation to tell the queen to do a "strip tease." In Persian culture the queen was not to be paraded around before men, let alone naked. We have zero evidence of anything of the sort in Scriptures or otherwise in history. The king does not treat Esther this way, so why would he have treated Vashti this way? The king was before high-ranking, respected people in his kingdom. Why would he jeopardize his reputation by making such an uncouth demand? It is unbefitting of a king, even a drunk one.
And so, in light of this who is adding to Scriptures and misquoting history? Frankly, to me this interpretation sounds a lot like feminist propaganda. This line of thought is deeply rooted in society at this late hour. It is one of the many tentacles of the Mystery Babylonian beast whitewashing the mental tombs of the deceived masses. Even men are subscribing to it.
Now, I would not assume too much here since there is no reliable evidence but what we are told in Scriptures, however if we are to speculate then why not look at another possibility? Perhaps Vashti was openly rebelling against Ahasuerus by holding an all-female banquet in protest to his male-dominated drunken party. Perhaps he got into a conversation where his authority over her was challenged and he requested her presence to not only show off her *clothed* beauty but to prove to his subjects that her not-so-subtle political statement would not stand against his authority. Perhaps Vashti chose to save her own dignity and uphold a cultural tradition rather than obey her king. Esther, on the other hand, was willing to give her life to save her people if that is what Yahweh required of her. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you." John 15:13. Esther made the right choice. Vashti did not. God blessed Esther. Vashti faded into obscurity. And no, it does not say that Ahasuerus divorced her, but only that she was denied his presence. I would think that to be worse than divorce. Nor do Scriptures say he slept with 400+ virgins afterwards. This is simply unprovable at best. In fact, there is far more evidence to suggest that the Persian king would have upheld his composure and dignity in order to remain favorable in the sight of his people.
So back to Vashti. Does not God ask us to do things that sometimes seem degrading to our reputation and our dignity, or looks insane not only in everyone else's eyes but even in our own? Did He not command Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and then stop him at the last second? Did He not command Noah to commit his and his family's entire lives to building the ark so they would be saved from the flood? Did He not tell Lot to leave his entire life behind in S&G? Did He not take everything from Job to test his faith and submission (and what did his wife say in response)? Did He not send Christ to die on the cross? Paul to preach to the Romans (of all people)? What if these men just sat on their bottoms like Vashti refusing to obey based on some "high moral" ground? In fact, the Scriptures make it sound as though the king was simply trying to honor her beauty and demonstrate his authority within his own household (1 Timothy 3:5). Nothing at all wrong with that as far as I can tell, especially knowing how it applies as a type to the Bride of Christ. Today's modern, post-lib woman would say, "He just wanted to treat her like an ornament. She should dump that pig and go get a real man." Right. A real man that will bend to her every manipulating, conniving insinuation. That is the spirit I've seen in most women today. The scariest thing is many of them don't even realize that's what they are doing. (...for the woman was deceived...)
This has been my experience:
Stepping up to the altar ready to give anything for Him even if I look like a fool. He blesses me in so many ways for doing so. He knows how to bring us low in order that we can be raised up above that which previously held us back. Before He let me understand the truth no one would ever listen to me (except when I was singing :P), and no one does now either really, but the blessing is that He has given to me freely understanding that sets me apart from the world. He expects me to declare His truth to a lukewarm church so that those who hear the call and respond might be chosen to be consecrated as holy (separated unto Him).
The Bible is a book of parables, types, shadows and spiritual lessons which reveal Yahweh's character and dealings with men. It reveals His plan as far as man can comprehend it. I don't think Joseph was off in his interpretation at all.
Like Lot, who cast his tent before Sodom and Gomorrah and moved into that wicked city, so too must we listen to God's messengers when they tell us, "Leave this place!" Even so, leaving will occur at great cost. A great cost indeed. Lot's corrupted wife looked back longingly, obviously not at the debauchery, but the comfort and security. Lot's corrupted daughters laid with him even after being saved from destruction by the hand of the Lord. Lot paid a dear price for bringing his family into that place. Although many congregations are not exactly S&G, they honor Him with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. This is wickedness. Men are more concerned about pleasing their wives than God. In this sense they have encouraged the spirit of Jezebel.
"The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord. But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife, and his interests are divided." 1 Corinthians 7:32-34
Is this not why Adam ate of the fruit? He was not deceived. He ate because she did. (1 Timothy 2:14)
The LORD told Jeremiah not to take a wife in Judah, nor pursue a settled life there. Why? Because it is almost impossible to raise a holy family in the midst of fleshly error and wickedness. His calling was of a higher purpose. Today, the world is like Judah, and like Israel. It is apostate even by mixing a small portion of worldly desire into worship. People think that in seeking a prosperous life for themselves and their families they are doing God's will. You know, maybe they are. Maybe that is just how it has to be. Everyone has their place in the kingdom. That is one of the main points "The Remnant Bride" is making. Those who overcome the desires of this world are the Remnant. Of course this is foolishness to those who are attached to the world, and so the worldly churches do not hear. (Church=Cirque-circus-circle, as in around and around the merry-go-round)
Let us not partake of gross misrepresentations of the character and story of Esther. Let us not have a heart of manipulation. Do you not see this is a double-edged sword? Is it not mixing the holy with the profane - a contradiction - even hypocrisy? The story of Esther has been usurped and twisted into a subtle play on feminist ideology, which many have happily subscribed to at the cost of losing wisdom and understanding of Yah's way. The conversation I had with this woman has shown me much about how deeply the modern Christian woman believes the lies that have been implanted into her mind throughout history, especially the last century. Goddess worship is alive and kicking in the spirit of humanity and its battle cry is, "I am woman! Hear me roar!" What was that verse about a lion seeking to devour... Only this lion is as subtle and cunning as a serpent disguised as an angel of light. But alas, these are the times in which we live.
One of the first encounters I had when moving here to Montezuma was helping brother Joseph prepare newsletters for his prison ministry with a couple of the young women from our local church. I remember clearly what one of them said. "Men should always listen to their wives." The other nodded adding, "Because we are always right." Now, I know they were kind of joking. Kind of. At the same time I know they said that for a reason to begin with. These are Christian girls, one with a Mennonite background. It just goes to show that the flood has swept even into the most sacred of places - the hearts of our virgin brides-to-be. This is why God kept leading me to Jeremiah 16 when I first moved here. I wanted to find a wife and settle down. He warned me over and over and this last encounter has shown me that even the best of women are still corrupt. Don't get me wrong. I'm no chauvinist. I understand fully that men are as corrupt as women, or perhaps even more. What I'm trying to accomplish here is to illustrate that women are not as holy and pure as they present themselves to be. This is why there are so many warnings in the Bible about marriage.
I'm positive these words will not fall lightly on the souls on most women. I sometimes wish I could be that nicey-nicey person women keep trying to turn me into but the truth must be known, even if it takes tough love. Years ago I had a friend tell me I'm very self-centered. We argued for a while until I suddenly burst into tears realizing she was right. SHE was right. Clearly one can see that I value the opinions of women. I am not attacking women telling them to shut up. I'm pointing out the wicked spirit and the deceived heart from which the motives of women often times come from ("we are always right..."), and at the same time reminding us all to recognize God's design for headship. Granted, on this occasion my friend's bold statement became a liberating moment for me and the start of a new journey. From that moment forward I realized the value of blunt honesty. If more of us were willing to look at things objectively and step outside our little bubbles to seek the truth with all we are perhaps God would show us our true colors, and maybe, just maybe the light could shine into all the unexplored, dark crevices of our hearts. Sometimes, like Jacob, we must wrestle until we get the blessing. We may come out of it with a broken hip but we are all the better in our souls for the effort.
Since posting this the person I spoke about in this blog unfriended me at the advice of her husband. I understand completely and expected this to be the case. She does not agree with much of what I had to say about her, and in her defense I will say that I don't know her outside of Facebook. She is probably a sweet and kind person, but sweet and kind aren't necessarily the fruits of the Spirit of truth in all cases. Remember, the heart is wicked above all things and Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (meaning he makes bad things look good). If we do not diligently guard our hearts from outside influence and simultaneously search in earnest for iniquity in our souls we may just find ourselves possessed by the pervasive evil influences of our times.
