1 Corinthians 8:1-13

[Hidden In Him]

Endorsing The Worship Of Demons, Just To Gratify The Flesh

     We now come to yet another way in which some members in Corinth were letting their flesh once again dictate their "theology," and cause them to engage in practices that were leading their own brethren to potentially fall from the faith. Regurgitating axioms like "foods for the belly, and the belly for foods" was not just leading some deeper into sexual sin, it was also influencing some to sin against their own God directly, and leave them stricken in conscience over it.
     It was widely known throughout the ancient world that the God of Jews and Christians was a jealous God, and would have no other gods before Him. Nevertheless, some in Corinth were entering the pagan temples and eating meats sacrificed to the Greek gods. While their theology justified doing so without conviction, it appears that those with weaker consciences whom they had influenced to do likewise now feared that they might have committed an unforgivable sin before God, and were guilt-ridden over it in retrospect. Yet again, the biggest problem here was that some in Corinth were attempting to fashion a version of "Christianity" in their own image; one which conformed to the indulgence and carnality of their own culture.
     Modern archeology shows that ancient Corinth was extremely religious, and worshipped a pantheon of gods. As one source puts it:

     The Corinthians were exceptionally pious, as excavation finds testify. Archaeological excavations have brought to light the ruins of temples and sanctuaries, ceremonial vessels and votive offerings that “revive” the city’s religious life. The Corinthians worshiped Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Demeter and Kore, Hera, Poseidon, and Asklepios. They even venerated the city’s mythical heroes, such as Bellerophon and the children of the sorceress Medea, Mermeros and Pheres. (Venerating Gods And Heroes, Corinth Museum.Gr)

     To set the stage and give context to what Paul will teach, it was believed that blessings could be obtained from these various gods if they were appeased. Since the three largest temples in the area surrounding Corinth were to the gods Aphrodite, Apollo and Poseidon, I will give details for these in particular as examples.
     Poseidon was appealed to for obvious reasons. He supposedly had the power to tame the seas of the Mediterranean, but could also destroy humanity by stirring them up if they angered him:

     Poseidon was god of the sea... He possessed the power of causing at will, mighty and destructive tempests, in which the billows could rise mountains high, the winds become a hurricane, land and sea become enveloped in thick mists, and destruction assail the unfortunate mariners exposed to their fury. On the other hand, his alone was the power of stilling the angry waves, of soothing the troubled waters, and granting safe voyages to mariners. For this reason, Poseidon was always invoked and propitiated by a libation before a voyage was undertaken, and sacrifices and thanksgivings were gratefully offered to him after a safe and prosperous journey by sea. (Poseidon, Ancient Greece.org)

     Aphrodite could supposedly grant beauty to women, the power to win over someone's hand in marriage, and even provide things like sexual fulfillment, hence the use of the term, "aphrodisiacs" to this day. As one source put it, sensual and romantic fulfillment was her "business," if you will. Below is a recreation of the temple as it might have looked back then, based on what remains of the ancient ruins:

     The essence of Aphrodite's power was her ability to provoke desire. Sexual allure was long an intrinsic aspect of Aphrodite, and erotic pleasures were referred to as ta Aphrodisia, "the business of Aphrodite." (Aphrodite, Getty Education, Art, and Exhibits)

                       

     Apollo in turn was the god of prophecy. His cult grew out of the city of Delphi, which became the most famous and frequently visited oracle in the ancient world. The prophecies given there were said to be inspired by Apollo himself and delivered by a local woman he used as his vessel. His priests interpreted these utterances and translated them for the people. Thus, in practical terms, Apollo had the ability to tell you if you would have good fortune in earthly affairs or not, and also the ability to grant the gift of prophecy to anyone whom he chose:

     Apollo gave some mortals the gift of prophecy or the ability to see the future. As Apollo was capable of seeing the future, he would grant this to some mortals, although often this ''gift'' came with severe consequences, typical of Greek mythology and tragedy. (What Gift Did Apollo Give To Some Mortals, Homework Study.com).

                         

     The way a person identified as a worshipper of one of these gods was to partake of their sacrifices. Unlike in modern society, meat was primarily served only in the temples, so for those who loved to eat meat, partaking of the sacrifices was virtually unavoidable. And each god had his or her own specific offerings they preferred. Doves were sacrificed to Aphrodite, bulls to Poseidon, piglets to Demeter, cows to Athena, ewe-lambs to Hera, and so on. But these gods rarely manifested themselves to the people in visible form for reasons I will get into later, and because they could not be seen by mortal eyes, statues of metal and stone were built to represent them, and placed within the inner sanctums of their respective temples and shrines.
     Even the Greeks fully understood that these idols were nothing but representations of the gods, but as Paul would point out to the Corinthians, for a Christian to use this "knowledge" as an excuse to partake of their sacrifices was to make a gross error in judgment, and walk very irresponsibly towards their own brethren in Christ:

     Regarding meat sacrificed to idols, we know, for we all have knowledge. Yet knowledge [only] egotistically inflates, but love edifies. If anyone presumes to know anything, he has known nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. Concerning the eating of meats sacrificed to idols, then, we know that an idol is actually nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are those called "gods," whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many "gods" and many "lords"), to us there is one God, the Father, the Source of all things, and we submit to Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom all were created, and we exist through Him. Not all walk in [this] knowledge, however. Some out of custom still eat the meat as something sacrificed to an idol until now, and their conscience being weak is being defiled. (1 Corinthians 8:1-7)

     There were some in Corinth who once worshipped these "gods," and always believed themselves to be engaging in acts of worship whenever they ate their sacrifices. And because meat was such a delicacy in ancient times, seeing another brother reclining in a pagan temple to eat it was such a temptation that it pushed some over the edge into thinking, "Maybe it's ok." Thus, they too began entering the temples and eating the sacrifices as well, only to afterwards become stricken in conscience for having let the flesh get the better of them. Though they had once given themselves to the True and Living God (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10), they had now in effect returned to worshipping the old gods, and in the process rejected the True God of Heaven and Earth.
     This is why Paul now warned that the faith of some was being destroyed by it, for they were being "scandalized" in conscience, and worked over by the Devil for having committed what they feared might now be an unforgivable sin. So Paul was now scolding those who had been influencing them irresponsibly, for while it was true that Old Testament sacrifices like the Passover were no longer relevant to God's people, sending someone to Hell by indirectly tempting them to eat pagan sacrifices, as if these too were now also irrelevant, could result in them having blood on their hands in eternity:   

     Meat will not commend us to God, for we do not fall short if we do not eat, neither do we excel if we do eat. But beware lest this right of yours becomes a stumbling block to the weak. If anyone sees you who have knowledge reclining in an idol temple, will not his conscience, being weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? And by your knowledge the brother whom Christ died for is being destroyed, being weak. But by sinning against the brethren in this way, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if meat scandalizes my brother, I will not eat meat till the end of the age, that I not scandalize my brother. (1 Corinthians 8:8-13)

     As will be shown, what made matters worse was that it was being demonstrated by the early church that the "gods" the Greeks worshipped were actually demons, and nothing like the beautiful and handsome beings the great artisans of the ancient world were making them out to be.

                                                                   


The Hideousness Of The "Gods"

     It had been long understood by the Jews that the "gods" operating behind the idols whom the Gentiles worshipped were actually demons. As the Psalmist wrote even back during Old Testament times, when the Israelites served the gods of Canaan, they were actually just serving demonic spirits:

     They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods... They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them, but mingled with the nations and adopted their customs... They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. (Psalm 106:28, 34–38)

     Paul will reiterate this point to the Corinthians, telling them, "the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I would not that you should have fellowship with demons." (1 Corinthians 10:20). But if the legends are true, the early church was doing more than simply preaching this. When God sent the apostles out to evangelize the known world, some eventually proved it out to the nations by exposing these demons for all to see.
     Such was the case with Bartholomew, listed as one of the twelve in the Gospels and in Acts (Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14, John 1:45–49, John 21:2, Acts 1:13). Bartholomew is believed to have had extraordinary gifts in the area of casting out demons, and the following is the early church account of what transpired in India just before his death:

     Bartholomew took up his quarters in the temple of Astaruth, and lived there as one of the pilgrims and the poor. In this temple there was an idol called Astaruth, which was supposed to heal the infirm, but rather the more injured all... But it came to pass that while Bartholomew stayed there, Astaruth gave no response and was not able to do curing. And when the temple was full of sick people, who were sacrificing to him daily, Astaruth could give no response, and sick persons who had come from far countries were lying there. When therefore not even one of the idols was able to give a response in that temple, and was of no benefit to those that sacrificed to them nor to those who were in the agonies of death, they were compelled to go to another city where there was a temple of idols, where their great and most eminent god was called Becher. And having there sacrificed, they demanded, asking why their god Astaruth had not responded to them. And the demon Becher answered and said unto them, "From the day and hour that the true God, who dwells in the heavens, sent His apostle Bartholomew into the regions here, your god Astaruth is held fast by chains of fire, and can no longer speak nor breathe."

     Bartholomew also healed the demon-possessed in this region, and when word of it eventually got back to the king, he called for Bartholomew because he also had a daughter who was demon-possessed and cutting herself, and thus in severe need of deliverance.

     And Polymius, the king of that country... had a daughter who was a demoniac, that is to say, a lunatic. And he heard about the demoniac that had been healed and sent messengers to the apostle, saying, "My daughter is grievously torn. Therefore I implore you, as you have delivered the man who suffered for many years, so also order my daughter to be set free." And the apostle rose up and went with them. And he saw the king's daughter bound with chains, for she used to tear all her limbs in pieces, and if anyone came near her she used to bite, so no one dared to come near her. The servants said unto him, "Who is it that dares to touch her?" The apostle answered them, saying, "Loose her, and let her go." But they say to him again, "We have her in our power when she is bound with all our force, and you bid us to loose her?" Yet the apostle said unto them, "Behold, I keep her enemy bound, and are you even now afraid of her? Go and loose her, and when she has partaken of food, let her rest. Early tomorrow bring her to me." And they went and did as the apostle had commanded, and thereafter the demon was not able to come near her.

     Because his daughter had been miraculously healed through the power of God, the king thereafter sought out Bartholomew to reward him with silver and gold, but could not find him. When Bartholomew finally appeared, he told the king that he had no interest in earthly things, but wanted him to hear the gospel. Upon sharing it, he informed the king that God would confirm it to him by ridding his city of the demon that had been controlling his people, telling him:   

     "The demon sitting in your temple, who makes responses to you, is kept in chains through the angel of the Lord who has sent me. If you shall be baptized, and wish yourself to be enlightened, I will make you behold Him, and learn from how great evils you have been redeemed. At the same time hear also by what means he injures all those who are lying sick in the temple. The demon himself by his own art causes the men to be sick and then again to be healed, in order that they may the more believe in the idols, and in order that he may have place the more in their souls, in order that they may say to the stock and the stone, "You are our God." But that demon who dwells in the idol is held in subjection, conquered by me, and is able to give no response to those who sacrifice and pray there. And if you wish me to prove it is so, I will order him to return into the idol, and make him confess with his own mouth that he is bound, and able to give no response."
     The king said to him, "Tomorrow, at the first hour of the day, the priests are ready to sacrifice in the temple, and I shall come there, and be able to see this wonderful work."
     And it came to pass on the following day, as they were sacrificing, the demon began to cry out, "Refrain you wretched souls from sacrificing to me, lest you suffer worse for my sake, because I am bound in fiery chains and kept in subjection by an angel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whom the Jews crucified... I implore you, therefore, supplicate Him on my account, that He may set me free to go into other habitations"...
     Then the king gave orders, and all the people brought ropes and crowbars, but were not at all able to take down the idol. Then the apostle said to them, "Unfasten the ropes." And when they had unfastened them, he said to the demon dwelling in it, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, come out of this idol, and go into a desert place, where neither winged creature utters a cry, nor voice of man has ever been heard." And straightway he arose at the word of the apostle, and lifted up the temple from its foundations, and in that same hour all the idols that were in that place were broken to pieces...
     And suddenly there appeared an angel of the Lord, shining brighter than the sun... and said, "Thus says the Lord who has sent me, 'As you have all been purified from all your infirmity, so also shall this temple be purified from all uncleanness, and from the demons dwelling in it, whom the apostle of God has ordered to go into a desert place,' for so has God commanded me, that I may manifest Him to you. And when you behold Him, fear nothing..." Then he showed them the demon who dwelt in the temple, who was black as soot like an Ethiopian. His face was sharp like a dog's face, thin-cheeked, with hair down to his feet, eyes like fire, and flames coming out of his mouth. And out of his nostrils came forth smoke like sulphur, with wings that were spiked like a porcupine, and his hands were bound with fiery chains and he was firmly kept in. And the angel of the Lord said to him, "As also the apostle has commanded, I release you. Go where no voice of man is heard, and remain there until the Great Day of Judgment."
     And when he let him go, he flew away, groaning and weeping, and disappeared. And the angel of the Lord went up into Heaven in the sight of all. (The Martyrdom of Bartholomew, New Advent.com)

     Though some might doubt the veracity of this account, it matches well with a similar account given in modern times by Rebecca Brown, whom the Lord used to deliver a former Bride of Satan out of the Brotherhood back in the seventies. This woman related that while she was still a High Priestess, she was ordered to participate in a ceremony where she was to invite a demonic spirit to enter her body, and how this demon at first appeared to be one thing on the surface, but manifested as something far different when the mask was finally taken off.

     The next major demon I summoned was Mann-Chan... I drew on the floor with chalk a very large pentagram, then drew a circle around it. Carefully I placed a back candle in each corner of the pentagram, and then a much larger candle in the center. All six were lit. A table with a hot plate on it was set up close to the side of the pentagram. The contents of a kettle had been prepared earlier by the high priest. It was filled with desecrated holy water, that is holy water from the Catholic Church which the high priest then urinated into. He had also taken a dog and killed it and drained its blood into a special jar...
     I sat on the floor staring into the black candle in the center of the pentagram, murmuring, "Oh great Satan the power and builder and creator of the universe, I beg thee, give me a demon to be the guide and light of my life - to give me all wisdom and knowledge. My beloved, Oh master, grant to me my tosh!" At that point the high priest spoke the name Mann-Chan to me.
     I then said, "Mann-Chan come, you are welcome into my body. I bid thee arise from your hiding place"... there was a woos and a huge flame. The candle disappeared in blinding white light. As the flame died down over the next few seconds, I could see the figure of what appeared to be a handsome young man He had coal black hair and piercing black eyes that radiated intelligence. I hurried to my knees beside the pentagram. With a rag, I wiped away the chalk to form a clear path through the pentagram.
     The young man, who was actually the demon Mann-Chan in a physical form, stepped through to the outside of the pentagram on the pathway I had made. He spoke to me in perfect English in a gentle manner and with what seemed to be great love. He told me that I was to be inhabited by him and he promised that no harm would come to me... I agreed, very much awed by his beautiful countenance. He then walked straight into me. But in the instant before he entered, he changed from the human form to the demon he really was. HIDEOUS!
     He was naked, and his face had changed from beauty to hideous cruelty. The beautiful coal black locks of hair had become dull brown, and were course and sparse and stubby like pig bristles. His eyes were incredibly dark and evil, his mouth open to show long sharp dirty yellow fangs. He had very long arms, and his hands had stubby fingers tipped with long sharply-pointed nails. He uttered a horrible hideous loud laugh of triumph as he stepped directly into my body. (Brown, He Came To Set The Captives Free, P.44-46)


Eating And Drinking Judgment, And For What?

     All things considered, instead of binding these "gods" and exposing them before all as demonic spirits bent on deceiving humanity, members of the church in Corinth were reclining in their temples and partaking of their sacrifices, and for what? A belly of meat? And what made matters even worse was that by doing this they were essentially making the God of Heaven out to be just another "god" in the eyes of onlookers. They were eating doves at the temple of Aphrodite one day, bulls at the temple to Poseidon the next, and then taking communion with the church of the Living God the following week. What exactly was this saying to those who were watching? It said that Jesus Christ was essentially just another god, and you could partake of His body and blood just as you could the meats sacrificed to Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Demeter, and any other of the Greek "gods" in Corinth.
     This explains why Paul warned them that they were eating and drinking judgment upon themselves when they were taking communion in sin. They were making themselves liable to the church of the Lord, yet "not discerning the body of Christ." Paul said this was causing many among them to become sick, and some were even dying because of it.
     As will be shown in a later study, part of the reason for it is because they were also inciting divisions within the church, but as Paul had already warned, influencing others to eat meats sacrificed to demons was "destroying" the faith of some, and this could bring destruction from God in return:

     Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells within you? If anyone brings the temple of God to corruption (i.e. destroys it), God will bring him to corruption, for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. (1 Corinthians 3:12-17)

     By partaking of demon sacrifices and the Lord's supper, some were in effect eating and drinking judgment upon themselves, not realizing the price they could pay for taking both to be mere superficialities. Their actions were revealing an utter ignorance of the situation, and just how far off their thinking actually was. And as Paul would eventually warn them in the letter, they needed to take better account of their actions before daring to partake of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were communicating by this act that they were part of the body of Christ on earth, and as such would be held accountable for it:

     Let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For the one who eats and drinks, not discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment unto himself. Because of this, many among you are weak and sick, and many have fallen asleep. But if we would discern ourselves we would not be judged. But being judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:28-32)

     Again, the problem in Corinth essentially went back to the fact that some in the congregation were attempting to develop a "theology" that made room for their pagan culture, and made excuses for indulging in the pleasures of the flesh rather than bringing the body under submission, in particular through fasting. It is why Paul already warned them twice in this letter that idolaters would not be inheriting the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 5:11, 6:9), and why he would soon be reminding them again in no uncertain terms that they must "flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1).



Links to sources:
https://www.corinth-museum.gr/en/museum/glancing-in-the-city-state-of-corinth/venerating-gods-and-heroes/
https://ancient-greece.org/culture/mythology/poseidon.html
https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/aphrodite/goddess.html
https://homework.study.com/explanation/what-gift-did-apollo-give-to-some-mortals.html
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0825.htm