Dismantling altars through the power of the cross

Lets start with what is an Altar?

An altar is a place of exchange

An altar is a place of fellowship

An altar was a place to offer sacrifice

An altar is a place of memorial or remembrance

An altar was a place to call on a god or deity.

An altar is a place to authorize spiritual activity in the earthly realm

The word "altar" is mentioned approximately 400 times in the Hebrew Bible. Altars in the Bible were used for various offerings such as foodstuffs, incense, wine, fruits, animals, and even human beings. Altars could be made of stone, earth, or metal, with different types of altars associated with different rituals.

Altars played a significant role in ancient Israelite religious practices (The Law of Moses), serving as a means for people to draw near to God's presence.

The New Testament also references altars

According to the New Testament the altar is a symbol of fellowship with the spirit or deity behind the altar

1 Corinthians 10:18–22

Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

According to Jesus the altar represents both the sacrifice on it and the deity whose presence dwells there

Matthew 23:20–21 “Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.”

Paul refers to a pagan altar as “the table of demons” 1 Corinthians 10:21 “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.”

The Greatest altar ever raised was that of The Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary (The Cross)

Hebrews 13:10–15 (LBP)

We have an altar—the cross where Christ was sacrificed—where those who continue to seek salvation by obeying Jewish laws can never be helped. Under the system of Jewish laws, the high priest brought the blood of the slain animals into the sanctuary as a sacrifice for sin, and then the bodies of the animals were burned outside the city. That is why Jesus suffered and died outside the city, where his blood washed our sins away. So let us go out to him beyond the city walls (that is, outside the interests of this world, being willing to be despised) to suffer with him there, bearing his shame. For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven. With Jesus’ help we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of his name.

The Divine exchange(The Life of Jesus for ours)

1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

The Divine Exchange: The Sacrificial Death of Jesus Christ on the Cross (The Divine Exchange)

Jesus received the punishment due to our transgressions and iniquities that we, in turn, might be forgiven and so have peace with God.

Romans 5:1

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

The Exchange that took place at the Cross was the eternal altar of Gods grace for all mankind. It disarms & destroys all other altars that have ever been erected by humans for satan’s kingdom.

Altars are erected by humans to satans kingdom because of

Ignorance

Cultural traditions

Control & dominance over others

Rewards from other spirits

Beliefs & rituals passed down through family generations

This is how the kingdom of darkness keeps individuals, families, lineages, territories & even whole nations under captivity.

This is why the understanding of altars is so important.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross grants us access to a new altar, where we have fellowship with God directly, empowered by divine grace, by The Holy Spirit, with the sprinkling of His blood, through the sacrifice of our praise

At this altar of grace we also sacrifice our bodies to The Lord

Romans 12:1–2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Altars affect family lineages

Lets look at some examples in scripture in regards to altars

The Patriarchs of Israel

Abraham

Isaac

Jacob

All erected righteous altars to The Lord when

God appeared to Abraham & promised his lineage would inherit the land of Canaan

Genesis 12:7 “Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

when Abraham’s son Isaac also builds an altar in the same region of Shechem after God’s promise is confirmed to him for the sake of his father Abraham.

Genesis 26:24 “And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.””

And lastly when Jacob builds an altar in Shechem as his father & grandfather did.

Genesis 33:19–20 “And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.”

El Elohe Israel:This name means “El (or God), the God of Israel.” This name, along with Jacob’s own new name of Israel, marks the land as belonging to him and his descendants, by mandate of God.

Reference by: Faithlife Study Bible

The lineage of the Patriarchs of Israel understood divine encounters and patterns with the One True God. These altars were passed down through the family line confirming Gods promises, blessings, provision and presence to be with them as long as they worshipped at Gods altar.

When Evil altars are erected in families

Examples in scripture

Jeroboam the king erects an altar in the northern kingdom Israel.

Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense. 1 kings 12:32-33

Note: After the kingdom of David & Solomon split, Jeroboam became king of the northern 10 tribes of Israel, located in the north. These tribes struggled back & forth with idolatry and erected altars to foreign gods, until The Lord judged them and uprooted them from the land.

Jeroboams stubborn idolatry eventually affected his family lineage. The Northern Kings of Israel erected altars & shrines to other gods.

For the Lord told him(The Prophet) to shout against the altar in Bethel, and his curse against the shrines in the cities of Samaria shall surely be fulfilled.” Despite the prophet’s warning, Jeroboam did not turn away from his evil ways; instead, he made more priests than ever from the common people, to offer sacrifices to idols in the shrines on the hills. Anyone who wanted to could be a priest. This was a great sin and resulted in the destruction of Jeroboam’s kingdom and the death of all of his family. 1 kings 13:32-34 Living Bible translation

Conclusion: If we understand the scriptural pattern of altars we can break free from the things that have plagued our lives and the lives of our family’s, regions, and nations especially through evil occurrences.

The only way these altars of evil and idolatry can be destroyed is by The blood of Jesus. Once you’ve become a child of God through receiving salvation through the sacrifice of Christ on His altar, which is the Cross, you enter into that fellowship with The One True God and have a greater altar to fight from. This will lead us into our next teaching “altar versus altar”