Study of Our High Priest : Lesson #3

The Counterfeit High Priest

In our previous lesson we saw in detail how the Lord Jesus Christ replaced the Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament and how that we no longer need an earthly priest.  In this lesson we are going to look at how the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ is counterfeited in other religions and show how Satan is behind it.

Priest from the Beginning :

In the previous lesson we saw that the first priest mentioned in the bible in connection with God was Melchizedek. This priesthood is the one that Jesus Christ is connected with so we know that it was of God. We also saw that when God gave the Law he instituted a priesthood under Aaron and this is the one that the Lord Jesus Christ replaced when he became our high priest.  Therefore in the word of God we see only two lines of priest that God is connected with Melchizedek and Aaron.

You may be wondering what about the other priest mentioned in the bible? It is true that if you study the word of God you will find that the other religions had their priest also. We will give a list of some of these as follows:

1) Priest of On (Genesis 41:45)                      2) Priest of Midian (Ex 2:16)

3) Priest of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:5)                 4) Priest of Baal (2 Kings 10:19)

So we see that from the very beginning false religions have also had their priest. This makes sense because we know that Satan is the one behind all false religions. This is why they are so similar to one another. We also know that Satan is the greatest imitator of the Lord Jesus Christ and everything thing he does. Therefore it stands to reason that he would get these false religions to use priest because the true religion of God has a priest.

Those who perverted the Old Testament Priesthood :

In Numbers chapter 16 we see a group of people who try to take over the Levitcal priest hood under Aaron. Some of these were Levites but some of them were sons of Reuben (verse 1). Now to make a long story short God was not at all pleased with this. In verses 31-33 we see that the ground opened up and swallowed them up and they went down alive into the pit. From this it should be obvious that God is very serious about who he ordains as his priest and he does not like it when other try to take this authority upon themselves.

The next time we see someone pervert the Old Testament Levitical priesthood is in Judges 17 and 18. In Judges 17 we see a man named Micah who is connected with idols and false gods start his own priesthood. Now it is interesting to note that the name Micah means “one who is like Jehovah”. This is exactly what Satan said he would be when he fell through pride in Isaiah 14:14. Therefore we have someone trying to counterfeit the priesthood with idols and false gods and he has a connection to Satan.

Some things to note in Judges 17 :

• Micah had a graven image and a molten image in his house that came from money dedicated to the Lord (verses 1-4). Note the money came from his mother. Here Micah and his mother break the first and second commandments.
• Micah had a house of gods and he made an ephod (garment that the high priest wore Exodus 28:6-14) and a teraphim and he made one of his sons his priest.
• Next he finds a man who is a Levite and he pays him to become a priest in the house of his gods (verses 7-11).
• He calls this priest “father” give him clothes to wear and food to eat, he also pays him ten shekels of silver a year wages (verse 10).
• Then he thinks that God is going to bless him just because this man is a Levite (verse 13).

Does this sound familiar a priest who is a priest in a house of gods who has his food and clothing provided and is called father? Remember that Jesus said in Matthew 23:9 call no man your father upon the earth. So it is clear to see that God is plainly not connected with this priesthood in Judges 17.

In Judges 18 we see that the tribe of Dan comes along and steals Micah’s gods and his priest and the priest becomes a priest for the tribe of Dan in Laish while the real house of God was in Shiloh.

Not only is the false priesthood here connected with Micah and his idols but it is connected with a tribe that it was prophesied would be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider falls backward (Genesis 49:17). Now it is interesting that tribe of Dan is called a serpent here and in Deuteronomy 33:22 Dan is said to be a lion’s whelp. Satan is called a serpent (Revelation 12:9) and a lion in (1 Peter 5:8).

So when the Levitcal priesthood was perverted in the Old Testament it is plain to see that Satan is behind it counterfeiting the real thing in a non-scriptural way. This is exactly what he does today.

Satan the real Counterfeit :

We have already seen ways in which he counterfeited the Leveitcal priesthood in the Old Testament. Today he is counterfeiting it by trying to bring the Levitical priesthood into the New Testament. But as we have clearly shown Jesus Christ has done away with the need for an earthly priest because he is our High Priest. There is another way in which Satan counterfeits the priesthood and it is very clever.

The high priest was to wear a breast plate with 12 stones, one for each tribe (Exodus 28:17-21). This was connected with the ephod and it was used for getting answers from God in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 2:18&28, 14:3, 23:6&9).

In Ezekiel 28:13 we see that Satan is connected with some of these stones before he fell. Therefore Satan counterfeits the High Priest using divination as in Acts 16:16-20. This is interesting because it shows us who is behind astrology and the Zodiac which drives all the horoscopes and fortune telling today.

It is really so amazing how much Satan is really behind most worldly things and most people don’t even have a clue and you can bet that is the way he wants it.

Study of Our High Priest : Lesson #3 Handout

The Counterfeit High Priest

1)  Give a chain reference for their being priest associated with false Gods in the Bible.

2)  What happened in Numbers 16 to those who were trying to take over the priesthood of Aaron and the Levites?

3)  What was associated with the false priesthood in Judges 17?

4)  What tribe came and stole the priest and the idols?

5)  What is associated with the false priesthood after it was stolen?

6)  Who is behind all of these counterfeits and give an example of how he counterfeits the priesthood?