Have You Ever Wondered What the Bible Says About Medication? - Bible Teaching #1
Have you ever wondered what the Bible says about medication? Well, here you go.
Before we begin, pray for clarity and discernment and grab your Bible! For this article we are using a Thomas Nelson NKJV Reference Bible, The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition, as well as, The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament. May the Spirit of Truth guide you into the Truth.
Every English translation that I have read misses this, I have only found it in the oldest language of the New Testament Letters, the Greek Manuscripts. This has been found through an interlinear Hebrew/Greek/English Bible published by Hendrickson Publishers printed February 2021 and The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition, which is necessary to translate from Greek and/or Hebrew to English. The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament helps with finding everywhere the same Greek word is located throughout the manuscripts. The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition also has very helpful notes about the history and usage of the words in the original languages.
According to The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament, in Galatians 5:20, Revelation 9:21 and Revelation 18:23 there is a word commonly translated as "witchcraft" or "sorcery". That word is the Greek word "pharmakeia", Strong's G5331. Pharmakeia in The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition translates to "medication". Pharmakeia is where we get the word "pharmacy" from. The use of medication is condemned with such strong words in Galatians 5:19-21, that it literally says "...those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Along with things such as murder, adultery, wild parties, etc... It is even prophesied in Revelation 18:23, that in the end times the world's important people would lead all nations astray with it. Do you see a vast majority of the people around you, or even yourself, in recent times using medication? Whether herbal, prescribed or over-the-counter, medication is practically running the world; being distributed by "the great men of the earth" as prophesied in Revelation 18:23.
How is herbal medication grouped in with prescribed and/or over the counter medication? I mean it was given by God right? At least that is what they claim.
Well, we have to read carefully Genesis 1:29. He gave us herbs for what? Food. Same as every living thing that moves, Genesis 9:3. Not for medication but for what? Food! The only 2 times herbal medication is mentioned in the Bible are in Ezekiel 47:8 and Revelation 22:2. In Ezekiel 47:8, the leaves used for medicine are from trees that are along side the river flowing from the sanctuary. It is unclear when this sanctuary will exist or if it has already existed. This only warrants those specific trees along the river flowing from the sanctuary, nothing more. When that will exist or if it already has existed, is unclear, but I can guarantee that your herbal medication did not come from those trees along the river flowing from the sanctuary, mentioned in Ezekiel 47:8. The only other time is in, Revelation 22:2, talking about the "Holy Jerusalem" as mentioned in its context in Revelation 21:10. Which occurs after the wrath of God, the 1000 years of Satan being bound and the righteous judgment of God in Revelation chapters 16-20. A new city where "there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it...", Revelation 22:3. So, obviously when it says, "The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations", in Revelation 22:2, that is a future time, not our current situation. And again, even if it was in the same time as us; this only permits, "...the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits...", Revelation 22:2. "...on either side of the river...", Revelation 22:2. That river was "...a pure river water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.", Revelation 22:1. Does your herbal medication come from the "...tree of life, which bore 12 fruits..."? Which grew from the "...pure river of water, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb."? Of course not! Oh foolish person, do you not know what makes those trees special? They grow from water flowing directly from the presence of the Lord Himself. Does your herbal medication come from the same? By no means! Thus again herbal medication is not Biblically justifiable.
But what about the supposable "good" medication does? Well, we have clear instructions when in pain or sick.
In the Old Testament, the Jews were told to go to the Levitical Priesthood for leprosy on a person, leprous mold or mildew in a building and leprous mold or mildew on your clothes in Leviticus chapters 13-14. You had to go to the same place for bodily discharges. In Leviticus 15:3 Discharges are explained, "...whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness." Running to physicians for healing illnesses is condemned in 2 Chronicles 16:12-13. The Lord even makes a sarcastic comment about physicians and Israel's health in Jeremiah 8:22. Obviously physicians existed in apostate Israel, but they were mocked by the prophets and condemned by God. You can see where this is going I am sure, the Lord prescribed a certain way to deal with illness, not medication (prescribed or not) or the physicians who prescribe them.
In the New Testament we have James 5:13-15. Notice the prescription is prayer, "is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.", "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." As you can see our prescription is prayer, not medication. In case someone wants to argue that what James said is just for sickness from sin, notice it says in verse 15, "... And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." So it is not just for sickness from sin, if it was then there would be no "if"; instead it would say, "And the sins he committed will be forgiven" or something to that effect.
Not one time in the whole collection of the 66 books of the Bible does the Lord prescribe medication. The closest things we have are Paul telling Timothy to drink a little wine and not only water for "...your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities.", in 1 Timothy 5:23. This one took a while to make sense, but thanks be to God that a certain someone mentioned that "they did not have purified water or refrigeration", and it clicked! Wine is alcohol, which can be used to clean or purify, it kills bacteria. It was not used to treat sickness but to clean or purify the water he was drinking. Notice he said "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine...", thus suggesting a combination of the water and wine in a purifying fashion. Similar to why Jesus mentions the use of wine when bandaging wounds in, Luke 10:30-37. The only other place in the Bible that I found something that seemed like medication was in 2 Kings 20:1-11, which links with Isaiah chapter 38. Notice, before the poultice was ever suggested, the Lord heard the prayer of Hezekiah and promised healing, He added 15 years to his life, in 2 Kings 20:5-6 and Isaiah 38:5. So, what does that mean? Well, the fig poultice was not the medication, it was the power of the Lord behind it that healed Hezekiah's illness. The healing treatment did not come from the fig poultice, but through the promise from the Lord who heard Hezekiah's cries. Kind of like when the prophet Elisha purified a pot of stew that had deadly peppers in it by sprinkling flour in the stew, in 2 Kings 4:38-41. Anyone who has any idea about flour knows that a sprinkle of flour itself won't purify poisons in a pot of stew, it was the power of the Lord behind it. Same thing with the prophet Elijah when he told Naaman the Syrian to wash in the Jordan river 7 times to heal his leprosy, in 2 Kings 5:1-19. Was it the washing in the Jordan river that healed him? By no means! It was the power of the Lord behind the action. How about when Jesus spat in the mud and rubbed the mud in a blind mans eyes, in John 9:6-7? Was it the mud that gave him his eyesight? Absolutely not! But the power of the Lord behind it. What about the anointing of oil in the name of the Lord, as mentioned in James 5:14? Is it the oil that heals us? No, but it is God answering the prayer! Same thing that made the leaves of the trees powerful, that are used for healing in Revelation 22 and Ezekiel 47, (as mentioned earlier in this article), the power of the Lord made them special. Be careful when ascribing healing power to creation instead of the Creator, you may just end up like the people mentioned in Romans 1:18-25.
If medication was not prescribed by God then by definition it is "wisdom of this world". Lets take a look at what God says about the "wisdom of this world": "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written 'He catches the wise in their own craftiness'; and again, 'The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.'", 1 Corinthians 3:18-20. So, now you can clearly see, the use of medication is even considered foolishness in God's eyes.
So now that we see that medication is a condemned practice in the Bible, what about those who suggest it or promote it's use, like modern physicians or pharmacists?
Well, we have a similar couple Greek words, "pharmakeus" Strong's G5332 and "pharmakos" Strong's G5333. According to The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition they both mean the same thing, "a poisoner, sorcerer, magician" also "a druggist ("pharmacist")". The Bible has some strong words about them as well. In Revelation 21:8, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers (pharmakeus), idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the 2nd death." and Revelation 22:15, "But outside are the dogs and sorcerers (pharmakos) and sexually immoral and whoever loves and practices a lie." As you can see those who condone or promote the use of medication will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
But Luke was a physician, so how are physicians condemned?
Obviously not all physician practices are condemned, like bandaging a wound and cleaning it with wine, putting olive oil on the bandage so it does not stick. Jesus himself makes mention of that in a positive way in Luke 10:33-37. So those types of practices are what I picture Luke doing, obviously not what our modern physicians do, prescribing a medication for everything. Since that is so harshly condemned in the various places shown in this article.
Someone may say, (As I have myself have heard more than once before), "That is only mind altering medication, not all medication." Well, that is not true. in Galatians 5:20-21, the Greek word "methe" is listed, usually translated to ("drunkenness" or "drunkennesses") separate from pharmakeia ("sorcery" or "witchcraft"). Methe, Strong's G3178, literally means "an intoxicant" according to The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition. The word is separate from alcoholic intoxication, "methuo" G3184 which stems from methe G3178. Therefore methe includes all forms of intoxication, not just alcoholic; methe is the umbrella term, methuo is a sub category. So now why would pharmakeia (medication) and methe (intoxication) be listed and condemned within the same 3 verses (Galatians 5:19-21), unless they are 2 different sins? Thus it is obvious that, pharmakeia (medication) and methe (intoxication) are different, but neither one will enter the kingdom of God.
Another eye opener, we now are looking into the symbols associated with pharmacy.
The Bowl of Hygieia and the Rod of Asclepius. The bowl of Hygieia is a snake twisted around the stem of a cup or a chalice. The Rod of Asclepius is a snake twisted around his rod. Talking about hidden in plain sight! Satan the serpent has made his mark, his stamp all over the medical industry. From paramedics to pharmacists to physicians, all of it has the Serpent. The symbols are both derived from Greek Mythology, Asclepius and his goddess daughter Hygieia. As Scripture says, we shall have nothing to do with other gods, for Jesus Himself says "...'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone you shall serve.'" How much more evidence do we need? As it says in 2 Corinthians 4:4, "Whose minds the god of this age has blinded..."
So there you have it, do not run to your medications, drop them and run far from them. Run to doctor Jesus, through fervent prayer and cries made to him with other members of the Body of Christ, as instructed in James 5:13-15.
May the God of peace be with you and illuminate the truth for you as He has me.
God bless and Godspeed,
Michael, a humble servant of Christ
I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts and am willing to discuss any of these topics and more, in great detail. If you would like.
Email:
Michael.servantofchrist@gmail.com
Have you ever wondered what the Bible says about medication? Well, here you go.
Before we begin, pray for clarity and discernment and grab your Bible! For this article we are using a Thomas Nelson NKJV Reference Bible, The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition, as well as, The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament. May the Spirit of Truth guide you into the Truth.
Every English translation that I have read misses this, I have only found it in the oldest language of the New Testament Letters, the Greek Manuscripts. This has been found through an interlinear Hebrew/Greek/English Bible published by Hendrickson Publishers printed February 2021 and The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition, which is necessary to translate from Greek and/or Hebrew to English. The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament helps with finding everywhere the same Greek word is located throughout the manuscripts. The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition also has very helpful notes about the history and usage of the words in the original languages.
According to The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the New Testament, in Galatians 5:20, Revelation 9:21 and Revelation 18:23 there is a word commonly translated as "witchcraft" or "sorcery". That word is the Greek word "pharmakeia", Strong's G5331. Pharmakeia in The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition translates to "medication". Pharmakeia is where we get the word "pharmacy" from. The use of medication is condemned with such strong words in Galatians 5:19-21, that it literally says "...those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Along with things such as murder, adultery, wild parties, etc... It is even prophesied in Revelation 18:23, that in the end times the world's important people would lead all nations astray with it. Do you see a vast majority of the people around you, or even yourself, in recent times using medication? Whether herbal, prescribed or over-the-counter, medication is practically running the world; being distributed by "the great men of the earth" as prophesied in Revelation 18:23.
How is herbal medication grouped in with prescribed and/or over the counter medication? I mean it was given by God right? At least that is what they claim.
Well, we have to read carefully Genesis 1:29. He gave us herbs for what? Food. Same as every living thing that moves, Genesis 9:3. Not for medication but for what? Food! The only 2 times herbal medication is mentioned in the Bible are in Ezekiel 47:8 and Revelation 22:2. In Ezekiel 47:8, the leaves used for medicine are from trees that are along side the river flowing from the sanctuary. It is unclear when this sanctuary will exist or if it has already existed. This only warrants those specific trees along the river flowing from the sanctuary, nothing more. When that will exist or if it already has existed, is unclear, but I can guarantee that your herbal medication did not come from those trees along the river flowing from the sanctuary, mentioned in Ezekiel 47:8. The only other time is in, Revelation 22:2, talking about the "Holy Jerusalem" as mentioned in its context in Revelation 21:10. Which occurs after the wrath of God, the 1000 years of Satan being bound and the righteous judgment of God in Revelation chapters 16-20. A new city where "there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it...", Revelation 22:3. So, obviously when it says, "The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations", in Revelation 22:2, that is a future time, not our current situation. And again, even if it was in the same time as us; this only permits, "...the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits...", Revelation 22:2. "...on either side of the river...", Revelation 22:2. That river was "...a pure river water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.", Revelation 22:1. Does your herbal medication come from the "...tree of life, which bore 12 fruits..."? Which grew from the "...pure river of water, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb."? Of course not! Oh foolish person, do you not know what makes those trees special? They grow from water flowing directly from the presence of the Lord Himself. Does your herbal medication come from the same? By no means! Thus again herbal medication is not Biblically justifiable.
But what about the supposable "good" medication does? Well, we have clear instructions when in pain or sick.
In the Old Testament, the Jews were told to go to the Levitical Priesthood for leprosy on a person, leprous mold or mildew in a building and leprous mold or mildew on your clothes in Leviticus chapters 13-14. You had to go to the same place for bodily discharges. In Leviticus 15:3 Discharges are explained, "...whether his body runs with his discharge, or his body is stopped up by his discharge, it is his uncleanness." Running to physicians for healing illnesses is condemned in 2 Chronicles 16:12-13. The Lord even makes a sarcastic comment about physicians and Israel's health in Jeremiah 8:22. Obviously physicians existed in apostate Israel, but they were mocked by the prophets and condemned by God. You can see where this is going I am sure, the Lord prescribed a certain way to deal with illness, not medication (prescribed or not) or the physicians who prescribe them.
In the New Testament we have James 5:13-15. Notice the prescription is prayer, "is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.", "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." As you can see our prescription is prayer, not medication. In case someone wants to argue that what James said is just for sickness from sin, notice it says in verse 15, "... And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." So it is not just for sickness from sin, if it was then there would be no "if"; instead it would say, "And the sins he committed will be forgiven" or something to that effect.
Not one time in the whole collection of the 66 books of the Bible does the Lord prescribe medication. The closest things we have are Paul telling Timothy to drink a little wine and not only water for "...your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities.", in 1 Timothy 5:23. This one took a while to make sense, but thanks be to God that a certain someone mentioned that "they did not have purified water or refrigeration", and it clicked! Wine is alcohol, which can be used to clean or purify, it kills bacteria. It was not used to treat sickness but to clean or purify the water he was drinking. Notice he said "No longer drink only water, but use a little wine...", thus suggesting a combination of the water and wine in a purifying fashion. Similar to why Jesus mentions the use of wine when bandaging wounds in, Luke 10:30-37. The only other place in the Bible that I found something that seemed like medication was in 2 Kings 20:1-11, which links with Isaiah chapter 38. Notice, before the poultice was ever suggested, the Lord heard the prayer of Hezekiah and promised healing, He added 15 years to his life, in 2 Kings 20:5-6 and Isaiah 38:5. So, what does that mean? Well, the fig poultice was not the medication, it was the power of the Lord behind it that healed Hezekiah's illness. The healing treatment did not come from the fig poultice, but through the promise from the Lord who heard Hezekiah's cries. Kind of like when the prophet Elisha purified a pot of stew that had deadly peppers in it by sprinkling flour in the stew, in 2 Kings 4:38-41. Anyone who has any idea about flour knows that a sprinkle of flour itself won't purify poisons in a pot of stew, it was the power of the Lord behind it. Same thing with the prophet Elijah when he told Naaman the Syrian to wash in the Jordan river 7 times to heal his leprosy, in 2 Kings 5:1-19. Was it the washing in the Jordan river that healed him? By no means! It was the power of the Lord behind the action. How about when Jesus spat in the mud and rubbed the mud in a blind mans eyes, in John 9:6-7? Was it the mud that gave him his eyesight? Absolutely not! But the power of the Lord behind it. What about the anointing of oil in the name of the Lord, as mentioned in James 5:14? Is it the oil that heals us? No, but it is God answering the prayer! Same thing that made the leaves of the trees powerful, that are used for healing in Revelation 22 and Ezekiel 47, (as mentioned earlier in this article), the power of the Lord made them special. Be careful when ascribing healing power to creation instead of the Creator, you may just end up like the people mentioned in Romans 1:18-25.
If medication was not prescribed by God then by definition it is "wisdom of this world". Lets take a look at what God says about the "wisdom of this world": "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written 'He catches the wise in their own craftiness'; and again, 'The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.'", 1 Corinthians 3:18-20. So, now you can clearly see, the use of medication is even considered foolishness in God's eyes.
So now that we see that medication is a condemned practice in the Bible, what about those who suggest it or promote it's use, like modern physicians or pharmacists?
Well, we have a similar couple Greek words, "pharmakeus" Strong's G5332 and "pharmakos" Strong's G5333. According to The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition they both mean the same thing, "a poisoner, sorcerer, magician" also "a druggist ("pharmacist")". The Bible has some strong words about them as well. In Revelation 21:8, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers (pharmakeus), idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the 2nd death." and Revelation 22:15, "But outside are the dogs and sorcerers (pharmakos) and sexually immoral and whoever loves and practices a lie." As you can see those who condone or promote the use of medication will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
But Luke was a physician, so how are physicians condemned?
Obviously not all physician practices are condemned, like bandaging a wound and cleaning it with wine, putting olive oil on the bandage so it does not stick. Jesus himself makes mention of that in a positive way in Luke 10:33-37. So those types of practices are what I picture Luke doing, obviously not what our modern physicians do, prescribing a medication for everything. Since that is so harshly condemned in the various places shown in this article.
Someone may say, (As I have myself have heard more than once before), "That is only mind altering medication, not all medication." Well, that is not true. in Galatians 5:20-21, the Greek word "methe" is listed, usually translated to ("drunkenness" or "drunkennesses") separate from pharmakeia ("sorcery" or "witchcraft"). Methe, Strong's G3178, literally means "an intoxicant" according to The New Strong's Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Red Letter Edition. The word is separate from alcoholic intoxication, "methuo" G3184 which stems from methe G3178. Therefore methe includes all forms of intoxication, not just alcoholic; methe is the umbrella term, methuo is a sub category. So now why would pharmakeia (medication) and methe (intoxication) be listed and condemned within the same 3 verses (Galatians 5:19-21), unless they are 2 different sins? Thus it is obvious that, pharmakeia (medication) and methe (intoxication) are different, but neither one will enter the kingdom of God.
Another eye opener, we now are looking into the symbols associated with pharmacy.
The Bowl of Hygieia and the Rod of Asclepius. The bowl of Hygieia is a snake twisted around the stem of a cup or a chalice. The Rod of Asclepius is a snake twisted around his rod. Talking about hidden in plain sight! Satan the serpent has made his mark, his stamp all over the medical industry. From paramedics to pharmacists to physicians, all of it has the Serpent. The symbols are both derived from Greek Mythology, Asclepius and his goddess daughter Hygieia. As Scripture says, we shall have nothing to do with other gods, for Jesus Himself says "...'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone you shall serve.'" How much more evidence do we need? As it says in 2 Corinthians 4:4, "Whose minds the god of this age has blinded..."
So there you have it, do not run to your medications, drop them and run far from them. Run to doctor Jesus, through fervent prayer and cries made to him with other members of the Body of Christ, as instructed in James 5:13-15.
May the God of peace be with you and illuminate the truth for you as He has me.
God bless and Godspeed,
Michael, a humble servant of Christ
I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts and am willing to discuss any of these topics and more, in great detail. If you would like.
Email:
Michael.servantofchrist@gmail.com
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