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Continuing our discussion from part three, one might ask "Why is Paul being so dogmatic regarding women maintaining silence in the Church and learning at home from their husbands? Why does the Lord emphasize the men assuming all of these various leadership roles? Why are women required to take the lower seat to men?" As I briefly mentioned in part one, it really all goes back to the Book of Genesis and the original fall of man.

If we really study what occurred in the Garden of Eden, we discover that the Apostle Paul has NOT created a new doctrine due to some hidden dislike for women. He is NOT a woman-hater as some misguided feminists and others modern liberals accuse him of being. The fact of the matter is that since the Garden of Eden, women being subservient to men is the way that the Lord Himself has ordained human relationships to be due to Eve's guilt in causing the First Pair to fall from grace.

Think about this for a moment. God created Eve from Adam's rib. Some theologians speculate that the reason why the Lord did this, was to remind Adam that Eve was his partner and equal. He created her from a place close to Adam's heart so that Adam would love and cherish her as his own flesh. Now, whether or not this speculation is true, I really don't know. However, what I do know, is that the minute Eve was given an opportunity to make a major decision on her own, she made a very serious mistake.

That mistake not only destroyed the harmonious relationship which the Lord had with His Creation, but it also resulted in the guilt of sin -- which John tells us is the transgression, or breaking, of the Law -- being passed to all men. Let's not forget that it was Eve who sinned first, and then she induced Adam to disobey God as well. As if this was not already bad enough, as I explain in other articles, then they each tried to blame someone else. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve then blamed the serpent. Consider the following group of verses:

"And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."


"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"


"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."


So because Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord's Word, because they broke His Law, they had to be punished. We already know what the major consequence of their disobedience was. So let me draw your attention to Eve's part of the punishment. As you will see, it is directly related to the reason regarding why women are to remain submissive to men, and be silent in the Church as the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:11-14. Please consider the following verse:

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."


In short, we can theorize that perhaps God did create Adam and Eve as equals. I really don't know for certain, because the Bible simply does not say that directly. But regardless, even if that was true at one time, Eve soon lost her right to be an equal to Adam when she caused the pair to fall from grace. The Lord very clearly tells her "he shall rule over thee". The fact that the Lord would even tell her that this is to be a part of her punishment, offers us a possible hint that perhaps -- and I stress perhaps -- it was not that way prior to Eve making her fateful decision.

The Lord basically told Eve, "Look, I gave you everything you could possibly need to keep you happy. All I asked was that you refrain from touching the two trees in the midst of the Garden. I gave you a fair chance to prove yourself, but you failed me. Now I can no longer trust you the same. From now on, Adam is the boss. He has final say in all matters. He makes the decisions."

That is the gist of the matter, and that is why from Genesis all the way to the Book of Revelation, women normally play only supportive roles in the Lord's Church, and are required to submit to their husbands. It is not something that I made up, or that the Apostle Paul invented due to some imaginary hatred for women. It's not for any other reason that the fact that Eve disobeyed the Lord in the Garden of Eden, resulting in the fall of humankind, and so God had to symbolically place a chain on women, lest they do more damage. Period.

Ironically, just as we see the first woman sinning and leading a man astray in the first Book of the Bible, in the very last Book of the Bible -- Revelation, or the Apocalypse -- we also find one of the very last women mentioned -- that is to say, the evil, false prophetess Jezebel -- also sinning and leading the Lord's children astray. Then, of course, we also have the wicked, false bride represented by Babylon the Great. Let me share those verses from part one with you again:

"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works."


As we have now seen, while Paul first mentions the silence rule in his Epistle to the Corinthians, it is not until his letter to Timothy, that we fully understand why he mandated such a rule, when he takes his readers back to Eve and the Garden of Eden. So it becomes obvious that this problem with women speaking out of turn in the Church was a major concern to Paul. In fact, we know with certainty that this problem did in fact ALREADY exist in the First Century Church. It for this reason that we find verses such as the following in Paul's writings:

"But refuse profane and OLD WIVES' FABLES, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness."


"But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And withal they learn to be idle, WANDERING ABOUT FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE; and not only idle, but TATTLERS also and BUSYBODIES, SPEAKING THINGS WHICH THEY OUGHT NOT."


"‭‭For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are BUSYBODIES."


"Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do."


"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and SHALL BE TURNED UNTO FABLES."


"Not giving heed to JEWISH FABLES, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth."


As we saw earlier, Timothy became one of the first bishops of the New Testament Church in Ephesus. When we realize what occurred in Ephesus, it becomes even more apparent exactly why Paul wrote these things to Timothy, and extended such a serious warning to him, to basically get his house in order. If you read Acts 19 in its entirety, you will discover that when Paul and his companions travelled there, they stirred up big trouble due to their preaching about Jesus Christ.

You see, Ephesus was the center for the worship of the false goddess Diana. Not only did a lot of women worship her, but the local craftsmen earned quite a bit of money from all of the Diana idols and trinkets that they sold there. So then comes along Paul and his companions talking about this new God. It was not before long that their presence in Ephesus resulted in a serious public altercation, with the angry citizens of Ephesus shouting in protest for two whole hours "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!", as we see here:

"And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people. But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?"


So for good reason, Paul wrote these things to Timothy. Paul wanted to make sure that Timothy really understood what the Lord required of him as a leader in the young new Church in Ephesus. Doctrinal purity was extremely important to him, and loud-mouthed women who interrupted their fellowship and who spread gossip and fables about Diana or other nonsense had to be silenced. It had to be nipped in the bud.

Despite what the Apostle Paul wrote in his first Epistle to Timothy, in our modern day, it has been said -- erroneously so -- that women need to step up to the plate because men are supposedly failing in their duties today as spiritual leaders in the Church. This belief is rather ludicrous in light of the fact that it outright contradicts everything I have shared with you in this series. It is both a lie and a self-imposed deception.

Not only is this mentality a total deception, but in so many words, this attitude subtly conveys the misguided idea that modern Christian women are better, or perhaps more spiritual than men. It really reeks of the feminist attitude. In fact, sadly, I have had some of my own online friends tell me this very thing. It basically says, "Men have failed, so we women now have to take over the Church." Another subtle deception I have seen online are those women who mention the fact that not all the Disciples of the First Century were men. While this is indeed true, the reason why those women are really saying this, is because they are trying to use it as their justification for being public preachers. In other words, because these women also view themselves as Disciples, they have a right to preach.

As we have seen, we do not find this mentioned anywhere in the New Testament Church pattern. It is in fact the Jezebel spirit, and it has taken over many churches already, sad to say. It is proud, arrogant, misguided women trying to usurp authority which God NEVER gave to them, just as evil Jezebel proclaimed herself a prophetess. I will be discussing the issue of women preachers -- as opposed to teachers -- in a moment.

Another modern, very misguided attitude I have seen concerns those Christians who seem to believe that they have a choice regarding whether they attend a church which is pastored by a man, or pastored by a woman. For me personally, and based on everything I have shared with you in this series, there really is no choice to be made, because female leaders in the Church was simply never ordained by God. That being the case, how can there really be any choice?

Being as I am exposing some of the various "loopholes" and invented interpretations that certain Christians -- namely women -- like to create in order to try to circumvent what's plainly stated in the Scriptures regarding male leadership in the Church, allow me to mention another one. As I explain in the series "Where Are the First Century Churches?", it is a Scriptural fact that the Christians of the Early Church did NOT congregate in church buildings. Such edifices didn't even exist yet. Instead, they held private fellowships in people's homes. This point can be easily verified by the following group of Bible verses:

"As for Saul, he made havock of the church, ENTERING INTO EVERY HOUSE, and haling men and women committed them to prison."


"Likewise greet THE CHURCH THAT IS IN THEIR HOUSE. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ."


"The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with THE CHURCH THAT IS IN THEIR HOUSE."


"Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and THE CHURCH WHICH IS IN HIS HOUSE."


"And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to THE CHURCH IN THY HOUSE:"


"And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, AND FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE,"


Certain contentious Christians might argue that some of these First Century fellowships may have been held in the homes of rich women who came to the faith. This is indeed a very real possibility. However, it is where this argument can be taken from there which is deceptive. The assumption can be made -- erroneously so -- that because some of these Churches were in the homes of such rich women, these women were actually the leaders of those Home Churches.

However, this is really stretching what those verses actually state. If you closely examine those verses, you will notice that Paul addresses the male in each case. Furthermore, even in the few verses where a woman is mentioned, a male is also mentioned. We need to remember that all of the Churches that were located outside of Israel were founded by Paul and his companions. That being the case, given Paul's strong stance regarding female leadership in the Churches, there is no way on Earth that he would have permitted a woman to lead any of them. He would have followed the pattern set by God, Jesus and the Apostles who came before him.

In short, even if a Home Church was located in the home of any rich woman who came to the faith, the fellowship would have been led by a male member of the congregation; either by the husband, or by some other male figure who was deemed worthy of that position. This would be in agreement with everything I have shared with you in this series.

But returning to this bogus idea of modern Christian women being better or more spiritual than Christian male leaders, let me add a degree of balance to my previous statements by saying the following. If you have read a fair amount of my BBB articles and series, then you will already know that I am most certainly not blind to the failures of organized religion. Some male servants of the Lord have indeed failed in very major and very public ways, to their own shame. They are a huge embarrassment to our faith, and to the cause of Christ. As I said, I mention a few of them in some of my other articles if you care to take the time to read them.

However, at the same time, aside from the women who caused trouble in both the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible, in our modern day, we have had our Jezebels as well. Now, to name a few of them, consider Margaret MacDonald, who along with John Nelson Darby began the whole false Pre-Tribulation Rapture business. To this very day, this false doctrine is heavily propagated, and in so doing, is giving millions of naive, gullible Christians false hope and false expectations.

Then there's Ellen G. White who became the prophetess of the legalistic Seventh Day Adventist cult. Sadly, those people seem to quote from her writings as much as they do from the Bible, much as the misguided Mormons also rely heavily upon the writings of their founder, Joseph Smith. As I mention in other articles, White foolishly taught her followers that the Seventh Day Adventists are the one and only church which God recognizes on Earth. That same attitude of exclusivity is likewise prominent in the Roman Catholic Church and in many other cults as well.

Then there is Karen Zerby who became the de facto leader of the Children of God cult following the demise of the cult's founder, David Brandt Berg. This cult is notoriously known for mixing illicit sexual engagements with preaching the Gospel. I won't even go into the details because you won't want to hear it.

Lastly, let me just mention Joyce Meyers. Like many popular preachers of our current time -- both male and female -- Ms. Meyers propagates the misguided, erroneous prosperity gospel which finds no basis in the Scriptures whatsoever. I discuss this false doctrine at length in articles such as "Abundant Life Doctrine: Scripturally Exposed!", which you will find listed at the end of this same series.

So again, in contradiction to the Scriptures, women priests, pastors, bishops, ministers, preachers and teachers abound everywhere. It is an army of deceptive Jezebels who are in defiance of the very pattern set down by God Himself. As I mentioned in part one, if you are an active member of any of the social networks, you will no doubt know that there are women teachers all over the place. I come across their posts all the time, and quite frankly, some of them are teaching some very misguided doctrines which really make me cringe.

I rarely say anything to any of these deceived women, due to the simple fact that I already know from experience how they will react. They become defensive and try to justify what they are doing by twisting the meaning of Scriptures. Also, if I do press the issue, they will unfriend me, and perhaps even block me if I irk them enough. Not that I really care.

As I also mention in the article entitled "Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth" and in a number of other articles, I find it rather interesting that the original Queen Jezebel of the Old Testament was likewise in rebellion against the Lord, and even tried to kill God's Prophet, Elijah. Lastly, let us also not forget the punishment of Miriam, who murmured against the leadership of her brother Moses. Very similar to the Jezebels we have been discussing, Miriam also foolishly claimed to be a prophetess. God did not put up with her rebellious nonsense for a minute, as we can determine by the following verses:

"And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb. And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again. And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again."


So ladies, don't you dare be another Miriam, or a Jezebel. If you are smart, stay submitted to the Lord and obedient to His Word. Obey your husband, and respect those people who may have spiritual authority over you in your local church, congregation or fellowship. God will bless you for it in the end, just as He apparently did with humble Queen Esther.

Now, out of a sense of fairness and Scriptural balance, let me remind you that as I pointed out in part one, in Paul's Epistle to Titus, he does encourage the elderly women in the Lord's Church to instruct the younger women regarding how to comport themselves as both wives and mothers. Let me share those verses with you again to refresh your memory:

"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."


However, please carefully notice again that while Paul states that the elderly women can teach, he then more specifically informs his readers what the elderly women can teach, as well as to whom they should teach it. In other words, they are NOT preaching before a church congregation as a priest, pastor or minister. Nor are they in any other large public venue. What Paul advocates is more along the lines of private instruction being given to the younger women with regards to their family matters.

To reiterate, as all of the previous Bible verses clearly indicate, the man is the spiritual head of the household. As such, it is his primary obligation to provide spiritual instruction, insofar as doctrine is concerned. The woman should NOT usurp this authority from him. He is the head of the wife and the family, just as Christ is the Head of the Church. In light of this Biblical evidence, if we follow the Biblical pattern, we can only arrive at one conclusion; and that is that there is no place in the Church leadership for women. To believe otherwise is to contradict the Scriptures.

Paul was not alone in this view concerning the proper place of women in the Lord's Church. As I already pointed out in part three of this series, even before we are introduced to Paul in the Book of Acts, we already find a New Testament Church which is clearly dominated by all male figures. One would have to be totally deceived to not recognize this.

This leads us to another rather interesting question which a few of my friends have asked me about. If, as the Paul wrote, women are to maintain silence in the Church, and if they are to learn at home from their husbands, how do we justify women boldly preaching the Gospel on city streets, or maybe online for that matter? Well, my friends, all I can do is point all of you to the Scriptures, and I can tell you right now that some of my online female friends are not going to like what I have to share here. Who knows, maybe some of my male friends as well. If you don't like what I am about to share with you, well, then I suggest that you take it to the Lord in prayer.

The simple truth of the matter is that you will not find one instance of women publicly preaching in the New Testament. I was curious about the well-known Christian couple Priscilla and Aquila. As we learned earlier, they had a Church in their home. So I wondered if Priscilla may have possibly preached in such a public manner. I conducted a Bible search in order to find out. Below are all of the Scriptures where Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned in the KJV Bible:

"After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers . . . And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow . . . And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly."


"Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles."


"The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house."


"Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus."


As you can plainly see, aside from taking Apollos aside on one occasion in order to instruct him more fully concerning the Gospel of Christ, we find no evidence that Priscilla and Aquila did any public preaching, as was plainly done by Paul and companions on many occasions. Even if they had done so, I am convinced that it would have been Aquila who did the actual preaching, which would be in agreement with all the verses we have examined in this series.

In contrast, consider what is so clearly written concerning Stephen, Apollos and the Apostle Paul. They were very bold, PUBLIC witnesses of our faith, because God obviously chose men to be PUBLIC PREACHERS, and not women. And, of course, they were not the first to do so. That began on the Day of Pentecost when the Twelve Apostles were miraculously filled with the Holy Ghost and preached to thousands in Jerusalem:

"And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles AMONG THE PEOPLE. Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake."


"For he [Apollos] mightily convinced the Jews, and that PUBLICKLY, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ."


"And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you PUBLICKLY, and from house to house,"


The simple fact of the matter is that whenever we see someone standing up boldly for the truth in the Scriptures -- meaning Old Testament Prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, the Apostles or some other Disciple -- it is ALWAYS a man, or else a group of men. They were called to be public witnesses of our faith, and NOT women. There is simply no evidence for the latter.

Please go to part five for the conclusion of this series.

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