By Maria Merola אריאל
© Copyright Double Portion Inheritance, 2002
Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 44:17-18 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Yahuwdah (Judah), and in the streets of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem): for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
Yisra’el had begun to practice the same customs of the surrounding heathen nations which included worshiping the pagan sun-god and the “Queen of Heaven.” The prevailing attitude in Yisra’el as seen above was one of pride, arrogance, and covetousness. This is the very same attitude we see today in the body of Messiah. In Jeremiah’s day Yisra’el presumed to do whatever they thought in their evil hearts to do. Covetous-ness and a desire for wealth was the motivation for offering incense to the Queen of Heaven and they counted on “cheap grace” to keep them in good standing with Yah. As long as they were sons of Abraham, they saw no conflict with unholy mixture.
In Deuteronomy 12, YaHuWaH had already warned Yisra’el not to imitate the worship styles of the heathen nations and then try to incorporate that into the worship of the one true Elohiym of Yisra’el, YaHuWaH.
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 12:
29 When YHWH your Elohiym shall cut off the nations from before you, wherever you go to possess them, and you succeed them, and dwell in their land;
30 Take heed to yourself that you be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before you; and that you enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise.
And such is the attitude today even among the leadership in the body of Messiah:
Wayyikra (Leviticus) 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aharown (Aaron), took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before YHWH, which he commanded them not.
In Leviticus 10:2 Aaron’s sons were devoured by the fire of YaHuWaH and they died, because they were disobedient in offering up strange fire or incense which he had already warned them not to do. YaHuWaH had already warned the children of Yisra’el not to offer strange incense on the altar in the Tabernacle:
Shemoth (Exodus) 30:9: “You shall offer no strange incense thereon.”
In other words, the incense had to be made of the exact spices in which he specified. If they deviated from the formula of incense in which YaHuWaH had set forth, they were committing adultery spiritually before YaHuWaH. The word “adulterate” means: “to make impure by mixture.”
The word “strange” in Hebrew here in Leviticus 10:1 is zuwr which means: “to turn aside, to be a foreigner, strange, profane; to commit adultery.”What is “Strange Incense?”
In order to understand this principle, we must first understand the blue print for the Tabernacle of Mosheh given as a template of worship. Each and every piece of furniture in this Tabernacle points to our Mashiyach (Messiah), Yahuwshuwa and leads us into relationship with him.
Yah commanded that incense be used in the Tabernacle as a symbol of worship and it had to be made of the exact spices that he specified with the exact proportions that he specified. This is figurative of our worship today. Yah has given us patterns for worship after the Tabernacle instructions that he gave to Mosheh. But this was a shadow of things to come in the future. Today the Tabernacle represents our bodies, and the incense represents our worship.
The “holy place” (the sanctuary) had the seven golden candlesticks (the menorah) which is figurative of the seven assemblies (Revelation 1:20) and the seven spirits of YaHuWaH, (Revelation 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6). as well as the seven Feasts of Yah (Leviticus 23). The weekly Sabbath---the 7th day on which we are commanded to rest in YaHuWaH is also symbolized by the 7-branch temple menorah. Yahuwshuwa is the light of the world and he commanded believers to be “a light in dark world” and thus the seven golden candlesticks represent assemblies of Messiah bearing the light of Yahuwshuwa ha’Mashiyach (Messiah). The incense in “the holy place” is figurative of our worship and prayers to YaHuWaH (Revelation 5:8, 8:3-4). The “ark of the covenant” is where the presence of YaHuWaH dwelled. The High Priest had to place the blood of the Lamb on “the mercy seat” in order to be worthy to come into “the holy of holies” once per year on Yom Kippur. In the Renewed Covenant, the gift of the Holy Spirit was given after Yahuw-shuwa offered his blood as atonement for our sins. The veil in the Temple was torn in half as soon as Yahuwshuwa died on the cross (taw). This gave us entrance into “the holy place” (Yah’s presence) by Yahuwshuwa’s blood---not by the blood of bulls and goats Hebrews 10:4).
Whenever we deviate from this pattern of worship of the Tabernacle we end up with a pagan counterfeit. This pagan counterfeit Yah calls “strange fire.” It is symbolic of worship that we think we are offering to the one true Elohiym, YaHuWaH, but he does not accept it, because we refuse to worship him within the parameters of His covenant.
If I could give an analogy here, let’s pretend for a moment that your wife used to wear a certain fragrance of perfume for her ex-lover. But now that she is married to you, you ask her to wear a different fragrance that is pleasing to you. But she instead insists on wearing the same fragrance that used to be pleasing to her former lover. Every time you smell that fragrance it reminds you that she was with another man at one time and it makes you very angry and jealous. You would say to yourself, “Why doesn't she want to please me by wearing the fragrance that I like? Why is she wearing that other fragrance that reminds her of her former lover?” You could not help but wonder if she was still thinking of him and reminiscing about her love affair with him! YaHuWaH feels the same way when he sees that people offer up certain incense to foreign gods and now he is very specific about the incense that he desires. This is how Yah feels when we want to mix our worship of him with the worship of other pagan deities!
Shemoth (Exodus) 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be your gods, O Yisra’el, which brought you up out of the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt).
Shemoth (Exodus) 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be your gods, O Yisra’el, which have brought you up out of the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt).
This concept of strange fire I believe applies spiritually as well as physically to us today. This trend of burning incense in today’s culture is a pagan ritual to demons which some are doing unawares. Smoking cigarettes and marijuana are also forms of strange fire. These are herbs offered up to other gods in a form of worship. Native American Indians, Eastern Mystics, and African Witchdoctors smoke these herbs as an offering to their pagan deities even to this day. Our bodies are like the Tabernacle and so if we pollute our bodies by burning hallucinogenic and carcinogenic herbs and plants we pollute the Tabernacle of YaHuWaH with strange fire.
Shemoth (Exodus) 30:
34 And YHWH said unto Mosheh, Take unto you sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
35 And you shall make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
36 And you shall beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with you: it shall be unto you most holy.
37 And as for the perfume which you shall make, you shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto you holy for YHWH.
38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
Because incense represents worship, YaHuWaH had exact specifications for how the children of Yisra’el were to make their incense for the Tabernacle. He also stated in the above scripture, that no incense should be burned for “yourselves” or outside of the Tabernacle. This means that the only place where this worship was acceptable was in the Tabernacle in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) where he has chosen to place his name:
2nd Dibre ha’Yamiym (Chronicles) 6:6 But I have chosen Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), that my name might be there; and have chosen Dawiyd (David) to be over my people Yisra’el.
This is also true when we use music for ourselves or any kind of worship medium for ourselves. Music must be offered up to YaHuWaH and not to be used for our own selfish pleasure.
Because YaHuWaH is very specific about what composition of worship he requires (the exact spices) and he is also particular as to where he wants this incense of worship to be offered (in the Jerusalem Tabernacle), then we cannot burn incense away from this temple as some do in pagan religions. To do this is to attract demons and “strange fire.”
William Schnoebelen is an author of several books exposing Freemasonry, and the Occult. His website is at:
http://www.WithOneAccord.org
In Exodus 30, there are two different things being expressed. Firstly, we are commanded not to offer up “strange incense” (meaning a deviation from the composition that he required). And secondly, we are commanded not to use a composition of the same kind or “like” that composition that YaHuWaH has specified for oneself or outside the Jerusalem temple. The commandment not to offer up strange incense (a different composition) is the premise upon which I submit that smoking marijuana and tobacco is a strange composition.
I have several friends who before their conversion to Yahuwshuwa Messiah, belonged to Wicca, and these people explained to me that they would invoke demon spirits in rituals to the pagan goddess using marijuana and tobacco. They would blow smoke signals to these “gods” and then, these demons would appear to them and manifest in various ways. They are now followers of Messiah and these friends of mine know firsthand how these substances are used in occult rituals.
The Origin of Cigarettes & Cigars
Historically the calumet was considered a sacred pipe to offer smoke to the demon gods above and below. Tobacco was looked upon as a sacred plant and burning it brought favor in the eyes of the gods (demons). Even a member of an enemy tribe who entered a house and smoked with the host, was guaranteed protection and safe conduct when he left.
Several Indian tribes burned incense for a purifying medium or an acceptable offering to the unseen. Some eastern tribes did not smoke a pipe in a sacred ceremony but burned tobacco in a small fire. This smoke offering was believed to ascend to the power to whom they prayed.
As the use of tobacco as an offering to gods continued, it was rolled in corn husks, the predecessors of modern cigars and cigarettes. Inhaling the smoke was incorporated into the rituals and both the smoke and the aroma continued to have a serious place in the religious rituals and ceremonies.
History reference books also state the tobacco pipe was used by American Indians in ceremonies to ratify treaties. Also, some Indians smoked the tobacco pipes to their sun-god and blew the smoke to him. Indians related many sources of illnesses to witches who flew through the air disguised as owls to poison their victims. The protective practice against these witches was to cut their limbs and cleanse themselves of bad blood; and the use of the old man's tobacco was to avert spirits of the dead. These are processes of witchcraft prohibited by Yah.
Cigarette smoking is actually a form of sun-god worship or Ba’al worship! Many Christians today do not view cigarette smoking as damaging to one’s salvation, yet we see here that it is witchcraft in the eyes of YaHuWaH, as we are commanded not to offer up “strange incense” to YaHuWaH in our own temple (body).
There are many believers who feel that cigarette smoking is merely harmful to one’s health, yet they don’t realize there is more to smoking than meets the eye. Smoking is actually offering strange fire to demons and YaHuWaH says that whoever offers up “strange fire” will die. The Washington Post ran an article which bears this out:
Washington Post January 1, 2002; Page A11
This strange fire is the number one leading cause of death in America! When YaHuWaH says that whoever offers up strange fire shall die, he is not kidding!
1st Qorintiym (Corinthians) 3:16-17 Know you not that you are the temple of Elohiym and that the Spirit of Elohiym dwells in you? If any man defile the temple of Elohiym, him shall Elohiym destroy; for the temple of Elohiym is holy, which temple you are.
If YaHuWaH will destroy those who defile his temple (our bodies), then how can we be saved and destroyed by YaHuWaH at the same time? If smoking is slow suicide, then those who smoke are murderers of themselves, and we know that murderers shall have their part in the Lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). YaHuWaH promises to destroy those who destroy their own bodies, for he has created our bodies to be temples for his Spirit to dwell in. Smoking cigarettes, or marijuana are more than simply dangerous to your health, but it is actually burning incense to demon spirits.
Studies have shown that tobacco has a unique ability to absorb much radiation from the sun; hence one cigarette is equivalent to 16 chest ex-rays in radiation! This is precisely why cigarette smoking causes cancer and pre-mature aging and wrinkles of the skin. It is because of this unique quality of the tobacco plant to absorb radiation from the sun that sun-god worship is closely associated with ingesting tobacco.
Smoking Marijuana & Burning Incense to The Queen of Heaven
Marijuana and the Goddess
by Chris Bennet, (01 Sept, 1998)
Women therefore became the first to learn the secrets of plants, and how they propagated themselves. This knowledge led to the development of agricul-ture, and the evolution from the animal totems of the hunter-gatherers to images of the Great Mother, who with proper worship produced her abundant harvest in the same way that women produced children. Cannabis is among humanity's oldest and most useful cultivated crops, and so it is not surprising to find that cannabis, in all its forms, has been intricately associated with Goddess worship in many cultures, throughout history.
Kali-Ma
The most ancient goddess still worshiped in the world today is the Indian Kali-Ma, the Mother of Life and Death. Her worship stretches back into pre-history, and is believed to predate that of her more well-known consort Shiva, the longest continually worshiped god on earth. Both Shiva and Kali are strongly associated with marijuana. Kali is generally depicted with a girdle of human arms and a necklace of skulls, and represents the dark aspect of the goddess trinity of virgin-mother-crone. Both ancient and modern devotees of Kali partake of marijuana in various forms as a part of their worship. Devotional ceremonies to Kali involve cannabis ingestion and ritual sex, which is directed at raising the Kundalini energy from the base of the spine up into the higher centers of the brain.
Kali is also called Ashera, Astarte, Diana, Semiramis, Venus, Isis “Queen of Heaven” and the Catholic “Mary Queen of Heaven.” These goddesses are all “ONE” in paganism. She is a destroyer of men’s souls.
Other Pot-Goddesses
The worship of Kali, under various names, extended into the ancient Near East, and cannabis was also used by many of the worshippers of Kali’s ancient world counterparts. Kali is the Hindu counterpart of the ferocious and sensual Canaanite goddess Anath, (part of a similar trinity with Ashera and Astarte) who is also described with “attached heads to her back, girded hands to her waist.”
In ancient Germany, marijuana was used in association with Freya, the slightly tamer Kali-like goddess of Love and Death. According to the Bible itself, the ancient worshippers of Ashera included wise King Solomon and other biblical kings, as well as their wives and the daughters of Jerusalem. The Old Testament prophets often chastised them for “offering up incense” to the “Queen of Heaven.”
Eve is called a Goddess in Paganism *Note: the Catholic Church refers to Mary as the “Second Eve.”
Among her other titles, Ashera was known as “The Goddess of the Tree of Life” “The Divine Lady of Eden” and “The Lady of the Serpent.”
Ashera was often depicted as a woman holding one or more serpents in her hands. It was Ashera’s serpent who advised Eve to disobey the male god's command not to partake of the sacred tree. The historical record shows that the Old Testament version of the myth of Eve, the serpent and the sacred tree was concocted as propaganda against pre-existing goddess cults.
Originally, the outcome of the Eden myth was not tragic, but triumphant. “The serpent brought wisdom”, and after the magic fruit was eaten, Adam himself became a god. What was originally involved was probably a psychedelic sacrament, like the Elusian festival in Athens, in which the worshipper ate certain hallucinogenic foods and became one with the Mother Goddess Demeter.
Like the Tree of Life, the Tree of Knowledge was a symbol associated with the Goddess. The rites associated with her worship were designed to induce a consciousness open to the revelation of divine or mystical truths. In these rites cannabis and other magical plants were used, and women officiated as priestesses. In early Catholic times, the holy cannabis oil was ingested and used by many Gnostic “Christian” sects* in honour of the Queen of Heaven.
*Note: these so-called “Christians” were Gnotistics who did not believe in the deity of Yahuwshuwa (Jesus Christ), but worshipped Mary as a goddess; True believers would never smoke pot or worship Mary.
“Marrying your Goddess”
Similar to its use in the spiritual techniques of India, medieval European occult and alchemical masters used cannabis to aid in the “Marriage of the Sun and Moon” in the individual. The Sun and Moon represent the masculine and feminine aspects of the self.
*Note: This idea of the feminine and masculine aspects of the self being “married” is a philosophy of Satanism and Gnosticism.
Tantrik, Zoroastrian, Gnostic, Alchemical and occult literature all refer to “marrying your goddess”, which means connecting an individual’s feminine and masculine aspects together into a unified force. This theme appears over and over again in medieval occult literature. Even the Gnostic Jesus states “when you make the male and female one and the same… then you will enter the kingdom.”(Gospel of Thomas)
*Note: this false gospel of Gnosticism comes from the Apocrypha, added books of the Catholic Bible.
Much like the woman’s liberation movement which has been taking place in our modern world, individual self-completion requires a similar process to take place in our minds.
The feminine aspect, or right cortex, becomes a full partner with the masculine aspect, or left cortex.
Marijuana use can greatly assist in this process. Is it any wonder then, that Shiva, the Lord of Bhang, was known as the god who was both man and woman? Or that the hashish eating Sufis, and later the American hippies, were both accused of being too feminine?
Love Your Mother
From the collected evidence it is clear that cannabis has been associated with worship of the Goddess since antiquity. Now, as we stand on the verge of new millennia, in what seems to be the death throes of the patriarchy, it is as if the Goddess is once again reaching out her and offering her Sacred Tree of Life to us in our time of collective need….Like so many disobedient Eves, numerous female figures such as Elvy Mussika, Hilary Black, Mary Kane, Mountain Woman, The Holy Sisters of Hemp, Mama Indica, Brownie Mary and many others have decided to challenge the commandments of the male authorities and once again tempt us with the forbidden fruits of cannabis.
Indeed, it is likely not until we are once again free to enjoy all the sacred fruits of Mother Earth that the liberation of the feminine will fully take place, and we can restore Gaia, our planetary matriarch, back to health.
*Chris Bennet’s article ends here and Maria Merola’s article begins again:
In the above article by Chris Bennet who is obviously a pagan, we are able to see just how goddess worship of the Queen of Heaven (the Catholic Mary) is right at home with marijuana smoking as it is actually burning incense to devils. The widespread use of marijuana today in our culture is what Satan is using to help usher in the Kingdom of the Anti-Messiah.
The “Mary” of the Catholic religion is the same pagan deity that was worshipped throughout the world in many different cultures under many different names. Yah knew this pagan goddess would have so many different names for each culture, so he simply called her the “Queen of Heaven” in Jeremiah 7, which applies to all of her names.
1st Timotiyos (Timothy) 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Today in our American culture, Marijuana is being viewed as a harmless drug, and there is some speculation that there may soon be legislation for the decriminalization of Marijuana. This comes as no surprise as our American culture is becoming more influenced by the occult, and the body of Messiah is not acting as the salt of the earth as Yahuwshuwa commanded of us. We need to see that Marijuana smoking is a sin against Elohiym, (whether or not it becomes legal) because it is burning incense to demons.
Some forms of Satanism use incense to create an atmosphere that is capable of bringing “demons” into the room, to perform such tasks as telling the future, healing the ritual practitioner or another person, and in some cases, Satanists believe they can “curse” or “hex” someone if the demons are willing to help.
Although Satanism uses a variety of incense sticks, the one most commonly used is: Patchouli (Graveyard Dust). Patchouli, when burnt in a small room or alter with several burning black candles, is said to bring forth those demons the practitioner wishes. Practitioners may bathe in water and then dress in black to perform these rituals, which may put the practitioner into a trance like state.
Indeed, it can be seen that the uses of incense in this “tradition” are similar to those in other traditions - that is, the creation of atmosphere and an air of out of the ordinary into which change can be invited.
According to my research, the basic ingredients used to make the composition of all incense is as follows:
Some commonly used raw incense and incense making materials (from top down, left to right) Makko powder (Machilus thunbergii), Borneol camphor (Dryobalanops aromatica), Sumatra Benzoin (Styrax benzoin), Omani Frankincense (Boswellia sacra), Guggul (Commiphora wightii) , Golden Frankincense (Boswellia papyrifera), Tolu balsam (Myroxylon toluifera), Somalian Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha), Labdanum (Cistus villosus), Opoponax (Commiphora opoponax), and white Indian Sandalwood powder (Santalum album).
In Exodus 30:37, we are commanded not to make for ourselves according to the composition that was specified by Elohiym for the Temple. He goes on to warn us that if anyone makes a composition that is “like” or similar to the one used in the Temple for worshiping Elohiym, that person shall be “cut off” from his people.
Shemoth (Exodus) 30:
34 And YHWH said unto Mosheh, Take unto you sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
35 And you shall make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
37 And as for the perfume which you shall make, you shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto you holy for YHWH.
38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
Some would argue that it is this particular composition of incense that Yah said that we are not to burn for ourselves. But what most people fail to realize is that all incense has a basic compound that is made up of the spices specified here in scripture. There may be a few different variables added in for different types of occult spells and incantations, but Yah says that we are not to “make” anything that is “like” that composition.
The word “like” here in the Hebrew means “similar.” This means that any composition of incense that resembles the one that Yah specified or that has similar properties. The use of frankincense, stacte, onycha, and galbanum are listed below:
The Hebrew word for frankincense is #3828 and it means “from its whiteness of that of its smoke.” It comes from the root # 3836 laban “to become white;” to make bricks.
The Hebrew word for “onycha” is # 7827 shecheleth which means “peeling off, a scale or a shell, the aromatic mussle.”
The Hebrew word for “stacte” is # 5198 nataph, which means “an aromatic gum”, but it comes from the root #5197 which is the same word “nataph” and it means “to ooze, to distill gradually, to fall in drops, to speak by inspiration, prophesy.”
The Hebrew word for “galbanum” is chuldah which means “feminine for # 2467, an Israelitess.” The root # 2467 is choled means “a weasel” (from its gliding motion) and it comes from # 2465 which means “to glide swiftly.”
The Hebrew words for these spices implies more than just these certain spices, of which these words are not used in our modern vernacular. What these certain spices imply are:
1.) Anything that is “smoked” or “makes white smoke,” i.e. frankincense.
2.) Anything peeled or that comes from a shell, i.e. onycha
3.) Any kind of aromatic gum or liquid that is distilled, i.e. nataph.
4.) Anything that is prepared with a gliding motion, or herbal formula that is made into powder by use of “gliding” a stone on top of the herbs until made into powder, i.e. galbanum.
In this context, any type of incense that has been made from these methods or the use of these “types” of herbs, or spices can be considered of “like” composition.
From the research above, we can ascertain that the basic compounds for “incense” is a substance intended for making a burnt offering by fire unto YaHuWaH, and it should not be used outside of the Temple of YaHuWaH for any other purposes.
I have heard the argument that the word “calamus” in the King James Version is a supposed “mistranslation,” but this is simply not true. The word “calamus” appears in the TaNaKh (Old Testament) three times in the following verses:
Shemoth (Exodus) 30:23 Take you also unto you principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,
Shir ha’Shariym (Song of Solomon) 4:
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
Yechezqel (Ezekiel) 27:19 Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in your fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in your market.
Now, let’s begin by looking up the Hebrew word for “calamus:”
#7070. qaneh: kaw-neh’ from 7069; a reed (as erect), by resemblance a rod (especially for measuring), shaft, tube, stem, the radius (of the arm), beam (of a steelyard):--balance, bone, branch, calamus, cane, reed, spearman, stalk, stalk, water-plant, calamus (aromatic reed); derived meanings; measuring-rod, reed (as unit of measure – 6 cubits); beam (of scales – for scales themselves); shaft (of lampstand); branches (of lampstand) shoulder-joint.
Now let’s take a look at this plant called “calamus” and let’s compare it to “cannabis” to see if they are the same thing.
Acorus calamus: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Common Sweet Flag; Sweet flag; Family: Acoraceae; Genus: Acorus; Species: calamus; Binomial name Acorus calamus.
Acorus calamus, commonly known as Sweet Flag or Calamus is a tall perennial wetland monocot of the Acoraceae family, in the genus Acorus. Other names include:
beewort, bitter pepper root, calamus root, flag root, gladdon, myrtle flag, myrtle grass, myrtle root, myrtle sedge, pine root, sea sedge, sweet cane, sweet case, sweet cinnamon, sweet grass, sweet myrtle, sweet root, sweet rush, and sweet sedge.
The scented leaves and more strongly scented rhizomes have traditionally been used medicinally and to make fragrances, and the dried and powdered rhizome has been used as a substitute for ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Cannabis: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; “Marijuana” redirects here. For other uses, see Marijuana (disambiguation). This article is about the plant genus. For use as a psychoactive drug, see Cannabis (drug). For other uses, see Cannabis (disambiguation).
Cannabis: Common hemp:
Cannabis sativa L. Cannabis indica Lam. (putative). Cannabis ruderalis Janisch. (putative) Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative varieties, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis.
These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre (hemp), for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug. Industrial hemp products are made from Cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fiber. THC is the principal psychoactive constituent responsible for the “high” associated with marijuana. Marijuana consists of the dried flowers of Cannabis plants selectively bred to produce high levels of THC and other psychoactive cannabinoids. Various extracts including hashish and hash oil are also produced from the plant.
Cannabis sativa L. Cannabis indica Lam. (putative). Cannabis ruderalis Janisch. (putative) Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative varieties, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis.
These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre (hemp), for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug. Industrial hemp products are made from Cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fiber. THC is the principal psychoactive constituent responsible for the “high” associated with marijuana. Marijuana consists of the dried flowers of Cannabis plants selectively bred to produce high levels of THC and other psychoactive cannabinoids. Various extracts including hashish and hash oil are also produced from the plant.
As you can see from the above illustrations, the calamus plant is a reed found in the wetlands. The meaning to this word means a “rod” or to be “erect.” This is not the case with cannabis. Cannabis is not erect, because it bends downward and it is not a rod. It is a green leafy plant. The Calumus plant does not produce THC which is known to cause “psychoactive cannabinoids” which results in hallucination. See more articles below showing that the Calamus plant is a rod, or a stalk that grows in the water. But the cannabis plant does not resemble this at all.
Calamus or Cannabis?
By Wayne Blank
Occasionally, someone writes to tell me that they think that a study that I did about Calamus (shown in the illustration), or Sweet Cane, is a mistranslation, and that the “sweet calamus” of the Bible was actually cannabis i.e. marijuana. They claim that it was an ingredient in the Holy Anointing Oil, as specified by Yah in Exodus. Some even go so far as to suggest that Yahuwshuwa Messiah was a “user” of cannabis oil - and that He and those He anointed were “stoners” who got “high” from it. By no coincidence, almost all who make that outrageous claim are “dope heads” who smoke marijuana and want it legalized. Are they interpreting the Scriptures to justify their illegal drug use? It seems very obvious that they are. Yahuwshuwa Messiah was not a “dope head,” and neither are any true followers of the Messiah. Dope is for dopes.
But what about the translation itself? Was the original word calamus, or cannabis?
Proponents of the theory claim that in Exodus 30:23, “calamus” was actually “kineboisin” - which is a Hebrew word for cannabis, or marijuana. Even some (non-drug using?) Hebrew etymologists (language experts who study the origin of words) have suggested it.
So what does it say? And even if it was cannabis, rather than calamus (which I do not believe it was, even though, as already explained, cannabis also has many legitimate, non-dope uses), so what? I emphasize the translated word in question in bold type:
Shemoth (Exodus) 30:22-25 “Moreover YHWH spoke unto Mosheh, saying, Take you also unto you principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And you shall make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.”
As plainly described, the Biblical reference to calamus is merely as one of the ingredients in the Holy Anointing Oil. It doesn’t justify drug use, particularly in light of what else it has to say about how the oil was to be used, and who was permitted to use it.
Shemoth (Exodus) 30:31-33 “And you shall speak unto the children of Yisra’el, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto Me throughout your generations. Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall you make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compounds any like it, or whosoever puts any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.”
As plainly stated above, the Holy Anointing Oil was to be used only for anointing articles of the Tabernacle and the priests. It was not to be used for anything, or anyone, else - anyone who did was cut off from Yisra’el, and YaHuWaH. The “dope” proponents carefully leave that part out of their “proof” because what they are pushing is a self-serving delusion. It destroys their argument.
What else does the Word of Yah say about getting “drunk,” which literally means “stupefied” (made stupid) by a chemical substance, whether from dope, or from excessive alcohol consumption? Is it “holy to get high?”
Mishle (Proverbs) 23:29-32 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? who has contentions? Who has babbling? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not you upon the wine when it is red, when it gives his colour in the cup, when it moves itself aright. At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder.
Mishle (Proverbs) 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
The Apostle Sha’uwl (Paul) wrote that those who practice the works of the flesh (to include drunkenness or getting high) will not inherit the Kingdom of Elohiym:
Galatiym (Galatians) 5:
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohiym.
Back in 2004 at a youth group meeting at my former home church I was shocked to find out that the leaders were burning incense! Do they know what they are doing? And is it any wonder that many of the teenagers from my former home church at these youth group meetings were smoking cigarettes and pot outside? Do we then cry out for revival and wonder why our youth are straying and using drugs? And we wonder why our church youth groups aren’t effective for teaching them to live a life of holiness. I spoke with some of the leaders and members of my former church about this and they saw nothing wrong with burning incense or getting tattoos. Pagan customs have become commonplace in the modern day Evangelical Churches. They do not regard the Torah or instructions of our Elohiym as he has given us clear instructions not to burn incense outside of the Tabernacle in Jerusalem, and not to print tattoo marks upon our bodies:
Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 44:23 Because you have burned incense, and because you have sinned against YHWH, and have not obeyed the voice of YHWH, nor walked in his Torah (law), nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
Wayyikra (Leviticus) 19:28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am YHWH.
What is Strange Fire?
The first time that this term is mentioned in scripture is in this account where the sons of Aharown (Aaron) drink wine before entering into the presence of YaHuWaH in the Temple.
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 10:
1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before YHWH, which he commanded them not.
The first time that this term is mentioned in scripture is in this account where the sons of Aharown (Aaron) drink wine before entering into the presence of YaHuWaH in the Temple.
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 10:
1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before YHWH, which he commanded them not.
2 And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before YHWH.
A few verses later, YaHuWaH commands the priests not to drink wine nor strong drink while serving in the Tabernacle. This explains what caused Aaron’s sons to offer strange fire before YaHuWaH. They obviously drank wine before coming into his presence!
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 10:
9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest you die: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations:
10 And that you may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
Now, under the Renewed Covenant in Messiah’s blood, we are called to be under the royal priesthood of Melchizedek (1st Peter 2:9), and our bodies have replaced the earthly sanctuary (1st Corinthians 6:19). As “kings and priests” (Revelation 1:6; 5:10) in our Messiah’s kingdom, we are always serving him day and night in his heavenly tabernacle (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6).
King Solomon advised in Proverbs 31 that it is not good for “kings” (spiritual leaders) to drink wine for it says that they will forget the Towrah:
Mishleh (Proverbs) 31:
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
5 Lest they drink, and forget the Towrah (law), and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
King Solomon says that strong drink is to be used to anesthetize pain for those who are on their death bed and in strong pain.
“Strange Fire” is a counterfeit of the presence of the Spirit of YaHuWaH in the body of Messiah and it closely resembles the Holy Spirit. Satan, the master counterfeiter is able to mimic some miracles of YaHuWaH in the same way that the Pharaoh’s sorcerers were able to mimic some of the miracles that Yah did through Mosheh. But Yah only allows Satan to have limited power. Yahuwshuwa even warned us in Matthew 24:24 that there would be false Messiah’s and false prophets who would show signs and wonders in order to deceive the elect. YaHuWuH is a set-apart and Holy and he will not allow his presence to be mixed with idol worship or pagan rituals.
I have met Charismatic Catholics who believe they can pray to Mary and to “so-called” Catholic saints and still be filled with the Holy Spirit. I have spoken with Catholic Charismatic people who say that they pray the Rosary Beads to Mary and they speak in tongues in between decades of “Hail Mary’s.” They claim to speak in tongues and have miracles of healings in their services but because there is unholy mixture, their signs and miracles are demonic because they are offering strange fire unto YaHuWaH.
To pray to anyone other than YaHuWaH Elohiym our Heavenly Father through his son Yahuwshuwa ha’Mashiyach (Messiah) is spiritual adultery.
Can a believer in Messiah be a cigarette smoker and be under grace or in good standing with Yah? To answer that question, one should recall the words of Yahuwshuwa:
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
You cannot serve Yahuwshuwa Messiah, while at the same time burning incense to the sun-god Ba’al!
If you are a born-again believer and you smoke cigarettes, I am not placing condemnation on you, but now that you know that smoking cigarettes is defiling your temple and this is burning incense to demons, it is time to grow in grace and move on to holiness in Yahuwshuwa ha’Mashiyach. If you have been doing this ignorantly, then repent of your sins and I believe you will be cleansed by the blood of Yahuwshuwa. The power to break addictions is in the blood of Yahuwshuwa and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Tattoos and body piercing are the fashion statement today, yet do the church leaders speak out against this to show our youth that it has pagan rites attached to it? No! On the contrary, I hear many church leaders condone such pagan practices as ways to reach the lost. Those who profess to follow Messiah will often say things like: “but we are not under the law---that’s the Old Testament.”
What these “Cheap Grace” teachers fail to see is that “The Law of the Spirit of Life” (Romans 8:1) does not conflict with the Torah (Mosaic Law). If we claim to walk in the Spirit of Messiah, yet his eternal word does not give us discernment on these matters, then we lie, for the Law is now fulfilled in us by the Spirit of Messiah which dwells in us:
2nd Qorintiym (Corinthians) 3:3 Forasmuch as you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Messiah ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living Elohiym; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
Ibriym (Hebrews) 13:8 Yahuwshuwa Messiah the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
The True Essence of Idolatry
When people rationalize to themselves: “but I am not smoking cigarettes or marijuana for the pagan gods…” it is the same argument that Christians use about the Christmas Tree when they say: “but I am not putting up a tree for Ba’al, I am doing it for Jesus.”
The reason why burning tobacco leaves and Marijuana is burning incense to demons is because that is what it is used in paganism. I have led many people to faith in Messiah who used to use tobacco and marijuana for these purposes and I happen to know that this is worshipping nature and the created things. In other words, turning to a substance to give you a feeling of peace, tranquility or calm instead of the Holy Spirit who gives you peace. When we depend on a substance to give us the same thing that we are supposed to derive from the Holy Spirit (whether it is sugar, alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, marijuana, or any kind of created substance) this is a form of idolatry because we are in essence, turning to that created thing to give us something that we are supposed to derive from being filled with the Holy Spirit. There was a time in my life when I used to turn to food for comfort. This is also idolatry to turn to food for comfort instead of to YaHuWaH and his Spirit for comfort.
Any substance can be used in this way, and it becomes idolatry because we are depending on that substance instead of YaHuWaH. The Native American “Indians” used to offer up tobacco as an offering to the pagan sun-god and that is where cigarettes originated. It is the same thing with Christmas Trees. Because it originated with Nimrod, and Tammuz, it is a pagan custom and we cannot all of a sudden use it for something good. This is what is called “syncretism.” Syncretism is when we attempt to use a pagan practice for the worship of YaHuWaH.
I can testify firsthand about my friends from Puerto Rico, a married couple who used to be part of a cult known as “Santaria” where they smoked cigars and offered up tobacco smoke up to a large statue of Mary (the Queen of Heaven) and this demon spirit would show up!
The demon spirit came to them when they blew smoke signals to her from burning tobacco and marijuana! This cult is called “Santaria” and is practiced in Puerto Rico and in other Hispanic cultures where they use this in conjunction with Mary worship. Now, I know that many of you reading this are not smoking cigarettes or marijuana with this purpose in mind, but ask yourself “why do I do it?.... what purpose does it serve?”
There was a time in my life when I would abuse food as a “drug” to anesthetize emotional pain-- that was a form of idolatry. I was turning to food instead of the Holy Spirit to heal my broken heart. Having been married to a cigarette and marijuana smoker, I know that people turn to it for a calming effect to give them peace. But isn’t that what the Holy Spirit is supposed to do? Is he not the “comforter?” If he is the comforter, and people turn to substances for comfort (i.e. food, tobacco, drugs, alcohol etc.) these are all forms of idolatry, because these things are being used as a substitute for the Holy Spirit in your life to give you those things you are supposed to experience while being in his presence.
In that regard, one may not be intentionally thinking about pagan gods or the Queen of Heaven but the “god” that they are worshipping is “self” (whether intentionally or unawares). An example of this is gluttony (something I was delivered of in 1985). I used to have Bulimia (an eating disorder), where I would binge on food to try to anesthetize emotional pain from my past of being abused by the Catholic Nuns. I turned to food for comfort instead of to YaHuWaH. My idol was food, and this scripture illustrates this principle where people can make their belly their “god” and serve their own fleshy desires instead of YaHuWaH:
Pilippiym (Philippians) 3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose Elohiym is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.
Some people in their effort to try to justify ingesting substances like unclean meats, pork, shellfish, drugs or excessive alcohol will use the account in Mark 7 as justification to indulge:
Marqos (Mark) 7:
Marqos (Mark) 7:
15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
18 And he said unto them, Are you so without understanding also? Do you not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without enters into the man, it cannot defile him;
19 Because it enters not into his heart, but into the belly, and goes out into the draught (sewer), purging all meats?
*Note: It is important to note at this point that the Greek word used here for “meats” is “broma.” In order to accurately interpret the verses above, we must look at the previous verses in order to understand “context”:
#1033: broma bro’-mah from the base of #977; food (literally or figuratively), especially (ceremonially) articles allowed or forbidden by the Jewish law:--meat, victuals.
#1033: broma bro’-mah from the base of #977; food (literally or figuratively), especially (ceremonially) articles allowed or forbidden by the Jewish law:--meat, victuals.
In other words the context here is all about foods (meats) that are allowed under the Towrah in Leviticus 11. Our Messiah was not making a case for ingesting pork, poison or drugs. Yahuwshuwa was stating here that the food eaten with unwashed hands will be “purged” or purified by the belly the liver and digestive system. He was specifically making his argument with regard to foods allowed under the Towrah (Mosaic Law).
Marqos (Mark) 7:
20 And he said, That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
*Note: When he stated that what comes out of a man defiles him (evil thoughts) and not what goes into a man (foods contaminated by unwashed hands), he was not suggesting that we ingest poison or toxic waste. He was making the point that when we eat with unwashed hands according to the man-made Pharisaic traditions of the Rabbi’s we are not defiled for the digestive system and liver cleans up the food that we eat even if we don’t wash our hands. He was not suggesting that we can ingest pork or drugs. The context of the entire statement comes into focus when we read the previous verses below:
Marqos (Mark) 7:
4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not your disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?
6 He answered and said unto them, Well has Yeshayahuw (Isaiah) prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
This has to do with the hand-washing ritual that the Pharisees exalted and cannot be used as a basis to say that it is okay to ingest pork or poison, or to get high on drugs, get drunk etc. People often try to use Mark 7:19-23 for this purpose but it does not apply in that way because it is being used out of context if we use it that way. Yahuwshuwa was not calling pork clean in Mark 7:19-23 any more than he was calling drugs or harmful substances clean. The entire context of Mark 7:19-23 had to do with hand washing.
While it is true that the “intent” of the heart is what defiles a man, this brings us back to the intent of why people use substances to find comfort instead of turning to the Holy Spirit. When people turn to substances for peace or tranquility, the intent of the heart is that they trust substances more than YaHuWaH and this is the true essence of idolatry. It is when we trust in created things (i.e. food, tobacco, alcohol, and drugs) more than the creator. When we turn to these things for pleasure instead of to him for pleasure we are in essence worshipping created things.
Romiym (Romans) 1:25 Who changed the truth of Elohiym into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Awmane.
In Wicca, they worship nature and created things, (herbs, plants etc.) and they use these in their spells and incantations to invoke demon spirits to do their bidding. This is called “Pharmakeia” or “Sorcery.” The Greek word for sorcery (witchcraft) is the word where we derive “Pharmacy” (Pharmakea). We must ask ourselves “why do I turn to this substance?”
The word “witchcraft” is one of the “works of the flesh” described in Galatians 5:20 as: Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies.
The word here for “witchcraft” is: Strong’s #G5331 - pharmakeia:
The use or the administering of drugs; poisoning; sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it; metaphor for the deceptions and seductions of idolatry.
The real essence behind using any of these substances to give us a feeling of peace and comfort instead of the Holy Spirit is idolatry. We all have a propensity towards idolatry, because that is part of the human nature in us all.
The key to overcoming idolatry is to be honest with your own heart. Ask YaHuWaH to search your heart daily and to show you if there may be any wicked way in you. Allow him to point out any idolatry of any form and repent, apply the blood of Messiah and go on unto perfection.
Tehilliym (Psalm) 139:
23 Search me, O Elohiym, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Romiym (Romans) 1:
24 Wherefore Elohiym also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of Elohiym into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Awmane.
Mystery Babylon Religion & Sorcery
Ever since the “Hippie Generation” in the 1960’s the Beatles influenced our American culture with their use of “psychedelic drugs” and sorcery.
The Beatles were deeply into the occult and Satanism. On one of their albums entitled Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, they feature an album cover with famous Illuminati members to include the famous Satanist named Aleister Crowley.
They were obviously commissioned by the Illuminati to seduce and deceive America and the nations with their Eastern Mysticism and involvement into Hinduism and Yoga. Does it surprise you that they wrote a song called “Hey Jude“ where they worship the Queen of Heaven? In that song, the lyrics say that “Mother Mary“ comes to him in prayer. But of course we know it is not really the Hebrew mother of our Messiah, Miryam that is appearing to people. It is actually Satan himself who can transform himself as an “angel of light“ (2nd Corinthians 11:14).
It should come as no surprise that Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots uses both the “wine of her fornication” and “sorcery” to deceive the nations and make them drunk with her false doctrines.
Chazown (Revelation) 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Chazown (Revelation) 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in you; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in you: for your merchants were the great men of the earth; for by your sorceries were all nations deceived.
The word for “sorceries” in the above verses is once again the same word for drug use: pharmakeia.
The end result is clear. Those who practice sorcery and idolatry (use of plant substances) to produce a “high” or an altered state of consciousness, drunkenness or the like are destined for the Lake of Fire:
Chazown (Revelation) 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.
Chazown (Revelation) 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
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