The Armor of Elohim

Many people have heard the story or passage about “the armor of God”, but how many people really understand what it means and what the application of the armor is? It has become a “buzz word” among the Christians without the actual knowledge or application of what is being taught.

Once a person turns to the faith and belief of the Messiah יהושע (Yehoshua), that person joins a battle field where there are many attacks from the enemy. Satan (the adversary) and all his evil forces are the enemy that constantly tries to destroy anyone who turns to follow the government and rule of the Almighty.

There are also a few misconceptions about the armor of Elohim, for instance, it is taught that you must daily put on the armor of Elohim. But I ask you, where does it say daily, or everyday? It just says put it on. Are you not also in need of the armor at all times, even while you sleep? Another thing is that we all need to put on the ENTIRE armor, otherwise it is of no use at all. One piece of the armor cannot function without the others. We will get into that in more detail as we go through this article.

Let us now work through the passage where Shaul teaches about the armor of Elohim:

“Put on the complete armor of Elohim, for you to have power to stand against the schemes of the devil (Accuser).” (Eph 6:11). Here it is very clear that the complete armor is needed in order to stand against whatever the devil has to give. If you do not have the complete armor on, the rest of the armor is of no use and does not function, you cannot have one piece of armor on without the rest, it is a package deal. The Accuser will always find an opening and will always attack you there at your weakest point. That is why the entire armor is needed to stand against his attacks.

“Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies.” (Eph 6:12). So we do not fight one another, but rather the false teachings and false spirits that lead and deceive others. If we all wore the armor of Elohim, then we would all stand together on the same team in total agreement with one another. There are, however, only a very few that truly wear the armor of Elohim, and these people are attacked even by flesh and blood. This is only due to the fact that those attacking are being lead by the evil spiritual forces. By wearing the full armor of Elohim, we will be able to stand up against everyone and everything.

“Because of this, take up the complete armor of Elohim, so that you have power to withstand in the wicked day, and having done all, to stand.” (Eph 6:13). Once again, Shaul teaches the importance to wear the FULL armor of Elohim. If we do not have the full armor on, then we will not be able to stand in the “wicked day.” What day is this “wicked day?” it is the day of judgment where we are going to stand in front of the Almighty, and the devil (Accuser) is going to accuse us of all terrible things. Unless you are wearing the full armor of Elohim, you will fall to his accusations and be guilty of sin. If, however, you are clothed with the full armor of Elohim, you will be able to stand up against any accusation that the Accuser may give.

“Stand, then, having girded your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,” (Eph 6:14). Here we start to learn what the armor of Elohim is. The first item of the armor that is mentioned is the “waist girdle” or “belt” of TRUTH. Truth is the opposite of lies and falsehood. Truth is based upon facts and evidence. Truth is what comes out of the mouth of the Almighty, it is what is written. Any writing that changes the original truth is considered false. That is why it is so important to go back to the original writings, rather than relying on the many false translations that we know as Bibles today. The “waist girdle” is what holds your sword, without truth, you cannot have any weapon to fight or defend yourself with.

The second piece of armor mentioned in this verse is the breastplate of righteousness. Without righteousness, you do not have a breastplate to protect your vital organs, like your lungs and heart. Righteousness is the opposite of sin. It is the obedience of the Instruction of the Almighty which is His Torah, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves servants for obedience, you are servants of the one whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?” (Rom 6:16). This next verse explains that everyone that does not do righteousness, that is keeping the Torah of YHWH, is not of the children of the Almighty but are rather the children of the devil. To be part of the children of the Almighty, you have to live by His rules, which is His Word also known as the Torah. “In this the children of Elohim and the children of the devil are manifest: Everyone not doing righteousness is not of Elohim, neither the one not loving his brother” (1 John 3:10)

If you do not live righteously, then you do not have a breastplate to protect your vital organs in the Day of Judgment and the Accuser will give you up to death in that Day of Judgment.Having to stand in the wicked day can also mean the day/days that believers are attacked, and one's enemies devise and carry out evil plans against you, so that we do not fall and turn away from Elohim and His ways. These are also to do with schemes of the devil.

“and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace;” (Eph 6:15). The Scriptures indicate beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Good News originated at the very beginning of time. The True “gospel” has always incorporated the Almighty’s Torah (instruction in righteousness) in building a relationship between YHWH and humankind. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you, and cause you to live by my Torah, and ye shall keep my statutes and judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Here we clearly see the basis of the Good News, that YHWH Himself shows favor and mercy to His people who will live according to His Word. The Good News is the revelation of YHWH’s Eternal Favor (grace) that saves and empowers His people to be able to stop transgressing (breaking Torah) against Him. Torah is YHWH’s blueprint for moral, righteous living. To attempt to annul Torah is to teach a different “gospel” than what the Talmidim (disciples) and Shlichim (Apostles) originally taught.

False gospels preach that Y’hoshua or “Jesus” is “the gospel” and/or that belief alone in Y’hoshua brings salvation. However, Adam and Chawwah (Eve) “got saved” long before Y’hoshua came to earth, because YHWH is Salvation. Y’hoshua is the door to salvation but belief in his atoning blood is utterly futile without being “re-born” spiritually and keeping His Father’s Commandments (becoming Set Apart). Even the demons believe in YHWH and the fact that there is only One Elohim; but demons are certainly not Set Apart unto YHWH, and therefore belief in itself without a righteous lifestyle is simply false religion. The false gospel has removed the TERMS & CONDITIONS of salvation, covenant and atonement and replaced them with a cerebral belief system or Christian religious label (identity); whereas the Renewed Covenant demands a complete change of lifestyle once Torah (instruction in righteousness) is written upon the heart.

Increased popularity of a false gospel will in no way make it acceptable to YHWH or His Mashiyach. Even if every soul on earth put their faith in a false gospel, it would not cause YHWH to change His Word to comply with man’s opinion. YHWH is His Word and His Promise and He cannot change Who He is! The false gospel is a theology that pits Y’hoshua against the Word of YHWH (Torah). Those who lead the charge of the false gospel adamantly speak against the terms and conditions of the Renewed Covenant. The Good News is that YHWH our Creator is a Loving, Merciful and Forgiving Father, which is why “the sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart.” This Love of the Father is clearly demonstrated in Y’hoshua haMashiyach as an offering for all souls to turn to YHWH, to enter His Kingdom and turn away from transgression of His Word (Torah).

“above all, having taken up the shield of belief with which you shall have power to quench all the burning arrows of the wicked one.” (Eph 6:16). The shield of Belief is spoken of as “above all.” This is because none of the rest of the armor is of any use without belief. If you have truth and not belief, then the truth is of no use, just as the others are of no use either. It is exactly the same as not being able to have belief without truth and works. “So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead” (Ya’akov/James 2:17). Once again, it is a package deal, it cannot function without the other pieces of the armor, and without the shield of belief/faith, none of the other armor is of any use. This shield stops any fiery attacks that the wicked one may shoot at you. If you do not have belief, then you will not be able to stand against any attacks and will fall.

“Take also the helmet of deliverance, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of Elohim,” (Eph 6:17). Now this is an interesting verse that has a specific aspect that many people do not understand. All Christians agree that the sword is the Word of the Almighty, but what they do not understand is what exactly the Word of the Almighty is. Let us ask ourselves some questions, “Who wrote this letter? When was it written? and what existed as the Word of the Almighty in that time?” Let us now answer these questions. The letter to the Ephesians was written by Shaul (Paul). It was written in the time of early to mid 60’s AD. Now the key is to what was available in that time as the Word of the Almighty. One thing to notice is that the “New Testament” was not written or compiled yet and it certainly was not considered to be the Word of the Almighty. A lot of it had not even been written yet as most of it was mere letters sent from one believer to other believers. Ephesians was even written before some of the Gospels were.

So what was and still is the Word of the Almighty that Shaul and all the other disciples always referred to? It is the Tanakh (Old Testament) of course, the Tanakh is the Word of the Almighty and always will be as it is eternal. Shaul and many of the disciples studied and referenced the Tanakh in their letters and Gospels too. The Messiah Yehoshua quoted the Tanakh repeatedly and every time He said, “it is written…” so that we can know for certain that it comes from the Word of the Almighty which is the Tanakh.

The Word of our beloved Creator is also called Scripture. The Tanakh is the only thing that is or can be considered as Scripture. The “New Testament” is not the Word of the Almighty. But rather 4 witnesses to the happenings of the Messiah and also a collection of letters, written from believers to other believers who all followed the Scriptures (Tanakh). Let us see, for example, what one believer wrote in his letter to the other believers, “All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Now you have to once again remember that the “New Testament” did not exist at the time of the writing of this letter, and that the Scripture being referenced here is the Tanakh. That proves that the Tanakh is the one and only writing that is considered the Word of the Almighty and the only thing that is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight and for instruction in righteousness. It is also our only guide to show us what good works are.

It is sad that the Church teaches its followers that it is an Old Testament and yet have no facts to support this evil thought. It is the Living Word of the Eternal Creator and Almighty YHWH. The term “New Testament” is also an evil man made title that has no facts to support it. The correct term is “brit chadashah” which means “Renewed Covenant,” NOT “new”. The term “New” implies that the other is “Old” which is not true but rather a false teaching. The Messiah did not bring a New Law, He came to renew the One perfect law that is eternal and taught us how to obey it. He also does not have any authority to change even one little part of the law at all.

There are many people who claim that the Tanakh is a curse and imperfect that had to be done away with and replaced by something better by the Messiah. Now consider what they are saying… they are saying that the Word of the Almighty, that even teaches us of the Messiah, is a curse and imperfect… would you like to say that to His face one day when you stand before Him? It is a perverse twisting of Scripture to think that the Word of the Almighty is in any way not perfect.

Now to get to the helmet of salvation/deliverance, the verse just says that you need to also take it. Now keep in mind that salvation is not possible without belief, truth, righteousness and the Good News combined, which are all necessary before you can wear the helmet of deliverance. What use is a helmet without a breastplate and a shield and a sword and a girdle to hold your sword? The meaning of our beloved Messiah Yehoshua's Name is, "YHWH is our salvation."

“praying at all times, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the set-apart ones” (Eph 6:18). Here we can see that the armor is not only spiritual, but physical too. Prayer is a physical act which needs to be done in the spirit. Righteousness comes from physical acts, truth comes from a physical studying of the Word of the Almighty and without the study of His Word, then the Sword is useless to you, and without any of these, belief is not possible as belief comes from the study of the Torah.

The term, “set-apart ones” is speaking of the believers in the Messiah who guard to do the Word of the Almighty. They are those who are set-apart from this world. You cannot be set-apart and still look like the world and do the things of this world. We need to look like and do the things of the Messiah, we need to walk in His footsteps and live like He lived, hating everything that is unrighteous and doing the Word of His Father in heaven. “Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city” (Rev 22:14)

Deliverance

“The Spirit of MASTER YHWH is upon me and because of this, He has anointed me to declare hope to the poor: And He has sent me to heal the brockenhearted and to preach release to the captives and sight to the blind. And to free those who are oppressed (by the power of) forgiveness. And to preach the acceptable year of Master YHWH.” (Luke4:18:19)

Y’shua Mashiyach is quoting Isaiah 61 in this verse and revealing his awesome power to bring about true deliverance. This also contains a very powerful revelation of who Mashiyach is. Here’s the passage:

“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of YHWH, that he might be esteemed” (Isaiah 61:3).

Mashiyach brought forth beauty for ashes and replaced despair with hope. In this same chapter in Luke (verse 33) Y’shua is delivering a soul from an unclean spirit (demon), so that there is no mistaking his absolute power over the demonic. Millions of souls can and will testify to being delivered from oppression and torment by the power of Mashiyach. We can put our full and complete trust in Mashiyach Y’shua who epitomizes righteousness, goodness, fairness and wholeness with the greatest of love and compassion, and who brings great joy and comfort to our souls. Although we are able to experience tremendous peace and joy whenever we praise YHWH for what He has done through His Mashiyach, we are also called to be “trees of righteousness” which means that each one of us is responsible to co-labor in righteousness with Mashiyach.

Trees of righteousness refers to people of righteousness: “the trees of the field shall clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12), “And all the trees of the field shall know that I YHWH have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the try tree to flourish: I YHWH have spoken and have done it” (Ezekiel 17:24).

YHWH has planted His trees (souls) of righteousness all over the Earth. These are souls who are being formed in the Image of Elohim and who live according to righteousness rather than the pleasures of sin for a season. These souls are “trees of righteousness,” not spectators or vendors of righteousness, but a Kedoshim (Set Apart People) who practice and experience righteousness (the nature of Mashiyach) every day.

“I will greatly rejoice in YHWH, my soul shall be joyful in my Elohim; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness as a kahan (priestly dress), and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10). The imagery of Mashiyach being covered with a robe of righteousness as priestly dress also applies to all who are “priests of Elohim and of His Mashiyach” (Rev 1:6, 5:10, 20:6) who are the Bride of Mashiyach.

A “bride adorns herself with jewels” is a picture of the Kehillath (congregation) of Mashiyach who wears precious jewels that depict the fruits of her righteousness. Mashiyach is clearly establishing a “righteous bride” who is known by her righteousness. “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:9). “Let us rejoice and exult, and give esteem to him: for the marriage supper of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. And it was granted her to be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean: for fine linen is the righteousness of the Set Apart Believers” (Revelation 19:7-8).

This righteousness is set forth in Torah which is “deep extensive learning in righteousness.” “All Scripture that was written by the Spirit is profitable for instruction and for decisive refutation, and for correction, and for deep extensive learning in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Torah and Mashiyach are One Truth, and herein lies the basis of all deliverance; however, there are three basic perspectives of Torah observance:

Deliverance through Obedience

Obedience to the Word of YHWH is evidence of true deliverance. Mashiyach says that those who do not do the will of his Father will not partake of the Kingdom of Elohim (Matt 7:21). The judgment of all peoples and nations is according to the same Standard which is revealed in the Word of YHWH and that the Set Apart believers obey: “And the temple of Elohim in heaven was opened; and the aron (ark) of the Covenant was seen in his temple: and there were flashes of lightning and thunders, and voices and an earthquake, and great hail” (Rev 11:18). There is a clear and future judgment on the horizon. The aron of His Covenant contains all of the Ten Commandments that are to be “written upon the hearts” of YHWH’s people. Those who don’t have Torah written upon their hearts will not be able to excuse themselves by suggesting that “Jesus did it all for them” or that their Rabbi or Pastor promised them that they would be in heaven.

“For as the earth brings forth her bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so YHWH Elohim will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations” (Isaiah 61:11). YHWH says that He will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations; this is very clearly stated within the original Tanakh reference regarding the Renewed Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Therefore, it is clearly a great deception to think that a person is fully delivered from the clutches of the enemy while they continue to transgress against Torah. All sin is transgression of Torah (1 John 3:4); without Torah we wouldn’t know what constitutes sin (Romans 7:1-12).

There are plenty of indicators that point to the need for deliverance. The spiritual fruit within our souls, or lack thereof, is one good way in which to evaluate ourselves: “Love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Each of these attributes manifest themselves within those who walk after the Spirit of Mashiyach. Many view these attributes as being relative to their current situation in life; yet others compare and judge their spiritual and emotional status against the rest of the populace. Unfortunately, the most popular attitude is to define spiritual fruits according to religious and cultural tradition rather than the Word of YHWH. Regardless as to how accurate the personal assessment of our needs, deliverance is something that we all require over the course of our lives. No one is immune or exempt; even Mashiyach endured temptation and manifold trials.

Deliverance is won when a person turns away from carnal habits and actively pursues righteousness, and this is also a good definition of Faith; this is beyond just belief or intellectual acknowledgment of righteousness or the knowledge of good and evil. If this were not the case, then Adam and Chawwah (Eve) would never have been expelled from Gan Eden as their “knowledge” about the Tree of Life would have been sufficient to keep them in! Instead, it was their direct disobedience to YHWH, that changed their status. The fact remains that Adam and Chawwah’s story originates in the oldest part of the Tanakh, but their fall from esteem because of their disobedience remains very much a current problem today and for the Good News writers! (Romans 5:12-21, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45) So, if the earliest part of the Torah remains relevant, binding and in need of resolution for every current believer, how then can later parts of Torah become irrelevant? NO, it’s impossible, it can’t! The deliverance from sin that Adam and Chawwah experienced was through Mashiyach. Torah therefore details and elucidates elements of the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that were birthed in Mashiyach!

Faith then brings a progressive desire to live righteously, which is clearly by inspiration of the Ruach haKodesh, which in turn brings harmony between YHWH and His Creation. Furthermore, as anyone with the most basic Hebrew and Aramaic understanding knows, there is a direct linguistic and prophetic linkage in Genesis1 between “in the beginning/creation” (bereshit) and “covenant” (breet) and the verb for “to make” (bara) and “Son” (bar)!

Y’shua taught, “It is written that the Son of man does not live by bread alone, but by all the Words that proceed from the mouth of YHWH” (Matthew 4:4). It is obvious that mankind must live on this “bread” of the Word of YHWH (Deuteronomy 8:3). Y’shua declared that he as well as all of mankind are called and required to live by the “Words” of YHWH. This fact is also why Mashiyach was born in Beyt-Lechem (Bethlehem), or literally “the house of bread”!

The enemy attempts to micro-manage souls into doing his bidding; therefore, it is imperative to remember that Torah sets the Standard by which all flesh shall be judged. Torah observance protects us from becoming prey for the enemy. Although many religious people may claim that torah observance “doesn’t matter,” the evidence shows that lack of trust, faith and disloyalty towards the Word of YHWH is what is waging war against the Unity of the Body. Those who say it “doesn’t matter” are simply relying on their own religious traditions to carry them through. But Mashiyach says, “All who loosen, therefore, from one (of) these small commandments and teach thus to the sons of man, will be called little in the Kingdom of Heaven, but all who do and teach this will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds more than that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19-20).

Lies, Procrastination and Rebellion

We could examine a host of indicators, but lies, procrastination and rebellion are clearly normatives of the carnal flesh. It appears many souls will go through their entire life lying to themselves and others, procrastinating and rebelling against YHWH, while at the same time believing themselves to be “saved.” The problem is, all form of rebellion is protected by pride. The individual may think him or herself to be loving, generous and caring, but if they are ever confronted about lying, not keeping their word, or procrastination and rebellion against Mashiyach, they often indict the messenger instead of examining the status of their own souls. Y’shua said, “The spirit is ready but the body is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Therefore when we recognize the need for change but realize we don’t have the power to do it on our own, we must realize we’re in immediate need of deliverance. Some people are wise enough to get on their knees right now and change, but most will lie to themselves and procrastinate. Y’shua said, “But if your eye should be evil, all your body will be darkness. If therefore, the light that is in you is dark, how much your darkness will be!” (Matthew 6:23). In other words, when deliverance is needed we often have no idea of the severity of the problem. If there is darkness then how much darkness? Often when a person begins to root out the darkness (hidden rebellion) they discover much more than they realized. Darkness is a constant; where there is no light there is immediate darkness. However, the good news is that darkness flees when light shines into hidden area of the soul.

A very simple and logical way to defeat darkness is to welcome the light and focus on the Truth – but what is Truth? Y’shua says, “Father sanctify them by Your Truth, for Your Word is Truth” (John 17:17). Y’shua also says that his word will judge all those who reject him (John 12:48). Mashiyach is the Standard; therefore, when the Spirit begins to convict us of sin (like lies, procrastination and rebellion) we can distinguish between the carnal man who is lazy to make change, and the spiritual man who has unlimited resources to change and become like Mashiyach. It is also very helpful to have others who are mighty in Scripture and full of discernment of the Ruach haKodesh to bear witness for our spiritual nature and against our carnal nature.

The Power of Belief

Each soul must believe that YHWH exists and that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). This is a beautiful discipline and promise that Rav Shaul takes directly from Torah: “But if from thence you shall seek YHWH your Elohim, you shall find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the later days, if you turn to YHWH your Elohim, and shall be obedient unto his voice; For YHWH your Elohim is a merciful Elohim; He will not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore unto them” (Deuteronomy 4:29, 31). Seeking YHWH with all your heart and soul means to obey His Torah and put trust in Him alone. Notice that this promise extends into the “latter days” which are the days in which we are now living.

With Faith all things are possible, as Y’shua said: “…if you are able to believe anything is possible to be for him who believes” (Mark 9:23). “By faith Enoch was translated and did not taste death…” (Hebrews 11:5). Faith is the action of “entering in” to the Word of YHWH. “So shall My Word be that goes forth out of My Mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in that which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). The Word of YHWH Elohim “quickens the dead and calls those things which are not, as if they were” (Romans 4:17). Therefore, we must think, speak and pray according to the authority of the Word of YHWH, regardless of what “the world” might send our way; this is how “the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor are given hope” (Matthew 11:5). By faith we can see things according to YHWH’s assessment and then respond to the Word of YHWH with obedient expectation. This is evidence of true deliverance. We must never look at others for what only Mashiyach can provide, and not compare ourselves to others or expect things from others that belong to the hand of YHWH, “But when Y’shua heard, he said to them, The healthy are not in need of a doctor, rather those that are badly afflicted” (Matthew 9:12).