Should we call every man a brother? Paul did not call his slave Onesimus a brother until he was fully converted, look at Philemon 1

Phil 1:8 "Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask."

So are we supposed to call every man brother?

James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

So what Spirit says "Jehovah tempted the king of Israel to number the people" if this is contrary to the will of God? Why would you say that if you are under the influence of the Holy Spirit?

It seems to me you HAVE immersed yourself in it. By beholding we become changed. You are in a position of authority on this website and probably in your church. Would you do this in your congregation?

I came across the other parts of these mystery religions/secret socities that grew from the Kabbalah, but I will post more on the connections.

"The Zohar (Hebrew זהר "Splendor, radiance") is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. It is a mystical commentary on the Torah (the five books of Moses), written in medieval Aramaic and medieval Hebrew. It contains a mystical discussion of the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, sin, redemption, good and evil, and related topics."

"The Zohar is not even OLD. That may be very disappointing to those who are Jewish. But the Zohar did NOT exist before the Middle Ages. It claims to be authentic, but it is not. There has never been any copy of the Zohar ever found, that is earlier than the Middle Ages. The Zohar is a counterfeit book, a book that was written in Medieval Europe, so that some people would FEEL closer to God. Only the way that the author of the Zohar was getting close "to God" is by going into a trance and writing things - without knowledge of what their hand was writing.

This is called "Automated Writing". This phenomena does not happen by itself. It is not a normal force of nature. It cannot happen - in fact - until a spiritual entity possesses the Body of a human being, takes over their body, and begins to write through them. The Bible has a term for that: IT is called "demonic possession"!

That is the true origin of the Zohar AND the Kabbalah.

The Authors of the Kabbalah are themselves Occult Authors. The Kabbalah was Not translated for English Speaking audiences until the late 1800s. And who translated it ? Were they Godly men who had a passion to save others, and show them that the real way to Eternal Life is by the shed blood, sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who truly came to Earth to save those who accept to believe in Him? No, Not at all. Those who translated the Kabbalah were Occult authors who were steeped in Demonic Worship and Demonic books - They were writing them !

It is NOT hard to learn who the authors of the Kabbalah were. We know. They are mainly:

1. Eliphas Levi

2. MacGregor Mathers

3. H.P. Blavatsky

4. A.E. Waite

These are the main authors of books about the Kabbalah.

Eliphas Levi is the author who led the Occult Revival of the 1800s, that revived Satanism and Luciferianism. He wrote many books about Ritual Black Magic and how to have contact with Demonic Spirits...because he was seeking them.

MacGregor Mathers goes by several names. He is one of the Three founders of the Occult Society - known as the society of the Golden Dawn. This is a demonic society, not because we say so, but because THEY say so. This is one of the occult societies that covets demonic possession. Christians would consider their teachings to be Satanic. MacGregor Mathers is also one of the mentors of the Great Satanist Aleister Crowley. The first Translation of the Kabbalah into English was by MacGregor Mathers. (He lived in the U.K. for most of his life, where he recruited a lot of the elites into his occult Golden Dawn society).

H.P. Blavatsky is the founder of Theosophy. This is the view that Lucifer is truly an angel of light and he is the one who deserves our worship and allegiance. Blavatsky came from an occult family, and was already a Medium when she was a teenager. She sought out evil and the company of demonic spirits all of her life. She wrote many books about the occult. She believed that the Jews - through books like the Kabbalah - had stolen books of black magic that had previously come from the Chaldeans. She denied that Jesus was the Christ. She also denied that salvation could come through Jesus Christ. She remained extremely hostile to Jehovah/Yahweh - the God of the Jews.

A.E. Waite is an occult author. He played a large role in helping many occult authors in the early 1900s. He was involved in Many occult societies including the Golden Dawn.

All of these authors are devoted to the Kabbalah and other forms of the Occult. These authors deliberately sought to be involved with demonic spirits.

Surely the Real God of the Universe has better ways of dealing with mankind, than to operate through those who consciously willfully oppose the Bible and the teachings of Salvation by Faith alone in Christ Jesus. The Zohar is a book that claims to have been written by forces, which can only be identified as Demonic.

This kind of material is Exactly what the Bible commands us to stay away from. Those who have been involved in the Study of the Kabbalah would do well to ask God to forgive them of their involvement in it, and to open their eyes and help them to return to the God of the Bible.

The God of the Kabbalah and the God of the Bible are 100% in Opposition to each other. They cannot both be right. Christians know that the God of the Bible Is the one true God. Anyone is entitled to their views, and to their choice of what to believe. But as far as what Christians believe, the God of the Bible can be found, by reading the Bible (such as the gospel of John in the New Testament), Not by reading occult material such as the Kabbalah.

Christians and others should maintain a strong vigilance against being deceived."

While I agree with James that extreme caution is necessary when delving into these subjects for they can take hold and distract one from truth in Christ, yet I also agree with Rick that some understanding of the source of stuff being brought into the churches is very necessary.

Too many Christians assume that as long as bible is quoted and some lofty spiritual ideas are included that there is no problem (other than purhaps a misunderstanding).

If the aim of this thread is to warn people to stay away from Kabbalahism then it may well be a needed thread.

However, if it invites people to delve into Kabbalah then heed Jame's warning AND STAY OUT of those writings.

The kabbahal is an occultic commentary on scripture. Supposedly Moses was given some mystry revelations that he never wrote down but passed on orally. These supposed oral traditions were later written in the Talmud. But it's grown from that...