There is a very desperate evil spirit called antiChrist tha…

In Latin, “altare” is related to “adolere”, meaning “to burn up”.
In Greek, “thusiasterion” is the word commonly translated as altar in the New Testament and also in the Greek Old Testament which is called the Septuagint. This word simply means “a place to sacrifice”.

An altar is a physical structure where sacrifices are burned. In OT times the altar took on different forms & was used by many religions. For Jews altars were used to sacrifice animals in obedience to God and burn incense on. Use of altars are in the law but was before the law.

The most important altar of all that supercedes all other altars & makes all other altars meaningless is the cross on which Jesus was sacrificed. The cross was God’s personal altar since He was the one who sacrificed Jesus. In a sense, God sacrificed Himself as a man for man.

In NT when you see the Greek word for altar in it’s only in reference to OT Law and temple worship but also an altar found in Heaven. In Matt. 5:23 - 24, 23:18, 20, 35 and Luke 11:51 Jesus uses this word in reference to the OT.

Let’s come to Paul. In 1 Cor. 9:13 and 1 Cor. 10:18 he uses it in reference to the altar in the Temple and to the Law. Hebrews and Revelation speak of an altar as well but that altar is in Heaven, not on earth. (Heb. 7:13, 13:10 and Rev. 6:9, 8:3-5, 11:1).

Is it not obvious that the word altar as a physical structure on earth is more of an Old Testament word than a New Testament word? (Think on it and will go deeper).

We don’t see a New Testament altar on earth because Jesus’ death destroyed the meaning to both the Temple with its altar and the Law of Moses that demanded sacrifices on the altar. All such things, including an altar are obsolete.

After Jesus ascended into Heaven true believers became the temple of God , making any man made building or altar unnecessary. This is why we don’t see any mention of a New Testament altar.

Many Christians today are like the Jews of old. One way in which we are like them is that they needed to build a temple with its altar, and we feel the need to do the same. And we’re certainly like Peter, James and John at the transfiguration (Mark 9:1-13).

They saw Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus before their very eyes and they were so overwhelmed that they didn’t know what to think, do, or say. Peter suggested that they build an altar of worship. Today we see Christians build “holy altars” to COUNTER evil altars.

Yet today we have IN US (not just for us) the altar and the sacrifice perfected so that we SPEAK or invoke (not sprinkle) the blood of the resurrected Christ. The location is not a mountain, church or house but a walking believer.

The real altar for us NT Christians today is that invisible altar that we can access at any time and in any place. It’s that spiritual place where we give our wills to Jesus to be burned up in the fire of His Spirit.

Each day we have many opportunities to come to this altar and choose Jesus’ ways over ours in whatever situation that faces us. When we choose His way over ours, we are in fact offering our lives again on God’s invisible altar as an act of New Testament worship. You are blessed!

There is a very desperate evil spirit called antiChrist that has ‘Africanized’ the gospel of Christ in church by bringing in practices associated with ancestral worship, witchcraft and/or divination. Where have you seen ALTARS in the NT church in scripture? What does it say?

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