The Origin and Purpose of Evil Altars

Evil altars began when people turned from the worship of God to the worship of other gods. An altar is a place of sacrifice where the physical and the spiritual meet. An evil altar is one raised to any power other than God, and its purpose is to give evil spirits a place to meet people, receive sacrifice and release power against a person, a family or a nation.

This teaching traces where evil altars came from in the Bible, what they are raised to do, why they still affect people who have never seen one, and what God told His people to do about them. Prayer points follow at the end.

The origin of evil altars in the Bible

The altars of the nations

The nations that lived in Canaan before Israel served their gods on altars, on the high mountains and hills and under every green tree. God commanded Israel to remove them all:

And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. (Deuteronomy 12:3)

Israel copies the nations

In the days of Gideon, Israel sinned and was delivered into the hand of Midian for seven years. In their distress, instead of repenting, they looked for a solution in the wrong way: they built altars like the nations around them. Their condition got worse. There was an altar of Baal in Gideon's own family (Judges 6:25).

The altar of Jeroboam

King Jeroboam made two calves of gold, set up an altar at Bethel and ordained a feast in a month "which he had devised of his own heart" (1 Kings 12:28-33). By the power of that altar many people's destinies were caged. He ruled unchallenged until a man of God came out of Judah and cried against it (1 Kings 13:1-5).

The seven altars of Balak

And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. (Numbers 23:1-2)

These altars were raised against a whole nation. Seven speaks of completeness: they were set up to make sure that none of Israel escaped. When the first attempt failed, Balak took Balaam to another place to curse a part of the people, if he could not curse them all (Numbers 23:13).

The purpose of evil altars

• A meeting place. An evil altar is where wicked people join forces with evil spirits. Unclean spirits give their human partners power to harm.
• A place of summoning. A person can be called on an altar for destruction. When that fails, the priest may summon a part of the person's life: the womb, the eyes, the legs, the business, the certificates or the marriage.
• Destruction on any scale. An altar can be built to destroy an individual, a family, a group or a whole nation.
• Bondage. Altars cage destinies and keep gifted people serving below their level.
• Identification and training. An evil altar is a camp where evil is identified with and learned, and a dwelling place of Satan.
• Diverted worship. A grave is an altar, and any sacrifice or prayer made there invokes evil powers. Praying in the name of a dead person is contact with an evil altar. So is calling on the names of angels in prayer. "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Who raises evil altars

• Families. Joash, the father of Gideon, kept the altar of Baal.
• Rulers. Balak was a king. Jeroboam was a king.
• Evil priests. Balaam was hired to stand at the altar and speak.

Why they still affect people today

The Lord is with many believers today, but they do not know it. Great potential is deposited in them, yet they serve under bondage. Gideon was called a mighty man of valour while he hid from his enemies to thresh wheat, and he asked the question many believers ask:

Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? (Judges 6:13)

The answer he received was an instruction about an altar. Miracles do not come our way until the evil altars working against our spiritual and physical welfare are destroyed. Many Christians have never prayed against their family altars, and that is the reason they live below their divine standard.

Signs that an evil altar may be at work

None of these is proof on its own. Ordinary life has troubles too. When several persist together, pray.

• Family conflicts and divisions that have no clear cause.
• Chronic illness with no medical explanation.
• Financial trouble that continues in spite of hard work.
• Unusual patterns of failure or accidents.
• The same problem repeating from one generation to the next.

What God told His people to do

And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place. (Judges 6:25-26)

The instruction has two parts. Destroy the evil altar, and build an altar to the Lord. Whenever a person stands with God, prays the right prayers and lives a life of holiness, no power will destroy him. Nobody can bribe God.

Questions people ask

Where did evil altars come from?

From the worship of other gods. The nations of Canaan raised them, Israel copied them in times of backsliding, and kings such as Jeroboam and Balak used them to rule and to curse.

What is the purpose of an evil altar?

To give evil spirits a meeting place with people, where sacrifices are received and power is released to summon, bind or destroy.

What is the difference between an evil altar and a godly altar?

At God's altar, people meet with God. At an evil altar, people meet with evil spirits. Gideon was told to pull down the one and build the other.

For the meaning and types of evil altars, read What Is an Evil Altar?. For how they hold people, read Bondage of Evil Altars. For how to pull them down, read How to Destroy Evil Altars With the Word of God. The subject is taught in full in the book When Evil Altars are Multiplied.