The spirit of Eli operates in many churches. But what is the spirit of Eli? How do you recognize the spirit of Eli? What are the main characteristics of the spirit of Eli? In order to answer these questions, we must look in the Bible at the life of Eli. Eli was a high priest and judge of Israel and had two sons. The two sons of Eli were the priests Hophni and Phinehas. Although the sons of Eli were born as priests, they did not fear God and didn’t walk as priests ought to walk according to the commandments and statutes of God. The sons of Eli misused their position as priests for the lusts and the desires of their flesh. Although the sons of Eli were clothed with priestly garments and looked religious, inwardly the sons of Eli were sons of Belial and ravening wolves, who made the Lord’s people transgress.
According to their outward appearance and office, the sons of Eli were representatives of God, but the truth was that the sons of Eli didn’t know God and didn’t walk in His ways, and didn’t sacrifice according to His will, which is written in the law. Instead, the sons of Eli sacrificed according to their own will and for their own use. By their works, the sons of Eli despised the Lord and His sacrifice, and because of that their sin was great before the Lord.
Mediators between God and the old man
The priests were representatives of God and mediators between God and God’s people, who were carnal and belonged to the generation of the old man (fallen man). Since Hophni and Phinehas were placed in God’s office and represented God to the people of God, their sins affected the view of God’s people towards God.
Hophni and Phinehas didn’t show any respect toward God and didn’t walk in His commandments and statutes, but Hophni and Phinehas lived according to their own carnal will, lusts, and desires. Because of their sinful behavior, the people of God despised the sacrifices of the Lord. The sinful behavior of Hophni and Phinehas caused the Lord’s people to transgress.
The priests Hophni and Phinehas did not only evil by not submitting to God’s will in reference to the sacrificial laws, but they also lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
When Eli heard about the evil works of his sons, Eli confronted his sons Hophni and Phinehas. But the sons of Eli were full of pride, and rebellious, and didn’t want to listen to their father and didn’t want to submit to him and the will of God. Hophni and Phinehas didn’t want to repent of their evil works but continued in their sin.
Eli should have shown his great love towards God, by taking responsibility as a high priest and judge of Israel and chastising his sons and putting them out of the priest’s office, but Eli didn’t do anything and allowed his sons to continue in their sins.
Eli chose for his sons instead of God. By his deed, Eli put his sons (the creation) above God (the Creator) and showed that the love Eli had for his sons was greater than the love Eli had for God. Because Eli’s love was greater for his sons than his love for God, Eli tolerated the evil behavior of his sons and tolerated sin, and despised the commandments and statutes of God.
Eli was held responsible for the sins of his sons
But nothing is hidden for our Almighty God! God is omnipotent and God sees everything. Therefore, God sent His messenger to confront Eli with his responsibility and his misconduct.
Eli was held responsible for the sins of his sons and was held accountable by God. Eli was found complicit in the sins of his sons, because Eli did not correct his sons Hophni and Phinehas, nor put Hophni and Phinehas out of the priest’s office, but Eli allowed his sons to continue in their sins.
Eli was the high priest and judge of Israel and should have shown His love for God, by putting God above his sons and obeying His commandments. But instead, Eli became disobedient to God and didn’t act according to His will, and therefore God was no longer with his house.
Eli didn’t keep the lamp in the temple burning, but the lamp was extinguished, both in the spiritual realm and in the natural realm.
The man of God, who was sent to Eli prophesied about what would happen to Eli and his house. Because of the fact, that they despised the Lord, God would cut off his arm and the arm of his father’s house.
God would raise up another faithful priest, who would do according to that which was in His heart and mind and He would build him a sure house, and he would walk before His anointed forever. As a sign, Hophni and Phinehas would both die on the same day.
All the words of God came to pass. During the fight with the Philistines, Hophni and Phinehas both died.
When Eli heard about what happened and that the ark of the Lord was taken by the Philistines, Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate and broke his neck, and died.
Eli was 98 years old when he died. Eli was 40 years the high priest and judge of Israel, but Eli left the will of God, due to his love for his sons (1 Samuel 2, 3, 4).
The spirit of Eli in the lives of spiritual leaders
in relation to their children
The spirit of Eli is still active in the lives of many spiritual leaders in relation to their natural children and their spiritual children. Many times, spiritual leaders, who are appointed in the church, allow their children to walk in sin and don’t discipline and correct them.
Some leaders are even influenced by their children and follow up their advice, which causes strange doctrines and worldliness to enter their lives and causes them to compromise and leave the will of God. Because they don’t want to be old-fashioned but they want to be modern, stay up to date, and be liked, loved, and accepted by the world. But this behavior proves, that they are not born of God and are born again, but are still carnal and have not laid down their own lives and don’t walk after the Spirit in the Kingdom of God after His will.
As long as the leaders of the church stay carnal and keep walking after the flesh, they shall always care what their children think of them and care about their opinions and findings and be manipulated by them. They shall be led by their feelings and emotions and compromise for their children’s sake.
Spiritual leaders will tolerate things that go against the will of God in order to keep their children. Sometimes they will even change and twist the words of God in such a manner, that the things, which their children do, that go against the will of God, suddenly seem alright, and according to the changed word, approved to do. They will approve of their sins and because of that their sins shall be tolerated and accepted in the church.
Children as successor
There are many spiritual leaders, who love to pass on their ministry to their offspring. Many pastors rather see their offspring take over the pulpit than someone outside their family. Therefore pastors tolerate things and condone sins of their children, which they wouldn’t condone from someone outside the family.
This is an evil thing to do because spiritual leaders are appointed by God as His representatives and should preach, represent and walk in His truth.
They are responsible for the spiritual well-being and growth and life of the whole congregation. It’s their task to watch over their souls, as they must give an account of their souls to God (Hebrew 13:17).
They should follow the will of God instead of following their own will, desires, and dreams. Therefore, it is important for spiritual leaders to submit to God and pray to God for their successors, instead of being led by their own will, feelings, and emotions.
If pastors give priority to their children, who are carnal and walk after the flesh and don’t fully walk after the will of God, but still love the world and the things that are in this world and therefore preach a modern motivational gospel that is mingled with the wisdom, knowledge of the world and tolerate sin under the guise of love, respect, and grace, and appoint them, then the respect of God’s people towards God and the fear for the Lord shall disappear.
Because how trustworthy is the Word of God if the (new) pastor doesn’t do what the Word says, but does things that go against the Word of God?
If the pastor doesn’t do what the Word says, why do the believers have to do what the Word says?
The believers shall not have a good example and shall not be corrected as would have done by a pastor, who is born again and has become a son of God and loves God above all and walks after the Spirit in obedience to God and His Word.
They shall not be confronted with their sins and shall not be called to repentance and the removal of sin, but the pastor shall allow them to walk in their sin. Because the pastor also walks in sin and does things, which are an abomination to God and go against His will.
The same spirit that lives in the pastor will come over the congregation. This is the spirit of the antichrist because the spirit resists Jesus Christ; the Word and doesn’t submit to Him and doesn’t do what He says. The result will be that the believers shall adopt the behavior of their pastor and do the same works the pastor does or has done, which will cause the church to slowly deviate from God’s Word and His will, and man becomes the center in the church. The believers shall no longer live after the words of God but shall live after the words of their pastor.
But Jesus says: “Who is My mother? and who are My brethren?” And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples, and said, “Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35, Luke 8:19-21)
‘All those, who do the will of God’ means, all those, who hear the words of God and do them.
And this mentality of Jesus should also be the mentality of spiritual leaders. Because a son or daughter by natural birth doesn’t make a person the right successor, but those who do the will of God, which means that they hear the words of God and do them.
The local church is no one’s possession but belongs to Jesus Christ; the Head of the Church, as long as the church stays obedient to Jesus; the Word, and does His commandments.
The spirit of Eli active in the lives of spiritual believers
in relation to their spiritual children
The spirit of Eli is not only active in the lives of spiritual leaders in relation to their natural children, but also in the church in relation to their spiritual children. Because the pastor is the spiritual shepherd and father of the sons of God (sons and daughters of God).
The pastor should raise his spiritual children and discipline them and correct them in the fear of God and the Word. So that, they grow up into the image of Jesus Christ, Who is the reflection of God, and walk as Jesus walked. As mentioned before, the general task for a pastor is to watch over the souls of the congregation, as they must give account.
A shepherd is responsible to feed the sons of God with God’s Word and raise them in the knowledge and wisdom of God and correct them. Because from only patting on the head no one grows up into maturity, but only causes unguided missiles on earth, who are full of pride. This applies to the natural as the spiritual realm.
If there is no correction and everything is tolerated and approved, then there shall be chaos, agitation, disaccord, divisions, idolatry and sexual uncleanness in the church. Because everyone shall think that (s)he possesses the truth and lives in the truth and all that (s)he does is good and approved by God.
The spirit of Eli is a spirit of tolerance and ensures that spiritual leaders are intimidated by their spiritual children and don’t have the courage to confront and correct those, who don’t walk according to the will of God but are selfish, prideful and rebellious and keep living in sin.
Many spiritual leaders don’t walk after the Spirit and don’t call their spiritual sons to repentance and command them to remove the sin from their lives. Instead, they are carnal and are led by their flesh; emotions, feelings, senses, will, etc., just like Eli, and allow their spiritual sons and daughters to continue in their sin. By doing that, they put their spiritual sons and daughters above God and are complicit in their sins, which spiritually defiles the church.
The spirit of the antichrist vs the Spirit of Christ
The spirit of this world, which is the spirit of the antichrist that reigns in the lives of those, who belong to the world; the kingdom of darkness, says, that you should respect and accept all behavior of man.
But the Spirit of Christ, Who reigns in the lives of those who belong to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, commands the believers to not accept all behavior of man, but calls man to repentance and the removal of those things, that go against the will of God, which is sin.
The Holy Spirit has not changed. Jesus, Who was continuously led by the Holy Spirit, called God’s people to repentance. And the Holy Spirit still calls people, who live in sin to repentance, through the sons of God.
The spirit of Eli extinguishes the light
The spirit of Eli is not a spirit that belongs to God’s Kingdom but is a spirit that belongs to the kingdom of darkness and ensures that the church bends her roots to the Kingdom of darkness. So that spiritual leaders be nurtured and led by that kingdom and live according to that kingdom.
They shall obey the spirits that belong to this kingdom
and work in the flesh. Causing them to deviate from the will of God and approve the things, which are evil to God and say that everyone, who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and that He delights in them. By believing and preaching these lies, sin is allowed and approved in the church
By allowing and approving sin, many spiritual leaders are no longer representatives of Jesus Christ and sons of God, but they have become representatives and sons of the devil and bow for him.
The devil has misled many spiritual leaders and has built his throne in many churches, through their lives.
The spirit of Eli allows sin in the church, which causes the church to become carnal and spiritually inactive and powerless and eventually destroys herself and extinguishes the light.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
