1. Hardness of the heart is
a blockage that hinders fellowship with God (Eph 4:18). It is made
of Light from the Justice of God that Judges the Capacity for Life of the
soul. The color
of the Light reflects the type of hardness.2 It is like
a callous or a corn that is insensitive, or hard, on one side and weak
underneath. It consists of sin patterns and complexes, beginning
with arrogance, knit together with jealousy, and tied to self-righteousness,
worry, and bitterness. The hard side resists God, and the weak side
runs to sin. Jealousy lies at the heart of
the Old Sin Nature and Hardness of the Heart. It links with and combines
with the other sins.
2. Hardness of heart is a stage of reversionism
that results from sin (Rom 1:24-28; Heb 3:13). It is not a sin that
can be confessed, but a complex of sins and bad values. Hardness
of heart results in intensified Divine discipline and falling into evil
(Pr 28:14; Rom 1:24-28).
3. Divine punishment in hardness of heart,
includes psychological and medical infirmities. Most infirmities
begin in the soul and spiritual
body, not the physical body. Divine punishment is transmitted
via the Spirit of human life by color codes that specify the infirmity.
The human body is basically a light processor. For example, cancer
operates at a specific frequency of light. The Spirit of human life
forms hardness of the heart with light and transmits blessing or cursing
to the soul and body. Divine punishment originates with God.
Treating physical symptoms while ignoring the hand of God as per Western
medicine, is itself a sign of hardness of the heart. Use of Satanic
healers is even worse.
4. Hardness of heart is symbolized by:
a. Fat (Deut 31:20; 32:15; Job
15:27; Psa 73:7; 119:70; Jer 5:28)
b. Flint (Zech 7:12)
c. Foreskin (Lev 26:41; 1 Sam
17:26, 36; Jer 4:4; 9:25-26; Ezek 44:7)
d. Stiff neck (Ex 32:9; 33:3,
5; Isa 48:4; Jer 7:26; Acts 7:51)
e. Dull hearing (Jer 5:21; 6:10;
Heb 5:11)
f. Poor eyesight (Is 6:9; 43:8;
Ezek 12:2; Matt 13:14; Mk 8:18; Jn 12:40; Acts 28:26-27; Rom 11:8)
g. Spiritual blindness (darkness)
(Matt 15:14; Rom 1:21; Eph 4:18)
h. Callus (Eph 4:19)
i. Seared conscience (1 Tim
4:2)
j. Lukewarm (Rev 3:15-17).
5. The solution to hardness of heart is to execute
the Spiritual life under Divine punishment until the problem is removed
by Grace (1 Pet 5:6; Rev 3:18-19). This is analogous to exercise
(1 Cor 9:23-27; 1 Tim 4:8). Removal of hardness of heart is called
circumcision of the heart (Deut 10:16; 30:6; Jer 4:4 9:25, 26; Rom 2:28,
29; Col 2:11). Failure to learn from punishment results in the Sin
Leading to Death (Ezek 28:10; 31:18; Pr 29:1).
Examples
1. God
hardened Pharaoh's heart to destroy Egypt (Ex 4:21; 7:3, 22; 8:15; 9:12,
35; 14:4, 8, 17; Rom 9:17-18), and He hardened the hearts of other enemies
of Israel (Deut 2:30; Jos 11:20; Jer 9:25-26).
2. The Exodus generation
hardened their hearts in disobedience to Bible Doctrine (Ex 17:1-7; Ps
95:8 Heb 3:13,15 4:7; Rom 11:7).
3. Later, hardness of heart
led to the cycles of discipline in Israel (Lev 26:40-41; 2 Chron 30:8;
36:13; Isa 48:4; Eze 3:7; Zec 7:11-12).
4. Nebuchadnezzar was punished
for a hardened heart (Da 5:20).
5. The disciples of Jesus
had hardened hearts (Mk 6:52; 8:17), and many of the people also had hardened
hearts and rejected Jesus (Jn 12:37-40).
Definitions
1. Greek pacuvnw,
(pachuno) = become fat; insensitive (Matt 13:15)
Hebrew /m^v*)
(shaman) (Isa 6:10); Hebrew vp^f*
(tapash) = to be fat, insensitive (Psa. 119:70)
2. Greek pwrovw
(poroo) = blindness (Mk 3:5; 6:52; 8:17; Jn 12:40; Rom 11:7; 2 Cor
3:14; Eph 4:18)
Greek pwvrwsi"
(porosis), Derived from Greek oJ pw`ro"
(ho poros) = the "tuff-stone", medically "hardening," hardened swelling
of the bone; medically of a hard swelling, though the word can also mean
"to heal." i.e., to knit together parts of bone by callus, Hippocr. ; "to
make dull or insensitive," physically or mentally, to petrify.
Used in LXX
for Hebrew hh#K@
(keheh) = dim (Job 17:7)
3. Greek sklhruvnw
(skleruno) = to make firm, to harden, is primarily a medical word,
Hippocr., Aristot. (Acts 19:9; Rom 9:18; Heb 3:8, 13, 15; 4:7); also Greek
sklhrovth"
(sklerotes) (Rom 2:5)
4. Hardening of Pharaoh's
heart:
Hebrew qz^j*
(chazaq) = to harden; make strong, firm (Ex 4:21; 7:22; 9:12, 35;
14:4, 8, 17)
Hebrew hv^q*(qashah)
= to harden, make difficult, stubborn, stiff (Ex 7:3)
5. Greek nwqrov"
(nothros)= lazy, sluggish; hard of hearing (Heb 5:11)
6. Greek ajpalgevw
(apalgeo) = to become callous (Eph 4:19)
