Two doctrines remain totally unknown to most of God’s church. The first is the Biblical teaching of becoming conformed to God’s perfect image after we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Click this to read a recent study of that topic. The second unknown doctrine is that which the Bible calls “food sacrificed to idols,” and which I call “food sacrificed to Satan” in this article, for the Word teaches us that all sacrifices we make to idols are really sacrifices to Satan and his demons.

This is not a new or even only a New Testament doctrine. In fact, like all important doctrines, God reveals the seed of its truth in the Book of Genesis. He begins the revelation within his curse upon the Serpent who deceived Eve into eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

 ¹³And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.  ¹⁴And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. ¹⁵And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Do you see it? God told Satan that henceforth he would “eat dust” all the days of his life. The word translated “dust” comes from the Hebrew word ‘aphar. The well-known principle of “first mention” is a great key to understanding God’s Word and we see that this Hebrew word ‘aphar first appears in Genesis 2:7.  There the Bible reads, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  (Genesis 2:7 KJV)

We might be tempted to think that God sacrificed the first food to Satan, and that that sacrifice was all of mankind beginning with Adam and Eve themselves, but that would be wrong. He did not offer Adam and Eve to Satan to eat. He pronounced judgment upon him stating that as a matter of fact Satan would eat dust (mankind) all the days of his life.

Peter takes up this theme when he says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour [seeking the dust he may eat].” (1 Peter 5:8 KJV) From the beginning, even before man sinned, God appointed Satan as man’s adversary. Thus he lured and tempted Eve into sin. This war between the devil and man continues to the very end. John says concerning this, “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven [fallen angels], and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon [Satan, the devil] stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child [to eat dust] as soon as it was born.“(Revelation 12:4 KJV)

No, God did not sacrifice mankind to Satan. He established a paradigm at the very beginning within which man could become one with his Creator. This perfect oneness which Jesus described and exemplified comes into being when man, each one (each human spirit) in his own time, matures into the full and complete image of God. This does not automatically occur when a person “believes” in Jesus or comes to what we call “saving faith.” John says that this event only brings us the “power” to then go on into this perfect union. He said, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.“ (John 1:12 KJV)

In a mystery this paradigm relates to food. Understanding it explains why the food sacrifices and actually eating those sacrifices comprised so much Old Testament law. It explains why Paul said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1 KJV) The paradigm also explains what Paul meant when he said, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19 KJV) No, God did not offer man as a sacrifice to Satan. He established the paradigm in which man must choose to either offer himself as food to Satan or food to God. If he offers himself to Satan and does his works, then all his works will be destroyed and he himself will be thrown into the Lake of Fire wherein his soul may be finally purified. If, however, he offers himself as a living sacrifice to God, then he will one day actually become a son of God, one of and with Elohim himself.