Blasphemy by Redefinition

From the very start, God Almighty’s Word—dabar (דָּבָר)—is no ordinary “word.” It’s a living, breathing power. When Elohim said “Yehi or”—“Let there be light”—it wasn’t just chit-chat. It was a divine decree that shook the void and birthed light out of darkness. That same dabar runs through every chapter of Torah, from Genesis to Malachi. It’s God’s voice, His will, His power rolling out like thunder, moving mountains, parting seas, raising the dead.

And here’s the kicker: Yeshua (Jesus)? He IS the Word—the Logos (λόγος)—the perfect dabar made flesh (John 1:1). So when words get twisted, it’s not just some harmless game. It’s an attack on life itself.

Remember that serpent in Eden? “Did God really say...?” He twisted the verb amar (to say) into a weapon. Suddenly, the perfect commands of God look suspicious, restrictive, like some cosmic killjoy party pooper. The enemy’s game plan is as old as time: hijack God’s words, spin them till they’re unrecognizable, then laugh while humanity stumbles.

Now, the Hebrew word thelēma (θέλημα), which means “will,” but not just any will—God’s holy, sovereign will—the perfect plan that sustains all things. Yeshua tells us to pray, “Genēthēto to thelēma sou”—“Let Your (HaShem's - God's) will be done” (Matthew 6:10). That’s no casual ask; it’s surrender to the unchanging, eternal purpose of HaShem.

Enter what’s-his-name—Aleister Crowley. This man, an English occultist and ceremonial "magician" from the early 1900s, took this sacred idea of thelēma and dragged it through the mud. Crowley famously twisted God’s holy thelēma—the perfect divine will—into a license for self-will and rebellion. His mantra, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,” sounds liberating at first, but it’s really the oldest lie wrapped in new clothes: “Do whatever you want, and forget God.”

Crowley claimed this “law” was dictated to him by a non-corporeal entity named Aiwass—an obscure spirit whose name sounds like a bad round of Scrabble. This spirit supposedly gave him Liber AL vel Legis—The Book of the Law—which Crowley said was the foundation of a new religion, Thelema. But what kind of religion exalts man’s will above God’s? The kind that dances with darkness.

Crowley went further, embracing the image of Baphomet, the infamous horned, goat-headed figure mixing male and female, light and dark. Baphomet symbolizes chaos, rebellion, and occult power. Crowley claimed he was Baphomet incarnate—an ultimate blasphemy, a bold mockery of Yeshua Meshiach, who humbled Himself, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.

Blasphemy in the original Greek, blasphemia (βλασφημία), is not just cursing God with words. It means misrepresenting, defaming, or changing who God is. Crowley flipped God’s thelēma upside down. Instead of “Your will be done,” he made it “My will alone be done.” Pride—that ancient root of rebellion—sprang again. The same pride that Lucifer displayed in ga’avah (גַּאֲוָה) in Hebrew, saying “I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14), is crowning itself again.

In Scripture, HaShem warns us that blasphemy by word twisting is deadly serious. The sacred Hebrew word qadosh (holy, set apart) describes God and His people. When the world treats “holy” as a joke or uses it to sell junk, that’s blasphemy by redefinition.

Take ahavah (אהבה) in Hebrew and agapē (ἀγάπη) in Greek—God’s covenantal, sacrificial, relentless love. Today, that love is twisted to mean “whatever feels good,” “whatever works for you,” ignoring the boundaries God set in His eternal covenant. That’s redefining God’s language to suit the enemy’s plan.

The Name YHVH (יהוה)—God’s personal Name revealed to Moses at the burning bush—is the ultimate expression of His eternal, self-existent being: “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The Name Yeshua (ישוע), meaning “Yahweh saves,” is the promised Redeemer’s Name. When these Names are treated lightly or twisted, it’s an attack on the very heart of salvation.

And pride—ga’avah in Hebrew, huperēphania (ὑπερηφάνεια) in Greek—is the root of all rebellion. Today’s culture proudly wears “pride” as a virtue, but it’s a redefinition straight from the pit, the original spiritual disease that took Lucifer down.

Isaiah and Jeremiah’s warnings still echo loud: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). This isn’t just an old-timey proverb; it’s the heart of blasphemy by redefinition. It’s language weaponized against HaShem.

To fight back, we hold tightly to God’s original dabar, preserved in the ancient manuscripts—the Masoretic Text for the Hebrew Scriptures, the Septuagint for the Greek Old Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls as early textual proof, and the New Testament’s original Koine Greek. These texts haven’t bowed to culture’s whims or man’s pride.

Crowley’s whole shtick—his claims of being Baphomet, his counterfeit “true will” doctrine—is a spiritual counterfeit, the ultimate blasphemy. It’s the serpent’s lie dressed in modern clothes: “You don’t need God’s will; make your own rules.”

This battle for words is a battle for souls. When we let the language of faith slip away, we open the door to confusion and destruction. When we guard it—speak it boldly, teach it carefully, live it fully—we stand on the unshakable rock.

So here’s the challenge: watch your words, honor God’s holy Names, keep His thelēma sacred, and don’t let the enemy steal the language of your faith. Because when HaShem speaks, it’s not just words; it’s power and life.

And if you ever find yourself tempted by what’s-his-name’s counterfeit “will,” remember: Yeshua’s will was to humble Himself, to love fiercely, to save utterly. That is true freedom.

References for the what’s-his-name part (so we stay honest, but no glorifying):

• Crowley’s The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis), 1904 — his claimed “dictation” by Aiwass.

• Crowley’s own writings and autobiographies (e.g., The Confessions of Aleister Crowley).

• Historical occult studies referencing Baphomet origins (linked to Templar myths, occult symbology).

• Scripture passages: Genesis 3 (serpent’s deception), Isaiah 5:20 (calling evil good), Matthew 6:10 (Lord’s Prayer), John 1:1 (Word made flesh), Philippians 2:9-11 (Name above all names).

 

 

 

 

---