In this sermon, Brother Denny discusses the importance of veiling and having long hair for women according to God's design. He emphasizes that even though societal norms may change, the principles of God's creation remain the same. He references Isaiah 47:1-2 to illustrate the shame that comes upon a woman when her locks are uncovered and her legs and thighs are exposed. Brother Denny urges women to embrace the principle of covering and not seek attention or draw the eyes of men towards them.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA, PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. Praise the Lord this evening for another opportunity to gather together. I thank the Lord tonight that we have a God who fills our heart to overflowing. Why don't we kneel together for prayer as we begin the service this evening. Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus tonight. Lord, we come with joy. We come with rejoicing and thanksgiving. Lord, we come with anticipation before you again this evening. Knowing you and trusting you to meet our needs again tonight. Trusting you, Lord, to illuminate your Word. Trusting you, O Father, that you'll illuminate each one of our hearts, O God. We want to learn the Bible tonight. We want to study the Word of God. And Lord, we just ask you to send the anointing of your Spirit upon us, Lord, each one of us, Lord. For we know we cannot learn the Bible without the Teacher being here to teach us all the things that we need to learn. O Father, we ask you, fill us, yes, Lord, full and running over with your Holy Spirit tonight. God, we just ask you to minister to us. Father, I just want to bring this subject up before you tonight. This subject, this matter of the covering, O God. The veiling, Lord, we bring it up before you tonight. God, you know how important it is. We don't know how important it is, Lord, but you do. And I just pray, Lord, let Heaven attend the meeting tonight and teach us, Lord. Give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation, O God, tonight. We may understand the Word of God that we may see into the heavenlies and see how important this is. Lord, we trust the service into your hands and each heart into your hands. God, we would ask you also tonight that you'd bind the devil and every evil spirit and power that would seek to hinder the lesson this evening, that would confound the mind. God, we just bind the devil in the name of the Lord Jesus tonight because we know that he has no power over the people of God. Hallelujah. And we thank you for that, Lord. We rest in your authority concerning all those things. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. All right, this evening we're going to have a little study this evening on 1 Corinthians 11. We want to look at some principles on the veiling, some principles on the scriptural veiling. We'll be looking at 1 Corinthians 11, verse 1 through 16. I do not plan this evening to give an exegesis of 1 Corinthians 11, 1 through 16, although we will zero in on some of the verses. But I'd just like to look at several principles that flow out of the verses this evening. And I think that we'll have time when I get done sharing to open it up for some discussion. In fact, I desire that and invite your input on it. If you have any thoughts while we are teaching, I would encourage you just to write them down so that you don't lose them. And then you can share them with the rest of us after we finish here. Reading 1 Corinthians 11, verse 1 through 16, Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head, which is her husband. For that is even all one, as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For if a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God. Judge in yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. All right, I have several principles that I'd like to look at here concerning the principle of the veiling. And the first one is the principle of God's government. We see this in verse 3, and verse 3 is the principle verse or the key verse of all of this passage. If we understand this one, then the rest of them flow out of it. If we do not understand this one, things get confused real fast, and of course we know that. We can look around America and see that it is so. But the principle of God's government we see in verse 3. Paul says, I would have you know, this is something that I want you Corinthians to know. I've taught you many things, I've expound many things to you, but here is one that I want you also to know. And here it is, that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. So here we see the principle of God's government. We have God, we have Christ, we have the man, and we have the woman. The head of Christ is God, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of man is Christ. This principle of God's government is what makes the whole principle of covering make sense. In fact, if you get that one mixed up, you'll never be able to understand the principle of covering. But if you'll see it, if you'll see that principle, you'll also understand the principle of covering. It's basically the principle of authority. God has government, God has His order of authority, and we as God's people must fall in line with God's order of authority. The western woman has mostly cast off this order of authority, and I think we can all safely agree that not only has she cast off the order of authority, but she's cast off the symbol of the order of that authority. And we'll look at that a little bit more as we get into one of the other principles. But first of all, we want to recognize that this matter of covering has to do with authority. It has to do with God's order. Now, it has to do with more than that, but it has to do with God's order. It's very interesting to me, as we get to meet the remnant around this country, that most of the time you find them being very open to this principle of covering. In fact, many times you'll find them, you'll find these sisters with their heads already covered, they've already searched it out, and wouldn't you know it, at the same time that you find that sister already covered, you also find her as being one of those sisters who is willing and desirous to get underneath the authority of her husband. Those two things, I've noticed them going together. Now, I must say, I don't always notice that among the plain people. Sometimes the inner working of that thing has been lost through years of not really having a relationship with the Lord. And I'm not sure what all the reasons are, but many times it is lost. But it's very interesting when you find it outside the plain people, maybe in California or in Georgia or somewhere like that, here you have this head that's covered, and you begin to ask them questions about it and spend a little time with them, and you'll see the principle or the reality of the covering being lived out in that sister's life, and then also it is on the head. Not always, but many times we find it that way. So the first principle that we just want to clarify here is that of God's governmental authority. Second of all, I'd like for us to look at the principle of covered glory. Reading again verse seven through ten. For a man, indeed, ought not to cover his head. Why? For as much as he is the image and glory of God. But the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. Okay, the principle of covered glory. First of all, I'd like us to notice what glory is. Glory is that which brings attention. I mean, the glory of God is that which brings attention to God. It's that which emanates out from God, but it's also that which brings all attention to God. God has glory, the angels have glory, and the glory of an angel is that which brings the attention to the angel. We have the principle of glory. Now, notice the principle of covered glory. As I understand these scriptures, and I'm open to your comments on this, I'm not speaking, you know, real dogmatically on some of these things. These are meditations out of 1 Corinthians. But as I understand this principle, all glory is covered but man. Because man, we read here clearly, is the image and glory of God. But notice all the others. If we could turn to a verse, but I'm not going to because I know that you all know the verses. We can read different places where we get a glimpse into heaven and we see the cherubims before the throne of God. And what does the scripture say about the cherubims? They come before the throne of God, which is where the glory of God emanates. And what do they do? They cover their glory. Two of their wings they use to cover their glory as they come into the presence of God. That's what they do. Now, it also says that the woman covers her head because she is the glory of the man. And also notice that the woman covers her glory. And the Bible speaks about three glories here. We have the glory. Man is a glory. The woman is glory. And the woman's hair is glory. And all these glories get covered except man because man is the image and glory of God. He doesn't get covered. Now, this covering of glory is a token or symbol of submission. That's exactly what it is. And we can see this principle by stepping back into the heavenlies for just a moment tonight and see the angels again. They know where their authority is. They know that they have authority, but they also know that they are under authority. And when they come before the glory of God, they cover their glory. That's what they do. It's a token and a symbol of submission. When they come before their glory to cover their glory. If we could just picture that a little bit in light of the sisters. I mean, here we see an angel coming before God. And the angel covers his glory before God. Now we see the picture of a sister coming before God. And the Scripture teaches that the sister should also cover her glory. Now, she's got two of them. She's got two glories. She in herself is a glory. She's the glory of the man. And her hair is also a glory. It's her glory. She's the glory of the man. And her hair is her glory. So she has two glories. And she comes before God and she covers her glory when she comes before God. Or when she walks with God. So we have the principle of covered glory. And if I could just switch it just for a minute. So maybe we could understand a little bit the words that are brought out here about shame. If you could just picture how the angels would see that whole thing. If for all these thousands of years they've been coming up before God. And covering their glory before God. And then to see a woman come before God and not cover her glory. I think we get a little bit of a glimpse of the shame of coming before God. And not being covered in that proper order of authority and submission before God. I think we get a little glimpse of it when we see that. Let's see. Let's read verse 13 also in light of that. Judge in yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Here we've seen this picture. We understand the glory. We understand God's order. We understand the angels coming before God. They cover their glory. Is it comely? Judge in yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Okay. The third principle that I'd like to look at is the principle of testimony. We have a principle of testimony here. The veiling, the covering, is a symbol of divine order. It's one of those several outward symbols of spiritual reality. Or outward symbols of divine order. The covering is one of those. It's an outward symbol of spiritual reality. It's not just to approach God. But it also has a testimony in it. In three areas. Number one, again, and we've already looked at it, but I'd like to state it in light of this principle of testimony. We have the testimony in the heavenlies. It is a testimony in the heavenlies. The Scripture says here, verse 10, For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Now, I'm not sure what all that means. There's a lot of ideas about what because of the angels mean. But whatever it means, I know that they're in another realm than where we live. And thus, there's a testimony of covering in the heavenlies or in the spiritual realm that goes forth by a sister who covers her head. Second of all, we have the testimony in the church. I mean, it's very evident. It says something to everybody else that is around you. It says, I'm in divine order. It says, I'm under authority. It says, I'm a woman. It says, I'm glad to take my place. It says all of those things. And I had to think, you know, as we get around other places, oh, go to a homeschool seminar, things like that. It's been amazing to me to see the different reactions to the outward testimony of covering. Very interesting to me. You find some ladies, they'll come up with just total intrigue, totally intrigued and ask questions about why you wear this thing. And then other ladies will come up and it, you know, I've just stood back in amazement sometimes as they've asked questions to my wife and I could tell they were coming with defensive questions. And nobody had said anything yet, but they already had their defenses up and they were already offended without even a question being answered yet. And as the questions were being answered, the defenses went up even stronger and some of these different women would even say, well, it's okay for you to wear it, but I don't believe I have to. And nobody even said they had to. But the testimony of it rings. It has a spiritual testimony, it has a physical testimony, and it speaks about God's divine order. Sometimes they may not even understand what it's speaking, but it still speaks about God's divine order. That's been very interesting to me to watch it. Also, it's been a real blessing to see how many open doors it has given to witness. How many times someone has come up and said, why do you wear that, usually they say, that thing on your head? Why do you wear that thing on your head? And of course, it's a beautiful opportunity to open up and speak about God. And I think it's right for a sister to begin right here in this chapter. And I think it's just beautiful when a sister can really do that from her heart and say back to that one who throws that question, this is a symbol of my submission to God's authority, both in the heavenlies and on this earth, which is my husband. I'm submitted to my husband. I'm glad to be under his authority. I'm delighted to be a woman. God made me to be a woman and I'm under his authority and this is why I do it and I love it. What a beautiful testimony that is. And then you can go in and preach salvation. You can share the gospel with somebody who asks a question like that. So we have the principle of testimony here. It says in the heavenlies, it says to the church, it says to the world, I am in divine order. I am under authority. I am a woman and I'm glad to take my place in God's order. That's what it says. Number four, we want to say a little bit about the principle of inward reality. I do believe that it's the heart of God that you have the inward reality of the outward symbol that you wear on your head. That is God's heart. It must be more than just a symbol if it's going to be the full blessing that God meant it to be for a sister. It must be down inside the heart. If you can just picture the whole thing, picturing a sister just coming before her God or walking before her God, if she has the whole thing in her heart, she recognizes God's authority. She recognizes His sovereignty. She recognizes His order of authority. She recognizes that her husband is the order of authority for her life. And with all of that, with the reality of all that, with a submission to God and also to her husband, she comes before the Lord with the inward reality. She is going to receive blessings from God for following this principle in the Word of God. It can be, if you have the inward reality, it can be a glorious crown upon your head. Now, I'd like to say this too, just to balance it on the other side. I do believe that it should be obeyed whether you have the inward reality of it or not. I've heard sometimes people say, well, they don't even have any of the inward reality. Well, the Bible says this is God's order. And that if you're going to come before the Lord, you should come before the Lord covered. If you're going to speak forth the mind and will of God under God's anointing, you must come covered. And I believe that it's supposed to be obeyed. I don't think it's right for women to take it off if they're having a fuss with their husband and not put it on until they get right with their husband. I believe what they need to do is get right with their husband. Should it be obeyed? Anyway, the Bible commands it. Should I obey it if I just see it a little? I think I need to wait until I really understand it, until I really see the depths of it. I don't believe you have to do that. It is a symbol of divine order. And we need to follow that symbol of divine order. I guess I would see it just like a lot of other things. We wouldn't... Well, I guess I couldn't use that illustration, but I could use the one about hair. I mean, we know that it's a shame for a man to have long hair. And there are many deep principles behind that. God made him a certain way. God made him different than the woman. God made him the head and the woman is to follow him. And those are all the principles why a man should have short hair. And we'll look at that in a little while. But I think that a man ought to cut his hair short simply because the Bible says so. And I think that a woman ought to cover her head simply because the Bible says so also. But, the inward reality is what God wants for each one of the sisters in this matter of covering the head. Alright, the next one I'd like to look at is the principle of ministry. It says here, if we can go back and read some of the Scriptures, verse 5 is where we're reading, but every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head for that is even all one as if she were shaven. And let's see, we want to read another verse. Verse 13 where we read already, Judge in yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Now from these verses, we just want to recognize the principle of ministry. God does allow women to also be ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not in the same way that He gives to man. God doesn't give women a place to teach, nor usurp authority over a man, but God has given ministry to women. That is a great honor. And if we could just separate it from men for just a little bit this evening and just help you sisters to see the honor or the privilege that God gives to you for ministry aside from the fact that men might have more ministry or more public ministry than you do. Just looking at the principle of ministry here just a little bit this evening. You have the honor, the privilege of walking before God. You have the honor and privilege of pouring your heart out unto Him. You have the honor and privilege of praying for the needs of others around you. You have the honor and privilege of speaking the words, the mind and will of God under the anointing of the Holy Spirit within its proper realms. God has given you that privilege. It's a privilege for us men also to have ministry. But for the ministry that God has given you sisters, it is an honor and it's a privilege. And because it is, it ought to be done God's way. It ought to be done in God's order because God has honored you with that opportunity to minister. So just the simple matter of the honor of the ministry dictates that divine order be followed. Again, if we could just, we can see that the angels have the honor of ministry and how they respond before God. That same principle of covering that when we are before our God, and I don't just mean when we get down on our knees to pray, because if we walk before God, we are before our God all the day long. But this principle of covering and ministry, they coincide. Number six, we'd like to look at the principle of creation. And we'll read some of these verses again here. The principle of creation strengthens the principle of covering. Let's see. Let's read from verse eight. For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this caused not the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Now we go back into creation again. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God. Judge in yourselves. Is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Now, I'd like us to notice here how these verses flow. We're looking at the principle of creation. Then we talk about this covering. Then we go back and speak about the principle of creation again. Then we break right back in and speak about this covering two times. Creation, verse eight and nine, verse ten, the principle of covering. Creation, verse eleven and twelve, verse thirteen, the principle of covering. Then it goes on to say, Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for a covering. Okay, here we see the principle of creation. The man has short hair, the woman has long hair. Now, I realize I'm speculating here a little bit, but I don't believe I am. When God looked on Adam and Eve, I believe that Adam had shorter hair and Eve had long hair, simply because God made everything the way that He wanted it. That's the way that He did it. And that same principle of God's design has followed man and woman all the way through the ages. To this day, you see a man walking down the street with long hair, it's a shame. It's a shame, even a lot of heathen people have that witness in their heart. Now, those that are following the same rebellion, they don't have that. But even the heathen people, when the hippie movement started and all the men started growing their hair long as a sign of their rebellion, even the heathen people said, there is something not right with that. Turn it around on the other side, it's the same with long hair. Now, I realize that the philosophies of the world are changing this consciousness in America. But still, I'm amazed how many times you ask a man, what do you prefer? And the man will say, I prefer my wife have long hair. But the women are cutting their hair off short. And it follows them. They do not realize it, but the principle of God's design follows them and that hair cut off is a shame to them. Okay, now this principle of God's creation adds strength to the principle of covering. Same thing. The man was made in the image of God. The woman was made for man. The man was made in the image of God and he was made with short hair. His head, his natural head is not covered with long hair. On the other hand, the woman, she was made from man and she was made to be the glory of man and she has long hair and her natural head is covered. Aside from the spiritual principle of coming before the Lord, of walking with God, of ministry and all those things, just in the natural. She came out of man, she is under man and God made her with long hair. I mean the first time Adam laid his eyes on Eve, she was covered. If I can say it that way. She was covered with her natural covering and he was uncovered. He had short hair, she had long. Now, some of that might be Kenistonology and I'll be glad for any of your input after we're done here. Okay, the next principle that I'd like to look at this evening is the principle of modesty. Now, it's not mentioned here in 1 Corinthians 11, but I believe that the covering has a twofold principle. One is what we've been speaking about here already in the matter of God's authority, but another principle is that of modesty. The Bible says that the woman's hair is her glory or it is that which draws attention to her. If I can just use that simple way of explaining glory. Her long hair is her glory or it is that which draws attention to her. It is something that God gave her that enhances her beauty. If I can use it that way. Let's turn to Isaiah 47 just a minute here. In Bible days, the women covered their heads. They did it for two reasons, not just one. They did it for two. They did it, number one, because they were taught to cover their heads. They did it, number two, because of the principle of modesty. This is a little bit of historical evidence, but an uncovered head was shame in public in Bible days. Or in the days that the Bible was written, both Old Testament and New, a woman with her hair flowing, it was a shame. They wouldn't do it. They absolutely wouldn't do it. And the only ones who would pull something like that would be the ones who were trying to draw the attention their way. Trying to get attention drawn their way and get the eyes of men looking at them. Let's read in Isaiah 47, verse 2, and we can see a little bit of this, or verse 1 and 2. Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground. There is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the milestone and grind meal. Uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, and pass over the river. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. Now here God is speaking about Babylon, but God uses the illustration. He's calling Babylon a woman, but He uses the illustration of the shame that would come upon a woman if her locks were uncovered, and she made bare her legs and uncovered her thighs, and had to pass through a river. The shame of that. That would be a shame. It was considered a shame in Bible days for something like that to happen. And I'm sure that most of you sisters would understand what I'm talking about. You wouldn't think of jumping in the car with your hair flowing and running off to the grocery store. You wouldn't even think of it, because your conscience says, you know, there's something inside your conscience that says, I don't know if it says I'm naked, but it's something just like that. I'm not all here. I'm not the way I'm supposed to be. Something is showing that's not supposed to be showing, and you wouldn't think of doing it. You couldn't do it. I believe I'm right on that. You might let your hair flow out in the backyard for a couple of hours and mow the lawn or something like that, but if you were going out into the public, you couldn't do it. You couldn't do it. The principle of covering was a principle of modesty. Okay, number eight. I'd like us just to note a little bit historically about the covering, and I'm not going to read any of it here this evening, but I would be glad to document any of this if it would need to be. The principle of the covering was clearly taught in the writings of the early church fathers. The principle of covering is clearly seen in some of the Christian art that was carved in the walls of the catacombs which are underneath Rome, which is where a lot of the Roman Christians hid during the persecutions in the days of the Roman Empire. They went down there to hide from their persecutors, and they lived down there, and while they lived down there, they drew pictures on the walls of the catacombs. And if you look at those pictures, you will see, and this is I think about 200 AD, 180, 200 AD, something like that. You'll see that the women had their heads veiled. In those pictures under the catacombs. Also, if you go back and read some of the early writings of the Anabaptists, you'll see that they taught the principle of covering to their sisters. If you went back and studied early Christian America and Christian England history, you would also find out that they believed in the covering. I don't know if any of you ever saw a picture of a Salvation Army lassie, but they wore a bonnet on their head which was a symbol of them being under divine authority while they were out on the streets singing and testifying and playing their music or whatever they did out there, witnessing to people. They went out there, they had a Salvation Army bonnet on their heads. The early Methodists also covered their heads. We recently were studying about John Wesley, and more specifically about John Wesley's mother Susanna, and the pictures that we looked at of Susanna Wesley, she has a covering on her head. That would have been about 1700 in England. Even most of the old Protestant denominations, the women cover their heads up until the last 100 years. If you go to Bob Jones University today and decide you want to go to school there, one of the rules in the rule book at Bob Jones University, even to this day, is you sisters have to wear a hat to church on Sunday. Now they have no idea what it's for anymore, but Bob Jones University was an old Methodist university when it started. And the old Methodists had the principle of covering, and those women had to cover their heads. And it's changed and it's watered down and watered down to where now you have to wear a hat when you go to church on Sunday if you're a woman at Bob Jones University. Nobody knows why, but it's still there. You can see a little bit of the trappings of it even at Bob Jones University, and that's a very liberal university these days. What about the testimony out around the world? You go to Russia, you meet the Russian Christians. I won't say that all of them do, but many, many, many of the Russian Christian women cover their heads, even to this day. You can see, we've seen pictures of baptisms over in Russia, secret baptisms that took place. And you look around there and you'll see coverings on the heads of the sisters. You can go to Romania and find the same thing there. Maybe not completely, but yet you can see that the principle, maybe some of them are moving away from it, but there's enough of it still there that you can see that they believed in the principle of covering there. To our surprise, when we went to Africa, I guess it's five years ago now that we went to Africa, I mean, we just shot in the dark, so to speak, you know, and went by a letter from Ghana, a call for help, and went over there and met these people over there, and here are all these African women with their heads covered. And the first time we were there, when Brother Luke Zimmerman and I were there, we asked, what do you cover your head for? First Corinthians 11 came out of their mouth. Immediately it came out of their mouth. If you go to China, again, these things are beginning to break down, but if you go to China, you will find that the Chinese Christians, many of them, the women, they cover their heads. Even to this day. The famous Chinese preacher, Watchman Nee, who God used to, I don't know, establish three or four hundred churches in his lifetime, he taught the principle of covering to the sisters in all of those churches. He taught that principle to them, that if they're going to be clear before the Lord, and in their prayers, and their walk with God, in their ministry, they must have their heads covered. He taught that. So, here we have it. We have the testimony that we find written here in the Word of God. We have the testimony of the early church writings, which you can go there and look yourself, the latest book that David Brousseau put out about Tertullian. He brings out the principle there very clearly and strongly, preaches that the sisters should be veiled. Here we have it on the walls of the catacombs. We have the Anabaptists teaching it. We see that the early Christians taught it in early America and in England. All of these testimonies, we see that the Russians have it, the Romanians have it some, the Africans have it some, the Chinese have it some, but for some reason, the American Christians, they took it away. I have some thoughts about all that. You know, I believe for number one, Satan had his hand in it, for sure. And I'd like to just mention, as we're moving along here, a little bit about satanic opposition. The principle of covering, it also displays some of the glorious victory that Christ Jesus wrought in the heavenlies. It displays some of that victory. Because Christ's government has been established through the cross, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, His order of government has been established. And in that order of government is the principle of covering for the sisters. Satan opposes the covering. In fact, I guess we could say it's a visible sign of his defeat, or one of the visible reminders of his defeat at Calvary. As we've been working with different people, working in the prayer room with people who have needs, these testimonies have come to us. Testimonies of demons, lashing out at coverings. Testimonies of men of God who are trying to work with a sister in deliverance, and trying to put a covering on her head, and the demons just lashing out and grabbing that covering and throwing it as far away as they can, working through the individual, just being angry and pitching a fit, and it stirs them up and they don't like it. I don't know if you read the book or not. I'm not in total agreement with it. But there's a book that was written, I think it was a Pentecostal man, called The Sunset of the Western Church. And he brings out some very interesting meditations which I do believe there would be some merit in what he says. He thinks one of the destructive forces on the Western Church, or the church in the West, England, America, etc., has been these three things. Number one, women got out from underneath the authority of their husbands. Number two, those women uncovered their heads. Number three, the church allowed those women to rise up, take places of authority, begin to teach, begin to preach, and these women have just been opened up to satanic deception because of their disobedience. Number one, getting out from underneath their husbands' authority. Number two, throwing away the covering because it did happen. I mean, if you look at the church in America, there was a time when that covering was thrown away, that women just decided, no more. And there was also a time in America when the women rose up and said, we can preach and teach also. Worthy of some meditation, I believe. And I think that's one reason why Satan opposes it so much because, I mean, here we see this whole thing from a heavenly perspective. If we can see it from Satan's point of view, he wants to stop anything that has to do with divine order, with divine authority. If there is protection, and I believe there's some indication in the Scripture that there is protection for the sisters who cover their heads first, who get underneath their husbands' authority and cover their heads. I believe there's some indication that there's protection for them. If there is, that's the last thing that Satan wants is for the women in America, the Christian women, to begin to face this principle again. Get back under their husbands' authority. Get back into God's order. Cover their heads. Get back in their places. Stop their preaching, their teaching, their assuming authority over men. And let all of these things be brought back into God's order. Satan does not want that. Absolutely does not want it. And then I have this thought in closing, and then we'll open it up for just some discussion here. I had to think as I was meditating, especially in America where we live, but it's happening more and more this way all over the world because of Western influence. Women are uncovering their heads all over the world. But I had to think, what's going to happen when persecution comes? I mean, what will happen? I don't know if you sisters have thought that through very much in light of the country that you live in, but your veiling will make you a sitting duck. It will make you a sitting duck. And I think that it behooves us that we do more than just put a veiling on our head because that's what mom did or that's what grandma did or that's what the church says we should do. But I believe with all my heart that you need to meditate upon the principles behind it so that you can see how important the principles are in God's divine order so that it is truly a conviction that goes deep down inside your heart. Because I believe in days of persecution it would be wrong for you to throw it off and go out into public. Just something for us to meditate upon. Maybe in the future, worthy of some discussion. Alright, so we'll open it up at this time. Like I said, I'm not speaking dogmatic on all this. There's a lot of rich meditations in this first half of 1 Corinthians chapter 11. So, we'll open it up at this time for some other thoughts, discussion, whatever. Even some challenges. I'm open for those too. Yes, Brother Luke. You mean the Jewish men? Yes, that is true. You ask them, that's what they'll say. I cover my head till Messiah comes. And that's why Paul was also dealing with men in 1 Corinthians 11. He wasn't just dealing with women because there were converted Jews in that congregation and the men had their heads covered. And Paul said, uncover your head. Christ has come. Good thought. Other thoughts? Yes, good point. Thank you. Any other thoughts? Yes. How do you know that the passage is speaking about a married woman there? Yeah, there would be some. If you would read commentaries on it, there would be some question about that. In fact, I think, if I remember right, Tertullian even would have faced that controversy, some in his writings in the book that David Rousseau brought out, that there was some controversy there. And thus, the problem was that some of the virgins were going out uncovered. But it doesn't specifically say wife there. It says woman. Yes, we are supposed to pray without ceasing. That's true. I was afraid I might misrepresent that a little because I wanted to picture a woman coming before God. But I do believe that a woman should pray without ceasing and thus be covered before the Lord. But I wanted us to see what it would look like for a woman to come before God, if you could see her coming up to the throne of God and be uncovered. I wanted us to get that picture. That's why I used that illustration. Yes, Brother Myron. That's interesting. Yes, thank you for that. Yes. Yeah, you do. I mean, you still have the principle of authority. And I know, Alex, that you agree with that. You understand that. You still have the principle of authority there that a daughter is under her father. Well, that's the way I would understand it. That the head of the woman is the man. We know that to be in a general sense. Yeah, a universal sense. The head of the woman is the man. Other thoughts? She's still under the authority of men in the church. Yes. Thank you for that. Yes, Alex. Yes. Yes. Yes, and wouldn't we agree that the whole principle of authority, the divine creation principle was more than just husband and wife. But it was man-woman. That's right, Brother. And that testimony being that there's something that stops a man when he starts having thoughts about going after a virgin, a Christian virgin woman. There's something that stops him. That's especially so if she has the honor she doesn't have. Yeah. I guess we'd have to say that there may be some power in the covering, but there's real power in the covering with the spirit of the covering. There's real power in that. That's a great protection for all of you sisters. Yes, Brother Harold. Did you hear that over here on this side what Brother Harold shared? He was saying that as he went to hear Dean Hostetler who shares the tapes on demonology, he brought out in there that his wife had lost the principle of the covering. And then as he got into this work of dealing with people with witchcraft and demonology, that they learned that there's power in that covering and she gained the covering principle back again. Is that correct, Brother Harold? And her head is covered now. They learned it through dealing in the spiritual realm that there is power in that covering. Brother John? Yes, Alex. Well, just a couple... I'd like your input a little bit on the principle of the covered glory. That's something I've just been meditating upon some and I was hoping you'd screen it a little bit. What are your thoughts on that? Amen, that's what it's there for. You mean... I couldn't say that. I mean, that's a thought, you know. But I don't know that. Yes, Alex. Yes. Certainly, it's more than just an act. But there's a spirit behind it. You know, and there you have the principle of the hidden woman also. You know. She has many attributes and many gifts and things that God has given her. But those things come in behind a man to support a man. I guess the thought that I was pondering on it is this often comes to us. You know, as we visit with different people who saw the covering and now they're trying to get their friend to see it or whatever. You know, it's looked at as such a terrible thing. And I just think somehow the beauty and the glory of this principle needs to be lifted up to where these sisters would just say, Oh, give me one. You know, I want it. And I just believe if they could see the principle of an angel coming up before God and covering His glory and then a woman not doing that. I mean, it would be like Ben Marston's wife. She woke up in the middle of the night and called a Mennonite lady and said, give me a covering. She put a sheet over her head until the lady brought a covering over there. She began to see an urgency there. There's a big principle here. It's not just some little thing you put on your head. And I believe that we need to see some of the depth of that principle. And all of a sudden, maybe it'll mean more to us. Not just something that they do at our church. Other thoughts?