Ishmael, the Bastard
To understand the bastard spirit we must look at the life of Ishmael. Although Abraham is renowned for his faith, his faith was not perfect and it took a stumble when God's promise of a child in old age did not seem to be coming true. Abraham gave up on God's promise and slept with his much younger Egyption female slave to create his own kind of artificial fulfilment of God's promise. Abraham requested God to perform his blessing through Ishmael rather than a son from Sarah.
Genesis 17:18 "And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!"
God denied Abraham's request but reiterated that Sarah would miraculously do the impossible and conceive a new son in her very old age. This son would be called Isaac.
Ishmael was created out of Abraham and Sarah's doubt and rejection of God's plan. Rebellion was thus implanted in Ishmael's very nature from conception. A spirit of violence also, in that the female slave Hagar had no choice in the matter and thus it was a kind of rape against her.
Ishmael is the ancestor of the Arabs naturally and of Islam spiritually.
God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be "as the stars in the sky for number" (Gen 26:4). Isaac was intended to inherit the full power of this promise but instead Ishmael took the firstborn portion of this, and Isaac had to make do with the leftovers. This is why there are over a billion Muslims but not many Jews.
In the Arabic religion of Islam, by far the most violent religion (no contest), we see the word to Ishmael fulfilled in how "his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him." (Genesis 16:12)
It is also suspicious how Ishmael started as poor but was able to father "twelve princes" in one generation, complete with their own heavy fortifications. Ishmael had left Abraham with nothing. They only survived because an angel opened Hagar's eyes to see a hidden well so she and the child could drink.
Genesis 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
How did Ishmael get wealthy in one generation? History reveals it was by war and extortion. This was not the age of entrepreneurship after all.
Like Nimrod, Esau, and the white horse rider of Revelation 6:2, Ishmael was a hunter whose weapon was the bow. Just as Christ's fishermen metaphor refers to "fishing for men" for salvation of their souls, Ishmael did not only hunt animals but human lives. And the religion that descended from him would also hunt more lives than any other in human history.
Genesis 16:12 "And he shall be a wild ass of a man: his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the face of all his brethren."
God compares Ishmael to a "wild ass"; a rebellious undisciplined donkey that will not cooperate with anyone.
Ishmael had a single mother as Hagar was forced to raise him on her own. He thus suffered from the lack of a father's discipline. Hebrews 12:9 mentions it is the fathers responsibility to oversee the discipline of children. Because Ishmael was raised by a single mother, he had no strong male figure who could correct the young man when he started to get wild.
Galatians 8:24-30
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Sons of Belial
Closely related to the concept of the bastard are what the Bible speaks of as "sons of Belial."
Every time "sons of Belial" are mentioned in scripture, they are a gang of ruffians who are a law unto themselves. The word "Belial" means "worthless" or "nothing," so to be called "sons of Belial" is another way of saying "sons of no one" ie., they were raised without a father's authority.
The priest Eli failed to discipline his sons:
1 Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD
1 Samuel 3:13-14 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
Eli provoked God's heavy wrath for failing to restrain his sons. Even to the point where his sin would never be forgiven for all of time despite making sacrifices to atone. But yet Eli did admonish his sons not to do what they were doing:
1 Samuel 2:22-25 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people transgress. If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?" Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them.
So why was God angry at Eli even though Eli had told his sons they should behave differently? Evidently Eli told off his sons verbally but was afraid to use the "rod of correction" in due season. This is no different than today's limp-wristed liberal parents who don't dare hurt their "little angel" which they won't admit is more of a devilish imp. Sometimes the little demon must be paddled out of the child.
Proverbs 20:30 Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, As do stripes the inner depths of the heart.
Discipline is what creates sons and banishes the bastard nature.
Hebrews 12:7-11
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Chastisement means discipline or punishment. In this case it is parental discipline, such as "spanking." Lack of spanking/discipline is what causes the bastard spirit to grow within a person. One of the reasons population growth is stalling out is that parents fear raising a child, knowing they will not have the courage discipline it and thus it may grow up to be a "wild ass of a man" like Ishamel.
Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.
Psalm 58:3 they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Recently we saw the death of James Dobson, the leader of the Focus on the Family ministry. The liberal sons of Belial were all over Twitter, mocking his death and blaming him for causing their "trauma." They got spanked a few times and talk as if it were some kind of war crime. The true problem was that these immature individuals did not receive enough discipline. Hopefully Dobson's mantle will be carried forward effectively and we can carry a healthy attitude towards disciplining children into the upcoming generations.
Sons of Belial will Reject Authority
We see the sons of Belial oppose Saul after God selected him to be king:
1 Samuel 10:27 24And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king..... 27But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents.
Meanwhile David had more reason than anyone to reject Saul's kingship and yet David respected the authority God had placed on Saul and waited on God to remove the evil king rather than leading a rebellion himself.
We see sons of Belial opposing the authority of the legitimate king Rehoboam:
2 Chronicles 13:7 And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.
The antichrist himself is called "the lawless one" by the apostle Paul:
2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Jephthah also became a son of Belial, joining with a gang of raiders:
Judges 11:1-3 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. Gilead's wife bore sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, "You shall have no inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman." Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.
Although Jephthah was the son of a powerful king, he was the offspring of the king's escapade with a prostitute and not the king's wife. His brothers did not accept him for this reason. The king's wife likely also resented this child. He was a constant reminder of the thought that she may not have been attractive or sexy enough to please the king. Rejected, Jephthah then left his family and took his place among the sons of Belial. The place of bastards who were not given proper fatherly discipline and attention. Fortunately Jephthah's story has a redeeming nature and he was able to overcome his past and become a great deliverer for his nation. Although his brothers and family gave up on him, Jephthah never gave up on God and maintained his faith throughout his life. Although he was born a bastard, God did not lock Jephthah into that destiny. God saw that he was willing to discipline himself and choose a new life than what satan had planned.
The Prodigal Son
Luke 15:12-13 the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
The prodigal son is usually taught as a warm-hearted story of restoration, but we should remember the son was only restored to family love, but not to his former authority. The responsible son was promised all that the father had. The former son took the position of a bastard. He could be loved, but he would not inherit what the father had nor receive his authority in the household.
The responsible son felt it was unfair the father rejoiced over the wasteful son having returned home. Their dialogue is as follows:
29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'
31 "And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours."
If you are putting a lot of effort into your walk with God, it can be discouraging to see some prosper who are only doing the minimum to please God. It is then we have to remember that God desires all to be saved and come to him, but not all will walk as true sons before God or walk in his authority. The ones who think "how much sin can I get away with, without going to hell?" are the bastard children who will be lucky if they escape hell at all, even to be saved as one through fire.
Satanic Studies
Spanking studies are not trustworthy, because they do not properly exclude parents who beat their kids abusively and in excess, rather than simply using basic spanking in moderation; thus it is not a surprise that this inclusion "skews" the average. They also did not filter for correlation vs causation, using the excuse "it would be unethical to assign children to a group receiving painful treatment" to avoid having to do a proper robust study. It is true that children spanked the most tended to have the more behavioral issues in life, but that is because these children already had this aggressive disobedient personality. The spanking was a result of this personality, not the cause of it.
A 2024 study showed that earlier studies made false conclusions, greatly overstating harms from spanking: Does spanking harm child development? Major study challenges common beliefs
A researcher or scientist has several methods of making a study say whatever they want. One is by ending studies early or failing to publish when the results don't fit the agenda, then retrying at later dates and publishing the one time the study matches what they want. If you try anything enough times, by statistical chance you will get a result that can be used for a juicy headline, even if the "researchers" know it was just a fluke.
Just look at the end result. The world without spanking has vastly more mental-health issues that the one before it when spanking was an accepted practice. You can tell when scientists are lying when the plain evidence of everything in the entire world goes against what they are saying. Some people feel the need to feel like they are the white knight crusading to the rescue of the weak. In their desire to protect children from pain, they end up turning the same into vile bastards, modern day barbarians who cannot be a functioning part of society.
Spiritual Inheritance
The bastard spirit makes it difficult to draw close to God and gives an image of Him as a harsh dictator who always wants to punish. The reason for this is that when a person experiences no correction in real life, because they are not used to it, the correction coming from God will feel "harsh." If you are already used to having been disciplined by your parents in a healthy and balanced way, then experiencing God's discipline will not cause such a harsh reaction in you.
God's nature is revealed in the fruit of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:22 the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Often we find the "gifts" much more exciting though. I know I did. Prophecy, working of miracles, words of secret knowledge. All of this seems much more exciting than the foundational character work God wants to do in us. Kindness, goodness, faithfulness are not flashy. "Long suffering" in particular does not sound pleasant. The word "fruit" is used biblically to mean many things, one of which is "descendant." If we want to be sons and daughters of God, this is shows by the fruit of the Spirit in us.
Genesis 25:5-6 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
Isaac received everything from Abraham, while the sons of the concubines such as Ishmael, took only gifts. This is a mirror of how divine sonship works versus the counterfeit. The son inherits God's nature fully and develops both gifts and fruit, while the bastard only takes spiritual gifts but has no interest in the fruit of the Spirit or the character development that God requires for true sonship.
Matthew 7:20-23 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
"Lawlessness," the core nature of the sons of Belial. Christ teaches here that the gifts of the Spirit are only good if you have first laid a foundation of fruit of the Spirit in your heart. You can be operating in gifts of the Spirit and still end up in hell. Fruit is what God looks for when judging our heart. This is the foundation everything else in built on.
God Raises Sons
As the verse above shows, even Jesus, God in the flesh, submitted to learning obedience through suffering. How then can we mere humans reject the pain of correction? God is willing to create sons, but it is our unwillingness to participate that botches this process and creates a partly-finished product, ie bastard spirituality. Part God and part-world; the fruit of taking the easy way too many times. Just as a natural bastard has one legitimate parent, we have "some" God in us but were unable or unwilling to finish the process. Galatians 4 linked here, is an important chapter to read on this topic. "Jerusalem above" is our mother. That means following the path of the saints who have gone before us, and learning from their mistakes in the Bible so we do not have to keep on repeating the same.