EDITOR’S NOTE:

The Orthodox Church finds itself in the throes of a heretical movement. Our editorial board has lost hope that this movement will end in our lifetimes. Thankfully there are a few Orthodox Priests around the country that are willing to spend their time educating the laity and protecting them against heresies. The heresies generated by the now engraved Ephraimite movement continue to damage the fabric of our Faith and the institution of our Church. Yet the response from Orthodox Hierarchs is consistent in that that response is……. nothing!

Contra Tollhouses: St. Paul and Ephesians 6

I once had a discussion with a brother priest about the tollhouses. He accepts the tollhouse theology; I do not. He elaborated the usual things such as “St. So-and-so said the tollhouses are real.” I then challenged him by asking, “Where in the Bible are the tollhouses specifically mentioned?” His response shocked me: “Why Father, they are mentioned by St. Paul himself in chapter 6 of Ephesians – our battles are against the powers and principalities of the air.” Interesting answer; however, I did some research and here is what St. Paul really is talking about.

First of all, in Ephesians 6:12, St. Paul does mention the fallen angels. He states, “For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Just prior to this verse St. Paul instructs the Ephesians to put “…on the whole armor of God…” (Eph. 6:11). After telling them who they are going to battle with – demonic angelic forces (Eph 6:12) – they are instructed to … “keep alert with all perseverance” (Ephesians 6:13-18 RSV). Does this really speak of the tollhouses? It sounds more to me like the call to Orthodox spiritual vigilance (a good thing). This is the actual witness of the Church fathers. For example, in his “Life of Anthony,” St. Athanasius of Alexandria states,

…he was alone in the inner mountain, spending his time in prayer and discipline. And the brethren who served him asked that they might come out every month and bring him olives, pulse and oil, for by now he was an old man. There then he passed his life, and endured such great wrestlings, “Not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), as it is written, but against opposing demons, as we learned from those who visited him¹.

Here, St. Athanasius tells us that the spiritual battles St. Anthony the Great underwent were the embodiment of that spiritual struggle of Ephesians 6. It’s something that happens in this life while we are still alive. It has nothing to do with the tollhouses. What else does St. Paul say about these angelic forces?

Interestingly, these same demonic forces are mentioned in chapter 2 of Ephesians. St. Paul states,

And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Here St. Paul reminds the Ephesians of their pagan background and the debaucherous and sinful lifestyles that accompanied it. They were the “walking dead” who followed Satan, who continues his demonic angelic work among their still-pagan brethren. For argument’s sake, let’s acknowledge the fact that this does not specifically refer to the same “powers and principalities” as mentioned in Eph. 6:12. Nevertheless, who leads all the demonic principalities and powers but Satan himself? As the “children of wrath” (Eph 2:3), those who had not yet accepted Christ, Satan was their spiritual leader. Now, as Christians, they have renounced Satan and must now armor up for the continuing battle against Satan and his minions who want back what they lost.

In his treatise “Incarnation of the Word,” St. Athanasius of Alexandria teaches that the fallen angels rule the aerial realm and that the way that Jesus defeated them was to be crucified in the air on the cross. He states, “…it was quite fitting that the Lord suffered this death. For thus being lifted up, He cleared the air of the malignity both of the devil and of demons of all kinds.² Jesus Christ Himself, by His elevation on the Cross, has destroyed the power of Satan and his aerial minions. They were “disarmed” (apekdysamenos in Greek) which has two meanings. In a military context, the word means depriving an enemy of their weapons. In court of law context it means to publicly strip them of their honor.³ Therefore, the powers and principalities of the air have been completely defeated by Christ. They have no power over us if we are spiritually vigilant.

Fully vested in our spiritual armor, we have all the tools to keep Satan and his minions at bay. St. Paul also tells us in another place that the powers and principalities of the air have already been defeated…in baptism! In chapter 2 of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossian community, he states,

…buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col 2:12-15 RSV).

Once again, the demonic powers and principalities of the air have been defeated. Knowing this, our only response should be to glorify God and rejoice! In the waters of baptism you were not only born again of water and the spirit, but Christ Himself in your baptism has again triumphed over Satan and his powers and principalities so that they have no power over you.

In conclusion, this brief article demonstrates two important things. First, the teaching on the tollhouses lacks scriptural support. We are not judged by demons; we will judge the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). Second, the Orthodox Church warns against the use of Biblical “proof texts.” This is a common practice across all Christian denominations usually when attempting to defend an aberrant teaching or a heresy. To “proof text” St. Paul and his epistles for the purpose of the tollhouse teaching is exactly what one should not do. As demonstrated, the text has a more significant meaning when understood in its full and correct Orthodox Christian interpretation according to an Orthodox Christian phronema. That, brothers and sisters, is how we interpret Scripture for its true and full meaning. Last, but not least, let us glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has defeated the demonic forces on the cross, defeated any possibility of “tollhouses,” and opened the Gates of Paradise for those who love Him and trust in Him.

¹ St. Athanasius. “Life of St. Anthony,” NPNF Vol. 4, P. Schaff and H Wace, eds. (Hendrickson: Peabody, MA 1999) pg. 210.

²St. Athanasius. “Incarnation of the Word,” NPNF Vol. 4, P. Schaff and H Wace, eds. (Hendrickson: Peabody, MA 1999) pg. 50.