TATTOOS: THE UNHOLY INK

“Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:28)

God gave this warning to the Israelites before they entered Canaan and the land they were promised as an inheritance. He did this because they were going into a land filled with people who did not worship him and who used a variety of methods (idols, markings on their body, etc.) to worship or honor their pagan deities. God did not want his people polluting themselves either by pursuing these false deities or by adopting pagan customs and using them to worship him.

With the increasing popularity of tattoos, many Christians might be wondering: Does the Bible prohibit this kind of body drawing? I know some will have a hard time receiving this teaching because tattooing has now become an accepted practice in our society. However, just because society approves of something does not make it right in God’s eyes. 

Tattoos have their “roots” in witchcraft. Many young people today are doing these very things because of some witchcraft influences in their lives that they are unaware of. They do not realize that partaking of these can open the door to wrong and defiling influences in their lives.

Leviticus 19:28 is the Christian tattooist and tattoo bearer's worst nightmare. God plainly and without a doubt condemns the tattoo; “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Could that be any clearer?

This clear statement from the Word of God does not settle anything for this generation of disobedient, carnal, and worldly Christians. Rather than obey God, they go to great lengths to justify their open disobedience to the Word of God. How do they get around Leviticus 19:28? A lot of Christians when confronted with Leviticus 19:28, say, "That’s not for today. That’s the Old Testament. We’re under the New Testament".

Some people object to using Old Testament scripture as a reference to tattoos since the New Testament doesn’t speak of these things. However, in the New Testament, we are called to a higher law. We are to have God’s laws written in our hearts. When we remain close to the Lord and obey Him, He can direct us in things that are not good for us. For example, although the Bible does not say, “Thou shalt not smoke” or “Drug addiction is bad for you;” we know that these things are destructive to the human body. In the New Testament, we are told to glorify God in our bodies. This would include not marring our bodies with tattoos, as the principles in the Bible clearly tell us it is wrong to defile our bodies.

Was "bestiality" (sex with an animal) only forbidden in the Old Testament Levitical Law (Leviticus 18:23, 20:15-16)? Does that mean a Holy God now, under the New Testament, approves of bestiality? Leviticus 19:29 is the only place in the Bible that God directly forbids anyone from prostituting their daughter. Since it’s only in the Old Testament Levitical Law and we’re not under the law, is it ok by God for a parent to cause their daughter to prostitute today? There are many other "moral laws’ that are only forbidden in the Old Testament, such as the human sacrifice of children. Nowhere in the New Testament is this forbidden. Does that mean that now under the New Testament, God endorses throwing babies into the fire as a human sacrifice? This is the same line of reasoning and the same perversion of the Word of God.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary at the beginning of Leviticus 19 explains that most of Leviticus 19 (such as verse 19:28) are moral commandments that apply not only for Israel but for the New Testament Christian today. “There are some ceremonial precepts in this chapter, but most of them are moral. . . Most of these precepts are binding on us, for they are expositions of most of the Ten Commandments."
(Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, Leviticus 19:28)

The favorite excuse for disobeying Leviticus 19:28 is; "That means, nor print any marks upon you for the dead. It’s ok, as long it’s not for the dead". Is it ok to practice satanic bloodletting, self-mutilation, or cutting of the flesh as long as it’s not for the dead? It’s in the same verse? Notice also, the phrase "for the dead" is only referencing to the "cuttings in your flesh". The condemnation of "nor print any marks upon you" is not qualified by the phrase "for the dead". Also, if you’ll notice the verse clearly says "any marks".

Unger's Bible Dictionary under the definition for "Mark" includes the following reference for Leviticus 19:28: "In Lev. 19:28 we find two prohibitions of an unnatural disfigurement of the body: 'Ye shall not make any cutting in your flesh for the dead, nor any print any marks upon you.' The latter (Heb. qa aqa, incision) refers to tattooing, and has no reference to idolatrous usages, but was intended to instill upon the Israelites a proper reverence for God's creation." (Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Bible Dictionary, 1974 ed., p. 696) Notice that tattoos were forbidden without any reference to pagan, barbarian, or idolatrous usages. In other words, the tattoo itself, regardless of the reason, was forbidden.

Wycliffe’s Bible Encyclopedia, 1975 ed., p. 1664 under the definition for tattooing distinctly says: “While “cutting in the flesh” have reference here to mourning customs [for the dead], the tattooing does not appear to pertain to such practice.”

The New American Commentary on Leviticus 19:28 states; the condemnation was for, "cutting the body either for the dead or with tattoo marks." (Mark F. Rooker, The New American Commentary on Leviticus, 2000 ed., p. 262) Explicitly recognizing the tattoo was not "for the dead."

Do you see how dishonest and disobedient it is to say, "it doesn’t apply to us because we are not under the law”? Find what you don’t like in the Word of God, cut it out, or misapply. This is the same tactics used by the satanic cults and heretics for years. You can prove anything and everything with such deceitful methods.

One of the silliest and childish arguments that some use to justify the wearing of tattoos is this: "Do you get a haircut or trim your beard? God condemned getting a haircut or trimming your beard in the verse before forbidding the tattoo. The tattoo is the same as getting a haircut." Believe it or not, this is a widely used argument.

Leviticus 19:26-28 is a clear condemnation of pagan, witchcraft, and heathen practices. Look at the context. Verse 26 is plainly referring to "enchantment [spells or witchcraft] nor observe times [astrology]. . . Verse 28 is the pagan, demonic practice of bloodletting [cuttings in your flesh] and tattooing. Why would the Lord stick in the middle a verse that "condemns simply getting a haircut"? Of course, He wouldn’t. . . And He didn’t. The condemnation found in verse 27 of "rounding the corners of your head" or "mar the corners of thy beard" was the forbidding of a common pagan practice that cut the hair as worship and honor of the hosts of heaven.

Here’s how Matthew Henry’s and Coffman’s Commentaries reflect on the "forbidden haircut" of Leviticus 19:27: "Those that worshipped the hosts of heaven, in honour of them, cut their hair so as that their heads might resemble the celestial globe; but, as the custom was foolish itself, so, being done with respect to their false gods, it was idolatrous." (Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Leviticus 19:27)

The fact is that up until a few years ago, virtually everyone, including the most liberal Christian, knew the tattoo was clearly forbidden by the Word of God. And throughout history, the tattoo has always been condemned by Bible-believing Christians. Every historical resource ever written on tattoos clearly confirms this fact.

Jean Chris Miller states in his book: The Body Art Book: A Complete, Illustrated Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, and Other Body Modifications, p.9; “Just as occurred in other cultures with tattoo traditions, when these pagan tribes were converted to the Christian religion, their spiritual and cultural rites (which included tattooing, piercing and scarification) were outlawed. . .”

"Whenever missionaries encountered tattooing they eradicated it." (Gilbert, Steve, Tattoo History: A Source Book, p. 101) "While these and other body modifications continued to be practiced underground as a way for non-Christian people to identify each other, God forbid you got caught and your mark was revealed." (Jean-Chris Miller, The Body Art Book: A Complete, Illustrated Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, and Other Body Modifications, p.11) Up until a few years, virtually every commentary written understood Leviticus 19:28 as an open condemnation of the tattoo.

James M. Freeman in his book, The New Manners & Customs of the Bible, 1998 ed., p.157: says of Leviticus 19:28: "Tattooing Forbidden. Both cutting and tattooing were done by the heathens, and so God forbade His people from doing so in imitation of them."

Many tattooist claim Isaiah 44:5 and Ezekiel 9:4 are examples that God-ordained tattoos in the Bible. If you read these verses in the Hebrew original you would never argue that they are referring to tattoos. Some Christian tattooists go so far as to claim that Jesus has a tattoo! Many Christian tattooists claim that when Jesus Christ returns in Revelation chapter 19:11-16 on a horse, He has a tattoo on his thigh! Can anyone with any spiritual discernment (and a brain) really believe Jesus has a tattoo? Isn’t it amazing how spiritually blind someone becomes when they began to justify their disobedience to the Word of God?

Most Christians, even the most carnal and backslidden would never desecrate or defile the local church building. Even among the most lost people, there is a reverence and sacredness to the church building. But, did you know? If you are truly a son of God His Spirit dwells within you (John 14:17, Romans 8:9, 11) and your body is the temple of the living God. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 makes this very clear. The Lord warns several times of the seriousness of defiling His temple, your body! In 1 Corinthians 3:17, the Lord clearly and sternly warns against defiling your body, the temple of God. If any man defiles the temple of God, him shall God destroy!

You must be careful with what you do with your body. It is the temple of God. You’d better not defile it with pagan, devil-worshipping tattoos! Do you really believe the Lord Jesus Christ is pleased with you wearing a tattoo? Do you honestly believe God’s perfect will is for a Christian, or any person, to be marked with a tattoo?