I wrote in a previous post on Hanukkah that commitment to Christ entails separation from the world, which has intellectual, emotional, and social consequences. In the West, where there is a great deal of materialistic and non-committal “spiritual but not religious” thinking, the belief held by Christians that there is a personal God (and a personal Devil) sets them apart from their broader societies. It is a sad fact that religiously a Christian may have more in common with a neo-pagan than with his next-door neighbour (particularly in Europe; cultural Christianity has held out longer in the USA and Canada).
Among Christians, a contextual interpretation of texts such as Genesis 6, Deuteronomy 32, and Psalm 82 adds further separation between those who truly affirm the spiritual metaphysical doctrines of Scripture and those who adopt a minimalist approach, acknowledging the Creator, but little else besides. The latter group fails to acknowledge the full reasons for the fallenness of our world and, in so doing, loses some perspective on the means by which this fallenness is to be rectified. The authors of Scripture understood the fall not as one event but as several: the rebellion of the Serpent, the fall in the Garden, the corruption of the Watchers, and departure of the spiritual rulers of the nations from their appointed mission.
The supernatural causes of our present condition require a supernatural response. The flood was a judgment on the sins of the children of the Watchers, and the Watchers themselves were imprisoned in Tartarus. Following the Exodus, the children of Israel were sent to slay evil forces occupying Canaan, just as their cousins, the descendants of Esau, had done in Edom. At the cross, Christ dethroned the powers that ruled over the Gentiles. They no longer have claim on this earth, and can be driven off by the proclamation of the Gospel and the testimony of the martyrs. But these spirits are not removed yet. Scripture tells us that Satan will be bound at Christ’s return and will be cast into the Lake of Fire following Christ’s millennial reign.
To hold views such as those outlined above is to accept the spiritual realities of the Israelite worldview as presented in Scripture. These are not the views of the materialists around us. For them, we will either progress to utopia by our own humanistic efforts, or we shall perish in an abyss of our own weakness. They are blinded by their philosophies and the efforts of the god of this age. Christians, by the grace of God, have had the veil lifted from their eyes. While we do not see everything, what God has chosen to reveal to us is illuminating.
A consequence of these beliefs is that righteous people yearn for the return of Christ, because he will rule the earth with a rod of iron and reverse the injustices and tragedies of this age. But the wicked do not desire His return, for to them it will mean judgment and punishment. The humble and righteous bend to the rule of Christ because they recognise that His ways are good for us and that He loves us, whereas the arrogant resist His kingship, His wisdom, His correction. In their resistance, they must characterise Christians as deluded and foolish. They must cast doubt on the veracity of our beliefs and the basis for our beliefs: the promises and actions of Christ. In so doing, they cast doubt on Christ Himself, the foundation of the Church, by whose blood she is redeemed.
Doubt is a powerful tool. It can make a man think himself insane. In his concern to “fit in”, he may abandon his beliefs in order to regain the esteem and comfort of his peers. Such comfort is short-lived, however. Our lives are brief by comparison with eternity, be that the eternal bliss of Paradise or the eternal torment of Hell. While our senses may tell us to be preoccupied with today, our hearts testify to eternity: for God put eternity in our hearts. A measured reflection on the a priori concepts we impose on reality will reveal to us that they are themselves timeless and that time itself is a construct, a means of parsing our experience. But what is time to God? With Him a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years a day.
The reader will note that this post relies heavily on the teachings of St Peter. There is a reason for that. Peter saw the miracles of Christ. He saw Christ’s challenge to the gods on Mount Hermon, where He was transfigured into the glory of His Second Coming. The Apostle saw the risen Christ and witnesses His ascension. He saw the Spirit come first upon the Jews at Pentecost and then upon the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius. People would lay out their sick and afflicted in the streets in the hope that they would be healed as the shadow of Peter fell upon them. This was a man who knew the spiritual realities of life. We must continue to have faith, whether we live to see such miracles or not.
To your 4th paragraph: I say, YES! Really, I say “YES” to the entire piece, but I really enjoyed what you had to say on the material world vs Christ, and which is more valuable. It was very beautifully written.
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Thank you. Much of my thinking comes from what Dr Heiser teaches about the Ancient Near East context of the Old Testament and the Second Temple context of the New Testament. My own degrees were in the Greco-Roman world, so my thinking is also shaped by my engagement with pagan religion.
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Have you come across the book “Reversing Mount Hermon”?
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Yes, I got it not long after it came out. Very good book. I take it you enjoyed it too?
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No, I have not read it but very familiar with all the text you mention Deut. 32 and the divine council Ps. 82 and Daniels encounters with territorial rulers etc. It was always stuff taught in the movement I associate with. I have been on a blog site where the book and its concepts its are being discussed and where Heiser comments now and then.
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He has a bit of a fraught relationship with deliverance ministries I’ve noticed. He seems to object to the traditional models found in Catholic exorcism and as taught be Derek Prince and seems to favour an approach which is more like proclaiming the Gospel and providing counselling. I’m not sure we need to make a dichotomy: perhaps there are cases of spiritual influence were counselling is sufficient and perhaps there are cases where something that resembles what we see in the Gospels and Acts is more appropriate.
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I think there is a lot of terrible deliverance ministry that goes on. It’s essential as I see it be practised in a pastoral situation where there can be adequate follow-up supervision, counselling and teaching.
The majority of my encounters were involved in evangelism actually proclaiming the Gospel demons began to manifest at the preaching of it. They just simply had to be addressed when bringing people to Christ who had experimented in the occult or come from eastern animistic regions.
Several could not speak the name of Jesus or pray in repentance until demons had been expelled or silenced. Most of these then became members of the church in which I was a leader a few others became members of other churches.
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Did you ever see any violence in these encounters?
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Nick about the violence I did not mean to hit the like key I was trying to reply LOL.
I’ll tell you one event where a massive guy, he was a bit strange and claimed to be ex SAS came at me sort of growling and towering over me. My thought was if this is not a demon I’m in real trouble. I just said “In the name of Jesus shut up and sit down” and he did.
I have found in all these encounters I have always been completely calm. Sometimes with a sense of being full of praise to the Lord. Strange as naturally, I think I’m more of a coward than anything else. To me, its been obviously the Lord at work.
However, when we (My wife and I) began in this stuff the next morning we would wake very agitate sort of physically shaking inside but not mentally fearful. We took this as an attempt to make us fearful and stop what we were doing with prayer and as we continued this reaction stopped. But I think some of the difficulties we have encountered in life have a demonic source. I would recommend anyone getting involved in this to find prayer support for what they are doing.
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That’s very helpful. Not that I am intending to go into this kind of ministry specifically, as I do not feel called to it, but I am conscious that I should be aware of certain possibilities when I’m trying to share the Gospel. I think that God is going to bring about revival in the UK according to what I read in the charismatic community, but I would expect there to be spiritual resistance to God’s work.
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I studied quite a lot into Deuteronomy 32 and the sons of God some years back when I was regularly involved in deliverance ministry. Not so much of that going on at the moment.
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I think some of that may be relevant to what is going on in the political world. I think part of what is going on spiritually with Brexit is God taking us out of the EU to renew our national commitment to Him as our God and separating us from an alliance that is opposed to Him.
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I’m sure the spiritual rulers and the Lord are intimately involved in the government of nations. Paul’s terms are frequently used in such a way as to make it difficult to determine if he is referring to human government or spiritual powers. I think it’s safe to say it often applies to both. However, I’m not a prophet and trying to understand what is working out ahead of time is beyond me. We can be sure in whatever situation God is working for the good of those in any land standing for Him in the work of the gospel.
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People would lay out their sick and afflicted in the streets in the hope that they would be healed as the shadow of Peter fell upon them. This was a man who knew the spiritual realities of life. We must continue to have faith, whether we live to see such miracles or not.
“Peter knew the spiritual realities.”
I met the Lord and know him personally. People in here don’t believe that. Especially the Mary worshipers. I can tell you Peter didn’t know anything. He was an idiot. What he has was faith. He believed.
I always see people saying that this person taught this and that person taught that, and Mary worshipers say their church teaches this and that. So what does teaching do?You teach a baby to talk. You teach kids mathematics. How do you teach people salvation? The catholic people say….well, our church teaches morality and that certain things are wrong. So that means the CC and its people are all good and do no wrong because doing wrong is against church teaching. I hear this every day all day. OK, so the CC teaches this and that. How come its holymen are vile criminal sexual perverts? They are theones teaching and shepherding the flock. They should know the teaching.
Oh, but the catholic church teaches this and that.
Why are your costume holymen the darkest most miserable predators on the earth?
Ill tell you why. Because teaching doesn’t mean a thing. Its a catch word used by those on their way to hell. They think teaching is gonna save them,or something close to that. They don’t know the Lord personally. They think teaching will somehow make up for that. When they pass away and wake up in hell they wonder why. But they don’t wonder for long because the are taught real quick that god is a just god and they deserve what they get and are getting. I use the word pass away because I passed away and came back. You are here and then you don’t even realize anything. You are standing there or sitting there and then nothing. You wake up and you are somewhere else. You open your eyes and you are somewhere, and this is your new reality.
Its not what you know. No matter what people tell you. They will wake up in hell. What did knowing do for them?
Its believing. Its faith. Having real faith in the invisible god and knowing him and believing His Word.
Blessed are they that have not seen but believe.
Have the small amount of faith to ask Jesus to show himself to you, and sit and wait til he does. Do you believe he will show himself and that he wants to get to know you as he said he does? This is all you have to believe. Believe what Jesus said. that’s all you have to believe. You don’t have to take a RICO class or what ever the Mary worshipers lay on you. All you have to do is believe the gospel.
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Thank you, Nicholas. Yes, supernatural causes do require supernatural responses. That is something tha Thank yt so many people don’t get. They want an intellectual solution to all life’s issue. Also, they want it to come immediately. The modern-day mantra could be; I want what I want and I want it now. That is why mental illness is so wide-spread today, eg. anxiety and depression. So, let me clarify; I am not talking about Major Depressive Disorder, which is a medical condition, stemming from a chemical imbalance. This is a real illness and cannot be ‘cured’ by just cheering up. With modern scientific methods such as the Pet Scan, this brain activity can be viewed and identified. There are also medications that can correct this condition, provided the individual will cooperate.
That is where faith; pray and meditation can be vital. They have been able to measure the results, using the same methods. The scientific community is even willing to concede that they have found a God Spot within the brain, though not the prospect of a Real God. Many more of this community will say they believe in a God that is real to them. But they make this statement individuals and not as a scientist. We must be thankful for small victories.
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FYI, you guys probably won’t notice, but if you do, see that some of my posts on “Christmas” are coming down. It’s due to a submission of a manuscript for a book on the Histioriography of the Nativity.
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I look forward to reading those. Takes me back to my work on Herod. I’m sure they will be a good read and I wish you every success with the sale of the book and the effect on the readers.
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Thanks, Nicholas. I don’t expect to make any sales, but it would be a nice accomplishment nonetheless. If one reader is effected positively by the it through the grace of God, let us give Him thanks.
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Indeed. That is a worthy attitude: we sow the seeds, and God grants the growth. You never know – and the timing is actually great because Joel Richardson has just released his book on the real Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia. I think the next few years could well be a window for the historicity of Scriptural claims to make an impact. That in turn will be important for conversions and for awakening slumbering believers.
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Indeed, for far too long Christians have cowered to the demeans of the ‘minimalist materialists’ who promote Archaeology as the only means of knowing the past.
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The problem with archaeology is that it still requires interpretation. When I studied Aegean prehistory there were a lot of controversies about methodology, dating, etc. Even today, regarding Herod, as you probably know, there is now a movement arguing he died in 3BC rather than 4BC.
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Nicholas, you may be interested in this piece of work done on the theology of Roger Forster the mentored me in the UK. You will find some similarities with the themes of “Reversing Hermon”.
Restoration and Renewal in Roger T. Forster In the Teaching & Practice of Restoration Theology
Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
The Thr University of Leeds, Department of Theology and Religious Studies
June 2001
Click to access uk_bl_ethos_251696.pdf
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Thanks, Rob. I’ll have a look when time permits.
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