Fire On Your Head

This is the second article from Edwin and Sophia Christiaan on the spirit of Jezebel.  It is entitled; Committing Adultery with Jezebel, and answers some questions from the first article. It is a topical teaching with a view of helping those whom have specifically dealt with the spirit of Jezebel. It shows scriptural ways to overcome entanglements one may have had with this spirit. I posted them because it is a good and clear perspective on the matter. I usually do not post teachings or teach  on subjects such as this, however when I met the Christiaans and heard their first hand experiences in dealing with the Jezebel Spirit, I felt that many would  benefit from it. Visit their website at http://instituteoflove.net. Don’t forget to read the other articles on the Jezebel spirit.

The consequences of committing adultery with Jezebel

It has never been God’s intention for those who have a personal love relationship with Him, which in reality means to be married to Jesus Christ, to live in defeat, lacking the financial means for living and giving, to always battle with sickness, or die prematurely. On the contrary, God’s desire and prayer for us is that we may prosper in all things and be in health, just as our souls prosper.. See 3. John 2 NKJV

Jesus the Bridegroom, showed us how much He loved us by giving His life for us and washing us from all sin. Now, He is looking forward to come back for a glorious church, His Bride, and that is us, living free from sin and evil attachments or as the Bible describes it, “without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish.” See Ephesians 5:26-27 NLT

But for some reason something has driven a wedge between us and Jesus in our marriage with Him, causing us to struggle, feeling spiritually isolated from God, feeling guilty and fearful, resulting in us becoming ineffective as Christians for God’s Kingdom. We lost the ability to walk in God’s power, unconditional love, and having a sound and not confused mind. That “something” that has come between us and God, is what I call: “The sin of committing spiritual adultery”, where we knowingly or unknowingly have allowed someone or something to become more important to us than our husband, Jesus, which is the same thing as having an idol.

In the natural world, the definition of adultery is referred to as extramarital sex, infidelity, or voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and another person who is not his or her spouse.

In the spiritual realm, it means we have entered into an extramarital affair with somebody other than God, and we are now reaping the consequences of its curse.

Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. But there is a problem — your sins have cut you off from God. Isaiah 59:1-2 NLT. In other words, because we have committed the sin of adultery, it has literally broken and fractured our marriage relationship with God.

Much of the source of our sins is rooted in the Jezebel Spirit, whose clear purpose is to seduce us and lead us away from God by having us commit spiritual adultery with her. The Spirit of Jezebel is a rebellious spirit that is born out of witchcraft.

Those who are “infected” with the Jezebel Spirit are evil, and practice evil. Their character traits are well described and categorized in the secular world who classify these people as Narcissists or Psychopaths for whom there is no healing treatment or cure.

Two Types of Jezebel Personality
There are two types of Jezebel personalities: The high-profile type who is loud and vocal and is the one who wears the pants in the family. And then there is the low-profile type who is generally soft-spoken, giving the illusion of being motherly, protective, and even very submissive. The latter type is the most dangerous, as this is the most difficult to discern. She relies heavily on manipulation and is very subtle and crafty.

Although the Spirit of Jezebel is genderless, it is usually women who possess it because of its seductive sexual nature.

Here is a list of the characteristics of the evil Jezebel Spirit:
She is proud, likes self-worship, is arrogant and power hungry. She seeks recognition and affirmation. Her identity is based on her performance rather than having her value in Jesus Christ.

She often succeeds well in the pursuit of her goals, and in this process she hinders others in learning to operate in the gifts and talents God gave them, because she jumps in before anyone else can.

She never wants to be accountable, but instead she is resentful and tries to attack and intimidate those who are trying to make her accountable.

She is seductive. She uses any type of seduction available, to manipulate her way to gaining control and power, flirtation being one of them. She uses a spiritual seduction which operates on both men and women. Although Jezebel usually dislikes women, she will seduce women in position of authority, or wives of those in authority. Jezebel always seeks to be the efficient executive assistant at the side of a powerful businessman or church leader. Men are almost always blind to her seduction as she flatters them with her attention.

She is bitter and often openly envious of others. For instance, she jealously stands in the way of others receiving attention or recognition, applause, and a position of power.

She murmurs and complains to get her way..

She is not easily satisfied no matter what people do to appease her.

She clearly lacks in humility. She is unrepentant, stubborn, and will never admit any wrong doing.

She schemes and plots to get what she wants.

Here is a good example of how the Bible breaks down this evil behavior of scheming and plotting to obtain what we want:

What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong — you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:1-3 NLT

She is controlling and very manipulative.

She is selfish.

She is critical of others.

She is bossy, and rebels against authority that seeks to replace her.

She is a back-stabber and craftily uses lies to discredit others.

She is emotionally cold.

She will never give you her approval.

She puts impossible, high expectations on others.

She is unable to acknowledge the pain she causes others.

She is usually very calculated but acts innocent.

She only gives conditional love.

She hates the true prophets of God and seeks to persecute and destroy them.

She belittles men and emasculates those who allow her to dominate and get her will. She HATES men of authority who discerns her spirit.

She is delusional and likes to give herself prominent name titles.

If you have experienced these things, it is likely that you have encountered the Spirit of Jezebel. This spirit can work through friends, relatives, work colleagues, as well as believers in the church. The truth of the matter is that we all are susceptible to some of these behaviors. That is why it is important to note that just because a person exhibits one or more of these characteristics, it doesn’t automatically make that person a Jezebel. We need to have the Spirit of Discernment to be able to identify this spirit, as Jesus exposed this evil spirit in the church of Thyatira, saying to them:

I know all the things you do — your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things. But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman — that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet — to lead my servants astray. She is encouraging them to worship idols, eat food offered to idols, and commit sexual sin. Revelation 2:19-20 NLT

It is interesting to see here, that Jezebel makes this seemingly good church, who is allowing her, believe that she speaks on behalf of God, because she has proclaimed herself to be a prophetess. Therefore, it has become relatively easy for Jezebel to teach the church whatever she wants them to hear and believe, and in doing so, craftily removing the people’s focus on Jesus onto herself. Jezebel causes them to worship, support, defend, and idolize her and her so-called ‘deeper truths’ teachings, like we hear many preaching nowadays. These are teachings that only focus on how you can get wealthy and get stuff for your own pleasure. In other words, Jezebel makes the church gratify itself by having them eat food offered to idols (idol food=false teachings), and because of that they commit adultery with her. But Jesus calls these false teachings, The Depth’s of Satan. See Revelation 2:24 NLT

I gave her time to repent, but she would not turn away from her immorality. Therefore, I will throw her upon a sickbed, and she will suffer greatly with all who commit adultery with her, unless they turn away from all their evil deeds. I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve. Revelation 2:21-23 NLT

The consequences of committing adultery with Jezebel are very serious. We will suffer hugely emotionally, physically, financially, and even to the point of death. But what you can see in the above scripture is that God mercifully provides time and opportunity for repentance from the sin of indulging in this Jezebel deception.

Those who are infected and infested with the Spirit of Jezebel stubbornly do not want to repent from their evil deeds. But those who commit adultery with Jezebel are often more open to want to turn away from their sins.

In order to regain the blessings of breakthrough of God upon our lives we need to first of all repent and then fully turn away from ALL evil deeds, which means breaking with ALL ties connecting us to the Spirit of Jezebel, emotionally and physically.

The Spirit of Jezebel is very wicked and is determined to retaliate on anybody who wants to escape her deadly claws. Therefore, it will send demons of intimidation, fear, and discouragement to try to get you back into the relationship with her and getting under her control.

This is the prescription that God gives us in order for us to be healed and set free from the wounds caused by committing adultery with Jezebel, to restore our marriage relationship with Jesus:

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor. James 4:7-10 NLT

JESUS CHRIST SAYS:

To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, I will give authority over all the nations. Revelation 2:26 NLT

Copyright©2009 Sophia & Edwin Christiaan

To read parts 1 & 2 click here.

As I was trying to sleep I kept thinking about two topics: love, and church structure.   I wanted to write about what I understand the love of God to be–within the character of the believer; for we all know that God’s greatest definition of Love is that He made us for Himself and loved us so much that he sent Jesus here to earth to live and die an honoring life of sinless obedience to God and then pave the way to reconciling us with our Maker and Completer. The following could be looked at as an outline from Gods word about how the manifestation love is to have in us on top of the joys which come from knowing Christ :

In God’s word it says there are only four reasons to cut someone off from fellowship, these being:

“Sexual perversion, sexual Immorality, Godlessness, or that the relationship takes away from your faith in Christ as your savior.”

So the reason I write this is because over the last 3 years I have heard many preachings and doctrines about love.   But what I have heard is an exclusive explanation of love.   The requirements differ depending on the view point, but all have conditional love based on a set of social requirements; either intelligence, social grace, certain regulatory things–such as a way of devotion and expressing God–but limiting how that is done. I am not saying that these views are wrong, I just see them too much as falling into that rebuke Jesus made concerning loving only those who do good to you, which is what got me up in the middle of the night to write this. As I look through the word of God, I notice not only a guideline for exclusion of people based on the four above, but I also see a guideline for unconditional love spelled out for us plainly:

Love  “Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;”
“Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up”
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
The three quotes above are the KJV, NKJV and NIV versions of 1 Cor 13:4

Patient.  Gentle.  Kind.  Long suffering (patient endurance of pain or unhappiness, patiently bearing continual wrongs or trouble)
It goes on to say in the NIV:
“It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
The passage goes on to say that love never fails which I believe means that love is supposed to be so inclusive and unconditional and pure that the very nature and revelation of it never leaves someone lacking astonishment at its makeup, but not only this for it is this state of this character which is imperishable and of which heaven will be based, or as close to it as we can understand.

My point is this: if we are called to an inclusive love that does not create a distinction between the great and the weak but in which we have the great (understanding the nature of love) serving and building up the weak–and if this is the case and we are trying to build God’s church properly–then why do we posture like the world?   Is it the world making us feel that we have to have a cool front to be included or relevant, and if so should we really care?

I also wanted to add the verses Mathew 5:43 and Romans 12:9-21.  In these passages it etches more things that are done because of love.   They speak of equality within the dictates of love defined from 1 Cor 13:4 and relates almost as a command on how we should act towards people, and if we look at it as a whole picture it obviously speaks of a general well being with people.  This verse even instructs on how to avoid unnecessary conflict, and tells us guidelines just as the ones from 1 Cor 13:4 that should be used with all people and all brothers who do not fall outside of the guidelines listed at the top of the page.

I think the reason we fall short of this is self seeking, and self observation before Christ.  All people want to be on the “right” track and therefore compete against their siblings in Christ consciously or subconsciously, and this however leads to horrible judgments that only Christ should and can make. Judgment therefore is the finite tool I believe that draws us to make classes and form exclusive churches… for lets be honest with ourselves: a church which practices conditional love and has a class system–within a belief which is going to bring trouble to the newly born, as well as the aged–cannot sustain life, because it becomes a social system and is based of the popularity of the circle.   A lot of people in North America born into the church upon seeing these inconsistencies are going to revert back to their regular circles because the dynamic is not properly different and the popularity matrix of the group within the church system–no matter how fun–can’t compete with one where there is no condemnation from the world.  Even worse so if the church body the person is being born into bares condemnation for things that are based on conditional standards.

At another point in Scripture, there is a verse that says something along the lines of “I would rather be harmed and cheated then do wrong to another and cheat someone else”. I think we need to take the advice of Romans 12:16 and not be conceited for conceit is not just “Oh I am so much better than you”, but it can also be “Oh well I am more right than you, I am more this, my time is more valuable, if you are not this type then I cannot fellowship with you”.

This edged it’s way into my mind, because like a lot of the verses I pointed out in my note, or in others where it states we are to love our enemies, I think about how great a love we are called to.   For while men like the apostles (assumption here) and like the Martyr Stephen, when they were being pelted by rocks for their faith still had the compassion to not be offended and yet loved those who pelted them, those who rejected everything they believed in and wanted nothing more but to tear him(them) apart and end him, not believing he would pop up in resurrection life but excluding him from what they believed was the only life…

And what did he do (and Jesus for that matter)?  His heart was torn for them and yet still he loved them. I must admit this for years has sifted the perishing part of me, and called me to re-evaluate my heart whenever I think on it.

I will soon write on church structure and tithing, but I would encourage everyone who reads this to make the burdens of love light.  Not that you have to be everyone’s best friend, but a general good will and inclusive spirit into righteous things is a good thing I think.  To each his own though.

Several months ago I was driving to my hometown at night from Brantford, Ontario with my father in the passenger seat of his car. I’m very familiar with the route because I’d taken it many times over the years, and I had come along to drive back with him because his eye sight is insufficient for night time driving. The trip is usually 2 1/2 hours one way, and we had gone back and forth in the same day to pick up a chair his mother, and my grandmother was giving him.

It started to rain as soon as we left around dinner time that night, and most of the way home it was rather foggy out. It made little difference as there were enough cars on the highway to see their rear lights through the fog. But by the time we get midway home on this route, we normally take a toll highway with significantly less traffic, and at the end of this highway we typically reach some back roads and take them for some stretch of time. Even though I’ve driven this route many times, it dawned on me that this was one of the few times I’d driven in the night time. And the only time I’ve taken this route in the foggy conditions which it was that night.

The back road we were taking had a lot of winding roads and hills, almost like a roller coaster ride at some points. Even though I’d count myself familiar with it, in this condition I was driving below the speed limit and more cautiously since I couldn’t see very far in front of me. It seemed the safest thing to do. However, at several points during the drive, cars and trucks would tail me, almost riding my bumper, and then speed up and drive around me. I guess they were getting impatient with me, but once they pulled in front of me and were in the lead they too would slow down. I assume they realized how bad the visibility was, but when they were following me, it was easy to see where they were going so long as someone else was already pioneering the way for them through the fog.

I thought that this occasion showed me a brilliant principle; that it’s easier to follow than it is to lead. In fact, when the way isn’t made clear before you, it’s harder to tell where you’re going, but when someone else is pioneering the way before you, it’s so much easier to just follow along with fewer things to focus on or pay attention to like the leader has to.

Jesus asked his listeners in Luke 6:39 “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ”

I personally believe after being in a few ‘pioneering’ situations where I was following Godly leaders as they ventured into uncharted territory, that the best thing to do when I was uncertain of where we were going, was to show them my respect and not make things any more difficult for them than it already was to be going somewhere and having nothing to guide them but their principle and vision. It’s very easy to get impatient and get ahead of  whoever is in front of us going slower than we desire, but once we pass them we may find there was a reason they were going so slowly and cautiously.

It may be true that you can only go as fast as who’s in front of you, but sometimes the ones in front of us are the ones who fall into the pit and can warn us to not follow their steps.

Blessings.

God is a rewarder of those that seek him…

How does God reward?

How do we seek him?

Is it worth it?

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

I just read this verse tonight and my heart was stirred. When I forget that God is a rewarder of those that seek him and let my culture of equality determine my thoughts it always breeds passivity in my life. But when I remember and know that God rewards those that earnestly seek him, I want so much to be close to him and be rewarded with his presence.

So how important is faith? This verse says that it is absolutely impossible to please God without faith.  The last verse of Romans 14 says that anything that is not done in faith is sin.  In Luke 18, Jesus’ biggest concern when he comes back is “When the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on the earth?” This is what He is focused on and 1 Corinthians 13 says that faith is one of the only eternal things that remain.

What is faith? This is something that has really captured my thoughts lately. It is a substance according to Hebrews 11. I believe that in some miraculous and merciful way faith is like the currency of the supernatural realm. As we step out in faith and offer it to God, He will release the miracle. It’s not a formula but it’s an aspect of our relationship with him.

What is faith like? It’s something that is always growing, it is alive. We have to protect it against doubt and skepticism, and it is powerful. Every time we see God come through as we step out in faith it sets a standard and a high water mark in our lives. So then to stay in faith I believe that we have to keep on getting more radical and trusting him with more. In my life three years ago God challenged me to give a significant amount to missionaries each month and test his faithfulness to provide for me. Money was so tight, but God gave me the faith for it and He met absolutely every single need that year. Then the next year he said “David, I have been there and supplied every need, can you trust me to give more through you?”.

And my faith grew.

Each year God challenges me to trust him with more and more. It’s a beautiful and exciting thing. I just encourage every one of you to grow that mustard seed of faith. Step out in trust and see how powerful God is.

1 John 5:4:

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—
our faith.

If sin brought death, and Jesus’ atonement redeemed us from the curse of the fall of Adam which was death and sickness (incipient death), then why do we still die?

I have never re-written an entry so many times since I started blogging as the following post. Frankly, these thoughts are controversial, and nobody reading it will agree 100% with me, and I’m not trying to provide pat answers in order to uphold my doctrine. I hate when people do that to me–who don’t want to back down from their views, but ignore pertinent Scriptures or just plain rationalize things away. I once wrote this over 2 years ago for my personal blog, and I’ve sinced reworked it over time the more I learned different things.  I realize I’ll never completely be satisfied with it, so I warn you all now—I’m not trying to say I have all the answers. I’m just sharing what I think Scripture shows. I’m also leaving out of this discussion traditional Calvinism and martyrdom, which are valid things to consider, but more of a tangent to this particular post. Comments and discussion are more than welcome.

The last enemy

Let’s begin with keeping in mind 1 Corinthians 15:26 states that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. It tells us death is still ‘here’ until that happens. The context being that this is taught usually as a rapture passage–but how can we be changed at the ‘last trumpet’ unless there are other trumpets first?  I will not go there at this time, other than pointing out for this entry, that this is at the end of history.  The passage states:

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:50-57 ESV, parentheses mine.

Observations to note:

• Verse 50 makes clear that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Is it not true that for now we clothed in flesh and blood, perishable mortal bodies (v. 53)?
• We’re going to have glorified ‘new bodies’ in heaven and not what we’ve got now.

I’ve had people say to me that since we get new bodies at that time, then there’s no point in having our bodies healed now in this lifetime. These can go ahead and practice what they preach. Others say “the ultimate healing is in death.” My response to that ill logic anymore is:  “then stay sick with your illness or problem for the rest of your earthly life until you die.” This shocks most people, but it shouldn’t if they really believe what they say. Who on earth and in their right mind will want to keep an illness or an infirmity for the rest of their earthly life if that burden can or could be removed from them in this lifetime?! Remember that Jesus healed physical ‘perishable bodies’ in his earthly lifetime, even though those people would go on to die one day anyway, so just pointing out that Jesus healed people makes the “we’re all going to die one day” a moot point. Also keep in mind how Romans 8:11 says “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

And furthermore, keep in mind that in His earthly ministry, Jesus did not raise all the dead. In fact, the accounts of the dead being raised in the Gospels are typically of young people or people who died suddenly from sicknesses—“before their time” if you will. Those are the types of people He raised from the dead, but then they eventually died later anyway. We’re not told how old Lazarus lived to be. We are not told how long Jairus’ daughter lived after being raised from the dead, or the widow’s son. I believe, they would have lived on to fulfill their purpose and destiny. Based on Hebrews 9:27 which says “it is appointed once to die, then after that comes the judgment” (Emphasis mine).

If this passage is true (which all Scripture is!) and if what most evangelicals teach concerning the Sovereignty of God is true, then Jesus was messing up the Father’s plan by raising from the dead those that the Father appointed to die. In fact, how do we handle the fact there are people in human history and in the Gospel records who died twice—the people Jesus raised from the dead, who died later for good? A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Matt 12:25). Jesus never did anything in rebellion or contradiction to the Father, but only did what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19). So if Jesus raised people from the dead, it means the Father wanted Jesus to do so, implying the Father didn’t want those peoples’ lives ended at that time. Does Father God have multiple personalities? Does He ‘kill people’ and then raise them again? Of course not!

The thing to keep in mind, is the word “appointed.” Things happen that aren’t God’s will all sorts of times in Scripture.  For example, how can God regret doing anything, if it’s not what He originally intended?  Our own life experiences demonstrate this also–but God is bigger than the devil and can do a good job at cleaning up the devil’s mess. So good, in fact, that we forget there ever was a mess and conclude the thing must have been God’s will all along because of what good we saw come out of it. This also in many ways answers the way God can will for everyone to be healed, but not all get healed, or how He’s not willing that ANY should perish (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9), but that hell having a population of at least one soul proves something being God’s will doesn’t guarantee it to come to pass. I’ve talked about this in particular elsewhere, and don’t want to get too sidetracked from the ‘why do we still die’ question.

I’ve said before I don’t believe diseases, cancer or terminal illnesses are God’s way of “bringing people home”. It may have happened to a loved one in your family, and you believe without a shadow of a doubt that it was their time to go or that God was the Author of it. I will sympathize with your loss, and won’t argue with you—I just personally don’t believe from Scripture that’s how God does it, and will not settle for it in my own life.  I could be wrong, but obviously this is my view for now in my journey with Christ.

Why do so many Christians believe God and Satan are teammates?

I don’t believe in the ‘sickness unto death’ the way it’s taught (it comes side-by-side with the ‘sickness unto chastisement’ teaching). It teaches that God puts certain sicknesses on us that we will die from. The only Scripture I can think of at the moment is 2 Kings 13:14 which states “Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die…” Never mind the fact that this is one sentence mentioning his illness in passing, and never mind the fact we are not told what it was, and that there’s no real New Testament example of something similar, unless people cling tightly to the idea Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a sickness, which was a messenger from SATAN, not God–He just didn’t remove it.

Why do so many believers think we all have to die of something? Don’t many people NOT die of cancer, or heart attacks, or whatever? Is it that hard to believe we’ll just ‘stop working’ one day and go home? Don’t some die in their sleep peacefully? Don’t some just one day drop dead for no reason in particular other than old age, and “give up the ghost?”. Why is it so many Christians are pessimistic instead of optimistic when it comes to healing and sicknesses?!

I had someone tell me recently they believe in healing, but that it’s not God’s will to heal everybody. This is not new, I hear it all the time—the Bible says all sorts of things that Christians have to add a “but” to with their own spin. Never minding that it does sound pious and honorable, but it’s not Scriptural. I sat and listened to this brother carefully, without making any objections or starting any arguments because this “sickness unto chastisement” was actually new to my ears when he told me of it. But when it and ‘sickness unto death’ came up repeatedly, I got really curious where this belief comes from, and later, prior to writing this, did a Google search and read articles (in their entirety) that showed up in the search results. One thing I noticed time and time again is that this teaching is basically based on 1 Corinthians 11 when it’s talking of the church at Corinth partaking unworthily of the Lord’s Supper. Never mind that the sicknesses and people falling ill was JUDGEMENT for the way they partook of this covenant meal! Or lack of ‘covenant protection’ resulting in death–however you want to read it.

Do all who get sick fall ill because they’re under judgment from God? Definitely not! If someone asks me to pray for them, do I tell them the reason they’re sick is judgment from God? Heck no! And if it is, does that mean we shouldn’t be merciful and gracious like Jesus and pray for them anyway? Of course not. Leave that to God, if the judgment is between Him and them, but you do your job and lay hands on them anyway. Read James 5 where it states the elders will pray for the sick, they will be healed and whatever sins they’ve committed will be forgiven (simultaneously as they’re being healed of sickness).

But the New Testament examples I see, such as this one mentioned, involve God judging sin. Obedient children of God following Him have no need of worrying God will judge them if they’re not in disobedience to Him. This sickness unto death/chastisement stuff from what I can tell, does little other than make people wonder if God is upset with them if they fall ill, instead of looking at their real enemy who may more than likely be the real perpetrator. It should be noted, I notice also in all these articles that sickness usually is never viewed as a curse or a BAD thing by most evangelicals–or that the devil is ever involved, but always the “Lord works in mysterious ways and who are we to question what He allows us to go through.” I’ll tell you why should question it—because you could be wrong, and finding out the truth could change your situation around! No wonder many people don’t believe it’s the Lord’s will to heal them if this is the kind of stuff they’re being taught! No wonder we don’t see more healings and miracles—you get what you teach and preach for!

Death

This may shock you that I’d answer this way, or it might not ring right in your ears, but I believe that death, in that we all die one day (because it’s appointed once for all to die) is unrelated to healing, sickness, restoration and the atonement. Hear me out before you assume I’m contradicting myself or sounding like I’m a politician talking out of both sides of my mouth:

Death, in that we live out our lives and then one day “give up the ghost” and go home, is a matter of going home when our numbered days are completed. God doesn’t “kill us”. He brings His children home, and has a time ordained for each to come home. The devil on the other hand, seeks to steal, kill and destroy, and in other words take from us what God gives and gave us—and bring that day to pass sooner. And people do stupid things by way of accident or negligence that God sometimes doesn’t intervene and prevent. Also, it’s the devil whose whole mission and modus operandi is to rob us of our earthly callings and he takes people out, and it’s not God’s will. I will not tackle Calvnistic viewpoints on the sovereignty of God, and I will not cover the subject of martyrdom in this entry on purpose because I don’t want to get more off subject than I already have to some degree already, but these are things I believe regarding death and living out our time.

When Adam and Eve were punished for their disobedience, God says in Genesis 3:22:

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever–” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

According to this passage, God kept Adam out of the Garden of Eden after this, so that he would not reach out and eat from the other tree as well–remember, there were two trees in the Garden (Genesis 2:9). The Lord told Adam, that in the day that he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (not to be confused with the tree of life), he’d surely die. Did either Eve or Adam die on the very day they ate the fruit? No?  Then what’s to be made of this ‘death’? Was it just spiritual death? I don’t know exactly. Notice that the Lord tells Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but in Genesis 3:2-3, Eve tells the serpent it was the tree of life they’re not to eat, or they’d die. Well which was it they were not to eat? Were they not to eat either one? Or was she confused and spoke wrongly, since after all, it wasn’t her directly that the Lord gave this instruction to, since she wasn’t even created yet when the Lord instructed Adam about this? Was she adding to what she was told?

Consider this: In order for God to banish them so that they won’t eat of the tree of life and live forever, it implies they were not going to live forever unless they ate it. This was AFTER they sinned and were now in a fallen state. Death and sin entered creation as a result of their disobedience. Before automatically assuming what I’ve been saying and about to say is heresy, give it some thought and go over the first three chapters of Genesis carefully (I still am doing so), and see if just because you’ve never heard it that way before, doesn’t mean it might not be correct. Also, when reading commentaries and doing searches on Google typing in “if God wills to heal all ,then why do all still die”, I don’t find pages that deal with this passage, so I’m hard pressed to find correct interpretations of this.

I won’t take a dogmatic stand on it, but it does give some insight into this discussion about dying if God wants all of us well in our bodies. God refusing to allow Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of life now that they are corrupt and defiled, was an act of his mercy—He didn’t want man living forever in their sinful flesh, and in a fallen world. That, would be hell. Hell is eternity in sin cut off from the Lord, and if Adam ate of the fruit from the tree of life, it would not have been much better than an eternity in hell will be.

The book of Revelation says we will at that time get to eat of the tree of life. In the meantime, until our lifespan is over, God can and does ‘patch up’ our bodies to keep working, but we don’t get a brand new body in this lifetime.

Conclusion (for now)

So to reiterate, our healing in our current bodies—our redemption and our restoration, has been purchased for us in this lifetime. Are all fully enjoying physical healing 100 % of the time? To answer that question let me pose another question: are we enjoying the full benefits—in this lifetime—of anything God’s given us? Are we fully enjoying the benefits of having our sins forgiven? Physical death has everything, however, do to with resurrection. Can you be resurrected if you’re not dead?

In closing, Isaiah 33:20-24, describes the new Zion where God’s people will dwell:
Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent, whose stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken.
But there the LORD in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor majestic ship can pass.
For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver; the LORD is our king; he will save us.
Your cords hang loose; they cannot hold the mast firm in its place or keep the sail spread out. Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided; even the lame will take the prey.
And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.

Notice verse 24 brings up how nobody will be sick, because their sins are forgiven. The two are related–as I’ve been stating in detail in recent entries–and in this time spoken of here, the full revelation and embodiment of what has been purchased on the cross in the atonement of Christ will be realized.

You can wait until then to see healing in your body if you want to. But I’m still going for it in this lifetime, based on what the Word of God says.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

I placed all the relevant passages that deal with the “rapture,” with specific regard to their chronological order (the order that they were originally written in) and cross examined them. This is what I came up with. If you find your beliefs challenged, I encourage you to re-examine them in the light of the scriptures interpreted in simple, chronological order.

The Tribulation

The scriptures foretold that there would come a season of unparalleled trouble for the people of Israel and also
the rest of the world. Moses wrote a prophetic song about this final time of affliction in the Song of Moses, Deut 32:1-
43. This affliction is the final time of God judging Israel’s sin. This is a necessary for the reason being that God must be faithful to his covenant. This covenant demands that God bless Israel with Abraham’s blessing, Gen 12:1-3. However, Israel’s sin is a hindrance form these blessings being fully realized in Israel. For this reason, God sent Jesus to atone for Israel’s sin upon the cross. Now that this is legally secured, Israel must repent and willfully submit to the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood. God will demonstrate his wrath and mercy to Israel and the nations when he finally draws the remnant of Israel fully back to himself in repentance. It was this concept that the prophets inevitably would always come back to in their writings, when they had prophesied about the final time that God would judge Israel’s sin and bring them to repentance.
Daniel 12:1
12:1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time…

Mat 24:21-22
21 For then there will be great trouble, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
Daniel 12:1b-3
But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

These scriptures show that the “tribulation” spoken of in Daniel 12:1-3 is the same one that Jesus referred to in Mat 24:21-22.

The Resurrection
As written of by Daniel, Jesus and Paul, side by side

Daniel revealed that there will be a resurrection at that time of the deliverance of the elect from that time of great trouble. Jesus was quoting directly from Daniel 12. Daniel 12 was directly quoting from Jeremiah 30:7.

“7 Alas! That day is so great
there is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
yet he shall be saved out of it.”

Now we can understand why Paul placed a resurrection “at his coming,” speaking of Jesus’ second coming to the earth, when he wrote this, here in 1 Cor 15:21-25:

“21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then (after the millennium) comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”
Here, Paul said that there will be a resurrection of those in Christ, “at his coming.” This is another connector showing that the gathering Jesus spoke of in Mat 24:31 also will include the resurrection of the righteous, though the resurrection is not specifically mentioned by Jesus.

29 “Immediately after the tribulation (the time of trouble that Jeremiah 30:7 and Daniel 12:1 foretold) of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Mat 24:29-31.
1. Daniel put the resurrection after the tribulation, in Dan 12:1.

2. Jesus quoted from Daniel 12:1 and put the gathering and redemption of the elect at the end of the “trouble of those days” in Mat 24:31.

3. Paul ( 1 Cor 15) put the resurrection of the righteous at the “coming” of the Lord in 1 Cor 15:23. Jesus said that this would happen “immediately after the tribulation.”

4. Therefore, Paul, borrowing information from Daniel, wrote that the resurrection would take place after the tribulation. Jesus added that the living righteous would be “gathered… immediately after the tribulation.”

The Rapture

Paul then combines the two elements into one event in 1 Thes 4:13-18, the famous rapture passage. The gathering (rapture) of the living elect and the resurrection of the dead elect all happen at once, “immediately after the tribulation of those days” and at the “coming of the Lord” according to 1 Thes 4:13-18 and Mat 24:31.

“13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep (dead in Christ), that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord (directly referring to Mat 24:31), that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, (Mentioned in Dan 12:1) and with the sound of the trumpet of God (Mat 24:31). And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up (by the angels in Mat 24:31) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thes 4:13-18.

Who Are The Elect in Matthew 24:31?

When Daniel was writing his book, the “mystery of the church” was not revealed yet. That is why there is no specific mentioning of the church in the Old Covenant prophets’ writings.

“4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs (with the believing Jews) , members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Eph 3:4-6.

After Pentecost, the gentiles were welcomed into the New Covenant made with Israel and thus, they also became “the elect.”

Since the blood of Messiah was shed on the cross, there is no division in God between believing Jews and believing Gentiles. We are all in one body. Think about this:

“11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Eph 2:11-22.

Therefore, in light of this, we can see that Paul’s idea of “the elect” was the church consisting of believing Jews and believing Gentiles. So Paul would have naturally understood that “the elect,” whom Jesus said would be gathered “immediately after the tribulation,” are the church of believing Jews and Gentiles, not just Jews alone. There is simply only one “elect.” The “elect” are now the new phenomenon of spiritually united Jews and gentiles that the New Testament calls the church. See Paul’s use of the word “elect” here: Romans 8:33, 9:11, 11:7, 11:28, 1 Timothy 5:21, 2 Timothy 2:10, and Titus 1:1.

Conclusions

So, in closing, we see a definite (commonly termed) rapture of the living saints taking place at the “coming of the Lord,” “immediately after the tribulation” and immediately after “the dead in Christ… rise first,” when we all “together” will “meet the Lord in the air” at “the coming of the Lord.”

Why Does It Matter?

No one knows if the end will come in our lifetime or not. It is fruitless to speculate that the Lord will likely return in our generation because we can not have any idea when he will return until the Antichrist is here wrecking havoc on the earth.

“3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” 2 Thes 2:3-4.

The reason that I wrote this article was not to get into a fruitless debate with anybody. Although, debate is not always necessarily fruitless at all. I raise the issue because I believe that there are very vital, connected issues that will not be considered at all by anyone who is decidedly pre-trib (the rapture happening before the tribulation) in the views of the end times.

“11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” Romans 11:11-15.

These verses are some that together tell us the whole purpose of the church age. The pre-trib view asserts that the purpose of the church age is two fold:

1. The purpose of the church age is judgment against the unbelief of the majority of Israel.

2. The purpose of the church age is to give all the gentile nations a fair chance to hear the gospel and be saved before God turns back to Israel and Israel turns back to him, before the millennial reign of Christ begins. Essentially, this current age is one of God simply tallying up the numbers of saved Gentiles until it reaches a certain, unknown number, and then the rapture will happen and then… well, you know the rest. The “blessed hope” is painted to be a rapture before this time of trial and trouble for unbelieving Israel and the nations.

These two ideas rest upon the unscriptural notion that Israel and the church are entirely separate peoples with two separate plans of God, one for each of them. Consider the following in regard to that idea:

“11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:11-22

The church is the new phenomenon of Gentiles being grafted in alongside with the particular Jews who have faith in the Jesus, the Messiah, through the New Covenant God made with Israel (Jer 31:31). This was accomplished through Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. Believing Jews and Gentiles are now one people- the church. Jews are still Jews and Gentiles are still Gentiles, but we are spiritually united similar to a marriage’s physical union.

This phenomenon of Jews and Gentiles being spiritually united as one people in Messiah is both a judgment on Israel’s unbelievers and also a blessing to them.

“28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.” Rom 11:28-32.

You see, it is true that God has hardened the unbelievers of Israel right now. But this has been done, “for your sake.” This is the purpose of the church: to be an effectual witness to unbelieving Israel until they turn back to the Lord. When they turn to the Lord, there will be “life from the dead” or simply put, a resurrection. We know that the Antichrist is set to attempt to destroy the people of Israel and those who follow Jesus. Pre-tribbers delegate these saints to those who will repent after the pre-tribulational rapture. This effectively removes any thoughts about the church’s purpose and calling to be the witness to Israel until they turn to God, which is prophesied to happen to the surviving remnant of Israel. The bottom line is this:

1. Israel cannot repent without the church being Jesus’ witness to her.

2. The church cannot witness to Israel if we are all gone into heaven because of a rapture.

3. The dead in Christ are to be raised at the rapture or “gathering of the elect.” This cannot happen until a very significant number of the remnant of Israel is repenting to Jesus. As Paul asked in Romans 11:15, “What will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?”

So, I am very concerned about all this widespread passion for the pre-trib rapture here in the west. It is definitely a distraction for the church from considering all the vast purposes God has for their being a church age at all in the fist place. Besides, as Dr Michael L Brown says, “The reason that I don’t believe in the pre-tribulational rapture is because it is not found in the Bible.”

It is not a matter of simply being ready to meet the Lord at any moment in the rapture. That idea is honestly a new one that was first taught by certain Bible teachers from Scotland, in the 1830s. It is a great idea to live ready to meet the Lord at any moment. But this has always been true, before Jesus came and still today after he has come and gone. What the rapture should call us to now is to understand God’s purpose of this church age. It is a matter of understanding the ways of God himself. It is a matter of understanding what is means for God to be a faithful God of his covenant to Abraham. It is a matter of knowing and understanding God, as he, in fact, is.

The church has no covenant with God. Israel does have a covenant with God.

““Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” Jer 31:31

The fact that most of us are gentiles and we are in a saving relationship with God is meant to humble us before the mercy of God. God intends that the church begin to see his majestic purpose in the church age. The church is a new phenomenon designed out of the faithfulness of God to Abraham, Gen 12:1-3. God has raised up the church to turn Israel back to God, on the positive side of things. No one knew that, through the Messiah, gentiles would be united together with the faithful in Israel as one new people- the church. God’s original intention was for Israel to be a light to the nations. It was not known that this call would begin to be fulfilled through a predominantly Gentile church, consisting of countless people of the nations, that was birthed by the remnant of Israel in the first century.

I ask you to seriously consider, just for a moment, that this is what the scriptures do, in fact, teach. When we place the scriptures together, in the order that they were written in, a picture emerges. This picture is what theologians call “historic pre-millennialism.” This means that there will be a time of trouble, with the Antichrist, coming ahead. At the end of this season, Jesus will return. The saints will be caught up by angels to meet the Lord in the air. At that time the dead in Messiah will also be resurrected. Then Jesus will establish a theocracy in Israel. It will be a long period of peace, prosperity and salvation for Israel and many people in the nations. This has direct bearing on our lives today. It shows us why we have been chosen to live in the generation that we live in. This shows us what the goal of the church’s existence is. We are living in a time period of transition. Indeed, all of history is a time of transition. In the end, God will renew the entire creation into the glory that he has always intended for it. The universe will be totally filled with God’s image in the person and character of Jesus.

This was the second post by my friend Avi on eschatology; specifically, the rapture concept. I feel there is a need for the Body of Christ to re-examine this doctrine and consider the implications of simple waiting for Christ’s return versus the impact we can have with a correct scriptural understanding, that His return actually depends on us revealing and bringing the kingdom of heaven to the kingdoms of this world. David E

For more posts on this subject of eschatology click here.