Is the Creator a Cloud-Like Being or Does God Have a Form?

Heaven is the spiritual realm. It’s more real than the physical realm since it already existed from eternity and it was from there that the LORD spoke into being the physical realm (Hebrews 11:3 & Colossians 1:16).

Whilst Christ said “God is spirit” (John 4:24), this doesn’t mean God doesn’t have a form in the spiritual realm, just that God is not a physical being like you & me, that is, until the Son was incarnated (Isaiah 7:14 & Matthew 1:23). For anyone not in the know, ‘Immanuel‘ means “God [is] with us.”

You could say that Heaven itself is God’s throne (Isaiah 66:1-2), but there’s an actual throne room in Heaven, the holy spiritual universe (2 Chronicles 18:18, Psalm 11:4 & Revelation 1:4, 3:21). This passage offers perhaps the most descriptive account of it:

1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits ^a of God. 6Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“ ‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’ ^b

who was, and is, and is to come.”

9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

11“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being.”

Revelation 4:1-11

This shows that God has a central presence in Heaven. While the LORD is omnipresent — and therefore knows what’s going on everywhere at the same time and is even present everywhere in this sense — God’s obviously not a cloud creature or mist being. Consider Ezekiel’s vision of the LORD’s appearance:

…the hand of the Sovereign LORD came on me there. 2I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal. 3He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood.

Ezekiel 8:1-3

I don’t think words can do justice to God’s appearance to flesh & blood readers currently stuck in this fallen physical universe, but the LORD is at least giving us an idea of how to regard His personal being with verses like these.

For more insights, peruse through the articles below…

Related Topics:

Created in the IMAGE OF GOD — What Does It Mean?

What Is GLORY in the Sense of God’s (Shekinah) GLORY?

Trinity — Father/Son/Holy Spirit — Yes or No?

Prayer—Communing with God

How Can You HEAR FROM GOD?

Seven Proofs That JESUS CHRIST IS GOD

What Are the “Seven Spirits of God” From Revelation?

What is Oneness theology—aka “Jesus Only”—and is it Biblical?

ETERNAL LIFE (“Heaven”): Questions & Answers

The Basics of Christianity

Beware of the Religious Spirit of BONDAGE

The Bible emphatically declares:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1

The “yoke of slavery” Paul was referring to is the yoke of religious law. In this particular case, a group of legalistic teachers called the Judaizers infiltrated the Gentile churches of Galatia and taught that the requirements of Jewish religion—the Mosaic Law plus other traditions—were necessary for salvation and spirituality. This included physical circumcision, traditional fasts and observing various holy-days. How do we know? Circumcision was an issue as confirmed by Galatians 2:3 and 5:2-3, while the others are verified in 4:10 where Paul criticizes: “You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!” “Days” refers to strict Sabbath-keeping, “months” to the fast initiated by the Jews during their Babylonian captivity, “seasons” to the seven Jewish feasts, and “years” to the seven 7-year periods that culminated in the fiftieth year, the year of Jubilee.

Putting believers under such laws is a “different gospel,” as Paul called it (Galatians 1:6)—a perversion of the true gospel.

The true gospel is that salvation comes simply by God’s graciousness through faith in Christ’s justifying death and resurrection, “not by works so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:9). True faith will produce good works (James 2:14-24) because “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10). This occurs naturally as the believer learns to put off the old self—the flesh—and put on the new self—the spirit (Ephesians 4:22-24).

This is why it’s so important for believers to know who they are in Christ. Those who aren’t bearing fruit and doing good works aren’t necessarily counterfeits. More likely they have an identity problem—they simply don’t know who they are (a topic addressed here). Counterfeits can be identified by a consistent unrepentant spirit; in other words, they stubbornly continue to walk in the flesh with no care of repentance, even after being exposed to these powerful life-changing truths (Matthew 7:15-23).

Legalists Want to Put You into Bondage

The Judaizers who infiltrated the Galatian churches were legalists. They had a spirit of bondage that made them obsessed with the yoke of religious law. A “yoke” is a device for joining together a pair of draft animals so they can be worked as a team, typically oxen. The beasts are shackled together for the purpose of work. That’s what the yoke of religious law does to people; it shackles them together to perform religious works. It’s religious bondage, which is the antithesis of the spirit of freedom and, as such, saps joy.

You won’t see a lot of joy in those entrenched in religious bondage. The Judaizers were such people and they started to sap the Galatians’ joy, which is why Paul asked them, “What happened to all your joy?” (Galatians 4:15).

Those who have a spirit of bondage can’t set others free because they themselves don’t have freedom. People can only give what they’ve got. Those who have a spirit of bondage can only give bondage. In fact, it’s their primary objective—to make people slaves to religious rules. It’s their goal. Here’s an example:

…some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. ⁵ We did not give in to them for a moment,

Galatians 2:4-5

In this passage Paul is talking about his second trip to Jerusalem where he shared his calling with the leaders of the Jerusalem church. His calling was to minister to the Gentiles. That’s when some dyed-in-the-wool legalists infiltrated Paul’s group to spy on them. We know they were hardcore legalists because Paul describes them as “false brothers.” In other words, these weren’t genuine believers who were stumbling into a system of rules and regulations, like the Galatians, but rather full-tilt legalists similar to the Pharisees who antagonized the Messiah. They weren’t spiritual brothers at all. And notice what their goal was: to make those who were walking in the freedom of Christ slaves. Make no mistake, legalists hate freedom; it goes against everything they are. Legalists are people in bondage to rules, which is why it’s called legal-ism, meaning law-ism or rule-ism.

Paul stresses in verse 5 that he and his team didn’t give in to these legalists for a moment. You can’t parley with people infected by this spiritual disease. If you give ’em an inch they’ll take the proverbial mile. Resist their legalism, pray for them, correct them through the Scriptures, and leave them when you must, as Jesus taught in Matthew 15:14, but never give in to them, not a single inch. The only exception would be if you’re going into their territory to try to minister life to them. Paul expressed it this way: “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law… To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:19-20,22-23).

The legalistic spirit of bondage manifests in many forms. Let’s start with the most obvious…

Bondage to Old Testament Law (Torah)

The Judaizers who infiltrated the Galatian assemblies wanted to put the believers back under the Old Testament Law, along with other religious traditions. A good modern example of this would be the legalists of the Hebrew Roots movement, who have infiltrated many churches and seminaries. Yet notice how clear the New Testament is about believers not being under the Mosaic Law, the Torah:

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians 5:18

For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Romans 6:14

…we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Romans 7:6

In the New Testament era we’ve been released from the Law—the Torah—to “serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” We’re “not under Law, but under grace,” meaning we’re under God’s graciousness—favor—through the work of Christ wherein we obtain spiritual regeneration and are reconciled with the LORD & indwelt by the Counselor, the Holy Spirit.

What does being “under the law” mean? It means putting the Law in front of you and trying to force your flesh to comply. This never works. In fact, it will actually increase the sin problem. Why do you think Paul said, “The law was added so that the trespass might increase” (Romans 5:20)? This was the reason the Law was given to humanity—to increase the sin problem and drive us to the Savior in whom we can have spiritual regeneration. The Law “is holy, righteous and good”—no doubt—but God uses it to illustrate humanity’s miserable sinful condition and drive us to Christ (Romans 7:12).

Since believers are justified in God’s sight by faith we are no longer under the supervision of the Law:

So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

Galatians 3:24-25

‘Guardian’ is translated as “tutor” in some translations and as “schoolmaster” in the King James Version. The original Greek word refers to a household servant or slave whose job was to tutor and oversee male children until they came of age whereupon they took on the responsibilities and freedoms of adulthood. Are you getting this? Believers are no longer under the supervision of religious law. Since we are spiritually regenerated and have the Holy Spirit we are liberated to function in the responsibilities and freedoms of spiritual adulthood.

While New Testament believers are not under the Mosaic Law, we are under the law of Christ:

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹ To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.

1 Corinthians 9:19-21

As you can see, the apostle Paul was “under Christ’s law,” not under the Mosaic Law. He only became “like one under the law” on certain occasions in order to “win those under the law,” meaning he did so to win Jews over to the superior New Covenant. We’ll look at what makes the New Covenant ‘superior’ momentarily.

So believers are not under the Old Testament Law, but rather “under Christ’s law.” Here’s another passage that verifies this:

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

But what is the law of Christ? Neither of these verses defines it. Yet this isn’t a problem because Scripture interprets Scripture and the rest of the New Testament shows us what the law of Christ is. Notice how Jesus answers an Expert in the Law who sought to test him:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:36-40

“The law and the prophets” is a reference to the Old Testament Scriptures; and, specifically, to the moral law since the dietary and ceremonial laws of the Old Testament were foreshadows of Christ and were fulfilled in Him:

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Colossians 2:16-17

The passage is addressing the dietary and ceremonial laws of the Old Testament: “what you eat or drink” refers to dietary laws and the others refer to ceremonial laws. We are not to allow legalists to judge us negatively by these things.  In fact, all of them—dietary laws, the Jewish festivals, the New Moon celebration and the Sabbath day—were mere shadows of what was to come, meaning Jesus Christ, the Anointed One. “A shadow” means a foreshadow, which is something that testifies to the reality to come. The real thing, however, is not the shadow. “The reality is found in Christ” and if you’re a believer YOU are “in Christ.” Are you following?

Everything in the Law and Prophets from Genesis to Malachi were types and shadows of the true reality, which is Christ and the spiritual rebirth that comes through his seed and the corresponding indwelling/empowerment of the Holy Spirit.* More than 600 laws were given to the Hebrews in the Old Testament and Jesus fulfilled every one of them; he completed or stopped each one of them, including the Sabbath. This is why Scripture blatantly says “Christ is the culmination [end] of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 9:4).

* ‘Seed,’ again, is the Greek word for sperm; compare 1 John 3:9 and 1 Peter 1:23.

So the dietary and ceremonial laws were fulfilled in Christ and thus we are “released from” them (Romans 7:6). Of course, we are released from the moral law as well since the Messiah also fulfilled the moral law. As such, we’re not under the moral law. Now, some dubious believers might think that this gives them a license to sin, but Paul dealt with this same question in the 1^st century and notice his response:

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!

Romans 6:15

So, while believers are not under the moral law, we uphold it:

Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Romans 3:31

How exactly do we uphold the moral law; that is, establish it and fulfill it? Observe…

so that the righteous standard of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

Romans 8:4 (BSB)

The “righteous standard of the Law” refers to the moral law, which is fulfilled in believers “who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.” This means learning to live out of your new spiritual nature as led of the Holy Spirit:

So I say, walk by the spirit,* and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Galatians 5:16

* Since there is no capitalization in the original Greek text, translators have to determine if the word for “spirit,” pneuma, refers to the human spirit (un-capitalized) or the Holy Spirit (capitalized). Either/or works in this case since the believer’s spirit (un-capitalized) is indwelt and led by the Spirit (capitalized).

You see? Walking in the spirit is the key to fulfilling the moral law for the New Testament believer. This is one-in-the-same as “participating in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). It means being spirit-controlled rather than flesh-ruled and is the automatic result of loving God, which is the primary part of the law of Christ and includes “coming near to God” (James 4:8). If you are “near to God” that obviously means that you have a close relationship. So relationship with the LORD is key.

Let’s get back to the Messiah’s statement in Matthew 22:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:37-40

All the Old Testament moral laws can be condensed into two basic rules with three applications: LOVE GOD and LOVE PEOPLE as you LOVE YOURSELF. When you do this you automatically fulfill all the moral law of the Old Testament, which is verified by several passages:

“In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the prophets.”

Matthew 7:12

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 13:8-10

The entire Law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:14

The law of Christ or law of love is also referred to as “the royal law” in Scripture:

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

James 2:8

By the way, loving others means walking in tough love when necessary just as much as it means walking in gentle love. There are several clear examples in Scripture of both Jesus and the apostles walking in tough love when appropriate (e.g. Matthew 23:13-35, Mark 11:15-18, Acts 8:17-24 & 13:8-12).

As noted earlier, the New Covenant that believers have with God is superior to the Old Covenant that the Israelites had:

They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶ But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises…

¹³ By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

Hebrews 8:5-6,13

The New Covenant is “superior” because we’ve been released from the Law—the Torah—as shown in Romans 7:6. We serve in the new way of the Spirit wherein we receive spiritual regeneration (Ephesians 4:22-24) and not in the Old Covenant way of the written code, i.e. the Law. This is great because “the letter [the Law] kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Humble repentance and faith are the conditions for entering into the New Covenant (Acts 20:21 & Hebrews 6:1) and the terms are “faith working through love,” which means faith is activated by love (Galatians 5:6 Amplified). When we walk out of love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) we walk out of faith and thus negate it, which isn’t good because faith is the foundation of our covenant. Why is “faith working through love” so important? Because love is the fulfillment of the moral law. It’s the law of Christ, the law of love.

Needless to say, if you come across a church, a group or any Christian in general who advocates putting believers under the Old Testament Law—including observing the Saturday Sabbath—flee for your spiritual welfare. These types adhere to a “different gospel” (Galatians 1:6). Some obvious modern examples include: The Hebrew Roots movement, adherents of Armstrongism (e.g. the United Church of God and the Philadelphia Church of God) and the Seventh-Day Adventists.

For important details on this topic see this article.

Bondage to the Mosaic Law is just one type of this form of legalism. Spiritual bondage can manifest in several different ways. Here’s another example…

A Church With a Spirit of Bondage

Carol and I visited an assembly for a couple of months to consider joining. We went to every service for these two months, two a week, along with a special service at a linking fellowship as well. We walked in love and faithfully supported the church both financially and prayerfully. I had researched the group online and basically agreed with their doctrinal statement and general vision, but just because something looks good on paper doesn’t mean it’s good in reality. I’ve known women, for example, who married men claiming to own companies, yachts, vacation cabins, etc., but it all turned out to be untrue.

The first bad sign was that the pastor was consistently prune-faced and continually looked at us with a suspicious eye. Being prune-faced indicates a lack of joy (and I don’t mean “prune-faced” solely in a physical sense, as there may be legit reasons for this; I’m talking about the sourpuss disposition behind a prune-face). The second bad sign was that the believers had to sign an attendance sheet at the beginning of each service and check whether they were a member or a visitor, which made us feel like we were back in grade school. The third bad sign was the requirement that believers had to have permission from the pastor to pray for other believers during services and, in fact, required authorized necklace tags. The fourth bad sign was that the apostle of the church was ridiculously aloof and unfriendly. The fifth bad sign was that the pastor compared joining the sect to a marriage contract. Carol and I couldn’t help wondering: Did this mean “divorce” from the church was forbidden? Couldn’t believers just leave if they no longer wanted to be a part of the group? Why not? The sixth bad sign was that the pastor described her submission to the apostle of the church in a disturbing manner. In a sermon she explained that she submitted everything in her life to this man, including her marriage. It sounded weird and even creepy. Does the Bible encourage this type of extreme submission between a pastor and an apostle? No, the Scriptures actually instruct us to “submit to one another out of reverence to Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). It’s a mutual thing and healthy for unity in the body. The radical submission the pastor was talking about was the result of the apostle fostering it. She submitted to him in a bad way and, in turn, projected this same unhealthy submission on to her congregants. Bondage begats bondage.

We overlooked all this, however, since the praise & worship was good and some of the other believers were genuinely fruit-bearing, including the assistant pastor—the pastor’s husband—whom we got along with well.

We realized that we’d likely have to go through some religious hoops to be part of this group even though I already had ministry credentials and a history of proven service, including numerous sermons and a couple self-published books. No problem. The first “hoop” was a series of orientation meetings with the pastor and the assistant pastor, her husband. These meetings included reading material from an introductory booklet and going over questions and answers with the pastors. Since Carol and I were seasoned believers with a long history of service we sort of rolled our eyes at this initiation “hoop,” but we humbled ourselves and were willing to go through such formalities in order to join the group and get things moving.

I should add here that the New Testament certainly provides guidelines for those who want to be servant-leaders in the Church (e.g. 1 Timothy 3). This is simply a matter of wisdom. After all, those who serve in leadership positions should have proven character, humility being especially important in light of Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5. This is vital because Christian leaders have influence and their influence should be positive, not abusive. But wise guidelines for leadership are not what I’m talking about when I say this church had a spirit of bondage. I’m talking about such an obsession with rules that it smacked of bondage. Think about it, believers couldn’t even pray for fellow believers unless they had an authorized neck-tag! And merely joining the church was likened to Marriage! (I’m of course talking about joining their assembly since believers are already a part of the Church). This is the textbook definition of “legal-ism”—obsession with laws to the point that it squeezes out all life and sense of freedom.

Getting back to the story, Carol and I received the booklet and were instructed to go over it before the first meeting; this included answering numerous questions in the booklet. It didn’t take long for us to conclude that we weren’t going to be able to go through with it. The booklet was ridiculous. The questions went on and on and, frankly, many of them were nosy. It was so bad we half-expected to be asked to list every sin we had committed in the last five years and then be told to openly confess them in front of the congregation! (Lol). Quite a few of the questions concerned things that were no one’s business, including the pastors. We’d be willing to answer some or all of them, as long as we were allowed to ask the pastors the same questions. After all, why should we divulge our entire history and private lives to these relative strangers, unless they were willing to do the same? Aren’t leaders in the Church commissioned to be servants—even slaves in a figurative sense—to those they’re called to serve? See Mark 10:42-45. The intimate questions were an obvious attempt to acquire power over any believer who was considering joining their church.

So I called the assistant pastor and said I’d like to talk with him personally, not just about the absurd booklet, but also about the other bad signs we observed. He tried to get me to elaborate on the phone but I insisted that we get together face-to-face since this was serious stuff that should be discussed in person. He said he’d get back to me, but never did. I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to anyway. His wife, the pastor, obviously told him not to meet with me. I’m sure she concluded that I was “of the devil” when, in fact, I simply wanted to share some things from the viewpoint of an outside observer and mature believer, things that would benefit their ministry. It’s called constructive criticism and it’s a biblical principle (Proverbs 27:17).

Needless to say, we had no intention of going back to this particular fellowship.

Unjust Ostracizing

About eight weeks later my wife ran into a couple from that assembly while we were shopping at a department store (Carol & I were separate in the store). We were friends with this couple during our two months at this church. Carol immediately recognized them, gave a cheerful greeting, and asked how they were doing. Incredibly, all she got in return was dead looks and uncomfortable silence—they totally snubbed her! If you know my wife, Carol, you know that she’s the quintessence of sweetness and doesn’t deserve this type of legalistic mistreatment. It pained me when I met up with her shortly later because she was obviously shaken by the encounter and just wanted to leave the store. After we got into the car and drove away she told me what happened and I encouraged her to just laugh it off. You can be sure this couple didn’t treat Carol this way merely because we decided their church wasn’t for us; more likely the pastor slandered us to the congregation. I’m sure she told them we were “of the devil” or something to this effect. How sad. We prayed for the couple and their church, and let it go.

If you’ve experienced this type of unjustified treatment be encouraged because Jesus said you’re blessed when people falsely accuse you and mistreat you (Matthew 5:10-12). Great is your reward in Heaven! This is why I encouraged Carol to laugh it off.

Fifteen months later, we ran into the pastor and her husband at a restaurant, but they refused to acknowledge us even though it was clear they recognized us. This was another overt snubbing.

Now, think about it, what did we do to deserve this type of treatment? We went to their church for two months and attended every service, including the mid-week service and a special one at another assembly. While we were there we walked in love, we prayed for the people regularly, we generously supported the church financially and we didn’t cause trouble in any way. Our last communication with them was when I called the assistant pastor after reading their introductory booklet; all I asked was if we could get together to discuss a few things. That’s it. I never said what it was and never criticized their fellowship. I was going to wait to offer constructive criticism in a loving manner when we sat down together face to face.

My point is that Carol & I did nothing to deserve being ostracized by the pastors and their congregation members. Unless, of course, it’s a sin to attend every service for two months, walk in love, regularly intercede, financially support and not cause trouble! Think about how absurd this is. Something is direly wrong with a church when believers are mistreated like this. It’s Christianity gone wrong!

Also consider this: The pastors’ decision to denounce us to their congregants and to ostracize us when meeting in public actually proved that our decision to not plant ourselves in their church was the right one. Thankfully, the Lord moved us to leave after discerning the red flags. This prevented us from getting entangled and wasting our time and support. This is important because the more you get entangled in a group like this one the harder it is to get out.

Again, this ministry may have looked fine on paper but, in practice, they had a serious spirit of bondage, at least this particular assembly did. And a spirit of bondage screams legalism. It’s the antithesis of the spirit of Christ, which is a spirit of freedom.

Unfortunately, unjust ostracizing like this happens way too often in the Church. I listened to an audio sermon yesterday and the minister was teaching on what to do when people decide to leave a church. He shared how he and his family went to a large fellowship in the Midwest, USA, where he was an associate pastor. The company he worked for offered a better position in another city and, after seeking the Lord, he took it; but this meant his family would have to leave the assembly. The church leaders laid hands on them and prayed during a brief ceremony, but he discerned that their hearts really weren’t in it. The reason the ceremony was so cold and mechanical was the church’s undercurrent mentality on occupational transfers: It was wrong to take a job offer that would take you and your family away from their church. This was all verified in the ensuing months as all relations with the members of their former fellowship ceased. It hurt because these people were spiritual family and close friends for many years. They grieved for a period, but the Lord healed their hearts and blessed them with close relationships in their new location. It wasn’t until five years later that a brother from their former assembly contacted them and sought fellowship—five years.

Another minister shared in a sermon how, years prior, he informed the senior pastor of his church that he had decided to leave and pursue other ministerial endeavors. He had been serving as an associate at this fellowship. The pastor sternly told him that it wasn’t God’s will for him to go and, if he did, he’d “come back crawling on his hands and knees!” Can you believe it? Understandably, he decided right then and there that—even if he were reduced to crawling on his hands and knees—he certainly wasn’t going back to that church!

Yesterday I read an email from a brother who shared his testimony. He grew up in a sect steeped with tradition. When he was in the Navy in his late teens some Evangelical believers would invite him to revivals or church services, but he couldn’t go because his denomination viewed any such activity as a mortal sin worthy of condemnation to hell!

Bondage to a Church or Freedom in Christ?

The problem with this type of mentality is that it’s religious bondage. The threats come in different forms, which may be subtle or pronounced, but the objective is the same: To keep believers shackled to the assembly or sect in question. In some churches prophecies are given stating that the individual has to stay at the fellowship. The reason legalistic leaders resort to these kinds of tactics is to prevent “their sheep” from leaving, but congregants aren’t really their sheep, they’re God’s sheep. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd and pastoral leaders are actually under-shepherds. Notice what the Bible says in this regard:

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds [pastors] of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

1 Peter 5:1-4

Pastors who fall into legalism mistakenly think that the believers at their church are their flock when, in reality, they’re “God’s flock” who are merely entrusted to the pastor’s care for a season. When ministers fall into this mentality, they naturally start “lording it over” the congregants. They’ll use threats to prevent individuals from leaving and they’ll ostracize those who do. Again, the threats come in different forms and may be subtle or overt.

But why do they ostracize those who leave? One reason is immaturity and insecurity. When believers leave, these types of pastors feel rejected and their ego is hurt, so they lash out through ostracizing. This includes denouncing them to their remaining congregants and snubbing them if they meet in public. I wouldn’t believe this type of thing happens if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, but it does.

The problem with this mentality—other than the fact that it’s fleshly and abusive—is that it starts to create a closed community. Churches that cop it become like gated communities where people aren’t free to come and go as they choose. As such, the very thing the legalistic leaders fear starts to come to pass and the congregation becomes spiritually inbred because there’s little flow of new blood, if any.

God has blessed humankind with the power of volition and respects our decisions. The LORD provided the Israelites with two options—life or death. He encouraged them to choose life and warned them of the consequences of choosing death, but he didn’t force them to make the right decision. He does the same thing with all humanity in the New Testament (Deuteronomy 30:19 & Romans 6:23). Just as God respects our power of decision so we must extend this freedom to our fellow believers.  If we think they’re making a mistake we can tell them so and explain why. We can even issue a warning in love if we feel compelled by the Spirit. But we have to ultimately give people the freedom to decide for themselves.

A popular pastor said he refuses to make people feel like they’re in bondage to his fellowship. He gives people the freedom to leave and the freedom to come back, if they choose.* This is precisely what Jesus did with his disciples. After giving a hard teaching many of his disciples decided to stop following him and he refused to say anything to pressure them to stay. He simply turned to his remaining disciples and asked, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” (John 6:60-67). That’s it. Jesus refused to “lord it over” people. He gave them the freedom to choose—to follow him or leave.

 * I’m obviously not talking about cases where believers are excommunicated due to unrepentant sin a la Matthew 18:15-17. Yet, even in those circumstances the individual should be warmly welcomed back into the church if he/she decides to repent, as illustrated in 2 Corinthians 2:5-11.

The aforementioned pastor said the most he’d do in cases where he felt believers were making a mistake was to tell them so and leave it at that. Furthermore, when some of them eventually decided to come back he refused to arrogantly say, “I told you so.” Amen.

How Do the Leaders of Your Assembly Talk About Previous Members?

This is a good question to ask: How do the ministers and elders of your fellowship speak of past members? I’m not talking about people who were dismissed due to an unwillingness to repent of a certain sin—although they shouldn’t talk about that either—I’m talking about brothers and sisters who simply decided to leave for one reason or another. The reason is irrelevant. How do the leaders of your fellowship talk about these people? Do they badmouth them? Do they put a negative spin on everything about them? Do they say things like they were “of the devil” or imply that they were walking in secret sins? If so, it’s not good. It bespeaks of 1. spiritual immaturity, 2. fleshliness, since malice, gossip and slander are serious sins, and 3. a rigidly sectarian mentality that automatically discredits or denounces others who are not part of their group. All three of these reasons are somewhat interconnected and they all convey the spirit of bondage: People are in bondage to the church or ministry in question and anyone who chooses to leave must be punished. Thus the leaders justify maligning them.

This is very legalistic behavior. Luke 7:33-34 shows that the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law automatically tried to discredit and denounce Jesus and John the Baptist because they both operated outside of their circles and the legalistic mindset thereof. Consequently, they slandered Christ as a glutton, drunkard and friend of “sinners” while they maligned John as demon-possessed! This is spiritual tunnel-vision. It’s pathetic really.

The way spiritual leaders talk about genuine ministers and believers who function outside of their accepted circles speaks volumes. Take heed.

Bondage to the Pastor’s Limited Understanding of Scripture

I went to a charismatic “mega-church” for a decade, which involved most of my 20s. The pastor and much of his staff hailed from a Bible college of a well-known charismatic minister who has since passed on. The church was exemplary on almost every level—the teaching of the Word, the praise & worship, God’s presence, and the flow of gifts of the Spirit. It was an outstanding church. Since the pastor was hooked-up with this ministry he naturally adhered to their doctrinal mindset. This is the way it is at most churches. Even so, it didn’t smother the spirit of freedom. Yes, there were doctrinal parameters set and the congregants weren’t advised to go beyond them but, at the same time, there was a sense of freedom and believers were very much encouraged to explore the Bible and its many topics. We were encouraged to be thorough, balanced and honest in our studies. We were also free to leave the fellowship if we wanted, without any threat of ostracizing.

Needless to say, this was a healthy assembly and well worthy of investing one’s time, even if you didn’t happen to agree with every jot and tittle. (Who agrees with anyone about everything anyway? Is that even healthy?).

Another church my wife and I went to for seven years had even more of a spirit of freedom. The pastor was one of those scatterbrained preachers who wasn’t really able to teach, but he allowed qualifying individuals the opportunity to teach, as long as they could support what they taught by the Scriptures. I taught there often, typically every other week. There were two or three praise & worship leaders and it was very lively. Although I disagreed with the pastor in some areas—usually because he hadn’t studied the particular topics in detail like I had—it didn’t matter. The saying “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity” was our unofficial creed and practice.  There was such a spirit of freedom and Carol & I literally loved going to the gatherings.

These two churches comprised 17 years of my Christian walk. I mention them to point out that you can be hooked-up with a church where there are general doctrinal parameters and you don’t necessarily agree with every jot and tittle, but there’s still an air of liberty in Christ, which is the way it should be.

Unfortunately, some assemblies aren’t like this. In many fellowships the congregants are pretty much in bondage to the pastor’s understanding of the Scriptures. Questioning what the pastor teaches from the pulpit or the doctrinal parameters of the sect is strongly discouraged. This rule may be unofficial and unwritten, but it’s still there. It pervades the atmosphere. Those who merely question the pastor’s belief system are marked and not allowed into the inner circle of the governing structure. Such people eventually leave and understandably so.

What’s so bad about this type of environment? It’s bad because it tends to produce robotic “yes men,” but it fails to produce believers who are free to know the Lord and grow in knowledge, understanding and wisdom through their own pursuit of God and truth.

Unless you want to become a mindless automaton, beware of this type of bondage.

The Bondage of Pastoral Dependency

Some pastors encourage a spirit of dependency in their congregants, which simply isn’t healthy. For instance, I’ve been in some churches where the believers are never taught how to pray effectively. Instead, they’re encouraged to have the pastor or other speaker pray for them at the end of the service. The Bible encourages this to some degree (James 5:14-15), but it shouldn’t become a lifestyle of dependency where the same people come up for the same things on a regular basis. Why is this wrong? Because it discourages believers from developing their own prayer life and utilizing their own faith to receive answers, healings and miracles. It fosters an unhealthy dependency on the pastor and pastoral staff. In short, it encourages spiritual immaturity.

Why would pastors want to cultivate such a spirit in the believers entrusted to their care? Likely because they enjoy feeling needed and it feeds their ego to have people dependent on them. It’s also a security issue. If believers are dependent on the pastor they’re less likely to leave. Thus, to all intents and purposes the people become in bondage to the pastor.

What kind of minister would cultivate such an unhealthy dependency? Those who fall into legalism. This doesn’t mean they’re wholly infected, of course, but any amount of legalism is too much.

Wise and godly ministers, by contrast, would never cultivate such an environment in their churches. Notice what the Bible says about ministers and their purpose in the body of Christ:

It was he [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹² to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13

These five positions or callings comprise the “fivefold ministry”—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. All five are important and have their specific place and function in the body of Christ. Yet notice that they all have the same general fourfold purpose: 1. To prepare God’s people for works of service, that is, works of ministry; 2. to build up God’s people and not tear them down; 3. to feed a balanced diet of God’s Word in a way that cultivates unity in faith and knowledge; and 4. to help bring the believer into maturity.

All four are important, but I want to stress the fourth function. One of the main purposes of fivefold ministers is to facilitate maturity in the believer, not foster a spirit of dependency!

All believers are dependent to varying degrees on their pastors while growing up spiritually, but it’s unnatural for them to stay dependent. In a sense, fivefold ministers are spiritual parents, which is why Paul referred to himself as the father of the believers at Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:15).* He started the church and pastored it for a couple years, feeding them God’s Word, so he was in essence their spiritual parent. Don’t physical children eventually leave home to go to college, work, get married and start families? Wouldn’t it be absurd for a child to grow into full adulthood and still be in a crib with a pacifier, completely dependent upon his or her parents? Of course it would. Yet this happens too often in the Church in a spiritual sense. It shouldn’t. Believers need to move on to maturity, not be locked-up in the spiritual nursery all their lives!

* This doesn’t mean that “father” should become a title, as in “Father Thomas.” Paul was the spiritual father of the Corinthian church but the believers didn’t call him Father Paul. Jesus denounced this type of practice in Matthew 23:7-11.

In healthy churches the congregants are encouraged to grow to spiritual adulthood and bear forth fruit; they’re not hampered by dependency to fivefold ministers. One minister put it to me like this: “My job is to become unnecessary in the life of the believer.” He wasn’t saying that believers no longer need to go to church gatherings once they reach spiritual maturity, but rather that they should come to the point where they’re no longer dependent on pastors for every little thing. Say if a neighbor or someone at work needs prayer, the believer should handle it instead of calling the pastor. If a family member is in the hospital, the believer should go and visit instead of asking the pastor. If the believer feels led to do something important, like take a new job or move to another location, the believer should pray about it and get a confirmation from the Holy Spirit rather than requiring the pastor to instruct him/her. Etcetera.

This is the way it should be when believers grow properly.

Take an honest look at your church assembly. Does it cultivate a spirit of dependency in the congregants? If so, it’s not good. Do your part to help set it free from this infection of legalism. If they’re stubborn and refuse to change you may have to leave. Be led of the Lord.

Beware of the Spirit of Bondage

Needless to say, if the group you’re involved with, or thinking about getting involved with, seems obsessed with rules to the point that being a member feels more like bondage than freedom it’s a huge red flag. Are the leaders prune-faces? Are they more interested in lording it over you than serving? Do they require you to answer a bunch of nosey questions but show offense if you desire to ask them the same? Is being part of their group likened to a marriage contract and you can’t just leave if you want? Do they unjustly denounce and shun believers who simply decided to leave the fellowship? Do you feel like you’re boxed-in or trapped by the pastor’s limited understanding of the Bible? Do you feel pressured to believe everything that’s taught from the pulpit without question? Is questioning discouraged? Is seeking truth discouraged? Is everything figured out to a ‘T’ with no room for mystery or variation? Do you feel like you can’t legitimately disagree without being shut out in some manner? Does the assembly encourage unhealthy dependency to the pastor and associates rather than fostering spiritual maturity? Beware!

Remember, Christ came to set people free from the yoke of religious bondage. Groups that develop an environment of bondage are the antithesis of the true Christian spirit.

Stand Firm in Your Freedom!

Take another look at this important verse:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1

As pointed out at the beginning of this article, Paul was talking about freedom from the bondage of religious law, the system of rules and regulations that can only give an appearance of spirituality by imposing restraints, but has no real power to set people free and change them. God wants believers to be totally free, not just from the works of the flesh—which Paul also addresses in Galatians 5—but from the bondage of religious law.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Let that soak in—freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom. Make it a soothing meditation throughout the day—freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom. Shout it from the rooftops—“freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom!”

If you think I’m getting carried away, you’re wrong. The message of freedom is something every believer needs to understand. It’s foundational to walking in the abundant life that Jesus Christ offers.

Notice in the above passage that there’s something we need to do in order to walk in freedom—we have to “stand firm.” We have to be careful not to allow legalists to bog us down with their religious burdens. ‘Stand firm’ is translated as “stand fast” in other versions. It’s a military expression meaning to hold one’s ground.

Our freedom in Christ was bought at a great price—the humbling, suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sent by the Father to reconcile the world to himself and grant us everlasting life. Freedom didn’t come easy and we won’t keep it without effort; we must continually be on our guard.

Political freedom comes at a great price and citizens have to be vigilant to guard it. Citizens of the kingdom of God must be every bit as vigilant to preserve and protect our spiritual freedom. There are enemies to both political and spiritual freedom who would want nothing more than to enslave us, but they can only do it if we allow it. We must be on our guard, constantly.

Don’t think the threat of legalism can only come from some peculiar group outside your normal Christian circles. As previously stressed, legalism can infect anyone, anywhere, anytime, regardless of sectarian tag or belief system. It could infect a respected colleague like it did Peter in Antioch when Paul had to openly correct him for giving in to the legalists (Galatians 2:11-14). In fact, legalism can infect you or me, which is why we must regularly examine ourselves and purge as necessary (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Expect Persecution

Lastly, any believer who’s walking in the true freedom and abundant life of Christ should expect some of the mistreatments described in this article, like slander and shunning by people of former churches. Why expect it? Because the Bible promises that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). ‘Persecuted’ means mistreated or abused.

Speaking of mistreatment by those from former assemblies, don’t expect all your persecution to come from those in the world. After all, Jesus’ main enemies were religious leaders who knew the Scriptures like the backs of their hands! A lot of the unjust persecutions you will face will be from people who say they’re believers and are even leaders in churches. Why? Because religionists will not stand idly by while you live free in the Lord and strive to set others free. As soon as they see the light of liberty in your eyes and your actions they’ll rise up and try to snuff you out with great sourpuss zeal.

You can bank on these types of experiences now and then because we’re in the midst of a spiritual war. When legalists brush shoulders with liberated believers it’s like death clashing with life. It may take some time for their true colors to show but they will always eventually gnash their teeth in unreasoning religious hostility. It’s like mixing oil with water; they don’t gel. Not that there’s no hope for them; there’s hope for everybody. Continue to intercede for them in the hope that the truth may set them free. Amen.

This article was edited from Chapter 6 of…

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Related Topics:

Legalism — Understanding its Many Forms

SECTARIANISM — What Is It? What’s Wrong With It?

Beware of RELIGIOUS FORMAL DEATH

Condemnation & Authoritarianism

LEGALISTS Are Obsessed With the LETTER of the LAW

Christianity — Does it Weaken People or Empower?

The Basics of Christianity

Libertinism — What’s Wrong with It and How to Walk FREE

Law of Christ—What is It?

Why Were WITCHES / SORCERERS Executed According to the Mosaic Law?

The Law of Moses commanded the Israelites:

“Do not allow a sorceress to live.”

Exodus 22:18

Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Exodus 22:18 (KJV)

A sorceress or witch in this context did not refer to a female dressed in cartoonish black apparel at a costume party, but rather a woman with supernatural power who practiced occultic activities, like witchcraft, divination and seances. In God’s holy nation of Israel — a nation consecrated from the world — engaging in witchcraft or black magic warranted execution. Why? Because it was a crime against the LORD since it sought the powers of spirits other than the Creator for selfish ends. In other words, it linked the practitioner up with evil spirits, aka demons, and the dark power and deceptions/corruptions thereof.

It was through such black arts that the Pharaoh’s sorcerers were able to mimic some of God’s miracles done through Moses, such as morphing their staffs into snakes and turning water into blood (Exodus 7:12 & 7:22).

Speaking of those male sorcerers, the law of Exodus 22:18 applied to males too and all manner of black magic practices, as observed here:

9When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 18:9-13

Since God didn’t want his holy nation to be corrupted, the sentence for engaging in witchcraft/sorcery was execution, which would deter this transgression and prevent its spread in the society (Deuteronomy 19:20, Ecclesiastes 8:11 & Romans 13:4). Another possible reason is that those involved in the occult would’ve naturally attracted evil spirits and the Hebrews had no way of exorcizing people of demons at that time due to their inferior covenant (Hebrews 8:6); so the quickest and most effective answer to the problem was to execute the transgressor.

Of course, these laws only applied to the nation of Israel under the Old Covenant. They don’t apply to a nation today, like the USA, where multiculturism is honored because America is (in theory) all about freedom. So, if a person wants to be a witch or warlock in the USA, they have the freedom to practice their religion, aka spiritual belief system. This explains why the US Air Force Academy made an $80,000 Stonehenge-like worship center in 2011 for druids, witches and Wiccans as a commitment to embrace all religions, which you can read about here. I don’t approve of this (since taxpayer funds were used for a religious center of the black arts), but it reflects the way it is in modern America.

So witchcraft or sorcery is evil because it’s conducive to mixing people up with the powers of darkness and thus negatively influences the society in question. It’s like cancer in the body: it must be cut out, which explains our key text (Exodus 22:18).

In light of this, I can understand why state church authorities circa 1300-1800 in Europe & America wanted to locate and stamp out witchcraft/sorcery in their communities to protect the populace. They simply applied Exodus 22:18 to their particular community. I don’t see the problem with this assuming those accused of witchcraft/sorcery were actually guilty and impenitent. If they were repentant, they would ideally be forgiven and exorcized, if necessary. Problem solved. They would then of course be monitored for a season to ensure that their penitence was genuine, like we do today with those on parole.

The number of people who were executed during this period under the accusation of being witches was up to 40,000, according to scholars. This is nowhere close to the grossly exaggerated 8 million cited at the opening of the infamous movie Mark of the Devil from 1970.

False Accusations of Witchcraft in Church History

Unfortunately, too many executions for witchcraft/sorcery during this era were injustices in the name of God, a scam to steal land, money, and other valuables from innocent people, not to mention rape women. These crimes were committed by dubious individuals who gravitated toward positions of power so they could abuse innocent citizens, fulfill their lusts, and further the corrupt political institution that fueled the injustice, usually the Roman Church. But not always in light of the witch trials in England, which involved the Anglican Church, and…

In the Puritan settlements of America, the notorious Salem witch trials of 1692-1693 involved a couple of hundred people being accused of witchcraft/sorcery and culminated in 30 individuals being found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging (not burned at the stake, as is widely thought). Fourteen of these were women and 5 men. One other male died by pressing because he refused to dignify the proceedings via entering a plea; and at least 5 of those imprisoned died in the disease-plagued prisons. In the years after the trials, several of the key accusers admitted to fabricating the accusations, who were mostly teen girls at the time of the slander. By 1702, the General Court of Massachusetts declared the trials unlawful and the key victims were exonerated by 1711.

Needless to say, any executions or imprisonments due to false accusations of witchcraft/sorcery is a great shame and grievous blight in Christian history. But it really wasn’t ‘Christian history’ since the people who made such slanderous charges weren’t actually Christians. They were ‘Christians’ in name only. The Lord plainly said, “By their fruit you will recognize them,” i.e. those who are false believers (Matthew 7:15-23). And slandering people with the intent of having them put to death is the bad fruit of murder. Notice what the New Testament plainly says about such people:

Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

1 John 3:15

Related Topics:

Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them

DRUG OBSESSION (Idolatry) Is of the Flesh

Dealing With DEMONIC POSSESSION

What Is the UNPARDONABLE SIN (Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit)?

Why Do Unclean Spirits Seek Out DRY PLACES?

Did David RAPE Bathsheba or Did They Commit ADULTERY?

To answer this question, it’s necessary to brush up on 2 Samuel 11 and 2 Samuel 12.

Those who support the idea that David raped Bathsheba argue that:

1. Adultery implies mutual consent, but the scriptural account supports David’s abuse of power, which suggests rape.
2. While Bathsheba was bathing nude on the (flat) rooftop of her abode (2 Samuel 11:2), which was visible from the palace of King David, she likely thought he was at war with his army (2 Samuel 11:1).
3. She was summoned by the king to go to the palace. In those days, when a king requested your presence, you went. She no doubt assumed it concerned news of her husband, who was at war. In other words, she didn’t go to the palace thinking she’d have sex with the king.
4. That verse reads “Then David sent messengers to get her” (2 Samuel 11:4). The Hebrew word for “to get her” is laqach (lah-KAKH), which means “To take, receive, seize, acquire, buy, bring, marry, accept.” As such, she didn’t necessarily want to go. David’s men basically seized her.
5. The text says “She came to him, and he slept with her,” not “She came to him and they slept together” (2 Samuel 11:4). This suggests a one-way act.
6. Nathan and God admonished David, yet there’s no verse indicating that they admonished Bathsheba as well.
7. The account says “But the thing David had done displeased the LORD” (2 Samuel 11:27). It does not say anything about God being displeased with Bathsheba or that she provoked the misdeed or willingly participating in it.

Those who support the idea that the scenario was a case of adultery would answer each point thusly:

1. David definitely abused his position of authority, but that doesn’t automatically mean that the sex act wasn’t consensual.
2. Since Bathsheba’s husband was in the army, she would’ve known if King David had went out with the troops or was home in his palace.
3. It is true that subjects in that culture would naturally acquiesce to the king’s summoning and that Bathsheba might not have been aware of the reason for it. However, if she caught a glance of David eying her while bathing on the roof, she would’ve suspected the intent behind his summoning. Keep in mind that this was 2800 years before telescopes or binoculars came into vogue; so, if David could see her close enough to stir up lust, she could see him as well.
4. David’s men came to get her and she went with them. There’s no indication that they seized her in a rough way or that she fought with them over it.
5. There’s a big difference between A. “he slept with her” and B. “he forced himself upon her” or “he raped her.”
6. We don’t know how the LORD dealt with Bathsheba after the occasion, or if Nathan said anything to her. The Bible’s simply silent on this front.
7. David’s actions displeased the LORD because he A. had sex with another man’s wife and B. had the husband killed in battle after he got Bathsheba pregnant. God held David responsible because he was the national authority of Israel and he was the one who instigated the illicit union by ordering his men to bring her to him due to his out-of-control lust.

Consider the example of a high school teacher taking advantage of a 17 years-old student: Even if the student was a willing partner in the tryst, it’s the teacher who is blamed because he (or she) is the responsible authority figure.

A few other things to consider:

• Bathsheba could have simply refused to have sex with the king, regardless of the perceived penalty. Bear in mind that there’s no history of David having women put to death for refusing his sexual advances. So the likelihood of her dying for doing so is nil.
• She willingly and readily became David’s wife after the time of grieving for Uriah (2 Samuel 11:27).
• There’s no verse in Scripture that follows up this account with something to the effect of: “And so Bathsheba loathed David because he raped her; and intentionally had her husband killed in battle.”
• David was said to be “glowing with health” and “handsome” (1 Samuel 16:12 & 1 Samuel 17:42) along with being “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14  & Acts 13:22), not to mention being the king of God’s chosen nation on Earth during its height of health and prosperity. It would’ve been below David to resort to raping a woman, as well as unnecessary. The only reason he resorted to having Uriah killed was because he had gotten Bathsheba pregnant while Uriah was away at war and he was desperately trying to cover up his sin.

In light of all this, I suspect Bathsheba was guilty to some degree in the sexual union even though the LORD pinned the blame on David, and rightly so. As such, if I refer to this incident in my teachings I say that David committed adultery and not that he raped her.

Related Topics:

Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation

The “Berean Spirit” — What is It? How Do You Cultivate it?

Why Does 1 Chronicles OMIT David’s Adultery & Murder?

How to Be a Modern DAVID Against a Modern GOLIATH

What Can We Learn From GEDALIAH & ISHMAEL in Jeremiah 40-41?

The very purpose of Old Testament accounts is to teach believers in the New Covenant era, as observed in Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:11. So, what can we learn from the story of Gedaliah and Ishmael from Jeremiah 40:7-41:15?

The setting of this passage is just after the Babylonian conquest of Judah and the corresponding fall of Jerusalem. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, appointed Gedaliah as governor over the land in 587 BC and thus he was in charge of the Hebrews who were not taken into exile for 70 years (Jeremiah 40:7). Gedaliah was a Hebrew and his father, Ahikam, was an ally of Jeremiah (26:24) and thus Gedaliah supported the prophet & his God-given prophecies (39:14), which encouraged the Jews to concede to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops (as Divine payment for their stubborn sins). This explains why the king appointed Gedaliah as governor.

Ishmael was an officer of King Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, the latter of whom was actually appointed by Nebuchadnezzar after besieging Jerusalem in 597 BC (2 Kings 24:17). But Zedekiah rebelled eight years later and so the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, captured the king, blinded him, and hauled him off to Babylon.

Ishmael was one of the leaders of Judah’s surviving military men living in the open country after the fall of Jerusalem and capture of Zedekiah; he was “of royal blood,” the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama (Jeremiah 40:7-8 & 41:1). These facts suggest that he was of Hebrew stock and loyal to Zedekiah, as well as resentful of the Babylonian conquest. Responding with contempt to Gedaliah’s urging to “settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 40:9), Ishmael was desperate as an outcast and open to being enlisted by Baalis, king of the Ammonites (40:14), a county about 60 miles to the east of Jerusalem by road (aka modern-day Jordan). This brings us to our key text:

13Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14and said to him, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.

15Then Johanan son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?”

16But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true.”

Jeremiah 40:13-16

Why didn’t Gedaliah believe Johanan? Why was he so naive? Gedaliah was obviously a decent, trusting person who assumed Ishmael shared his godly perspective and standards of behavior, based on the Law of Moses. Such naivete made him an easy mark for the deceived militarist, who was also a political opportunist:

1In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, 2Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. 3Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian ^a soldiers who were there.

Jeremiah 41:1-3

Ishmael & his ten men took advantage of Gedaliah’s trusting nature with this surprise attack, which was facilitated by the social nature of the gathering, a banquet, in which the soldiers present would’ve but their weapons aside to indulge in food, drink, fellowship, song and laughter.

The bottom line is that Gedaliah considered Ishmael a fellow Hebrew and so flat out rejected the report of Ishmael working for the Ammonite king, as well as his malevolent intentions to murder him. But he was dead wrong.

The lesson? Just because someone calls themself a Christian, it doesn’t mean you should wholly trust them, especially if there’s good reason to doubt the individual. In the modern day, it’s unlikely that such a person would literally murder you, but they can murder your character through gossip/slander by the sword of their tongue (Proverbs 12:18, Psalm 57:4 & Proverbs 25:18).

So, don’t foolishly let your guard down in social situations, particularly in cases where the person in question has a history of carnality. As the Lord said:

15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:15-23

Let me close with a minor example of which Carol, my wife, reminded me when I shared this article with her:

Back in 1994, I was in a Christian band and we were scheduled to play at a festival, which took place at a relatively large church facility in early December. The various bands & their crews stored their extra items in a side room, which would be akin to the backstage. That’s where we put our jackets and Carol put her purse. A few hours later we went back to pick up our stuff whereupon Carol discovered that the $20 in her purse was missing (which would be equivalent to $45 today). Although there were several people & crewmembers from other bands in the side room when we left our items there, Carol naively thought to herself, “We’re all brothers & sisters in the Lord” and so had no worries about theft. But she was wrong.

Just because it wouldn’t occur to her, me or you to steal something from someone else at a church facility (or anywhere else, for that matter), it doesn’t mean that there aren’t wolves in sheep’s clothing who would jump at the opportunity due to their love of Mammon.

• Carol lost what would be equivalent to $45.
• Gedaliah lost his life.

The moral is: Don’t be naive in social settings. Remember what the Lord instructed:

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Matthew 10:16

Related Topics:

Gentle Love and Tough Love

Does Walking in AGAPE LOVE Mean You Should Be a DOORMAT to Abuse?

What Happened to the Hebrews in the Old Testament Are WARNINGS FOR BELIEVERS

How to Keep Yourself BLAMELESS (While Not Being SINLESS)

Did Christ Advocate Self-Amputation in Mark 9:43-47?

Let’s read the passage in question:

43“If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. [44] ^b 45And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. [46] ^c 47And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,”

Mark 9:43-47

Christ wasn’t suggesting self-amputation, of course. He was using overstatement, known as hyperbole, to make an important point: All of us need to root out of our lives anything that causes sin because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), which is the polar opposite of receiving everlasting life (John 3:16). The Lord used the figurative speech of cutting off a hand, a foot or an eye because they apply to…

• Things you do — i.e. your “hand.”
• Paths you take — i.e. your “foot.”
• Things you choose to gaze upon (and imagine) — i.e. your “eye” (which includes your inner eye).

So, if there’s something you do that is causing you to sin, cut it out of your life; if there’s a path you take that causes you to sin, stop taking that path; if there’s something you gaze upon and feed with your imagination that causes you to sin, remove it from your sight and thought life. In other words, whatever it is that leads you into temptation and the corresponding sin, cut it out of your life. When you do that, you’ll stop putting yourself into a position of temptation and committing the transgression in question. Are you following?

The Bible offers an easy 3-point strategy on how to overcome any sin, which corresponds to the three parts of human nature – mind, body and spirit. In other words, there’s something you need to do with your mind (thoughts), there’s something you can do with your body and there’s something you need to do that involves your spirit. These are the three keys to walking in the spirit and being set free from the flesh or sinful nature (Galatians 5:16), which you can read about here.

The Contrast Between “Entering Life” and Being “Thrown Into Hell”

Notice how the Lord contrasted “entering life” with being “thrown into Hell” in the passage from Mark 9. That’s because unredeemed people who are “thrown into hell” on Judgment Day don’t have eternal life and thus will be discarded in the Lake of Fire wherein they’ll suffer the “second death”:

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11-15

Notice that they’ll suffer the “second death,” not experience life. What exactly does this mean? Christ plainly explained:

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell [Gehenna].”

Matthew 10:28

You see, unrepentant people who are cast into the Lake of Fire do not enter life; rather they’ll be destroyed, soul and body. This is why the writer of Hebrews said:

26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Hebrews 10:26-27

Being consumed by raging fire is the opposite of living forever in fire. This explains what is said in the gospel of John:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

John 3:36

Why won’t those who reject Christ receive eternal life?

but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

2 Timothy 1:10

Eternal life and immortality are only available through Jesus Christ. This is the Good News in a nutshell and explains something Paul taught by the Holy Spirit:

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Romans 2:7

Immortality is to be sought by those who are lost & dying in this world, which means it’s not something they intrinsically possess. The Awesome News, of course, is that immortality and eternal life are available to all, as plainly conveyed in the Bible’s most famous verse:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

Related Topics:

IMMORTALITY — Only Available Through the Gospel

HELL (Human Damnation) — Questions and Answers

Hell (Lake of Fire): Eternal Torment or Everlasting Destruction?

What Is the MYSTERY OF THE AGES?

The plainest answer to this question can be found in this passage:

24Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:24-27

The New Century Version renders the key verse like so:

God decided to let his people know this rich and glorious secret which he has for all people. This secret is Christ himself, who is in you. He is our only hope for glory.

Colossians 1:27 (NCV)

This point is elaborated by Paul in the opening verses of the next chapter of his epistle (keeping in mind that there were no chapter divisions when Paul wrote it):

2My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:2-3

These verses were written by the apostle almost three decades after the Lord died for our sins and was resurrected for our justification (Romans 5:18). Yet this “mystery of the ages” — this “secret” — was known by Peter & the other apostles during the early days of the Church, as disclosed here:

41The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

Acts 5:41-42

The point is that Jesus Christ is the mystery of the ages — the secret that the Creator kept hidden until the time of the New Covenant era, which began with John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ (Luke 16:16). Believers today tend to take this awesome mystery for granted, which is Christ in you, the only hope of glory, as observed above in Colossians 1:27. How is Christ in us? Through spiritual rebirth wherein we’re “created to be like God in true righteousness” (Ephesians 4:22-24) and also through the indwelling Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). (For inspiring details, see this video).

After pointing out that the mystery of God is the Lord Christ, Paul goes on to say “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). In other words, Christ is the key of knowledge (Luke 11:52). Chew on that!

The global social implications of this glorious secret were not realized by the apostles until Peter was given an illuminating vision (Acts 10-11), after which the Hebrew believers realized that “God has granted even the Gentiles [non-Jews] repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18). As it is written in the Gospels: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36). In other words, the Good News of the message of Christ applies to all people worldwide, not just Jewish people. This is a key element of the mystery of Christ, as elaborated by Paul some three decades later:

2Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

Ephesians 3:2-13

So, the mystery of the ages is Christ in you, the only hope of glory (the glory being eternal life in a redeemed Universe), which is available to all people through the Good News (John 3:16 & Romans 6:23). The more you meditate on this truth, the more mind-blowing it is!

Related Topics:

The Fountain of Life Within (video)

Did PAUL’S MESSAGE Contradict Jesus & James’ Gospel?

KEY of KNOWLEDGE — What Is It?

The DEFEAT of Satan & His Losers

The Basics of Christianity

The Ark of the Covenant in the New Testament (video)

Dealing With DEMONIC POSSESSION

In the Bible it is observed that the Lord delivered people from demons who induced insanity, deafness, muteness and infirmity (Mark 5:1-20, 9:17-29 & Luke 13:10-16). It’s clear from the scriptural evidence that being possessed (or oppressed) by an evil spirit can induce mental or physical ailments. Such demons are “spirits of infirmities,” which we’ll address momentarily.

How many people in our mental institutions are being drugged up and essentially imprisoned for the rest of their lives when what they really need is exorcized of dark spiritual entities that have possessed them to one degree or another? Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not against these kinds of asylums and realize that we, as a society, are just doing what we have to for such ailing people; that is, what we can.

Yet, what if someone of Jesus Christ’s stature were around, someone who had the authority, faith and courage to rebuke demons and send them fleeing with their tails between their legs, so to speak? The first chapter of the gospel of Mark shows the Messiah exorcizing demons from numerous people and this is merely one chapter of the New Testament! (See verses 25-26, 34 and 39).

A Real-Life Experience With Demonic Possession

I know of one person who was seriously mentally ill all her life but the best that professional medical science had to offer couldn’t deliver her. The best they could do was sedate her, try this or that (including shock treatments) and help her cope. Some of this is good to an extent, but they could not set her free. She lived and died with this severe illness. I’m convinced that these symptoms were the result of some type of demonic possession/oppression. Other believers who were close to the situation have drawn the same conclusion. The signs pointed to a partial possession, which we’ll look at shortly. If only I knew then what I know now and was the person I am now, I would have exorcized her of this spiritual subjugation without a second thought, as long as she was willing (which is necessary since God never heals or delivers people against their will).

Am I suggesting that we should let loose a bunch of religious kooks into our mental institutions to supposedly exorcize the severely ill of their (very possible) literal demons? No, but if some people show evidence of the power and boldness Jesus Christ walked in, shouldn’t we? Didn’t Yeshua come to “set the captives free,” “heal the sick and brokenhearted” and “release the prisoners from the darkness”? (Luke 4:16-21 & Isaiah 42:5-9).

The fact that so few believers are walking in this authority, power, faith and boldness is a shame to the modern Church in general. It’s also testimony to the powerless nature of so many counterfeit sects and “believers” who “have a form of godliness but deny its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Not that all the believers within these camps are counterfeits, not at all. But their leaders are unaware, disingenuous or spiritually blind. And didn’t Jesus say, “If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit?” (Matthew 15:14).

One of the purposes of this book is to reveal the reality of dark spiritual entities, how their attacks manifest, and how to effectively combat them by faith.

The Believer’s Authority

Where is the Church of Jesus Christ, the “called-out ones” who are called out of the darkness of this world? Why is the Church so inert and seemingly powerless when it comes to dealing with victims of demonic possession or oppression? I’m asking with humble concern, not arrogant denunciation; plus I’m including myself when I say ‘the Church.’

Let’s not forget the incredible authority the Lord gave believers:

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ However do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:18-20

“Snakes and scorpions” are figurative of the devil and demonic spirits. Yeshua gave the disciples authority to trample them under their feet, that is, overcome their power. Hence, filthy spirits had to submit to them and the disciples were understandably elated (see verse 17). They delivered people from demonic oppression and possession; they healed the sick and brokenhearted; they set the captives free because they had the authority and power to do so. Authority is the right to rule whereas power is the ability to rule.

If Jesus’ disciples—who weren’t even spiritually regenerated at the time—had authority to overcome the powers of darkness, how much more so Christians who have been spiritually born of the imperishable seed of Christ?

Get a hold of this fact: If you’re a believer, YOU have authority over the kingdom of darkness! All the spiritual forces of evil are under your feet! They don’t have the authority to overcome you; you have the authority to overcome them!

Words have the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21), so make this powerful positive confession:

I [state your name] have the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the devil and his wicked angels. Nothing will harm me. I have the victory in Jesus Christ—Hallelujah!!

Make Biblical statements like this your regular confession. Speak them with fervor! Never speak disempowering words of doubt, defeat, fear or grumbling. Cast such things off on the LORD in prayer, which is venting (Psalm 55:22 & 1 Peter 5:7). When you spend quality time praising, adoring and communing with the Most High the very light of God’s presence will squelch emotional waste like doubt, fear and worry. Do this regularly. God is the Fountain of Life and, in his light, we see light (Psalm 36:9); darkness vanishes!

Christ Is the Genuine Lion While satan Is a Counterfeit

The devil may prowl around like a roaring lion trying to frighten people immobile with his intimidating roar but, for the believer who walks in faith, he’s a toothless, clawless, sinew-less lion. More than that, the Bible describes Jesus Christ as the genuine Lion of Judah. In other words, Yeshua is the real deal, while the devil is just a counterfeit—a fake—who prowls around like a roaring lion. Oh, sure, he can attack since he’s “the god of this world” and we’re invading his turf, but the Bible says that all we have to do is “submit to God and resist the devil” “standing firm in the faith” and the enemy will literally “flee” from us (James 4:7 & 1 Peter 5:8-10).

This is what the apostle Paul called fighting “the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). When we stand in faith with our spiritual armor on and swing our spiritual swords, the forces of evil have no recourse but to “flee.” One minister I heard said the imagery in the original language paints the picture of a dog running away with his tail between his legs—“Yipe, yipe, yipe, yipe!!” Picture that the next time you take a stand in faith against the enemy—including exorcisms—and have yourself a knee-slapping victorious laugh.

Walking in the Amazing Authority of Jesus Christ

We live in a generation that idolizes reason and pseudoscience above all. These are the only criteria for determining reality to the unspiritual man, and understandably so. Thus anyone who looks to the Holy Scriptures for truth and has the audacity to act accordingly is viewed with disdain and ridicule. Which explains why the Church is so powerless and timid when it comes to dealing with demonic possession or oppression: We fear the scorn of the world.

This reminds me of a Pentecostal pastor who told me about a prophet he had at his assembly for a few services. The prophet ministered to the people and apparently dealt with a couple cases of demonic oppression or possession. The pastor said he was uncomfortable with the man’s ministry because it was sometimes awkward and even shocking. But dealing with filthy spirits can get ugly! Yelling, vomiting, screaming, wiggling on the floor, etc. come with the territory. We’ll look at examples from the Scriptures in a moment. The pastor said that the experience made him “gun shy” of demonic deliverance and everything that goes with it. Unfortunately, he threw the baby out with the proverbial bathwater because his church had the most sterile atmosphere of any I’ve experienced; and it was “Pentecostal”! I’m not being mean or disrespectful, just telling you what I experienced at this fellowship.

I realize we have to “become all things to all people that by all possible means we might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). Hence, we have to “locate” where individuals are and act accordingly, otherwise we’ll scare ’em off with things they simply can’t handle, at least not presently. We need to do this to reach people, but let’s not do it to the extent that we become as spiritually powerless as the world. We are the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), meaning that the Church is the light that inspires those lost in the darkness of this world. Those in the darkness “who have ears to hear and eyes to see” will naturally be drawn to the light and ultimately delivered; and the closer they get to The Light the freer they’ll be (John 8:12,31-32). This is the way it’s supposed to be.

But something’s wrong when the Church allows the darkness of the world to squelch our light to the point that we’re impotent and ineffective, all because we fear the world’s contempt and ridicule! Needless to say, this is an example of allowing the world to mold us into its form; something the Bible instructs us not to do (Romans 12:2).

One of the things that drew people to the Mighty Christ was the genuine authority he walked in, which shouldn’t be confused with pompous authoritarianism. This made his ministry—his service—effective, including demonic deliverance. Observe:

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²² The people were amazed at his teaching because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. ²³ Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ²⁴ “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

²⁵“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” ²⁶The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

²⁷The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” ²⁸ News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Mark 1:21-28

Verse 22 shows that the people were amazed at the aura of authority Jesus displayed merely with his public teaching. This was something the religious leaders of that day didn’t have, like the Pharisees and the Sadducees; all they had was religious bluster. The people were even more amazed when the Messiah proceeded to command evil spirits to shut up and come out of people, as shown in verse 27. Unsurprisingly, news spread about him throughout the region.

Speaking of commanding demons to shut up, Christ typically did this when encountering possessed people (Mark 1:24-25 & Luke 4:35,41). Why? Because evil spirits are liars who have ages of experience duping even the brightest of people. In light of this, never talk with demons; just tell ’em to shut up and exorcize the individual, presuming the person is willing.

A pastor in my area testified of his first encounter with a demon-possessed man. The wicked spirit started a conversation with him that went on for a couple of hours (!) whereupon the pastor’s head was spinning, so to speak. Then a seasoned fellow-minister, who just so happened to be visiting from out of state, entered the room and immediately discerned what has happening. He didn’t talk with the foul spirit at all, but simply said “loose” and that was the end of it.

Rise Up and Walk in Your Authority!

Unlike 1^st century Israel where Christ ministered, I realize most people reading this live in irreligious cultures of the post-Christian Western world (or, at least, Western-influenced). As such, we have to be careful how we minister and make sure we’re led of the Holy Spirit. Regardless, you can be sure that if we boldly rise up and walk in our authority and people start getting miraculously healed or freed from life-dominating sin and demonic oppression or possession nothing will keep the news from spreading. It will light a spiritual fire in this dark, dying world and those who long for healing and freedom will literally come running for deliverance! Make no mistake, Jesus plainly said that “anyone who has faith” will do the works he did. In fact, he said such people would do even greater works (John 14:12).* Please note that he said “anyone who has faith”; this means “anyone” who simply believes!

* See this article for details on what this means.

Do you sometimes struggle with faith? All believers are believers precisely because they have “a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). The wonderful thing is that this is merely the starting point of the faith walk because faith can grow. Here are the three ways faith increases:

1. Getting closer to God, who is the Fountain of Life and therefore gushes life, light, power and belief into whoever gets close to him (Psalm 36:9).
2. Through regular feeding on God’s Word, as shown in Romans 10:17 and Matthew 4:4. Whatever element of the Word you feed on is where your faith will grow. For instance, if you want strong faith in regards to the believer’s authority, spiritual warfare and exorcism, then I encourage you to master the material in this article and the linking ones (listed at the bottom of this page).
3. By praying in the Holy Spirit, as shown in Jude 1:20 (see also Ephesians 6:18, 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 and 2 Timothy 1:6-7).*

* For details, see the seventh piece of the armor & arms of God in this article.

A pastor I know, Rick testified to something he experienced when he was in Bible college: He attended a big service where the Charismatic leader was ministering and Rick happened to be standing in the front row. The minister was not far from him when fear suddenly seized Rick and he felt paralyzed. The minister looked at him, but seemed to be focusing on something unseen over Rick’s shoulder. He simply pointed to this thing and waved his hand, as if to say “Go,” and the fear immediately left the brother.

This minister was obviously walking in the gift of discerning of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:1-11), which is the ability to perceive what’s happening in the spiritual realm. (Contrary to what some think, discerning of spirits is not the gift of carnal judgment and gossip/slander). An Old Testament example of this spiritual gift can be observed when Elisha’s assistant was suddenly able to see into the spirit realm (2 Kings 6:15-17).*

* Since Paul, by the Spirit, didn’t elaborate on the gift of the discerning of spirits, there must be a biblical precedent to define it. While the gifts of the Spirit are a New Testament phenomenon, Old Testament prophets obviously functioned in these gifts, as the Spirit willed.

Don’t you want to walk in the gifting and authority that this minister functioned in when he delivered this brother seized by a spirit of fear? Of course you do; I do too. The material in this book is a good starting point.

Dealing With “Spirits of Infirmities”

At the beginning of this article, it was pointed out that Christ delivered people from demons which induced infirmities of one sort or another, including mental illness. Here are two biblical examples:

• Deafness and muteness: Mark 9:17-29.
• Crippling: Luke 13:10-16.

Let’s look at both cases:

A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. ¹⁸ Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

¹⁹“You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

²⁰So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

²¹Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. ²² “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

²³ “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

²⁴Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

²⁶The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

²⁸After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Mark 9:17-29

This passage reveals several insights:

• This evil spirit induced muteness and deafness (verses 17 & 25).
• While the muteness and deafness were presumably constant conditions, the demon only seized the child on occasions, not 100% of the time (verse 18). Luke’s account verifies that the spirit would leave him on occasion (Luke 9:39), which indicates a partial possession. (This was the situation with the person in my life, shared earlier). In this particular case of partial possession there was only one demon involved whereas in the example of total possession concerning the man from the Gerasenes there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of demons involved (Mark 5:1-20).
• Speaking of partial possession, it’s clear that the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy was demonically influenced to commit his atrocious crimes; and the evidence points to partial possession: When he was his normal self, he was affable and charismatic, which explains the inexplicable loyalty of several naïve people close to him, not to mention his mounting fan club (!). Many remained loyal during his eleven years of imprisonment before his execution in early 1989. Even the judge who sentenced him noted how likable and gifted he was. Yet his myriad wicked murders and subsequent abuse of the corpses indicated a wholly sinister side. An investigator who visited Bundy’s cell in Florida witnessed firsthand his satanic mood swings: During an ordinary conversation the murderer abruptly metamorphosed before his very eyes wherein Bundy’s body & countenance weirdly altered and the investigator perceived an odor. He described the situation as extremely intense during this dispositional change, which lasted about 20 minutes.
• Getting back to Mark 9:17-29, when the demon took control of the boy it threw him to the ground where he foamed at the mouth, gnashed his teeth and became rigid (verse 20). Needless to say, it helps to recognize these characteristics of demon-possession.
• The demon drove the boy to self-harm by often trying to kill him via throwing him into fire or water (verse 22). This demon-influenced tendency is covered in chapter 9 of my book ANGELS.
• Christ rebuked the demon, calling it a “deaf and mute spirit,” which simply means it was an evil spirit that had the ability to cause deafness and muteness (verse 25).
• Jesus commanded the demon to come out of the boy, adding “and never enter him again” (verse 25). This is an important addition.
• The spirit shrieked and convulsed the lad violently during the exorcism (verse 26). These are further characteristics we need to recognize when exorcizing demons.
• Explaining why the disciples couldn’t cast out this particular wicked spirit, Jesus said “This kind can come out only by prayer” (verse 29).* Since prayer is communion with God, this indicates that a close relationship with the LORD and the corresponding increased spiritual sensitivity & anointing are required to operate in the authority necessary to deliver people from demons of this magnitude. Obviously some evil spirits are more powerful or obstinate and, hence, are more resistant to exorcism.

* While some translations say “prayer and fasting” (e.g. the KJV), the earliest (and therefore most reliable) manuscripts available omit “fasting.” It was likely added by an overzealous scribe at some point.

Now let’s look at the other passage and cull insights from it as well:

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹ and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

¹⁴Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶ Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

Luke 13:10-16

• The woman’s crippled condition was caused by a demon (verse 11). This shows that evil spirits have spiritual powers that can negatively affect those in the physical world. Medical science has, of course, discovered various other causes of ailments, whether physical or mental, but this does not discount the effect the spiritual has on the physical. Furthermore, could it not be possible—even likely—that these spirits induced these “causes,” as pointed out earlier?
• Unlike with the spirit that brought muteness and deafness, Christ did not rebuke the demon or command it to leave (at least Luke didn’t cite this in his account). Jesus simply said, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity,” followed by laying his hands on her, and she was both delivered from the spirit and healed (verses 12-13). This shows a correlation between the two—being delivered from demonic oppression and receiving healing. Comparing the two accounts also shows that exorcizing demons and healing people are not one dimensional in nature as there are various methods we can employ, which grant the same result, and 2. we should rely on the Holy Spirit’s distinctive leading in each case.
• On a side note, this passage shows that legalists like the Pharisees—i.e. lifeless religionists—are prone to opposing genuine ministerial works, such as exorcism and healing. Big surprise, huh?

It’s possible that not every infirmity is directly caused by evil spirits, so you have to have spiritual discernment in order to effectively minister in these situations. And the only way you can do this, again, is to have genuine spiritual sensitivity, which comes by drawing closer to the LORD, as well as eagerly desiring gifts of the Spirit rather than eagerly denying them (1 Corinthians 12:1,31 & 14:1,39). If you’re not sure if a malady was induced by a demon, you can simply rebuke the ailment itself, as Jesus did here:

Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. ³⁹ So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

Luke 4:38-39

As a New Covenant believer and co-heir in Christ you have the authority to do the works the Messiah did (John 14:12).

Closing Blessing

 Rise up O man of God, rise up O woman of God, and walk in the authority that is yours in Jesus Christ. May you walk in faith and do the works Yeshua did! May you heal the sick and set the captives free through the power of God that’s in you and upon you. Let it be so.

For additional insights, see the linking article Demons Vs. Jesus Christ — No Contest.

As well as Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them

This article is also available in book form as chapter 21 of…

• The print book is available here  for only $12.50  (303 pages)
• The Kindle eBook is available here  for just 99¢!

Both links allow you to “look inside” the book.

Related Topics:

ANGELS — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer

How to Enlist the Help of Angels

Why do Unclean Spirits seek out Dry Places?

Why is this World so Messed Up?

REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation

The Basics of Christianity

The Foundation of the Fear of the LORD and Humility

The “fear of the LORD” isn’t talked about much in Christian circles these days, including sermons. Why? Possibly because the Mighty LORD has been essentially reduced to a cuddly teddy bear in the sky or perhaps a genial genie. The idea that the Almighty Sovereign God—the Creator of all things in Heaven, Earth & the Universe—is to be feared, respected and awed seems to be unhip. But what does the Bible say about the fear of the LORD, both Old and New Testaments?

The fear of the LORD is foundational to the Spiritual Warrior. Foundational to what? See for yourself:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

    but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 1:7

 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

    all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

Psalm 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,

    and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10

These verses show the connection between knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Knowledge, of course, is factual information, whether mundane or spiritual, while understanding has to do with comprehension. It’s possible to know something, including trivia, but not really understand the subject. Meanwhile wisdom is the application of what you know and understand. Many people know & understand certain important things, but they fail to live it or live in light of it, which means they lack wisdom.

Observe what these passages say is the beginning of all three—the fear of the LORD. If the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, understanding and wisdom then a person who seeks to attain these without the fear of the LORD is off track from the start! Consequently, the conclusions they’ll come to in their journey of enlightenment will be off. We see this today with all these highly intelligent and “educated” people who are trying to reinvent morality: What is bad is now good and what is good is bad (Isaiah 5:20). Their journey has brought them to a place of twisted understanding because they failed to start with the fear of the LORD, which is acknowledging the Creator and respecting God.

Someone might argue that the “fear of the LORD” is an outmoded Old Testament principle, but Christ himself said we are to fear God:

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 10:28

For more proof, Revelation 19:5 depicts a scene in Heaven in which a voice coming from God’s throne says: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!” Furthermore, after Ananias and Sapphira were slain by the LORD for their unrepentant lying “great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events” (Acts 5:5,11). Great fear of whom? God!

Furthermore, when Paul noted that all believers will have to stand before Jesus Christ and give an account of our lives at the Judgment Seat, he followed it up with “since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:10-11). Why do we fear the Lord? Because we’re going to stand before Christ and give an account of our lives for what we did in the body, whether good or bad. Of course, any deeds repented of beforehand will not be evaluated because God forgave you when you ’fessed up and “purified you from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). Those sins were cast into the sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:19). Isn’t that awesome?

The type of fear Paul was talking about—led of the Holy Spirit—was obviously fear of being held accountable to something negative. In other words, fear of punishment (Proverbs 16:6, 3:7 & 8:13). This is the most elemental kind of fear, which compels people to stay on the straight and narrow. For instance, a guy might not believe in God, but he won’t commit murder because he fears going to prison for decades or the death penalty. A married woman might find a man attractive, but she refuses to entertain adultery because she doesn’t want to ruin her family and life. Of course, the Lord wants us to grow past fear of punishment on our spiritual journey and be motivated by love of God led of the Holy Spirit (1 John 4:16-18 & Romans 8:14). This naturally comes with spiritual growth.

So, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, understanding and wisdom, and it’s not just an Old Testament principle, but what exactly is the fear of the LORD? Since fear is another word for reverence and worship, this suggests that knowledge and wisdom begin when we properly acknowledge God and offer our Creator the reverence and adoration due. The writer of Hebrews put it like this:

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:28-29

There’s also the respectful fear that a son or daughter has toward the just correction and discipline of his/her loving father. It’s a healthy respect for authority; in God’s case, the ultimate authority.

A key trait of the fear of the LORD is, of course, humility, the attitude that we’re not all that and a bag of chips, which brings to mind a simple yet potent passage:

God opposes the proud but gives grace [favor] to the humble.

James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5; Proverbs 3:34

This is quoted three times in the Bible, once in the Old Testament and twice in the New. God’s trying to get something across to us! He “opposes” the proud, which means he resists them. Proverbs 16:5 even says “The LORD detests all the proud of heart.” Those who are arrogant resist God and the Lord resists them in return. They resist, God resists. It’s a doomed cycle.

The good news, of course, is that the LORD gives grace to the humble, the meek, not the weak. This means his favor! God says:

“These are the ones I look on with favor:

      those who are humble and contrite in spirit,

      and who tremble at my word.”

Isaiah 66:2

God’s favor, blessing and enlightenment only flow to the humble who genuinely acknowledge their Creator, not the arrogant who are stubborn, hard-hearted and think they know it all. The latter includes religious leaders, like the Pharisees and teachers of the law, who put on airs that they knew and honored God when nothing could’ve been further from the truth. The Pharisees, for instance, claimed to be God’s children but the Messiah told them point blank that they were children of the devil (John 8:41-47)! Don’t think that such religious leaders only existed in Christ’s day. They’re all over today, just open your eyes; they even go by the tag ‘Christian’ and say “Lord, Lord” (Matthew 7:15-23).

What can we conclude from all of this? If we want freedom we have to want truth, which means the way it really is. Why? Because truth is the very thing we need to set us free, as Jesus taught (John 8:31-32). Truth consists of knowledge, understanding and wisdom from God’s Word and the foundation of these is the fear of the LORD.

Needless to say, let’s be wise sons & daughters of God and cultivate a healthy reverence and awe of the Holy One. Always strive for humility, which is the opposite of stubbornness and arrogance. Cultivate the attitude of an unworthy servant who’s only doing his/her duty (Luke 17:10). If you do this, God’s favor will surely flow to you. But please understand that persecutions will increase (2 Timothy 3:12). Higher levels, bigger devils.

This article is available in book form as the opening section of chapter 4 in…

• The print book is available here  for only $12.50  (303 pages)
• The Kindle eBook is available here  for just 99¢!

Both links allow you to “look inside” the book.

Related Topics:

The Basics of Christianity

Spiritual Growth — The Four Stages

The Seven Keys to SPIRITUAL GROWTH

SPIRITUAL GROWTH Is Like Climbing a Mountain

Is Christianity a “RELATIONSHIP With God”?

Does Christianity Weaken People or EMPOWER?

Religion and Christianity — What’s the Difference?

Did Job CAUSE His Satanic Attacks Through Fear?

Way back in the ’80s I heard a minister claim that Job opened the door to the devil’s extraordinary attacks through fear (Job 1-2), which he argued is backed-up by this statement from Job:

“What I feared has come upon me;

what I dreaded has happened to me”

Job 3:25

This is still taught today as Carol, my wife, heard someone teach it yesterday. However, this theory can be rejected for a few glaring reasons:

1. We already know in plain language from the previous two chapters of Job that he was not being attacked because he opened the door to the enemy through fear. Rather, God praised him as righteous & thoroughly blameless and this is what spurred satan to unjustly bring into question his character, which compelled the LORD to allow the test. Nowhere is it even hinted that Job opened the door for a horrible attack through fear. On the contrary, note what God says:

Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

Job 2:3

Scripture interprets Scripture.

2. Speaking of that hermeneutical law, the context of Job 3 is of a man relentlessly venting after two horrible satanic assaults wherein he lost his ten children, most of his employees, and all his great wealth; then, after seven literal days of intense silent suffering with a few hushed friends (2:13), Job finally speaks his mind and his verbiage is hysterical: He curses the very day of his birth and argues for non-existence as opposed to life in this troubled world.

3. As David Kirkwood argued in his book Your Best Year Yet, if we are going to dubiously base our entire interpretation of the book of Job on one verse spoken in venting hysterics then we should also be able to argue that Job opened the door to satan by expecting good based on his later statement (when he was a little more rational): “when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness” (Job 30:26).

There are three types of trials that you’ll experience in life: a Self-Inflicted Trial, a Discipline-Intended Trial or a Maturity-Intended Trial. Job suffered the third type. For a brief explanation of all three, go here.

Related Topics:

How to Distinguish 3 TYPES OF TRIALS — SITs, MITs and DITs

TEMPTATION, TRIALS and TESTS — What’s the Diff?

Spiritual Warfare — The Basics

SPIRITUAL WARFARE — Do You Know What You’re Fighting For?

ARMOR & WEAPONRY of God