Saturday, May 30, 2020

Eight "Ds" for Destroying the Devil (Part 1)


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Monday, May 25, 2020

"I Kill" - Paraphrase of Deut. 32:39 (with Notes)


Deuteronomy 32:39
 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me; the devil is not equal to me1: I permit the enemy to2 kill when you remove yourself from my protection3, and I make alive because I am life4; I permit you to suffer a5 wound when I no longer protect you6, and I heal because I am the Lord your healer7: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand; change the course of events without my intervention8.
(A paraphrase by Pastor Troy J. Edwards)

Notes
1. Satan is a fallen angel. He is not equal to God in power or authority – Isa. 14:12; Luke 10:17-20; Job 1:11-12; 2:5-6
2. “…. in the Jewish idiom, God is said to do what he permits to be done.” – Richard Wright, The Free Grace of God Defended, p. 217
3. The loss of God’s protection is the meaning of “I kill” - Deut. 32:20, 30, 36-39, see also 31:16-18; Hos. 9:12
4. Deut. 30:15, 19, 20; John 10:10
5. God is said to smite & wound when He no longer protects & gives people over to their enemies - 1 Kings 14:15-16; Ps. 81:10-14; Judges 2:14; Jer. 20:5; 34:20, 21; 44:30
6. Psa. 91; Deut. 31:16-18
7. Ex. 15:26; Psalm 147:3; Jer. 30:17

8. Compare Deut. 2:14-15 with Num. 14:9; See also Num. 14:40-45; Joshua 22:31; Psalm 127:1; 2 Kings 20:6; 2 Chron. 36:15-17

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Saturday, May 23, 2020

Deliverance from Destruction thru God's Word (Part 2)


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Disease Consciousness by William Portsmouth

This insight from an old book is definitely an appropriate thought for the day. We must learn to stop becoming "disease-conscious:"

"To combat disease-consciousness, and indeed disease itself, requires first a healthy attitude of mind. 'Whatsoever things are true ... of good report ... think on these things" Phil. 4:8). Before we can begin the business of becoming whole, Jesus said, we must repent, which simply means change your mind, change your way of thinking. If we are to pray for health, this attitude is indispensable."
William Portsmouth, Healing Prayer, pp. 39, 40

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Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Satan Hinders through Natural Disasters

“One of Satan’s ways of hindering God’s servants from disseminating the gospel is the use of destructive weather disasters.”
Does God Send Natural Disasters: Vindicating God’s character concerning Accidents and Disasters, p. 52

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The Destroyer - Demons of Disease


".... the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you." (Exodus 12:23b)

Sadly, there are some theologians who believe that the destroyer was one of God's loyal angels (or even God Himself). This is not supported by Scripture as a whole nor by historical data. As one person noted:

"According to primitive notions, 'the destroyer' would mean the demons of disease and death. It is against such evils as these that the sprinkled blood gives protection."
Piercy, William Coleman (Editor) The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1908), p. 761

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Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Does God Kill? (Video Teaching)


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Monday, May 18, 2020

"Break with God" by S. D. Gordon

“….any break with God takes one away from the protection of His presence, and so automatically exposes him to whatever conditions surround him ….This is the continual background of all the Old Testament teaching about bodily conditions.” - S. D. Gordon, The Healing Christ, p. 40

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Saturday, May 16, 2020

S. D. Gordon on “Withdrawal” as God’s Method of Judgment



S. D. Gordon on “Withdrawal” as God’s Method of Judgment

By Troy J. Edwards


Since they did not consider worth their while to acknowledge God in the way they lived, God’s judgment was to abandon them to the further consequences of their own degenerated minds and outrageous conduct. (Romans 1:28; Living Water Translation)

I love many of the classic writers and Bible teachers: A. B. Simpson, R. A. Torrey, E. W. Kenyon, Andrew Murray, Watchman Nee—just to name a few. They have left us a wonderful legacy in their writings and teachings.
However, one of my definite favorites is Samuel Dickey Gordon. His books are wonderful and worth reading, re-reading and quoting from. Since, as of late, I have been doing some study and teaching on how God’s judgment is actually executed, it was a wonderful delight to come across Gordon’s teachings on this.
As I believe from my study of Scripture, Gordon affirms that God’s judgment (from a negative standpoint) is activated, not by directly, using His divine omnipotent power, to bring upon us the “punishments we deserve. It is done by withdrawing His presence and giving us over to the consequences of our rebellion. Gordon writes:

It is of intense interest to note the principle underlying God’s action in all this. It is simply a withdrawal, a partial withdrawal. It is as though man’s unspoken prayer, the prayer of action and attitude, is being answered, partly. God has been so much blasphemed or ignored, practically left out of reckoning so far as possible. He never ignores any one or leaves him out of His unfailing, creative, sustaining care.
Now there’s a partial withdrawal. God simply does less; that is all. The persecution comes through the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit, a partial withdrawal, from the Church. The visitation of judgments comes through a partial withdrawal of the Creator's preserving, sustaining touch in the common life of men, and of the earth, and of the heavens.[1]

Gordon emphasizes a “partial withdrawal” as a means of God’s judgment. God loves men so deeply that even when He is forced by the action of men to step away, He does so in reluctantly. He also does so only in part with the hope that men will see what it is like to be without God’s presence. Gordon states this truth again some chapters later in his book in explain Jesus’ method of “killing” by the sword in His mouth in the book of Revelation:

God’s method of warfare is noteworthy. The leaders are killed by the sword that comes forth out of the mouth of Him who appears. The same One who created things by a word now acts in judgment in the same way. The immense numbers who are gathered against Jerusalem become terror-stricken; a confused tumult breaks out among both men and horses. There is an utter loss of self-confidence or morale. Discord breaks out in the ranks. They take to fighting each other. Pestilence breaks out, and a strange loss of vitality affects them.
It is worth remembering here what has been said a little bit back, that the principle of judgment is simply the partial withdrawal of the divine creator power that holds things together and keeps life and vigour in man and beast, and in all nature.[2]

Men do not realize that, apart from God’s merciful presence remaining among men in some measure, we would have no vitality at all. God told the Israelites, “…. that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days” (Deut. 30:20b).
God is life and the separation or withdrawal of God from men is what produces a lack of vigor. God told Jeremiah concerning His chosen people. “.... they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 17:3b). It is this withdrawing of God, who is our life, as the judgment upon men who reject Him, that S. D. Gordon says, affects their vitality:

God’s method of making war or visiting judgment on the nations is outstandingly striking. There is a great tumult of discomfiture from God among the masses gathered against Jerusalem. They become terror-stricken. Their breakdown of self-confidence is complete. A strangely terrible fear seizes and holds them in a death-like grip. They take to fighting each other. There is a strange withdrawal of vitality from their bodies.[3]

Gordon further explains in other portions of his book that it is God’s withdrawal, and not His display of divine power, that brings about the evil that will occur in the end times:

There would be a falling away from the true faith in the Church. There is now a restraint upon evil in the world. At some future day that restraint would be withdrawn. Then there would forge to the front in the world a great evil leader.[4]

This restraint will be withdrawn. That is, the Holy Spirit will reverse the action of Pentecost. Then He came upon the Church. Now He withdraws from the Church. He was in individual believers before Pentecost. He will remain in individual believers after this withdrawal. That He withdraws is tremendously significant of the condition of the Church. It is a forced withdrawal. The “falling away” has become the dominant factor there. It is a heartbreaking bit of truth. His withdrawal gives evil free rein.[5]

This is consistent with Paul’s own divinely inspired revelation in 2 Thessalonians 2:

And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. (2 Thess. 2:6-17)

The Bible in Basic English renders verse 6, “….  but there is one who is keeping back the evil till he is taken out of the way.” This is when the judgment outlined in the book of Revelation will take place. Again, it does not take place by God personally afflicting mankind, but by His withdrawal from man.
God is a loving God who wants to be in fellowship with His creatures. It is we who push Him away, this bringing judgment upon ourselves. Seeing that S. D. Gordon saw this truth in Scripture over 100 years ago, we know that this teaching is neither novel nor new. Amen.



  

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[1] Gordon, Samuel Dickey Quiet Talks on the Deeper Meaning of the War and Its Relation to Our Lord’s Return (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1919), p. 93
[2] Ibid, pp. 106, 107
[3] Ibid, p. 228
[4] Ibid, p. 249
[5] Ibid, pp. 249, 250

Friday, May 15, 2020

Satan Kills with Sickness by SD Gordon


“Satan has done, and is doing, his best and his worst to kill the race off, by disease, violence, ignorance, lust, and so on.” 
Samuel Dickey Gordon, Quiet Talks on the Deeper Meaning of the War and Its Relation to Our Lord’s Return, p. 141

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Tuesday, May 12, 2020

"Death is God's Enemy" by Charles Cuthbert Hall

"We must break away from our forms of popular speech which continually misrepresent and dishonor God in His relation to Death: we must teach ourselves to stop saying at the death-beds of our friends: "God is taking them away from us." God hates Death. Death is His enemy as much as ours. Death is a catastrophe and a blot on creation."
Charles Cuthbert Hall, Does God Send Trouble, p. 15

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Bible Principle of Accommodation (book)


"There are things found in Scripture that we do not find to be consistent with a God of love if we read the Scriptures carelessly .... Apart from understanding the principle of accommodation, God may appear to be unstable and whimsical."
The Bible Principle of Accommodation, p. 12

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Monday, May 11, 2020

Jesus Did Good


“Jesus …. who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38). It does not say, “Jesus went about doing evil, and inflicting with sickness all who were predestined to suffer.”

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Friday, May 8, 2020

Quote from "The Wrath of God" Book

“If Jesus did not express the cruelty often associated with the popular understanding of ‘God’s wrath’…. then it may be possible that the traditional doctrine of the ‘wrath of God’ is in error.”
The Wrath of God: What It Is and How It Is Executed, p. 7

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God Cares About Your Success

GOD CARES ABOUT YOUR SUCCESS!
Don't listen to people who claim that God is only concerned about your spiritual needs but not your material needs. God is concerned with every aspect of your life both spiritually and materially. He is more concerned with your success in life than you are.

"I know the plans I have for you,” announces the Lord. “I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you. I will give you hope for the years to come." (Jer. 29:11; New International Reader’s Version)

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Thursday, May 7, 2020

Shalome - Peace, Safety, Health


God’s redemptive covenant name is “Jehovahshalom” (Judges 6:24; KJV). The word “shâlôm” means “health, prosperity, safety, welfare”. The Lord covenants to do this for us.

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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Judgment of God (Video Teaching)



Many people have a false idea about God's judgment. We have been taught that God judges people by directly afflicting them with sickness, accidents, tragedies and other horrors. In this teaching, Pastor Troy Edwards clears up the confusion surrounding God's judgment and shows us from Scripture that God's judgment, in the negative sense, is a contemplated decision to allow one to suffer the natural consequences of their rebellion. However, none of this comes directly by His own hand. For more Bible studies, visit us at vindicatinggod.org

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Our Latest Books - May 6, 2020


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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Did Jesus Blind Paul?


Did Jesus Blind Paul?
And Does this Prove that God Inflicts Sickness?

By Troy J. Edwards
It is well-known by the most casual Bible reader (or church attendee) that Paul was an enemy of the church before becoming one of the greatest servants of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, most are familiar with the circumstances of his conversion. However, let us refer to Luke’s account as a reminder:

Acts 9:1-9
1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 
2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 
4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 
5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 
:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 
7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 
8  And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 
9  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

There is no telling what revelation and insight we would have missed if Paul had not had this experience. Paul became history’s most dedicated and lifelong servant of Christ. He contributed to over two-thirds of the New Testament and his divinely inspired letters are the most read and most taught within the modern church.

A Natural Reaction to Bright Light
However, I am often more perplexed by how some use the account of Paul’s experience to teach their pet doctrine that God is the afflicter of sickness and disease. Some theologians refer to this account to proclaim the idea that God directly afflicts people with sickness and handicaps, that sickness is His will, and that He has a purpose in it. Atheists like to refer to this passage to show how cruel the God of the Bible is in order to excuse their hateful vendetta against Him.
Listening to these people would lead one to believe that it was Jesus primary intention to blind Paul despite there being no evidence of such intent. In Acts 9 we are given two simple facts:

·         And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven (Acts 9:3)
·         And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. (Acts 9:9)

In a later account Paul explains that it was indeed due to the glory of that light that He was unable to see:

And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. (Acts 22:11)

Some things that are not said in Scripture are just as important as what is said. Notice that Paul did not say, “God appeared to me and blinded me in order to humble me.” Paul simply stated that Christ appeared in His bright glory and as a natural (rather than “intentional”) consequence of that glory he was blinded.

Medical Science and “Flash Blindness”
Paul never accused God of intentionally blinding him though we do not doubt that God was aware of how the manifestation of His glory would affect Paul’s sight. A quick search of the internet concerning “light causing blindness” yields a number of web pages that explain a term called, “flash blindness.”
One dictionary explains that “flash blindness” is, “Impairment of vision resulting from an intense flash of light. It includes temporary or permanent loss of visual functions and may be associated with retinal burns” (Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms). WebMD, in their, “Corneal Flash Burns Overview” further explain:

Eyes, particularly the cornea (the clear window of tissue on the front of the eyeball), can be damaged easily by exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and from other sources of ultraviolet light, such as a welder's arc, a photographer's flood lamps, a sun lamp, or even a halogen desk lamp. The cornea takes the brunt of the damage if proper eye protection is not worn, such as dark glasses or goggles while skiing in bright sun. A corneal flash burn (also called ultraviolet keratitis) can be considered to be a sunburn of the eye surface. – https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/corneal-flash-burns#1 (Last accessed: April 15, 2020)

Certainly, Paul was blinded by this light and suffered what modern medical professionals refer to as “flash blindness”. This also explains the statement in Acts 9:18 when after his healing, “there fell from his eyes as it had been scales” or, as another translation reads, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes” (An Understandable Version).
In his commentary on Acts 9:18 Adam Clarke writes, “he had been so dazzled with the brightness of the light that we may suppose the globe of the eye, and particularly the cornea, had suffered considerable injury” (Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible). Clarke then explains that after Paul’s healing, “the opaque matter separated from the cornea, in the form of thin laminae or scales.” Regardless, these were not literal scales. Albert Barnes writes:

“As the blindness had been caused by the natural effect of the light, probably on the optic nerve, it is manifest that no literal removing of scales would restore the vision. We are therefore to lay aside the idea of literal scales falling to the earth. No such thing is affirmed, and no such thing would have met the case.” (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)

Greek scholar, A. T. Robertson wrote, “Luke does not say that actual ‘scales’ fell from the eyes of Saul, but that it felt that way to him as his sight returned” (Word Pictures in the New Testament). Therefore, it was not as if God intentionally blinded Paul by miraculously putting scales on his eyes. All that Paul suffered was a natural reaction to the Lord’s bright glory.

Blindness is Not the Narrative’s Focus
We are told in Scripture, “…. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). While “light” and “dark” are primarily metaphorical references (“good” and “evil”) they also tell us how God will manifest Himself in a physical form. When He appears to the sinful human being, He appears as light which can be blinding, thus causing “flash blindness”.
But do we find anything in the account to support the idea that all blindness and other handicaps are distributed by God? There are many people born blind. Did God meet them inside their mother’s womb, shine His glory upon them in order to ensure their blindness?
Many other causes contribute to people becoming blind or handicapped? Yet, how does any of these connect to what happened to Paul as if the blindness of Paul is meant to be the focus of the whole story of his conversion?
The blinding of Paul is certainly not the focus. Paul relates this account to King Agrippa, but in this retelling he makes no mention of his blindness:

At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. (Acts 26:13)

Note that Paul says nothing about His blindness here. This is because the blindness is not the focus of the story. The focus of Paul’s story is His commission to preach the gospel to the gentiles. Paul never, ever preached about His encounter in order to make a case for God being the author of sickness, disease, and handicaps.
One should rightfully ask why “sickness is God’s will” theologians (as well as atheists) emphasize a point in this story that Paul never places a major emphasis on. Furthermore, why do these theologians draw an application from this that is never taught or intended by Paul (or Luke who recorded the account)?

Sickness and Handicaps are Not God’s Will
Finally, if this account proves that sickness and handicaps are the “will of God” then it does a very poor job of making that case.

And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. (Acts 9:17-18)

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. (Acts 22:12-13)

After only three days Paul was healed of his blindness. This is the part that the “sickness is God’s will” theologians usually don’t mention or lay any real emphasis on. There are people who have been blind or suffered from a handicap all of their lives. Paul was only blind for three days. Therefore, Paul’s story is not applicable to them.
If anything, this story proves that sickness and handicaps are not the will of God for anyone. While Paul was blinded due to the brightness of Christ’s glory (thus suffering from “flash blindness”), He was healed in three days, thus showing God’s ultimate will for Paul’s physical condition. We can conclude from this account that health and wholeness, not blindness and sickness, is the ultimate will of God for every man.



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Monday, May 4, 2020

Psalm 107:20 - God Does Not Send Destruction


“He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Psalm 107:20). God does not send things to destroy you. He sends His Word to rescue you from things that destroy you.

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