List of the 40 Weekly Messages

In January of this year I delved into my studies of “The Original Passover” hoping to have a paper ready for this year’s Passover season. It was my hope that by clarifying each of the many events surrounding that important and fascinating time we could gain a more perfect overall understanding of our more modern Passover observances. As I worked with the information available to me I became more and more confused; after almost six weeks I had to admit defeat and cancelled (postponed) the project.

From my failure with “The Original Passover” I came to realize that during this past year my own personal studies had not progressed as they should. My ability to keep up with the teaching of the various Church websites had suffered; and there is at least one more blogsite I would like to study far more carefully. In short, as much as I have enjoyed being able to share my thoughts and understanding in weekly messages to this blogsite, I must take a break at least until after this upcoming summer or fall.

Listed below are the titles of each of the forty weekly “A Whisper Amid the Shouting” messages published on the blogsite to this point in time. Over the next few months I intend to read, study, and edit each and every one of them; and as is my habit I shall attempt to work with each subject as if approaching it for the very first time.

It is my hope and my prayer that some of you will also do this very same thing; in fact, I invite you to help me with any part of my understanding you believe to be in error. If you can state your initial comments as briefly as possible I shall try to understand what you’re referring to and will respond.

If what you have to say points me towards a more perfect understanding then perhaps we can initiate a more personal correspondence. All I ask is that you do as much as you can by yourself before making contact. Study all that I’ve written on the subject, search the Scriptures whether these things are (or are not) so, support your thoughts with as much Scripture as possible, then by all means contact me as a brother (or sister) and know that you will be made welcome.

There is another list, one which at the moment is little more than a series of thoughts and ideas. These thoughts need to be more thoroughly researched and studied before I can even consider publishing them to the blogsite. I doubt that any of you can understand how difficult it was for me to publish anything. The possibility that I might be guilty of disseminating error, even if no deceit was involved, absolutely terrified me. The thought that I might inadvertently place a stumbling-block before any of my brethren, a hurdle they may be unable to surmount, is something I cannot bear to consider.

If I can use the next few months wisely and well I may even be able to catch up on my reading; not only of the books and articles I’ve been putting aside, but also the Church websites and any new material they may have to offer. How I wish they would move away from the serving of warm milk and soft bread to the brethren, there is so much meat on our Father’s table; I feel sure He wants us to not only partake of it but to share, and to enjoy, and to be more fully and perfectly satisfied!

Forty Whispers Amid the Shouting: (...to be found in the Archives.)

01) A New Look at True Faith August 22, 2006

02) The Church of God Brethren August 29, 2006

03) Three Days and Three Nights September 1, 2006

04) Vinegar Mingled with Gall September 8, 2006

05) By Water and by Blood September 15, 2006

06) The Angels that Sinned September 22, 2006

07) Words of the Prophet September 29, 2006

08) The Scattered “church” of God October 6, 2006

09) The Unpardonable Sin -- Part 1 October 13, 2006

10) The Unpardonable Sin -- Part 2 October 20, 2006

11) The Unpardonable Sin -- Part 3 October 27, 2006

12) The Unpardonable Sin -- Part 4 November 3, 2006

13) The Unpardonable Sin -- Part 5 November 10, 2006

14) Why God Scattered His Church November 17, 2006

15) Openly Teaching Error November 24, 2006

16) For the Way of Peace December 1, 2006

17) That Man of Sin Revealed December 8, 2006

18) The Incarceration of Satan December 15, 2006

19) The Three Wise Men -- Part 1 December 22, 2006

20) The Three Wise Men -- Part 2 December 29, 2006

21) Daniel’s Seventy-Week Prophecy January 5, 2007

22) And the Dry Land Appeared January 12, 2007

23) Turning Water into Wine January 19, 2007

24) Bits and Pieces January 26, 2007

25) Shearing the Sheep -- Part 1 February 2, 2007

26) Shearing the Sheep -- Part 2 February 9, 2007

27) The Thief on the Cross February 16, 2007

28) Opening the Sixth Seal February 23, 2007

29) The Lord’s Anointed March 2, 2007

30) Bits and Pieces -- 2 March 9, 2007

31) Clear Proofs of Muhammad March 16, 2007

32) Spirit and Power of Elijah -- Part 1 March 23, 2007

33) Spirit and Power of Elijah -- Part 2 March 30, 2007

34) When We Die April 6, 2007

35) My Name is Legion -- Part 1 April 13, 2007

36) My Name is Legion -- Part 2 April 20, 2007

37) My Name is Legion -- Part 3 April 27, 2007

38) Bits and Pieces -- 3 May 4, 2007

39) Religious Confusion -- Part 1 May 11, 2007

40) Religious Confusion -- Part 2 May 18, 2007

May God our Heavenly Father bless each and every one of you and keep you safe until the gathering of our brethren by His Son Jesus our Saviour, our brother, and soon to be our King. Always remember he was raised from the dead to be the first-born of many brethren. Yearn for the day when he shall call you with the words: “Come, you blessed of our Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

Religious Confusion -- Part 2

Very few of those who profess to be followers of Christ properly understand man’s relationship with God the Father. Last week I tried to address a portion of this issue but the format of a blogsite does not allow for such a lengthy and important discussion; I shall therefore bend one of my own rules and suggest that those who are truly interested should contact one of the more prominent Churches of God and request some of their literature. Be warned that I do not find everything they teach to be accurate and true; however, they are by far much closer to the truths of God than are others of the mainstream Christian Churches.

Some Church of God websites offer an excellent variety of very helpful literature free-of-charge; they may limit the number of booklets you may request at any one time, but they will eventually send everything you request and will not in any way try to force their beliefs, themselves, or their Church upon you.

Having gone this far, I feel obligated to better define my recommendation. If you desire a more comprehensive understanding of the many truths and mysteries of God you would do well to search the websites of the United Church of God and the Living Church of God. I would especially recommend the sermons of Garner Ted Armstrong as offered by the website of the Intercontinental Church of God. These are only three of the more than 300 groups which separated from the Worldwide Church following the death of Herbert W. Armstrong. Truly the words are found in Scripture: “I shall strike the shepherd and scatter the sheep.”

The Worship of Idols

Exodus 20:4-5 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image -- any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.”

Islam teaches that Mohammed was forty years of age when he received the first of many revelations from God/Allah; the angel Gabriel is said to have been the messenger of those revelations. I have come to believe that however the knowledge came to Mohammad, he saw the creation of graven images as a sin against God; and that the veneration of these images was an abomination.

The Koran relates many stories of the Patriarch Moses as he led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt and into the Promised Land. There is a certain fascination awaiting those who take time to study the parallel accounts of Moses from both the Koran and the Bible. Many discrepancies exist between the two; and yet these discrepancies can actually add to the fascination as you search for truth as the Spirit of God may lead you. Moses was only one of the many Patriarchs who spoke out against idolatry.

Sura 7.138 “And We made the children of Israel to pass the sea; then they came upon a people who kept to the worship of their idols. They [the children of Israel] said: ‘O Musa [Moses]! make for us a god as they have (their) gods.’ He said: ‘Surely you are a people acting ignorantly...’”

Islam reveres the Patriarch Abraham as the Father of the Faithful -- as do followers of Judaism and followers of Christianity. There are many references in the Koran to the time when Abraham was still living in the land of his father; and according to most of these accounts Abraham’s father and his people were idol worshippers. In these stories Abraham took it upon himself to preach against the practice of idolatry; he even went so far as to destroy many of the images they had created.

Sura 21.51 to 54 “And certainly We gave to Ibrahim [Abraham] his rectitude before, and We knew him fully well. When he said to his father and his people: ‘What are these images to whose worship you cleave?’ They said: ‘We found our fathers worshiping them.’ He said: ‘Certainly you have been, (both) you and your fathers, in manifest error.’”

I find it interesting that the Koran’s account of Abraham’s destruction of the idols more closely resembles the biblical story of Gideon (a.k.a. Jerubbaal) than it does the story of Abram before his departure from the land of his fathers. In fact, anyone who tries to parallel many of the stories from the Koran with their biblical counterparts will almost certainly find similarities; but these similarities will often be identified with different times and/or different individuals than those referred to in the Bible. This is something I hope to address in a future blog; many of these parallel accounts can be truly fascinating.

When considering the revelations Mohammad received (whether through the Archangel Gabriel or otherwise), you need to determine for yourself what really happened and what Mohammad really began to understand. If you carefully study the words of the Koran you will see his continual reference to a “Book.” As I suggested in “Part 1” it is my firm belief that this “Book” is nothing less than the Holy Scriptures; the same Scriptures which have been handed down to us as the book of the Bible. The Taurat (the Torah) is a portion of that book; and the Injeel (the New Testament) is another portion of that book.

Sura 4.51: “Have you not seen those to whom a portion of the Book has been given? They believe in idols and false deities and say of those who disbelieve: ‘These are better guided in the path than those who believe.’”

During the early years in the life of Mohammed, the religion of the people in Mecca included idol worship. Mohammed himself was born into the tribe of the Koriesh who were keepers of the Kaaba, the temple of idols at Mecca. But who were the people he refers to in Sura 4.51? Were they his own people; or were they followers of Christianity as it was being practiced by the Roman Catholic Church in the days of Mohammad? Notice that whoever they were, Mohammad describes them as “those to whom a portion of the book has been given.”

From historical antiquity the proliferation of idols and icons created and venerated by the Church of Rome is well known. In fact, during the 8th and 9th Centuries a disputation over the veneration of idols tore the Church of Rome apart. This disputation, referred to as the Iconoclastic Controversy, brought about the separation of the Roman Church from that which is now recognized as the Eastern Orthodox Church.

You may find it interesting that this Eastern Church was located within the Byzantine Empire (i.e. the Eastern Roman Empire), headquartered in the city of Constantinople. Constantinople is now known as Istanbul and is one of the major cities of modern-day Turkey; today, the population of Turkey is recognized as being almost 100% Muslim. Notice the following synopsis of historical information taken from the “Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation.” And remember that the Prophet Mohammad was born in the year 570 and died in the year 632:

“Prior to the year 628, the armies of Persia had occupied the nations of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Up to that time the Byzantine Empire had to endure a long series of wars with the Persians. The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius finally terminated these wars with the Persians by a decisive victory in 628 and recovered Persian-occupied Syria, Palestine, and Egypt; however, exhaustion from this struggle and bitter religious disputes between rival Christian sects weakened Byzantine defenses and morale, leaving the empire unprepared to face another danger in the decade that followed.

“Between 634 and 642, Arabs, inspired by the new religion of Islam conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Constantinople weathered major Arab sieges in the 670’s and in 717-18; and Byzantine Asia Minor survived almost annual Arab raids. These major Muslim offensives halted at the beginning in the 9th century and it was during the 8th and 9th centuries that the Iconoclastic Controversy took place.”

I wonder how much (if any) the preaching of Mohammad concerning the practice of idolatry had to do with the controversy which separated the Eastern Orthodox Church from the Church of Rome. There is certainly no doubt in my mind that the blatant idolatry practiced by the Roman Catholic Church is anathema to the teachings of God and the Bible. The worship and/or veneration of idols is offensive to not only the followers of Islam but to those who follow the true teachings of Christianity.

Sura 39.17 to 18 “And (as for) those who keep off from the worship of the idols and turn to Allah, they shall have good news, therefore give good news to My servants, those who listen to the word, then follow the best of it; those are they whom Allah has guided, and those it is who are the men of understanding.”

God’s Government

The following two paragraphs were used in a previous message but they have relevance to this present discussion so I hope you’ll forgive me for using them again:

Regardless of the many good intentions being put forward by our national leaders, this may be as good a time as any for those of the “church” and the Churches of God to remember that the government of God is not, was not, and never will be a democracy! We need to realize that when America attempts to spread its concept of democratic thoughts and freedoms to the peoples of the Muslim nations, many of them see it as nothing less than the spreading of Western immorality and licentiousness -- and who amongst us can say they are wrong?

As a nation, it may be argued that America has lost all moral justification to lead the world: greed, violence, illegal drugs, sexual immorality, and an almost unbridled selfishness run rampant throughout the land. Governmental arrogance, deceit, and corruption has reached levels which are almost beyond belief in the land many of us recognize as the fulfillment of the promise of national greatness God gave to Abraham.

Isaiah 1:4-6 “Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores...”

The proliferation of competing ministries within nominal Christianity has attached so many contradictory and confusing doctrines to the teachings of Jesus that it is sometimes difficult to accept the simplicity of the message he brought to mankind. Jesus came to proclaim the good news (the gospel) of the soon-coming Kingdom of God! The message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is that Jesus will one day reign as King of kings and Lord of lords over His Father’s Kingdom, here upon the Earth.

The inception of the Kingdom of God will presage the eradication forever of political influence and governmental corruption. No longer will mankind have to suffer the farcical political process with its resulting circus of lies, deception, and corruption. Those whom God has chosen will be placed in positions of authority and responsibility after having been thoroughly tried, tested, and trained for that position.

The government of God can be described as a benevolent dictatorship. Throughout man’s history, various societies have tried to set up such a government and have failed. In portions of the world today the leaders of modern Islam have set up their concept of an Islamic State; in their minds and their teaching this is nothing less than the government of God ruling over mankind from the top down. To this point in time all such attempts have failed; they have failed for the simple reason that mankind is incapable of true justice and righteous governance in the absence of the will and the actual leadership of our Creator.

1st Samuel 8:4-7 “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.’ But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.’”

The Almighty Creator God ruled over the descendants of Jacob/Israel until the people decided they would rather have a human king to rule over them. You should read 1st Samuel 8:10-17 directly from your own Bible where you will learn that through Samuel, God gave Israel fair warning what would happen if they went ahead with their desire to replace the rule of God with that of a man. He told them how they would be made to serve their king (or their government) with their children, their possessions, even their very lives; and when they eventually realize how much better off they had been with God as their King it would be too late for He would refuse to listen.

1st Samuel 8:18 “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”

1st Samuel 8:19 “Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, ‘No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

This is where we find ourselves today; carping and complaining no matter which form of governing party happens to be in power -- and we only have ourselves to blame. It could be argued that the fault lies with those of our fore-fathers who rebelled in the days of Samuel; but even today, each of us has the opportunity to choose whether we want a man to rule over us or the governance of Almighty God -- very few of us ever choose wisely.

Sura 1.1 to 1.4 “All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we serve and Thee do we beseech for help.

The leaders of Islam profess their acceptance to the rule and the governance of God; they openly reject the rule and the governance of mankind and abhor what they see as the excess and licentiousness of Western democracy. In the Arabic language, the very word “Islam” means the surrender or submission to God. Likewise, the word “Muslim” refers to a follower of Islam -or- one who surrenders to God. To accept what they perceive as the immoral and corrupt Western concept of democracy, over the rule and governance of God, would be abhorrent to the majority of Islam. It is my considered and constant belief that they will continue to rebel against any form of democracy being imposed upon them.

Church of God Government

The “church” and the Churches of God give allegiance to their Heavenly Father and to His Son; but in doing so they readily admit to the blessing of living in a land governed by a democracy rather than a dictatorship -- benevolent or otherwise! The reason is quite simple; until we are governed by the righteous laws of God, and the wisdom and power of God’s leadership, any other form of governance will be imperfect.

In the lands of Western democracy we are free to keep the seventh-day Sabbath of God. We are free to reject the pagan celebrations of nominal Christianity so revered by our peoples and accepted and approved by our national leaders. We may worship and live our lives according to that which we have been given to understand; always mindful that we give offence to no man, government, or God.

1st Corinthians 10:32-33 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God...”

As part of the development of the begotten child of God, he or she must strive to never offend those with whom they must interact. It is a further part of their development that they show respectful obedience not only to the laws of God and His governance, but also to the laws and governance of the lands in which they now live, whenever those laws are not at variance with the will of God.

Finally: Many followers of Islam will be offended by those they consider nothing less than infidels; no matter what those infidels may do. Likewise, those Christians who are offended by Islam, or by any other of the many conflicting religions, will be offended no matter what those others may do. To those who are thus offended I shall quote the words of the Prophet of Islam: “And whoever disbelieves; let not his disbelief grieve you...”

Note: There is so much more which could be said, but I can see no merit in further striving with the long and somewhat shameful list of that by which we of the Western world offend both Islam and God; so I shall end it here. And as much as I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts through these weekly messages (even if they end up lost forever in the limitless void of cyber-space) it is time for me to return to my own personal studies.

This week’s posting is the fortieth since the inception of the blogsite; perhaps in the fall or early winter (God willing) I’ll be ready to begin again with a new set of thoughts and ideas which someone out there may find helpful. An important part of my studies will be to return to the first message of the forty; to study it again very carefully, searching the Scriptures whether these things are so, editing and improving wherever possible.

Whatever my present beliefs, I am forever striving to improve that which I have come to accept as truth. I freely admit that at this time, in this life, I am far from perfect. That which I have come to believe may therefore also be far from perfect. Nothing would please me more than to have one or more of you return to the first of these forty messages in your own search for a more perfect understanding and a more perfect truth; if you should find anything I may have overlooked, or have mistaken, or have misunderstood, then by all means share what you find with me and with others of our brethren.

Note: Nest week I shall endeavor to post a complete list of each of the forty weekly messages with the date each message was posted making it easier to find in the Archives. To those who have taken an interest in that which I have tried to say and do I thank you; and may God Our Heavenly Father bless you in every way!

Religious Confusion -- Part 1

NOTE: On May 7th I travelled to Los Angeles for a much enjoyed visit with my elder sister. It had been my intention to publish messages 39 and 40 from her computer but had not anticipated her not having Microsoft Word to make this possible. I apologize to those few of you who may have wondered at my absence. Above all else, it is my hope that the words of this blogsite are meant for you to read.


Within the religion of Islam there are many differing thoughts, teachings, and ideals; but this diversity is often surpassed by the confusion found within the confines of nominal Christianity. This in no way suggests that the Islam of today teaches the unerring truths of God -- far from it! But it does suggest that a more perfect understanding of Muslim beliefs may help us to better understand the hatred which followers of radical Islam seem to have for everything Christian.

It would be foolish to believe that anyone may understand the truths and mysteries of God simply because they have access to a Bible. It would be equally foolish to believe that others may understand Islam simply because they have access to a Koran. Nevertheless, these are the books we must turn to if we are to even hope for a more perfect understanding -- it is then up to the individual to search for whatever he or she believes is truth according to that which the Spirit of God may direct them.

The message presented in this two-part series in no way suggests the correctness of Islam over Christianity; in fact, what I hope to show is that just as nominal Christianity has misunderstood and misrepresented the teachings of God as they are recorded in the Bible, so has nominal Islam misunderstood and misrepresented the teachings of Mohammad, as they are recorded in the Koran.

Whether you are Christian or Muslim; whether you believe the teachings of the Bible or of the Koran; I challenge you to consider the thoughts which follow and then to “search the Scriptures” whether what I suggest is or is not true. I would also suggest that you go to the “Archives” of this blogsite and read “Words of the Prophet” and “Clear Proofs of Mohammad” -- these messages were published September 29th 2006 and March 16th 2007 respectively. In them I try to prepare the way for those Christians who desire to have at least a rudimentary understanding of Islam; and offer a digest of some of the many surprises I discovered from my own in-depth study of the Koran.

This rather lengthy preamble would be incomplete if I did not try to impress upon you this final thought: whether you read that which I have written about the teachings of Mohammad, or whether you read the words someone else may have written; nothing can take the place of that which the followers of Islam claim to be Mohammad’s actual words. Therefore, as you study this very important subject be sure you have access to at least one version of the Koran, placing each and every passage carefully within its own scriptural context. You should also have an open Bible by your side with an Exhaustive Concordance so you can diligently “search the Scriptures” whether these things are so.

The Bible and the Koran

Do yourself a favor: do not reject the words of the Koran simply because some man has told you that Islam is anathema to the teachings of God. I readily admit the book of the Koran can be one of the most difficult books to read and to understand; however, there are many surprises waiting for those Christians who with open minds would study the teachings of Mohammad and then “search the Scriptures” to more perfectly understand.

Please understand that I am a Christian. I believe the Bible is a compilation of the words of God as they were given to men of old and passed down to us for our instruction and edification. To the people of Islam, the book of the Koran is a compilation of the words of Mohammad as they were given to him from God through the Angel Gabriel. But note this: “The Prophet Mohammad did not write the book we know as the Koran!”

Several years passed following the death of Mohammad before his followers compiled what they remembered, or had recorded of his teachings. From this “compilation of Mohammad’s recitations” they produced the book known by the Arabic name “Qur’an” (Anglicized to “Koran”); it is this book of the Qur’an which has been passed down to the Muslims of today for their edification.

Sura 2.87 And most certainly We gave Musa [Moses] the Book and We sent apostles after him one after another; and We gave Isa, the son of Marium [Jesus, the son of Mary], clear arguments and strengthened him with the holy spirit, What! Whenever then an apostle came to you with that which your souls did not desire, you were insolent so you called some liars and some you slew.

Throughout the Koran you will find constant references to “a Book” or “the Book” or to “followers of the Book.” If you place these passages in their literal context and study them very carefully, you will find there can be little doubt Mohammad was speaking of that which we have come to know as the Bible. More specific references are made to the “Taurat” (the Torah) the Hebrew name for the Mosaic Law, the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament; or as Mohammad refers to it in the previously quoted Sura 2.87 “And most certainly We gave Musa [Moses] the Book.”

Sura 5.46 “And We sent after them in their footsteps Isa, son of Marium [Jesus, son of Mary], verifying what was before him of the Taurat [the Torah] and We gave him the Injeel [the teachings of Jesus] in which was guidance and light, and verifying what was before it of Taurat [of the Torah] and a guidance and an admonition for those who guard (against evil).”

Notice the following verse as offered by two of the most noted translators of the Koran:

Sura 2.97 (by YUSUFALI): “Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel -- for he brings down the (revelation) to thy heart by Allah's will, a confirmation of what went before, and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe...”

Sura 2.97 (by PICKTHAL): “Say (O Muhammad, to mankind): Who is an enemy to Gabriel! For he it is who hath revealed (this Scripture) to thy heart by Allah's leave, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, and a guidance and glad tidings to believers...”

It is the teaching of Islam that God revealed His truths to the Prophet Mohammad by revelation through the angel Gabriel. If you do nothing more than carefully study these three verses (i.e. Sura 2.87; Sura 5.46; and Sura 2.97) I believe you will gain a vitally important insight into the teachings of Mohammad.

From my own study of the Koran, I have come to accept that Mohammad was following the path of an apostle of God to his own Arabic speaking peoples; just as he understood Moses and Jesus and many other prophets and apostles had done before him to their own nations and peoples. I believe the message Mohammad preached was according to his understanding of Holy Scripture -- that is to say: the Old Testament as it was recorded and preserved by the Patriarchs; and the New Testament as it was recorded and available to the world at that time.

Sura 26.191 to 197 “And most surely your Lord is Mighty, the Merciful. And most surely this is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. The Faithful Spirit has descended with it, upon your heart that you may be of the warners in plain Arabic language. And most surely the same is in the scriptures of the ancients. Is it not a sign to them that the learned men of the Israelites know it?

That which Christianity has come to know as the New Testament of the Bible is referred to in the Koran as the “Injeel” (Arabic: “good news”). Mohammad explains the “Injeel” as the good news (Old English: “gospel”) teachings of Jesus. He even refers to these teachings as “verifying what was before him [before Jesus] of the Taurat [the Torah].” However, according to the teaching of present-day Islam, that which Christianity has come to accept as the Old and New Testaments are false records of that which God originally inspired to be written.

Sura 10.37 “And this Quran is not such as could be forged by those besides Allah, but it is a verification of that which is before it and a clear explanation of the book, there is no doubt in it, from the Lord of the worlds.”

When we see the diversity of interpretations offered in almost limitless versions and publications of the Bible, (not to mention the countless contradictory books written about the Bible), we may find reason to forgive those who would condemn all Scripture as heresy. And yet, from the Exhaustive Concordances of the Bible the ardent searcher may gain an understanding of each and every word of Scripture as those words were originally inspired to be written; from this, he or she may still find accuracy and truth as the Spirit of God may lead them.

Sura 2.136 “Say: We believe in Allah and (in) that which had been revealed to us, and (in) that which was revealed to Ibrahim [Abraham] and Ismail [Ishmael] and Ishaq [Isaac] and Yaqoub [Jacob/Israel] and the tribes, and (in) that which was given to Musa [Moses] and Isa [Jesus], and (in) that which was given to the prophets from their Lord, we do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit.

I am the LORD your God

Exodus 20:1-3 “And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.’”

It is the teaching of Islam that “There is no god but God, and Mohammad is His prophet.” Within nominal Christianity you will find little argument with the belief that there is no god but God; however, the one true God of Christianity usually refers specifically to God the Father. Christianity teaches the deification of Jesus as the Son of God and Islam sees this as anathema to the belief in One God. Add to this the somewhat nebulous individual referred to as either “God the Holy Spirit” or “God the Holy Ghost” and you may begin to appreciate why Islam believes the Christian doctrine of the Trinity offends their belief in the One True God.

Sura 4.171 “O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Marium [the Christ, Jesus son of Mary] is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, Three. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one God; far be it from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector.”

The Trinity of today’s nominal Christian teaching consists of God the Father; Jesus the Son of God; and God the Holy Spirit (sometimes referred to as the Holy Ghost.) That there are three parts to one individual seems to be a constant to this teaching; and yet each of the three seems to have a definite individuality. During his earthly ministry, Jesus prayed to His Father many times; and although he is quoted as saying that if we have seen him, we have seen the Father, to equate this with Jesus and the Father being one and the same person is to say the least tenuous -- and to say the worst, foolishness!

Sura 5.73: Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah is the third (person) of the three, and there is no god but the one God, and if they desist not from what they say, a painful chastisement shall befall those among them who disbelieve.

I must admit to having a less than perfect understanding of the Trinity -- nor do I wish to have a more perfect understanding of that which I believe to be a flawed interpretation of Scripture. I doubt if there could be a more confusing doctrine in an already confused and confusing set of pseudo-Christian doctrines. My own understanding of the Trinity has never been able to get past the fact that in the Bible, the Almighty God is consistently referred to as God the Father of Jesus; and yet, which of the “Three” fathered Jesus?

Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together -- she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”

Whereas the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is anathema to the followers of Islam, it should be understood that in the days of Mohammad the “Three” were identified as God the Father; Jesus the Son of God; and Mary the Mother of Jesus. Regrettably, some of today’s Christian teaching does deify Mary as the mother of God; this is a teaching which only further confuses an already confusing doctrine. In the days of Mohammad, that which had become known as Christianity had spread to the Middle-East from the Church in Rome; and to this day the deification of Mary is one of the principal doctrines of this Church. As far as the doctrine of the Trinity is concerned, it is unclear in my mind how the deification of Mary fits in with the teaching of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost -- and once again, I’m not sure I even want to know.

Sura 5.116 “And behold! Allah will say: ‘O Jesus the son of Mary! Did you say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah?’ He [Jesus] will say: ‘Glory to You! never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, you would indeed have known it. You know what is in my heart, You I know not what is in Thine. For You know in full all that is hidden.’”

It is my profound belief that there is no god but God; but in the original inspired texts the Hebrew word translated “God” is not recorded in the singular sense. From a study of the uni-plural meaning of that Hebrew word we may understand that it is used in the sense of a “family” -- and so I believe it should be understood. In whatever way the doctrine of a Holy Trinity may be explained, I want you to clearly understand that I do not accept this as a true teaching of the Bible!

Sura 6.101 “Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could He have a son when He has no consort, and He (Himself) created everything, and He is the Knower of all things?”

The man we have come to know as Jesus constantly referred to the Almighty God as his Father. We are taught through his words to the disciples that when we pray we should refer to God as Our Father; and at the time of his baptism the Bible records the words of God as He spoke directly to the newly baptized Jesus: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.”

Sura 18.4 to 5 “And warn those who say: Allah has taken a son. They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers; a grievous word it is that comes out of their mouths; they speak nothing but a lie.”

Mohammed did not believe that Jesus (or anyone) should ever be referred to as a child of God; throughout his dissertations he denies such a thing is even possible and for most of professing Christianity there is likewise little depth to the understanding of this question. Since this is neither the time nor the place for such an important discussion, I shall simply ask these questions: “If God wanted to raise up for Himself a son, could He do it? Is there any man, even one so revered by his followers as the Prophet Mohammed, who would dare tell the Almighty and Everlasting God that He cannot take to Himself a son?”

Sura 19.88 to 19.92 “And they say: ‘The Beneficent God has taken (to Himself) a son.’ Certainly you have made an abominable assertion. The heavens may almost be rent thereat, and the earth cleave asunder, and the mountains fall down in pieces, that they ascribe a son to the Beneficent God. And it is not worthy of the Beneficent God that He should take (to Himself) a son.”

Who is this man that would tell the Almighty God of Creation He is not worthy if He should take to Himself a son? Take care with your condemnations O man -- do not overstep the limits of your religion which God has placed upon you! That which God should choose to do is for God alone to determine! As for myself, I shall repeat what I have said so many times before and will surely say again: “There is no god but God -- and Jesus is His Son!”

Post Script: A better understanding of Islam may help bridge the widening gap between Muslim and Christian; but such is not the principal reason for this blogsite. Those who shall be given positions of importance in the soon-coming Kingdom of God will be required to offer both understanding and compassion to those who have embraced Islam in this lifetime; such compassion can only derive from a more perfect understanding of the words and the will of God. When the Messiah returns to gather together his brethren from the four corners of the Earth, he will begin to more perfectly prepare each of them for the positions of governance they will assume in their Father’s Kingdom. Each of us as individuals must prepare for that Day of our Lord; each of us as individuals must do everything we can to make ourselves ready -- as a people prepared for their Lord.

Note: There is much more which needs to be said on this very important subject. How does Islam view the veneration of idols and icons so prevalent within certain cultures of professing Christianity? What does Islam teach about man’s use of God’s name; or his obedience to God’s laws; or even the acceptance of God’s governance? Next week I hope to touch on at least some of these questions as we conclude this discussion with the posting of “Religious Confusion -- Part 2.”

Bits and Pieces -- 3

This is the third time a few bits and pieces have been selected as one of my weekly blog offerings. What began as a hopeful way to present snippets of information instead of a full-blown essay has become most enjoyable. This format has not only given me a useful way to present new thoughts and ideas, it has actually become a fun way for me to share what I once considered subjects with too little information to be of value. I hope these additional bits and pieces will add to your pleasure in that first love of new understanding; and will also bring you the joy of sharing something of value with myself and with others of our brethren.

The Name of Jesus

The 2002 Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia tells us that the word “Jesus” is derived from a Greek rendering of the Hebrew name “Joshua,” or in full “Yehoshuah” (i.e. Yahweh is deliverance). The word “Christ” is derived from the Greek word “christos” and is a translation of the Hebrew “mashiakh” (i.e. anointed one, or Messiah.)

When we look into the life of the man we know as Jesus, how many of us really consider his name? The English pronunciation of the word “Jesus” is certainly close to the phonetic sound of the original Greek word “ee-ay-soose” used in the Bible; but it is important for us to remember that any difference in pronunciation between languages really doesn’t matter -- the man we know as Jesus did have a name; and in English we know and pronounce that name as Jesus.

If there is a problem with the form of address we use, then that problem exists with what most people have come to accept as his full name -- “Jesus Christ” is a form of address and should not be mistaken for the full name of our Lord! He may have been known as Jesus the carpenter, or Jesus the carpenter’s son; perhaps even Joshua the carpenter, or Joshua the carpenter’s son. Whatever name he was known by at that time, he lived in the town of Nazareth and we often refer to him as Jesus of Nazareth.

We may refer to him as Jesus “the Christ” or Jesus “the Messiah” for so he was, and so he is; in fact there is nothing wrong with referring to him as “Jesus Christ” so long as we remember this refers to his title, or his position, but not to his name. The word “Christ” was not, is not, and never has been the surname of Jesus!

To repeat what was earlier quoted from the Encarta Encyclopedia: the word “Christ” as it is used in the New Testament of the Bible is the English translation of the Greek word “christos.” In fact, the word “Christ” is nothing more than an Anglicized form of that original, biblically inspired Greek word. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible shows the word “Christ” as 5547 “christos” = anointed i.e. the Messiah.

John 1:45 quotes the Apostle Philip as saying: “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Jesus was the Messiah, the Anointed One promised to come throughout the writings of the Old Testament and that is precisely what the original Greek word “christos” means.

By simply Anglicizing the original Greek word into the English word “Christ” the translators have inadvertently obscured the true purpose of the original text. Recently, I have taken to mentally translating the word “Christ” to myself as I read it. In Acts 2:38 instead of reading “...and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ” I read to myself “...and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus, the Messiah.” In Romans 8:2 I read to myself “For the law of the spirit of life in the Anointed One Jesus,” instead of reading “For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus…”

These alterations do not disturb the true meaning of the originally inspired words of the Bible. Speaking for myself, I find they have added a new, albeit a very small dimension to my understanding; and yet I am very grateful for it.

Babylon the Great

Most of you have a reasonably clear picture in your mind of King Nebuchadnezzar’s great statue; the one with a head made of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet made of iron partly mixed with clay.

This statue was a prophetic representation of a series of world-ruling empires, beginning with the Empire of Babylon led by King Nebuchadnezzar. I once believed that Satan was responsible for setting up each of these world-ruling Empires and that any prophecy concerning the duration of their influence must include the Empire of Babylon -- but this may not be so! The passage found at Daniel 2:37 makes it quite clear that it was: “...the God of Heaven [who] gave Nebuchadnezzar his kingdom, his power, his strength and his glory.”

If we think back to the original creation, the archangel Lucifer, (now referred to as Satan) was given some form of dominion over the Earth; but this was before his rebellion and long before the creation of man. During the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, Satan claimed to have the power to set up and to tear down kings and kingdoms; this claim was not disputed by Jesus. As I have come to understand the term of Satan’s power over the nations, it could only have had its beginning following the reign (or the kingdom) of Nebuchadnezzar and will last only as long as it takes for the anointing of the Messiah as King of kings over the nations and peoples of the Earth.

With what has been recorded for us in the book of Daniel, it may be possible to develop a prophetic timeline which has as its conclusion the end of this present age and the setting up of the Kingdom of God. I have long believed that the prophecy of Daniel Four gives us such a timeline; and once again we may need to consider the duality so prevalent in biblical prophecy to find the answer.

The end of this present age will eventually give way to the beginning of the Millennium and the time of God’s Kingdom. In historical parallel and scriptural duality, the downfall and destruction of the political and military union now being created in Europe, (shown as the feet and toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s great statue), will be heralded by a specific statement recorded in the book of Revelation. Notice:

Revelation 18:2 “And [the angel] cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen; is fallen…’”

Is it possible that a prophetic timeline has been recorded for us beginning with the original fall of the temporal Empire of Babylon and concluding with the fall of the end-time spiritual Babylon? If so, then there is a distinct possibility that the actual words of King Nebuchadnezzar, as recorded for us in the fourth chapter of the book of Daniel, may give us some indication as to when the final fall of Babylon the Great may take place.

Miracles and Deception

The ministers of the Church of God teach that the Beast of the end time will do great miracles in the sight of men; and by these miracles mankind will be deceived into believing a lie. Most of us understand miracles as supernatural events, and being deceived means not knowing the truth; but there is an alternate understanding to all of this that needs to be considered before accepting any of it as the perfect truth of God.

Revelation 13:13-14 “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth -- by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast…”

The apostle John was the narrator of the Book of Revelation; he lived almost two thousand years before the events he was able to see in his vision. He understood that the power behind the beast had the ability to “make fire come down from heaven on the Earth.” But even in his wildest dreams John could never have imagined that mankind in these latter years would have the ability to deliver weapons of incredible destructive power by means of intercontinental ballistic missiles?

I’m not even sure that the word “miracle” is necessarily the best translation for the original inspired Greek word “simeion” used in verse 14. This word has been translated in other parts of the Bible to read “sign” or “token” or “wonder.” There is no question that to see a man-made device falling from the sky to deliver the destructive force of a five-megaton nuclear bomb would indeed be seen by John as a “wonder” if not a “great miracle” -- but if what John saw was a man-made device, then it is not a miracle!

Now notice that the power behind the beast is able to “…deceive them that dwell on the earth by those miracles…” The word “deceive” has been taken from the original Greek word “planao” and could just as easily have been translated to read “to (cause to) roam from safety, truth, or virtue.” If the power behind the soon coming Beast has the ability to use nuclear weapons, then he will have a powerful tool with which to force his will upon the peoples of many nations and/or religions.

Normal usage of the word “deceive” bears the connotation that the one deceived does not realise that he or she is being deceived; I have grave doubts that this conveys the correct meaning of these scriptures. In the end-time the power behind the Beast will have the ability to impress his will upon mankind; and he will be able to back up his demands with the threat of (and the actual use of) nuclear weaponry. He will have the power to demand obedience from those nations under his influence; and it may come to pass that one of his demands will be that no one Judaize by observing the true seventh-day Sabbath.

The possibility exists that threats from the Beast may force mankind to “roam from safety, truth, or virtue,” so as to keep Sunday as the Lord’s Day -- and if it were possible, he might even be able to coerce such obedience from the very elect!

Michael the Archangel

Whether there will or will not be a place of safety for the elect during the time of the Tribulation is a question which has often bedevilled the Churches of God. I can’t say that an actual “place of safety” has ever been one of my strongest beliefs; but at one time there was an aspect to this story which greatly disturbed me. I wondered: “If the elect are to be taken to a place of safety, would their children and other loved ones go with them; or would they be left to fend for themselves during the horrors of the end-time?”

I had great difficulty believing the elect would be able to relax and enjoy three-and-a-half years of protection, knowing their loved ones were being forced to endure horrors almost beyond the imagination. It was then that I perceived a whole new meaning of the words recorded in the book of Daniel as if referring precisely to this subject:

Daniel 12:1 “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the [children] of your people...”

Note: I quote this verse from the New King James Version but have taken the liberty of changing the word “sons” to read “children” as it is recorded in the Authorized King James Version. Regardless of how we understand the meaning of this passage, the intent of God’s word cannot be that only the sons would be protected and not the daughters.

It has been my experience that ministers of the Church of God use this passage to show the Archangel Michael watching over the people whom God has set apart for His holy purpose -- I have no great dispute with this belief. I do however question the teaching that Daniel 12:1 refers specifically to the “church” and the Churches of God during the time of the Tribulation. Speaking for myself: I have always taken comfort from the belief that this passage refers to our children -- not to ourselves!

Who are the actual people of Daniel if not the Jews; and by extension, the entirety of the descendants of Israel? However, if this passage is meant to be understood in the spiritual sense, then Daniel’s people must be spiritual Israel i.e. the true “church” of God! Who then are those individuals referred to as “the children of [Daniel’s] people”? Surely they must be the children and/or the loved ones of those who are the elect of God.

Whether there is or is not an actual place of safety should be seen as a separate issue. It is my belief that the assurance given by Daniel 12:1 is that in the end-time God will send the Archangel Michael to protect and care for our children -- no matter where the elect may be.

Picture the Actual Resurrection

How many of you have really tried to understand what went through the mind of Jesus when he experienced his very first moment of conscious thought following his death? In fact; how many of you have truly taken to heart the scripture which admonishes us to: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”?

I would strongly recommend that each of you set aside a little quality time for meditation, (perhaps on an upcoming Sabbath day), when you can attempt to experience what your own thoughts and feelings will be at the precise moment of your own future resurrection.

Try to experience the elation and the wonder associated with such an event. Will your imagination picture great excitement with many trumpets sounding and hosts of angels? Do you expect to see many friends and family both old and new? How do you envision your first meeting with some of the prophets; or with the Patriarchs and/or Matriarchs of the Bible? Can you picture your very first meeting with King David; or with Moses; or with Jesus himself?

The resurrection of Jesus took place within a sealed tomb hewn out of solid rock! I hesitate to say he awoke in darkness because I must believe the angels that were there to tend him would have provided more than sufficient light as they removed his bindings and prepared him for his awakening. If you had lived the life of Jesus and had died his death, what would be your first conscious thought in that first moment of awareness? What would be your first physical reaction in that first moment of consciousness?

Of course it would! With a heart filled with rejoicing and eyes filled with tears, you would humble yourself before the Living God in worship and in prayer! The only question might be how long would you spend on your knees or prostrate on your face, rejoicing with tears of thanksgiving before the Great and Almighty God; the God who was now truly your Heavenly Father? If Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day following his death, he would have had ample time to reminisce, in tearful prayer with his Father, all that had happened to him throughout his lifetime before having to leave his tomb!

Note: Next week I hope to begin a two-part series dealing with many of the reasons for the “Religious Confusion” that mankind seems powerless to resolve.

My Name is Legion -- Part 3

Some day, I may share with you the events which led to my belief in the potential for spirit-possession of the lower animals; but now is not that time. This much I can tell you, and I make no apology for it: during the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and His brethren, it is my great desire that I be given a position of trust over the fate of the angels that sinned so very long ago.

Note: From the previous week you may remember that Jesus had commanded the spirits possessing the man of Gadara to “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit(s)”:

“And they begged Jesus that he would not command them to go out into the deep.”

From the parallel biblical accounts, we find that the spirits begged Jesus:

(a) That he would not send them away out of the country.

(b) That he would not command them to go out into the deep.

What at first appear to be two somewhat different requests are in fact almost exactly the same. When the spirits begged Jesus not to send them away out of the country, the words used in the original text are “away” 649 = “apostello” i.e. to set apart; and “country” 5561 = “chora” i.e. empty expanse. Therefore the original text could have been translated to read: “The spirits begged Jesus that he would not set them apart into the empty expanse.”

The similar account, as it is recorded in Luke says: “They begged Jesus that he would not command them to go into the deep.” The word “deep” 12 = “abussos” depthless, is also translated in other parts of the Bible as “abyss”; or the “bottomless pit.” Ask any professing Christian about the fate of Satan and his demons and they will almost certainly tell you about the “lake of fire.” If you’re interested, you will find the lake of fire referred to in the book of Revelation chapters 19 & 20.

Having read what transpired between Jesus and the spirits to this point, you may find it as interesting as I do that these unclean spirits never even mention the lake of fire. What does seem to concern them is being sent off into emptiness, or into an abyss, or into a bottomless pit. There is an Old Testament reference which bears directly on this discussion; you will find it in the book of Leviticus 16:2-34.

Once a year, every year, on a specific day called the Day of Atonement, the high priest carried out a ceremony which involved two goats. One goat was to be killed, sacrificed as an offering for the sins of Israel. And then in Leviticus 16:21-22: “[The high priest] shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all of the sins of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the [live] goat, and he shall send it away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon it all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.”

As mentioned before, this ceremony was carried out each year by the high priest, on the Day of Atonement. The sacrifice of the first goat was prophetic of the coming of a Messiah; the blood of whose sacrifice would cover the sins of mankind -- once for all! That prophecy was fulfilled with the sacrifice of Jesus.

You should understand that only once a year, on the annual holy day called the Day of Atonement, could the high priest of the temple go behind the veil and enter the Holy of Holies where the mercy seat was located. This mercy seat was the earthly symbol of God’s heavenly throne; so that to enter behind the veil was to symbolically approach the very throne of Almighty God. Only the High Priest could pass behind the veil to enter this most holy place; and even then, only after an abundance of ritual-cleansing and blood-sacrifice.

The need for these rituals and sacrifices ceased with the death of Jesus. At the moment of his death, when the veil of the temple was torn in two, Jesus became our High Priest forever “after the order of Melchisedec.” From this we know that Jesus would for evermore have unlimited and unrestricted access to the actual throne of Almighty God.

Now we need to consider what happened to the second goat; the live goat that was “taken away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness.” Notice Revelation 20:1-3: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit [the abyss].” The unclean spirits inhabiting the man from the tombs must know that at the appropriate time, at the end of this present age, it is the destiny of Satan that he be cast into the abyss where he will be kept in restraint for a thousand years.

I believe these spirits were concerned they may eventually have to share Satan’s fate. They were reasonably sure it was not yet time for this to happen; but they were still concerned that Jesus was actually going to cast them out into the deep. If you are still wondering when the lake of fire comes into play, you will find the chronology listed in Revelation 20:1-10.

“There was a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain.”

More than thirty years have passed since I first took a great deal of interest in this verse. At that time I asked myself: “In a land inhabited by, and surrounded by a population who had as an important part of their religion an abhorrence of pig meat, why on earth would there be a herd of about two-thousand swine?” I was fascinated by the answer I came up with; and to this day I continue to believe the reasoning behind that answer is sound. For those of you who are interested, I discuss these thoughts in a short essay, published as part of “Bits and Pieces -- 2” which you will find in the Archives of the blogsite.

“And [the spirits] begged Jesus that he would allow them to enter into the swine.”

We are aware of examples where the human host was harmed in some physical way by possession, but such was not always the case. Consider the account of the damsel Paul and Silas encountered in the land of Macedonia:

Acts 16:16-18 “Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, ‘These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.’ And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And [it] came out that very hour.”

What we do not know is exactly why Paul finally became agitated; but I would draw your attention to the verse where it says: “And this she did many days…” If Paul knew this was a case of spirit possession why did he wait “many days” before casting out the offending spirit? Was it of little or no importance to Paul that the girl was possessed? Did it only become important to Paul when the possession began to disturb him?

Since Paul saw no pressing need to exorcise the spirit, is it reasonable to assume that he did not consider this possession to be a malignancy? Then again, if the spirit did not possess the girl “with evil intent,” why did it take possession of the girl?

If we admit to the inherent weakness of man, and agree to the power and immortality of angels, why would any angel ever want to inhabit a human body? The answer (if what I have come to believe is true) can be quite fascinating; I hope you will bear with me as I try to share my thoughts on why some of the spirit-world not only prefer, but seem to have a great need for possession of a life other than their own.

I mentioned earlier that at one time the angels may have believed that since possession had been condoned by God, it may also be justifiable by them should justification ever be necessary. The dictionary definition of the word “CONDONE” is “to overlook an offence or a shortcoming -or- to allow to be continued what ought to be stopped.”

The angels that were bound to the Earth following Satan’s rebellion had to wait an incredible length of time from the destruction of the Earth to the re-creation. What they did during this extended period is one of the many things I wait with great anticipation to discover. But if during all that time, the whole of the Earth existed only in a state of “chaos and confusion” (see Genesis 1:1-2), then where did the angels spend those millennia -- or does the condition of their habitation mean little or nothing to the spirit-world?

There is a little known legend which tells of a portion of the Earth where life could exist without regard to surface destruction. Interesting perhaps, but not relevant to our present discussion except in one possible respect. What if, long before the creation of man, even before the rebellion of Lucifer, some of the angels used possession of the lower animals as a form of existence and as a source of knowledge and understanding? We must always remember that although their first estate was to keep the Earth, their ultimate destiny was “...to serve those that [one day] shall inherit salvation.”

In order to carry out their ultimate destiny, I must believe that the more intimate their knowledge on every subject the better -- and there is much truth in the saying that you cannot properly understand another until you have, “spent a day in that other persons shoes.” By taking possession of a lower life-form, and living out the complete lifespan of that creature, the possessing-spirit would not only experience every facet of that creature’s life, but would in some vicarious way offset what had become the numbing boredom of its own existence.

Whatever the reason for the very first instance of spirit-possession, it seems this became a preferred form of existence for many of these angels. It would not surprise me to learn that such a vicarious form of existence made life more bearable for them while they waited throughout the eons for their destiny to unfold.

How long did it take from the creation of man for the first human possession to take place? Why did it take place? Whatever the reason for the first human possession, I believe the spirit(s) involved learned much from the experience; I can even accept that what they learned made it possible for them to claim justification of possession as a potential future benefit to mankind?

The threat of “the deep” hangs like the Sword of Damocles over all of the angels that sinned. They know that unless they are somehow pardoned for past wrongs their fate may be to follow Satan into the abyss. They know there will be a Day of Judgment for them and I believe they have a fair idea as to when that Day of Judgment will begin.

Almost two thousand years have passed since the time Jesus walked the Earth and still that Day of Judgment has not arrived. If Jesus had at that time cast out the spirits “into the deep,” then now, two thousand years later, they would still be there waiting for the thousand years of Satan’s incarceration to begin! Is it any wonder they were in such dread of being cast out “into the deep”?

These thoughts and questions may or may not have merit; but Jesus is now telling these spirits, with great authority, that possession of humans was wrong and would no longer be tolerated! Realizing they must obey Jesus and leave their human host, the greatest fear of these possessing spirits was not that they would simply be cast out; but that they would be cast out into “emptiness.” “And all the devils begged Jesus, saying: ‘Send us into the swine that we may enter into them.’”

Have we come any closer to answering the question: “Why would any angel make such a request”? The only reasonable answer I can come up with is that inhabiting a living body, even that of a pig was preferable to having no other living habitation! For whatever reason, these angels not only desired the habitation of a living being, they apparently felt a compelling need for it!

“Jesus said, ‘Go’!”... “And Jesus gave them leave.”... “And Jesus [allowed] them.”

I hope for your sake you understand what is happening here. Jesus gave these angels permission to enter into the swine! Jesus was letting them know that the possession of animals other than man was permitted!

I accept this as confirmation that to this day, some, perhaps most, of the angels that sinned are living out their waiting days by sharing the life experience of many of the lower animals. I believe that for the most part this is a benign possession; desiring only a habitation that would offer interest and variety to offset what for untold millennia must have become an existence with little or no purpose.

I believe that not only were they no longer allowed to inhabit man, but it was implicitly understood they must not involve themselves in any way (as spirit beings) with man. I am prepared to believe that some few demon spirits ignored this; but I believe the vast majority of the angels that sinned have remained obedient, and since that time to this have carried on their lives in complete non-interference with mankind.

“Then the devils went out of the man and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and was drowned.”

Did Jesus play a dirty trick on the spirits? Did he somehow deceive them into believing that if they would only leave the man and enter the swine they would be satisfied? I must believe that moving from the man to the swine was the spirits’ idea. Obviously it was not their first choice; their first choice was to inhabit the man; to inhabit the swine was simply a better choice than having no “living habitation” at all.

Please note what it says in Luke 11:24: “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, [it] walks through dry places, seeking rest: and finding none, [it] says, I will return unto my [dwelling place] whence I came out.” For these spirits in the land of the Gadarenes, returning to the man from the tombs was not an option! Their only choice was to inhabit the swine or to: “…walk through dry places seeking rest.”

Note: To what does this refer when it tells us they “...walk through dry places”? We know that one of the first things God did at the time of the re-creation was to “separate the waters from the waters.” Can we assume from this that waters covered the Earth from the time of Lucifer’s rebellion to the time of the re-creation? Is it possible that the angels were made to exist in such an environment throughout what must have been countless millennia?

Genesis 1:9-10 “Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”

Did the spirits knowingly cause the swine to run down a steep place and drown? This I cannot believe! Surely the swine died in spite of the needs and desires of the spirits. I can believe that since they did not have time to prepare the swine for something as invasive as possession that the swine, as a collective herd, went completely out of control. For those of you who know anything about the “herd mentally” you know it often takes no more than a few swine, cows, sheep, buffalo, or even men, to upset and stampede the whole herd. In this case we are talking about the immediate and simultaneous possession of about two thousand animals; is it any wonder they acted the way they did?

When the swine died, what happened to the spirits? The answer is that nothing happened to them! Certainly, they must have had to wander for a while “seeking rest”; but at least they had not been sent to the bottomless pit -- not yet anyway! It is my belief, my hope, and my prayer, that the vast majority of those angels who once sinned will never see the inside of that pit. God willing, they will have a full, productive, and important part to play in the days to come during the time of God’s Kingdom here upon the Earth. But possibly, just possibly, even in the short time leading up to the triumphant return of Jesus and the setting up of His Father’s Kingdom.

Note: As much as I enjoy launching my thoughts into cyber-space each week, I find that my own studies have been suffering because of it. I doubt that anyone could properly understand (or believe) the work that goes into each message; or the fear I live with that something I say may cause one of my brethren to doubt or to stumble in their faith. It may be that I must soon place a pause in this blogsite -- at least long enough to catch up on the many subject-studies I’ve been delaying. Next week I hope to offer you a few more of the “snippets” of information I refer to as “Bits and Pieces -- 3.”

My Name is Legion -- Part 2

We learn from the Bible that “the Saints shall judge angels.” If there is to be any hope of redemption for the angels that followed Lucifer in his rebellion that hope must lie in the judgment of the Saints; but how prepared are we to effect righteous judgment? Who are these angels? Where have they been since the time of Lucifer’s rebellion? What have they been doing all this time? Are they all “demon spirits” worthy only of banishment or destruction in the lake of fire; or have some repented of their sin, wanting only to atone and to fulfill their created purpose as servants to the Saints? And now, the meeting of Jesus with the spirit whose name was Legion:

“When Jesus arrived in the country of the Gergesenes...”

Comment: Jesus and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee from the land of Galilee to the country of the Gergesenes -or- to the country of the Gadarenes. Matthew refers to it as the country of the Gergesenes (1086 = “one of the native inhabitants of Palestine.”) Mark and Luke refer to it as “the country of the Gadarenes” (1046 = “an inhabitant of Gadara.”) There is no conflict here; the Gergesenes were inhabitants of Gadara.
Also: The Sea of Galilee has been known at various times as the Sea of Galilee; the Lake of Gennesaret; Lake Chinnereth; and/or the Sea of Tiberias.

“...there met him two men...”

Comment: According to the account in Matthew, two men came out of the tombs to meet Jesus. Both of these men were possessed by devils but apparently only one of them played a significant part in the events which followed.

“...who had been possessed by devils [or evil spirits] for a long time.”

Comment: Before getting more deeply involved in this study, it may be helpful to show the original words used in the Bible when referring to spirit-beings and where that word is located in the passages under discussion. I suggest that you open your Bible and note the context of each word; try to understand why that particular word was chosen.
Also: I realize that much of the introduction to this study can be somewhat dry and uninteresting; all I can say is that it does get much, much better as we go along:

1139 = to be exercised by a demon -or- to be used by or possessed: Matthew 8:28 & 33; and Mark 5:15.

1140 = a demonic being: Luke 8:27 & 30 & 33.

1142 = a demon or supernatural spirit: Matthew 8:31; Mark 5:12; and Luke 8:29.

169/4151 = an unclean or impure spirit; Mark 5:2 & 8 & 13; and Luke 8:29.

“The possessed man had his dwelling among the tombs...”

Comment: It is apparent that this man lived in, or in the area of the tombs. The account recorded in Luke is a little more specific in that it tells us he “lived not in a house.” Whether this means he lived out in the open or had found shelter in a cave or mausoleum is not known.

“...exceeding fierce so that no man might pass by that way...”

Comment: No man could pass by way of the tombs because of the fierceness of the men who were possessed; however, the people who lived in the land must have on occasion used force to subdue these men, because:

“...he had often been chained and fettered, yet he always broke the chains and fetters to free himself.”

Comment: Once subdued, the movements of these men were then restricted by leg fetters and chains. Assuming that the chains and fetters were forged of iron, and well made, it must have taken great strength to break them. And yet we are told that the man always managed to break his bonds; he always managed to free himself. We are also told that no man could tame him; was it natural strength or madness that gave this man physical powers which were greater than normal? There are many examples of humans showing almost super-human strength in situations of adversity; was that the case here?

“And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.”

Comment: In Mark and Luke we are told that the man was driven into the wilderness by the spirits and that day and night he would cry aloud and cut himself with stones. Did the demons force the man to injure himself? Does God permit demons to cause physical harm to those whom they possess?

In the book of Job 2:3-7 God allowed Satan to “smite Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto the crown of his head”; while in the New Testament there are several examples of illness or infirmity being healed by casting out an offending spirit. For some obscure reason not fully understood at this time, it appears that God did allow, and possibly still does allow, the possession of humans by spirit beings. However, while I do not believe they have God’s permission to arbitrarily injure those whom they possess, I can understand where the one possessed, in torment and confusion, might do harm to themselves.

Why would God ever allow possession? Assuming a greater power and intellect than man, why would any spirit, any angel, ever want to take over or possess a physical body? If, as I suspect, the incidence of human possession is far less today than in the time of Jesus, why would this be so?

“When [the possessed man] saw Jesus afar off, he ran and fell down before him and worshipped him...”

Comment: Was it the man, or the spirit in possession of the man, that fell down before Jesus and worshipped him? As much as I want to believe the man retained sufficient control and awareness to beg relief from his torment, the context makes it quite clear that the supplicant in this case was the spirit, not the man. There is also the probability that this man would have been unable to recognize Jesus for whom and what he was; the spirits however would have known Jesus, and would have had little or no choice but to show him a certain level of respect and obedience.

To what extent is the spirit world aware of what goes on in the temporal world? Their knowledge and experience predates the original creation where we are told they sang for joy at the beauty and perfection of it. They experienced the rebellion of Lucifer; they even played some part in that rebellion and saw the destruction and devastation it caused. They saw the re-creation of this world and experienced the introduction of man.

I believe the angels have the ability to see, experience, and remember everything that has taken place from the moment of their creation. I am, however, uncertain as to how much understanding they had, or have, of things yet to come. I do especially wonder at what point in time the Archangel Lucifer came to understand the destiny which God has prepared for mankind. How did Lucifer accept this understanding? What part, if any, did this knowledge play in his rebellion?

“Jesus said: ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.’”

Comment: According to the original scriptural texts, the words used by Jesus with reference to this spirit were “akathartos pneuma”; that is to say “akathartos” 169 = “unclean or impure” and “pneuma” 4151 = (figuratively) “spirit.” Jesus believed he had the authority to demand obedience from these possessing spirits. The words he used were in the form of a command; it was not a request. The spirits did not dispute Jesus’ authority; neither did they question their need to obey; however, although they did in fact comply with his demand that compliance was not immediate.

We need to remember that earlier in his ministry, Jesus had, “...rebuked [the spirits] and ordered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ” (Luke 4:41). In the account of the men from the tombs we find a spirit, or spirits, that remained neither silent nor immediately obeyed.

To get an even better understanding of the varying attitudes found within the spirit world you should read in Matthew 10:1 where Jesus sent out twelve of his disciples, “...giving them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out.” Then in Matthew 17 and Mark 9 we find a man whose son was possessed by a spirit; this man brought his son to the disciples but they were unable to cast out the spirit. Jesus explained to his disciples that their attempt failed due to their lack of faith. He further explained: “...this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.”

There are several things to be learned from all this. The disciples had previously been successful in casting out many spirits and in this case must have given their command fully believing the spirit would obey. Why then did they fail? Jesus said it was due to their lack of faith; but having succeeded many times before, why would they have reason to doubt in this case? Is belief in a successful outcome not faith? If their belief was not realized does this constitute an absence of faith; or simply a lack of sufficient faith?

Is there a way for us to measure belief? Jesus said: “If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, ‘Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove…’” When the disciples failed to cast out the spirit troubling the young boy, did not one of them “have faith as a grain of mustard seed”; or is it that we have an inaccurate or incomplete understanding of the message Jesus was trying to convey?

The faith of the disciples had been sufficient in previous attempts to cast out evil spirits, but it is my belief that in this case the power of this particular spirit was greater than the faith of the disciples! Jesus was telling them there are different spirits; some are more powerful, and some are more evil. If what I believe is true, then it may also be that some are patiently awaiting judgment while others believe they have gone beyond the point of redemption and have rejected all thought of repentance. Nevertheless, in this instance Jesus said: “This kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.”

“And behold, [the spirits] cried out saying, ‘What have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God? Are you come to torment us before our time?’”

Comment: When Jesus ordered the spirits to come out of the man, did he expect immediate obedience? He didn’t get it! What was the response of the spirits and how was that response received by Jesus? How I wish these scriptures had been written to give us a better understanding of His emotions during this encounter. Was he upset; or offended? Did the apparent disobedience of the spirits make him angry? Can we be sure that the response of the spirits was disobedience? There is so much to wonder about in the words spoken by the spirits that once again I feel it necessary to break down the whole and examine it line by line, point by point:

(a) “And the spirit(s) cried out with a loud voice...” Did the spirit actually speak out loud? If so, what language did it use? There are scriptural examples of Jesus hearing words spoken by God or angels that others could not hear. In this case, especially when it was recorded by three different disciples, I tend to believe they were able to hear and understand this confrontation.

(b) “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you son of God…” Boy oh boy oh boy! I can almost hear the spirits speaking in the vernacular of today and saying: “Don’t bother me man, I know my rights!” They recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God. They knew he had been given power and authority by God the Father. But they also knew that Jesus had come to fulfil a specific purpose in the plan of Almighty God; a plan which He is working out here upon the Earth and that it did not, at that time, include any form of dispensation towards the angels that once had sinned. It was not yet time for these angels to be judged -- and they knew it!

(c) “Are you here to torment us before our time?” The spirits know that the time is coming when they will be called to account for their past conduct. It is my hope that a majority of them will be received with understanding and with compassion; God willing, for most of them judgment will not be overly severe. However, the Scriptures make it quite clear that within the realm of angels, as it is amongst men, there are those that face a future without redemption.

The Bible, when referring to the sins of mankind is quite explicit when it tells us “the wages of sin is death.” For those to whom the sacrifice of Jesus will either be refused or rejected that punishment will amount to death for all eternity. Those who believe in a literal hell, whose fires torment the sinner forever, do not even begin to understand the basic compassion of our Creator. For those who cannot, or will not live within the bounds of righteousness, oblivion for eternity is the only merciful solution.

My understanding of the Scriptures leads me to believe that for the angels this option of oblivion may not apply. The angels are spirit, and spirit has eternal life; so that logically we are being told the angels cannot die. Whatever the future holds for “impure spirits” is yet to be determined, but for these spirits in the land of the Gadarenes what mattered most was that their time of judgment was not yet! “Are you here to torment us before our time” they said. This question, or statement, was one which Jesus did not dispute.

(d) “You son of God” ... “Son of the Most High God” ... “Son of God most high” Whether you call these angels unclean spirits, impure spirits, devils, or demons, the previous three statements show a profound respect for the Almighty and Everlasting God. Those of you whose understanding of devils and demons originates from stories such as “The Exorcist,” I would be interested to know how this show of respect and obedience might influence your opinion.

(e) “I adjure you by God, that you torment me not.” Do you realize what this scripture is telling us? The spirit is using the word “horkizo” 3726 = as an oath, or something sworn; and it calls on God as an authority to back up that oath. In other words, the spirit is using God as its authority when it tells Jesus, (or is it ordering Jesus) to, “Torment [or torture; or punish] me not!”

The fact is that Jesus was not trying to torment the spirit. In fact, it is fair to say that Jesus also knew the time for judgment of the angels was not yet. However, He was letting them know they would no longer be allowed to inhabit this man from the tombs. By extension, it is my belief that the spirits have since come to realize that while the possession of humans may have been acceptable or at least justifiable in the past; it would no longer be so.

“And Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And [the spirit] answered, saying, ‘my name is Legion: for we are many.’”

Did Jesus really expect the spirit(s) to give him an actual name; or was he simply asking them to somehow identify themselves? A Roman Legion numbered between 3,000 and 6,000 men, so when the spirit answered, “My name is Legion; for we are many,” it was apparently giving Jesus an honest and somewhat factual answer. But again the questions must be asked: Why would so many spirits want to invade the body of the same human host? Why would any spirit ever want to invade the body of any human host? I do have some theories which may answer both questions, but in the meantime I hope you will make some effort to answer these questions for yourselves.

Note: Next week I hope to complete this study with the posting of “My Name is Legion -- Part 3”

My Name Is Legion -- Part 1

Some time before the original creation of the earth (science shows this to have been more than 13 billion years ago) God created angels. From the Scriptures, we can determine that there are many millions, perhaps even billions of angels and at some point in time the Archangel Lucifer was placed in a position of direct authority over one third of them. In a previous message on this blogsite, I discussed my belief that the vast majority of the angels that followed Lucifer in his rebellion have long since repented of their sin and are waiting -- as we are waiting -- for a day of judgment to arrive. I would recommend that now or later, you go to the Archives of this blogsite and take time to read and consider “The Angels that Sinned.”

We are told in Hebrews 1:14 that the angels are “all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall inherit salvation”; but does this speak only of God’s initial purpose at their creation? Was that purpose somehow misdirected, or frustrated by the rebellion of Lucifer; or may “the angels that sinned” still have an important part to play in the destiny of mankind?

One of the more important questions I hope to answer over the next few weeks will be whether or not some of the angels that followed Lucifer in his rebellion do now, today, on occasion inhabit the bodies of lower animals. I do with some reservation believe this happens; and when it does this “possession” is not a short term or temporary occurrence but an event which covers the lifetime of the animal. However, I want to impress upon you that I do not see this possession as a malignancy; neither do I believe that the angels in these cases are those referred to in the Bible as “demon spirits.”

Are all of the lower animals possessed? No; I don’t believe so! Are some humans also possessed? I admit to believing this possibility exists: but if some humans are or have been possessed in these most recent times it would have been by “demon spirits.” It is my belief that demon spirits belong to a very small minority of the angels which long ago followed Lucifer in his rebellion.

Let me repeat that last statement and expand upon it. Of the one-third of all of God’s angels that followed Lucifer in his rebellion, it is my belief that relatively few should be classed today as demons. Can there be any hope of redemption for the angels: “...who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode; [God] has reserved [them] in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day...” (Jude 6)? This is just one of the many important questions we need to more carefully consider.

The present state of the angels that sinned is a question I believe needs to be given far more thought and consideration than it has so far received. Anyone truly interested in this subject should begin by going to the Archives of this blogsite to locate and read the previously published message “The Angels that Sinned.”

Why God Created Angels

There is so much that mankind has yet to learn; and so very much we could learn from those angels that have been bound to the Earth since their rebellion -- at least, from those who have truly repented of their sin. They must have built up a storehouse of knowledge and experience from before the original creation, through the rebellion, the destruction, and then the re-construction of the world as we now know it; down to this present day and beyond. The very thought of being able to benefit from their service, and from their vast experience, seems wonderful to me.

According to the writings of the Apostle John, the Lord of the Old Testament was the one who gave up his position as God to become the human we know today as Jesus. Did he simply waste his time and energy when he, “...went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water” (1 Peter 3:19-20)?

God had made up his mind to destroy life from the face of the Earth by means of a great flood; for more than one hundred years he ignored mankind and went to preach to those angels who had sinned when they followed Lucifer in his rebellion.

Did God actually preach to those angels for 120 years; if so, what was His message?
Was their fate already assured? Do you truly believe He went from one angel to the next telling each and every one they were doomed to the lake of fire -- and this for one hundred and twenty years? Does such a belief truly make any sense to you?

Why were these particular beings created? Why did they rebel? And if they did in fact rebel how can there be any hope for their redemption? If they did receive words of hope in the preaching they heard during the days of Noah and if some of them did in fact heed those words and repent, what have they been doing from that time until now?

At this point I want to draw your attention to a few Bible facts. First, from the book of Hebrews 1:14 when speaking about angels it says: “...are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister [to serve] for them who shall inherit salvation?” Next, from 1st Corinthians 6:2 we are told “the saints shall judge the world”; and if that’s not enough to humble anyone who aspires to sainthood then read on in verse 3 where it tells us: “Know you not that we shall judge angels!”

What angels does the Bible refer to when it says they shall be judged by the saints? God’s angels are without sin; they are in no need of judgment! The demons of Satan are already condemned and are destined for the lake of fire. There must then be a third category of angels and it is them that I see as a potentially fascinating source of help, information, and knowledge in the age and life to come -- does Hebrews 1:14 not assure us they were originally created to serve those who shall one day inherit salvation?

Possession -- Malignant or Benign

There are many New Testament examples of possession by demons and/or unclean spirits; but a careful study will show that not all of these cases were overtly malignant. That is to say, not all instances of possession show an evil intent on the part of the offending spirit. Nevertheless, the words and the actions of Jesus in casting out these spirits clearly show that human possession of any kind would no longer be permitted.

It is apparent that in the time of Jesus, and to a certain extent in the time of the apostles following Jesus, spirit possession of humans was not uncommon. If human possession still takes place today, then I must believe these instances are very isolated and far from common. It seems reasonable that if these statements are true then something must have happened to change the frequency of human possession. The question may then be asked: “Why were there so many instances of possession in Jesus day?” I hope we can answer this question as we go along.

When a simple word from Jesus or the disciples was not enough to force an offending spirit to depart, there were instances where the situation became quite exciting. One example in particular would not have been too out of place in the fictional story of “The Exorcist”; and since it did not involve either Jesus or his followers, why don’t we take a look at that one first.

In Acts 19:11-16 we read: “And God worked special miracles by the hands of Paul: so that from his body were brought handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from [sick people] and evil spirits went out of [those who were possessed].” At this time there were seven men who were sons of a Jewish chief of the priests named Sceva; they considered themselves to be exorcists. These men were apparently not followers of Jesus, Paul, or any other of the apostles. They took it upon themselves to attempt an exorcism of evil spirits from some people who were possessed, invoking the power of God by saying: “We adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

These gentlemen obviously expected the evil spirit to immediately depart and for the individuals possessed to once again be free; but such was not the case. The evil spirit answered the men by saying: “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” At this point the man in whom the evil spirit resided leaped upon the seven men, overpowered them and tore off their clothing so that they ran away naked and injured.

Note: I have paraphrased parts of the preceding so you really should read it for yourself from your own Bible, but I’m sure you will agree that this event must have been quite exciting and in a very real sense somewhat frightening.

In most cases the spirit or spirits left their human host without causing a great deal of fuss; it is this that prompts the next question which must be asked. Why were some of these spirits apparently quite reasonable while others were markedly unreasonable? Let me begin by saying that the New Testament words most commonly used when referring to devils or evil spirits are listed in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance under the reference numbers: 1140 = a demonic being; 1141 = demon-like; 1142 = a demon or supernatural spirit; and most commonly 1139 = to be exercised by a demon or: to be used by or possessed (by).

There are others which the Bible refers to as “unclean spirits” and these are found under the reference numbers 169 and 4151 as follows: 169 = unclean or impure; and 4151 = spirit.

I believe that as there have been degrees of unrighteousness in man, so have there been degrees of unrighteousness in angels. In Ezekiel 28:15 when speaking about Lucifer (now known as Satan or the Devil) God says: “You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created until iniquity was found in you.” Here we have on the one hand Lucifer, an Archangel of God who was created without sin; and on the other hand the extreme opposite in Satan. Likewise, as we shall see later, some of the angels that sinned so very long ago appear to be more disagreeable, more powerful, and even more evil, than many of the others.

From the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ he performed miracles and healed all manner of sickness and disease among the people. Matthew 4:24 also tells us: “...they brought unto [Jesus] …those which were possessed with devils…and he healed them.”

In Matthew 8:16 it says: “And [Jesus] cast out the spirits with his word…” You can find many places where the spirits were obedient to the words of Jesus and left their human host with little or no difficulty, but such was not always the case. In fact, in the first recorded example of an exorcism, found in the book of Mark, Jesus had to repeat his command and the second time his command was said more sharply than the first time:

Mark 1:23-26 “And there was in [the] synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out saying, ‘Let us alone; what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth, are you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ And Jesus rebuked him saying, ‘Hold your peace, and come out of him.’ And when the unclean spirit had torn him and cried with a loud voice, he [or it] came out of him.”

Some time later we read in Mark 1:34 “He [Jesus]…cast out many devils; and suffered them not to speak, because they knew him.”

One of the more fascinating stories of possession concerns a man Jesus encountered in the land of the Gadarenes. The account of this meeting as it is related in Matthew begins by speaking of two men; but by studying all of the scriptures together it appears that of the two individuals encountered by Jesus only one of them actually played a prominent part in the events that took place. You will find this confrontation recorded in Matthew 8:28-32; Mark 5:1-13; and Luke 8:26-33; and it is this confrontation I intend to discuss over the next few weeks. If you take time to study each and every one of these examples by yourself, I believe you will find an abundance of fascinating information.

Jesus and his disciples had crossed the Sea of Galilee and had entered the land of the Gadarenes where they met a man who had been possessed by devils for a long time. This man apparently lived in the tombs; but sometimes the spirits would drive him into the mountains or into the wilderness. He was quite fierce and obviously very strong; for many times he had been bound with fetters and chains, each time managing to free himself by breaking both the fetters and the chains. This man was so troubled that he never wore any clothing; and both day and night, whether in the mountains or in the tombs, he would cry aloud and cut himself with stones.

Question: Do the possessing spirits make their human hosts act in such an erratic and troubled manner? Do they force their hosts to harm themselves; cutting themselves with stones? There is even an example in Matthew 17 where a possessing spirit would cause a young boy to fall into the fire or into a body of water? Could this troubled behaviour arise from the fact that humans object to being possessed and have sufficient intellect to feel angry and offended by that possession?

In any event, this man in the land of the Gadarenes saw Jesus and ran toward him worshipping and pleading and calling Jesus by name. When Jesus asked the spirit, “What is your name” the spirit answered, saying, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” It is important that you hear all of the words attributed to the possessing spirits from each of the accounts as written. In Matthew the initial greeting of the spirits was, “What have we to do with you, Jesus, you son of God? Are you come here to torment us before our time?” In Mark it says “What have I to do with you, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God that you torment me not.”

Note: At this point I came to realize that trying to show each separate account of the incident in this present format would be most confusing. What I chose to do instead was paraphrase each recorded portion of the incident in my own words; however, you should study each account for yourselves, as they were recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, directly from your own Bibles.

For each statement, I have added a clarifying “Comment” giving you some insight into how I personally understand the events of this meeting. Hopefully by examining point-by-point everything that happened, we will be able to isolate and identify far more than we could by trying to glean understanding from the gospels as they are written.

Does that sound overly pretentious to anyone? Does it even smack of sacrilege to suggest that man may improve on inspired scripture? Allow me to draw your attention to some direction on this from the Old Testament book of Isaiah:

Isaiah 28:9-11 “Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk; [or] those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people...”

I intend to use these instructions to help us learn as much as possible about the possessed man in the land of Gadara; and the devils, demons, or unclean-spirits that possessed him:

Note: Next week, in “My Name is Legion -- Part 2” I hope to immediately immerse each of us in the actual meeting of Jesus with the man in whom there were a “Legion” of possessing-spirits. In preparation, I would strongly suggest that you become as familiar as possible with this event as it has been recorded in Matthew 8:28-32; Mark 5:1-13; and Luke 8:26-33. I am convinced that as you gain a more perfect understanding of what actually took place, you will find it as absolutely fascinating as I do.