(DISCLAIMER! This author does not condone violence (lethal or otherwise) of any kind for any reason! The author is interested in reducing the violence and acceptence thereof in the body of Christ. Many Christian seem quick to justify war or lethal measures for criminals and invaders to our homes. As a Christian, I would like to challenge you to question what you think is "acceptable" violence.)
It's the middle of the night, and you get woken up by a noise. Perhaps it's a floorboard creaking. Maybe it's a vase breaking.w You get up to go check it out. Perhaps you've grabbed a flashlight. Maybe you've also grabbed a baseball bat, a golf club. Or you might grab your gun. You investigate the noise and your flashlight reveals an intruder. Is the intruder armed? Or are they just doing a quick smash and grab?
Here's another one. You're walking down the street and suddenly some shady character starts attacking some random person on the street, beating them senseless so they can rob them. Or there's a misunderstanding, and a couple people start fighting, maybe some attacks you. Or in the worst case, a crazed, lone gunman starts shooting at people in some public place, only to kill as many people as he can, then himself. Doing nothing will result in unnecessary death, but so too could trying to stop the attacks. What's the right way to react?
Or you could be a Christian who wants to serve our country by joining the armed forces. This decision could lead to serving in battle. Who knows who the enemy is. It could be Muslim terrorists, or reaching further back fellow believers in Christ with a different philosophical outlook. The American Civil war, WWI and WWII. Undoubtedly there were points when Christians served in opposing armies in a war. How should a Christian deal with serving in an army during war?
What if one day, Christianity becomes illegal, or society collapses and you are arrested? Or if you need to defend your family from societal chaos. To lengths can you go?
These are all difficult situations to deal with and hard questions to answer. In other words, are Christians justified in using violence in any situation?
I want to first issue a disclaimer. This is a hard issue, and I would not say to use anything I say here to make your own final decision to any of these issues. I strongly encourage you to read God's word and pray about it. He will lead you to the right path.
I would also like to say, that I do not condemn those who serve in our military, as I know you do serve with honor, and are doing your best to help protect our country. I care for you and so does Jesus. But my father, an army veteran, as come to realize that some of the wars we are in now are not justified and so he now supports veterans for peace. I think we should defend the country from invasion, but all too often our fighting men are sent off to fight wars that may not be just.
I bring this topic up, because all too often I see on Christian message boards and bumper stickers, a rationalization or an attitude of violence first. Or I'm a Christian, let's duke it out. On one blog I frequent, I hear people say things that bear a shoot first and ask questions later attitude. I often see bumper stickers like "Keep honking, I'm reloading" on the same car with an Icthys.
Something doesn't add up.
So, I would like to present a few scriptures that should help guide us when we are confronted with horrifying situations like those listed above.
In many situations it may be difficult to act appropriately to a threat of violence.
So let's start at the most extreme and work back. We all know the commandment "Thou Shalt not kill." Many are quick to point out, it means murder. That is, premeditated murder. I believe this is correct, and that the Lord does not want people going around killing people for no reason, or for petty jealously.
Exd 20:13 NKJV - "You shall not murder."
Even though the Old Testament does indeed have justification for ending the life of other human beings in certain situation, I would argue that God does not see that as an ideal situation. We are ALL created in God's image. So if one were to end another life in war, on duty as a policeman or through some other self-defensive means I don't think God would be happy about it. Once a person's life is gone, their chances for coming to faith in Christ are now gone. Think about it. By taking life through any means, we are in effect acting as God and determining someone else's eternal fate if they are not saved.
So, do you want to make that decision to "get the bad guy" then have to stand before the Lord and have to give an account for how a person's chance to get right through Jesus was taken away? Granted, there are extreme circumstances, but I would like to posit that Christians in police, military or who find themselves in a self defense scenario pray far ahead of time for God to show them an alternative to these fatal decisions. Especially when there are non-lethal ways to subdue people or solve problems.
This thought ran through my head when news of Bin Laden's death came out. Many rejoiced, I'm sure many Christians rejoiced as well, I even saw Biblical justification for rejoicing over this "wicked man's" death. Yes, Bin Laden was an evil man and deserved to die, BUT in God's eyes, so did I before I came to faith in Christ. Now, Bin Laden will never have the chance repent and know Jesus. That is why I think his death is a mixed thing. My biggest feeling was that it was tragic that he can never repent. Perhaps ten years ago, I would have rejoiced as well.
A few more notes on war, or other "justified" violence. War is often motivated by those in power to make a profit in some way. Smedley Butler ("War is a Racket") wrote about this, and I highly recommend people read his book and hit the Future Quake Archives to listen to that episode. But aside from that, I think Jesus gives us some pointers on where that road leads.
Mat 5:9 NKJV - Blessed [are] the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Mat 26:51 NLT - But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest's slave, slashing off his ear.
Mat 26:52 NLT - "Put away your sword," Jesus told him. "Those who use the sword will die by the sword.
Mat 26:53 NLT - Don't you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?
So as you serve in the army, or police, or just generally favor lethal violence to take care of the bad guys, please consider those points.
Now, what about persecution, or places where Christians are arrested and beaten? What about if authorities come to your house and arrest you for believing in Jesus? What if looters are coming to your house to take your stuff? Is it worth you taking another life to try to stop them?
This sometimes gets me some guff on the message boards. People respond to my pacifism by saying things like they're not that spiritually elevated to react in this way. I don't know if I would be when the chips come down to it. I'm not saying what I would do or would like to do, but just trying to emphasize what the Bible tells us. Which is:
Mat 5:10 NKJV - Blessed [are] those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 NKJV - "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Mat 5:12 NKJV - "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great [is] your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Mat 5:13 NKJV - "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
That's right. If you're arrested for being a Christian, I would argue that we should offer minimal resistance.
Mat 24:9 NKJV - "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.
Mat 24:10 NKJV - "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Mat 24:13 NKJV - "But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Luk 12:11 NKJV - "Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.
Luk 12:12 NKJV - "For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
That's right. It goes against our every instinct for survival. Many people, including many Christians have this instinct for self preservation and plan to resist any attempt at the above. But Jesus provides an excellent example for us. He allowed Himself to be arrested, abused, tortured and killed. He also tells us that it should not be a surprise if you or I were arrested for faith. Instead this sort of persecution is our chance to share the gospel with our oppressors. The Apostle Paul did it. For anyone who has trouble in this area, I would recommend checking out Richard Wurmbrand's "Tortured for Christ." You'll find that accepting persecution is probably still what God wants us to do and applies to present day Christianity. I don't think God will change His mind because our society has accepted violence in the case of self preservation.
Another great look at what a Christian should do when faced with unlawful arrest and persecution is Corrie Ten Boom's story. She hid Jews in WWII and went to a concentration camp for it. Despite this, she was able to forgive the man who had betrayed her and her oppressive guards and reach them for Jesus Christ.
http://revelationsradionetwork.com/uploads/01_THE_GREATEST_OF_THESE.MP3
What about a situation where we are being held up and robbed? Or maybe someone is robbing a bank?
First, I would argue that playing hero in this situaton is not advised by law enforcement. That's my guess anyway. You and I, Joe Average, untrained are more of a danger if we try to stop a robbery or a burglary. Granted, the police are slow to act, but in many cases action would lead to more danger.
But there's more. The Bible I think would tell us to go along with unreasonable people. So let's say that someone wants to start a fight with you and hits you. Most of us would hit right back. But that's not what the Bible says.
Mat 5:39 NKJV - "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
Or if someone wants to rob you. This one is hard to deal with, and I would even say that I can't honestly say how I would react here. But here's what God says.
Mat 5:40 NKJV - "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have [your] cloak also.
Mat 5:42 NKJV - "Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
Mat 5:43 NKJV - "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
Mat 5:44 NKJV - "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
Mat 5:45 NKJV - "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 NKJV - "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
Mat 5:47 NKJV - "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more [than others]? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
Mat 5:48 NKJV - "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Perhaps I'm taking this out of context, and I've been guilty of not following this myself, but this is the high calling God has told us to follow as those who belong to Christ.
So, thus far I hope that I've demonstrated that most of what our society accepts as justified violence has little or no place in the walk of a Christian. But are there points where it is OK to respond with violence? What if there's a shooting massacre? Or maybe an innocent person is being attacked or raped. What about the intruder coming into a house at night? What then?
First I would argue that anyone perpetrating a shooting massacre is likely demon posessed. If you don't believe me, go ask Russ Dizdar. Maybe I'm wrong, but I would say that many are. I would maybe first try praying or commanding the demon in Jesus' name to stop. That is if you are a Christian. If that didn't work, well then that's a whole different animal. The praying or rebuking can likely be done in a way also that does not bring harm. I would not condone getting into harm's way to put it to the test and this is a rough guideline. I would first advise seeking cover and helping those you can, then praying, etc.
Well, let's move on. If a burglar breaks in at night, what sort of action should be taken? What about an attacker or murderer or rapist? Can a Christian defend themselves?
I would say yes. If someone is about to murder you or rape you then you should defend yourself, however this can be done without lethal force. I have taken Tae Kwon Do, and though I'm not much to fight, I do know it's possible to protect yourself without causing your attacker permanent damage. I would argue if possible, that would be most desirable. In this way, I would recommend taking some basic self defense training (be discerning not to get into some sort of mystical/New Agey thing!) and learn how to do some basic moves especially if you are a woman. You'd be amazed what hitting the right pressure point can do stop an attacker, and 99% of the time, it does no permanent damage.
I would be less violent against an average burglar. After all, is someone stealing my physical belongings worth death? I would say not. I can buy a new TV, or whatever but I can't bring that person back to life.
Here is a brief article on self defense.
http://www.gotquestions.org/self-defense.html
So to sum up, I would encourage everyone to pray and read God's word. Ask Him for wisdom and discernment for how to deal with these sorts of situations. Ask Him to help you to know how to respond should these situations arise. Ideally, He will let you know far ahead of time how to react.
Please keep in mind that my whole purpose here is to 1) demonstrate to everyone (and Christians in particular) that lethal violence should very rarely be an option. Let alone the first option. 2) I also want to get the body of Christ to use wisdom and discernment in reacting to action-scenarios rather than just going James Bond on every criminal. 3) I wanted to also let the body of Christ know that God is very likely not a huge fan of "justified" violence in war or police action.
I realize that in many situations in the real world it's not so easy to divide black and white. So my call here is to get Christians (especially you gung ho "Is there life after death? Trestpass here and fidout" Christians). I just see to often in Christendom a call to arms for things that I think God would see as minor issues. At any rate, thanks for reading, and remember, take this to God, His Word, and pray about it. This is article is merely a suggestion and guideline...perhaps a primer to further study on your own.
Addendum:
Another reason I wanted to bring this up is because there are rumblings of a bad nature. Not to keep plugging Future Quake, but they've had a number of articles implicating that people in high places are trying to corral Christians and Muslims into a Holy war. Obviously Jesus would not be pleased. If you want more information, go peruse the last 2 months of Future Quake episodes.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Japan earthquake
I know I'm behind the times here, but for anyone who visits here and wants to help victims of the fukushima quake I have a link for you. I heard james on future quake, or some other Revelations radio podcast and he has a way people can donate money to help the quake victims. I also heard he has ties to a local church in the area affected by the quake.
So if you feel led to help the japanese quake victims, you can check out: http://fuzzyradiox.com/japan/
He also has a link that goes directly to the church if you'd rather do that. So, give a helping hand and perhaps the gospel can reach japan which is considered an unreached people group. Only 2% or less of japanese people in japan are considered Christian.
Please keep them in your prayers, and consider helping them thru the Fuzzy radio link.
Peace!
Update 10-31-11
Bible in Japanese
http://www.biblica.com/bibles/japanese/
So if you feel led to help the japanese quake victims, you can check out: http://fuzzyradiox.com/japan/
He also has a link that goes directly to the church if you'd rather do that. So, give a helping hand and perhaps the gospel can reach japan which is considered an unreached people group. Only 2% or less of japanese people in japan are considered Christian.
Please keep them in your prayers, and consider helping them thru the Fuzzy radio link.
Peace!
Update 10-31-11
Bible in Japanese
http://www.biblica.com/bibles/japanese/
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Love Letter to Japan Part II: Happy Mother’s Day: How Mother 2 (Earthbound) Relates to the Bible and the Real World.
On the heels of how Ultraman can serve as a parable for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, comes another myth from Japan that also serves as an accurate portrayal of Biblical truth. and thus the real world. The video game “Mother 2” aka “Earthbound” in the States has many aspects that can serve as a bridge to share God’s love and salvation with Japanese people. Though I could criticize “Earthbound” for a few things, I’d rather focus on what it can do to further the gospel.
For those who have no idea what this game is, or what it’s about, I will be summarizing the main points, but I won’t be doing a full summary/walkthrough. If you want to know more about the game and see screenshots, go over to www.starmen.net and look through the walkthrough section for “Earthbound.” Suffice it to say, it’s a role-playing game in the vein of “Dragon Warrior” and “Final Fantasy” except set in the modern world. Swords are replaced by baseball bats, and magic with PSI (psychic) powers.
As the name implies, “Mother 2” is the sequel to “Mother” which was not released in America, at least not officially. The plot of “Mother” in a nutshell is as follows. In the late 1800’s a pioneer couple is abducted by aliens, and begins to raise an alien named Gigue (Giygas in the US. I’ll use both interchangeably). The plot then picks up with the grandson, Ninten, who finds Gramp’s diary and so Ninten goes on to thwart Gigue’s invasion of Earth by singing a lovely song (REALLY!) that Ninten’s Grandma used to sing to Gigue. Somehow this reminds Gigue of his love for Grandma and he gets mad. (As a side note, I believe Gigue had invaded Earth because he had taught PSI powers to his care-takers which was forbidden.) Gigue then runs away, defeated and vows revenge.
Oh, did I mention what Gigue looked like? Gigue is more or less a typical grey type alien, with the typical psychic powers. Except for one thing.
Gigue looks like a devil.
That is, he is a grey alien with horn-like protrusions from his head and he has a tail.
So, moving on, that’s where “Mother 2” picks up. It’s essentially a remake of “Mother” but it’s a lot cooler and there are a lot of differences. “Mother 2” starts with Ness. Ness (basically Ninten) gets woken up in the middle of the night by a meteor crash. After going to check it out, he meets someone from the future named Buzz-Buzz. Buzz-Buzz is basically a bee, but he’s super powerful. Buzz-Buzz tells Ness that he is destined to fight and defeat Giygas. He also explains to Ness that Gigue is incredibly evil, and because he is also powerful, Giygas is causing evil to spread all over the world. This evil is causing animals, people, and even inanimate objects to act in ways that are violent and evil. In addition to this, Gigue has sent out his forces to put a stop to Ness. So at this point, Ness has a lot of evil life forms, taxi cabs, and UFO’s in the way of his stopping Gigue.
So, let’s pause for a moment, and see how this setup, relates to the Bible. We Christian’s believe that God created everything perfect. This perfection, did not last unfortunately. At some point, one of God’s creations, Satan, became very proud and so he sinned by rebelling against God. By sinning, Satan brought evil into creation. Satan then introduced mankind to sin. He tempted Eve, the first woman to eat the fruit of a tree (Genesis 3). God had forbidden Adam, the first man that God had created, from eating this fruit. (Genesis 2:16 - 2:17). Adam’s failure to prevent Eve from eating the fruit, and the fact that he ate the fruit himself is the first sin, that is, the first time man had disobeyed God.
Because Adam was the first human to sin, every human being from that point forward has a natural tendency to sin. We all seek our own pleasure and actively disobey God. Even those of us who are more or less “good people” are still inclined to sin. In God’s eyes, all of humankind has been disqualified from being with Him, because God is just and cannot tolerate evil. But there’s more, because of Adam’s sin, all of the Earth was cursed. Much like Giygas’ evil infecting everyone and everything in Earthbound, sin (and Satan’s rebellion against God) has cursed our world. So, here is the first parallel.
Moving on I will briefly summarize a few points in the game. I bring these up, because in the real world, they appear to be separate issues, but when viewed through the lens of the Bible, specifically Ephesians 6:12, it is much easier to see that at their hearts they are all indeed connected.
So, Ness moves forth on his own in his town of Onett. Here he does battle with the local street, the Sharks. The Sharks have become extremely rowdy at the start of the game, because of Giygas’ evil influence. Ness defeats the Sharks, then deals with the corrupt mayor to gain access to a cave where Ness must battle a giant ant under Giygas’ power. After this battle, Ness faces the Onett police force, also corrupted by Giygas.
Ness moves on to Twoson. Here Ness is attacked periodically by bystanders, people under Gigygas’ control. I believe they were New Age Retro Hippies and Cranky old women. Ness continues on to the Happy Happy village, fighting UFOs, robots and trees. In the Happy Happy Village Ness finds a religious cult that has painted everything blue. The cult is run by a cranky old man who has also kidnapped Paula who joins Ness later. The cult leader is not only under Giygas’ control, but is also given power as well. Ness’ neighbor, Pokey, also has been with the cult leader, but has moved on.
Ness and Paula go to the next town, Threed. Three is overrun with zombies, ghosts and more ghosts. Ness and Paula are then joined by Jeff, they defeat the monsters in Threed and the town is freed from the darkness. The next town, Fourside has more violent bystanders and taxi cabs, but it also has something else. A corrupt business man. This business man also has taken Pokey under his wing. Matters also grow worse as Paula gets kidnapped by a space alien. Once the corrupt business man is dealt with and repents of his evil, Pokey escapes in a helicopter. The friends are soon after joined by Poo.
Poo, the last member of the party to join Ness, completes his martial arts training by meditating and emptying his mind. This causes him to encounter a spirit. This spirit is not of Giygas, but I bring it up because in reality this sort of situation is in fact brought on by Satan and his evil followers. In Russ Dizdar’s testimony, he recounted a similar experience while doing Golden Buddha meditation. While doing this, he encountered a spirit that told him to kill himself. Though this doesn’t relate to Giygas, I wanted to bring it up here.
I’m going to pause here a moment. I am skipping a lot of details, and will do so a bit more here. The first four cities lay the ground work for what follows and also contain almost all of the important elements of the game. I will now highlight the rest of the things Ness and his friends face.
• Ness and the others (just before Poo’s arrival) encounter another religious cult of sorts. The Stoic Club. This is really not a Giygas thing, but one member of the cult had quit her job of making cakes to join this.
• They also eat one of these “magic cakes” later on which sort of starts off a vision which results in Poo’s arrival. My thought is that this is some sort of drug. It also is not related to Giygas, but is worth mentioning.
• The kids encounter pseudo-Egyptian artifacts and mummies that are under Giygas’ power. They then go to pseudo-Egypt and encounter UFO’s and tomb guardians. Also under Giygas’ control.
This Adventure in pseudo-Egypt also sort of implies an “ancient astronaut” connection. The UFO’s in and around the pyramid sort of tie the aliens in with the ancients.
Backtracking a bit, the ancient astronaut thing also comes into play as Giygas has a UFO base under Stonehenge.
• The game progresses with Ness and his friends fighting all of these sorts of enemies, until finally he has collected power from the eight sanctuary locations, then at this point Ness is catapulted into his own mind. Ness, our hero is a good and loving kid, but he finds that deep down inside himself there is a darkness. This is akin to the sin nature I spoke of earlier and this sin nature/darkness in each one of us is what keeps from being able to be with God.
• The four children then have to go fight Giygas. I’ll spare the details, but it involves the use of robot bodies and time travel. The kids encounter Giygas, but also at the same time, Pokey. Pokey explains that Giygas has used a “Devil’s Machine” to increase his power, and in the process has lost the capacity for rational thought.
Wrapping up, the kids fight Pokey, and he runs away. But before running, Pokey turns off the Devil’s Machine and releases Giygas’ full power. The kids fight Giygas, but soon find out that he cannot be defeated by their attacks. The only way they can defeat Giygas is to pray. After a number of prayers, including some that seem like they were absorbed by the darkness, Giygas is defeated.
Tying this all together, the following separate evils, in reality are all under Giygas’ command. It should be obvious that none of the below are of God. (1 John 4:3, Ephesians 6:12).
• Gangsters
• Corrupt Police
• UFOs
• Aliens
• Zombies
• Ghosts/Evil Spirits
• Religious cult leaders
• Random people being aggressive
• Pokey
• And Corrupt business men and politicians
There are undoubtedly more. Look through the list again, they really aren’t connected on the surface. What does a business man or corrupt cop have to do with a UFO or an alien? What do either of them have to do with a gangster? They are all under Giygas’ sway. Giygas is an “alien” yet the only way to stop him is by praying.
So too in our world.
Everything on the list above is under Satan’s influence or direct control, Satan is referred to as the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:3 – 4) Obviously, the ghosts and evil spirits are. Aliens are basically the same (see the link to CE4 Research) as ghosts. Satan also has sway over religious cults like the Raelians and the Moonies among others. Even a random person on the street like you or i may be under Satan’s influence on some level. But there is a way out.
God has provided us all a way to escape Satan’s influence and in fact, if we don’t accept this offer of God’s love, He will not accept us. The only way to switch sides, to leave Satan’s team is to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. Accept what He did when He died on the cross for our sins and when He was raised from the dead. Then, when we face Satan (Giygas) and his attacks we can pray to God, in the name of Jesus Christ and He will defeat Satan for us. Since Jesus Christ has defeated Satan for us, by uniting ourselves with Christ we can share in His victory over the devil. Satan and evil spirits are subject to Christ's authority, so when we ask Christ for help against them, they must obey.
1 Corinthians 15:27 – 28
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Cr&c=15&t=NLT#27
Luke 10:22
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Luk&c=10&t=NLT#22
Hebrews 2:8, 9, 14
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Hbr&c=2&t=NLT#8
Ephesians 1:22
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Eph&c=1&t=NLT#22
Luke 10:19, 20
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Luk&c=10&t=NLT#19
For more on how Christians can defend themselves against the attack of Satan and evil spirits in any form, see the links on the side for Shatter the Darkness, CE4 research and the podcasts on Revelations Radio Network.
You can also read my series on the Betty Andreasson alien abduction.
So if you are faced with ghosts, evil spirits, or aliens, God will deliver you from them if you believe in His Son, Jesus and call on His name when you are in need. God will also help you deal with the corrupt business and governments. If you put your faith and trust in Him rather than the earthly governments, you will have eternal life and security. If you put your faith and trust in men, they will only fail you.
Remember, God loves you and will forgive all of your sins if you believe in His Son (John 3:16). If you want to know more about Jesus, go to the link for Blue Letter Bible and read the book of John, Matthew, Luke and Mark. Then read the rest of the Bible.
PS, if you have suggestions for scripture references, please suggest them. I'm kind of easing back in after vacation and not many verses are coming to mind. I will hopefully add some more as some come to mind.
Update 10-31-11
Bible in Japanese
http://www.biblica.com/bibles/japanese/
For those who have no idea what this game is, or what it’s about, I will be summarizing the main points, but I won’t be doing a full summary/walkthrough. If you want to know more about the game and see screenshots, go over to www.starmen.net and look through the walkthrough section for “Earthbound.” Suffice it to say, it’s a role-playing game in the vein of “Dragon Warrior” and “Final Fantasy” except set in the modern world. Swords are replaced by baseball bats, and magic with PSI (psychic) powers.
As the name implies, “Mother 2” is the sequel to “Mother” which was not released in America, at least not officially. The plot of “Mother” in a nutshell is as follows. In the late 1800’s a pioneer couple is abducted by aliens, and begins to raise an alien named Gigue (Giygas in the US. I’ll use both interchangeably). The plot then picks up with the grandson, Ninten, who finds Gramp’s diary and so Ninten goes on to thwart Gigue’s invasion of Earth by singing a lovely song (REALLY!) that Ninten’s Grandma used to sing to Gigue. Somehow this reminds Gigue of his love for Grandma and he gets mad. (As a side note, I believe Gigue had invaded Earth because he had taught PSI powers to his care-takers which was forbidden.) Gigue then runs away, defeated and vows revenge.
Oh, did I mention what Gigue looked like? Gigue is more or less a typical grey type alien, with the typical psychic powers. Except for one thing.
Gigue looks like a devil.
That is, he is a grey alien with horn-like protrusions from his head and he has a tail.
So, moving on, that’s where “Mother 2” picks up. It’s essentially a remake of “Mother” but it’s a lot cooler and there are a lot of differences. “Mother 2” starts with Ness. Ness (basically Ninten) gets woken up in the middle of the night by a meteor crash. After going to check it out, he meets someone from the future named Buzz-Buzz. Buzz-Buzz is basically a bee, but he’s super powerful. Buzz-Buzz tells Ness that he is destined to fight and defeat Giygas. He also explains to Ness that Gigue is incredibly evil, and because he is also powerful, Giygas is causing evil to spread all over the world. This evil is causing animals, people, and even inanimate objects to act in ways that are violent and evil. In addition to this, Gigue has sent out his forces to put a stop to Ness. So at this point, Ness has a lot of evil life forms, taxi cabs, and UFO’s in the way of his stopping Gigue.
So, let’s pause for a moment, and see how this setup, relates to the Bible. We Christian’s believe that God created everything perfect. This perfection, did not last unfortunately. At some point, one of God’s creations, Satan, became very proud and so he sinned by rebelling against God. By sinning, Satan brought evil into creation. Satan then introduced mankind to sin. He tempted Eve, the first woman to eat the fruit of a tree (Genesis 3). God had forbidden Adam, the first man that God had created, from eating this fruit. (Genesis 2:16 - 2:17). Adam’s failure to prevent Eve from eating the fruit, and the fact that he ate the fruit himself is the first sin, that is, the first time man had disobeyed God.
Because Adam was the first human to sin, every human being from that point forward has a natural tendency to sin. We all seek our own pleasure and actively disobey God. Even those of us who are more or less “good people” are still inclined to sin. In God’s eyes, all of humankind has been disqualified from being with Him, because God is just and cannot tolerate evil. But there’s more, because of Adam’s sin, all of the Earth was cursed. Much like Giygas’ evil infecting everyone and everything in Earthbound, sin (and Satan’s rebellion against God) has cursed our world. So, here is the first parallel.
Moving on I will briefly summarize a few points in the game. I bring these up, because in the real world, they appear to be separate issues, but when viewed through the lens of the Bible, specifically Ephesians 6:12, it is much easier to see that at their hearts they are all indeed connected.
So, Ness moves forth on his own in his town of Onett. Here he does battle with the local street, the Sharks. The Sharks have become extremely rowdy at the start of the game, because of Giygas’ evil influence. Ness defeats the Sharks, then deals with the corrupt mayor to gain access to a cave where Ness must battle a giant ant under Giygas’ power. After this battle, Ness faces the Onett police force, also corrupted by Giygas.
Ness moves on to Twoson. Here Ness is attacked periodically by bystanders, people under Gigygas’ control. I believe they were New Age Retro Hippies and Cranky old women. Ness continues on to the Happy Happy village, fighting UFOs, robots and trees. In the Happy Happy Village Ness finds a religious cult that has painted everything blue. The cult is run by a cranky old man who has also kidnapped Paula who joins Ness later. The cult leader is not only under Giygas’ control, but is also given power as well. Ness’ neighbor, Pokey, also has been with the cult leader, but has moved on.
Ness and Paula go to the next town, Threed. Three is overrun with zombies, ghosts and more ghosts. Ness and Paula are then joined by Jeff, they defeat the monsters in Threed and the town is freed from the darkness. The next town, Fourside has more violent bystanders and taxi cabs, but it also has something else. A corrupt business man. This business man also has taken Pokey under his wing. Matters also grow worse as Paula gets kidnapped by a space alien. Once the corrupt business man is dealt with and repents of his evil, Pokey escapes in a helicopter. The friends are soon after joined by Poo.
Poo, the last member of the party to join Ness, completes his martial arts training by meditating and emptying his mind. This causes him to encounter a spirit. This spirit is not of Giygas, but I bring it up because in reality this sort of situation is in fact brought on by Satan and his evil followers. In Russ Dizdar’s testimony, he recounted a similar experience while doing Golden Buddha meditation. While doing this, he encountered a spirit that told him to kill himself. Though this doesn’t relate to Giygas, I wanted to bring it up here.
I’m going to pause here a moment. I am skipping a lot of details, and will do so a bit more here. The first four cities lay the ground work for what follows and also contain almost all of the important elements of the game. I will now highlight the rest of the things Ness and his friends face.
• Ness and the others (just before Poo’s arrival) encounter another religious cult of sorts. The Stoic Club. This is really not a Giygas thing, but one member of the cult had quit her job of making cakes to join this.
• They also eat one of these “magic cakes” later on which sort of starts off a vision which results in Poo’s arrival. My thought is that this is some sort of drug. It also is not related to Giygas, but is worth mentioning.
• The kids encounter pseudo-Egyptian artifacts and mummies that are under Giygas’ power. They then go to pseudo-Egypt and encounter UFO’s and tomb guardians. Also under Giygas’ control.
This Adventure in pseudo-Egypt also sort of implies an “ancient astronaut” connection. The UFO’s in and around the pyramid sort of tie the aliens in with the ancients.
Backtracking a bit, the ancient astronaut thing also comes into play as Giygas has a UFO base under Stonehenge.
• The game progresses with Ness and his friends fighting all of these sorts of enemies, until finally he has collected power from the eight sanctuary locations, then at this point Ness is catapulted into his own mind. Ness, our hero is a good and loving kid, but he finds that deep down inside himself there is a darkness. This is akin to the sin nature I spoke of earlier and this sin nature/darkness in each one of us is what keeps from being able to be with God.
• The four children then have to go fight Giygas. I’ll spare the details, but it involves the use of robot bodies and time travel. The kids encounter Giygas, but also at the same time, Pokey. Pokey explains that Giygas has used a “Devil’s Machine” to increase his power, and in the process has lost the capacity for rational thought.
Wrapping up, the kids fight Pokey, and he runs away. But before running, Pokey turns off the Devil’s Machine and releases Giygas’ full power. The kids fight Giygas, but soon find out that he cannot be defeated by their attacks. The only way they can defeat Giygas is to pray. After a number of prayers, including some that seem like they were absorbed by the darkness, Giygas is defeated.
Tying this all together, the following separate evils, in reality are all under Giygas’ command. It should be obvious that none of the below are of God. (1 John 4:3, Ephesians 6:12).
• Gangsters
• Corrupt Police
• UFOs
• Aliens
• Zombies
• Ghosts/Evil Spirits
• Religious cult leaders
• Random people being aggressive
• Pokey
• And Corrupt business men and politicians
There are undoubtedly more. Look through the list again, they really aren’t connected on the surface. What does a business man or corrupt cop have to do with a UFO or an alien? What do either of them have to do with a gangster? They are all under Giygas’ sway. Giygas is an “alien” yet the only way to stop him is by praying.
So too in our world.
Everything on the list above is under Satan’s influence or direct control, Satan is referred to as the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:3 – 4) Obviously, the ghosts and evil spirits are. Aliens are basically the same (see the link to CE4 Research) as ghosts. Satan also has sway over religious cults like the Raelians and the Moonies among others. Even a random person on the street like you or i may be under Satan’s influence on some level. But there is a way out.
God has provided us all a way to escape Satan’s influence and in fact, if we don’t accept this offer of God’s love, He will not accept us. The only way to switch sides, to leave Satan’s team is to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. Accept what He did when He died on the cross for our sins and when He was raised from the dead. Then, when we face Satan (Giygas) and his attacks we can pray to God, in the name of Jesus Christ and He will defeat Satan for us. Since Jesus Christ has defeated Satan for us, by uniting ourselves with Christ we can share in His victory over the devil. Satan and evil spirits are subject to Christ's authority, so when we ask Christ for help against them, they must obey.
1 Corinthians 15:27 – 28
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Cr&c=15&t=NLT#27
Luke 10:22
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Luk&c=10&t=NLT#22
Hebrews 2:8, 9, 14
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Hbr&c=2&t=NLT#8
Ephesians 1:22
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Eph&c=1&t=NLT#22
Luke 10:19, 20
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Luk&c=10&t=NLT#19
For more on how Christians can defend themselves against the attack of Satan and evil spirits in any form, see the links on the side for Shatter the Darkness, CE4 research and the podcasts on Revelations Radio Network.
You can also read my series on the Betty Andreasson alien abduction.
So if you are faced with ghosts, evil spirits, or aliens, God will deliver you from them if you believe in His Son, Jesus and call on His name when you are in need. God will also help you deal with the corrupt business and governments. If you put your faith and trust in Him rather than the earthly governments, you will have eternal life and security. If you put your faith and trust in men, they will only fail you.
Remember, God loves you and will forgive all of your sins if you believe in His Son (John 3:16). If you want to know more about Jesus, go to the link for Blue Letter Bible and read the book of John, Matthew, Luke and Mark. Then read the rest of the Bible.
PS, if you have suggestions for scripture references, please suggest them. I'm kind of easing back in after vacation and not many verses are coming to mind. I will hopefully add some more as some come to mind.
Update 10-31-11
Bible in Japanese
http://www.biblica.com/bibles/japanese/
Monday, May 16, 2011
May 21, The End of the World?
As many know, there is a preacher who has said the world will end on May 21, and/or that Jesus Christ was coming back on that day. Some have paid their life's savings to advertise the fact.
I want to post this 1) to edify those who believe Jesus will return on May 21 and 2) to direct those who saw an ad about it and are curious.
To those who believe.
When you wake up in your normal everyday life on May 22, first thing, don't panic! God is still there, Jesus will indeed be coming back, but it won't be until some other point in time. How much later? We don't know. Jesus Christ Himself told us that even He didn't know when He was coming to rule on the earth. Only the Father knows. Jesus also said that He is coming like a thief. If someone knew when the thief would come, they would catch him. This is why we are commanded by Christ to watch and wait expectantly and make ourselves ready for His return at any moment. He could return in ten minutes, or maybe another 1000 years. We don't know. No Bible code, or other calculation can determine when He comes back. No one knows (yes this is a bad pun, but my pseudonym "No One" does not apply here. I do not know when Jesus is coming back, and I will not know until He comes to get me), and neither does Harold Camping. Remember he was wrong before.
Here's what the Bible says.
Mat 24:36
"However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
Mat 25:13
"So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day orhour of my return.
Mar 13:32
"However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
Kjv
Matt 24:36
But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Matt 25:13
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mark 13:32-37
But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
[For the Son of man is] as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
So, Jesus told us to watch. You May 21 believers, I admire you for watching and waiting for Christ to return, and also for announcing that He is returning, but please don't be disappointed and turn from the faith because God didn't come when you wanted Him to.
Rather, pray to God, read the Bible and keep watching, waiting and witnessing. Repent if God leads you to, for believing a date setter. I myself thought Christ was coming in 2000 and that I was ready. I see now that I was so immature in my faith then that I wonder now if I would have made the cut. Thank God He didn't come in 2000, for I have been able to grow in a relationship with Jesus since then. Remember I think in 2 Peter, God's patience gives time for others to repent.
Now, for you curious ones.
So what's all this stuff about the end of the world? Are these people crazy? Should I worry? Is the world going to end on May 21?
Yes the world is going to end, Jesus Christ is coming back, but probably not May 21, 2011. The Bible does tell us to be watchful for His return. I blogged about it in March. Please go read my blog "apocalypse now?" And then "hardboiled".
http://dontaskthatinchurch.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html
So go read those if you are curious about May 21 and the real end of the world, and see where the big differences are. Read those, THEN, go read the Bible (available every where and blueletterbible.org). Pray to God, the God of the Bible to lead you and sho you the truth. Then, wherever I messed up in the blog, throw that away, and you follow what the Bible says. If you seek God (In His word, not this blog. This blog should point you back to His Word.) in this way, He will honor your search if you ask in the name of Jesus.
There has never been a better time to ask Jesus into your heart and ask to be forgiven for your sins. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will not fail you, even when worldly teachers do.
I pray the Lord will move you to seek forgiveness and life changing power in the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son. May His Spirit lead and guide you to the truth.
Lastly, and this is a waaay out there CMA, just in case. What if something does come or happen on May 21? What then?
Well, then that's a whole different ball of wax. In that event, I would say that it is most likely an an (or the) (A)antichrist. If someone or something appears and people say it is Jesus or proclaims itself God/Jesus, then it's lying. Because if something appears that day, people will say "Look, Jesus is here." Or, "Jesus came back to," and they will be wrong. When Jesus returns, it will be self evident.
Mat 24:26 KJV - Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27 KJV - For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
So as a closing note, pray about it, and ask God to show you the truth about the return of Jesus Christ. Go read Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13.
I want to post this 1) to edify those who believe Jesus will return on May 21 and 2) to direct those who saw an ad about it and are curious.
To those who believe.
When you wake up in your normal everyday life on May 22, first thing, don't panic! God is still there, Jesus will indeed be coming back, but it won't be until some other point in time. How much later? We don't know. Jesus Christ Himself told us that even He didn't know when He was coming to rule on the earth. Only the Father knows. Jesus also said that He is coming like a thief. If someone knew when the thief would come, they would catch him. This is why we are commanded by Christ to watch and wait expectantly and make ourselves ready for His return at any moment. He could return in ten minutes, or maybe another 1000 years. We don't know. No Bible code, or other calculation can determine when He comes back. No one knows (yes this is a bad pun, but my pseudonym "No One" does not apply here. I do not know when Jesus is coming back, and I will not know until He comes to get me), and neither does Harold Camping. Remember he was wrong before.
Here's what the Bible says.
Mat 24:36
"However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
Mat 25:13
"So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day orhour of my return.
Mar 13:32
"However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.
Kjv
Matt 24:36
But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Matt 25:13
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mark 13:32-37
But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
[For the Son of man is] as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
So, Jesus told us to watch. You May 21 believers, I admire you for watching and waiting for Christ to return, and also for announcing that He is returning, but please don't be disappointed and turn from the faith because God didn't come when you wanted Him to.
Rather, pray to God, read the Bible and keep watching, waiting and witnessing. Repent if God leads you to, for believing a date setter. I myself thought Christ was coming in 2000 and that I was ready. I see now that I was so immature in my faith then that I wonder now if I would have made the cut. Thank God He didn't come in 2000, for I have been able to grow in a relationship with Jesus since then. Remember I think in 2 Peter, God's patience gives time for others to repent.
Now, for you curious ones.
So what's all this stuff about the end of the world? Are these people crazy? Should I worry? Is the world going to end on May 21?
Yes the world is going to end, Jesus Christ is coming back, but probably not May 21, 2011. The Bible does tell us to be watchful for His return. I blogged about it in March. Please go read my blog "apocalypse now?" And then "hardboiled".
http://dontaskthatinchurch.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html
So go read those if you are curious about May 21 and the real end of the world, and see where the big differences are. Read those, THEN, go read the Bible (available every where and blueletterbible.org). Pray to God, the God of the Bible to lead you and sho you the truth. Then, wherever I messed up in the blog, throw that away, and you follow what the Bible says. If you seek God (In His word, not this blog. This blog should point you back to His Word.) in this way, He will honor your search if you ask in the name of Jesus.
There has never been a better time to ask Jesus into your heart and ask to be forgiven for your sins. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will not fail you, even when worldly teachers do.
I pray the Lord will move you to seek forgiveness and life changing power in the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son. May His Spirit lead and guide you to the truth.
Lastly, and this is a waaay out there CMA, just in case. What if something does come or happen on May 21? What then?
Well, then that's a whole different ball of wax. In that event, I would say that it is most likely an an (or the) (A)antichrist. If someone or something appears and people say it is Jesus or proclaims itself God/Jesus, then it's lying. Because if something appears that day, people will say "Look, Jesus is here." Or, "Jesus came back to
Mat 24:26 KJV - Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27 KJV - For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
So as a closing note, pray about it, and ask God to show you the truth about the return of Jesus Christ. Go read Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Ups and Downs of Sleep Paralysis
I know this is covered in my general testimony, but it's broken down and summarized here. This is my testimony for www.stopsleepparalysis.org. Great ministry, from what I hear, and Tom Bionic has some great stories of those who have over come sleep paralysis. So here's mine.
I’ve given this testimony before, multiple times, but I’ve had some new things happen since then, well. It’s time to consolidate these. Unlike a lot of people, I don’t recall having sleep paralysis before becoming a Christian. In fact all of mine happened afterwards. I suspect because of I had switched sides in the Ephesians 6:12 spiritual war, from the side of Satan to the side of God by accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
Prior to this, I had had a pseudo Catholic influence and prayed as such, but hadn’t become a Christian. In my teens I had been into the New Age, ghosts, cryptozoology and UFO’s. In middle school I had read a few UFO books, and even into high school, I read Fate magazine quite a bit. This magazine had quite a number of each of those sorts of stories. I never really seriously practiced any magic or meditations, though from time to time I did try to move objects with my mind or collect chi/life energy so I could become stronger. I knew “magic” was wrong, but thought that psychic powers and stuff were natural phenomena. So, I had this sort of mixture of Bible and New Age mixed together in my head.
Episode 1: Night Terrors at 19
This one happened right after I had become a Christian. I was 19 and had just come to Christ through Chuck Swindoll’s ministry, Insight for Living. This was for purely selfish reasons, I didn’t want to go to hell, because deep in my heart I knew there was one.
Then I started reading the Bible and read quite a bit. I wouldn’t say I really “got it” but it was a good foundation. After some months of listening to Chuck and reading the Word, I occasionally caught Jerry Falwell’s program on TV. One of these few times, I saw they were talking about the Columbine massacre and had an author on commenting about the two killers and how they were into Satanism. The book they were pitching was The Dark Side of the Supernatural. Having come from the New Age, I had sort of this fascination with demons and spiritual warfare and so figured that I’d check it out.
Looking at it now, they have some really great information for a foundation of what the Bible said about UFO’s and a number of other things. I read it, but in some part of my heart I didn’t want to accept everything they said. One incident in the book was…sleep paralysis.
They talked about the classical “demon sitting on someone’s chest and pressing them down” story. I was freaked out by that. That night, or within a few days I had my first taste of sleep paralysis.
I awoke, and was being pressed into my bed and felt the most evil and hate-filled presence that one could imagine. Hate-filled is actually an understatement. Try as I might, actual words fail to describe the kind of intelligent evil that assaulted me in my bed that night. Luckily, it did not show itself.
I was confused. I wasn’t sure what was going on. My cat was not reacting to the presence, surely if something were in my room, my cat would react. Not so. She slept soundly.
It was then that I recalled what the Darkside book said. Which was more or less to pray in Jesus’ name and it will stop. So I did, and it stopped. I went back to sleep.
Episode 2: A year or more later
My second nocturnal attack was more or less the same as the first, except for one thing. I don’t remember how the attack stopped. It did stop of course, but all I remember is blacking out and going back to sleep.
My memory of this incident isn’t the best, but I have some ideas of what happened. What I think happened was that I did cry out to God, and I did eventually ask in the name of Jesus Christ for it to stop. It is also possible that I tried on my own to concentrate on moving one part of my body (a New Age, anti alien abduction technique) to make it stop. In any even, I think it did eventually stop after pleading in Christ’s name.
Why didn’t it stop right away?
At this time, though I was saved, I was living in sort of a “cheap grace” mode. Sometimes sinning thinking that I an just repent right away. Salvation was my get out of sin free card. I believe also that along with my Christian faith, I had not fully renounced my New Age beliefs. In fact, I tried on occasion to try developing telekinesis and also tried to will myself to dream of the future. In short, I was a Christian, but carnal. I confessed sin, but who knows how often I had truly repented of it. I also had sin, unconfessed, which I also didn’t believe was sin.
All of these things together, I believe resulted in a sleep paralysis attack that didn’t stop right away. As if God was showing me that the trick to beating this is that Jesus just isn’t a magic word, but that my relationship with Him had to be right.
Episode 3: Dark Shadows, Darker Shadows
My third episode was not really sleep paralysis, but related.
I was in my early to mid 20’s and lived in a basement, in a house with a pastor at the church I was going to. I still had sin issues in my life that I was dealing with, but was also going through a hugely dark time. I had just been fired from a job, I was struggling to find a new one. I also wrestled with what it meant to be a Christian.
I had been friends with a pagan or two at this point, and unfortunately they were not the best influences. Who knows how many demons were attached to them and if they (demons) decided to ravage my life. I was also really into occult entertainment, thinking it harmless. Buffy and Angel were my favorite shows. I played Soul Reaver a lot. These things subtly and not so subtly put my relationship with God on the rocks. On top of that, I was going to church mostly for socializing and I was dealing with a lot of anger from the job situation.
One night, I awoke in the middle of the night. Eyes closed, I could sense or feel that a person was in the room with me. Not that I claimed any psychic gift, but the way this person moved or felt in my room really seemed like it was my roommate. Like other times we had been in a room together.
But it couldn’t have been.
My door was quite noisy when opened, and my door had not opened. Furthermore, if it had been opened, my cat would have woken up and ran out of the door, or reacted in some way. Realizing this, I decided to open my eyes and peek around motionlessly.
I didn’t see anything or anybody. That is, until I looked into the darkest part of the room, where even light from the egress window didn’t go. In this mass of shadows, I saw a pitch black, man shaped figure. It stood motionless because I think it knew I saw it.
Again at this point, I don’t recall what happened. I believe that I whispered “In the name of Jesus Christ, leave” and went back to sleep. If not that, I prayed in Jesus’ name for it to leave and went to sleep.
It must have left because I was not bothered further.
Episode 4: A New Direction
After the shadow person incident, I went into a sort of slide. I continued struggling with sin issues, but also began to struggle with who God was. I felt really hurt and did the bare minimum one could do and still be called saved. I probably read my Bible infrequently as well. During this time I got back into UFOs big time, and did Yoga periodically and really was starting to get into some bad stuff again. Backsliding big time.
Not to plug the Revelations Radio Network, but it wasn’t until I started listening to Future Quake, reading Dr. Heiser’s work, listening to Russ Dizdar and Revelations Radio that I turned back to God. Long story short, God slowly healed those things and I’ve repented. I began to understand things from a real Christian worldview instead of the philosophically/morally Christian worldview.
I had an interesting dream which had an impact in the spirit world, but that’s not what this episode is about. Suffice it to say, there were a couple dreams that I am pretty I was visited by a demon, though not attacked.
One day, I heard Gaz Parker’s testimony. For some reason, I really felt an urge to get in touch with him, and we exchange(d) emails periodically. Within a very short time, Gaz encouraged me to do a blog. I began to pray for him to have deliverance from spiritual attacks he was having.
Almost right as I was starting the blog, I had a dream.
This dream I was in “my house” but it wasn’t actually the house I do live in, nor that I have ever lived in. Outside on the street was this tough looking biker guy, bald. My family was around too, but I saw this guy walking around outside on the street and I saw him and knew he was a demon. I was going to go outside and give him a whuppin’ and rebuke him in Jesus Christ’s name. I was just opening the screen door when I realized I couldn’t talk.
Then I just began thinking “the blood of Jesus” repeatedly and then I woke up instantly. As I began to become aware, I could feel my body suddenly being released from paralysis. At the time I knew it was a demonic attack because it felt like the same kind of presence as my first attack.
After this, I began praying to God about the spiritual armor, and asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I was able to bring each piece of armor to God, which is odd because I can never remember all of them.
Episode 5: Really?
My most recent attack wasn’t triggered by anything that I can think of off hand. And I really have no background story to go with it. I just remember waking up and feeling like there was a light pressure holding me down. It was incredibly light, but I could tell it was sleep paralysis.
Of course, by now I know what the game is, and as I was about halfway through thinking “Jesus” I could move.
Not to say that demons are not dangerous, but if I had to guess, this demon wasn’t fully committed to his mission to paralyze me. The reason being, I am taking my relationship with Christ a lot more seriously now, and I am doing my best to follow Him. This demon knew that Christ would save me from him, and so ran almost before he started.
So that's all I've got for now. I hope that I don't get anymore, but you never know. I do know that if they come again, Jesus will save me again as He has before.
UPDATE 5/2012
Episode 6
I recently slept in a room where I know someone did qigong. This person does qigong merely for health, and "knows the border" or where to stop before getting into outright demonic oppression I guess. And although I typically pray for protection before sleep, that night something was off with me and my prayers (maybe I forgot, maybe I had some unconfessed sin) and guess what. Sleep paralysis. It wasn't bad, but I felt something pushing on me and verbally asked Jesus for help as i awoke. And it stopped.
I’ve given this testimony before, multiple times, but I’ve had some new things happen since then, well. It’s time to consolidate these. Unlike a lot of people, I don’t recall having sleep paralysis before becoming a Christian. In fact all of mine happened afterwards. I suspect because of I had switched sides in the Ephesians 6:12 spiritual war, from the side of Satan to the side of God by accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
Prior to this, I had had a pseudo Catholic influence and prayed as such, but hadn’t become a Christian. In my teens I had been into the New Age, ghosts, cryptozoology and UFO’s. In middle school I had read a few UFO books, and even into high school, I read Fate magazine quite a bit. This magazine had quite a number of each of those sorts of stories. I never really seriously practiced any magic or meditations, though from time to time I did try to move objects with my mind or collect chi/life energy so I could become stronger. I knew “magic” was wrong, but thought that psychic powers and stuff were natural phenomena. So, I had this sort of mixture of Bible and New Age mixed together in my head.
Episode 1: Night Terrors at 19
This one happened right after I had become a Christian. I was 19 and had just come to Christ through Chuck Swindoll’s ministry, Insight for Living. This was for purely selfish reasons, I didn’t want to go to hell, because deep in my heart I knew there was one.
Then I started reading the Bible and read quite a bit. I wouldn’t say I really “got it” but it was a good foundation. After some months of listening to Chuck and reading the Word, I occasionally caught Jerry Falwell’s program on TV. One of these few times, I saw they were talking about the Columbine massacre and had an author on commenting about the two killers and how they were into Satanism. The book they were pitching was The Dark Side of the Supernatural. Having come from the New Age, I had sort of this fascination with demons and spiritual warfare and so figured that I’d check it out.
Looking at it now, they have some really great information for a foundation of what the Bible said about UFO’s and a number of other things. I read it, but in some part of my heart I didn’t want to accept everything they said. One incident in the book was…sleep paralysis.
They talked about the classical “demon sitting on someone’s chest and pressing them down” story. I was freaked out by that. That night, or within a few days I had my first taste of sleep paralysis.
I awoke, and was being pressed into my bed and felt the most evil and hate-filled presence that one could imagine. Hate-filled is actually an understatement. Try as I might, actual words fail to describe the kind of intelligent evil that assaulted me in my bed that night. Luckily, it did not show itself.
I was confused. I wasn’t sure what was going on. My cat was not reacting to the presence, surely if something were in my room, my cat would react. Not so. She slept soundly.
It was then that I recalled what the Darkside book said. Which was more or less to pray in Jesus’ name and it will stop. So I did, and it stopped. I went back to sleep.
Episode 2: A year or more later
My second nocturnal attack was more or less the same as the first, except for one thing. I don’t remember how the attack stopped. It did stop of course, but all I remember is blacking out and going back to sleep.
My memory of this incident isn’t the best, but I have some ideas of what happened. What I think happened was that I did cry out to God, and I did eventually ask in the name of Jesus Christ for it to stop. It is also possible that I tried on my own to concentrate on moving one part of my body (a New Age, anti alien abduction technique) to make it stop. In any even, I think it did eventually stop after pleading in Christ’s name.
Why didn’t it stop right away?
At this time, though I was saved, I was living in sort of a “cheap grace” mode. Sometimes sinning thinking that I an just repent right away. Salvation was my get out of sin free card. I believe also that along with my Christian faith, I had not fully renounced my New Age beliefs. In fact, I tried on occasion to try developing telekinesis and also tried to will myself to dream of the future. In short, I was a Christian, but carnal. I confessed sin, but who knows how often I had truly repented of it. I also had sin, unconfessed, which I also didn’t believe was sin.
All of these things together, I believe resulted in a sleep paralysis attack that didn’t stop right away. As if God was showing me that the trick to beating this is that Jesus just isn’t a magic word, but that my relationship with Him had to be right.
Episode 3: Dark Shadows, Darker Shadows
My third episode was not really sleep paralysis, but related.
I was in my early to mid 20’s and lived in a basement, in a house with a pastor at the church I was going to. I still had sin issues in my life that I was dealing with, but was also going through a hugely dark time. I had just been fired from a job, I was struggling to find a new one. I also wrestled with what it meant to be a Christian.
I had been friends with a pagan or two at this point, and unfortunately they were not the best influences. Who knows how many demons were attached to them and if they (demons) decided to ravage my life. I was also really into occult entertainment, thinking it harmless. Buffy and Angel were my favorite shows. I played Soul Reaver a lot. These things subtly and not so subtly put my relationship with God on the rocks. On top of that, I was going to church mostly for socializing and I was dealing with a lot of anger from the job situation.
One night, I awoke in the middle of the night. Eyes closed, I could sense or feel that a person was in the room with me. Not that I claimed any psychic gift, but the way this person moved or felt in my room really seemed like it was my roommate. Like other times we had been in a room together.
But it couldn’t have been.
My door was quite noisy when opened, and my door had not opened. Furthermore, if it had been opened, my cat would have woken up and ran out of the door, or reacted in some way. Realizing this, I decided to open my eyes and peek around motionlessly.
I didn’t see anything or anybody. That is, until I looked into the darkest part of the room, where even light from the egress window didn’t go. In this mass of shadows, I saw a pitch black, man shaped figure. It stood motionless because I think it knew I saw it.
Again at this point, I don’t recall what happened. I believe that I whispered “In the name of Jesus Christ, leave” and went back to sleep. If not that, I prayed in Jesus’ name for it to leave and went to sleep.
It must have left because I was not bothered further.
Episode 4: A New Direction
After the shadow person incident, I went into a sort of slide. I continued struggling with sin issues, but also began to struggle with who God was. I felt really hurt and did the bare minimum one could do and still be called saved. I probably read my Bible infrequently as well. During this time I got back into UFOs big time, and did Yoga periodically and really was starting to get into some bad stuff again. Backsliding big time.
Not to plug the Revelations Radio Network, but it wasn’t until I started listening to Future Quake, reading Dr. Heiser’s work, listening to Russ Dizdar and Revelations Radio that I turned back to God. Long story short, God slowly healed those things and I’ve repented. I began to understand things from a real Christian worldview instead of the philosophically/morally Christian worldview.
I had an interesting dream which had an impact in the spirit world, but that’s not what this episode is about. Suffice it to say, there were a couple dreams that I am pretty I was visited by a demon, though not attacked.
One day, I heard Gaz Parker’s testimony. For some reason, I really felt an urge to get in touch with him, and we exchange(d) emails periodically. Within a very short time, Gaz encouraged me to do a blog. I began to pray for him to have deliverance from spiritual attacks he was having.
Almost right as I was starting the blog, I had a dream.
This dream I was in “my house” but it wasn’t actually the house I do live in, nor that I have ever lived in. Outside on the street was this tough looking biker guy, bald. My family was around too, but I saw this guy walking around outside on the street and I saw him and knew he was a demon. I was going to go outside and give him a whuppin’ and rebuke him in Jesus Christ’s name. I was just opening the screen door when I realized I couldn’t talk.
Then I just began thinking “the blood of Jesus” repeatedly and then I woke up instantly. As I began to become aware, I could feel my body suddenly being released from paralysis. At the time I knew it was a demonic attack because it felt like the same kind of presence as my first attack.
After this, I began praying to God about the spiritual armor, and asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I was able to bring each piece of armor to God, which is odd because I can never remember all of them.
Episode 5: Really?
My most recent attack wasn’t triggered by anything that I can think of off hand. And I really have no background story to go with it. I just remember waking up and feeling like there was a light pressure holding me down. It was incredibly light, but I could tell it was sleep paralysis.
Of course, by now I know what the game is, and as I was about halfway through thinking “Jesus” I could move.
Not to say that demons are not dangerous, but if I had to guess, this demon wasn’t fully committed to his mission to paralyze me. The reason being, I am taking my relationship with Christ a lot more seriously now, and I am doing my best to follow Him. This demon knew that Christ would save me from him, and so ran almost before he started.
So that's all I've got for now. I hope that I don't get anymore, but you never know. I do know that if they come again, Jesus will save me again as He has before.
UPDATE 5/2012
Episode 6
I recently slept in a room where I know someone did qigong. This person does qigong merely for health, and "knows the border" or where to stop before getting into outright demonic oppression I guess. And although I typically pray for protection before sleep, that night something was off with me and my prayers (maybe I forgot, maybe I had some unconfessed sin) and guess what. Sleep paralysis. It wasn't bad, but I felt something pushing on me and verbally asked Jesus for help as i awoke. And it stopped.
Love Letter to Japan: God Loves Japan too!
So, this is a tough post for me. I'm speculating alot here. This is my attempt to show those of you in Japan the love of God. My "Loveletter to Japan."
I wanted to write this, because I heard one Japanese man quoted as saying that God had judged Japan at the earthquake. I don't think that this is the case. Every other person and country is as bad off as Japan, and they haven't been judged either. I believe now that God is not judging us through disasters, but rather using disasters to get our attention, so we will escape the real judgement.
I don't honestly know alot about Japanese culture, outside of what we've seen here in America. That said, I've seen alot of weird stuff, and alot of not so weird stuff. Godzilla, Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, Shigesato Itoi, Haruki Murakami, Ninja Turtles, Manga and Anime. Sushi. That's really all I know. I've been to Tokyo-Narita airport. That's about it. Sadly, I haven't had alot of opportunity meet many Japanese people.
That said, please forgive me if I get anything wrong.
I've also heard that in Japan, it's very hard for you to believe in the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ, because you believe in so many gods. I don't know how true that is, but my experience with Dragon Ball seems to confirm that. Just about every other character is a more powerful god than the previous one. But think about it, if there are other spirit beings with "godly" powers, isn't it logical to wonder, who made them? It does have to stop some point, with an originating, All Powerful God. And it does. There is indeed a Most High God, above all other beings that call themselves gods or kami.
I do also know there is a concept of sin in Japan, though it may differ from what we believe here. Every person knows when they have done something wrong, even something as "small" as lying, or stealing. I know in Buddhism and perhaps other Japanese beliefs, people have rituals that are supposed to clean people of sins. The Japanese tea ceremony is one such way that some of you in Japan try to remove the sin and guilt that you get.
I also know that some of you in Japan believe you will be judged for how you lived on earth after you die. Usually, this is done (in Japanese religion) by Enma. Indeed, we will be all judged at death, but what is enough to get into Heaven and escape hell? Goku saved the world by beating up evil aliens and he was able to earn a place in Heaven. That was fiction, so if we have to earn our way to Heaven, what is enough to get in?
Assuming thatthere is any truth in what I think I know, both above and that in Japan the Bible is nothing special because of the number of gods, why should you accept the western God? Or maybe why should you believe and trust in Jesus Christ as savior? In Japan, there are no stories of similar scope where God becomes man (which is what Jesus did) and saves humanity? In Japan there is nothing similar.
Japanese people, you do have a similar myth. I discovered this through a podcast called Future Quake, and have corresponded with the host, Dr. Future, and we began to talk about an amazing Japanese TV show from 1966 called "Ultraman."
Yes. Ultraman.
Dr. Future informed me of one of his cohorts who said it was difficult to share God's love for Japan, in Japan because of this lack of myths that have similar ideas to what Christians believe. This is what he said.
"I told him that Ultraman has been in production since 1966 there until today, and is a universal "mythology" identifying the Japanese people. In the show, a god-man from outer space comes, merges with a man's body, dies and then resurrects, then inhabits the body of a man that is part of a group that fights the same evils alongside him. When the evil gets intense, the "god" part of the man comes out and fights their fight for them. If that is not a type of Gospel and subsequent explanation of the church, I don't know what is!"
- Dr. Future
What a powerful analogy to the Gospel.
In this way, Ultraman can indeed serve as a parable.
Let me draw this out, and sort of elaborate on what Dr. Future said. So in the Bible, we have God, the Most High God, the Lord of Lords. He created everything just by speaking it. But, evil came into being through an angel named Satan. As punishment, God made hell to punish Satan and any other angels that sinned. Satan then tricked mankind to sin (doing things that are wrong), and as a result, mankind was to share the same punishment. So sin, Satan and these evil angels can serve as the Kaiju that plague humanity in Ultraman.
So, God knew He had to save people, because He never meant for us to be punished with Satan. So to save us from the Kaiju (sin/Satan) He had to come to us to fight them for us. So, God became a man around 2000 years ago in Israel.
This is similar to how the original Ultraman tracked down Bemular to earth and defeated him. Ultraman crashed into Hayata and killed him. But to keep fighting evil, Ultraman became a man, and became one with Hayata and was able to bring him back to life. He defeated death so that he could destroy the kaiju that plagued people. Whenever the evil kaiju get out hand, Hayata calls Ultraman, and the kaiju are defeated.
Back to the Bible. God became man, but before this, He gave prophecy describing everything about what would happen when He became a person. When God became a person, He was called Jesus. As Jesus, He fulfilled all of the promises He had made throughout the Bible, including dying on a cross and three days later coming back to life. This is how God defeated sin for humankind. Because of this, Jesus now has power to destroy the sin in people's life and defeat Satan when he attacks us. All we have to do is believe that He paid the price for our sin and accept Him into our life and heart as our savior. Once we believe in this life saving and life changing power, God's Spirit will live in us! Then, when evil comes, or sin comes into our life, we can go to God, and He will fight it for us because we allowed Him to clean our hearts and live in us.
When a devil or evil spirit attacks me, I call out to Jesus and God's power destroys the attack. When I sin, I go to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, and God destroys that sin. Would you like to accept Jesus Christ? For those who accept and believe in Him, they will spend forever in Heaven with Him. If you reject it, the road is going to hell. God loved us enough to give us a chance to escape hell, and He will judge us based uon whether or not we accept His solution to get rid of sin in our life. That is, do we accept Jesus Christ?
The Bible tells us how to get right with God. We just believe that God became a man, that He lived a sinless life, and died upon the cross paying the penalty for our sins. Then, He came back to life and holds power over all spirits, and will judge everyone. (Bible in Japanese: http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/)
www.blueletterbible.org can help you search if you don't mind reading in English. Otherwise, go to your local book seller and find a Bible in Japanese..
Here are some reading suggestions.
John 3:16 (then read all of that book). This tells us,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
or:
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
Now read that again, but instead of "everyone who" with your own name.
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that [if] YOUR NAME believes in him YOUR NAME will not perish but have eternal life."
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=3&v=16&t=KJV#16
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=1&t=KJV&q=John
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mat&c=1&t=KJV&q=Matthew
I should also mention, that Jesus Christ is coming back to earth soon. The earthquake in Japan is just one of the warning signs that His return is soon. And when He returns, it's too late. Go to this link and you can readily see the signs telling us that Christ is coming soon.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mat&c=24&v=1&t=NLT#top
That's all I have for today. I hope that you can see the parallels between Ultraman and the Bible. Obviously, Jesus is more than Ultraman. But this is sort of a "Mars Hill" moment, where we can take the myth of Ultraman, and use it to present the good news that God has given us.
I wanted to write this, because I heard one Japanese man quoted as saying that God had judged Japan at the earthquake. I don't think that this is the case. Every other person and country is as bad off as Japan, and they haven't been judged either. I believe now that God is not judging us through disasters, but rather using disasters to get our attention, so we will escape the real judgement.
I don't honestly know alot about Japanese culture, outside of what we've seen here in America. That said, I've seen alot of weird stuff, and alot of not so weird stuff. Godzilla, Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, Shigesato Itoi, Haruki Murakami, Ninja Turtles, Manga and Anime. Sushi. That's really all I know. I've been to Tokyo-Narita airport. That's about it. Sadly, I haven't had alot of opportunity meet many Japanese people.
That said, please forgive me if I get anything wrong.
I've also heard that in Japan, it's very hard for you to believe in the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ, because you believe in so many gods. I don't know how true that is, but my experience with Dragon Ball seems to confirm that. Just about every other character is a more powerful god than the previous one. But think about it, if there are other spirit beings with "godly" powers, isn't it logical to wonder, who made them? It does have to stop some point, with an originating, All Powerful God. And it does. There is indeed a Most High God, above all other beings that call themselves gods or kami.
I do also know there is a concept of sin in Japan, though it may differ from what we believe here. Every person knows when they have done something wrong, even something as "small" as lying, or stealing. I know in Buddhism and perhaps other Japanese beliefs, people have rituals that are supposed to clean people of sins. The Japanese tea ceremony is one such way that some of you in Japan try to remove the sin and guilt that you get.
I also know that some of you in Japan believe you will be judged for how you lived on earth after you die. Usually, this is done (in Japanese religion) by Enma. Indeed, we will be all judged at death, but what is enough to get into Heaven and escape hell? Goku saved the world by beating up evil aliens and he was able to earn a place in Heaven. That was fiction, so if we have to earn our way to Heaven, what is enough to get in?
Assuming thatthere is any truth in what I think I know, both above and that in Japan the Bible is nothing special because of the number of gods, why should you accept the western God? Or maybe why should you believe and trust in Jesus Christ as savior? In Japan, there are no stories of similar scope where God becomes man (which is what Jesus did) and saves humanity? In Japan there is nothing similar.
Japanese people, you do have a similar myth. I discovered this through a podcast called Future Quake, and have corresponded with the host, Dr. Future, and we began to talk about an amazing Japanese TV show from 1966 called "Ultraman."
Yes. Ultraman.
Dr. Future informed me of one of his cohorts who said it was difficult to share God's love for Japan, in Japan because of this lack of myths that have similar ideas to what Christians believe. This is what he said.
"I told him that Ultraman has been in production since 1966 there until today, and is a universal "mythology" identifying the Japanese people. In the show, a god-man from outer space comes, merges with a man's body, dies and then resurrects, then inhabits the body of a man that is part of a group that fights the same evils alongside him. When the evil gets intense, the "god" part of the man comes out and fights their fight for them. If that is not a type of Gospel and subsequent explanation of the church, I don't know what is!"
- Dr. Future
What a powerful analogy to the Gospel.
In this way, Ultraman can indeed serve as a parable.
Let me draw this out, and sort of elaborate on what Dr. Future said. So in the Bible, we have God, the Most High God, the Lord of Lords. He created everything just by speaking it. But, evil came into being through an angel named Satan. As punishment, God made hell to punish Satan and any other angels that sinned. Satan then tricked mankind to sin (doing things that are wrong), and as a result, mankind was to share the same punishment. So sin, Satan and these evil angels can serve as the Kaiju that plague humanity in Ultraman.
So, God knew He had to save people, because He never meant for us to be punished with Satan. So to save us from the Kaiju (sin/Satan) He had to come to us to fight them for us. So, God became a man around 2000 years ago in Israel.
This is similar to how the original Ultraman tracked down Bemular to earth and defeated him. Ultraman crashed into Hayata and killed him. But to keep fighting evil, Ultraman became a man, and became one with Hayata and was able to bring him back to life. He defeated death so that he could destroy the kaiju that plagued people. Whenever the evil kaiju get out hand, Hayata calls Ultraman, and the kaiju are defeated.
Back to the Bible. God became man, but before this, He gave prophecy describing everything about what would happen when He became a person. When God became a person, He was called Jesus. As Jesus, He fulfilled all of the promises He had made throughout the Bible, including dying on a cross and three days later coming back to life. This is how God defeated sin for humankind. Because of this, Jesus now has power to destroy the sin in people's life and defeat Satan when he attacks us. All we have to do is believe that He paid the price for our sin and accept Him into our life and heart as our savior. Once we believe in this life saving and life changing power, God's Spirit will live in us! Then, when evil comes, or sin comes into our life, we can go to God, and He will fight it for us because we allowed Him to clean our hearts and live in us.
When a devil or evil spirit attacks me, I call out to Jesus and God's power destroys the attack. When I sin, I go to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, and God destroys that sin. Would you like to accept Jesus Christ? For those who accept and believe in Him, they will spend forever in Heaven with Him. If you reject it, the road is going to hell. God loved us enough to give us a chance to escape hell, and He will judge us based uon whether or not we accept His solution to get rid of sin in our life. That is, do we accept Jesus Christ?
The Bible tells us how to get right with God. We just believe that God became a man, that He lived a sinless life, and died upon the cross paying the penalty for our sins. Then, He came back to life and holds power over all spirits, and will judge everyone. (Bible in Japanese: http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/)
www.blueletterbible.org can help you search if you don't mind reading in English. Otherwise, go to your local book seller and find a Bible in Japanese..
Here are some reading suggestions.
John 3:16 (then read all of that book). This tells us,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
or:
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
Now read that again, but instead of "everyone who" with your own name.
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that [if] YOUR NAME believes in him YOUR NAME will not perish but have eternal life."
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=3&v=16&t=KJV#16
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=1&t=KJV&q=John
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mat&c=1&t=KJV&q=Matthew
I should also mention, that Jesus Christ is coming back to earth soon. The earthquake in Japan is just one of the warning signs that His return is soon. And when He returns, it's too late. Go to this link and you can readily see the signs telling us that Christ is coming soon.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mat&c=24&v=1&t=NLT#top
That's all I have for today. I hope that you can see the parallels between Ultraman and the Bible. Obviously, Jesus is more than Ultraman. But this is sort of a "Mars Hill" moment, where we can take the myth of Ultraman, and use it to present the good news that God has given us.
Monday, May 2, 2011
How to Capture and Care for Your Very Own...Angel!
Update: 7-1-12
I felt convicted about the identifying information previously listed here and have removed it so as not to rail against those in the body of Christ. After all, i cannot judge what was truly in this teacher's heart. My apologies, and i know it's been read before, but going forward, hopefully any damage will stop.
I receive an email devotional every day from an online ministry. I don't read it every day, but from time to time, I do read them and occasionally find them of value spiritually. Many times I find the things they speak about to be kind of churchianitized and prosperity gospel oriented. Despite this, I don't have anything bad to say. They do what they believe God called them to do, and their work is between them and God.
One of these writers is a man I recall seeing as a TV preacher in my youth. Now, I don't know the full extent on this man or his controversies, but I have heard that some consider him a false teacher or at the very least, controversial. I don't know why, but that's what the rumor weed says. I've read some of his devotionals, and in my opinion I haven't seen anything that really set off any red flags and in fact I've found some of his teaching to be of value. Take that for what it's worth.
So, I hadn't had any issues with his teaching until today.
Now before we go further, I want to say I am not attacking the man nor do I wish to throw him under the bus as it were. But I wish instead to clarify his teaching today in light of the Bible. While I think what he said today is partially true, I think he took some things out of context and also said some things that set of my New Age radar, and I want to expose that potential danger to people who might try to act upon his teaching. In my time studying the New Age, I frequently saw articles and books that heavily promoted contact with angels.
The article start off on the right foot. His quote of Hebrews 1:14 is an accurate description of angels.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Hbr&c=1&v=1&t=NLT#top
Hebrews 1:14: Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.
Mr. Preacher posits that angels are assigned to believers to guard us, but also they are waitng for us to give them marching orders. And not just once in a while, but every day and that we have to "activate" their work through faith.
Now the existence of angels is a fact, but the existence of "guardian" angels is debatable. I'm not sure where I fall on this issue yet, but the theories are there's permanent guardian assignments and then there's "as needed." I've also heard on a podcast, possibly Chuck Missler's, that children are given guardian angels for sure. But nowhere in the Bible do I recall seeing that you and I are to give them orders. We'll come back to this.
Next he quotes Psalm 103:20, http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=103&v=1&t=NLT#top and he gets the quote sort of right, but implies that for us to get the angels working we have to speak the Word of God. Now, angels do obey the Word of God, that is true, but nowhere in the Bible do I recall seeing that we should read the Bible to command the angels to do anything. From my former New Age background, I read that as use God's word to get the angels to do my bidding like a magic spell.
I recommend reading the whole chapter, and following Chris White's "20/20" rule, that is read 20 verses before and after the verse in question to get the context but here it is:
Psa 103:17 NLT - But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children's children
Psa 103:18 NLT - of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!
Psa 103:19 NLT - The LORD has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything.
Psa 103:20 NLT - Praise the LORD, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands.
Psa 103:21 NLT - Yes, praise the LORD, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will!
Psa 103:22 NLT - Praise the LORD, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the LORD.
As you read the whole chapter, this is not about using God's word to make angels obey us, but rather it's the Psalmist telling about how everything that has been made should be praising God. They're not praising God because the Psalmist said so, they're praising God because God is Holy.
Mr. Preacher goes on to say that he saw angels after a horrible car accident. I really can't say he's lying. He may very well have seen angels, I wouldn't doubt if he did. But how does he know they were "his" angels? Obviously he means "his" in the sense that God assigned them to him as guards. He doesn't say he tested the spirits, he seems to just assume they were good angels, but they very well could have been fallen angels surveying their attempt to kill him and the other ministers. I'm not saying they are good or bad, just that no attempt at discerning their nature was made. If it was, it wasn't stated in the article.
This reminds me of an article in "Fate" Magazine long ago. There was a man who was a drug addict, and one day he OD'ed and almost died in his shower. But he said that an angel came to save him, but he would have to do something for the angel. Since then, this man has done a large number of various paintings of angels and promotes the use of these paintings to heal others. He basically has come to worship angels.
At the time I thought this was OK because, well, angels are good and serve God. But I have since learned that this is not always the case. I would now argue that this drug addict encountered and was saved from death by a fallen angel so he would divert people away from real salvation in Jesus Christ.
Back to Mr. Preacher.
Regardless of the "Preacher's" angel's nature, he gives them credit for saving him, rather than stating that God's protective hand saved him. He's praising the creations, not the creator. God may have used angels to save his life, but even if that was the case, he should give thanks to his God. I'm sure there's an exact Bible passage for this, but it escapes me at the moment. This comes close.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=30&t=NLT#12
Psa 30:1 NLT - A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the Temple. I will exalt you, LORD, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
Psa 30:2 NLT - O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health.
Psa 30:3 NLT - You brought me up from the grave, O LORD. You kept me from falling into the pit of death.
Psa 30:4 NLT - Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name.
Psa 30:5 NLT - For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Psa 30:6 NLT - When I was prosperous, I said, "Nothing can stop me now!"
Psa 30:7 NLT - Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.
Psa 30:8 NLT - I cried out to you, O LORD. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,
Psa 30:9 NLT - "What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness?
Psa 30:10 NLT - Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me. Help me, O LORD."
Psa 30:11 NLT - You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
Psa 30:12 NLT - that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!
He then quotes Psalm 91, http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=91&v=1&t=NLT#top as evidence of divine protection. This Psalm I believe is about divine protection. I have prayed this to the Lord and received protection. I also believe this song pertains mostly to Jesus Himself because of the reference at the end that Satan uses to tempt Christ, but it also applies to Christians as well, in my opinion.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=91&v=1&t=NLT#top
Psa 91:1 NLT - Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2 NLT - This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
Psa 91:3 NLT - For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.
Psa 91:4 NLT - He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Psa 91:5 NLT - Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.
Psa 91:6 NLT - Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Psa 91:7 NLT - Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.
Psa 91:8 NLT - Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.
Psa 91:9 NLT - If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter,
Psa 91:10 NLT - no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.
Psa 91:11 NLT - For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.
Psa 91:12 NLT - They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.
Psa 91:13 NLT - You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
Psa 91:14 NLT - The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.
Psa 91:15 NLT - When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.
Psa 91:16 NLT - I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation."
But Mr. Preacher uses this as a basis for us to begin commanding angels about. If you notice in verse 11 it says HE (that's God folks) will order His angels to protect us. It doesn't say you and I should order them to. Preacher quotes it, but skips on to the part that supports his viewpoint. God says that HE will answer. In no way does this Psalm appear to be marching orders for the angelic hosts given by Christians.
It is a great spiritual warfare Psalm as it says "you" (I take this to specifically mean Christ, but also believers by extension. correct ME if I am wrong) will trample cobras, lions and that God will protect us.
Moving on, Daniel 3 is quoted. http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Dan&c=3&v=1&t=NLT#top Preacher then said that God sent angels, I believe it's clear there's only one angel present, and some scholars even say that it's a pre-incarnate Jesus Christ.
Dan 3:1 NLT - King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Dan 3:2 NLT - Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up.
Dan 3:3 NLT - So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Dan 3:4 NLT - Then a herald shouted out, "People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king's command!
Dan 3:5 NLT - When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue.
Dan 3:6 NLT - Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
Dan 3:7 NLT - So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Dan 3:8 NLT - But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews.
Dan 3:9 NLT - They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "Long live the king!
Dan 3:10 NLT - You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments.
Dan 3:11 NLT - That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace.
Dan 3:12 NLT - But there are some Jews--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up."
Dan 3:13 NLT - Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in,
Dan 3:14 NLT - Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up?
Dan 3:15 NLT - I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?"
Dan 3:16 NLT - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
Dan 3:17 NLT - If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
Dan 3:18 NLT - But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."
Dan 3:19 NLT - Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.
Dan 3:20 NLT - Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
Dan 3:21 NLT - So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments.
Dan 3:22 NLT - And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.
Dan 3:23 NLT - So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.
Dan 3:24 NLT - But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, "Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?" "Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did," they replied.
Dan 3:25 NLT - "Look!" Nebuchadnezzar shouted. "I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!"
Dan 3:26 NLT - Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.
Dan 3:27 NLT - Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn't even smell of smoke!
Dan 3:28 NLT - Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king's command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Dan 3:29 NLT - Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!"
Dan 3:30 NLT - Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
Note in the verse 25, there are three men thrown into the oven, but four are seen. This indicates only one angel (but probably in my opinion Christ Himself). Verse 28 also implies a singular supernatural entity, and even though this rescue occurred at the hands of said being, Nebuchadnezzar praises God.
So, then Preacher lists some things. I'm Ok with most of them until he uses Psalm 34:7 as another excuse for us to command angels. This is clearly not the case.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=34&v=7&t=NLT#7
Psa 34:6 NLT - In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
Psa 34:7 NLT - For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
Psa 34:8 NLT - Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Next he quotes Luke 1:45 "You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said." & Matthew 18:10 "Beware that you don't look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father."
We do have to believe God will protect us, but neither of these verses refer to angels carrying out any aspect of salvation. Salvation come from faith in Christ and His death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection. See Galatians 1:4 for a decent summary of the Gospel.
Gal 1:4 "Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live."
He also covered a passage that was Christ specific, and even if it does apply to us believers we should use discernment in asking God to send angels to do anything. (Notice I said ask God to send angels, not us sending them). If Christ didn't call them forth, what business do we have doing it?
The name of Jesus Christ is the only thing spirits will listen to. I've covered this in previous blogs. I've had to cry out to Jesus mentally to deliver me from multiple cases of sleep paralysis and it worked. But as believers this is when we have authority, when we rely on Jesus Christ. We can use this authority (if we have given our lives to Jesus Christ and repented of our sins) to command evil spirits to leave an area or a person. Only when we encounter the spiritual with Jesus Christ do we have any say whatsoever. See Acts 3 and 16 for the power that name of Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him have.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Act&c=3&t=NLT#6
Act 3:5 NLT - The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.
Act 3:6 NLT - But Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold for you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!"
Act 3:7 NLT - Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man's feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.
Act 3:8 NLT - He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Act&c=16&t=NLT#18
Act 16:16 NLT - One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters.
Act 16:17 NLT - She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved."
Act 16:18 NLT - This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And instantly it left her.
Notice there was no instance of asking angels to do any of it. It was a Christian believer, commanding in the name, power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing else did it. Jesus working through His servant.
So, what do angels do?
My "Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary" says that they are created beings designed to serve and worship God. It also says that angels serve as messengers.
We see angels as messengers in the Bible. We also see Michael and Gabriel in combat roles fighting Satan's forces as well in the war of the Heavenlies (Ephesians 6:12). For more information on angels and their roles, see http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=angels&t=NLT
this may not cover everything, but it should catch alot of it. With the exception of Satan and the fallen angels in Genesis 6 and wherever else they appear you won't see angels doing more than delivering God's message or figthing for God. Even when they fight, it's often so that God's message can be delivered.
Not to plug this book again, but the book "The Dark Side of the Supernatural" has an amazing section on angels. I can't reproduce it all here, but it is a good foundation. Buy it from amazon.
Here's some of what I quoted in the post on the Virgin Mary. This should serve as a basic guide for how Christians should deal with angels.
page 28
* When an angel seeks to draw attention to himself and not to God, he is no angel.
* When an angel gladly accepts the adoration of men and women, you can be sure that he didn't come to us from Heaven.
* When an angel tells us that he will answer our prayers and give us what we desire, he is attempting to usurp God's authority, and he is not to be trusted.
* When an angel tells us that we can be equal to God, he is no angel.
He also says on page 128
Author Phil Phillips gives us five practical scriptural methods to "test the spirits." He writes that an authentic messenger from God
1) always proclaims-and never denies-that Jesus is God's Son and He came to earth in fleshly form;
2) always exalts Jesus Christ and points toward His atonement for sin, which He made when He died on the cross;
3) never encourages divination or occult practices;
4) never contradicts Scripture or dismisses its importance;
5) never undermines the majesty, glory, or holiness of almighty God, King of the Universe.
With all due respect to Mr. Preacher, I find that the Bible proves he is wrong on angels today, not to mention that not once does it mention Jesus Christ and His authority over angels in His article. (http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Pe&c=3&t=NLT#20)
1 Peter 3:22: "Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority."
This would be fine if it was just a general look at angels, but it's not. His article is essentially an endorsement for us to start talking with angels (remember that New Agers promote this alot) and telling them what to do. But by what authority can we command them? Only by the name, power and authority of (and a right relationship with God through) Jesus Christ. And even though we have authority over them, does that mean we should order them around? I would say no, unless it's a case of deliverance from demonic oppression or if the Lord directly leads us to. If we need angels, we ought to go to God, through Jesus Christ and ask Him to protect us and use angels if need be.
There's so much more I could say, but I think this is enough to show everyone that today's message from Mr. Preacher is a very dangerous one. It unknowingly opens the door for people to contact their guardian angels and I have no doubt that before long, someone would get in touch. Again, I mean no disrespect, but I do implore you to think and pray about it.
Please use discernment and ask God to show you the truth about angels and their role. He will make it clear if you ask in the name of His Son, Jesus and if you are sincere.
Peace
I felt convicted about the identifying information previously listed here and have removed it so as not to rail against those in the body of Christ. After all, i cannot judge what was truly in this teacher's heart. My apologies, and i know it's been read before, but going forward, hopefully any damage will stop.
I receive an email devotional every day from an online ministry. I don't read it every day, but from time to time, I do read them and occasionally find them of value spiritually. Many times I find the things they speak about to be kind of churchianitized and prosperity gospel oriented. Despite this, I don't have anything bad to say. They do what they believe God called them to do, and their work is between them and God.
One of these writers is a man I recall seeing as a TV preacher in my youth. Now, I don't know the full extent on this man or his controversies, but I have heard that some consider him a false teacher or at the very least, controversial. I don't know why, but that's what the rumor weed says. I've read some of his devotionals, and in my opinion I haven't seen anything that really set off any red flags and in fact I've found some of his teaching to be of value. Take that for what it's worth.
So, I hadn't had any issues with his teaching until today.
Now before we go further, I want to say I am not attacking the man nor do I wish to throw him under the bus as it were. But I wish instead to clarify his teaching today in light of the Bible. While I think what he said today is partially true, I think he took some things out of context and also said some things that set of my New Age radar, and I want to expose that potential danger to people who might try to act upon his teaching. In my time studying the New Age, I frequently saw articles and books that heavily promoted contact with angels.
The article start off on the right foot. His quote of Hebrews 1:14 is an accurate description of angels.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Hbr&c=1&v=1&t=NLT#top
Hebrews 1:14: Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.
Mr. Preacher posits that angels are assigned to believers to guard us, but also they are waitng for us to give them marching orders. And not just once in a while, but every day and that we have to "activate" their work through faith.
Now the existence of angels is a fact, but the existence of "guardian" angels is debatable. I'm not sure where I fall on this issue yet, but the theories are there's permanent guardian assignments and then there's "as needed." I've also heard on a podcast, possibly Chuck Missler's, that children are given guardian angels for sure. But nowhere in the Bible do I recall seeing that you and I are to give them orders. We'll come back to this.
Next he quotes Psalm 103:20, http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=103&v=1&t=NLT#top and he gets the quote sort of right, but implies that for us to get the angels working we have to speak the Word of God. Now, angels do obey the Word of God, that is true, but nowhere in the Bible do I recall seeing that we should read the Bible to command the angels to do anything. From my former New Age background, I read that as use God's word to get the angels to do my bidding like a magic spell.
I recommend reading the whole chapter, and following Chris White's "20/20" rule, that is read 20 verses before and after the verse in question to get the context but here it is:
Psa 103:17 NLT - But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children's children
Psa 103:18 NLT - of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!
Psa 103:19 NLT - The LORD has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything.
Psa 103:20 NLT - Praise the LORD, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands.
Psa 103:21 NLT - Yes, praise the LORD, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will!
Psa 103:22 NLT - Praise the LORD, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the LORD.
As you read the whole chapter, this is not about using God's word to make angels obey us, but rather it's the Psalmist telling about how everything that has been made should be praising God. They're not praising God because the Psalmist said so, they're praising God because God is Holy.
Mr. Preacher goes on to say that he saw angels after a horrible car accident. I really can't say he's lying. He may very well have seen angels, I wouldn't doubt if he did. But how does he know they were "his" angels? Obviously he means "his" in the sense that God assigned them to him as guards. He doesn't say he tested the spirits, he seems to just assume they were good angels, but they very well could have been fallen angels surveying their attempt to kill him and the other ministers. I'm not saying they are good or bad, just that no attempt at discerning their nature was made. If it was, it wasn't stated in the article.
This reminds me of an article in "Fate" Magazine long ago. There was a man who was a drug addict, and one day he OD'ed and almost died in his shower. But he said that an angel came to save him, but he would have to do something for the angel. Since then, this man has done a large number of various paintings of angels and promotes the use of these paintings to heal others. He basically has come to worship angels.
At the time I thought this was OK because, well, angels are good and serve God. But I have since learned that this is not always the case. I would now argue that this drug addict encountered and was saved from death by a fallen angel so he would divert people away from real salvation in Jesus Christ.
Back to Mr. Preacher.
Regardless of the "Preacher's" angel's nature, he gives them credit for saving him, rather than stating that God's protective hand saved him. He's praising the creations, not the creator. God may have used angels to save his life, but even if that was the case, he should give thanks to his God. I'm sure there's an exact Bible passage for this, but it escapes me at the moment. This comes close.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=30&t=NLT#12
Psa 30:1 NLT - A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the Temple. I will exalt you, LORD, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
Psa 30:2 NLT - O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health.
Psa 30:3 NLT - You brought me up from the grave, O LORD. You kept me from falling into the pit of death.
Psa 30:4 NLT - Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name.
Psa 30:5 NLT - For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Psa 30:6 NLT - When I was prosperous, I said, "Nothing can stop me now!"
Psa 30:7 NLT - Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.
Psa 30:8 NLT - I cried out to you, O LORD. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,
Psa 30:9 NLT - "What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness?
Psa 30:10 NLT - Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me. Help me, O LORD."
Psa 30:11 NLT - You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
Psa 30:12 NLT - that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!
He then quotes Psalm 91, http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=91&v=1&t=NLT#top as evidence of divine protection. This Psalm I believe is about divine protection. I have prayed this to the Lord and received protection. I also believe this song pertains mostly to Jesus Himself because of the reference at the end that Satan uses to tempt Christ, but it also applies to Christians as well, in my opinion.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=91&v=1&t=NLT#top
Psa 91:1 NLT - Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2 NLT - This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
Psa 91:3 NLT - For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.
Psa 91:4 NLT - He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Psa 91:5 NLT - Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.
Psa 91:6 NLT - Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Psa 91:7 NLT - Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.
Psa 91:8 NLT - Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.
Psa 91:9 NLT - If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter,
Psa 91:10 NLT - no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.
Psa 91:11 NLT - For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.
Psa 91:12 NLT - They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone.
Psa 91:13 NLT - You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
Psa 91:14 NLT - The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.
Psa 91:15 NLT - When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.
Psa 91:16 NLT - I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation."
But Mr. Preacher uses this as a basis for us to begin commanding angels about. If you notice in verse 11 it says HE (that's God folks) will order His angels to protect us. It doesn't say you and I should order them to. Preacher quotes it, but skips on to the part that supports his viewpoint. God says that HE will answer. In no way does this Psalm appear to be marching orders for the angelic hosts given by Christians.
It is a great spiritual warfare Psalm as it says "you" (I take this to specifically mean Christ, but also believers by extension. correct ME if I am wrong) will trample cobras, lions and that God will protect us.
Moving on, Daniel 3 is quoted. http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Dan&c=3&v=1&t=NLT#top Preacher then said that God sent angels, I believe it's clear there's only one angel present, and some scholars even say that it's a pre-incarnate Jesus Christ.
Dan 3:1 NLT - King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Dan 3:2 NLT - Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up.
Dan 3:3 NLT - So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Dan 3:4 NLT - Then a herald shouted out, "People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king's command!
Dan 3:5 NLT - When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue.
Dan 3:6 NLT - Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
Dan 3:7 NLT - So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Dan 3:8 NLT - But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews.
Dan 3:9 NLT - They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "Long live the king!
Dan 3:10 NLT - You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments.
Dan 3:11 NLT - That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace.
Dan 3:12 NLT - But there are some Jews--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up."
Dan 3:13 NLT - Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in,
Dan 3:14 NLT - Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up?
Dan 3:15 NLT - I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?"
Dan 3:16 NLT - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.
Dan 3:17 NLT - If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
Dan 3:18 NLT - But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."
Dan 3:19 NLT - Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.
Dan 3:20 NLT - Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
Dan 3:21 NLT - So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments.
Dan 3:22 NLT - And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.
Dan 3:23 NLT - So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.
Dan 3:24 NLT - But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, "Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?" "Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did," they replied.
Dan 3:25 NLT - "Look!" Nebuchadnezzar shouted. "I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!"
Dan 3:26 NLT - Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.
Dan 3:27 NLT - Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn't even smell of smoke!
Dan 3:28 NLT - Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king's command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Dan 3:29 NLT - Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!"
Dan 3:30 NLT - Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
Note in the verse 25, there are three men thrown into the oven, but four are seen. This indicates only one angel (but probably in my opinion Christ Himself). Verse 28 also implies a singular supernatural entity, and even though this rescue occurred at the hands of said being, Nebuchadnezzar praises God.
So, then Preacher lists some things. I'm Ok with most of them until he uses Psalm 34:7 as another excuse for us to command angels. This is clearly not the case.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=34&v=7&t=NLT#7
Psa 34:6 NLT - In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
Psa 34:7 NLT - For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
Psa 34:8 NLT - Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Next he quotes Luke 1:45 "You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said." & Matthew 18:10 "Beware that you don't look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father."
We do have to believe God will protect us, but neither of these verses refer to angels carrying out any aspect of salvation. Salvation come from faith in Christ and His death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection. See Galatians 1:4 for a decent summary of the Gospel.
Gal 1:4 "Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live."
He also covered a passage that was Christ specific, and even if it does apply to us believers we should use discernment in asking God to send angels to do anything. (Notice I said ask God to send angels, not us sending them). If Christ didn't call them forth, what business do we have doing it?
The name of Jesus Christ is the only thing spirits will listen to. I've covered this in previous blogs. I've had to cry out to Jesus mentally to deliver me from multiple cases of sleep paralysis and it worked. But as believers this is when we have authority, when we rely on Jesus Christ. We can use this authority (if we have given our lives to Jesus Christ and repented of our sins) to command evil spirits to leave an area or a person. Only when we encounter the spiritual with Jesus Christ do we have any say whatsoever. See Acts 3 and 16 for the power that name of Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him have.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Act&c=3&t=NLT#6
Act 3:5 NLT - The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.
Act 3:6 NLT - But Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold for you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!"
Act 3:7 NLT - Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man's feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.
Act 3:8 NLT - He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Act&c=16&t=NLT#18
Act 16:16 NLT - One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters.
Act 16:17 NLT - She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved."
Act 16:18 NLT - This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And instantly it left her.
Notice there was no instance of asking angels to do any of it. It was a Christian believer, commanding in the name, power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing else did it. Jesus working through His servant.
So, what do angels do?
My "Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary" says that they are created beings designed to serve and worship God. It also says that angels serve as messengers.
We see angels as messengers in the Bible. We also see Michael and Gabriel in combat roles fighting Satan's forces as well in the war of the Heavenlies (Ephesians 6:12). For more information on angels and their roles, see http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=angels&t=NLT
this may not cover everything, but it should catch alot of it. With the exception of Satan and the fallen angels in Genesis 6 and wherever else they appear you won't see angels doing more than delivering God's message or figthing for God. Even when they fight, it's often so that God's message can be delivered.
Not to plug this book again, but the book "The Dark Side of the Supernatural" has an amazing section on angels. I can't reproduce it all here, but it is a good foundation. Buy it from amazon.
Here's some of what I quoted in the post on the Virgin Mary. This should serve as a basic guide for how Christians should deal with angels.
page 28
* When an angel seeks to draw attention to himself and not to God, he is no angel.
* When an angel gladly accepts the adoration of men and women, you can be sure that he didn't come to us from Heaven.
* When an angel tells us that he will answer our prayers and give us what we desire, he is attempting to usurp God's authority, and he is not to be trusted.
* When an angel tells us that we can be equal to God, he is no angel.
He also says on page 128
Author Phil Phillips gives us five practical scriptural methods to "test the spirits." He writes that an authentic messenger from God
1) always proclaims-and never denies-that Jesus is God's Son and He came to earth in fleshly form;
2) always exalts Jesus Christ and points toward His atonement for sin, which He made when He died on the cross;
3) never encourages divination or occult practices;
4) never contradicts Scripture or dismisses its importance;
5) never undermines the majesty, glory, or holiness of almighty God, King of the Universe.
With all due respect to Mr. Preacher, I find that the Bible proves he is wrong on angels today, not to mention that not once does it mention Jesus Christ and His authority over angels in His article. (http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Pe&c=3&t=NLT#20)
1 Peter 3:22: "Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority."
This would be fine if it was just a general look at angels, but it's not. His article is essentially an endorsement for us to start talking with angels (remember that New Agers promote this alot) and telling them what to do. But by what authority can we command them? Only by the name, power and authority of (and a right relationship with God through) Jesus Christ. And even though we have authority over them, does that mean we should order them around? I would say no, unless it's a case of deliverance from demonic oppression or if the Lord directly leads us to. If we need angels, we ought to go to God, through Jesus Christ and ask Him to protect us and use angels if need be.
There's so much more I could say, but I think this is enough to show everyone that today's message from Mr. Preacher is a very dangerous one. It unknowingly opens the door for people to contact their guardian angels and I have no doubt that before long, someone would get in touch. Again, I mean no disrespect, but I do implore you to think and pray about it.
Please use discernment and ask God to show you the truth about angels and their role. He will make it clear if you ask in the name of His Son, Jesus and if you are sincere.
Peace
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