I have just read twice and highlighted The Dragon Slayer: Reflections On the Saving of the World (2004, privately published, 202 pages, paper), the latest book from my eloquent friend Jim McGuiggan of Northern Ireland. As usual, McGuiggan devotes his considerable mind and poignant pen to the profound realities that matter most, this time the atonement for sin which Jesus Christ accomplished once for all. For centuries the Irish have been noted as gifted story-tellers and McGuiggan maintains the Hibernian reputation, as seen in this passage reminiscent of Brennan Manning: "We built a wall … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2012
EXORCISMS
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "What is the New Testament specifically talking about when it says that Jesus and the apostles 'drove out demons?' Does this refer to mental defects (insanity, bipolarism, etc.) or psychological or physiological problems (epilepsy, addictions, etc.)? Or does this mean real demons as in 'The Exorcist' movie? This is very hard to get my head around since I have never to my knowledge met anyone possessed by a demon." * * * I believe that demons are real, that Jesus is stronger, and that demons are cast out by his name. As in the Gospels, demons sometimes cause … [Read more...]
BINDING SATAN
A gracEmail subscriber asks: "What is your view of ministers who claim to bind Satan or chase out his demons?" * * * It depends on the person and what he or she is actually doing. The Bible does not talk about Christians "binding" Satan although it does say we are to "resist" him and that we "struggle" against him. Perhaps that is what these ministers are actually doing even though they call it something else. There are two dangers as I see it. One is to fail to take the enemy seriously, to under-rate Satan's craftiness, and to fail to resist him as one ought. The other danger is to … [Read more...]
DEMONS — WHAT ARE THEY?
A Christian in the South asks, "who or what are demons, of which we read in the New Testament? Alexander Campbell suggested that they were spirits of the departed dead." * * * In classical Greek literature, "demons" were deities, lesser gods in the pantheon of which Zeus was considered supreme head. In popular Greek usage several centuries before Christ, "demons" referred to ghosts, spirits of dead people, which were thought to return to haunt the living. Although some Jews in Old Testament times also believed in ghosts of departed persons (for example, Saul, in the story of the Witch of … [Read more...]
SATAN’S ORIGIN
A gracEmail subscriber asks "What did Satan do to be cast out of heaven?" * * * The Bible is somewhat sketchy on this subject. It appears from a number of references that Satan was originally a created angel who led an celestial rebellion against God resulting in their expulsion from heaven. This might be in view in 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6 and perhaps remotely even in 1 Corinthians 11:10. Many people believe the story is summarized in Isaiah 14:12ff. That text, which begins in verse 3, is specifically talking about "the king of Babylon" who will take Judah into exile but will himself then be … [Read more...]
SHOCKED BY THE VOICE OF GOD
"Sure, God spoke to Noah, Isaac and Phillip," we sometimes think. "But he would never speak to me." Little wonder that when he does speak directly today, it is often a shocking experience. At my request, gracEmail subscriber Jack Outhier has reluctantly but kindly given me permission to relate his shocking encounter with the voice of God -- and the good fruit that resulted from it. (Jack's email address is jack.outhier@LegacySolutionsLLC.com) * * * "I was driving alone. Suddenly, within my spirit, I felt moved to turn at an upcoming intersection to go 'speak' to a couple who lived nearby. I … [Read more...]
PROPHECY: RATIONAL WORDS
After I related a modern story of Christian prophecy, a subscriber asked how often "similar situations lead to disaster," whether this does not open the door to "deceit" and if I am saying that we should be ruled by "feelings rather than by rational content." * * * Good brother, you ask how often "similar situations" lead to disaster. Not often, I would think. For consider the "situation." What we have here are two groups of church leaders in prayer about a common concern, all seeking God's will and glory and asking for his guidance. God answered those prayers by providing direction. Part of … [Read more...]
PROPHECY ILLUSTRATED
"Can you give an example of ordinary Christian prophecy today?" someone asks. "What does it look like when it occurs?" * * * The long-time preaching minister at my home congregation resigned early in 1996, sending us into a search for God's replacement which lasted into 1997. About October 1996, after much prayer and diligent labor, we elders invited Rob McRay and his wife Judy of the Northtown Church in Milwaukee to fly down to Houston for a weekend of intense visiting with our church. Rob could not come until January, and he had no intent of leaving Northtown. However, he felt he should be … [Read more...]
CHURCH FATHERS & PROPHECY
The year 1918 saw the publication of Counterfeit Miracles, in which Presbyterian theologian Benjamin B. Warfield argued that supernatural prophecy stopped shortly after the New Testament was written. According to Warfield, spiritual gifts (charismata) served only to authenticate the Apostles' gospel message -- and only to people of their generation. Warfield said that the gifts ceased when the last person died who had known the Apostles personally. In keeping with this understanding, some cessationists interpret "the perfect" in 1 Corinthians 13:10 as the written books of the New … [Read more...]
PROPHECY: SAFEGUARDS
"If we say that God speaks through prophetic words today," someone asks, "do we not open the door to every form of abuse and exploitation?" * * * Obviously this very beneficial gift can be abused or misused, as can any other gift (including, for example, uninspired preaching). Scripture therefore provides rules, caveats, safeguards and tests. Christians have always been cautioned not to believe every claim of a divine word but to test the spirits (1 John 4:1). For 2,000 years, these tests have involved examining the message (1 Thes. 5:20-22) as well as the messenger. That includes testing … [Read more...]