The Atonement (Mark 15:33–40) — A Sermon by R.C. Sproul



SPROUL: Let’s look this morning at Mark, chapter 15 where I’ll be reading again the later portion of the text we looked at last week. I’ll be beginning at verse 33 and reading through verse 40. And I’d like to ask the congregation to stand for the reading of the Word of God.

“Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’

Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, ‘Look, He is calling for Elijah!’ Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, ‘Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.’

And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this Man was the Son of God!’

There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.”

Again in your hearing this morning, you have heard that word that comes to us from God Himself. He who has ears to hear it, let them hear. Please be seated. Let us pray. Our Father and our God, there is no more important, no more unfathomable treasure for us to contemplate

Than the meaning of the cross, and so we pray that in this hour, you would lend your help to us who are Your frail creatures. Give us insight into the meaning and the significance of our Savior’s death, for we ask it in His name. Amen.

Last week we looked at the narrative of the execution of Jesus by way of my normal method of biblical exposition, but I mentioned that this week I would depart from that and focus on a theological interpretation of the meaning of the cross. Again, I mentioned last week

That anyone who was an eyewitness of that event would likely not understand what was taking place in the cosmic realm that day, and that was left for the apostles in their epistles to give to us that added revelation of the meaning and of the significance of

The death of Jesus. We remember that Paul announced that he was determined to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified, that is Paul’s focus was on the cross, and of course that statement was something of hyperbole, which is a literary form of intentional exaggeration

In order to make a point, but really it’s not too far as an exaggeration that we know Paul knew other things besides the cross; nevertheless, all that he knew and all that he taught had its convergence in that central message of what took place that day on the cross.

I remember my first year of seminary where a student in our class in preaching gave a moving and eloquent sermon on the substitutionary satisfaction view of the atonement. And in that class on preaching, it was customary when the student finished for the professor

Of homiletics to give a critique. And the idea was to be a constructive critique on the art of preaching. But that day the professor was furious, and he glared at the student, and he said, “How dare you preach the substitutionary satisfactory view of the atonement in this

Day and age.” And I heard that and I was thinking within myself, “How dare this professor question the legitimacy of preaching on the satisfaction substitutionary view of the atonement.” What is it in this day and age that makes this central understanding of the cross suddenly

No longer acceptable? And I mused on that for many years to come because when we talk about the satisfaction substitutionary view of the atonement, we’re trying to answer the question: What really happened there on the cross? And one of the questions that attends

That question is the question: Was Jesus death on the cross really necessary at all? And there have been different answers to that question throughout church history. Early on, the Pelagians taught that Jesus’ death and atonement was not necessary at all, that

God could have redeemed His people by many different ways. He simply could have waved His wand of mercy and grace and pronounced His pardon on sinners without such a grizzly method of execution. Others took an intermediate position saying that the cross was hypothetically necessary

But not absolutely necessary. It was only necessary because though God had many ways He could have done it. From all eternity He chose to do it this way and was in agreement with His Son and with the Holy Spirit to reconcile the world by way of an atoning death. And

So the atonement was not necessary “de facto.” It was not necessary “de jure,” that is legally. But it was necessary “de pacto,” that is because an agreement had been reached, a covenant had been made between the Father and the Son, and once that covenant was made, it had to be carried out.

But then the third view, which is the classic orthodox Christian view is that the atoning death of Jesus was absolutely necessary. We reach back in time to one of the greatest thinkers God ever blessed the church with, the philosopher theologian Saint Anselm of

Canterbury, whose little book, “Cur Deus Homo?,” has become a Christian classic, and that little book that is really a question is translated by the words, “Why the God Man?” And in that little book Anselm spelled out the reasons why the cross was absolutely

Necessary. And the grounds and the necessity for Christ offering payment and satisfaction for our sins was to be found in the character of God Himself. The reason why an atonement was necessary, dear friends, is because God is just, because God is righteous, and because God is holy.

But we’ve lost sight of the character of God in our age. We conceive of God some celestial grandfather, a cosmic bellhop who is on duty 24/7 to give us all of our needs. And we allow the love of God to swallow up His justice, to swallow up His righteousness, and to obscure

His holiness, and we think that not only will God forgive all of our sins without an atonement, but we believe that He must do it if He’s really going to be good and loving. And yet at the other side of that coin always stands His holy, righteous, justice that must be satisfied.

I remember the story of Abraham in the Old Testament where he got word that God was about to bring judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah, which cities clearly invited that judgment from God, and Abraham was concerned about the few innocent folks there in those cities

That might possibly be punished along with the guilty, and so he raised the question to God, “Lord, will you punish the innocent or the righteous with the guilty?” And the reply was God forbid that God would ever do such a thing. And then the statement came

Out of that narrative, “Will not the Judge of all of the earth do what is right?” To ask that question, dear friends, is to answer it because the God of heaven and earth doesn’t know how to do anything except that which is right. The God of heaven and earth has

Never done anything that is wrong. Now according to our sensibilities, there are times in the Scriptures that we object to what God does. I’ve told you before how when I was in my first year as a Christian

As a college student, and I was reading the Old Testament, that I used to pace the halls of my college dormitory long into the night, three o’clock to four o’clock in the morning because I’d never heard of this God that was being revealed to me in the Old Testament.

And all I can remember from that is thinking that wow, if I’m going to be a Christian, I’m going to have to be a Christian because God plays for keeps. If you don’t believe that, let me just direct your attention to one passage in the Old Testament, the passage

That you’ve already heard this morning. When God delivered His law to Moses, after He had rescued His people from slavery and the focus of that law was a prohibition against idolatry. And while Moses was speaking with God on the mountain, Aaron and the people

Made for themselves a golden calf and worshipped it. And the Scriptures tell us that when God saw that, He was outraged, and He demanded satisfaction for that sacrilege, for that work of idolatry. I remind you, dear friends, that that episode in the Old Testament chronicles for us the

Most successful worship service in human history. The attendance that day at the worship of the golden calf surpassed all statistics before or after in Israel. The singing was so lusty, that miles away Joshua hears the music, and he thinks he’s hearing the sound of warfare.

The church was filled to the brim, and the people loved the music as they danced around an idol that distorted the very character of God. Do you think that was the last time that happened in church history? That’s our propensity.

It’s to exchange the God of heaven and earth for an idol and fashion for ourselves a God who requires no satisfaction, who requires no payment for sin. And in a day and age when we preach that God loves all people unconditionally, who in the world needs an atonement? You do.

And I do. Because the righteousness and the justice of God must be satisfied. Now when we look at the concept of the atonement in the New Testament, it’s not monochromatic. I like to use the metaphor of a gorgeous tapestry that is woven by several strands. And I don’t

Even have time this morning to even touch on some of the strands that the New Testament uses to describe what took place on the cross. But one of the major themes in the New Testament is the theme of reconciliation, that Christ is the reconciliation for us. And one of the

Things of course that is absolutely necessary for reconciliation to take place anywhere is a previous estrangement because parties that are not estranged have no need of reconciliation. I gave a message many years ago in a university to the atheists’ club that invited me to

Speak there. And they wanted to hear my case for the existence of God, and I gave it to them. And after I was finished with that part of the message, I said, “I’m happy to deal with these intellectual issues that come up.” I said, “But you have to know where

I’m coming from. I believe that for you the issue of the existence of God is not an intellectual issue at all. It’s a moral issue. Your problem is not that you don’t know that God exists. Your problem is you hate the God whom you know does exist.”

That’s the closest I ever came to being tarred and feathered. I was lucky to get out of there with my life. They were vehement in their denials and protests, “We don’t hate God.” Well, if the Word of God is the truth of God then by nature, dear friends, we are His enemies.

We are at war with Him. We despise Him. But we don’t get angry at the golden calf. If we create a new God, then we can live in comfort with that God. But the biblical God is the

Object of our wrath to such a degree that the Scripture says, “We will not have Him in our thinking.” That’s where the estrangement is. That’s where we are at war with God. That’s where we are at enmity with God. And that enmity was mediated for us on the

Cross, so that Christ became an enemy of the Father to satisfy your hostility and your enmity toward Him. Another dimension about which the New Testament describes the cross, the atonement is the dimension of ransom. Earlier in our study of Mark’s gospel, we read where Jesus said

That He did not come into the world to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. And because of that statement and others, the church has developed what’s called the ransom theory of the atonement. In fact, there is more than one ransom theory

Of the atonement. There’s a good one and there’s a bad one. The bad one that is popular in some circles is the idea that Jesus paid a ransom to Satan, after all Satan is the prince of the power of the air. He’s the prince of this world.

He holds us captive and hostage. In a sense he has kidnapped the people of God and now demands payment or ransom for our release, and so Jesus makes a deal with the devil. He pays him what he wants to purchase our freedom from him. No, no, no, no. In that

Case the cross would not represent “Christus Victor” but “Satanas Victor,” Satan would be the winner. He would get the payment and enjoy it forever. No, there is a ransom paid, dear friends, but it’s not paid to Satan. It’s paid

To the Father. A debt has been incurred to Him that has to be paid. Now quickly, we think of the New Testament speaking that we are debtors to God, and not only are we mildly in debt but that we are hopelessly in debt, and the way in which the New Testament sets

It forth is that we are debtors who can’t possibly their debt. We have an IOU that can never be redeemed. But there’s different ways to understand that concept of debt. I’ve told you on another occasion in another concept my favorite illustration of that. I tell the story of the little boy

Who goes to the ice cream store, and he asks for an ice cream cone with two scoops of ice cream, and when the lady behind the counter hands the little boy the cone, she says, “That will be two dollars,” and the boy’s face sinks. He’s crestfallen. His lip begins

To tremble, and he said, “But my Mommy only gave me one dollar.” So what do you do if you’re watching that transaction? You know what you do. You reach your hand in your pocket, and you get out a dollar bill, and you hand it to the lady, and you say, “Here, this

Is legal tender. I’ll pay the little boy’s debt, and we all can go home happy.” And she has to accept that payment because it’s a pecuniary payment, a monetary payment of commercial debt. But that’s not the kind of debt that we’re in here. The debt that we have before God

Is not that we owe Him money that we can’t pay. It’s a moral debt. It is a moral obligation that He has imposed upon us, which we have not paid. Now we turn the story around with the little boy. Now he comes to the ice cream store and

He said, “I’d like to have an ice cream cone with two scoops, and the lady comes and hands him the ice cream cone, and she says, “That will be two dollars.” He sticks his tongue out at her, runs out the door, doesn’t pay her anything, and she’s chasing

Him, yelling, “Stop, thief.” And the little boy runs right into the arms of the patrolman who’s walking down the block. He grabs the boy by the scruff of the neck, brings him back into the shop, said, “What’s going on here?” And the lady said, “That boy

Just stole two dollars worth of ice cream.” And I’m watching that. I reach in my pocket and I take out two dollars instead of one, and I say, “Look, everybody settle down here. Here’s the two dollars. No harm. No fowl. Let the boy go.” Now does the owner

Have to accept it? Absolutely not. Because now a crime has been committed. Now a moral debt has been incurred. And a policeman can look at me and my two dollars and look at the woman in the store and say, “Do you want to press charges?” And the storekeeper

Has that option on this occasion. Now with God we have a moral debt. And even when His Son pays the debt as our Substitute, when He pays the debt vicariously, the Father does not have to accept it. The fact that

The debt is paid means that justice is satisfied. The fact that the Father accepts the payment expresses His mercy and His grace, that as the Apostle says, “He may be both just and justifier of His people.” The justice is there insofar as Christ paid what was required, and that God wasn’t playing.

As the text I read indicated, the Son of God was forsaken, completely forsaken. And as Paul uses the other metaphor later in Galatians, “He was cursed by God.” He became a curse to fulfill the law of the Old Testament because all who break the law of God, all who sin

Are exposed to the curse of God’s wrath. And you say, “But that’s not fair.” But as I mentioned last week, once Christ willingly took upon Himself your sin and my sin, God didn’t play games. He punished Him to the fullest extent of the law. Christ

Didn’t just go to the cross. When He was on the cross, He went to Hell, not after He died but while He was on the cross. He experienced the full measure of God’s wrath when the Father turned His back on the Son and cursed Him for you and for me.

Again, I’m terrified when people come to me and say, “I don’t need Jesus.” I want to grab them by the throat and say, “O foolish one, don’t you understand that there’s nothing in the universe that you need more than Jesus. Don’t you realize that at the

End of your life, you will stand before God and you will be held accountable by God. And the God before whom you stand will be holy and just and righteous. And you either stand in front of Him on your own merit—and the only thing you have to bring is demerit, friends—or

You stand covered in the righteousness of Christ. If you deny Christ, you face the curse on your own, a debtor who can’t possibly pay your debt.” Karl Barth, the late Swiss theologian with whom I disagree more often than I agree, made

A comment once many years ago that I agree with completely. He said the single most important word in the New Testament Greek is the word “huper,” which is the Greek word that is translated by three English words, “in behalf of.” And that’s how the New Testament

Describes the death of Jesus, “in behalf of” His sheep, “in behalf of” the godless, “in behalf of” God’s enemies, He paid this price and He purchased you, so that the apostle says, “You are not your own.” You see the thing that we tend to think even

As Christians is we may not own the biggest house in the community, we may not own the biggest car in the community, but one thing we own, there’s no mortgage on, is ourselves. I own me. No, you don’t. No I don’t. Paul said, “You are not your own. You don’t

Own yourself. You’ve been bought. You’ve been purchased.” Paul said, “You’ve been bought with a price.” And the price tag is the blood of Christ. Finally, my friend John Guest once preached a sermon on the blood of Jesus. He said, “If

Jesus would have come to Jerusalem and scratched His finger on a nail, would that have done it?” There’s blood. It wouldn’t have done it. It took more than a scratch. The figurative significance to the Jew of blood means life. Jesus didn’t just give His blood.

He had to give His life. He had to pour out His blood unto death, and that was the price tag. That was the ransom. That was the purchase price. And the New Testament tells us that in God’s eyes at the top of the cross was not simply

The accusation written by Pilate, but the words, “It is paid,” appear on that cross. God is satisfied, propitiation. Our sins are removed, expiation. As I told you before, every time you come down that aisle, look at that cross. You come down the center aisle

Of the church. You remember that the architectural form of this building is a cruciform. It’s built in the shape of the cross. If you look from an airplane, and you cross over Saint Andrews, you’ll see the form of a cross. The center aisle if the vertical beam of the

Cross. The transepts in which you are sitting are the crossbeams. And I said the vertical beam points to heaven in the sense that propitiation was made. The Son satisfied the Father. And in doing that on the horizontal level was expiation, our sins were removed as far as

The east is from the west. Therefore, dear friends, come let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be as crimson, they shall be as wool, for He bought you with His life. Let’s pray.

O Lord, if we had a thousand tongues to sing the praise of our great Redeemer, that would not be enough to express our gratitude, which gratitude carries on for us into eternity. Thank you for the cross. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

#Atonement #Mark #Sermon #R.C #Sproul

Are Satan Worshippers Real?



– Hail oh deathless one. Who calls me from out of the pits? – [Voiceover] You can turn back now or learn the stuff they don’t want you to know. Here are the facts. In the 1980’s and 90’s people across the united states were convinced that satan worshippers worked in secret across the country. Stealing children for dark rights. Sacrificing animals and innocents and practicing sorcery.

In what became known as, “The Satanic Panic.” Numerous people alleged that they had been ritually abused during their childhood. They claimed that hypnosis and regression therapy revealed these long suppressed memories. Yet, when authorities investigated they ultimately found no proof to back up the accusations. Today the deluge of reports is considered part of

A moral panic. Like McCarthyism or witch hunts. Many people wondered if actual theistic satan worshippers existed at all. So, are there any real devil worshippers? Here’s where it gets crazy. Yes, though perhaps not the way you’d assume. Before we find devil worshippers we have to define the devil itself.

That’s tougher than it sounds. Afterall, one religion’s god may often be another group’s satan. Consider the Yazidis ethnic group. Often called devil worshippers by the nearby Muslim majority. The Yazidis worship an angel called, “Melek Taus.” Who in their religion refused God’s command to bow to Adam.

This bears great resemblance to stories of Shatam and Muslim lore. But the Yazidis don’t consider Melek Taus an evil deity. A similar disconnect occurs between gnostics and mainstream Christians. There are generally two broad camps in the world of genuine satan worship. Symbolic and theistic. The symbolic satan worshippers

Believe in philosophical aspects of satan as a concept. Or satan as an ideology. The theistic satan worshippers believe in a supernatural entity that can interact with the mortal world. Of these theistic satanists, many follow a Lucifer erratically different from the common Christian depiction.

Not an evil force, so much as a disruptive innovative one. Are there really any theistic satanists who genuinely believe they worship an inferno evil deity? While the tales of massive satanic conspiracies don’t seem to bear any fruit. There have been isolated cases of violent criminal acts

Carried out by people claiming to worship satan. And not just any ancient past either. In 2005, Louisiana pastor Louis Lamonica turned himself into the Livingston detective, Stan Carpenter. Lamonica listed in detail, ritualized child abuse that he and other members of his congregation participated in for a number of years.

This included things like animal sacrifice, ritual masks, and dedication of a child to satan. In 2011, Moises Maraza Espinoza confessed to killing his mother as part of satanic right. And there are a number of other proving crimes involving the use of satanic symbols and purported rituals. However, these crimes are not all representative

Of the satanic community. The majority of which, is law abiding. Despite these cyclical allegations of widespread, large scale of networks of devil worshippers, there simply hasn’t been any solid universally acknowledged proof. Those who believe in the conspiracies say the powerful groups have too much control to be reported.

And they point to other supposedly buried reports of abuse. Such as the infamous Franklin Case. Instead it seems that the only individuals or groups actually doing all of those sterotypical satanic things from Hollywood horror films are isolated and quite possibly, insane. Unless of course, there’s something more to the story.

Something they don’t want you to know. – So here comes satanism. Most of us would like to write off as harmless antics by some lunatic fringe. A few years ago maybe, but not now. We have seen that satanism can be linked to child abuse and murder. It has lead seemingly normal teenagers into monstrous behavior. They preach mysticism.

Other people, however, practice evil. And that is why we brought you this report tonight.

#Satan #Worshippers #Real

Does the Problem of Evil Make God Unlikely?



[Anderson] Evil and suffering is a big one,  and I’d be interested in your perspectives on   that. You hear people say that particularly the  Abrahamic God, who’s all-powerful and all-knowing   and all good, and you’ve just made a reference  to that yourself, the locus of all good things,

[yes] now there’s the atheistic argument from  evil. And it basically runs that if there   is such a God, and look I don’t want to sound  unsympathetic about this; it’s a big challenge   evil is a big problem, just as I described exists,  then, there’d be no evil or or suffering. But  

There is a lot of evil and suffering in the world,  therefore there can’t be a God, or certainly not   a Christian God. So where do philosophers in  general come out on that question of suffering, and where do you land? [Craig] Well historically  for centuries atheistic philosophers have defended  

The view that the existence of the suffering and  evil in the world is logically incompatible with   the existence of God. And now on the contemporary  scene, this has really changed; virtually no one   defends the logical version of the problem of  evil anymore, and the reason is that it lays upon  

The shoulders of the atheist a burden of proof  that is so heavy that no one has been able to   sustain it. The atheist would have to  prove that there is no logically possible   reason that God could have for permitting  the evil and suffering in the world,  

And no one can prove such a thing. So those who  do defend the problem of evil today have retreated   from the logical version of the problem to the  so-called probabilistic version of the problem,   where the claim is that given the evil and  suffering in the world, it’s improbable that  

God exists, if not impossible. And the difficulty  with this version of the problem is that it makes   probability judgments that are simply beyond  our ability. There is no basis for thinking   that if God has morally sufficient reasons for  permitting the evil and suffering in the world  

That these should be evident to me. For example,  every event that occurs in human history sends a   ripple effect through history, such that God’s  morally sufficient reasons for permitting it   might not emerge until centuries from now, perhaps  in another country. An illustration of this would  

Be the so-called butterfly effect in contemporary  physics. It’s been shown that the fluttering of   a butterfly’s wings on a twig in West Africa can  set in motion forces that will eventually produce   a hurricane over the Atlantic Ocean, and yet no  one watching that little butterfly on the branch  

Could possibly predict such an outcome. These  kinds of probability judgments are just beyond   our capacity. And similarly, when we see some  instance of suffering and evil in the world,   we are simply not in a position to say with any  sort of confidence God probably doesn’t have  

A morally sufficient reason for permitting that to  occur. A second point that needs to be made here   is that when one’s talking about probabilities,  then you’ve also got to consider on the other   side of the scale, what is the probability  that God does exist? And here I would offer  

A multiple considerations that I think make  it quite probable that there is in fact a   transcendent creator and designer of the universe,  despite any improbability that the suffering in   the world might throw upon the existence of  God. [Anderson] Interestingly, I’ve never  

Forgotten the story, a true story, about a young  university student in Scotland not long after well   probably I suspect during the Depression years,  things were grim, and he knocked on the door,   of a small cottage that was opened, there was  a returned serviceman from the first World War,  

And when he realized the young man wanted to  talk to him about God he said go away, he said   I was in the trenches in France and  I stopped believing in God when I saw   all that evil. And the young man said to him  I respect that that must have been terrible,  

And I certainly won’t pester you, but  can I just make the observation that   I wonder if I’d been there I might  not have stopped believing in man   rather than stop believing in God. And the old  man looked at him, tears welled up near his eyes,  

And he said you better come in; we need to talk  about this. It’s an interesting take on evil. I   sometimes think that one of our problems is we’re  not self-reflective enough. [Craig] Yes one of the   major developments in philosophy with respect to  this problem is the so-called free will defense,  

In which philosophers I think have been able to  show that it’s neither improbable nor impossible   that every world that God would create that  would involve this much good, this much moral   goodness, would also involve this much moral  evil freely perpetrated by human free agents,  

So that ultimately the blame lies  at man’s threshold and not at God’s. oh

#Problem #Evil #God

How to Destroy Fear & Become Satan’s WORST Nightmare…



My guest has declared war on the spirit of fear that battles against you fulfilling your destiny. Tables turned. You become the devil’s greatest nightmare, next. [Applause] SR: Welcome, Holy Spirit. I surrender this platform totally to You. Have Your way. Jeremy Johnson pastors multiple churches in the LA area. Jeremy, I love the name of your church, Fearless. How did that come into being? JJ: Yeah, you know what, Sid?

I’m going to have to blame that one on my wife. She read a quote as we were coming up with the name of our church that said, “A scared world needs a fearless church,” and somehow that quote stuck out to her, from Oswald Chambers,

And that’s exactly why we’re getting a group of people to declare war on fear, and what better place to do it than the darkness of Hollywood and the darkness of LA? [Applause] SR: I agree. JJ: So the story of Fearless is my story, and that perfect love came

And found me at an early age, 17 years old. I made Jesus not only Savior but Lord. It actually happened through two of my classmates getting hit by a drunk driver, head-on car collision. Both died. I was at the funeral, and the mom of one of the kids who passed away

Knew that I was a believer and asked me to pray. And when I got up to that mic, I could have shared the gospel with my whole class, and I didn’t, Sid. I heard – SR: Why? JJ: I heard that spirit of fear yelling at me, and I just sat back down.

I said a nice little prayer, and that night one, of my best friends went out and got drunk and high and ended up taking his life at a train because he had no hope, and I remember every day in high school just that voice of fear saying, “You’ve failed.”

Every time I would drive over that tracks, it was just a hopeless time in my life at 17 years old. SR: But every time you would drive over those train tracks where your – one of your best friends got killed – JJ: Yeah. Yeah. SR: – you would be reminded.

JJ: Then about 30 days in, I heard a voice, and it was the Voice of the Lord. It was an audible voice, and I didn’t know who it was at the time, but I just knew something was calling me down those tracks, and so when I’d drive over them, 30 days later,

I got out of my car, and I walked down the tracks what was probably for miles, and I ended up, I believe, where he took his life because his mom had set up a rosary cross with his name, and I just fell at that cross, Sid.

I – It wasn’t in a church. It’s wasn’t with a pastor. It was that voice that called me down the tracks, and I remember that voice as I wept what felt like for hours because I felt like I had failed God,

This God that was my Savior but who was about to become my Lord. And He said, “I am the God of the second chance.” And, see, today I’m a pastor of a church not because I woke up one day and said, “Wow, it sounds nice to be a pastor,”

But I just that day made a choice for the rest of my life. I’m going to take my second chance, and that’s led me to win souls all over the world and to set people free from fear. SR: That – let me – [Applause]

SR: Let me ask you, what was the difference from before you heard the Voice of God and after in you? JJ: Mm. The difference in me is that I realized that God actually saw me. He cared about me, and He was okay that I was broken,

And He was okay that I didn’t have all the answers, and that perfect love is the thing that kicked fear out. See, it says in the Bible, I John 4:18, I found out since then that, “There is no fear in love.” So when love shows up, fear has to leave.

In fact, the Bible, God commands, “Fear not.” It’s a command. He commands us, “Do not be anxious for anything.” So He only commands it because fear is not just an emotion. It’s a spirit, and He kicks fear out. It’s not us that kick fear out,

Because what happens if you keep facing your fears, and you find a fear you can’t face? Your child is sick or your marriage falling apart, those are fears that are difficult to face, but when perfect love – When you follow perfect love, perfect love over your shoulder kicks fear out –

SR: I hear the words, follow perfect love. What does that mean? JJ: Perfect love isn’t a feeling. It’s a person, and His Name is Jesus. He came near, and He met me right there. SR: Many of you watching right now are saying, “I wish I heard a voice.”

Well, Jeremy needed to hear God’s voice. Each of us has different needs. Jeremy, real quickly, you speak about a man named Cardboard. What do you mean? JJ: I met Cardboard on the streets of LA before I would ever pastor in LA. When I was a college student in Bible college,

We had a traveling ministry, and we ended up at this event that a church was pulling off in Hollywood, of all places. They blocked off the streets, and they chose us to be the final drama for the night, and then I was going to give a salvation message.

Well, when I finally got up there to give the message, over 5,000 people are gathered in the streets of Hollywood. This is wild, and when I get up there, my mic doesn’t work. We did all this work, all the – And so you think it’s going to come on. You’re waiting. You’re waiting.

The sound guy is freaking out. Nothing happens. Over 30 minutes go by, 40 minutes, an hour, and as you know, people are leaving. They’re there for the hot dog, and when it’s over – SR: Of course. JJ: – they’re gone. And so I sat on the end of the stage,

And I thought God missed it. I thought God made a mistake. “God, You couldn’t get the sound on?” And no sound would come on. So I saw McDonald’s across the street, and I said, “I don’t want one of these lousy hot dogs. I want a Big Mac, large fry and a Coke.”

And so I went across the street, and when I went over there, I tripped on something that I thought was trash, but it was a person. I tripped on this guy, and he popped out of a blanket, and he said, “Hello, my name is Cardboard.” And I thought, “Well, that’s a weird name,”

And I kind of scurried out of there. I wasn’t used to LA yet, and I went and got my fry, Coke and drink, and I came out, and I for the first time heard the Lord. And He said just as clear as day,

“Give Cardboard your Big Mac, your large fry and your Coke.” SR: Oh, that’s a toughie! JJ: And I told God – I said, “Get behind me, Satan, in the Name of Jesus.” That couldn’t be from You, Lord, as these – This conviction got stronger, and I finally gave it to Cardboard.

When I did, I woke him up, and as I was walking away, I could just hear him weeping, and I turned around to see what happened, and he began to explain to me. He said, “Who told you to give this to me?” And I said, “Cardboard, you’re never going to believe me.

Jesus told me to give that to you.” And he just wept uncontrollably at – It seemed like for minutes I held him, and eventually he said, “I used to go to that church that puts on that outreach, but I lost my job. I ended up out here, and every year they come out

And tell us how much Jesus loves us.” He said, “But I don’t feel very loved by God, and know what? God is not real. And today I heard a voice, as they were setting up, ‘in the middle of the message today, climb to the top of that building

And, at the middle of the message, jump.'” So he said, “I climbed up there. I had the hot dog in my hands,” and he said, “When I got up there, I came out to the balcony, and you were about to speak.” And he said, “Right when you started to speak,

Your mic cut off. So,” he said, “I climbed back in the window because I didn’t have the instructions after that.” And he said, “I heard another voice that said, ‘Cardboard, ask Me for anything.’ And I said, ‘Okay. If this is You, God, I’m going to be under my blanket,

And I want that speaker to bring me a Big Mac, a large fry'” – SR: Oh, my goodness! JJ: – “‘and a Coke.'” [Applause] JJ: See, that day Cardboard gave his life to Jesus, but, Sid, that day I learned something, that the God that I serve, He always sees the one.

He doesn’t see crowds. I saw 5,000 people, and I thought God missed it, but God didn’t miss it. He didn’t have us cook hot dogs for the 5,000. He didn’t even have me get a sermon ready that I would preach. In fact, I would speak my message without a mic to one guy

That had forgotten his name. His real name was Samuel. So funny that he was hearing the voice of the Lord. SR: And by the way, that’s what Samuel means, hearing God’s voice. Now Jeremy’s ministry – JJ: Wow. SR: – even after this, hit a wall. He was actually ready to give up.

Many of you watching us right now, you’re ready to give up. Then God said, “Are you done yet?” God showed Jeremy something opposite all his logic and opposite all of your logic, too. Be right back. [Music] [Applause] >> We will be right back to “It’s Supernatural!” >> When you submit a prayer request at sidroth.org/pray, we print it out and place it inside of this basket. The basket is then taken to our prayer room where, every morning, each team member selects a stack of prayer requests, reads through them carefully and prays for each one individually.

So if you or someone you know needs prayer, please submit your prayer request to us at sidroth.org/pray or by calling or texting to 704-943-6503. >> We now return to “It’s Supernatural!” [Applause] SR: What did God show Jeremy that made the next time he spoke the most supernatural night of his life? Tell me about that. JJ: Sid, it was so wild. I had this passion to ignite a generation on fire for Jesus,

To know the God that I had met, and I couldn’t seem to do that. I tried everything that I could think of, and every time I would come to youth ministry as a youth pastor, the youth group would shrink. It was like I was the incredible shrinking church.

SR: You had what’s known as a membership drive. He was driving away the members. JJ: There you go. And I remember walking out, and the crowd was smaller. There were so many empty seats, and I just walked right back into my office, and I just remember beating on the wall

As if I was beating on God’s chest, saying, “God, You know my heart.” And I heard the Voice of God say, “Are you done yet? Are you done with all your ideas, all your clever sermons?” And I said, “God, I’m so done.

I didn’t sign up for this. I just want to help people.” And God said, “Okay, then let Me take over.” So He said, “Rip up your sermon. It’s not that good.” So I ripped it up, and He said, “When I –

When you go out there, I’m going to tell you what to say.” And I got the microphone, and when I got the microphone, the Lord said, “Call every sick person on the stage.” So I said, “Okay, God, these are teenagers. Not many of them are sick.”

That night over 30 kids filled the stage in wheelchairs and with sicknesses I had never seen, growths and broken legs, and God said, “Now pray for them.” And so that night, instead of a sermon I prayed for 30 kids on a stage. Sid, I can’t tell you, but it was wild.

Every kid, it’s like as I started praying, I didn’t even believe what I started. And as I started praying, one kid began to yell that, “Your hand is hot! Your hand it hot!” And I said, “God, it’s working. It’s working!” So I prayed, and one kid after another,

Kids were getting out of wheelchairs, throwing – And I’m telling you what, Sid, every kid in the room got saved that night. Every kid got filled with the Holy Spirit. It was – And I remember walking off the stage, and I heard the voice of God say, “Did you like that?”

I said, “God, I could do that with two kids. I loved that!” And so God told me, He said, “Okay, if you like that, instead of working this week, I want you to pray. So 8 hours a day, Jeremy, I want you” –

And I said, “God, I can’t. I’m a youth pastor here. I got a lot of jobs to do,” and God said – SR: A lot of work. JJ: “So you’re telling Me your church will let you go if you pray?” So I said, “Okay, God.”

So He said, “Okay, if anyone wants a meeting, have them come pray with you for an hour, and if they still need a meeting, then meet with them.” Well, guess what? No one really lasted the hour, and 8 hours a day I would pray. That next week, I came to youth service,

And that next week as I was preaching, a young man filled with a demon answered the altar call, and he was – He came to the front, and he then went to the middle of the crowd, and he started dragging a girl out of the crowd.

And I didn’t know what to do, so I just started praying, started praying the Spirit. Within seconds the kid with the demon was at my feet begging me to stop. Well, there’s one thing I didn’t do, Sid. I didn’t stop. I put my head on his head. He flipped backwards and started squirming

All over the front of the aisle, filled with the demon. I said, “Lord, what do I do?” He said, “Well, send him in the back room and have your associate cast it out.” So I was so thankful. “Thank You, Jesus.” My associate went in the back room.

He said instantly, the demon came out of the kid, and I said, “God, why did You have me do that?” He said, “Because he was trying to take over the service where I was going to set people free.” And so that night I told all the teenagers, “See? I told you, it’s real.”

Every teenager got saved again that night, and as I was walking back, God said, “Did you like that?” I said, “No, God, I didn’t like that, but I’m so glad You’re with me.” And He said, “Then pray another week.” So I said, “God, another week?” So for another week, 8 hours a day,

By the second day I noticed the lights were on in my – off on my secretary’s office, and I looked out, and she was praying, too. And then the next day, 10 teenagers showed up, and they began to pray with me, too.

By the end of the week, Sid, we had over 100 teenagers gathered in that room, crying out to Jesus. I’ll tell you what, Sid, we didn’t need flyers anymore. I didn’t need cool, catchy things anymore. We didn’t even have to have the free pizza anymore. Kids were coming to Jesus

Because they met a Jesus who sets free, who heals, who is alive and well and supernatural. [Applause] JJ: That’s when God took over our youth ministry. SR: Boy, I’ll tell you something on what you just said, especially towards the end, it was like the level of the presence of God started rising.

He’s up to something important. It’s time to silence fear. Whether you’re a student, have a secular job or a housewife or in ministry, you have an amazingly good destiny. When we return, Jeremy will teach revelation knowledge about the spirit of fear and pray for you to be fear-free, fearless. Be right back.

[Music] [Applause] >> We will be right back to “It’s Supernatural!” >> Call or go online at sidroth.org, and you can start walking in the fullness of your God-given destiny with Jeremy Johnson’s brand-new book, “Declare War on Fear: Dethrone the Spirit of Fear That Wars Against Your Destiny,” plus receive his brand-new and exclusive three-part audio CD teaching series, “Become the Devil’s Greatest Fear,”

Yours for a donation of $35. Shipping and handling is included. Ask for offer number 9898. JJ: Fear is not going to go away by leaving it alone. You must dethrone the spirit of fear. You must declare war on fear. God told me this. He said, “David didn’t just fight Goliath. He killed Goliath.”

You’re going to become a giant-killer. It’s time to stand up and get some new ammunition. >> Kick fear out of your life for good with Jeremy’s new book and exclusive audio CD series that will show you how to overcome the taunts of fear and silence the intimidation that keeps you

From having more abundance in your life; confront fear with the Heavenly power of perfect love; be delivered from the shackles of fear and instead walk in confidence and joy; be healed from wounds received in church, within families and at work and be set free from the hurt of rejection by others;

Move quickly from feelings of suffering as a victim and stand victorious; neutralize fear’s greatest weapons of anxiety, depression and worry; defeat fear, so you can move in the miraculous and fully release your destiny; dethrone the spirit of fear that has attacked you and tries to take over your life;

Make the devil run, the demons flee and make hell nervous as you live a fearless life. JJ: Fear has been the greatest battle in my life. I really believe that through my story, you will find your fearless self. I encourage you today, if you’re tired of it,

Why not make a new decision and declare war on fear yourself? >> Call or go online at sidroth.org and receive the brand-new book by Jeremy Johnson “Declare War on Fear: Dethrone the Spirit of Fear That Wars Against Your Destiny,” plus receive his brand-new and exclusive three-part audio CD teaching series

“Become the Devil’s Greatest Fear,” yours for a donation of $35. Shipping and handling is included. Ask for offer number 9898, or send your check to Sid Roth “It’s Supernatural!” P.O. Box 39222, Charlotte, North Carolina 28278. Please specify offer number 9898. >> We now return to “It’s Supernatural!” [Applause] SR: Okay, Jeremy. JJ: Yes? SR: What would you say is the devil’s greatest fear? JJ: I believe the devil’s greatest fear is a fearless you. The devil is more afraid of you than you are of fear, and really the devil is afraid

Of you finding out your identity in Christ. The Bible is very clear that, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Well, fear is just awe. It’s just worship. When we worship God, we have to worship nothing else. When we fear the Lord, we have to fear nothing else.

Here’s how I say it. Both your worry and your worship enthrone a spirit, and for far too long, I’ve enthroned the spirit of fear in my worry. But God is saying, “If you’ll declare war on fear, and you’ll become a son or daughter, and you’ll worship

Me, then you can dethrone fear and put Me back on the throne.” Sid, for a long time, I looked at the brokenness of my life and thought, “How could God see anything great in me?” I brought something on the show that I didn’t tell you about, but –

SR: No. JJ: – the Lord told me to bring a puzzle on the show. See, I believe that life is kind of like a 1,000-piece puzzle, and at first it’s clean and nice, but after a while, life has a way of dumping out on us,

And it’s a little bit here and a little bit there, and I’ve found that many times, I’m trying to go God with my piece. I don’t know if you can see that in the camera, but many times, I try to go to God with my piece,

And I say, “God, what do You see in this? How could this ever be used? God, I was cut here. I was wounded here. I was abused here. I was walked out on here, and for many years, I’ve been trying to put the puzzle together

And find greatness in it, and it causes fear, fear and anxiety and depression and worry.” And the Bible says this, if you give your life to Him, you’ll find it, but if you keep it, you’ll lose it because I’ve found that only the master of the piece

Has the ability to see the picture – SR: The whole picture. JJ: – at the end – [Applause] JJ: – while you hold the brokenness. And, Sid, I just feel like for someone out there that is watching this, and you’ve lost the top of the box.

You’ve lost sight, or maybe you’ve never even seen – SR: The picture. JJ: – the picture of what – see, God – Vision gives purpose to pain, and when God begins to show you the vision of what He has from the pieces – See, when you look at a puzzle finished,

You never are you really awed by the picture. It’s really that you’re awed by – that someone would take the time to put 1,000 pieces together, that they had the masterful eye to see wholeness in the brokenness, and that’s our God. That’s our Jesus. [Applause] JJ: Can I say something to them?

If you’re watching right now, I just felt like this was for you. This wasn’t a part of this – the moment, but I felt the Lord said, “Bring a puzzle and dump it out on Sid’s new table.” And maybe you’re watching and you feel like this,

And you don’t know how God could ever use you, and fear keeps lying and lying and lying. Well, I dare you today to declare war on fear and to pursue Jesus – [Applause] JJ: – and to say, “Jesus, I give You not just the good parts of me, but I give

You all of me. I give You the brokenness. I give You the addiction. I give You that pain when I was 5. I give You that death that I went through in my family. I give You my broken marriage,” and you watch what the master of the piece is going to do.

I just prophesy right now. I prophesy over that person that, at a young age, you went through a trauma. You went through tragedy. I see you out playing with your friends, and someone got hurt, or someone got hit by a car even, and there’s trauma that’s there.

There’s triggers that come with simple things. You purposely lock yourself away. The gifts of God in you have been stopped because of you stopping them and allowing the enemy to rule through the throne of your ear, and you speak out what he tells you.

And I just declare right now, in Jesus’ Name, over your life, I declare every stronghold broken. I declare every chain broken. I declare trauma be healed. God, even use the pain. God, use the scars, use the wounds. See, the thing I want to tell you is that my Jesus,

He does not come to make bad people good, but to make dead people live. When I met Him – [Applause] JJ: – at 17 on those railroad tracks, I didn’t go from being bad to good. I went from being dead to being alive, and God wants to give you that same life today.

If you’re there watching this, and you are riddled with fear, God wants to remove the death and the fear and the anxiety and the depression, and He wants to replace it with joy, life to the abundance, freedom, and all you have to do right there is receive that gift.

If you’re watching, if you’d pray this prayer with me – Dear Jesus. SR: Dear Jesus. JJ: Today. >> Today. JJ: Come into my life. >> Come into my life. JJ: Remove all the death. >> Remove all the death. JJ: Remove all the fear. >> Remove all the fear. JJ: Remove the shame.

>> Remove the shame. JJ: Be my Lord. >> Be my Lord. JJ: And my Savior. >> And my Savior. JJ: Here’s my life. >> Here’s my life. JJ: I hand it to You. >> I hand it to You. JJ: Use it. >> Use it. JJ: For Your Glory. >> For Your Glory.

JJ: I want to be fearless. >> I want to be fearless. JJ: Amen. SR: Amen. [Applause]

#Destroy #Fear #Satans #WORST #Nightmare

The Untold Truth Of Fallen Angels



Pop culture is filled with depictions of fallen angels, once holy beings that have succumbed to sin. But how and why did the idea of fallen angels even come about in the first place? Here’s the untold truth of fallen angels.

Fallen angels are basically angels that have given up on the good and righteous path and turned to evil, right? Well, not necessarily. It’s true that Jewish and Christian traditions believe that fallen angels were originally just as holy as any of the other angels, but fell when the most beautiful of them – Lucifer

– decided to rebel and enticed others to go with him. But in Hindu traditions, it’s a little different. They believe that the creator god, Brahma, actually made some angelic beings good and some evil from the very beginning. Why? Because it’s meant to illustrate the natural order of things, and balance in the universe.

And fallen angels don’t even exist in Islam, where traditions says that all angels are good, including the ones tasked with overseeing those whose evil souls have landed them in hell. These angels are lording over hell, yes, but they aren’t fallen, as they are still doing divine work.

There’s another explanation for Satan there, too, and it basically says he’s not an angel, he’s a jinn: a creature made from fire and free will. Put a pin in that, because there will be more about this pesky “free will” stuff later.

Historically, those who believe in fallen angels typically have believed them to be responsible for things like tempting mortals into sin. And fallen angels are tricky about it, too, sometimes masquerading as good angels as they torment and tempt. How do believers know all this?

Well, these days, most of it comes from the non-canonical Book of Enoch, which was written about 350 B.C. The text claims to be the revelations of Enoch, who was taken up to heaven and told the universe’s deepest secrets, then shown just what would happen during mankind’s ultimate judgment.

Enoch shows up in other texts as well, which claim he lived to be 365 years old, and eventually told his tales to his son, Methuselah, who lived to be an impressive 969 years old. Strangely, even though the stories of Enoch were influenced by the mythology of places

Like Babylon and, in turn, influenced Judaism and Christianity, the only place that all 100 chapters of the book survived was Ethiopia. And among those chapters was a fascinating explanation on fallen angels. One of the most widely told tales of fallen angels says it was Lucifer who rebelled against

God and brought a bunch of angels down with him, but the story told in the Book of Enoch is very, very different. It tells a story of lust. According to the Book of Enoch, long before the Great Flood, angels and humans met and mingled pretty commonly, and the inevitable happened: children.

Those sons and daughters of angels were a race of 450-foot-tall giants. The angels started teaching their giant offspring evil ways, and God not only imprisoned them, but subjected them to judgment and sent the flood to hit the reset button on his creations.

Enoch, the story says, tried to speak on behalf of the angels and their giant children, but sadly, a lot of the texts are missing. We do know that Enoch was the one God selected to act as an intermediary to the fallen angels,

Instructing him to tell them what their punishment would be for their transgressions. They were to be condemned to the ends of the earth, with an eternity of punishment to follow. Early Jewish writers considered Enoch to be a prophet, but when Christianity started to

Adopt his teachings, he largely fell out of favor with Judaism. Christian writers then took the Book of Enoch with them when they converted isolated areas of Ethiopia in the fourth and fifth centuries. Though the Book of Enoch was lost to the rest of the world, it was preserved in Ethiopia,

And was finally brought back to Europe in 1773. In the meantime, though, with the Book of Enoch to guide them, Christian scholars and writers had centuries to let their imaginations go wild, leading them to the really convoluted origin of Satan as a fallen angel. See, that’s not actually in the Bible.

But theologians turned themselves into pretzels trying to explain how Satan exists in the first place. The reasoning went like this: God created everything in the universe, and therefore, God created Satan. But the only things God creates are good things, so therefore, Satan must have been good at one point.

He also needed to have the free will to turn bad. But since he clearly wasn’t human, he must therefore have been a fallen angel. Clearly, these scholars went to the Princess Bride school of logic and reasoning. “You must have studied, and in studying you must have learned that man is mortal, so you

Would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me!” Oh, and once more, there’s that free will thing. Don’t worry, it’ll come up again! According to the Book of Enoch, the first batch of fallen angels was each responsible

For teaching humanity about a specific sin. Asbeel, for example, was repsonsible for teaching humanity about sex, so thanks very much for that. Tamiel, on the other hand, taught humanity about demons and spirits. And then there’s Shernihaza, who is apparently responsible for that race of giant half-angels.

Those giants, if you remember, led to the imprisonment and punishment of the fallen, as well as the Great Flood, which was brought to cleanse Earth of their gigantic sins. Perhaps the strangest fallen angel of all, though, was Penemue, who was credited with

Giving mankind something that led to all kinds of evil: the written language. With writing came knowledge, and that, of course, is really really bad, because it might lead to…free will. The big lesson you’re apparently supposed to learn from fallen angels?

That knowledge and free will are bad and will get you killed, so the only way to remain safe is to choose ignorance and obedience. Funny how that works. Maybe the biggest diversion The Book of Enoch takes from the regular Bible is its depiction of the Garden of Eden and the fall of mankind.

Everyone knows the traditional story from the Bible: a serpent, usually associated with Satan, tempts Eve into eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (there’s that whole knowledge is bad thing again) and then, boom, goodbye, paradise!

In the Book of Enoch, though, it’s not Satan who tempts Eve, it’s a fallen angel named Gadreel. And then this jerk also went on to give humanity weapons and armor and teach us all how to kill each other. Sounds like Gadreel has a lot to answer for! Quick, describe a fallen angel!

There are probably some scowly faces, bat-like wings, maybe even some horns or cloven hooves, right? Maybe a double chin…who knows. But it wasn’t always like that. In early Christian art, fallen angels looked pretty much the same as their holier counterparts.

One of the earliest representations of the idea that there were angels and fallen angels opposing each other in an otherworldly battle is featured in an ancient mosaic in Italy. Jesus is in the middle, and on one side is an angel in red with some sheep, representing the home team.

On the other side are the bad guys, a figure thought to be Lucifer or Satan, standing with some goats. He’s wearing blue, which is the color of the damned, plus he has goats, so we know he’s the bad guy, but otherwise he doesn’t seem all that bad.

The mosaic even suggests fallen angels kept their iconic halos, which at the time were a symbol of power, not holiness. It wasn’t until the middle ages that images of fallen angels started turning more grotesque. During that time, something weird happened: Creatures from ancient Babylonian texts, called

Lilitu, began to be associated with Adam’s non-canonical first wife, Lilith. At the same time, parallels were drawn between Satan and the ancient Canaanite deity Beelzebub, and the ancient Roman half-goat, half-man god of nature, Pan. In the 14th Century, these pop culture influences led Dante to describe Satan as lording over

The depths of hell while sporting bat wings. And that in turn influenced the 17th century author John Milton to describe fallen angels in his work Paradise Lost as the sort of grody monsters we think of today. Remember those theologians who turned themselves inside out trying to explain how Satan existed?

Well, they faced the same issue with the rest of the fallen angels, and came up with some typically convoluted explanations. Until the 12th century, “pride” was the typical answer as to why fallen angels fell. But that meant God would have had to create something with a crippling, all-powerful amount

Of pride, and that didn’t fly. So scholars came up with the idea that angels had been created with a natural love that allowed them to love God, themselves, and each other. It’s the last part that scholars in the Middle Ages believe caused the fall of the angels.

After Lucifer fell because his love was a selfish love of power, the other angels who fell did so because they loved Lucifer. God was largely an absent, distant figure, after all, and Lucifer was their friend. Rather than condemning themselves to struggle for the acceptance of an unreachable father,

Perhaps they followed their brother into exile. It’s kind of heartbreaking, when you think about it, especially once you add love to free will and knowledge as things too dangerous for mortals to contemplate. According to the Mirabilia Journal, one of the most convoluted bits of theology that

Grew up around the legend of fallen angels is the way Christian writers used it to excuse and promote the persecution of the LGBTQ community. Scholars have long debated about whether fallen angels and demons are capable of love, with many believing that instead, fallen angels are consumed with lust, a desire to use others

For their own ends. Indeed, Christian writers as far back as the apostle Paul himself warned women about the danger of attracting the attention of a lusty fallen angel. But since they didn’t write anything about fallen angels having lust for members of their

Own gender, early scholars decided that meant that there was something so fundamentally wrong about the idea that even fallen angels wouldn’t do it. This kind of self-satisfied circular logic was used as an excuse for centuries of persecution, which still continues today.

Our contemporary view of fallen angels might suggest that they kind of got off easy. After all, though they might be in hell, they aren’t exactly at the mercy of the demons there, because they…kind of are those demons, right? Well, not exactly.

According to the Jewish Virtual Library, the seven archangels (those are the leaders of the good angels who stayed loyal to God) count the punishing of the fallen angels among their heavenly duties. Each one of the archangels was in charge of particular facets of the otherworldly life:

Jeremiel, for example, keeps watch over the souls in the underworld, while Michael protects Israel, Gabriel is the overseer of Paradise, and Uriel leads the host. They’re the ones with direct access to God, and they’re also in charge of punishing the fallen. Punish how?

Take Azazel, who according to some sources was the one who taught mankind how to make weapons rather than Gadreel. According to the Watkins Dictionary of Angels, Azazel was punished by Raphael, who put him in chains, threw him in a pit full of sharp rocks in the middle of the desert, and brought

The darkness down on him while he waited for his condemnation after the final judgment. That doesn’t sound so great after all. And it’s a pretty steep price to pay for expressing love and free will! Better luck next time, fallen angels. Check out one of our newest videos right here!

Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don’t miss a single one.

#Untold #Truth #Fallen #Angels

Why You Need Jesus As Your Substitutionary Atonement — @MyNameIsJackieHill



How are you saints i heard about 1200 of you i said how are you  saints okay because i’ve seen about 50 of y’all   getting starbucks all day so i know you’re woke  uh i i i say this every tgc conference that i  

Have the opportunity to teach it i i need to let  you know i’m from a country called black church   okay you might have heard me say that before  what that means is when someone is speaking or   teaching it’s not a monologue it’s a conversation  okay so when when i say something that moves  

You in your spirit you have the right and  the authority and the permission to talk   back to me you can clap you can speak in the  tongue just find a translator but don’t throw don’t throw no shoes though okay you can do  everything else but don’t throw your shoes  

Up here unless i like them throw the other  one and i’m gonna take it take it back home   please turn in your bibles to genesis chapter 22. say amen when you got it sorry to get verse one it says after these things  god tested abraham and said to him abraham and he  

Said here i am he said take your son your only  son isaac whom you love and go to the land of   moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering  on one of the mountains of which i shall tell you  

So abraham rose early in the morning  saddled his donkey and took two of his   young men with him and his son isaac and he  cut the wood for the burnt offering and rose   and went to the place of which god had told  him on the third day abraham lifted up his eyes  

And saw the place from afar then abraham said  to his young men stay here with the donkey i   and the boy will go over there and worship and  come again to you and abraham took the wood of  

The burnt offering and laid it on isaac his son  and he took in his hand the fire and the knife so   they went both of them together and isaac said to  his father abraham my father and he said here i am  

My son he said behold the fire and the wood  but where is the lamb for a burnt offering   abraham said god will provide for himself the lamb  for a burnt offering my son so they went both of  

Them together when they came to the place of which  god had told him abraham built the altar there   and laid the wood in order and bound isaac his son  and laid him on the altar on top of the wood then  

Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to  slaughter his son but the angel of the lord called   to him from heaven and said abraham abraham and  he said here i am he said do not lay your hand on  

The boy or do anything to him for now i know that  you fear god seeing you have not withheld your son   your only son from me and abraham lifted up his  eyes and looked and behold behind him was a ram  

Caught in a thicket by his thorns horns and  abraham went and took the ram and offered it   up as a burnt offering instead of his son so  abraham called the name of that place the lord  

Will provide as it is said to this day on the  mount of the lord it shall be provided let’s   pray lord i thank you for this moment thank  you for your word i thank you for your spirit  

I thank you for your church i thank you for our  feelings and our emotions and how they are so   involved in the way we read your scriptures i pray  that you would do whatever it is that you want to  

Do with us in this moment i pray that you would  help me that you would use me that you would speak   in jesus name amen this narrative opens up  with the words after these things god tested  

Abraham i think before we even get to the nature  of the test we need to know something about the   one being tested we are introduced to abram his  original name in genesis 12. when out of nowhere  

God calls abram an idol worshiper to leave his  home leave his family leave his country and then   god gives abram a promise he tells them that he  will make him a great nation and that all the   families of the earth shall be blessed through  him we also learn some about his wife’s arrive  

And how she is barren they have no children which  makes god’s promise a smidge complicated because   if abram is going to be a nation then abram needs  a child in genesis 15 god speaks to abram again  

This time he expands on his original promise he  made he tells abram he’s going to give him a son   but not only that god gets all built now the  science guy on him and tells him to head outside  

Look at the stars and that the amount of stars  he sees is the amount of offspring abram will   have this is a big promise because remember abram  ain’t got no kids sarah’s womb is bearing barren  

So abraham is like god how i know that’s going  to happen this is the jhp version by the way so god backs up his promise by entering into  a covenant with abel a covenant is a promise   made between two parties to perform certain duties  one party might promise to share their resources  

Their strength and protection while the other  party promises their loyalty if abram were one   of us hypothetically speaking and he wanted  to buy a house in 2022. he would have to get   a realtor get on zillow redfin whatever’s  your your thing find a house hopefully his  

Credit score is in order that’s a word for some of  y’all know some of y’all in the 500s god is able   he’s able to do exceedingly and abundantly  above all we can never ask i think his lender  

Would then have to give him a decent loan to  purchase the house when it’s time to close on   the house he would sit down with a lawyer with  a realtor they would give him a big old stack of  

Papers for him to sign these papers and contracts  between him and the bank he’s getting the loan   from the contracts have a bunch of words but the  bank is basically saying hey we promise to give  

You this money you promise to give us the money  back if you don’t you’re going to be homeless so   when you purchase a home then you are entering  into a loose kind of covenant both parties  

Are making a promise to do a certain thing and  if one party fails to keep that promise there’s a   consequence in abram’s cultural context covenants  weren’t ratified by signing a bunch of contracts   they were a little bit more dramatic than that  what would happen is that uh they would get  

Some particular animals who would be killed sliced  in half laid side by side creating a path for both   parties to walk through the bodies by making a  covenant this way the parties were reenacting what  

Would happen to them if they didn’t do what they  said they would do is them saying if i don’t keep   my promise to you let me be put to death like  these dead animals that i just walked through   to establish his covenant with abram  then god has abram get a heifer  

A goat a ram two birds basically the whole  meat section of the grocery store and abram   cuts the animals in half except the birds because  that’s odd and lays them side by side usually both   parties that are ratifying the covenant would walk  through the animals but this time shockingly abram  

Isn’t awake for the ceremony abram goes into a  deep sleep similar to the one that adam went into   in genesis 3 and the bible says that a great and  dreadful darkness came over him but what i don’t  

Want you to do is take this as a abram laying  down and taking a nap taking going to bed it’s   probable as some commentators say that he is made  unconscious by god’s presence and as that happens   god manifests himself as a smoking  fire pot and a flaming torch and god  

Himself walks in between the dead animals  god himself all alone walks in between   their bodies walks in between their blood and  by doing so god is saying that he is putting   his very own nature on the line so as to make  sure that this covenant is maintained remember  

Abram asked god to give him evidence that god  was going to do what he said he would do and god   responded by saying if i don’t give you what  i promised you the blood will be on my hands  

Now that didn’t convince abram that god was worthy  to be trusted i don’t know what else god could do   moving forward you might be thinking okay now god  then showed up as a pot in the torch and walked  

Through some heifer blood sari is definitely  going to get pregnant next week but nope abram   and sarah just get old and older and older making  god’s promise seem that much more impossible   in genesis 17 when abram is 99 and sarai is 90  god shows up again adding even more specificity to  

His promise he tells abram that sarah will have a  son from her own womb whose name will be isaac in   genesis 18 god shows up again and tells abram now  named abraham that this time next year god will  

Give him a son sarai now called sarah was being a  little nosy don’t know if you remember the story   she heard what the lord had said and the text  says that by this time the way of women had  

Ceased with sarah what does that mean it means  sis ain’t got no time in the month no more okay her uterine lining ain’t shedding  nothing but dust she ain’t used always she ain’t had kotex in her cabinet in decades and now god is saying it’s a  women’s conference i can say that

Now god is saying she’s going to give birth  to a son which is absolutely crazy so sarah   laughs she like god must don’t know how old i am  how in the world am i going to have a whole baby  

This is one of my favorite parts of the bible  the lord says to abraham because sarah had   laughed when god said what he has said uh  god says why does sarah laugh is anything   too hard for the lord to which sarah responds  like she ain’t talking to god i didn’t laugh

Then god was like no but you did  let’s be clear but in all seriousness i think we all need to remember the reality of  god and that there is nothing too hard for him   all of us have something in our life  where this truth needs to be applied  

It may be the salvation of a family  member the restoration of a marriage   deliverance from addiction the opening of a  barren womb the resources to adopt the power   to forgive the ability to put to death your  favorite sins whatever it is god can do it  

Because this is the thing god is not like anyone  you have or will ever know he has no limitations   he is the one that made the heavens and the earth  he is the one who has all power he is completely  

Sovereign always strong and never tired but  unbelief will move you to construct a god in   your own image and therefore you will start  to believe that either god has a weakness and   cannot do the impossible or that god isn’t good  and therefore he won’t do the impossible for you  

Which isn’t to say though everything  we ask of god he is obligated to do   god is god so he has the right to move however  and whenever and wherever he pleases but the   challenge is this to believe that god is god  which means god can answer my impossible prayers  

And god can give me an impossible  faith to still trust him if he doesn’t   is anything too hard for the lord in genesis 22  or 21 the impossible happens it says the lord   visited sarah as he had said and the lord did  to sarah as he had promised and sarah conceived  

And bore abraham a son in his old age at the  time of which god had spoken god is not a liar   so by quickly walking through genesis chapter  12 to genesis 21 we are clear on three things  

God has promised to make a nation out of  abraham that all families of the earth will   be blessed through him and that god will do this  through abraham seed isaac with that in mind now   when we get to genesis 22 the first two verses  should be shocking it says after these things god  

Tested abraham and said to him take your son  your only son isaac whom you love and offer him   there as a burnt offering if you’re like me the  first time i read this passage i was like now god  

You promised this man that all nations of  the earth will be blessed through his seed   isaac you don’t make covenants you don’t walk  through blood and became pots and stuff and now   you’re telling him to sacrifice the son he done  waited decades for not only that god’s promise  

To abraham hinges on isaac being alive it’s  crazy but what helps us to give us some pause is   the beginning of this verse and how it begins by  saying that this is a test the concept of testing  

Is all throughout scripture usually it’s explicit  like in exodus when god said he allowed israel to   be in the wilderness for 40 years to test them or  in luke 4 when it says that the holy spirit led  

Jesus in the wilderness to be tested god tests for  two reasons usually to reveal and to refine when a   test is used to reveal something what is exposed  is whatever is in your heart testing reveals  

What you really believe if you really have faith  if there are a few idols hiding in a corner   somewhere a little pride that you didn’t know you  had which is such a merciful thing for god to do   because i don’t know if you know this we  tend to think really highly of ourselves  

The natural state of the sinner as described in  romans 1 is that we think we are wise when we are   full so we may have a self-conception that has  nothing to do with reality but also we can get  

Therapy we can take enneagram tests enneagram  three wing four and b as be as self-aware as   possible and even then it is impossible for you  to discern everything about yourself so in god’s   sovereign compassion he will allow your kids  to act up so you can see how impatient you are  

He’ll let your money get funny so you can discern  your greed or your distrust in god’s provision   tests reveal but tests also refine peter  said in first peter 1 6 though now for   a little while if necessary you have been  grieved by various trials so that the tested  

Genuineness of your faith more precious than gold  that perishes though it is tested by fire imagine   who you’d be if you didn’t go through anything if  your faith was never challenged if life never got   hard intense if you never had any angst or  confusion or anxiety about what to do or where  

To go and and who to trust without the refiners  fire what would the quality of your life look like   i can bet that it might be easier but  would it be fruitful why because tests   purify your faith it is only fire that refines  gold and it is only trials that will refine  

You and yes i know trust me no discipline seems  enjoyable at the time but it will yield the   peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who  are trained by it circling back to genesis 22   since this narrative is fr as a test we can know  that whatever god is doing with abraham it will  

Reveal something to him and reveal something out  of him and what greater test is there for abraham   than for god to tell him to sacrifice his son the  son he loves note that this is the first mention  

Of the word love in the bible which is really  fascinating to me that it’s set in the context of   sacrifice and not self-centeredness but that’s a  completely different conversation anyone one thing   about this test is that if you’re  familiar with abraham’s story at all  

If you followed his life up until this point you  know that this test actually isn’t unfamiliar   do you remember when god commanded abraham in  the beginning in genesis 14 what he commanded   him to do he told him to leave his country leave  his family leave his home and go where god wanted  

Him to go abraham then is well acquainted with  god telling him to sacrifice stuff that he loves   since abraham was called he was repeatedly tested  so even though sacrificing isaac is an extreme   test god didn’t start there he has been readying  abraham’s faith so as the test got more intense he  

Had the stamina to endure it charles spurgeon said  this he said the lord knows how to educate you up   to such a point that you can endure in your  years to come what you could not endure today  

Just as today he may make you stand firm under a  burden which ten years ago would have crushed you   into dust perhaps this is the reason you don’t he  read anything about abraham pushing back or asking  

Questions he just he just gets up and obeys verse  three abraham rose early in the morning saddled   his donkey and took two of his men with him and  his son isaac and they cut the wood for the burnt  

Offering and arose and went to the place of which  god had told him in other words abraham obeyed   immediately why because he had faith the writer  of hebrews says that faith is the assurance of  

Things hoped for the conviction of things not seen  another way to see it is that faith is an inner   certainty regarding things you cannot see that  engages your will leading you to act in relation   to what you believe i’ll say it again because  y’all taking notes faith is an inner certainty  

Regarding things you cannot see that engages your  will leading you to act in relation to what you   believe for example you ever seen one of those  team-building exercises called the trust fall   it’s weird basically one person stands on  a platform with their eyes clock closed and  

Their arms folded looks like they’re  about to die beneath them behind them   are co-workers or their team standing in the line  with their arms out ready to catch not the bouquet   but the person the reason it’s a trust fall is  that the person on the platform can’t see nobody  

Can’t see the people behind them so they have  to trust what they cannot see but it wouldn’t   be enough for them to just say they trusted their  team like yeah i trust you and stay there that’s   not good enough words are easy trust is actually  realized when the person chooses to fall backwards  

The inner certainty gave them confidence that  their team would catch them even though they   couldn’t see them and that certainty engaged  their will which was why they chose to fall i   use this example because faith cannot be separated  from behavior faith is at work in abraham because  

Remember god has made him a promise and isaac  is a pivotal piece of that promise is isaac dies   the promise does too the irrationality of it all  doesn’t seem to hinder abraham though i think any  

Rational person would be like um god this test  ain’t it there has to be another way tell people   to steal my donkeys and burn down my tents but  don’t make me sacrifice my son but the thing  

Is abraham isn’t like me he doesn’t barter with  god he is certain that god is going to do what   he said he would do because he is god so because  he believes and trusts god he behaves accordingly  

It says that he woke up early in the morning  cut the wood that he would sacrifice his son on   and he goes to the place that god told him to  go to then we finally get an idea of what’s in  

Abraham’s mind in verses five and six look at  it it says on the third day abraham lifted up   his eyes and saw the place from afar then abraham  said to his young men stay here with the donkey  

I and the boy will go over there and worship  and come again to you do you hear his faith   somewhere in between god telling him to sacrifice  isaac and him getting the wood he has concluded   that after he has killed his son isaac is  going to come back how does he know that  

Who or what is he trusting to make  him so certain it’s simple he believes   god not merely the promise of god but the person  of god because the promise is only trustworthy   because the one who made the promise cannot lie  so so it’s the very nature of god that abraham has  

Considered and in so doing he has reckoned that  because god cannot lie he is obviously going to do   something to ensure that isaac ultimately doesn’t  die the writer of hebrews said this by faith   abraham when he was tested offered up isaac  and he who had received the promises was in  

The act of offering up his only son of whom it was  said through isaac shall your offspring be named   he considered that god was able even to raise  him from the dead wait we are in genesis 22 right  

Amen no yes okay so we are centuries before  elijah raises a widow’s son from the dead   we are we are centuries more for when jesus  raised lazarus easter ain’t on abraham’s radar   he don’t got a clue about pastel outfits and shiny  white shoes there has yet there has yet to be an  

Empty tomb for him to base his faith on so how  is it then that abraham knew the very concept of   resurrection was even possible i think that before  abraham rose early in the morning while he thought  

About what god was calling him to do and that it  meant that he have to put his son to death i think   i think abraham remembered his own body and  how god had brought life from death before  

So surely he could do it again unless you think  i’m just making up stuff i want you to remind   your romans 4 19 which says this he abraham did  not weaken in faith when he considered his own  

Body which was as good as dead or when he  considered the barrenness of life or lifelessness   of sarah’s womb the word dead here literally  means corpse-like so then god had to resurrect   their bodies in a real sense so as to give  them the power to create life in the form of  

Isaac abraham had the audacity to say that  he and isaac would go worship and return   because he remembered that god had did it before  in 1953 this guy by the name of henry malaysian   went in for brain surgery to treat his  epilepsy during the procedure the doctor  

Removed a piece of henry’s brain affected  his memory especially his short-term memory   and one recording a doctor doing a study this  on netflix by the way i ain’t making it up a doctor doing a study on the brain in  memory asked henry if he remembered what  

He did yesterday henry said i don’t know the  doctor asked him again what he did that morning   henry said i don’t remember that either then they  asked him if he knew what he’d do tomorrow to   which henry responded whatever is beneficial you’d  expect henry to have some kind of loose schedule  

I’m gonna wake up i’m gonna get some coffee  i’ma watch the news but he didn’t because   henry couldn’t tell you what he would do tomorrow  because he couldn’t remember what he did yesterday   he answered the question the way that he did  because the portion of henry’s brain that was  

Removed affected henry’s ability to make new  memories and since henry couldn’t remember the   past he had no context for how to imagine  his future without his memories henry had   no expectation when abraham thought about the  sacrifice that he had to make in the future  

He remembered the resurrection in the past and  that if god could do a miracle then then god   could do a miracle now almost all of us have  a hard time trusting god to do what he said  

He would do in his word through his son and  it might be because we have a memory problem   how quickly we forget that he made the heavens and  the earth that he split the sea and delivered his  

People out of bondage how he brought life from a  dead womb we forget how faithful he’s been to us   and our family how he’s provided for us when we  didn’t even ask how he’s protected us from all  

Kinds of mess but when trials show up now all of  a sudden is i don’t know if god is going to come   through i don’t know if god is going to do this  i don’t know if god is going to do that i don’t  

Know if god is going to show up hasn’t god always  showed up hasn’t god always been good hasn’t god   always been faithful just because you change your  mind every six seconds doesn’t mean that god does  

He is the same god today as he was yesterday  some of us don’t need to fast we need to remember   and it isn’t isn’t this true that the word  of god has provided for us 66 books worth  

Of memories of who god is and how god works which  will inform our faith so that we can obey without   hesitation because abraham has faith in his  god he is willing to sacrifice his only son the text says abraham took  the word of the burnt offering  

And laid it on his son isaac he took in his hand  the fire and the knife and they went both of them   together to the place that god had told  him i want to be clear about something   a burnt offering was a total sacrifice there  were other offerings that would allow you  

To sacrifice an animal and the priest  could take a portion of it home to eat   but a burnt offering was the one offering where  the whole animal was totally consumed the process   went something like this as described in leviticus  1 a male animal without blemish was taken  

The offerer would lay his hand on the animal which  was symbolic of the transferring of the offer   ascends onto the sacrifice an act of atonement  then they’d kill the animal blood would be   collected and thrown on the altar then the animal  would be cut into pieces and arranged on the wood  

Then the animal would be burned and totally  consumed and as the smoke of the animal   rose towards heaven it was said to be a pleasing  aroma to the lord and god told abraham to do that  

To his son the son he loved if this were not a  test god’s character would be questionable at best   seeing that god himself said that human sacrifice  was detestable in deuteronomy 12 and 18.   but since it is a test sacrificing isaac or at  least being willing to do it resolves god of any  

Guilt and refines abraham of any potential sin  this test solidifies abraham’s loyalty to god   over and above love for his son it is clear  that abraham has a deep affection for isaac   god even acknowledges it by saying take  your son your only son isaac whom you love  

And this love is natural this love is good  we should love our children they are good   gifts from a creative god but how easy it is  to take these good gifts and make them god   isaac was special he was the promised  child the seed through whom the whole world  

Would be blessed abraham had parted ways with  his son ishmael years earlier so this was the   only son he had and maybe god knew abraham’s  potential abraham was an idol worshiper before   he was called so it wouldn’t have been out of  character for him to worship something other than  

God maybe god knew that the son he loved could  become the lord he worshiped so to set him free   from any inkling of idolatry god had to put him in  a position to choose and he did he built the altar

He laid the wood he took some rope and wrapped  it around his son’s body so he couldn’t move   and i can only imagine the pain because it  wouldn’t be a sacrifice if it didn’t hurt   a sacrifice isn’t a sacrifice  if it doesn’t cost you something  

This body on this altar is his boy who  he saw every day ate dinner with every   night on the altar he probably looked at  him and saw his own features in his face   alongside fear but either way even with all the  faith in the world sacrificing what you love is  

Devastating but even then god must be worthy of it  all and abraham knows that so with inner certainty   engaging his will leading him to act in a way that  is relative to what he believes he takes the knife  

Ready to slaughter his son then he hears his  name verse 11 abraham abraham and he said   here i am he said do not lay your hand on  the boy or do anything to him for now i know   that you fear god seeing you have not  withheld your son your only son from me  

If there was any doubt who abraham’s god was  this moment made it clear god had refined   abraham’s heart removing any other allegiances  and now he’d revealed it to for god to say   i know that you fear god this anthropomorphic  language god knows everything so it doesn’t  

Mean that god didn’t know it it means that  god is affirming that abraham’s faith is real   and isn’t that what we all want the affirmation  that our faith is authentic because there are   those who will present themselves before jesus  with a bunch of evidence for why they deserve  

Glory did not prophesy in your name did not cast  out demons and perform miracles on your name i   think some of us in this room we would say god  did not preach and expose at the passage correctly  

Did not tithe didn’t i go to seminary and  lead worship and go on mission trips and   vote though certain ways surely that’s proof  of my faith all of which looks impressive   it looks like power it looks like the fruit of  faith but jesus turns to these kinds of people  

And calls them workers of lawlessness god forbid  you have to wait till judgment to find out who   you really are but the irony of it is this the  very act of looking to what you’ve done for jesus  

As evidence of that you know jesus might be the  proof that you don’t because the truly faithful   ones know that they have never done anything  apart from jesus so when they stand before god   they stand before him like the men and the parable  of the talent saying this is what i’ve done with  

What you have given me and do you know what  the master will say to them he’ll say well done   my good and faithful servant and that  is the point of everything my friends   when all the tests and all the trials and all  the pain and all the angst and all the discipline  

And all the suffering is over the point of it  all is that the god of the glory the judge of   the universe the one who cannot lie seated on the  judgment say will say i know that you fear god  

Verse 13 and abraham lifted up his eyes and  looked and behold behind him was a ram caught   in a thicket by his stars and abraham went and  took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering   instead of his son so abraham called the  name of that place the lord will provide  

This moment right here is an  act of substitutionary atonement   instead of isaac being sacrificed  the ram is killed in his place   with substitution one person takes the place of  another bearing the penalty that we reserved for   someone else if isaac was killed as a burnt  offering a few things would have happened  

He would have experienced the death and thus  he would have been separated from his father   he also would have experienced the desecration  of his body as it burned in the fire   and all of this would have happened at  the hands of his father it is because  

God provided the ram that saved isaac from death  separation and destruction but there’s a problem   with all of this sacrificing the burnt offering  functioned as atonement abram and isaac were both   sinners and the wages of sin is dead god’s  justice had to be satisfied by virtue of blood  

Being spilled a life being taken either their  own life or somebody else’s life so the realm   was not only sacrificed instead of isaac before  isaac but even then the ram wasn’t good enough   why because hebrew 10 4 says it is impossible  for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin  

Meaning that this ram though it was a sacrifice it  wasn’t a sufficient one if anything this ram was a   shadow pointing forward to a better sacrifice  one that would not be accomplished by jehovah  

Providing a ram in a bush but by jehovah jireh  providing his son in the flesh and who is this son   i’ll tell you first of all the son was  born to a woman by virtue of a miracle  

His mother wasn’t barren but she was a virgin  named mary who by all accounts should not have   been able to get pregnant seeing as though she  had not been with a man but because nothing is   too hard for the lord she conceived by  the power of the spirit the son grew up  

Learned obedience through what he suffered  being tested by the devil to turn stones   into bread and to worship and thus love  anything more than god but he resisted   every single time to which god publicly affirmed  that his son’s faith was real by saying that this  

Is my beloved son with whom i am well pleased by  then or but then the scenario for which the son   habit was born came to pass the night before the  son had prayed to his daddy prayed to his father  

Said that he wanted this cup to pass from him  he was in a position where he had to choose he   had to choose either his will or his father’s will  and he did this son was made to carry his own wood  

On his own back as he walked toward the top of  a mountain and while up there this son’s body   was secured to the woods so that he couldn’t  move the people said if you are the son of god  

Come down the cross what they didn’t understand  is if he came down they would have had to go up   in his place not dying for them but receiving  the penalty of death that belonged to us because  

It’s easy to forget that since i was born a sinner  and the wages of sin is death that if jesus did my   sins i would have had to pay for my own that even  if i sinned once that meant i deserve the judgment  

That through this death i would be eternally  separated from the life of the father that i would   endure the the pain and the desecration of eternal  destruction and that all of this would happen   at the hands of god the father but for these  people to tell jesus to come down the cross  

They clearly didn’t realize that if he came down  there would be no substitution and that the reason   he stayed is because he loved them to death maybe  they didn’t remember that day when abraham was   asleep and god himself walked through a line  of death walked through blood making it known  

That he was going to keep his promise and do you  know what on the cross god got blood on his hands   god became man so that he could die so as to  maintain a covenant relationship with his people  

There he was god in the flesh being killed like  an animal being slaughtered like the animals   that he walked through becoming a lamb that he  promised to be and there were no rams this time   there was no voice to cry out from heaven to  stop it there was only silence and then those  

Three hours and the dreadful darkness of god’s  presence was the only begotten son whose very own   father was pleased to crush him jesus became  sin so that you could be declared righteous   jesus died so that you could have life jesus  was bruised so you could be healed jesus rose  

From the dead so that you could too that is  the beauty of substitution jesus is the ram   and the bush and jesus is the son who returned  from the dead to worship with his daddy and now   it is through this son jesus that all  who have faith in his name are called  

The sons and daughters of abraham and look at us a  people from every tribe and every tongue and every   nation a church that has lasted for centuries  with millions of saints that have gone before  

Us and who will come after us and if you just look  into the crowd don’t we look like stars what god   promised to abraham in genesis 12  has been realized in us the children   of the promise is there anything too hard for  the lord lord we thank you for this day we thank  

You for your faithfulness we thank you for your  nature and how you have revealed it through christ   by the spirit in the scriptures we pray god that  this would be more than words that this would be  

More than knowledge that it would actually inform  the way we do life the way we love people the way   we engage on social media the way we engage with  our families and our friends in our local churches  

I pray that it even changes the way we pray that  we would pray with power that we will pray with   confidence knowing that we are praying to a good  and a faithful god we love you in jesus name amen

#Jesus #Substitutionary #Atonement #MyNameIsJackieHill

Is Jesus Divine? 30% of “Evangelicals” Say No.



NICHOLS: You know, you’ve heard people say—I’ve heard people say all sorts of things about who Christ is. And in our State of Theology survey, one of the statements that we put on the survey directly gets at who Jesus Christ is.

And the statement is this: “Jesus was a great teacher, but he is not God”. Now, when we put that survey to the general U.S. population, 52%—that’s the majority—agree with that statement. That’s to say that the majority of Americans espouse a heretical view of the person of Christ.

And this is a truly crucial, essential doctrine, because the person of Christ is behind the work of Christ. When we’re talking about the work of Christ, we’re talking about the gospel. And without the true gospel, people are lost, and they are without hope in this world, and they are facing eternal damnation.

There could be nothing more important than getting the doctrine of the work and person of Christ right. And as this survey shows, there’s a lot of false understanding and confusion out there about who Christ is. But what’s even more tragic about this survey is that we put that same question to evangelicals.

Now, when you hear us use that term of “evangelicals” in this survey, let me explain to you what that means. It’s not someone just simply checking a box. We actually attached at the end of the survey four questions which have historically served as sort of a grid to identify evangelicals.

There’s a question regarding biblical authority; a question regarding the necessity of evangelism; there’s a statement regarding who Christ is and His atoning death on the cross; and then, fourthly, the exclusivity of Christ, that only faith in Christ can lead to salvation.

So, people who strongly affirm all four of those, they get considered “evangelicals.” We can pull that data out separately and analyze that. And here’s the tragedy. When it comes to that statement, “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God,”

Thirty percent, three out of 10, almost a third of evangelicals agree with that statement. So here are folks who want to say, “Yes, we must have the death of Christ in order to be saved. It is absolutely necessary for this work of Christ.”

But then they turn around, and they’re just so confused that they affirm a heretical view of who Christ is. What are we to do with this? What’s the takeaway? All of this underscores the importance of our studying the doctrine of Christology and teaching the doctrine of Christology.

We just can’t assume that folks sitting in our churches and the Christians we know and our family will just “get it” by osmosis. We have to be intentional and programmatic about teaching this cardinal doctrine. Because if this survey tells us anything, it tells us that we’ve got a lot of work

To be doing.

#Jesus #Divine #Evangelicals

Philosophy: Problem of Evil Part 3



Hi, my name is Greg Ganssle and I’m a part-time lecturer[br]in the Department of Philosophy at Yale University, and a Senior Fellow at the Rivendell Institute. And today we’re talking about the philosophical problem of evil. In previous discussions,[br]we’ve seen the charge of contradiction or the deductive logical problem of evil discussed.

And this is the claim that[br]there is a contradiction in asserting that God[br]exists, God is wholly good, all-powerful, and all-knowing,[br]and that evil exists. The solution to this charge[br]of contradiction, we found, was in the idea that God might have[br]a good reason to allow evil.

A good God can allow evil if[br]He has a good reason to do so. It’s from this point that[br]the second major argument in the philosophical[br]problem of evil begins. This is the evidential argument. Rather than “the charge of contradiction,” I like to call this “the unicorn[br]objection.” Just like a unicorn might exist

But they’re awfully hard to find, this argument starts with[br]the idea that maybe God has a reason to allow the evil we witness, but it sure seems like there[br]is no reason out there. So let me see if I can make[br]this a little more rigorous. I’m following an important[br]paper that was published

By philosopher William Rowe in 1979. This argument goes something like this[br](and I’m going to simplify). Premise one: There are unjustified evils in the world. Premise two: If God exists, there will be no unjustified evils in the world. Conclusion: Therefore, God does not exist. Let me clarify a few things

Before I try to give a bit of an answer. So, what is an unjustified evil? An unjustified evil is an evil where there is no good reason to allow it. No good being would allow this evil if he could prevent it. The argument is that there are

Cases of evil like this in the world, and if there are, then God does not exist. Now, notice the way I set up the argument, it’s actually a valid deductive argument. So why would we call this[br]an evidential argument? The answer is the first premise, “There are unjustified[br]evils,” can only be supported

With an evidential case. We cannot argue that, beyond[br]the shadow of a doubt, there are unjustified evils. We have to weigh the[br]evidence, pro and con, for the claim that there[br]are unjustified evils. So let’s begin to do that. Well, William Rowe in his[br]article tells a story of a deer

Who’s caught in a forest[br]fire and suffers horribly for four or five days before she dies. And he points out that in the[br]case of suffering like this, we cannot see any reason that[br]God might have to allow it. It looks like an unjustified evil. And we can go through and look at some

Of the standard reasons God[br]might have to allow evils and show that they don’t[br]seem to apply in this case. For example, human free[br]will seems to be irrelevant especially if the fire[br]was caused by lightning. Secondly, the fact that it’s a good thing to have a regular cause and effect world

Doesn’t seem to apply,[br]because God could always end the deer’s misery without[br]really interfering with the regularities of the world. So here’s a case that looks[br]like an unjustified evil. How is a theist going to respond? Well, another philosopher named Steven Wykstra begin this way. He said, “We’re looking for a reason

That God could have to allow this evil,” or “We’re looking for what we could call a justifying reason.” And William Rowe’s argument[br]goes something like this. First: It doesn’t seem like[br]there’s a justifying reason. Secondly: Therefore, probably there is no justifying reason. And that’s the kind of reasoning that’s supporting premise one.

The evidence we bring[br]to bear to premise one is that, as much as we think[br]about it, we cannot discern a justifying reason, so it[br]seems like there is none. Then we conclude not[br]that there definitely is no justifying reason, but[br]that it’s likely, or probably there is no justifying reason.

And then our conclusion becomes[br]”Probably, there is no God.” Now what Steve Wykstra does with this is he thinks hard about this inference from “It seems like there[br]is no justifying reason” to “Probably, there is no justifying[br]reason.” I’m oversimplifying his case quite a bit, but it’s as if he’s making this claim.

Sometimes inferences of that kind are very strong and[br]sometimes they’re very weak. So here’s some examples. Look around the room. It seems like there are no[br]live elephants in the room. Therefore, probably there are[br]no live elephants in the room. That seems to be a[br]pretty strong inference. What about this one? Look around the room again.

It seems like there are no[br]carbon-14 atoms in the room. Therefore, probably there are[br]no carbon-14 atoms in the room. Well that doesn’t seem like[br]a very strong inference, even if you look around the room twice. What is the difference? The difference can be captured[br]in the sentences of the form “If there were a ____,

We would probably know it.” Now we’ll take the first case. “If there were a live elephant in the[br]room, we would probably know it.” That is true. You look around the room, and a live elephant is something[br]you’re going to notice. If the room is small[br]enough, there aren’t a lot

Of large objects a live[br]elephant could hide behind. So it’s a very strong inference. But think about the carbon-14 atom. “If there were a carbon-14 atom in the[br]room, we would probably know it.” That turns out to be false. You cannot detect tacarbon-14 atom simply by glancing around the room.

So sometimes these inferences are strong and sometimes they’re weak. Now let’s go back to Rowe’s argument. What is it with which[br]he fills in the blank? A justifying reason. A reason God could have[br]to allow this evil. So we look at a particular case of evil. And we asked the question “If there were

A justifying reason,[br]would we probably know it?” If the answer to that question is “Yes,” then Rowe’s argument is strong. If the answer is “No,” then it’s weak. Let me tell you why I think it’s weak. First of all, if God[br]exists, we would expect

That many of His reasons for[br]doing things are going to be stuff that we cannot figure out. Secondly, we can figure[br]out reasons God might have for lots of the evils in the world: things due to free will, due to cause-and-effect universe. There are lots of evils that we encounter

Where we can figure out what[br]a justifying reason might be. Third thing: every philosopher recognizes that we’re not going to[br]be able to figure out God’s reasons in every case. So we all accept the idea[br]that there are many cases we can figure out and there are many cases we shouldn’t be able to figure out.

The question is, are there[br]too many cases of that kind? And this is where the disagreement is. I think, if you have other[br]reasons to think God exists, then you’re in good grounds for saying that this argument is not strong, because the number of cases we cannot figure out is[br]not necessarily so great

To render existence of God unlikely. This is one of those cases where both the theist and the atheist can say that the other side can be perfectly rational[br]in their beliefs. It’s a matter of assessing[br]the evidence differently. In fact, in Rowe’s article[br]where he first put forward this argument, he makes this point.

He says he thinks it’s[br]perfectly reasonable for a theist to continue to believe in God even in spite of this argument. So we’ve looked at the[br]evidential argument from evil, simply one version of it by William Rowe. And I’ve explained how[br]a theist can respond, to see whether it’s still[br]reasonable to believe in God.

Of course, many philosophers have launched different versions of this argument which are more complicated and perhaps more difficult to answer. Subtitles by the Amara.org community

#Philosophy #Problem #Evil #Part

Jacob Teaches of the Atonement of Jesus Christ | 2 Nephi 6–10



I have great anxiety for our people. I am desirous for the welfare of their souls. Teach them the words of Isaiah, and speak unto them for their sakes. The Lord has shown me that those who were at Jerusalem, from whence we came, have been slain and carried away captive.

Nevertheless, the Lord has shown unto me that they should return again. And He will be merciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritance. And there are many things which have been spoken by Isaiah

Which may be likened unto you, because ye are of the house of Israel. For the Lord God will fulfil His covenants which He has made unto His children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things. I have read these things that ye might know

That He has covenanted with all the house of Israel. I know that ye know that our flesh must waste away and die; nevertheless, in our bodies we shall see God. I do not understand. How can our flesh waste away and die, but in our bodies we shall see God?

As death hath passed upon all men, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.

Wherefore, there must needs be an infinite atonement. O the wisdom of God, His mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape. Wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men

Will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel. He cometh into the world that He may save all men if they will hearken unto His voice; for behold, He suffereth the pains of all men,

Yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children. And He suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before Him at the great and judgment day. And He commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in His name,

Having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. Wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they shall return to God, and behold His face, and remain in their sins. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death,

And to be spiritually-minded is life eternal. I would speak unto you more; but on the morrow I will declare unto you the remainder of my words. -Amen. -Amen. It must needs be expedient that Christ— for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be His name—

Shall come among the Jews. But they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against Him, that He be crucified. But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh,

Upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance. Seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember Him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out

Of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea. Cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves— to choose the way of everlasting death

Or the way of eternal life. Reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved. Wherefore, may God raise you from death

By the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise Him through grace divine. -Amen. -Amen. Amen.

#Jacob #Teaches #Atonement #Jesus #Christ #Nephi

On the Function of Christ’s Human & Divine Natures in the Atonement



I was wondering if you could clear this up for me. So… argues that Christ’s suffering was equivalent to our eternal damnation on account of the infinite dignity of Christ. So he appeals to the divine nature of Christ and that absolves the issue. But earlier this morning you mentioned that when Christ experienced the

Loss of fellowship with the Father it was through his human nature and not the divine, and so what I’m having a difficult time understanding is how we can appeal to the divine nature of Jesus in order for the sacrifice to be sufficient, while denying that it is the involvement of his divine nature.

This is a tremendous subtlety of Chalcedonian orthodoxy concerning the two natures of Christ. And that is that there is only one person who Christ is, and that is a divine person. It is the second person of the Trinity. There is no

Human person who is Jesus of Nazareth. There is a divine person who has a human nature as well as a divine nature. So it’s not that in virtue of his divine nature that Christ makes atonement; it is that you have a divine person who in his

Human nature bears our sin and punishment, and it’s the person that is divine and is the one who suffers and dies and so forth for our sins, but he does so with respect to the human nature.

#Function #Christs #Human #Divine #Natures #Atonement