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| | ==[[File:Page.png]] March's featured article<span style="font-size:85%; font-weight:normal;">== | | ==[[File:Page.png]] March's featured article<span style="font-size:85%; font-weight:normal;">== |
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| − | ==Servants of Satan== | + | ==When Was Jesus Crucified?== |
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| − | In this we will uncover a completely different source of curses: servants of Satan.<br><br>
| + | When purchasing a house or acreage one always takes the precaution of having it surveyed to insure against the unpleasant surprise of finding that half your new home has been built on your neighbour's property, or the dam is not on your land. To prove the accuracy of the map or plan of your purchase, the surveyor will first locate a government "trig" station or absolute, then fix one corner of your property from this constant as his datum post. And from this known fixed point he will accurately measure and confirm all the other boundaries of the site.</p> |
| − | Attitudes towards Satan among Christians vary between two extremes. Some ignore Satan totally, and try to act as if he is not real. Others are afraid of him and give him far more attention than he deserves. Between those two extremes there is a scriptural balance.<br><br>
| + | <p>Ancient masons who built the great cathedrals first established the precise location of one point. Here they laid the cornerstone from which the whole structure was measured. In a recent teaching we learned that Christ is the head of the corner or capstone, from which the temple of the living God or Church is measured. Tonight we're going to revisit the last supper and crucifixion and drive in a few datum posts, or establish some constants, measured from the Absolute or "trig" station of God's Word to make sure the story we are believing is the mind of God, and not Roman Catholic traditions from our denominational past. Scripture has provided us with a series of FIXED days and FIXED dates we can plot on the calendar to determine the events which occupied the last week of our Lord's life on earth, and establish the precise day of His crucifixion. Throughout this lesson I ask you to bear in mind that the Hebrews reckoned their day from sunset to sunset instead of from midnight. We will set forth Jesus' activities as they might have happened in the week before Calvary.</p> |
| − | Satan is a created being, a rebellious angel, who was cast out of God's heaven. He rules over a spiritual kingdom of evil, rebellious angels, together with lesser evil spirits, who are called "demons".<br><br>
| + | <p>I am not teaching this as doctrine and I may have some details out of order. This will help us to organise our thinking and paint an ordered picture in our own mind. After the resurrection of Lazarus was reported, the chief priests and Pharisees became concerned at the many following and believing on Jesus because of His Supernatural vindication. They feared for their exalted station over Israel, and their status with the Roman rulers. Caiaphas interposed with the solution: "It's expedient for the hierarchy, that one man should die for the people, to preserve the (religious status quo) of our nation" (John 11:47-57). To these Hebrews, any utterance of the high priest was regarded as inspired. Caiaphas had announced a conspiracy to have Jesus put to death by Rome; God used his tongue to prophesy. Thereafter Jesus hid himself from the Jews who were ordered to report any sightings of Him.</p> |
| − | The name Satan means "adversary" or "opposer". He is the unchanging, implacable enemy of God Himself and of the people and the purposes of God. His aim is to bring the whole human race under his control. His primary tactic is deception, of which he is a master. In Revelation 12:9 he is described as: <em>the great dragon</em> .. . <em>that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.</em><br><br>
| + | <p>The Passover was approaching. This year Jesus was to be that Lamb (John 1:29-34), so He began making His way back towards Bethany which lies on the side of the Mount of Olives, eastward from Jerusalem. He had to be there by Nisan 10 as the Law required the lamb should be separated from the flock on that day (Exodus 12:3-6). It was to be kept in the home for the next four days to be examined for and protected from any blemishes. Jesus was separated and taken into the home of his friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. From here He was presented to the people and their denominational religious leaders for examination, but even Pilate declared, "I find no fault in Him".</p> |
| − | Satan already exercises dominion over the great majority of mankind - all those who are in an attitude of rebellion against God. In Ephesians 2:2 he is described as "the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience". Most of these have no clear picture of their real condition. They are simply driven to and fro by forces which they do not understand and cannot control.<br><br>
| + | <p>Nisan 7, our Thursday sunset to Friday sunset Jesus spent our Thursday night (Nisan 7) near Jericho, at the home of Zacchaeus the businessman (Luke 19:1-10). On Friday morning He preached the "parable of the pounds" and set off towards Jerusalem (Luke 19:11-28). Bypassing Bethany, they came to Bethphage, where He sent His disciples to fetch an ass and a colt (Matthew 21:1-7).</p> |
| − | There are those among them, however, who have deliberately opened themselves up to Satan, even though they may not be aware of his true identity. In pursuit of power and material gain, they systematically cultivate the exercise of the supernatural forces Satan has released to them. Such servants of Satan are recognised in almost all cultures and have been given a variety of different titles: witch doctor, medicine man, mchawi, shaman, tohanga, wizard, witch, priest or priestess of Satan, and so on. In almost all tribal cultures throughout the world there is a special name for this kind of person.<br><br>
| + | <p>Jesus is followed by a multitude from the village rejoicing at the fulfilment of Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King comes to you: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass".</p> |
| − | Jesus Himself is our main source of information concerning Satan. When He sent out seventy disciples to prepare the way before Him, they returned with joy, saying:<br><br> | + | <p>Down in Jerusalem, however, nobody was expecting this Kinsman that Zechariah said would come in peace to be a ransom for their souls. Jesus entered the Temple courts where money changers were selling the Temple half shekel as they did at each Passover season. Every adult male must pay the annual ransom that furnished the continual burnt offerings and Temple necessaries. Jesus was that continual burnt offering. In righteous indignation He cast out the money changers who were making unjust profit, and overturned their tables. This was a full day's work and Jesus was exhausted when He arrived at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Bethany on Friday night our time (Matthew 21:8-17; John 12:1).</p> |
| − | <em>"Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."</em><br><br>
| + | <p>Nisan 8, our Friday sunset to Saturday sunset John 12:1 takes us to Nisan 8. From Friday sunset until Saturday sunset our time. "SIX days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, to the home of Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead". Jesus spent the Sabbath of Nisan 8 in the home of Lazarus and his sisters. Nisan 9, our Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset After sunset and the close of the Sabbath "They made Him a supper; Martha served: but Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus and their guests" (John 12:2). This is the first of three banquets and two anointing (three in the Gospels, the first in Capernaum - Luke 7:36-50) in the four days before the crucifixion. Lazarus' sister, Mary anointed Jesus' feet in token of His burial (John 12:3-11).</p> |
| − | To this Jesus responded: <em>"Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."</em> (Luke 10:17-19)<br><br>
| + | |
| − | Jesus did not deny that Satan was real, or that he had power. But He promised His disciples that the authority He conferred upon them would make them victorious over Satan's power and would protect them against all his attempts to harm them. It is important for all of the Lord's servants to recognise the authority He has given them, and to learn to exercise it effectively.<br><br>
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| − | Curses are one of the main weapons that servants of Satan use against the people of God. This is vividly illustrated by the story of Balak and Balaam in Numbers 22-24. Balak was king of the territory of Moab, on the east of the Jordan.<br><br>
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| − | On their journey from Egypt to Canaan, Israel had encamped on the border of Moab. Balak felt his kingdom was threatened, but he lacked the strength or the courage to launch an open attack on Israel. Instead, he hired Balaam to pronounce curses on them, in the hope that Israel would thus be weakened to the point where Moab could defeat them. Balaam was a "witch doctor", famous throughout the whole region, who commanded a high fee for his services.<br><br>
| + | |
| − | Many Christians today would dismiss all this as "superstitious nonsense", devoid of any real power. God's reaction, however, was entirely different. He viewed the curses that Balaam might pronounce as a serious threat to Israel. Consequently, He intervened supernaturally and warned Balaam not to accept the assignment. But Balaam was eager for the wealth which Balak had promised him, and so went ahead with the intention of doing what Balak had asked. In due course, however, each time Balaam tried to pronounce curses on Israel, God again intervened and changed the proposed curses into blessings! Subsequently, in Deuteronomy 23:5, Moses reminded Israel of this incident as evidence of God's love for them:<br><br>
| + | |
| − | <em>"Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.</em><br><br> | + | |
| − | One important fact needs to be emphasised: God did not view Balaam's proposed curses against Israel as empty words that had no power. He regarded them as a serious threat to Israel, and for this reason He intervened personally to frustrate Balaam's intention.<br><br>
| + | |
| − | Time has not changed God's viewpoint. He does not ignore or belittle curses directed against His people by servants of Satan. On the contrary, as Jesus said, God recognises the power of Satan, but equips His own servants with superior power.<br><br>
| + | |
| − | The Bible presents various pictures of the activities of Satan's servants. These serve to warn God's servants, against whom these satanic activities are often directed. In Ezekiel 13:17-20, for example, God condemns certain false prophetesses, or sorceresses:<br><br>
| + | |
| − | <em>"Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them, "and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies? 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds</em><br><br>
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| − | Some of the details are not clear, but it seems that these women played the typical role of a witch doctor. Anyone who had a quarrel with some other person would hire them to use their magic arts against that person. One of their methods was to attach magic charms to people's clothing. In this way, they "hunted souls" and actually killed innocent persons. In return, they were paid in handfuls of barley or pieces of bread. This is not some far-fetched accusation reminiscent of the Middle Ages. It is a charge brought against these women by God Himself. Furthermore, servants of Satan have used similar methods for the same purposes all through the centuries and still continue to use them today.<br><br>
| + | |
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| − | Their with lesser evil spirits, who are called "demons".<br><br>
| + | '''To READ ON''' [[When Was Jesus Crucified?]] |
| − | The name Satan means "adversary" or "opposer". He is the unchanging, implacable enemy of God Himself and of the people and the purposes of God. His aim is to bring the whole human race under his control. His primary tactic is deception, of which he is a master. In Revelation 12:9 he is described as: <em>the great dragon</em> .. . <em>that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.</em><br><br>
| + | |
| − | Satan already exercises dominion over the great majority of mankind - all those who are in an attitude of rebellion against God. In Ephesians 2:2 he is described as "the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience". Most of these have no clear picture of their real condition. They are simply driven to and fro by forces which they do not understand and cannot control.</br>
| + | |
| − | There are those among them, however, who have deliberately opened themselves up to Satan, even though they may not be aware of his true identity. In pursuit of power and material gain, they systematically cultivate the exercise of the supernatural forces Satan has released to them. Such servants of Satan are recognised in almost all cultures and have been given a variety of different titles: witch doctor, medicine man, mchawi, shaman, tohanga, wizard, witch, priest or priestess of Satan, and so on. In almost all tribal cultures throughout the world there is a special name for this kind of person.<br><br>
| + | |
| − | Jesus Himself is our main source of information concerning Satan. When He sent out seventy disciples to prepare the way before Him, they returned with joy, saying:<br><br>
| + | |
| − | <em>"Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."</em><br><br>
| + | |
| − | To this Jesus responded: <em>"Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."</em> (Luke 10:17-19)<br><br>
| + | |
| − | Jesus did not deny that Satan was real, or that he had power. But He promised His disciples that the authority He conferred upon them would make them victorious over Satan's power and would protect them against all his attempts to harm them. It is important for all of the Lord's servants to recognise the authority He has given them, and to learn to exercise it effectively.<br><br>
| + | |
| − | Curses are one of the main weapons that servants of Satan use against the people of God. This is vividly illustrated by the story of Balak and Balaam in Numbers 22-24. Balak was king of the territory of Moab, on the east of the Jordan.<br><br>
| + | |
| − | On their journey from Egypt to Canaan, Israel had encamped on the border of Moab. Balak felt his kingdom was threatened, but he lacked the strength or the courage to launch an open attack on Israel. Instead, he hired Balaam to pronounce curses on them, in the hope that Israel would thus be weakened to the point where Moab could defeat them. Balaam was a "witch doctor", famous throughout the whole region, who commanded a high fee for his services.<br><br>
| + | |
| − | Many Christians today would dismiss all this as "superstitious nonsense", devoid of any real power. God's reaction, however, was entirely different. He viewed the curses that Balaam might pronounce as a serious threat to Israel. Consequently, He intervened supernaturally and warned Balaam not to accept the assignment. But Balaam was eager for the wealth which Balak had promised him, and so went ahead with the intention of doing what Balak had asked. In due course, however, each time Balaam tried to pronounce curses on Israel, God again intervened and changed the proposed curses into blessings! Subsequently, in Deuteronomy 23:5, Moses reminded Israel of this incident as evidence of God's love for them:<br><br>
| + | |
| − | <em>"Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.</em><br><br>
| + | |
| − | One important fact needs to be emphasised: God did not view Balaam's proposed curses against Israel as empty words that had no power. He regarded them as a serious threat to Israel, and for this reason He intervened personally to frustrate Balaam's intention.<br><br>
| + | |
| − | Time has not changed God's viewpoint. He does not ignore or belittle curses directed against His people by servants of Satan. On the contrary, as Jesus said, God recognises the power of Satan, but equips His own servants with superior power.<br><br>
| + | |
| − | The Bible presents various pictures of the activities of Satan's servants. These serve to warn God's servants, against whom these satanic activities are often directed. In Ezekiel 13:17-20, for example, God condemns certain false prophetesses, or sorceresses:<br><br>
| + | |
| − | <em>"Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them, "and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies? 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds</em><br><br>
| + | |
| − | Some of the details are not clear, but it seems that these women played the typical role of a witch doctor. Anyone who had a quarrel with some other person would hire them to use their magic arts against that person. One of their methods was to attach magic charms to people's clothing. In this way, they "hunted souls" and actually killed innocent persons. In return, they were paid in handfuls of barley or pieces of bread. This is not some far-fetched accusation reminiscent of the Middle Ages. It is a charge brought against these women by God Himself. Furthermore, servants of Satan have used similar methods for the same purposes all through the centuries and still continue to use them today.<br><br>
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| − | '''To READ ON''' [[Servants of Satan]] | + | |
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