Category: Teachings Page 1 of 3

Miraculous Healing

I serve a miracle working God. I have seen many miracles, some from my own hands. Here’s a story about one of the most amazing miracles I’ve experienced in my family.

When my father died horribly of lung cancer, I was frustrated at the Lord for having done such a miracle and then him dying of another horrible disease. I began to inquire of the Lord about what this was all about.

I reflected back on all of the miracles I had ever heard of or had experienced and a pattern began to emerge. Every miracle I had ever seen, heard of, read about, the healed person was either an unbeliever or a baby Christian. (My Dad was a baby Christian at the time.)

Every person I knew of that was a seasoned Christian and contracted some mortal disease and prayed and sought God, then died of that mortal disease. Everyone would then look to God and say, “Why do you do this? Why do you do miracles for some and not for those who serve you?” This is the key.

The Story of Hezekiah

I spoke to a friend of mine about this and she pointed me to the story of King Hezekiah. Hezekiah had contracted a mortal illness and was dying. He cried out to the Lord and sought God’s help and sent for the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah came and basically said, “Put your affairs in order, you’re going to die.”

When he left, Hezekiah cried out to God and said, “I’ve been a good king.” (He was. One of the few.) “Please don’t let me die like this.”

God sent Isaiah back and said, “The Lord has heard your prayer and God is going to heal you.” He told him that the shadow outside his window would move backwards 20 degrees so that he would know that God was indeed going to heal him. It happened and he recovered from his illness.

After he recovered from his illness, he conceived Manasseh, who became the most wicked king Israel ever had. My friend said that this was because at the place in his life, King Hezekiah should have known how to pray to deal with his illness instead of asking God for a miracle.

So, the answer that I’ve come up with at this point of my life is this. God does miracles for unbelievers and baby Christians to show forth his love to them. As we mature in our walk with the Lord, God expects us to be able to hear his voice for our own situations and walk out our healing ourselves.

Miraculous Healing

by Bruce Hehl

Desperate Measures Call for Desperate Times

My brother hates this backwards phrase, but looking around the world today things look and seem completely backwards to us and completely out of sorts.  All of us are trying to find our footing in this brand new world we live in.  Even our faith and most of our theology is being put to test.

This is not a time to be right but to live right. Our revelation can’t save us. Our Theology cannot save us. Only our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can save us. For as it says in The Book of Acts, “In Him we live and move and have our being.”

Everything will be Shaken

We live in a time where everything can and will be shaken. This includes our faith, our theology, our jobs, our homes and families, even our President. If you are focused on flying out of here anytime soon before this gets worse you better rethink your motives. Why should we think America should be any different then the other nations of the world? Many around the world have suffered persecution to the point of death for their faith and belief in The Lord Jesus Christ for centuries.

Just to let you know, my own personal revelation is being tested. The message I preach and believe has been a part of me for almost forty years. Late last fall and early winter my faith and personal relationship with the Lord was put to a test in a way I have never experienced before in my life, to the point of doubting the Lord’s existence. I actually didn’t think this possible, especially after all the miracles I’ve experienced in my life and in the lives of others over almost 50 years of serving the Lord.

I’ve been through a lot in my life. I have been near dead several times. I have had out of the body experiences, I have had dreams, I have had visions, and have even experienced personal encounters with two significant bible characters. All of this means nothing, of course, without a strong personal relationship with Him. Paul tells us, “Tongues will cease, knowledge will vanish, and Prophecy will fail. In the end only Faith, Hope, and Love, will remain.” This is enough to rock any of us who, unbeknownst to us, have put our faith and trust in areas other than Him.

Not about Right and Wrong

I have listened with great interest to many present Bible thinkers, and teachers, who have their own ideas concerning the times we live in–each and every one with a different perspective. So, who is right and who is wrong? I am trying with all my heart to be open and honest in my thinking as never before. When you spend forty years of your life moving in a direction as a horse with blinders on this is not easy.

Religion has always been an enemy of the cross as well as our mind. The enemy’s greatest deception is to lead us away from the truth. After the fall in the garden, the enemy’s deception was to cover the tracks that led back to the Lord by Adam and Eve covering themselves because of being naked. The Lord’s first question to them was, “Adam, where are you?” His second question was, “Who told you you were naked? Notice it was the Lord looking for Adam and not the other way around. Adam was too busy covering over his nakedness. Because of this, the enemy was able to cover up the tracks (through deception) that led back to His Presence!

The Lord will Come after us

The grace and mercy of the Lord towards His People is so above our comprehension and understanding. In this life we will never completely understand! “Because of His great love for us, God who is rich in His mercy made us alive in Christ, though we were dead in our trespasses and sins!” Know this! The Lord is searching for us wherever we may be. No matter what pit or place of darkness we find ourselves. “He is the same today, yesterday, and forever.” His eye is always upon us. So, our job is to find Him and listen to His voice calling us, not through theology, or doctrine. And you can bet the enemy will use every tool in his arsenal to try and cover our tracks that leads us back to finding Him!

Any and all sin can and will blind us from finding the path that leads to His Presence. With all that is going on in this present time of chaos we need to separate ourselves, or sanctify ourselves (The Greek meaning is to set apart or aside from) unto Him. The Body at large needs to come together in unity, (literally glue ourselves together in this hour) separating ourselves from the things of this world and find Him. “Christ in us is the hope of glory!”

Restore our Joy

I receive dozens of posts and messages on messenger telling me who and what the problem is. It doesn’t take rocket science to explain what is going on. This is a time where the enemy is sifting us as wheat. Doctrine, religion, theology, even personal revelation can and will interfere with us finding Him. It doesn’t mean we have to let go of our beliefs. It means it’s time to set them aside and return to our first love! That’s what all faithful Christians have in common. “Lord, restore to us the joy of your salvation!”

At the beginning of 2020 the Lord’s Word to me was, “we are in the midst of a paradigm shift in the Kingdom of Heaven. Also, the days of Eli are over and the Lord is establishing a new order of authority in the Body of Christ!” It’s the time of Samuel who was the last judge of Israel. When Samuel showed up, righteousness and order was restored. All the people acknowledged the fact that he was ordained as a prophet because the Word of the Lord was with him, “and not one of his words fell to the ground.”

Fear of the Lord

Samuel brought back the fear of the Lord unto the people. He ruled as a priest and a judge until the Lord established a king to rule over them. Remember, the first king was man made and what the people wanted. The King the Lord wanted was a man after His own heart. In all reality God Himself wanted to be their King. Israel wanted to be like the other nations so the Lord relented and gave them what they wanted.

Samuel warned and said the first thing that will happen is he will start the war factories, building weapons, and making men into soldiers, as well as taking men into his service to serve him. I guess the pillar of fire and the cloud weren’t enough. We still pray for a king to lead us and protect us. In all these years we haven’t come very far. Have we?

I love our President. I believe with all my heart the Lord has placed him as our leader. But remember, this is still a man made order and not a permanent one. We can pray and ask the Lord to give him wisdom and discernment, and I believe He will.

Saul can’t Hold on Forever

For a time Saul was able to keep the enemies of Israel at bay, but only for a time. Saul in time grew impatient (through the deception of the enemy) and began to count on his own strength and wisdom to lead rather than follow the Lord’s leading. Saul’s final chapter didn’t end very well. The same will happen again.

I believe the Lord showed me from the beginning that our President will serve two terms in office. What happens after his second term is over?

Kids, we need to learn from history. It’s time to take our eyes off of a man, a doctrine, a prophecy, or a religion, and return to our first love which is Jesus Christ. I believe in the prophetic. I’ve spent most of my walk with the Lord there. I believe in visions. I believe in revelation knowledge. But in the end none of this will save us.

Desperate Measures Call for Desperate Times

I believe our President was placed in office to prepare us and give us time to repent and prepare us for the days ahead. Eight years is not a long time for preparation, especially when we spend this time trying to work out our future, our doctrine, our revelation, rather than just to listen and hear His voice calling our name out loud. He is saying, “Where are you? I’ve never left. I am still here! Clear away the deception and just follow by voice! I will lead you back to the garden of My Presence!!” Don’t clothe yourself with the deceptions of the enemy (theories, doctrines, prophecies, dreams, and so forth.) that flood not only your mind but also the minds of weaker members of the Body of Christ at large.

I believe in all these things of course, but first and foremost we must listen to His Voice that reveals the path that leads us back to His Presence that we might serve Him and Him alone. Does this make sense?

The Shepherd has been struck and each and all of us has gone our own way. WE NEED UNITY! FIRST LOVE UNITY! He says, “Return to me and I will return to you. I will restore creation. I will restore you. I will restore your homes, your families, and make your calling and election sure!” In part the final words of Jesus to His Followers were, “I GO TO THE FATHER. THAT WHERE I AM YOU MAY BE WITH ME ALSO!!”

Are we there Yet?

When I was a boy and on a long trip I would say to my parents, “are we there yet?” Their response was, “not yet.” So my brother and I would struggle and wrestle around in the backseat growing tired and hungry and even needing to stop to pee or stretch our legs a bit. All this did was lengthen the journey and frustrate our parents to the point of wanting to throw us out of the car. (or stop at the Shake Shop personal joke)

Remember, the Bridegroom was a long time in coming. So, let us now take this time to find the the sound of His Voice that leads us back to him. Drop everything that now hinders us from hearing clearly the sound of His Voice. (He is calling us aside and apart unto him) And give ourselves to Him and Him alone. I believe when we do we will begin to hear only one voice rising up among us. A sound voice. A clarion voice. A voice that will make complete sense among the entire Body of Christ at large. When this begins to happen, (baby, baby,) the enemy is in BIG trouble.

“THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD ARE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD AND OF HIS CHRIST AND HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER AND FOREVER!!! The Kingdom is now at hand.

I pray we earnestly and in faith begin to do this in and for His Name alone.

Desperate Measures Call for Desperate Times

Answers to Tough Questions

A Friend posted on Facebook recently about a lead singer of a Christian band who had a crisis of faith and ended up walking away from God altogether. While it doesn’t seem that he ever really had a relationship with the Lord in the first place, he still asked some really good questions that plague a lot of people. I thought I would sit down and write my answers to tough questions to help strengthen all of our faith.

If God is all loving, and all powerful, why is there evil in the world? Can you not do anything about it? Does he choose not to? Is the evil in the world a result of his desire to give us free will?

The simple answer to all of that is yes, it’s a result of his desire to give us free will.

When God created everything, he always said that it was good. All of it. He then took this good creation and handed it over to man and made him the ruler of all creation.

Man then chose to turn his back on God’s way of doing things and decided to do things his way. The world you see around you is the result of that choice and about as far from God’s plan as possible.

What about famine and disease and floods and all the suffering that isn’t caused by humans in our free will?

The simple answer to this is it is still a result of our free will. God himself says three times in Genesis chapter 6 “Because of sin, violence entered into the world.”

God made us rulers of all of creation. Creation follows our example. If we choose to do things our way instead of God’s way, there are consequences to that. It happens in our spiritual life, of course, but also into our natural life, making us sick and even extends to the world around us.

Everything that happens that is violent happens as a result of sin. Earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes never happened before the fall. We don’t really understand the power we possess to do both good and evil.

If God is loving, why does he send people to hell?

God doesn’t send people to hell. God created a good creation and created us good. When Adam chose to go his own way instead of following the path God laid out for him, he doomed the whole human race to destruction. Then God, who would have been just in wiping us from the planet at that point, ordained instead a plan of redemption to spare some of us from the consequences of that choice.

God doesn’t create people. People create people as an act of their own wills. God ordains marriage according to his plan and out of this children are created. Children not created according to God’s plan run the risk of never being saved.

What then is God to do? Give them, who fulfill their most evil desires, the gift of eternal life? No. Instead he created an incinerator for their destruction so they don’t contaminate eternity with our mistakes. That said, Hell isn’t what we’ve been taught, so take some comfort in that.

Why does God seem so pissed off in most of the old testament, and then all of a sudden he’s a loving father in the New Testament?

Another version of this is, “I like the God of the New Testament better than the God of the Old Testament.” This is a fallacy from the beginning and takes a little explaining.

The root of some of this problem is simply terminology. There is no “Old Testament” or “New Testament.” These were names men created for two sections of the Bible. Instead, there’s a plan and the story of that plan in two parts which should really be called “Part 1” and “Part 2.”

Part 1, like all good stories, introduces the main characters and sets up what’s going to be the conflict for the story. We meet God, and his opponent and man who is the crux of the conflict.

Everything starts out really good, and then man screws up and starts a pattern of destruction that colors the rest of the story. It shows how bad it can get because of man’s screw up.

The good news is that it also introduces the solution to the screw up that’s coming, immediately after the screw up so that there’s hope and a future still, even though things just got really dark.

Part 2

Part 2 tells the story of the promised redemption. It also begins to show us how good things can be now that we can go back to doing things God’s way. How that, with a restored creation, we can walk in healing and freedom and even overcome death.

One of the fallacies people fall into when reading part 1 is to lose track of the fact of the time that it covers. Sometimes centuries pass in just a few chapters. This is one reason why those pesky genealogies are there. The show us the passage of time.

But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

Genesis 15:16

This is a scripture that’s not taught on a lot. God’s revealing to Abraham his plan about how Abraham’s children are going to come back to this place and take over about 500 years from now.

He’s saying this because the Amorites are a wicked people. They are practicing child sacrifice just for starters. And God shows how merciful he is because he’s giving them nearly 500 years to change their ways. He knows they wont’ but he’s giving them every chance.

Keep in mind that Americans have only had electricity in there homes around 100 years and look how much has changed. God is giving the Amorites 5 times that long to change their ways. Is this a God that’s pissed off or a merciful God?

Also, in the end, it’s not even really God that has them wiped out. Look what God says to the Israelites when they’re about to take possession of Canaan.

Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.

Leviticus 18:24-28

So their destruction was a result of the natural consequences of their sin. God simply used the Israelites to carry it out.

God is deeply merciful. We see it throughout Part 1, but we specifically see it fulfilled in Part 2.

Why does he say not to kill, but then instruct Israel to turn around and kill men women and children to take the promised land?

God does not say “Do not kill.” This is one of the most misquoted of the ten commandments. God says,

You shall not murder.

Exodus 20:13

God sets up killing as punishment for sins, which is not murder. Murder is killing in anger or for selfish gain.

Some might say, “What’s more selfish than taking land.” As we saw above, the Canaanites were slaughtered for their many, many sins after a long period of not changing.

Why does God let Job suffer horrible things just to win a bet with Satan? What does he tell Abraham to kill his son and then basically say ‘just kidding! That was a test.’ If God can do anything, can’t you forgive without someone dying? I mean, my parents taught me to forgive people – nobody dies in that scenario.”

These all come down to one simple concept. We are made to serve at the pleasure of God. We are God’s to do with as he sees fit, not the other way around. It is only our arrogance that would cause us to say, “God shouldn’t do things that way.”

Maybe you think, “That’s not fair!” We as sinners, are doomed to destruction. Fair is for us to go straight to burning Hell forever. Anything that we get that is not that is by God’s grace.

God created this system and this plan to show us, worthless lumps of clay that we are, love. He created a system that Jesus would suffer and die to redeem us all. Why? Sorry, God’s doesn’t answer to us. We exist for his pleasure and he loves us. That’s kind of the end of the argument.

Answers to Tough Questions

I hope these answers to tough questions have been helpful to you. Have a look around at our other teachings.

Answers to Tough Questions

I Will Show you the Bride

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed–on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day–and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 21: 10-27

Many of our concepts about what heaven is like come from this scripture. If you look in your concordance for streets of gold or pearl gates, this is the only scripture in the Bible that talks about these things. This is where the hymns come from that talk about how great heaven is. All from this scripture in Revelation.

There’s only one little problem with this concept. This passage has absolutely nothing to do with Heaven. Let me say this another way: There are no streets of gold and pearly gates in Heaven.

How do I know this? The Bible tells me so. If you want to see what heaven looks like, read Revelation 4 onward. It talks about the throne and about what surrounds the throne–increasing circles of a sea of people singing praises to God. This is what Heaven is like.

I Will Show you the Bride

So how do I know that this scripture in Revelation 21 has nothing to do with Heaven? Because I read verse 9 that introduces this section.

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Revelation 21:9

Everything in this scripture is a prophetic vision of the Bride of Christ. It’s all about who we can become if we allow Christ’s nature to be worked in us.

You become the bride by finding and entering into wisdom, which is what pearls always symbolize in scripture.

Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Matthew 7:6b

As you become the Bride, all of your ways will be purest gold, which, in scripture, is symbolic of the nature of God.

I don’t have revelation on all of this scripture, but it doesn’t take a scholar to read verse 9 and know what this is about.

So how is it possible that all of the denominations have written books about what Heaven is like based on this scripture and they’re wrong? I can’t answer that. I simply read the verse before it that explains it. It’s been right there all along.

Mansions

What about my mansion? In all of scripture, there’s only one reference to mansions, and it’s this one.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:2, KJV

This is a mistranslation of the Greek word mone, which actually means rooms. What’s more, this mistranslation is probably deliberate, because even in the early 1600s, they knew that this word should be translated rooms.

Remember that, unlike modern versions of the Bible that are translated for profit, the KJV was translated as a political maneuver. The only answer I can come up with is to deceive people into thinking they had mansions in heaven so they’d put up with more here. Here is this same passage from the ESV.

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

John 14:2, ESV

There is no translation of the Bible that I’m aware of that translates this word as anything but rooms. There’s simply no one that thinks that’s what that means. So, sorry, no mansions either.

Visions of Heaven

“But what about Kenneth Hagin’s vision of heaven?” You might ask. He saw his mansion of gold with roses in the walls.

The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.

1 Corinthians 14:32

This scripture talks about a truth about prophecy and visions and dreams. The spirit realm is alien to us who have not yet gotten our glorified bodies. A person sees into the spirit realm, but everything has to be processed through that person’s brain. The purer our mind is, the purer the things that we are going to see, but as long as we live in this body this is always the case.

This is why God and angels ask the prophets in the scriptures “What do you see?” and the prophet explains what he’s seeing before the interpretation is given. You can see this here Revelation, Isaiah, Zechariah, Daniel and others. The question should be read as, “How do you perceive what I’m showing you?”

The reason that Kenneth Hagin saw mansions of gold is because his mind was programmed that he would see mansions of gold there. When God showed him heaven, that’s how his brain interpreted what he was seeing.

This is why prophetic visions cannot be the final authority on doctrine. This is why God gave us the scriptures to be the final authority. Checking the scriptures, there are no mansions referred to in Heaven, so Hagin’s vision must have meant something else.

What’s Cool about Heaven?

So the cool thing about Heaven is not the furniture. The cool thing about Heaven is that we get to spend eternity with our creator. We get to praise and worship Him forever. That’s what we look forward to, our reunion with Him and never leaving Him again.

In the meantime, we get to learn how to be part of the Bride so that we “will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.”

I Will Show you the Bride

Here are the ground rules for doctrine. These are the rules we follow for establishing doctrine and for validating other doctrines.

Ground Rules for Doctrine

1. The Bible is inerrant
2. All doctrine must be based exclusively on scripture
3. Scripture must be first interpreted literally (see the prophetic imagery exception)
4. Any major doctrine requires two to three scriptures
5. How God behaves is the ultimate interpretation of scripture

These ground rules are critical for good doctrine. Anyone unwilling to accept these rules will find the doctrines based on them useless.

The Bible is Inerrant

If we are to trust God, we have to trust the scriptures that he has given us. Since God is omnipotent, it is trivial for him to have protected the scriptures and insure they have arrived down through time the way he intended them.

Once you start picking and choosing, then it is impossible to believe any of the scriptures. As such, the Bible must be accepted inerrant as a whole.

All Doctrine Must be Based Exclusively on Scripture

In the same way that the acceptance of the New Testament was contingent on it being based on the Old Testament, so must all doctrine be based entirely on the scriptures. There cannot be things added that cannot be based on scripture.

An example is church membership. There is no scriptural basis for church membership, yet many bodies practice this concept.

This is a problem because church membership contains rules for inclusion, which means they contain rules for exclusion and some people will simply not meet them. Jesus never excluded anyone during his entire public ministry. Some people left as a result of his teachings, but never because Jesus said, “You don’t belong.”

Church membership is an example of the damaging kinds of things that can happen when you do not base all of your doctrine on scripture.

Scripture Must be First Interpreted Literally

Scriptures must first of all be read in context and literally. Scripture is created to become both word and spirit and so there are many interpretations for any part of the Bible. Jesus and the Apostles frequently used scriptures out of context by divine revelation. Nevertheless, the first interpretation must be literal.

Prophetic Imagery Exception

There is some scripture that simply cannot be interpreted literally because it is prophetic imagery designed to speak to the spirit instead of to the mind. As such, it is simply not possible to interpret these scriptures literally.

The prophetic imagery exception applies only to those scriptures that cannot be interpreted literally. Before applying this exception, though, you must still attempt a literal interpretation first.

Any Major Doctrine Requires Two to Three Scriptures

While there are some smaller doctrines that may be acceptable to be based on a single scripture, all major doctrines must follow the scriptural rule “In the mouths of two or three witnesses is a thing established.”

Things like who is Jesus, how are we saved, what is heaven like, what is man’s role in God’s plan are questions the entire Bible was written to answer. Any of them should easily be answered with two to three scriptures or should not be accepted.

For example, if the battle of Armageddon was an event that happened on a day in the future, it would be a major doctrine of the Bible. There is, however, only Revelation 19:11-21 that discusses it.

At this point, you realize that this is prophetic imagery. Once you understand that, you can see that the battle of Armageddon began at the fall of man and that the entire Bible is about this. This is the importance of the two to three witnesses rule.

How God Behaves is the Ultimate Interpretation of Scripture

Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He will never behave differently than what he says in the scriptures. As such, the most reliable and accurate interpretation of scripture is the way God and Jesus behave.

Any interpretation that varies from God’s behavior is wrong. For example, the doctrine “God is a Holy God and cannot stand sin in his presence” is proved incorrect because of the way God behaves. If this were true, why would God pay the most lavish price ever paid for anything simply to allow sinful people into his presence?

Summary

These are our ground rules for doctrine. Please hold us to them and make sure that the doctrines we teach are reliable and accurate. Hold others to them as well and see how their doctrines stack up.

Speaking of the Great White Throne Judgment and Calvinism recently made me want to mention something else. Let’s have another look at the scripture about the Great White Throne Judgement.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11-15

Two Sets of Books

The “books” referenced in verse 13 are commonly seen as the individual histories of each of the people standing before God for judgement. My favorite question is, if salvation is a result of something we did, why are there two sets of books?

Why does a shopkeeper keep two sets of books? One that he shows to the government for taxes, and the other for his personal use that tells the real story.

So, if salvation is something that happens inside the realm of time, then why is the individual history not enough? Why consult with the Lamb’s Book of Life, which this scripture shows, is the one that makes the decision about whether a person spends eternity in heaven or hell?

Since it’s the Lamb’s Book of Life that counts, let’s find out how you get your name written in this book.

And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.

Revelation 17:8b

From the Foundation of the World

Revelation 17:8 says that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from the foundation of the world. How, then, could it be possible that it results from a decision we make within time?

Great White Throne Judgment and Calvinism

The Second Death

One of the hardest things people have with Calvinism is that it means there are some people that go to Hell and suffer forever and that there is simply no hope for them. Let me tell you right now that this is simply not true.

Despite your church experience, the Bible doesn’t tell us a lot about Hell. One of the clearest places is in Revelation.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20: 11-15

The Second Death

Firstly, if you notice, going to Hell is referred to as “the second death.” The first death is the ending of the body. Doesn’t it make sense that the second death is the ending of the soul? So this, to me, indicates that this is a termination and not an ongoing torture.

History of the Bible

Before I take on the second part of this, I need to explain a little history of the Bible.

When it was decided that the King James Version would be translated from the original texts, Ancient Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament) and Koine Greek (the language of the New Testament) had gone through a period where no one, even scholars, spoke them. For this reason, don’t ever let anyone talk down to you for mispronouncing a Greek or Hebrew word from the Bible. The fact is, no one knows how to pronounce these words. There are some learned opinions on this that people argue with each other.

In addition, there were some Greek words that they just didn’t know when they translated the King James Version. They guessed at these words as best they could.

Around the time of the US Civil War, a document dump called “The Papyri” was discovered outside of Alexandria, Egypt. These were business letters, love letters, and other forms of day-to-day communications. Up until then, the only documents in Greek that had survived were highly educated essays.

So the Greek used in the writings of Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle were High Greek–think about the language used in doctoral dissertations and other college level reading. They discovered that the dialect of Koine Greek, or street Greek was what the Bible was written in.

Eternal vs. Everlasting

Two of these words were the Greek words aidios and aionios. Aidios should be translated everlasting, meaning time without end, Aionios should be translated “eternal,” meaning outside of time. In fact, all of the translations I’ve seen since then have translated these words in this way.

During the translation of the KJV, they used these words interchangeably, which is why these words in English are used interchangeably in English. Doctrines were created based on this translation are, therefore, flawed.

If you carefully study a modern translation of the Bible, you will see that the word everlasting is always used to refer to the fire itself, to the suffering of the devil and his angels. The word eternal is always used to describe the suffering of human sinners.

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. … And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Matthew 25:41,46

The conclusion that I draw from this is that the devil will suffer punishment forever in a hell that burns forever. Sinners will be sent to this place in a place outside of time and will be destroyed as a kind of “soul incinerator.”

This is supported by all major modern translations of the Bible, but no one has ever gone back and revisited their doctrines when we found this stuff out.

by Bruce Hehl

What is Calvinism

John Calvin was a Huguenot, a French Protestant who was persecuted by the Roman Catholic church. He fled to Geneva, crossroads for exiles and expatriates, in 1536. He rapidly became the second most influential theologian of his time. He wrote a popular, systematic presentation of Christian doctrine and life, The Institutes (1536, final edition in 1559). Most important of Calvin’s Institutes was obedience to God’s will as defined in the scriptures.

What he is most famous for is his doctrines on salvation, which, he taught, was not an act of freewill as it seems, but is a sovereign work of God’s grace. That God chose those who will serve him before time began. Although he did not invent this doctrine, it is known now as Calvinism, because he wrote the definitive work on it. It is also known as predestination or election.

Calvinism is usually summed up in five main points, which form the word TULIP. They are:

Total Depravity

Total Depravity—Sin has affected all parts of man. The heart, emotions, will, mind and body are all affected by sin. We are completely sinful. We are not as sinful as we could be, but we are completely affected by sin.

The doctrine of Total Depravity is derived from scriptures that reveal human character: Man’s heart is evil (Mark 7:21-23) and sick (Jer. 17:9). Man is a slave of sin (Rom. 6:20). He does not seek for God (Rom. 3:10-12). He cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). He is in conflict with God (Eph. 2:15), and, is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3).

The Calvinist asks the question, “In light of the scriptures that declare man’s true nature as being utterly lost and incapable, how is it possible for anyone to choose or desire God?” The answer is, “He cannot. Therefore God must predestine.” We are, therefore, not born again by our own will but God’s will (John 1:12-13); God grants that we believe (Phil. 1:29); faith is the work of God (John 6:28-29); God appoints people to believe (Acts 13:48); and God predestines (Eph. 1:1-11; Rom. 8:29; 9:9-23).

Unconditional Election

Unconditional Election—God does not base His election on anything He sees in the individual. He chooses the elect according to the kind intention of His will (Eph. 1:4-8; Rom. 9:11) without any consideration of merit within the individual. Nor does God look into the future to see who would pick Him. Also, as some are elected into salvation, others are not (Rom. 9:15, 21).

Limited Atonement

Limited Atonement—Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not effective for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect. Support for this position is drawn from such scriptures as Matt. 26:28 where Jesus died for ‘many’; John 10:11, 15 which say that Jesus died for the sheep (not the goats, per Matt. 25:32-33); John 17:9 where Jesus in prayer interceded for the ones given Him, not those of the entire world; Acts 20:28 and Eph. 5:25-27 which state that the Church was purchased by Christ, not all people; and Isaiah 53:12 which is a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion where he bore the sins of many (not all).

Irresistible Grace

Irresistible Grace—When God calls his elect into salvation, they cannot resist. God offers to all people the gospel message. This is called the external call. But to the elect, God extends an internal call and it cannot be resisted. This call is by the Holy Spirit who works in the hearts and minds of the elect to bring them to repentance and regeneration whereby they willingly and freely come to God. Some of the verses used in support of this teaching are Romans 9:16 where it says that “it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy”; Philippians 2:12-13 where God is said to be the one working salvation in the individual; John 6:28-29 where faith is declared to be the work of God; Acts 13:48 where God appoints people to believe; and John 1:12-13 where being born again is not by man’s will, but by God’s.

Perseverance of the Saints

Perseverance of the Saints—You cannot lose your salvation. Because the Father has elected, the Son has redeemed, and the Holy Spirit has applied salvation, those thus saved are eternally secure. They are eternally secure in Christ. Some of the verses for this position are John 10:27-28 where Jesus said His sheep will never perish; John 6:47 where salvation is described as everlasting life; Romans 8:1 where it is said we have passed out of judgment; 1 Corinthians 10:13 where God promises to never let us he tempted beyond what we can handle; and Phil. 1:6 where God is the one being faithful to perfect us until the day of Jesus’ return.

Four-point Calvinists

A number of people, like Southern Baptists, agree with Calvinism, but have a problem with the concept of Limited Atonement because they feel like it limits Christ’s victory. Since they only believe in four of the five main points, they are called four-point Calvinists.

As Calvin teaches Limited Atonement, though, it is more about effect than cause. Christ’s death was more than sufficient to redeem all of creation, but some people are simply not destined to walk in it.

What is Calvinism

The Epistle of Paul to Philemon

Philemon’s name in the Greek means love abides. If you will notice the prefix phile is der­ived from the Greek word phileo meaning love. This is a lower order of love, a tender aff­ection. Regarding the 6 or 7 times Paul uses the work love in this letter, Paul, uses the Greek word agape. This term for love is used by the Father regarding His expression of Jes­us Christ. Therefore, this type of love is used to express love on a divine plain rather than the love we humans express apart from the Father.

Philemon verses 1-21 should read.

The Epistle of Paul to Philemon

1. Paul a prisoner and captive of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved co-worker, 2. And to our beloved Apphia and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church that meets in your home. 3. Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. I thank my God, remembering you always in my prayers, 5. hearing of your love and faith regarding every believer in Jesus Christ 6. that the fell­owship of your faith may become energized to the full knowledge of Jesus Christ which is arising within you. 7. For we have abundant joy and comfort in your love, because you give rest to those that Labour and show mercy to the saints, my brother.

9. I now appeal to you on the basis of love. As I, Paul am an old man and a prisoner and captive of Jesus Christ. 10. I appeal to you for my profitable child Onesimus, whom I have birthed forth while in chains. 11. Who in the past was useless to you, but now has become useful to you and to me as well.

12. I am now sending him back to you. Take him to your bosom as you would a gift given from my very heart. 13. I desired to keep him with me in your place because of his service to me while I am in chains for the sake of the Gospel. 14. Without your advice in this matter I will do nothing, so that any favor you do show him will be willingly. 15. For he was separated from you for a time that you should receive him back forever. 16. Not as a bondservant (love slave), but more than that of a bondservant, but as a brother from the same womb, beloved of the Father to me, but now much more to you, both in the total man (spirit, soul, and body) and in the Lord. 17. If you count me as a partner in the fellowship of Chr­ist, then receive him as you would me.

18. If he has wronged you in anyway then charge it to my account. 19. I Paul, am writing this with my own hand privately to you. I will pay you back in FULL, not to mention that you owe me. 20. I do this my brother because this would (oninemi) profit me. Refresh my heart in the Lord Jesus Christ. 21. Confident of your obedience. I write to you knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

Epistle of Paul to Philemon

While doing my word study on this passage I was amazed at how inadequate the King James version is in relaying the passion in which Paul wrote this letter, the Epistle of Paul to Philemon. I fought back tears as the Lord opened up the meaning of the Greek text. I believe this private hand written letter reveals more of Paul’s true character in the Lord Jesus Christ than any other of his writings.

There are four main points I wish to bring out in this passage.

1. Paul begins by saying he is not so much a prisoner of Rome, but a prisoner and captive of Jesus Christ (verse 1).
2. Paul calls Onesimus his love child birthed to him while in chains for the Gospel (verse 10).
3. Paul’s use of the word love (verse 5, 7, and 9).
4. Paul’s use of the word brother to describe his relationship with Philemon (verse 7).

With the help of the Lord we will discuss each of these issues. We will do so not necessarily in the order mentioned above. So, let us begin.

Philemon the Man

We know little of Philemon the man other than what Paul tells us. Apparently he was a man of some means. He owned slaves. Philemon was rich in faith and love for all believers of Jesus Christ (verse 5). He gave rest and showed mercy to those who labored for the Gospel of Christ (verse 7).

Philemon’s name is a combination of two separate Greek words. Phile is derived from the Greek word Phileo meaning love. Mon, I believe, is derived from the Greek word Mone meaning mansion or abides. If I am correct I believe we can safely say Philemon’s name means “love abides.”

The Greek word Phileo is a lower order of love. Phileo love means a tender affection. This falls into the category of human or emotional love.

Two Plains/Two Types of Love

There are two plains of existence in the universe. The reality of divine existence and the reality of earthly existence. God relates to man on a divine plain of existence. Apart from Christ, we relate to God from an earthly perspective.

One of the reasons Christ came in human form was to enlarge a place within us to receive His life from a heavenly or divine perspective. Thus causing us who are from the earth to relate to the Father who dwells in heaven. Since Jesus Christ overcame all temptation in human form we are now responsible to cast away our own emotional thinking processes and relate to the Father through Jesus Christ on a divine realm of existence. We will no longer be led around by our emotions, but by His Holy Spirit.

In the six different times Paul uses the word love in this passage he uses the Greek word Agape. Agape love is love on a divine plain. This is the term used by the Father regarding His Son Jesus Christ. This is also the term the Apostle John uses throughout his Gospel reflecting the words of Jesus towards His disciples.

What Paul is saying is; “Philemon, I realize your mother and father gave you the name Love Abides, but your heavenly father regards you with Abiding Agape.” Paul is saying to Philemon that he is the expression of the Father to all believers regarding love.

Philemon Called Brother by Paul

The Greek word for brother in this passage means, from the same womb. The Apostle Paul was not in the habit of calling a man a brother, yet this is the term he used for Philemon. Paul reserved the term brother for only a few loyal friends in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. You will read where Paul makes mention of the brethren at Corinth, Galatia and Ephesus, and so on.

The term brother used by Paul is a term of endearment used for loyal friends such as Timothy, Epaphroditus, Tychicus, Luke, Titus, Apollos, Silas, and Philemon. Rarely will you have an occasion to hear him speak of other believers addressing them brother.

Have you noticed how quick we are to throw out the terms brother or sister to anyone regarded as a believer? We have the same bad habit of throwing out phrases like; “Well Praise the Lord.” We use this kind of speech in everyday conversation without even thinking about what we are saying. Could this be taking the Lord’s Name in vain?

Phrases like; “ Praise the Lord, thank you Jesus, and Hallelujah”, are words or expressions of worship. Yet, so often, we use these phrases in vain in plain everyday conversation. If we decide to use phases like these in everyday conversation we should stop, take a moment and let the words flow as an expression of worship unto Him. I hope you get my point. The same is said of the terms of brother or sister.

Paul is saying of Philemon, “you and I are not only joined together in Christ, but we are from the same spiritual womb. We have the same heart concerning the ministry of Christ and His church.” The basis of their fellowship was Philemon’s willingness to be identified with Paul who was in chains because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

How far will we go to preserve a relationship with someone if it means being identified with that person’s suffering and offense because of the cross of Jesus Christ? Mankind is always willing to lay down its life for the sake of king and country or for their families. We call this the ultimate sacrifice, but how far are we willing to go for a true brother or sister in Christ.

Facing Adversity

Many years ago, while still a member of a Pentecostal denomination and pastoring my first church, I came under major opposition from several members under my charge because of my stand against Jezebel. It was witchcraft city. I mean I actually had members who would visit a fortune teller on Saturday afternoons and stand in church on Sunday and testify of the blessings of the Lord.

Not long after my arrival, a member of the church bought me a new electronic keyboard in order for me to minister in praise and worship. It was an answer to prayer and a wonderful gift. I asked the member before the money was given if the keyboard was a personal present or for the church.

They said it was a personal gift for me to use however the Lord saw fit. I could use it for the church, use it on my travels, and take it with me if the Lord decided to move me to a new location.

In just a few short months after receiving the gift, opposition broke out. When opposition broke against me I was devastated. I had never come under fire before. I was young in the Lord so I decided to get out of town for a couple of days to pray and seek the Lord for direction.

The Epistle of Paul to Philemon

While I was away, several members of the church broke into my home took my keyboard and several books and tapes I had acquired and fashioned a pad lock on the outside of my door so we were unable to enter the house upon my return.

You need to understand this was many many years ago and I can look back and laugh about it now. It is actually quite funny now, but at the time all I felt was devastation and rejection.

The worst part was that not one member of my ministry covering came to my aid. Jesse and I stood alone. I thought I was building relationships with the brethren that would stand with me under any trial or circumstance. The brethren in the fellowship I belonged to were busy themselves dealing with similar problems trying to stay above water dealing with similar devastation and rejection.

I learned a valuable lesson. I had fellowship with members of my denomination, but we did not build relationships with one another in Christ. A relationship that was willing to stand with someone under the trial of their faith and a willingness to lay down their own life for the brethren, even if they may be wrong.

This is what Jesus Christ did for us. When we were in the wrong, He laid down His own life for us. He bore rejection upon Himself that we would never stand alone. His rejection and suffering would serve to bring unity among the true sheep of the Lord, thus causing us to be identified with one another in true fellowship that brings relationship in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since that time the Lord has shown me how to build relationships with the brethren. I now know I have people around me that would take a bullet for me. I trust them with my very life because they have proven themselves faithful to me my family and to the Lord. And I would do the same for them. I cannot say I would feel this way about just anyone who calls themselves a brother or sister in the faith.

Paul and Philemon

This is the relationship Paul had with Philemon. They were brothers from the same spiritual womb. Philemon who owned much in this world was willing to have fellowship with Paul who was made to be an offense because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a true brother.

When you are hungry, when you are naked, when you are in prison, who is willing to overlook the shame and the reproach and rush in with oil and wine and cover you in love? Are we willing to share this same reproach and be identified with the Lord’s elect? This is a relationship which shows the character and nature of Jesus Christ.

Onesimus Profitable Son and Child

This is my favorite section of this little teaching. Onesimus’s name in the Greek means Profitable. He had already been given the right name, but his true character had yet to surface. He apparently was a run away slave belonging to the house of Philemon. In one of the great ironies of the scriptures we find a runaway slave who becomes a servant to one who is in prison. This shows true Christ like character. Not only in Onesimus, but in Paul.

Paul was so identified with Christ that Onesimus was willing to lay down his own life in order to become a servant to the prisoner. What a witness! If only we could show the nature of Jesus Christ under these same conditions. This is a prayer of my own heart. No matter what condition I find myself in let me count it as nothing so that I may show the favor of the Lord to others of His fold.

Since Philemon was a believer I am sure he treated his servants well. So as long as Onesimus worked in the house of Philemon, he enjoyed the benefits of his master’s house.

He apparently was not content to be a servant so he ran away. We don’t really know how he ended up in prison with Paul. The point is not one of speculation on our part. We desire only to bring out the revelation in this passage. The character of Jesus Christ in Paul touched the hollow of Onesimus’s thigh. He became a son, or a love child, of Paul. This is what verse 10 is referring too. The Greek word for son is teknon. It literally means a son born of a father–a love child born from the loins. This is what Onesimus became unto Paul.

The Epistle of Paul to Philemon

So, when Paul writes this appeal on behalf of Onesimus to Philemon he is saying, “Philemon, I have great joy to share with you.” The King James version would have us to believe in verse 8 that Paul was exercising his authority in the Lord by being bold. This is not what this verse is saying.

Paul is saying that because of his relationship with Philemon he felt liberty to bare his heart to him knowing Philemon would not trample his emotions. He is saying, “Because of my chains and suffering for the sake of the Gospel the Lord has given me a son who is the expression of my very heart. A love child born to me in captivity. A profitable child who has become the expression of my very heart. He is my reward and my only true comfort as I Paul, an old man, bare these chains for the sake of the Gospel (Verse 12).

Because he first belonged to you I am willing to give him up and send him back to you. Receive him to your bosom as the heir and expression of my very heart. He is now true to his name, my Profitable Child, Onesimus.”

Slave, Bondservant, Heir and Son

Let us now deal with the subject of a love slave or bondservant of the Lord. Paul begins in verse one by saying. “Paul a prisoner and captive of Jesus Christ.” The King James version uses the term bond servant as the condition of Paul. This term bondservant comes from Deuteronomy Chapter 15:12-18 and Exodus Chapter 21:2-6. This is what Paul said of himself concerning his captive state.He was saying he was not so much a prisoner of Rome, but a love slave of Jesus Christ.

When a person becomes a slave he does not do so willingly. Many times a person is sold into slavery because of an inability buy his freedom. A person may become a slave because his land was over run by an enemy and forced to do so. Becoming a slave means giving up all freedom to become the property of another.

Epistle of Paul to Philemon, April 24, 1995

By Bruce Hehl

ED: Breaking Familiar Patterns, Strongholds, and Spirits is a teaching Bruce wrote years ago and we are just now placing on the web.

The texts used in the teaching are found in Ephesians 6: 10-17 and II Corinthians 10:3-6.

In this text we see a garment or covering against the attack of the Prince of Darkness. Paul calls this garment spiritual armor. This spiritual covering is used for protection against the wiles of the enemy.

Spiritual armor is used for defensive purposes in warfare against the mind or soul realm. Since we are in Christ, we need to see that this armor is already in place. Our activity in spiritual warfare is to exercise faith through divine grace for the pulling down of strongholds within us. By exercising faith through grace we put into practice principles that break old familiar patters that hinder us from attaining, “the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phillipians 3:14).”

Sanctifying the Mind and Pulling Down Strongholds

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Paul states that man is made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. The word sanctify means to set apart. When we come to Christ, our natural thinking processes need to be set apart, set aside and sanctified, in order to receive a renewed mind in Christ. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5).” The heat of our greatest conflict takes place in the mind or soul realm.

We can never enter into true spiritual warfare, such as casting out evil spirits or pulling down principalities in heavenly places until we close off the soul from the attack of our own thought processes. We must first learn to exercise dominion over the Lord’s territory by breaking ourselves free from familiar patterns within us that develop into strongholds and familiar spirits.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6

We pull down strongholds in our own mind by turning to Jesus Christ. When a thought enters our mind that is contrary, we set it apart from the mind of Christ and cast it away.

The act of sin first develops in the mind or soul. If we entertain a sinful thought in our mind long enough, it soon becomes easy to act it out in our body. If we pull and cast it down through the exercising of faith by grace, we gain strength and overcome temptation.

We cast down vain imaginations that are contrary to the mind of Jesus Christ. The Greek word for vain means empty. The Greek word for imagination is logismos, meaning reasoning. The prefix logis means eloquent. So we cast down or set apart empty, eloquent reasoning that is contrary to the renewed mind of Christ. We cannot use the instrument of the mind to cast our familiar patterns such as rage, gossip, drinking smoking, anger, lust of the flesh, and so on, apart from a renewed mind in Jesus Christ. We must see that our own thinking process is nothing more than empty, eloquent reasoning. We must not even try to plan our own future apart from Jesus Christ. This is why Paul says that the weapons we fight with are not carnal, but mighty in the pulling down of strongholds. They have divine power or ability.

Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The Greek word for transformed is Metamorphoo. We derive our English word metamorphosis from this. Paul is saying that our mind needs to go through a transformation in order to have the mind of Christ.

The English word metamorphosis means to transform a thing or object from one state of being to another. A good example of this transformation is turning a solid object into a liquid state or a caterpillar transforming itself into a butterfly. Our greatest example of this is in Romans 8:19, which tells us, the creation groans in expectation to be transformed into the sons of God.

Ephesians 6:10 begins with the phrase “Be strong.” The Greek word for “strong” is endunamis. We see the prefix en together with dunamis. En means to exercise and dunamis means ability or might. This means to exercise ability or might inwardly by faith through grace in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Greek word for Grace is “Charis,” the root word for gift. The gift of grace is given by the Father as He shows mercy and favor to you at His pleasure. You must see that grace is necessary before you can exercise ability or might by faith.

Ephesians 6:16 says, “Take up the shield of faith.” The Greek word for shield is thureous. In its earliest meaning it meant to close the entrance of a cave with a large rock. We must close the entrance of the soul or mind before we can have our mind renewed in Jesus Christ.

Law and Familiar Patterns

A law is established in relationship between cause and effect. If we repeat a bad or familiar habit pattern often enough a law is established. Over the course of time it becomes a stronghold within us. As the established law of this new stronghold is built within us. The enemy becomes the law enforcement agency acting against us as a type of sheriff enforcing this new law pattern. The chief law enforcer is called a familiar spirit.

Familiar spirits can only be cast out or walked out by closing off the entrance of the soul and renewing our mind in Jesus Christ and recognizing our authority in Him. As Jesus said in Mark 3:27: “In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.”

This is what the enforcing familiar spirit does. He ties up the strong man (the mind or soul) and then robs the house of all valued possessions. People who have been subjected to a break-in to their home will tell you the worst feeling they experience is having their privacy invaded. The enemy invades our thought processes and takes them captive. We are then forced to uphold the law of this new stronghold within us because our soul and mind have been invaded. The enemy thus places us in a type of spiritual prison.

The only way to break free from this prison is to use these principles of the Kingdom, seeing ourselves as in Christ. Look how alcoholism and drug addiction can rob a person of a happy and productive life. Soon, that person’s whole life is governed around an addiction, thus robbing them of their family, their job, their friends and everything else that person cares about.

We also need to recognize that familiar spirits can be passed down from one generation to the next. Familiar spirits can actually gain strength as they pass from father to son, sometimes lying dormant within us for years, until some crisis in life triggers them off. Why do we battle against lust of the flesh, anger, rage, alcoholism, smoking, depression, incest and many other problems in our society? Because of familiar spirits. Our society calls these demons sicknesses, but they are not. They are demons and familiar spirits passed down from generation to generation because of man’s original fall from grace.

Society battles against these demons and familiar spirits with the use of drugs, education and counseling, trying to solve the problem of man’s original sin. II Corinthians 2:15 says, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.” Only by embracing Jesus Christ and having our mind renewed in Him and seeing we are a new creature in Christ, can we begin to break the law of sin and death that has been established.

“Because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.”

Romans 8:2-3

Familiar Spirits

You need to realize the only way Satan can procreate himself is through the sexual union of men and women. This is why our society displays so much graphic sex. Our television sets, billboards, movie theaters and reading literature of the day are loaded with sexual connotations.

Each time a man and woman join together, apart from a renewed mind in Christ, familiar spirits are transferred from one generation to the next. This transferring of spirits is also possible in a loving relationship between husband and wife. To see that this is true, look at your own children. Do you see your own weaknesses developing within them? It is not the act of sexual relations that is bad in and of itself. God forbid! It is when we have so called unprotected sexual relations apart from a renewed mind in Christ that familiar spirits pass down from father to son.

Think of all the children born out of acts of lawless rebellion. Teenage pregnancy is a growing concern among parents these days. How many parents of these same teenagers committed the same lawless acts? What can we expect from children conceived in rebellion? Lawlessness! This is one of the reasons believers experience problems with their own children.

We must break the pattern of lawlessness by allowing the Lord Jesus Christ to invade every fiber of our being. We cannot expect to change lawlessness in our children until we allow the Lord to change us completely.

Remember Proverbs 13:24? “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” I remember several years ago when I was dealing with one of my daughters. I was applying the switch to her and praying at the same time asking the Lord to drive the rebellion out of her. The Lord spoke something to me I will never forget. He said, “Go ahead switch her all you want, but you will never drive the rebellion out of her until you allow me to drive rebellion out of you. Just as you use the rod upon her I am going to use a rod against you.”

Why would the Lord speak something like that to me? Because she is the sum of my own parts. What is in her originated within me. She not only receives gifts and talent traits from me, but she also receives many of my own weaknesses. This is why we must allow the Lord to break familiar patterns, strongholds and familiar spirits within us. In Christ we can drive these things out of our family blood line once and for all if we will only allow the Lord access within us. This doesn’t mean we can produce born-again children, but it does mean we can purify our own blood line for posterity’s sake.

Let us look at the issue of AIDS. How is AIDS transmitted? AIDS is transmitted by having unprotected sexual relations between homosexuals and now between men and women. The same can be said with alcoholism, drug addiction, hate, murder, incest, and so on. What we see at work in our society, through the cause and effect of legal binding sin are familiar spirits that have been passed down from father to son.

How can we have protected sexual relations in Christ? If we are in Christ, we are a new creature by having our mind renewed in Christ. We close off the entrance of the soul realm to the practice of familiar patterns and exercise strength in the Lord’s ability or might to pull down vain, empty reasoning. We will speak more about this in a moment.

Let us take a look at another issue of today in our society–abortion. Look at the ignorance of those calling themselves Christians who kill doctors and blow up abortion clinics. Are these people using their full potential in Christ to the pulling down of these strongholds? No! Is abortion a sin? Yes! Can the practice of abortion cease by waging war as the world does? No! Remember 2nd Corinthians 10:3-6? Can we stop the practice of abortion by legislation with the support of Congress and the Senate? No! Can we stop the practice of abortion by holding up a sign and protesting abortion clinics. No! Should we even care if laws pass that make the practice of abortion illegal. No! Why? Because the practice of abortion will not stop with passing laws or holding up a sign in protest.

How many times have we driven 60 or 65 miles per hour when the speed limit sign says 55? Rarely do we get caught for breaking the speed limit. If we do get caught we end up paying a small fine. It isn’t long before we forget about the cost of the fine and once again we return to driving faster than the speed limit allows. The same is said of our troubled society. Natural laws created by man can and will always be broken. The only law established that can never change nor be broken is the law of the administration of God’s divine grace.

Putting the Cart before the Horse

The one thing we as believers in Christ are constantly guilty of is, “putting the cart before the horse.” We are more likely to try and exercise spiritual authority over society’s problems than we are to exercise spiritual authority over our own strongholds. We presume to pull down strongholds over territories and cities when the same enemy is found lurking about within our own thoughts and souls. Can we presume to cast down or out of someone else a spirit of rejection, drug addiction, or anything else for that matter, if we have the same spirit lurking within us?

As I have said before, some familiar spirits can lay dormant within us for years before we realize they are even there. We must ask the Lord to bind up the strong man until we are in a place to wage war against any dormant familiar spirits within us.

Binding up the Strong Man

Jesus said in Matthew 18:18, I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. One of the other abilities we have in Christ is to bind up dormant familiar spirits within us until the Lord exposes them to us in secret. By keeping these dormant familiar spirits bound within us, the Lord’s grace protects us until such a time we are ready to wage spiritual warfare against them. As the Lord reveals them to us, we can deal with one issue at a time until our total mind is renewed in Christ.

Repenting and turning to the Lord Jesus is just the beginning of the process of salvation. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” The word salvation means; the act of being saved. This means that salvation is a continuing process until we reach a place of perfection in Jesus Christ. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes into our lives He only has access to the areas we turn over to Him. Yes, we are a new creature in Christ, but this means only in the areas we allow Him to invade. We are a new creature in the way our thought processes work, but this is only the beginning of our salvation. We have only a portion of a renewed mind and new way of thinking.

We saw earlier how no man enters a strong man’s house until he first binds up the strong man thus invading the strong man’s privacy. The same can be said of the Lord. We need to allow the Lord to invade the privacy of our thoughts, our heart and our soul, so that every fiber of our being is invaded by Jesus Christ.

The Lord doesn’t want to carry away our possessions as a robber would, but wants to re-decorate the house using precious gold and silver furnishings. He wants to remove the wood, hay and stubble. This is what Paul is saying in 1st Corinthians 3:10-16. We are the temple or house of the Lord. We will become a pleasing sacrifice before the Lord by putting into practice the renewing our mind in Christ. We will cast down every familiar pattern and stronghold that is contrary to a renewed mind in Christ using spiritual weapons, waging war with faith through divine grace.

The God of heaven will answer this sacrifice by fire. We find Old Testament examples of this with Abraham, Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Moses and the pillar of fire, David’s Tabernacle, and the Temple of Solomon. We have a New Testament example of this too. Acts 2: 1-3 says, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” Once again we see that the God of heaven answers a pleasing sacrifice by providing the fire.

When we allow the Lord to invade every fiber of our being the fire of YAHWEH will consume us and everyone with whom we come in contact. Revelation 12:10, 11 says, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony, they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

Ephesians 6:10-17 Our Spiritual Covering in Christ Jesus

Let us close by reading this passage of scripture. I have taken this passage from the King James Version. I did a word study on this passage of scripture and replaced much of the King James with the new word meanings.

Finally, my brethren, exercise ability or might inwardly in the Lord, and in the ability of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to make covenant against the wiles of the enemy. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the estate and jurisdiction of the Prince of Darkness in this world, against spiritual malignant forces in heavenly and celestial places. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist this present malicious age. Having done all to stand, stand and make covenant with the Lord having your loins gird about with truth. (In the loins is found the seed of man. If our spiritual loins are renewed in Christ then the seed of our spiritual loins will produce truth in the inward parts instead of sin and death.) Having on the breastplate of righteousness, (meaning having a pure and righteous heart) and having your feet bound in preparation with the Gospel of Peace. (Romans 3:14, 15 says, “The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood.” But Romans 10:15 says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring Good News.” The word Gospel translates into Good News.) Above all, through faith, close the entrance of the soul, wherewith you will be able to quench the fiery missiles of malicious, malignant wickedness. Be wrapped around the head, spirit, soul and body, with the salvation of the Lord (The head is where the soul or mind is. The mind sends messages to the rest of the body. If the mind or soul is renewed in Christ then the whole body is pure.) and take up the sword of the spirit which is the [Rhema] word of God.”

Ephesians 6:10-17

Breaking Familiar Patterns, Strongholds, and Spirits

I believe we are in preparation for the final hour. It is most important that we are free from all attack of the enemy within the mind. If we will approach the Lord, He will be faithful to deliver us in all areas of weakness. As darkness closes in and around us one small area of weakness within could hinder us from reaching our highest potential in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must be free from fear, rejection, and all attack from the enemy.

In these last days, we will be assaulted and accused by all enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ. We must cast all care upon Him for He has born our rejection and shame upon Himself before the Father. He has risen in victory. Therefore we must arise and see ourselves seated in heavenly places with Him.

May the Lord Jesus Christ be lifted up in you. May the offspring of the women clothed in the sun be faithful to stand and give testimony concerning Our Father, YAHWEH and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in all the earth until His coming to gather us unto our fathers which have run the race before us.

Breaking Familiar Patterns, Strongholds, and Spirits

Bruce Hehl April 12th, 1995