A Day Like Today

            It was a sunny day here today, I saw the odd cloud float its way through the sky until I lost site of it, but then the next one would come out of nowhere, the sky looked so nice and blue after the few days of grey and darkness we have experienced. I had some free time so I went for a short while to the garden park to sit and fellowship with the Lord my God. I always appreciate the atmosphere in this particular place, so I cherish every moment while I am there to sense the peace and tranquility. I could hear different types of birds singing to each other, it gave the air the sound of sweet music. It seemed that every person I saw in the park had their dog with them, I felt out of place because I didn’t have one of those furry little beasts to run after, and pick up their poop after them. I saw a police car over in the distance with its roof lights flashing, it was stopped blocking the cars just past the intersection, in the right lane going north, on one of our city’s busiest streets. I thought the police may have someone stopped giving them a ticket, what a place to stop them, at a busy intersection; but when I left the park I saw the police were there to detour traffic because there was an auto accident.

            People were out and about there business today, driving here and there, out shopping buying essentials and non-essentials, stopping to grab bites of food at restaurant patios; some were meeting with friends for lunch. I wonder what plans people are making for this evening? Is it a night out with friends, or a night home with the family? I wonder how many people had plans to get married today.

            Today is like any other day in the populace of this city, and you know, Jesus said it would be a day like today when he will come back to carry away those who follow him. It will be like in the days of Noah, people meeting people for lunch, having a laugh or two as they sip their beverages, people getting married; basically doing what people do in the daily routines of life: “But as the days of Noe [were], so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark” (Mt.24:37-38, KJV). People were carrying on with their business in the days of Noah, living life like people do, thinking that things will always be what they are familiar with, even up until the day Noah was closed into the ark.

            We know the reason why the Lord sent the flood to destroy the inhabitants of the earth at that time, it was because of how wicked his human creation had become: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually” (Gen.6:5, KJV), but Jesus did not mention the circumstance behind the flood. He never mentioned how corrupt they had become, and by corrupt I am not referring to the sin in their heart even though their hearts had become totally corrupt, but I am referring to how their DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) was corrupted by fallen angels, which created hybrid human beings called נָפִיל (nĕphiyl) {nephilim}; these were giant men (Gen.6:1-4). Jesus only described the kind of normal daily living the people were occupied with when the door of the ark was shut, which sounds pretty much like a day like today.

            In Luke’s Gospel he records that the coming of the Lord will be like in the days of Noah, and he also adds that it will be similar like in the days of Lot — Abrahams nephew and the son of Haran. Like the people in the days of Noah the people in the days of Lot were eating and drinking too: “Likewise, even as it happened in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built” (Lk.17:28, HNV). They were living lives like all other societies, like the people in Noah’s day, doing the daily functions of life, like having fun, working hard contributing to their economy, and so on; right up to the very day fire and brimstone rained down on them: “In the day that Lot went out from Sedom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all” (Lk.17:29, HNV).

            Just as we know the reason why God sent the flood we also know the reason why God sent destruction onto Sodom, it was because they were wicked and sinned greatly against him (Gen.13:13; 18:20-21; 19:5-9), but again, Jesus does not mention the reason why Sodom was destroyed, he only describes the kind of normal daily living the people of Sodom were absorbed with the day fire and brimstone came down into their city and destroyed all of its inhabitants; Jesus described a day like today.

            Do not think that the world will be in upheaval and disaster on the day when Jesus Christ comes back for the believer, at the day and hour of the rapture, for upheaval and disaster describes the day when he comes back to redeem Israel at the second coming. When the Lord comes back to carry away his followers it will be like in the days of Noah and Lot, as he said; there will be eating and drinking, people will be buying and selling, people will be getting married on that day. It will be like the things I saw in the garden park today, people walking their dogs, chasing after them, scooping up their poop, accidents happening on our streets with cars banging into each other, and so on. Jesus further describes what it will be like the day and hour when he catches up his people showing that people will be working trying to make a living: “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left; two women grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one will be left” (Mt.24:40-41, HNV). If you can relate this to our modern era, people will be working in the factory, some will be taken and others will be left, people will be working in office buildings, some will be taken and others will be left.

            Yes, the coming of the Lord will be similar to a bright beautiful day like today, try not to miss it.

 

(KJV) Outside of the United Kingdom, the KJV is in the public domain.

(HNV) Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain

Occupying?

            We step closer everyday to when we will hear the trumpet call of God sound, and in an instant millions and millions of people will suddenly vanish off the face of this earth. ‘Where have these people gone’ will be the question the rest of the world will ask. You know I am referring to the day when Jesus comes for his Church and suddenly captures those who are walking with him into the eternal realm. The new world system will have an answer to our disappearance, as they will say that we have been removed by alien powers.*

            If you read my article, ‘Very, Very Soon’, you may remember how I wrote how important the rapture is in the plan of God and how soon this day will be, by using the prophetic word of Jesus to reveal that this day is sooner than most realize; though some believers are under the impression that they will just let this day take them by surprise. These individuals have the persistent idea that they need not even think about this day because they need to occupy or to carry on business, until he comes. They have this idea from the parable that Jesus taught about the gentleman who gave his servants money to put to work for him, because he was going away to be appointed king and then he would return (Lk.19:11-27), he told them to “Occupy till I come” (Lk.19:13c, KJV). Many will quote this phrase in response to anyone who brings up the subject of the Lords coming, even though they are not using this phrase in its proper context; I wonder why they do this. Nobody is saying that they are not to be about their daily duties until the Lord comes, indeed, this is exactly what they are to do, doing what they have been called to do. So why do some use this phrase to justify their own notions that the catching away of the Church is not important, or that they are not interested that this glorious day happen until late in their future? It is plain and simple indifference to the plan of God, because the rapture of the Church has been Gods will from the beginning. Why would any believer be in opposition to this day and not want it to happen as soon as possible? Without all the religious excuses I mean.   

            The Lord Jesus had different ideas about his return than do the occupiers, his view of this day by no means was one of indifference, and he did not teach that the Church is to pay no attention to his return, he thought the opposite. Why do you think he gave us signs that would precede the rapture of the Church, and similarly spoke about the signs that would precede his return for the nation of Israel? Is this because he did not want us to think about it, or to be caught off guard like people who are in the dark, this day will take them by surprise like a thief in the night. No! To the contrary! Jesus was emphatic when he told us to watch and be ready for his coming. The notion of ‘occupying until the Lord comes’ is a good idea, but we are likewise to watch and be ready for the day and hour of the catching away of those who follow Christ Jesus.  

            Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives one day after he had left the temple and his disciples had some questions for him. Their questions would lead to Jesus’ predictions of the end times, to the time of his coming for the Church and to his coming to redeem the nation of Israel: “What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age” (Mat.14:3b, HNV)? The Lord then begins to give a list of the signs that will precede his return to redeem the nation of Israel from verses four to thirty five, then beginning in verse thirty six until the end of chapter twenty four he reveals information about the catching away of Church, the New Creation. I have written previously the primary sign that revealed when Christ was coming to redeem Israel, and that sign being, that before the end of every life who witnessed the rebirth of Israel in 1948 would also witness Christ coming to redeem Israel from iniquity and see her finally put faith in him, as was prophesied with parabolic language in Matthew 24:32-34; Mark 13:32-34; Luke 21:29-32. This event will fulfil the prophetic word spoken to Daniel, in Daniel 9:24, by the angelic being called Gabriel.

            The Lord taught his disciples that no one will know the day and hour of his return for the Church (24:36), he was not referring to his coming to save Israel with this statement because contrary to what many people say the second coming can be predicted to the very day according to Scripture. If this were not true than it would mean that the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 is false, and if you believe that God would make a false prediction than you do not know him. Again, when Jesus said, “But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Mt.24:36, HNV), he was referring to the rapture and not his second coming. To help you understand that I am not the one predicting the actual day of the second coming (which I am not), but it is prophecy predicting the day of the second coming, you must realize that Israel has only one more week left of the predicted seventy week period (Dan.9:24). The sixty ninth week was completed when Christ was on the earth (Dan. 9:25-26a). The seventieth week begins the day when the one word leader makes a peace agreement with Israel (Dan.9:27), this peace agreement begins the seventieth and last week of Israel and as prophesied at the end of the seventieth week Israel is redeemed by the Lord (Dan.9:24). The seventieth week period is symbolic language for seven biblical years, which is 2,520 days (Read my book ‘The Day And The Hour, Is Sooner Than You Think’** for clearer insight). If you fail to be caught up to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the air at the rapture (1 Thess.4:16-17), before the seventieth week of Israel begins, than you will be able to calculate from prophetic Scripture the day when Jesus will come out of the clouds to save Israel from destruction (Mt.24:30-31; Rev.1:7; 19:11-21).  

            It is written that no man knows the day and the hour of the rapture, and there are some reasons for that. When Jesus comes for those who follow him the day and hour will vary from time zone to time zone, so the day and hour will be at different times considering where you live on this planet. You must understand that there will be believers from every nation in the world who will be caught up to meet the Lord in the twinkling of an eye at the day of the rapture, unlike the second coming of Christ which is concentrated only in the nation of Israel, in Jerusalem, with its one time zone (Zech.14:4). No one knows the day and hour of the rapture because it is symbolic to the day when an ancient Jewish husband goes to retrieve his virgin bride at his fathers command, the bridegroom did not even know what day and hour his father would send him to get his virgin bride to bring her back to the new home he prepared for her (See Jn. 14:1-4). If you want to understand what it will be like when Christ comes for his bride than consider the symbolic message Jesus was speaking with the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew, chapter twenty five. The virgins were suppose to be watching and ready for their bridegroom when he came for them but some were ready and some were not, this is why Jesus makes this demand: “Watch therefore, for you don't know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (Mt.25:13,HNV).

            Earlier Jesus informed his disciples that his return will be like in the days of Noah (Mt.24:37-41; Lk.17:26-27), and like the days of Lot (Lk.17:28-29), meaning that on the day and hour he comes for the Church it will be like any other day. People will be living their life like they do any other day, with all the laughs and happy plans being made, with all the challenges and heartaches we face, then when it is least expected a trumpet will sound and people will vanish (1 Thess.4:16-17). Jesus is giving his followers warning of his appearance and commanding that we keep watch: “Watch therefore, for you don't know in what hour your Lord comes” (Mt.24:42, HNV). Does this mean we are to just ‘occupy’ and not think about his return — it will happen when it happens — or are we to occupy and watch for his return. Are you watching for his return or are you giving it any thought? I know, your life is so busy, your job, your ministry, making plans. You don’t have time to think and watch as the Lord commanded.

            If you look at the Scriptures Jesus wants our attention when he makes this comparative illustration in verse forty three saying, “But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into” (Mt.24:43, HNV). What in the world is he saying? He is comparing his coming for the Church to a man who has had his house broken into, by describing how if a man had any idea his house would be burglarized, and at what time it would happen, he would have stood guard and not have let it happen; he would have been watching for this burglar to come. We know the Lord is coming for those of us who are following him but he does not only want us to know he is coming, he also wants us to be watching for this day; and by watching I mean with a heart of expectation: “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior” (Phil.3:20, NLT; See also, Rom.8:19, 23; 1 Cor.1:7; 1 Thess.1:10; 2 Tim.4:8; Titus 2:13; Heb.9:28).

            Jesus adds, “Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don't expect, the Son of Man will come” (Matthew 24:44, HNV). He says this to further explain the illustration in verse forty three, although he pinpoints the urgency of the alert with the phrase “in an hour.” If a man knew someone was coming to rob his home he would not only be watching for him but he would be ready for him, maybe with a baseball bat, because the burglar is going to come at a particular hour and the man would want to be ready when this intruder breaks into his house. The point to this illustration is if the master of the house knew at what hour the burglar was coming he would have been prepared to meet him. Jesus is warning his followers to watch for his coming so we can be ready for it, not being apathetic and being caught off guard. If you can see even clearer the Lord is demanding that we be ready even waiting for him at the very hour he returns.

            The Apostle Paul writes that the believer is not to be in the dark concerning the day and hour of the Lords coming; it should not take us off guard like a thief in the night. He said that the coming of the Lord would be like a thief coming in the night like Jesus’ illustration above, but only to those who are in the dark, not to us who are in the light (See 1 Thess.5:1-11).

* The worlds answer for those who go in the rapture:

http://www.redmoonrising.com/newage.htm

 

http://theendtimeschurch.org/articles/The%20Shocking%20Truth%20About%20UFO.pdf

 

** ‘The Day And The Hour, Is Sooner Than You Think’

http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-61777-046-3


(KJV) King James Version: Public Domain

(HNV) Hebrew Names Version: Public Domain

(NLT) New Living Translation:

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Soon, Very Soon

            You may have seen that I write quite frequently about the coming of the Lord on my Blog ‘The Logos Revealer” and on my website ‘Maranatha Faith Believers.’ The reason I write primarily on this subject is because I am very passionate about this topic, and because of how real it is to me. Certain people who know me know that I can discuss the Lord’s coming with great enthusiasm. If they are likeminded with me our discussion can go on for a long while, and at the end we are so energized because the presence of Gods Spirit stirs us up to seek and know him even more.

            In the early years of my life in Christ I have been very fortunate to sit in the congregations of two wonderful Pastors who were called by the Lord to shepherd the flock of God, I believe this because they both had the witness of the coming of the Lord in their heart, just like I do. They did not introduce to me the initial knowledge of the Lord and his return, for that truth had been planted in my understanding prior to meeting them, but they sure did add more to my understanding.         

            These men, whom one is passed on and is with the Lord in spirit and the other is moved on to another location enjoying his senior years, knew what the Lord is speaking to the Church in these last and final days of the Church age. They read and saw how important the rapture of the Church is in the plan of God, and they understood through the word that Jesus commands the believer to watch and be ready for his coming. They knew through study that the Lord’s appearing would be witnessed by the same people who were alive to see Israel become a self governing nation once again. They preached this message from their pulpit frequently being obedient servants called to feed Gods people this information. Where is this valuable information preached from behind pulpits today?

            As I move on from my mini biography I would like to share some more about the coming of the Lord with you, by his coming I am referring to the rapture of the Church and his second coming; where he redeems the nation of Israel at the end of the Tribulation Period — if you need to know the difference between these two separate and distinct events than I suggest you read my article called ‘Do You Know The Difference?’ on my blog site. I have reported before that the rapture is such an important subject that the writers of the New Testament have recorded more than fifty passages concerning this event, you must have the revelation of the Spirit to see most of these references or you may just read over them not understanding what God is saying. If you desire to know these passages you can go to my website* where I have listed and prepared brief commentaries on each of them.

 The Rapture is a Vital Part of God’s Plan

             The rapture of the Church has been in the plan of God ever since God prophesied the coming of Jesus Christ to redeem man from his sin (Gen.3:15; Gal.4:4), knowing that Jesus would be crucified and resurrected to be the first one raised to new life, and those who belong to him will be raised at the rapture of the Church: “But now Messiah has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man; for as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Messiah the first fruits, then those who are Messiah's, at his coming” (1 Cor. 15:20-23, HNV).

            The rapture is important because at this event God completes his salvation in all those who remain in Christ, and are then fitted with glorified bodies: “For we know that if our earthly house of [this] tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven” (2 Cor. 5:1-2, KJV). This is when our mortal bodies will put on immortal bodies, taking place at the last trumpet, in as fast as it takes for the human eye to blink (See 1 Cor. 15:50-53). These glorified spiritual bodies are of the same spiritual substance like the Lord Jesus Christ possesses: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah; who will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able even to subject all things to himself” (Phil.3:20-21, HNV).

            At the day and hour of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ God shows grace to those who were living in fellowship with him and have already passed on, as he will  raise them first into glorified spiritual bodies — they have been living in heaven since they passed on only in spirit and without their body — then we who are still alive physically he catches away immediately to be with the Lord forever in the spiritual realm: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16-17, KJV).

 Consider What Time It Is

            It is all well and good to believe that the rapture will happen someday, someday far away, like twenty, fifty, a hundred years from today; many live day to day with this notion without giving this glorious day any thought or consideration whatsoever in their busy life. When you discuss life with many Christians they discuss how they will live to be old, they cannot wait for their children or their grandchildren to grow up so they can partake with them what they have become. Grand thoughts these people possess but we must first consider the hour we live in.

            The Church must consider what God has said in his word about when Jesus will come for his people. I know there are a hundred and one excuses given why we cannot know when the rapture will take place, these excuses are usually given by the clergy. Many times those who have been appointed to shepherd the flock of God will criticize anyone who writes or discusses the coming of the Lord, because they are unlearned about this event themselves. Hence, those who are being shepherded begin to get critical also against those who write and discuss the coming of the Lord. You have heard them, they usually say that we do not know the day and hour, thinking by saying these words it will protect them from their willing lack of knowledge; may the Lord be merciful.

            God has revealed in his word when Jesus will come for the Church, at the rapture, and then for the nation of Israel, at the second coming. The book of Daniel tells us that God determined a seventy week period for the nation of Israel, “to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” (Dan.9:24, KJV), which means at the end of this seventy week period the nation of Israel will finally put their faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. This time is the second coming of Jesus Christ when he will come out of heaven to fulfill the prophecy in Daniel 9:24 (Rev. 1:7; 19:11-16; Mt. 24:29-31; Zech. 12:10). Without going into all the details about this complete prophecy, that also includes Daniel 9:25-27, it is well known that sixty nine weeks have already passed and were fulfilled when Jesus was on the earth, and the seventieth week is ready to begin; the seventieth week is known as the seven year Tribulation Period (Dan.9:27). At the end of the Tribulation Period the second coming of Christ occurs, but the rapture or rather the catching away of the Church (1 Thess.4:16-17) occurs even before the Tribulation Period or the seventieth week of Israel begins — I have written a book that will give you more details into this prophecy if you desire to go deeper into it. The book is called ‘The Day And The Hour, Is Sooner Than We Think” and can be obtained online.

            Jesus Christ prophesied in the Gospels that the same people who witnessed the rebirth of the nation of Israel in May 1948, will also witness the second coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation Period, that is if they miss the rapture of the Church and survive the horrible time of the Tribulation (Read Revelation). His prophecy was in Matthew 24:32-34 and the parallel verses in Mark and Luke — again for the sake of writing space I cannot go fully into all the details of this prophecy but I do in my book. As of today it has been almost sixty five years since the rebirth of Israel, and if you witnessed the rebirth than you are over the age of sixty five, because you had to be at least five to ten years old to understand what was taking place that day on May 15, 1948. Part of the prophecy Jesus proclaimed was that those who would see or perceive (εἴδω) {eidō} Israel’s national transition, witnesses of the rebirth, would witness his second coming. I doubt that anyone under the age of five years old can remember what happened that day in 1948, and if they cannot remember than they were not witnesses to this event because they could not perceive or comprehend what was taking place; because they were too young to understand. We must consider that anyone who witnessed the rebirth of Israel is at least seventy to seventy five years of age or older, in this year of 2013.  

            Consider this, the second coming takes place at the end of the seven year Tribulation Period, so there is at least seven years until the second coming occurs. How old will the witnesses of the rebirth of Israel be at the second coming, considering they are in the range of seventy to seventy five years of age, or even older right now? What is the statistical life expectancy of people in our day and age? In case you do not know it is seventy nine to eighty years of age, meaning that people are not expected to live past this age — although a slight few do. I am not being cold hearted; I am trying to help you see what time it is. I only want you to understand how close we are to the rapture of the Church, the Tribulation Period and Christ’s second coming. Israel’s seventieth week can only occur if she is a self ruling nation, something that did not take place since 605 B.C. Israel has been independent since May 15, 1948., when she was declared a nation by the power nations at that time.

            I did not touch on how my former Pastors knew that God’s house is to watch and be ready for the coming of the Lord, or about why those called to feed God’s house information about the coming of the Lord is so important, because I would than have to turn this article into a booklet. As the Lord wills I will touch on these points in another article. May the Lord bless you!

 * http://maranathafaithbelievers.com/index.html

 (HNV) Hebrew Names Bible: Public Domain

 (KJV) King James Version: Public Domain

The Boy Who Was Healed

              There was a very riveting incident that occurred when Jesus and his disciples came off the mountain from where they had just experienced a visitation from Moses and Elijah; it is with the boy who was possessed with an evil spirit.

 Luke 9:37-42, HNV

“It happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met him. Behold, a man from the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. Behold, a spirit takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams, and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely. I begged your talmidim to cast it out, and they couldn't.” Yeshua answered, “Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Yeshua rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.” 

              What catches the interest of many people that are familiar with this narrative is how the disciples of Jesus could not cast the demon out of this boy: “I begged your talmidim to cast it out, and they couldn't” (9:40). There are others who are confused at why Jesus spoke so abruptly to his disciples for not being able to cast the demon out:  “Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? (9:41).” At certain times when I study this passage of Scripture I come up with this question: ‘What would Jesus say to some in this generation who cannot even cast out a virus from their own body let alone cast a demon out of a little boy who is being overpowered by an unseen force from the underworld?’ — My question may be answered in this article.

            The manifestations of the demon in this little boy are not unlike the manifestations we have witnessed in certain people who are diagnosed with epilepsy: “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid” (Mk. 9:17-18, NLT*). Anyone who has experienced someone in an epileptic seizure has witnessed that person not able to speak as their whole body begins to convulse violently, sometimes foam comes from their mouth and sometimes not, their body becomes as straight as a board and they grind and gnash their teeth so rigorously that if you do not get something in between their teeth they can cut their tongue. The one suffering from this seizure will usually fall to the floor because they have no control or balance over their body. The experience of witnessing this situation can be quite disturbing to someone who is not familiar  with someone who loses all control of their body like this, which maybe the possible reason why the disciples of Jesus were unable to deal with the situation they faced with this little boy (9:40).

            Which disciples exactly were the ones who could not cast the demon out of this mans’ boy? We can figure that it was not Peter, James or John, for they had just come down off the mountain where they experienced the transfiguration of Jesus (9:37), so it must have been at least two from the rest of the chosen group of twelve. The reason I assume they were from the group of twelve is because the seventy two other disciples that Jesus sent out were after this incident with the little boy and his dad. The seventy two that he sent out seemed to have no difficulty in casting out demons, unlike the small group from the chosen twelve, for they came back from the places they were sent with the report: “Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name” (Luke 10:17, KJV). It had to be at least two disciples from the chosen group of twelve because that was the Lords’ practice to send his disciples out in pairs (Mk.6:7; Lk. 10:1; Acts 13:2; 15:27).

            So who was this pair who could not cast the demon out of this little boy? We do not know because there is no record of who they were. It is easy to speculate that one may have been Thomas; because he even had trouble believing that Christ was raised from the dead until the Lord gave him physical proof. Thomas may have had trouble believing the demons were subject to him like they were to the group of seventy two and his twelve associates, even though he had been given authority over sickness, disease and all demons (9:1-2). Maybe the other likely candidate who was unbelieving and could not cure this mans’ boy was Judas Iscariot, because at this point in time he was still walking with the chosen twelve. I considered Judas Iscariot to be one of the two whom Jesus spoke so abruptly to in this incident when I started to meditate on this passage of Scripture; likely because of the history that is recorded of him. Were Thomas and Judas Iscariot partnered up together? Were they both walking with doubt in their hearts to the authority and power that Jesus had anointed them with?

            The boys’ father in this narrative portrays a man who is deeply in love with his son, his “only child” he says. Matthew records that he came to Jesus and kneeled down before him which would be a gesture not only of respect to Jesus but also a posture to garner the Lords’ complete attention. It is his son, his only child, who is bound by the forces of the evil one; and he knew that this man called Jesus could possibly deliver him from this dark power. The man was hoping earlier that the Lords’ disciples could cure his boy but they had failed: “I begged your talmidim to cast it out, and they couldn't” (9:40). I imagine that this father was so frustrated at this point that he would do anything to see his little one who captured his heart set free. Marks’ narrative gives us more detail about this incident and records that this demon would throw the boy into fire and water to kill him, in chapter nine, verse twenty two. In the same verse we see that Mark writes that the man demands of Jesus: “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us” (Mark 9:22b, HNV).

            As said, the Lord had anointed his disciples to cure those with disease and sickness, and to drive out demons from people like this little boy (9:1-2), but these disciples whomever they were could not do it. Jesus “gave them power and authority over all devils” (9:1, KJV), and that included this deaf and dumb spirit that had overpowered this boy’s body, but they could not deliver this boy and set him free. This is why Jesus was stern with them: “Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?” (9:41). Therefore, why could they not do it, why could they not perform the mighty works of God and cast the devil out of this boy? The answer is in the text: “Faithless and perverse generation.”

            Jesus was upset at these disciples who failed to cast out the deaf and dumb spirit being from this little boy and set him free. He was upset because they were faithless (ἄπιστος) {apistos}, meaning they did not believe that they could cast this wicked spirit out of the boy; possibly because the manifestations of this spirit from the underworld was frightening to them. Remember the manifestations of this spirit can be somewhat disturbing to the faint of heart with the violent convulsions, the foaming at the mouth and the grinding of the teeth together — if this was the case than they were functioning in a spirit of fear instead of a spirit of faith. Did Jesus not give to them the power and authority to do works of miracles, to cast out demons and heal the diseased, did they not believe him? If they did believe him and act on his word they would have driven this demon out and healed this boy, just like Jesus did after he rebuked the evil spirit (9:42), and just like the disciples had done weeks previous in the villages (9:6). I wonder if these two disciples in this narrative were part of the same teams that went out healing people in verse six — they may or may not have been.

            After Jesus cast the demon out of the boy and healed him, these disciples who could not heal the boy went to the Lord and asked him why they could not cast it out, where he answered them: “Because of your unbelief” (Matthew 17:20, KJV). Whether the disciples were afraid of the situation they faced with the manifestation of the deaf and dumb spirit that overpowered the boy, or there was some other reason for their failure, the real answer to why they could not cast this foul spirit out was because of their unbelief. If it were not so Jesus would not have said it. He said they were perverse (διαστρέφω) {diastrephō}, meaning they were turning away from the direction he was leading them in. Their faith was becoming corrupt; it was disintegrating to the point where they could not even deliver this boy from this spirit. He goes onto explain that if they have faith they only have to speak to a literal mountain, speaking of the mountain he had just came off from with Peter, James and John, and the literal mountain will have to do whatever they command it to (Matthew describes this best). He said to these “faithless and perverse” disciples that if they have faith: “Nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20, KJV). Just as Jesus said to the boys’ father: “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:24, HNV). The way I see it, nothing means absolutely nothing is impossible, if we believe. If we don’t believe than maybe Jesus has the same attitude with this generation as he had with the two disciples in his generation, who could not cast the demon out of this little boy. What do you think?

 

*Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 (HNV) Hebrew Names Bible: Public Domain

 

(KJV) King James Version: Public Domain