Awaken Bible Prophecy Update 4-17-24 – Satanic Influence & Christian Cessationist Ignorance

There is a large swath of the church that believes in Cessationism.  As GotQuestions.org tells us:

Cessationism is the view that the “miracle gifts” of tongues and healing have ceased—that the end of the apostolic age brought about a cessation of the miracles associated with that age. Most cessationists believe that, while God can and still does perform miracles today, the Holy Spirit no longer uses individuals to perform miraculous signs.

The questions I have regarding this belief are: Does this view hold water?  Why would so many in the church think this is true?  What are the implications in the world if Cessationism has indeed caused miracle gifts to no longer operate?

We’ll look at these issues and more over the next several minutes.  Perhaps – as is one of my objectives in doing these Commentaries – the ideas presented will cause you to also think more deeply about these things.  As always, any one of us can only understand to the extent that the Lord opens our minds and hearts.  My prayer for these very final days is that those of us who call upon Jesus as Savior, Lord, and King will all have the mind of Christ and glorify Him alone.

Transcript:

There is a large swath of the church that believes in Cessationism.  As GotQuestions.org tells us:

Cessationism is the view that the “miracle gifts” of tongues and healing have ceased—that the end of the apostolic age brought about a cessation of the miracles associated with that age. Most cessationists believe that, while God can and still does perform miracles today, the Holy Spirit no longer uses individuals to perform miraculous signs.

The questions I have regarding this belief are: Does this view hold water?  Why would so many in the church think this is true?  What are the implications in the world if Cessationism has indeed caused miracle gifts to no longer operate?

We’ll look at these issues and more over the next several minutes.  Perhaps – as is one of my objectives in doing these Commentaries – the ideas presented will cause you to also think more deeply about these things.  As always, any one of us can only understand to the extent that the Lord opens our minds and hearts.  My prayer for these very final days is that those of us who call upon Jesus as Savior, Lord, and King will all have the mind of Christ and glorify Him alone.

Before we proceed, let’s pray and read from God’s Word.

<PRAY>

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 14:5

Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

• Regarding the issue of Cessationism, as it turns out the GotQuestions article seems to favor this view.
• It discusses the supposed end of the gift of tongues as the sign of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
• There are also many “discernment” ministries that criticize various aspects of the Gifts of the Spirit being for today and which contend against the Scriptural veracity of casting our evil spirits, or even being able to be an instrument of healing as the apostles were.
• I think some discernment ministries are valid, but there are also those which I find highly questionable.

• The GotQuestions discussion on Cessationism focuses on the gift of tongues.
• It goes into various reasons why some think this gift has ceased.
• If we read the book of Acts closely, we see that it was the gift of tongues which definitively indicated to the apostles when someone received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
• They were particularly surprised when God gave the gift to Gentiles.
• Oh my goodness! God approves of them?

• My personal belief regarding tongues as evidence of the Baptism is that it is valid and helpful as an indicator of the gift.
• However, I also believe that there are, and have been, many true men and women of God who have been Baptized in the Spirit, yet because of teaching they’ve absorbed, or lack of desire on their part of speak in tongues, they simply don’t.

• Why are tongues helpful?
• Typically, the person who has received the Baptism seems to go into a higher gear – if you will – regarding the things of God.
• There appears to be a greater desire to do God’s will in whatever sphere this person operates.
• This may be evangelism, teaching, preaching, or some other service vital to advancing God’s kingdom.
• Having received the gift of tongues is simply another outward indicator of this person’s spirit having been touched by the Spirit of God so as to build up his or her faith.
• But again, I don’t think that just because tongues aren’t present, it doesn’t mean the Baptism in the Spirit hasn’t taken place.
• We know them by their fruit, perhaps in this case, by their greater fruit.

• The issue at hand is that many Christians – whether true or professing – have been taught, and so have believed, that not only is the gift of tongues no longer operative, but that various other gifts are no longer valid either.

• In one sense I see this being the result of a very persuasive movement in the 1800s that sought to diminish the power of God.
• That effort sought to demythologize Scripture, i.e. to remove the supernatural from the Bible.
• When we look at the church generally today with its lack of power, authority, or even belief in God’s Word, we can see how successful this has been.

• Why do you think so many in times past and today have sought to dismiss or even ridicule the gifts of the Spirit imparted through the Baptism of the Spirit?

• Do you think that comes from God? Might not a better explanation be that Satan is behind this movement?
• Wouldn’t that make more sense?

• What does Satan want regarding individual believers and the church of Jesus Christ?
• Doesn’t Satan want us and the Body of Christ to be ineffective in combatting all that he wants to accomplish in the world?
• Well, golly gee whiz . . .
• If Satan could remove the church as a force for good in the world – in fact, make the church no different than the world – what might be one strategy to do that?

• If believers don’t accept that tongues are for today, and they don’t think that the gifts of the Spirit are for today, then none of that will be taught or promoted in churches.
• That being the case, it would be the rare person who would seek out these things anyway separate from the church he attends.
• If the Spirit isn’t operating at a higher and deeper level in the individuals in a church, if they are even saved and indwelt at all by the Spirit for salvation, then such a church will certainly be without power or authority, won’t it?
• Do you disagree?
• Show me a church without the Holy Spirit truly operating through the gifts, and I’ll show you a dead or apostate church.

• What got me thinking along these lines once more was the incident that took place several weeks ago when Pastor JD Farag was giving his Sunday Prophecy Update.
• Later in his message, a woman attending the service absolutely manifested a demonic spirit.
• JD dealt with it and her and continued his Update.
• A week later on a Tuesday night he discussed demonic manifestation in detail, doing what I thought was a good job.

• FYI in recounting what happened with this woman, JD stated something that I found interesting.
• He said that he used his prayer language as part of the process to rid the woman of the demonic presence.
• Translation: he spoke in tongues.
• Now, Pastor JD has never, to the best of my recollection, ever mentioned that he spoke in tongues, but there it was.

• In his church’s (Calvary Chapel Kaneohe) Statement of Faith (https://calvarychapelkaneohe.com/statement-of-faith/), statement #7 declares:

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all Biblical gifts of the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 14)

• Statement #11 says:

We believe also in the laying on of hands for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the ordination of pastors, elders, and deacons, and for the receiving of the perpetuity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 6:6, 8:17 | 1 Timothy 4:14)

• This probably messes up some number of you who like and follow JD, that he and his church actually adhere to the belief and doctrine of the gifts through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

• Naturally, the critics came out once JD went into detail about handling the demonic situation during that Prophecy Update.
• The discerners stated that what he did and said was a fake demon exorcism committed as a charismatic error.

• Here are some comments that were sent to me regarding this and asking for my thoughts:

• The woman is not and never has been possessed.
• Anyone who has worked in a home for the mentally handicapped or in a psychiatric ward, where psychoses and manias are often accompanied by such screams, knows this.
• The charismatic heresies of Farag’s Statement of Faith – especially under point 11 – are well known.
• That we as Christians today should not cast out demons is clear to those who discern the dispensations.

• Unfortunately, very few are interested in the truth of God’s Word.
• That is why they follow the crowd to do evil.

• Those who follow this deception are above all supporting the evil that is being publicly done to this woman.
• You are not concerned with the soul of this woman who is being publicly trampled on by Farag, and all who put him on a throne. –
• But it is not surprising that Prophecy Watchers is also involved in this, because on YouTube it is publicly shown how many of the Nicolaitans sprinkle their devil signs by hand in their sermons…

• Imagine you have a child who is mentally handicapped or mentally ill.
• And then unscrupulous people come online and label it demonically possessed.
• The damage they are doing is great.
• What they are doing here is evil. –
• Where children of God gather to the Lord Jesus, not believing that He is present, trying to “cast out demons” instead of simply praying.
• That would have been quite enough, except for those who do not believe that the Lord Jesus is in the midst… 
• How do people here know that it is possession and not mania or psychosis?
• Do these people know what damage can be done by labeling someone as possessed without knowing the circumstances?

• There are Christians who want to base their demonology on the Gospels because there is nothing else to base it on.
• The time period of the Gospels was unique in history, and we should not transfer the way the Son of God dealt with demons to our own theory for dealing with them.
• The power and authority over demons that was unique to Jesus Christ as the Messiah cannot be transferred to just anyone.
• Yes, Jesus Christ gave this authority to the apostles so that they could go out and represent Him.
• But this apostolic authority ceased with the death of the apostles and is not transferred to us today.

• Each time it is the apostles who confront the demons.
• They were expressly authorized by Christ.
• Their authority was there to confirm them in their apostleship and not to be imitated by the whole church.
• Because their mission was a very special one, their casting out of demons cannot be made the norm for us believers today.

• But there is nothing in the letters about direct confrontation.
• This is important, as the letters give explicit instructions for the church.
• They were written to give the church all the information it needs to serve the Lord effectively at this time.
• So if casting out demons was of such great importance to the church, why is there no mention anywhere in the letters of speaking to them or casting them out? 
• Casting out demons does not play a major role in Paul’s ministry either.
• Even in a city like Corinth, where there was so much occultism, he says nothing about it.

• In summary, it can be said that the only justified exorcisms of demons took place at the time of Christ and the apostles.
• They showed that Jesus really was the Messiah announced in the Old Testament.
• The Jews knew what the casting out of demons meant:
• That the Messiah was present and offered the kingdom to the people of Israel.
• The apostles received this authority because they were representatives of Christ.
• His authority cannot be transferred to just anyone else.

• I pushed back on several of these arguments to the person commenting to me.
• My response probably wasn’t what was anticipated.

• Here are just a few ideas to think about regarding the statements above:

• JD made it clear that he didn’t necessarily believe the woman was possessed.
  • She might have been, but he also made the clear distinction regarding possession versus oppression.
• In this respect, a truly born-again believer cannot be possessed.
  • An evil spirit cannot cohabit in a true believer alongside the Holy Spirit.
• On the other hand, a true believer can absolutely be oppressed by evil spirits.
  • They don’t take up their dwelling within a saved individual, but because of the doors of sin such a believer opens, that person invites the demonic into various aspects of his life.
• What JD did in the Name of Jesus was to command the evil spirit to leave this woman.
  • Whether she was possessed or oppressed doesn’t matter.
  • The Name of Jesus has power and authority – regardless of what the discernment critics say.
  • I’ve spoken several times previously concerning the issue of alien abductions.
  • The fascinating phenomenon with these is that at the Name of Jesus, the alien/demonic abductors flee.
  • Go ahead and tell these people that the Name of Jesus cannot be used today to discourage demonic entities.
  • When an evil spirit is commanded by a true believer – one known of and by God, and incidentally known by the evil spirits – those spirits must obey.
  • They cannot stand in the presence of one who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and who has His Name upon him.
  • It also seems to be the case that even someone who isn’t a strong believer can wield the name of Jesus to protect against such evil.
• A brief comment concerning this foolishness of demonic hand signs:
  • Go ahead, condemn everyone who happens to gesture when he speaks.
  • It really seems as if the idea is that no one is good enough to win the approval of the discerner in our case of discussion.
  • I really wonder who this person might point toward that is a man or woman of God?
  • Is there anyone, or is only the discerner the holy one in the room?
  • Frankly, if JD Farag is condemned by the discerner for being used by the devil – this man who week in and week out proclaims the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ – then we’re all doomed.
• One other aside is the issue of how the Gospel spreads in the 10-40 Window
  • I have to assume to these discerners who dismiss miraculous healings, casting out of evil spirits, and so much more in that region are so parochial and self-centered that that have no clue what goes on these for the people who amazingly come to Christ in Muslim-dominat nations.
  • I assume they have no idea of the dreams and visions that are so prevalent
  • I assume they think that the staunch pastors in extremely hostile areas are that way because they are simply born-again
  • Well, I’ve got news for you
  • It is the ones who have an extra boost from God who can withstand the pressure
  • And it is certainly my contention that most of these who stay in dangerous circumstances do so because they have been Baptized in the Spirit
  • They may or may not recognize it – I think many do – but to dismiss the potential for this and the absolute reason it’s necessary is the height of hubris on the part of discerners who say no such gifts are for today
• Consider the thinking that goes into the idea that all the people in psychiatric wards are simply mentally ill.
  • That belief is strictly from the world.
  • Those of you familiar with Dave Hunt may recall his extensive writings against the practice of psychiatry and psychology because everything in those professions is geared toward a non-supernatural cause.
  • All I have to say in this regard is that there were an awful lot of people in Jesus’ day from whom He and the apostles later on cast out demons.
  • Do you really think there are fewer demonic possessions today that back in that time?
  • If so, you are more naïve than words can describe.
• Regarding Paul and the casting out of spirits, I seem to recall that he was in Philippi where he and Silas were plagued by the girl with the demonic spirit of divination.
  • What did he do?
  • Cast it out.
  • Paul didn’t write about it, but Luke certainly did in the book of Acts. (Acts 16)
• One of the questions asked above was how one knows whether a person is possessed or simply a victim of psychosis?
  • This is where real discernment comes in.
  • There is a gift of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit known as the discerning of spirits.
  • You’re right, without this gift, a believer such as JD wouldn’t know.
  • Might that be a clue as to how important these gifts are to believers in any era?
• The clear understanding of the criticism noted above is that only the apostles had the gifts of the Spirit so as to perform such miraculous feats as healing someone, raising a person from the dead, casting out evil spirits, even speaking words of knowledge, etc.
  • Actually, the apostles didn’t do those things.
  • They were vessels by which God performed those wondrous deeds.
  • Supposedly because none of the apostolic letters tell us how to do such signs, the inference is that we cannot.
• Something to think about in this respect is the book of Acts is called that, i.e. the Acts of the Apostles, for a good reason.
  • The book follows the apostles and shows how the Gospel spread throughout the known world at the time by their actions.
  • It is not a book that purports to discuss the acts of Gary or Joe or Cynthia.
  • In other words, just because no acts other than those of the apostles are mentioned, doesn’t mean that they weren’t or couldn’t have been imparted from that time forward.
  • That is simply an assumption, and if I may say so, a presumption that attempts to place limits on God and to put Him in a box.
• I have an imperfect analogy in this respect:
  • In the Olivet Discourse Jesus’ disciples were oo-ing and ah-ing about Herod’s temple and how wonderful it was.
  • Jesus said, oh by the way, that will be completely destroyed.
  • The disciples asked about that and about future times as to the coming of His kingdom.
  • That would have been a good time to tell them they shouldn’t be concerned about that since it was none of their business.
  • Go out, evangelize, and win the world to Christ.
  • Forget about Bible Prophecy.
  • But that’s not what Jesus did.
  • He told them a number of amazing things that would happen in the end times with the implication that believers then should be watching for them.
  • In other words, we SHOULD be concerned with Bible Prophecy. (Hat tip to Todd Hampson for this.)
  • In the same manner Jesus never told His disciples not to pass on to future generations of believers what they themselves had been given through the power of the Holy Spirit.
  • In fact, Jesus said that greater things than these will you do as My followers.
  • This idea that the gifts ended is simply a man-concocted belief and practice that has neutered the church.
• Not mentioned above but directly associated with this idea that we today don’t have the baptism of the Holy Spirit since we don’t need it, is the belief that when the entire canon of Scripture was completed at the end of the 1^st Century, that was sufficient for all our needs going forward in the world.
  • If you’ve followed me for any length of time you know how much importance I place on the Word of God and in reading it faithfully every day.
• You will also know how I discuss the Biblical ignorance so prevalent in the world and particularly in the church.
• If the Bible, simply because it exists, is all we need to be victorious in Christ then we’re in trouble.
• Nobody reads it and nobody does what it says.
• I’ll get into this more in a minute, but given this situation, it seems to me that something is drastically missing.

• Specifically in comment to the person who sent me the above criticisms, I wrote:

• There was much more going on with that poor woman than mental illness and JD nailed it later, maybe inadvertently, when he spoke about retaining anger with that being an open door for demonic spirits.  
  • This woman was angry because JD didn’t respond to an email she sent.  
  • She harbored that anger and it became a root of bitterness.  
  • Frankly, with the number of emails he gets daily because of the large reach with his teachings, it’s a surprise he can respond as much as he does.
• Anyway, whoever this person is making all these claims about JD being a false teacher, I would suggest he look in the mirror.  
  • BTW – when the Holy Spirit as the Restrainer steps aside once we are Raptured, does this discernment ministry person think that there won’t be any evil spirits then?  
  • Good heavens!  
  • They will be unleashed!  
  • At the same time those who come to the Lord during that period will very likely be engaged in immense spiritual battles that only Christ and His power working through them can overcome.  
  • That will surely involve healings and many more spiritual gifts being in play.
• I read stuff like this from such people and their arrogance shines through to me.  
  • They are so self-righteous it disgusts me. 
  • I could go on – but I won’t.  
• What was the first thing Jesus warned about to His disciples in Matthew 24?  
  • “Don’t let anyone deceive you.”  
  • How do we guard against that so as not to be deceived?  
  • This is a gift of the Spirit: 1 Corinthians 12:10 …To others he gives the ability to tell the spirits apart….  
  • This is the discerning of spirits.  
  • We in the flesh are helpless to do that unless our spirits are quickened by the Holy Spirit with this gift – that supposedly according to the cessationists are no longer active.  
  • I pray every day for this gift of greater discernment of spirits so I can recognize good from evil, true teaching from false, etc.

• Let’s talk briefly about satanic influence today.
• Is there any?
• Or is everything going on in the world that’s absolutely crazy all a result of mental psychosis, not associated with the lies, deceits, and acts of the enemy?
• Just to name a few, here are some people, places, and organizations to consider:

• Washington, DC
  • Are you aware of the incredible amount of demonic influence surrounding the architecture of such building like the US capitol and the Washington Monument?
  • When you look at the back of a dollar bill, do you see Christina symbols or occult ones?
  • Can anyone say that DC isn’t a cesspool of perversion, such as child sex trafficking and pedophilia?
  • Where does that come from?
• NASA
  • Were you aware that one of the primary thought leaders contributing to the origin of NASA was Jack Parson who founded JPL – the Jet propulsion Laboratories?
  • Were you aware that Parsons was a professed satanist?
• United Nations
  • Do you have any idea how much occult influence directs the everyday activities of this organization?
  • You really should research this.
• CERN
  • This is the organization in Switzerland that just restarted the LHC – the Large Hadron Collider.
  • Why is that significant?
  • They are searching for the God Particle that created the Big Bang to initiate the start of the universe.
  • In that regard, they are seeking out intelligence in other dimensions in order to receive their counsel.
  • That sounds like a really good idea, doesn’t it?
• Hollywood
  • We all know there’s nothing behind the rumors of depravity and various types of sexual immorality that comes out of here.
  • Associated with this is the Disney complex which we also know is focused on wholesome entertainment.
  • I suppose whatever truths might be behind these rumors all originated in the mind of man.
• Nazism
  • The idea that all Jews were vermin and had to be eradicated like so many cockroaches or rats couldn’t be attributed to demonic possession within the German leaders, could it?
  • I’m sure that Hitler, Goering, Himmler, Mengele, and all the other high-ranking Nazi leaders simply had psychoses that could have been treated by Prozac, and the Jews would have been fine.
• Communism
  • Starting with Marx, going to Lenin, and following up with Stalin and Mao, certainly the thinking that all property must be communal and all activities should be overseen by the state had nothing to do with satanic influence.
  • Just because this ideology led to the deaths of at least 100 million people, with many of them languishing in untold suffering in gulag prisons, why should Satan get any blame?
  • After all, the church had the Bible and was a power to be reckoned with in coming against these atrocities.
  • On the other hand, maybe something was missing that caused the majority of churches in Germany and the Soviet Union to celebrate their secular leaders and determine that their perverse ideologies were completely compatible with the Scripture.
  • As for Mao and China, the fact that the church had to exist underground surely had no connection with Mao’s persecution of true Christ followers.

• These examples are simply tip of the iceberg.
• I haven’t even spoken of the LGBT – emphasis of late on T for trans – that has roiled what’s left of civil society.
• Yeah, why would the church need the power of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to combat any of this?
• All this evil and more should have disappeared because we have the Bible – right?
• Or maybe that’s not the case.
• Perhaps because of the fact that so many in the church over the ages have dismissed the gifts of the Holy Spirt, maybe the church has been feckless to come against any evils, whether outside its walls or even within.

• What might have happened during all these years if born-again people led by Spirit-empowered pastors believed in the gifts, sought them out, and actually operated in them?

• I want to make clear that I am NOT promoting the charismatic approach of people like Bill Johnson at Bethel Church.
• I think what he and his ilk do is highly problematic and has actually contributed in these latter days to the attitudes against the gifts of the Spirit.
• No, when I refer to this, I mean true Biblical gifts just as the Word of God describes.
• Seeing gold dust fall from the ceiling or the supposed replacement of a bad tooth with a gold one does nothing to advance God’s kingdom and to fight against the powers of darkness.
• Neither does young people in ecstatic frenzy theoretically receiving the power of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.
• I’m more of the belief that when we see this in such churches that it’s demonic spirits that are manifesting and the tongues are certainly not from God.

• Here’s the tie-in with Bible Prophecy.
• If in these last days when the satanic is rising and clearly visible as demonic spirits are clearly manifesting in many people, how can we think that we as the church are just fine?
• In case you haven’t noticed, we are in a post-Christian society and culture.
• The vast majority of people do not fear or believe in God. They certainly don’t seek out the free gift salvation offered by Jesus Christ.
• We are in a God-hating, Christ-rejecting world.
• In such an alien, hostile place, does it make sense to think that God would let us face all this without an extra boost of power and authority?

• How many people are saved but just sit in their church pews – or even at home doing home church – and do nothing more for God’s kingdom?
• Of those of us still remaining who are Christ-followers, the percentage is large for those who are content in their salvation alone.
• It is primarily – maybe not exclusively, but many – of us who put ourselves out there in the public sector who are also Baptized in the Spirit.

• To this point, I ask those of you who might dispute this Baptism – those who are not in the firing line by speaking out boldly – what are you doing? In these dark days as we wait for the Lord, what fruit, or greater fruit, are you producing for the Lord?

• I can’t and won’t judge you, but I do think it’s reasonable to ask questions.
• Isn’t one of the primary objectives I’ve always stated for what I do is to get you to think?

• Hopefully today’s Commentary does that.
• The lawlessness we see and experience all around us is growing greater by the day.
• Persecution has been rampant in the 10-40 Window for years.
• It is coming to America.
• In order to stand against it we MUST have God’s power and authority animating our walk and witness.

• That truly only comes when God has mercifully given this amazing blessing of the gift of the Baptism of the Spirit.