"Only by prayer" (Mark 9:14-29)

"ONLY BY PRAYER" (Mark 9:14-29)

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2018

Prayer is a skill best learned when young and best taught as a thoughtful, unhurried act of devotion.

A 4-year-old boy was asked to give the meal blessing before a holiday dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the meat, the gravy, the salad, the deserts, even the Cool Whip. Then he paused, and everyone waited—and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, "If I thank God for the broccoli, won't He know I'm lying?"

Prayer is a skill best learned when young. Some situations do require a thoughtful, unhurried approach, such as when Jesus teaches the disciples that certain evil spirits are exorcised "Only by Prayer."

 

Peter, James, and John return from their experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, only to find the rest of their group in an intense discussion about an unsuccessful expulsion of an evil spirit. What should have been a joyful reunion' was instead a heated debate over the perils of demon possession, when...

 

I. The disciples encounter a difficult exorcism (Mark 9:14-24).

Mark 9:14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the. teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." 19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23"'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." 24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

The people who follow Jesus range from those who are curious about him, like these "teachers of the law" (v. 14), to those who want something from him, like the father of this demon-possessed boy. in both cases they are "overwhelmed with wonder" (v. 15), and this is before the exorcism. Jesus is not, however, enamored by their obsequious fawning. He seems rather annoyed: "How long shall I put up with you?" (v. 19). Jesus has been ministering in Galilee for several months. He has healed many diseases and exorcised numerous demons, never encountering an obstacle he could not overcome. What would make people think this challenge with the boy might exceed his ability? His record is one of complete victory over the forces of evil. Still, "the powerlessness of the disciples...has led [this father] to doubt Jesus' ability to offer real assistance to his son" (Lane 1974:353).

Satan and his angels

THE ORIGIN OF THE OPPOSITION
Material excerpted from the Angelology unit of A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2010

The Bible says little about the origin of Satan and his minions, except that angels were originally good, but some sinned.

2 Pet 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

Eph 6:11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

An angelic fall does not appear in the Bible. (Peter and Jude mention the event but offer few details.) Some think Isaiah 14 refers to Satan's rebellion, but the context of the passage is a "taunt against the king of Babylon" (Isa 14:4).

Isa 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." 15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

Others have seen a similar reference in Ezekiel 28, where context again identifies the passage as "a lament concerning the king of Tyre" (v. 12a). The language, however, is quite specific and may allude to a well-known tradition.

Ezek 28: 12b 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. 16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

This is not as much information as we might like about the origin of the opposition, but it is apparently what information God thinks we need.

For a pdf see here.

Who were "the sons of God" in Genesis?

SERMONS FROM GENESIS: ANGELIC HANKY-PANKY (Gen 6:1-4) 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2000

We know so little about the period before the flood that some references are more puzzling than illuminating. For example, there is the obscure mention of intermarriage in...

Gen 6:1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

Who are these two parties ("sons of God" and "daughters of men"), and who are the Nephilim? Commentators have generally adopted one of two positions in answering the question...

I. What is the nature of the union?

A. It is inter-species.

1. "Sons of God" are angelic beings.

a. That is their designation.¹

• Job 1:6 [= Job 2:1] One day the angels [lit. sons of God] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.

b. That is their transgression.²

• 2 Pet 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

• Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

2. "Daughters of men" are human beings.

• Ps 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them.

• Eccl. 3:10 I have seen the burden God has laid on [the sons of] men.

B. It is intra-species.³

Can the Devil read your thoughts?

Satanic Mind Control
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Can the Devil Read Your Thoughts?¹
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Dr. Paul Manuel—2009

How much influence does Satan have on your life? Does he, for example, have the power to know your thoughts? We read in the gospels about Jesus' knowing people's thoughts, can Satan do this too? Why does your mind "wander and go astray" when you pray? How is it that you can maintain your concentration when reading the newspaper or a secular book but grow drowsy as soon as you start reading your Bible? At the heart of these various questions are two concerns about the human thought process, the first of which is...

The Angel of the Lord

The Angel of the Lord¹
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Dr. Paul Manuel—1995

Of the various topics in any survey of theology, the study of angels is one of the most popular. People are fascinated by the prospect of other beings who exist outside the physical realm yet who occasionally enter our world and even interact with us.² The Bible records several examples of such interaction and only rarely identifies the angel involved. In most cases, he remains unnamed.³ This session we will look at a few Old Testament passages in which the biblical writers call an angelic visitor "the angel of the LORD." Is he, as some think, a pre-incarnate manifestation of Christ (i.e., Christophany; so Baron 1918:23; Feinberg 1979:23; Leupold 1942 1:500-501; Morris 1976:330,370; Wood 1975:231,n.12)?⁴

Theology Series Chapter 5: Angels

Chapter V: Angelology
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Dr. Paul Manuel—2013

Having considered the three persons of the godhead in A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology, we proceed down the cosmic hierarchy to study angels.

Quiz: What Do You Know About Angels?

1. What is the theological term for the study of angels? Angelology.
2. What does the word "angel" mean? Both Hebrew (mal'ak) and Greek (anggelos) terms mean "messenger."
3. T/F: Angels have wings. False (in the narrow sense of the term): Seraphs and cherubs have wings; angels, proper, do not, although they do fly.¹
4. T/F: When people die, they become angels. False: They become "like the angels" (Matt 22:30) but do not become angels.²
5. T/F: Israel was the only Ancient Near East (ANE) people with a belief in angels. False: A stele depicts angels flying over the Sumerian king Ur-Nammus while he prays (c. 2250).
6. T/F: Angels always appear in the Bible as adult males, never as females or children. True.³
7. T/F: Daniel is the only Old Testament (OT) book that names angels. True (See answer to the next question).
8. Who are the angels Protestant scriptures name? Gabriel and Michael.⁴
9. T/F: "The angel of the LORD" is Christ. False (See Excursus 1: The Angel of the LORD).
10. What is the main goal of evil angels? To thwart God's purpose by opposing God's people.⁵
11. Who controls the activities of evil angels? Satan partially (immediately) but God ultimately (mediately).⁶
12. T/F: Angels play harps. False: This notion seems to have arisen from a misunderstanding of passages in Revelation where elders have harps and where some believers have harps (Mounce 1977:146).⁷
13. T/F: Angels are musical. True: They sing and play instruments.⁸
14. What extra-biblical book has the most information about angels? 1 Enoch, where the author attributes sin to angelic intercourse with human women and identifies six good angels by name.⁹

[The end notes can be found in the linked pdf]

Guardian angels

GUARDIAN ANGELS

Paul Manuel — 2002
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[While Paul was in Madison, WI, doing graduate work at UW, he attended our church and taught the adult bible study. From time to time he would solicit questions from the class, do the requisite study, and bring back an answer based on his study of scripture. This is an example of that. An older member of the class had asked whether each one of us has a "guardian angel."]

We saw in our general study of angels that the beliefs of our society—what angels look like and what they spend their time doing—rarely match what the Bible teaches. One other popular notion suggests that we each have a guardian angel who protects us from danger. This week we will consider what scripture says about the interaction divine messengers have had with human beings that has promoted this idea.

I. Angels act on behalf of groups.

A. Nations: Daniel speaks about an angel ("prince") in connection with several countries.¹

1. Israel has an angelic prince.

• Michael (Dan 10:21b; 12:1)²

• Dan 10:21b No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.

• Dan 12:1 "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time Your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.

2. Persia has an angelic prince.

• Unnamed (Dan 10:12-13)

• Dan 10:12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

3. Greece has an angelic prince.

• Unnamed (Dan 10:20b)

• Dan 10:20b Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come.

B. Congregations: John speaks about an angel in connection with several churches.

Each church may have had an angelic representative.³

• Unnamed (Rev 1:20b)

• Rev 1:20b The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches....

II. Angels act on behalf of individuals.

Righteous:⁴ On several occasions God sends an angel to help one of His people in distress.

1. Lot had two angelic guardians.

Spiritualism

NECROMANCY
2002
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Necromancy (attempting to contact the dead) was a common practice in religions of the Ancient Near East. God strictly and repeatedly prohibited His people from seeking mediums or spiritists, those who trafficked in ghosts and spirits.

Lev 19:31 Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

So strongly does God despise such activity that He prescribed the death penalty for those guilty of it.

Lev 20:6 As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.... 27 Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

To underscore the seriousness of this offense, God groups it with other practices He despises, including child sacrifice and witchcraft.

Deut 18:10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God.