Hi Pastor John,

I have a question about this.  How did Peter know that the two men who appeared to them were Moses and Elijah? Moses and Elijah were ancient people at that time. No one had seen their faces, so how could anyone know what they look like?

Matthew 17:

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount

“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Thank you,

Leika

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Hi again.

That is how it is in the Spirit.  In the resurrection, for example, you will know everyone in the kingdom of God, and everyone in the kingdom of God will know you. There will be no need for introductions because the Spirit will create within the children of God the knowledge of who is who.  For another example, if Jesus visited you today, you would know who he is, without being told.

By the way, Peter is not the only one who knew who Moses and Elijah were in Matthew 17.  James and John would have also known.

Pastor John

Why did Paul say “that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in”?

Leika

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Hi Leika.

In that verse, Paul is speaking of the Second Coming of Jesus, when the Jews will finally realize that Jesus was their Messiah.  The time for Gentiles to come to Jesus apart from Israel will have passed, and the blindness of Israel will be taken away.

Pastor John

Hi Pastor John,

Romans 11:25-29 says, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED, as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.’  Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

In this verse, is Paul saying that all Israel (Jews from the 12 tribe) will be saved?

Thank you

Leika

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Hi Leika.

No, Paul is not saying that.  He is speaking of those whom he calls “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16).  Paul explained in Romans that “they are not all Israel which are of Israel” (Rom. 9:6). That is to say, not everybody who is a physical Israelite belongs to the Israel that truly belongs to God.  THAT is the Israel which will be saved.

Pastor John

Hi Pastor John,

I’m wondering if Revelation 11:15 is speaking of Jesus: “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.”

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Yes, that is correct.

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In that case, it seems like the woman mentioned in the previous verses would be the Jews. Would that also be right?

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Yes, the woman is Israel.

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Thank you,

Jenny

Hi Pastor John,

Thank you for that answer. (See post dated 8/28/2018: Who Were the “Devils”)

I heard before the pastor said “the devils that Jesus cast out in earth were creatures like man living in the formless and dark as genesis 1:2 said” before God created the new world. They just complicate it.

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That is strange teaching.  Not from God.

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They also said that Satan is an angel and a worshiper.

They said that they are big than humans and they have wings too. Humans are made to worship. After Satan and his angels had been cast out, no worshiper in heaven so God need a worshiper and he calling all humans to worship him. Satan did not want believers to worship God because its a noise to him and he tremble.  The weapons against them is worship (Ephesians 6:12) (very strange interpretation)

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All that is an invention of man.  You can just forget about all that.

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“It was very different from your understanding, Angels have no wings and they are like humans (Hebrews 13:2) Satan is not an angel but a cherub (Ezekiel 28). 

When a man living in God’s kind of life is what really Satan hates because all they can do is sin and they cannot have God’s kind of life. So he deceives in earth as a roaring lion knowing that he has little time. (clearer) If pastors can know this they can say  ‘Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.’ (2 Corinthians 2:11)” (Pastor John)

Is it possible that Satan became “the god of this world” when Adam disobeyed God? (When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Romans 5:12) 

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The Bible does not say, but that is probably when it happened, yes.

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“And the great Dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Accuser, and Satan, who deceives the whole world.  He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.  And I heard a great voice in heaven saying, ‘For this, rejoice, O heavens and those who dwell in them!  Woe to the earth and the sea!  For the Accuser has come down among you, having great anger, knowing that he has little time”’ (Rev. 12:9, 10a, 12).

In that verse, is it correct that Satan will not come back to heaven?

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That is correct.

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And from the time Satan and his angels had been cast out in heaven, is it possible that the remaining angels will not sin? ( For this, rejoice, O heavens and those who dwell in them!) Satan deceives now in earth but not in heaven.

Leika

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Yes, the remaining angels are faithful.  And Satan has no remaining influence in heaven.  Nor does he have any influence on the holy Ghost that is in you!

Pastor John

Pastor John, 

When a person baptized in the Holy Spirit is not living in godly way, the holy spirit is grieved.  Is it possible that the holy spirit will depart from such a person?

Leika

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Hi Leika.

Good question.  The short answer is yes.  The Spirit may leave a backslider, under certain conditions, while he is still living in this world.  Paul refers to those who have been thus cursed as “reprobates” (2Cor. 13:5–7).  If a backslider never repents in this life and dies in his sin, the Spirit will no doubt be taken from him after death; however, the Bible is silent about that specific point.

Thankfully, God is very patient, “not willing that any should perish”, and He will wait for many years, for a wayward child to repent.  We may all be thankful for that.

Pastor John

Pastor John,  

If Satan and his angels were cast out in heaven when Jesus ascended to heaven, then who were the devils that Jesus cast out in earth?

Leika

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Hi Leika.

Thank you for the question.

Satan and his angels were heavenly beings, of course, and could speak face-to-face with God.  The Bible tells of times when that happened.  God often sent them to earth, as He did other angels, to accomplish one purpose or another.  In fact, Satan was in charge of this world; so, he was here often.  You will remember that Paul called him “the god of this world”.  In the Temptation, when Satan offered Jesus authority over the nations of earth, he had the power to do that because, as Satan mentioned to Jesus during the Temptation, God had given all the kingdoms of the world into his hand.

Satan’s angels are the demons that Jesus cast out of people when he was on earth.  They had left their own heavenly bodies behind in order to live in human bodies, but they still had access to heaven when they were not in the human bodies they had possessed.  In Genesis 6, we are told that these “sons of God” possessed human bodies in those early days because they lusted after women.  Read 1Kings 22, and you will see an example of a demon talking face-to-face with God in heaven, and then coming down to earth to possess humans – false prophets, in that case.

What is meant by Satan and his angels being cast out of heaven is that they had their privilege to be in God’s presence taken away.  Instead, they were condemned to wander among men on earth until the end, when Satan and all his angels will be damned forever.  God has cursed them with the greatest curse, the curse of not being able to repent.  They cannot feel regret for wrongdoing.  Therefore, all they can do is sin.  Peter describes their spiritual condition this way: “God spared not angels who sinned, but tartarized them and consigned them to chains of blackness, to be held until the Judgment” (2Pet. 2:4).

So, Satan and his angels, as well as other heavenly beings, were once blessed to be in heaven, but they often came to earth.  Now, they can be nowhere but on earth.  By the way, I love the sympathy for us that came from one of God’s faithful heavenly beings when he saw Satan and his angels cast down to earth to live here all the time with man: “And the great Dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Accuser, and Satan, who deceives the whole world.  He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.  And I heard a great voice in heaven saying, “For this, rejoice, O heavens and those who dwell in them!  Woe to the earth and the sea!  For the Accuser has come down among you, having great anger, knowing that he has little time” (Rev. 12:9, 10a, 12).

Hope that helps answer your question.

Pastor John