Hey Pastor John.

A couple things about “Principalities and Powers”:
I thought the way Daniel 10 was translated was really good. I could envision that scene in my mind.

I wasn’t entirely sure what direction this section was heading in the beginning, but when I read the paragraph at the end that starts with “from the beginning, submission to the authorities…,” I could see how it came full circle back to Jesus.

In this sentence:
“Every nation on earth has a wicked spiritual ruler, including the United States, and under each of those invisible rulers are other evil powers which are over provinces and states, and over counties, parishes, and perhaps even over towns” what is the purpose of those rulers? What do they accomplish under Satan’s direction? Do they try people on earth, such as the way Satan did with Job?

I’m looking forward to hearing what you have learned.

Thank you.
Anna

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Very good questions, Anna!

The purpose Satan, “the god of this world” and the purpose of the angels under him who rule over the nations is to maintain order in a world of stubborn, ungodly humans. John said that “the whole world lies in wickedness”, but human wickedness is different from Satan’s. Satan’s is a much higher class wickedness than man’s usually is, and he despises the low-life forms of wickedness he and his angels see among men every day.

Men are rebellious, petty, self-indulgent, and “carried about with every wind of doctrine”. Satan is none of those things. He and his angels have a difficult time governing men, keeping them from blowing themselves up or just ruining every good thing they have, such as clean air, clean water, and healthy soil. Satan “savors the things that be of man”, Jesus said, and the scriptures say that “God has given the earth to the children of men.” Would that not mean that Satan is an environmentalist? I could go on, but you see my point.

The picture of Satan that Christianity has painted for the world is so far from the truth that it would be comical, except for the precious souls who believe that silly picture. My book, God Had a Son before Mary Did, can liberate God’s people from faith in Christianity and all the false pictures it has drawn – if we can just get them to read it!

Jesus said that Satan kingdom was well-organized. But he has yet to find the man who will listen to him, submit to his spirit, and put things in order on earth (the way Satan wants the order to be). Satan will find that man one day, and he will give that man his seat and his power. Then that man, whom God calls “the Beast”, will establish “law and order”, and he will govern the world as absolute ruler until Jesus returns and starts his thousand-year reign.

I hope that short summary helps clear things up for you.

Pastor John

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Hi John,
 
Your email with Anna made me wonder a few things…
 
1) Are there divisions in the “principalities and powers” world?  For example, certain countries are often contentious with other countries (e.g. North and South Korea, Iran and Israel, etc.).  Are some of these contentions inspired by invisible rulers who are also “at odds” with each other?
 
2) Are spirits of lust, rage, etc. who can inspire (presumably) men to do things that Satan hates (e.g. adultery, school shootings, etc.) at odds with Satan?  Does Satan despise some of these spirits the way he despises the men who act under their influence?  Or, are all spirits in the invisible world working together under Satan the way he likes it, in very good order?
 
Thanks,
Taylor
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Hi Taylor.

As for your first question, I have pondered over that a number of times.  Was Hitler’s hated of Stalin in the late 1930’s an indication that the “prince of Germany” hated the “prince of Russia”?  An even more intriguing question is, can one of the princes in Satan’s kingdom overthrow another and take his place, thus bringing about an overthrow of one earthly government and the establishment of a different one, such as in the American revolution?  Or in the case of the American War between the States, did two “princes” share rule, and then turn on each other?

There are different ways to be united and different ways to be divided.  Satan’s kingdom is perfectly united in darkness and ignorance of God, but it can still be divided when it comes to having peace among themselves.  “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”

 

As for your second question, you are touching on one of Satan’s (and God’s, for that matter) biggest challenges; namely, how does one get humans to recognize authority and submit to it?  Humans are rebellious and self-serving by nature.  Satan cannot control them very well, yet.  He is looking for a man he can use to subdue the entire human race so that he can use the nations to do certain things he wants to do, such as to destroy Israel.  The man he eventually will use is called “the Beast” in the Bible.  There is no telling what men will call him, but it will be something like what the current President was recently called by one entertainment figure: “our lord and savior”.

So, yes, anarchists, vandals, harlots, drunkards, and the like are not Satan’s servants.  They are serving their own lusts, and he despises them.  His law and order man is coming, and that “Beast” will destroy them and unite the earth under one government.  Their are lower sorts of demons that are despised by other, more sophisticated demons, of course.  But how Satan keeps it all under control, the Bible does not say.

Pastor John

Morning Pastor John,

I too have read the Crucifixion part of the Father and Son book, several times. It always touches me deeply when I think about what Jesus went through. I also think about the doctrine of the Trinity, how it takes away the love of God and the love of the Son!

As a parent, one would much rather go through pain and suffering yourself than to watch your child go through it, especially your only child who was your daily delight! And Jesus was a Son who loved and honored his Father so much he wanted his Father’s will done! And for both of them to love us so much to make a way to redeem us!

It is all about relationships! The Father and Son had a relationship and they also wanted a relationship with us! You wrote in one place, “The Father was willing to give Jesus up for us, and Jesus was willing to be given for us.”

Oh my!!! I woke up this morning hearing Gary’s song, “Ask of Me”, in my heart!!

Thank you John, this is a wonderful book!

Sue

Pastor John,

Do you think that Satan recognizes the spirit that Jesus gives as the spirit of God? I wonder how he could justify killing those under the spirit of God if he did. Is it even possible for him to discern that kind of life with his kind of life?

Could he still think that Jesus is a son of God?

Name Withheld
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Satan would have no reason to think that Jesus ever was not A son of God. Even the angel at jesus’ birth called him “son of the most high”. As for Jesus being THE Son of God, I am less sure that Satan is convinced of that yet. But if he is not convinced now, I expect that he will be thoroughly convinced when he is being cast into the Lake of Fire.

He is angry enough to kill anyone who loves Jesus and has received the Spirit. The last verse in Revelation 12 tells us that. Without having God’s kind of life, though, which is the Spirit that believers receive, Satan cannot possibly understand it. He may not believe that the Spirit Jesus baptizes with is the real Spirit of God. It certainly is not the kind of spirit that Satan thought God was!

Pastor John

Pastor John

I finished reading the excerpt from your book, “The Crucifixion of Christ” this morning. Very good. I hope this question isn’t too annoying b/c I’m sure it’s been asked & answered — maybe even by me! — but I forgot the answer: Why do you write that Satan knew Jesus was THE promised Messiah? Is it because of OT prophecies?

Name Withheld

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We are not told exactly how, but Israel knew that there was an Anointed One (“Messiah”) coming who would be a great and everlasting king (from Daniel). The prophet Simeon, for example, was satisfied when he saw the baby Jesus that he had seen the Lord’s Messiah

Luke 2

25. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, earnestly anticipating the comfort of Israel, and the holy spirit was upon him.
26. And it had been revealed to him by the holy spirit that he would not see death before he would see the Lord’s Messiah.
27. And he came by the spirit into the temple, and as the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the requirement of the law,
28. and he took the child into his arms, and he blessed God and said,
29. “Now you can let your slave go, Master, according to your word in peace
30. because my eyes have seen your salvation
31. which you prepared before the face of all peoples,
32. a light leading to revelation for the Gentiles and glory for your people Israel.”

If Israel knew all these things, then satan certainly did. Satan also knew that Jesus was the one spoken about in the Psalm which said that the Anointed One would be so important to God that God would assign angels to keep him from so much as tripping over a rock. He even quoted that verse to Jesus during the temptation. I don’t think anyone expected more than one “anointed one” (“Messiah”), and if that was the case, then if Satan thought “Messiah” at all when he saw Jesus, then he would have thought, “THE Messiah”, just as Simenon did when he saw the infant Jesus.

Pastor John

Hey Pastor John

This morning the kids and I were going to meet Ashley at the park in Burlington. We were sitting at a red light waiting to turn left. I started looking at some mail as we were waiting. Then I looked up and saw the light had turned green, and I pushed the gas pedal to go. My car would not go! It start making a sound like when you have your foot on the gas and the brake, but my FOOT was ONLY on the gas. I looked down thinking, “What is wrong?” When I looked up again I realized I was going to be turning into on coming traffic! Jesus kept the car from moving! I just sat there thanking Jesus for his protection!! Even the Boys could feel the car not going. It was good for them to experience that too and to know who was in control! I get chills every time I tell this!! Jesus really has set angels all around us!!

Love,
Jammie

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That is wonderful, Jammie!

Lou has recently had a remarkable encounter with an angel that I am looking for ward to hearing again at the next meeting. God is doing some wonderful things for us, and I am very thankful for them.

Pastor John

John,
        Who could believe what you wrote in “The Crucifixion of Jesus” about the Father and his relationship with his Son and Satan? Only somebody who has been touched by God. I feel so thankful to read and know what was really going on when Satan was doing the work he thought was pleasing to God. Also it lets me feel the great love God and his Son had for us, and for each other, to make a way for us to be called sons of God and to share their life with them.

God’s patience is terrifying as you said,. My prayer is, “God, have mercy on us and keep us from thinking that we are doing what you want when we are not. We will only know if you let us know and that is really what we want in our hearts.”

Stuart

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Oh my, “The Crucifixion of Jesus” was really touching and really terrifying. It made me cry. It made me speak in tongues, and it made me pray to have a tender heart like God’s. I know you went through something writing it. Thank you.

Cris
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The section of your book, “The Crucifixion of Jesus” just made me tingle all over! I’ve read it twice, once out loud to Kay, and it is very powerful. It brings so many things together.

damien

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I like the section “The Crucifixion of Jesus”, a lot. I watched some of movie tonight “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. I am not sure when it was made, but it was an old movie. It went through the story of Jesus from birth til resurrection. Just watching the story of what happened to Jesus was sad. He was offering people a different life, one where they could live peacefully. But they did not want it. That is what is being offered now, and people still don’t want it. Not the real life of peace with God.

Some thoughts while reading this section:
1. I like The section on page 2 where you talk about Satan nor his sons really not loving the real God or Son, but have developed a system using “Christ” in the title.
2. That was a really, really touching section at the end of the section, especially the way you worded the part about God’s selflessness.
3. God had Satan carrying out his plan in the death of Jesus… He was still pulling Leviathan around with that hook! Boy, Satan sure was deceived.. big time!
4. Jesus knew the plan was for himself to die and be with God. He could have called those legions of angels, but that wouldn’t have been fulfilling the plan that God had for Jesus. My, that takes some faith, to be able to go through with a plan that consists of having your life taken away, knowing you can get out of it if you need to, but you choose not to.

This is great!
Julie.
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I could not help but cry, when you wrote in “The Crucifixion of Jesus” about the heavens being bent so that God could be closer to his son. It gave John 3:16 a whole new meaning for me. God really, truly loves us, and wants to share His life and the life of His son with us; (true) Righteousness, (true) Peace, and (true) Joy.

Billy M
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Thanks John for writing on the crucifixion. It’s refreshing to read something that has life and solid truths in it. Thank the Father and the Son for sending it to us!

Earl & Betty

Morning Pastor John,

I had to write and tell you how wonderful I feel after watching the videos on www.pastorjohnshouse.com. I should have left work already but I could not tear myself away. The song ” your still God” is so powerful. I have been listening to it for 2 weeks and it overwhelms me every time. I have sat here tonight and watched every video, feeling so blessed that God led me to you all. I have such an overwhelming feeling of love right now. I just had to write and say how much I feel Jesus through the music that I have heard. The Father and Son CD is powerful. I do not know another word for it. It is just powerful. It has been so important to have the testimonies and the music in my journey. I think it is important that all of you know how valuable these songs and meetings are. I rely on them daily. When I am needing to get back in my spot or if I am just the little bit off, I reach for them and I FEEL Jesus. It is important to me that you all know, that you are reaching people. I was not going to write but Jesus put it on my heart, to tell you. I feel almost an urgency to stress… its IMPORTANT!!!!

I was going to close there but Jesus said……Its important, its important, its important!!!

Beth,

Mornin’ Bro. John!

The section of the Father and Son book about the crucifixion of Jesus was so very good. It reminded me of what the Lord told me a few years ago: “Even in dying, Jesus was living because he was doing the will of His Father.”

I really loved what you wrote, after quoting these verses form John 11:

51. But this he did not say of himself, but being high priest at that time, he prophesied

that Jesus was about to die for the nation . . .

53. So, from that day, they plotted to kill him.

You wrote, “Satan and these elders of Israel all thought that Spirit was decreeing, through the high priest, that

Jesus had to die in order to rescue the nation from the Romans. What the Spirit was actually decreeing

was that Jesus had to die to rescue Israel from sin.”

It is just amazing to realize that men thought they were killing Jesus when all along it was God’s plan. God was never out of control over what happened to His Son, whether man saw or understood it at all. Nothing appeared as love in man’s eyes, but God was loving his Son and us the whole time. And still is. The Father and Son (and us) – – an amazing love story. Whew!

Sandy

Pastor John,

A year ago, I was riding down the road and I felt Jesus speaking to me. He used to do that often, and He would tell me things that I would write down, things that blessed my soul and things that made me better for hearing them. But because of my actions, those experiences slowed and nearly stopped altogether. But this one day, a year ago, He came…and what He said to my heart was good. It is what you have said all along, but I wrote it down. I wanted to keep it. I thought about it last night and pulled it up and looked at it again. It still seems good. I wanted to send it to you, because I believe it was from Jesus, and that makes it valuable.

All Authority that is….. is of God. A person does not “exercise” authority, as if it were a thing, it is not a thing or a what…it is a Who. If you are trying to be in charge, then you are not. If you are trying to take control, then you are not in control. If you are having to “exercise” authority, then you have no authority from God. Authority comes in the form of a “Who”, the first form is Jesus, Who received that state of being from His Father and passes it on to whom He will. Those who are an Authority, are so, because God made them that way. And there job is to walk in a gentleness and kindness so as to make people at ease so they can receive the blessings that the Authority has to give. A man who is really in charge is spending his time trying not to intimidate people because of what he really has, he never spends his time trying to “take” charge.

Charge is given by One who is greater, never taken. And those who don’t have it…take it by force.

Jerry

Hey

This is Judy, just wanted to share a really sweet time I had with Jesus last nite while driving. I had been talking to Jesus about some rather nervous, anxious feeling I had been having and was telling him how I want his help in taking them away. I was telling him I cant think clearly if I am feeling anxious or nervous and I didn’t want those feelings. I started speaking in tongues and then it switched to singing in tongues and such calming feelings came with that, but then Jesus switch from singing in tongues to singing in words I understood, I can only remember a few of the words, it had the words the Father and Son in it and be aligned with us. that’s the only words I remember but what I do remember was the blanket of calm that covered my – entire body and those nervous, anxious feeling were gone. Really special time for me. I never sang in tongues and then understood some of the words!

Judy M