When a believer in Christ spiritually grows, the standards set by God in the Tenakh (note: Old Testament) for dealing with evil may raise questions as to why YHVH, the God of Israel, instructed in particular situations to kill persons who were related to evil (see e.g. Leviticus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 24:7; 1 Samuel 15:3).

 

3 I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people; for by sacrificing his children to Molek, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.

4 If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death, …

 

7 If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you.

 

“…3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”

 

The reason is because it was important for God to expose the result of sin to help future generations to notice its consequences (see James 1:15).

James 1:15:
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

The Deliverance from Evil Spirits in the Tenakh and the New Testament

In contemplating the Word of God in its entirety, we find reports of various miracles, but the casting out of evil spirits in Christ Jesus being unique in the New Testament.

At the time of the Tenakh, there was only one way to effectively disconnect a man possessed by an evil spirit from his tormentor, and that was to kill that man. With Jesus Christ this method has changed because He is the fulfillment of the law (see Matthew 5:17).

Matthew 5:17:
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Jesus empowered His followers/disciples to drive out evil spirits from men without using the sword in the literal sense, but to use the Word of God in the way of liberating truth in the life of a demonized man in order to lead him into true freedom in Christ (see Hebrews 4:12 i.c.w. John 8:36).

 

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

 

36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

 

This is clarified by Jesus' words spoken to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane to put back the drawn sword, because the battle of a believer in Christ is not against flesh and blood (see Matthew 26:52 i.c.w. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4; Ephesians 6:12).

 

52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. …”

 

3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

 

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.

 

 

Therein the order established by God in the Tenakh and the related experiences of the people of Israel as well as their history served to create a place, a context and a framework for the coming of Christ. The people of Israel, their way of life and their experiences prepared the way for Jesus, the Messiah, to come to Israel in order to fill it with light (see Matthew 4:13-16).

 

13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali – 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 9:1-2): 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

 

God said to Abraham that his descendants would be given the land of Canaan after the sin of the Amorites who were present at that time had reached its full extent (see Genesis 15:16).

 

16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

 

This promise reveals that Canaan developed in the spiritual realm into a region where people were greatly influenced by evil spirits, so that they were convinced of themselves and their own power to resist God's plans. So, all generations (note: young and old) of the peoples living there as well as their economic system (note: animals, supply) were handed over to evil spirits, so that they implemented the plans of the adversary.

 

In Genesis 6:1-4 we are told of an antichrist “brood”, people who consciously put their bodies at the disposal of the powers of darkness.

 

1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.

3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their 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 humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

 

One of their goals is unbridled perversion, homosexuality, child sacrifice and finally the lifestyle of complete conscious sexual devotion with demonic spirits present in the concerned people. Such a lifestyle extending over a long period of time, leads to a fullness of sin in the eyes of God, which in a certain generation carries with it His judgment on earth.

 

This “long period” shouldn't be interpreted as “cheap grace”, but is destined by God to call the concerned people to repent and not to miss the time of His goodness and grace (see Romans 2:4 i.c.w. Matthew 5:44-45).

 

4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

 

… 45b He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

 

The term “sons of God” in Genesis 6:2 doesn't refer to physical sons of God, but to spiritual beings that belong to the supernatural realm. This also becomes clear in the scripture from Job 1:6.

 

6 One day the angels (note: sons of God) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

 

Because Jesus said that angels do not marry (see Mark 12:25), it can be assumed that from time to time in the course of history rebellious spirits seized natural bodies to produce an antichrist brood (satanic) of men through man and woman.

 

Looking at Genesis 6:4, we can see that this is not a one-time event, even if these giants (note: Nephilim) mentioned above perished in the flood by the judgment of God. This biblical reference makes it clear that this hasn’t been the last time this brood appeared.

 

As already mentioned, in the time before Jesus Christ to drive evil spirits out it was the only way by using the “sword”. This was the reason why God commanded the people of Israel to completely destroy a nation/people/person in order to deliver the region from darkness and fill it with the light of God, His love, His standard and His freedom.

 

The Hebrew word for “completely destroy” is “ḩāram” and means among other things “consecrate, banish” and is an indication to irrevocably bring YHVH, the God of Israel a certain thing as a sacrifice. (note: part excerpt from the Elberfelder Study Bible to the word “completely destroy – ḩāram” with the word key number: 2836)

 

Hence, this process was a priestly act. All the men of Israel weren't only entitled to participate in this act of worship, they were also instructed to do so.

 

 

With this explanation and in relation to the present time, it means that where the Holy Spirit leads us to deliver people from evil spirits by the triumph of Jesus Christ on the cross, this deliverance is a consecrated act that glorifies the God of Israel, and confirms His standard through the generations (see Isaiah 58:6 i.c.w. Luke 4:18-19; Mark 16:17).

 

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting (note: consecrated time) I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

 

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (see Isaiah 61:1-2)

 

17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; …

 

When saints deliver people from evil spirits by the power of Jesus Christ, this is a sign of the government of God and the presence of His kingdom. This is made clear by the statement of Jesus, speaking in the synagogue of Nazareth of the freedom of prisoners and the year of the Lord’s favor, while afterwards sitting on a special chair, the chair of Elijah (note: the ambassador of covenant). Jesus' preaching and His sitting on this particular chair was the reason why in the synagogue all eyes were fixed on Him (see Luke 4:20 i.c.w. Matthew 12:28).

 

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.

 

28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

 

(note: This message is based on a revelatory knowledge of Miles Wylie Albright from the book “Tale of Two Hearts”.)

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm