FIRST THE NATURAL, THEN THE SPIRITUAL

04-19-09

(1 Cor 15:46) Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural;

and afterward that which is spiritual.

NATURAL DEMON POSSESSION (a type and shadow)

(Gen 6:1-10) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God [1] [the fallen angels] saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose [for no mortal man or woman had the power to stop them]. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years [Jubilee years? 50x120 = 6,000]. There were giants [mutations] in the earth in those days [the days of Noah]; and also after that, when the sons of God [the fallen angels] came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts [first mention in the Bible] of his heart [syn: mind] was only evil continually. And it repented [Heb: to be sorry] the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them [2]. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just [Heb: righteous] man and perfect in his generations [3] [i.e., Noah’s blood-line had not yet been contaminated by the evil thoughts (presence) of defiling fallen angels], and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth [4].

1.  (Job 1:6,7) Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

2.  (2 Pet 2:4,5) For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

a.  Commentary: Which angels, specifically, are we talking about here? How often does the Bible illustrate angels sinning, committing sin? Once. (Gen 6:1-5).

3.  perfect = Heb: entire (lit., fig. or mor.); also (as noun) integrity, truth:--without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright (-ly), whole.

4.  Commentary: Ham, amongst the three brothers, was the son of Noah who was found “imperfect” (Gen 9:20-25). The Bible tells us that Noah was a righteous man and “perfect in his generations.” Ham was a succeeding generation in the blood-line of Noah. Well then, how could Ham have become imperfect, blemished, spotted, and defiled? Ham married a wife; he became “one flesh” (Gen 2:24) with a woman before they entered the ark, and, unbeknownst to him (and perhaps to her as well), his wife carried an unspecified number of the defiling fallen angels. Because Ham’s wife survived the flood, so too did those fallen angels inside her escape from the restraining chains of darkness. Thus, the sense of the curious statement “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that” (Gen 6:4). Please note that Noah did not curse Ham, but he did curse Canaan who was next in generation and blood-line from Ham, and heir to Ham’s wife. Evidentially then, it would seem that Ham was saved but diabolically influenced by his wife, whereas his son Canaan directly inherited his mother’s resident evil, and was unsaved.

a.  (Gen 9:20-25) And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

b.  (Gen 2:24) Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

SPIRITUAL DEMON POSSESSION (the antitype)

(2 Cor 10:3-5) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [Gk: temporal: fleshly], but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

1.  strong holds = Gk: (mean. to fortify, through the idea of holding safely); a castle (fig. argument).

2.  imaginations = Gk: reasoning:--imagination, thought,

3.  obedience = Gk: attentive hearkening, i.e. compliance or submission:--obedience, obey (-ing).

(Phil 4:4-9) Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation [1] be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication [Gk: petition] with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue [Dict: moral excellence or goodness], and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

1.  moderation = Dictionary: 1. the quality of being moderate; restraint; avoidance of extremes; temperance.

a.  (Gal 5:22,23) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance [Gk: self-control]: against such there is no law.

Amen