Bible Studies

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Overcoming Faith Part 10

Hebrews 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: KJV Note: CEV=Contemporary English Version

The others referred to here by the writer of Hebrews doesn't only mean the Prophets (although there is one documented case in Scripture of Elisha being mocked as we will illuminate), but it means any other Hebrew people who followed the way of the Lord God/Elohim/Adonai/Christ Jesus our Lord because all of the non-Hebrew/Jewish people in the world during those days worshipped not Israel's God (the One True God), but instead they worshipped many gods who were not god or gods at all, but merely demons ruled and controlled by the devil. You see all worship of a so-called god that is outside of Christ Jesus our Lord is demonic worship no matter what it is called i.e. Buddhism, Hinduism, Wiccan, Spiritualism, or any other ism or non-ism, remember what Jesus Christ our Lord said, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." (John 14:6) (KJV). So, it is not hard to understand that during the times or days that the writer of Hebrews references here that other Hebrew followers of Adonai were indeed scourged, that is, beaten for belonging to the One True God whom the devil hates. This reality still is present during our times or days because the devil's hatred for our Lord Jesus Christ still burns hot as it always will even when he is thrown into the lake of fire it will continue (Revelation 20:10). The little English phrase 'of cruel mockings' is translated by the Greek word empaigmos (used this one time only in the New Testament) which means derision: - mocking. The word derision is defined by our English dictionary as the act of deriding or treating with contempt. The word scorn means the lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike; to look down on with disdain; or to refuse with contempt. Those who belong to the devil (no matter their religious or spiritual label) have these feelings for all of us who have been redeemed by the 'Blood of the Lamb' (Revelations 7:14 & Revelations 12:11).

The devil hates Jesus Christ and all of his demons who live in and control many non-believers in Christ Jesus our Lord hate us who belong to Jesus, therefore, come mockings and scourgings as our Lord Jesus first warned the early Apostles with these words, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 10:16-22) (KJV). The Prophet Elisha (who replaced Elijah after the Lord God carried him up straight into heaven) was mocked and sadly it was done by children. Children often times are taught or led into by their parents the evil of sorcery or divination or wizardry or witchcraft or necromancy or familiar spirits, that is, demons or enchantment all things which Elohim/Jehovah hates as declared in Deuteronomy 18:9-14. The Prophet Elisha was mocked, but in his case the Spirit of God turned and confronted the demons of the devil, as it is written here, "And he (Elisha) went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the woods, and tear forty and two children of them. And he (Elisha) went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria." (2 Kings 2:23-25) (KJV). Sometimes the Lord Jesus Christ answers our prayers by dealing with the people who belong to the devil for us in very clear, crisp, and commanding ways to make it once again certain to the devil that he is to steer clear of His sons and daughters, Amen!!!

Asa (the king of Judah) had started out doing the will of the Lord God, however, on one occassion he did what he wanted and not what the Lord God had commanded him to do and he was confronted by the Prophet of God Hanani, as it is written, "Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to fortify Ramah. Then he fortified the towns of Geba and Mizpah with these same stones and wood. Soon after that happened, Hanani the prophet went to Asa and said: You depended on the king of Syria instead of depending on the LORD your God. And so, you will never defeat the Syrian army. Remember how powerful the Ethiopian and Libyan army was, with all their chariots and cavalry troops! You trusted the LORD to help you then, and you defeated them. The LORD is constantly watching everyone, and he gives strength to those who faithfully obey him. But you have done a foolish thing, and your kingdom will never be at peace again. When Asa heard this, he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. Asa was also cruel to some of his people." (2 Chronicles 16:6-10) (CEV). The evil king Ahab (married the witch Jezebel) during his reign of terror over Israel and would not listen to the true Prophets of God, but instead he had yes men who would tell him always what he wanted to hear but he would never send for the true Prophet of God Micaiah who would only speak to the king the Word of the Lord and finally the Lord God had enough, as it is written and documented here, "Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah whispered, Micaiah, all the prophets have good news for Ahab. Now go and say the same thing. I'll say whatever the living LORD tells me to say, Micaiah replied. Then Micaiah went to Ahab, and Ahab asked, Micaiah, should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth? Yes! Micaiah answered. The LORD will help you defeat them. Micaiah, I've told you over and over to tell me the truth! Ahab shouted. What does the LORD really say? He answered, In a vision I saw Israelite soldiers walking around in the hills like sheep without a shepherd to guide them. The LORD said, This army has no leader. They should go home and not fight. Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, I told you he would bring bad news! Micaiah replied: Listen to this! I also saw the LORD seated on his throne with every creature in heaven gathered around him. The LORD asked, Who can trick Ahab and make him go to Ramoth where he will be killed? They talked about it for a while, then finally a spirit came forward and said to the LORD, I can trick Ahab. How? the LORD asked. I'll make Ahab's prophets lie to him. Good! the LORD replied. Now go and do it. This is exactly what has happened, Ahab. The LORD made all your prophets lie to you, and he knows you will soon be destroyed. Zedekiah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him on the face. Then he asked, Do you really think the LORD would speak to you and not to me? Micaiah answered, You'll find out on the day you have to hide in the back room of some house. Ahab shouted, Arrest Micaiah! Take him to Prince Joash and Governor Amon of Samaria. Tell them to put him in prison and to give him nothing but bread and water until I come back safely. Micaiah said, If you do come back, I was wrong about what the LORD wanted me to say." Then he told the crowd, Don't forget what I said!" (1 Kings 22:13-28) (CEV).

Guess what? Ahab did not return, for he was killed in that battle just as the true Prophet of God Micaiah told him would happen if he went out to this battle that was not commanded by the Lord God of Israel, as it is written here for all to see and read, "Ahab and Jehoshaphat led their armies to Ramoth in Gilead. Before they went into battle, Ahab said, Jehoshaphat, I'll disguise myself, but you wear your royal robe. Then Ahab disguised himself and went into battle. The king of Syria had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders to attack only Ahab. So when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robe, they thought he was Ahab and started to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat shouted out to them, they realized he wasn't Ahab, and they left him alone. However, during the fighting a soldier shot an arrow without even aiming, and it hit Ahab where two pieces of his armor joined. He shouted to his chariot driver, I've been hit! Get me out of here! The fighting lasted all day, with Ahab propped up in his chariot so he could see the Syrian troops. He bled so much that the bottom of the chariot was covered with blood, and by evening he was dead." (1 Kings 22:29-35) (CEV).  Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of Hebrews 11:36, "They were persecuted in their reputation by mockings, which are cruel to an ingenuous mind; in their persons by scourging, the punishment of slaves; in their liberty by bonds and imprisonment. Observe how inveterate (habitual) is the malice that wicked men have towards the righteous, how far it will go, and what a variety of cruelties it will invent and exercise upon those against whom they have no cause of quarrel, except in the matters of their God."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

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