When is it okay to curse people in the name of the Lord?
score:7
David in Psalm 139:21-22 states:
"Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies."
It is important to remember here that God had set aside a nation for himself and at this time the enemies of David the King of Israel were also the enemies of God.
Today we have a King who is greater than David, King Jesus. His kingdom is "Not from this world". Paul also notes that:
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph 6:12)
More specifically the prophets of God, like Elisha, were His messengers and called to a purpose that men no longer have given the Word of God is complete in the Scriptures.
I believe that this means that we no longer have a calling to curse anyone but instead to fight against spiritual wickedness. We do this by wrestling in prayer and by using the Word of God to tear down the enemies strongholds.
Upvote:0
I met a person who is evil to the core and the holy ghost spoke to me and told me to curse them. (That the next time they commit an evil act against a child that they will be cursed) I cant say what the curse is. Mark 11: 13-14 Jesus curses a fig tree, Galatians 3:10-14 for living by the law and not by faith you are cursed, (Romans 13 the bible does say follow the law of your land unless it is against God's word.) 2 kings 2:24 Elisha curses Lads who mocked him and 1 kings 17:1 Elijah curses Ahab.
Upvote:2
I had to consider how to answer an atheist (on Twitter, no less) who used this passage as "proof" that if God does exist, He is a cruel and petty one. At least here I'm not limited to 140 characters! The hermeneutics of this passage have been well covered by others. During the reign of Ahab, not too long before this, Jezebel killed every prophet of the Lord she could get her hands on, and we can assume there was probably still significant persecution of the faithful minority. Bethel was home to one of the 2 golden calves that Jeroboam made to entice the people of Israel into idolatry and away from the Lord, so it is not surprising that we see Ejisha being ridiculed here by a gang of youths. My college OT professor told us that this carried the connotation of calling him an "emptyhead." Now look at 2 Kg. 1:9-15, where King Ahaziah sends soldiers to demand that Elijah come to him, and Elijah calls down fire from heaven and turns 2 bands of 50 into crispy bits. When the captain of the third band humbles himself and begs for his men's lives, God spares them. I see these passages as representing what is soon to befall Israel as a whole: those who reject God will be punished, but mercy will be given to those who humble themselves. These prophets were acting in the authority of God, proclaiming His message.
Now as to whether we have the authority to do this, look at Luke 9:51-56. A Samaritan village rejects Jesus because He was going to Jerusalem, and James and John ask Him if they should call down fire on them, as Elijah did. Jesus rebukes them and says "The Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." So we do not have the authority to curse anyone in the name of the Lord.
Upvote:10
First off, "boys" is a very unfortunate translation here, as the original word properly means "youths" (teens/young men, not children.) And a group of over 40 youths coming out to confront a single man with angry words is a lot more than simple "jeering". Imagine the scene! His life was most likely in danger. (Remember when Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away because Ishmael was endangering young Isaac with his "teasing"? The ancient Hebrews seem to have had quite the gift for understatement in these matters!)
Also, this wasn't just any man they were harassing. This incident came right after Elisha witnessed Elijah's ascendance into heaven, when Elisha was granted an official status as the spiritual heir to Elijah. In other words, he was the new prophet of God, as Elijah had been. To harass him was to reject his authority as the emissary of God to Israel, and that is where Elisha is different from us. He was a prophet of God, and he had the authority to call upon the powers of heaven in order to protect himself, as Elijah did.
More post
- 📝 Where did Aquinas say that the "greatest penalty of sin is the loss of the sense of sin"?
- 📝 What is the Catholic Church's stance on baptism after death?
- 📝 Why is vengeance for the Lord?
- 📝 Is it a sin to do "works" for the sake of "rewards" in heaven?
- 📝 What did the Apostolic and ante-Nicene Fathers believe about Sheol/Hades?
- 📝 What mainstream denominations (if any) hold a Young Earth Creationist view?
- 📝 Confusing argument from GotQuestion (Calvinist) about 24 Elders
- 📝 Is the Pope allowed to notarize various Vatican documents?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church reconcile evolution with original sin?
- 📝 What explanations have been offered for the "messianic secret" passages?
- 📝 According to Protestant belief, when did Jesus present His blood into the Holy of Holies as required by Law?
- 📝 Perpetual virginity of Mary: why did Mary see "not knowing man" as an obstacle to the conception of Jesus?
- 📝 Would every prayer without pre-written words be called mental prayer?
- 📝 How do Protestantism and the LDS Church differ as to what is required for a believer to attain salvation and eternal life?
- 📝 Has the Catholic Church ever opposed interracial marriage?
- 📝 Why were early Mormon leaders so critical of traditional Christianity?
- 📝 The Epitome of the Formula of Concord- Free will in Lutheranism
- 📝 Did the Reformers accuse the Catholic Church of being "a pagan mixture"?
- 📝 How should Christianity respond to the person who defames it?
- 📝 Any radical transformation in case of incarnation without fall?
- 📝 In the following Scriptures joy fills Heaven when a sinner repents, conversely is there great sorrow when an unsaved rejects salvation?
- 📝 Are there any Antipope Saints aside from Hippolytus of Rome?
- 📝 What evidence is there that the genealogies in the early part of Genesis refer to tribes instead of individuals?
- 📝 Are Protestants with valid baptism Catholics, from a Catholic perspective?
- 📝 What is "New Creation" according to Protestants?
- 📝 What are some biblical basis for judging between a true and false prophet?
- 📝 Is the Pope limited in his authority over the Order of Malta?
- 📝 What are the differences/connections between the Churches of Christ and the Congregational Churches?
- 📝 How do believers in modern-day apostles interpret 2 Corinthians 12:11-12?
- 📝 Are devotional materials in Slavic-speaking Orthodox countries typically translated today?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 When is it okay to curse people in the name of the Lord?
- 📝 Where can I find out more about other people rising from the dead, when Jesus died on the Cross?
- 📝 When Jesus gave Peter his name (rock) what is the significance that he then said upon a ‘different’ kind of rock he would build his church?
- 📝 When did the teaching that salvation can still be obtained by people after their physical death first appear in Christianity?
- 📝 When was the name "Easter" first used for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the belief that people do not go to heaven or hell immediately when they die?
- 📝 When did lay people first get a vote in the general conferences of the United Methodist Church?
- 📝 How could David enter the congregation of the Lord when he was descended from Ruth the Moabitess?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for all people meeting God when they die?
- 📝 When the Pope says "We commend to the Lord the souls..." what does it mean exactly? It it a symbolic gesture, a prayer, something else?
- 📝 How were people baptized in the name of Jesus without the Holy Spirit in Acts 8?
- 📝 Does the Bible say when the day of the Lord (as described in 2 Peter 3:10) will occur, and does it go into more detail about this particular event?
- 📝 Why did Jesus raise people from the dead, when they would have been in heaven?
- 📝 When was the name of Sinai first applied to the Sinai peninsular?
- 📝 Why does the bible say that David kept all the commands of the Lord when he so clearly didn't?
- 📝 Do Mormons agree with the Apostle Paul when he said at Acts 16:31 to the Philippian Jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved."
- 📝 What prophesies are people alluding to when they say "look at the Middle East"?
- 📝 Why are there people in Protestant countries with the last name "Pope"?
- 📝 Why are Christians sure that prayers to Jesus are answered when "Jesus" wasn't the name he used?
- 📝 When the Bible talks about wine does it mean alcoholic wine?
- 📝 Praying to people outside the Trinity
- 📝 When did the prohibition of marriage for priests in the Catholic church originate?
- 📝 As a protestant, may I participate in the Eucharist (Communion) when visiting a Catholic church?
- 📝 When does the Pope speak ex cathedra?
- 📝 Why did people live so long before the Flood?
- 📝 How could Jesus be born during the reign of Herod, and when Quirinius was governor of Syria, if those periods were not contemporary?
- 📝 When did "tithing" come to mean "giving 10% of your gross income to the Church"?
- 📝 Are any Greek or Roman gods mentioned by name in the Bible?
- 📝 In Theistic Evolution, when did the alleged evolutionary animal/ape/man become accountable for his sins?
- 📝 In Theistic Evolution when do the genealogies in Genesis become real?