The Sword Of The Spirit

[logabe]

In a word, the issue was the Holy Spirit. But how did this play out in experience? The Holy Spirit came primarily in the form of the Voice of God manifesting in the Fire. It is also pictured as a SWORD, because of the "flaming sword" of the Cherubim (Gen. 3:24) as well as the sharp sword coming out of the mouth of Christ (Rev. 19:15). A sword coming out of one's mouth is a symbolic representation of the WORD OF GOD, and the sword is the tongue by which it is spoken. It is a Hebrew idiom in Scripture that the “edge” of the sword is the Hebrew word PEH, which means "mouth." It is literally the BLADE of the sword, but the Hebrew word is MOUTH. So the sword coming from the mouth of Christ in Rev. 19:15 is a word picture of Hebrew origin. When Israel refused to hear the Voice of God in Exodus 20, they rejected the Sword that comes from the mouth. They rejected Pentecost, and so the fulfillment of that feast was postponed for many centuries. If they had accepted that sword, history would have been quite different. The most immediate difference is that they could have conquered Canaan by the Sword of the Spirit instead of the physical sword. But in rejecting the spiritual sword, they were left only with the physical sword. And so, the Passover Age was characterized by carnal things, including the physical sword by which they would conquer Canaan. Yes, God was in it, but it was not the perfect order, nor did all that bloodshed really reflect the heart of God. Did God really hate the Canaanites? Did He really desire their blood? Was the God of the Old Testament a God of vengeance, rather than a God of Love? NOT AT ALL. The Canaanite genocide was the result of Israel 's refusal to obtain the greater weapon of the Sword of the Spirit, by which they could have CONVERTED the Canaanites by the power and demonstration of the Spirit. The fulfillment of Pentecost in Acts 2 shows us how the alternative Sword would have worked on the Canaanites, had that Sword been Israel's "weapon of choice." Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He said to “kill” them by baptism. What we call the Great Commission is actually the operation of the Sword of the Spirit, which Israel was offered but rejected at Mount Sinai. Logabe

 

[Elaine]

Herald,Excellent OP !! Elaine

 

[Christian Commando]

Well, i might agree, if God's Word didn't describe the "Sword" as the "Word of God". Ephes. 6:17- "And take the helmet of Salvation, and the "SWORD OF" the Spirit, WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD." And in the 4 Gospels, Jesus was declared as casting out demons by the WORD of God. While yes, all things are not done by God's "Power", but by His Spirit, it still takes the "command" of God's Word, to bring the Holy Spirit to do so. As proven all thru out His Word, God shows how He "commanded"- (spoke) all things into existance thru Christ, carried out by the Holy Spirit. God Bless!!