Paul’s Visions and His Thorn
2Co 12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
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2Co 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
2Co 12:3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
2Co 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
2Co 12:5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.
2Co 12:6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
(note: we do not know what the span of his ‘thrice’ would be. Or how many months or years it took him to ask God to get rid of it.)
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
When you think about the Apostle Paul you think about how he was once a Christian killer. Paul was a very wise man well known in his community and he hated Christians. He aggravated them as much as he could in any way that he could even as far as death. But then all of a sudden on the road to Damascus Jesus hits him with this bright light (His Glory) that was so strong it knocked him down and blinded the, then, Saul.
e-Sword
The Conversion of Saul
Act 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
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That was Saul’s calling from the Lord. He went away for approximately 3 years and learned personally from Jesus himself. What a blessing. The next thing you know, when he shows up again in public he is on Jesus’s side telling everybody about getting saved by Jesus Christ, speaking as the Christians spoke. Imagine how the people felt who knew him as the hateful Saul. Talk about losing a high position? Imagine how he looked to the people that he was helping to condemn Christians. He began doing very well pro-Jesus, but he had a problem. There was something bothering him and no one has a true an idea of what it could’ve been. He made it sound as though he wrestled with this thing every day.
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Let’s look up the word ‘buffet’ in the dictionary in strong concordance.
Notice that the word ‘buffet’ means to batter, pound, beat, knock against, push against, mash, strike, hit, bang, to strike against repeatedly and violently, to batter. He calls it a messenger of Satan therefore it had to be a demon, a demonic figure. Look up the word messenger.
Angels are called messengers in the Bible therefore demons are disembodied messengers who run errands for Satan. Angels have wings and fly above us but demons only walk to dry places. Jesus clipped their wings. Therefore they are the ones that buffet our bodies every day of our lives in some kind of way. They are Satan’s duffel bag boys. Our father Yahweh is omnipresent. He can be everywhere at one time and Satan can’t. There was a time where Saul was a conduit for evil activities but Jesus changed all of that. Some people say that he had eye gook, bad breath, dermatitis on his face, any other thing that they can think of.
He even thanked the Philippians for putting up with his ‘thorn’ whatever it was:
Php 4:14 Nevertheless, it was good of you to share in my trouble.
Php 4:15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the early days of my work spreading the Good News, when I left Macedonia, not a single congregation shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving—only you.
Php 4:16 Indeed, in Thessalonica when I needed it, you sent me aid twice.
It is in my estimation that the, ‘now’ Paul, was experiencing guilt for what he had done against the Christians and also condemnation. We know what the Bible says about condemnation, yes, but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t experiencing it personally, just as we do. You have to personally accept the below scripture.
It is my estimation that the apostle Paul had something that continuously bothered him and kept beating into his mind. It seems like it kept beating into his brain and his heart. I believe that the apostle Paul was suffering from, and battling guilt and condemnation.
Thou shalt not murder. You can almost see this as a woman who had an abortion years ago, God has forgiven her, but the devil keeps bringing it back up, (as well as other examples.)
Life in the Spirit
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus but we all know that it tries to come back to us many times in our lives. It is a battle that we will have for a lifetime. The devil enjoys condemning us. It stops us from serving the Lord. Let us remember that the Holy Spirit convicts, the devil condemns. There is a difference.
Let’s reach down to the bottom of the “what if” barrel shall we? What if the apostle Paul kept getting reminded of the Christians that he killed? And now he’s trying to save them? I believe the Devil had a ball teasing him.
Every day of your life demons are going to try to find something from your past to keep you sad and can lead you into depression. You must bind them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ and send them to dry places never to return to you, your family or your household. Jesus said when the demons were walking around, they walk-through dry places seeking a place to live in.
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Luk 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
If Jesus said they were walking in dry places we can send them there for an eternity in Jesus name.
Bless you for reading this. May you have a beautiful day.
Essie
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Blessings!