See what the Bible says about forgiveness:
Mat 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Mat 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. In other words, there is no end to forgiveness, forgiveness must be ongoing and continual
Mat 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Mat 18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. (didn't just give him more time to pay....FORGAVE the entire debt!)
Mat 18:28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
Mat 18:29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. Unforgiveness doesn't just affect the person who's been wronged, it also binds the person who commited the offense.
Mat 18:31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Mat 18:32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Mat 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, (930 "basanistace" = tormentor or torturer) till he should pay all that was due unto him.
Mat 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
(928 = torment = pain, toil torment, toss, vex) It was in researching the word "tormentor" and "torment" that I found the connection with the word "vex" which is used so often in the Word to describe demon activity.
Num 33:55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. If you don't drive them out, they will continually vex and torment ... be a thorn in your side
In researching the word "vex" I then found a connection to "thorns", which ties in with Paul's description of the "thorn" in the flesh that he had.
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.Here Paul says that an evil spirit or "messenger of Satan" was appointed to bother "buffet" him, and described it as a "thorn" in the flesh.
Mat 13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
Have you ever wondered why some people just cannot seem to maintain the Word in their life, but continually struggle to live for the Lord, and yet have a sincere desire to do so. It says that the Word of God is "choked" out by the "thorns" or demons.
As I further researched "thorns" I came across the story of the crown of thorns...
Mat 27:29 And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!Suddenly the Holy Spirit gave me a revelation of the significance of the crown of "thorns" that Jesus wore. Jesus was God in the flesh and as such could not be vexed by demons. But just as the Word says that "by his stripes we are healed" indicating that the beating and the blood that was shed because of it was done so for the express purpose of bringing healing.
Then: "he was bruised for our iniquities". Bruising is bleeding under the skin, and Jesus was black and blue all over for our "iniquities" or habitual sins.
Therefore the blood that was shed because of the "crown of thorns" also had a significance. The thorns were pressed into the flesh, breaking the skin and signifying that demons can attach themselves to our physical being. The "crown" also encircled the head (mind) which is another place that demons take up residence.
Jesus worn the thorns on His head, signifying that He bore our demonic torment, but His Blood was shed to free us! He who had never known demonic vexation bore that torment to shed the Blood that would forever ensure our deliverance.
However, just as we must appropriate salvation (which is by his Blood), we must also seek healing and deliverance. They are separate works, which explains why a person who repents and gets saved doesn't necessarily receive physical healing at the same time. If that was the case there wouldn't be any Christians who were sick and healing services would be empty.
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