It is said of God’s servants in the days of Nehemiah that: “They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon,”Nehemiah 4:17.
Today, the ‘sword’ cannot be laid aside for the enemy is on every side and ever increasing in number and aggressiveness.
It is for this reason I have written this article, even though it comes hard on the heels of my last one.
I never wish to overburden my readers, but I am compelled to publicly answer those who attack the Saviour and His truth and also share with you this article.
I must say that the words of Malachi provided guidance on what to do.
“Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name,” Malachi 3:14-16.
May the article be found helpful by you all.
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster
Demons speaking like Christians
“I’ve ditched Church beliefs, but this is why I’ve decided still to follow Jesus”
Journalist Gareth Hanna talks about his spiritual journey and why he wants to do more to follow in Christ’s footsteps”
When I saw this headline in the ‘Belfast Telegraph’, I thought of the encounter between Paul the apostle and the demon-possessed young woman in Acts 16.
“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour,” Acts 16:16-18.
Even demon-possessed individuals can speak like Christians!
The writer of this article is Gareth Hanna, against whom I written before, exposing his perverted lifestyle and erroneous musings (Protest Letter to the Belfast Telegraph) is a professed Christian. There are phrases in this latest article which may suggest that he is indeed a Christian but then the demon-possessed woman in Acts 16 did that also.
Not for a moment, was Paul deceived. Rather, we read he was ‘grieved’, the word means ‘troubled, pained, offended’. That was how Paul felt even though what the woman said was very much more the truth than anything Gareth Hanna writes. Note the woman’s statement. “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.”
Now what can be wrong with that you may say. Well, Paul obviously saw something very wrong in it. The wrong is that Paul would not have the devil saying anything, even if it was true, which seemed to place him on the same side as the gospel and thus make Christ and him allies!
The Saviour was of the same mind! “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him,” Mark 1:23-25.
The Saviour did not welcome any form of apparent endorsement of Him and His message by the devil! Paul shared that revulsion and so ought I!
I detest articles such as that in the ‘Belfast Telegraph’ by journalist Hanna which allies the perversion of sodomy in the same camp as “the Holy One of God.”
It is for this reason that the Lord would have His people remain separated from all that is tainted and contaminated by the devil’s falsehoods and lies.
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty,” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
The picture at the very beginning of this article indicates the God-defying spirit of this man Hanna.
Here he is fronting, and obviously endorsing, a blasphemous display of popish depictions of what purports to be the Saviour. Such a display is in total contradiction and defiance of the command of God.
“I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,” Exodus 20:2-5.
Despite the fearful warning that God attaches to this command, Hanna and his religious genre, boldly set up their images and honour them and bow before them. It is but further evidence of this man’s Satanic and deluded state!
He says he has ‘ditched Church beliefs’, but has ‘decided still to follow Jesus’. If I may interpret his words, I believe he is saying “I refuse the teaching of the Bible and am determined to go my own way and follow the ‘Jesus’ of my own invention.”
That being so, I am again reminded of the words of Paul.
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him,” 2 Corinthians 11:3-4. Since the fall of man, the devil has ever sought to deceive men into following another Redeemer and another path to heaven. Thus Cain offered “the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD,” Genesis 4:3, rather than offer the required lamb as did Abel. That lamb was a representation of the ‘Lamb of God’ Whom John the Baptist proclaimed, John 1:29 and Whom Abel was trusting for his salvation.
I have no doubt that the words of Gareth Hanna indicate that he has “gone in the way of Cain” (Jude 1:10).
He tells his readers that earlier in his life he was confused about his physical health.
“By my early 20s, my anxiety had taken the form of hypochondria. After finding a lump (I’ll spare you the details), I convinced myself I was dying. The doctor didn’t agree, nor did the specialist who did the scan, but they allowed me an operation anyway to remove any potential threat.”
I would have him know that, far more serious, he is utterly confused about his spiritual state. Confusedly, he believed he was physically ill but now he believes he is spiritually well! He tells us he was wrong on the first issue and he is very wrong on this second occasion! He says “I should clarify now that I still very much claim the term ‘Christian’”. I would take that as a profession of faith. Again, the words of Paul spring to mind. “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate,” Titus 1:16.
The confused and blinded state of this man is seen in another of his statements in his article. “Ken’s my atheist friend and he’s one of the best Christians I know.” If ‘Ken’ is an atheist then he is not a Christian and for Hanna to give the impression to this ‘Ken’ that he is, is merely ensuring his being lost in hell forever!
But it is not only ‘Ken’ that he is thus deceiving and urging onward and downward to hell, but all who read and believe this damnable article that the ‘Belfast Telegraph’, a longtime enemy of Bible Christianity, is pleased to publish.
One final quotation from Hanna’s article: “I should clarify now that I still very much claim the term ‘Christian’ . . . . I grew up in the thick of it, first of all within the Church of Ireland, then in my mid-teens moved to a non-denominational church. It felt a bit more cool and that was the important thing, of course.”
He provides us with a clear view of the sort of ‘Christian’ produced by the present teaching of the ecumenical cesspit that the Church of Ireland has become!
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
28th January 2023