There Are None So Blind, As They Who WILL NOT See...

KingdomScribes!

There are two well-known scientific experiments that are valuable for "KingdomScribes".

One deals with many people's sense of "helplessness" about being able to interpret the Scriptures accurately and deeply for themselves.

The other deals with many people's flat inability to see something in Scripture other than what they've "seen" there before or been "told" is there by a favorite teacher.

Don't forget -- a KingdomScribe's "favorite teacher" is...the Kingdom of Heaven! (If you don't remember or know what this refers to, look at the very first post on this blog.)

Now listen, you may not enjoy reading about scientific experiments (especially the first one on "helplessness") but I promise you, if you grasp their implications, both of them will change how you see people and how you minister. So, don't skim through "looking for the Bottom Line"!!! Be a "good" KingdomScribe and read them both carefully!

Experiment 1. Learned Helplessness

Back in the '70s, scientists set up an experiment with dogs. (Now -- I wouldn't have done an experiment like this, but seeing it was done, there's some valuable insight here.)

They performed the experiment with a number of dogs and the results were not only astonishing, but were the same across the board.

Each dog was placed in a wire cage which could be electrified enough to make the dogs very uncomfortable. The cages had six sides of wire mesh. With the current turned on, every dog at first made excited efforts to escape from the cage, to no avail.

Finally, after many shocks, each dog got to the point where when it felt the current, it simply lay helplessly still on the floor of the cage.

Then, the top of the cage would be removed, and the current again applied.

But now the dog would just continue lying still on the electrified wire mesh. It made no attempt to jump out the top of the cage.

Next, the scientists removed one side of the cage, then another until all sides to the cage were gone.

When they threw the current and the dog would whimper, it still wouldn't move off the wire mesh. Even though nothing held the dog from freedom, it would continue to lay on the electrified mesh and whimper.

It had learned helplessness.

People can "learn helplessness" as well.

This has serious implications, even beyond the study of Scriptures. If you've been involved with ministering to people for any length of time, you've probably been confused, astonished, upset or even angry to see people who have been set free by Jesus Christ but who have been totally unable to appropriate that freedom. You "lift" them and "encourage" them and "stand alongside" of them through thick and thin -- but then they turn right back into their lives of helplessness.

There are people who totally and radically believe in the freedom that Jesus has won for them and imparted to them, but who cannot stand in this freedom.

Understand, some people have had "helplessness" engraved into the physical/chemical process of their brains by what they've experienced. These "patterns in the brain" are called "engrams" -- actual biochemical changes in brain tissue that represents a memory.

What can we do for a person who is not simply a bit "doubtful" about God, but believes in God and believes in their salvation...but whose brains have been "engraved" with "helplessness"?

They need the neural tissues of their brains "healed".

This is illustrated in Scripture. Look in Mark 8:

22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spat on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, 'Do you see anything?" 24 He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." 25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man/s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

This is the only instance I know about where Jesus had to pray twice for someone to be completely healed.

Selah!

Anyway, the first time Jesus "put His hands on him", He asked, "Do you see anything?"

And, yes -- the formerly blind man could see...after a fashion. He said he could see people, but then said that these people "looked like trees walking around".

It doesn't say in Mark's account that this man had been born blind, but it would fit nicely. Let's speculate a bit. If this man had never seen, then the neural cells involved with sight would never have matured.

This is normal. When a person has been blind or deaf for most of their life, and a picture (MRI, et. al.) is taken of their brain, the area of the brain associated with that sense is small, having never received the stimulation necessary for it to develop and mature.

When I look at Jesus' "two-stage" healing, I can't help but wonder of the first healing was the man's eyes, and the next the never developed neural tissues in his brain.

Here's why I suspect this may have happened: When his "eyes" were opened, he processed the new "signals" in terms of what was already familiar. He "saw" people, but he "saw" them as "trees, walking". Trees, now -- he was familiar with trees. He'd probably stood by them and held onto them for years. And the new-formed signals going into his brain, he tried to process with a part of his brain that was already highly developed -- touch.

But Jesus "put His hands on him" a second time, and the man suddenly could process the new signals from his eyes correctly.

Why do I use this Scripture as an illustration? This Scripture at least allows for the possibility that part of a person's healing may include healing neural pathways inside the brain...

And "learned helplessness" may require that healing.

One last example about "learned helplessness": Have you ever tried to teach someone how to do something -- say, algebra -- if they've "learned" that they are "helpless" to do it? You can do things like say, "Now -- remember that the little asterisk [*] means to multiply the numbers?" "Of course!" "OK -- so we have 3*6...tell me in English what that means." [Complete silence.]

The problem is that when a person has "learned helplessness", their brains can't get past their belief in their helplessness!

Let's wrap up the first experiment and apply it to KingdomScribes and Bible study:

Let's say that someone doesn't read well. Or they've been told by their dad that they're "stupid". Or that they've listened to "Bible teachers" many, many times with the thought, "How do they understand the Word like that -- I'll never be able to understand the Bible for myself -- it's too difficult for me to understand."

Well, the Bible's not too difficult for anybody of normal or near-normal intellect to understand for themselves. But as KingdomScribes, there are times we'll run into people who simply won't try to interpret the Bible with the simple study skills needed for accurate understanding. They won't even try, because they may have "learned helplessness".

If we encounter people who stare blindly when you try to share the skills and techniques of studying the Word or hearing the Voice of the Author in respect to the Bible, stop and consider if they may be hindered by "learned helplessness" -- and if so, healing ministry is needed for the neural paths in the brain before success can ever be achieved.

Experiment 2: Changing the Way a Person Sees

In his book, Chaos, by James Gleick, there's described a truly disturbing experiment conducted back in the '40s. The scientists had made up special decks of playing cards -- many of which were normal but a few of which were "tweaked" in one way or another.

For example: Instead of the black six of spades, they had a red six of spades made or a black queen of diamonds.

Then they showed the cards to people at a fairly high rate of speed. At high speed, nothing seemed wrong. No one caught any of the "wrong" cards. If they were shown a red six of spades (instead of the usual black) they'd call out either "six of hearts" or "six of spades".

But when they displayed the cards more slowly, the people started to hesitate. They became aware there was a problem, but weren't sure what was wrong. A person might say things like, "There's something wrong with that card" or "There's a red border around that black heart".

When they slowed the pace even more, most people would catch on. They would see the wrong cards and make the mental shift needed to say what they saw without error.

But there were a few people who responded very oddly. A few suffered a disorientation that they considered really painful. They'd say things like, "I can't make out that suit, whatever it is." One person responded, "It didn't look like a real card. In fact, I don't remember what color it is or whether it's a spade or a heart. My God! I'm not even sure what a spade looks like right now!"

Facing the unexpected can have serious, even painful, results in some people.

When some people saw a red spade (supposed to be black!), they had such a strong predisposition to see a black spade that their brains couldn't process that they were looking at something different than that which was already familiar. And the attempt sometimes left the person feeling distraught.

Then, too, some people (you'll find them every so often), simply can NOT see something different in Scripture than what they've already accepted as "true" -- even when you can show it in "black-and-white" in the Bible itself!

What the above experiment shows is that our brains struggle and -- under certain circumstances -- simply refuse to "see" what is right before us, even if it's a page of the Bible we're looking at.

During sermons, it's not unusual for me to pause after reading a verse and say, "Now -- let's stop for a moment and look at this again...I want you to understand that I'm not adding anything to the Bible here...if you look carefully at this verse you can see it says..." and we'll re-read it.

And re-read it a third time. Sometimes (if it's especially unexpected or contrary to people's prior teaching) we'll read it a fourth time.

Why? Because (like the above experiment) people's brains sometimes get totally blocked in reading Scripture, when it flies in the face of their prior beliefs. And sometimes, people feel distraught or even "pain" when looking at something that disagrees with the previous beliefs.

An example is Mat 25. [This is probably not TOO threatening! But brace yourself. Maybe you've already looked at this particular issue before -- but then maybe not.]

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations [Greek: ethnos meaning "all people, everyone"] and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Here we are at the judgment seat of Christ -- the great dividing between the sheep (called the "righteous" in verses 37 & 46) and the goats (by implication, the unrighteous.)

First -- if you've been trained as a dispensationalist, you'll have great trouble even seeing what this passage says in contrast to what you've been taught. With people who've been taught these complicated dispensationalist systems, they tend to instantly go into the "multiple Throne" mode, and argue over whether these "sheep" are "Christians" or not, whether the "nations" are "Gentiles" or "everyone" (but ethnos means "everyone") and other complications.

But to anyone who just simply READS IT, it's clear that the "sheep" are the "righteous" who enter "life eternal", and the "goats" are those who are cast into "everlasting punishment".

Already, many of you may have "alarm bells ringing"...

Please... as "Scribes" who are "discipled by the Kingdom of Heaven", it's essential that you be able to quiet those alarms, relax, and see what the Scriptures DO or DON'T say!

Here's the thing many people don't see: What is the basis for which Jesus says a person will go into "life eternal" as contrasted with those who go into "everlasting punishment"?

Is it their "faith in Jesus Christ"?

No.

I'm not saying that faith in Jesus Christ isn't necessary or isn't the sole means whereby we're saved...

I'm just asking if that's what Jesus gives as the "reason" for people going into "life eternal".

And it's NOT what Jesus says.

This is why some people desperately have to reinterpret this Throne-scene as not applying to Christians... It's because they are afraid to hear the Words of Jesus saying something other than what their personal teachings have settled on. It's because what Jesus says sounds like we're "saved" by "good works."

Look at the Word! Jesus says, "The reason you're going to enter into life eternal is because when I was hungry, you fed Me: when I was thirsty, you gave Me a drink: when I was a stranger, you took me in..."

DOES THE SCRIPTURE SAY THIS OR NOT?

"KingdomScribes" don't turn a blind eye to Scripture when that Scripture doesn't agree with their preconceptions. Here's what they do when something in Scripture shows up that doesn't fit their pre-conceptions:

"KingdomScribes" take the Scriptures, read them very, very carefully -- then go spend some time in the Father's Presence, asking for wisdom from the One Who will not upbraid, and understanding from the One Who opens the eyes of our understanding.

Selah!

OK -- at the bottom of these posts is a little icon that if you click it, a pop-up window opens up so you can share your comments with everybody.

I'm not going to tell you how I interpret these verses (other than to assure you that understanding them is really quite simple, especially when you take into consideration some things the brother of Jesus says...)

Give us some feed-back! Tell us why Jesus says good works will determine whether you go into life eternal or everlasting punishment!


Emil & Michele Swift
KingdomScribes.InJesus.com

P.S If this passage in Mt 25 is a new issue for you, enter its study with high expectations! You can receive something here that will focus your life spiritually more than before. The Truth in this passage is very "anti-religious" and life-transforming!

Understanding Prophecy -- Natural and Spiritual Interpretations

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We're posting our response to a recent question from one of our "KingdomScribes". It's valuable to "KingdomScribes" because it illustrates a fundamental issue in interpreting prophecies -- both in our natural minds, and in our spirits.

Here's the question:

Why did John deny he was Elijah? Jesus clearly states in the New Testament that John is Elijah. Why does John deny that he is Elijah at the beginning of the Gospel of John? Was he unaware of who he was at the time, or was he afraid people would think he was greater than or on the same level as Christ? [After some info from a commentary, he wrote] I see. What I am getting from this is that John denied that he was Elijah in the flesh as they had meant when they questioned him, but not that he was Elijah in spirit. I wonder whether he fully understood who he was?

Our response...

Thanks for bringing this question to our attention! It raises a few, interesting issues -- specifically about how we must interpret prophecies in our natural minds and in our spirits.

First -- the commentaries you referred to [Clark, Barnes, etc.] cover the question well.

As they say, the Jews expected the "person" of Elijah in the flesh. (Much as in Jewish Passover today in which an extra place setting is left at the supper table "for Elijah" should he appear... He would probably be hungry, having been gone for 3,000 years...)

Anyway -- based on the widespread misunderstanding the Old Testament prophecies, neither the Jews nor John "recognized" that he was "Elijah".

Remember how after Peter declared that Jesus was the Messiah (the Christ, in Greek), Jesus said, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven"?

Well, for someone to understand that John was "spiritually" Elijah, it would have to be a revelation "from the Father" --no "flesh and blood" rabbi could have come up with that.

You might wonder --if John were "filled with the Spirit from the womb", why didn't he just know that he was the "spiritual Elijah"?

Well -- God doesn't choose to reveal everything to us. For example, despite the incredible anointing of the Spirit on Elisha (2Kngs 4.25), God withheld some things from him. When the Shunammite woman's son had died, she ran to find Elisha. He saw her in the distance and sent his servant to run and meet her and find out what the problem was, because "the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me."

So, (for whatever reason) Heaven chose NOT to clue John in on his identity as "Elijah". John only had the same Scriptures as the other Jews, and they weren't sufficient to disclose his "spiritual identity".

NOW THERE'S A REASON I'M CARRYING ON LIKE THIS! Not only did the Jews misunderstand the "coming of Elijah" since it didn't happen like they thought the prophecies said it would...but based on misunderstanding Old Testament prophecies, they also misunderstood the coming of the Messiah and so did NOT recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

HERE'S THE KICKER: John ALSO misunderstood the coming of the Messiah. He ALSO didn't recognize that Jesus was the Messiah.

Now, you might say, "Hold it! John is the one who identified Jesus as 'the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world'!"

And that's right. But at that moment, John was acting under the illumination of the Holy Spirit. "Heaven" was speaking through him -- not "flesh and blood" when he said, "I have need to be baptized by you..."

But later, when he sat in Herod's dungeon waiting to be killed -- he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if Jesus really was the Messiah or not.

It isn't that John doubted...it's that John only understood the prophecies with his natural mind. He interpreted the prophecies about the Messiah (AND the coming of "Elijah") just as the rest of the Jews interpreted them.

In other words -- John "spotted" Jesus in the Spirit, told everyone to go and follow the "Messiah" -- then he waited to see the Judgment of God fall on the wicked, destroy the occupying forces of the Roman soldiers, topple the rule of Rome and set up His Throne in Jerusalem on the Throne of David His Father.

He'd already warned everyone to repent because the Messiah was coming to baptize them, not with water, but with the Spirit and with fire. Judgment! He'd said, "You better repent, because the 'axe is already at the root of the tree'!" This meant to his listeners that the "tree" (the wicked world of unrighteous mankind) was so close to being "chopped down", that the axman had already come and (in order to bind his loose robes up and out of the way of swinging the axe) had set his Axe of Judgment at the roots of the Tree, and in any moment would begin to swing the Axe and topple Unrighteous Humanity.

Instead, he sat in prison, waiting for his head to be chopped off.

And Jesus -- the Messiah Who had come to bring Judgment as according to the Old Testament prophecies -- Jesus just went all over the place doing good deeds.

How confusing. It didn't fit his interpretation of the prophecies. So he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask, "are you really the Messiah?"

And Jesus just had John's disciples hang around and watch Him open blind eyes, heal the sick, cast out demons, and generally deliver people from all the works of evil. And then He said, "Go tell John what you've seen."

This was a hard and bitter thing for John to understand. Not only was he anxious for judgment to fall,, he ALSO thought that the "supernatural works" Jesus was busied with, were supposed to be part of the Messianic Kingdom! They weren't supposed to be happening before judgment came. That would be like us today, if "peace" covered the earth and the lion laid down with the lamb -- we'd say, "Hold it! That can't happen yet! Jesus has to Come again first!"

So, here's John, stuck with the "natural mind" interpretation of Old testament prophecies -- confused at what Jesus insisted on doing and meanwhile, waiting for the axe to fall on his own neck. (He wanted the Axe to fall, for sure, but not on his neck!)

Here's one "today Word" for us -- If you're studying someone's explanations of New Testament "prophecy", never forget that if John the Baptist (no greater man in the flesh "ever born of woman", says Jesus), if John can get prophecy wrong without the benefit of divine illumination, you better be careful about swallowing Dr. Joe Blowhard's schematic of the End Times.

Now, Dr. Blowhard may claim he has "divine revelation" which has "showed him the truth", but you be careful about the claims people make about themselves!

ONE FINAL APPLICATION: So -- John did NOT recognize that he had come as "spiritual Elijah". People tried to tell him that they thought he was "Elijah" but he rejected the idea. Why? Because he knew as well as anyone that "Elijah" was going to come in the flesh as the original person of "Elijah. (Don't try to teach HIM "prophecy"! He knew what it said!)

Having said that, if John the Baptist "came in the spirit of Elijah", what's there to stop God from sending the "spirit of Elijah" again today? In fact, if that spirit is sent again today ("preparing the way for the Second Coming of the Messiah") does the "spirit of Elijah" have to come upon an "individual" human being? Is it possible that the spirit of Elijah can come today in preparation for the soon return of Jesus, and come upon the Man, Jesus, upon His Body which is us, the Church?

Hey! That can sure be "pure" "flesh and blood" speculation -- but I am saying we need to let John's confusion cultivate in us a deep "humility" when interpreting New Testament prophecies.

Emil & Michele Swift
KingdomScribes.net

P.S. I, for one, am praying for the "spirit of Elijah" to "come upon the Body of Christ", "turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Mal 4.6) ks