Today’s Live Q&A is hosted by Pastor Miles DeBenedictus from Cross Connection Church in Escondido, CA. Here are a few links to Miles’ ministry:
Cross Connection: https://lifeinconnection.com
Pastor Miles’ website: https://pastormiles.com
His YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/pastormilesd
Does the Devil Know My Thoughts?
Can Satan read our intentions? I know our minds are something made by God, and I know that God knows us thoroughly. But can the devil read our minds? Or does he just kind of attack us and base his evil attacks by watching our attitudes only?
This is a great question. It’s a bit frightening to consider if there are evil spiritual beings and an entity whom we call Satan or the devil. I believe the Scriptures, which tell us there are spiritual hosts of wickedness in the spiritual realm and heavenly places. If these beings exist and are opposing God, and by default they’re opposing us as we walk with and serve God, then can these evil beings read my mind?
As we read the Bible, we begin to see what the Scriptures reveal about God, and not only God but also about other things outside of the realm that we live in: spirits, the spiritual realm, angels and demons, the devil. It’s important to understand that only God in the Scriptures is presented as omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. God alone has these characteristics. The enemy, the adversary of God, is spoken of in the Scriptures as the devil, and sometimes referred to as Satan. All these other spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly or spiritual places, the devil and all these entities, are not the equal opposite of God. The devil is not omniscient. He does not know all things. He is not all powerful, or omnipresent. He is a created being.
In 1 Kings 8:30, King Solomon says this about God: “You alone know the hearts of the sons of men.” God alone knows our heart. The prophet Jeremiah talks about the heart of man in Jeremiah 17:9, saying, “The heart of man is desperately wicked; who can know it?” God responds to the prophet in the next verse: “And the Lord says, “I, the Lord, search the heart, and I test the mind” (Jeremiah 17:10).
The Scriptures nowhere show that Satan knows our thoughts, which is great news.
So, if Satan doesn’t know my thoughts, then how is he so good at ensnaring us? Does he base his evil attacks by watching our attitudes? Because if that is so, how can I deal with this spiritual battle that we are experiencing? Must I watch every single thought that I have, and be in a place of constant, tiring awareness?
The devil doesn’t know what we are thinking. But I would say after eons of observing and testing people, he knows human beings very well. He knows how to trip us up. He doesn’t have a lot of tricks in his bag though. The devil basically uses three primary things as temptations or tests for us: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Every temptation you experience will probably fall under one of these categories. Satan tests us with these things, to see what might easily ensnare us. Because all of us are broken, fallen, and sinful, we’re pretty easily ensnared by the basic things that he tests us with.
We see an example of this kind of testing in the temptation of Jesus in the gospels. Matthew 4 is a good example of this. Jesus was tested first by the lust of the flesh. He had fasted for 40 days, which is a very long period of time, and the Scriptures say that He was hungry. So the enemy comes to him, and says, “Turn these stones into bread.” He’s testing Jesus with the lust of the flesh, that deep desire of our body, our flesh. But for Jesus, it didn’t work. Jesus responds to Satan in that passage by quoting the scriptures from Deuteronomy, saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Next, the devil took Jesus up on to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem and tempted him with something that seems to fall into the category of the lust of the eyes. He says to him, “Cast yourself down, and the angels will lift you up, and everybody’s going see how great You are.” Jesus replies again, “It is written, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
Thirdly, Satan tempts Jesus with the pride of life. He takes Jesus up onto a very high mountain, shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and says, “Worship me, and I will give this to You. If you do this thing, then everybody will be bowing down to You, following You, and You can rule over them.” Jesus responds for the third time, saying, “Away with you, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”
Satan tried and failed to tempt Jesus. Those are the three basic things which the enemy is trying to tempt and test Jesus with: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Now, there are some key things to take away.
First, the same power that Jesus used in this battle with the enemy is available to us. We have the Spirit of God in us, empowering us. John says in 1 John 4:4, “He who in you is greater than he who is in the world.” If you are a Christian, that’s true for you. Jesus promised that He would not leave us without a Helper or Comforter. He would give us the Spirit of truth, who would guide us in all truth and teach us all things. This is the Spirit who enables and empowers us. In Acts 1, the last thing Jesus said to His disciples before He ascended into heaven is, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” This power is to enable us to be witnesses evangelistically, for the Lord. But I believe it’s also power to be able to stand against the enemy when he comes against us in this very real spiritual battle. So that’s the first thing: greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
Secondly, in these spiritual battles, we have the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Just as Jesus defeated the enemy with the Word of God, we have that available to us. Jesus was tempted three times, and all three times he combated the temptation and the enemy who brought the temptation with the Word of God. “It is written, it is written, it is written.” That same power is available to us, and we should know how to use it. We should use it effectively. That’s part of the reason why we do these things on Enduring Word. It’s why we make the Scriptures available through teaching on video and audio and in the written commentaries. It’s why we do these question-and-answer times, to equip you and make it more likely that you’ll be able to stand. So, first we have the Spirit of God, and secondly, we have the Word of God.
Third, we need to recognize that we are in a very real spiritual battle. There is a spiritual battle and there are spiritual entities, spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. The Scriptures, using an Old King James word, say they are “buffeting” us. We have Scripture that helps us to stand in this battle. One of the great passages of Scripture is found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where it talks about the spiritual battle and the way that we can stand against it.
In Ephesians 6:10-13, Paul says, “Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Next, Paul talks about the armaments by which we are equipped and enabled by the Spirit of God. Ephesians 6:14-18 – “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take up the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints.”
This passage tells us we have both defensive armor: the breastplate of righteousness, having shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the belt of truth, the helmet of salvation, and so forth. There’s some great teaching on this in Pastor David’s teaching on Enduring Word, in audio and text commentary. We also have the offensive weapons: the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. I would suggest to you that in addition to the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, we also have prayer, because Paul says, “Praying always.”
Paul makes very clear that the weapons of our warfare (the sword of the Spirit and the prayer in this passage) are not carnal, but they are mighty in God for the tearing down of strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 – For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
So, we have these defensive things that God has given to us, such as the breastplate of righteousness and helmet of salvation, and we have offensive weapons that we should know how to use: prayer and the Word of God. And we see Jesus doing this in the Scriptures, in a very powerful and mighty way.
These are important things for us to do: put on the whole armor of God and use the offensive weapons of the Word of God and prayer. Remember that Jesus defeated the enemy.
The Scripture also reveals the methodology of the enemy. He looks for an opportunity to find a weakness in us. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The enemy considers our weaknesses and looks for an opportunity. But James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” That’s a great promise: as we submit to God and resist the enemy, the enemy will flee from us.
If you want some more information about this, read Pastor David’s teaching on enduringword.com on Ephesians 6. I would also recommend to you CS Lewis’ book, “The Screwtape Letters,” which is a fascinating read. CS Lewis depicts a demon who is buffeting a human being, his “client.” His uncle, another demon, writes a series of letters to his nephew, telling him how to tempt his subject.
Why couldn’t the prophet Ezekiel warn the Jews earlier about the next invasion of Jerusalem?
It’s important to consider the time period in which Ezekiel lived. Ezekiel was one of the exiles taken in the Babylonian captivity of the children of Israel. This is after Daniel. It’s after Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in August of the sixth century BC, about 589 BC. Ezekiel is living in the period of time between the destruction of the temple and the release of the children of Israel from their captivity by Cyrus king of Persia. Ezekiel is one of the exiles in Babylon. He sees a vision of something that will happen in the future. Many people, including us at Enduring Word, believe that a lot of those things Ezekiel was talking about, such as Ezekiel 36-39, are yet future.
This brings up a very important discussion about how we view the prophetic passages of the Bible. I don’t think that anybody who believes the Bible would think that the Bible doesn’t include prophecy. But there are different lenses through which Christians view those prophetic passages in the Scriptures.
There is the historical view, which believes that these things happened in times past; there is the futurist view, which is the view that these things are going to happen in the future; there’s the preterist view; and there’s the idealist view. There are four primary ways in which people view the prophetic Scriptures. It’s important to consider prophetic passages of Scripture through those different lenses, to see how we might interpret them in different ways. But for many Christians, we believe that these things are yet future.
There are different ways in which people view the writings of Ezekiel concerning the future things to come. Some people believe that those things were fulfilled during the time of the Greeks. Others believe that they would happen later during the time of the Romans. Jerusalem would be destroyed during the time of the Romans in AD 70. But there are also Christians who believe that those things may have had early fulfillments in the time of the Greeks or the time of the Romans. We still believe that they have a latter fulfillment that has not yet come to pass. I would suggest that Ezekiel 36-39 includes some of those things which have not yet come to pass.
The question was, “Why wouldn’t Ezekiel warn people?” Well, he did. That’s what the prophets did. They warned people about the coming destruction. Unfortunately, instead of heeding the word of the prophets, many times the people would reject what the prophet said and would even persecute them. They beat up the messengers for what they were saying.
Whenever a prophetic voice would be calling people to repentance, which is largely what the prophets were doing, there were also people whom the Scriptures would identify as false prophets or soothsayers, who said things like, “Oh, don’t listen to Ezekiel; he’s saying all these horrible things will happen but none of that is going to come to pass.” Jeremiah really fought against that attitude during his ministry before the children of Israel were exiled. The prophetic voices are always calling people to repentance, while false prophets are always affirming people in laziness or apathy.
Why is the book of Daniel in the “writings” section of the Hebrew Bible, and not the “prophets”? Do Jews today not regard Daniel as a prophet?
I’m not entirely sure that the Jews do not generally regard Daniel as a prophet. There are questions, obviously, just like with any of the prophetic writings. People who are critiquing Daniel, or any of the Old Testament prophets, oftentimes critique the timing in which the things were written. Within both Christianity and Judaism, there are certain people who do not think the Book of Daniel was written prior to the things that he was prophesied. They believe it was written afterwards, but not while Daniel was living in Babylon. But the prophecies of Daniel are so specific and so clear in foretelling things, that you can’t help but see the fingerprint of God, especially when you think about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s outline of world history that is to come. Some people have questioned the legitimacy of Daniel and prefer to think it was written much later than it was. I believe that it was written by Daniel during the time that he was in Babylon, after Nebuchadnezzar took him away.
Do we get saved by accepting Christ into our hearts, or is it God who chooses those who are saved?
What do you tell someone who has heard the gospel and grew up in church, yet believes that they are not saved? They do not believe the idea of accepting Christ into their heart but believe that it is God who chooses who was saved.
This question seems to concern someone who is leaning more towards the sovereignty of God in salvation than the responsibility of people to receive the gospel. People who lean more toward the sovereignty of God in salvation would regard themselves as Calvinistic, or what we’d call reformed in their theology. That language presents a challenge because every Protestant Christian is a reformed Christian. I know there are reformed people who might be bothered by me saying that, but that is reality. Those who are post-Reformation Protestants are reformed Christians.
However, there are those who are more Calvinistic in their soteriology (the study of salvation). They would say that human responsibility plays no part in salvation. There’s no human responsibility. It’s purely God who saves; therefore, people don’t have to make any decision to follow Christ. Those who lean to the far-right side of Calvinism would say this: believing that you need to trust in Christ for salvation equates to doing a work to earn their salvation.
I’m sorry to say, I think that’s insane. Responding to the offer of God’s gift of grace is not a work. He did all the work. He is the One who says it is finished. He calls us to repent, to turn to Him, and to receive the grace of the gospel. In talking to a person who holds this view, we can agree that it is only God who does all the work in salvation. That’s true: He accomplished the work for our salvation on the cross.
But He extends the gift of grace through the gospel. Some people might say that we don’t need to receive it, or confess, or do anything; it’s God who saves, and we just are saved because of what He did.
Primarily, a person who believes this is going to hold to a very high view of the providence of God, and they’re going to move too far towards what is called “double predestination.” But that’s a whole other discussion. There are several passages that you can bring up to someone who believes this. However, I think it’s important recognize it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to argue your position in such a way that they’re going to receive it. People who hold to these views are pretty stubborn in them.
Paul says in Romans 10:13-15 – “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
“Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is key. I think that this calling upon the name of the Lord is very important. We need to call upon the Lord to be saved.
Romans 10:9-11 – “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’”
Another key passage of Scripture is John 3:16. Romans has a ton of great passages like this as well, concerning the issue of who is working in salvation. Is God working? Or does man have a responsibility to respond to the gospel? I would argue that both things are happening, when we look at what the Scriptures have to say. I love this passage of Scripture. Those who are part of my church know that I go to this passage of Scripture often:
Philippians 2:12-13 – Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
So, we have some work to do: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” There’s a responsibility that we have. But “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Who is doing the work? Well, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure. God is working in you as you are responding to His working. This is a very important reality on this whole discussion of God’s sovereignty versus our responsibility.
Did the tribulation/70th week of Daniel start with the Abraham accord signings?
Ray Bentley and Robert Murray believe the Tribulation, the seventh week of Daniel, has started with the Abraham accord signing. What are your thoughts?
Ray Bentley’s a friend of mine; he pastors a church just 15 minutes from my house, called Maranatha Chapel. not too far. We’re good friends. I don’t know Robert Murray, but I have heard of him. I haven’t heard pastor Ray say this, so I don’t know if he is teaching that we are in the seventh week of Daniel, and that we have started the tribulation with the Abraham accords signings.
But I’ll give you my thoughts. Again, I don’t know that Ray is teaching that; he hasn’t said that to me specifically. But there are some questions I would have if that is true.
First question: Does that mean that there is no pre-tribulation rapture? That’s something you would have to ask someone who would hold to that view. There are some solid, good Christians who don’t believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. My question is about that: if we’re already in the tribulation, then there’s no pre-tribulation rapture.
Secondly, if we’re in the tribulation, who is the Antichrist? He’s going to be revealed during this period of time, during the tribulation, right? If you look at the pre-tribulational view of the second coming of Christ and the rapture of the Church, the general view is that the Antichrist is the one who establishes the covenant with the many for one week, referencing the 70 weeks of Daniel. So that would either mean Donald Trump is the Antichrist or Jared Kushner is the Antichrist. But I’m not saying these things – I’m asking the question. If you’re going to say that we are in the tribulation, and this is the seventh week of Daniel, and it started with the Abraham accords, those would be my questions. Are you saying that either Jared Kushner or Donald Trump is the Antichrist? Are you saying there is no pre-tribulation rapture? Those would be some questions.
Why was Jacob favored over Esau?
This goes back to the question of God’s sovereignty. Romans 9-11 is a key passage in this discussion. So why does Jacob get the nod over Esau? Well, purely God’s grace. That’s what I would say, because Jacob is not a good guy. If you read the story of Jacob in the Old Testament book of Genesis, he’s not a good guy at all. And Esau is not a good guy, either. Esau apparently did not recognize the calling of the birthright, and he was willing to sell his birthright. But that’s a whole other discussion.
But the key is to recognize that even before Jacob and Esau were born, there was an election placed upon Jacob. This is one of the passages which many Calvinists grab hold of and say, “See the sovereign grace of God?” He chooses apart from anything that these guys had done, and says, “Jacob I have loved, and Esau I have hated.”
The key thing is, Jacob is not being elected to salvation. He’s being elected to a call for God’s purposes here in this world. He’s not being elected to salvation. This is not a salvific issue. So why did God choose Jacob over Esau? He chose Jacob because God is gracious. God had a purpose and plan that He was going to establish: to bring about the blessing of Abraham, given in Genesis 12. God said, “Abraham, follow Me and I’m going to make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. All the nations of the world should be blessed through you.” That blessing would be the coming Messiah, Jesus. That blessing was going to come down through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and so forth. It was a calling from God by His grace for Jacob, but not a salvific issue.
What is our responsibility to share the gospel with the mentally challenged?
Years ago, we had a conversation with a gentleman who was a part of our church, who had a son with mental disabilities. This is a question about the justice of God. How does God deal with those who are not able to respond, who have no capability to respond, or who are below what is often referred to by Bible teachers as an age of accountability? What happens to children who died before they had some sort of understanding or accountability of the gospel?
When someone asks this question, they are really asking about the justice and righteousness of God. Whenever we have a question about the justice of God, we need to understand that we have a sense of justice, a proclivity towards justice of right and wrong, because God has made us in His image. If we think that we are just, God is a million times greater in His justice. He is going to be far more just than we are.
To answer this question, I would go to the question which Abraham asked God in Genesis 18. God is explaining to Abraham that He’s going to destroy the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham intercedes and tries to intervene, even though he recognizes that what he is doing is a pretty phenomenal thing. How could it be that a human being is calling God to task? Abraham says, “Will you destroy the city if there are 50 righteous?” And God says, “If there are 50 righteous, I will save the city.”
I think Abraham recognized that there probably were not 50 righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. So he says, “What if there are five less? What if there’s 45?” And God says “I’ll spare the city for 45.” And it keeps going back and forth with God. “What about 30? What about 20? What about 10?” And so forth.
Abraham asked a question of the justice of God. He says, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25 – “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
If there is a Judge who’s going to judge all things, He needs to be righteous. And so shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? God doesn’t answer the question directly. He answers the question through His actions. And this is really important, because God continues to say, “I’ll spare the whole city for 10 righteous.” In the end, He doesn’t spare the city, but He spares the righteous. In this we see that God will be righteous; He will be right in His justice.
This takes us to another passage where we talk about the judgment of God. Isaiah 11:3-4 talks about the judgment of God, saying that God will not judge by the seeing of the eyes or the hearing of the ears, but He will judge with righteous judgment. We can only make judgments based upon the seeing of the eyes and the hearing the ears. If you were ever called upon to be a juror, you sit in the jury box, and you see evidence and you hear testimony, and you’re called upon to make a judgement, based on what you’ve seen and heard. God does not judge by the seeing of the eyes or the hearing of the ears, but He judges with righteous judgment.
On the day when we appear before God for justice, when the person appears who does not have the capacity, ability, or opportunity to receive the gospel, I’m going to say that God will be more just than you, and He will judge with righteous judgment. Does the person who has mental challenges have a free pass? I wouldn’t necessarily say that they have a free pass, but they have the grace of God. And God will be gracious in that whole situation.
Will the mark of the beast come after the rapture, and what do you think that will be? Who are the beast and the false prophet?
On questions having to do with prophetic future events, I want to preface this by saying we should always be humble in our speculations. When we talk about these things, we are engaging in biblical speculation. All of our pronouncements about what will be and what will come, about the mark of the beast, and who is the false prophet, and who is the beast of Revelation, are things where we are engage in biblical speculation.
So I’m going to answer this by saying, I don’t know who the beast or the false prophet are. I think there are some great things to discover as you study through the Scriptures, and look at those passages, and read very deeply on what people have said both in modern times and throughout history about those passages.
Will the mark of the beast come after the rapture? A pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture view says that the church will be raptured before many of these events come to pass. If you look at a traditional view of the pre-tribulation rapture, then I would say yes, in the traditional view, the mark of the beast comes later. I don’t hold to the pre-tribulation view in a very strong way, but many of those who do see a very linear timeline in the book of Revelation. There’s question about that, because it seems like there may be a more cyclical timeline where we’re seeing three different images of the very same things happening through the bowl judgments, the trumpet judgments, and so forth, of Revelation.
So, will the mark of the beast come after the rapture? If you hold to a traditional view of the pre-tribulation rapture, I would say yes. Who are the beast and the false prophet? No idea. Pure speculation.
Do you believe in a literal thousand-year reign?
This is talking about the Millennial reign of Christ. Who will take part in that? Pastor David thinks that will be the saints, but Revelation appears to hint at it being the martyrs of the tribulation. I would say that I agree with David on this, that all of the saints and even those who are martyrs in the tribulation, have a place in this period called the Millennial reign of Christ. I hold to a pre-millennial view of the second coming of Christ. I do believe that Jesus will return bodily one day and establish His Kingdom here on earth. And we say, just as Revelation says, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly.”
We are hoping for the Lord to return soon. He may not return soon; it could be a long time. But when He does, we believe that He will come and establish His kingdom, and His saints, His people who have been saved by His grace, shall rule and reign with Him.
Should a nation ever ask for judgment instead of mercy, in order to be in the will of God? Or should we always pray for mercy?
Does there come a point when a nation should ask for judgment instead of mercy in order to be in the will of God? Or should we always pray for mercy even though the right thing to do would be judgment?
I would say you should pray for mercy, and let judgment be with God. God gets to decide who He judges, how He judges, when He judges. We should always have a bent towards mercy. I’ve studied the Old Testament for a long time. I’ve taught Isaiah and Jeremiah at a Bible college level many times. I love the Old Testament, but when you read books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and get a sense of what the judgment of God actually looks like, I would not wish the judgment of God upon anybody. I would always pray for mercy, even for those who I may not necessarily like. I would still want God’s mercy. So, I think we should always be those who are praying for mercy.
As Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” So I would say that your default should be to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.
Now, there is an interesting passage in the book of Jeremiah, where God says to Jeremiah, he tells him twice, “Do not pray for this people.” The people were in a place where they were going to be judged, but Jeremiah still called upon the people to repent. And they ultimately were judged, but he never stopped engaging in preaching to the people, that they might turn and repent and be saved. These are important things to consider. Always err on the side of mercy.
Does the Devil Know My Thoughts?
Today’s Live Q&A is hosted by Pastor Miles DeBenedictus from Cross Connection Church in Escondido, CA. Here are a few links to Miles’ ministry:
Cross Connection: https://lifeinconnection.com
Pastor Miles’ website: https://pastormiles.com
His YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/pastormilesd
Does the Devil Know My Thoughts?
Can Satan read our intentions? I know our minds are something made by God, and I know that God knows us thoroughly. But can the devil read our minds? Or does he just kind of attack us and base his evil attacks by watching our attitudes only?
This is a great question. It’s a bit frightening to consider if there are evil spiritual beings and an entity whom we call Satan or the devil. I believe the Scriptures, which tell us there are spiritual hosts of wickedness in the spiritual realm and heavenly places. If these beings exist and are opposing God, and by default they’re opposing us as we walk with and serve God, then can these evil beings read my mind?
As we read the Bible, we begin to see what the Scriptures reveal about God, and not only God but also about other things outside of the realm that we live in: spirits, the spiritual realm, angels and demons, the devil. It’s important to understand that only God in the Scriptures is presented as omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. God alone has these characteristics. The enemy, the adversary of God, is spoken of in the Scriptures as the devil, and sometimes referred to as Satan. All these other spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly or spiritual places, the devil and all these entities, are not the equal opposite of God. The devil is not omniscient. He does not know all things. He is not all powerful, or omnipresent. He is a created being.
In 1 Kings 8:30, King Solomon says this about God: “You alone know the hearts of the sons of men.” God alone knows our heart. The prophet Jeremiah talks about the heart of man in Jeremiah 17:9, saying, “The heart of man is desperately wicked; who can know it?” God responds to the prophet in the next verse: “And the Lord says, “I, the Lord, search the heart, and I test the mind” (Jeremiah 17:10).
The Scriptures nowhere show that Satan knows our thoughts, which is great news.
So, if Satan doesn’t know my thoughts, then how is he so good at ensnaring us? Does he base his evil attacks by watching our attitudes? Because if that is so, how can I deal with this spiritual battle that we are experiencing? Must I watch every single thought that I have, and be in a place of constant, tiring awareness?
The devil doesn’t know what we are thinking. But I would say after eons of observing and testing people, he knows human beings very well. He knows how to trip us up. He doesn’t have a lot of tricks in his bag though. The devil basically uses three primary things as temptations or tests for us: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Every temptation you experience will probably fall under one of these categories. Satan tests us with these things, to see what might easily ensnare us. Because all of us are broken, fallen, and sinful, we’re pretty easily ensnared by the basic things that he tests us with.
We see an example of this kind of testing in the temptation of Jesus in the gospels. Matthew 4 is a good example of this. Jesus was tested first by the lust of the flesh. He had fasted for 40 days, which is a very long period of time, and the Scriptures say that He was hungry. So the enemy comes to him, and says, “Turn these stones into bread.” He’s testing Jesus with the lust of the flesh, that deep desire of our body, our flesh. But for Jesus, it didn’t work. Jesus responds to Satan in that passage by quoting the scriptures from Deuteronomy, saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Next, the devil took Jesus up on to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem and tempted him with something that seems to fall into the category of the lust of the eyes. He says to him, “Cast yourself down, and the angels will lift you up, and everybody’s going see how great You are.” Jesus replies again, “It is written, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.”
Thirdly, Satan tempts Jesus with the pride of life. He takes Jesus up onto a very high mountain, shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and says, “Worship me, and I will give this to You. If you do this thing, then everybody will be bowing down to You, following You, and You can rule over them.” Jesus responds for the third time, saying, “Away with you, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”
Satan tried and failed to tempt Jesus. Those are the three basic things which the enemy is trying to tempt and test Jesus with: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Now, there are some key things to take away.
First, the same power that Jesus used in this battle with the enemy is available to us. We have the Spirit of God in us, empowering us. John says in 1 John 4:4, “He who in you is greater than he who is in the world.” If you are a Christian, that’s true for you. Jesus promised that He would not leave us without a Helper or Comforter. He would give us the Spirit of truth, who would guide us in all truth and teach us all things. This is the Spirit who enables and empowers us. In Acts 1, the last thing Jesus said to His disciples before He ascended into heaven is, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” This power is to enable us to be witnesses evangelistically, for the Lord. But I believe it’s also power to be able to stand against the enemy when he comes against us in this very real spiritual battle. So that’s the first thing: greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
Secondly, in these spiritual battles, we have the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Just as Jesus defeated the enemy with the Word of God, we have that available to us. Jesus was tempted three times, and all three times he combated the temptation and the enemy who brought the temptation with the Word of God. “It is written, it is written, it is written.” That same power is available to us, and we should know how to use it. We should use it effectively. That’s part of the reason why we do these things on Enduring Word. It’s why we make the Scriptures available through teaching on video and audio and in the written commentaries. It’s why we do these question-and-answer times, to equip you and make it more likely that you’ll be able to stand. So, first we have the Spirit of God, and secondly, we have the Word of God.
Third, we need to recognize that we are in a very real spiritual battle. There is a spiritual battle and there are spiritual entities, spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. The Scriptures, using an Old King James word, say they are “buffeting” us. We have Scripture that helps us to stand in this battle. One of the great passages of Scripture is found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where it talks about the spiritual battle and the way that we can stand against it.
In Ephesians 6:10-13, Paul says, “Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Next, Paul talks about the armaments by which we are equipped and enabled by the Spirit of God. Ephesians 6:14-18 – “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take up the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints.”
This passage tells us we have both defensive armor: the breastplate of righteousness, having shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the belt of truth, the helmet of salvation, and so forth. There’s some great teaching on this in Pastor David’s teaching on Enduring Word, in audio and text commentary. We also have the offensive weapons: the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. I would suggest to you that in addition to the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, we also have prayer, because Paul says, “Praying always.”
Paul makes very clear that the weapons of our warfare (the sword of the Spirit and the prayer in this passage) are not carnal, but they are mighty in God for the tearing down of strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 – For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
So, we have these defensive things that God has given to us, such as the breastplate of righteousness and helmet of salvation, and we have offensive weapons that we should know how to use: prayer and the Word of God. And we see Jesus doing this in the Scriptures, in a very powerful and mighty way.
These are important things for us to do: put on the whole armor of God and use the offensive weapons of the Word of God and prayer. Remember that Jesus defeated the enemy.
The Scripture also reveals the methodology of the enemy. He looks for an opportunity to find a weakness in us. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The enemy considers our weaknesses and looks for an opportunity. But James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” That’s a great promise: as we submit to God and resist the enemy, the enemy will flee from us.
If you want some more information about this, read Pastor David’s teaching on enduringword.com on Ephesians 6. I would also recommend to you CS Lewis’ book, “The Screwtape Letters,” which is a fascinating read. CS Lewis depicts a demon who is buffeting a human being, his “client.” His uncle, another demon, writes a series of letters to his nephew, telling him how to tempt his subject.
Why couldn’t the prophet Ezekiel warn the Jews earlier about the next invasion of Jerusalem?
It’s important to consider the time period in which Ezekiel lived. Ezekiel was one of the exiles taken in the Babylonian captivity of the children of Israel. This is after Daniel. It’s after Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in August of the sixth century BC, about 589 BC. Ezekiel is living in the period of time between the destruction of the temple and the release of the children of Israel from their captivity by Cyrus king of Persia. Ezekiel is one of the exiles in Babylon. He sees a vision of something that will happen in the future. Many people, including us at Enduring Word, believe that a lot of those things Ezekiel was talking about, such as Ezekiel 36-39, are yet future.
This brings up a very important discussion about how we view the prophetic passages of the Bible. I don’t think that anybody who believes the Bible would think that the Bible doesn’t include prophecy. But there are different lenses through which Christians view those prophetic passages in the Scriptures.
There is the historical view, which believes that these things happened in times past; there is the futurist view, which is the view that these things are going to happen in the future; there’s the preterist view; and there’s the idealist view. There are four primary ways in which people view the prophetic Scriptures. It’s important to consider prophetic passages of Scripture through those different lenses, to see how we might interpret them in different ways. But for many Christians, we believe that these things are yet future.
There are different ways in which people view the writings of Ezekiel concerning the future things to come. Some people believe that those things were fulfilled during the time of the Greeks. Others believe that they would happen later during the time of the Romans. Jerusalem would be destroyed during the time of the Romans in AD 70. But there are also Christians who believe that those things may have had early fulfillments in the time of the Greeks or the time of the Romans. We still believe that they have a latter fulfillment that has not yet come to pass. I would suggest that Ezekiel 36-39 includes some of those things which have not yet come to pass.
The question was, “Why wouldn’t Ezekiel warn people?” Well, he did. That’s what the prophets did. They warned people about the coming destruction. Unfortunately, instead of heeding the word of the prophets, many times the people would reject what the prophet said and would even persecute them. They beat up the messengers for what they were saying.
Whenever a prophetic voice would be calling people to repentance, which is largely what the prophets were doing, there were also people whom the Scriptures would identify as false prophets or soothsayers, who said things like, “Oh, don’t listen to Ezekiel; he’s saying all these horrible things will happen but none of that is going to come to pass.” Jeremiah really fought against that attitude during his ministry before the children of Israel were exiled. The prophetic voices are always calling people to repentance, while false prophets are always affirming people in laziness or apathy.
Why is the book of Daniel in the “writings” section of the Hebrew Bible, and not the “prophets”? Do Jews today not regard Daniel as a prophet?
I’m not entirely sure that the Jews do not generally regard Daniel as a prophet. There are questions, obviously, just like with any of the prophetic writings. People who are critiquing Daniel, or any of the Old Testament prophets, oftentimes critique the timing in which the things were written. Within both Christianity and Judaism, there are certain people who do not think the Book of Daniel was written prior to the things that he was prophesied. They believe it was written afterwards, but not while Daniel was living in Babylon. But the prophecies of Daniel are so specific and so clear in foretelling things, that you can’t help but see the fingerprint of God, especially when you think about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s outline of world history that is to come. Some people have questioned the legitimacy of Daniel and prefer to think it was written much later than it was. I believe that it was written by Daniel during the time that he was in Babylon, after Nebuchadnezzar took him away.
Do we get saved by accepting Christ into our hearts, or is it God who chooses those who are saved?
What do you tell someone who has heard the gospel and grew up in church, yet believes that they are not saved? They do not believe the idea of accepting Christ into their heart but believe that it is God who chooses who was saved.
This question seems to concern someone who is leaning more towards the sovereignty of God in salvation than the responsibility of people to receive the gospel. People who lean more toward the sovereignty of God in salvation would regard themselves as Calvinistic, or what we’d call reformed in their theology. That language presents a challenge because every Protestant Christian is a reformed Christian. I know there are reformed people who might be bothered by me saying that, but that is reality. Those who are post-Reformation Protestants are reformed Christians.
However, there are those who are more Calvinistic in their soteriology (the study of salvation). They would say that human responsibility plays no part in salvation. There’s no human responsibility. It’s purely God who saves; therefore, people don’t have to make any decision to follow Christ. Those who lean to the far-right side of Calvinism would say this: believing that you need to trust in Christ for salvation equates to doing a work to earn their salvation.
I’m sorry to say, I think that’s insane. Responding to the offer of God’s gift of grace is not a work. He did all the work. He is the One who says it is finished. He calls us to repent, to turn to Him, and to receive the grace of the gospel. In talking to a person who holds this view, we can agree that it is only God who does all the work in salvation. That’s true: He accomplished the work for our salvation on the cross.
But He extends the gift of grace through the gospel. Some people might say that we don’t need to receive it, or confess, or do anything; it’s God who saves, and we just are saved because of what He did.
Primarily, a person who believes this is going to hold to a very high view of the providence of God, and they’re going to move too far towards what is called “double predestination.” But that’s a whole other discussion. There are several passages that you can bring up to someone who believes this. However, I think it’s important recognize it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to argue your position in such a way that they’re going to receive it. People who hold to these views are pretty stubborn in them.
Paul says in Romans 10:13-15 – “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
“Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is key. I think that this calling upon the name of the Lord is very important. We need to call upon the Lord to be saved.
Romans 10:9-11 – “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’”
Another key passage of Scripture is John 3:16. Romans has a ton of great passages like this as well, concerning the issue of who is working in salvation. Is God working? Or does man have a responsibility to respond to the gospel? I would argue that both things are happening, when we look at what the Scriptures have to say. I love this passage of Scripture. Those who are part of my church know that I go to this passage of Scripture often:
Philippians 2:12-13 – Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
So, we have some work to do: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” There’s a responsibility that we have. But “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Who is doing the work? Well, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure. God is working in you as you are responding to His working. This is a very important reality on this whole discussion of God’s sovereignty versus our responsibility.
Did the tribulation/70th week of Daniel start with the Abraham accord signings?
Ray Bentley and Robert Murray believe the Tribulation, the seventh week of Daniel, has started with the Abraham accord signing. What are your thoughts?
Ray Bentley’s a friend of mine; he pastors a church just 15 minutes from my house, called Maranatha Chapel. not too far. We’re good friends. I don’t know Robert Murray, but I have heard of him. I haven’t heard pastor Ray say this, so I don’t know if he is teaching that we are in the seventh week of Daniel, and that we have started the tribulation with the Abraham accords signings.
But I’ll give you my thoughts. Again, I don’t know that Ray is teaching that; he hasn’t said that to me specifically. But there are some questions I would have if that is true.
First question: Does that mean that there is no pre-tribulation rapture? That’s something you would have to ask someone who would hold to that view. There are some solid, good Christians who don’t believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. My question is about that: if we’re already in the tribulation, then there’s no pre-tribulation rapture.
Secondly, if we’re in the tribulation, who is the Antichrist? He’s going to be revealed during this period of time, during the tribulation, right? If you look at the pre-tribulational view of the second coming of Christ and the rapture of the Church, the general view is that the Antichrist is the one who establishes the covenant with the many for one week, referencing the 70 weeks of Daniel. So that would either mean Donald Trump is the Antichrist or Jared Kushner is the Antichrist. But I’m not saying these things – I’m asking the question. If you’re going to say that we are in the tribulation, and this is the seventh week of Daniel, and it started with the Abraham accords, those would be my questions. Are you saying that either Jared Kushner or Donald Trump is the Antichrist? Are you saying there is no pre-tribulation rapture? Those would be some questions.
Why was Jacob favored over Esau?
This goes back to the question of God’s sovereignty. Romans 9-11 is a key passage in this discussion. So why does Jacob get the nod over Esau? Well, purely God’s grace. That’s what I would say, because Jacob is not a good guy. If you read the story of Jacob in the Old Testament book of Genesis, he’s not a good guy at all. And Esau is not a good guy, either. Esau apparently did not recognize the calling of the birthright, and he was willing to sell his birthright. But that’s a whole other discussion.
But the key is to recognize that even before Jacob and Esau were born, there was an election placed upon Jacob. This is one of the passages which many Calvinists grab hold of and say, “See the sovereign grace of God?” He chooses apart from anything that these guys had done, and says, “Jacob I have loved, and Esau I have hated.”
The key thing is, Jacob is not being elected to salvation. He’s being elected to a call for God’s purposes here in this world. He’s not being elected to salvation. This is not a salvific issue. So why did God choose Jacob over Esau? He chose Jacob because God is gracious. God had a purpose and plan that He was going to establish: to bring about the blessing of Abraham, given in Genesis 12. God said, “Abraham, follow Me and I’m going to make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. All the nations of the world should be blessed through you.” That blessing would be the coming Messiah, Jesus. That blessing was going to come down through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and so forth. It was a calling from God by His grace for Jacob, but not a salvific issue.
What is our responsibility to share the gospel with the mentally challenged?
Years ago, we had a conversation with a gentleman who was a part of our church, who had a son with mental disabilities. This is a question about the justice of God. How does God deal with those who are not able to respond, who have no capability to respond, or who are below what is often referred to by Bible teachers as an age of accountability? What happens to children who died before they had some sort of understanding or accountability of the gospel?
When someone asks this question, they are really asking about the justice and righteousness of God. Whenever we have a question about the justice of God, we need to understand that we have a sense of justice, a proclivity towards justice of right and wrong, because God has made us in His image. If we think that we are just, God is a million times greater in His justice. He is going to be far more just than we are.
To answer this question, I would go to the question which Abraham asked God in Genesis 18. God is explaining to Abraham that He’s going to destroy the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham intercedes and tries to intervene, even though he recognizes that what he is doing is a pretty phenomenal thing. How could it be that a human being is calling God to task? Abraham says, “Will you destroy the city if there are 50 righteous?” And God says, “If there are 50 righteous, I will save the city.”
I think Abraham recognized that there probably were not 50 righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah. So he says, “What if there are five less? What if there’s 45?” And God says “I’ll spare the city for 45.” And it keeps going back and forth with God. “What about 30? What about 20? What about 10?” And so forth.
Abraham asked a question of the justice of God. He says, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25 – “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
If there is a Judge who’s going to judge all things, He needs to be righteous. And so shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? God doesn’t answer the question directly. He answers the question through His actions. And this is really important, because God continues to say, “I’ll spare the whole city for 10 righteous.” In the end, He doesn’t spare the city, but He spares the righteous. In this we see that God will be righteous; He will be right in His justice.
This takes us to another passage where we talk about the judgment of God. Isaiah 11:3-4 talks about the judgment of God, saying that God will not judge by the seeing of the eyes or the hearing of the ears, but He will judge with righteous judgment. We can only make judgments based upon the seeing of the eyes and the hearing the ears. If you were ever called upon to be a juror, you sit in the jury box, and you see evidence and you hear testimony, and you’re called upon to make a judgement, based on what you’ve seen and heard. God does not judge by the seeing of the eyes or the hearing of the ears, but He judges with righteous judgment.
On the day when we appear before God for justice, when the person appears who does not have the capacity, ability, or opportunity to receive the gospel, I’m going to say that God will be more just than you, and He will judge with righteous judgment. Does the person who has mental challenges have a free pass? I wouldn’t necessarily say that they have a free pass, but they have the grace of God. And God will be gracious in that whole situation.
Will the mark of the beast come after the rapture, and what do you think that will be? Who are the beast and the false prophet?
On questions having to do with prophetic future events, I want to preface this by saying we should always be humble in our speculations. When we talk about these things, we are engaging in biblical speculation. All of our pronouncements about what will be and what will come, about the mark of the beast, and who is the false prophet, and who is the beast of Revelation, are things where we are engage in biblical speculation.
So I’m going to answer this by saying, I don’t know who the beast or the false prophet are. I think there are some great things to discover as you study through the Scriptures, and look at those passages, and read very deeply on what people have said both in modern times and throughout history about those passages.
Will the mark of the beast come after the rapture? A pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture view says that the church will be raptured before many of these events come to pass. If you look at a traditional view of the pre-tribulation rapture, then I would say yes, in the traditional view, the mark of the beast comes later. I don’t hold to the pre-tribulation view in a very strong way, but many of those who do see a very linear timeline in the book of Revelation. There’s question about that, because it seems like there may be a more cyclical timeline where we’re seeing three different images of the very same things happening through the bowl judgments, the trumpet judgments, and so forth, of Revelation.
So, will the mark of the beast come after the rapture? If you hold to a traditional view of the pre-tribulation rapture, I would say yes. Who are the beast and the false prophet? No idea. Pure speculation.
Do you believe in a literal thousand-year reign?
This is talking about the Millennial reign of Christ. Who will take part in that? Pastor David thinks that will be the saints, but Revelation appears to hint at it being the martyrs of the tribulation. I would say that I agree with David on this, that all of the saints and even those who are martyrs in the tribulation, have a place in this period called the Millennial reign of Christ. I hold to a pre-millennial view of the second coming of Christ. I do believe that Jesus will return bodily one day and establish His Kingdom here on earth. And we say, just as Revelation says, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly.”
We are hoping for the Lord to return soon. He may not return soon; it could be a long time. But when He does, we believe that He will come and establish His kingdom, and His saints, His people who have been saved by His grace, shall rule and reign with Him.
Should a nation ever ask for judgment instead of mercy, in order to be in the will of God? Or should we always pray for mercy?
Does there come a point when a nation should ask for judgment instead of mercy in order to be in the will of God? Or should we always pray for mercy even though the right thing to do would be judgment?
I would say you should pray for mercy, and let judgment be with God. God gets to decide who He judges, how He judges, when He judges. We should always have a bent towards mercy. I’ve studied the Old Testament for a long time. I’ve taught Isaiah and Jeremiah at a Bible college level many times. I love the Old Testament, but when you read books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and get a sense of what the judgment of God actually looks like, I would not wish the judgment of God upon anybody. I would always pray for mercy, even for those who I may not necessarily like. I would still want God’s mercy. So, I think we should always be those who are praying for mercy.
As Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” So I would say that your default should be to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.
Now, there is an interesting passage in the book of Jeremiah, where God says to Jeremiah, he tells him twice, “Do not pray for this people.” The people were in a place where they were going to be judged, but Jeremiah still called upon the people to repent. And they ultimately were judged, but he never stopped engaging in preaching to the people, that they might turn and repent and be saved. These are important things to consider. Always err on the side of mercy.
