Does the Atonement of Christ Allow Us to Claim Physical Healing?

Almost all the "faith" teachers and "faith" healers claim the Scriptures prove that the atonement of Christ guarantees our physical healing.  They teach that all we need to do is "claim" our healing by "faith."  But we disagree.  The Bible does not teach that Jesus died so that all may "claim" divine healing now.

Let us examine the Scriptures to see if they are properly applied by the faith teachers.  In Isaiah 53:4, 5 it states, "Surely our griefs [the Hebrew word implies both physical sickness and the emotional and physical consequence of sinful behaviour; Ecclesiastes 6:2] He Himself bore, and our sorrows [or pains] He carried . . . .  He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities [sins] . . . .  By his scourging we are healed."  In response to this verse, we may state the following:

In English or Hebrew the word "heal" may refer to either physical or spiritual healing.  The context must determine if one or both meanings are meant.  For example, in 1 Peter 2:24, Peter refers to spiritual healing, and in Matthew 8:17, Matthew refers to physical healing.

Peter says of our spiritual healing, "He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).  Peter stresses the spiritual aspect of the atonement of Christ.  Nothing is said here about a believer's physical healing.  On the other hand, Matthew does refer to physical healing.  He says that Jesus physically healed those who were brought to Him "In order that what was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 'He himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases'" (Matthew 8:17).

The question is, Do these verses teach that perfect physical healing is available to every believer if, by faith, he simply "claims" it?  Since it is beyond doubt that Peter stresses the spiritual healing of the atonement, we only need concern ourselves with Isaiah and Matthew.  We accept that Matthew applied Isaiah 53 to Christ's earthly ministry of healing.  But we cannot accept that this example of Christ's ministry gives anyone permission to teach that all Christians should therefore claim their healing immediately.  Why?  Because in our Scriptural accounts Jesus and the apostles did not teach this (Matthew 25:37-40; 1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Timothy 4:20).  We do not believe that the apostle Matthew contradicted Jesus or the other apostles in this matter of the application of Jesus' healing ministry.

Also, Matthew is only pointing out that when Jesus was healing this was another sign of fulfilled Messianic prophesy.  In healing many people physically, Matthew realized Jesus fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy, thereby proving His rightful claim to be the Jewish Messiah (see Luke 7:19-23).

It's possible that Matthew's words could lead one to speculate that Jesus now provided healing for everyone, but such speculation can be seen to be false because Matthew himself specifically quotes Jesus against such a view.

In Matthew 25:37-40 Jesus Himself states He personally "expected" sickness and difficulty among believers ("[those] brothers of Mine" v. 40).  Also the writings of the apostle Paul reject such speculation as can be seen in 1 Timothy 5:23 and 2 Timothy 4:20.  For those who are following faith teachers and still not convinced, we submit the following evidence from Scripture proving this view is wrong.  Many biblical persons who had great faith were sick and in spite of their great faith not healed, such as Elisha, Daniel, Lazarus, Dorcas, Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus and Trophimus (2 Kings 13:14; Daniel 8:27; John 11:2; Acts 9:36,37; Galatians 4:13-15; Philippians 2:25-30; 1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Timothy 4:20).

When we read the scriptural letters of the apostle Paul, we find that physical pain and sickness were indications of God's gracious work in his life (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).  Paul also boasted in his physical weakness not in his power (2 Corinthians 11:24-30).

Our Lord Jesus Himself said that even physical blindness and death could be to God's glory (John 9:1-3; 11:4).

Job said, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?"  (Job 2:10).  These verses and many others indicate that God does not expect  every Christian to be healed simply because they "claim" it.

Faith teachers are wrong on another point.  They emphasize healing results are based on the amount of faith a person possesses.  They claim everyone who exercises enough faith will be healed.  They teach doubt always blocks God's divine power from healing.  But Mark 9:24 proves their teaching is wrong.  We know that Jesus mercifully healed even the son of a man who admitted to unbelief.  In addition, the faith teachers claim that even negative thinking will block God's power but this is also wrong since the Bible tells us David prayed in a state of acute depression, and yet his prayer was answered (2 Samuel 15:30-32; 17:1-23).

There is another reason why the "faith" teachers are wrong about a Christian "claiming" his healing.  There is not one Scripture verse that teaches us to "claim our healing."  No Scripture anywhere tells us that Christ's death provides physical healing now merely on the basis of our claiming it.

For example, concerning salvation, the Bible repeatedly promises "whosoever will may come."  But concerning claiming one's healing, there is not a single "whosoever will claim" promise in all of Scripture.

If we listen closely to the apostle James, we find he stresses the calling of elders and their "prayer of faith" for healing.  He does not mention an individual "claiming" his healing (James 5:1-5).

Those who say we must "claim our healing" should also examine the biblical use of the word "claim."  In the New International Version, there are about 45 uses of the word "claim" again, not one of them refers to healing.  But many times the word is used in a negative sense where men claim things that are false, things that they have no right to claim.  (1 John 1:8; 1 John 1:6; Titus 1:16; Revelation 2:2; Job 41:11).

Contrary to the teaching of the faith healers, the Bible states:

1.  If a person is sick, he can call for the elders of the church to come and pray for his recovery (James 5:14, 15).
James says two things.  First, you should call the church elders for your sickness.  Second, you do not claim healing by yourself.

2.  According to James, if a sick person is not healed, it would seem to be due to the lack of faith on the part of those who prayed for him, not the lack of faith of the sick person.

3.  There can be no doubt that God asks his people to individually bring their needs and requests to Him (Philippians 4:6).

4.  Even though we are encouraged to make our requests to God, He does not guarantee to fulfill our requests; He may still decline them.  In such cases God says that His grace is sufficient and that even in our weakness God's power can be made manifest.  Paul states:  "three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [a thorn in his flesh] away from me.  But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).

Peter said "let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right" (1 Peter 4:19).  Christ's death will one day perfectly heal every believer, both spiritually and physically (Romans 8:30).  Until that day, we must accept that each of us will, in some way, suffer from the natural consequences of living in a fallen and imperfect, sin-cursed world.

However, this does not imply passivity or resignation.  David prayed fervently for God to spare his son for he said, "Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live" (2 Samuel 12:22).

All of these verses should be included in our thinking concerning healing.

For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

Scripture Twisting

There is a solemn obligation for the minister of the Gospel to preach the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament (2 Timothy 4:2), to preach all of the Scriptures (Acts 20:27), and to preach only the Scriptures (Galations 1:8).  This should be a non-negotiable starting point for any type of ministry.  After all, these Scriptures and these Scriptures only compose the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).  Every word is needed to produce and sustain life (Deuteronomy 8:3), and no other (word) is on a par with it or can claim to be without error in whatever it asserts.  Neither, therefore, can any other such "word" have unquestionable authority in what it addresses.  That is the prerogative of the Word of Scripture only (John 10:35).

The minister of the Gospel is under the equally solemn obligation to handle the Scriptures accurately (2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Peter 3:16), and to proclaim its message clearly (Hebrews 4:12).  In order to achieve this, the Christian church has insisted on developing a system or "science" of interpreting the Bible.  This science is called "hermeneutics."  It sets forth principles virtually agreed upon by orthodox Christians everywhere that form the necessary guidelines for all Biblical interpretations whether in personal devotions or in public speaking.

It is unrealistic to expect all Christians to be in agreement on the precise interpretation of every passage of Scripture.  But they should agree on the fundamental approach to biblical interpretation...there is a difference between occasional misinterpretations and unacceptable methods of biblical interpretation.  All have fallen victim to the former, but no one should be guilty of blatantly disregarding a responsible methodology.

This applies to every minister of the Gospel...whether he labours in relative obscurity or in the limelight.  After all, no minister runs a free-lance operation.  The person who proclaims the Scriptures is under strict orders from God and is fully accountable to Him.  He is God's ambassador and, therefore, his Master's voice.  Faith Movement televangelists are no exception.  The often-reported immediate "conversations" with God seem to give the impression not only that they possess a source of truth beyond the Bible, but also that they are exempt from following acceptable methods of biblical interpretation.  This should evoke a protest.  Not only is the Bible sufficient but also the proper principles of interpretation are universal and, therefore, binding upon all.

The electronic and [Faith Movement] preacher stands in need of a special reminder in this regard, since possibly more than anyone else he has the potential of being a force for tremendous good or a source of incalculable harm.  The man and his message may earn the respect of his audience and have a life-changing impact upon it.  But by who he is and what he says, he may also leave cynicism and public ridicule in his wake, dealing a severe setback to the cause of Christ.

Also the televangelist [Faith Movement] preacher must face up to the necessity of a biblical hermeneutics that heralds the Scriptures as its only starting point and champions a responsible method of interpretation.  In a word, he must honour Scripture as the only inerrant and binding Word of God, and present its meaning accurately and clearly.  Only so can he set forth God's truth properly and bring out its significance appropriately...


For more information on Victory Churches and the Faith Movement, go to the Reference Library.  Click on any book title to get a brief overview of the book.  All books on the list are available through www.amazon.com. 

The Tongue-Speaker's Q-Ray

QT, Inc. of Elkgrove Village, Illinois, markets "ionized" bracelets which claim to benefit people by balancing the body's flow of "electro magnetic energy."  It is said to have been invented in 1973 by Manuel L. Polo, a chiropractor living on the Spanish island of Mallorca. 

In 1997 and 1998, the manufacturer's website stated:  The Q-RAY bracelet is designed to achieve many of the same goals as traditional Chinese acupuncture.  Acupuncture was developed to balance the body's yin (negative ions) and yang (positive ions), the two inseparable, complimentary energies that permanently circulate in the human body.  When these energies become unbalanced the body's functioning is thought to be altered -- which can be at least very annoying and at worst debilitating.  Acupuncture is BELIEVED to regulate these two energies.

In the human body, which is electro-magnetic by nature, bio magnetic alpha and beta waves circulate throughout the vital centres.  When the flow is cut off and these alpha and beta waves become stagnant in one particular area of the body, bio-electrical alterations and ionic imbalances can result. 

The Q-RAY bracelet's effectiveness is grounded in the phenomenon of radioelectrical "Resonance", balancing of positive and negative ions within the human body.  Because of its unique characteristics and specialized configuration, the bracelet is considered to be an excellent Resonator of electro magnetic waves. (www.quackwatch.org)

For several years QT Inc., claimed that its bracelets could restore health, relieve cancer pain, improve muscle flexibility, improve sports performance, restore energy, and provide other health benefits.  It was also claimed to "energize your whole body instantly."  In 2000, an infomercial stated:  "When you have a severe injury or a chronic injury or a chronic problem like arthritis, you have build-up of positive ions, wherever that is you are going to have pain.  In order to remove this pain, Q-RAY bracelet rips it right out of the body!" 

The above descriptions of bodily electrical energy flow are nonsense.  Ions exist in solution throughout the body.  There is no such thing as an "ionized bracelet" because solid objects are not ionized.  There is no such thing as an ionic imbalance of the body, and no scientifically recognized connection between allegedly "ionized" objects and pain relief.  Furthermore, the Q-RAY bracelet has no power source so even if "ionic imbalance" could exist, the claim that the Q-RAY could influence the body's "electrical energy" supply is preposterous.

In 2002, researchers from the Mayo Clinic published the results of a 4-week study involving 710 participants who wore either a Q-RAY bracelet (said to be "ionized") or an identical-looking placebo bracelet (said to be "non-ionized").  Subjective improvement in pain scores was equivalent in both groups, which indicates that the bracelet exerted no special effect.

Consumer Protection Actions
 
In June 2003, the FTC charged QT, Inc. Q-RAY Company, Bio-Metal, Inc., and their principals, Que Te (Andrew) Park and Jung Joo Park, with false advertising, and the Federal District Court in Chicago issued a temporary restraining order freezing their assets and prohibiting further use of misleading claims.

In September 2006, the Chicago Court sided with the Federal Trade Commission and ordered Que Te Park and his companies to turn over $22.5 million in net profits and provide up to $64.5 million in refunds to consumers who had bought the bracelets.  During the trial, Park testified that he could not define the term "ionization" but picked it because it was simple and easy to remember.  The court concluded that his testimony on ionization was "contradictory and full of obfuscation" and that "he is a clever marketer but a poor witness."   Park also acknowledged that QT had at least a 25% refund rate from dissatisfied customers (more than 100,000 people).  In January 2008, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court in an opinion which stated that the marketers "made statements about Q-RAYS, ionization, and bio-energy that they knew to be POPPYCOCK." 

The Bottom Line

The Q-RAY bracelet is a line of costume jewellery that has been claimed to relieve pain and to provide various health benefits.  It is claimed to work by balancing "energy" that cannot be measured with scientific instrumentation.  Its supposed mechanism of "ionic" action is preposterous.  The only published scientific study of the device found that it had no special effect against pain.  Its marketing claims were greatly turned down by a private consumer protection lawsuit filed in California but I believe that the manufacturer still exaggerates what the bracelet can do.  The Balanced Bracelet has been marketed with claims that were equally false.

Excerpts from "CBC MarketPlace"

Sandra Post, a famous Canadian athlete, who wears one was asked "what do they do?"  She said that her arthritis was helped.   When told that it makes no medical claims re. pain, she said that it had cured her pain for two years.  She also said she doesn't know how it works but she believes that it does.

Due to deceptive advertising the company has been ordered to repay $87 million re. pain claims and for defrauding people. Over 150,000 bracelets have been sold in Canada at approximately $200 a pop using deceptive, misleading advertising and claiming that it has the ability to take pain away.  The maker of the product said we can't control how vendors market and we can't dictate how they run their businesses.  It's just jewellery.  There's no harm in it. 

The made-up science consists of performance enhancement, energy balance in the body and increased vitality.  A serious performance bracelet claiming to achieve a state of Chi can cost up to $500.  Golfers are the biggest fans -- it's a miracle!

It's all in your head.  Claims about pain are a tricky business.  All vendors are still making claims of pain relief. Over 600 retailers continue to sell the product while talking about its benefits for relief of pain.  Retailers are not getting the message that ionization, analyzed in a lab, is not ionized at all. 

GIBBERISH IS THE TONGUE-SPEAKER'S Q-RAY

When you are speaking gibberish, you are not actually speaking in tongues but that doesn't matter.  What really matters is that you BELIEVE that you are speaking in tongues. It's not necessary for you to actually be speaking in tongues as long as you BELIEVE that you are.  Gibberish creates this illusion for you.  You actually believe that you are speaking in tongues when you really are not.  Any child can do it and any non-Christian can do it.  It can be taught to any man on the street.  It is not divine, it is Satanic. Satan will do anything to throw Christians off the tracks, move them away from keeping the main thing - the main thing, keeping them in bondage to a wrong focus, and dragging the truth through the mud.  Speaking gibberish accomplishes all of these things and much more for Satan.  When you are speaking gibberish, you are assisting and supporting Satan's efforts in this area.  He is working tirelessly to eliminate true Christianity and replace it with falsehoods.

The fraud that is being foisted on Pentecostals/Charismatics/Victory Churches people is that what they are claiming to be tongues is not tongues.  Biblical tongues was an actual language which had a specific purpose at a specific time when the church was in the early stages.  Scripture teaches that tongues will cease.  "Restoring the fire" (Barrie Victory Centre's motto) is really the fire of hell.   Speaking in tongues was not mentioned in the majority of the latter books of the New Testament which means that they had ceased and the Greek word for cease means permanent, never to be started up again.  Speaking gibberish is the biggest hoax that has been perpetuated in the church in all of its history.  Speaking gibberish is also very dangerous.  It is addictive behaviour which acts like a drug that you cannot live without.  It's primary purpose is to control and manipulate you so that you will remain with the cult which you are involved with and keep giving your money to provide the leader's lavish lifestyle.

Pentecostal healings and miracles, visions and divine revelations all have a Q-RAY element to them.  Most of them are fraudulent and need to be purged out of the church.  They are making false claims and promises which cannot be delivered.

The bottom line in all this is that you should not be speaking in "gibberish".  It is Satan's most useful tool for distraction from truth.  When you participate in gibberish, you are aiding and abetting Satan's efforts to derail Christianity.  In actual fact, gibberish speakers are all Satan's accomplices in crime. The more people do it, the more successful he is!

GIBBERISH IS FRAUD.  JUST LIKE THE Q-RAY, YOU THINK IT WORKS.

THERE'S A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE AND THEY SPEAK GIBBERISH.

Origins of Being 'Slain in the Spirit' (2 of 4)

If there is no support for this experience as bona fide Christian practice, then how are we to identify it?  What is its true origin?  According to the above-mentioned article in the Times, the spate of  'religious fainting' to which it refers has its recent origins in a small church in Toronto, Canada -- hence it has recently been referred to as the 'Toronto Blessing'.  This experience can certainly be transferred from one church to another -- usually through a visit by members of an affected church, or by an influential leader who encourages it during a service.  But that is by no means the real wellspring of this phenomenon, which has always been around in one form or another in the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. In fact, it can be traced back even earlier than the beginnings of Pentecostalism at the turn of this century.

One of the earliest and most notorious advocates of this experience was an itinerant preacher in the so-called 'Holiness Movement', Maria Woodworth-Etter (1844-1924), who also gained a reputation for falsely prophesying that San Francisco would be destroyed by an earthquake in 1890.  In her preaching in the 1880s, she advocated a religious experience which she called 'The Power', and she would often go into a trance during services, standing with her hands raised in the air for more than an hour.  Nicknamed the 'trance-evangelist' and even the 'voodoo priestess', she was often accused of hypnotising people.  And here we come to the very crux of the 'Slain in the Spirit' phenomenon.

What Maria Woodworth-Etter had discovered was the ancient art of hypnotism, the practice of which was first popularised in the West one hundred years earlier by the Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815).  As one researcher of the occult has noted, 'the phenomena that are defined as 'hypnotic' emerged from the faith-healing activities of Mesmer at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries' (James Webb, 'The Occult Establishment', Open Court 1976, p. 352).  Mesmer had developed his pantheistic theory of 'Animal Magnetism', which resulted in the famous faith-healing sessions at his clinic in Paris.  In a major book on the occult (which was originally titled 'The Black Arts'), a description of these sessions reads as follows:

'Mesmer marched about majestically in a pale lilac robe, passing his
 hands over the patient's bodies or touching them with a long
iron wand.   The results varied.  Some patients felt nothing at all,
some felt as if insects were crawling over them, others were
seized with hysterical laughter, convulsions or fits of hiccups. 
Some went into raving delirium, which was called'The Crisis'
and was considered extremely healthful.' 

(Richard Cavandish, 'The Magical Arts', RKP, 1984, p. 180).

In a book significantly entitled 'Three Famous Occultists', a record of Mesmer's clinics by a contemporary historian gives a similar portrayal of his manipulative sessions: 

'Some are calm, tranquil and experience no effect.  Others cough,
spit, feel slight pains, local or general heat, and have sweatings.
  Others, again, are agitated and tormented with convulsions,
These convulsions are remarkable in regard to the number affected
with them, to their duration and force.  They are preceded and
followed by a state of languor or reverie'.

(R.B. Ince, 'Three Famous Occultists', Gilbert Whitehead, 1939,

pp. 87-88).

Sometimes the participants in these sessions would hold hands to form a circle, and it was not uncommon for waves of communal singing to occur.  There is an inescapable comparison here with the phenomena which have so bewitched numerous churches today.  Although its practitioners are ignorant of the fact variations of the 'Mesmeric Crisis' experience are being repeated in Pentecostal-Charismatic meetings throughout the world today.  Repetitive chorus-singing to create an intoxicating atmosphere, the laying on of hands, powerful physical sensations, agitation, hysterical laughter, raving delirium, convulsions, all followed by a deep sleep or state of reverie.  Like its Mesmeric counterpart, this religious experience is induced as the result of the potent suggestions or physical touch (or even the mere presence) of an influential teacher.  Furthermore, it is an experience that is available to anyone who is open to receive it, of whatever religious persuasion, and it has as little to do with Christian spirituality as a Dionysian rite.

However, the true significance of Mesmer's hypnotherapy sessions was well understood by some of his more perceptive contemporaries.  Way back in 1784, the King of France wisely appointed a Commission to examine Mesmer's claims, consisting of reports from two reputable medical bodies:  the Faculty of Medicine of the Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society of Medicine.  This commission came to the highly discerning conclusion: 

'That man can act upon man at any time, and almost at will, by striking

his imagination; that the simplest gestures and signs can have the

most  powerful effects; and that the action of man upon

the imagination may be reduced to an art, and conducted

with method, upon subjects who have faith'

(R.B. Ince, op. cit., pp. 107-108).

Mesmer's discovery that his patients could be controlled by his will is acknowledged as being the great foundation-stone of modern hypnotism, as well as exerting a profound influence on succeeding generations of occultists of many traditions, ranging from the Cabbalist magician Eliphas Levi, to the U.S. Spiritualist Movement of the nineteenth century, which had discovered that in the Mesmeric trance a person could readily make contact with discarnate entities or 'spirit-guides' - the significance of which will soon become clear.

When Anton Mesmer discovered, in the late eighteenth century, the rudiments of manipulative hypnotism, the seeds of Western psychotherapy were sown -- a fact which is confirmed by a prominent psychiatrist in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine:

'What is important is the impact and influence [Mesmer] had on

the subsequent development of psychiatry.  It would indeed be no

exaggeration to say that he was one of the world's first psychotherapists'

(J.R.S.M., Vol. 85, no. 7, July 1992, p. 383).

It is Mesmer's crude form of manipulative hypnotherapy which is being practised by the 'deliverance ministries' and 'healing' crusades of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement, through which the strong suggestions and even the mere touch of a powerful teacher can turn the lives of the guillible inside-out.  But the origins of this hypnotically-induced 'Crisis Experience' can be traced back much further than the eighteenth century.  For the hypnotherapists of today have simply rehashed the psychological and spiritist techniques of the ancient Shamans -- the witch-doctors and medicine men of pagan cultures -- in a modern guise.  The New Age scientist, Dr. Fritjof Capra, physics professor at Berkley University, California, reveals that

'Shamans used therapeutic techniques such as group sharing, psycho

drama, dream analysis,  suggestion, hypnosis, guided imagery [visualisation], and

psychadelic therapy for centuries before they were rediscovered

by modern psychologists'.

(Fritjof Capra, 'The Turning Point: Science, Society, and the Rising Culture',

Flamingo/Collins, 1982, p. 337).  [emphasis added]

Just as the Western psychologists are proffering ancient Shamanistic practices in a guise which is more palatible to the uninitiated Westerners, so the professing Christian churches which peddle 'religious fainting' have simply made the Possession-Trance state of Shamanism more readily acceptable to the undiscerning sheep who attend their heated meetings.  These are the true origins of the strange phenomena which are being so widely reported today and which are bringing the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ into so much disrepute.