The Power of God

A common problem in dealing with major disasters is denying the power of God. The Bible warns not to deny his power. It says his power will be denied. Speeches by President Bush immediately after the WTC Attack showed God's power was denied.

There are many places in the Bible where the power of God is mentioned. One place in particular warns that denying God's power is a feature of the end-times church. Not only is it something expected in the secular world, but also in the church. The following is the relevant text:

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1ܗܕܐ ܕܝܢ ܗܘܝܬ ܝܕܥ ܕܒܝܘܡܬܐ ܐܚܪܝܐ ܢܐܬܘܢ ܙܒܢܐ ܩܫܝܐ ܀ 2ܘܢܗܘܘܢ ܒܢܝܢܫܐ ܪܚܡܝ ܢܦܫܗܘܢ ܘܪܚܡܝ ܟܤܦܐ ܫܒܗܪܢܐ ܪܡܐ ܡܓܕܦܢܐ ܕܠܐܢܫܝܗܘܢ ܠܐ ܡܬܛܦܝܤܝܢ ܟܦܪܝ ܒܛܝܒܘܬܐ ܪܫܝܥܐ ܀ 3ܐܟܠܝ ܩܪܨܐ ܡܫܥܒܕܝ ܠܪܓܬܐ ܒܥܪܝܪܝܐ ܤܢܝܝ ܛܒܬܐ ܀ 4ܡܫܠܡܢܐ ܡܤܪܗܒܐ ܚܬܝܪܐ ܪܚܡܝ ܪܓܝܓܬܐ ܛܒ ܡܢ ܚܘܒܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܀ 5ܕܐܝܬ ܠܗܘܢ ܐܤܟܡܐ ܕܕܚܠܬ ܐܠܗܐ ܘܡܢ ܚܝܠܗ ܪܚܝܩܝܢ ܐܝܠܝܢ ܕܗܟܢܐ ܐܢܘܢ ܕܚܘܩ ܐܢܘܢ ܡܢܟ ܀ (SYP)

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (KJV)

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (KJV/NC)

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, 4traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power therefore. From these also turn away. (ASV)

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1KNOW this, that in the last days disastrous times will come. 2And men shall be lovers of themselves and lovers of money, proud, conceited, blasphemers, disobedient to their own people, ungrateful, wicked, 3False accusers, addicts to lust, brutal, haters of good things, 4Traitors, hasty, boasters, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but far from the power of God; from such turn away. (LAM)

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. 2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, 4treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people. (RSV)

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God -- 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.(NIV)

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come. 2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, 4traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. Turn away from these, also. (WEB)

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come. 2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, 4traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. Turn away from these, also. (WEB/HNV)

49 Second Timothy 3:1-5 1KNOW this, that in the last days disastrous times will come. 2And men will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money, proud, conceited, blasphemers, disobedient to their own people, ungrateful, wicked, 3False accusers, addicts to lust, brutal, haters of good things, 4Traitors, hasty, boasters, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but far from the power of God; from such turn away. (BRB)

The key ideas here are "a form of godliness, but without power." Each time anyone says something happens outside of God's control we deny God's full power and identify ourselves as being part of a weak end-times church. This is a Heresy with a history and specific name and in theological circles it is called "dualism."

Denying God's power happened almost immediately after the bombing. As soon as George Bush began to speak it was obvious there were problems in exactly this area.

In Bush's second speech on the WTC destruction, Bush said this was a battle between good and evil and that good would win. Wrong.

Bush was denying God's power to have stopped this event before it happened. Bush was implicitly linking American interests to both "Good" and "God" but he was denying God's ability to have stopped the event before it happened. Bush was practicing dualism.

Amount of Power

America has a large law enforcement infrastructure that could have easily arrested the men who did this. All the law enforcement infrastructure needed was just a little information, they needed to know who to arrest. On the night of September 10, 2001, the last time this could have been stopped, the information was hidden.

Even though God has all power, enough to have ignited thousands of stars as powerful as the sun, the amount of power God needed to have stopped the WTC destruction was minuscule. The list is quite large of possible ways this could have been stopped. Consider some of the simplest:

  • Mis-setting alarm clocks that morning.
  • Missing connecting flights.
  • Being arrested for speeding down the freeway in rental cars.
  • Being stopped by an alert border guard.
  • Causing suspicion in an airline ticket agent.

Indeed, some reports indicate as many as 50 conspirators were involved in this plot. Any one of them could have been caught by an alert law enforcement officer, spoiling the whole thing.

Each of the ways mentioned here could have been used by God to stop the bombing. He's used each before. Each requires very little power, far less than God wields on a regular basis around the world.

God himself wanted this to happen and nothing could stop it. This is the only position Christians can take and not deny the power of God.

As various people, including Christian commentators, deny that God let this happen, they deny minuscule power on God's part.

Joshua's encounter with the same power

Others in history were confronted by this situation. One of the most famous was Joshua. He knew he was to be the leader of a military campaign that would take the promised land. He thought he had God on his side. He was young and didn't get this point.

The commander of the Lord's army arrived to give Joshua direction. Joshua viewed the problem through the filter of "good vs. evil" or "us vs. them." He wanted to know which side the commander was one. He got an important answer:

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13וַיְהִ֗י בִּֽהְי֣וֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ֮ בִּירִיחוֹ֒ וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּה־ אִישׁ֙ עֹמֵ֣ד לְנֶגְדּ֔וֹ וְחַרְבּ֥וֹ שְׁלוּפָ֖ה בְּיָד֑וֹ וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ יְהוֹשֻׁ֤עַ אֵלָיו֙ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ הֲלָ֥נוּ אַתָּ֖ה אִם־ לְצָרֵֽינוּ׃ 14וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ לֹ֗א כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י שַׂר־ צְבָֽא־ יְהוָ֖ה עַתָּ֣ה בָ֑אתִי וַיִּפֹּל֩ יְהוֹשֻׁ֨עַ אֶל־ פָּנָ֥יו אַ֙רְצָה֙ וַיִּשְׁתָּ֔חוּ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ מָ֥ה אֲדֹנִ֖י מְדַבֵּ֥ר אֶל־ עַבְדּֽוֹ׃ 15וַיֹּאמֶר֩ שַׂר־ צְבָ֨א יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־ יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ שַׁל־ נַֽעַלְךָ֙ מֵעַ֣ל רַגְלֶ֔ךָ כִּ֣י הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתָּ֛ה עֹמֵ֥ד עָלָ֖יו קֹ֣דֶשׁ ה֑וּא וַיַּ֥עַשׂ יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ כֵּֽן׃ (WLC)

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

14And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15And the captain of the LORDS host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.(KJV)

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

14And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.(KJV/NC)

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14And he said, Nay; but as prince of the host of Jehovah am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15And the prince of Jehovah's host said unto Joshua, Put off thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.(ASV)

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13¶ And it came to pass, when Joshua was in the plain of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand; and Joshua went to him, and said to him, Are you of us or of our enemies? 14And he said to him, I am the commander of the host of the LORD, and now I have come here. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said. What hath my LORD to say to his servant? 15And the commander of the LORD'S host said to Joshua, Take your shoes from off your feet; for the place whereon you stand is holy. And Joshua did so. (LAM)

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood before him with his drawn sword in his hand; and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" 14And he said, "No; but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to him, "What does my lord bid his servant?" 15And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Put off your shoes from your feet; for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so.(RSV)

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

14"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

15The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.(NIV)

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13It happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went to him, and said to him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries? 14He said, No; but I have come now as commander of Yahweh's army. Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said to him, What says my lord to his servant? 15The prince of Yahweh's army said to Joshua, Put off your shoe from off your foot; for the place whereon you stand is holy. Joshua did so.(WEB)

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13It happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him, and said to him, 'Are you for us, or for our adversaries?'

14He said, 'No; but I have come now as commander of the LORD's army.'

Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said to him, 'What does my lord say to his servant?'

15The prince of the LORD's army said to Joshua, 'Take your shoes off of your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy.' Joshua did so.(WEB/HNV)

6 Joshua 5:13-15 13And it came to pass, when Joshua was in the plain of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw a man who stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand; and Joshua went to him, and said to him, Are you of us or of our enemies? 14And he said to him, I am the commander of the host of Yahvah, and now I have come here. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said, What has my Lord to say to his servant? 15And the commander of Yahvah's host said to Joshua, Take your shoes off your feet; for the place whereon you stand is holy. And Joshua did so. (BRB)

God is fundamentally just in his dealing with men. He keeps the innocent from harm and he sends his angels against those who have sinned. He is not on anyone's side.

When catastrophe happens, like that at the World Trade Center, the only answer is that God let it happen. America, as a nation, has business to do with God in order to figure out why. Of course the day-for-a-year time line suggests the business, God's reason for this chastisement. Even without knowing those reasons we must be careful to understand this is the root relationship that must be made right again.

How should we respond to the WTC destruction?

The Bible suggests a response. Just as a father punishes a child, so too does God rebuke his children. Even at a national level it works the same way. God rebukes nations that have turned from him. Details of the events and specifics of just how America has turned follow, but even without those specifics we can make some general claims about the situation.

Bush should have said God has rebuked America this day, having lifted his divine hand of protection. Bush should have then immediately called for a national day of fasting, prayer and repentance. Even without knowing the specific scripture for the day, we'll get to that below, this would have been a better answer. (By Friday, September 14, 2001, Bush eventually called for a day of mourning and prayer. It was a far cry from repentance and it did not acknowledge what God had done on September 11.)

As you watch the news and hear repeated comments that make this into "good vs. evil" or "us vs. them" remember, the captain of the Lord's army is on no one's side. God could have easily stopped this entire thing if he wanted. Don't deny his power to have stopped it. We easily sin when we respond in these ways.

http://www.bibletime.com/news/event/sept11/power/
Revision 1.1 on 2007-10-18 at 05:25:23 GMT

Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo More... Connectedy AskJeeves Backflip Bibsonomy blabb BlinkBits BlinkList Blogmarks Blogmemes Bloxor Blue Dot Bookmark Tracker Buddymarks Butterfly Care2 News CiteUlike ClaimID Cogenz Collectfavorites Complore Connotea Diigo Dogear Dzone EatMyHamster EarthLink eggkeg Fark Filangy Frassle Fungow Furl Getboo Givealink Grabber Gravee Hanzo HOLM i89 igooi IndiaGram Indianpad iTalkNews Jookster Linkarena Linkatopia linksnarf linuxquestions Lycos IQ Ma.gnolia Maple Markaboo MediaMatrix MyLinkVault MyPip Netvouz Netscape Newsvine Nextaris NowPublic PennTags Quadriot Riffs Rojo Searchles Shakk Simpy SiteJot SlashDot Smarking Spurl Squidoo SyncIt SyncOne Tagtooga Tailrank Uvouch WindowsLive WireFan Wists Socialize It