Sunday, June 11, 2006
BEELZEBUL
Matt. 12:24-26. But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
25. And knowing their thoughts He said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.
26. "And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?
Mark 3:22-26. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."
23. And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?
24. "And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25. "And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
26. "And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!
The apple does not fall far from the tree as we see when we compare the scribes with their student Pharisees and their irrational response to an obvious display of Jesus casting out demons. The question posed is, from where is the does His power originate? MacArthur writes, “Outside the Trinity, Satan is the most intelligent being in existence, and he certainly does not assign his forces to fight against each other and internally destroy his own program.”
We now discover Beelzebul. He is first encountered in 2Kings 1:1-4 Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2. And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness." 3. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, `Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4. "Now therefore thus says the Lord, `You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" Then Elijah departed. William Hendriksen explains, “The New Testament passages substitute Beel [= Baal] zebul for – zebub. Beelzebul means, “lord of the dwelling.” The reason for the change in spelling is not clear. It may have amounted to no more than an accident of popular pronunciation. Another explanation is that there is a play on words, for – zebul resembles zebel: dung. Thus, those who despised the Baal of Ekron were able, by means of a slight change in pronunciation, to heap scorn upon him by conveying the thought that he was nothing but a “lord of dung.” Baal-zebul is also known as “lord of flies” who controlled these insects seen closely associated with dung. We will see deeper into this god as the story unfolds.
25. And knowing their thoughts He said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.
26. "And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?
Mark 3:22-26. And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."
23. And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?
24. "And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25. "And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.
26. "And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!
The apple does not fall far from the tree as we see when we compare the scribes with their student Pharisees and their irrational response to an obvious display of Jesus casting out demons. The question posed is, from where is the does His power originate? MacArthur writes, “Outside the Trinity, Satan is the most intelligent being in existence, and he certainly does not assign his forces to fight against each other and internally destroy his own program.”
We now discover Beelzebul. He is first encountered in 2Kings 1:1-4 Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2. And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness." 3. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, `Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4. "Now therefore thus says the Lord, `You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" Then Elijah departed. William Hendriksen explains, “The New Testament passages substitute Beel [= Baal] zebul for – zebub. Beelzebul means, “lord of the dwelling.” The reason for the change in spelling is not clear. It may have amounted to no more than an accident of popular pronunciation. Another explanation is that there is a play on words, for – zebul resembles zebel: dung. Thus, those who despised the Baal of Ekron were able, by means of a slight change in pronunciation, to heap scorn upon him by conveying the thought that he was nothing but a “lord of dung.” Baal-zebul is also known as “lord of flies” who controlled these insects seen closely associated with dung. We will see deeper into this god as the story unfolds.
# posted by Castusfumus : 11:36 AM
