Do recall from the beginning of this series, that there was a damsel repeating a phrase, while following Paul and Silas, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation; this had gone on for many days, until Paul put a stop to it by commanding the spirit of divination to come out of the woman, by speaking the words, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out of her the same hour.
Think with me, what a stir this public event caused. The damsel was well know as a fortune teller; she was very popular, and we know this because her masters gained much monetarily, from her work. A possessed by a demon person is a strange sight, and there are strange sounds and behaviours too, that they seem unaware of, as though they are not themselves, or as though they have been taken over ... which of course, they have been. When this young woman was released, when she was set free from the evil spirit that used her body for its own wicked purposes, the woman became silent, not mute, silent, no longer compunctiously repeating the refrain, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. The spirit in her knew who the servants of God were, making the young woman seem very wise, as though she had intel that no one else had access to. She, or he (the spirit) using her voice, spoke truth, and yet, we do not need demons to instruct us about God and salvation, dear reader: Jesus Christ and his disciples, have done that good work for us.
Demons are deviants, distractors and detractors, so much so, that the former masters of the damsel, went to city rulers, to the magistrates, to let them know that these men were a threat to their economy, to their polytheistic way of life, and had to been punished to the point of death, for daring to break the system, for daring to set people free from bondage by way of salvation through Jesus Christ. The image of an ant hill disturbed by a poking stick comes to mind ... the ants furiously move about to stop the wreckage: that is what happened to the mercenary masters, to the magistrates, and to the multitude that rose up against the praying men of God, and that is precisely what is happening still, because Satans kingdom cronies are enraged, and they bare their teeth, wanting to sink them into souls, especially when they hear Jesus Christ preached, especially when they hear the saints pray in unison, Thy will be done Lord.
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
Paul and Silas were beaten, cast (thrown) into prison, and put under strict supervision to ensure they did not make a break from jail; they were put into the deepest darkest dankest place in that prison, and their feet were fastened to the floor in stocks. Do recall, the command Paul had in the name of Jesus Christ, over the spirit of divination that ruled and reigned the damsel in distress. We might ask the question: Why did Paul allow the beating, the rough treatment, the being thrown into prison, and the chaining to the floor, when he had the ability through Christ, to be commanding? This question could be followed by yet another, and another: Why did Jesus the Christ, allow soldiers to beat him, spit upon him, mock and curse him, and nail him to a cross to be left their hanging and dying? Why didn't he, that had the command of angels, smite the petty and indignant humans he had created, rather than give them the impression they could kill God?
The scene that follows, the one we will cover in Part 5, will give us the answers to these questions, but for now, I have to give my own explanation; I feel the need to share, dear one, from my own experiences with God and man. Love is patient, love is kind ...
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