The Sword of Damocles - Part 2
And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God [Ephesians 6:17].
Damocles wanted to live like King Dionysius, so Dionysius obliged. He had Damocles outfitted in kingly garb and bedecked with jewelry. He sat him at the table and served him a gourmet meal. Damocles ate until it came out of his ears, before he even noticed the catch, this oddity in the room. There above his head, right where he was seated at the banqueting table, was a sword suspended by a single horse hair, dangling over the crown of his head.
Damocles nearly toppled over in his chair, frightened out of his wits. “What is that doing there?” he blurted out to King Dionysius.
Dionysius stared him straight in the eye and soberly explained, “You wanted to know what the life of a king is like, didn’t you? Well, now you not only know its pleasures but also its precariousness. And I see by your reaction that you don’t much relish the life.”
All of this was too much for Damocles. He fled the life of the court fawner and returned to real life as he once knew it, nevermore to be seen or heard anywhere near the throne room.
From this tale of ancient mythology has come the adage, “the sword of Damocles”. It refers to a situation which potentially brings with it harm or catastrophe, an imminent peril which looms on the horizon.
In our Bible verse today we have the sixth and final piece in “the full armor of God”. Paul phrases this piece of armor as “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”. There is a gourmet’s meal in those words, dear friends. We shan’t miss out on any of it either.
I am seized by the import of “the sword of the Spirit”. It is defined as “the Word of God”. Hmm. What implications accrue from such a definition? Much in every way!
Our Pentecostal and Charismatic brethren make a big to-do about the Holy Spirit. In many ways they are absolutely right on target. I mean, if we look at a good many of Christian preachers, they pound the pulpit and assert unabashedly, “Around here we follow the Bible!” Then in the next breath they commence to preaching denominational soap box issues and doctrinal statements. Well, so much for following the Bible! One can only conclude that they equate their doctrines with the Bible itself!
Such Bible believers are no closer to the truth than some of those who emphasize the Holy Spirit in contrast to the Bible. When we insist on knowing where their beliefs are located in Scripture, they shuffle the feet and stutter a bit, and end up asserting how the Holy Spirit told them what they claim.
We will see where this leads in our next study. Let’s commit our ways to the Lord Jesus now and enjoy His fellowship a while.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Damocles wanted to live like King Dionysius, so Dionysius obliged. He had Damocles outfitted in kingly garb and bedecked with jewelry. He sat him at the table and served him a gourmet meal. Damocles ate until it came out of his ears, before he even noticed the catch, this oddity in the room. There above his head, right where he was seated at the banqueting table, was a sword suspended by a single horse hair, dangling over the crown of his head.
Damocles nearly toppled over in his chair, frightened out of his wits. “What is that doing there?” he blurted out to King Dionysius.
Dionysius stared him straight in the eye and soberly explained, “You wanted to know what the life of a king is like, didn’t you? Well, now you not only know its pleasures but also its precariousness. And I see by your reaction that you don’t much relish the life.”
All of this was too much for Damocles. He fled the life of the court fawner and returned to real life as he once knew it, nevermore to be seen or heard anywhere near the throne room.
From this tale of ancient mythology has come the adage, “the sword of Damocles”. It refers to a situation which potentially brings with it harm or catastrophe, an imminent peril which looms on the horizon.
In our Bible verse today we have the sixth and final piece in “the full armor of God”. Paul phrases this piece of armor as “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”. There is a gourmet’s meal in those words, dear friends. We shan’t miss out on any of it either.
I am seized by the import of “the sword of the Spirit”. It is defined as “the Word of God”. Hmm. What implications accrue from such a definition? Much in every way!
Our Pentecostal and Charismatic brethren make a big to-do about the Holy Spirit. In many ways they are absolutely right on target. I mean, if we look at a good many of Christian preachers, they pound the pulpit and assert unabashedly, “Around here we follow the Bible!” Then in the next breath they commence to preaching denominational soap box issues and doctrinal statements. Well, so much for following the Bible! One can only conclude that they equate their doctrines with the Bible itself!
Such Bible believers are no closer to the truth than some of those who emphasize the Holy Spirit in contrast to the Bible. When we insist on knowing where their beliefs are located in Scripture, they shuffle the feet and stutter a bit, and end up asserting how the Holy Spirit told them what they claim.
We will see where this leads in our next study. Let’s commit our ways to the Lord Jesus now and enjoy His fellowship a while.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
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