THE DOUBLE CURSE & THE DOUBLE CURE - The Word of God is forever established in the heavens, and it is the basis for our Christian belief. Jesus carried away our sicknesses and our diseases, and our pain. He removed them from us - as far as God is concerned it is a finished work. Jesus bore our sins, our iniquities - at the very same time, He also bore our sicknesses, our diseases, and our pain. Throughout the Word of God there is no separation of the two in the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus bore our sins to make it possible for us to be saved and be a new creature in Christ Jesus, He also bore in His body our sicknesses and diseases so we might be whole, well, and healed - at the same moment that He was bruised for our sins, He took the stripes on His back for our healing - “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.” When it comes to sickness and disease there are so many Christians that are confused about where it comes from and what is the purpose of it in their lives. Some have even been taught that everything that happens to them in life is the will of God for them. But nothing could be further from the truth. It’s obvious that sickness and disease came through sin and the temptation to sin came through Satan. There was no sickness or disease on planet earth until Satan came and sin entered into the earth.

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Double Curse Double Cure

The Double Curse & The Double Cure

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The Word of God is forever established in the heavens, and it is the basis for our Christian belief. Jesus carried away our sicknesses and our diseases, and our pain. He removed them from us - as far as God is concerned it is a finished work. Jesus bore our sins, our iniquities - at the very same time, He also bore our sicknesses, our diseases, and our pain. Throughout the Word of God there is no separation of the two in the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus bore our sins to make it possible for us to be saved and be a new creature in Christ Jesus, He also bore in His body our sicknesses and diseases so we might be whole, well, and healed - at the same moment that He was bruised for our sins, He took the stripes on His back for our healing

by: Annette Capps

“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.” - I Peter 2:24,

When it comes to sickness and disease there are so many Christians that are confused about where it comes from and what is the purpose of it in their lives. 

Some have even been taught that everything that happens to them in life is the will of God for them. 

But nothing could be further from the truth. 

Let’s look at it from this angle using the Word of God as our benchmark. 

If sickness was the will of God for you, then why did James say, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up...” - (James 5:14-15)

Then we have the words of Jesus in Mark chapter 16 revealing that believers shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. 

The apostle Peter wrote in I Peter 2:24, “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.”

These three witnesses affirm healing for those who are ill.

The scriptures reveal that there was no sickness nor disease on this planet until Satan showed up in the form of a serpent and deceived Eve into eating of the forbidden fruit and Adam went along with it. 

It’s obvious that sickness and disease came through sin and the temptation to sin came through Satan. 

There was no sickness or disease on planet earth until Satan came and sin entered into the earth.

Then if you study the book of Revelation you will find that when Satan is removed from the earth, there will be no sickness nor disease here. 

But in the meantime, God made abundant provision even under the Old Covenant for healing and deliverance from sickness. 

As long as Israel obeyed the Covenant, there was no sickness among them.

Under the New Covenant the scriptures reveal that by the stripes and bruises that were placed upon Jesus’ back, “we were healed.”

We need to emphasize the fact that our salvation and our healing were accomplished at the very same time. 

Sin and sickness are the double curse!

When Adam sinned, he received the curse of spiritual death. 

Spiritual death cut off his life force from God, and physical death began. 

Adam’s sin also brought about the curse of sickness. Sickness is an attack to weaken and kill the body.

The Word of God reveals that your healing was bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ at the very same time that your salvation was. 

I want you to grasp this great truth. If you need healing in your body, please don’t read this half-heartedly. 

If a doctor was talking to you and said, “Now, I have something that will make you totally well,” you would give your full attention to what that doctor said. 

That doctor cannot reverse the curse – but the Word of God can. So, pay attention with everything you have to grasp these truths.

“He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” - (Isaiah 53:3)

Isaiah was prophesying about Jesus. “He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows.” 

If you look into the Hebrew, you will find that this was mistranslated into modern English. 

When we think of “sorrow” today, we think of someone who is upset over a friend or a loved one, or is sorrowful about something. 

The word “sorrow” is actually the word “pain.” 

Why was Jesus a man of pain? Because He bore our pain.

He took it upon Himself. “And acquainted with grief.” 

The word “grief” is another unfortunate translation.  It does not mean grief as we know it.

It means, “He was acquainted with sickness and disease.” 

Why was Jesus acquainted with sickness and disease? It was not because He was sickly, but because He took our sickness and disease upon Himself.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” - (Isaiah 53:4-5)

What did Jesus bear? The Word says He bore our pain! 

Is there any question in your mind that the Word of God is an established fact? 

It is forever established in the heavens, and it is the basis for our Christian belief.

Right here, on the printed page, the Word of God says, “He hath borne our sickness and diseases.”

The Double Curse Carried Away

The Word “borne” means, “to lift up, bear away, and remove to a distance.” 

Just as the scapegoat went into the wilderness, carrying sin, never to be seen again, so Jesus has “carried away, borne away, our sickness and our disease. He has carried them away.” 

You may be thinking: “yes, but I’m still sick.”

Is the Word of God true or not? 

If it is true – and I believe with all my heart it is true: “Jesus carried away our sicknesses and our diseases, and our pain.” 

He removed them from us. “Yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions...”

What are “transgressions”?

Sins, right? “He was wounded for our transgressions, or sins. He was bruised for our iniquities, or sins.” 

Do you believe that part of the Scripture? 

If we went to some churches, they would definitely believe that Scripture, and even preach on it every Sunday of the year, but many would not preach the rest of it.

Yes, He bore our transgressions and our iniquities, but read the rest of the verse: “the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” 

Some will quote that as, “With His stripes some are healed. Some occasionally will be healed. Some have been healed.”

No! This is a settled, established fact: “With His stripes we are (present tense) healed.” 

As far as God is concerned it is a finished work.

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.  He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.  By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.” - (Isaiah 53:10-11)

The word “bear” is the same word that is brought out in verse four and serves as a theme for the rest of this chapter: “He hath borne our griefs (or pain).” 

Jesus bore our sins, our iniquities. At the very same time, He also bore our sicknesses, our diseases, and our pain. 

Throughout the Word of God there is no separation of the two in the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus bore our sins to make it possible for us to be saved and be a new creature in Christ Jesus, He also bore in His body our sicknesses and diseases so we might be whole, well, and healed. 

At the same moment that He was bruised for our sins, He took the stripes on His back for our healing.

Sick Christians

Some say, “But you know there are a lot of sick Christians!” 

It is obvious there are many sick in the Body of Christ.

I cannot give you only one reason for the number of sick Christians, but I can tell you why many in the Body of Christ are sick. 

I believe Paul gave us the answer in I Corinthians 11:29-30, “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”

Paul said it was from “not discerning the Lord’s body.” 

And he said, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you.” 

What does that mean? He did not say it was from not discerning the Lord’s blood.

They were discerning that the blood washed away their sins, but they were not discerning the fact that His body was broken for us, so we might be healed.

We have emphasized salvation in the blood of Jesus, but how many times, in comparison, have we emphasized that Jesus bore our sicknesses and diseases at the very same time? 

How often have we been taught that salvation of the soul and physical healing of the body happened at the same time? 

How many times have we heard that? Not enough, obviously, and many have not heard it once.

If it is true that Jesus bore our sicknesses at the same time that He bore our sins, why are many sitting in church born again, but sick?

It’s because we have not had enough repetition of these Scriptures to establish confidence in our hearts.

We need as much confidence (faith) in healing as we have in salvation. 

When we arrive at that point, we will see people who come to be born again instantly healed. 

They will be healed just as they are saved, because they will be taught, “Come and accept Jesus as your Savior and you will be healed.” 

We do not expect that now, but we should.

Look at the argument, “If Jesus bore away sickness and disease at Calvary, why aren’t all Christians healed?” 

Let’s turn it around: “If Jesus bore away sin and iniquity at Calvary, why are people still unsaved?” 

Why is everyone not born again? 

It is because they do not receive and accept salvation. Isn’t that true? 

All it takes to receive forgiveness of your sins is to accept and receive what Jesus did on your behalf.  Isn’t that true?

Yet all Christians don’t accept Jesus as their Healer when they are born again. 

As a matter of fact, many Christians never accept the fact that the stripes placed on Jesus’ back were for their healing. 

This is the same basic reason people die and go to hell: They refuse to believe what Jesus did on the cross, or they don’t understand what Jesus suffered to bring salvation.

To keep Christians from being sick they must have a better understanding of how to make a demand on God’s provision for healing. (I Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5-6)

You will never hear me say, “Well, the reason you didn’t receive your healing is because you don’t have enough faith.” 

If you believe God’s Word you will have faith. 

If you don’t have enough faith, it’s because of a lack of knowledge of the Word coupled with the fact that God’s Word doesn’t abide in you. 

Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” - (John 15:7)

When the Word of God abides in your heart in abundance; that is faith.  

Annette Capps is an ordained minister, businesswoman and licensed airplane pilot. A lifelong student of the Bible, her curiosity led her to investigate the similarities of "quantum physics" and the teachings of Jesus Christ. This powerful combination opened new dimensions for those seeking a bridge between the Bible and modern science.
Building on her former teaching subjects such as How to Harness the Power of Your Thoughts, The Mind-Body Connection, and Changing the Course of Your Life, she has demonstrated the practical application of spiritual principles in everyday life.

Annette resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma where she is the President of Capps Ministries.

Click here to visit the online Bookstore for more information and to order.

https://cappsministries.com/pages/double-curse-double-cure

THE TREE OF LIFE - The marvelous Tree of Life will be planted once again in the new earth which God will create some day - not just one Tree of Life as in the original Garden of Eden, but many such trees will be planted there with their beautiful and nutritious fruits, freely available to all who "do His commandments" - that is, to everyone in the holy city. The fruit will be different every month, but always "pleasant to the sight, and good for food." Furthermore, its leaves will also be of great value, since they are for "the healing of the nations." We can eagerly, yet patiently and fruitfully, look forward to enjoying the delicious, nourishing fruit of the Tree of Life in the holy city someday. The wonderful Tree of Life, discussed in the two "book ends" of the Bible, Genesis and Revelation, is one of the most fascinating (yet enigmatic) subjects in all the inspired word of God. It is first mentioned in Genesis 2:9: “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” The fruit of this tree was "good for food" and Adam was told that he could "freely eat" of it. He was not required to eat its fruit to stay alive! He was created by God to live without dying, with only one restriction - that is, he was not to eat of "the tree of knowledge of good and evil," for that would cause him to die. Later that same day, Eve was created, after Adam had first given names to each basic kind of animal - that is, specifically, only the "beast of the field" and the "fowl of the air" those that would be most likely to be in close proximity and possible fellowship with humans.

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The Tree Of Life

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The marvelous Tree of Life will be planted once again in the new earth which God will create some day - not just one Tree of Life as in the original Garden of Eden, but many such trees will be planted there with their beautiful and nutritious fruits, freely available to all who "do His commandments" - that is, to everyone in the holy city. The fruit will be different every month, but always "pleasant to the sight, and good for food." Furthermore, its leaves will also be of great value, since they are for "the healing of the nations." We can eagerly, yet patiently and fruitfully, look forward to enjoying the delicious, nourishing fruit of the Tree of Life in the Holy city someday

BY HENRY M. MORRIS, PH.D.

The wonderful Tree of Life, discussed in the two "book ends" of the Bible, Genesis and Revelation, is one of the most fascinating (yet enigmatic) subjects in all the inspired word of God.

It is first mentioned in Genesis 2:9: “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

The fruit of this tree was "good for food" and Adam was told that he could "freely eat" of it ^{(Genesis 2:16).}

However, he was not required to eat its fruit to stay alive!

He was created by God to live without dying, with only one restriction - that is, he was not to eat of "the tree of knowledge of good and evil," for that would cause him to die (Genesis 2:17).

Later that same day, Eve was created, after Adam had first given names to each basic kind of animal - that is, specifically, only the "beast of the field" and the "fowl of the air" (Genesis 2:19), those that would be most likely to be in close proximity and possible fellowship with humans.

He could easily have accomplished this in a few hours.

Then Eve was created and was given the same instruction about eating as Adam had received, for she referred to these instructions when the serpent tempted her some time later.

Despite God's clear warning, she and Adam both then rebelled against God's word and ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and thus "sin entered into the world" (Romans 5:12).

As a result, death also came into the world when God - true to His word - told them that "unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:19).

Furthermore, God's Curse was pronounced on the very "ground" itself, out of which the bodies of both animals and men had been formed (Genesis 3:17; 1:24; 2:7), so that "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now" (Romans 8:22).

Thus "by man came death," and "in Adam all die" (I Corinthians 15:21,22).

Then God cast Adam (with Eve) out of His beautiful garden, "lest he . . . take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever" (Genesis 3:22).

This seems to create a problem, possibly even an apparent contradiction in God's words.

God cannot contradict Himself, of course, so this is our problem, not His.

Many so-called "progressive" creationists, as well as theistic evolutionists, argue that Adam and Eve must already have been eating regularly of the Tree of Life in order to stay alive, even before they sinned.

Otherwise they would have died physically even if they had never sinned, or so the argument goes.

Then they argue that the death pronouncement by God on their sin was a "spiritual" death, not physical.

This idea, of course, contradicts the clear statement of God that they would die physically, as well as spiritually, with their bodies returning to the dust.

Furthermore, it makes a travesty of Christ's death on the cross for our sins!

Why would Christ have to die physically - and such a horrible physical death at that! - in order to atone for man's "spiritual" death?

But our accommodationist brethren are anxious to preserve the "old-earth" dogma of the evolutionists at all costs and so are willing to adjust Genesis and the gospel in whatever ways they need to do so in order to avoid conflict with modern scientism.

They insist that we must accept the evolutionary ages of geology with their billions of fossils and their billion-year spectacle of suffering and death before sin entered the world, in order to be acceptable to the intellectual community.

Nevertheless, the Genesis record - supported as literal history throughout all the rest of Scripture - is explicitly clear in teaching that physical suffering and death were introduced into the world only when Adam sinned.

Thus, even if Adam and Eve had continued to eat the delicious fruit of the Tree of Life after they had sinned, they would eventually have died anyway because God had said so!

However, this health-promoting fruit might have enabled them to live an inordinately long time before dying. Even as it was, Adam lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5).

The solution to our problem may well be that the Hebrew word olam (translated "for ever" in Genesis 3:22) could legitimately be translated "a very long time."

For example, in Isaiah 42:14 God says: "I have long time [olam] holden my peace." It is obvious that "for ever" is not warranted in this context, for God will not hold His peace forever!

Similarly, note Deuteronomy 33:15: ". . . precious things of the lasting [olam] hills." The hills may last a long time, but not forever.

The Hebrew olam is translated "old time" in Joshua 24:2, and is applied to the "ancient landmark" in Proverbs 22:28 and the "ancient people" in Isaiah 44:7.

There are a number of other such examples. The word olam certainly does not have to mean "forever" unless the context so indicates.

Therefore, it would be legitimate to read Genesis 3:22 as follows: ". . . lest he . . . take also of the tree of life and eat and live an excessively long time."

There is thus no necessary indication in this verse that death was in the world before Adam brought sin into the world.

How long the Garden of Eden survived in the primeval world after the expulsion of Adam and Eve has not been revealed.

If not destroyed earlier, it was certainly carried away by the devastating waters of the great flood, when "the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished" (2 Peter 3:6).

But the marvelous Tree of Life will be planted once again "in the midst of the paradise of God" in the new earth which God will create some day and "they that do his commandments" will then "have right to the Tree of Life" (Revelation 2:7; 22:14).

And note its remarkable character! "On either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:2).

Not just one Tree of Life as in the original Garden of Eden, but many such trees will be planted there with their beautiful and nutritious fruits, freely available to all who "do His commandments" - that is, to everyone in the holy city.

The fruit will be different every month, but always "pleasant to the sight, and good for food."

Furthermore, its leaves will also be of great value, since they are for "the healing of the nations."

This cannot mean that, without these healing leaves the people in these "nations of them which are saved" (Revelation 21:24) would otherwise become sick and die because God has assured us that in the holy city, "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).

The leaves will not be needed to heal sickness any more than the fruit of that original Tree of Life in Eden was needed to prevent death.

It is significant that the Greek word translated "healing" in this verse (therapeia) is translated "household" in Matthew 24:45 and Luke 12:42, referring to the staff of servants employed in keeping the affairs of a great house running efficiently.

It is the source of our English word "therapy."

Thus, the leaves of the tree will be for the "therapy," or the effective services, of the nations in the new earth.

As the fruits of the tree will surely contain many nutrients for happy vigorous service by Christ's servants in the ages to come (Revelation 22:3), so its leaves will contain a complex of chemical substances useful in the occupations and general economy of those ages.

It is pointless to speculate as to the exact nature of the Tree of Life, for God has not told us, and there is no tree like it in the present world.

The same is true with reference to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God is well able to create any kind of tree He wishes, and we do well to leave it at that!

Because of the marvelous nature of the Tree of Life, however, the writer(s) of Proverbs used it (under divine inspiration of course) as a symbol of four wonderful truths.

First, the true wisdom "is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her" (Proverbs 3:18). That true wisdom can be none other than Christ (I Corinthians 1:30, Colossians 2:3).

Second, "the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life" (Proverbs 11:30).

Indeed, "the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Ephesians 5:9). A life such as that will be like a tree of life to all who encounter it.

Third, "when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12). That is, fulfilled hope, like true wisdom and righteousness is so vitalizing as to be a source of renewed vigorous life.

Fourth, "a wholesome tongue is a tree of life" (Proverbs 15:4).

Therefore, "let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Colossians 4:6).

We can eagerly, yet patiently and fruitfully, look forward to enjoying the delicious, nourishing fruit of the Tree of Life in the holy city some day.

In the meantime, we can pray that God will help us to be like little, life-giving trees ourselves through growing in true wisdom, living righteously, offering hope to the lost in our midst, and using our God-given abilities of communication graciously and meaningfully to all those we meet.

Note the incidental reference to "months." Time had a beginning when God created it (Genesis 1:1), but it will have no end. The words "time no longer" in Revelation 10:6 are in the sense of "delay no longer."

Dr. Morris is Founder and President Emeritus of ICR.

https://www.icr.org/article/845/309