Hi, everyone. I was reading rom 12:20, and it struck me that I didn't know how to describe my enemy. Do I brand someone an enemy because he offended me openly? How bout friends who betray me behind? Is there a particular criteria or standard by which we can gauge whether to call some enemies? What do you think?

Someone who doesnt want your good is your enemy

an enemy is someone who hates you and who works constantly for your downfall.

key word here is constantly.

an enemy will not tire of plotting against you and will often extend this hatred to those close to you ie family members.

a few quotes about enemies:

Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes" [Antisthenes]

"You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you" [Eric Hoffer The Passionate State of Mind]

"A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies" [Oscar Wilde Lady Windermere's Fan]

"A very great man once said you should love your enemies, and that's not a bad piece of advice. We can love them, but, by God, that doesn't mean we're not going to fight them" [Norman Schwarzkopf]

Jasiel: Hi, everyone. I was reading rom 12:20, and it struck me that I didn't know how to describe my enemy.

definition of enemy:

: one that is antagonistic to another; especially: one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent

One who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another; a foe.

Do I brand someone an enemy because he offended me openly?

not on a one-off situation unless you have strong reasons to feel otherwise.

How bout friends who betray me behind?

maybe, maybe not.


it depends.

Is there a particular criteria or standard by which we can gauge whether to call some enemies? What do you think?

there has to be a consistent effort to attack you.

the attacks take place over time and are constant and unyielding in intensity.

meaning the person or persons are unwavering and dedicated to this task.

As christian we have only one enemy an that enemy is satan which manifested in sins.What Satan did to us is that,he makes us disobey God so that God can condemn us or punish us the witches and wizard that we think are our enemy,ar not our true enemy but a victims of Satan that Satan is using as a tools to torment or win soul to himself.when they got spoiled, he throws them to hell.The spirit inside witches is the real wicthes.if we kill witches we,only kill human being that God creates and love.

^true but there are actual humans who consider themselves your enemy for whatever reason.

Jesus did not teach there are no enemies- what he said was repay your enemy with mercy, or kindness, hence the story of the good samaritan.


Now, repaying your enemy in a different manner than what he or she constantly dishes out to you, is the standard a christian is expected to attempt. However, it is not always that easy especially when the other party is bent on your destruction.

However, one reason why the christian is not expected to seek vengeance is because that is something God Himself will handle, being the ultimate judge.

tpia@:
an enemy is someone who hates you and who works constantly for your downfall.

key word here is constantly.

an enemy will not tire of plotting against you and will often extend this hatred to those close to you ie family members.

hmm..nice. Bt according to dis, Pharaoh could be described as an enemy of d israelites. How about nebuchadnezzar? Was he an 'enemy for a while', considering he repented later as we were told?.

Matthew 10:36

King James Version (KJV)

36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

Matthew 10:36

The Message (MSG)

Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies.

Matthew 10:36 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.

There are three (3) enemies of a man namely:

1. Satan
2. human enemy
3. A man himself can be enemy of himself.

isquar3d3: hmm..nice. Bt according to dis, Pharaoh could be described as an enemy of d israelites. How about nebuchadnezzar? Was he an 'enemy for a while', considering he repented later as we were told?.

your context deals with nations.

mine [and the op's] refer to individual, case by case basis.

but to answer your question, nebuchadnezzar was an enemy of God, i believe, hence his situation.

@ omo alata

goes without saying.

i think africans in particular [at least nigerians] are very familiar with that.

rev 6

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.

And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

rev 10

And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.

They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

They were not allowed to kill them [/b]but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes.

[b]During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

Tpia i am very enthralled by the two scriptures you pulled out. can you please expand on them and as to how it relates to the topic. i am impressed. that would be the rev 6 and 10. are those scriptures referring to a people on earth today ? maybe an ethnic group or nation or race ?

your enemy is yourself. all other enemies are opportunistic and parasitic which perch on you after you have imploded.

^ your enemy is yourself only if you do not follow Christ's teachings.

as romans 7 puts it:

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;

but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

however, the thread is expressly asking about external enemies, not internal ones.

obadiah777: Tpia i am very enthralled by the two scriptures you pulled out. can you please expand on them and as to how it relates to the topic. i am impressed. that would be the rev 6 and 10. are those scriptures referring to a people on earth today ? maybe an ethnic group or nation or race ?

those verses are referring to christians who were killed for their beliefs, and those who killed them.

obviously, those were their enemies (as per topic).

my post #7 on this thread, mentioned vengeance, and that's what i expanded on with the verses from revelation.

tpia@:
@ omo alata

goes without saying.

i think africans in particular [at least nigerians] are very familiar with that.

Innit? Bi iku ile o pani

^ your emphasis seems to be on enemies within your household.

there's also the saying b'ogiri o lanu, alangba o le wole.

so, nothing new there.

focus on the original post which is who is an enemy and what to do about enemies, instead of are there enemies among my relatives.

i mean, duh? Obviously, there will be?

tpia@:
^ your enemy is yourself only if you do not follow Christ's teachings.

as romans 7 puts it:






however, the thread is expressly asking about external enemies, not internal ones.

Thats the problem. there are no external enemies. external enemies emerge as a result of you being an enemy to God. as such your only enemy is yourself

proverbs 16 vs 7 When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him

^ let's just stick to the topic- seems like you need another thread to thoroughly discuss your own issue/s.

reference point here is actual, physical enemies as the op asked in his first post.

address that, not esoterics.


the biggest mistake a christian can make is to assume s/he has no enemy, which is the impression you're trying to give.

even the verse you quoted doesnt support your assertion, and neither are you a christian though you may be in church to monitor your enemies or enemy.

proverbs 16 vs 7 When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even [b]his enemies [/b]live at peace with him

his enemies here are living, breathing human beings, not generalized spirits, or "internal manifestos".


if you want to discuss the issue of the enemies being at peace with him, we can do so, but preferably on another thread.

tpia@:
^ let's just stick to the topic- seems like you need another thread to thoroughly discuss your own issue/s.

reference point here is actual, physical enemies as the op asked in his first post.

address that, not esoterics.


the biggest mistake a christian can make is to assume s/he has no enemy, which is the impression you're trying to give.

even the verse you quoted doesnt support your assertion, and neither are you a christian though you may be in church to monitor your enemies or enemy.

you still dont get it. the only reason you have enemies is because you are doing wrong. when you do wrong then you owe the lord a smacking ( galatians 6 vs 7 ) and then he exposes you and opens you up to the person ( enemy ) who will smack you ( proverbs 16 vs 4 ) ( psalms 17 vs 13 ). as such you have no enemies unless the enemies God sends against you. and why will he do that ? because you are forking up. as such your enemy is yourself. if you stay on the straight and narrow, you will have no enemies ( proverbs 16 vs 7 )

tpia@:


his enemies here are living, breathing human beings, not generalized spirits, or "internal manifestos".


if you want to discuss the issue of the enemies being at peace with him, we can do so, but preferably on another thread.

its a symbolic verse. it means 'your potential enemies' . everybody in the world is your potential enemy. all it takes is for the lords protection to be removed from you and you will develop a million enemies in one day. so when it says your enemies will be at peace with you, how can your actual enemy be at peace with you ? it means your potential enemies ( which is the whole world ) will be at peace with you.

ok, this is getting interesting.

obadiah777: you still dont get it. the only reason you have enemies is because you are doing wrong.

explain what Jesus did wrong.

when you do wrong then you owe the lord a smacking ( galatians 6 vs 7 )

Galatians 6:7

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows



reading further to verse 8:

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.




what is your understanding of verse 8 in relation to verse 7?

and then he exposes you and opens you up to the person ( enemy ) who will smack you ( proverbs 16 vs 4 ) ( psalms 17 vs 13 )

proverbs 16:4

The Lord works out everything to its proper end —
even the wicked for a day of disaster.


who in your opinion is the wicked here- the person being attacked, or the enemy doing the attacking?

You're saying the attack only happens because a person is wicked, right?



here are other verses in that chapter:

verse 2:

All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
but motives are weighed by the Lord



verse 6:

Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided


atoned for meaning what, in your opinion?

read the rest of the chapter- i dont like making long dissertations on religion, or else i could have broken it down further for you.

tpia@:
ok, this is getting interesting.





explain what Jesus did wrong.




Galatians 6:7

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows



reading further to verse 8:

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.




what is your understanding of verse 8 in relation to verse 7?

buttresses my point. verse 8 means that if you are carnal ( following after the satanic ways of this world to satisfy your lustful desires ) then you will reap destruction. what destruction ? the lord will remove his protection from you and send an enemy against you ( psalms 17 vs 13 ). and you better believe that the whole world is your potential enemy but by the grace of God we are protected from them. look at what the heart of every man is like which is why every man on earth is your potential enemy JEREMIAH 17 VS 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

as such you have no enemies unless the enemies God sends against you.

quote scriptures to support your statement.

what is the role of satan here, since you're giving him none.

and why will he do that ? because you are forking up.

you're confusing nations with individuals.

Paul spoke of a thorn in his flesh which God allowed to remain, in order to keep him from being proud.

Nowhere did he state God gave him the thorn. he did say however, it was a messenger of satan.

here's the verse:
1 Cor 12

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

what satan had designed to mock Paul and weaken him, was actually used to perfect God's glory in his life.


so, read and comprehend that, if possible.

tpia@:


proverbs 16:4

The Lord works out everything to its proper end —
even the wicked for a day of disaster.


who in your opinion is the wicked here- the person being attacked, or the enemy?

You're saying the attack only happens because a person is wicked, right?



here are other verses in that chapter:

verse 2:

All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
but motives are weighed by the Lord



verse 6:

Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided


atoned for meaning what, in your opinion?

read the rest of the chapter- i dont like making long dissertations on religion, or else i could have broken it down further fro you.

The wicked in proverbs 16 vs 4 is the enemy God will use to smack you. same as the wicked in psalms 17 vs 13. these are the lords weapons ( your potential enemies ) waiting for their instructions on whom to attack.

obadiah777: buttresses my point. verse 8 means that if you are carnal ( following after the satanic ways of this world to satisfy your lustful desires ) then you will reap destruction. what destruction ? the lord will remove his protection from you and send an enemy against you ( psalms 17 vs 13 ). and you better believe that the whole world is your potential enemy but by the grace of God we are protected from them. look at what the heart of every man is like which is why every man on earth is your potential enemy JEREMIAH 17 VS 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

read my previous post.

yes, we are all born into sin and under a curse, but that is what Christ came to deliver us from.

In one of the verses i quoted before, it says we are no more under the law of sin and death, but under Christ.