Why Judge Silas Malafaia?
By Julio
Severo
The
name of Silas Malafaia, a famous minister who is the founder and president of
Victory in Christ Assemblies of God in Brazil, has been involved days ago in an
alleged scandal of “money laundering,” as if he had business with corrupt
individuals with the intent of getting deliberately dirty money.
 |
| Silas Malafaia |
Malafaia,
who is so prominent in Brazil that he
has already been interviewed in 2011 by the New York Times, one of
the biggest U.S. newspapers, explained that there was no money laundering.
Famous Brazilian journalist Reinaldo Azevedo, whom I disagree strongly on homosexual
issues, wrote that what the Brazilian federal police did to Malafaia was
illegal by including his name just because he received a donation from an
individual involved in the federal investigation.
Even
son, many Protestants do not want give Malafaia the benefit of the doubt. Others
have just labeled him guilty and convicted, because he received a voluntary
donation from a source involved in corruption.
Now,
does it mean that if I receive a major donation from a sorcerer or a member of
the Mafia, that I have culpability in all of its crimes? Of course, not. A
sorcerer and a member of the Mafia are free to come to me, hear the Gospel and
give a donation, and I am free to accept or not such donation.
Jesus’s
parents, Joseph and Mary, were poor and accepted a major donation from a group
of sorcerers and astrologers who came because they were trying to understand God’s
signs. Joseph and Mary were free to accept or not such donation. But they
accepted, and the major donation was exactly what they needed to cover high
expenses for an international trip to flee for Egypt and stay there for some
time.
God
could have sent gold directly from the sky to Joseph and Mary. But He chose to
use sorcerers. Instead of letting Joseph and Mary have the sacrifice of fleeing
for Egypt with a baby to escape King Herod, God could have eliminated the
bloody king, who was determined to kill baby Jesus. But God did not eliminate the
child-killing king.
Or,
instead of sending sorcerers, He could have sent Jewish prophets and priests. But
there were not anymore prophets in Israel and the priests were corrupt. They
were corrupt knowing God’s Word. The sorcerers who made the donation to Jesus
showed an open heart that God used. They were not Jewish. They were corrupt,
but they did not know God’s Word the Jewish priests knew.
Zondervan
Illustrated Bible Dictionary, of J. D. Douglas, says: “The MAGI from the east
mentioned in Matt. 2:1 (magos G3407) were high-ranking Persian priests expert
in ASTROLOGY and other occult arts.”
Holman
Illustrated Bible Dictionary, of Chad Brand, says in the entry “magi,” in
reference to Matthew 2:1: “Eastern wise men, priests, and astrologers expert in
interpreting dreams and other ‘magic arts.’”
To earn
money at the expense of astrology and occultism is, in the Bible, sheer corruption.
In the case of the magi in the Bible, they earned much money. They had gold.
It
not common to see wealthy sorcerers giving a donation of gold and jewels to a
poor family who worship God. But God works wonders!
Jewish
theologians did not know how to recognize God sending baby Jesus. Therefore,
they could not help his needful parents. God needed to bring sorcerers and
astrologers from far away to supply the necessary resources. It is not by
chance that He is called God of impossible. In fact, He works impossible
things. What eyes have not seen and what human minds have never imagined, this
is what God does.
God
used those sorcerers in that determined time, and after this they were never
heard of again.
Some
theologians today, who follow a heresy called cessationism, would doubt dreams
and revelations from Joseph and Mary, with angel visitations. And if Joseph and
Mary said, “God confirmed the dreams and revelations by bringing Satanists to
give us a donation of gold!” cessationist theologians would say: “It is
confirmed! All of this is from the devil! Everything: your dreams, revelations
and angel visitations.”
God
has no partnership with the devil, but when God commands, even the devil obeys.
When God instructs, even devil’s servants obey.
Only
God knows how the wealthy sorcerers got their gold, but one thing is sure:
sorcery and honesty do not walk hand in hand! In contrast, sorcery and
corruption are always partners.
One
thing is for you, as a man or woman of God, to get involved in the business of
sorcerers and take a part in their morally illicit riches. Other thing is for
them to give voluntarily their gold as a donation to you.
Can
you then accuse Joseph and Mary of involvement with sorcery, occultism,
astrology and satanism just because they received gold from sorcerers?
If no
one, for 2,000 years, has ever judged Joseph and Mary for receiving a major
donation of gold from astrologers and sorcerers, why judge Silas Malafaia for
receiving a major donation from a man involved in corruption?
Joseph
and Mary were poor and they were not corrupt. You cannot say the same thing
about the sorcerers and astrologers who gave them the major donation.
Malafaia
has committed big mistakes in the past: he
supported the election and reelection of Lula (the Brazilian Obama),
in spite of all the clear evidence that Lula was pro-abortion and pro-sodomy.
But today Malafaia has been a highly important voice against the homosexualist,
left-wing and pro-abortion agenda in Brazil.
No
one among Brazilian Christians has been so vocal and clear, in TV and radio
shows and even in the hearings at the Brazilian Congress, on the defense of
life and family as he is. He has become a symbol of pro-family counter-attack. All
the Brazilian Left hates him. Therefore, it is not correct to judge him and convict
him hastily, moved out of envy or religious hatred.
It is
not prudent also to judge a Christian couple that, as Joseph and Mary, needs to
receive a donation of gold from sorcerers and astrologers to escape persecution
from a pro-abortion Herod and flee for an Egypt.
No
one had ever given gold to the poor couple Joseph and Mary. Satanists were the
only ones God used for such assistance.
God
knows if it is right or wrong to accept a donation from sorcerers, astrologers,
satanists and corrupts.
Only
He is the Judge.
Joseph
and Mary accepted a donation from corrupts, and God did not judge them for
this. Jesus and his apostles never said that Jesus’s parents were involved in satanism
and astrology just for accepting gold from corrupts.
The
difference between Jesus’s parents and Malafaia is that Joseph and Mary were
poor, and Malafaia is wealthy.
Yet,
who are we to judge him because of a donation?
Portuguese
version of this article: Por que julgar Silas
Malafaia?
Source: Last Days Watchman
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