Matthew 18 records Peter coming to Jesus and asking, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my
brother or sister who sins against me?” The context of the rest of that chapter is on the topic of forgiveness. After sharing a parable of the wicked servant who was treated mercifully and given more time to pay his debt but would not treat another who was in the same condition, Jesus’ assessment of that servant was expressed by the Master who showed mercy. He said, “You wicked servant. I canceled all that debt of yours because you entreated me. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” In anger, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. Then the application is made in verse 34, which reads, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Some translations have translated the word for “jailers” with the words “torturers” or “tormentors.” For years I have taken this to mean that in death, God will punish this unforgiving soul in the eternal torment of hell. But, the parable has the tormentors torturing him “until he should pay back all he owed.”
We should not dismiss the possibility that this is describing God giving a person up to a reprobate mind (cf. Romans 1:28). Romans 1 describes God giving people over to three things. First, “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them” (verse 24, NASB). Second, He “gave them over to degrading passions” (verse 26, NASB). Third, He “gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (verse 28, NASB). The Greek word translated “gave over” or “gave up” means “surrendered, yielded up, entrusted, or transmitted.” When one abandons God, God will desert them to go to the full extent that their wicked hearts will take them. God does similar things as noted in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 where He is said to send “strong delusions” to people who do not love the truth. An Old Testament case is found in Chronicles 18:22 where the Bible tells us that God put a lying spirit in the mouth of their prophets. To set the background for this event, Ahab, king of Israel, had made an alliance with King Jehoshaphat of Judah against Syria. To seal the agreement, Jehoshaphat and Ahab entered a marriage alliance by arranging their children to be married (Jehoram and Athaliah). Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to join him in the battle against Ramoth-Gilead in order to recapture it from the Syrians. The good man that Jehoshaphat was, he told him that he must first hear from the Lord regarding this alliance. Even after Ahab heard from his prophets that God would give the city into his hands, Jehoshaphat was unconvinced that their message was from God. So, after asking for another prophet, Ahab summoned Micaiah, who first said that the Lord would give Ahab victory. Later, when pressed, Micaiah said that the message of success was from a lying spirit, sent by God to entice Ahab to go up against Ramoth-gilead and be destroyed (18:5–27).
In both the New Testament and Old Testament, we find examples where God wills that certain people be deceived or under strong delusions. We know that God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18, cf. Num. 23:19). Yet, He sends others or uses others to do what is in their heart to do in order to accomplish His will. This is clear from 2 Corinthians 12 where Paul asked the Lord three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh.” On the one hand, He attributes this condition as being from God who was not wanting Paul to become conceited because of the revelations that God gave him. Satan certainly would not have that motive. If anything, Satan would want Paul to be conceited. On the other hand, Paul attributes the thorn in the flesh to being a “messenger of Satan” to “torment” him. So, which is it? Is it from God or Satan? The answer is both God and Satan. Satan is under restrictions and strict guidelines but is often incited to go after someone either as a punishment or as a means to be made stronger (cf. James 1:2). In Paul’s case, he adds, “For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:10). But, in Ahab’s case of being deceived, it is for the sake of judgment. Micaiah says, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there? One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him”(2 Chron. 18:18-20).
Therefore, while God is not the agent of deception, he can still send others to deceive. When people persistently fight Him and His will, He will hand them over, transmit them to a lying spirit and harden them in their sin. Ahab did not want the truth. So, God sent him a lie. If you want to know why there is so much religious division and contrary opinions, now you have it. The same explanation will enlighten our view of Pharoah’s hardened heart.
Conclusion
God has a purpose for demonic beings to torture or torment human beings, and in the case of an unforgiving spirit who is eaten up with bitterness and/or anger, God will hand them over to tormentors or spirit jailers. Experience teaches us that such souls will easily attack others verbally because of misperceived insecurities, gossip, slander, anger, and other similar personal dysfunctions. It is no wonder that Paul warns that in reacting to this torturous treatment, the battle
is not with other people (flesh) but with a dark world of spirits (Ephesians 6:12). They are not of God but allowed by God to torture a bitter angry soul. In the case of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18, if you want to avoid being turned over to jailers or torturers, be merciful and forgiving. Paul writes, “Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Cor. 2:10–11).
Peter warns, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Yet, no one in Christ who has surrendered to Him must fear being overcome by Satan. Peter encourages believers to resist the devil by, “standing firm in the faith.” “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout
the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:9).