Matthew 17:21
This kind goeth not out but by prayer, etc. - Τουτο το γενος, this kind, some apply to the faith which should be exercised on the occasion, which goeth not out, doth not exert itself, but by prayer and fasting; but this interpretation is, in my opinion, far from solid. However, there is great difficulty in the text. The whole verse is wanting in the famous Vatican MS., one of the most ancient and most authentic perhaps in the world; and in another one of Colbert’s, written in the 11th or 12th century. It is wanting also in the Coptic, Ethiopic, Syriac, Hieros., and in one copy of the Itala. But all the MSS. acknowledge it in the parallel place, Mark 9:29, only the Vatican MS. leaves out νηϚεια, fasting. I strongly suspect it to be an interpolation; but, if it be, it is very ancient, as Origen, Chrysostom, and others of the primitive fathers, acknowledged it. But while candour obliges me to acknowledge that I cannot account for the fact here alleged, that a certain class or genus of demons cannot be expelled but by prayer and fasting, while others may be ejected without them, I can give a sense to the passage which all my readers will easily understand: viz. that there are certain evil propensities, in some persons, which pampering the flesh tends to nourish and strengthen; and that self-denial and fasting, accompanied by prayer to God, are the most likely means, not only to mortify such propensities, but also to destroy them. For other remarkable circumstances relative to this case, see the notes on Mark 9:17, etc.
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Mark 9:17
A dumb spirit - That is, a demon who afflicted those in whom it dwelt with an incapacity of speaking. The spirit itself could not be either deaf or dumb. These are accidents that belong only to organized animate bodies.
So Clarke backs up the original text reading that fasting is required with prayer because it mortifies the flesh and therefore gives a certain authority over the demonic realm.
Any thinking Pentecostal or intellectual Charismatic knows this. I was unaware of the issue before I posted the article, quite frankly.
Nonetheless, as my thread on wondering whether or not Janet Reno may have been a ritualized occult killing was pulled (and drat, I had to step away from the computer and did not see any responses until it was pulled) —
I will be again praying and fasting through tomorrow night.
In light of the Wikileaks blood sacrifice revelations, and because Obama’s grandmother died the same time Janet Reno did — on Election Eve —
I pray now for the exposure of wickedness in high places in that these people would, if indeed they are of the occult, that these people would be exposed and their occult stratagems nullified and rendered impotent in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lord have mercy on this nation. I know You hear our prayer, Lord God.