By: Gen. Jim – 8/20/26
“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.” – 2 Cor. 12:7, KJV.
Just what was Paul’s “thorn”? Whatsoever it was he continues with, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me,” v. 8. Paul calls the thorn “this thing”, v. 8. But in v. 7 he calls “this thing”, “a messenger of Satan”.
I’ve heard many things said about “this thing” over the years. Ezekiel 28:24 tells us, “And these shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.”
Let’s define “thorn”, first in the Greek, then in the Hebrew:
Thorn: Heb. (Ez. 28:24) qôwts/kotse = in the sense of pricking, from qûwts = a prim. root; to clip off; used only as denom. from qayits, harvist.
Thorn: Gk. (2 Cor. 12:7) skolops, a point or prickles (fig. a bodily annoyance or disability, from skelos, the idea of leanness.
Skolops is used only in 2 Cor. 12:7. The other Gk. words for thorns are akantha & akanthinos, thorns as in the natural, not figuratively
Like I’ve said, I read many explanations, the most being eye trouble.
Paul the apostle sees that a divine purpose has been worked out thru the physical ailment he has had to suffer. In short, God sent this “thorn” is order to counter “pride” that may arise in Paul’s heart over what God was revealing to him.
Pain & ill health was the LORD’s way of saving him from pride that is FATAL to the Christian spirit & usefulness. It can be said that Paul could not pray away “this thing”. Although he taught about healings & deliverance from demon spirits, no amount of “faith” would make “this thing” depart from him. If this happened today, “healers” like Kenneth Copeland & Benny Hinn would accuse Paul of not having enough faith or for not planting “seed faith” ($$$) “give to us & God will heal/deliver you Paul!!!”
Like I said, numerous conjectures have been made as to his ailment. Was it a spiritual affliction sent by God, using a demon? Or was it just a physical ailment, epilepsy, eye trouble, etc.? Gal. 4:13, 14 sheds some light on this:
“You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel (messenger) of God…”
Here Paul hints about his physical infirmity in v. 15: “… For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes & given them to me.” Eyes? Some scholars disagree here. Some say to pluck out one’s eyes was just a metaphor for giving up one’s most precious possession, & that no conclusion can be drawn from it concerning the nature of Paul’s illness. But we inquire, why did Paul speak of his “infirmity” (4:13), connecting it with “eyes” (4:15)?
In Weakness
After Paul spoke of “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7), he makes mention of pleading with the Lord that it might depart from him, v. 8. Then in v. 9, Paul says that the Lord said to him,“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” The word “weakness” is noted. Scholars don’t know exactly what this meant. Was it referring to some observable physical condition? Paul mentions “weakness” in his first epistle: “I was with you in weakness, in fear…” 1 Cor. 2:3. In 2 Cor. 12:9 he puts “weakness” & “my infirmities” in the same sentence. In v. 10 he mentions “infirmities” again, along with reproaches, persecutions, distresses, which can & do cause physical & mental infirmities.
Metaphorical?
A metaphorical meaning here would not comport with the rest of the evidence in the Corinthian correspondence.
The word “ασθένεια” is the ordinary word for “illness”. Since the apostle had some time previously preached in Galatia as the result of an illness (Gal. 4:13, 14), & since later to the Corinthians themselves he will speak of “carrying about in his body the death of Jesus” (2 Cor. 4:10) & of a long-lasting “thorn in his flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7). (note: V.P. Furnish has an excellent book, II Corinthians, in which he goes over some of these viewpoints). It is apparent, Paul uses “weak”/ “weakness” in a variety of ways. In 1 Cor. 4:9-13 he mentions external hardships that can make a person “weak”. Probably the best we can do is take “weakness” to refer to his “sufferings” or “hardships”. Whatever the case may be, he gloried in his “weakness”. And the “thorn” was there to stay.
One thing we do know, a messenger of Satan buffeted Paul, 2 Cor. 12:7. This in itself sheds a light on the physical vs. the metaphorical. Gk. scholars point out that the word “buffet” (and “buffeted”) means “to rap with the fist, to chastise, inflict punishment. To “buffet” has the ring of being “cuffed” … in an insulting manner! Strike with the fist! Anyone who lives the true Christian life will tell you that satanic attacks are very real. I’ve experienced them too many times to tell. So has Deborah.
We’ve Learned
The “thorn” came from God, but Satan was the agent through whom the ailment came; the illness was his messenger (1 cor. 5:5). The purpose of the “buffeting”, to teach the apostle humility (remember Saul – later Paul – was a very PROUD & murderous Pharisee). The present tense of κολαφίζη implies that the buffeting was a continual process -a daily drain/pain in body.
Actually, although it mentions this “thorn”, there is no morbid sentimentality in his attitude toward this thing.
Some things can’t be prayed away. NO “healer” can lay hands on us & we are healed – forever! This does not mean we lack faith. While there are “gifts” (plural) of healings, some things are ordained of God. Period!
Take Jesus for example: it was the Father’s “perfect will” to send His Son to suffer & die a horrible death. The Son dealt with this by surrendering His body to be crucified. Jesus referred to His sufferings as “the cup which the Father has given Me” – Jn. 18:11. The “cup” had been prepared by human HATE, but the Father had taken it & put it into His hands to drink. You see, there are some sufferings/weaknesses prepared for us for our growth. While God may heal or deliver some, others are not. We may never know WHY but we do know that some healings/deliverance from demons are done by fastings & faith.
Some of these anti-healing ministers tell us that it is not God’s will for His people to be sick, diseased, demonized. But life is what it is. These things do come upon us but He has made a way for our healings. Paul sought for relief (2 Cor. 12:8) from the obvious pain. We don’t find him running off to some pharmacist to get pills for his ills. Neither do we find him going to a “healing crusade” where the healer tells him to plant a “seed of faith”, i.e. money. We don’t read where he went to a witch, soothsayer or a magician. He did seek the Lord but the “thorn” was to remain in his flesh. He was the same Paul that wrote in his first epistle about the gift of faith, gifts of healings in 1 Cor. 12:9 (note: Mk. 3:14 & 15 we read where Jesus appoints 12 disciples and sends them out “to preach, to heal sicknesses & to cast out demons.” We don’t find Paul seeking any of these out for healing or deliverance. Read also Mk. 16:18).
God Can…
He can & does use afflictions to bring people to Himself. They come to Him through the sense of need. Self-sufficiency too often turns people away from Him.
I read one minister’s writing in which he says, it may be that God refuses to remove our weakness because He needs it. He said this in ref. to John Bunyan (who wrote the famous Pilgrim’s Progress). He wrote that men like Bunyan were remarkable, the conflict he endured showed both strength & weakness. (W.H. White, John Bunyan, 1904, pp. 25, 26).
Paul said when he was weak, he was strong. Sounds like an oxymoron. Through our weakness God’s power is released in courage to face the giants, the great army of Satan etc. We need, the Church needs revaluation from the Biblical standpoint. Too many rely upon their strength, their talents, their $$, their position etc.
It Was Not Sin
Whatever Paul’s “thorn” was, it was not sin as some may think. Paul, before his statement about “there was given to me a thorn in the flesh” (v. 7), he wrote his divine experience, how he was caught up into paradise (v. 4), then he made the statement that he would not glory in his divine experience, but glory in his infirmities (v. 5). If the “thorn” had been sin Paul would not have besought the Lord 3 times to remove it; he would have just repented.
False Apostle
Another view is the FA one. Paul seems to refer to the false apostle at Corinth. The person in question is, as Gk. scholars point out, the apostle or angel of Satan, aka “messenger of Satan” (v. 7). Jesus sent the apostle Paul to preach & teach & found an Ekklesia at Corinth. Satan, the arch enemy of the Gospel / God’s truth, sent a man to contend with Paul, the “messenger of Satan”.
Well, no one seems to have the truth of the matter that satisfies all: bodily infirmity or evil spirit / false apostle.
Here is what I think: no bodily infirmity nor corporeal sufferings can stop or affect/distress a minister sent by God. Both of us, Deborah & me, have had plenty of bodily afflictions as we delivered Biblical messages, at home & overseas. I need not detail all this but we’ve had our share of both demon attacks & bodily afflictions. But we have witnessed demon attacks upon ACTMC whereby some fell wounded, some even died (spiritually). We have spend years in innumerable fastings, prayers, tears, labors & watchings. This is called “Soldiering”.
Over the past 40 plus years we have fought off human & demon tormentors.
We find Jesus praying to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” – Mt. 26:39, NKJV [see Mt. 20:22, 23]. That was Jesus’ first prayer; v. 42 Jesus again prays the same prayer. In v. 44 Jesus prays the 3rd time. Paul sought the Lord 3 times for deliverance; Jesus prayed 3 times for deliverance.
God’s Grace
Paul’s reply from the Lord was, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Yes sir, His grace will see us to the end of the race. When we are weak, we are strong in Him IF we endure. Sadly, too many can’t take the pressure, the pain. We’ve seen too many DIE on the battlefield that could have been helped if they had “willed” themselves to stay alive. Infirmities do not mean corruptions or sins of any kind, (v. 10).
Fin
Let us therefore glory in our infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, prosecutions, imprisonments (see PX1-6 Files).
ONWARD & UPWARD!
[P.S. I’m writing this on Aug, 20th, 2026, exactly 9 years to the day when God allowed the State of NM to make a large Sheriffs raid on our camp at Fence Lake, NM, in which many of us were arrested. Some spent a short time in jail, others like myself spent 5 years 9 months in prison, ‘Deborah spent 4 1/2 years in prison (on false charges – 72 year sentence!; Gracious spent 5 years behind bars also. So, we here know a little about satanic attacks & physical /mental /emotional pain].