SUBJECT:  Anointed Cloths

QUESTION:  I am not sure I understand the purpose of the anointed cloth as used in healings.  It seems superstitious to me.  What are we to do with the cloths after they are used?  I have heard that these cloths are mass produced.  If so, why not just have several around for when they are needed?  Can one cloth serve multiple people?  Did your church establish this idea of anointed cloths or is there a basis for them in the Bible?

ANSWERS:

Regarding the anointed cloths, we have a number elements to discuss.

Element 1:  Healing by direct miracle and by faith

The tradition of sending out the anointed cloths was born from the incident in Acts 19:11-12:

Acts 19:11-12

11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

Note1:  The healings described here are by special miracles.  Today they are done in accordance of James 5:14-15 where the sick person is directed to contact the elders of the church (ministers).  The elders are to pray over the sick person and to anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

Note 2:  The purpose of the cloths then and now is to act as a point of direct contact between two physical parties, namely, the sick person and the minister.  Paul was invoking special powers from God.  Ministers today participate in an act of faith on the part of the sick.  Paul was not able to get to everyone.  Ministers are not able to get to all the sick parties today.  Therefore the cloths act as a physical element between the two parties.

Note 3:  In the case of Paul who was invoking special miracles, the cloth was a point of contact between the miracle and the sick person.  Today they transfer the oil of anointing

Element 2:  The cloth is the LEAST of all elements involved in a healing.

In fact, it is the element destroyed after use.  The cloth has NO power.  The cloth does NOT heal.  The cloth is not to be kept as a memento of the healing.  The cloth is not a spiritual artifact. The cloth is NOT Holy.  It is not even a physical artifact.  It carries no special meaning nor importance other than what has been stated above.

The chief elements of a healing are:

1) The blood and broken body of Christ.

2) The power of the Holy Spirit (the power of God). (The oil put on the cloth represents the Holy Spirit)

3) The faith of the sick person.

4) The laying on of hands by the minister (on the person or the cloth) (Heb. 6).

5) The prayer of the minister using the name of Jesus Christ.

6) The prayer of the sick person using the name of Jesus Christ.

7) The asking for the cloth by the sick person (an act of faith).

I am presently writing to you via an electronic format called an e-mail.  I am putting my thoughts and God's Word in this e-mail.  You are reading it.  I could have done the same thing with a snail mail letter on a piece of paper.  Neither the paper (letter) nor the e-mail carry any special significance other than being a means of transfer from my brain to your brain.  The e-mail is not me.  If I were there with you, I would speak the words directly from my brain to your brain using my mouth and your ears.  The anointed cloth functions likewise.  You would not put special meaning on my e-mail to you but rather the value of my thoughts and God's word.

Element 3:  Preparation of the cloths.

As stated, the cloths act as a point of physical contact between the two physical parties to carry out an act of faith.  We (the Intercontinental Church of God) cannot speak to what you read nor about what other ministers / churches /organizations do.

We prepare one cloth per request.  There is no Bible foundation for multiple use of one cloth nor the idea of having a supply of anointed cloths around.  Remember that the cloth is an element in a single act of faith, namely, the sick person asking for anointing and prayer for healing of one specific situation of sickness or infirmity for one specific person (yourself) .

For each cloth, a minister anoints it with oil.  He then kneels before God and lays hands upon the cloth.  He then sends it out via mail.  Now, there have been cases in which a church headquarters will have a "Prayer Breakfast" at which all the ministers will take all the incoming prayer requests for a specific number of days (generally a week) and read them all aloud to all the ministers at the prayer breakfast.  They all pray about each case which had been read aloud.  They then all prepare the anointed cloths.  Generally, each minister takes an equal share.  They each lay hands on the cloth, anoint the cloths with oil and pray over them.  They then send them all out via the mail.  This is in no way a mass production of cloths.  One cloth is prepared for each prayer request (request for an anointed cloth).

Element 4:  It is an act of faith

Healing is both a promise of God AND an act of faith on the part of the sick or infirmed person.  Remember what Christ often said to the person when He healed them:

The Promise:

Matthew 21:22

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

James 1:6

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

James 5:15

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Psalm 30:2

O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

Psalm 41:4

I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

Psalm 103:3

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

The Act of Faith

Matthew 9:22

But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Luke 18:42

And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.

Luke 17:19

And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Therefore, if the minister were in your area, that is, if you could readily get to the minister's home (for example), you would ask (according to James 5) the minister to anoint you.  He would do it on the spot and the act of faith would be completed.

Spiritually, it works the same way with a request for an anointed cloth.  The act of faith is completed when the request is made known.  There have been countless healings which have taken place right after the person making the request has made a call, sent a letter or even an e-mail.

Element 5:  Superstition has no part in healings, acts of faith nor anointed cloths

There is absolutely nothing superstitious about an anointed cloth.  Notice the meaning of the word:

Superstition  (from Webster's Unabridged 1913)

Su`per*sti"tion (?), n. [F. superstition, L. superstitio, originally, a standing still over or by a thing; hence, amazement, wonder, dread, especially of the divine or supernatural, fr. superstare to stand over; super over + stare to stand. See Super-, and Stand.]

1. An excessive reverence for, or fear of, that which is unknown or mysterious.

My note:  Healing is known by those who believe.  It is not mysterious; it is a promise.  There is nothing to fear.

2. An ignorant or irrational worship of the Supreme Deity; excessive exactness or rigor in religious opinions or practice; extreme and unnecessary scruples in the observance of religious rites not commanded, or of points of minor importance; also, a rite or practice proceeding from excess of sculptures in religion.

My note:  Belief in God and His promise of healing is not ignorant or irrational worship.  It is not excessive exactness.  It is not a religious opinion.  It is not an excessive practice not commanded.  It is commanded in James 5.  It is not of minor importance.  Healing involves the broken body of Christ:

1 Peter 2:24

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

3. The worship of a false god or gods; false religion; religious veneration (respect and reverence) for objects.

My note:  One who asks in faith for healing of the true God is not worshipping a false God.  They are not putting their respect or reverence upon the anointed cloth.  This is partly why it is destroyed after it is used.

4. Belief in the direct agency of superior powers in certain extraordinary or singular events, or in magic, omens, prognostics, or the like.

My note:  Healing is not singular nor extraordinary.  It is not magic nor does it involve omens.

5. Excessive nicety; scrupulous exactness. Syn. -- Fanaticism. -- Superstition, Fanaticism. Superstition springs from religious feeling misdirected or unenlightened. Fanaticism arises from this same feeling in a state of high-wrought and self-confident excitement. The former leads in some cases to excessive rigor in religious opinions or practice; in others, to unfounded belief in extraordinary events or in charms, omens, and prognostics, hence producing weak fears, or excessive scrupulosity as to outward observances. The latter gives rise to an utter disregard of reason under the false assumption of enjoying a guidance directly inspired. Fanaticism has a secondary sense as applied to politics, etc., which corresponds to the primary.

My note:  Superstition DOES spring form misdirected or unenlightened religious feeling (so called).  Superstition is without truth.

Superstition has nothing to do with the Word of God nor with healing or anointed cloths.