Discerning Things That Differ

This book is the sixth of my father's books, written in 2002. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are my father's words.

Acknowledgments 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

We are deeply indebted to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for allowing us to experience and understand a small measure of His Truth, as written in the Word and as revealed by the Holy Spirit. NO man can understand the Word of God or the ways of God unless they are revealed to him by His Spirit.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14

I would also like to acknowledge my wife, Linda, who provided me with great encouragement and support. She also gave me her valuable comments for improvement. 

All verses quoted herein are taken from the Authorized or King James' version, except as specifically noted at the appropriate places. 

Permission is freely given to anyone to copy all or parts of this book and to distribute this word in any way that you desire to whomever you desire, PROVIDED that you do so without any monetary remuneration. The word of God is free (or at least should be). "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8). 

The Unfolding: Volume 6

This book represents the sixth in a series of books centered around the unfolding of the word of God and the revelation or manifestation or unfolding of His great grace and glory.

The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29

For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Luke 12:2

God has revealed more of Himself and His word over the years. But there is coming a time when God is going to roll everything back up into Himself. A possible analogy is that of unrolling a scroll so as to read what is written thereon and then rolling the scroll back up. That was the inspiration for the front and back covers of this book and for those volumes in the series yet to come.

And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll ... Isaiah 34:4

God's purpose is to manifest His glory. Everything is designed to show forth the glory of God.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Isaiah 40:5

Some verses that clearly show that God has chosen to reveal more of Himself and His word over a period of time are: 

Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. 1 Peter 1:20

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Romans 3:21

The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing. Hebrews 9:8

Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. Ephesians 3:5

God's revelation, by His Spirit, is not simply TO us, but WITHIN us. The Word of God must become flesh. For example, 

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace,
To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. Galatians 1:15‑16

26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:26‑27

There is still more that God intends to reveal of His glory.

Father, glorify Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. John 12:28

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Romans 8:19

But there will come a time when God folds everything back up. Many believers sense that folding up is near at hand.

And as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed ... 

Hebrews 1:12

And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. 

1 Corinthians 15:28

"For our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29), and everything shall be consumed by the fire of His Spirit, that God may be all in all.

The six books in this series, to date, are:

Volume 1: The Love of a Man for His Wife
Volume 2: In the Beginning
Volume 3: A Sure Foundation
Volume 4: Let Us Go On
Volume 5: Children, Have You Any Meat?
Volume 6: Discerning Things That Differ

Foreword

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Philippians 1:9-10

Perhaps a better translation of the above is:

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all discernment;
That ye may discern things that differ; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.

This book is entirely about discerning things that differ, or more specifically the LACK of discernment within the Church. Some of you may find some things in this book that differ from “standard” charismatic teaching and traditions. If so, please allow the Holy Spirit time to witness to you whether these things be so or not.

On one of the many times that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus to tempt Him, Jesus said:

2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? Matthew 16:2-3

54 And He said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.
55 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.
56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Luke 12:54-56

We STRONGLY believe that one of the greatest needs within the body of Christ in our lifetime has been a lack of discernment on the part of Christians, at all levels. Almost every charismatic Christian believes that he/she has discernment. The past does NOT bear that out as being true. The future may reveal some startling awakenings to many Christian “leaders” (in the eyes of Christian men).

Spiritual discernment is a gift from God which needs to be exercised. Discernment belongs to those who are mature.

But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:14

Let us look at some prophecy of scripture in 1 Chronicles 12. Verses 23-37 lists the number of men from each of the tribes of Israel who came to David to help him while he was being hunted by Saul. If I did the arithmetic correctly, a total of 347,122 such men came to help David. This number included only 200 from the tribe of Issachar.

And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. 1 Chronicles 12:32

We believe that, as it was in the time of David, so is it today in the Church. We believe that 1 Chronicles 12 is not only an historical fact, but is also prophetic of the state of the Church today. If that be true, then LESS than 1% of Christians today have understanding of the times, to know what the Church (spiritual Israel) ought to do. Even more shocking is that only 22 of the captains of Zadok came to help David (1 Chronicles 12:28). Twenty-two out of 347,122 represents less than 0.1% of the total. We have MUCH more to say about the sons of Zadok in Chapter 5.

NOTE: There is another aspect of discernment which is called discerning of spirits, which is one of the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. This book does NOT discuss that realm. If you are interested in discerning of spirits, we suggest a book by Ken Bennett called “In A Pig’s Eye,” which we can easily arrange to send to you, free of charge.

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Chapter 1 describes the hour in which we, the Church, live. This includes the state of the Church today. A major thesis of that Chapter is that all is NOT well within the Church today.

Chapter 2 discusses the Feast of Blowing of Trumpets and its relevance for us today.

On a divinely‑ordained trip a few summers ago, as my wife and I were driving along the highway, I asked a question about what are the major hindrances to the maturity of the body of Christ today. Certainly self, in all its many facets, such as self‑centeredness, self‑confidence, self‑pity, etc, is a major root hindrance. Chapter 8 in Volume 5: Children, Have You Any Meat? discusses the kingdom of self. A major driving force associated with self is the love of money. There is a clear lack of understanding of the place of money in the life of a Christian. This is discussed in Chapter 3. But we also came up with the following list, which are inter-related and not at all mutually exclusive:

(1) reluctance to change,
(2) lack of discernment,
(3) lack of vision, and
(4) substitutes.

Reluctance to change is widely accepted by the field of psychology as a phenomenon of people. Christians are NOT immune to reluctance to change, which also is thoroughly documented in many scriptures. “We have always done things this way” is an often used expression, both in the world and in Christian circles. Reluctance to change is discussed in more detail in Chapter 4.

Lack of discernment is abundantly clear from the many false tangents that Spirit‑filled Christians always run after. A good principle is that when you see a lot of Christians going in the same direction, look at it very carefully again. The Lord never worked with multitudes. Lack of discernment is the topic of Chapter 5.

An area of much concern to the author is the apparent inability of far too many Christians to discern among the gift of prophecy, prophets of the Lord, and prophets of the flesh, or wanna-be-prophets. This topic is discussed in Chapter 6.

Chapter 7 discusses the prophetic nature of scripture, particularly with respect to MANY verses in the Old Testament. Several examples from the Old Testament are given which are prophetic of end times, the time in which we live.

Substitutes involve substituting that which is natural or that which is motivated by the flesh for the spiritual. This category could be called idolatry and includes materialism, a major stronghold in the United States This is the topic for Chapter 8.

Lack of vision is also well documented in scripture. "Where there is no vision the people perish" (Psalm 29:18). The Lord told Habakkuk to "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it" (Habakkuk 2:2). Chapter 9 discusses the true Vision.

Chapter 10 then answers the question, “where do we go from here?” About one month ago the Lord impressed upon me that it is not sufficient to simply see the truth of what this book declares. The Lord requires something more from those who have been allowed to see the real state of the Church today.

For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. Luke 12:48

Finally, the Epilog gives some closing, summary thoughts.

Very recently I heard a “sermon” (or perhaps more accurately, a canned speech) by a Spirit-filled man in a leadership position. He said that long before the tragedy of 9/11/2001 he had seen that communism was NOT the biggest threat to the United States. He said that he had seen that Muslim terrorism was the biggest threat to America. That brother said nothing about a more important point, which I have added below.

As a general principle, Muslims are those who are descendants of Ishmael, who represents a work of the flesh on the part of Abraham (Genesis 16).

But he [Ishmael] who was of the bondwoman [Hagar] was born after the flesh [the will of man]; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Galatians 4:23

But as then he that was born after the flesh [Ishmael] persecuted him that was born after the Spirit [Isaac], even so it is now. Galatians 4:29

Paul wrote the book of Galatians around 58 A.D., but the word of God is TIMELESS. He who is born after the flesh STILL persecutes him who has been born after the Spirit. That truth constitutes a very strong threat to all true believers.

Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman [Hagar] and her son [Ishmael]: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. Galatians 4:30

This does NOT mean that no Muslim will ever come to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Paul, in Galatians 4, says that Hagar represents mount Sinai (the law) and answers to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children (Galatians 4:25). “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26). The earthly Jerusalem, those Christians who are trying to live after the letter of the law, are in bondage to the religious systems of today.

3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Galatians 4:3-5

Please read all of Galatians 3, 4, and 5 to get the full effect of what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church. We have much more to say about this bondage in Chapter 7.

We also know several good brothers in the Lord who have stated, or strongly implied, for a long time that Muslim terrorism is NOT the biggest threat to America; rather it is the Catholic hierarchical, religious system (not the “lay” people in the Catholic church, who are unaware of what they are in), which desires to swallow up ALL religious systems. (They will eventually succeed; but they will NEVER swallow up the remnant.) This statement is NOT new. Hundreds of men of God have been saying that for at least 500 years, including some rather noted names, like Martin Luther.

There is certainly much truth in the above. However, in this book we stress that the biggest threat to the United States is the enemy at work within the Church. It is the enemy WITHIN, not the enemy without, that poses the biggest problem. As long as we can see the enemy within, we can repent and trust the Lord for whatever may come.

I heard, second-hand, that a good brother in the Lord said, shortly after 9/11/2001, something like the following:

The real tragedy was not the physical destruction of 9/11, which took many lives and created fear in the hearts of many. The real tragedy was the memorial service which followed in the Washington National Cathedral, where “leaders” of many religious “faiths” were allowed to say their peace. What that service demonstrated was the apostasy within the United States.

Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, was the ONLY minister in that memorial service to speak the name of Jesus. We have heard that he got sued for that!!! That reminds me of the Methodist church we used to attend when the Lord sovereignly apprehended me. In that church, you NEVER heard the name of Jesus.

This word simply represents that which we have received from the Lord on the enclosed topics as of this point in time. Our sincere desire is that this word will be a blessing to all who read it. We all learn best through personal experience. Hopefully, we can also learn through the experiences of others.

We believe in progressive revelation. The Lord is unfolding more and more of Himself and His Truth. Peter said,

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. 2 Peter 1:12

The existence of present truth implies that there is future truth still to be unfolded.

We have believed for years that there should be fresh revelation from the Lord through the Holy Spirit in EVERY assembly of believers, whether two or three or 300. We do NOT think that the Lord is pleased when ministers rehash the same word for twenty years.

If any thing be revealed to another [prophet] that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. 1 Corinthians 14:30

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When we first starting writing this series of books, we believed that there would be only five books. Shortly after the Lord apprehended me, I remember thinking to myself that I would NOT like to be a pastor in an organized church. I thought it would be very difficult to come up with a different sermon every Sunday. After writing these SIX books I have changed my mind. I have found that EVERY time that I sit down to write on some topic, the Lord gives me more insight ... truth that I have never heard nor seen in print. Therefore, we fully expect, the Lord willing, that this will NOT be the last book that we will write.

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. John 21:25

A Word Of Caution

This book is NOT for the faint of heart! Years ago we heard a pithy little statement that Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. If you are comfortable, this book may afflict you. For those of you who are afflicted and are in the wilderness, we trust that you will find some comfort in the pages that follow. Jeremiah said,

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5

Christians in the United States have been in a land of peace for many long years. There is a very prevalent philosophy among almost EVERY American that we trust in this land of peace. No enemy can defeat us, so we say. But the time of the swelling of Jordan is at hand. The swelling of Jordan represents a flood brought on by our real enemy. The word of the Lord to all Christians today is to repent and prepare for the sure judgment that is imminent upon this country. There is much deception within the ranks of most churches today. Lord, shine the searchlight of your Holy Spirit within our very beings!

If any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. 1 Corinthians 8:2

Chapter 1: The Hour In Which We Live

What is the hour in which we now live? Certainly we are living in the end-times ... the last days. Paul, Peter, and John all wrote, in THEIR time, that it was the last days (see 2 Timothy 3:1, 1 Peter 1:20, 1 John 2:18, and Hebrews 1:2). So if the last days were in 55-90 A.D., how much more true is it today?

A good brother in the Lord, emailed me in late August of 2002 and told me that he had seen “spiritual rain” while sitting outside his house in North Carolina. He said that he saw the spiritual rain even though there was no cloud in the sky and no physical water ever hit the ground. He also said that his wife and several other believers in their local fellowship had also seen the same spiritual rain. When my wife and I stayed with him and his wife at a beach in South Carolina in September for a few days, my wife and I also saw the same spiritual rain several different days. The spiritual rain looked like a natural, gentle, drizzle, but with no clouds in the sky and no water ever hitting the ground. We have no idea how many believers, and in what parts of the world, have seen this same spiritual rain. At last count, he saw this spiritual rain for 75 consecutive days. He told me that the spiritual rain stopped the day AFTER the national elections on November 5, 2002. Is there any significance to the timing of the end of the spiritual rain? OF COURSE! We have no specific revelation from the Lord as of now as to exactly what the significance is, but it seems clearly to be tied to the natural government in the United States. Many years ago I heard of a Spirit-filled woman who had a vision in which the central dome of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. was sliced off. The interpretation given for her vision was that a new form of government was coming to the United States.

Around the same time period, the Lord STRONGLY impressed upon me to go down to the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., stand in the middle of the Rotunda, and speak a word of confusion to the government of the United States. I did exactly as I was told to do. I was NOT motivated by the vision as stated above because at that time I had not learned about her vision. Now perhaps 90% or more of all Spirit-filled Christians would probably be aghast at my action. I have no explanation except that the Lord told me to do it. About two months later I received via postal mail a Christian newsletter published monthly by (at that time) a very prominent charismatic minister. In that newsletter was a word of prophecy, although I do not remember who had spoken the prophecy. The prophecy was that the Lord was going to move upon a few of His people to speak a word of confusion to the government of the United States. Of course, the government of God is not now and never has been a government of democracy, but rather theocracy, where God, not man, rules. Democracy is perhaps the best form of government that man has to offer, but it is still a product of the flesh, not the Spirit.

Consider a few verses in scripture concerning spiritual rain.

He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. Psalm 72:6

1 Come and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.
2 After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.
3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. Hosea 6:1-3

There can be no question that the spiritual rain signifies an imminent move of God upon the earth, most likely in two separate, opposing forms. On the part of the Lord’s elect, it represents a replacement of the government of, by, and for man by the government of God. On the part of the worldly religious system, it represents an increased move AWAY from the government of God, perhaps in the form of a dictatorship. No serious student of current events can deny that there has been an increased move toward more control in the lives of the people on the part of the federal government. Hosea 6:1-3 gives two prerequisites on our part to appreciate and appropriate this spiritual rain: repent (Hosea 6:1) and follow on to know the Lord (Hosea 6:3). Those verses also imply a faith and trust in the Lord that He will make Himself manifest to us, provided we do our part.

What is the Spirit of the Lord saying to the churches today? Surely the Church is at a crossroads in this hour. By the “Church” we mean all genuine born-again believers whether they be in a denominational church, are evangelicals, fundamentalists, Pentecostal, neo-Pentecostal, charismatic, or any other variation of true believers. In addition, we include all such believers whether they go to a “church” building made of bricks and stones, a house church, or no “church” at all. The Church at all levels is at a decision point. True believers everywhere and at all spiritual levels must decide whether they want “business as usual” or whether they want a fresh, healing touch from the Lord. The reader may notice that many times, in what follows, we refer to the failures and shortcomings of charismatic churches. The same conditions clearly pertain also to denominational churches, evangelicals, fundamentalists, and Pentecostals. Charismatic churches, of course, are those who not only believe in the gifts and ministries as described in the New Testament but also have those gifts and ministries in operation. In a sense, charismatic churches are the religious elite of the day, in that they have been exposed to more of the truth of God. However, may I remind you that it was the religious elite of the day that crucified Jesus.

The Church is in dire need of healing in this hour. Individual believers need healing, relationships between individuals need healing, local fellowships need healing, and the Body of Christ at large needs healing. The healing is needed in body, soul, and spirit. The Church gets more fragmented every day. Please read again the verse in Hosea.

Come and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. Hosea 6:1

That verse is current events. Why has the Lord torn and smitten us? Because we have strayed from Him and His ways. The prerequisite for healing is to “return unto the Lord.”

A word found in the book of Habakkuk has been burning in my heart for several months. The book of Habakkuk is current events. We are living in a time of the final fulfillment of the book of Habakkuk. That word has been the impetus for this book.

1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save!
3 Why dost Thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.  

Habakkuk 1:1-4

The prophet Habakkuk saw, in the Spirit, a burden ... a burden that was very heavy and seemed to have no end. No one wants to carry a heavy burden. (It is more than useful to search the Scriptures for all of the verses which speak about burdens.) So Habakkuk asked the Lord, “Why are You showing me all of this corruptness? What do you want me to do?” Those who can identify with the contents of this book likewise need to ask the Lord what He would have YOU do! Those who can NOT identify with the contents of this book perhaps need to read all of Jeremiah 36 and ask the Lord to reveal what He is about in this hour.

The same condition as recorded in Habakkuk is true today within the Church. Only those with their head in the sand can deny all of the problems, bad doctrines, lack of maturity, lack of power, etc., that exist throughout the Church at all levels. At the same time, we acknowledge that most Christians genuinely love the Lord. I have never doubted the motivation or sincerity of ANY Christian. Nevertheless, because of lack of discernment, lack of vision, lack of knowledge, traditions of men, complacency, being lukewarm, and on and on,

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6

The State of the Church

We have visited a number of different churches in the past few years. In general, we have seen a stagnation, a “business as usual,” a “don’t rock the boat” attitude, a tendency to “sugar coat” the word of God so as not to offend anyone, a huge tendency to compromise the ways of the Lord with the ways of the world in order to keep people happy ... to keep the money coming in. So the Lord is saying:

My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place. Jeremiah 50:6

How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. Lamentations 4:1

Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My People their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Isaiah 58:1

Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. Ezekiel 43:10

Certainly there are many, diverse voices today, not only in the world, but in Christianity as well. Each voice declares something slightly different.

There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. 1 Corinthians 14:10

Just as Paul admonished the church at Corinth many years ago, this multitude of different voices is still causing confusion and uncertainty in the Church today. We see disunity, strife, bitterness, sin, carnality, and division. We have seen, in our own lifetime, a parade of false, out of balance tangents such that literally tens of thousands of believers have been "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Ephesians 4:13). Charismatic Christians have flocked after one false “movement” after another. This parade of false teachings includes submission, discipleship, faith and prosperity, the apostles and prophets "movement," mega-churches, the ecumenical "movement," a heavy “seeker-friendly” emphasis at the expense of praise and worship, and on and on. It seems like God's people have no more discernment than Nineveh, which had "more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand" (Jonah 3:11). The reason that all of these false teachings have so much appeal is that they all have an element of truth to them. There IS such a thing as submission, there IS such a thing as discipleship, there IS such a thing as faith and prosperity, there IS such a thing as evangelism, there ARE such ministries as apostles and prophets. But these false, out of balance movements all appeal to carnal self and have not been led by the Spirit. They all represent man's approach to the things of God. Many years ago I read that rat poison is 99% pure wheat ... it is the other 1% that gets you!

The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem. Lamentations 4:12

We have read, from very reliable reports, that less than half of the members of denominational churches are genuine believers. We tend to think that there are even fewer than that number. It is also commonly reported that the divorce rate and the abortion rate for Christians is about the same as for those who are without Christ. We know a man who once was a VERY respected man in a vibrant house church. He really heard from the Lord, did much teaching, counseling, praying, and moved mightily in a word of knowledge and prophecy. However, one day he moved out of his home, left his wife, and moved in with another woman. A number of other elders tried to reason with the man that what he was doing was wrong and not scriptural. His response was, “ I don’t care what the Bible says; the Lord told me to divorce my wife.” Later he did divorce his wife of 30 plus years and married the other woman.

Consider that there are about 500 different denominations in the United States (smacks of the Church at Corinth). Then think about all of the many false doctrines and all of the many off-center tangents that have seduced thousands of true believers in the past thirty-five years. For further “proof,” where is the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit that was evidenced in the New Testament? Yes, I am aware that many marvelous things are happening in many countries in Africa and in other parts of the world, where comfort, contentment, and lukewarm complacency are not part of their vocabulary.

Almost all denominational churches and some Spirit-filled, charismatic churches “hire” their pastor ... enter into a legal contract that he will be their pastor for some time period. That smacks of the pope, who is elected to be the head of the Catholic community world-wide. How far have we fallen? Do we have to be paid to perform our ministry? If the pastor has to be paid, why not pay the intercessor or the prophet? Could this be another example of tradition that was never in the plan of the Lord? Yes, I KNOW that “the workman is worthy of his meat” (Matthew 10:10) and that “who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?” (1 Corinthians 9:7). I also know that if you examine the context of those two verses you will find that in both cases they are referring to apostles, not local pastors.

Then we have far too many pastors who are trying, in their own understanding, to feed and protect “their” flock. Paul said,

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. Philippians 3:2

When Paul said, “beware of dogs,” he was NOT referring to a four-legged animal that wags its tail and says “bow wow.” Natural dogs are very faithful to those within their own house, BUT they are very territorial. Those outside of their house better beware. Even if you walk on the sidewalk past their house, many dogs will bark, some quite viciously. The “dogs” that Paul refers to are those territorial pastors who think they are protecting “their” sheep, accept those who come in their own name, but reject those who are sent by the Lord. (The last time I checked in my Bible, the sheep belong to the Lord, not to any man.) MANY churches do NOT allow outside teachers or preachers; other churches have their very own “litmus test” to determine if it is all right for someone outside of their church to speak.

A true prophet of the Lord once told me that he had been invited to speak in a large church in Sweden. During one service the prophet was speaking the word of the Lord. Every time that he said something that the local pastor did not like, the pastor would wave his index finger slightly and their band would start playing “The Old Rugged Cross.” As the prophet said, “Who can argue with the old rugged cross?” But the pastor quenched the moving of the Spirit. The religious system of today, that which is led by the flesh, always quenches the Spirit.

I am aware of at least one other church where the pastor cuts things off anytime there is a real move toward praise and worship in the Spirit. The stated rationale behind his action is that non-believers who are present might get turned off or offended. Lord have mercy on us!

An article on the front page of the Washington Post, August 20, 1999, described the decision of the U.S. Lutheran bishops to unite with the Episcopal church. Such an ecumenical movement has been brewing for many years. This merger follows a similar merger in 1997 between the Presbyterians and Lutherans. The ecumenical movement has received support from some of the "big names" in both the Christian denominations and charismatic circles. Now who is opposed to unity? Not me. But all such attempts thus far are man's attempt to bring UNION, the very word used by the Washington Post article. It is a work of the flesh ... a repeat of the tower of Babel recorded in Genesis 11. This ecumenical movement will eventually succeed, with the Roman Catholic church swallowing up all organized Christianity, bringing about the one (false) church, with a beast as its head. I have experienced, first hand, the intense desire of the Catholic church to bring all of the Protestants back into the "fold," resulting in "one" church. A few years ago, I had an opportunity to share my testimony with a 27‑year old, intense Catholic woman, who was in a graduate Catholic theology program. She told me that one day God, hopefully, may bring me back into the "fold," by which she meant, of course the Roman Catholic church. I told her that would never happen. Then I saw on her face the same anger and hatred that killed Jesus! I will never forget that look.

The time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 

John 16:2

Mega‑churches seem to be in vogue today. Church group after church group is intent upon building something bigger and better, all in the "name of the Lord."

For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. Hosea 8:14

Almost every day, millions of dollars are spent to build bigger, grander temples of "worship" and to have plush facilities for all of the many "programs" to appeal to the masses. These mega-churches have gymnasiums, large cafeterias, ice skating rinks, Easter-egg hunts, pony rides, entertainment arenas and programs of all kinds to attract and entertain people, and of course large libraries where the flock can BUY lots of “Christian” material, such as books. The message in such churches is to "keep everybody happy," "don't rock the boat," "keep the people coming in," and "keep the money coming in" so they can support the huge mega-church structure. And so, once again, the Lord is saying,

Seek ye Me and ye shall live: But seek not Bethel (the house of God). Amos 5:4‑5

Back in the 1940's and 1950's (and perhaps other years as well) the Lord raised up a true prophet named William Branham. Branham was NOT perfect (NO man is perfect); a small part of his understanding of end-time events was somewhat flawed (specifically his understanding of the”rapture”). However, Clayt Sonmore, in the draft copy of his book titled “Who Was William Branham?” relates some things about Branham that he (Brother Sonmore and his wife Jeanne) knew from personal, first-hand knowledge. Sonmore states, on page 63 of his draft:

Current happenings (both religious, political and economic) reveal he [Branham] erred not one iota in his prophetic insight of coming events, including the roles that many various national, denominational and organizational bodies would play. He was able as well to accurately foretell the conspiratorial arrangements (privately identified by name to Jeanne and me on that electrifying day in 1958) that would be allowed by God in the future in order to prove and test the body of Christ’s commitment to “Truth and Divine Order.” He [Branham] was particularly sharp in his insight and understanding of future events as well as of those personalities and organizations that would bring terrible confusion, mixture and impurity to the body of Christ through religious programming, networking, television, Christian entertainment and music with a contemporary beat.

PLEASE read that last sentence again and again. ALL of those five characteristics (and more) exist in abundance in charismatic circles in the United States today. Christians have become so vaccinated, inoculated, and anesthetized with and by the ways of the world that we can no longer separate the precious from the vile (ways of the world). Christians have grown up in an environment where the Church has been infiltrated with all of the ways of the world. Christians assume that such a (vile) mixture must be right because everyone else is doing it (perpetuating the mixture). People caught up in the mixture have no discernment and no one is seeking the Lord for His truth because they see no need for such effort.

Many long years ago the Lord sent me to one of the foremost tele-evangelists in the United States. What I saw greatly troubled me and surely was an abomination to the Lord. I received the “inside” tour and was allowed to see exactly how they operated. They were using all of the “best” ways of the world to try to promote evangelism. (If you see nothing “wrong” with that, then you need to read this book very carefully several times and ask the Lord to reveal His truth to you by His Spirit.) They had hundreds of millions of dollars coming in from charismatic Christians who knew no better. The Lord prompted me to write that man a long letter of warning, which unfortunately went unheeded. A few years later, the Lord brought that empire down and the man was put into jail. Was that just an isolated event? not at all! There were other nationally acclaimed tele-evangelists who were similarly brought down by the Lord. Some of those evangelists were well known; others did not make the headlines.

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Ephesians 5:19

No one can deny that we have received many beautiful, awe-inspiring hymns from our ancestors, such as “Amazing Grace,” “Blessed Assurance,” “It Is Well With My Soul,” and “All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name.” When is the last time that you heard hymns sung in charismatic meetings?

During a gathering of believers in Eastern North Carolina in the late 1970's, a word came forth that it is very difficult to go directly from singing songs in a minor key into high praise and worship. In like manner, music with a contemporary beat (usually accompanied by the “tom-tom” beat of a drum) is NOT conducive to high praise and worship. This is NOT to say that we should never sing songs in minor keys or never sing songs with a throbbing beat of a drum in the background; but we usually need songs with a more reverent tone prior to entering into high praise and worship of our Lord.

Christian entertainment abounds. Many long years ago, I heard a LP album from a very noted Christian musical group, whose name I will not mention. At that time I was so impressed with their music that I bought about 20 copies to give to various Christians. A few years later, my wife and I went to a live concert by that same group. The music was still very good, but when I saw the people who were part of that group, I was greatly burdened and disappointed. They were obviously full of pride and putting on a “show” to make lots of money (which they did). I am not sure they ever thought about singing to the glory of God. Let me state unequivocally ... ANY Christian with a ministry in music of ANY form who charges money for his/her “performance” or tapes or CDs does NOT understand the ways of the Lord! I have also heard “sermons” which were pure entertainment and would rival many Broadway stage productions.

Off-center doctrines abound and are embraced by many. The list includes (but is NOT limited to) ultimate reconciliation, pre-tribulation “rapture,” once-saved-always-saved, “you are not going to miss anything,” and the manifestation of the sons of God as having already occurred. Some “prominent” Christians do not believe in the literal second coming of Jesus; they say that He is coming again ONLY in the Church which is His body (you and me). In addition there are far too many believers who have a renegade, rebellious spirit. Those folks pooh-pooh any notion of authority, structure, order, and elders, and declare that every believer is a prophet.

Mixture and impurity abounds within the Church. The ways of the world are so intertwined within so many charismatic churches that only the Master can unravel all of the knots. The Holy Spirit recently led me to meet a precious brother in the Lord. He told me that he does not watch “Christian” television any more because it has degenerated to the same form as worldly “talk shows.”

Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned. 

Hosea 7:8

In September of 2001 we heard a good brother share about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which God warned Adam and Eve NOT to partake. He said, and rightly so, that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents a mixture. How can a good tree bring forth bad fruit or how can a bad tree bring forth good fruit? No mixture can stand in the presence of the Lord.

Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before Me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. 

Jeremiah 15:19

What do all of the following five things have in common?

(1) All is well.

(2) You are not going to miss anything because God loves you.

(For more details on (1) and (2), see Chapter 6.)

(3) Once saved always saved.

(4) Pre-tribulation rapture.

(According to a very reliable source, this doctrine never existed until a little over 100 years ago.)

(5) Ultimate reconciliation.

 What do they all five have in common? Three things come to our mind:

(1) They all appeal to the flesh, the carnal mind. They are all part of the “popular theology” of today.

(2) They all tend to dispel the truth of the fear of God.

(3) They all are instigated by the enemy, i.e. serious deception.
For more on the fear of God, see Chapter 5: Discernment and Chapter 11 of Volume 4: “Let Us Go On.”

All of Jeremiah 13 is applicable to the current church world. Let us look at only half of that chapter.

15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God, before He cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.
18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.
19 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.
20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
24 Therefore I will scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from Me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten Me, and trusted in falsehood.
26 Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.
27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be? Jeremiah 13:15-27

In verse 15, PRIDE is stated as a big pile of rubbish that must be set aside. Pride is evidenced in the big mega-churches. I recently heard the pastor of one mega-church publicly exhort “his” flock of thousands to make the “_________” Church great. He also stated that “their” church was the premiere church in the United States. God, help us! If that is true, then we are ALL in BIG trouble! NO mega-church will ever be great, except perhaps in the eyes of carnal men.

As in verse 17, above, the Lord’s flock is carried away captive. As I sat and groaned at the “sermon” by the pastor of the mega-church referenced above, I wept inwardly for the 2,000 or so who sat there and for the other 6,000 who undoubtedly heard the same message at each of their other five Sunday morning services. What a tragedy for so many people to receive NOTHING in the way of spiritual food! The sad part is that many of those present probably never knew there is something better! They have been fed a steady diet of smooth words by a smooth-talking, polished speaker, who has NOTHING to say! I also feel sorry for those pastors! One day they will face the judgment of God. It is better to be no pastor at all than to lead thousands down a path that leads to nowhere!

This is a day when the Lord says to spiritual Israel (including Spirit-filled Christians) that which the prophet Isaiah prophesied 2,712 years ago:

8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:

9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:

10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Isaiah 30:8-10

Jeremiah also prophesied of the current state of the Church:

A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? Jeremiah 5:30-31

WHY Is the Church in Her Current State?

Only the Lord knows all of the reasons why the Church is in the current state. We want to share a few of those reasons that we have been allowed to see. Let us look at the Exodus. After Joseph died, there arose up a new king over Egypt which did not know about Joseph (Exodus 1:8). The new Pharaoh, fearful of the increasing numbers of the children of Israel, afflicted the Israelites more and more with their burdens (Exodus 1:9-11).

12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:

14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour. Exodus 1:12-14

Let us also remember that the children of Israel sojourned in Egypt for 430 years (Galatians 3:17) and were in bondage in Egypt for 400 years (Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6). In other words there was NO bondage for the first thirty years. Now in 400 years, a number of generations (at least three) arose and died.

And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. Exodus 2:23

The significant question is, “Why did the children of Israel wait 400 years before they cried out to God?”

We also should note that eighty years BEFORE the children of God cried out for His help, the Lord had already begun preparing Moses to be their human deliverer (although it was the Lord through Moses who was the REAL Deliverer).

Why did the children of Israel wait 400 years before they cried out to God? Again, only the Lord knows. Let us remember, however, that of the original Israelites who were first in bondage, NOT ONE WAS STILL ALIVE. So after several generations, ALL of the Israelites had grown up in Egypt in an environment of bondage and captivity. They DID NOT KNOW ANYTHING DIFFERENT! For some time period, they must have thought that was just the way things were supposed to be. It is the same in the Church today!

When I first bought a pair of eye glasses, I remember saying to myself, “WOW! I never knew that things look this sharp!” I had grown, gradually over a period of years, to think that the somewhat fuzzy way that everything looked was NORMAL!

We have a granddaughter, now seven years old, who apparently was born with a defect in her eyesight. When she watches television, she sits up VERY close to the set. When she reads a book, she puts her face VERY close to the book. She has NEVER known anything different! She probably thinks that she is perfectly normal because she has never known anything else. (Recently, her parents took her to an eye specialist at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. The specialist said, in effect, that there was nothing that he could do for her and that glasses would not help. My wife and I believe, VERY strongly, that the Lord is going to heal her eyesight at such a time when she, herself, will be able to give the glory to God.)

Christians today have grown up in a religious environment such that they THINK that everything is normal! We have just described that environment, complete with its “good” religious systems, the lack of power, entertainment, the “selling” of the word of God through books and tapes, ministries for hire, and on and on ... an environment in which every man once again does that which is right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). Christians today have read all the books, heard all of the preachers, lead comfortable, respectful lives, and DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE MISSING!!! Christians do not see anything “wrong” with modern day “church” practices. The really sad part is that the vast majority of true Christianity are good people who really love the Lord to the degree that they know. Lord, give us spiritual eye glasses! Lord, anoint our eyes with eye salve that we may see!

Therefore, the Lord is raising up a modern day Pharaoh to afflict the people of God once more. The Church once more is in bondage and captivity (see also Chapter 7: The Prophetic Nature of Scripture). The children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt for 400 years before they cried out to the Lord for deliverance. HOW MANY YEARS WILL IT BE BEFORE THE CHURCH TODAY CRIES OUT TO GOD FOR DELIVERANCE? How much affliction, suffering, persecution, bondage, and captivity will it take before the Church today cries out to the living God for His deliverance?

Another reason for the tragic state of the Church today is, we believe, the prominence given to “modern day” translations of the Bible, such as the NIV (New International Version) and the New American Standard. Just in case you do not believe that, I strongly urge you to read a book by Ken Bennett called, “Why Would God Write Two Bibles?” Don’t take my word for it. Read the book for yourself and decide for yourself. I will be happy to mail you a copy, absolutely free. It is inconceivable that Satan would NOT try to infiltrate the very written word of God. Not too long ago a brand new Christian (less than one month in the Lord) told me that she had compared parts of the gospel of John in both the NIV and the King James versions of the Bible. She said that she could not believe how the NIV had watered down the word of God. She said that the NIV seemed to be written by someone in kindergarden with a crayon. If a new-born babe in Christ can see that difference, how is it that Spirit-filled Christians of many long years can NOT see the same thing? The Holy Spirit, NOT any man, showed her the truth about different versions of the Bible. The enemy has blinded the eyes of far too many older Christians. The watered down versions of scripture have, among other things, contributed greatly to the lack of the fear of the Lord. For more on the fear of the Lord, see Chapter 5.

In addition, Satan has managed to discredit or downplay the role of apostles and prophets. Far too many churches function on a purely democratic basis. This is just one of MANY examples of how the enemy has introduced mixture within the Church. Scripture says that MANY (Christians) are weak and sickly because they do not discern the Lord’s body (1 Corinthians 11:29-30).

God's Response to the Apostasy

At the same time, God in His great grace and mercy, is already preparing deliverers. They will be unveiled by the Lord of hosts as soon as the Church cries out to God! God is not asleep. God has always left Himself a witness. He has always left a remnant.

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 

Jeremiah 3:14

And so God has all the while been preparing this remnant, the Elijah company, the Joseph company, overcomers, the man child, the tenth of the tenth. He has scattered them into the wilderness and has refined them as silver is refined in the fire. He has used suffering of all different kinds to press his remnant into Christ. And He has a timetable for the true to emerge. Only the Lord knows when that time is. But surely that time is close at hand. Only the Lord knows who these people are. Almost EVERY charismatic Christian believes that they are part of this remnant. That is part of the great deception. Numerous scriptures as well as the witness of the Holy Spirit say differently.

One characteristic of the Elijah company is that they will trouble all Israel because of the apostasy of the church. Darkness hates the light.

And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? 1 Kings 18:17

Another major characteristic of the Elijah company that the Lord is raising up is that those who have been elected (or those who have qualified) will make NO outward claim to being in such a company. BEWARE if you see a group of people who CALL themselves by that name! If you hear about someone claiming to be part of the Elijah company, BE VERY WARY! The true Elijah company consists of a FEW good men, who will have the same characteristics as Jeremiah, who was a type of Christ. Both Jeremiah and Jesus were rejected by their own. Both foretold and wept over the coming captivity and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Jeremiah was mocked, persecuted, and made a reproach in the eyes of his fellow Jews; he was accused of political treason, tried, and imprisoned. Jeremiah is sometimes called the “weeping prophet,” but Jeremiah NEVER wept for himself or for his sufferings. He wept because of the love of God which he had in his heart for backslidden Judah. Jeremiah at one point said,

7 O Lord, Thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.

8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.

9 Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. Jeremiah 20:7-9

Jeremiah was obedient to speak and do that which the Lord told him for 40 long years ... without a single convert! The word of the Lord through Jeremiah went unheeded; he was slandered and humiliated ... a man acquainted with grief. The only men who really befriended Jeremiah were an Ethiopian eunuch, named Ebed-Melech (Jeremiah 38), Ahikam (Jeremiah 26:24), Gedaliah (Jeremiah 39:14), and Baruch, his faithful secretary (Jeremiah 36:4-32). No wonder that Jeremiah was about ready to give up; he saw NO fruit of his ministry. His ministry was very lonely; he led a life of solitude; he stood alone as God’s spokesman. The Lord even told Jeremiah that he was not to marry (Jeremiah 16:2). All of the other “prophets” were prophesying peace and safety, which is what the people wanted to hear. But the word of the Lord was in his heart as a burning fire; he was a man driven by his love for the Lord and his love for His people. He did not merely speak FOR God; he identified with Him. He did not merely speak TO the people; he identified with them (Jeremiah 14:7).

What were the sins of the people in the time of Jeremiah? They had much wickedness, they had forsaken the Lord, burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands (Jeremiah 1:6). They went far from the Lord, walked after vanity, and became vain (Jeremiah 2:5). They would not acknowledge their iniquity of transgressing against the Lord; they scattered their ways to the strangers under every green tree; and they did not obey the voice of the Lord (Jeremiah 3:13). They had a revolting and a rebellious heart (Jeremiah 5:23). The word of the Lord was to them a reproach and they had no delight in it (Jeremiah 6:10). They had great pride (Jeremiah 13:9). Please note that ALL had transgressed.

Wherefore will ye plead with Me? Ye ALL have transgressed against Me, saith the Lord.

In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. Jeremiah 2:29-30

Only Jeremiah acknowledged the iniquities of the people; but he included himself in those who had sinned against the Lord.

O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do Thou it for Thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; WE have sinned against Thee. Jeremiah 14:7

The hour in which we live is the same as in the time of Jeremiah. In this hour, the Lord has fanned the flame; He has stirred up the hearts of an Elijah company. The word that He has given to this company can be summarized by the word of the Lord to Jeremiah.

9 Then the Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth.

10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. 

Jeremiah 1:9-10

Note the four actions that most folks would call negative: to root out, to pull down, to destroy, and to throw down. In reality, there is NOTHING negative about removing that which is displeasing to the Lord! These four “negatives” must be accomplished before the two “positives” can be done: to build and to plant. It is like the verse in Nehemiah just before the wall around Jerusalem was to be rebuilt.

And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. Nehemiah 4:10

The bearers of burdens today are intercessors and their strength is decayed. WHY is their strength decayed? for the very reasons that are set forth in this book: lack of discernment, lack of vision, lack of knowledge, mixture with the world, and on and on. The rubbish has to be cleared away before the wall can be built on a sure foundation. In the natural realm, no one would ever consider trying to build a wall on top of rubbish; the same principle is true in the spiritual realm. Did anyone say, “What rubbish?” If so, please read this Chapter one more time!

The answer to the off-center tangents is also given in verses 18 and 27 of Jeremiah 13, as above: Humble yourselves ... repent ... and the Lord will give you light and life. The word of the Lord to the true Church today is the same as that given by John the Baptist and by Jesus Himself.

Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:2 and Matthew 4:17

If I did not know the end result, I would be tempted to flee to some remote, deserted island and wait for the final chapter to be written. In the natural realm, it looks hopeless. How in the world is the Lord going to bring about the end result that we all know must be? This is what the Lord told Habakkuk in verse 5:

Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you. 

Habakkuk 1:5

Now we know that the Lord is going to have His bride which is without spot or wrinkle. How is the Lord going to right all of the wrongs and bring His Church to the place of perfection that He desires? That is the topic of Chapter 10.

Yes, it is true that we ALL have fallen short of the glory of God. BUT GOD!!! Scripture is full of the failures of man but the successes of God.

And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers. Isaiah 30:20

Bread and water is the food of prisoners ... those who are in captivity ... in bondage. But God offers a way of deliverance! Where there is no way, Jesus is THE Way!

Chapter 2: The Feast Of Blowing Of Trumpets

Background

Leviticus 23 records seven feasts of the Lord, as given to Moses: Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, the sheaf of firstfruits, Pentecost, the feast of trumpets, the day of atonement, and the feast of tabernacles. The last three feasts (trumpets, atonement, and tabernacles) have not yet been fulfilled. Leviticus 23:24 states that the feast of blowing of trumpets is in the seventh month (October), in the first day of the month. This also corresponds to the first day of the civil year for the Jews.

The initial reasons for blowing the trumpets are given by:

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.

3 And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

4 And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.

5 When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.

6 When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.

7 But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.

8 And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets: and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generation.

9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

10 Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God. Numbers 10:1-10

So the four (initial) reasons for blowing the trumpets were:

(1) to call an assembly,

(2) to signal the journeying of the camps,

(3) to prepare for war, and

(4) to herald the celebration of the feasts themselves.

In addition, after Israel demanded an earthly king (about 378 years later) a trumpet was sounded when a king was anointed (2 Samuel 15:10, 1 Kings 1:34, 2 Kings 9:13).

The feast of blowing of trumpets is followed by the day of atonement, which occurred on the tenth day of the seventh month, and the feast of tabernacles, which began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and lasted eight days. The fulfillment of the day of atonement corresponds to the manifestation (or unveiling or revelation) of the sons of God as recorded in Romans 8. For a real revelation of the significance of The Day of Atonement, see the book by Marion Fretwell titled “The Day of Atonement: Proclaim Liberty.” (We will be happy to send you his book, free of any charge.) Also, see the discussion below about Gideon’s army.

Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. Leviticus 25:9

Note that Numbers 10:2 says, "Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them." Silver in scripture signifies redemption. As stated above, the silver trumpets for the feast of blowing of trumpets heralds the start of full redemption or the unveiling of the sons of God. The "whole piece" undoubtedly refers to the one true body of Christ. "Two" in scripture signifies difference. Bullinger says that if two different persons agree in testimony it is conclusive; otherwise two implies opposition, enmity, and division. Moreover, the two trumpets probably gave a different sound, else how could the Israelites distinguish between an assembly (Numbers 10:4) and an alarm (Numbers 10:5‑6)? Note also, in Numbers 10:3, "when they shall blow with them" (both of the trumpets). Some have indicated that the two trumpets signify the body and the Head. The two trumpets may also signify Israel and Judah, even though those two camps did not exist at that point in time. It may also signify Jew and Gentile. In any event, God is making "in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace" (Ephesians 2:15). 

Significance for Today

The major word that I believe the Lord is saying to His people today is "prepare ye the way of the Lord." In Isaiah 40:3‑5, we read:

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.

5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

We need to compare these verses with Isaiah 6:1‑3:

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.

Many years ago as I read Isaiah 6:1, I found myself reading, "In the year that king SELF died I saw also the Lord ..." Now Uzziah cannot be translated "self." But the Holy Spirit has a way of taking things out of context and putting them into context.

In Isaiah 6 we read of a voice which came from the temple. In Isaiah 40, the voice came from the wilderness. Isaiah 6:9‑13 clearly indicates that this voice from the temple signified a SCATTERING of the people of God as a result of the idolatry, rebellion, hypocrisy, humanism, etc. of Israel. They had a form of worship (in the temple) but denied the power thereof. The temple today represents organized Christianity. In Isaiah 40, the voice of him crying in the wilderness represents the start of the GATHERING of God's people.

This comparison between Isaiah 6 and Isaiah 40 is also seen in Hosea 2. Hosea 2:1‑13 represents the scattering. Hosea 2:14 declares God's select company to be in the wilderness; and the rest of Hosea 2 corresponds to the gathering, as in Isaiah 40. Notice that the Lord says, in Hosea 2:15, that He will give His remnant in the wilderness "the valley of Achor (trouble) for a door of hope." The Lord today has scattered His people into the wilderness for the same reasons as in Isaiah 6. But the Lord is using suffering, trouble, and difficulties of all kinds to press those in the wilderness into Christ. He is refining His people in the wilderness as silver is refined by the fire.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all quote the verses in Isaiah 40, EXCEPT they all say "the voice of ONE crying in the wilderness" (Matthew 3:1‑4, Mark 1:1‑4, and Luke 3:4‑6). Isaiah 40 was fulfilled the first time by John the Baptist. Jesus said (Matthew 11:14) that John the Baptist was Elijah which was for to come. But John the Baptist and Jesus were rejected by the religious elite of the day. So there awaits a further fulfillment of Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3 concerning the voice of ONE crying in the wilderness. Malachi 4:5 confirms that Elijah is yet to come "before the coming of the dreadful day of the Lord." That dreadful day has not yet come. That ONE voice crying in the wilderness will actually be a company of some number of believers. Only the Lord knows how many and who specifically will be a part of this Elijah company. This group of believers will constitute ONE voice, from the wilderness. Their unified message will NOT be as a result of conferring with one another. They will all get the word of God from the Source, directly.

George Warnock, in 1951, published an excellent pamphlet called "The Feast of Tabernacles." It is well worth reading. In this pamphlet, he shares his revelation of all seven feasts, with particular attention to the feast of tabernacles. Warnock states that the trumpet call in the feast of blowing of trumpets will be made by the five‑fold ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11. He says, "God is raising up His own ministers who shall sound the Trumpet with such clarity, that men will know the voice of God and the meaning of the voice, and they will prepare for battle. ... Ministries of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are being established in the Church, established moreover by God Himself, and their Trumpet‑call shall not go unheeded." That is standard teaching, but it has not yet been fulfilled. The Church has certainly NOT heard one trumpet call from those ministries. And there have been many more FALSE ministries than true. If anything, their trumpet call has definitely been unheeded. Each man seems to do what is right in his own eyes.

We need to recognize that the time of John the Baptist was a time of transition ... a transition from the dispensation of law to the dispensation of grace. The time of the new Elijah company is ALSO a time of transition ... a transition to the age of the KINGDOM. We are on the verge of the dawning of a NEW dispensation. And with a new dispensation, that which was divinely given in the previous dispensation is divinely set aside in the new dispensation. Abraham had THREE wives ... Hagar (the law), Sarah (the church age), and Keturah (the age of the kingdom). Keturah means to "turn into incense, as by fire." God is raising up a people who have been tried by the fire and turned into an altar of praise to our God. The new Elijah company will not necessarily consist of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor and teachers. Rather it will consist of people like Amos, who said,

14 I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit. 

15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto My people Israel. Amos 9:14‑15

So Amos was a herdman who followed the flock. By following the flock he could see all of them. He was a true shepherd. He had compassion on the sheep. He was genuinely concerned for their well‑being. He was also a gatherer of sycomore fruit. The sycomore, or fig‑mulberry, is a tree of great importance and extensive use in Egypt and Palestine. It grows fairly tall, has wide‑spreading branches, and provides an excellent shade. Therefore it is frequently planted by the wayside. The fruit grows directly from the trunk itself on little sprigs and in clusters like grapes. The value of these trees was so great that David appointed for them a special overseer, as he did for the olives (1 Chronicles 27:28). So the job of Amos was no trivial one. But Amos had proved faithful in a few things and the Lord gave him a bigger job ... to prophesy unto the people of Israel. And Amos did not let the Lord down, for Amaziah the priest of Bethel said to Jeroboam, king of Israel, "the land is not able to bear all his [Amos'] words" (Amos 9:10).

Many years ago my wife asked me to dig up a little seedling of a sycomore tree which was growing too close to our house. The tree was no more than three feet tall, with very few branches and leaves, and the thickness of its trunk was about the size of my thumb. Well I dug and dug and worked and worked trying to dig up that little seedling. The problem was that a sycomore tree has a very deep tap root and is very difficult to uproot.

And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. Luke 17:6

The sycamine is a variety of the sycomore tree. To pluck up by the root even a very small seedling of a sycamine tree is a very difficult task indeed. It would take a stick of dynamite to uproot a full grown sycamine tree. No wonder the disciples said, "Lord, increase our faith."

Significance of the Wilderness

Today, we personally know a number of mature ministries who are all in the wilderness. They have been tried by fire, tried through much suffering in a variety of forms, tried by a lack of (human) fellowship that is common to the temple. But they have been counted worthy by the Lord to suffer in His Name. They have found that the Lord Himself is sufficient for all of their needs. They have been chosen as a tenth of a tenth of believers. Many are called but few are chosen. It depends upon our response to God.

And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Malachi 3:3

As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise. 

Proverbs 27:21

The New American Standard says "the crucible is for silver." We are being tried in a crucible, in the wilderness. “So is a man to his praise” could be translated, “So doth a man put his praise to the test.” We are called to submit even to the heavy hand of the Lord. Certainly the Lord is waiting to provide for all of our needs in the wilderness: food (manna), water (Moses struck the rock), money (Matthew 17:27), healing, guidance, protection, and on and on. Lord, increase our faith! Because Christians have not trusted the Lord to provide for all of our needs, the Lord, in His grace, mercy, and love, will sovereignly bring about the necessary conditions where we will have no choice ... we will be forced to depend upon the Lord and Him alone. Our substitutes will be removed.

Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. Isaiah 35:6

Consider the example of Jesus. In Matthew 4:1, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” The wilderness is God’s proving ground. Notice, please, that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. So it is also with all of you faithful believers who are suffering in the wilderness. You have been led into your place of suffering by the Holy Spirit. Now when we are in the wilderness, our response to God leading us there is crucial. We can murmur and complain and just die in the wilderness, as did all of the Israelites (except two) when they came out of Egypt. Or we can patiently endure, just waiting for relief. Or we can be overcomers. Only YOU and I can make that choice. It is OUR decision. It is abundantly clear from Matthew 4 that Jesus was the prime overcomer. What happened as a result? Well, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Also,

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. Matthew 4:23

So it shall be with YOU as an overcomer. When the Lord blows the trumpet, there will be a new release of a healing ministry. This healing ministry will NOT be like what we have seen to date. It will be a complete healing of body, soul, and spirit. In addition, the message to be preached is the gospel of the KINGDOM. But that message will not simply be the best teaching ever heard; it will be a message accompanied by the power of God!

For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20

Gideon's Army

Gideon's army started with 32,000; was then reduced to 10,000; and finally reduced to 300, which is less than 1% of the original. The Lord said that by these 300 men He would deliver the enemy into their hands. And he did.

16 And he (Gideon) divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a TRUMPET in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.

17 And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.

18 When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. Judges 7:16‑18

Gideon is a type of the Lord. 

And the Lord shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. Zechariah 9:14

When the Holy Spirit signifies to blow the trumpets, the Elijah company (Joseph company, overcomers, a tenth of a tenth, the man child, etc.) will all blow their trumpets, as of ONE voice.

And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. Judges 7:20

The breaking of the pitchers so that their lamps would INSTANTLY be seen represents the manifestation of the sons of God. One possible translation of the manifestation of the sons of God, in Romans 8, is the UNVEILING of the sons of God. The word translated manifestation is "apokalupsis" and is the same word that is translated "revelation" in Revelation 1:1. This will be like a valuable work of art that has been covered with a veil by the Master painter ... to be unveiled at the time appointed by the Master. "The kingdom of God cometh not by observation" (Luke 17:20). God has been doing a hidden work in the tenth of a tenth. The lamps are in process of being prepared. And when the trumpets sound, the unveiling will occur, and the pitchers will be instantly shattered so that the lamps of God can be unveiled.

Behold, I will send My messenger, and He shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall SUDDENLY come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. 

Malachi 3:1

Preparation

Isaiah 40:3 says "prepare ye the way of the Lord." John the Baptist was to have been the fulfillment of preaching the word of preparation. But repentance is never a popular word ... so John the Baptist was rejected and executed. Mark 1:2 says,

As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.

So what kind of preparation occurred right before Jesus was rejected and crucified? It was a NATURAL preparation. On what we now call Palm Sunday, upon Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the people strewed their garments and palm branches and palm leaves in His path. Although there are many varieties of palm trees, what we see in scripture refers to the date‑palm. The date‑palm tree is very striking in its appearance ... upright and beautiful. The tree is very fruitful, its foliage is perpetually green, and its foliage grows very high, as if reaching upward toward heaven. It grows ever upward, even when loaded with weights.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he (John the Baptist) said unto them, 

O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. Matthew 3:7‑8

But there was no genuine repentance. There was no fruit, just branches and leaves. Even the common people were simply looking for a NATURAL king to deliver them from their oppressors.

But the preparation for the second coming of our King will no longer be purely natural; it must be a SPIRITUAL preparation. We must prepare His way in our HEARTS. There will still be garments, palm branches, and palm leaves, but there will also be the FRUIT of the palm tree, the fruit of the Spirit. We must prepare His way with the garment of PRAISE (Isaiah 61:3), wearing linen garments, the garments of His righteousness. "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree" (Psalm 92:12). The fruit of the Spirit must become a manifested reality.

Our preparation is to allow the Holy Spirit to mold us into that which He desires. Our attitude is critical. Sometimes I get the impression that we are an "I know that" Church. We have received so much (good) teaching and read so many books that "we know that." So we are no longer flexible and pliable in the Lord's hands. We have crystallized our doctrines, got it all down pat, searched the scriptures, and lead our own lives. We have built three tabernacles and here we stand. It is no wonder that after an initial spurt of growth, the real life of the Spirit departs from charismatic churches. From scripture, this initial testing period is twelve years. After twelve years, we manage to quench the Holy Spirit in our midst. We are running on our own steam, following our own traditions, having a great time, and never knowing that something is wrong. Our preparation can be characterized by the following two scriptures, although there are many, many more we could use.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. Micah 6:8

Now, are YOU chosen to be a part of this new Elijah company? Am I to be a part? If anyone asks this question, then there is some more refining that the Lord must do in that person's life. That kind of question focuses on man. But the IMPORTANT aspect is that God have His way ... that God's will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. We MUST identify with the heart of God. The pathway to the kingdom of God MUST go, sooner or later, through the valley of Baca ... the valley of weeping. (See Volume 4, Chapter 15.) Because if you have been allowed to see in some small measure the heart of God, His purposes, His ways, then you must weep at the current state of affairs in the Church. BUT GOD!!!

Final Word

For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 

1 Corinthians 14:8

The trumpet has been giving uncertain sounds for many long years. It is time for the trumpet to give a CERTAIN sound, a SURE sound, ONE sound. But this sound MUST be the sound of the Holy Spirit, and NOT the sound of man. Just as trumpets were used in the Old Testament to herald the anointing of a natural king, so will the feast of blowing of trumpets herald the second coming of the King of kings! It is time to "set the trumpet to thy mouth" (Hosea 8:1). For the fulfillment of the feast of blowing of trumpets is at hand!

May the Spirit of the Living God encourage those elect who find themselves in the wilderness in this hour! REJOICE! for your redemption draweth nigh!

Chapter 3: The Christian And Money

Shortly after the Lord sovereignly apprehended me, He emphasized two areas to me. The first was the sovereignty of God, by which I mean the direct dealing of God to man which does NOT come through other people. The Lord has chosen to deal with me in such a manner from the very beginning and still does so. The second area that the Lord has emphasized to me, from the beginning, has to do with our faithfulness with money, or material possessions. I am sure that the Lord is not through with me in EITHER area. I can only share that which I have received and experienced up to this point in my life.

It would be a very revealing exercise to search the scriptures to see how much of the Bible is devoted to money and our attitude toward the “mammon of unrighteousness,” as Jesus describes it in Luke 15. We might all be surprised at the multitude of scriptures devoted to the topic of money or material possessions. 

The lack of understanding of the place of money in the life of a believer is a topic that needs MUCH revelation. This is a word that few Christian ministers want to hear. The topic of money is a very uncomfortable subject with too many Christian ministers. Even the vast majority of so-called mature Christian ministers do not seem to understand what God desires for His people in their stewardship of money.

We are aware that this topic is one that needs to be carefully presented, with much wisdom from the Lord because it is SO easy to misunderstand. To the best of my knowledge I have spoken publicly about the topic of money only TWICE since the Lord apprehended me in 1967. However, it is time to be silent NO MORE about the things of the Lord. The Lord’s people have been seduced far too long from the truth of how a Christian should approach money matters. 

I have NEVER made much money in the 46 years that I worked in secular jobs. My wife has never worked except for a few short months at minimum wage in 1960. We put four children through college without borrowing money (one of our children went to a VERY expensive college for four years); we have hosted rather elaborate weddings for all three of our daughters; we have supported financially to a significant degree a number of our relatives; and the Lord has moved upon us to give a very large amount of our income to further His kingdom. The Lord knows this is NOT a boast! I only say these things to personally substantiate the ways and the faithfulness of the Lord. I have experientially verified and validated the word of the Lord in this area. I could write a book about just the specific occurrences when the Lord has opened the windows of heaven to bless us both financially and in other ways. 

The Current State Of Affairs

The spirit of Balaam runs rampant, unchecked in the church world today. Balaam was a prophet who dwelled in Midian and who was hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse the people of Israel (Numbers 22-24). Apparently, Balaam had made quite a reputation for himself and made a profitable living by “selling” his prophecies. Balaam had a strong self-will and went back to the Lord several times in an effort to reap a reward from Balak; but he DID have SOME level of relationship with the Lord because he ultimately would speak only that which the Lord told him to speak. The Israelites later slew Balaam. Peter speaks of Balaam as an example of those who walk after the flesh and are self-willed.

13 Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children;

15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 2 Peter 2:13-16

If a dumb ass speaks to you with a man’s voice, that will get ANYONE’s attention!

Jude likewise says,

Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. Jude 11

Please read all of Jude. Jude 16 says "their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage."

Suppose I were to tell you that I have a word from the Lord for you and that I will tell you what it is if you give me $100 (or ANY amount of money). Does that sound absurd to you? I sure hope so! Now what is the difference in principle between that scenario and charging you $25 for a Christian book? or charging you $125 to attend a “great” prophetic conference, where “important prophetic revelation comes forth at this significant gatherings [sic]” (quoted from one of many such real advertisements)? Let me state VERY clearly and EMPHATICALLY ... if ANYONE charges money to hear any kind of prophetic revelation, then I am NOT interested; it is too tainted with flesh. You can NOT mix the ways of the Lord with the ways of the world! Oil and water do NOT mix! If someone wants to charge $25 for a secular book on art or politics, that is fine. However, the last time I checked, the word of God is free. The Apostle Paul said,

What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. 

1 Corinthians 9:18

The prophet Micah said,

The heads thereof (of the houses of Jacob and Israel) judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us. Micah 3:11

It seems that far too many ministries, ordained by God, have never learned that our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). So they proceed to "help God out" when it comes to their income. About one year ago I heard of one ministry that charges $2000 to pray for someone! And far too many ministries "sell" the word of God and have become materially rich thereby. Far too many ministries beg and plead for their audiences to give them money. Some friends of ours said they stopped going to a big Assembly of God church when they passed the collection plate four times during one service. Meanwhile the Lord grieves and waits for us to repent in order to bless us in ways which FAR exceed our imagination! How do I know? been there, done that. I know from the word of God and from personal experience!

EVERY time that the word “lucre” is used in the Bible, either directly or indirectly it is called “filthy.”

For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. Titus 1:10-11

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. 1 Peter 5:2

Do you remember the very FIRST thing that Jesus did upon His entry into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday? He went into the temple of God, cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of them that sold doves (Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:11, Luke 19:45, and John 2:15). 

The Jewish priests taught the people that only Jewish currency was fit for worship, so the money changers made a very profitable business for themselves, exchanging Roman money for Jewish money, and vice versa, making a nice profit at both ends. Doves were a necessary part of sacrifice under the Jewish law. So why did Jesus overthrow the seats of them that sold doves? Because they were preying on the people to make money for themselves.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10

Some have noted that a better translation may be: “For the love of money is a root of all evil.” Actually we tend to believe that THE root of all evil is SELF. Money, per se, did not exist for about 3,300 years; but surely evil existed before money came into existence. Money, however, is certainly a huge driving force behind the desire to exalt self.

6 He [Amaziah] hired also a hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.

7 But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim.

8 But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.

9 And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this. 2 Chronicles 25:6‑9

There were those like Amaziah, and like Ananias and Saphirra in Acts 5, who just did not understand the ways of the Lord when it came to money. Unfortunately, there are many believers today who likewise do not understand. Too many times believers take advantage of other believers in their excessive charges for services given as well as in under paying or not paying for services received. This grieves the Lord. 

One of our experiences involved, some number of years ago, a plumbing problem that seemed to require about 30 minutes of work. We found a plumber who claimed to be a Christian, and so we hired him to fix our problem. We never asked what his price would be because we had a witness of the Spirit to give him $100, simply to bless him. After a few minutes, he said that he forgot to bring a certain tool with him, so he called his son and asked his son to bring the tool over. His son took more than 30 minutes to bring the tool. Meanwhile, the Christian plumber did no work. When the plumber completed the job, we asked him what we owed him. He calculated his total time to include his wait for his son and presented us a bill of $100. We said nothing and wrote him a check for the $100 (for his 30 minutes of actual work). So the man got the same amount of money that we had predetermined to give him, but he probably never knew about the blessing of the Lord that he lost in the process. In addition, we never asked him to do any more work for us.

On another occasion, many years ago, we asked a Christian piano tuner to come to our house to tune our piano. We never asked what his fee would be. I was at my secular job when the man came to tune our piano. My wife, Linda, asked the Lord how much to give the man for his services. The Lord told her to give the man fifty dollars (which today, because of inflation, would easily exceed the equivalent of $100). When the man finished tuning the piano, Linda started to write a check for fifty dollars. The man, obviously upset and agitated, said, “Wait! Wait! I haven’t told you yet what my fee is! My fee is $35.” Linda replied, “I asked the Lord what I should pay you; the Lord said to give you $50. Is it all right with you if I write the check for $50?” The man looked shocked! but of course he accepted the check for $50. We hope that the man learned that we can trust the Lord in all things.

The incidents above are only two of very many similar events that we have experienced (there have been a few exceptions). We are sure that you have your own experiences to share.

Then there are those who have a very legalistic approach to things involving money. Many years ago, the Lord gave me a dream about a certain brother. In the dream, it was obvious that this brother had a real hang‑up in things pertaining to money. I never would have believed that the brother had such a hang‑up because I am essentially positive that the same brother tithed his income. But man looks on the external appearances while God looks on the heart. I believe that the Lord gave me that dream so that I could pray for that brother in a very specific way. Some believers legalistically give in order to receive back for themselves. The following two verses are certainly both true, but it is our approach to verses like these that make a difference.

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

I have shewed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

Perspective

Sometimes it is hard to see the forest because of the trees. Let us read what the word of God has to say about the place of money or material possessions.

As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. 

Jeremiah 17:11

A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. 

Psalm 37:16

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. Psalm 37:21

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalm 37:25

6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. 

Psalm 49:6-13

1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually.

5 God shall likewise destroy thee forever, He shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living.

7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. Psalm 52:1, 5, 7

Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Psalm 62:10

15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

16 They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;

17 They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.

18 They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them. 

Psalm 135:15-18

Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Proverbs 23:4

A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. Proverbs 28:20

23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24

In the parable of the sower, Jesus said,

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. Matthew 13:22

NATURAL RICHES CAN BE DECEITFUL! They can choke the word sown in your midst. Riches, or the lack thereof, will turn your head. They can cause you to fall back on your natural-level reasoning.

Many years ago, a prophet of the Lord told me of a real experience he had while traveling with another brother on a train. His friend said, “I sat up all night on the train in coach class and saved the Lord’s money.” The prophet responded, “I got a good night’s sleep in the Pullman sleeper and saved the Lord’s man.” The moral of the story is that we have to consider our priorities. God can manufacture more money faster than the United States federal government does! If you belong to the Lord, then you are worth far more that any amount of money. We need to use His money that He has entrusted to us in ways that will further His kingdom and glorify His Name.

Where Does Money Come From?

Make NO mistake! Every good and perfect gift comes from the hand of God, either directly or indirectly.

For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 

Psalm 50:10

Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 5:19

... for all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee.

... 

O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build Thee an house for Thine holy name cometh of Thine hand, and is all Thine own, 

1 Chronicles 29:14,16

Whatever riches we receive come from the Lord.

16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 

James 1:16-17

Our Attitude Is The Key

It is NOT possible to understand the truth of God concerning money without first laying a firm foundation. It is our ATTITUDE, the state of our heart, that MUST be correct before we can understand what the Lord is after with respect to money. When Jesus was tempted by the Pharisees and Herodians concerning tribute money, Jesus replied:

Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. 

Mark 12:17

It is quite important never to mix the two. The things that are God’s do NOT mix with the things that are Caesar’s. Yes, today we live in a world that still requires tribute to Caesar. If the Bible dictionaries are correct, there was NO coined money in Israel until after the Exile. Before this time exchange of values took place by bartering, by trading one thing for another without the exchange of money. Although there is some dispute, most historians believe that the earliest money pieces came into existence about 700 B.C. in the small kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. In any event, it seems a certainty that coined money originated with heathen nations. Jesus said:

9 Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? Mark 16:9-11

Let us reflect on those verses long and hard! As a minimum, that seems to tell us that we need to know how to appropriate the use of money in a Godly manner.

It is true that today we can seldom avoid the use of money to buy and sell. HOWEVER the time is approaching, QUICKLY approaching, when we can no longer buy or sell. You don’t want to even THINK about the alternative!!! With the start of the EURO dollar in January 2002, it is just a question of time before the United States follows suit and NO man can buy or sell without using the world-wide money system. 

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:17

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Revelation 19:20

Therefore it is IMPERATIVE that we understand the truth of God concerning money and that we allow the Holy Spirit to develop within us the right attitude toward money.

The big faith and prosperity teachers have seduced far too many Christians concerning money. Oh, what they preach has a small element of legalistic truth. You can find scriptures that SEEM to support what they preach. But Christianity does NOT consist of following rules and laws. Moreover, Christianity does NOT consist of blindly following what some “faith” preacher interprets (wrongly) as the word of God.

As long as I am motivated by “what do I get?” or “what’s in it for ME?” I am in big trouble. Our attitude should NEVER be self-seeking.

Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth. 1 Corinthians 10:24

I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38

Freely ye have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8

Yes, it is true that if I give FREELY to others, then I will receive a much bigger blessing in return from the Lord; but ONLY if my attitude, my motivations, and my heart are correct. Note the word “freely.” As long as I am self-seeking I will greatly hinder the Lord’s blessings in my life. We also need to understand that after we give freely to others, the greater blessing that we will receive may not necessarily consist of money. For example, is salvation a blessing to you? How about good physical health? or a loving family? or children and grandchildren who come to know the Lord?

We know a Christian young man who came to us many years ago and said that he had given away X amount of money but had not received X to make up for it. Unfortunately, his motivation for giving was to receive. Even Abram needed some refinement in his understanding. After defeating the four “good” kings and rescuing Lot,

1 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.

2 And Abram said, Lord God, what will thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? Genesis 15:1-2

Could this immature attitude have been part of the reason why Abram had to wait another 15 years for the promise of God which came in the person of Isaac?

Jesus said,

33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:33-34

44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common.

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. Acts 2:44-45

A few years after the Lord apprehended me, I wrote and cashed in a $10,000 whole life policy that my parents had taken out for me when I was 21. The life insurance agent who had sold my parents that life insurance policy was a good friend of my parents. I also knew the man fairly well. He was a prominent person in a Methodist church. After he got my notice (which included my personal testimony as a born-again believer) to cash in the policy, he wrote me a letter. He strongly tried to discourage me from cashing in the policy. He told me that EVERYONE knew that after the disciples sold all their possessions and had all things in common, they quickly saw the error of their ways and went back to normal individual living. What a distortion of scripture by the enemy! Of course what that life insurance agent did NOT tell me was that he was receiving a cut out of each of my insurance premiums and he did not want to lose the money for himself.

Our motivation, our attitude, must NEVER be to make money for our own empire or for things it can buy. Money and “things” can never satisfy man. Why? Because the Lord has so designed us that only He can satisfy and fulfill us. This is why carnal man is driven to seek out more money, more power, more possessions, believing the deception that more will surely satisfy.

A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him. Proverbs 28:20, 22

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 1 Timothy 6:9

Our motivation, our attitude, must always be:

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

Paul told Timothy (and all of us),

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate. 1 Timothy 6:17-18

When a woman poured expensive ointment on the feet of Jesus (Luke 7:37 and John 12:3) and on His head (Matthew 26:6 and Mark 14:3), some asked Jesus,

4 Why was this waste of ointment made?

5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on Me.

7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but Me ye have not always. Mark 14:4-7

Why has the Lord ordained that we should always have the poor with us? One reason could be to teach those who have been entrusted with more to be led by the Spirit in giving to those who have less. However, there is never any substitute for seeking the direction of the Lord in all of our actions. We always need to ask the Lord and be led by His Spirit. 

But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

Please note that the second “that” is in italics in the King James version, which means the word “that” is not in the original Greek text. In other words, we can translate the verse as:

But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. 

Hebrews 11:6

So to come to God we MUST believe that He IS, but we do NOT have to believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. He IS a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, but I should NOT be motivated by whether or not He will reward me. I seek Him simply because He is worthy!

One final word concerning our attitude (although undoubtedly there are MANY more) ... Paul said,

5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 1 Timothy 6:5-8

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Philippians 4:11-12

Please note that Paul said he had LEARNED to be content in whatsoever state he was. Godliness with contentment does NOT come naturally; it must be born of the Spirit within us.

What About The Tithe?

The first mention of a tithe occurs in Genesis.

And he [Abram] gave him [Melchizedek] tithes of all. Genesis 14:20

Please note that the tithe is first mentioned BEFORE the law was given through Moses. Please note also that at that time there was no such thing as money as we know it today. Money did not exist in Israel until after the Exile; i.e., around 500 B.C.) So the tithe consisted of animals, foodstuffs, herbs, etc. The Lord told Moses:

Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. Deuteronomy 14:22

Therefore it should be no surprise when Jesus said:

But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Luke 11:42

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 

Matthew 23:23

Jesus said that tithing has its place, but that there are weightier matters than simply tithing legalistically of your material substance.

Jacob likewise said to the Lord,

And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. Genesis 28:22

How generous of Jacob! Lord if you give me $50,000 a year, I will give $5,000 back to you. 

Furthermore,

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Malachi 3:8

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:10

There are those who quote the verses in Malachi 3 in an attempt to mentally and emotionally coerce believers into giving them money. This approach is commonly mixed with preaching a prosperity doctrine. Such, of course, are false teachers.

Some have said that the practice of tithing is never mentioned in the New Testament. That is basically correct, except for the times when Jesus addressed the Jews who were still trying to abide by the law. We believe that the tithe is part of the LAW, which has its purpose.

The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:24

We have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19

Should a Christian tithe? YES! but only as a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ ... UNTIL the day dawn, and the day star arise in our hearts concerning the proper attitude toward money. There is a place for taking heed and taking heed and taking heed. But unless you see what the Lord is REALLY after then all of our taking heed amounts to little more than walking in the law. Whenever you KNOW that EVERYTHING that we are and EVERYTHING we have belongs to the Lord, then the law has no more purpose. The law of the tithe is designed to bring us to the Spirit of the tithe, wherein we can freely give whatever the Lord says to give. Please remember that the Spirit of the tithe (Genesis 14:20) existed BEFORE the law of the tithe. Moreover, the tithe, in our modern-day churchianity, has come to mean 10% of our income ONLY. What about our TIME? Should we also give 10% of our time to the Lord? How many Christians (other than “full-time ministers”) devote two hours and twenty four minutes a day to the things of the Lord? (I have a feeling that if we Christians devoted an equal amount of time to the things of the Lord that we spend on sports, television, entertainment, etc., then the Church would be in a far better place today.) Then we have “arguments” that exist as to whether the 10% of our income should be before or after taxes are deducted from our pay checks. That very question came up during an elders meeting in the house church in Annandale-Springfield, Virginia, around 1972. Anyone who asks that question does not yet see the Spirit of the tithe.

For those who may not yet see the Spirit of the tithe, did anyone say, “But if I tithe I will not be able to pay all of my bills”? Then we suggest that you get rid of your cable television, your internet fees, and other non-essential expenses, and get a supplemental job. It is a matter of PRIORITIES! What is more important? obedience to the Lord or the entertainment of the flesh?

In the days of the house church in Annandale-Springfield, back in the late 1960's and 1970's, we had a guiding principle with respect to the corporate distribution of money from the church. We almost NEVER gave money to any minister who asked for money. We preferred to provide financial support for those whose heart was more pure.

Have you ever heard anyone say, “You should pay tithes where you are fed”? Many churches like to state that saying in order to extract more dollars from the “flock.” If you are going to abide by the legalistic tithe concept, then that is a reasonable statement. What do you do, however, if you are fed by the LORD, not by man? And where does that leave being led by the Spirit? What if the Lord leads you to send money elsewhere on occasion?

But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you .. 1 John 2:27

Many years ago, a precious brother in the Lord, who was also an accountant and prepared tax returns for many people, made the following observation. He said that he had noticed that when people had very few charitable contributions on their tax returns, they had a lot of other expenses, like medical bills. He also said that when people had a lot of charitable deductions, then they had very few other expenses. In other words, he said that the tithe belonged to the Lord. Either we could voluntarily tithe or the Lord would take it some other way. Perhaps there was a lot of truth in his observations, but what about those believers who give a tithe or more and never claim it on their income tax return? There are always opportunities to move into the more excellent ways of the Lord in any area. None of us have arrived.

The Proper Use of Money

So what should our approach be to the mammon of unrighteousness? It starts (and ends) with the Lord Jesus.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favour rather than silver and gold.

The rich and the poor meet together: The Lord is the Maker of them all.  

Proverbs 22:1‑2

We are not aware of any place in scripture which explicitly refers to a "gift of giving." Yet we believe very much that there is such a gift. Every ministry and every gift was and is embodied in the Person of the Lord Jesus. Jesus certainly demonstrated a gift of giving.

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich. 

2 Corinthians 8:9

We know several brethren who have such a gift. A few years ago I was talking with one brother with such a gift. He said that many years ago, a verse jumped out to him about giving.

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again. Proverbs 19:17

The brother was deeply impressed with how it could be possible to "lend unto the Lord," considering the fact that our God owns "the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Psalm 50:10). That is something worth pondering. Jesus gives an answer:

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. Matthew 25:40

1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:

2 How that in great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;

4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. 2 Corinthians 8:1‑5

And so God does not need and does not want our money. He wants YOU and ME!

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:20

Once we give ourselves to the Lord, everything else, including the gift of giving will follow. If I am providing some service to you, I should do so as unto the Lord, with absolutely NO thought as to what, if anything, I might get from you in return. Likewise, if I am receiving some service from you, I should ask the Lord what I should give you and be obedient with joy. For example, a Christian plumber, when doing some plumbing project for another Christian, if asked what price he/she expects for the work, should say, “I will leave that entirely between you and the Lord.” And, of course, if one party is negligent, the other party should still walk uprightly, trusting in the Lord.

And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house, Nehemiah 10:38

Under the Old Covenant, the tithes were in the natural realm and consisted of animals, herbs, foodstuffs, etc. Under the New Covenant, the tithe of the tithes are the OVERCOMERS themselves ... those believers who follow the Lamb wherever He leads.

Now is there anything wrong with being rich? Not if the Lord makes you rich, and, by the on-going work of His Holy Spirit, you lay hold of His Kingdom principles, which produce a faithful steward. However, if the Lord makes you rich without your seeking riches, then the Lord has a reason. You MUST ask the Lord how He wants you to use the riches! Scripture indicates it takes a far greater work of the Lord for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God.

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than foe a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Mark 10:24-25

The camel was (is) the largest animal found in the Holy Land. The vivid contrast between the largest animal and the smallest opening represents what, humanly speaking, is impossible. BUT!!!

And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. Mark 10:27

Genesis 13 is the first place that wealth is mentioned in the Bible. Abram had riches (Genesis 13:2) but the riches did not have Abram. Moses, likewise, esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt (Hebrews 11:26). Solomon asked for wisdom, not riches, and it pleased the Lord to bestow riches upon him also. Abram’s eyes were on the promises, while the things of earth grew strangely dim. Abram had flocks but the flocks did not have him. Lot also had flocks (Genesis 13:5) but the flocks possessed him. It is a terrible thing when a Christian is possessed by his possessions. If riches are honestly obtained, held as belonging to God, and used by us as good stewards, they are right. But if they are falsely gained and/or held and used for unrighteous self, they are wrong. Lot’s riches were the occasion of strife (Genesis 13:7-8). Since he represents a believer he will have to learn by losing them all. A faithful God will see that they are taken away from him.

Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Proverbs 23:4

May we share an illustration from first hand knowledge. Many years ago a woman was cut out of her father’s will because she was a Christian. She and her husband did not know of this until the reading of her father’s will after his death in 1986. Her father was a very wealthy man, just like the king of Sodom, but was possessed by his possessions, just like Lot. Her rightful inheritance from her father’s estate would have easily exceeded one-half of a million dollars, but that never happened. One of the woman’s brothers told her that their father “was afraid that she might give away his empire to the ‘church’.” So her father cut her out of his will. Now there is no greater “hurt” than to be rejected by your father. This was also the greatest agony that Jesus experienced. Just prior to the death of Jesus on the cross, Jesus became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), and sin cannot be in the presence of God. This is why Jesus cried on the cross, “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). At that instant Jesus experienced the rejection and separation from His Father, something He had never known before.

Around the same time period when the woman had been cut out of her father’s will, her husband experienced a similar situation, but on a much smaller scale, involving a few tens of thousands of dollars. He recognized that it had been an oversight on the part of his employer; and he knew that if he had gone to his employer and explained the situation, then his employer would have restored the money; but he decided to say nothing to any man and to simply trust the Lord. In recalling this series of events I am reminded of the principle first illustrated by Abram, in Genesis 14:23, and how no man can say that they have made this couple rich. They have the true riches ... Christ Himself ... and He is quite sufficient.

In the world, many musical “artists,” including vocalists, authors, fine art painters, craftsmen, etc., have made millions of dollars through their gifts (talents). So it has seemed “normal” for Christians to pursue the same method of making a lot of money. But the Lord never intended for His gifts to be mixed with the ways of the world. For in so doing, the pure gifts of the Lord become polluted by the world. We need to realize that the world recognizes the outstanding beauty of the Lord’s gifts through believers (although they do not recognize the Source of those gifts). Therefore the world is waiting with open arms to incorporate the Lord’s gifts into the world’s system for profit.

And they transformed the beauty of His ornaments into pride, and they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them.

And I shall give it into the hands of the foreigners as plunder and to the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will profane it. Ezekiel 7:20-21  

(New American Standard)

The Lord hates mixture and His judgment will prevail. That is why the people of God are told time and again to come out of her (the worldly system) that we might not partake of her judgment.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. Isaiah 52:11

My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord. Jeremiah 51:45

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 2 Corinthians 6:17

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 

Revelation 18:4

Beloved, there is a more excellent way. We have not been given gifts by God just to use them in the same manner that those in the world use their gifts with the corresponding monetary rewards! Certainly we should all seek the Lord as to how HE would have us to use the gifts that God has given to each one.

Yes, we are aware that,

For the Scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The laborer is worthy of his reward. 1 Timothy 5:18

But we need to be very careful here. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). I do not find ANY scripture that says that we should TAKE! The Scripture does NOT say that we are to extract money from our fellow believers! The attitude ... the motivation ... is CRITICAL! I should be MORE than willing to share with you that which I have received with NO thought on my part as to what I may get in return. We believe that the word of God is free! Any ministry, in whatever form it expresses itself, whether preaching, teaching, intercession, healing, deliverance, books, tapes, music, etc., should be freely shared with no thought of “what do I get in return?”

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 1 Timothy 6:9

15 And He [Jesus] said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

16 And He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou has provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.  

Luke 12:15-21

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43 And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury.

44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Mark 12:41-44

No serious Christian could ever doubt whether or not Jesus provided for that poor widow’s material needs the rest of her life on earth.

When Jesus and His disciples were at Capernaum, they that received tribute money (fifteen pence per person) asked Peter whether Jesus paid the tribute. When Peter in turn asked Jesus about the tribute money, Jesus said,

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for Me and thee. Matthew 17:27

With respect to money, consider the global economic crisis, the steep fall in stocks world‑wide, the move in Europe to use the Euro dollar as the common currency (which materialized in January of 2002), and the swift merger of banks in the United States. Alan Greenspan once stated that “there is no end in sight to the global economic crisis.” I heard a news report a few years ago that Americans lost 1.5 TRILLION dollars in the stock market in just a few months. That loss was but a shadow of the paper loss of the big stock market slide in the summer of 2002. Headlines in the October 8, 2002 USA Today newspaper read: Market Carnage Hits $8.4 Trillion. You do not need too much imagination to see the rush toward a common world‑wide banking system, where those who do not accept the mark of the beast can no longer buy or sell (Revelation 13:16‑17).

So what should be the believer’s mind‑set concerning this imminent economic problem? Start saving a lot of money? Take whatever money you have and hide it in your house? Hardly! “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). Once more we come back to the critical aspect of our attitude ... our motivation ... our heart. The ways of the Lord are ALWAYS right! The ways of the Lord ALWAYS “work!” Let us read what Jesus had to say about what we should do concerning our approach to material possessions.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

. . .

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.  

Matthew 6:19-21, 24-34

Some Practical Aspects

Scripturally, God designed for the man to be the primary breadwinner in a family (Genesis 1:17-19). Obviously there are exceptions. Pre-nuptial agreements have no place in the life of a Christian husband and wife. Part of the love of a man for his wife includes his provision for her natural, material needs. The man (or woman, if single) should be diligent to provide financial support for the family, as the Lord opens up the appropriate doors.

But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than in infidel. 1 Timothy 5:8

... if any would not work, neither should he eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10

He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him who is a great waster. 

Proverbs 18:9

We see no problem with the use of credit cards PROVIDED the man controls the credit card and the credit card does not control the man. In other words, we strongly suggest that if you use credit cards that you pay the full amount each statement without accruing the horrendous fees and interest that credit card companies charge. We MUST learn to live within our means! NO one can spend more than they receive. Paul said,

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 

Philippians 4:12

In times of lower income, we must adjust our life style. We must be good stewards of that which we have received.

What about life insurance? The answer to that is simple. Whatever the Lord says to you, do it; and according to your faith, be it unto you. I am NOT avoiding the issue! Personally, I have not had any life insurance for 33 years; but it is a mistake to be dogmatic and/or legalistic about life insurance. After Abram had rescued Lot from the “good” kings, the king of Sodom came to Abram with a request.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre: let them take their portion. 

Genesis 14:21-24

In other words, Abram said he COULD not and WOULD not impose on the young men the same beliefs that he [Abram] had concerning material possessions. Abram recognized that the young men might not be able to walk in the same place that he walked. The big modern-day faith teachers should take heed to this!

Another practical aspect concerns buying a house. Should a Christian go into debt to buy a house? Paul said,

Owe no man anything, but to love one another. Romans 13:8

Some have interpreted that verse to mean that we should pay cash for everything, including a house. What about those who are not able to pay cash for a house? (which must be at least 95% of all Christians). We tend to look at buying a house as an investment. It is not the same as an item with no continuing value. However, we should ALWAYS live within our means. Moreover, there are THREE overriding considerations. First, whatever He saith to you, do it. There is NO substitute for hearing the voice of the Lord on ANY matter! Second, be it unto you according to your faith. What is right for one person may be wrong for another person. Third, be prepared, in your heart, to walk away from any and all material possessions (including a house) if need be.

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him who is on the house top not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 

Matthew 24:15-18

At the time of the Exile, during the ministry of Jeremiah, the Lord said,

43 And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord. Jeremiah 32:43-44

We believe that a solid principle when giving money to another ministry (we are ALL ministers) is to do so secretly, if at all possible.

1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily, I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:1-4

Whenever you give money to another ministry openly, some ministers will tend to come back for more. In addition, an open gift tends to create an atmosphere of bondage on the part of the giver or receiver. The receiver may feel like they “owe you” something.

Most churches today “pass the offering plate” or equivalent. A few churches have an even more demonstrative procedure where all may see who does and who does not contribute. I would never question the sincerity of the pastors who use such a procedure for collecting tithes and offerings, but that procedure appears to contradict the spirit of Matthew 6:1-4, as above. It may also tend to mentally and emotionally coerce, through feelings of guilt, more members of that congregation to tithe. What we give toward furthering the kingdom of God on earth should be done out of love for the Lord, not out of feelings of guilt. In the house church of which we were a part for about twelve years, we NEVER passed a collection plate. We simply had a basket in a somewhat obscure place where everyone could deposit whatever they believed the Lord would have them to give. We also never had a “paid” minister. Although I was never the treasurer, I believe there have been very few churches of any variety which received more per-capita tithes and offerings than we did in that house church.

A rather sticky situation is that some believers think that they are God’s gift to the Church and that they should not waste their time with any kind of secular job. They tend to believe that other Christians should support them financially. These same people are usually a source of much hardship to those who provide for them. Paul, of course, had a word regarding such believers.

10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.

12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

Paul followed his own advice. He said,

33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.

34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. Acts 20:33-34

Religious Contributions and Tax Deductions

This is undoubtedly the most controversial aspect of this chapter on “The Christian and Money.” This is an area that VERY few Christian ministers want to hear, whether they are in a denominational church, an independent non-denominational church, or a charismatic house church. Let us state our thesis very clearly. We see NO place for the Christian, whether individually or corporately, to itemize tax deductions for contributions to religious organizations. When Abram paid tithes to Melchizedek he did not ask for a tax receipt. This whole issue can be resolved by a church group not adopting a “name;” for without a name you cannot get a bank account or an IRS tax-deductible number. See Volume 5, Chapter 11 on “Names” for more insight on this topic. Jesus said,

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. 

Matthew 6:3

At tax reporting time, what does the typical Christian do? He sits down with all of his tax deductible receipts from religious organizations in the left hand and enters those as deductions on a tax form with the right hand. So the left hand knows EXACTLY what the right hand is doing! Jesus said,

Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. Matthew 22:21

As we stated earlier, don’t ever mix them up. In other words, we do NOT render unto Caesar the things that are God’s and we do NOT render to God the things that are Caesar’s. The things of the world do NOT mix with the things of the Lord! The Church today has very little power BECAUSE the Church has allowed all sorts of mixture to co-exist within its ranks.

Yes, I know the typical response: “But it is perfectly legal to take a tax deduction for contributions to religious organizations. If I take the tax deduction I will have more money to give to the Lord’s work.” That response is a product of logical reasoning ... a product of the carnal mind. Did you forget that our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills? Did you forget that Jesus told Peter to go take up the first fish that comes up and you will find a piece of money in the mouth of the fish? The little bit of money that you “save” as a result of taking a tax deduction is PEANUTS compared to that which the Lord is ready to pour out upon you if you walk in His ways. How do I know? from revelation, not reason; and from personal experience. I could go into GREAT detail about that last statement but I will not do so here.

I remember very vividly an elders’ meeting one Sunday morning about 27 years ago. There were quite a number of brothers from various other geographical locations at that elders’ meeting ... about 25 Christian men in all, supposedly all with some degree of maturity (at least enough to be called an elder). Very early at that meeting, a question arose as to whether the house church of which we were a part should renew its “covering” through an Assembly of God church in California in order to continue to have tax-exempt status. Some said one thing, others said another. Then one man, who was the treasurer of the house church said, “let me give you a background of what has happened in this area in this house church.” He proceeded to do so, including how the house church had initially received the “covering” in order to have a tax-exempt status. More debate followed about whether or not we should renew this tax-exempt status. Finally someone said, why don’t we pray about it right now? No one could argue with that. So several different men voiced prayers that the Lord would show us what to do about our tax-exempt status. After a few minutes, someone said to the group, “what did you hear the Lord say?” The responses were almost comical! Each person had “heard” the same thing they believed before we had prayed. There was still a disagreement. Finally, one man spoke up and said: “Let me share with you what I heard from the Lord. Here we have spent more than one hour with 25 men talking and debating about whether or not to renew our tax-exempt status. What I heard the Lord say was, ‘What does all of this have to do with the kingdom of God?’” There was silence in that meeting for what seemed like half an hour (but in reality was probably about one minute).

The problem, of course, is that Christian man is always trying to reason how we can DO more FOR God. But God wants to do more WITHIN us! Lord have mercy on us!

And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18

The End of the Matter About Money

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1

We cannot emphasize too strongly that it is our PERSPECTIVE, our ATTITUDE, our MOTIVATION that is key to our proper understanding of and stewardship of material wealth.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

If our attitude and motivation is in the right place, then,

But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Chapter 4: Reluctance To Change

Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. Jeremiah 48:11

Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria. 

Amos 6:1

Reluctance to change is widely accepted by the field of psychology as a phenomenon of people. Max Planck, who received a Nobel prize for discovery of the revolutionary quantum theory in physics, once stated:

This experience gave me also an opportunity to learn a fact - a remarkable one in my opinion: A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.

Christians are NOT immune to reluctance to change, which also is thoroughly documented in many scriptures. “We have always done things this way” is an often used expression, both in the world and in Christian circles. I have heard a number of rather mature ministries say, "I know God put me into this specific ministry in this place." My comment is "fine, I agree, but did God tell you to stay there forever?"

A striking example of reluctance to change is recorded in Acts 10 with Peter. The Lord had arranged for Peter to visit and preach the gospel to Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian band. Up to that point in time, Peter was convinced that the good news was only for Jews. Peter also believed that no good Jew should ever eat anything that was common or unclean. After all, that was the law as given through Moses. Peter had a vision, or trance, of a certain vessel descending unto him, like a great sheet let down to earth, wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. Then Peter heard the voice of the Lord to him, saying:

13 Rise, Peter; kill and eat.

14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. 

Acts 10:13-16

When the messengers from Cornelius knocked at the door, the Spirit told Peter to go with them. The end result was that Cornelius and all of his house were saved, baptized in the Spirit, and baptized in water.

As with most topics, we do well to look at the life of Jesus on earth, as recorded in scripture. The religious elite of the day branded Jesus as a reactionary, a revolutionary, a heretic. FIVE times, in Matthew 5, Jesus said:

Ye have heard ... But I say unto you ... Matthew 5:21, 27, 33, 38, 43

The religious elite of the day bristled as they heard Jesus say things that seemed to be contradictory to the law, as given through Moses. When Jesus was healing people, working all sorts of miracles, and feeding people with natural food, He was generally well-received, at least by the common people. However, the religious elite of the day objected strenuously when Jesus healed anyone on the Sabbath day because that was contrary to “their” law.

Jesus also came saying some words hard to be understood. His words were greatly MIS-understood. The major turning point in the ministry of Jesus on earth is recorded in John 6. In that chapter, Jesus said some things that NO man understood.

35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.

41 The Jews then murmured at Him, because He said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. John 6:35, 38, 41

Note in John 6:41 that the Jews murmured at Him. From there, Jesus went on to say some even harder words.

53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.

56 He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him.

60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, He said unto them, Doth this offend you? John 6:53, 56, 60-61

Now note that in John 6:60-61 His disciples murmured at Him. The more that Jesus spoke in the spiritual realm, the more opposition arose. SO IT IS TODAY!!! As a result,

From that time many of the disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. 

John 6:66

We believe that it is NOT a mere coincidence that many of the disciples went back or left Jesus in John 6:66. The carnal man, with his natural reasoning, sooner or later must depart from the Lord and from His ways.

A MAJOR characteristic of our walk as Christians is (or at least SHOULD be) change. There is nothing static about Christianity. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever; but we BETTER be changing! (For another example of change, see Volume 5, Chapter 10: Church Government.)

How do we change? By looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith ... by being obedient to the Holy Spirit.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

The closer you walk with the Lord ... the more you allow the Holy Spirit to reveal His Truth to you ... the more you allow the Holy Spirit to change you into His image, the more you will be misunderstood and the more difficult it will be for you to try to explain to others what you have experienced. Any one who really seeks only the will of God is a person who marches to a different drummer. That person will be marked as “different.” People do NOT like to be branded as “different.” There is a price to pay to walk on with the Lord. That walk took Jesus to Calvary. It will take you to that same cross, not necessarily physically, but spiritually. Are you really willing to pay the price? If so, a crown of glory, rather than a crown of shame, awaits you. Salvation is FREE, but it cost the life of Jesus. To enter into the Kingdom of God is NOT free ... it will cost you YOUR self life. Count the cost VERY carefully! May that love relationship we are honored to have with Christ propel us into fulfilling His purpose within us. “No turning back, no turning back ...”

Chapter 5: Discernment

Perhaps the greatest lack in the Christian world today is lack of discernment. The starting text for this Chapter is in Ezekiel 44, which describes two type of priests. Please keep in mind that these verses have a CURRENT and FUTURE prophetic fulfillment as well as a past historical fulfillment.

10 And the Levites that are gone away far from Me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from Me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.

11 Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them.

12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up Mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity.

13 And they shall not come near unto Me, to do the office of a priest unto Me, nor to come near to any of My holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. Ezekiel 44:10-14

Christianity today has MANY such priests, who have ministered unto the people before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity. The scripture says that they have committed abominations. However, the Lord says that He will still use them to minister to the house. What grace and mercy!!!

The second type of priests, the sons of Zadok, are discussed in Ezekiel 44:15-31.

15 But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister unto Me, and they shall stand before Me, to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God.

16 They shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table, to minister unto Me, and they shall keep My charge. Ezekiel 44:15-16

. . .

And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. Ezekiel 44:23

. . .

And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. Ezekiel 44:28

In verse 28, above, the Lord says that He is the inheritance and the possession of the priests, the sons of Zadok. This is PRECISELY what the Lord had told Abram: “I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1).

The verse in Ezekiel 44:23 has NOT yet been fulfilled. To confirm that statement all you have to do is look at the tens of thousands of Christians who have been pulled in to one off-tangent “movement” after another. We have described in numerous places, in several different Volumes, the off-tangent “movements” of submission, discipleship, faith and prosperity, “apostles and prophets,” mega-churches, the ecumenical “movement” and on and on. (Also see Chapter 1 of this Volume.)

Jesus said,

I am come in My Father's name and ye receive Me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. John 5:43

Charismatic Christians flock by the tens of thousands to hear the false apostles and prophets. In some cases charismatics even pay $125 (or $175 after the pre‑registration date) to hear these false apostles and prophets. Of course they get a good "deal" of only $75 for their spouse! How tragic! The spirit of Balaam once more runs rampant in charismatic circles.

The same believers who flock after the false apostles and prophets run the other way when a true prophet appears. In the Old Testament, the people hated to see the true prophets coming, because they knew it signaled a threat to their carnal way of life. Darkness never likes light. Many years ago a true prophet of the Lord came to our area a number of times. We were the only people who would house him, but we did so with great pleasure! I remember dozens of nuggets of gold that he shared, informally, with my wife and me in our living room. I will never forget all of the truth that he shared. So my wife and I were greatly blessed and received a prophet's reward; the other believers received little.

Consider Jonah and the people of Nineveh. I know of no reason to suspect that the people of Nineveh represent Christians; but when Jonah, who came from hundreds of miles away and preached "yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown," they repented. Today, the voice of true prophets is largely ignored by charismatic Christians. Christians today seem to be saying,

Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Jeremiah 30:10

Let us return to the key verse.

And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. Ezekiel 44:23

In the BEST of charismatic circles, we have done a fairly good job in teaching the difference between the holy and the profane. Clearly, based on the fruit in evidence, we have NOT caused the Lord’s people to discern between the unclean and the clean. The fruit, as stated above, are the thousands of Christians who have been tossed to and fro from one off-tangent “movement” to another. NEVERTHELESS, this verse MUST be fulfilled ... with or without you and with or without me. Fulfillment of Ezekiel 44:23 requires five separate, but related, works of the Spirit.

(1) Christians need to see the NEED for discernment. Unfortunately, the masses who are caught up in so many off-center movements and tangents do not know what they are in. They have grown up in an environment which embraces many traditions of man and assume everything is ok because “everybody is doing it.”

(2) Christians need to earnestly pray that the Lord will raise up the priests, the sons of Zadok. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy will be done.” Ezekiel 44:23 contains a part of His will. It can NEVER be wrong to pray that the will of the Lord be done!

(3) The sons of Zadok, themselves, must be raised up. The Lord is not asleep! He has 7,000 more that we do not know about. He has been preparing His chosen vessels in the wilderness. (Recently my heart leaped with joy when I found another one of those 7,000. I have rarely been so excited in my spirit.)

(4) The sons of Zadok, themselves, must have discernment. You can pass on to others ONLY that which you have received. From my limited observation, some ministers who THINK they have discernment are going to be surprised one day.

(5) There must be an openness on the part of the Lord’s people to HEAR and RECEIVE from the sons of Zadok. From my limited observation, that openness does not currently exist, except to a limited degree. For FAR too long, the Church has been listening to whatever soothes the soul and emotions ... don’t rock the boat ... keep everybody happy ... have some nice programs for everyone ... keep the money coming in. As it was in the Old Testament with apostate Israel, so it is today. Sugar-coating the word has accomplished very little. Is it time for the Word of Truth to be spoken?

Let us first go back and look at the natural priest, Zadok, whose name means “righteous.” Zadok, the son of Ahitub, was one of two priests who helped David (2 Samuel 8:17). Zadok also helped bring the ark to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:11-13) and supported David against Absalom (2 Samuel 15:24-36). Zadok was also a prophet (2 Samuel 15:27).

Zadok had one son ... Ahimaaz. The name “Ahimaaz” means “brother of anger” or “brother of closed eyes.” Ahimaaz was one of two young men appointed by David to bring him news of Absalom after Absalom had usurped the kingdom from David. David said to Hushai:

Behold, they [Zadok and Abiathar] have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear. 2 Samuel 15:36

After Joab killed Absalom (2 Samuel 18:14), Joab told Cushi to go tell David what he had seen (the death of Absalom). Cushi had NOT been one of the two young men appointed by David to be a messenger. After Joab had thrust three darts through the heart of Absalom, who had usurped the kingdom from his father, David, Ahimaaz came to Joab. Ahimaaz asked Joab THREE times to let him run also to bear tidings to king David. After all, Ahimaaz must have thought, that is my calling and function.

19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies.

20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead.

21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.

22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?

23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.

...

27 And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.

28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. 2 Samuel 18:19-23, 27-28

Ahimaaz had not seen anything ... he had not experienced anything. Ahimaaz was in a hurry to run even though he was not prepared; he ran before the Lord’s timing in his life. Note also that Joab twice told Ahimaaz that he was not to run, but Ahimaaz insisted a third time; so Joab finally said, “All right, go ahead and run!” The Lord will let us have our way if we insist long enough. He had nothing to say, except, “All is well.” But all was NOT well!

Note that Cushi, who was appointed by Joab to run (verse 21) and tell David what he had seen, first bowed himself to Joab. In so doing, Cushi showed both humility and respect for authority. Ahimaaz showed no such respect; he just ran. There are MANY so-called prophets today who have no respect for authority and have little humility. Please note that having respect for authority does NOT necessarily mean that you are a “card-carrying member” of some named Christian church. You can have your name on the roll and still be quite rebellious.

Note also that Ahimaaz overran Cushi; Ahimaaz brought his tidings to the king first. Please re-read Chapter 5 of our Volume 4: “Let Us Go On,” which gives scriptural evidence that the false emerges before the true. False discipleship emerged before the true; false faith emerged before the true; false apostles and prophets emerged before the true. Christians have been far too eager to accept that which comes first to tickle their ears.

There is a great object lesson with Ahimaaz. Even though Ahimaaz had a calling and a function, he had SEEN nothing. So it was not yet his time to run. A precious brother in the Lord went to be with the Lord last year. He was two weeks short of being 104 years old. His real ministry did not begin until he was 70 years old. The ministry of Moses did not begin until he was 80 years old. We must minister out of what we have seen and heard. That was the message of the Apostle John.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

. . .

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1, 3

There is another truth to be gleaned from Ahimaaz. From scripture, Zadok had only ONE son ... Ahimaaz; but Ezekiel 44:15 speaks of the sons (plural) of Zadok. Verse 23 of Ezekiel 44 says THEY (plural) shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In 574 B.C., during the time of Ezekiel, there was ONE son; in these last days, the Lord is raising up a COMPANY of sons to fulfill that prophecy. It is the same with Elijah, who is yet to come. We make no distinction between the Elijah company and the sons of Zadok.

The important point is NOT who is going to be a part of the company of deliverers (Obadiah 21) that the Lord is raising up. The ONLY thing that matters is that the will of the Lord be done ... that He might be glorified.

A major prerequisite for discernment is given by Malachi, during a time of great apostasy of the nation of Israel.

16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.

17 And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels [or special treasure]; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. Malachi 3:16-18

Verse 16 speaks of two prerequisites of returning: fearing the Lord and speaking often one to another (or thinking upon His name).

But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13

In verse 17 the Lord says that He will spare those who have met those two prerequisites and that they shall be part of His special treasure [the remnant, the Elijah company, etc.]. Verse 18 says, “then shall ye return.” Return from where? Return from the spiritual bondage and captivity that we have gradually slipped into. Then verse 18 says that those who meet the prerequisites shall discern between the unclean and the clean. 

NO ONE is going on in the Lord without the proper fear of the Lord made real within him. The enemy knows this; therefore the enemy distorts many scriptures to try to dispel the fear of the Lord. Most of the “modern” translations change the word “fear” of the Lord to “respect” or “reverence.” That kind of change is a tragedy! (We should NOT fear anything or anyone EXCEPT the Lord Himself. Please see Volume 4, Chapter 11 for more on the fear of the Lord.)

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is Mine honour? And if I be a master, where is My fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise My name, And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Malachi 1:6

But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. Malachi 4:2

In Chapter 1 we spoke about the need for healing in the body of Christ. The verse above gives the prerequisite for healing ... the fear of the Lord. May His Son arise upon us!

The fear of the Lord is also the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10). Let us consider Solomon, whose heart was so “right” when he first became king (although he was still involved, unknowingly, in mixture, according to 1 Kings 3:1-3). The Lord appeared unto Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask, what I shall give thee” (1 Kings 3:5). Solomon’s response was:

9 Give therefore Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this Thy so great a people?

10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

12 Behold I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

14 And if thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 1 Kings 3:9-14

Note that a wise and understanding heart is intimately related to the ability to discern between good and bad or to discern righteous judgment.

Most of you have seen a bumper sticker that says, “Wise Men Still Seek Him.” Well, wise men still ask the Lord for discernment, even as Solomon did in verse 9, above. Have you ever asked the Lord for His discernment?

Chapter 6: Prophets And Prophecy

The Ministry of a Prophet

A prophet is a gift from God to the people. The Hebrew word translated as “prophet” is nabi, which is derived from a verb which signifies “to bubble forth” like a fountain. So nabi, scripturally, means one who announces or pours forth the declarations of God. The Greek word translated as “prophet” is prophetes, which scripturally signifies one who speaks for God and so interprets His will to man. There is NO conflict between the scriptural use of the Hebrew word nabi and the Greek word prophetes. We see NO functional difference between the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament prophets. Isaiah, for example, spoke forth BOTH the judgment of God AND the mercy, compassion, and comfort of God to His people. It is the grace and mercy of the Lord and His great love for us to give us (the body of Christ) prophets as well as EVERY ministry.

And He gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Ephesians 4:11

A prophet is the man, himself. You cannot separate the man from the ministry. As an illustration, one of the very first prophecies spoken over my wife was that she had a ministry of blessing. For a few years she thought that meant that she should go around to other believers, lay her hand on their shoulder or head, and say, “I bless you in the name of the Lord.” Then one day the Lord told her that is NOT the way it is. You ARE the blessing to others, even if you never say a word!

God gave the ministry of a prophet (as well as apostles, evangelists, pastors and teachers):

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; Ephesians 4:12

We have found no counterpart to the following two verses in scripture concerning apostles, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

Saying, Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no harm. 

1 Chronicles 16:22

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7

To be complete, however, apostles and evangelists are mentioned only in the New Testament.

Pastors and prophets are on two opposite ends of a spectrum, different in MANY ways. A pastor is primarily tuned horizontally ... to people. As such, a pastor must have the God-given ability to relate to people. A prophet is primarily tuned vertically ... to the Lord. A true prophet is one who has been shaped by the Lord to see what the Lord is after, hear the word of the Lord, understand the ways of the Lord, identify with His will, identify with the people, and speak for the Lord to the people. A false prophet, such as the prophets of Baal, has NO real personal relationship with the Lord.

Unfortunately, the ways of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, tradition, complacency, etc., have dulled the spiritual senses of too many believers. So the ministry of a prophet is still needful today ... perhaps more so that at any time in history, due to the urgency of the hour in which we live.

That Prophet

The Lord told Moses,

The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto Me; unto Him shall ye hearken. Deuteronomy 18:15

Ever since that time, the Jewish nation has been looking for That Prophet. When John the Baptist ministered on earth, the priests and Levites asked him,

Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. John 1:21

Of course, we KNOW that The Great Prophet is none other than Jesus Christ our Lord. In the book of Hebrews, we are admonished,

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

The scripture says that the joy was set BEFORE Him; in other words, something to be received after Jesus fulfilled His ministry on earth. Paul said something similar:

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24

Characteristics of a True Prophet

Let us be very clear. NO MAN is perfect! But when the Lord ordains and forms a true prophet who can be used by God, that ministry MUST have much of the nature of Christ worked within. That usually takes time. How is it possible for ANY one to be persecuted, mocked, laughed at, go through all kinds of suffering and affliction and STILL have the joy of the Holy Ghost? It is ONLY possible through the power of the Holy Spirit, Who has worked the nature of Christ within that prophet.

The ministry of a prophet is undoubtedly the most controversial of all ministries. Indeed,

For Jesus Himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. 

John 4:44

In the Old Testament, as well as throughout history, the Lord raised up a prophet whenever Israel lost their vital relationship with the Lord. The same is true for the time in which we live. So a prophet is rarely popular with the people. It is a lonely walk. It is also a walk filled with persecution and suffering.

Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. James 5:10

7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

8 The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God. Hosea 9:7-8

A prophet is one who, in times of apostasy, troubles all Israel (the Church). This was true of Elijah and will be fulfilled again in these end times by the Elijah company that the Lord has been raising up.

And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? 1 Kings 18:17

The Church today does not want to be troubled. Believers today want to hear smooth words. The Lord told Isaiah:

8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:

9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:

10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Isaiah 30:8-10

However, the Elijah company that the Lord is raising up MUST speak the word of the Lord.

The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy? Amos 3:8

Jeremiah, after years of being mocked and NO ONE heeding his message, almost despaired and was on the verge of giving up, but he said:

Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. Jeremiah 20:9

So it is in these last days. Christians like a popular theology ... peace, prosperity, financial blessings, etc; but the Lord has stirred up the hearts of a FEW good men who are beginning to speak the word of the Lord to His people ... a word which is not popular. Will there be a repeat of the following verse?

For they that dwell at [spiritual] Jerusalem, and their rulers [pastors and elders], because they knew Him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets, which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning Him. Acts 13:27

A prophet, in addition to having received the gift of prophecy, frequently may work miracles (Moses, Elijah, Elisha, etc.) or interpret dreams (Daniel). In addition, a word of knowledge or a word of wisdom frequently accompanies the ministry of a prophet.

This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is a sinner. Luke 7:39

How Many True Prophets Are There?

If we are to believe all of the reports from supposedly Spirit-filled Christians, there must be tens of thousands of prophets (perhaps even hundreds of thousands) in the United States today. WHY has there been such a multiplication of the number of “prophets?” That is easy to answer ... it is part of Satan’s master plan. For several years the world has adopted the phrase “born again.” There are “born again” businesses, “born again” this, “born again” that. Why? to try to make the REAL experience of being born again by the Spirit of God into something that is common and part of the world ... to belittle and trivialize the miracle re-birth. In like manner, Satan has managed to get multitudes of Christians to call themselves “prophets” in order to make common and trivialize the true prophets. Jesus said that MANY false prophets would arise and deceive many (Matthew 24:11). The result? Christians can no longer distinguish between a true prophet, a wanna-be prophet, and a false one. The ministry of the true prophet has been effectively diminished.

A number of years ago, a true prophet told me, “You can take all of the apostles and prophets in the United States, put them in your dining room, and have plenty of room left over to set the table [for a meal].” Incidentally, my dining room is VERY small!

Abraham, Moses, and Samuel were all true prophets. The Old Testament contains the writings of sixteen prophets, sometimes called the four “greater” prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel) and the twelve “lesser” prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi). In addition, Aaron, Nathan, Gad, Ahijah, Hanani, Jehu, Elijah, Elisha, Shemaiah, Iddo, Oded, John the Baptist, and Agabus are specifically called prophets. A few prophets in the Bible are not named, and we are not concerned with all of the false prophets. That totals 32 who are named prophets in the Bible, not counting Jesus, who is That Prophet ... not too many for a period of more than 4,000 years. Please compare that to our current time, when there must be, according to reports, more than 40,000 “prophets” in considerably less than 32 years. Do you get the message?

What About Female Prophets (Prophetesses)?

Recently, the Lord has sovereignly allowed me to come into contact with a number of females, of varying ages, each one of which claims (apparently) to have a prophetic ministry. Certainly there are any number of females who appear to have a gift of prophecy; but are there female prophets? 

In scripture, seven women are called a prophetess; none are called a prophet. Two of these seven women are clearly called false prophetesses ... Jezebel and Noadiah.

My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear. Nehemiah 6:14

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 

Revelation 2:20

The other five women who are called a prophetess are Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), the (unnamed) wife of Isaiah (Isaiah 8:3), and Anna (Luke 2:36). All five come under the Old Covenant, prior to the time of Jesus on earth. I have found no record of a female prophet (or prophetess) under the New Covenant. Please remember, this has NOTHING to do with the gift of prophecy.

The (unnamed) wife of Isaiah is called a prophetess but there is no record in scripture that she ever said anything. The only thing recorded about her is that she bore a child to Isaiah. We have believed for many long years that a husband and wife should have a ministry together, as one. Therefore, the wife of a prophet generally is a prophetess, not because of what she says or does but simply because of her relationship to her husband.

Miriam is called a prophetess (perhaps because she was the sister of Moses and Aaron and never married?). Miriam’s recorded activities are two-fold: (1) she sang a very short song, in Exodus 15:20-21, and all the women (no men) went out after her with timbrels and with dances; and (2) she murmured and complained against Moses, in Numbers 12:1, and God made her leprous.

Huldah did prophesy once (in 2 Kings 22:15-20, which is repeated in 2 Chronicles 34:23-28). The circumstances for her prophecy was that Josiah, king of Judah, had commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shapan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shapan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king to:

Go ye, enquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us. 2 Kings 22:13

Please note that Josiah did NOT tell those five men to go and ask Huldah to enquire of the Lord. But that is what they did, in 2 Kings 22:14. Could they have gone to commune with Huldah because none of them were capable of enquiring of the Lord and because there was not a prophet of the Lord in Judah at that time?

Deborah seems to have played a slightly more prominent role than any other prophetess mentioned in the Old Testament (see Judges 4:4-14 and Judges 5:1-15). The scripture says that she judged Israel at the time that Jabin, king of Canaan, mightily oppressed the children of Israel, who had done evil in the sight of the Lord. Deborah also prodded Barak to go to fight with Sisera, the captain of the host of Jabin. We can only speculate whether or not no man had accepted the challenge and so the Lord used Deborah.

If we look at the three verses in Luke 2 that speak about Anna, we see that she “served God with fastings and prayers night and day;” she “gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”

Again, there are 32 named prophets and five named prophetesses in scripture. The sheer numbers speak for themselves. The roles played by the prophetesses, in general, are not as visible as those the Lord chose to be prophets. However, I must recognize the sovereignty of God in that He can use a female to speak to His people in the function of a prophetess. Some quote the verse, “[in Christ] there is neither male nor female” (Galatians 3:28) as “proof” that a woman can “do” or “be” anything that a man can do or be. I totally disagree with that logic. Certainly, prophetesses seem to be the exception rather than the general principle. When the Lord chose the first twelve apostles, why didn’t He choose a woman? Then we would have no controversy. As a general principle, the Lord seems to have ordained for men to be in the more prominent, visible positions in the Church. For more insight into this area, see pages 24-27 of Volume 1: The Love of a Man for His Wife. The Lord has HIS order in all things.

How Do True Prophets Arise?

A number of prophets (?) have schools of the prophets where lots of new prophets are being trained. If you believe that prophets can be trained by men, then you are in TROUBLE! (I have adopted that phrase from a TRUE prophet in his recent letter of admonition to the church). You CANNOT teach or train anyone to be a prophet! Ministries such as prophets are given by God ... foreordained from before the foundation of the world ... shaped by the hand of the Master Potter through many sufferings, trials, and conflicts ... ALL designed by the Lord to mold that man into his calling as a prophet. Listen to what the Lord told Jeremiah.

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 

Jeremiah 1:5

The Lord orders ALL of the circumstances and experiences of EVERY ministry to help to mold us into the person and ministry He desires us to be. NO amount of effort on our part will EVER re-form an eye into a foot. NO amount of laying on of hands or of prophesying over a person will make that person into a prophet. About 24 years ago, one local elder called me and asked if I knew that Sam (not his real name) recently had received prophecy to the effect that Sam was a prophet. I said, “No, I was not aware of that.” Inwardly, however something else flooded my mind. I knew that Sam could NEVER be a prophet unless the Lord, after 60 years of molding Sam to have pastoral qualities, dramatically and radically altered Sam’s entire disposition.

As we stated in Volume 4: “Let Us Go On,” Chapter 19, there are now and always will be more Elishas than Elijahs. Elisha, a true prophet, had a double portion of working of miracles, but he did not allow the working of God to transform his inner nature as did Elijah. The working of signs and miracles is NOT proof of a genuine prophetic ministry.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Matthew 24:24

The Ministry of a Prophet Compared With the Gift of Prophecy

First of all, let us make perfectly clear that there is a DISTINCT difference between the ministry of a prophet and the gift of prophecy. From my observations, there is a widespread lack of understanding within the Church of this difference. Six times in the New Testament, Paul says, “Brethren, I would not that ye be ignorant.” Let me repeat ... the ministry of a prophet and the gift of prophecy are NOT THE SAME. The distinction between a gift and a ministry is clearly indicated in Romans.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching. 

Romans 12:6-7

In addition,

4 And there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 And there are differences of administrations [or ministries], but the same Lord. 

1 Corinthians 12:4-5

Further, all may prophesy but NOT all are prophets (1 Corinthians 12:29). Let us look at some verses in 1 Corinthians 14:

29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.

32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.  

1 Corinthians 14:29-32

We must remember that the entire book of 1 Corinthians is a letter of correction from Paul to the Church at Corinth. Chapter 14 is a word of correction concerning the use (or rather MIS-use) of the vocal gifts in their assemblies. Verses 29-32, above are a word of correction about the mis-use and overuse of prophecy in the assembly.

The gift of prophecy is to be DESIRED and may be received by all; but that gift is NOT received by all.

Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. 

1 Corinthians 14:1

However, you can desire to be a prophet all you want to, but it will not happen unless the Lord has ordained for you to be a prophet.

But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him. 1 Corinthians 12:18

Another good scripture to illustrate the difference between the ministry of a prophet and the gift of prophecy is given by Peter:

19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1:19-21

Scripture is PROPHETIC! It is prophecy ... prophecy about Jesus Christ; and it relates to all of us who are IN Christ. See Chapter 7: The Prophetic Nature Of Scripture for more detail on this topic.

For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10

Peter says that holy men of God (prophets) spoke forth the prophecy.

Functions of a Prophet

The basic function of a prophet is to see and hear the word of the Lord and proclaim what he has seen and heard to the people, as led by the Holy Spirit.

Although not everyone with a gift of prophecy is a prophet, all prophets should be able to prophesy. Let us also get away somewhat from our stereotype idea that prophecy consists of some words that are spoken. That may or may not be true.

Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Acts 3:24

The verse above clearly implies that some prophets do not speak with their mouth. The conclusion is that it is possible to prophesy by EXAMPLE or by your life.

At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. Isaiah 20:2

The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, in departing from the Lord. Hosea 1:2

The function of a prophet in an assembly of believers is to set forth or proclaim the word that the Lord desires to speak during that gathering. In other words, the prophet lays the foundation. That is the reason for 1 Corinthians 14: 29, above, which states, “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.” Verse 31, “For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted,” means that other believers may then prophesy, PROVIDED it is in the general framework of the word set forth by the two or three prophets. (I am NOT a dogmatic or legalistic person. I understand that God can do anything He wants to do, using anyone He wants to use. I am speaking about general principles.) In reality, from my experience and observation, far too many charismatic meetings are peppered with “popcorn” prophecy, usually of the variety of, “Oh how the Lord loves His people. You are doing everything right! All is well.” Whenever I hear that kind of prophecy, I grieve deeply. I remember distinctly a few meetings when there were TWO separate and distinct words flowing ... a carnal word from the flesh and a spiritual word from the Lord. It was like a seesaw with Christians prophesying on both sides.

Almost everyone is familiar with the verse in 1 Corinthians that seems to set forth the purpose of prophecy.

But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 1 Corinthians 14:3

Everyone is also familiar with the verses when prophets are used to foretell what the Lord will do in the future. One rather dramatic illustration of this came from the mouth of Elijah in a written form to Jehoram, king of Judah, because:

10 he [Jehoram] had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers.

11 Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.

12 And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

13 But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself:

14 Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods:

15 And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day. 2 Chronicles 21:10-15

The most interesting aspect of this prophetic writing from Elijah to Jehoram is that the writing came LONG after Elijah had been taken up by a whirlwind! How could Elijah write such a prophetic foretelling? We believe it was because Elijah had a word from the Lord AND because he had seen something set in motion. Suppose we consider any given rifle, whose characteristics are fully known. We could know the range of a bullet for any given elevation of the rifle. If the rifle were pointed in a certain direction, with a given elevation, we could accurately predict where the bullet would fall. Unless there is a miraculous intervention, that bullet is going to complete its course. The same is true of a bow and arrow. Elijah had seen something set in motion. He knew what the end result would be unless there was a sovereign intervention by God. This is a time when every thing is going to its own place. Water seeks its own level.

That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. Acts 1:25

And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. Revelation 12:14

He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. Revelation 22:11

However, another, often overlooked function of a true prophet is to set forth a higher vision of the Lord and his ways. It was, and still is, the grace of God to raise up prophets to SEE and hear a word from the Lord and to warn His people. Prophets were at one time called “seers.”

(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) 1 Samuel 9:9

The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jereboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. Amos 1:1

The vision of Obadiah ... Obadiah 1

The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Micah 1:1

The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. Nahum 1:1

The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. Habakkuk 1:1

The Lord told the prophet Habakkuk to

Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 

Habakkuk 2:2

“The Vision” is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ways. For more on “vision” see Chapter 8 of our third book, called “A Sure Foundation,” and Chapter 9 of this book.

How to Discern Between a True Prophet and a False Prophet

Jesus warned,

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:11

Note that Jesus spoke of MANY false prophets who shall rise. They shall all speak the same thing. The same was true with the prophets of Baal in the time of Elijah. In the time of Jeremiah all of the false prophets were speaking of peace and safety. Only Jeremiah spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem.

Now, how can you tell the difference between a true prophet of the Lord and a false prophet? Jesus said that false prophets will appear to be sheep, mild mannered, gentle, etc. So you can NOT discern the difference by outward observation or by your natural senses. It takes DISCERNMENT, which is given by God (see Chapter 5 for more details on discernment). You MUST have your senses exercised to DISCERN both good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). Just because someone speaks the truth is NO guarantee that they are of the Lord. A dramatic scripture for this fact is the following.

16 And it came to pass, as we [Paul and Silas] went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

18 And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. Acts 16:16-18

The damsel, possessed with a spirit of divination, spoke the TRUTH! Paul and Silas indeed were servants of the most high God; they indeed came to show unto the people the way of salvation. But the source of the information was a demonic spirit, not the Spirit of God.

Note that the soothsaying (prediction or foretelling) was motivated by MONEY! Soothsaying is somewhat akin to fortune-telling. I believe it is fair to say that any prophet who is motivated by money will, sooner or later, end up, like Balaam, either needing deliverance or as a false prophet.

Understanding the ways of the Lord helps greatly in discerning between true prophets and false prophets. For example, whenever ANY ministry who claims to be a prophet and who also charges money to attend their prophetic “conference” or charges money to hear the word of the Lord through their books, tapes, etc., then I would question its authenticity. Something is lacking in understanding the ways of the Lord. Another clue is when you see a large number of “prophets” all saying the same thing, as they did in the time of Elijah and Jeremiah. Now if prophets ALL get their message directly from the Head, then that is one thing; but when prophets get their message from each OTHER, through their network of “prophets,” then leave it alone!

Two examples of a modern-day message through false prophets are “All is well” and “you cannot miss anything because God loves you.” There are far too many “prophets” today who run ahead of the Lord, have not seen or experienced anything, and whose word is, “All is well.” One thesis of this book is that all is NOT well in the Church today (see Chapter 1). Only someone who has not seen or experienced anything can say, “All is well.”

As for the message, “you cannot miss anything because God loves you,” consider the following scripture.

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14

Yes, we KNOW that God has everything under control. Yes, we KNOW what happens in the final chapter of time. Yes, we KNOW that the Lord is going to have His spotless bride. BUT ... We can NOT just sit idly by and watch God work! We have a responsibility. Oh, we will “get to heaven” (if we are a born-again believer), but we will miss God’s best unless we cooperate with His Spirit. God loved the million plus Israelites who came out of Egypt, but only two of them, Joshua and Caleb, entered into the promised land. ALL of the 32,000 originally selected for Gideon’s army represent those who will “get to heaven.” But ONLY 300 of that number were a part of the real work of God. God loved the nation of Israel when they were in apostasy during the time of the judges and the kings, but the people missed God’s best.

Finally, a good approach is to observe the fruit of the ministry, if there is enough time for such observation. We can look at the FRUIT of the tree in order to recognize the type of tree. If we see an acorn, we know it is from an oak tree. Likewise, when we see someone who claims to be a prophet but who is involved with all sorts of mixture of the world, then we may have difficulty calling that person a prophet of the Lord. In the day of Elijah, there were MANY more prophets of Baal than prophets of the Lord. So it is today!

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. Matthew 7:16-17

He That Hath An Ear

Seven times in the book of Revelation, Chapters 2 and 3, once for each of the seven churches, we read:

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

From my personal observations and from the witness of the Holy Spirit, the Church has lost the vision it once had. The ministries of both the apostle and the prophet have been replaced by a democratic spirit which says, “I hear from the Lord just as well as you do.” There is, hopefully, an element of truth in that statement, but does the hand see as well as the eye? Does the foot hear as well as the ear?

There seems to be an increased emphasis on evangelism, or rather what folks CALL evangelism. This has come at the expense of praise and worship. The “seeker friendly” program, with a heavy emphasis on outreach, has had a huge impact on this out of balance condition. In addition, whatever happened to an emphasis on “Christ in you, the hope of glory?”

All charismatic churches would do well to earnestly pray that the Lord will raise up in your midst a prophet. Then when the Lord answers your prayer, you need to earnestly ask the Lord for His grace and patience to hear and heed that which the prophet says to you.

Let us consider two verses.

And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. Deuteronomy 34:10

For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Luke 7:28

Does that create in your mind a thought of apparent contradiction? Not if you consider that BOTH are true. If there are two equals, neither is greater than the other. Go back and read the two verses more carefully. Now let us expand somewhat on those two verses. Concerning Moses,

1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath He not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.

3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)

4 And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And the three came out.

5 And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

6 And He said, Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all My house.

8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?

9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and He departed. 

Numbers 12:1-9

Please note that Aaron is called a prophet in Exodus 7:1 and Miriam is called a prophetess in Exodus 15:20. Yet they were not afraid to speak against Moses. Their words remind us of the attitude that is prevalent in our charismatic churches today. Note also that Miriam became leprous after her presumptuous speaking, but there was no immediate action taken by the Lord against Aaron.

Jesus said, concerning John the Baptist, that he was Elijah which was to come. John the Baptist was not received, so there awaits a fulfillment of the Elijah ministry. Now let us consider some verses in the book of Revelation.

1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

3 And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

...

11 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts to one another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth. Revelation 11:1-6, 11

The characteristics of the two witnesses described in verse 6, above, clearly point to Elijah and Moses. We have no revelation as to whether or not they will literally be Elijah and Moses, whether or not they will be two men, or whether or not they will both represent a company of men. We are inclined to accept the latter ... a company of men ... because of other scriptures, such as Obadiah 21.

The major point we want to stress is that we are fast approaching the time described in Revelation, Chapter 11. In verse 1, above, “Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein,” the word “measure” signifies the judgment of God.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. 1 Peter 4:17

It is similar to the first four things that the Lord told Jeremiah to do:

See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. Jeremiah 1:10

Revelation 11:2 states, “and the holy city shall they [the Gentiles] tread under foot forty and two months.” This is also part of the judgment of God. The holy city, of course, is NOT a physical city. In scripture, a city represents those who come under the same rulership. The holy city represents the true Church ... the heavenly Jerusalem.

Revelation 11:3 states that the two witnesses will prophesy, clothed in sackcloth. Again, we do not believe they will be clothed literally in sackcloth. This speaks of the same meekness that characterized Moses.

Our major point is that the Lord is raising up His two witnesses (two prophets) who will have the characteristics of both Elijah and Moses. Will we recognize them when we see them? Do we have ears to hear the message that they will bring (are bringing)?

Lord Jesus, have mercy on us. Lord, circumcise our hearts and our ears and our eyes and our mouths that we might be sensitive to Your Spirit and truly follow You. Amen!

Chapter 7: The Prophetic Nature Of Scripture

Scripture is many things. It is the ONLY perfect history book. It is literature; it also contains songs. Jesus also expounds many parables in the Bible. The Bible is all true, written by holy men of God as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The scriptures speak about Jesus, both in the Old and New Testaments. But perhaps more than anything else, scripture is PROPHETIC. It is prophecy ... prophecy about Jesus Christ; and it relates to all of us who are IN Christ. Prophecy relates to the past, present, and future.

19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1:19-21

Peter says that holy men of God (prophets, for the most part) spoke forth the prophecy. Prophecy relates to Jesus and to those who are in Christ. 

For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10

Whenever most Christians hear the words “end time events,” what usually comes to mind is the book of Revelation or perhaps Daniel. In the past year or so, I have been deeply impressed with how much of the Old Testament is prophetic in nature concerning the day in which we live. Let us look at one example. There are MANY more examples, in Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Zechariah, Obadiah, and other books.

ALL of Isaiah 11 is prophetic. The chapter is prophetic about Jesus and end time events.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

. . .

16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. Isaiah 11:11, 16

Verse 11 speaks of the SECOND time that the Lord will sovereignly recover the remnant of His people. That verse can NOT refer to the restoration after the Exile in Babylon which began around 600 B.C. There was NO exile at that time to Egypt, Pathros, or Cush. That verse also says “in that day.” The events spoken of in Isaiah 11:6-10 CLEARLY have not yet happened. Therefore these events are prophetic of the end times ... the last days. Verse 16 compares this second (and last) recovering of the remnant to the first time when the Lord led His people out of the land of Egypt.

The first recovering of His people (out of Egypt) was a NATURAL, historic event, which began in 1491 B.C. The second (and last) recovering of His people will be a SPIRITUAL event, which certainly is on the verge of occurring in this hour. This is a time when the modern day Moses (not one person) is beginning to speak to the modern day Pharaoh to let the people of God go free from our captivity and all of our many bondages.

The Church today is in captivity and in bondage to SPIRITUAL Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea. Let us consider the significance of those eight names.

Assyria comes from a root word which means successful. The founder of Assyria was Asshur, the second son of Shem. Shem was the chosen line through which Jesus came (Luke 3:36). All of the descendants of Shem, except for the direct line of Jesus, represent the religious system. Noah prophesied,

Blessed be the Lord God of Shem. Genesis 9:26

Please note that Noah did NOT prophesy, “blessed be Shem.” He said, “blessed be the Lord God” who is to come through Shem. The religious system of today ASSUMES, in error, that they are automatically blessed of the Lord.

The religious line of Shem is further borne out by Genesis 14 with the war between the four “good kings” and the five “bad kings.” For further information about that war please see our Volume 2: “In the Beginning.” The Assyrians worshipped Asshur, the man who founded Assyria. So the spiritual bondage for the Church today that is represented by Assyria includes (in addition to success, money, power, and the “good” religious system) the idolization of a man, even a Godly man. I have heard that there are some churches today who almost idolize William Branham, who was indeed a great prophet of the Lord in his time (the 1940's and 1950's). There are also groups today who almost idolize Witness Lee.

Natural Egypt was a polytheistic, well educated nation. The Egyptians created the pyramids and sphinxes, some remarkable architectural accomplishments for their day. Scriptures speak of the “wisdom of Egypt” (Acts 7:22), the “treasures of Egypt” (Hebrews 11:26), and “the pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) associated with Egypt. Apparently the Egyptians also had delicious-tasting food because the Israelites murmured after that good food when they were wandering in the wilderness for forty years. Therefore, the spiritual bondages represented by Egypt for the Church today are education or the wisdom of man, food, financial treasures, the religious system, and the many pleasures of sin, such as illicit sex, which has brought down too many believers.

Pathros was part or all of “Upper Egypt,” or “Southland,” extending from South of Memphis (South of modern-day Cairo), to the First Cataract on the Nile River. Pathrusim, from whom came inhabitants of Pathros, was the fifth son of Mizraim. Soon after the great flood of Noah’s day, Egypt was founded by Mizraim, the second son of Ham. Mizraim means tribulations or fortresses. In addition to the bondages which Egypt represent, as above, Pathros inflicts tribulation on believers. Fortresses (walled cities in the Old Testament) are man’s way to protect himself, but

Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein. Zechariah 2:4

Cush means black or Ethiopia. Cush was the youngest son of Ham. The bondage represented by Cush HAS NORELATIONSHIP WHATSOEVER TO THE COLOR OF ONE’S SKIN! Ham also means dark. The sin of Ham is recorded in Genesis 9:21-25. Ham saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers about it. Without any doubt, Ham’s act was a manifestation of an impure heart. Perhaps he had always been a filthy dreamer.

7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Jude 7, 8

Because the imagination of our (natural) heart is evil (Genesis 8:21), we are all the sons of Ham in a sense until we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and are found in Him.

There is none righteous, no, not one. Romans 3:10

The root cause of the sin of Ham was passed on, generationally, to his youngest son, Cush. The bondage represented by Cush is the blackness of the heart and imagination. That is why Paul wrote,

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Elam, which means youth or high, was the first son of Shem. As such, Elam also represents the bondage of the “good” religious system of the world today. Elam was also the predominant ruling power in the time of Abraham (Genesis 14:1 and 14:4). We believe that Elam spiritually represents the mixture of the political and religious systems today. There are many Christians today who still believe that Christians should get more involved in the politics of the United States. Their reasoning is that by getting into high places in the political system, Christians can change politics for the better. This reasoning is NOT according to the ways of the Lord. In actuality, the system pollutes the Christian. For scriptural proof of that, please read our Volume 2: In The Beginning, about Abraham. The first recorded war in the Bible was between four “good” kings and five “bad” kings” (Genesis 14). Clearly, Abraham was part of NEITHER! For further “proof” please read Joshua 5:13-15. In addition, the Lord will never “clean up” democracy, which is a government by man. Democracy is perhaps the best that the world has to offer but the government of God is a theocracy, not a democracy. Unfortunately, too many Christian groups, including the house church of which we were a part for twelve years, try to function on a democratic basis. This kind of bondage is all throughout the Church today. Bible “studies” frequently are “I think this” and “someone else thinks that” and another person thinks something else ... majority wins!

Shinar was another part of the “good” religious system (Genesis 14:1). Amraphel, the king of Shinar, has been identified historically to be Hammurabi, who devised an excellent “worldly” code of law and justice. There are many similarities between the Hammurabi code and the law as given through Moses. Guess which of the two is true and which is false. The significance of Shinar can be seen from Genesis 11:1-4.

1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Those verses represent the attempt of man to bring about unity through our own natural efforts. It will never happen ... God will never allow it. So this is related to the ecumenical ”movement.” The first part of Verse 3 represents the haste of man to bring about what man calls “good.” They wanted to hurry up the brick-making process by burning them. The normal procedure for making brick was to allow the sun to dry them. We need to allow the Son to bring about what He wants, in His time. One of the greatest lacks in Christians is the lack of patience. The second part of Verse 3 represents substitutes, which we discuss in the next Chapter ... brick for stone and slime for mortar. The first part of Verse 4 represents man’s attempt to get to Heaven through good works, not through faith in the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. The second part of Verse 4, “let us make us a name,” is ever present in all levels of the Church. For more on “names,” see Volume 5, Chapter 4: Names. Finally, “lest we be scattered abroad” represents inbreeding or huddling together. This bondage is reflected today in the form of mega-churches, with so many programs and building structures that support the activities and needs of all age groups. This also reflects a false sense of security through large numbers of people. Safety or security through numbers is another lie of the enemy. Back in the “hey day” of the house church of which we were a part of for twelve years, there was a stated “doctrine” that our individual “covering” was the local body. One day in the late 1970's the Lord said, “Not so,” and gave a good scripture to back it up.

And He discovered [or uncovered or removed or revealed] the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest [the body of Christ].

. . .

Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the Maker thereof, neither had respect unto Him that fashioned it long ago. Isaiah 22:8, 11

Brethren, our covering is our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. You can submit to a local body without being submissive to the Lord. But it is NOT POSSIBLE to truly submit to the Lord Jesus Christ without at the same time submitting to the authority that the Lord arranges for our good.

Hamath means fortification, walled, or a wall of separation. They were descendants of Ham and Canaan (Genesis 10:18). The huge, all-inclusive mega-churches of today are almost a walled city within a city. The “store cities,” which Solomon built in Hamath (2 Chronicles 8:4), were probably places to store staples for trade. Therefore, the significance of Hamath for today is not only self-sufficient separation (closed ministries) but also man’s attempt at self-preservation through storing up food and water. This includes setting up Christian “communities.”

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord. Luke 13:35

We Christians need to have the word made real in our hearts that, 

But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Concerning the islands of the sea, the sea normally speaks of the sea of humanity. Islands are completely surrounded by the sea. Christians are to be IN the world but not part OF the world (John 15:19). This bondage may well be akin to the peer pressure of the world, which all the elders of Israel succumbed to when they told Samuel to “make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). This pull and infiltration of the ways of the world into Christianity produces a polluted mixture which is never acceptable within the holiness of God. This is a very strong bondage from which we Christians must be set free.

In summary, when the Lord sovereignly recovered the remnant the FIRST time (from the bondage and captivity of Egypt) there was only ONE captor ... Egypt. When the Lord sovereignly recovers the remnant of His people (spiritual Israel, the Church) the SECOND time, in these last days, there are EIGHT captors, as listed above. The Church today is in captivity, in bondage to money, success, education, the wisdom of this world, food, entertainment, all the pleasures of this world, sex, politics, mixture and impurities of all kinds, the desire to make us a name, fleshly attempts to bring about the kingdom of God on earth, desires to be like the world, vain imaginations, and on and on. Nothing has changed in 6000 years. The nature of man has never changed. The sad part is that Christians, at every level, do not see the bondage and captivity that we are in. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied for 40 years and never made one convert. NOT ONE PERSON EVER BELIEVED JEREMIAH concerning the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the exile. Some of you see the same thing that we are saying. Some of you, who do not see what we are saying and do not agree, may get angry. If you get angry, then that is GOOD! I remember the time, about 35 years ago, just before the Lord apprehended me, when I heard about some people in the Methodist church we were attending who were doing some “funny things” like “speaking in tongues.” I can never remember a time when I was so angry. I was furious! I told my wife, “if they want to do funny things like that then they should get out of the church!” Not long after that, I was doing those SAME “funny things.”

Some other bondages that the Church is in captivity to today are complacency, the traditions of man, and being lukewarm. The Revelation of John, given to him by the Lord, includes the following unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans:

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Revelation 3:15-16

Only the Spirit of God can shed His light and dispel the darkness. Ask the Holy Spirit to shed His light concerning these matters into your heart. The question is, do you want to be part of the problem (those who need to be recovered from the snares of the enemy) or part of the solution (those who will be deliverers in these end times), as foretold in Obadiah 21?

And saviours [or deliverers] shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. Obadiah 21

Chapter 8: Substitutes

The first mention of substitutes is found in Genesis.

1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. Genesis 11:1-3

Brick for stone and slime for mortar ... substitutes.

Man, even Christian man, is FOREVER trying to pull down that which is spiritual and holy to the natural level. Why? So that man can understand the ways of the Lord and the mystery of God with his own natural, carnal mind. The book of 1 Corinthians is a letter of CORRECTION to the Church at Corinth. Paul tells them that they are carnal, babes in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1). Paul also says,

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14

I remember when I was very young in the Lord ... a babe in Christ ... I allowed, unknowingly, the enemy to deceive me into believing that I might die. I even had the natural symptoms, brought on by fear of death, of a heart attack. I called a good brother in the Lord at about 3:00 a.m. He came right over to our house and prayed for me. Before he left, he put a little metal cross over the top molding on the inside of our front door. A few days later, either my wife or I glued that little metal cross to the wall board above the door so it would not fall. For a year or two, every time I looked at that little metal cross, it gave me comfort. I believed that I was being protected by that cross.

Then there came a time that I removed that little metal cross and discarded it. The Lord made me to understand that there was NO power in that little piece of metal. That cross had NEVER protected me! It was the Lord Himself who protected me and gave me comfort. Is there anything negative about a little metal cross? No. But it was a substitute in my life for the real Protector, the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11

When a Christian is a babe in Christ, he/she needs milk, not meat. A new Christian needs to see the love of God through a genuine pastor ... a man. The Lord graciously provided those elements to me and my wife when we were young in the Lord. Before we have a chance to develop our spiritual senses, we need the comfort of seeing, through our natural senses, the love of God in action through people. But there comes a time in our walk as a believer that we MUST see that the LORD is our Shepherd ... our Pastor ... and NOT a man, not flesh and blood, not even a godly man. Does that eliminate the need for a ministry of the pastor? No, not as long as there are new believers who need nurturing.

There is a real place for kindergarten. Kindergarten is actually a very nice place ... you color in coloring books, have punch and cookies, perhaps learn about numbers, and someone reads you nice stories. But the error is in staying in kindergarten FOREVER! There is NOTHING static about our walk as Christians. Christianity is DYNAMIC! a daily walk with the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). By that he meant, of course, that we should die daily to SELF. John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Church groups make the same mistake as individuals. Christian man is forever searching the scripture to find the pattern for this and the pattern for that ... how to do this ... how to do that ... and then crystalizing their doctrine into a hard and fast set of rules and dogma, all set into concrete and then written down in pen and ink for all to see. This is what Peter did when Jesus was transfigured and Moses and Elijah appeared. Peter had almost NO spiritual understanding at that point in time.

Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. Matthew 17:4

Do you find it rather amazing that there so many different slants on the word of God? Why are there more than 500 different Christian denominations, each one with some different beliefs? Why do so many different church groups affirm that they believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and that they believe ALL of the Bible? Yet there are widely differing views on the one, eternal, never changing word of God! Some Christian groups believe that if you do NOT build a “church” building then you are part of anti-Christ. (Yes, I saw that in print one time.) Their argument was based on the verse,

Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Haggai 1:8

Do you find it strange that groups such as that do NOT build a “church” building out of wood, but use brick and concrete? That seems to contradict their literal interpretation of the verse in Haggai which says to build the house out of wood! I wonder what such groups do with the scripture,

For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples. Hosea 8:14

Yet some church groups cling dogmatically to their natural-level interpretation of scripture. In fact, there are MANY scriptures that can NEVER be interpreted literally or in the natural realm! Jesus said,

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. John 6:52

When the Jews heard those words, they branded Jesus as a heretic. They KNEW that Moses had told them they must not drink blood. The problem with the Jews, of course, was that they had NO spiritual understanding ... they tried to interpret everything in the natural realm, using their carnal minds.

So a lack of spiritual understanding, a lack of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit ... trying to interpret everything with the natural mind ... plus a dogmatic, static approach to the word of God ... all combine to create hundreds of different denominations. Unfortunately, we Christians tend to accept the most common interpretations of scripture, never bothering to ask the Lord to show us the real Truth! We grow up in some environment where certain beliefs are set forth as truth and we never realize what the Spirit is actually saying.

We believe that there is NOTHING that you can wear or not wear that will make you more holy. We believe that there is NOTHING that you can eat or not eat that will make you more holy; likewise there is NOTHING that you can drink or not drink that will make you more holy.

But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not are we the worse. 1 Corinthians 8:8

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Romans 14:17

Is there anything wrong with symbols? not necessarily, particularly if they point us to the Lord Himself and then fade in the light of His countenance. But if they become substitutes for that which they symbolize then they need to be discarded. Earlier in this Chapter, I related the time when I took down a little metal cross from over our front door and discarded it. There was nothing evil about that metal cross. It was just a symbol. But it was a symbol that played NO more part in my life. If I trust in symbols, that is called idolatry.

Webster defines idolatry as “the worship of a physical object as a god.” The Columbia Encyclopedia defines idolatry as the following:

In theological language, however, idolatry is often made to include the adoration of what is seen and tangible as opposed to that of an unseen spiritual being.

The idols today are NOT physical golden calves but Christians today still have their idols, perhaps unknowingly. Some Christian groups idolize a man. MANY Christians idolize money, success, education, entertainment, religious systems, and more.

15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands.

16 They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not;

17 They have ears, but they hear not; Neither is there any breath [or spirit] in their mouths.

18 They that make them are [will become] like unto them: So is every one that trusteth in them. Psalm 135:15-18

Silver and gold (Verse 15) signify what is made from them or how they are used, a work of the flesh. Note the description of these idols in Verses 16-17. They that make idols of silver and gold (Verse 18) OR trust in them are like the deaf, dumb, and blind idols which have no life or breath. What is the danger for us as Christians? that we will become like unto them! Paul said,

Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10:14

The following is a received word of prophecy for the Church:

Surely the day is coming, and even now is, when the Lord is going to take away all the “substitutes” we have trusted in. Unless there is a true repentance, God is going to profane His sanctuary, just as He did at Shiloh ... the churches with their programs, traditions, off-center doctrines, shadows, symbols, money tables of Christian merchandise, ministries for hire, mega brick and concrete buildings, and on and on. No longer will you get a “tax deduction” for your tithes and gifts of money. No longer will you be able to buy and sell or store up for yourself. No longer will you be able to trust in man or man’s programs, but ONLY in the Lord. No longer will you be able to depend upon physicians for your health, but ONLY upon the Great Physician.
At the same time the Lord is raising up a group of unknowns ... 7,000 more that we don’t know about ... an Elijah company ... those who will be empowered to teach the Lord’s people the difference between the holy and the profane and to cause His people to discern between the unclean and the clean. Those who escape the great mixture will be those who really want to serve the Lord. The Lord will bring those who have been taken captive to you and you will speak and no longer be dumb. And you shall speak of the holiness of the Lord; you shall speak of the glory of the Lord. Then shall the world know that the Lord, He is God, and there is none other like unto Him.

Many years ago, the Lord gave the following poem to a true prophet of the Lord.

Symbol to Substance

To reach the substance through the symbol I must dance 

til leaving my shell, for the higher I advance.

When the source I have found, the cup I no longer take; 

the eternal bread I eat, the wafer I forsake.

At my Father’s table, feasting from the vine, 

I forget grainless husks and pulp void of wine.

I must know the silence to reach the music 

where the cords of life lie in passive state -

Ready to vibrate with eternal harmony 

awaiting the instrument which is me.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Chapter 9: The Vision

The first eight chapters of this book have concentrated on the four “negatives” that the Lord told Jeremiah to do: “to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down” (Jeremiah 1:10). However, as we stated previously, there is NOTHING negative about removing that which is displeasing to the Lord. Those four “negatives” are prerequisites to the two “positives” in that same verse: to build and to plant.

Now I ask you ... did Jeremiah root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down? Was he obedient? If we look superficially at the book of Jeremiah, the answer is NO! On the surface, Jeremiah did NONE of those things, at least not physically. Let us remember, however, that the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). The word of God is creative; the word of God can also destroy. Jesus said,

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:27

ONLY the Lord can destroy both soul and body in hell. In effect, Jeremiah did only that which he could do, which was to speak and obey the word of the Lord as the Lord told him what to say and do. So, yes ... Jeremiah was obedient. But it was the Lord who sovereignly stirred up the enemies of the nation of Israel to physically root out, pull down, destroy, and throw down that which was displeasing in the eyes of the Lord. The Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho seven times and the walls came down (Joshua 6). But the Israelites never pulled down those walls. The LORD pulled the walls down after His people were obedient to do what they were told.

Likewise, Jeremiah could not build and plant. Only the Lord can build and plant (spiritually).

Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. Ezekiel 36:36

In the above verse, the Lord says that He will build and plant so that the heathen shall know that He is the Lord. The book of Ezekiel contains 65 occurrences of the phrase, “then they will know that I am the Lord.” Many of those occurrences, such as Ezekiel 6:10, are so that Israel also shall know that He is the Lord.

We can only be co-laborers with God, whether it be to root out, to pull down, to destroy, to throw down, to build, or to plant.

For we are labourers together with God. 1 Corinthians 3:9

The starting point for us to co-labor with God in order to build and to plant is the proper vision ... HIS vision.

2 And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. 

Habakkuk 2:2-3

Note that the scripture says to “Write the vision,” NOT write a vision! The use of the word “the” in “write the vision” makes the vision unique! The Hebrew word translated vision refers specifically to a prophet’s vision. THE Vision is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord is That Prophet! (For more on vision, see Chapter 8 of Volume 3: “A Sure Foundation.”) We have known many Christians who have had a vision ... a cause, but something quite less than Jesus Himself. Many in this hour have a vision of evangelism ... winning souls to Christ; others have a vision of feeding the poor or homeless; others have a vision of “improving” the democratic government by electing Christian officials. But whatever your present vision is, it is too small! Every vision must relate to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and to His ways, His purpose, and His plan for each one of us. “Make it plain upon tables” speaks of the tables of our heart, so we are to have the reality of Jesus Christ written upon our heart. Scripture states this in many ways, one of which is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). “That he may run that readeth it” refers to anyone who has seen the hope of glory written on his heart. Earlier we spoke about Ahimaaz, who ran to give the king news but had not SEEN anything. He had NO VISION. He did not tarry; he was impatient. This present Church age is characterized by WORDS, but non-believers (at least in the United States) are no longer attracted by more words. Non-believers want to SEE something different in our hearts, in our lives, in our actions. “The vision is yet for an appointed time” ... the last days ... the time in which we live. “It (the vision) will surely come, it will not tarry,” but we must wait for it. We believe that Habakkuk refers to the manifestation of the sons of God, which is not yet, but it will surely come.

The prophet Isaiah speaks about “the burden of the valley of vision” (Isaiah 22:1). When you are in a valley, you cannot see much ... you can only see your immediate surroundings. We need to rise up to the mountain top to see more of the Lord and His ways. One of the major functions of a true prophet is to help to elevate the vision of other believers.

The prophet Isaiah, in Chapter 21, speaks of “the burden of the desert of the sea” (Isaiah 21:1). What an unusual combination! The desert of the sea. A desert is a very dry place; the sea, by definition, contains much water. “Sea” refers to the sea of humanity. A desert of the sea is like unto the following verses.

11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.

12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.  

Micah 8:11-12

Could those verses possibly have any prophetic significance for us today? Very recently I heard the “sermon” of a Spirit-filled pastor and teacher. It was obviously a canned speech that the man had given probably twenty times or more, complete with nice overhead slides and copious notes. Do you think that is pleasing to the Lord? Do you think that the Lord will anoint such a word?

For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. Isaiah 21:6

Picture the following scenario. The king (modern-day pastor), and his flock (the congregation) are all seated comfortably in their nice church building on Sunday morning. The king asks the watchman, “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” (Isaiah 21:11). The watchman has been set on a high tower to look out over all of the valleys and to warn the king and the people of any coming danger. Neither the king nor his flock are set upon the watch tower and could not be expected to see any coming danger. So the watchman declares the coming danger which he has seen and heard of the Lord. The king then says, “Well I don’t see or hear that so you must be wrong.” The king and his flock then go back to business as usual. What is wrong with that scenario? at least three things! First of all, many churches never set a watchman. Second, in too many cases the modern day king (the pastor) does not even ASK the watchman what he sees. Third, neither the king nor his flock had vision, and the one who had received vision from the Lord was ignored. From our experience, the principle behind that scenario occurs in Christian circles very commonly today.

Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18

In like manner, where there is little or a small vision, where there is little discernment of the Lord’s body, the people are weak and sickly.

29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 

1 Corinthians 11:29-30

“He that eateth and drinketh unworthily” refers to eating and drinking during an agape love feast (a meal) with other believers in an irreverent and self-centered manner. He who does so “eateth and drinketh damnation to himself.” This is NOT God’s eternal judgment, which is to come upon the unbeliever; it is some form of disciplinary judgment such as physical sickness and/or premature physical death. So many are weak and sickly and many sleep BECAUSE they do not discern the Lord’s body; i.e., the ministries given by the Lord. The Apostle Paul adds some more explanatory words in 1 Corinthians 12.

21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:

23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:

25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.  

1 Corinthians 12:21-27

Perhaps the most important question in the Bible is given when Jesus asked his disciples:

But whom say ye that I am? Matthew 16:15

Some in the Church say Jesus is their Savior; others say He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Ghost; others say Jesus Christ is Lord; and still others not only SAY all of the above, but live their lives every day as a testimony to their belief. We are not concerned with what other men say about Jesus. The question is, who do YOU say Jesus is? More importantly, who do you say Jesus is by your life and actions?

We can find a multitude of names in the Bible which are attributed to our Lord. His name is Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Lord open our eyes more and more to see who You really are! Lord give us vision to see The Vision! Lord may we see your holiness, for surely You are holy, and You desire a holy people.

We were recently introduced to a beautiful worship song, called, “You Are Holy.” The words and music were written by Reuben Morgan.

You Are Holy

You are holy, holy; Lord there is none like You.

You are holy, holy; Glory to You alone.

I’ll sing Your praises forever; Deeper in love with You.

Here in Your courts Where I’m close to Your throne

I’ve found where I belong.

I remember the time a number of years ago when a true prophet of the Lord told me that he just did not fit in anywhere; he just did not belong anywhere. Other true prophets have implied the same thing by their lives. We want to dedicate this book to all of the true prophets and anyone else in the body who feel that they “do not belong.” To all of you, the Lord would say, as in the song above, YOU BELONG in His courts, close to His throne, deeper in love with the Lord Himself as you praise Him forever! May all of us fall deeper in love with Jesus!

The very first meeting we had in our home began around 1972. The Lord had made it clear to us that we were to start a “neighborhood” Bible study in our home. We invited all of our neighbors, across the street, on each side of us, behind us, and a few more a little further away. We had no reason to believe that all of them were genuine believers. That meeting was once a week for about six months. We provided the environment and some fundamental teaching on “Who is Jesus Christ?” However, it was like we just sat back and watched the Lord work within the seven or eight people who came. Some fantastic things happened to those people! At one of the meetings a woman said that she had something that she needed to confess to the group. As soon as she said that, the verses in John 8 came to my mind concerning the woman caught in adultery. Guess what she shared with everyone? that she had sinned by committing adultery with the husband of a next door neighbor. She thought that she had committed the unpardonable sin. She said, however, that even though she was cut off from the Lord forever because of her sin, she was STILL GOING TO SERVE HIM the rest of her life! Now THAT is commitment to the Lord! Of course we quickly reassured her that she had NOT committed the unpardonable sin and that the Lord forgave her. Would that all of us had that same level of commitment to the Lord!

It is IMPOSSIBLE to say enough about The Vision, because The Vision is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. All of the books in the world would not be sufficient to tell of who He is and what He has done for us.

Isaiah, among others, had a vision of the Lord in His glory. Isaiah also saw the seraphims.

And one [seraphim] cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:3

The Lord is Holy! and there is none like unto Him! It is NOT by chance that the third Person of the Trinity is called the Holy Spirit! True holiness consists in conformity to the nature and will of God.

There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside Thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2

Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Exodus 15:11

Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest. Revelation 15:4

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

Please note that in the first five chapters of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah had received two visions from the Lord (in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2) and had prophesied the true word of the Lord many times to the people. But when Isaiah, as recorded in Chapter 6, saw the Lord Himself, the holiness of the Lord, and the glory of the Lord, he said,

5 Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Isaiah 6:5-7

Also note that in Isaiah, Chapters 1 through 5, there is NO mention of any sin or iniquity on the part of Isaiah.

That reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 7.

21 Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you [or I never approved you]: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23

Now consider that today there are MANY believers, just like Isaiah, who have visions from the Lord and there are MANY MORE believers, just like Isaiah, who prophesy in the name of the Lord (and perhaps prophesy correctly). BUT!!! Jesus said, in Matthew 7:21, that [level] is not sufficient to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

When Isaiah saw the Lord Himself, Isaiah recognized his sin and iniquity. What was Isaiah’s sin and iniquity? Let us read again what Isaiah said:

Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Isaiah 6:5

First of all, Isaiah had settled for a lesser vision! He had only moved in the equivalent of the gifts of the Spirit. But when he saw the Lord, he saw the highest spiritual level, the Lord Himself. Please note that AFTER Isaiah saw the Lord, in Chapter 6, he NEVER had any more (lesser) visions. The same is true with both Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Now consider,

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:28

The scripture says that “your young men shall see visions.” We always tend to interpret scripture at the lowest possible level, the natural realm. Could the word “young” possibly refer to those who are young spiritually?

In the natural realm we may think that we know some person quite well, but it is almost impossible to really know someone unless you live with them on a daily basis. We all tend to put on our “church hats” for our church services and meetings. Within the sanctity of holy marriage, a wife and her husband get to know each other very well. That relationship is the most intimate of all human relationships (or at least should be). Likewise, the relationship between Jesus and His bride, the Church, is (or at least should be) the most intimate of all spiritual relationships. We Christians need to develop that intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ in order that we may please Him, understand His ways, and know His will. We need to TALK with Him and then listen as He talks with us. Have we settled for a lesser vision?

Second, when Isaiah saw the Lord, he said , “For I am undone.” The word translated as “undone” can be translated as “cut off” or “lost.” When most Christians hear the word “lost” we tend to think in terms of not being saved or not being born again. Have you ever traveled through a city where you have never been before, perhaps with no map, and become “lost?” In that sense, “lost” means without direction. When we see the Lord we have a new sense of purpose ... a new direction for our life. Furthermore, Isaiah saw that he was undone, NOT because of what he had said or not said (he had spoken the truth), and NOT because of what he had done or not done. Isaiah saw that he was undone because of who he WAS. The nature of true conviction is that we see who we ARE in comparison to who He IS! We see His holiness! Then we groan in our spirit (Romans 8:23), looking for His nature to be formed fully within us ... Christ in you the hope of glory!

The same thing happened to Job.

I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee.

Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:5-6

Please note that it was only AFTER Isaiah had seen the Lord that his real ministry began, and he was sent forth by the Lord Himself. (Any true ministry is sent forth by or from the Lord, NOT by or from man or any group of men.)

And He [the Lord] said [to Isaiah], Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Isaiah 6:9

Now let us consider HOW Isaiah was cleansed of his iniquity and his sin. One of the seraphims laid a live coal from off the altar upon the mouth of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:6-7). That live coal had been burning on the altar. The fire on the altar was not any ordinary fire ... it was eternal fire ... fire which came from God Himself!

And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:24

Can we all agree that the activities which were ordained by the Lord within the tabernacle are symbolic of the true worship that God desires today? Only fire from off the altar was to be used in tabernacle worship, and that fire came from God, Himself.

12 And he [the high priest] shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:

13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not. 

Leviticus 16:12-13

Unfortunately, the sons of Aaron found out the hard way that ONLY fire from off the altar, and not man-made fire, was to be used in tabernacle worship.

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not.

And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. Leviticus 10:1-2

Furthermore, the fire on the altar was to be burning FOREVER!

12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.

13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.  

Leviticus 6:12-13

NOTHING has changed since that time in 1490 B.C. The nature of the natural man or the flesh has NOT changed! The Word of God has NOT changed; His Word is timeless! The fire on the altar is STILL burning.

For our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29

The ONLY fire that is acceptable to God is His fire from off the altar. It was the fire of God, in the form of the live coal from off the altar, that cleansed the iniquity of Isaiah and purged his sin. It was a purging of SELF. Coals of fire were taken inside the most holy place on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16:12), when sacrifice was made to atone for sin. One of the seraphims laid the live coal on Isaiah’s mouth and lips. The fire of God thus purified Isaiah’s unclean lips so that he could speak for God. Everything began with the vision of the Lord Himself and of His holiness and of His great glory. Lord, we need The Vision ... we need to see You and Your holiness and Your glory. And Lord, we need to be cleansed of our iniquity and purged of our sin of self. Lord, forgive us for trying to transport the glory of God on a Philistine cart!

For surely all of creation has been designed by the Master Architect to show forth the glory of God. All of creation has been designed to show forth His praise ... to praise and worship Him and to give glory unto Him.

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:3

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Isaiah 40:5

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork. 

Psalm 19:1

The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in His temple doth every one speak of His glory. Psalm 29:9

In Psalm 148, listen to the list of creatures (His creation) that are commanded to praise the Lord: all His angels, all His hosts, sun and moon, all stars of light, the heavens of heavens, the waters that be above the heavens, dragons, all deeps, fire, hail, snow, vapours, stormy wind, mountains and all hills, fruitful trees, all cedars, beasts, all cattle, creeping things, flying fowl, kings of the earth, all people, princes, all judges of the earth, both young men and maidens, old men, and children.

But far too many of His creation are still in bondage and have not yet attained to that for which they have been designed. This is particularly true for man, who has been given free will.

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature [creation] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20 For the creature [creation] was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him Who hath subjected the same in hope,

21 Because the creature [creation] itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:19-23

The Greek word translated as “creature” three times above and translated as “creation” once above is the word ktisis, which means “a created product” or “the original formation” or “proprietorship of the manufacturer.” We were created by the Lord; we were redeemed by the blood of Jesus; in Him we live and move and have our being! He is the Manufacturer.

But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.

. . .

Even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. Isaiah 43:1, 7

Please note the THREE phases, as above, that the Lord has worked within us ... He has created us, formed us, and redeemed us. In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be confirmed. We belong to Him! and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken!

When Jesus was with His disciples in a boat on a stormy sea, the disciples were sore afraid. But Jesus spoke to the troubled waters and said, “Peace, be still;” and the sea heard the voice of Jesus and obeyed. The Lord told a great fish to swallow up Jonah and the great fish heard and obeyed. Then, at the appropriate time, the Lord told that same great fish to spit out Jonah onto dry land, and the great fish heard and obeyed. The birds of the air awake very early in the morning and begin singing praise to the Lord, their Creator. The wilderness and the desert rejoice (Isaiah 35:1). The mountains and the forest and every tree therein burst forth into singing (Isaiah 44:23). The trees of the field clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12) to give glory and praise to the Lord. All trees and plants grow upward, reaching for the glory of the Lord. If the people of God were to be silent, even the very rocks and stones of the earth would cry out to the Lord. Lord, elevate our present vision to see The Vision, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!

Chapter 10: Where Do We Go From Here?

Where do we go from here? In a sense we are helpless. Jesus said, “Without Me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). We cannot take our next breath except by the grace of God. Jesus Himself said, “The Son can do nothing of Himself” (John 5:19). It is ONLY by the power of His Spirit that we can do anything! We can ONLY react or respond to the actions of God. We do NOT move upon God! He moves upon us. But we CAN see the signs of the times.

If we reflect upon scriptural history, we see that there have been countless number of times that the Lord has moved on behalf of His people. If the truth were to be known, there have undoubtedly been a multitude of other times throughout history (not recorded in the Bible) when the Lord moved on behalf of His people.

However, let us think about the MAJOR times recorded in scripture when there was an unusually mighty demonstration of the power of God. Three such times come to my mind. The FIRST was during the time of Moses when the Lord, through Moses, brought all of the many plagues upon Egypt, led His people out of Egypt with a mighty hand, parted the Red Sea to give His people safe passage, and gave the people water to drink and flesh to eat in the wilderness. After the people had seen the mighty demonstrations of power by the Lord, what was their response? They murmured and complained and only two of them entered into the promised land.

A SECOND time was during the ministry of Elijah. How many men, other than Elijah, do you know who had power to shut off rain upon the earth for three and one half years? Yet Elijah was a man of like passions as we (James 5:17). In the confrontation with the prophets of Baal,

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 1 Kings 18:21

Why was there no response to the challenge given by Elijah? We believe that it was because (1) the people could not discern between a true prophet and a false prophet, and (2) the people had become comfortable with their state of apostasy, not knowing their condition. We are all familiar with what followed ... a contest between the 450 prophets of Baal and their gods and Elijah and the one true God. Nothing happened when the prophets of Baal called on their gods. Elijah then built an altar made of twelve stones, put wood and the sacrifice on the altar, and had twelve barrels of water poured on the sacrifice and altar. Then Elijah prayed,

37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again.

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God. 1 Kings 18:37-39

Please note that it was only AFTER a mighty demonstration of the power of God that the people finally recognized the Lord. However, less than one generation later, apostasy had set in again, just as in the time of Moses.

The THIRD time when there was a mighty demonstration of the power of God was during the earthly ministry of Jesus. Jesus, of course, healed many of all sorts of diseases and infirmities, performed many miracles, raised Lazarus from the dead, fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes, turned water into wine, cast out demons with one short word, and overcame sin, death, and the devil. Yet there came a time when even many of His disciples went back and walked no more with him (John 6:66). Later, they ALL forsook Him and fled (Mark 14:50).

Let us summarize. In ALL of the big movements or demonstrations of the power of God as recorded in scripture, the people soon thereafter forgot what God had done and went right back into apostasy.

The Holy Spirit witnesses that there will be one MORE mighty outpouring of the power of God and it is coming SOON.

Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. Joel 2:1

So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. Isaiah 59:19

Surely the enemy has come in like a flood ... come into our schools, our governments, our news media, and our churches. But the Spirit of the Lord is lifting up a standard against him.

We need to consider ... what will make this forthcoming demonstration of the power of God any different than the three we have described above (in the time of Moses, Elijah, and when Jesus was on earth)? several things. The first is greater works.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. John 14:12

We cannot imagine greater works than those that Jesus did when He was on earth. It is mind-boggling! But we know that the greater works MUST happen. Even now, a tremendous move of God is going on in many countries in Africa and other parts of the world. There are numerous reports of all types of miracles occurring in Africa.

The second difference between the imminent demonstration of the power of God from all those that preceded is the huge salvation of souls that will result. God is not interested in the manifestation of His power just for the sake of power alone. There is a much higher purpose.

And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for the Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 

That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: ... Joshua 3:15-16

As we stated in Chapter 6 of “Let Us Go On,” the Jordan River is symbolic of tribulation. The greater significance of the swelling of the Jordan River (which time is upon us) is that it is a time of great HARVEST; a great harvest of souls for the kingdom of God. The two go together ... the swelling of the Jordan River and a great harvest. It is true in BOTH the natural realm AND the spiritual realm. This parallels the spiritual relationship of suffering and glory. There will be NO great harvest without the swelling of Jordan; no glory without suffering. Peter speaks of the same thing.

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:7-9

In the King James Bible, the words “even” and “your” in verse 9, above, are italicized, which means they were added by the translators. Therefore a better translation would be:

Receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of souls. 1 Peter 1:7-9

In other words, the end of our faith is not simply the salvation of MY soul, but the salvation of MANY souls. The latter translation shifts the significance of that verse away from an ego-centric approach to an identification with the will and purposes of God. However, the salvation of many souls will be manifested by the power of God, NOT by our fleshy efforts. Before we run ahead to try to evangelize the world, we need to make sure that we have heard the Rhema word of God, not simply the written word.

Because of the coming great harvest, the salvation of MANY souls, the Lord has provided for a means to feed the great multitude.

And the woman [the Church, including all of the new believers] fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of [or by] God, that they [the man child or overcomers] should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Revelation 12:6

The third difference between the imminent demonstration of the power of God and all of the times which preceded is the time period ... we are living in the end times ... the last days. Paul, Peter, and John, all inspired by the Holy Spirit, said that even in THEIR day that it was the last days (see Chapter 1).

5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

6 And sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, Who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets. Revelation 10:5-7

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

13 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 2 Peter 3:10-14

The question is, “How is the Lord going to bring His body to that place of being without spot or wrinkle?” And what part do you (and I) have in what the Lord is doing in this hour? How do we, like Jeremiah, help to build and to plant?

There can be little doubt that the judgment of God is coming to the United States. Further, since “judgment must begin with the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17), there can be little doubt that Christians in the United States must go through great suffering, affliction, persecution, and tribulation.

We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God. Acts 14:22

It is true that God has everything under control. We KNOW that the Lord will have His spotless bride. But we also have a responsibility. We must cooperate with the sovereignty of God. God also had everything under control in the time of Moses. What happened to the people?

After the Lord had delivered His people, with Moses as their leader, from captivity and bondage in Egypt, the people murmured and complained in the wilderness for forty years. After Aaron had made the golden calf, Moses interceded for the people. Moses said,

31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

32 Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin — ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written. Exodus 32:31-32

Jeremiah wept over Jerusalem and prophesied of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity and bondage of the people into exile, which began in 606 B.C. and came to full completion in 586 B.C. NO ONE believed Jeremiah! A really amazing thing happened AFTER the people saw that Jeremiah’s prophecies had indeed come true.

In Jeremiah 42, the remnant of Judah who were left after most of the nation had been carried away into captivity came to Jeremiah and asked him to seek the Lord as to what they should do (Jeremiah 42:1-3). They also said that they would do all the things that the Lord told Jeremiah.

Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God. Jeremiah 42:6

Jeremiah came back to the people after he had heard the word of the Lord. He told the people, do NOT flee into Egypt but abide where you are. So what happened? The people called Jeremiah a false prophet and fled to Egypt (Jeremiah 42:2-7)!

Note that the people told Jeremiah that they would obey the voice of the Lord. These are the same words spoken by the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt: “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 10:8). The same words were repeated by the children of Israel when Joshua was in command: “And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey” (Joshua 24:24). Did the children of Israel fulfill their vow? NO!!! There are some charismatic groups today which repeat the SAME words. A word of caution!

Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Ecclesiastes 5:5

Daniel interceded for the restoration of Jerusalem. Please read his intercessory prayer in Daniel 9. I have not found any evidence of any sins of Daniel. Nevertheless, in Chapter 9, Daniel identified himself with the people completely. He did NOT pray, Lord your people have sinned ... he said WE have sinned. Chapter nine occurred in 538 B.C. Two years later, the Lord sovereignly moved upon Cyrus, king of Persia, because of Daniel, a holy man of God. Cyrus ordered a contingent of Jews to go back to Jerusalem to build the house of the Lord. What happened is recorded in the book of Ezra. We believe that the Lord moved on Cyrus because of the intercession of Daniel.

A few years later, the Lord raised up Esther to intercede for His people. Mordecai said to Esther:

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14

A few years later, the Lord raised up Nehemiah, who asked about the status of Jerusalem.

3 And they said unto me [Nehemiah], The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven. 

Nehemiah 1:3-4

Nehemiah also identified with the people when he said (Nehemiah 1:6-7) that “we have sinned.”

Jesus wept over Jerusalem and prophesied the coming desolation of Jerusalem, which came to pass in 70 A.D. Did Jesus weep over natural Jerusalem or spiritual Jerusalem? We do NOT believe that Jesus wept over a piece of real estate ... a piece of land called Jerusalem. We believe that He wept over the PEOPLE of Jerusalem ... the religious elite of the day ... the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the lawyers, and the scribes.

Israel was a chosen nation. The purpose of that choice was to bring forth the Messiah, Jesus Christ. We read about the generation of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:1-17, which gives the genealogy ... the line through which Jesus came. But, 

He came unto His own and His own received Him not. John 1:11

Yes, there were some people who accepted Jesus as the Christ ... the Messiah. But the Jews, AS A NATION, rejected Jesus. The Jewish nation has continued to reject Jesus for the past 2000 years. Because of that rejection, the Lord is no longer dealing with a nation as a whole but rather with INDIVIDUALS. Yes, there will be some, but NOT ALL, Jewish people who will come to know the Lord.

Not only did Jesus weep over Jerusalem, He also identified with man in every way (except for the sinful nature of man) so that we could identify with Him in every way. He partook of the same flesh and blood; He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken and smitten of God, and afflicted; He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities; He who knew no sin became sin on the cross; He was crucified on the cross; He arose from the dead; and He ascended into Heaven, where He ever liveth to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).

Do you see a pattern with Moses, Jeremiah, Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah, and Jesus? They ALL had vision. They ALL saw the state of affairs of God’s chosen people (spiritual Israel). We believe that ALL of them wept over what they saw. They ALL identified with God and His will. They ALL identified with the people of God. They ALL interceded.

So in this hour, it is NOT sufficient to preach our nice sermons. It is NOT sufficient even to proclaim what this book proclaims. On October 12, 2002, the Lord reminded me that we need to be “doers” of the word, not just hearers only. The word was for me, personally, but I KNOW it is a word for many more believers, some of whom are reading this book now. So the Lord says to us::

Where is Moses today? Where is Elijah, who prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth for a space of three and one half years? Where are the Jeremiahs? Where are the Daniels? Where are the Nehemiahs? Where are the Esthers? Where are those who have been allowed to see the state of spiritual Jerusalem today? Where are those who identify with the heart of God and His desires, His plans, and His purposes for the bride of Christ? Where are those who have allowed the Spirit of God to work within them a deep level of compassion for His people? Where are those who identify with the sins of the people? Where are those who will weep over spiritual Jerusalem? Where are those who will agonize in the Spirit and labor and travail in intercession for the people of God; for the man child to be delivered? For before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. The time is fast approaching, and now is, that the man child is to come forth. This is a time for repentance and a time for intercession on many levels. Wives whose husbands do not know the Lord must intercede for their husbands. The Church needs to intercede that the man child may come forth. Those who are called to be part of the Elijah company, or the man child, must intercede for the Church. Those who have identified with the suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ must now identify with Him in one more aspect. Jesus ever lives to intercede for His bride, the Church. Who will identify with His intercession? If you altogether hold your peace at this time, then deliverance and enlargement shall arise for spiritual Israel from another place; but you will miss the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. And who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Because, 

 

Saviours [deliverers] shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s. Obadiah 21

And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. 

Isaiah 59:16

Jeremiah said,

But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. Jeremiah 27:18

For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed. Lamentations 1:16

We also need to remember that:

And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Galatians 4:19

Therefore,

40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord.

41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned. 

Lamentations 3:40-42

It is time for the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy:

Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Joel 2:17

In the final analysis, it is,

Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6

Epilog

A major characteristic of deception is that the person who is deceived is NOT aware of the deception. A true prophet of the Lord once shared with me an experience which he had about fifty years ago. He said that he was on the platform of a large Assembly of God gathering in a large auditorium in Zion, Illinois, when a word came forth. That prophet is a very humble man. He never said that he was the man who spoke the word, but it was obvious to me that he was the spokesman. He said that he could remember only the essence of the word, but that another believer (whom he named and whom I have known for 33 years) was present in the auditorium that day and that man could quote the prophecy word for word to this day. The word was clearly directed to the Assembly of God officials who were sitting on the platform. The essence of the word was:

(1) Your carnal mind has deceived you;

(2) You are calling the deception God; and

(3) You are reveling in the deception.

The prophet said that when that word came forth, he saw with his natural eye what looked like a jagged streak of lightning move from the platform to the back wall of the auditorium. When it hit the back wall it exploded. He said that he had heard a similar sound only once before in his life ... when he saw lightning hit a juniper tree in the high deserts of Oregon. When it exploded, everyone sitting in the auditorium stood up and started confessing their sins. He also said that if murder had been legal and if the Assembly of God officials on the platform had a gun, they would have killed him.

One of the major points we have tried to make in this book is that there is a great flood of deception within the Church today. We have described some of the forms of deception in charismatic churches that we have been allowed to see. Some of you have seen the same or similar deceptions and therefore can readily identify with the intent and purpose of this book. Some of you are probably not too sure and have not yet made up your mind concerning the contents of this book. Finally, a few of you look at this book as simply containing negative “criticisms” of parts of the Church. To those few, may we remind you of a man called John the Baptist who “criticized” the Pharisees and Sadducees, calling them a “generation of vipers” (Matthew 3:7). There was a man named Stephen who “criticized” the religious elite of the day, including the high priest (Acts 7). There was also a man named Jesus who “criticized” the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, and lawyers, calling them “hypocrites” sixteen different times. I am totally convinced, by the Spirit of the Lord, that the time is coming when MUCH stronger words than are in this book will be spoken by a few chosen men of God to the religious elite of today, such as:

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Acts 7:51

There may be a few of you who might say that Stephen did not use much wisdom when he spoke those words. Well, he certainly did not use the wisdom of man; he was led by the Spirit of God.

WHY did Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Stephen, Jesus, and others speak, at times, what seem to be very harsh, critical words? It was the love of God in action. God, in His great grace and mercy, is not willing that any should perish. Furthermore,

5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of Him:

6 For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.

7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?

8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

9 Furthermore we have fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Hebrews 12:5-10

Brethren, the time is short! This is NOT a time for “business as usual.” This is a time of great preparation ... a time of repentance ... a time of developing an intimacy with Jesus that we have not yet experienced ... a time when MY will, MY purposes, and MY plans MUST be replaced by HIS will, HIS purposes, and HIS plans. This is a time to identify with Jesus in EVERY way. We are FAST approaching the time when the seventh angel shall begin to sound.

And the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. Revelation 11:15

The relationship between a Christian man and his wife was designed by the Lord to be the most intimate of all human relationships. A man and his wife should come to know each other such that each one knows how to please the other and even knows what the other is thinking. Likewise, the relationship between Jesus and His bride, the Church, is to be the most intimate of all spiritual relationships. We Christians need to develop that intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ so that we may please Him, understand His ways, and know His will. We need to have the reality of the Truth in our being that we live and move and have our being in Him, in the beauty of His presence.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. Ephesians 5:31

But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17

The book of Hosea is current events ... it is a word for the Church today. The Lord told Hosea to go take a wife of whoredoms as a sign to His people that they had committed whoredoms in departing from the Lord and His ways. The book of Hosea not only expresses the judgment of God on His people, but also reflects the love that the Lord has for His bride, the Church, which has departed from His ways ... His great love in the midst of judgment!

14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of Egypt.

16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call Me Ishi [My husband]; and shalt call Me no more Baali [My lord].

17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. Hosea 2:14-17 

The Church today is in the wilderness (verse 14) because of the mixture, deceptions, and sin. However, the Lord is giving us the valley of Achor (or trouble) for a door of hope (verse 15). We are in a valley which will get even deeper, with more trouble, adversity, affliction, suffering, etc.; but the Lord intends this valley to be a door of HOPE. “She shall sing there, as in the days of her youth” reflects the overcomers, who can sing to the Lord amidst ANY trouble, difficulty, or affliction (including a fiery furnace or a den of lions). This is the higher plane to which the Lord desires to bring His elect. At that day (as overcomers) we shall call Him “My husband” and shall no more call Him Baali (my lord, where lord is NOT capitalized). We shall call Him our husband because we shall know Him intimately. We shall no more call Him Baali (my lord). Baali was the common name for all local gods as well as “Jehovah.” This degradation will cease as we embrace the holiness of our Lord, the ONLY One to whom we are betrothed! Hosea 2:16 carries the same significance as the following two verses:

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2

Hosea 2:17: For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. So in that day the Lord will take away all of names of the false gods (Baalim) out of the mouths of His people, such that we will no longer even remember their names. This compares to:

And he [the seraphim] laid it [the live coal from off the altar] upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Isaiah 6:7

Coals of fire were taken inside the most holy place by the high priest on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16:12). There is a wonderful, beautiful prophetic significance here. The spiritual significance of the Day of Atonement has not yet been fulfilled by Jesus. (Please see Leviticus 16 and the book, “The Day of Atonement,” by Marion Fretwell). For on the Day of Atonement, there were two goats: one goat was offered for a sin offering and his blood was taken within the vail. Jesus has already fulfilled that part. The blood of Jesus covers or atones for all of our sins.

Note the TWO aspects of natural man on Isaiah 6:7 that must be taken away and purged. The second goat was sent off into the wilderness, never more to be seen.

And the [second] goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:22

This signifies the removal of the sin nature and corresponds to the manifestation of the sons of God as in Romans 8:19. This is yet to come, but it WILL come ... it will not tarry ... so we need to wait for it.

And in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 14:21

The “Canaanite” speaks of self, the flesh, which can never inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). That day in Zechariah 14:21 corresponds to Hosea 2:16-17 and to the manifestation of the sons of God in Romans 8:19 and to the complete fulfillment of the Day of Atonement by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is HIS work, not ours, such that only HE may be glorified.

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Revelation 22:20-21