June 10, 2008
By Ron and Karen Schwartz

Many people have sent us various portions of an article by J. Lee Grady, an editor for Charisma magazine. Taken from his blog on May 28 of this year, he wrote the following concerning the revival in Lakeland:

“In our nation today thousands have been swept into the current of the Lakeland Revival in Florida, which began in early April in evangelist Todd Bentley’s meetings at Ignited Church. The fervor quickly spread because of God TV’s broadcasts, and today up to 10,000 gather nightly at a venue near the city’s airport. In recent days, people who were touched in Lakeland have started similar meetings in Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte N.C. and other cities. Bentley and his colleagues believe this is the beginning of a worldwide healing revival that will cover the globe…
When I wrote an article in mid-May calling for scrutiny of some aspects of the Lakeland Revival, I was labeled a Pharisee and a “religious policeman.” People who said they had been deeply impacted by the Holy Spirit in Lakeland used spiritual threats and harsh terms to tell me that I had become the enemy…

When the early church was hit with the issue of Jewish legalism, Paul and Barnabas determined that the answer was to seek the counsel of “the apostles and elders” in Jerusalem (Acts 15:2, NASB). The church was being divided because the legalists were insisting that gentiles be circumcised. But when the elders looked into the matter, the apostle James settled the dispute by issuing this wise ruling:

‘Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood’ (v. 19-20). In other words, James affirmed the gentiles’ access to salvation and overturned the legalists’ bad doctrine.

Based on this biblical example, I am appealing to the elders in our movement. We need to hear from them in this hour. In a desperate moment we need older, seasoned veterans to release the counsel of the Lord…”

First of all, we applaud him for taking a position in this controversy rather than just going with the flow as have many popular Christian entertainers like that of Rick Joyner. According to Grady, we need to follow Paul’s example and call together a council of Christian leaders similar to the council found in Acts 15 to resolve the issue. Grady is correct in that the Acts 15 issue was resolved; but the real question remains: “Did that council find the mind of God, or did they only reach a compromise?”

Years before that council, God had already settled the issue. There was no need to find a compromise. Peter reiterated this to the council:

Acts 15:6-11
The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

Peter was referring to the vision he had in Acts 10.

Acts 10:9-16
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

Even though God clearly demonstrated to Peter that the Gentiles were not to be considered unclean, it did not satisfy the council which, though made up of Jewish believers, nevertheless continued to embrace the law. To them, salvation gave Gentiles the right to become Jews, and the saved Gentiles should therefore abide by the law as it applied to Gentiles. According to the Jewish law, Gentiles who wanted to live among the Jews did not need to obey the entire law but only certain parts of it. That is why James offered the compromise:

Acts 15:13-21
“Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself.
“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

Interestingly enough, the requirements that James suggests here are the same exact Jewish law requirements of any Gentiles who wanted to live among the Jews. In addition, this suggestion was not made by James the apostle but James the brother of Jesus, who did not even become a believer until sometime after Jesus’ death. He, though not chosen by Christ as an apostle, nevertheless became a powerful influence in the early church, especially among the unconverted Jews. James valued and loved the law, and he constantly looked for ways to draw unconverted Jews into Christianity, even if it meant compromising a direct revelation from God. Consider what transpired sometime later as a result of this council:

Acts 21:17-25
When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly. The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”

In this account Paul is forced to “pay” for his decision to go along with the council. It is curious that James stresses the point that the believing Jews were “zealous for the law.” As James saw it, the ultimate goal was to get all people – Jews and Gentiles alike – to become Jews. James was well on his way in transforming early Christianity back into Judaism. His intentions were noble: to make Christianity acceptable to the Jews so that more of them would be converted. But his drive for numbers cost Christianity dearly. His short term solution for converting his countrymen would ultimately cost Christianity in its future. The cost of compromise had already begun. A council designed to create unity ended in compromise. Eventually, this decision to include the law (a.k.a. “works”) in the salvation formula eventually gave way to Catholicism with its indulgences, flagellation, and purgatory.

Both Peter and Paul were specially chosen by Jesus, both received their revelation directly from Him, and both came to the same conclusion regarding the law. However, both men also eventually caved to James’ influence. We find this about Peter in Galatians:

Galatians 2:11-14
When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”

In this account, we see that James’ influence in support of Judaism caused even powerful Christian leaders like Peter and Barnabas to deny the revelation of God and act hypocritically. Compromise is not always a good thing. A study of the book of the “Acts of the Apostles” shows that the apostles were harmonizers quite often. As with any committee there are winners and losers. History is replete with examples of Christians trying to work things out through a committee just to lose in the end.

J. Lee Grady, well-intentioned as he is, would like to see another council. Why? A council would settle the issue. A council would release him and others from their responsibility to speak out against something that they already know is wrong. The problem is that another council on this issue would just create the foundation for another error, and integrate this league with demons (occult practices) into mainstream Christianity. Other than false unity, no good would come from it.

The council in Acts 15 served merely to set the opinions of men at the same level as the revelation of God, and in the long run, it only served the interests of men, not God. As they saw it, that council was a way to achieve unity. But what they really did was breed a form of passive aggression and hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11-14) among church leaders. Men like Paul, Peter, and John knew – because of their revelation – that what was settled in Act 15 was wrong, but because of the council’s decision, they could neither write nor speak of it.

Dialectics

What happened in Act 15 can be explained through a branch of science known as dialectics. Briefly, dialectics holds that a truth, law, or standard of a society can be described as “thesis.” Eventually, an opposing view, or “antithesis,” comes along to challenge the commonly accepted truth. These two views eventually converge to form a “synthesis.”

In the case of the New Testament Church, the thesis that God gave to Peter was that He, being God, would accept the Gentiles “as is.” They did not need to first become Jews. Such was evident when Peter obeyed the vision he had about eating unclean animals (Acts 10:9-16) and followed messengers to the home of Cornelius (a Gentile). God then confirmed the meaning of the vision by pouring out “the gift of the Holy Spirit… on the Gentiles. (Acts 10:44-46).”

The antithesis – or opposing view – was that the Jews saw early Christianity as a threat to their culture. Christianity was a heresy because it did not require obedience to the law. These two dissimilar views collided and eventually synergized to create a single truth. The church eventually reached a synergy (Acts 15) where the law was partially obeyed by Gentiles and as such was shown at least some respect. It also provided the Jews what they needed: a license to compel Jewish believers to continue to keep the law as well. This idea of “strings attached” eventually gave rise to the form that Christianity took throughout the Dark Ages.

The Wheat and the Tares

Matthew 13:24-30
Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares? And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.

For as long as I can remember I have heard people ask, “How can I know the difference between those who really love God and those who don’t. They both seem to say the same thing and act the same way. How do I know who is real?” The simple answer to this question is: you don’t. You don’t need to know, because God does, and in the end, He will sort things out.

What we find happening in places like Lakeland and Toronto is just that – it is a separating of the tares from among the wheat. This false revival is sucking out from among those who love God the pretentious, the egotistical, the profit-seekers, and the glory-seekers. But this is just the first round. There will be more. We are hearing that Todd Bentley is just the first oracle. More will follow him, and they will be even more difficult to discern.

Currently, this revival is a mixing pot. There are still many people who love God but are confused or caught up in the hype. However, as the tares continue to separate, following after the next great thing or the next prophet, more and more of the people who love God will not follow. So be patient. Do not compromise and do not go investigating out of curiosity. Let God do His job. He will separate out the ungodly from among the godly.

Remember, it will become more and more difficult to resist the temptation to go see the miracles and supernatural manifestations. When they say “’Look, here is the Christ [who is meeting with and talking to a prophet – like Bentley. Or, here are angels, or another revival]!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it (Matthew 24:23).” This revival with Bentley will run its course, and others will follow. One will merge/mutate into the next. The leaders of this movement will still be involved but each new one will be more cunning in his/her deceptions.

Should a council be formed to resolve the Todd Bentley issue?

Let’s take our example from the Bible. Every time that people found themselves in error or sin and God intervened, He always did so through prophetic voices. Consider Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, and even John the Baptist and Jesus. In the case of John the Baptist and Jesus, they repeatedly had opportunities to reason or bargain with the Jewish leaders, but they did not. Why? Because the instruction of the Lord is not open for debate. It is either obeyed or not.

To gather a council of Christian leaders would be to open the floor to men like James, who, though a powerful influence in the church, had received no instruction from Christ. Men like him believe they know what is best, but their influence merely synergizes what God has spoken and what He has not into an amalgamation of doctrine that will eventually lead us astray.

A council to decide the matter of Todd Bentley’s revival would simply provide the opportunity to synergize Christianity with the beliefs of those who support this human collaboration with demons. In the end, it would decide something like this: “In revival meetings, you can do pretty much do what you want under these conditions: 1) the Bible is referenced at least once, 2) miracles can be performed in the name of “bam” as long as sometime during the meeting you give credit to God, 3) [fallen] angels can participate as long as they are nice and don’t exhibit too strange a demonic manifestation, and 4) you can invalidate scripture as long as an angel, a dead saint or prophet, or God/Christ has appeared to you and given you an explanation for it. When all is said and done, all such a council would achieve is to reach an agreement with hell and its demons.

So what should we do? We should do what every man and woman of God has done when servitude to God was hijacked by the traditions of men like the Pharisees, sin like Sodom and Nineveh, or the worship of demons and false gods like Baal. We must speak out against it.

We do not need to hear from people who are merely promoting compromise. We do not need to hear from those who are interested in numbers (Acts 21:20). And we certainly do not want to give place to any synergy developing between Christian faith and demonic influence. What we need is to hear clear instruction from God.

Final thoughts…

1. Do not make leagues with devils.

To form a council with those who are promoting this wave of spiritualism/mysticism would be like trying to make a deal with the devil. Why would we do that? Do not try to reason with them or try to reach a compromise. You will be the one who loses. We are in the end times, though the end is still probably years away. You won’t be able to stop this out pouring of demonic activity. What we are seeing is God beginning to separate out the tares.

2. Stop trying to define “Rules of Engagement” for Satan

We constantly hear Christians trying to define rules for how Satan operates: “he cannot possess, he can only oppress;” “he cannot stand the truth;” “if you do X then he will do Y;” etc. People need to quit assuming that Satan and his minions play by any “rules.” They never have. Christianity’s greatest failure has been in its inability to anticipate Satan’s guile and deceit, and its inability to accept what he is actually capable of doing. Satan loves the fact that Christians give him so little credit. He loves it that Christians underestimate him on such a massive scale. He loves it that they don’t believe he can deceive them or inflict pain. He loves it that they don’t believe he can imitate God, an angel, or a prophet. Whatever rules you have established in your mind, discard them now, because if history teaches us anything, it teaches us that Satan is notorious for finding ways around “the rules.”

3. Unity does not mean compromise

In the face of two powerful and conflicting opinions, there will always be those who cry for their version of “unity.” For those Protestants who want “unity” on this issue, we ask: “Will you also seek ‘unity’ with your Catholic brethren? Or, will you Pentecostals seek to ‘unify’ with those who deny your doctrine?” You cannot have it both ways. If compromise on this issue is necessary for “unity,” then consider the fact that division among Christians extends deeper than this Lakeland issue. Where will it end? Are you willing to tackle every point of controversy? You will find that the cry for “unity” is always coming from among those who feel pain from certain divisions that directly affect them, yet they will ignore every point of contention that does not. Yes, perhaps there could be that type of “unity” but at what expense? The fact is, Acts 15 did not create true unity: it only created compromise. The Acts 15 council compromised a clear and direct revelation from God. They all knew it, and they all went along with it, even knowing it was wrong.

How important was unity to Jesus?

John 6:54-69
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Jesus always allowed His Word to separate the tares from the wheat. He did not dilute His Word to make it more acceptable for the sake of numbers. Unity is important to Jesus, but His desire for unity extended only to those who stayed with Him. There is and always has been a unity among those who embrace the Words of Christ.

What would have happened if the apostles had simply told James, “No, we will not go along with this. We accept and embrace the revelation of grace given to Peter and Paul.” The disciples did not know how to handle conflict. They simply did not trust Jesus to work things out. There might have been a split. James and some of the orthodox Jews may have left. But then again, maybe they would have listened. Instead, the apostles responded to fear (demonstrated in Galatians 2:11-14) and intimidation, and they did not give God a chance. Perhaps, they should have allowed a split. Perhaps God wanted to separate the tares from the wheat even back then?

There will be those who, like Grady, will use the example of Acts 15 to suggest that we form committees so that they can create unity. The committee formed in Acts 15 is symptomatic of every committee that has ever followed. They are plagued with compromise and politics. Acts 15 did not establish “unity.” It created passive aggression among its leaders. It created a truce among the opposing voices and a compromise regarding the issues. And compromise is not unity, nor should it ever be misconstrued for unity. Unity is something that can only be created through the Holy Spirit among those who yield their lives to the Lord. It cannot be created by a committee, and it cannot come about from working in league with the devil.

Conclusion

What is taking place in this new wave of spiritualism/mysticism hurts people. It is not simply a difference of opinion. People are coming away from these meetings infected with demons, or with residual demonic influences. People are being deceived. Now is not a time to reach a compromise with devils or to be silent for the sake of “unity.” Now is the time for good men to stand up and resist evil. Satan will not play by your rules.

You may be called divisive. You will ache for unity. But instead of remaining silent, allow your voice to blend in harmony with the voices currently speaking forth. Unity occurs when individual Christians speak corporately together as the mouthpiece of God. John the Baptist and Jesus spoke out against the tide of hypocrisy in their generation. Their voices harmonized as a single voice in unity, to speak the word of the Lord. Unity occurs when we are listening corporately to the Lord and following Him. Unity is not conformity, and it is certainly not compromise. The scripture describes unity: “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth (Revelation 14:4).”

We realize that it is tempting to leave the safety of the Savior and rush off to follow after these men and the [fallen] angels who direct them. Don’t do it. God told us how the revivals He brings will come, and you will not find it in the hype, arrogance, and perniciousness in Lakeland. God said, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).”

Finally, please pray for us. We ask that you would remember us before the Lord.

Amen.

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June 2, 2008
By Ron and Karen Schwartz

More messages can be found at: http://members.triton.net/kmsrjs/thoughts.htm

Many Christians are accepting the spiritualistic/mystic movement coming out of places like Toronto, Brownsville, and Lakeland as being from God because they cannot believe that God would allow contemporary Christians to be so thoroughly deceived. “God is a God of love,” they proclaim. “God’s mercy is everlasting,” they insist, “So how could a God of such great compassion allow such deception upon His people?” Therefore, as they see it, it is only reasonable to assume that this Third Wave [see Part 2] of supernatural spiritualism must be sent from God to bless His people.

The problem today is not with God but with the contemporary Christian’s perception of Him. They are basing their eternal future on their perception of a God they cannot see and whom they do not know. Therefore, when presented with what seems to be two opposing opinions – 1) a God of love, mercy, and compassion, or 2) a God who demands purity and holiness – obviously they will select the opinion that is the most appealing to them.

The Days of Noah

Matthews 24:37-39
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” What was Jesus talking about when He referred to “the days of Noah?” Jesus explained what He meant when He went on to say that “people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.” In other words, they took things for granted. They went on about their lives as though nothing was happening. They refused to acknowledge the signs of the times.

The Signs of the Times

Jesus observed, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3).”

Quite often, people deceive themselves. It was that way during the days of Noah, and it is the same way today. We should be able to see what is taking place around us and understand the implications to us. Consider the days of Noah:

Genesis 6:1-3
When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

In “the days of Noah,” angels came down and joined with mankind in an intimacy that produced a powerful offspring. This offspring, though children of fallen angels [demons], were nevertheless idolized by mankind. The scripture says that “the sons of God [angels] went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:4).” It doesn’t matter if the heroes were the angels or the children born to them. They were both a perversion of nature. But rather than see this for the spiritual perversion they were (an amalgamation of earth and hell), people worshipped them for their power and might. People idolized them.

It’s interesting that the scripture refers to this hybrid of men and angels as “heroes of old, men of renown.” Why? People saw these men as “heroes of old, men of renown” because of their power. It is quite possible that the legends of Zeus, Thor, and Hercules came from this era. But even though the people considered this event in a positive light, the Bible says this about it: “The angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home — these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day (Jude 6).” Obviously, God didn’t have the same opinion of the angels and their offspring as the people did. God saw them as a cancerous plague that, if left unchecked, would eventually pollute all human seed. Today, just as in those days, Christians are viewing the perversion of men joining with fallen angels [demons] different than how God sees them. Men like Todd Bentley claim to be in league [to have joined] with angels. He claims that a being claiming to be “the Christ” appeared to him. He claims to derive his instruction and power from these supernatural beings. Consequently, just like the days of Noah, people see leaders like Todd Bentley, Bob Jones, and Patricia King as their heroes – men/women of renown – rather than the perversion that God sees.

Today, as in “the days of Noah,” angels are once again joining with men to produce a perversion of nature: men/women of great power. Once again, this power is the spiritual amalgamation of earth and hell, and once again, people are worshipped because of their power. But even though a perversion of the supernatural is taking place upon the earth, a turpitude of epic proportions and unparalleled deceit, an event not witnessed by humanity in five thousand years, “people [nevertheless go about] eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” as though the events of this age are commonplace.

What we see taking place in Toronto and Lakeland are not commonplace. It is a rupture in hell, and evil is spilling forth. It is a Latter Rain of demonic activity that will sweep our nations and this world. It is the bastardizing of humanity with demons being done in the name of God. It is demons, appearing as angels, and bonding with mankind to produce men of great power, “heroes” and “men of renown,” and yet life goes on with people “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” as though nothing has changed.

As more and more Christian leaders and pastors from around the world go forth to receive the “anointing,” they will return to their churches as perversions of earth and hell to promote this new elite race of Christian-demons (Christian and demon). God ended this practice once before by destroying the world. What do you suppose that He will do this time?

They took God for granted

Jesus said that people “were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,” and they were unaware of the danger they were in because “they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away (Matthew 24:38-39).” Here we find that “in the days of Noah” people took things for granted. They assumed that the world would continue along as it always did. But, more importantly, they assumed that God would continue to act as He always has. They assumed that God had not and would not change. But they were wrong.

God declared, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth (Genesis 6:13-14).” How can we accept the fact that judgment is coming to our nations, the world will soon end, and yet believe that nothing has changed? “In the days of Noah,” God changed. “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth [KJV: And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth], and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth — men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air — for I am grieved that I have made them [KJV: for it repenteth me that I have made them]’ (Genesis 6:5-8).”

If we can accept the words of Jesus, then we must accept the fact that “as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” We must accept the fact that our nations have reached the level of sin and corruption that the world knew “in the days of Noah,” and that God is “grieved [KJV: repenteth] that [He] made [man].” As a result, in “the days of Noah,” God proclaimed “My Spirit will not contend with man forever (Genesis 6:3).” If God would withdraw His love and compassion from them then we must accept the fact that this could happen to us as well.

There is a limit to God’s compassion. There are times when God will turn His head. Jesus experienced this when He became sin for the world and God forsook Him [“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me (Matthew 27:46)?”]. If it could happen to the ancient world and to Jesus, then why are today’s Christians so arrogant to believe that it cannot happen to them?

Jesus said that, “in the days of Noah,” people “knew nothing [Greek: ‘to perceive, know, realize, or understand’] about what would happen until the flood came.” If we can trust the words of Jesus, then people today do not perceive, know, realize, or understand the impending danger. They believe and trust in an all-merciful and compassionate God and conveniently dismiss the fact that He is also a God who cannot tolerate sin. If we can trust the words of Jesus, then we must accept that fact that people today are living in a Great Delusion – a delusion that is causing them to misinterpret an outpouring of demonic activity as a mighty revival.

They are unaware that God is turning His back on a world filled with sin and unrepentant Christians.

God’s Spirit will not always contend or strive with man

“As it was in the days of Noah,” God said “My Spirit will not contend [KJV: strive] with man forever (Genesis 6:3).” The word “contend” is an interesting word. It conveys the idea of government in any fashion. Here it describes God’s interaction or His willingness to cooperate, assist, or collaborate with mankind. God said that because of the sin and corruption of mankind, the manner in which He has interacted with mankind would come to an end. Effectively, God would change. Whereas he had been loving, merciful, longsuffering, and compassionate, He would now “un-love” mankind.

Jesus said that during the time before His return (the last days), it will be as it was “in the days of Noah.” And “in the days of Noah,” God’s Spirit stopped interacting with mankind to help, aid, and draw him to repentance (i.e., “My Spirit will not contend with man forever”). In other words, there will be a limit to God’s love and mercy. There will be a limit to His grace.

Christians today don’t want to hear this. They want to hear about God’s love, compassion, longsuffering, and grace. They want to hear about success and financial gain. They want to hear that God is raising up a mighty army of overcomers, of kings, and of prophets. But rather than raising up anything, God is about to end something. “In the days of Noah,” God did not pour out His love and His Spirit. On the contrary, He took it away – He poured out a flood of destruction.

Christians do not want to accept the fact that things are changing, everything is changing, and even the very love and compassion of God is changing. His “Spirit will not contend with man forever,” and when His Spirit departs, so will His love, kindness, and compassion. This is the part that most Christian miss: the part where God does, in fact, change. The part where (as “In the days of Noah,”) “The LORD was grieved [repented] that he had made man.” This is the part Christians don’t want to accept: that God’s mercy, love, and tender compassion for them can ever waver.

Christians trust that God will never allow them to be deceived, yet Paul wrote – when speaking of the end – that during the last days “the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders [will come], and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).”

If Christians really believed the Bible they claim to trust, then they would be on their knees repenting. They would not be vainly boasting of God’s great love for them but praying and repenting of their sin. However, Jesus predicted that it will be different. He predicted that people would take God’s love, grace and longsuffering for granted (i.e. people “were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage”), and not show concern for impending judgment.

It is because of the unrepentant hearts of His people that God will not just allow this deception to come but God Himself will be behind the sending of it (i.e. “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie”). If you believe that God would never allow you to be deceived then do not know God. We must take a lesson from the days of Noah and realize that God will not always strive and contend to draw men unto Him, that His patience is almost gone.

When God said that His Spirit would not always contend (or strive) with mankind, He was saying that a time had come when He would no longer intervene, help, protect, aid, or save mankind. They were to be on their own. Consequently, if we are to believe the words of Jesus – that we are in a time comparable to the days of Noah – then we are entering a time when Christians can proclaim the love, mercy, help, and protection of God all they want, but that doesn’t mean that they will find it. Nevertheless, in the face of despair, they will continue their proclamations of “peace and safety” because they are so completely deceived. We must therefore not rest in our own certainty and self-conceit but pursue God and endeavor to stay in His love.

Peace and Safety

Some Christians will claim that all we’re doing is promoting fear. Wake up! We are living in the days of Noah, when demons, masquerading as angels, are bonding with men. We are living in the days of Noah, when God’s Spirit, love, compassion, and mercy are about to be withdrawn. We are living in a time of the greatest of all delusions – one which is sent from God – which will deceive all, including, if it’s possible, the “very” elect. However, we realize that we are not the only voices. There are far more voices saying just the opposite.

Paul wrote, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3).” Now ask yourselves, “What are the masses saying, what are our Christian leaders saying, and what are the self-proclaiming prophets saying?” The overwhelming majority of them are saying, “God loves you (i.e., peace),” and “He won’t allow you to be hurt or deceived (i.e., safety).”

It is interesting that Paul uses the analogy of “travail upon a woman with child,” because, although childbirth does happen suddenly, it certainly does not come unexpectedly. A woman knows intuitively, as well as by her size and the duration of her pregnancy, that her time is near. Even so, there is an abundance of scripture that predicts not just the state of the world but also the state of Christianity. Nevertheless, Christians blindly march on, listening to the comforting words of their leaders and “prophets,” who lie to them for profit.

Doesn’t it bother you that those leaders whom you financially support are 1) preaching “peace and safety,” and 2) are being supported by you because they make you feel good? Of course they are going to continue to do so when their financial future depends on it. You have made it clear to them that in order to continue receiving your support they must make you feel good.

Final Thoughts…

• Universal Christianity

Constantine, led by a dream and unconstrained by scripture, made Christianity universal to all religions. As a result, pagans, Druids, and every other religion that worshipped false gods were both encouraged and allowed to merged with Christianity to create a “universal” Christianity that later became known as Catholicism.

What we see taking place today is just as before: a merging of Christianity with spiritualism, and mysticism to create a universal Christianity. It is the “Constantinizing” of modern Christianity all over again, only this time it is spiritually motivated instead of politically. As such, it will be much more powerful because these “prophets” are getting direction from beings claiming to be angels, Jesus, and (soon to be) dead prophets. And, like Constantine, the leaders of this movement are not limited to the boundaries of the scripture. They are free to merge with Eastern religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, and yes, even Satanism. In fact, they already are. This is the inception of the rebirth of a universal religion. The Book of Revelation actually predicted this:

Revelation 13:1-4
And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”

Universal Christianity (i.e. “One of the heads of the beast”), a conglomeration of all religions fusing into Christianity, first appeared in the form of the Holy Roman Empire. It was the last great empire to control the known world. But through the Renaissance and the Reformation Movement, it appeared to be mortally wounded (i.e., “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound”) and seemed to all but disappear, but alas, it is now reappearing (i.e. “but the fatal wound had been healed”) in this new wave of spiritualism. Like the Charismatic Movement, it will cross denominational and Catholic barriers, but it has the power to go much farther. Since it is not biblically-based (just like the first “Constantinization”), this new form of spiritualism is capable of crossing all barriers. Before long, it will spread across nations, cultures, and religions. It will become a fusion of many if not all religions. You have seen very little of what it is capable of doing.

• Some people have observed a similarity between the Inquisition of the Dark Ages and those who promote this Toronto and Lakeland “blessing.”

Many of those involved with this new wave of spiritualism become almost militant toward those who do not accept their beliefs. When Christianity was first “Constantinized,” it produced a form of universal Christianity that brought about the Dark Ages and the Inquisition. It will happen again. People involved in this new wave of Christian spiritualism are told not to pray but to empty their minds (Dark Ages). They are instructed to blindly open themselves to “the spirit.” This was the doctrine of the Dark Ages.

The Inquisition was directed toward heathen (i.e., those who did not believe). It will be the same this time. As this movement gains popularity and acceptance, it will villainize all those who do not believe as they do. The Inquisition is just beginning. Our counsel to you is to pray. Pray fervently and without ceasing. You have not even begun to see the full extent of this yet. This false revival is still very much a minority. It has yet to become mainstream, although such status is fast approaching. The difference between this new movement and the original Inquisition of the past is that this new “Spiritual Inquisition” is a battle (promoted by Christians) to give demonic activity the freedom to persecute all those who withstand them or speak out against them.

• Todd Bentley is no fraud.

He has something very real, but it is nonetheless demonic. It is not all emotionalism and hype. It is more than that. It is spiritualism and mysticism promoted as Christianity. Believe the miracles that you read concerning it. There really are supernatural events taking place, but they are not from God. Consequently, don’t be so arrogant as to assume that you are spiritual a match for this. Stay away from it. Do not even watch videos of it.

• Watch the money.

People will pay anything for this blessing, for healing, to experience a supernatural manifestation, or to become a super-Christian – a person “of renown.” The leaders of this movement will grow richer and richer. Most of our Christian leaders and “prophets” have already sold out for money. As they see the money generated from this movement, they will not wait too long before they jump on the bandwagon as well. Especially when their funds begin to dry up because the money is being redirected to those involved in this spiritualism movement.

• Finally, some Christians will wonder what this means for them.

If God’s Spirit, and with it His love, mercy, and compassion will depart from mankind, then what hope have we? Jesus addressed this when He said:

Matthew 24:12-18
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved… Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.

The counsel of Jesus is to stay where you are. Don’t go looking for the blessing. If they say, “Lo, it’s in Toronto,” believe them not. If they say, “It’s over in Lakeland,” go not forth. There is nothing in it for you.

Yes, there may be things of value elsewhere: the warmth of Christian friends (i.e., “his cloak”) that seem to abandon you for perceived blessings elsewhere, or all the programs, resources, music, teachers, etc. (i.e., “anything [in] the house”) available in institutional churches (Babylon the Great). If you are in God’s love, then stay there. Do not go seeking other things. As Jude wrote, “Keep [Greek: “to guard, protect, or keep watch”] yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life (Jude 21).” Because once you leave it – once you leave the field – you just might not be able to find your way back. God’s Spirit may not be there “contend[ing] with” you to bring you back.

There is coming a time, and that time is fast approaching, when you will not be able to straddle the fence. Jesus said when that time comes, if you are “in the field”, then stay there. You will not be able to go in and out. That is how it was “in the days of Noah.” People were either in the ark or not. Many today, however, flip back and forth between sin and God’s love, trusting in the mercy and compassion of the Lord, but all that will change when God no longer “strives” or “contends” to draw them back to Him. When that time comes, you will need to be one way or the other. We plead with all of you to climb into His ark of mercy – “the love of God”, as Jude says – and stay there. Do not “go back,” do not leave the field, and do allow the cares of this life or the deceptiveness of these supernatural events draw down from the spiritual height (i.e. “roof of his house”) in which you stand. Stay put. Remain rooted and grounded in His love. During the end time of Sodom and Gomorra Lot’s wife died because she looked back. Not even the fondness for sin was tolerated. Our end time is no less significant. If your heart is not fully set on God then do so today. Don’t wait any longer.

Beloved, we ask that you please pray for us. We need and covet your prayers.

Amen.

kmsrjs@triton.net (use the same address for MSN Messenger)
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May 22, 2008
By Ron and Karen Schwartz

   
Matthew 24:23-26
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 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. Behold, I have told you before.  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

Christians today are presented with an unparalleled deception.  We have finally entered those days that Jesus predicted, when by the hands of false prophets “great signs and wonders” are given that are so amazing they might “deceive the very elect.”  Do you really think that Jesus was describing whackos like the self-proclaiming messiah in Waco and Albuquerque?  Men like that fool no one.  The real deception is just beginning to show itself.  Todd Bentley at Lakeland is just the current move of what is sure to be the new form of spiritualism – pretending to be the Spirit of God – that will soon sweep across our nations and the entire world (shortly).  It is the “Third Wave.”  And it cannot be stopped.

There is a message God is speaking to those who will hear Him and yield to Him: “Go not forth.”
 “And behold (I saw a) Pale Horse!”

Revelation 6:8
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.

The Greek word translated “pale” is “chloros,” which means “pale green, the color of young grass.”  Our English word “chlorophyll” is derived from the root.  It is often translated pale because of the lack of color.  The choice word therefore is not to describe the color of the horse but the lack of it.

“The significance of this word escaped us for literally decades.  Then one Sunday as I meditated on the implication of the choice of this word, God brought to my mind the picture of World War II servicemen charging into battle.  They wore, coincidently, pale green camouflage uniforms.  All at once, it was as if I could see what John saw: an almost translucent (pale) horse walked right past me.  I could make out the outline of the horse, but I could see right through it as it passed by.  Finally, I understood the significance of that color: camouflage.  The other horses (white, red and black) were obvious, but this one was practically invisible.  It was going to arrive, but it was not meant to be seen.” – Ron

In the previous note, we discussed the Latter Rain movement of the 1940’s and 1950’s and how it produced a dangerous doctrine regarding “the remnant.”  This doctrine holds that, in every generation, there is a “remnant” class of those who call themselves Christians who are the people through whom God works.  The danger here is that every group believes that they are the remnant.  It has created an elitist culture within the ranks of end-time believers and the prophetic community.  The other thing it did was to create a hierarchy among the Protestants similar to what we find in the Catholic Church.  It called out ranks of ministry including deacons, elders, bishops, teachers, pastors, evangelists, prophets and apostles – all these offices are available today.  It’s not that we necessarily disagree with this teaching, but how it is taught.  How it is presented simply adds to the elitist mindset.  The combination of these teachings have caused Christian leaders to claim greater and greater status.  It started with only a few who called themselves prophets and apostles, but today just about anyone associated with this movement considered themselves and apostle or a prophet.  This has given way to the Pale Horse:

Camouflaged within the end-time and prophetic groups is an unimaginable spiritual peril that is impossible to quantify.  It is a spiritual awakening often referred to by these groups as a “Third Wave.”  Third Wave teaching (in various forms) has been around for nearly two decades.  It holds that the (end-time) “First Wave” was the Pentecostal revival of the early 1900’s.  Depending on whom you ask, the “Second Wave” was either the Latter Rain movement in the forties and fifties or the Charismatic movement of the sixties and seventies.  We are now entering the “Third Wave.”  We believe there is a Third Wave that it is beginning to fall, but it is not falling from God!

Revelation 16:12-16
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs [and lying wonders], and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15 “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

The Toronto Blessing (Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship), the Pensacola Brownsville Assembly of God Revival, the Holy Trinity Brompton (an Anglican church in London), and now the Lakeland, Florida revival are places that have produced innumerable accounts of “spiritualist” marvels.  Literally millions of curious seekers have attended meetings in these places to observe the supernatural events that occur there.

If you are unfamiliar with the so-called “Toronto Blessing,” it is often characterized by physical manifestations ranging from simple abdominal spasms to the taking on of animalistic behavior (walking on all fours, barking like dogs, roaring like lions, slithering like snakes, etc.).  The leaders of these groups often talk of their “life in heaven” or the teachings they received from “angels.”  By garnering their instructions directly from “heaven” and “angels,” they have made it difficult, if not impossible, for Christians to refute their teachings biblically  (it is all “experientially” based).  But then that is something dangerously missing from these revivals: biblical teaching.  In addition, because their teachings and practices are entirely “experiential,” they cannot necessarily be tested by the scripture.  The teachings and practices of the Toronto Blessing are on a “spiritualistic” level not always specifically dealt with in biblical doctrine and teaching, and that should scare all of those involved in it.  Whenever you tread on ground outside the boundaries of the scripture, you take your soul in your own hands.

God revealed something to us some time back that we now see beginning to manifest itself among the leaders of these groups.  We saw that Christians always aspire to become better than their fellow Christians.  Following the First Wave (Pentecostal revival of the 1900s), people aspired to be pastors.   Following the Second Wave (Latter Rain/Charismatic revivals of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s that taught the renewal of the Five-Fold ministry), Christians aspired to be apostles and prophets.  As a result, today, self-proclaiming apostles and prophets pervade nearly every Christian community.  The question the Spirit posed to us was this: “What will the Third Wave bring?  How can they possibly top men claiming to be apostles and prophets?  How can you be more than an apostle or a prophet?”  We knew then that He was warning us of a new wave coming that would somehow lead Christian leaders to believe that they were “anointed” and “empowered” with an endowment that was more than that of mere apostles and prophets.  And since the authors of the New Testament were apostles, this new anointing would permitted them to dismiss the limitations of the scripture over their lives.  The anointing of this new wave would lead them to believe that they were “special” angels, that they were Elijah sent back to earth with a “special” end-time anointing, that they were emissaries from heaven, or even that they were Christ reincarnate.  We see the inception of this with men who now claim to have the angel of William Branham and other special angels that empower them.  Watch where they finally go with this because what you see now is just the beginning.

How can you argue with a congregation that sees the cloud of God descend from the ceiling, hears a choir of angels sing, is covered with gold dust, or sees an angel appear?  At one time, these events were something you would hear about periodically purported as a Catholic spiritualistic event: blood flowing from the hands of a statue, the face of Jesus in a tree, Mary appearing and teaching children.  But events such as these are now commonplace within the Third Wave.  Now ask yourself, “Exactly how would false Christs and false prophets come?  How would you possibly be able to deceive the elect?”  Of course, such a deception would have to appear to be an act of God.  Anything that would supersede the Bible must come with supernatural endorsement.  That way it would be attributed to God.  However, what is now considered miracles are manifestations that used to be associated with devil possession, mysticism, and voodoo.

We see in this Pale Horse that demonic spirits have entered into Christian groups camouflaged as the Spirit of God (in some cases with people who come seeking healing and a legitimate revival).  Can we prove this?  No, but the more important question is this: can you prove it is God?  Are mere “experiential” testimonies enough?  It is obvious that those who are a part of these movements are none the better for their experience aside from newly acquired “tics,” health problems, bodily manifestations once associated with demonic possession, spiritualist abilities once associated with the “black arts,” and a new level of arrogance (elitist mentality).

The Toronto Blessing which Todd Bentley brought down to Lakeland will not remain localized phenomena.  This wave will become huge.  It will sweep our nations and continents.  Thousands of pastors who attend these meetings will spread this epidemic into their communities.  This will spread to pandemic proportions.  And as the events in these relatively few places become more and more commonplace, the leaders will seek to outdo each other just the prophetic and apostolic movements did.  This wave will sweep through virtually every denomination and every nation.

It is not by sheer coincidence that the characteristics of this “blessing” markedly resemble the manifestations that go along with demonic possession.  Consequently, you will eventually see a merging of this newfound spirituality in certain geographical regions with voodoo, mysticism, psychic phenomena, paranormal practices, and other spiritualistic observances like Satanism.
Weighing the Counterfeits

Some of you remember the popularity of the Charismatic Movement during the 1960’s and 1970’s.  There was a lot of good that came from it, and many people received spiritual renewal.  However, just as prominent as those legitimately touch by God were those who fell into the counterfeit.  With many Charismatic leaders, the movement was not about being touched by God’s Spirit as it was about getting “tongues.”  Much of the time, that which people sought was to be “slain in the Spirit” and to “speak with tongues.”  They would pray and pray and call out to God begging Him to give them “tongues.”  They were not seekers of God but seekers of tongues.  And as a result, many got exactly what they were seeking, and it was not the Spirit of God.  Such also is the characteristic of this new movement.  People are seeking after miracles and that is exactly what they will find.  Satan will allow any distraction to happen that takes the eyes and the attention of people off of God.

Matthew 24:23-26
23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.  For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect — if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

Men claiming to be Christ come and go.  In the past, they have been regarded as little more than a joke.  Does anyone take them seriously other than the few confused followers who join their cult?  There is currently one in Albuquerque.  Where are the masses headed out to follow him?  If these counterfeits fool so very few, why would Jesus warn the “elect” to not be deceived by them?  The fact is (generally), everyone knows better.

Jesus warned that when the real false prophets come, they will perform “great signs and miracles.”  Therefore, if God’s people could be deceived, then the deception must occur within their own ranks.  It will come from large churches with prominent pastors. It will come from recognized leaders.  It will occur in the same manner as the Charismatic movement: progressive and popular.

Many people who have gone to the revival meetings in Florida and Canada are skeptical and attended out of simple curiosity.  Such was also the case during the Charismatic Movement.  At first their heart tells them that something is wrong, but after seeing the “great signs and miracles,” the seeker begins to wonder if perhaps they have missed something.  Then they begin to wonder why they were left out.  Eventually, they open themselves up to whatever is taking place around them, and that is why Jesus warned us, “Do not go out.”  Or as the King James puts it: “Go not forth.”  His counsel to us is that we must not even attend out of curiosity, because it is just too dangerous.  You are not wiser than the great deceiver?  Do not put your wits up against his.

Just as it was in the Charismatic Movement, the focus of those who attend these revival meetings is on the experience instead of on God. They become addicted to the thrilling experiences of the encounters around them.  They ignore the warnings of their hearts in the hope of experiencing what others have.  It creates an insatiable craving for the supernatural (paranormal).  It is very similar to adrenalin addiction.  The expectation and hype opens people up to receive that which in other settings they would flee.

The events of this current revival are the fulfillment of the warning: “If anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.  For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect…”  This revival is built upon the teachings of men who are taking their instructions from angels or from “experiences” they have had “in heaven.”  In the past, this is exactly how every cult began (i.e., Joseph Smith of the Mormons).  People swarm to these places with no thought of the consequences because they believe they are happening at “credible” churches and with established ministries, and because they desire to see the “great signs and miracles” take place.  They are saying to one another, “’Look, here is the Christ’ or an angel at this church.”  “Christ (the anointing) is here or there.”  They are going to these places looking for anoints (Christ).  And because they have been so conditioned by church leaders not to ask questions but to blindly accept the teaching of their leaders they will not ask questions.

Consider how well-camouflaged this deception is.  Everyone knows that Revelation describes how that angels will administer the seven last trumpets.  Therefore when angels appear in their meetings no one questions if this is Satan coming as “an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14)?”  We ask you, “How would you expect false prophets capable of deceiving the elect to come?  Would they come worshipping Satan and practicing voodoo?”  No, they will come as established Christian leaders working through established churches.

You are probably hearing about all the great miracles, but what you are not hearing about are those who leave these meetings with “tics,” chronic ailments, and possessions (imitating animals or other outbursts) that flare up whenever they attend religious meetings.  These are residual demonic characteristics distinctive to possession – anyone who has ever dealt with demonic possession knows what we mean by this.  The best advice we have for you is to obey the words of Jesus: “Do not go out,” either from expectation or curiosity.  Such a warning also includes staying away from watching it on U-tube and God-TV for curiosity’s sake.   Any means of exploring it opens a door into your life.  This is and will be the opening of hell itself.

There are a few characteristics that this movement creates within its victims: 1) an elitist attitude – those who experience it feel superior to other Christians, and 2) they become addicted to the hype – they are unsatisfied with the bible, their personal time and relationship with God, and long to find a place where they can “experience” and even greater thrill. 

Understand that most Christians go to these revivals out of curiosity.  Most Christians want a genuine touch from God.  What they see initially disturbs them, but their concern eventually gives way to questions and then desire.  They start to feel left out and begin to wonder what’s wrong with their own lives since they are not experiencing it also.  That is pride talking, and pride opens their lives to the same demonic influence that surrounds them.  Christian, you are no match for the deceit of Satan.  He’ll win in the end.

The scripture tells us that “the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood (Revelation 12:15).”  In this scripture it says “water as a flood” came out of his mouth, but in Revelation 16 it says: “Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs [and lying wonders], and they go out to the kings of the whole world.”  The flood that Satan is using to sweep away the woman (the Church) is a deception this is nearly impossible to quantify with the scripture.   It is miraculous signs and wonders from devils.  If Satan is going to sweep away Christians, then of course it will come through the churches and leaders they trust.   The flood is on its way.  Many are being swept away.  Will you be one?
Final Thoughts…

What about Brownsville?  Should we really label it alongside Lakeland and Toronto?  Many of the people (including the leaders) of Brownsville and Toronto traveled back and forth between churches.  Brownsville may have started out as a genuine work of God, but it certainly has been hijacked.

We know of pastors from other charismatic churches (AOG) who heard about the revival in Brownsville and tried to stimulate a revival in their own communities by bringing in evangelists.  It happened here in Grand Rapids near where we live.  There was a lot of excitement and a lot of people came, but it was short-lived.  Why?  It didn’t work the way it worked in Brownsville because they tried to do it right.  The evangelist came in preaching the need for repentance and humility so eventually their revival ran out of gas.

What keeps places like Toronto, Brownsville, and Lakeland going has nothing to do with revival (i.e., repentance, humility, and turning from sin).  People there are anointed and touched regardless of the state of their hearts, and there is no change (in regards to godliness).  It is hype, driven by men of such arrogance that they ignore God and His Word, and they take their direction from “angels.”

True revivals are ALWAYS marked by people turning away from sin and back to God.  This revival is marked by people turning to hype, hysteria, and delusion.  It is not marked by a restoration of righteousness by any means.  The prophets and Christian leaders who are calling this a move of God (a revival) simply because of the miraculous acts are fools, and they do not know God.

Many Christians will feel self-confident and curious enough to investigate what is happening.  There is an intrinsic need within Christians to want to paint something either black or white.  But this will only lead to confusion.  There are enough people claiming healing – and that their healing is from God – to lead an investigator to conclude that what is taking place is from God.  However, these events are unparalleled spiritually and cannot be measured by conventional means.  All hell has been waiting for this time – the end time – to unleash the greatest of all deceptions.  This is our Trojan horse — Troy embraced the horse as a gift when it in fact brought about its destruction.  It is the dragon in a prophet’s robe and a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Remember, the false prophet in Revelation will have “two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon (Revelation 13:11).”  In other words, he will look like a lamb but his authority will be that of the dragon.  This is not a revival.  Revivals come from God’s Spirit, not from beings that claim to be angels.

What about men like Benny Hinn, Bob Jones, Todd Bentley, and the other prophets that are dabbling in spiritualism?  Are they false prophets?  We can tell you for certain that what Todd Bentley is peddling is not of God.  This doesn’t mean that there are not droves of well-meaning Christians flocking to these meetings in search of healing and a spiritual touch.  In a lot of ways, it is reminiscent of the charismatic revivals of the 60’s and latter rain revivals of the 50’s, where people came by the thousands because of the miracles.  But the miracles they experienced back then pale in comparison to what is taking place today.

One thing to remember about today’s prophetic community is that they all are constantly looking to outdo each other.  That which one does, the others are sure to follow.  None of them will be outdone.  Consequently, as this continues, watch how all the leaders who go by the title of prophet and apostle will seek to outdo each other.  If one has an angel, they will all have angels.  If one is spending time in heaven receiving direction from God, then all of a sudden they all will.  If one becomes the incarnation of Elijah, then suddenly they all will begin claiming to have the spirit of a prophet.  Doesn’t it bother anyone that when something is claimed by one, then suddenly everyone is experiencing it?  That is not the Spirit of God.  It is the spirit of arrogance.

As our societies race toward judgment, the prediction of Christ is quickly being realized:

Matthew 24:37-38
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.

Both the last days during the time of Noah and the last days of Sodom knew a time of unparalleled social degradation and sin.  We also know that the righteous were not untouched by the social and cultural corruption (i.e., “For that righteous man dwelling among them [Sodom], in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds (2 Peter 2:8).”).  Therefore, is it unthinkable to believe that Christians today are likewise affected by cultural values?  What is happening to Christians as the societies in which they live race toward lawless abandonment of all traditional Christian values?  What will happen to Christians as the culture in which they live abandons traditional values in exchange for the experience of “living in the moment.”  If the historical principles found in the scripture are indicative of what we can expect, then expect to see a corresponding trend among Christians.  They will also abandon the restraint and control of the scripture and embrace (for the lack of better terminology) “experiential Christianism,” or “Christians who place their experiences above the scripture and/or the teaching of Christ.”

Consequently, events like those found in Toronto and Lakeland will become more and more commonplace.  And end-time movements will begin to resemble spiritualism more than the revivalism they claimed to be bringing in the past.  Christians, tainted by the “love of self” found in our corrupt social values will embrace anything that give them personal satisfaction and erase the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

We realize that a great number of people will be troubled after reading this note.  Many people will criticize the “feeling” of helplessness that this note seems to convey.  They will be angry at our insinuation that the events unfolding around them may be outside their control.  “Wake up!”  This is a battle between spiritual forces that is beyond your comprehension.  Get on your knees and pray. 

Christian leaders are escorting God’s people into a great delusion by convincing them that they are not apostate but blessed by God and above divine judgment.  There is no humility and repentance associated with this so-called “revival.”  God’s power is supposedly being poured out upon the arrogant and the pretenders.  So now we are supposed to believe that somehow, in this new “move of God,” He is no longer looking for humility, purity, and honesty, but for the pretentious, the arrogant, and the Pharisee.  Do not believe it.

Instead, beloved, “go not forth,” cover yourselves in humility, and repent.

Amen.

kmsrjs@triton.net  (use the same address for MSN Messenger)
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April 27, 2008
Ron and Karen Schwartz

What is apostasy?
Most Christians believe that the word “apostasy” is synonymous with social decadence.  When we hear this word applied to the state of the church, many Christians assume that it has to do with sin or backsliding.  But being backslidden does not really capture the meaning of the word.  In fact, Christians don’t need to be backslidden to be apostate.  There are many respected and devout Christians today filling our churches who are actually living in apostasy.
Understanding Apostasy
Our English word “apostasy” comes from the Greek word “apostasia,” which is found in only a few places in the New Testament.  The most popular of these is 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition”.  The words “fall,” “fallen,” and “falling,” as translated in the New Testament, most often come from derivatives of the Greek word “pipto” (“to fall down or descend” – used both figuratively and literally).  When used in a spiritual context, the word “pipto” usually describes sin or depravity.  However, in this verse, the word “apostasia” is used, which (in the New Testament) points to something other than sin.

The Greek word “apostasia” means “a withdrawing, defection, revolt, a falling away, and apostasy.” The English equivalent (“apostasy”) means, “a forsaking of faith and principles, to which one previously adhered, in favor of opposing beliefs: a perverted religious belief.”

There is a subtle difference between the words “pipto” and “apostasia.”  Generally, “pipto” is indicative of an obvious falling because Christians who “pipto” “fall” are falling into sin.  “Apostasia” “falling” may not be as obvious.

Christians who “apostasia” “fall” may act like every other Christian yet be in a state of apostasy.  Apostate Christians may attend church regularly.  They may be elders in a church.  They may teach Bible studies.  They may raise their hands and praise God, contribute to the poor, or even be pastors.  This is because apostasy is a “deviation” from what was once held as truth and does NOT necessarily mean falling into sin.
The Road to Apostasy
The road to apostasy does not begin with sinners, nor does it start with Christians who are compromising or indulging in sin.  It begins with Christians who are doing what they should be doing.  This is an important distinction because many Christians tend to think that the great “falling away” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is either referring to the depravity of Western society or main stream religion such as the Catholic and Protestant denominations.  However, that interpretation is far too simplistic to be the summation of Satan’s plan, because all Christians would need to do is join an independent church to escape apostasy.  To understand today’s great apostasy, we must first consider how we got here.

Of the Ephesians, Jesus said, “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent (Revelation 2:2-5).”

At the time of John’s writing (around 90 AD), the church at Ephesus was merely a shadow of what Christianity had once been.  Jesus’ commendation of their “labour” and “patience” speaks of a church that was weary of well-doing.  His words concerning how they tried “them which say they are apostles, and are not, and found them liars” speaks of a church that had struggled against the influx of false teaching and self-proclaiming apostles and prophets.  Though it would seem that the objective of Satan was to get this church to embrace false doctrine, it is clear in the words of Jesus that it was not.  His true objective was to get these Christians so focused on doctrine and the church itself that they lose focus on their relationship with God.

Consider Jesus’ admonishment to Laodicea: “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.  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:   I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see (Revelation 3:15-18).”  The Laodicean church is the eventual outcome of every Ephesian church.  What began as an inward focus from external threats eventually ended up as a church that has no external focus, but centers all its attention on its own self interests.  This is the contemporary church.  It no longer resembles anything that Christ taught.  Its only purpose is to fulfill the self-indulgent needs of its members.   Instead of being defined by Christ, this church is defined by its doctrine.  Instead of lifting up Christ, it exalts men.  Instead of serving the requirements of Christ, it serves the desires of its members.  Instead of fostering the “first love,” it craves nicer facilities, luxurious buildings, articulate speakers, professional performers, and more and more intellectual knowledge.  Instead of fanning the flames of revival (and we use that term loosely), it produces apathy and compromise.  This is a straying from what the Spirit originally established, and so it is apostasy.

The letters to the churches in the Book of Revelation present a “road to apostasy.”  It is a road that churches have repeatedly taken over the past two thousand years.  During these millennia, the church has experienced repeated cycles of revival and apostasy.  In fact, prior to the early 1900’s, Christendom was already in a deep state of apostasy.  It had deviated from the Church that Jesus had originally established.  It was a mere shadow of the power and grace it once knew.  However, what we want to consider is the latest cycle of apostasy [the great “falling away (2 Thessalonians 2:3)”] of the contemporary church since the 1900’s.

Over the course of the last few centuries, the Church began to experience a “new awakening.”  Driven by the “Piety” Movement, the Pentecostal Movement was born at the beginning of the last century.  Then, somewhere in the forties and fifties, a new movement began to emerge from the Pentecostal.  It became known as the “Latter Rain.”  It broke away from traditional thinking, propelled by the dynamic evangelist William Branham.  The Latter Rain Movement taught that the Church and the five-fold ministry would be restored and come into unity and perfection, that the Church would eventually become a spiritually militant Church that would defeat evil and Satan, and that the Church would eventually usher in redemption to the earth.  As a result, it became immediately popular, and many flavors of that movement quickly branched out.  Some of those, known as the Manifested Sons of God, Kingdom Now, Dominion, and the Five-Fold Ministry Movements, are still quite active today.

On the heels of the Latter Rain Movement was born probably the most popular Christian movement of the second half of the 1900’s: the Charismatic Movement.  The Charismatic Movement was a kluge of Pentecostalism and Latter Rain doctrines (i.e., unity, five-fold ministry, etc.) which then produced the Discipleship, Shepherd, and the ever popular Word of Faith (“name it and claim it”) Movements.

Each of these movements broke further and further away from traditional Christian doctrine as well as the original simplicity of the “Pentecostal” outpouring that Christianity once enjoyed.  As a result of the lack of standards, virtually any ideology could be incorporated into a church. “Market-driven” philosophies began to produce “mega churches,” and the embracing of social culture brought about “social clones” known as “emergent churches.”  Then we finally come to today.

Both the Charismatic and Latter Rain Movements have run out of gas.  Today, much of the Charismatic and Latter Rain Movements has been stripped down to what is now popularly referred to as the Apostolic and Prophetic Movement.  The “name it and claim it” doctrinal influence has taught them to proclaim that great things are about to be achieved and therefore it is okay to ignore their sin, failure, and pretentiousness.  We wonder how these pretenders truly cannot see how pretentious and fake they really are.  But given the poor choices Christians have today for churches and church leaders, it’s no wonder that these pretenders are able to gather a following.

Both the Latter Rain and Charismatic movements have been successful at something: they have taught Christians to abandon the simplicity of their “first love” and their loyalty to the teaching of Christ, and instead pursue knowledge, doctrine, men, and thus idolatry.  The movements which were built around the discovery of apostasy are responsible for it.  The Latter Rain and Charismatic movements, and their children – the Prophetic and Word of Faith movements – are themselves responsible for a great “falling away.”  This is a “great delusion,” because those who are involved in these movements are on the lookout for that place from which apostasy will come.  They are oblivious to the fact that it is coming from them.

The road to apostasy began at the church at Ephesus, but it did not end there.  It does not begin with sinners and compromising Christians.  It begins with Christians who have experienced a true relationship with God in their hearts.  It begins with Christians who have known the presence of God and what it means to walk in it.  It begins with Christians who have known God.  It begins with Christians who have experienced a “first love” with Christ.  It begins “right” but then other things enter in that begin to cause Christians to deviate from, stray from, or abandon their “first love.”

Christians need to go back to the simplicity, the “first love,” they enjoyed at the beginning of the last century.  They should abandon the profitless doctrine of the Latter Rain, Prophetic, and Word of Faith movements that has stolen their love for Christ and taken their attention away from Him.  Such profitless doctrine only serves to exalt men and their achievements.  Those of you who are involved in these movements know in your hearts how fake you have become.  It’s called apostasy.  Stop waiting and watching for it to come.  It’s already here, and you are responsible for causing it.
The Apostasy of Moses
Most Christians and Jews alike would consider it heretical to associate the idea of apostasy with Moses.  What we hope to show is that apostasy doesn’t necessarily mean a denial that God exists or denial of the deity of Christ.  In fact, quite often apostasy comes in a much more subtle form.
 
Numbers 20:6-12
Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. The LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

In this scripture, God met with Moses and gave him instructions for bringing life-sustaining water to His people.  Moses was to speak to the rock.  Instead, Moses took his staff and struck the rock.  It was an act of disobedience, but what was so significant about this disobedience that it prohibited forgiveness?  To understand this, we must consider this event in the context of what had previously taken place.  Just before this event, God brought the people into the barren desert of Zin, which was completely devoid of water.

Numbers 20:2-5
Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! Why did you bring the LORD’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

It is not apparent at first that this event was not designed to test the people of God.  It was designed to test His leaders.  That is why water flowed out of the rock even after Moses disobeyed God.  God fully intended to meet the needs of His people just like he said He would.  So it didn’t really matter if Moses obeyed Him or not; the needs of the people would be met.

What happened here was actually designed to test how much Moses trusted in God.  Up until this point, God allowed Moses to use his staff for support.  When Moses was afraid of going before Pharaoh, God allowed Moses to use his staff (it turned into a snake and then back into a staff).  It was with Moses’ upraised staff that God brought the plagues upon Egypt.  It was with Moses’ staff that God parted the Red Sea.  His staff was always with him, providing him with the assurance and security he needed to face the challenge.  But this day was different.  Moses faced a completely different challenge.  This day there was to be no staff.

God knew that, over the course of time, things began to change with Moses.  When God first called him, Moses felt inadequate.  He was not confident to meet the challenge.  When God told him to return to Egypt to bring out His people, Moses made one excuse after another.  First he told God, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’ (Exodus 4:1)?”  Then he told God, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue (Exodus 4:10).”  He then finally pleaded, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it (Ex 4:13).”

But that was a long time ago.  The man who once lacked confidence had become a man who commanded respect.  He no longer feared what the people thought.  He no longer feared God.  Instead, he defied God in a show of self-exaltation and proclaimed, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”  It no longer was about being obedient to God.  It had become a show of arrogance and power designed to “slap down” those who doubted his power and questioned his authority.  Now he felt comfortable putting himself at the same level with God, saying “must we” rather than “must God.”

Moses had strayed from the God he once feared.  He had forsaken the original values that God once saw and valued in him (humility and meekness), and in doing so, he perverted his position with God and His people.  Moses had become apostate.  The subtle way that apostasy entered his life should concern God’s people.  It came about with Moses just doing what he always did.  He was not out building a golden calf or teaching the people to forsake the law.  He was, in fact, still the leader of Israel, and he was still their judge.  He still embraced the law and taught the people.  He appeared every bit the godly man that he always did, but even so, he had changed.

Like Moses, most Christian leaders do not start out as arrogant and self-promoting.  At one time, there was genuine humility and a fear of God.  At one time, they did not feel confident.  At one time, they didn’t believe that they were up to the challenge.  At one time, they were able to see themselves as God did: an undeserving lump of useless clay.  However, also like Moses, most church leaders eventually reach a point where they must choose whether to do things their own way or God’s way.

Moses’ staff was always a focus for God’s manifested power.  Sure, the people could see that it was God doing these mighty deeds, but the staff had always been used.  In a way, the staff appeared to have some sort of magic to it.  It seemed to be a channel for God’s power.  It tended to take some of the credit for God’s work.  God tolerated it because Moses felt he needed it.  But Moses eventually reached a point where he no needed the support of the staff.  He became self-confident; perhaps too much so.  He no longer suffered from insecurity, so his staff was no longer a crutch.  It became his icon.  He trusted in it more than he trusted in God.

Most church leaders have entered leadership more-or-less without much confidence.  Their title as pastor was simply a crutch they needed to validate their role, but that always changes.  Eventually their title is no longer a support for a role they play.  Eventually it defines them.  It becomes their icon.  When that happens, apostasy begins to set in.

How so?  A ministry title, whether “priest,” “pastor,” “reverend,” “apostle,” or “prophet,” eventually becomes what defines the man (or woman).  So instead of being examples of a true relationship with God, they begin to “act the part.”  The example they set causes others to follow, becoming actors, too.  Eventually, they are leaders of a group of pretenders, acting the part of God’s people, pretending to be what they think God’s people should be, but they are actually a veneer – an empty facade – of the true Church.  Both leaders and followers forget about their original relationships with God, their lack of assurance in their role, and whether their objectives are centered on God, as the “staff” of ministry becomes central to their lives.

We know many Christian leaders.  They were not always driven by a need for preeminence, self-importance, and status.  Many were men and women who simply loved the Lord.  However, once they began to embrace Christian leadership (as defined by institutional Christianity), they began to change.  And that change is apostasy.

The apostasy of Moses is the eventual outcome of every traditional institutional church ministry.  They will end up (like Israel in the desert) with people who cannot be satisfied, and (as Moses became) pastors who view their “staff” of ministry as something that commands power and authority over the people of God.  The only clear winner here is Satan, who has drawn tens of thousands of churches into this apostasy pit.  They have become churches with leaders who wield their “staffs” of ministry in ostentatious showmanship, filled with people who cannot be satisfied but jump from church to church in search of the best show.
Final Thoughts
Most end-time groups point to the apostasy of the Catholic and denominational churches as the great “falling away,” but these churches were already in apostasy long before these last days.  What is so clever is that Satan has used the end-time groups themselves to usher in the great apostasy.  So don’t look to so-called end-time Movements such as the Latter Rain or the Prophetic Movements for assurance that you are safe from apostasy.  In many ways, they are responsible for it. The only safe place is in your “first love” with Christ.  The more you embrace “End-Time” teaching and the more you emulate the leaders of the Latter Rain and Prophetic Movements, the more apostate you will become.  Go back to the beginning.  There is safety there because only Christ existed there.  You can never go wrong in His embrace.

We are continually asked, “Why not dwell more on the solution?”

The solution is so simple that it requires little explanation.  Jesus told us what to do when he told both the church of Ephesus and of Laodicea to do the “first works” – that is, “repent.”  And God also told us, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways (repent); then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).” 

When people ask about the solution for abortion on demand or the gay agenda in our society, we tell them that God’s people need to humble themselves and repent.  When people ask what can be done to stop liberals from taking over our government, we tell them that God’s people need to humble themselves and repent.  When we are asked about what we should do to prevent the government from outlawing home school education, we tell them that there is but one solution: God’s people must humble themselves and repent.  Do you see a trend developing?  The answer is always the same.  The solutions are not found in politics or lobbyists.  Whether our culture survives or falls depends not on our government but on the people of God: are they willing to humble themselves and repent?

Jesus said of the church at Laodicea, “Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”  This is the end of all denominational splits and all movements such as the Charismatic and Latter Rain Movements that define themselves by their doctrinal differences. 

It’s interesting that contemporary churches are not designed to draw in the “hot” – that is, those Christians who truly love God and actively desire to do His will – nor are they designed to draw the “cold” – that is, the lost.  Contemporary churches are designed to attract the apostate.  Why?  Because there are so many of them.

Christians who love God passionately cannot survive in a church that caters to the apostate.  Nor can apostate Christians survive in a church that is full of passionate Christians.  The two are mutually exclusive.

Churches that cater to the apostate are full-service churches.  They excel at social fulfillment and entertainment.  In such churches, very little is expected of its members, and the leadership focuses on making the members feel good about themselves.  The apostate church focuses on the church itself, and everything revolves around it.  The pastor is a benevolent leader who is the icon of the church and used as a marketing tool to draw more members.  In such churches, success is defined by the number of members rather than their spiritual quality.

Likewise, contemporary churches are not designed for the sinner (cold), either.  Not only do the members not want to consort with “their kind,” but sinners cannot stand the hypocrisy.  The pretentiousness and theatrics of the drama-laden contemporary church is transparent to the lost.  They simply cannot believe that apostate Christians think they are fooling anyone.  They laugh at the duality of their apostate Christian lives.  They mock the way apostate Christians claim to be great ministers yet lack fruit in their own personal lives.  Everyone who attends a contemporary church knows in his heart of hearts that he is as fake as the next, but no one dares to speak it, because none dare call it apostasy.

Amen.

kmsrjs@triton.net  (use the same address for MSN Messenger)
• You have my permission to post this article, publish and reprint it, and to forward it to others and to your groups.  This permission extends to messages that you previously received.
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By Ron and Karen Schwartz

1 John 2:27
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it has taught you, remain in him.

Consider the magnitude of these words: “the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you.” Most Christians don’t really believe this. They feel insecure concerning their ability to hear from God, so they want to be taught. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. They are also insecure in their faith, their trust in God’s love for them, and even their salvation. Yes, this is normal for most contemporary Christians, but should it really be that way?

Ask yourself this: Are you secure in your relationship with your spouse? Do you trust him or her? Do you doubt whether or not s/he truly loves you? Do you feel as though something is wrong? Do you feel like s/he is holding back affection? How about your relationship with your parents? Do you trust their love for you? Do you believe that they truly care about you? Are you in the least bit concerned whether or not they will help and support you? If you don’t trust someone, or if you feel insecure about that relationship, then something is wrong. It should NOT be that way. You should have absolute trust, security, and confidence in your spouse. You should have absolute faith in your parents’ support and love. Trust, faith, confidence, and security are all marks of healthy relationships, and when these positive characteristics are missing, it is symptomatic of a serious problem.

The same holds true in our relationship with God. When we lack trust, faith, confidence, and security, then something is wrong. We should consider why it is so. When we are initially saved, we have no such doubts. Rather, we are overcome with joy, faith, and security. We do not wonder whether God loves us, nor are we insecure in our relationship with Him.

Church people tell new converts that their spiritual “high (i.e., their passion and love for God, their absolute faith in His promises, their simplistic trust in His love, etc.)” is nothing more than a “honeymoon” period with God. “Just give it some time,” they say, “and you will become normal. You will be just like the rest of us.” And of course “normal” to them is insecurity, lacking joy and faith, and questioning their salvation. “Normal” is spiritually dry and wondering why God has abandoned them.

Spiritual insecurity, lack of faith, and doubt of God’s goodness are not marks of spiritual maturity but an indication of something wrong in one’s relationship with God. Healthy Christians should not feel this way. Apostate, compromising, and idolatrous Christians feel this way because of the conviction of God’s Spirit. But since these feelings have become the norm for contemporary Christians, they are told not to worry about it. Churches encourage Christians to dismiss their conviction as a dry spell, deep inner spiritual growth, and normal Christian living. But it is a lie. It is part of the Joshua-gate conspiracy.

The Great Seducer

There is a story in the Old Testament about a great whore who married a king of Israel and helped to bring about his downfall. Her name was Jezebel.

1 Kings 16:29-33
In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.
When Jehu was anointed king, he made the following observation concerning Jezebel:

2 Kings 9:22
And he [Jehu] answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

Now “Ahab… did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him,” because he “sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife (1 Kings 21:25).”
Jezebel introduced her pagan culture into Ahab’s life and pushed him into it. Ahab did not do evil because he hated God. He did evil because he was religious. He misconstrued his religion as true worship. Right up to the end, he believed He was doing what was right. However, even though he was a religious man and may even have had good intentions, it did not prevent God from actively bringing about his destruction.

The idea that God may actively work to destroy His people is lost in our generation of apostate Christians. Contemporary Christians believe that God is so merciful and longsuffering that He would never harm them (for they are His children), but instead He would find some way to change their hearts and to forgive them: certainly God would never destroy them. But this, too, was Ahab’s opinion. He was ordained king of Israel by God. Therefore, it was beyond comprehension that God would seek to destroy him.

Like Ahab, contemporary Christians have become enculturated by society and its social and moral values. It has fallen victim to the culture of humanism, relativism, post-modernism, and the political climate of tolerance and equality. So benign does our culture appear that its characteristics have become a part of every facet of contemporary Christian worship and religion. Our culture seems so right and harmless… but then, certainly this is also what Ahab thought. The parallel between Ahab and our contemporary Christian culture is remarkable.

After the death of Ahab and his wife, the name “Jezebel” vanishes from the scripture, at least until the end. Then her name and her actions suddenly reappear.

The name “Jezebel” recurs in the book of Revelation where Jesus says this to His church, “I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality [whoring] and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways (Revelation 2:20-23).”

Then again later:

Revelation 17:1-2
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

In Revelation, John writes about his vision of the last days. In his vision, he saw a great whore whose goal was to bring about the downfall of kings. The great whore began as a single church but has eventually grown to cast her deception over the entire world. The great whore may have begun as a single church (i.e., the Catholic church) but she has expanded herself to fill the earth with the institutional churches of this age.

Once again, we find Jezebel arising to deceive kings. From these passages, we know the following concerning her:
1) She wants to seduce kings (i.e., “with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication”).

Who are these “kings of the earth” whom she has seduced? In the first chapter of revelation, we read, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen (Revelation 1:5-6).”

This time Jezebel is not after “a” king of Israel, but after the “kings of this earth.” She longs to replace Christ as the true “King of kings (Revelation 17:14).” She is not after the sinners and fornicators but those who have committed their purity to God. She longs for their innocence – to make them into a whore as she is. Have you ever noticed how the truly anointed of God’s Spirit are sought after by institutional churches? They are attracted to the true anointing of God, but as soon as they have control of the anointed, they try to either make them into the same spiritual whore that they are, or they seek to kill them if they refuse to comply.

2) Christians today have “been made drunk with [her] wine.”

In the beginning of this note, we discussed the fact that it is not normal for relationships to suffer with doubts, insecurities, and a lack of trust and faith. Yet this is exactly how most contemporary Christians feel toward God. They are insecure in their faith, their salvation, and even their standing with God. They doubt whether God will answer their prayers. And they doubt whether or not God loves them. These things are all symptomatic of a deeper problem.

What does this tell us? The insecurity that contemporary Christians sense in regard to their faith, salvation, and the leading and teaching of the Holy Spirit (an insecurity that was inexplicably missing during and immediately following their spiritual rebirth) is conviction from the Holy Spirit. The great whore churches try to numb this conviction by telling contemporary Christians that their conviction is not from God but is instead the work of the devil in trying to get them to doubt the grace and mercy of God. Church leaders tell their compromising, backslidden, apostate congregations that all they really need is more faith and confidence. Therefore, Christians, in the face of spiritual conviction, force themselves to believe that there is nothing wrong with their spiritual state. They force themselves to believe that their feeling of lack, their “dryness,” and their dissatisfaction is normal, that it is simply an attack by Satan, and that they should ignore it. These lies perpetrated by church leaders are all part of Joshua-gate: the conspiracy of the end time.

Church leaders routinely numb their congregations to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Think about it. Haven’t you ever wondered why it is that when you go to church, you leave feeling good about yourself, but the longer you are away, the more insecure you begin to feel? The longer you are away from church, the more the numbness to the conviction of the Spirit wears off. That is why you feel almost desperate to get back to church. That is why you feel the “need” to hear a preacher.

Contemporary Christians have become alcoholics, and like every alcoholic, they are in denial. They know that they are not growing spiritually. They know that their churches are carnal, apathetic, and backslidden. They know that their churches reflect the values of this world and are poor “wannabe’s” to the Church that Christ established, but they do not care. Their intoxication has made them numb to the voice and conviction of the Holy Spirit. That is why it is useless to try to get Christians who are addicted to that system to see it for what it is. Like all alcoholics, they are in denial.

The great whore institutional church system of this age has not just ensnared the people of God but the gifted Christian leaders. Christian leaders are seduced by the institutional church with the promise of ministerial fulfillment along with financial support. It provides gifted Christian men with a captive audience and the money to meet their needs. It hands them a cup of wine and tells them to drink and everything will be okay. Few Christian men today are able to escape its appeal, and most give in to its flattery eventually. Once they give in to her charm and drink from her wine, they begin to believe all her flatteries. They begin to see how “special” they are and how much the church needs them, and as she invites them to take their rightful place as the head of the church, somehow it all seems right. Before long, they are intoxicated and addicted, too. Pretty soon, they are unable to leave, and in the end, they go into denial along with the people. The snare has tightened around their necks and slowly strangles the life of the spirit from them. And as their spiritual gifts depart, the great whore hands the Christian leader another cup of academics and education. The whore then leans in close and whispers in their ears, “There are no spiritual gifts today. My seminars and colleges can give you everything you need to be a great speaker and a great leader.”

How many great men in scripture have lost their power and position with God through the seduction of a woman? What about Samson? His enemies told Delilah to “lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him (Judges 16:5).” In the end, it was she, not his enemies, who stripped him of his power. Both Christians and their leaders are being seduced by their church whores and stripped of their power. And because of the intoxication of the social and financial fulfillment, they don’t even care. The intoxication has made them numb to the conviction of God.

It grieves us to see good men whom we know to be gifted in teaching and prophetic gifts selling themselves out to the whore system. They know the people who come to them are not spiritual (but carnal), yet they preach to them as if they are disciplined, functional, responsible Christians. We ask you, Christian leaders, why don’t you set the wine aside and step away from the whore? Why not speak the truth and trust God rather than the whore’s money?

What about King David? “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her (2 Samuel 11:2-4).” David fell because he lusted after a beautiful woman. How many great gifted men have similarly fallen victim to the great institutional church whore? How many men have sold out to her financial support? How many have come to believe, though her seduction, that they are great preachers and prophets and teachers?

If you are telling the people what they want to hear so that you can maintain their support and following, then you have sold out to the whore. If you are telling this age of carnal Christians that God wants to bless them, then you have sold out to the whore. If you are continuing to advance the agenda of the contemporary institutional church system, drawing from its financial support and believing that you are indispensible (the church “needs” you), then you have sold out. You have made yourself part of the intoxicating wine that has been given to God’s people to drink. You have made the people need you instead of God. And if you fail to free yourself from the seducing power of that whore, then you will be part of her judgment.

3) She claims to be anointed (“a prophetess”), or inspired, and she offers her inspiration to the saints.

There is no doubt that contemporary churches are fountains of information and knowledge. They produce impressive universities and floods of books and other media. Like the Hebrew leaders during the time of Christ, who dissected and analyzed every word of every scripture, Christian leaders have completely annotated and explained away the New Testament into mountains of books, the quantity of which cannot be numbered.

But for all the commentary, inspiration, and “feel-good” books she produces, she fails to point Christians to their need for true humility and repentance. Why? Because humility and repentance is not in the hearts of her leaders. For them to point to the fact that the contemporary church needs humility and repentance would mean that they as its leaders need the same. Consequently, contemporary Christians listen to Jezebel, the prophetess and whore, and fall victim to her apparent wisdom and knowledge of the scripture. They fall prey to her words of comfort, encouragement, and blessing.

4) She “misleads (Greek: planao , meaning ‘to cause to wander, to lead astray, and to deceive.’)” through “her teaching.”

The great whore will not tell you that God does not exist or that you should live in sin. No, outright statements like that would be immediately recognized as wrong. She will not tell those things directly, but she will lead you in that direction. Straying or wandering from the path means that you were on the path at first. You stray from the path one step at a time. If you can remember a time in your life that you walked with God and you knew it, then consider where you are today. You didn’t just wake up one morning changed. You did change, but it was gradual: one compromise at a time.

The whorish church system wants to change true believers into whores like her. She knows that true believers will never buy into sin, apathy, and apostasy, but they may compromise their values just a little bit under the right circumstances. So she begins to offer them all the great social pseudo-Christian benefits of her programs. Once again, we find Bible precedence for this.

Numbers 16:2-3
2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

Like the princes of Israel, church leaders tell inspired and anointed believers that since all the Christians in their church love God (that is, the backslidden and compromising Christians), and they (the anointed believers) are the ones who are different, then they like Moses are simply arrogant (i.e., “wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD”). Church leaders explain to the new believers that they need to conform and be like everyone else. They tell new Christians who are full of fire and passion that their passion is simply a mark of immaturity and that it is misdirected. They tell these fiery believers that they need to go to their colleges and be mentored by them. Little by little, they get them to stray from the path that God initially set them on until they are as cold, apathetic, and apostate as the whore is. Christians don’t start out to be whores; contemporary churches make them that way.

5) Her goal is to make those whom she beguiles to “commit adultery with her.”

What is adultery? When Jesus talked to the prostitute, he described her as having more than one husband. It’s not that contemporary Christians don’t claim Christ as their Lord and husband, it’s that He is not their one and only. They have others whom they have placed as their spiritual heads. They place their church leaders on pedestals and obey them over God. Remember, adultery is having more than one husband, and therefore, when Christians elevate men into the same spiritual position of authority in their lives as Christ, they commit adultery. They become spiritual whores.

The contemporary church whore needs Christians to commit adultery with her. Unless they do, they will be listening to and following God. If they do that, God will expose her sin to them. So she denounces and reprimands all those who stand independent or refuse to submit to her. Where have we heard this before?

Daniel 3:5-6
5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

It wasn’t enough for Babylon to have power and control over Israel. Babylon also wanted Israel to freely submit. The same is true for the contemporary church whore, Babylon the Great. It is not enough that she controls virtually all contemporary churches. Her leaders also want all Christians to submit to them and honor them voluntarily. So they pressure Christians into voluntary subjugation.

6) The great whore draws Christians in by her charm and beauty.

John made note of this when he wrote, “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls… and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration (Revelation 17:4, 6).” When John first saw her, he was captivated by her beauty and splendor. The angel, unaffected by her charm, had to draw John’s attention back (“And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel (Revelation 17:7)?”).

The institutional church is a powerful force at work among God’s people. Its pseudo-Christian appearance promises to the believer everything he wants for his social and spiritual fulfillment. He can meet other believers, hear great inspirational messages, find social interaction for his entire family, and participate in any number of classes and programs. So Christians everywhere give in to her charm. They sell out to her programs for high school and college students, for singles, for child care during services that gives them a break, and for concert-style entertainment. They can acquire everything but spiritual growth, so why would anyone want to give it up?

Some Final Thoughts

Why does God compare the institutional church to a whore?

Let’s consider the analogy. There are costs associated with both a whore and a marriage. The cost is different, but so is the benefit. The cost associated with marriage is much greater than that associated with a whore. Marriage requires self-sacrifice and purity but carries with it the benefit of reciprocation. The cost associated with a whore, however, is usually nothing more than monetary, and its benefit is regret and emptiness. When you consider it from this point of view, it is easy to see the comparison.

The whore church requires very little from her members aside from money. She certainly does not require abstinence (i.e., purity) from other lovers. Like a marriage, God requires self-sacrifice and purity. Moreover, whores don’t care how many lovers you have as long as they get their money, but a spouse does. Similarly, a whore church doesn’t care about your purity, or how many idols you serve, as long as she gets her tithes. In fact, even the unsaved can become members as long as they pay their dues.

In addition to the cost, the benefit one receives from the whore church is empty. It lacks substance. Most leave her “services” having allowed themselves to be deluded into believing they have done all they need to do and closing their eyes to anything more. Others leave knowing in their hearts that they are frauds and that their Christian experience is hollow. They use all the familiar clichés and go through all the motions to worship like all the other idolaters but there is little spiritual substance to their lives. In contrast, a real relationship with God may cost you your life but it yields the benefit of life everlasting. Christians who truly experience a relationship with God don’t need whore churches with their fraud and pretentiousness. In fact, they find it nearly impossible to survive there.

At one time, Christianity could be described as an “explosion” of evangelism. Christianity was defined by the “gospel” – the good news of salvation. Today, however, Christianity can best be described as an “implosion” of religious self-indulgence. It’s no longer a matter of the church going out into the world, but the world coming into the church, resulting in church whoredom.

At one time, the church was a force against which the gates of hell could not prevail. It rallied around Christ and held Him up as Lord. Today, however, the contemporary church is the victim of society and it folds under social and cultural pressure. Christ is no longer at its center. Today, everything about the church rallies around its members and what is appealing to them.

When Christianity was great and powerful, it was because Christ was the driving source at its center, molding the church into His likeness. Today, the members are the driving source at its center, demanding that it conform to their likeness. It isn’t Christ that Christians want but social and emotional fulfillment. They “church shop” – not for Christ but for which church offers the best benefits. In the contemporary church, we find the ultimate form of idolatry: Christians now worship their own pleasures. And since their pleasures are religious in nature, Christians misconstrue their idolatry for godliness.

Contemporary Christians assign blame for God’s judgment to everything but where it really belongs. They believe that judgment will befall their countries because of social sins like homosexual marriage, abortion, liberalism, and humanism that permeate their societies. But God ‘s blessings or His curses are not dependent upon the actions of society. They are dependent upon the actions of His people.

2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Stop waiting, hoping, and praying for society to change. Stop blaming “them.” It’s not a “them” issue. Instead, examine your own heart. The future does not hinge upon whether or not social corruption ends. It hinges upon whether or not God’s people will repent. It may not be too late for you or your church. There may still be time. There is ONLY ONE HOPE for you, your church, and this nation: REPENT.

Amen.
kmsrjs@triton.net (use the same address for MSN Messenger)
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Part 2. The Conspiracy of Security  

March 25, 2008

Ron and Karen Schwartz 

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In Part 1 of this series, we pointed out that in Judges 2, Israel reached such a point of apostasy that God withdrew His blessing and abandoned His promises (“Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress (Judges 2:15).”) — God actually worked against His people.  God did the exact opposite of what He promised He would do.  We found that God has no tolerance for idolatry (none at all!), and that if His people do not repent for it, God will ignore His promises and goodness and turn them over to the captivity from which He has promised to deliver them.  This fact is especially relevant today in light of the spiritual condition (i.e. apostasy and idolatry) of Western Christianity.  The comparison of spiritual condition of today’s Christianity with that of the apostasy of Israel is remarkable. 

This explains why so many prayers go unanswered today.  It explains why Christians seem to be receiving from God exactly opposite of what they request in prayer.  It explains why contemporary Christianity seems to be losing ground on every political and spiritual front.  It explains why Christians, though surrounded by churches and Christian media, find it so difficult to hear from God and know what He wants.  Just as with Israel, God has not just abandoned this generation but is out to destroy it.  He has placed in the mouths of contemporary prophets lying spirits that tell this generation that God loves them, that He wants to bless them, that they are a mighty people, and that the church will know greatness, when, in fact, He is out to destroy them (i.e., “So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you (1 Kings 22:23).”). 

We are convinced that the overabundance of Christian leaders who continue to proclaim God’s blessing on this backslid generation of Christians do not realize the spiritual influence they are under.  They truly believe their own words of blessing.  This is Joshua-gate: the lies and deception of the end time leadership.  

“Disaster” 

The word “disaster” found in 1 Kings 22:23 (“So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”) comes from the Hebrew root (ra`a`) whose original meaning was “‎to strip the armor and other valuables from an enemy by force.”   We know this happened to Israel repeatedly, but somehow we cannot fathom something like this ever happening to us. 

Let’s bring this home to contemporary Christians.  In the context of this verse, what does it mean for Christians to be stripped of their armor and other valuables?  It means that God has decreed that He will help our enemies strip us of our spiritual armor and spiritual blessing, leaving us exposed and at the mercy of our enemies. It explains why the spiritual armor of most Christians seems so ineffective – it no longer exists for them. 

It explains why spiritual gifts are all but missing from contemporary Christianity – it has been stripped away.  It explains why the spiritual blessings never seem to come.   Christianity is being plundered by its enemies, and God is aiding them.  Christians are blindly following their blind leaders, listening to whatever they say, and together they are walking into battle completely naked.   

Cyclical Repentance  

Judges 2:16,19-23  

16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders… 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. 20 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did.”  

We find described here in Judges 2 the spiritual principle of “cyclical repentance.”  When Israel first took possession of the land and fell into idolatry, God sent judges to cause them to repent and return to Him.  It was a cycle that continued for hundreds of years.  Eventually, He stopped sending the judges, and instead He used their captivity to test them.  Today, we see this same spiritual principle at work both in individual Christians and in their churches.  

When people first come to God, He has long patience with them just as He did with Israel.  God recognizes that they will be tempted and may give in to their temptations.  We have all experienced temptation following our salvation experience.  But God, in His great love and compassion, reaches out to us when we fail and brings us back to Him through repentance.   This is very similar to the way God sent judges to Israel.  Sometimes Christians (like Israel) actually begin cycles of sin and repentance, but such cycles cannot continue forever.  With Israel, there came a time when God stopped sending judges, and He stood back and waited instead.    

Christians who continue in their cycle of sin eventually (as Israel did) reach the point where they no longer feel the conviction of God.  They long for the revivals that they once experienced, and even though they attend revival meetings, for some reason they don’t seem to be able to experience the touch of God that they once did.  They long for the mighty outpouring in their lives that they once received, but instead they find silence.  They may even begin to question their own salvation.  It is as if God is standing just out of reach, watching and waiting but not acting on their behalf.  The vast majority of contemporary Christians today have reached this point, where the mighty outpourings are a thing of the past.  Now, they must prove themselves to God by ridding their own lives of their idols without the aid of the mighty revivals they once knew.  

But this principle is not just lost on individual Christians.  We find it present in churches, too.  Many, if not most, contemporary churches have experienced revivals in the past and have seen their share of God’s blessings.  However, they eventually reach a point where the revivals no longer come.  Most contemporary Christians sense this about their church.  They sense the loss of God’s presence in their congregations.  They do not understand why God seems so far away from them.  They do not understand why God’s presence seems to be missing.  They don’t understand why there are no revivals in their churches anymore.  

Contemporary church leaders have come from the ranks of today’s compromising idolatrous Christians.  They refuse to lay down their idols more so than those in their congregations.  Contemporary church leaders have their own idols they cherish.  Most of these men have turned their “ministries” into idols.  They love to be called (with respect and awe) reverend, pastor, clergy, father, apostle, and prophet.   They cherish these titles and make sure that everyone knows what they claim to be.  They love to be set upon a pedestal, to be treated with respect and admiration.  These men worship themselves right along with the people of their congregations.  

The lack of true revival is of concern to our church leaders – not because their congregations are backslid, but because this state of sin might cause their congregations to go elsewhere in an attempt to find God.   Consequently, they have found ways to circumvent this issue.  They have learned that a great worship team, a band, and a worship “experience” can bring about a religious “high” to their congregations.  People who have been exposed to such conditioning leave their churches feeling good, but, as with any “high,” it is short-lived.  The “high” usually lasts for the drive home, then the need for revival/repentance returns, and people are left to wait until the next Sunday for another “fix.”  

The “buzzing up” of Christians with religious “highs” has created a culture of religious-addict Christians who now “need” their weekly “church experience.”  They need the “fix” of their religious worship and religious preaching from week to week.  It eases their consciences.  But allow them to miss a Sunday, and their religion begins to wear off.  It is only then that they begin to feel the sensation of Holy Spirit conviction, and they once again feel the need to repent.   So they quickly return to church or find one that can give them a “fix” good enough to numb them to the Holy Spirit conviction.  

As a result, we see a great migration of Christians who hop from church to church in search of the presence of God.  They think that surely there will be a great (judge) man of God in at least one church who is able to bring back God’s presence to His people.  Many of these people cry out for the touch of God’s hand like they once experienced but He does not answer.  This is because we have entered into a time of testing where God is proving the Christians of this generation.  The question before us: will we, as the people of God, lay down our idols, or will we continue in our sin?  

Contemporary Christianity will find it exceedingly difficult to return to God because of the Joshua-gate conspiracy.  End time pastors and prophets have changed the understanding of the nature of true Christianity.  It is no longer about the purity of their lives but the “religious experience” that numbs them to God.  Pastors (heavily influenced by religious academia) have convinced people that it is dangerous to listen to the voice of the Spirit on their own.  They do this because they know if people do begin to listen to God on their own, they will find out how shallow and fake their church experience is and the true extent of the Joshua-gate conspiracy their church leaders peddle.  

Every time God’s people begin listening to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, they begin speaking up in church concerning sin, apathy, and the need for revival.  That upsets other people and disrupts their “religious experience.”  It prevents other people from getting their fix, and it calls into question whether or not the church leaders are effective at all.  The leaders cannot have that.  

Church leaders have, therefore, had to find a way to dismiss the need for repentance.  And they have found the answer.  Interestingly enough, it is the same answer that Israel used to justify their idolatry.  Part of the Joshua-gate conspiracy is found in how our church leaders have changed the perception of the true nature of Christianity.  Christianity as taught by Christ and practiced by His disciples is NOT the Christianity of this present day.  Christianity as taught by contemporary Christian leaders has become a supplemental insurance policy.      

Supplemental Insurance  

Our Western culture has no end of insurance policies.  We have home, life, and auto insurance.  We have insurance against flood damage and even on our savings accounts.  We have special insurance policies to cover our jewelry and family heirlooms.  We have health, medical, dental, and eye care insurance.  We even have insurance to pay our kidnappers in the event that we are ever taken hostage.  Since the need for insurance is so much a part of our culture, why would it surprise you to learn that contemporary Christians have adopted this part of culture into their religious state of mind?  

Christianity in our modern culture can best be boiled down to a supplemental insurance policy.  Most insurance policies don’t cover everything.  There are gaps ranging from thousands to millions of dollars for which we are responsible, and thus the need for supplemental insurance.  Therefore, supplemental or “gap” insurance is offered to fill in where the primary insurance policy does not cover.  

Remember this scripture from Part 1 of this series:  

Judges 17:5-13

5 Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his priest. 6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. 7 A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim. 9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?” “I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.” 10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man was to him like one of his sons. 12 Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”  

Micah identifies in many respects with contemporary Christians in that he was looking for security.  This is evident in his comment, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”  Micah, like contemporary Christians, had reason to feel insecure.  His life was full of idols.  However, rather than throw out his idols and find favor with God, he hires a Levite (priest) to try to offset the idolatry in his life.  

There is no indication in this scripture that anyone ever told Micah that he had reason to fear God (In fact, the authority in his life – his mother – actually “took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into the image and the idol. And they were put in Micah’s house. Judges 17:4”).  Even so, we cannot deny the “tone” of relief and comfort in his declaration: “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me.”  Like Micah, contemporary Christians have an inherent fear of their spiritual condition, and they are looking for security.  What they demand from their church leaders is security, and they are willing to pay for it.  But they are not willing to give up their idols.  Instead (like Micah), they are looking for a supplemental insurance policy with God – something that will appease God while allowing them to continue having their idols.  Consequently, contemporary Christianity has become a “bolt-on” supplemental religion for added insurance against eternal disaster.  

Christianity in the West as practiced by the vast majority of professing Christians holds that God can be pleased if the good of the individual Christian outweighs the bad.  Even though this belief is diametrically opposed to the theology of most denominations, it is nevertheless tolerated and even encouraged in most pastors.   Contemporary Christians are led to believe that if they can just find the right church or the right pastor, then their lives will flow harmoniously with God and His Spirit.  This is part of the Joshua-gate myth that is propagated by most pastors.  They teach their church members that if they pay their tithes, God’s blessing will be upon them and He will “open you the windows of heaven, and pour…  out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive (Malachi 3:10).”  In this teaching, there is no linkage of God’s disfavor with the idolatry in their lives.  God’s favor is tied to their tithe (actions) and their support (good intentions) of their church.  It is easy to see how most church members have come to see holiness as a “bolt-on” benefit to their Christian lives but providing no eternal benefit.  Holiness is simply something that would be good to do.  Christianity, as defined by Jesus and practiced by His disciples, is nothing more than gap insurance.  Today, Christians are defined by the church they go to and their standing in Christ is defined by their level of support and participation in their church.  

It is important to recognize that the Levite who sold his services to Micah to work alongside the idols was not functioning according to God’s original design.  Yes, the Levites were given no land and were thus expected to disperse throughout the nation of Israel and integrate into every tribe and every village.  But their purpose was not to create a business or to operate for profit but to teach the ways of God to His people.  However, many of the Levites took advantage of God’s design to carve out a living and profitable lifestyle while providing no real benefits to the people they served.  

In the same way that the Old Testament fell victim to unscrupulous Levites, Christianity of the scripture has fallen victim to the pastors and prophets of today who sell their services in exchange for assurances of security.  Just like the Levite who was willing to provide Micah with security for a price, today’s Christian leaders provide security to their members for their tithe.  This is part of the Joshua-gate conspiracy.  

The similarities are far too many to be simply coincidental.  The Levites considered their priesthood an entitlement.  In their estimation, God would be happy with them and His people as long as they performed their priestly duties.  But this was never true.  To God, it did not matter what the priest did or how much tithe the people paid if there were idols in the land.  He would bring judgment.  In the same manner, most church leaders see their “ministries” as entitlements from God (i.e., God made them a leader, so the people must listen to them).  And God will be happy as long as they do their part by performing their ministries and the people do their part by supporting their ministries.  

An important factor concerning insurance is that it preys on our fears.  We have insurance because we fear that tragedy or disaster will come upon us in a measure that is beyond our capacity to cope.  That is why insurance companies are so successful.  Western Christians look for insurance to address their spiritual welfare just as they do for their physical welfare.  Our Western culture has taught us to “shop around” for the best deal.  

Most pastors (as well as those who call themselves prophets/apostles) are little more than insurance salesmen.  They compete with each other to see who can peddle the best religious insurance policy at the lowest cost.  There are those of the “Word of Faith” movement who claim that God’s blessing can be bought though tithes alone, without any spiritual cost (repentance) at all.  There are others who peddle the “end time” or the “five-fold ministry” movements.  They have men labeled as apostles and prophets and claim that if you belong to their group, you will become a great army of believers in the “last time.”  But sadly, none of this is conditional to a spiritual cost.  It is merely belonging and believing.  There are others who claim that security (i.e., insurance) can be found in a “style” or “form” of church meeting, like house churches or mega-churches with their cell groups.  So Christians bounce around, shopping for the best deal.    

Be certain of this: there is NO security and NO insurance that will protect you against idolatry.  It does not matter if you think you are a great apostle or prophet.  If you idolize your “ministry,” none of your great exploits will protect you from a jealous God.  It does not matter to what church you belong or under whose ministry you submit.  If you find security there, then an idol it has become, and you will answer accordingly. There is no church, no ministry, no church leader, and no doctrine that can protect you from idolatry.    

Working Hard and Good Intentions  

2 Kings 4:38-40

Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men.” One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.  

In this story, Elisha instructed a company of men to make some stew.  One of the men found growing in a field “a wild vine” with wild “gourds.”  These men then cut up the gourds and put them in the stew “though no one knew what they were.”  In the same manner, many church leaders are clueless concerning what God is saying today.  They think He wants to fill their churches with more idolatrous people like Micah.  They think God wants His people to pour more and more money into the bottomless pits of their ministries so that this cycle can continue.  They think that God wants to bless the churches of the West and pour out His blessings on them regardless of their spiritual condition.  They think that God is happy with them and their churches.  But all these beliefs are nothing more than wild gourds that they have gathered together hoping they will make good stew.  

However, Jesus has a different message.  To Him, these ministers and their churches are full of idols.  They are “lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, [and He] will spue [them] out of [His] mouth (Revelation 3:16).”  

We always hear the same description church members use to describe their pastor and their church leaders.  They say that their pastor “works very hard,” that he “has a good heart,” that he “does a lot of good,” and that he “preaches the word.”  But since when does activity translate into spirituality?  It never has.  And since most pastors of institutional churches claim these same characteristics, are we to assume that all are equally doing God’s will and are approved by Him?  Does God really care about activity?  

What this really tells us is that most contemporary Christians believe that God can be appeased (or bought off) through hard work and good intentions.  It tells us that most Christians believe that true Christianity – free from idolatry – is not what’s important.  It’s nothing more than supplemental insurance because you can have all the idols you want.  Your hard work and good intentions can outweigh the negative effect of your idols.  This is what these men thought when they brought the wild gourds.  What could be wrong with gourds growing in a field of herbs?  Surely the herbs would make the wild gourds good.  The good intentions of these men produced death — a poisonous stew that killed. In the same way, your good intentions can also produce poison that will kill you, your church, and your pastor as certainly as did those wild gourds.      

Summary  

God does not hate you.  You simply have the misfortune to live in a time of great apostasy.  You have also been lied to.  You have been led to believe that God will overlook your idols if you work hard enough for Him, if you have good intentions, and if you support and submit to a church and its leaders.  

Contemporary churches have backslidden, but the good news is that God still looks at each individual heart.  Therefore, you are not without hope.  If your heart is still yielding enough to receive His conviction, you must lay down your idols before it is too late.  Quit trying to find the right church and pastor to help you.  Look to God.  Most of the time, all you will receive at an institutional church is a “fix” that numbs you against the true conviction of the Holy Spirit.  

The institutional church and its leaders are the Baal (idol) of this generation.  Baal never demanded that Israel stop worshipping God; it just wanted to be worshipped, too.  By comparison, modern Christians worship their church idols, their church building idols, their “ministry” idols, and their church leader idols along with their worship of God.  The eventuality of all this is what happened to ancient Israel: they eventually all but forgot about God (whom they could not see) for their worship of other gods (Baal: the institutional church system) they could see.  

Christians are well aware of the verse “…not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:9).”  They apply this scripture to sinners who believe that they are good people and that being good is enough to satisfy God.  Then, hypocritically, they go on to believe that good intentions and hard work will be honored by God when it comes to themselves and their pastors.  But if God does not honor the “good intentions and hard work” of sinners who continue to live in sin, then why believe that it makes a difference for Christians who dabble in idolatry?  It doesn’t.  

If we are to find God’s favor today, it will not come from our involvement with the right ministry or church.  It will come because we abandon our idols and repent.  Your Christianity must be more than a “bolt on” faith that is added to offset your sin and idolatry.  It must replace it.  Nothing short of replacement will ever please God.

Amen!

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The Great End Time Conspiracy 

March 18, 2008By

Ron and Karen Schwartz 

Have you ever wondered why it seems as though God is not at work in our churches?  Or why it is that He does not seem to be actively involved in the “good” they are trying to achieve?  Have you ever wondered why it is that, though Christians can sometimes see God at work in their individual lives, there doesn’t seem to be any “tangible” evidence that God is working effectively through the larger Body of Christ – specifically in Western churches? 

Oh, sure, some good is being achieved.  You can’t help but achieve some good when you pour in $100 billion.  But remember, Christianity as it was originally cast did not require 10,000 churches, 100 million Christians, and $100 billion to see the mere handful of questionable “converts” that we see today.  Aside from the financial and physical efforts of men, where is God?  Why does it seem that He is standing on the sidelines as we strive to achieve our religious goals alone? 

Paul wrote, “If God be for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?”  Since Satan is very effectively winning on every front, it is safe to ask the question: “Is God truly for us?”  And if God is not for us, then why?  Perhaps a better question to ask would be: “Is God working against us?” 

In the following stories, we will discover that God has actively worked against His people repeatedly in the past, and it is happening again today.   At least today we have the opportunity to learn from the annals of history.  We can learn from past mistakes.  Or are we just like the many generations that preceded us, blindly walking into self-destruction? 

Judges 2:7-237

The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.  8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten… 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers [they died], another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the Lord to anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the Lord handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.  

16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the Lord’s commands. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.  

20 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua. 

We find encapsulated in this account the entire story of Christianity – at least as complete as it is today.  Joshua, a type of Christ, brought the people of God into the Promised Land, which is a type of New Testament life – a life of promise.  Armed with nothing more than the power of God, Joshua demonstrated to God’s people that entire cities (i.e., Jericho) could be taken for God without the need for them to lift a single spear because God was with them and so was His power.  In like manner, Jesus stepped out of the pages of history demonstrating through His actions and through the men of His generation that all the powers of darkness were no match for a single man filled with the power of God.  Like Joshua, Jesus and those of His generation defeated Satan and threatened to dismantle his kingdom upon this earth. 

But just like Joshua, Jesus and His generation did not live on this earth forever.  Following Joshua’s death, we find that “after that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers [they died], another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel…  They forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them… In his anger against Israel the Lord handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.” 

Likewise, following the generation of Christ, a new generation arose who forsook the simplicity of Christ’s teaching and eventually created the institutionalized form of Christianity that evolved into the Catholic Church, which then ushered in the Dark Ages.  Just as the generation following Joshua did, this new generation after Christ also set up new gods.  They created gods out of “saints,” angels, and Mary, and they even set a man in the place of Christ.  This form of Christianity was void of the power of God and at the mercy of Satan and his forces of darkness.  “They were no longer able to resist,” and whenever they “went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them.” 

But throughout these dark years, there were those who cried out to God to intervene.  So, as in the generations following Joshua where God “raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders,” God raised up men who were considered “reformers” to deliver God’s people from their captivity to Catholicism.  In the days of Joshua, the people of God “would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the Lord’s commands.”  In the same manner, the generations of the reformers quickly reverted back into institutionalized Christianity and God was forced to raise up a new man.  The addiction to institutionalism was paralyzing.  For each step that Christians took out of their quagmire, they took two steps backward.  Every time “the judge [reformer] died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers.”  Generation after generation of reformers came and died for the past five hundred years until we reach today’s apostate generation. 

Today there are no more reformers.  We are like the generation following the judges.  During that era, “the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, ‘Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their forefathers did.’” 

Today we live in a generation of Christianity virtually barren of God’s power and influence.  It seems that all we have in the form of leaders and reformers are “wannabes” and pretenders.  All around us are men (and women) who claim to be prophets and apostles and modern day reformers but who are curiously absent of God’s power.  They retain large followings through promises and predictions that never seem to materialize.  They claim that mighty revivals are about to occur.  They claim that God is about to unleash His might.  They claim that God is about to raise up a militant church of unbridled power.   But all these men eventually die and go “to their fathers” while the institutionalized church spirals deeper and deeper into apostasy, and their predictions of revivals and mighty power unleashed never occur. 

We are being lied to by a lying spirit in the mouths of many who claim to be the prophets of God.  Does that sound familiar?  Where have you heard it before? 

1 Kings 22:20-2320 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 ‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. ‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’23 So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you. 

What God did to those who claimed to be His people following Joshua’s generation is not without precedent.  We find the same thing in this account when His people abandoned Him as their Lord.  In Judges, we find that “the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them,” and here He uses their own prophets to lure them into a battle that would end in their demise.  As the prophet foretold, “The Lord has decreed disaster for you.” 

When we read the history of Israel and how they continued to fall repeatedly into idolatry we must ask, “Why?”  Why didn’t they ever learn that idolatry brought with it destruction?  The answer is really quite simple.  From their perspective, they were simply claiming the promises that were left to them.  God promised them this land.  God said that He would fight on their behalf.  So why doubt Him?  Similarly, our Christian leaders point to the promises left to us: the scripture, and their interpretation of prophecy.  Consequently, their spiritual condition and the idolatry in the church do not matter because they have the Bible to encourage them. 

But today, to the surprise of many, the hand of the Lord is against the arrogance of the people who claim His name just as in the generations of old. Battle after battle is being fought and lost today in every moral, political, and spiritual field of battle.  Contemporary Christianity, holding tightly to the promises of God, is on the defensive and pushed back on every front.  So deceived are contemporary Christians by the lying spirits in the mouths of their leaders that this generation still believes that they are serving God and that God is for them. 

Even in light of this, modern day prophets continue with their message of how much God loves their followers and how many great things He is about to do.  Therefore, contemporary Christians, content in their apathy and idolatry, march forward into battles they are destined to lose.  There is no way that God is going to use this generation of apostate, self-serving, self-absorbed, apathetic, and backslidden people to be the mighty army of the end times.  It will not happen, and the “prophets” who are filling your ears with such a message are lying to you. 

You ask, “Why they would lie about such things?”  Well, to begin with, who would listen to them or contribute finances to their businesses if they told the truth?  Every businessman knows that the way to milk the public is by giving the public what it wants, and Christians today want to be filled with hope.  So that is exactly what today’s hireling prophets give: false hope.  Today’s Christians and their leaders cling to the promises of God the same way Israel did in Judges.  They cling to the false hope that their leaders peddle.  They try to believe in the coming promise of greatness that their prophets proclaim, yet in their hearts they know the truth: they are a fallen people, full of sin and idolatry. 

How can we proclaim these things so definitively?  It’s really quite simple.  The scriptures tells us, “Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue (Psalms 50:22).”  There is no rescue for contemporary Christians who have abandoned God.  They have but one option, and it is not the option that is being voiced among our prophetic circles.  God also said: 

2 Chronicles 7:13-1“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 

Our Western nations are being eaten away, devoured.  The self-proclaiming prophets and apostles refuse to speak the truth and risk losing their financial support.  Our churches and political action groups cannot save us.  There is but one response available for God’s people: humble ourselves, repent, and plead for God’s mercy. 

We find it interesting that this verse says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves…”  There is no humility spoken in the words of today’s “prophets.”  They arrogantly claim great revivals and that mighty people will arise.  These are not the words of humble men who not only acknowledge their own sin and arrogance but that of those claiming to be God’s people.  These “prophets” speak of God’s power coming to His people as though they are entitlements rather than the result of humility and true repentance. 

The “prophets” who plague the end time believers with prophecies of power, greatness, and grandeur are part of the end time conspiracy of Satan.  It is “Joshua-gate.”  God’s people do not need more prophets to tickle their ears but true reformers to bring them humbly to their knees.  It is the only hope for God’s people and for their nations, and let’s just pray that it isn’t too late. 

It will come as both a surprise and a revelation to most Christians to learn the truth. That “in his anger against Israel [or contemporary Christians] the Lord handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Whenever Israel [or contemporary Christians] went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them.”   What Christian today would believe that “the Lord was against them to defeat them?”   None!  Because there are so few prophets or church leaders who are speaking the truth.  The conspiracy of Joshua-gate is so well hidden.  

Mixed Theology 

Have you ever wondered why Israel never learned?  It seems obvious that if you are going to worship an idol, it would enrage God, would it not?  So why did they continually tempt God? 

It is really much more subtle than that.  The Israelites believed they had never really abandoned God even though God said that they did.  Each time the prophet came along telling them that they had abandoned God, they laughed at him or killed him.  They deceived themselves into believing they had not.  They still circumcised their sons.  The priests in the tabernacle (or temple) were still making sacrifices, and after all, isn’t that what God wanted?  God was being appeased, wasn’t He?  To them, the essence of the covenant was being fulfilled, so certainly God would overlook their idols. 

Consider the following story: 

Judges 17:5-135

Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his priest. 6 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. 7 A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim. 9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”“I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.” 10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man was to him like one of his sons. 12 Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”  

In this account, a Levitical priest went looking for a place that would support him.  He eventually hired out his services to work alongside the idols in Micah’s home.  He saw nothing wrong with this as long as God was being served. 

Does this sound familiar?  Today’s churches believe that if they can just find a man to act as a priest for them, then everything will be perfect.  These men (church leader-pastor-priests) are hired by churches and work alongside all the other idols in the church.  And the church members feel that now – because they have a priest – God will be pleased with them because this priest will make sure that everything is done that needs to be done to appease God.  It is history repeating itself. 

God brought reformers to free His people from Catholicism just as He once brought “judges” to free them from the “raiders who plundered them.”  But just like Israel, who finally reached a point where God would no longer help and instead worked against them, we fear that the time for this generation has about expired.  Contemporary protestant churches may not have idols of saints and Mary that stand alongside their worship of God, but they still have idols nonetheless.  They worship their beautiful buildings, their scholarly pastors, their great social programs, their public standing, and all the good they believe they are doing.  They believe that God sees and approves of what they do and therefore overlooks their idols.  They believe all His promises are waiting for them to claim because they have pastor-priests, because their churches grow, and because they tell each other that God is with them.  But where is God really? 

There are groups that ignore their spiritual condition altogether and believe that all they need to do is “name it and claim it.”  They believe that the God of Israel who punished His people for their sin is gone and in His place is a genie who now awaits their command.  These people have no concept of Bible pattern.  They are lied to by their leaders and have become blind followers of the blind. 

But where is God in our Western nations?  You certainly cannot see Him working on the behalf of Christians in society as it continues its spiral downward into depravity.  You cannot see Him at work in politics as laws and government become more and more hostile toward Christians.  It is becoming more and more difficult for individual Christians to see Him at work in their own lives.  Most Christians join a local church with its pastor-priest in order to find security.  They simply take by faith that God is still with them even though they can barely (if at all) see Him at work in their own lives. So they continue to pour their money and support into their churches in the hope of buying favor with God through their priest.  But has this ever worked?  Even the Israelites, as they lay under the sword of their captors, continued to tithe.  This did not impress God then, and it will not impress Him today.  It will take more than 3% of your paycheck to appease an angry God. In the generation of Christ, they did not ask questions such as “Where is God?” and they did not migrate from city to city trying to find answers.  They could see the hand of God actively at work amongst them.  Why don’t we?  The answer is self-evident.  It is because this generation thinks a whole lot more of itself than God does. 

Christians of this generation grade themselves on a curve.  They simply try to emulate the most popular (pseudo-spiritual) person they know, and if they reach that threshold, then they believe they must also be spiritual.  They delude themselves into believing that the most spiritual person amongst them must be God’s standard for spirituality.  However, in actuality, the most spiritual people amongst the arrogant leaders of contemporary Christianity are sorely lacking.  In many respects, this situation is similar to the lowing of academic standards for our children each generation.  What is considered an “A” today was only average fifty years ago.  Christianity has followed suit.  You may be the most spiritual person in your church, but just remember: the king of the fools is still just a fool.  

Conclusion 

Do you sometimes wonder why it seems that God has forsaken you?  Then you are not alone.  More and more Christians of this generation are asking the same question.  Have you ever wondered why it seems that you just can’t seem to find a church where the power and presence of God is “really” active (and we are not talking about pretenders and counterfeiters with all their hype)?  Once again, you are not alone.  Have you ever wondered why there is such a great migration and exodus from traditional churches as Christians search for something real?  Yes, you are not alone.  More and more, God is not just forsaking this generation; more and more He is actively working against it.  And now, it is not just churches that are beginning to experience it.  Individual people are, too. 

There may still be hope.  Humble yourself before God.  Lay down the idols of greatness, self-sufficiency, and self-success you have in yourself and cry out to God.  Your answer does not lie in your church or the plethora of Christian leaders that abound everywhere.  No, such things are not the answer for our predicament. 

Our modern day “prophets” and church leaders have learned that Christians want to hear messages of prosperity, hope, and “peace and safety.”  These “prophets” plague the prophetic and apostolic circles of contemporary Christianity.  They compete to see who can come up with the most unique form of blessing for today’s carnal Christians.  Do you know any prophets like this?  We are certain you do.  In fact, these are about the only prophets you do know.  

Prophets who speak the truth have little or no following.  And those who consider themselves prophets know this.  So they sell themselves out in an effort to find popularity. If we truly live in the era of the Laodicean church, then does it stand to reason that God would be speaking all these blessings?  The modern popular “prophets” say yes.  They point out that even during the most backslidden time in Israel’s history, God retained a remnant.  We find it interesting that modern “prophets” attribute “remnant” status to anyone who listens to and follows them.  But this is poor criteria for such status, especially since there is virtually no spiritual difference between traditional churches and the Christians who have attained their “remnant” status.  Do you really believe that God honors their membership?  It is double talk.  It is deception.  It is Joshua-gate.  Those who believe that God would bless this backslidden generation are fools. 

As long as Christian leaders continue to attribute greatness to themselves, taking or accepting titles of grandeur, there can be no humility.  The people who follow these men emulate their aspirations toward greatness and believe that they are a great people, too.  As a result, each “prophet” or church leader and those who follow him are deemed to be “great” and “blessed by God” regardless of their spiritual condition.  This is true both in the prophetic community as well as the more traditional churches.  Everywhere in every Christian circle of the West, you will find this same arrogance.  No one believes God has anything but favor and blessings for their group. 

But if we are right (and would to God that we are not), then none of the efforts that today’s Christians are making through their allegiance, support, and financing of their churches will buy them anything.  If we are right, then God is beyond sending Christians any more “great” reformers or prophets to try to turn His people from their idolatry.  If we are right, then the prophets and popular church leaders who parade around our countries talking of the great things God is about to do are simply liars.  If we are right, then today’s great Christian leaders are no better than the Old Testament priest who attempted to appease God while being himself another idol whom the people worship.  If we are right, then there can be only one thing that will make a difference to God, and it is not tithing, church attendance, submission to authority, or church support.  It is humility that will lead to true repentance. 

We ask you to stop wondering why God seems to be forsaking today’s churches and the Christians who fill them.  Stop trying to find security in a church that is filled with compromising, apathetic, self-absorbed, backslidden Christians.  They are no better off than you.  They are also simply hoping to find hope and pretending to have faith.  Down in their hearts they know the truth: God is walking farther and farther away. 

At no time in Christian history has there been such an explosion of new churches springing up everywhere, fueled by Christians roving here and there trying to find God.  Today’s great migration of Christians is the result of the famine of God’s presence.  Today’s churches can sing songs, collect tithes, and prophesy until the cows come home, but it will not draw God’s presence.  Today it will take humility.  Today it will take repentance.  Today it will require laying down idols – especially the idolatry directed toward Christian leaders – and returning to God. 

When you read the following scripture, just remember that the vast majority of the scriptures we quote to sinners in our acts of evangelism were actually written to God’s own people: 

Isaiah 55:6-7

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.  

Amen 

kmsrjs@triton.net  (use the same address for MSN Messenger)  

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“The Architecture of God”

March 10, 2008

Ron and Karen Schwartz

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Church development is determined largely by the vision and objectives of men.  They develop according to the goals and philosophies set by their leaders.  But what if…  What if God set the vision?  What if God guided its destiny?  What would our churches become if God were in control?

God’s Objective for His People

Ezekiel 37:1-10

    ¹ The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
      I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”

    ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ “

    ⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

    ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

The story of the Valley of Dry Bones is one of the most relevant Old Testament stories for the age in which we live.  In this passage, a man gifted by God uses his spiritual gift to assemble “a vast army.”  God does use men, and He can work through their gifts.  But we shall also see that gifted men can take a body only so far.  They can never bring it life and power.

The Noise

Like the man of God in this story, many gifted men today find themselves in a place of opportunity.  They come across a group of people who, like the “dry bones,” are searching for spiritual life.  They feel as if they are in a valley of “dry bones.”  They see about them (in people) the evidence of life that once was. 

Here in the West it is not difficult to find groups of Christians who are like “bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.”  Christians everywhere go here and there looking for life.  Attend any contemporary church on any given Sunday and you will hear people talking about how dry they are.  It is this search for spiritual life that is fueling the vast number of independent churches that are springing up everywhere.  Spiritually gifted men see all the dry bones lying about and simply seize the opportunity to bring their spiritual gifts to people.

The first thing that occurs is “a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.”  When new churches develop, it always causes a noise in the community, and people begin coming together to see.  It is almost always interpreted as “a work of the Lord” – the sign of God’s blessing and approval from above.   More often than not, this is as far as most churches ever get.  They are little more than a bunch of noise.

The sad commentary for most Western churches is that most never proceed beyond this point.  They never become anything more than an assembly of dry bones.  That was not God’s objective.  It is not the architecture He chose for the human body, and it is not the architecture He chose for the Church.  He is not interested in church skeletons.  God’s original question was: ““Son of man, can these bones live?”  Bringing together a bunch of dry bones is not what God intended for His people.  He wants His people to live.

The contemporary church culture has taught our gifted leaders that what God wants is for the bodies to come together.  So the goal of our church leaders is to do just that: create more and more bigger and bigger churches.  Now, we all know intuitively that the people of God should assemble, so it seems like a good thing, and it would be if our gifted church leaders would continue on to maturity.  However, it is at the “coming together” point where many of them stop.  Giving deeper spiritual instruction may offend some members and cause them to leave, thus being counter-productive to “bringing the Body of Christ together.”  Going on to maturity would require them to build up (mature) the body, which to some dry bones may be too much of a burden.  Going on to maturity may actually seem to tear down the “good work” that they have already established.  But going on is part of the maturation process that these gifted men must experience.  If contemporary churches would quit emphasizing size and membership, our gifted leaders would not have such a difficult transition going on to help build up (mature) the church.

One thing to keep in mind when considering church size is that a human body can only contain a certain number of bones – no more, no less.  Trying to cram more bones into the body in an effort to produce a larger one would only serve to deform it.  But because gifted men are taught that bigger bodies are what God wants, they often find themselves inadvertently working against God’s plan.  God’s plan for His church is that every member would function in a significant capacity, but God’s design has had to take a back seat in the age of large, super large, and mega-churches.  Gifted leaders must come to the understanding that their preoccupation with church size as the barometer of God’s approval is delusional.  God is only interested in life, and these bodies will never live if they are deformed.

The Shape

Some of our gifted leaders are able to get past the numbers game and understand that the body must be built up.  They understand that bringing together dry people will not produce a Body of Christ that is flowing with living water.  These brothers work together within their groups to build up the body.  Through their efforts, they actually see strength (muscle) and the image of Christ (skin) begin to take shape. 

Many gifted Christian men are great teachers.  They produce much valuable material concerning Christian living.  The problem that most of these great teachers have is that they believe that their teaching or framework for Christian living is the answer.  They believe that what people need is more great teaching and mentoring.  But teachers have been with the church since the beginning of the New Testament, and they were with the church through some of its darkest periods.  Good teaching cannot bring life to dry bones.  It can cover them with muscle and flesh.  It can cause Christians to take the shape of New Testament believers, but it cannot raise up a powerful army.

Too often, gifted leaders stop with building up the “shape” of the Body of Christ.  They become too preoccupied with “shape:” how things look and appear.  You find gifted men in the home church circles who believe that everything can be solved by meeting in homes.  Some of these gifted men believe the answer is found in their practical teaching of Christian living.  Then there are others who believe that the answer is in “looking” like their view of a New Testament church.  They create apostles and other ministry titles, they try to manufacture gifts, and they stress authority.  They believe that God’s will is found in making the Body of Christ take the “shape” of the First Century church.  But that is another delusion.  God’s will is for His people to be alive.

The Life

Every now and then, we stumble across a body that appears to be a group of mature Christians.  Note the word “stumble.”  Mature Christians should not be people across whom you stumble.  Mature Christians are people about whom you cannot help but know.  Jesus and His disciples were that way.  Jesus was a man about whom everyone talked.  Some people said He was of God and some said He was of the devil, but no one said he was nothing.  However, when we view the landscape of Western Christianity, we see an army of churches like dead bodies lying in a valley at varying levels of assembly.  Most are nothing more than skeletons of dry bones.  Some actually take the shape of the Body of Christ, but few are actually alive.

Generally speaking, the average Christian (even a dead Christian) would describe his church as being more or less dead.  There is usually enough going on in his church to give him a slim hope for life, but it is still dead.  He can easily see that it is little more than a lifeless carcass lying in the midst of its community for years on end without ever affecting it.  Nevertheless, such a Christian continues to speak well of his church.  The question he should be asking is, “How can something that is dead give life to its community?”  It can’t.  Nevertheless, as a lifeless corpse is where the vast majority of Western churches end.   Even so, most of our gifted leaders march forward believing that they are doing God’s will and that the dead churches for which they are responsible are by divine design.

Most gifted leaders believe that God’s design is for them to have authority over the church.  What they fail to understand is that though they (through their gifts) can bring bones together and build them up, they cannot give them life.  In order for them to have life, they must turn these bodies over to the Lord.  They must allow Him to take possession of the bodies and breathe life into them.  Paul described this when he wrote the following:

1 Corinthians 3:1-7

    ¹Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. ²I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? ⁴For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

    ⁵What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ⁷So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

To truly be effective, gifted Christian men must come to understand that their pursuit of numbers is destructive to the plan of God, creating spiritually-deformed bodies that can never know the life of God.  They must stop trying to recreate a New Testament church through their efforts and “ministries” into the shape of what they believe a church should become.  Instead they should embrace life.  They must give the church back to God to receive the breath of life that can only come from Him.

Quite often, we see churches torn apart as gifted Christian men fight for control.  It is not that these men are necessarily evil.  Each man believes that his vision for the church is the right one.  In reality, it doesn’t matter who wins because none of those who fight for control can ever give the church what it really needs: life.

“Choose Life”

Contrary to the opinions of most church leaders, God is not interested in big churches.  Nor is God interested in the New Testament “look-a-likes” to which the prophetic and apostolic communities cater.  God is interested in life.  The titles of “apostle” and “prophet” that many men take and that mean so much to them mean nothing to God.  It’s little more than a status symbol to those who delude themselves into believing that holding a title somehow makes them more effective.  Other than those who claim them, such titles impress very few.  It’s like the emperor’s new clothes: the only people who are fooled are those with the titles and those who desire after the titles.

Christian leaders have lost focus on what is important to God and just who exactly is His enemy.  God’s enemy is not those whose doctrinal beliefs are theologically unsound.  God despises the time and energy church leaders pour into fighting with each other and drawing people to their side.  It’s not that He doesn’t care.  He simply hates it!

Paul wrote: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:10).”  Consider the gravity of the words, “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.”  Now try to draw this mindset into the petty fighting that goes on among God’s people.  Try to imagine that you wake up one morning and find yourself standing in the midst of a coliseum with a group of other Christians, lions slowly converging upon you.  You know that you are facing imminent death, about to partake in the fellowship of His [Christ’s] suffering.  Then you suddenly recognize the other Christians around you to be people from other churches and denominations that espouse drastically different doctrine than you.  How concerned would you be about their doctrine?  How important would it be when you have only minutes to live?  Would you congregate with just the few who most closely believe as you?  With the time you had left, would you try to get as many as possible to come over to your doctrine, or would you embrace them, realizing that you are all about to die as brethren?  Consider the mindset of Christ.  He was tortured and martyred, and for what?  To give you license to fight and divide up His Body like the soldiers who cast lots for his clothes?   Just as a whip once laid apart (divided) His flesh, Christian leaders are dividing the Body of Christ.

You have a choice.  You can choose the path to numbers and congregation size.  You can choose to play games with many of those in the prophetic and apostolic circles who waste their time and energy trying to impress each other with their titles.  You can try to act the part of past great Christians by imitating their styles, or you can choose life!   Choosing life is when you seek after God instead of seeking fulfillment in ministry, seek the Holy Spirit instead of seeking spiritual gifts, love the brethren instead of battling over doctrinal beliefs, and preferring others (‘Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another (Romans 12:10)’) instead of fighting to stay on top.

Summary

Most church leaders are unwilling to give up their control over their churches.  They insist that they are essential elements for the operation of their churches.  Church leaders don’t understand that as long as they retain control, the people will merely live their Christian lives vicariously though their pastors rather than becoming alive in the Spirit.  As a result, most churches are merely reflections of their pastors instead of God.  They are little more than assemblies of dry bones or dead bodies left to rot in the sun.  It doesn’t matter how far Christian leaders lead their churches if their churches never experiences life.  Unless life comes to their churches, they are doomed to become nothing more than piles of dry bones once again.  And some churches experience this in unending cycles.  They have mini “revivals” that bring people together with the promise of life just to be left to root into dryness again.  Over and over it happens because its leader is unwilling to give up control.

Are we saying that church leaders are unnecessary?  No, we are saying that church leaders need to understand their limitations and know when to get out of the way.  Church leaders can draw people together, they can instruct people as to the shape and dynamics of Christian living, but they cannot give them life.  For life to come, they must recognize when the breath of God – through the Holy Spirit – begins to breathe on people and get out of the way.  Once life enters into them, they have become part of God’s great and vast army, under the command and leadership of God.  Church leaders must then allow them to operate as God directs.  Mentor them?  Perhaps, but do not micro-manage or try to control them, as “the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3:8).” 

For a church to become what God intends, pastors must have the same heart as Moses who said: “Would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them (Numbers 11:29)!”  This, however, does not appear to be the prayer of most contemporary Christian leaders in this age of church “pyramid schemes” designed to insure their place at the top.

When church leaders attempt to fashion their churches according to a model of what they believe God wants, they will end up with, at best, poor look-a-likes of what the Spirit of God wants for them.  This is because, like Ezekiel, many church leaders have heard from God and understand God’s objective for the people.  They understand that God wants to bring “life” to His people.  They err when they assume that they can give that life to their church.  The best they can do is draw a crowd of dry bones together or cause people to assume the appearance of a New Testament church (i.e., bring flesh onto the bones), but they can never give life.  For them to see God complete His will in their church, they must do something completely out of character: step aside and allow Christ to be head of His church.

It isn’t magic.  Just because a pastor is willing to allow Christ to be the head of the church does not mean that the pew-sitters are just as willing.  Unfortunately, there are pew-sitters out there who do not want anything more and will fight either passively or vehemently against it.  There is nothing you can do with a group like that.  A dead lifeless church – a collection of dry bones – will never stand up as part of God’s vast army, but it can be a start.  In order to go on any further, a body of believers must first take the shape of a New Testament church, and that shape includes people praying, waiting, and worshipping the Lord for as long as it takes for the Spirit to fall upon them.

At the beginning of this note, we asked the question, “What if God set the vision?  What if God guided its destiny?  What would our churches become if God were in control?”  The first church was architected by God, born when His breath came upon it as “a rushing mighty wind” bringing life to “a vast army.”  It began where Ezekiel’s army ended.  It began in life.  That body of believers came together with no objectives, goals, or personal philosophical principles to protect other than waiting on the Lord. Their lack of personal opinions and objectives allowed God room to establish them according to His architecture, and God chose life.  If our churches are ever to become what God intends, they must cease to be what church leaders want.  They must cease to be the architecture of man’s vision and instead become places where people wait on the Lord.

Amen.

kmsrjs@triton.net  (use the same address for MSN Messenger)

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Romans 1:26-27 KJV 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.  

In this passage, we find repeated the phrase “the natural use.”  The word “natural” comes from the Greek word phusikos, which means “produced by nature or inborn (as in instinctive).”  The words “physical” and “physics” are derived from this word.  It has to do with what and how things occur in nature.  Since the Hebrew language contained no word for describing “natural order,” it is odd to find a Jew using a term that had a clear connection to Greek pagan culture.  The Greeks view of natural order (physics) didn’t include a single God orchestrating the balance of nature.  To them, natural order was like a great machine that was once set in motion and since then continued on its way.  The Jews thought of the physical universe as the world that God created, governed, and sustained.  Nature was the manifestation of God’s glory and goodness.  

When Paul wrote of “natural order,” he was referring to the creation account.  During creation, God used the phrases “after his kind” or “after their kind” fifteen times to describe procreation.  Every plant, animal, fish, and bird reproduces “after their kind” by following “the natural use” as it was created.  This was the “natural order” of the physical universe.  It is interesting that when God made mankind, He did not tell man to procreate “after his kind.”  Instead, God referred to creation of mankind using the words “after our likeness (Genesis 1:26).”  Though mankind would reproduce “after his kind,” his purpose was to reproduce after God’s kind.  Therefore, every plant and animal spoken into existence during creation has value and purpose in this physical universe only.  But mankind is different.  Not only does he have a physical purpose [i.e., to “replenish the earth (Genesis 1:28)”], but also a spiritual one [i.e., to become “the image of God (Genesis 1:27)”].  Mankind tends to be a blend of the physical and spiritual.  Take for example the act of procreation.  

All the millions of different species of insects, animals, fish, and birds, are born with an instinct for how to procreation.  However, many behaviorologists question whether or not this is true of mankind.  Though born with a strong sex drive, most (if not all) children seem to need instruction as to how sex is actually performed.  Why is this?  When it comes to procreation, God has given to mankind the instinct to reproduce after God’s kind, NOT after his own kind.  Wherever you go in this world you will find this instinct.  Every culture that has ever existed worshipped some form of god.  Even in the most remote regions of the Amazon, in places where no civilized person has ever visited and where the natives have not had other human contact for centuries, you will discover that they worship a god.  Mankind is born with an intrinsic desire to serve God.  It is his destiny.  It is his “natural order.”  Natural order is important to God because it often reflects the spiritual order God has established for his people.   

In this first chapter of Romans, Paul begins to describe perversion.  He tells how that some men “did change the natural use into that which is against nature (Romans 1:26).”  He is, of course, describing homosexuality.  But let’s take this idea to its logical conclusion.  When men change the “natural use [order]” that God established, what happens?  Nothing, and that’s the problem.  The “natural use [order],” which Paul describes, is for the purpose of procreation.  When this “use” is perverted, there can be no procreation.  Men who change this order not only disregard God design but do so to satisfy their own twisted pleasure.  

Paul goes on to write that since creation and natural order are the manifest goodness and glory of God (e.g., the Hebrew concept of “natural order”), when men pervert the “natural use [order],” they “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man (Romans 1:23).”  He repeats himself a couple of verses later when he writes that men “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator (Romans 1:25).”  Perversion – to change the order that God established – is mankind humiliating the God of the universe.  

The idea here is that mankind cannot go against “natural order,” even though it feels good, without insulting the God who created it.  It is not man’s prerogative to use nature any way he so chooses.  We understand the natural implications, so let’s now consider the spiritual.  

Since mankind has both a physical and a spiritual purpose, mankind has the ability to pervert in both a physical and a spiritual manner.  When men go “against nature (Romans 1:26),” they offend God and lose the ability to procreate.  In addition, when men go against the Spirit, they lose their ability to be spiritually fruitful.  

The “natural use [order]” God established for the Church is for Christ to be the spiritual head.  This “order” allows the Church to experience spiritual procreation.  But just as they did with nature, men have sought to change (i.e., pervert) the “natural use [order]” by placing men as the spiritual heads of their churches.  This parallels the natural perversion of “men with men.”  Men were never meant to be the spiritual heads of men.  This perversion is why the church is virtually barren of God’s power and unprofitable (or unfruitful) to this world.  Because of its “men with men” perversion, the church no longer has the power to spiritually procreate, and just as appalling, the church is guilty of spiritual sodomy.  

There is only one solution.  Churches must unseat their pastors as their spiritual heads.  Church bodies must learn to function the way God intended: with the Holy Spirit in charge and in control.  Most pastors claim that the Holy Spirit is in control but funnels this control through them.  This is spiritual perversion.  God does not want or need anyone filtering His authority and leadership with His people.    

Knowledge And Natural Order 

Hosea 4:6 KJV My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  

It’s difficult to image a time when God’s people were without knowledge.  In fact, since the day God first called Abram out of the land of Ur, the knowledge of who God is and what He wants has continued to accumulate.  At the time of Hosea, over 1,500 years had elapsed, the majority of the Old Testament had been written, and volumes of commentary on the law were produced.  Some of the greatest men of the Old Testament, like Moses, David, and Elijah, had lived and died.  They provided valuable insight into the mind of God.  One thing that God’s people were not lacking was knowledge.  

Not all knowledge is good.  Take, for example, the domestication of animals.  When the “natural use [order]” of an animal’s environment is changed, it can have a devastating effect on the animal’s ability to thrive in its native environment.  When an animal is domesticated, it often loses the capacity to survive in its own native habitat.  Animals that are raised in a domestic environment can actually become a victim if reintroduced to its natural setting.  Some will actually struggle with its captors to prevent being released.  They often experience terrible fear of being integrated into the environment for which they are designed to live because they no longer see their natural environment as their native environment.  

The word “domesticate” means: “To tame (usually creating a dependency so that the animal loses its ability to live in the wild), especially by generations of breeding.  To adapt (a plant) so as to be cultivated by and beneficial to human beings.   To take (something foreign, unfamiliar, etc.) for one’s own use or purposes.  To make more ordinary, familiar, and acceptable.”    

The goal of all institutional churches is to domesticate Christians.  As a result, most Christians now lack the ability to survive and thrive in the environment that God created for them.  Most Christians read the accounts of the New Testament and wonder why the Christianity as once practiced is so vastly different from the Christianity presented by the institutional church.  They have come to accept that things are just different now, and the current church system is the natural evolution of the church.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  

Christians now view their native environment (i.e., the Christianity described in the scripture) as a foreign environment, and they mistake the institutional environment in which they now live as their native environment.  Once again, this is a twisting of the “natural use” God purposed for His church.  Like domesticated animals, Christians today need their pastor-farmers to provide for them.  They cannot survive on their own.  Farmers are only too happy to accommodate because the number of Christians they feed amounts to the number of cattle they own.  Christians are beneficial to them (i.e., definition of “domesticate”) and good for their own use or purposes (i.e., definition of “domesticate”).  Christians have become the livestock of churches.  The scripture describes it as follows:  

2 Peter 2:1-3 KJV

1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandiseof you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.  

Revelation 18:11-13 KJV

11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.  

Many people are offended to read a note that compares their pastor to a farmer and the congregation of which they’re a part to cattle.  To them their pastor is a benevolent person who would never deliberately cause harm to anyone.  They believe that their pastor simply loves everyone.  Let’s get real.  Most men who are involved with ministry have chosen this career path because they felt compelled to serve God.  Their decision to become a minister was not because they love people or want to serve people.  The problem is found in the institutional church culture in which we live.  In this culture the only way to serve God is to become involved with ministry.  As a result there are vast multitudes of people “entering ministry” who have little respect for people and their needs, for family units, and for the needs of the community.  They are often arrogant and look down on people. They simply enter “the ministry” because they want to serve God.  Their motives may be noble, but their actions can be devastating to people.  When men “enter the ministry” to serve God the goal becomes that of “ministering for the Lord,” and not to serve people.  People are merely a means to their end.  Their goal is very much self-serving – it is for their spiritual development and fulfillment.  This is why in most churches people tend to spin spiritually in the same place for years while the pastor grows and often jumps from church to church following his ministry.  It’s his welfare he’s thinking about.  People are no more than cattle on their ministry farms.  That is why the goal of most every pastor is to get a bigger farm.  If their goal was really to help people then the size of their church would not be important, but only the spiritual welfare of the people.  

Like farmers, pastors have come to realize that the more Christian livestock they possess, the more mindless cattle they have to increase the size of their farm.  Christianity in institutional churches is NOT about evangelizing the world but about farm business.  Farms have needs.  So Christian cattle must give of themselves sacrificially to keep the farm running.  God said this concerning pastor (shepherds)/farmers:  

Ezekiel 34:1-3 KJV

1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.  

These were farmers who were in the business of farming, not shepherding.  They only had the title of “shepherd.”  

The word “domesticate” also means “to make more ordinary.”  Only ordinary people who lack the spiritual power of the Holy Spirit are content to remain penned up on a church farm and eating the farmer’s rations, rather than thriving in the freedom of God’s Spirit.  It becomes the goal of every pastor-farmer to convince Christians that they cannot survive in the wild.  They must come into their church/barn, find a place in one of the mindless stalls, and survive on the rations the pastor-farmer gives.  They are just ordinary people with extraordinary pastor-farmers.  

Contemporary preachers and institutional churches do not want the extraordinary Christians.  Extraordinary Christians refuse to stay penned up and under the pastor-farmer’s control.  They break through the fences and often take other Christians with them.  This is why so many mature Christians are unable find a church or are unwelcome in the ones they attend.  

When you domesticate animals, they generally lose the ability to survive on their own.  They become victims.  Many Christians who attend a church meeting as they were originally held don’t know what to do.  Like domesticated animals, they lack the ability to find their own food.  So they sit and wait to be fed.  They are used to men telling them what God wants, encouraging them, and giving them instruction.  They cannot imagine going to God on their own, the way it was meant to be.  So they fight against any attempt to reintroduce them into their native environment.  They have grown dependent upon the safety of the church-farm and the provisions of the pastor-farmer.  We see this often.  We see Christians visit who don’t want to do any preparation before a meeting.  They don’t understand what it means to “wait” upon the Lord.  They are used to the fast food/fast paced meeting that is completely orchestrated by men.  That has become their new habitat and anything else must be wrong.  

Of the untold hundreds of millions of professing Christians in the Western nations, the overwhelming majority has become domesticated through centuries of breeding.  Churches have bred a type of Christian who is dependant on the church-farm and who is slowly choking out the original breed of Christians that were established by Christ and His apostles.  This new breed is not the victorious church that challenges the gates of hell, and it never will be.  The institutional church cannot use Christians who refuse to be this breed of livestock.  So the true Christians are methodically weeded out until only the Tares remain.  Just as Tares have many similarities to Wheat, most church-farm livestock have many of the characteristics of Christians.  For them to take the name “Christian” is an embarrassment to God.    

If you are a pastor-farmer who considers yourself a Christian leader, you have nothing to brag about.  You are responsible for the apostate condition of your churches.  You have transformed the training ground for God’s army into a domestic cattle farm for your own benefit.  

You cannot change the native environment of Christians without changing their behavior.  The word “domesticate” means “to tame,” and that is what you have done to the people of God.  People who are called to be overcomers you have set as spectators in your churches.  You have transformed an army into an audience.  You have tamed the warriors.  You have tamed their desire to conquer.  You have tamed their desire to live the victorious lives God wants for them.  You have turned God’s chosen warriors into your cattle.  Enjoy it now.  You will have explaining to do when you face God.    

Subdue Or Subdued  

Genesis 1:28 KJV

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  

The word translated “subdue” is the word “kabash,” which means “to tread down, to conquer, subjugate, violate,” and is translated as “bring into bondage, force, keep under, subdue, and bring into subjection” in the King James Version.  Mankind as both a physical and spiritual being was ordained to subdue (conquer) his natural environment as well as his spiritual universe.  But, once again, we find that the men have changed the “natural use” of what God destined for His people.  They cannot be “subduers” (i.e., conquerors) and live peacefully in the farming community of the institutional church.  God’s people are forced to choose: do they want their native environment of conquering and overcoming, or do they want “taming” down – dumbing down – into mindless church-farm livestock?  

Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13-14).”  He wasn’t referring to the path of this world as being the “broad… way, that leadeth to destruction.”  He was referring to the religious system that is put in place by pastor-farmers.  How do we know this?  Read the next verse.  “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves (Matthew 7:13-14).”  The broad… way is NOT the path this world takes, but the safe domestic path that is provided by institutional church.  All it will cost you is your life.  By taking that path, you will never again be able to survive in the spiritual domain that God destined for you.  You will be like, or stay like, all the other useless Christian cattle that fill Western church-farms.  You will exist, not for God, but for meeting the pastor’s needs.  

Institutional churches and their pastor-farmers have created the “broad way,” and in doing so, they have made Christianity irrelevant.  Individual Christians are irrelevant. They are everywhere but cannot do or change anything.  They are helpless to change our government or schools, and just why is that?  It’s because they are no longer warriors.  They are as irrelevant as cattle.  Christians go to church only to be fed, and they provide no other useful purpose.  Would this world really be any different without them?  How much of a difference do cows make to our society?  They are just being fattened up for when the farmer wants to slaughter them.  

Christians not only act irrelevant, but they have become fully convinced that they actually are irrelevant.  They have become conditioned into believing that the only useful tool in the church is the pastor-farmer.  And that their only function is to provide physical and financial support for the pastor-farmer’s business.  Its all a lie perpetrated by the pastor-farmers to keep Christians domesticated.    

Conclusion  

Many Christians are frustrated by their powerless lives and feeling like dry cisterns.  Their problem is that they truly believe that their institutional church-farms are their answer.  They do not realize that it is in these very church-farms in which they place their hope and trust where the problem lies.  They will never become what their heart tells them they are destined to be as long as they remain locked away as cattle in the church-barn.  The real church is now so foreign to them that they don’t know how to survive in it.  They actually fight to resist any change to the church-farm that might bring it closer to being a real church.  It’s a vicious circle.  They want to change but resist change when they see it.  Their knowledge is corrupt.  

God said that His “people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” This has led many Christians to assume that knowledge is the answer. They talk themselves into believing that their church-farms do not need to change and neither do their pastor-farmers.  What they need is just more and better information.  They have come to believe that their spiritual health is measured by the amount of knowledge they possess.  It’s not the amount of knowledge but the type of knowledge that is important.    

When animals are taken from their native habitat and placed in a domestic setting, their native knowledge becomes replaced with a new knowledge of their domestic setting.  Animals learn to adapt to their new domestic environment.  The original knowledge of how they were meant to live is lost.  It is no longer necessary.  In fact, retaining knowledge of how they lived in the wild can often cause them problems in domestication.  Farmers need to beat/discipline their old knowledge out of them.  The new knowledge of how to feed and conform in domestication is all they need.    

True Christians who desire to be the subduer/conqueror that God destined them to be are incompatible with institutional churches.  They are incompatible with the church setting that casts them as spectators, like cattle in stalls.  Christians like this have sacrificed their knowledge of how to move and operate in the Spirit for the safety of their church-farm and the mindless duty of being fed by their pastor-farmer.  They believe that only their pastor-farmer is blessed with the gift of feeding.  So they have laid down their swords and armor and quietly conformed to becoming livestock.  They no longer know how to survive and thrive in the environment God designed them to conquer.  They are no longer God’s warriors against the land of spiritual darkness.  They live now in the safety of their stall, and think that this is what God destined for them.  God’s people have quite literally been “destroyed for lack of knowledge.”  

Yet deep within the hearts of many of God’s people is a burning desire to conquer.  They sense their untamed hearts saying, “This isn’t right!  This isn’t how it was meant to be!”  Many don’t know what to do, so they pursue a career in the ministry, just to become themselves a pastor-farmer.  They simply follow all the other abusers down the broad path of destruction.  

There is a better way!  Let’s begin to reintroduce God’s people to the lives they were meant to live.  Let’s help them to discover their feral hearts.  Let’s end the pastoral control of the local church and turn it back over to the Spirit of God.  Let’s tear down the stalls and help the people of God find their armor.  Let’s repent of the sin of destroying God’s people and army.  Let’s stop playing church and become one.   Amen.

http://members.triton.net/kmsrjs/thoughts.htm

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