War Has Been Declared Part #3 of 3

Proverbs 11:29  He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

Mark 3:24-25  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Nations that once referred themselves to as God-fearing nations is standing on the brink of a biblical disaster. Natural and spiritual disasters are emerging in the form of floods, earthquake, famines, and pestilences.  The Earth is groaning and convulsing as a woman enduring labor pains.  The children of these nations blinded by their vast knowledge have cast aside the fear of God in the name the gods of political correctness.  Born into a pessimistic society the youth of today are losing their respect for the ancient values.  A new and godless nation "One World Order" is rising up out of a sea of confused souls.   Revelation 13:1) They have killed all of their sacred cows and the spirit of antichrist is prevailing.

Division is the ultimate warrior and martial law is looming on the horizon.   The freedom that we so carelessly tread upon might soon disappear as a puff of smoke.  Jesus referenced Daniel when speaking of coming events.  "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:" (Mark 13:14).   The understanding of this verse is not hard if we do not try to read too much into it.  The message to the wise and to those who once existed in their safe place, the time to flee to the mountains is drawing nigh.

      
The world and even the church have succumbed to the tactics of that old Devil. First, he used Governments and religion to divide the people, as he did in the Old Testament age.  During the Old Testament age God prodded humanity to engage, to fight and eliminate this blight from the face of the earth, but humanity, even Saul was tempted.   To prosecute the war against the Devil God used fire, water and even supernatural interventions, but the Devil had found an ally in God greatest creation.  If man had been, true to his spiritual nature the flood in Noah's day would have solved the problem,

The war began when Luther, God's prized Angel, attempted to overthrow the throne of God. The question posed now is why did God allowed the Devil to continue to exist. When the war began, God could have spoken the word or blinked his eye and poof, the old Devil would have been gone.  Viewing the problem from a natural perspective, we often fail to see the spiritual implications.  Once sin entered the realm of God, destroying the Devil would not have solved the problem; it merely would have created a martyr.  The Devil must be defeated in Heaven and on earth.

We that pose the question often fail to see the plan of God unfolding.  First, Satan corrupted a third of God's children, therefore, they are to be replaced before the Kingdom is expanded and re-established.  Second, there is a timeline established from the beginning, and within that timeline, there is a period of testing.  The Devil initiated and highlighted the sin problem; therefore, God had relegated to the Devils the job of testing every soul that enters into the Kingdom.  A study of the Book of Job will enlighten us as to how God and the Devil work, but this is an ideology that we are not prepared to accept.

To fully understand the war that we have been drafted to fight we must understand our purpose for being here.  Is our purpose all a part of a motivational trip?  Did God create man so that he would have somebody to give stuff?   Is it our mission to sing and praise God for all of his goodness, or is our purpose to bring souls to Christ?   It seems that the New Testament stress the need to go into the highways and hedges and compel.   

The Old Testament is a history lesson that gives us a detail account of humanity fall from grace and his attempt to fight against the Devil.  The Kingdom of Heaven, first through the application of the Law, then Grace, is searching for souls that are capable of resisting the Devil. 

The church flourished in persecution, but once it joined hand with the Government, it lost its soul.   Many churches of today are no longer able or capable of giving battlefield assessment; they are promoting a Kool-Aid flavor gospel that causes it members to bask in the sunshine of favor.   The words of Jesus should quell the clamor for special blessings. "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45) 

In my Book, "The Evolution of The Failed Church", I chronologies the battle the battle brought against the church by the Devil.  What was more interesting was that the battle did not begin with the formation of the church; it began before the creation of man. Mankind was created and empower to assist in the fight against the Devil, but mankind has a history of succumbing to the temptation of the Devil.  The authority given to man was ceded to the Devil through an unholy alliance in the garden.   Aside from temptation, envy and pride created a type of hatred that caused humanity to wallow in his sinful nature.

Revelation 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

War Has Been Declared Part #2 of 3

I recently shared a video on the social media that said, "Let's put prayer back in Schools." In a comment, words were used that were suppose expose my 'so-called phobias' and as an added insult I was told I was being selfish.  Now, no one wants to be called selfish.  All of which the intended purpose was to shame me because of my Christian viewpoints.  The perfected art of shaming is a tool used to force the masses into accepting alien viewpoints.   Shaming forces an adversary to accept a position of weakness.   This is the 'wiles of the devil'. 

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (Ephesians 6:11-12)

It seems as if the admonition of Jesus and Paul's called to war has been misinterpreted, overlooked or no longer believed.  For many, the battle has become personal as we rejoice in songs that tell of beating the Devil running or even crushing his head.  False hope is a sellable product of a false religion.  False hope has caused many to turn away from God and the church.  If our religion is false, we can easily be shamed into accepting false doctrines.

There are a natural war and a spiritual war raging around us.  The war that the saints should be concerned about is the spiritual war between good and evil, not the war between countries and states. No amount of misdirected praying or misquoted scriptures is going to eliminate the battleground.  The war has been declared and as Christians, we should enlist and prepare ourselves to fight the spiritual battle against the forces of darkness.

Considering the fact that Jesus rarely if ever addressed the natural state of humanity, Paul described this war as a spiritual or supernatural war.  This war is older than the war between nations; it is the war between good and evil.   This war began in Heaven long before God said let us make a man.  Forgotten in the backdrops of bible history man was created to fight in this war or "subdue the earth". 

It began as a Heavenly encounter; the Devil lifted up in pride challenged the throne of God.   God declared war and the Devil were cast out of heaven, where he brought destruction upon the earth.  Jeremiah prophesying of the Pre-Adamic Age declared, "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light." (Jeremiah 4:23).  Thus began Genesis 1:2, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."  Not a condition of creation but a created condition caused by the catastrophic event of Satan being kicked out upon the earth. 

   

With Satan was expelled from heaven, this did not end the war, the war merely intensified.  In the Old Testament, Moses described God as a man of war an attribute that we rather not attribute to God.  "The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name." (Exodus 15:3)  To continue the fight God created man, capable of living in the natural and guided by the spiritual.  In his first encounter with the Devil, the man was tempted, resulting in the loss of the first battle.  The battle against Satan on earth began as a natural battle, God empowered men as Kings and often led the charge, even the elements were at God's disposal in his battle against evil.  

With the coming of Christ, the battlefield shifted to a spiritual plane. Christ approach was to let the wheat and the tares grow together. (Matthew 13:30)  It is often taught that the Devil is a defeated foe, yet Paul stated," Wherefore takes unto you the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ephesians 6:11)  Peter's admonition to the saints was; "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" (1^st Peter 5:8)   Peter and Paul was writing to the church, not those who were standing on the outside looking in. 

Paul is addressing the supernatural aspects of the Devil's long-standing war against God.  As a side note which we shall discuss in a future article, Satan has organized his domain into seven major divisions, called principalities.  He has placed a powerful demon at the head of each principality that is responsible for spreading a particular brand of temptation and bondage over the world.  Those who that study or follow the occult is aware of the seven major principalities of Hell that are a part of the teaching of witchcraft.  Satan and his demons exist, and they are exceedingly powerful.

The total defeat of Satan and all that were deceived by him will come at a time of God's own choosing, until that time Satan is allowed to operate on earth and in the astrosphere.  The Devil  and his demons are supernatural, above, over earthly, "natural" forces, they can do whatever they want to do, unless God specifically steps in to prevent it.  For some reason, the above statement cannot be made without adding the disclaimer.  If we say the Devil can do anything he wants to somehow it seem as if we are taking away from the power of God.  Still, much of what Satan wants to do in this world today, he can do. This is why much of witchcraft, and Eastern Meditation, and Alternate Medicines, etc., work, because Satanic power is making it work, and God is not stepping in to prevent it.  When God steps in it will be a time of judgment.

As a former member of the military, I am aware of the necessity of battlefield assessments.  Information from the battlefront allows the command center to tailor the battle to meet the enemy where he is the strongest.   This military conceit allows the marshaling of superior forces against impending threats.   Battlefield assessments can present a true picture of the enemy, exposing his weakness and allowing for successful prosecution of the conflict.

The failure of the church to engage the Devil effectively was the theme of Jesus indictment against the church in Revelation 2-3.   The battle is not about collecting favors, the battle is about winning souls.  There are those who grew up in the church that has walked away from the church and they are replaced by a type that has a strange ideology of God.   Preachers, teachers, and even gospel music singers are amassing a following and a fortune perverting the Word of God in the process.  These people are not fighting against the Devil, they have become allies of the Devil.

War Has Been Declared Part #1 of 3

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet". (Matthew 24:6)

It seems somewhat redundant that Jesus would speak of war and rumors of wars as a sign of the end of time.  Wars and rumors of wars were common occurrences since the beginning of time. The Old Testament presents a bloody picture of nations in conflict.   In the modern age, World War 1 and World War 2 were the wars to end all wars, yet the drums of war continue to sound.

The New Testament speaks of wars and rumors of wars before the end of days.  When I attempted to use this as a forum during a Bible study, a student challenged me by informed me that this is nothing new.  When reading the New Testament prophecies concerning the wars and rumors of wars many can find a type of faith numbing contentment in stating the above fact.   To reconcile what seems to be a redundant statement it is easy to proclaim that every since Adam sinned we have been living in the end of time.  But leaving such important statement or verse hanging in such a precarious manner has caused the faith of many to grow cold.

When God created man, he gave him a battlefield commission to subdue the earth.  "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." (Genesis 1:28).  Subdue is the military command to engage the enemy and win the battle.   What was the nature of the battle set before man before nations were born?

Imagine you being in the middle of a horrific battle and not aware of what is going on around you?  While we are singing and dancing the enemy is creeping upon us.  This might seem like an unrealistic scenario but it has been known to happen to even battle harden worriers.  Reflecting upon and studying the scripture requires that we maintain the proper perspective and context. Failure to do so will result in a distorted and perplexing view of God plan.  This can lead to self-doubt, an attribute that is essential to losing the battle.  

In the Old Testament, God worked in the natural through those he called to his service.  Often God led his follower into battle and spilled the blood of his adversaries upon the ground.  Many of the battles fought in the Old Testament were for advancing God plan.  The Old Testament depicts a war between good and evil.   Wars consist of many fronts and many battles, there are the "boots on the ground" type of war and there is the "propaganda war".   One is natural and the other deals with the spirit.

When the call to battle sounded, the men did not hesitate to leave their mother and fathers, their wives and kin to fight for their God and country.    Judges 7:2-8 tells the story of too many people showing up to fight.  God gave Gideon a plan to reduce his force down to a lean fighting machine before going into battle.  In the early years of a nation, the people rallied around their country's flag.   The flag was the representative of an idea, a concept or culture.   When that nation, that concept, that culture through a type of propaganda is divided, according to Jesus destruction is at the door.

Often I have attempted to quote scriptures and before I finished I was forced to rethink the meaning of the scripture.  As a religious society, we have become comfortable in misquoting the scripture. Too often, we take what God said to one group of people and apply it to another group because it sounds good.  There are three groups of people addressed within the scripture and a message to the Jews is not a message to the church.  "Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:" (1^st Corinthians 10:32) We need to stop quoting 2^nd Chronicle 7:14 as if it is a verse on political intercession.   To the Jews it was a natural entitlement; to the church, it is spiritual.  As I have said before many of our quotes have made the God of our salvation seems as if he is impotent.

As I prepared for a surgical procedure, my mentor a messenger of God insisted on me saying "Amen" to the question of whether I believe God can part the Red Sea.  For me it is not a question of what God can or cannot do, it is how God works.   Today I can get in my car and drive to Texas, but will I do it?  No.  If I did it once, will I do it again?   Not necessarily so.  Clichés and hyperbole do not prepare us for the battle ahead. 

The church was to serve as the command center for those who were engaged in warfare.    Paul's admonition to the team was, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:10-12)  After the death of Christ, and the institution of a new dispensation, God began to works through his spirit, and the battle became a spiritual entity. Paul defined the conflict that is raging around us as spiritual. 

"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased". (Daniel 12:4)

In Daniel's, end time prophecies he alluded to a time when knowledge would increase and many would run back and forth.  During early 1800, the knowledge of man increased as many nations were caught up in the industrial and mechanical revolution.  The greatest achievement during that era was the invention of the steam engine.  Through more than one hundred and sixty years in the development stage, the steam engine would bring about a revolution in the way humanity travel.   For nearly 6000 years, the use of animals and walking was the primary form of transportation.  During the next 200 years, humanity would travel into outer space and explore the planets.  In the process, we challenged the existence of God. 

I became aware of the war to challenge God in the early 60's and since that date, the battles have intensified.  Many others had existed before that time but for me, Madalyn Mays also known, as Madalyn Murray O'Hair was one of the earlier Generals in the war against God. O'Hair known for the Murray v. Curlett lawsuit, which led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling ending official Bible-reading in American public schools in 1963. This came just one year after the Supreme Court prohibited officially sponsored prayer in schools in Engel v. Vitale. Afterward, she founded the American Atheists and won Murray v. Curlett, she achieved attention to the extent that in 1964 Life magazine referred to her as "the most hated woman in America".  That was then; today she is referenced as a great thinker.  These acts set the stage for the government knowingly and unknowingly to enjoin the battle to declare God as an irrelevant entity. 

The events that I have referenced in this article took place within a nation that once declared it a God-fearing nation.  Its founding fathers had the audacity to proclaim that God had shed his grace on it.  This nation supported Israel because it was the biblical thing to do.  The increase in knowledge that Daniel prophesied has perverted this nation core values. (Daniel 12:4)  It has turned its back on Israel and now proclaim itself a nation of many gods while it engages in debates on what bathrooms we should use. According to Paul, there is the spiritual weakness in high places.(Ephesians 6:10-18)

Now let us revisit the question, when Jesus spoke of wars and rumors of wars, was he speaking of the conflicts between nations and peoples.  Maybe we should discard our cavalier approach to understanding the word of God and search the scripture for the answer.  Often when we search the scripture, we are seeking to prove a preexisting idea or concept.   Thus to prove our point the shaping of the scripture becomes a necessity.  Is it possible that Jesus was speaking of the intensification of spiritual warfare, a flagrant attack on God?

                                  To be continued

Hearing The Voice Of God

1^st Samuel 3:7-10 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.  And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. Therefore, Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he calls thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

One of the scariest moment as a wee lad growing up in the church was when the preacher prefaced its message with, "God spoke to me", Visions of a longhaired, bearded, red-lipped, frowning old man partially hidden by clouds filled our tender and childish minds with fear.  The intent of the proclamation was to validate and ensure attention to the message.  This was a part of an indoctrination process. Our earlier indoctrination taught us that no God-fearing person would dare take the name of God in vain. God, himself declared in Deuteronomy 5:11, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain".   Therefore, when a supposedly God-fearing person said, "God spoke to me", we could be reasonably sure that God was speaking.  When God speaks, everybody was supposed to listen. 

As we grew older and became more knowledgeable of God, our greatest achievement in our religious walk was to hear the voice of God. Hearing the voice of God became a means of validating our spirituality.  The preacher, the choir director, and even the bench member learned to boost their status by uttering the words, "God spoke to me".  The voice of God described as being loud and clear by many, and many describe the event similar to conducting a conversation with someone in another room.  Yet, a strange truth began to emerge, many who were struggling to be sincere in their Christian walk found themselves on the outside wondering why God did not speak to them.   But, that was the 'elephant in the room' that we don't talk about.  One songwriter tried to bridge the gulf by stating, "when I am on the mountain top God speaks to me, but when I am in the valley, God is silent." 

It was not long before many realized that conflicting messages were emulating from the household of faith and they were carrying the seal of a message from God. God often speaks during the offering collection, he is constantly telling the parishioners to give more money.  Hearing God speak became a moneymaking and status improvement proposition.  There are numerous books are written on the subject and seminars are conducted on "How to hear God speak".  Beautifully crafted sermons are delivered on, "Hearing the voice of God".  Somehow, we have constructed a belief that rather than studying God's word it is necessary for God to speak daily words of motivation into our life. The gullibility of Christianity comes into full play, who dare say, brother or sister, you need to check your message source. 

The silence of God, as well as the fear of God, does not set well in  our modern and pessimistic society.  As Aaron did at the base of the Holy mountain, we have created a God in our own image and we have endowed him with all of the attributes that are pleasing to us.  God is a God of love, we can find  scriptures to justify that.  Yet the visual image that we have created of our God is one of an impotent deity.   One messenger of God proclaimed that if you are praying about it God is working on it.  Through all of the work our God is said to be doing and all of the favors we ask of him, the world situation is continuing to deteriorate.  The voids created are filled irrelevant platitudes that are only good for emotional and motivational responses, leaving the spirituality of humanity to suffer.   "He might come when we want him to come but he is always on time", have left many standing on the banks of the 'river' filled with doubt and confusion.   

A message or a song that cries out to God to speak is a powerful inducement to an emotional encounter with God.  Even a prayer that entreats God to help us along our way seems to open the door to a greater spiritual encounter.  At this point, in my mind, the word 'content' seems to come into focus.  Paul addressed the issue as such, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." (Philippians 4:11).  He seems to infer that our prayer sessions should not be guided by our wants.  Can you imagine your child coming to you on a daily base with a list of wants?

In Paul's address to the Hebrew Jews, Paul explained it as such; "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).  This is one of those scriptures that have been twisted, misinterpreted, and used to create false Gospels.   The first part of the verse implies conditions and if those conditions were met God would not forsake his chosen people,   but the rest of the story can be found in 2 Chronicles 15:2, "... but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you".  

That old Satan is engaged in a battle to make the name of God of none effect. How can this be when the name of God is invoked in more and more encounters? The internet and the social media has become a religious billboard, and God is speaking and doing things for his people.   Yet Heaven is becoming less appealing and Hell is less horrific.  For many the Gospel has become liken unto a fairy tale and it meaning is based upon who is telling the story and what is the desired outcome.   Church attendance has become equivalent to a rock concert of a football game.  Star power is what draws the people in and star power in the church is achieved by hearing the voice of God.   

There are several key factors in 1^st Samuel 3:7-10 that we will look closely at, but before we proceed we must establish certain facts. The establishment of these facts is necessary to rightly divide the word of truth.  The dispensation is that of the Law, the book is of deeds of the Children of Israel, therefore it is a Book of God's interaction with his chosen people, it is not written to the church.   The perspective and the context must be maintained.  Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.  This is an interesting assessment of a person who did not know God but was about to be called by God.   Both Moses and Paul and there are others also who would be classic examples of men being called into God's service whose belief and faith was weak or non-existence.  There is no record of these men begging God to speak to them.   In the Old Testament, the evolving message of God was given through conversations with God or his Angels.  In the New Testament, under the dispensation of Grace, men operated under the direction of the Holy Spirit. 

"And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me".  This was a form of validating the call of God.  It is well within the power of God to make himself known to Samuel without going through these seemly unnecessary steps.  Consider this; there was a relationship between Eli, the priest and Samuel.  Eli validated the calling by instructing Samuel on how to proceed.  Imagine the misunderstanding, the animosity that would have existed in the relation if Samuel had come to Eli the Priest and said: "God spoke to me."  It is the Devil, not God who is the author of confusion.