FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part
149
THE BEAST OUT OF THE SEA
(continued)
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 (Rev. 13:1).
The beast rising
up out of the sea has seven heads. Numbers are
always symbolic in the book of Revelation with the number seven standing for perfection,
fullness, and completion. It does not denote
an actual amount.
So there is no need to look for exactly seven kings, or kingdoms, or powers of any kind. The same principle was employed by Jesus when He
told Peter to forgive, not just seven times, but seventy times seven. He did not mean to forgive precisely 490 times, and
then at the 491st time Peter would be free from the obligation. He was using multiples of seven to impress upon
Peter the great truth that he should forgive completely
and perfectly! To the Hebrews, numbers
were descriptions rather than mathematics as each number represented something.
When the beast
is described as having seven heads, it speaks of the completeness and fullness of his authority. Heads
always indicate headship, that is, command,
control, and authority. When we refer to the
head of a group, organization, institution, or government, were speaking of
leadership, managership, governorship where the supreme authority is invested. In this case it is the headship of the world system
of man that is signified by the seven heads. This
is a headship over the whole world of men who are subservient to the system. The ruling powers are right in the midst of the
beastly system. In mans eyes, some human
governments are good and some evil. But in Gods
eyes they all are directed by the carnal mind, intellect, and nature of the Adamic man and
therefore all receive their authority from the
dragon! No country is truly doing the will of
God, not even my own country which I do love and pray for.
Although the ten
horns are not literally ten different kingdoms, or the seven heads seven different actual
kings, yet the great truth expressed is that this beast represents a combination of all
the great empires of the world. It is a
composite picture of the nature, authority, and power of the whole world system of man! And this beast is the incarnation of the spirit of
the dragon! Now if we really desire to
understand the mystery of these things it will be helpful to make some comparisons. First, I would take you back to chapter four of the
Revelation. It will be profitable here to
consider the scene John saw when he was caught up unto the throne. And
before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the
throne, were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind. And the first living creature was like a lion, and
the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had a face like a
man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle (Rev. 4:6-7). In the light of this sublime scene we do well to
remember that the beast in chapter thirteen receives his throne and authority from the
dragon. But the throne and authority of the
four living creatures (kingship, the sons of God) are from the God of the throne in the
heavens! Each the heavenly kingship
company, and the bestial system of man has a throne and an authority, but what a
world of difference! One is the throne of God
and man in that throne; the other is the throne of the dragon and man in that throne!
And here comes
one of the most remarkable things in the book: the red dragon voluntarily relinquishes his
power, his throne, and his authority in favor of this beast!
And the beast which I saw was
like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth
of a lion: and the dragon GAVE HIM HIS POWER, AND
HIS THRONE, AND GREAT AUTHORITY (Rev. 13:2).
Here is another remarkable thing: the whole world of men did not worship the
beast solely; they worshipped the dragon too! And I saw one of his heads as it was wounded to
death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the
world wondered after the beast. And they
worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast
(Rev. 13:3-4). Why is this? Had not the dragon vacated his throne in favor of
the beast out of the sea? Oh, yes! But now the dragon incarnates the beast and lives on in the beast! The voice of the beast is truly the dragons
voice, the power of the beast is in fact the dragons power, the authority of the
beast is indeed the dragons authority, and the throne of the beast is actually the
dragons throne! The dragon is thus the inward life of the beast, and the beast is the outward physical manifestation of the dragon! Can you grasp the great truth of these words of the
apostle wherein he says, And you hath he
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to
the prince of the power of the air, the SPIRIT THAT NOW WORKETH IN THE CHILDREN OF
DISOBEDIENCE (Eph. 2:1-2). And
again, And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the wicked one (I
Jn. 1:19). Can you not see the mystery?
Both the dragon
and the beast are described with seven heads and ten horns but the main difference is
depicted in the position of their crowns which
marks the place of their dominion, for crowns signify rulership and dominion. The dragons seven crowns are placed upon his
seven heads, clearly showing that his power is
all connected with the intellect the mind in knowledge and worldly wisdom
which he has fed into peoples minds from mother Eve all the way down to you and me. This is the inward, personal, and individual
working of the dragon Satan. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should
be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (II Cor. 11:3).
The beast, on
the other hand, has his crowns upon his ten horns, identifying
the place of his rulership and dominion as by power,
for horns signify power. This speaks of
the works the institutions, organizations, systems, governments, laws, etc., which
are the external instruments of control and dominion over mens lives. The beasts
power rests within the transferring of the dragons wisdom and knowledge into the
man-made world systems by which he motivates, dominates, subjects, and controls the masses
of humanity. Can we not see by this that we
have a dual enemy we have an enemy within (spirit
of the dragon) and also an enemy without (the
beast, the world system of man) AND THE ENEMY WITHOUT IS THE CREATION OF THE ENEMY
WITHIN! And it serves his purpose! And the
dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority
and they worshipped
the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is
like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:2,4).
And is it not true that all men today do
pay homage to the world system of man EXCEPT THE HOLY SONS OF GOD WHO HAVE GROWN UP
INTO THE MIND AND NATURE OF CHRIST, THE LAMB! That is the mystery!
The man whose
life, ambitions, actions, and methods are controlled by the spirit of the world has crowned the beast and given him power. The
dragon in the beast solicits homage from all who have any aspiration in this world. He
had the effrontery to tell Christ Jesus, that, if He would fall down and worship him, all
the wealth and the kingdoms of the earth, and the glory thereof, would be His. He is telling men and women that every day! If you will just adopt the spirit, ways, means, and
methods of the world (even in your ministry), you will prosper and all will be yours! Without doubt, he has told you that. Have you crowned him as king? Do you believe his statements? Are you putting his directions into practice? I have known many preachers who have resorted to
psychological persuasions, carnal methods, gimmickry, false prophecies, and outright lies
and fraud in order to raise finances, thereby fleecing Gods people of their
hard-earned money. Others think it is alright
to put a price on their tapes, CDs, and books, selling
the word of God which they have freely received of Him, thereby preventing widows, the
unemployed, retired on fixed incomes, and
struggling families from having access to the revelation of God. That is spiritual wickedness in high places. I do not hesitate to tell you that all
such have crowned the beast and given him power! That
is the way the world operates, but not the kingdom of God!
Can you imagine the apostle Paul sending a notice to the Galatian believers
stating that for the price of $100 he would send his epistle
of the month to them? Such a notion is not
only not apostolic, its also NOT KINGDOM! Ive heard the lame excuse, But brother
Eby, if we send the stuff out free of charge, the people dont respond with enough
money to pay the bills. And besides, we have
discovered that what people dont pay for, they dont appreciate. Thats a lie of enormous proportions! If people dont appreciate what is freely and
without charge given to them, then there is not one believer in the whole world who appreciates his gift of salvation, his healing, his
deliverance, his gift of the Holy Spirit, his gifts of the Spirit, or any other blessing
and provision of God, for has He not FREELY GIVEN UNTO US ALL THINGS? I could fill the next nine pages of this article
with scriptures about our Fathers FREE GIFTS! And
I do appreciate every one of them, though I did not pay one copper penny for even one of
His favors.
Vast multitudes
of men and women have crowned Satan before the whole world.
There are men in politics and business and religion and society who show
that they believe that a person can get on only by subscribing to the methods and
techniques of the wicked world system. They
regard those who have not bowed the knee to his satanic majesty as being ridiculously
blind to their own interests. Do you want
money, or fame, or influence, or position, or pleasure, or power, or ease, or security? Crown the beast, and you get it, is their advice! And so that arch-deceiver, hoodwinking those smart
people, whom he makes think are the superlatively smart people of the earth, until at last
they overleap themselves and fall in the ditch, chuckles to himself at his success; and
when he deceives those folks who think they are the very elect ones of the universe for
smartness, he has some grounds for self-gratification.
In theory, men repudiate the corruptness of the natural man; but in fact, in
actual life, it is simply astounding to see men and women, who hold their heads high,
display such low-down, groveling propensities, as to take beast-forces, and mud
substances, and the very spirit of merciless
fraud, and crown them with the authority of dominion over their lives.
THE BESTIAL WORLD SYSTEM
And I
stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise
up out of the sea (Rev. 13:1).
Throughout the
scriptures, the word beast refers to a system,
and not to a man. The beasts speak of bestial systems, organizations, institutions,
movements, and governments. It can also be a state
or condition. Ray Prinzing once pointed
out that the description of a monster with seven heads and ten horns is not some
pre-historic creature which is to plod across the earth devouring everything in view. If it was this literal, we would immediately
recognize the situation as the fulfillment, and would try to find some human remedy. But being a state or condition, people
are overtaken by it, and know it not, for there are few that understand the meaning of the
signs.
This
beast now under consideration is a system and evil entity that rules the world; its
an antichrist system. Its a wild beast,
and a wild beast is a devouring, destroying animal; in the spirit it is a devouring,
destructive entity. The beast is not just one
human being, rather it is a system that dominates every area of human activity and life,
whether it be business, politics, medicine, art, science, education, religion, or any
other. Just as the body of a beast has many
members, so there are a multitude of worldly systems; but these systems are typically
overseen by a powerful government with those in power making decisions that perpetrate the
carnal system throughout mankind. This beastly
system is rising up out of the sea of humanity, out of all the people on the earth. When John stood upon the sand of the sea, he was
standing upon that which could not be numbered, among all the people of the earth. The beast is not an end-time event
it is a present reality and has been ascending out of the sea of humanity since the
dawn of history.
When the Bible
uses the word world in the sense of something
that must be overcome, it is not referring to the physical planet Earth. Rather, the world in that sense is the
present system of society and civilization. The
world is the collective result of the activities of errant humanity over the
past 6,000 years ever since the first humans departed from their life in and by the
Spirit of God. Look at it. Wars, crime, violence, suffering, greed,
corruption, dishonesty, sickness, depression. And
then you have all the organizations and systems created by fallen man to try to control
and restrain, or to correct and improve the situation and condition. But it is itself an
evil, oppressive system! It is not Gods
world. It is not Gods society. It is not Gods civilization. It is not Gods government! Anyone who seeks a close relationship with the
world, makes himself an enemy of God, declared the apostle James (James 4:4).
This beast with
seven heads has long ruled over the inhabitants of the earth. The bestial system first made its appearance in the
garden of Eden. Our eyes behold its presence
with the understanding of these words: Now the
serpent was more subtle than any beast of the
field which the Lord God had made (Gen. 3:1).
These words tell us that there was not only a beast (the serpent) in the
earth in that hour, but there was a beastly spirit and
a beastly system already waiting to enforce its dominion upon Adam and his garden. Of all the bestial kingdom the serpent (who
is also the dragon) was more subtle than any beast of the field
The serpent was called a beast, and was not
dwelling alone, but was the most subtle of the whole bestial realm, even then the great
dictator of the bestial kingdom! He still is. In the book of Revelation, the subtle little
serpent has increased its stature to become a great red dragon who rules the world through
the fearsome beast out of the sea. The first Adam,
made in the image and likeness of God, given dominion in the kingdom of heaven on earth,
failed the same test that later came to Jesus, the last Adam, in the wilderness, and
exchanged that blessed realm for the grime and dust and filth and sorrow of the bestial
kingdom.
That is why
Jesus told Pilate, the Roman procurator, on the night of His trial, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then
would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom
not from hence (Jn. 18:36). The kingdom of God is not of this world. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy
in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17). Jesus said that His disciples are in the
world, but not of the world (Jn. 17:11-16). The kingdom, likewise, is in the
world, but not of it, not established by the worlds
methods or operated by the worlds standards. It
does not function by the politics of the world. The
kingdom of God does not contain a Republican or Democratic platform. It is neither Conservative, Liberal, nor
Libertarian. It is not Capitalist, Communist,
nor any other economic system of man. It is
established and maintained on a different basis from the kingdoms of this world. When we enter this kingdom we are not taken out of
these earthly realms, but we are rescued from
the jurisdiction of darkness, the hateful spiritual empire that energizes the governments
of earth and enthralls mankind. We have been
removed into that other spiritual realm whose Monarch is Gods beloved Son and our
Elder Brother. We now live out our lives along
the lines of the principles of Gods kingdom which are rooted in His nature, mind,
life, and power.
What does Jesus
mean when He says that His kingdom is not of this world?
One of the key words translated world in our English Bibles is
the Greek word kosmos. The word originated in Classical Greek where we
find it denoted principally one underlying thing: a
harmonious order, system, or arrangement. Out
of this meaning it may be applied to the earth, the inhabitants of the earth, society, the
universe, worldly affairs such as worldly goods, endowments, riches, advantages,
pleasures, customs, ways, methods, organizations, systems, institutions, governments, etc. The idea of orderly
arrangement or organization lies behind all the aforementioned categories. The earth, the solar system, the universe, society,
government, commerce, education, social institutions, finance, entertainments all
these and many more operate by precise laws, order, arrangement, system, and method. Behind everything that exists and all that happens
in the visible, material realm we meet a planned
system; and in this system there is a harmonious functioning, an established order. That is THE
WORLD! None of it is of the Spirit of God. None of it is established along the lines of Gods
ways, Gods righteousness, Gods nature, Gods word, or Gods will. The Spirit has an altogether different standard and
order out of the invisible realm. That is THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
Therefore every organized system
of the visible realm is the world in contrast to, and set apart from, the kingdom
of God out of the invisible realm of Gods Spirit.
The Bible opens
with Gods creation of the heavens and the earth. It
does not say that God created the world at that
time. God placed Adam in the garden of Eden, a
place of light and beauty, and there was no world in relation to man. In that long ago beginning God proclaimed, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness
(Gen. 1:26). This wonderful purpose of God
to make man in His very image had been settled in the divine councils of Elohim from
eternity. The carnal minds of sin-cursed men
cannot even begin to imagine in their wildest dreams and hopes the ineffable glory that is
determined for man in the image and likeness of God! The
glory is fully seen in our Lord Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ Himself is the
outraying of Gods glory, the express image of
His Person (Heb. 3:1). Only in Jesus
Christ today can be seen exactly what God had in mind when He said, Let us make man
in our image.
Adam, the man in
Gods image, walked amidst the fragrant mists of Eden in the living presence of God. He heard the voice of God in the spirit within
himself and lived by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. God Himself was his life and his every motivation
and action sprang from the power of that life within.
In that heaven blest realm the sounds he heard were spiritual sounds, the
things he saw were spiritual things, and the things he touched, smelled, and tasted were
spiritual realities. As yet there was no COSMOS,
no world, no organized system outside of himself that he related to,
subscribed to, or was influenced by. There was
no outward constituted order of any kind. He
did not function under any outward law or system, but functioned as a living spiritual organism, out of the life which he
was. There was only God and man! It is interesting to note that the word world does
not appear anywhere in the story of creation and the fall.
In fact, its first mention is not until the days of the prophet Samuel!
According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph. 1:4). The word foundation translates the
Greek word katabole which is a compound word
made up of ballo meaning to cast, to throw
and kata meaning down. When man fell from his high and holy relationship
with God and was cast down into this gross material realm, the foundation of
the world was laid in his heart. We still
speak of laying or putting down a foundation. But a foundation is not the building it is
that which the building is raised up upon! The
foundation of the world was laid in mans heart when he obeyed the voice
of the serpent and departed from the kingdom of heaven realm in which he dwelt; but the
building of the world was the fruit of his actions. Yet blessed be God! The apostle Paul informs us that our heavenly
Father elected some sons in Christ before the foundation of the world. The word before translates the Greek
word pro meaning to go before, to precede. Hence, the Fathers act of choosing us in
Christ preceded the fall of man and the establishment of the world system! We are not told how many days, years, or eons this
choosing preceded the world, but methinks it was away back there when the morning stars
sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy!
Since the world
is in such opposition to God we must consider its origin and process of development. The world began with Cain. It is significant to note that the first action of
Cain after slaying his brother Abel was this: And
Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and
dwelt in the land of Nod
and he builded a city (Gen. 4:16-17). Cain built the first city organized society,
civilization which typifies the worldly system of independence from the SPIRIT. The world did not exist when man was created
(except in abstraction), but developed gradually after the fall, as man removed himself
from the anointing and walked in his own carnal way. When
man was brought forth from the formative hand of God there was already the universe, the
heavens and the earth, and all created things; but the world did not exist. Following Adams expulsion from the Garden,
when carnal men began to multiply upon the earth, the
serpent in man gave direction and character to the New World Order of man,
thus the scripture speaks of the natural man walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2).
There are three
primary requirements for mans existence and well-being on the earth: provision,
protection, and pleasure. For a man to live an
abundant, happy, and fulfilled life in the earth realm he needs the provision of food,
clothing, shelter, etc., a means of defense to protect himself from adversaries, and a
form of recreation and amusement for his relaxation and happiness. Prior to Adams transgression GOD WAS
RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING THESE THREE NEEDS OF MAN, and they were supplied abundantly right out of the spirit in the garden of Eden
experience, albeit on a much higher level than the corruptible world of today. After Cains departure from the leading of the
Spirit, the scripture describes him as of that Wicked One (I Jn. 3:12). The preposition of is from the Greek ek meaning out of. Cain was OUT OF that Wicked One the seed of the serpent!
Cains father was Adam and his mother was Eve nothing can be
plainer than that in Genesis 1:4. This is the
very first evidence that the serpent is in man! Cain
was born of Adam and Eve, but he was the offspring of the serpent nature, the fleshly man
void of the Spirit.
Out of the
descendents of Cain were produced the founders of mans own system of supply for
these three great needs of life. These direct
descendents of Cain were the three sons of Lamech. Lamech
was actually the great, great, great grandson of Adam.
Men lived to be very old in those early days, and these generations arose
rapidly in succession to one another, so Adam was not very old when his great, great,
great grandson Lamech was born. As I
mentioned, Lamech then had three sons, and through these sons the world system was rapidly
accelerated. The first son, Jabal, was the
father of tent dwellers and cattlemen (Gen. 4:20). Tents
and cattle are for the supply of mortal mans living and therefore belong to the
category of provision. While Adam and Eve were
in the Garden we read nothing of them making tents or building houses or raising cattle. In the beginning God revealed Himself to man as his provision, making Himself
available to man in the spiritual fragrance of Eden and in the tree of life in the midst
of the Garden, that in union with Him we should have all things, even the supply of God
Himself as our dwelling and sustenance. Jabal
represents mans own efforts, apart from the life of God, to make provision for
himself. Spiritually, this symbolizes the
carnal religious systems of man with their rituals, ceremonies, ordinances, and programs
designed to feed God to man. All
religion is the invention of man in his effort to meet mans spiritual need apart from the life-flow of God! Alas, the multitudes of men within these systems
understand not that the reality of Gods life is not contained in, nor administered
through, creeds, programs, rituals, ceremonies, or ordinances. Those who live in that realm feed upon the husks of
the grain but never taste of the life within the kernel.
These know nothing of the wonder of the
Christ within. Mans religion is of the world, for it is outside of God, being not
of the Spirit, nor by the anointing.
Another of Cains
grandsons, Jubal, was the father of all that handle the harp and organ. Playing harp and organ is for pleasure and
inspiration and thus pertains to the category of relaxation and pleasure. This worldly aspect is fulfilled spiritually in the
maze of social activity in religion, as well as in much of the music, programs, and
sermonizing, all of which is designed to be pleasant, acceptable, and entertaining to the
people. A good preacher is usually
considered to be one who has charisma and can speak in an attention-grabbing, entertaining
style. And have you ever noticed how preachers
use music in a psychological way, having the musicians, for instance, playing softly in
the background as they give the altar call or do personal ministry, laying on of hands,
prophecy, etc., as though the soft, sentimental music adds something to the life of God by
the anointing! That is not the song of the
Lord, my beloved, it is the harp of Jubal!
I do not think
that any spiritually-minded person could disagree with me when I say that nearly all the
concerts, programs, and pulpit showmanship that constitute much of the so-called ministry
among Gods people today are without doubt very appealing to the carnal mind which is
ever wont to feed upon soulish entertainment rather than with reverential awe and holy
brokenness to drink at the eternal fountains of living water that flow from the throne of
God. I am convinced that our faithful Father
has given the ministry of the blessed spirit of Truth, and that that spirit of Truth
abides within all who receive of Him. There is abundant supply! God Himself is the portion of those who do know
their God, and those who walk with God in the Spirit find their contentment, joy, and
satisfaction in His pure reality! While God
has given His manifest presence and true spiritual ministry for the perfecting of the saints, the worldly church system
has given us a veritable smorgasbord of religious
shows for the entertaining of the saints. Most solemnly do I declare unto you that all such
ARE OF THE WORLD, and not of the Father, for their methods and means lie outside of the
anointing of the Spirit and can never lead Gods people beyond the husks of mans
own vanity. Thank God! a people is arising who
are finding their way out of Cains pleasure land of entertainment and
sentimentality, back to the Paradise of God, back to the tree of life, back to the kingdom
of heaven where they drink deeply of this sublime reality:
in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy
right hand there are pleasures for evermore! (Ps. 16:11). Oh, yes!
The third
grandson, Tubal-cain, was the instructor of every artificer in brass and iron instruments. These instruments were formed for the purpose of
defense, thus referring to the category of protection.
All the armaments of all the nations of the world today, all the guns,
tanks, airplanes, missiles, bombs and warheads are the result of the spirit of Tubal-cain. On the personal level, all the martial arts, hand
guns, mace, tasers, and every other offensive device used for self-protection pertain to
this category. I quoted the following passage
earlier, but let me quote it again for the instruction of all who treasure the beautiful
hope of sonship to God. Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servant FIGHT, that I
should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence (Jn. 18:36).
I have no
hesitation in telling you that on the basis of the deep truth of the principles of the kingdom
of God revealed in those telling words, as well as many other teachings of the Christ, I
have been a conscientious objector to war all my life because from a small
child I could never believe that the spirit of warfare with its hatred, killing, violence,
and savagery is compatible with the love of God or with the spirit of sonship. God is love, and the sons of God are the sons of
Love! Love will affect every attitude and
action toward men on the personal level, the corporate level, and the national level. Oh, yes, we have our excuses and a thousand reasons
are given to go forth and kill and maim and destroy by warfare. The government
requires me to do it, we say. Thats
reminiscent of that other time-honored cop-out, The devil made me do it! I must defend my country and our liberties,
we explain, we have an obligation to our families, our communities, and our nation
to defend ourselves. So we wield the
sword, fire machine guns, and bomb villages and cities into oblivion, blasting thousands,
yea, millions of innocent men, women, and children out of this world, and call on God to bless! What
strange beings we Christians are who profess to follow in the footsteps of Him
who said, For the Son of man is not come to destroy mens lives, but to save them (Lk. 9:56). I tell you today that no son of God is sent into
this world to destroy mens lives, but
every son of God is sent into the world to save
them. No son of God, no brother of the
lovely Jesus, is sent into this world to destroy even one life, but to become a saviour
for all men!
War is not a
matter of one soldier against one soldier. It
is now a war of guns and bombs and germs and chemicals and landmines against soldiers and
mothers and children and babes. Any way to
intimidate the foe! Scare and blast loved ones
out of this world into heaven or hell that is the way to win! We little realize the awful depths into which the
spirit of warfare carries us. As one wrote of
a certain war: I had to aim carefully at the straw roof and only succeeded at the
third shot. The wretches who were inside,
seeing their roof burning, jumped out and ran off like mad
surrounded by a circle of
fire about five thousand people came to a sticky end.
It was like hell, the smoke rose to incredible heights, and the flames
reddened the setting sun. Someone said,
War is hell, and may I add, he who participates in it is therefore a minister
of hell. Could it be otherwise?
War is still
ruling our world and it is not spiritual; it is
carnal, political, and devilish. As
ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven we pledge allegiance to a higher kingdom than any of
the kingdoms of this world. Sons of God cannot fight carnal warfare and at
the same time Love
our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us, and pray for them which despitefully use us and
persecute us; that we may be the sons of our
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 (Mat. 5:44-45). We cannot fight carnal warfare because we are
ambassadors for Christ! An ambassador is a representative of another country and he is not
subject to the political laws of the country
where he abides. He is granted diplomatic
immunity! The King whom we represent has
commissioned us to love our enemies, bless and curse not, and
see that none render evil for evil to any man. We are to walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith we are called with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy
and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind. How directly opposed are these attributes to the
rules and spirit of war! Under the old covenant Yahweh required that His people Israel
should go to war and fight and kill, but that covenant has been done away, and we are
under the new covenant of grace whereby the law
(nature) of God is written upon our hearts, and the weapons of our warfare
are not
carnal, but are mighty through God!
If fighting and
killing on carnal battlefields is right for the sons of God, then the priesthood after the
order of Melchizedek, the priesthood of grace, mercy, love, reconciliation, and salvation
is wrong; if the priesthood of love, even love for
our enemies, is right, then for a son of God to participate in the carnal savagery of
warfare is wrong. God is raising up in the
earth a Kingdom of Priests as SAVIOURS shall they come up on mount Zion! It is impossible to unconditionally and infinitely
love all men while hating some men. And in the
war machine of the nations it is impossible to go into battle with the right
frame of mind unless your superiors have instilled into you a sense of outrage,
anger, hostility, and hatred toward the enemy. It
is not possible to be in preparation to deliver creation from the bondage of corruption
while going out in the worlds war machine savagely blowing men to bits for whom
Christ died. The irony of war is that there
are in most cases soldiers who are Christians on both sides.
These men, saved, perhaps baptized in the Holy Spirit, members of the body
of Christ, who are to love and care for one another, and esteem one another, as Christ
does us; and who are supposedly endued with a divine and heavenly love for all men, march
out on the battlefield of carnal warfare at the command of their worldly governments and
unregenerated politicians and BLOW ONE ANOTHERS BRAINS OUT! Brother shoots brother, and brother bombs brother
each sometimes in the name of Christ! Ponder
the fact. In international wars over the past
2,000 years, professing Christians have killed professing Christians by the millions! I
have no hesitation in telling you that it is one of the most ridiculous contradictions in
the world!
Now, we are
talking about how God Himself was mans defense in Eden. God as mans defense is symbolized by the wall
and gate that surrounded Eden, the spiritual realm of the kingdom of heaven on earth. When man departed from Eden he no longer had God as
his defense and security, therefore he commenced to
establish his own defense in the carnal realm. Do
you think, my beloved, that today GOD CAN BE OUR DEFENSE?
Can God Himself be the defense of either a man or a nation?
I first learned
about the awesome power of God as our defense from my earthly father who was a good and
holy man. He was a small man, only five feet,
one and a half inches tall, but he was a man of courage, fearlessness, conviction, and a
man of faith and power with God. He lived, breathed,
and walked out what he perceived as true in God. And
it worked! God was with him. He was an example of the power of the grace and
love of God to overcome all evil with good. On
more than one occasion he was attacked by men who had sworn to kill him because of the
gospel. They came at him with bricks and
two-by-fours and brute physical strength, and my father was a small man. He fearlessly stood his ground and spoke only the
words, I love you! Their arms
stopped in mid-air and they dropped their weapons. On
one occasion the scene was less dramatic, but the Holy Ghost was upon my mother. As she spoke in tongues and turned the car around,
my father was able to jump in and make his escape. He
would never resist evil, never retaliate, never
manifest any fear, antagonism, anger, or animosity. And
he was never injured! God was powerfully with
him at all times.
In the 1940s
my father joined himself to one of the Pentecostal denominations. When he was being examined for ordination to the
ministry in this denomination he told the brethren, There is something I must let
you know. I am a conscientious objector. I do not believe a Christian has any right in the
spirit of Jesus to resist any evil or go to war to fight against any enemy of our country. He explained in detail his views on this matter. The brethren said to him, But, brother Eby,
what if a thief or rapist entered your house at night with the intent to rob you, or to
molest your wife and children, or even kill you what would you do what would
you do? He answered, I would call
upon God and God would congeal him in the doorway and he would be unable to do us any
harm. The weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, they are mighty through God. But, the brethren pressed,
what if everyone believed as you do? What
if no one would join the armed forces to defend our country?
What if our enemies attacked us what would we do? My father responded, My dear brethren, if
everyone in this country believed as I do, there would be so much of the power of God in
this nation that our enemies would not be able to attack us! Well, brother Eby, the brethren said,
we dont agree, but we do admire your faith. They ordained him.
When men come to
mount Zion they turn their weapons of destruction into instruments of blessing for their
neighbors. They shall beat their swords
into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks is not just a word for the
nations in some future day; it begins with us
who are being shaped to bring such a result in the world!
The characteristic of the holy mountain of Zion is the Lamb sacrificial,
redeeming love! The only sword carried
by the Lamb is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Sons who stand with the Lamb on mount Zion have
surrendered their right to be the aggressor, the destroyer with the sword. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These have the mind of the Lamb, the spirit of
the Lamb, the nature of the Lamb. They are
rendered defenseless before their enemies, armed only with the power of redemptive love. They can no longer fight any man or any nation with
words or attitudes or actions of murderous rage, let alone with weapons that maim, kill,
and destroy. They come under the rule of the
spirit of the defenseless Lamb who is the Saviour of the world! The sons of God belong to a spiritual Constitution. Their foes are spiritual, for they wrestle not
against flesh and blood. Their armor is the
armor of God and their sword is the sword of the Spirit!
Lorain
and I have two sons and one daughter. We are
blessed that all of them are walking with the Lord and with us in this Kingdom Walk. I tell you today that we are willing to see any or
all of them offered up for our Lord Jesus Christ. We
are willing to see them suffer privation, ill health, persecution, pain, or even death for
the cause of Christ and His kingdom, should the Father require such of them. Lorain and I have made great sacrifices (though we
did not consider them as such!) through the years in order to fulfill the call of God in
our lives. And we are now willing with joy to
have our children suffer that and even greater things in the walk of this Kingdom. We would not hinder one of them from following the
Lord to any of the far-flung mission fields of the world even to give their lives
there for the gospel. We are willing to die,
or see them die for Jesus but we are NOT willing to see them die on any battlefield
of any nation of this world. We
are not willing to see them carrying guns or driving tanks or flying bombers to take the
lives of men for whom Christ died. We are not
willing to see them blowing to bits men to whom we have been called to bring the kingdom
of Life, Light, and Love. I am willing to see
my sons and my daughter pay whatever price necessary to deliver creation from the bondage
of sin, sorrow, and death but I am NOT willing to see them, at the whims of
carnal-minded politicians, blow men away into hell and judgment. The sons of God must be preeminently the SONS OF
LOVE. You cannot love and maim and kill at the
same time! The very thought is an absurdity, a
horrible blasphemy. For God so loved the world
And so will all who are called to sonship!
On
the spiritual side, ignorant of the power and sufficiency of the indwelling spirit, with
what pompousness do the religious systems construct about them their walls and implements
of defense! Church history is replete with
examples of revival after revival in which men were sovereignly caught up into heavenly
places of revelation, glory, and power, only to have man put his hand of flesh on the
workings of God, to control, protect, and preserve it as though the omnipotent Spirit
needed mans useless wisdom and regulations to preserve His mighty work! Out there in Tubal-cains world you must have
the brass and iron instruments of mans invention implements of organization,
denominations, fellowships, coverings, bishoprics, creeds, rules, regulations, boards,
lawsuits, etc., to defend and preserve the work; but, praise God! as one moves back into Eden,
back into the anointing of Gods life, back into the fragrant, manifest presence of
God, the omnipotence of the indwelling spirit of life becomes our fortress and
exceeding strong tower! With what deep
comprehension of the ways and power of the Lord did the Psalmist pen the words of faith in
the ability of God alone when he wrote, Blessed
is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy
countenance. For THOU art the glory of their
strength: and in Thy favor shall our horn be exalted.
For THE LORD IS OUR DEFENSE; the Holy One of Israel is our King (Ps.
89:15-18).
Let
us return now to our original thought of how Cain and his three great-grandsons founded
the world. In these three
important inventions of Cains progeny man found within himself the answer to his
need of supply, defense, and amusement. Man
found no need of God, of His presence, life, or power, for he set about to establish his
own world, independent of God. This was the
civilization produced after mankind departed from the presence of God a godless
life created by men. This present world system of things is patterned after the order of
Cain. It is all outside of God. That
does not mean that it is all evil. It simply
is not of the Spirit! How clear that in this
earth the politics, economics, education, entertainment, commerce, and religion are all
outside of God! When we have learned how the
world was formed, it is easy to define the world. Originally,
man was in the family of God, lived by God, relied entirely upon Him, and had at his
disposal ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD. Now the
serpent, through subtlety, sophistry, the carnal mind, the wisdom of this world, has
systematized the world to replace God in being all to man.
Man, having forsaken his inheritance, having departed from the presence, and
having lost his life, relied upon the world and was overcome by the world. Therefore the world consists of everything that
replaces God and possesses man!
The world is not
for us. Its methods are not for us. Its fashions are not for us. Its institutions are not for us. Its ways are not for us. Its lifestyle is not for us. Its mentality is not for us. Its spirit is not for us. We are different.
We are of God! We are called to
higher things! We are led by the Spirit, the
sons of God. God is saving us out of this
world. Those apprehended to sonship are
overcoming the world, just as they are overcoming the flesh, sin, and death. Jesus said, I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33). John wrote, For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith (I Jn. 5:4).
Peter admonishes, Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises that by these ye might be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust
(II Pet. 1:4). And finally, the apostle James
entreats us, Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a
friend of the world is the enemy of God! (James
4:4). And thank God! the world is passing
away. Not the earth that we live on, not our
solar system, but the world the present
carnal system of things. And with it, all the
chaos, sin, war, crime, poverty, pain, pride, deceit, death; yea, all that is not of the
Father shall pass away. We have Gods
word for it!
Even now as we
learn to rise up in God, to put on His mind, to walk in His ways, to know His voice, to be
led by His Spirit, to be conformed to His image, the nature, glory, and authority of that
NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH are being formed within us. There
has been released from heaven in the past several years a great and wonderful expectancy. It is the expectancy that all heaven is about to break
loose in the midst of the Lords people on a world-wide basis. Do you identify with that expectancy? God is raising up voices throughout the length and breadth
of the land to say, The earth is about to see the glory of God in an unprecedented
way. A host of heavenly messengers has
been released to every corner of the globe bearing the message, And the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed, and all mankind together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken it (Isa. 40:5). I have heard
that message from every quarter of the earth, and it is the word of the Lord for this day!
Those who think
all things are going to continue on as they are, are deceived. Even as I write, this planet is in the
greatest spiritual, political, and economic change since World War II. Not too many years ago both the century and the
millennium changed. Historys odometer
turned up to 7000 the beginning of the seventh
day since Adam was banished in sorrow from Edens bright portals. But that means nothing to me except that I have
heard the voice of the Lord announcing that He is about to do a new and wonderful thing in
the earth! The manifestation of the sons of
God is at hand! God is accelerating His
kingdom program in the earth. We have entered
an era or great change. Deliverance will come! There is no way out of the spiritual darkness of
this hour, short of the manifestation of the sons of God.
The gospel that is being preached today by the churches is
powerless to alter the course of history. A
mere revival, or more missionary outreaches, or the election of Christian
politicians will not solve the immense problems of mankind, banish Islam, eradicate the
man-made systems of Christianity, extinguish Buddhism and all the other isms of the world, bring peace to the warring
Middle East, and bring blessing, peace, justice, righteousness, prosperity, healing, life,
and immortality to the blighted masses of mankind. Nothing
short of the manifestation of the sons of God can
avail! Nothing!
NOTHING!
With
this manifestation the Day of the Lord will shine brighter and brighter. Whole nations will be impacted by the power and
glory of the kingdom of God. Immortality and
incorruption will begin to spring forth in a people. God
shall roar out of Zion! The Lord Jesus shall
come to be revealed in His people in all His glorious fullness. Mercy and judgment shall kiss each other in the
midst of the earth. Great and terrible shall
be the Day of the Lord! The Day of the
Lord has nothing to do with wars, antichrists, or great vengeance and wrath poured
out, as the preachers are wont to proclaim. It
is the DAY of the Lord, the dawning and arising of
HIS GLORY! I can assure you that a new age
is on the horizon, a new dispensation of His
working, and we cry out to be ready, and a partaker of that life-flow.
I
have given them Thy word; and the world hath
hated them, because they are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world (Jn. 17:14). If Jesus was not of the world, why was He in the
world? If there was no sympathy between Him
and the world, why was it that He lived in it and did not remain in that high and holy and
blessed realm from whence He came? The answer
is, the Father sent Him into the world to redeem the world!
In these two expressions, in the world, and not of the
world, we find the whole secret to His work as the manifest Son of God in the earth,
and the King of the Kingdom.
He
was in the world to face the powers that rule the world, to learn obedience,
and to overcome the world. He was not of
the world to bring men the life from above, that which man lost from his
consciousness in sin, that men might see it and long for it and have it quickened again
within them. He was in the world
witnessing against its sin and shame and sham, its static religion and corrupt government,
its impotence to know and please God. He was
not of the world founding a kingdom entirely spiritual in nature and heavenly
in origin, entirely independent from all that the world cherishes, promotes, and imposes,
with principles and laws and a spirit the very opposite of those that rule the world. He came and inaugurated a program in the earth to
bring deliverance to all mankind, deliverance from THE WORLD, from the tyranny
of the teeth and paws of the wild beast out of the sea!
It has been a long and progressive working, as the Lord has come in mighty
spirit-power among His people throughout the church age, gradually but surely perfecting,
purging, purifying, instructing, transforming, increasing, and preparing a people, a
many-membered body, a company of manifest sons of God,
to bring the full revelation of
HIS SONSHIP and HIS KINGDOM and HIS POWER and HIS GLORY, to conquer the hearts of all men
everywhere, to subdue the vaunted kingdoms of earth, to bring down the pride of man, to abolish the ruling of orders of the flesh, replacing the rule of the beast with the reigning
of the LAMB! Arent you glad!
To be continued
J. PRESTON EBY