FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part
150
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. 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. 13:1-2).
John beholds how
out of the sea there emerges a frightful monster, a beast, indeed a wild beast, as it is in the Greek, ferocious and
ravenous of nature. When we compare the term
“beast” with the term “dragon” and the location of each, it becomes
clear that the beast out of the sea in not the same as the dragon which has been cast out
from heaven into the earth. The dragon is
identified in chapter twelve as that ancient serpent, which is the Devil and Satan. The beast rises up out of the sea and receives his
throne, authority, and power from the dragon. Individually, the beast represents the same
thing as the sea out of which he ascends, that is, the body-realm, the carnal nature of
the flesh man, the natural man, the wicked man, man at the lowest level of his being, the
man of sin who is motivated, dominated, and controlled by the satanic spirit. YET THIS BEAST IS SOMETHING MORE THAN THAT! The scene here is not one merely of our individual
state of being, but bespeaks manifestation,
expression, action, organization, proclamation, and power!
The beast doesn’t
remain hidden beneath the turbulent waters of the sea, but rises up into the earth-realm
in visible manifestation. His description indicates
a corporate expression rather than an individual
one. He walks, speaks, acts, and accomplishes. The beast blasphemes God and makes war against the
saints. Power is given unto him over all
kindreds, tongues, and nations. This is the
carnal nature, the man of sin, manifested in a
visible, organized, and powerful apparatus! In
meditating upon these things a strange and wonderful unfolding pervaded my spirit and the
truth of this became exceedingly clear. It is
my deep conviction that this beast signifies the outward expression of THE WORLD SYSTEM OF
MAN. This is the beast lurking beneath the
surface of the deep, which rises up from our sea (fleshly nature) having many heads
(manifestations of authority), many horns (organized powers), and spewing blasphemies from
its mouth. This beastly system is always,
everywhere, decade after decade, century after century, generation after generation,
rising up out of the sea of humanity, out of all the people on the earth. It is a ferocious and vast system originating right
out of human nature! And this system
relentlessly makes war against the spiritual life of God’s people!
We know that the
“world” is a “cosmos,” a system. It
is not a loose-knit, disconnected pile of things like the cast-offs in a junk yard. It is a highly organized, sophisticated system. It
is a cohesive order organized out of the cunning and worldly wisdom of the Adamic mind. The apostle James describes two kinds of wisdom,
and each of these two types of wisdom originate from a mind! “Who
is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation
his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye
have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom
descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is
confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the
fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace” (James 3:13-18).
The wisdom which
is from beneath is the wisdom from the mind of
the beast that rises up out of the depths of the sea.
This mind is the mind of the flesh, known as the carnal mind, and is
earthly, sensual, and demonic. It is rooted in
pride, lust, and vanity, and its fruit is selfish ambition, envy, jealousy, and strife. This earthly, sensual, and demonic wisdom can also
daily be heard coming from the mouths of politicians, educators, psychiatrists,
psychologists, newscasters, preachers, advertising, television programs, movies, plus a
thousand other places. Be still, my beloved,
and you may hear its whispering voice right out of your own fleshly mind! Oh, yes, it poses as “wisdom,” a way or
attitude or action which seems desirable,
acceptable, justifiable, logical, and needful, but it is the wisdom of the dragon.
All the wisdom
of this world contains the mind (thoughts and intents) of the evil one. It is centered in selfish ambition and worldly
pursuits and pleasures, and governs this world system.
The carnal mind cannot receive the mind of Christ because the flesh cannot
receive the things of the spirit, for they are spiritually discerned. On the other hand, the wisdom from above can only be received or known by revelation! The
wisdom of heaven is full of godly discernment and divine character and purpose! The carnal mind delights in fleshly, earthly, and
demonic wisdom, and it despises the heart, mind, and will of God’s Christ. The spiritual mind, which is the mind of Christ, is
empowered to discern the true nature of all things and rejoices in that which is true,
honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praise-worthy (Phil. 4:8).
No phase or
feature of the bestial system of the world operates independently of the whole. The entire world system of man, whether it be in Bangladesh,
Ethiopia, Cuba, the Gaza Strip, Europe, America, Japan, China, or elsewhere, is organized,
compacted together, and so fitted together under the inspiration and direction of the
great red dragon. Whether it be political, or
economic, or social, or artistic, or educational, or commercial, or religious in nature,
you will find the world to be one vastly organized, interrelated, and interdependent
network. The world may exhibit itself in the
form of wealth, fame, position, or power; or in the form of control, tyranny,
ruthlessness, wrath, persecution; or in the form of beauty, entertainment, attraction,
enticement, allurement, pleasure; or in the form of provision, safety, security, even
religion. Whatever its form, beneath the
carefully fabricated façade lurks the bestial nature of the dragon intent on swallowing you up like a wild beast! Hence we are continually being exposed to a vast
and formidable array of manifestations of the world system of man as a coherent mass. And though it may express itself in many different
forms and on various levels, the fact remains that all its parts are merely functional
members of the one corporate body of the one great beast out of the sea!
This beast does
not have your best interests at heart! The
beast is wild.
The beast is predatory, ravenous,
fierce, ferocious, savage, and bloodthirsty. The beast is mad. There
are many species of insanity. All sin is
insanity, in different degrees. The carnal
mind is an insane mind given wholly to destructive delusions. It is a mind that has taken flight from reality. The natural man is mentally ill beyond
comprehension. He is a beast. The carnal mind is spared from this classification
in our world, only because the vast majority of the inmates in this vast asylum called
“society” are the ones making the rules and writing the definitions! There is a universal insanity of the so-called wisdom
of this world, but the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God — the Spirit. The mortal, sinful, sick, warring, confused,
bigoted, proud, self-conceited, hateful, murderous, deceiving, coercing, sorrowing,
imperfect, carnally minded children of men are counterfeits, to be laid aside for the pure
reality — man in the image of God! This mortal, this deranged mind of old Adam, must
be put off, and the new man, or real man, the sane man in the heavenly mind of Christ,
must be put on! “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on
the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of Him that created him” (Col.
3:9-10).
Have you ever
incurred the anger of men? It is just as
unreasonable, fierce, savage, and untamed as a wild beast!
And the wrath of the world system is a thousand times more ruthless than the anger of one man, for it
is a very tightly organized network which has risen out of the sea of mankind’s
corrupt heart, and the dragon has given this bestial system his power, and throne, and
great authority! It should be evident that
when the dragon gives the beast his power, his throne, and his authority, it is not a free
grant to the wild beast! You can be sure that
the beast is required to give the dragon something in return. We can see what the dragon requires of the wild
beast when we read what the devil demanded of Jesus when trying to seduce Him with the
gift of all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. The devil (dragon) said to Him, “All this power
will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever
I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine!” (Lk.
4:6-7). So the “throne of the wild beast”
depended upon the worship, or the homage, that the beast would give to the dragon. There is its location, its resting-place. Can we not see by this that the location of the
throne of the beast has never changed? It has
always been based or made to stand upon the worship and subjection the beast pays to the
dragon! The meaning is just this: if you will
bow to, obey, become subservient to the dictates, desires, ambitions, ways, methods, and
purposes of the Adamic mind, the carnal nature — YOU CAN GET ANY AND EVERYTHING YOU
WANT! THE “WORLD” WITH ALL IT
WEALTH, POWER, AND GLORY CAN BE YOURS! JUST DO
THINGS THE WORLD’S WAY AND YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL!
It is a coherent order organized under the dominion of the god of this
world! That is
the mystery.
Beloved
brethren, would you understand the nature of this beast?
Here is what the Holy Spirit has taught us concerning it. “If the
world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of
the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you” (Jn.
15:18-19). “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (I Jn. 3:13). “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. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest
keep them from the evil” (Jn. 17:14-15).
As one has written, “Brethren, since we have
accepted the word of God, since we have followed Christ, since we have sought Him whom it
hates, therefore, the world hates us. Why? Because we do not belong to the world. The world may be attractive, the world may project
an excellent facade, the world may appear refined, civilized, and cultured; but brothers
and sisters, once you incur the wrath of man then you
will know what the world is. If you go along
with it all the time the world may seem to be very civilized and quite refined; but once
its wrath is kindled, once you attempt to break away from its tradition, customs, ways,
and thought, what then do you find? The real nature of this world is revealed, and it is
the nature of a wild beast! The wrath of man
is like a savage, uncontrollable animal. It is
so covetous that it has hardly the patience to chew you, it instead wants to swallow you! It
is as greedy and insatiable as hell, and as cruel as hades!
In figure it is not unlike that incident in the Old Testament of the earth
being opened and swallowing up all which belonged to Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Num.
16:32). Let us recognize the world for what it
is: it is like a wild irrational beast: it is trying to devour you, to swallow you, to
kill you — spiritually. Is it not true? Is it not true?
But thank God, the Lord is on our side.
Now if the Lord is for us, the world cannot swallow us!
No matter how it may try, it cannot swallow us up!”
We see, then,
that we’re not looking for some future, coming antichrist; the beast is already here,
and he is the bestial system of the world. Christians
everywhere are busy looking for a mad superman like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Gorbachev,
or some other; but men such as these are but small cogs in the great wheel of the real
beast. It’s not a single person we’re
looking for! The beast is everywhere and we’ve
all been contaminated by that system. People
don’t even realize that they’re being contaminated as they give heed to the
thinking of the world’s political, economic, educational, media, entertainment,
military, and social leaders. They’re
receiving the system into their minds, then doing the works of the devil because they’re
unknowingly adopting his values and agendas.
The beast has so
deceived the world, including the church. These
days, sin is just as rampant in the church as it is in the world! Whatever society is doing, that is what the church
members are also doing. Whatever values Dr,
Phil or Oprah Winfrey are espousing, these become the values of the Christian community. Whatever standards the government legislates or the
courts mandate, the church migrates to those standards.
The beastly system has invaded the church, and the ways of the world have
stamped their mark upon it. The system has
become such a part of us! The churches operate
in the same “professionalized” manner as the world. Religion has become big business, hyped just as the world hypes their
wares. If the world has its rock concerts, the
church changes the words to Christian words and entertains their children with the same
beat and the same appearance. The church has
not influenced the world, the world has shaped the church!
Christians get all involved in politics, rooting for this candidate and
that, for this proposition and the other, supposing that they can somehow legislate
righteousness in the land. Somehow they have
failed to comprehend the awful truth that nearly all
politicians are opportunists, strategists, deceivers, and liars! They say one thing to get your vote, and then do
another. Nor do they understand the solemn
truth that the gospel is the power of God unto
salvation — NOT the power of God unto legislation! Laws
do not change any man’s heart, they merely bring the vengeance of the law down upon
the heads of the evil-doers. THAT IS NOT THE
MINISTRY OF CHRIST! THAT IS THE POWER OF THE
WORLD! THE MINISTRY OF THE SON OF GOD AND THE
SONS OF GOD IS TO REDEEM MEN, CHANGE MEN, TRANSFORM MEN, GIVE MEN A NEW HEART, AND MAKE
THEM A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST JESUS! Oh, how
the church has sold out to the world — yea, the church has been captured
by the beast! “And it was given unto him to make war with the
saints, and to overcome them” (Rev.
13:7)
Now if you join
yourself to the world and its value system, and live by its spirit, you can live out a
robotic existence. Someone once asked the
great Indian Christian mystic, Sadhu Sundar Singh, following his trip to Europe and America, what he thought of Western civilization. He told them, “I did not see real civilization
but animalism. The people do not know Christ,
do not live with Him. They have learned how to
dress, eat, be punctual, they are trained animals; that is not civilization. If we only know our relationship with God then our
life will be a true life. ‘Man, know thyself.’
If we have real life in Jesus Christ, then we shall know many other
things. In order to know it is not necessary
to be a learned man. A very simple man may
know real life in Christ. Learned people
cannot understand.”
If you are one
with the world, you will not be bothered, for the world accepts you and you fulfill its
expectations. But just you try to be separated from the world, just you try to break away
from its entangling spirit, ways, values, requirements, and organization and instantly you
will find that the world will hate you: because
now you no longer belong! Dear saint of God, if we are to attain the
prize of sonship, we must heed the exhortation of the inspired apostle who has admonished
us, “Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And
the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth
for ever. Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because
it knew Him not” (I Jn. 2:15-17; 3:1).
Oh, how we
rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory that the Lord has delivered us from the world and has transferred us into another
world, another realm, a new society, a higher kingdom — the kingdom of God and His
sons! Because we no longer belong to that old,
disintegrating and passing order of the Adamic man, therefore the world, including the
religious world, hates us; it rises up in contempt, in wrath, in fury, in persecution,
trying to devour us, to overwhelm us, trying to entrap us in its snare. But blessed be God, every member of God’s
called and chosen elect has been thoroughly dealt with by God and has escaped the snare of the fowler! Isn’t it wonderful!
Now we come to
an amazing word which may be hard for the natural mind to interpret, but when men seek the
face of the Lord He sends His Holy Spirit to dispel the darkness of the carnal mind that
He may reveal the things that pertain to the kingdom of God.
The promise is made, “In that day the Lord with His sore and great and
strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing
serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent, and
He SHALL SLAY THE DRAGON THAT IS IN THE SEA” (Isa. 27:1). Truly this is the serpent that dwells within all
mankind, the bestial nature within the Adamic man, the inner force which opposes the
spirit and tries to bind us to earthly things, keeping us from seeking those things which
are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.
Oh, how I rejoice in the blessed knowledge that God has promised deliverance
for all mankind as this sea-dwelling
beast is slain with the mighty, strong sword of the Lord — THE WORD OF GOD! As surely as the raging sea represents multitudes
of restless, clamoring, surging, sinning humanity (Rev. 17:15), so does the beast in the
sea signify the nature that generates all the evil created
by man. It is this mighty beast
within that agitates the waters of the sea and makes them turbulent, as the prophet has
said, “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast
up mire and dirt” (Isa. 57:20). He speaks
of the troubled sea of wicked men “when it
cannot rest.” Is it not true that
this sea of humanity cannot rest because of the beast that swims in the sea! When the beast is slain by the mighty, strong sword
of the Lord, wielded by the overcoming sons of God, the
waters of every sea will become calm and serene, tranquil and quiet,
transformed “even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
The sea-dwelling beast will have been dealt with! The inner nature of man shall have been transformed
and the sea will become a “sea of glass”! No
beast will again clamber up out of this sea, for the throne of God is seen upon its shore! “And before
the throne there was a sea of glass like
unto crystal…” (Rev. 4:6).
The sword of the
Lord is the word of God, the living and energetic word, the omnipotent word by which He
slays the beast
in the sea. When the bestial nature
which once brought forth raging waves of the sea is conquered, the sea of man becomes
peaceful and serene, expressing the peace of the kingdom of God. In the earth today there are two companies of
“sea people” — those of the troubled
sea and those of the sea of glass. Thank God, amidst all the trouble, distress,
sorrow, problems, and pressures of the world system there is a sea of glass
people, a people abiding in the peace of the kingdom of heaven on earth! But the day is coming when the whole great beast
shall be slain and all the waters of earth shall become wondrously calm and tranquil
before the majesty of the Lord! Oh, yes! When the beast is dead all men will be willing
subjects of the Lordship of the indwelling Spirit. The
whole earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord and the glory of the Lord shall
cover the earth as the waters cover the sea! That
is the word of the Lord!
NAMES
OF BLESPHEMY
“I…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).
Here we are
informed that this beast has upon his heads the “names of blasphemy.” The King James Bible has the singular form “name,”
but in the Greek text the word is “names” — plural. It is not one name but seven names, for there are
seven heads. The message is just this —
upon his heads of authority are inscribed the seven-fold name of blasphemy — the
nature of absolute blasphemy! This word “blasphemy” requires
special translation, or decoding. It was a
familiar word in the New Testament era. It is
not used so much today, but it does have its modern counterpart. Why did the Jews of Jesus’ day call Him a
blasphemer? That was always their charge
against Him! It was because He dared to call
God His Father and to call Himself the Son of God. Therefore,
they called Him a blasphemer because He was not teaching and operating according to the
rules and regulations which they had set down
— His doctrine was not that of the scribes and Pharisees, but He said that He spoke
only what He heard personally from His Father. His
entire message and ministry was outside of the “box” constructed by the
religious leaders of the Jews. Today if a
lawyer is not operating according to the rules laid down by the Bar Association he is
called non-ethical or a malpractitioner. Just so, if a physician is not following the
rules laid down by the Medical Association, he is labeled a malpractitioner. This
gives you our modern counterpart of blasphemy.
Thus
we can see that this beast rising up out of the sea symbolized malpractice, that is, he
appropriates to himself what belongs to God; he dishonors Him, vilifies Him, shamelessly
offends all that is true and godly — blasphemes Him.
That is what both the world and religion do — they usurp the place of
God in men’s lives, putting their authority above God’s truth, dominating men’s
lives through malpractice! They are not doing
things God’s way! It is not the Father
Himself speaking and acting through them. Rather,
it is the elevation of Self to either impress, influence, coerce, or control men. You see this plainly in nearly all the rulers of
the world’s systems, and if you refuse their domination you will be persecuted, discriminated against, fined, imprisoned, exiled, killed, or
excommunicated! Oh, yes!
The word “world,” as I have
pointed out, translates the Greek word kosmos
meaning order, arrangement, system of things. The
world is a negative thing in relation to God because it is a system organized outside of
the anointing, life, and will of God. Many
Christians have the mistaken notion that the
world is the movie theater, the dance hall, ball games, stylish clothing, jewelry, makeup,
and such like. Others confuse the world with
the earth. But
the world is the present system of things upon this earth conceived by the carnal mind and generated by the natural man. The world consists of all that man has instituted that replaces God in
his life. The present political, economic,
educational, and religious systems are not of
God, but of the world. When people,
activities, or things — whether good or bad, beautiful or ugly — enslave man and
usurp God, they comprise the world. Anything
that causes man to disregard the spirit, be removed from the anointing, stop making
progress onward and upward, or be independent of God is the world. All that does not come from the Father, all that
originates from any source other than the mind of Christ, all that man institutes by his
own carnal wisdom and fleshly activity is of the world.
It is not according to God’s purpose for man to be subject to any system that he himself creates!
Nor is it according to God’s purpose for His people to be subject to religious systems that they themselves form!
All are outside of the life, nature, word, and ways of God
and are therefore of the world.
Let us return to
the thought of blasphemy. I don’t know
whether you have ever looked up the word blasphemy, and what it actually means. You can look up the Greek word in Strong’s Concordance
or the English word in Webster’s Dictionary, and you will find that blasphemy relates
primarily to religious and spiritual ideas and efforts, or words and actions which are
against God or sacred things. What could be
more blasphemous than religion without the Spirit? One
of the worst things men have done is to create false images of God in their thinking,
their preaching, and their acting. Most of the
church groups today place a name on the front of their building, and usually the name that
they put there is the highlight of what they believe.
I do not say that is wrong; however, when the name becomes something so
obviously contrary to truth, as “Lutheran Church,” “Methodist Church,”
“Mennonite Church,” or “St. Peter’s Church,” it indeed becomes a name of blasphemy.
Jesus said, “I will build my church…”
If the church is His church,
then when, where, and how did it become Luther’s Church or Menno Simon’s church
or St. Peter’s Church? When you see this
beast coming up out of the sea bearing in his heads the names of blasphemy, it is not
difficult to understand that blasphemies point especially to religious names, concepts,
and practices of all kinds. We must face this
fact. The blasphemy may be that which distorts, diminishes, or impugns the character of
God, His word, His purpose, His ways, or His will; or it can be that which supplants or usurps
the true things of God!
Even some of God’s
elect have been deceived into taking upon them names
of blasphemy. The firstborn Son of God,
when speaking of the scribes and Pharisees, commanded His disciples, “But all their works they do to be seen of men:
they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love
the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the
markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But
be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master,
even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call
no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your
Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest
among you shall be your servant. And whosoever
shall exalt himself shall be abased: and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted”
(Mat. 23:5-12).
How my heart is
pained when I see men of God taking upon themselves the titles of Babylon! There is, I believe, no title assumed by man that
is more a “name of blasphemy” than the commonly used title “Reverend.” The word appears only once in the whole of
scripture, and this is what it says: “Praise ye
the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole
heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. He sent redemption unto His people: He hath
commanded His covenant for ever: holy and REVEREND
IS H-I-S N-A-M-E!” (Ps. 111:1,9). And
the Lord Jesus says, “Be ye not called Rabbi (teacher, master, leader):
for one is your Master, even Christ: AND ALL YE ARE BRETHREN.” We are not “reverends” — we
are BRETHREN! Every son of God is the
brother of every other son of God, and we are all the younger brethren of our illustrious
Elder Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Yet even sweet
men of God allow themselves to be addressed as “Reverend” or “Father”
or “Bishop” or “Teacher” or “Leader” or some other name of
blasphemy. I have known precious men of God
who for years were my “brother” in Christ, until suddenly one day I discover
that my brother is now called “Doctor”! And
now I am expected to recognize him as “Dr. So-in-so.” Do you know what “Doctor” means? In the
Greek, it is didaskalos. Didaskalos means “Master.” One of its Greek synonyms is the word kathegetes from which the words “Rabbi”
and “Master” are translated in the verse quoted above from Matthew 23:8. Both Greek words have the same identical meaning
and usage in scripture. Both words mean guide,
teacher, instructor, leader, master — doctor! It is the
same as Rabbi! It is instructive to note that
the words Rabbi, Master, and Doctor disappear from the New Testament after the
resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus. None
of the apostles or ministries of the early church were addressed by these titles! So do you know what it means when a man says that
he is a “D.D”? You know, the boys
used to tease them and say, “Dead Dog,” and I even heard someone say, “Devil
Doctor.” But it means Doctor of Divinity. And my dictionary defines one holding the degree of
Doctor of Divinity as “a teacher of religion!”
Oh, yes! It is a title of Babylon
— of THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF MAN! There
is no denying it. I must ask, Who made my
brother my brother? God made him my brother by
the power of regeneration and calling to sonship! The
question follows: Who made him a “Doctor”? Did
the Holy Spirit confer that title upon him? Was
it given to him by prophecy with the laying on of hands?
Did an angel from heaven appear one night to inform him that God was now
making him a Doctor? Is “Doctor” a
gift of the Spirit or one of the five-fold ministries?
In fact, was it not a man-made system or
organization or institution that granted him his degree, his doctorate, whether it be earned or honorary? Now “Brother
Brown” is become “Doctor Brown!” Does that make him more spiritual? Does it give him a greater anointing or greater spiritual authority?
Does it have anything at all to do with sonship ministry or the kingdom of God? Or is it not one of the names of blasphemy borne by
the beast carrying the harlot! (Rev. 17:1-5).
My heart is full
today and I could passionately plead the cause of this issue, but I doubt that I, or many
others, could express the penetrating truth of it more powerfully than brother Larry
Hodges did some years ago in one of his Shofar
Letters wherein he wrote, “There is no point in mentioning names here, but men
and women you would think should know better have begun to aspire to titles, theological
degrees, and recognition of men. The reasoning
is, as I was told by one of them, that ‘a
doctor’s degree will open doors for us that would never open otherwise, and too, it
is felt that our work, over the years, should receive notice and recognition.’
I must tell you, I was almost speechless at first upon hearing this,
for as I said, these are not brethren who just lately came to the kingdom. These men are very deep in revelatory knowledge and
are very much in demand among the Body of Christ throughout the United States and the
world.
“I
definitely felt the urging of the Holy Spirit to tell them my feelings even though I
detest confrontation. I said to them, ‘Brothers, I want you to know
that I love you and appreciate your spirit and what I believe is an honest sincerity, but
I must tell you that I believe you are missing God in this matter. Jesus, our Pattern, never sought the recognition of
men or their approbation. You may indeed find that you are able to gain
entrance through certain doors with these credentials that would otherwise be closed to
you, but a crowbar will do as much for a
burglar. What need have we to find a way to
open doors that God has not opened to us? Paul
didn’t return to the feet of Gamaliel for more status through recognized credentials,
but rather counted all such things but dung! Never has any move of God had the acceptance of
the world and the power of God at the same
time. Rather, what has repeatedly happened is
that in every case when men have grown weary of rejection, shame, and obscurity, and have
sought the acceptance of man, it has cost in life, power, and spiritual reality. So far as I know, there has not been a single exception.
I would caution you brethren to seek the Lord further about this before
going on.’ I was told, ‘We are so
completely identified with the Lord and His will now that we are the
will of God, so whatever we do is the will of God.’
At this word the inner urging I had previously had from the Holy Spirit
abruptly ceased.
“Please
understand that I have no quarrel with anyone who has gone to college and has earned a
doctorate, or any other degree required to do his work.
Nor do I believe that God places a premium on ignorance or that a lack of
knowledge is somehow a virtue. What I’m
saying here is that such things are in an altogether other
realm than the kingdom of God! They have
absolutely nothing to do with the kingdom of
heaven or its authority! What is a man to do
who finds himself with access to multitudes of people, gained only with a crowbar and
authority of his man-issued doctorate? Is God now somehow obligated to anoint his message
with life? Or must he not now minister in the same authority by which he gained entrance
— the authority of that doctorate —human
authority. It seems that some have so much
revelation knowledge that they are able to minister out of this great reservoir rather
than to depend on the enablement and unction of the Spirit.
Such is soulish and often sounds very good and goes a long way in tickling
the ears and pleasing those in the soulish realm, but
it is not a living word which brings change in one’s life!
And brother, sister, if we are not ministering life, we are ministering
death!
“While some
in the ministry are succumbing to the allure of fame and recognition: to the titles,
collars, and garb of man’s religion: and to the money, popularity, and acceptance of
approval; many others, most of whom are not even involved in what has come to be known as pulpit ministry, are quietly going about their
Father’s business in some out of the way, back-water
place designed of the Lord just for them. Little
do they realize that just as Moses must have his backside of the desert experience prior
to setting God’s people free, so must God’s sons in the making have theirs’
prior to setting creation free! The sons will
not come on the scene from an accredited institution of higher learning. They will not be thrust forth from the
stained-glassed, deep-piled carpeting of the air-conditioned Cathedrals of Babylon. Nor will they burst on the scene from among the
vaunted ranks of the well-known. This I
declare to you without equivocation! When the
sons of God step out on the world stage for the first time, they will have nothing else to
recommend them in any way whatsoever except the nature,
power, and authority of the Lamb!
“I recently
picked up a Christian magazine, probably one of the very best out, and began reading an
article on dying to self and what it means. Please
believe me when I tell you that I have no bone to pick with the author on a personal
level. I don’t even know the man. I am simply speaking of facts and of a condition
which prevails throughout ‘Christendom.’ As
I read the article, I became aware that my spirit was Amening everything. ‘This
is great!’ I thought to myself. ‘Thank God, the idea that it’s not in greatness but in nothingness is finally
getting through.’ I found that as I read, I could say Amen to every paragraph,
every sentence, every word. It was truly on
the mark and very encouraging to me. Then, at
the end of the article, the publisher or someone with the authority to do so, had
footnoted the article with the man’s credentials. Indeed, every article in the magazine was
validated with a similar footnote. ‘Dr._________ is an internationally known and dynamic speaker and
teacher of the church government and spiritual order.
Wisely esteemed as an apostle to the ministry and the church at large, he
has traveled in over 50 countries and 6 continents.’
“‘So what’s wrong with that?’ you
may ask. IT ISN’T ACCORDING TO THE MIND
OF CHRIST OR TO THE MESSAGE THE MAN HAD WRITTEN! Do
you realize what this means, saints of God? It
means that there is a mentality in the church in this hour, and especially in the ministry, that has all the right
words, all the right phrases, understands the doctrine, has an anointing, believes what it
is teaching…up to a point, but is still locked
into another (Babylonian) mode of thinking and expression.
I heard one famous preacher preaching that there are no famous preachers
in Zion! What he was saying was true, but he was preaching one thing
and living another. Jesus said of the scribes
and Pharisees, ‘…do ye not after their
works, for they say and do not.’ They
laud and commend one another before the congregation of the Lord, giving flattering titles
of credentials — Dr. So-in-so, Prophet So-in-so, Reverend So-in-so. It is a spiritual caste system! ‘…be
ye not called Rabbi…Master...Father…for One is your Master…and…Father…and ye are all brethren. But he that is greatest among you shall be your
servant’ (Mat. 23:8-11). Why can we
not say with Job, ‘Let me not, I pray you,
accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so
doing my Maker would soon take me away’ (Job 32:21-22). I have said it before and will repeat it here
— the only proof of what we say we believe is our life! God’s
elect in this hour have come to some age and maturity.
They do not need to see a man’s credentials, the hem of his garment, or
his ring, in order to know whether he is true and anointed or not. We are not told to beware of false prophecy but of
false prophets — meaning that the message
can be true and the man false. It is quite
possible to have revelation and not walk in it. What
a loss!
“It is not
possible to come into what God is about to do, that is, come into fullness, while still
retaining the old life with its pattern, structure, and methods. There are some in ministry in this hour which see
the handwriting on the wall but cannot bring
themselves to actually fall into the ground and become
nothing, to become hidden in obscurity and die! They
cannot bring themselves to let go of the fame, the recognition, the adulation, the money,
the life of an order that they know is passing away. They
know it is passing away but seem to somehow believe that if they can just say the right
things and present themselves in the light of present
truth, that they will be able somehow to come into what they know God is now doing without loss or a real death to self. King Saul thought this also. It didn’t work then and it won’t work
now.
“They know,
as well as king Saul knew, that God will not establish the present order as His kingdom. They know that the command has been given by God to
slay Amelek (flesh-self) utterly and spare him
not, and they even preach it. If you ask them
if they are making war with Amelek in utterness they
will tell you, ‘Yea, I have performed the commandment of the Lord’ (I Sam. 15). If that is so, then what meaneth this bleating of the sheep in mine ears and the lowing of the oxen
which I hear? What is this odious, sickening
stench which comes to our nostrils if it is not the very king of Amelek himself — the
well-named Agag!
“These have
spared the king alive and the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord!
Even though God is asking for obedience and not sacrifice, they are
intent on bringing over into the kingdom of God the very best of flesh and of self: their
oratorical abilities, their writing skills, their charismatic
personalities, their skill in manipulating the people as they dramatically glare and
glower at them in a supposed divine authority, their talent in singing and playing of
musical instruments and of entertainment, their gift for gab, etc., etc. They cannot part with that life in which there has
been a measure of anointing, a measure of success, a measure of blessing, a measure of victory, and drink in its place the cup of nothingness that they might come into
fullness. Like king Saul, they are terrified
that the people will leave them and scatter even more.
The sad fact is that regardless of what they do to attempt to hold onto the
kingdom they have built and continue to build, the people of God will continue to scatter
from the Saul ministry as they gather more and more unto David the true king!
“There are
a great many precious brethren who are laboring in obscurity and are not seeking to be
seen and known of men. Some of them have at
one time been well-known and have willingly let go of it or are taking steps to curtail
that method of ministry. We have no axe to grind with individuals as
such. It is with this corrupting method which
steals from the glory of Christ and wrongly attaches the attention to man that we now take
issue. This is a warning to all who have ears
to hear, that Saul’s house shall continue to wax weaker and weaker as David’s house waxes stronger and stronger, and
that we are to align ourselves not with Saul, but with David while David
is still in obscurity. We have no malice
toward those brethren who are caught in such a hateful trap as described here. We truly love them.
We really do, and pray for the day of their release and know that it is
certainly coming. But, love them though we
surely do, and pray for them though we surely do, we cannot
take part with them in that which God shall not establish. We do not take issue with the men but with that
stifling system and its methods and structure which seek (unwittingly, I believe and hope)
to offer through man-made Christianity, an alternative to the whole Christ.
God has something much better in store for those who will truly lay their
lives down than a warmed-over version of the same old thing!” — end quote.
To be continued…
J. PRESTON EBY
