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"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..."
FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part 96
THE FOUR WINDS OF JUDGMENT
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the
earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that
the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to
whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their
foreheads (Rev. 7:1-3).
There are many beautiful truths and deep mysteries hidden in the symbolisms of this
passage, but I am sure the reader can discern in the action of the four angels the
ministry of judgment. Four is the number of that which is world-wide or
universal, and the winds which blow with devastating force are the symbol of judgment. Everywhere in scripture the winds are revealed as
divine agents and used either for blessings or for judgments. Here, the four winds are significant of judgments
which for the time, the four angels are holding back in order to permit the Seer to have a
vision of something that must be brought forth and established before the winds are permitted to blow!
Let not the winds blow until! Hold the winds back hold everything in
restraint for a season endure the corruption, UNTIL THE SONS OF GOD ARE SEALED IN
THEIR FOREHEADS! Bring no judgment upon the
earth realm, or the sea realm, nor upon the trees, representing those activities, works,
creations, and institutions of men which grow and are produced out of the carnal mind
(earth) let there be no judgment upon any of these things until the sons of God have put on the mind of
Christ! As I write these things and meditate
upon them it becomes crystal clear within my spirit that there can be no righteous judgment out from Gods elect until
we all have been imbued with the nature of the
Father and the mind of Christ. Any man,
apart from the mind of Christ, is unqualified to render any kind of judgment and he
will never be able to judge even his own soul, or his body, or the trees that grow out of
his earth, apart from the understanding and wisdom of the mind of Christ. Much less is he prepared to administer righteous
judgments to those realms outside himself the world of mankind. Righteous judgment comes only out of the heavens
of the spirit of the Lord! Thus the divine
fiat issued by the word of the Lord that the four winds be restrained from blowing upon
the earth, the sea, or any tree, until the mind of Christ has been fully formed in
Gods kings and priests!
The true judgments of God by which the world learns righteousness, proceed out from
the seven spirits of sonship, of which the
prophet Isaiah says, And the spirit of the Lord
shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord; and shall make Him of quick
understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge
after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but
with righteousness
shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He
shall smite the earth with the rod (authority) of His mouth (word), and with the breath
(spirit) of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And
righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His
reins
for the whole earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea (Isa. 11:2-5,9).
Through the cunning of the adversary, both the world and the popular
church have been robbed of the blessed assurances of the time when Gods RIGHTEOUS
JUDGMENTS break forth in the earth. Most
people know that the Bible tells of a judgment day, but the average person,
believer or unbeliever, regards it only with a certain sense of fear and dread. Because of this fear there is, to them, no more unwelcome tidings
than that the Lord is coming to JUDGE THE EARTH! Many
tremble inwardly at the thought of Gods judgments, and in this mind put them far
from them, preferring not to even hear the subject mentioned. They have absolutely no idea of the wonderful
blessings in store for a sin-weary and death-ridden world under the glorious reign of the
sons of God filled with all the nature, wisdom, glory, and power of God!
How differently did the holy prophets and apostles regard that promised DAY OF
JUDGMENT! Note the expectation in
Isaiahs spirit as he announces: Yea, in the way of THY JUDGMENTS, O Lord, have we waited for Thee
with my soul have I
desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early: for when
THY JUDGMENTS are in the earth, the inhabitants of
the world will learn righteousness
(Isa. 26:8-9). Here Isaiah assures us that
the day when Gods judgments are in the earth will be a most glorious and desirable
day, a day in which the inhabitants of the world will
learn righteousness! If the desire of
your heart is anything like the desire of my heart, this is a blessed thought and a
wonderful assurance: the inhabitants of the world
WILL LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS! How my ransomed
soul longs to behold such a thing! Every time
I scan the headlines of the morning paper, or watch the evening news on television, I am
seized with an intense yearning that the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness. As I drive across this
great land of ours; as I walk the streets of our cities and towns, beholding the condition
of those about, my spirit groans with unutterable supplication that the inhabitants of the
world will learn
righteousness! What a marvelous
provision of our wise and loving Father that, to this very end, He has ORDAINED JUDGMENTS
to come forth in the earth. Bless His name!
Hear the note of triumph and exultation when David speaks by the inspiration that
the Spirit gives, saying,
Let the heavens be glad
And LET THE EARTH REJOICE;
And let men say among the nations, the
Lord reigneth!
Let the sea roar, and the fullness
thereof;
Let the fields rejoice, and all that are therein.
Then shall the trees of the forest
Sing aloud at the presence of the
Lord,
Because
He cometh TO JUDGE THE EARTH.
O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy endureth forever!
(I Chron. 16:31-34).
Why will the trees of the forest sing
out when He is coming to JUDGE THE EARTH? One
would think they might weep, or shrink in fear and consternation at the thought of His
judgments, but why all the singing? Why the rejoicing? Because Gods judgments are an expression of His goodness and everlasting mercy, designed to teach the inhabitants of the
world righteousness! Ah, this would not be the case should the sons of
God unleash judgments upon the world before
they have been sealed in their foreheads with the precious mind of Gods Christ! Who knows how misguided and ruthless some might be
in their efforts to establish righteousness in the earth!
But our wise and glorious Father has even now issued the edict: Hurt
not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, TILL
we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads! The earth shall rejoice because this means that
mankind has reached the turning point in our degeneration, and have
come to the times of regeneration. This is
true even now for the body of Christ, but must ultimately reach unto the whole world and
the entire creation! His presence, while it
speaks of His utmost holiness, and will not tolerate the continuance of evil, brings the
changes needed for peace, joy, and righteousness. There
shall surely be those severe prunings, crushing, shattering, melting; but when they shall
have accomplished their desired results, His new life shall flow in cleansing, quickening,
restoration, and victory!
This same ecstatic exclamation of joy and gladness at the prospects of the coming
of Gods righteous judgment into the earth is found all through the psalms and the
prophets. If you are truly destined to stand
among the company of the manifest sons of God, the long-awaited liberators of creation,
you will most assuredly share the thrill of the heavenly vibration in the psalmists
inspired song: Say among the nations that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not
be moved: HE SHALL JUDGE THE PEOPLE RIGHTEOUSLY. Let
the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let
the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the forest rejoice before the Lord: for He cometh, for He
cometh TO JUDGE THE EARTH: HE SHALL JUDGE THE WORLD WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS, and the people
with His truth (Ps. 96:10-13).
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord,
ALL THE EARTH: make a loud noise, and rejoice,
and sing praise.
Let the sea (raging, surging multitudes of humanity) roar, and the fullness
thereof; THE WORLD, AND THEY THAT DWELL THEREIN. Let
the floods (armies) clap their hands, let the
hills (small kingdoms, third world nations) be
joyful together before the Lord; for HE COMETH TO JUDGE THE EARTH: WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS
SHALL HE JUDGE THE WORLD, and the people with equity (Ps. 98:4,8-9).
If you will take the time and make the effort to look up the words judge, judgment, and judgments in a good Bible Concordance, reading
down the lists of scores upon scores of passages in which these words are found, you will
quickly make the enlightening discovery that only occasionally do these terms denote the
negative aspects of judgment: condemnation, wrath, and destruction. In the vast majority of cases judgment is
presented as something altogether desirable, beneficial, and glorious! Consider these examples: The Lord shall
endure forever: He hath prepared His throne
for judgment.
And He shall judge the world in
righteousness, He shall minister judgment
to the people in uprightness (Ps. 9:7-8). Sing
unto Him a new song
for the word of the Lord is right; all His works are done in
truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord (Ps. 33:3-5).
Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne: mercy and truth
shall go before Thy face. Blessed are the
people that know the joyful sound (Ps.
89:14). I will sing of mercy and judgment:
unto Thee, O Lord, will I sing (Ps. 101:1). Behold
my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit
upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the
nations. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor
cause His voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring
forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have
set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall
wait (expectantly) for His law (Isa. 42:1-4). The
Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in
righteousness; and the nations shall bless
themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory (Jer. 4:2).
The passages above, and many more, reveal the great truth that the judgments of the
Lord are unto truth, righteousness, and glory! Anyone
judging righteous judgment must be able to judge out of the mind, heart, nature, wisdom,
and spirit of the Lord! That is why our
all-wise Father has restrained the winds of judgment until all those blessed ones who are
apprehended to reign with Christ in His kingdom, to judge the nations, have been sealed in their foreheads with the mind and nature
of the Lord! As we go forth in the land to
bring Gods righteous judgments to all men, we will not be zapping people with
lightning bolts out of our finger tips, but we shall speak the wisdom, counsel, and
commandment of the Lord out of the mind and heart of the Father in every situation!
A beautiful example of what this means is given us by brother George
Warnock as recorded in his book Seven Lamps of
Fire. He writes, I recall a story
about William Branham, a prophet of the last century.
One time in a large congregation there were one or two in the congregation
causing some kind of disturbance. As he
sought the Lord quietly as to how to deal with it, the angel of the Lord (who accompanied
brother Branham) said, Speak the word, and I will stand behind it. He knew at that moment he had authority to
pronounce whatever judgment was necessary, and that it would come to pass. But he sought the Lord in the matter
and
suddenly he knew what he was to say. So he
turned to the people who were causing the trouble, and said something like this: The
angel of the Lord told me he would stand behind the word that I will speak. But in asking the Lord about it, I believe I am to
say this: I forgive you. He mentioned the tremendous blessing that came
upon him that evening when he went home, and how he sensed Gods pleasure in the
decision he had made. In the one and only
private interview I had with this prophet, he said, Now no matter what I tell you,
or what any prophet might tell you you must always go by what the Lord shows
you
because even a prophet of God can be wrong
you know, Elisha was wrong when
he cursed those children, and a bear came out of the woods and killed them
he
shouldnt have done that
end quote.
In the Bible the ones whom God raised up as judges for His people did more than
just settle disputes between individuals or hand down and execute judicial decisions. Those judges were actually THE DELIVERERS OF
GODS PEOPLE! There is one book in the
Bible that is specifically named Judges.
As a book it is a thriller! Therein we
read of the fearless exploits of those mighty men whom God, the Judge of all the
earth, raised up for the salvation and deliverance of His oppressed and afflicted
people. Hail the day of judgment that began
when God raised up a judge to execute judgment for His afflicted ones! for these judges
were, indeed, saviours of Israel by a special anointing of the Spirit of the
Lord.
Throughout the administration of the judges the people were blessed. Note, for instance, how, when under oppression by
their enemies because of a transgression against the Lord, Israel was again and again
released and blessed by the raising up of judges. Thus
we read: When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer,
who delivered them
and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel,
and went out to war
and prevailed
and the land had rest (Judges
3:9-11). And again, The Lord raised up
judges that delivered
them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
And when the Lord raised up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and
delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge (Judges
2:16,18).
Those wonderful judges were raised up long millenniums ago for the deliverance of
Israel from their physical enemies; but now, in this glorious new age of the kingdom of
God, the Lord is preparing a mighty COMPANY OF JUDGES whose responsibility it shall be to
JUDGE THE WORLD in righteousness! It is not
from natural enemies such as Nazi Germany or Al Queda that these judges shall deliver the
people, but from the real, true enemies of
mankind the carnal mind, the flesh, self-will, ignorance, sin, disobedience,
rebellion, retaliation, war, bloodshed, brutality, immorality, unfaithfulness, greed,
hatred, strife, anger, deceit, lying, ego, pride, sorrow, pain, sickness, weakness,
limitation, fear, and the last and most powerful enemy of all death!
And he that overcometh
to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them
with a rod of iron (divine strength) (Rev. 2:26-27).
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit
with me in my throne (Rev. 3:21). And
I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given unto them
(Rev.
20:4,6). The ancient of days came, and judgment was
given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints
possessed the kingdom (Dan. 7:22). Do
ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world
shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (I
Cor. 6:2). So, though the church and the
world have long been under the power and oppression of the adversary, yet He who paid for
the sins of all with His own precious blood will take His great power and reign in
blessing over realms that hitherto have not known Him.
He will judge and deliver all those whom He so loved as to redeem! With this ALL the prophetic declarations agree!
Thank God! The very thought of an age
governed by the sons of God who are filled with the seven-fold intensified Spirit of the
Lord leaves me absolutely breathless! Words
become totally inadequate and human ability to articulate the wonder of such a thing fails
completely. Our faltering minds cannot
totally appreciate nor comprehend the glory that God is bringing to us in this hour, yet
we have heard His word and received His promise in and by the Spirit, and His preparations
are mighty within us. It is indeed wonderful!
Earlier I quoted the scripture passage wherein David said of the Lord, The
Lord shall endure forever: He hath prepared His
throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the people in
uprightness (Ps. 9:7-8). God is
preparing His throne for judgment! His throne
is a people that is emanating His authority, His life, His wisdom, and His power. He sits within them; they are His enthronement. And He is our enthronement! These kingdom-thrones are sat upon by people who
have been sealed in their foreheads by the Spirit of the living God. They neither think nor act like the human judges
of this world! We know that His throne is a
people that has realized within themselves the Fathers mind, nature, heart, and
will. Judgment has had such a limited
meaning, but it is a broad and expansive word, and what it means for us is that by the
wisdom and knowledge of the Lord within us we can see all things as they really are
then we can judge all things!
Thus the word of the Lord says, Hearken unto me, my people; and give
ear unto me, O my nation; for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my
judgment to rest for a light of the people. My
righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people (Isa. 51:4-5). He will cause His judgment to be light. That is what we need LIGHT! Light is understanding. You see, my beloved, when there is a people that
can correctly see into the true nature of things, all nations will receive the wisdom of
God and yield to His righteous rule. Just as
the wisdom in Solomon brought peace and blessing and prosperity to the kingdom of Israel,
so shall the wisdom in the sons of God bring peace, blessing, and prosperity to all
mankind! Let me tell you something the
people of the world today are not rejecting Christ they are rejecting the impotent, superstitious Christ of religion! The people of the world, the Russians, the
Chinese, the Moslems, the Hindus, the
Buddhists, the atheists none of these have ever beheld the glory of the living
Christ of God! They have heard sermons and platitudes, they have seen good works and
ceremonies and rituals, they have seen missionaries and preachers and Christians doing all
their religious things, and sermonizing about Jesus and the gospel, but they have never
beheld HIM! They have never seen the
revelation and manifestation of Christ in His glory, power, and majesty! But the real Christ, in the hour He appears, in
the moment He speaks, men fall like dead men in the presence of His blazing glory and cry
out, Lord! What wilt Thou have me to
do? Before His awesome majesty men are
transformed into new creation men!
He hath prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness, He
shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness (Ps. 9:7-8). No man spoke more than David about the judgments
of the Lord coming into the earth, and the universal rulership of Christ the King. Truly king David had a keen understanding of
ruling, reigning, and judging, because he was a king!
But when David saw by the Spirit into these
words, he wasnt speaking as a king he was speaking the mind of
God on behalf of all of us who would see the same truth.
He will judge the world in righteousness. The question follows how will God judge the
world in righteousness? Has anyone read the
newspaper lately? Has anyone listened to the
television lately? Have you seen what is
happening in our society today, not to mention the wickedness and atrocities that are
taking place all over the world? How can
David look at God and say, He shall judge the world in righteousness! How can there ever be righteousness in this world? How will God judge the world in righteousness?
When Paul was taking up the issue of truth with the world of His day he
went to a city called Athens, one of the great centers of learning in the ancient world. He went up on Mars Hill where there were
philosophers and Epicureans and Stoics who liked to babble on and on about a great many
things of which they had little understanding. As
Paul spoke to these Athenians, the first thing he told them was, Ye men of Athens, I
perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this
inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom
therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you!
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of
heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with
mens hands, as though He needed any thing, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath,
and all things. At the times of this
ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because He
hath appointed a day, in the which He will JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS BY THAT MAN
WHOM HE HATH ORDAINED; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He
hath raised Him from the dead (Acts 17:22-31).
The answer to the fact that God will judge the world in righteousness is
that not only has He appointed the righteous Judge, but He has appointed a DAY. Notice He did not appoint a NIGHT. It is the Day
of the Lord, not the Night of the Lord! If you listen to the eschatology of the popular
churches today the judgment day is a terrible, horrendous, heart-wrenching time of gloom,
doom, disaster, and destruction but it is not an experience of doom and gloom, for it is
Gods DAY. The day comes by the rising
of the sun the experiencing of LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION! The superstitious religious thinking is that one
day the world is going to burn up and all the saints are going up to heaven; and then one
by one we will each present ourselves before St. Peter and he will search our record, the
video is going to play, and everyone will be embarrassed.
But Im telling you that the judgment is going to happen right here on
earth in the flesh. That is what will make it so very real! God
has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness and He has given
absolute assurance about this in that He raised Christ from the dead. Why didnt Paul tell the Athenians about
Christs miraculous birth? Why
didnt he tell them about His marvelous ministry, His wonderful teaching, and the
mighty signs, wonders, and miracles? Why did
he not tell them about His vicarious death? Why
didnt he relate to them the gospel story? Why
did he skip from philosophy right over to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead? Because that is what was on Pauls mind. Thats it.
THATS THE ISSUE!
Jesus Christ is the revelation of the Father, the Fathers
expression, the Fathers word, who has all power in heaven and in earth! He sits upon His Fathers throne and has
power to change every one and every thing! He
has the power to put all enemies under His feet and solve the sin and death issue once and
for all for mankind! This is the resurrected
Lord! He ever liveth to accomplish all that
the Father purposes for this world! God has
appointed a day in which He will judge the world by that man whom He hath ordained, and
the assurance He has given to all men is that He has raised Him from the dead! The lovely Christ who forgave sins, who conquered
hearts, who healed the sick and raised the dead, who commanded the elements, has overcome
death itself and now lives to bring forth a glorious body in the earth, a people empowered
by His resurrection to deliver creation from the bondage of corruption. Just saving souls is not the issue for
the body of Christ, the sons of God. Just
healing the sick, meeting needs, blessing hearts, and
doing miracles is not the issue for the sons of God. God will do much
more than that for mankind! The
bondage of corruption is the issue for the manifest sons of God! That is the only ministry designated to the sons
of God in the context of their manifestation (Rom.
8:18-23). Only
an incorruptible people in spirit, soul, and body can deliver men from both sin and death! The
manifest sons of God are the only people called, chosen, and ordained to rule, reign,
judge, redeem, transform, and make holy, incorruptible, and immortal every man and
everything upon the face of the earth! The
resurrection of Jesus Christ is the assurance to
all men that Christ our Lord will raise up in the earth His own glorious body in the
power of His resurrection to DELIVER CREATION FROM THE BONDAGE OF CORRUPTION! Isnt it wonderful!
We have a calling in the kingdom of God that is greater and more expansive
than anything we could ever have imagined! The
Lord chose this calling for us, and He will also see to it that we lay hold upon it, not
with these old worn-out bodies of flesh and blood, but with our new, incorruptible and
immortal bodies that are just like HIS! We
look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself
(Phil. 3:20-21). The thought of being
incorruptible and immortal, possessing a body like Christs body of glory, is beyond
us. It is a mystery that is unknown to mortal
man. Yet it is our Fathers promise for
every one of us who has received the call to sonship!
And despite the mystery of it, our Father is able to bring it to pass in our lives, for His
glory! This mighty change has nothing to do
with the health of our present bodies, or any vitamins, minerals, herbs, or supplements
that we can take! Our natural, earthly,
fleshly bodies are corruptible and dying! All
who read these lines are continuing to age every day of your life! These vile bodies must be changed by
the power of Christs resurrection, and this is a pure work of the Spirit, which
shall also be fulfilled by the Spirit!
The flesh and mans ministry will have no part in that glorious work
of the Spirit! The promise is, The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality (I
Cor. 15:52-53). What a wonderful promise this
is! There can be no manifest sonship short of
this great work of the Spirit in us. For
the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for
the manifestation of the sons of God
because the creation itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty (from sin and
death) of the children of God. For we know
that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have
the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption (placement as sons), to wit,
the redemption of our body (Rom.
8:19-23). Our Father has given us assurance
that the hour is wonderfully nigh at hand when the sons shall be changed in
spirit, soul, and body into the likeness of Christ in the power of His
resurrection! Our deliverance from sin,
carnality, corruption, and mortality is the very thing that will release the
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. This great spiritual work has already begun within
us, for we are progressively and continually being transformed into His image and
likeness. What a wonderful future we have in
Christ! What a grand and glorious hope all
mankind has in Christ! God is preparing a
people, a transformed people, a qualified people, a victorious people, an incorruptible
people in the nature of God prepared as His judgment in the earth. Oh, the wonder of it!
How is judgment going to come to the world?
Not by some fire-ball crashing out of the sky with a whip saying,
Ah-ha, Im going to get you now! That
is the mentality of the church world. But
that is not what is going to happen! God is
going to bring forth Christ in His people. When Christ appears on earth again in the fullness
of His power and resurrection in His many-membered body, it will bring judgment and it
will bring truth and life. It will be
judgment, but it will rest for a light to the
people! It will be judgment, but it will cause the inhabitants of the world to learn
righteousness! It will be judgment, but
it will deliver creation from the bondage of
corruption! The body of Christ bears a
message and manifestation of LIFE, not destruction! Thats
righteousness judgment!
The Lord is coming in a people, and
through this people all the people of the world shall at last be convinced
of the error of their ways and of the correctness of the ways of the Lord! The apostle Jude says it plainly, And Enoch
also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to CONVINCE ALL
THAT ARE UNGODLY AMONG THEM of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him (Jude
14-15). Every mouth will be stopped! All the evolutionists, atheists, humanists,
scientists, educators, politicians, along with all the wicked of every class will be
forever silenced, speechless before the glory of His power!
While the King James Bible says, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, the Greek
text actually reads, The Lord came in holy
myriads OF HIMSELF. HOLY MYRIADS OF
HIMSELF a people of His own image! Man
in the beginning was created in the image and likeness of God and commanded to be fruitful
and multiply and fill the earth with the image and the spirit of God. And today the Christ spirit in union with the new
Eve, the bride of Christ, is reproducing His image in the earth and the hour is upon us
when they are going to stand in radiant glory and HE SHALL APPEAR IN HOLY MYRIADS OF
HIMSELF TO EXECUTE JUDGMENT UPON ALL AND
CONVINCE ALL! Blessed be the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ who hath made us kings and priests and judges unto God and we shall
reign on the earth!
Now in saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their
foreheads, it becomes evident that a work must be accomplished within the judges
before they are qualified or commissioned to judge. You
see, there can be no righteous judgment out of us in a heavenly realm until we have been
sealed in our foreheads until we have put on the nature of our Father and the mind
of Christ. The day which God has appointed,
in the which He shall judge the world, is now at hand. The judges for this day are now in preparation for
their awesome task! Yes, you shall judge the
world, saints
but you will do it in humility and with a broken heart full of
compassion and love. The first aspect of the
ministry of the judges in this new kingdom day is judgment. This work, however, shall be swiftly followed by
the second ministry of mercy, deliverance, and restoration, for Gods judgments are ever
unto correction and redemption. Praise God!
After six millenniums of sin, sorrow, tyranny, war, oppression, pain, and
death mankind needs DELIVERANCE! The NATIONS
need a change! For six thousand years the
earth has been governed by the will of carnal men and the will of man has been usurped by
the mind of Satan. The nations have been
governed variously by kings, emperors, dictators, prime ministers, and presidents, but the
net result has always been the same, for the corrupt nature of man ever asserts itself,
seeking its own purposes, fulfilling its own desires, and doing its own will.
Are the people not deeply disappointed and perplexed today by the
political and judicial systems that operate in this hour, even here in the United States
of America? Truly I can say to you that in
our time, as at no previous time, is when the words of the Psalmist have come true as a
prophecy in respect to men in a political and judicial capacity who are like
gods but have betrayed the people in their office: They know not,
neither will they understand: they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth
are out of course (Ps. 82:5). Or,
as the Amplified Bible so aptly translates, The magistrates and judges know not, neither will they understand;
they walk on in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth (the fundamental principles
upon which rests the administration of justice) are shaking.
Can anyone possibly imagine what would happen to a nation if all the
members of its government were completely selfless
instead of completely selfish, if they were
sons of God walking
in the mind and spirit of Christ, instead of handshaking, baby-kissing,
politicians seeking to curry the favor of men for personal advantage, or if the judges
judged by the spirit of wisdom and discernment from God instead of by the tricky
technicalities of the law! What if the
leaders of the world were filled with the Holy Spirit of God and moved under the power of
His anointing turning men to God instead of building larger armies and navies, more
sophisticated missiles, and more destructive bombs? What
if judges and social workers had the word of God in their mouths and power to cast the
demon spirits out of men instead of carrying them off to some ungodly psychiatrist,
psychologist, mental hospital, or prison? To
even contemplate such things in this age of darkness only serves to bring a sad smile to
our faces, but I can assure you in all confidence that this present day of darkness is
even now merging into Gods glorious DAY OF JUDGMENT where all things shall be made
new. The whole system is rapidly sinking and
collapsing around us and God is even now preparing a righteous government of holy sons of
God to replace it!
Destruction of the demonized systems of this world will certainly call for a change
of judgeships over mankind. According to our
Fathers gracious provision, then, new thrones of judgment come into existence! Nothing else but a better body of
judges could be expected to occupy those thrones of judgment, which are
established by Gods authority in the heavenlies!
Gods judges will not be men in judicial robes sitting on a bench in a
courtroom. Oh, no! Gods judges shall be men possessing the mind of Christ, clothed with the omniscient wisdom, omnipotent power, and incorruptible life of God, sitting upon the throne
of Gods glory, speaking the words of
God with divine authority and creative energy. Mighty
deliverance
and transformation
will come upon misled, misruled, and misjudged mankind! Isnt it wonderful!
And after these things I saw four
angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the winds should not
blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And
I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he
cried with a loud voice to the four angels to
whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the
sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads
(Rev. 7:1-3).
Gazing down through the telescope of the spirit of revelation John sees at the four
points of the compass four angels striving with the four winds of the earth, which are
about to rush in. The four mighty angels
stand like four living watch-towers on the four corners of the widespread earth. And these four august spirits hold a special
command from God to keep sleepless watch and command at the four gates of the earth. So vigilant are those four heavenly sentinels
that not so much as one breath of angry air passes through their gates until they are
released by the mind of Christ in Gods sons.
The three-fold repetition of the number four
in the four angels, four corners of the earth, and four winds, emphasizes the
number of the earth.
The four angels are standing on the four corners of the earth.
They are holding, not the four winds of heaven, spoken of in other prophecies, but
the four winds of the earth. The four winds of the earth
under a different figure are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
How very significant that in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, all three languages
which have played so prominent a part in the history of the written scriptures, the word
spirit is closely linked with the wind. To the writers of the Old Testament the wind that
blew down from the mountains and came in from the sea seemed like the breath of God; in it
they saw a parallel to the mysterious, invisible action of the Holy Spirit. The record of creation in the book of Genesis
opens thus, The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of
the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. The Spirit, or breath of God, which moved over the
waters in the creation of nature, also gave life to man.
Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living soul. It was the Spirit, or the breath, or the wind of
God that gave man life! The relationship
between wind and breath is still expressed today when someone says, I had the wind
knocked out of me! They mean their
breath. And the breath of God is the spirit
of God which is also the wind of God! That is
the mystery!
The four angels are four messengers,
or a four-fold message, a four-fold word, sent forth from God respecting the moving of His
Spirit across the earth! The angels represent
an administration and activity of the Holy Spirit by the word of the Lord! These are not four literal angels holding the
literal winds of the earth. These are
symbols, word pictures of mighty spiritual operations and workings! The use of Gods winds to bring
either judgment or deliverance and life to His people is not new. Consider the work of His winds in the following
passages:
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
and cried unto my God: He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him,
even into His ears
and He rode upon a cherub and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the
wings of the wind (Ps. 18:6,10). Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing
praise upon the harp unto our God: He sendeth forth His commandment upon the earth: His
word runneth very swiftly. He sendeth out His
word
He causeth His wind to blow
He showeth His word unto Jacob, His statutes
and His judgments unto Israel (Ps. 147:6,15-19).
Then said He unto me, Prophesy
unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come
from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath
came into them, and they lived
(Eze. 37:9-10). And
upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter
them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam
shall not come (Jer. 49:36). And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters
were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap
Thou didst blow with Thy
wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters (Ex. 15:8,10).
Behold, I will make thee (into)
a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains (kingdoms)
and beat them small, and shalt make the hills (small kingdoms) as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them
away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt
glory in the Holy One of Israel (Isa.
41:15-16).
Websters dictionary defines wind as air in motion; a strong, fast
moving current of air; gale. Thus the
four winds of the earth denote a spiritual movement as air in transit, the mighty power of
the breath of God sweeping across the face of the earth and the sea, bringing either
blessing or judgment. It is the power and
manifestation of the kingdom of God by the Spirit of the Lord! Jesus said, The wind bloweth where it
listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell from whence it cometh (Jn. 3:8).
He could have even gone on to say, thou hearest the sound thereof, thou seest
the trees bending, thou seest the leaves and dust flying before it, but canst not tell
whence it cometh. Although the wind
itself cannot be seen, we bear witness by the results that it is a mighty power!
It is a power that can move and change things!
When God moves by His Spirit you cannot see Him moving in any tangible way, but you
see the effects as things begin to happen and move and change. That is exactly how the kingdom of God works by
the moving of the Spirit of the Lord God making His rule effective! It
comes without observation into the hearts of men by the invisible yet powerful
action of the Spirit of God. As the Lord
moves sovereignly and mightily by His Spirit, the effect
goes out and things everywhere begin to change!
The wind can accomplish positive things by helping plant life to proliferate
through pollination and the distribution of seed across the countryside. It can blow the smoke and smog out of a valley,
bringing wonderful relief to the people with breathing problems. It can cool the day, giving respite from the
stifling heat. Or, it can be destructive, as
we have seen in the case of hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis! The force behind these winds can be tremendous,
absolutely breath-taking to experience, leaving behind a trail of desolation, trees
plucked up by the roots, houses left as rubble, and some things disappear entirely from
their location. That is what the Lord was
talking about when He prophesied through the prophet Jeremiah that He would send His
wind and scatter Elam until there would not be a nation on earth that the
people of Elam had not been scattered into! Of
course it was not the literal wind that scattered Elam, but the moving of God by His
Spirit, creating the conditions that caused their scattering. The Lord can bring beautiful blessings through His
mild and gentle winds, or He can root out and destroy kingdoms with His fierce and mighty
winds. In the early 1990s God sent His
powerful winds and demolished the empire of the Communist Soviet Union! Oh, yes, it was our God and Father who did this! Who could possibly hold back the winds, prevent them from blowing, or send them forth in
whatever power and force needful? None but
God! He alone is the Master of the Winds!
The Argentine prophetess known as Annie has shared the following experience she had
in the Spirit. Having a painful sore
throat that day which made it very difficult to swallow, I thought that I would not be
able to enter into the Spirit. But the urge
to get alone with Him and pray was too strong to put off even for sickness, so I went to
prayer. Suddenly I was THERE and I saw Jesus. His whole body was suspended high in the heavens
and as always, His whole being and raiment was radiant with that light that ever
accompanies Him. A number of angels were
there with Him but took no part in this vision; they were but spectators. All around Him and enveloping Him, there was a
most strange and powerful wind blowing. There was no debris in this wind but it was fully
visible: it had substance and consistency and was full of life and light. But its most marked characteristic was its great
manifestation of POWER. It blew with great
power and might! It not only enveloped Jesus
and the angels, but me also. At first I saw
it from a distance, but then I was moved to be within this great wind and I found myself
beside Him.
With all this tremendous manifestation of power in this living wind, I was
not afraid because Jesus spoke to me telling me not to fear. His word filled me with great peace. The wind was blowing with great velocity, although
I could not tell from whence it came. After a
while, in the midst of this most strange and invigorating wind, Jesus spoke to me saying
that soon
there would be a taking hold of His strength and power, and a marching forth in the paths
that He had already marked out, promising that He would accompany His own throughout these
paths. Returning to my natural state,
I found myself bathed in sweat though the day was cold.
My throat was entirely healed and the infection did not return
end quote.
The number four in Biblical numerology
bespeaks the earth, or that which pertains to the earth. It also denotes the world, and that which is world-wide. The earth and the world have four regions:
north, south, east, and west. There are four
elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Our
atmosphere experiences four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. There are four kingdoms: mineral, vegetable,
animal, and spiritual. And there are four
winds from the four directions of the planet.
Our heavenly Father controls the winds, both the natural and the spiritual. At this very moment His winds of judgment are
restrained. Dont buy into the notion,
dear ones, that God is actively out there judging the nations today. Oh, no! His
word has gone forth, and throughout this age of grace the heavenly sentinels have stood at
the gates and held those winds in their fists during all this time that the Lord has been
forming His body in the earth. The winds of
judgment will not be released until all the holy sons of God have been sealed in their
foreheads! Then the winds shall sweep across
the earth in mighty power, with irresistible force to bring a new age and a new order of
righteousness, glory, and life into the earth for all mankind!
Hold those winds, angels God is finishing His work in us the
manifestation of God through His sons is drawing nigh!
To be continued
J. PRESTON EBY
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