Balaam and the Beast

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BALAAM AND THE BEAST Equipping the Church to Discern False Prophetic Voices and Overcome the Spirit of Antichrist in the Last Days

SCOTT MCCONAUGHEY

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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………. 3 CHAPTER 1 – DISCOVERING THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST…..... 8 CHAPTER 2 – THE TREE OF THE ANTICHRIST…………………... 15 CHAPTER 3 – TESTING THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST…………… 21 CHAPTER 4 - CAMPED ON THE PLAINS OF MOAB……………... 27 CHAPTER 5 – BALAAM THE PROPHET…………………………….. 36 CHAPTER 6 – BALAAM’S DOCTRINE………………………………. 44 CHAPTER 7 – PROPHETIC MADNESS………………………………. 49 CHAPTER 8 – THE GREAT FALLING AWAY………………………. 62 CHAPTER 9 – YOU MUST BE HOLY………………………………… 70 CHAPTER 10 – OVERCOMING THE ANTICHRIST………………… 79

BALAAM AND THE BEAST by Scott McConaughey Copyright © 2006 by Scott McConaughey Printed in the United States of America All commercial rights reserved solely by the author. Any part or this entire book may be reproduced and used to edify the body of Christ without permission of the author but may not be used for commercial gain. Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Contact Information: The Gathering Place Pastor Scott McConaughey www.scottmc.org/ Email: [email protected]

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BALAAM AND THE BEAST - INTRODUCTION Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. Matthew 24:3-5 Jesus warned His disciples to “take heed that no one deceives you”. A flood of deception will sweep billions of souls into the abyss in the last days. This flood of spiritual water, spewing out of the dragon’s mouth, will come through “many” who will come to the Church in the name of Jesus. These false prophetic voices will claim that Jesus is the Christ and they will deceive many. The lunatics that proclaim in mental institutions that they are “the Christ” do not deceive anyone beside themselves. There are some who claim to be “the Christ” who deceive a few misguided souls, but Jesus taught His disciples that many would appear to have biblical orthodoxy in the last days claiming that “He is the Christ”. Because their theology, statement of faith and basic doctrines lined up with historic biblical Christianity, undiscerning people and some “Christians” can easily be deceived by these unholy ones. The spirit of antichrist and false prophets will not be thoroughly detected by an intellectual theological grid. Anyone can memorize, print and declare orthodox doctrine to gain an audience. Preachers may wear sheep’s clothing, but we must look for the fruit of the Spirit. Demonic religious spirits hide like a hungry wolf in the hearts of false shepherds and we must learn to discern their predatory presence by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Many False Prophets Will Rise Up Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:9-12 Tribulation, persecution, hatred, offences, betrayal and martyrdom await many saints in the last days. Many false prophets will rise up and teach doctrines of demons to deceive many. Those false prophets are among us already. They are usually called pastors or teachers and yet inwardly they are ravenous wolves. How are we to avoid deception as we approach the last days? How will we know who is from God and who is of the enemy? For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Matthew 24:24

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The false christs and false prophets will have power from Satan to show forth great signs and wonders to try and deceive God’s elect people. A strong delusion will sweep over the earth and captivate the majority of earth’s inhabitants “because they did not receive the love of the truth” (II Thessalonians 2:10). The Holy Spirit has set a deep desire in my heart to love His truth. God’s people everywhere must set their hearts to love the truth and study God’s word under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We must run to the light and not hide from Him. When Jesus arrived the first time, most of the people preferred the darkness rather than the light. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19 As Jesus’ manifested presence of glorious light approaches in His second coming, people still love darkness because their deeds are evil. People love to rule their own lives and live independently of God. Religious people throughout the world are in bondage to false doctrines and systems of works that give them the illusion of salvation. They are usually self-righteousness and lawless. They are powerfully deceived by religious spirits. Socalled “Christians” who turn their belief in the grace of God through Christ into permission to engage in all manners of worldly behavior are just as deceived as the devout Muslim or zealous Hindu1. The Relentless Deceiver Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. Revelation 20:7-8 After a thousand years of God’s glorious rule on earth, Satan will be released from his prison for a short time and will once again be able to deceive the nations of the world. This is astounding. He deceives them so powerfully that they will gather together to rebel against the Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect rule. Satan is a liar and the father of lies2. He is an extremely effective liar. Satan has invented all the false religions of the world. The devil is a relentless deceiver of mankind to entice them into self focus and, if possible, to worship Satan himself. Satan’s method of deceiving people is very simple. He convinces leaders of His lies and they teach the people those lies as if they were the truth. These lies are often taught along side God’s true word so that mixture results. These teachers can become false prophets. They are used as the mouthpieces of Satan and teach the doctrines of demons.

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see Jude 4 John 8:44

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Jesus told us to be on the alert because many false prophets would arise and deceive many. This includes communist leaders who claim there is no god. They elevate the “State” to a place of godhead. Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler and Mao Zedong are the three most powerful false prophets of communism in the 20 th century. Their false doctrines have resulted in the murder of many millions of innocent men, women, boys and girls as well as the damnation of hundreds of millions who followed their doctrines. There are false prophets in every nation speaking lies in every tongue known to man. The majority of the world’s population is bound up in a stronghold of demonic lies. There is only one group of people on earth that provide a barrier to Satan’s strategy to build a throne of world dominion so that he can be worshipped by mankind. They are the only people that can loose captives from the lies of the beast. They are true disciples of Jesus Christ who obey His word and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Satan hates them and plans to kill them all if he can. The Antichrist will Arise It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. Revelation 13:7 The Antichrist will arise like a wild beast and be given authority to make war against the saints and overcome them for a season. Many believers in Christ will be killed in the greatest tribulation and persecution the world has ever known. Times will be so wicked that if the Lord Himself does not come and intervene, all humanity will perish. Extremely dark times are coming to the earth. Are you ready to overcome all that the enemy sends against you? There will be an individual whose life is so given over to Satan that he will become one with him. The great deceiver will enter into a person and speak through him to lead the world into his total control. After three and a half years of leadership and promises of peace, this powerful world leader will demand that everyone worship him. His rule will only last three and a half more years as God pours out His wrath and judges the earth. God wants His people to fully give themselves over to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the word of God. As we get into full agreement with the Holy Spirit and become the mature body of Christ, we will be empowered to do the works of Jesus. Satan will have many getting into full agreement with himself and they will also do his evil bidding. The war between God’s people and Satan’s will be intense and most last-day Christians will become like Jesus and lay down their lives to that same murderous spirit. Most Christians have been taught that God will take all believers out of the world before the great tribulation time period begins. Jesus said that we would have tribulation in the world3. He told His disciples to prepare to be hated by all nations on account of Him. All of His first apostles except John were persecuted and martyred. Will His last day disciples have it better? How can the Antichrist war against the saints if the whole 3

John 16:33

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Church is raptured? How could the false prophets try and deceive the elect if the elect are all gone? Some teach that God will rapture a pure portion of the Church known as the bride of Christ. It is taught that only those who make themselves ready by perfecting holiness in the fear of God will be raptured at that time. God took a rib out of the body of Adam, the son of God, to form His bride. This may be an accurate picture of God taking a remnant out of the body of Christ to form the bride of Christ. That remnant will be close to His heart like a human rib. The bride will be like the wise virgins who have oil in their lamps on that special day. The remaining body of Christ who were not ready will have to overcome during the horrible great tribulation. My sense is that this teaching is correct. Believing that only the bride is raptured before the Great Tribulation should be tremendous motivation to get ready, to work on perfecting holiness now in the fear of God. If every Christian is raptured by God’s grace at that time, there is no motivation to prepare and there are no saints for the Antichrist to war against. Will we be sparred from suffering? Many Christians have been tortured and murdered for their faith throughout the ages and they did not go through the “Great Tribulation”. True Christians in history have experienced the murderous hatred of Satan flowing through various wicked people including the religious “Church”. I believe that the strong delusion of the Antichrist and the false prophet are already flowing powerfully to deceive the nations and, if possible, the Church. Balaam, the Prototype False Prophet A flood of false prophets are coming to prepare the way for the Antichrist. There will be one major false prophet known as the “beast” who will be the key advocate of the Antichrist. Balaam is a picture of that false prophet and how he will operate. Understanding Balaam and the spirit of antichrist will prepare you so that you are not deceived. That spirit is working right now all over the world and has been since the Garden of Eden. In the book of Revelation, the false prophet is called “the beast”4. As I was praying one morning, I heard the title for this book, BALAAM AND THE BEAST. I chuckled and thought of the Disney classic, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST which is a musical about a prince, turned into a beast, which is under the power of a witches spell unless he can love and be loved by his twenty-first birthday. The beast, in the Disney story, turns out to be a dashingly handsome prince. In the book of Revelation, the Antichrist and the false prophet will appear as beautiful princes who speak glowing words of seductive wisdom and charm. They will carry themselves with royal magnetism and draw the hearts of many as Princess Dianna once 4

Revelation 13:2ff

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did. But in our true biblical story of the last days, the prince turns out to be a true beast and most of the world will not recognize the truth until it is too late. God has given us the story of Balaam and other teachings so that we could be equipped to discern what is from the beauty of God, the Spirit of truth, and what is from the beast of hell. After carefully reading this book and tuning your heart into God’s love and the love of the truth, you will be equipped to discern and overcome the spirit of antichrist when you come in contact with it.

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CHAPTER 1 – DISCOVERING THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. Isaiah 14:12-15 The spirit of antichrist was birthed in the heart of Lucifer, who once held an exalted position in the court of heaven. The ancient King of Babylon became so influenced by Lucifer that his heart got into agreement with his evil aspiration. The prophecy of Isaiah includes a judgment on Lucifer and his disciple, the King of Babylon. For our purposes we will focus on the heart motivation of Lucifer to understand the spirit of antichrist. The one we know as Satan lifted up his heart in sinful pride and determined that he would rebel against God and establish his own throne. Lucifer’s heart filled with selfish ambition and a longing to rule over the angels. He wanted to rule over the congregation and receive worship. Satan wanted to be in control and the central focus of attention, honor and reverence. Once we understand this prideful heart motivation of Satan, we can easily begin to detect the spirit of antichrist when it assaults our lives or works through others. A Heart Lifted up in Pride You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings that they might gaze at you. You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever. Ezekiel 28:13-19 Lucifer was created as a glorious angel who had extraordinary beauty. The text implies that this covering cherub was the most magnificent angelic creature that God had made. Lucifer was covered with every precious gem and was created with the ability to create music with timbrels and pipes. Lucifer was the anointed cherub who covers. He was

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given the ability to lead worship in the courts of heaven. It was his job to cover the throne room of God with the glory that rose up in the midst of praise and worship. Lucifer was the best worship leader ever created! Lucifer was created without sin and in the perfection of beauty and splendor. He was extremely wise and had access to walk amidst the burning presence of God. Lucifer was given free choice to worship God or not as are all created spirit beings. After countless ages of magnifying God and being in His glorious presence, the enemy of our souls formed a sinister plot in his heart. His five “I will” statements are in start contrast to Jesus’ confession, “not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Satan’s Five-fold Heart Program I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Isaiah 14:13,14 Lucifer made inner vows and determined the course of action he would pursue until God throws him into the lake of fire. The Lord released this revelation to Isaiah so that we could know our enemy’s motivation and avoid falling into his condemnation of pride. 1. I will ascend into heaven – Satan longed to have the highest place in heaven, even higher than God. He determined to make it to the top. The spirit of antichrist presses mankind to climb various ladders to a high place of rulership in selfish ambition. 2. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God – Satan dedicated himself to rule the angelic beings that God had made. He convinced about one third of God’s angels to follow him in rebellion. Satan rules those fallen angels, but He will never rule the angels that stayed with the Father. Lucifer wanted to have more authority, power and control than God appointed to him. The spirit of antichrist seeks to influence the carnal heart to desire a position of high authority, power and control. This spirit will use flattery, manipulation and treachery to achieve its goals. 3. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north Satan wants to supplant Jerusalem with his own temple. He is determined to counterfeit the house of God and rule a congregation in jealousy and competition. This spirit works on carnal pastors to influence them to compete with other churches and try to build a bigger church in pride and selfish ambition. 4. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds – Clouds represent spiritual beings including humans. Satan wanted to be the most anointed and most revered spirit being. He set his heart to be the highest leader of all. The antichrist spirit flows this evil ambition to carnal zealous ones who desire to be the most anointed preacher, healer, teacher, televangelist, prophet, apostle or whatever. The person influenced by this spirit will poise his or her soul over other Christians and boast of mighty deeds.

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5. I will be like the Most High – Satan’s delusional goals reached their climax in his determination to imitate everything he saw God do. He willed to be like the Most High and counterfeit everything he could that God did. Satan set up his own priests, prophets, altars, religions, thrones, dominions and so forth. His heart determined to rule, to receive worship and to judge in wrath. He counterfeits love with sensuality. This spirit works on all who would seek to rule their own lives rather than surrender to Christ and obey His voice. Satan was a beautiful angel, but once he set his heart in the five-fold “I will’s” listed above, he quickly disintegrated into a most hideous monster. He became a ravenous beast, a dragon, a snake. Those who turn from worshipping God and start on the pathway of self-worship will quickly decay and start to become evil monsters as well. Satan is not content to rebel alone. He longs to take others into his wicked devises. Lucifer must have communicated with many other angels to draw them into rebellion with him. He apparently made deals with many of the angelic beings in heaven to help him establish a counterfeit throne5. He probably promised them thrones and corrupted their hearts along with his own. They Went Out From Among Us Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. I John 2:18-20 John told us that people under the spirit of antichrist leave the true church, and often they establish counterfeit churches so “that they might be made manifest”. These carnal ones wanted visibility and recognition. They did not want to serve the true apostles in the background and submit to the Holy Spirit’s placement. They became like Satan and exalted themselves so they could gather a following who would focus on them and their ministry. The Holy Spirit knows every heart and will not allow carnal ones into positions of leadership until their hearts are cleansed. Rather than allow the fire of God to cleanse their hearts, those who lift their hearts in pride as Satan did will break away from the Church and often start their own ministry. How many churches in America have been formed in this fashion? And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Jude 6 (underlining mine)

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Revelation 12:3-5

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Jude notes that Satan and his angels did not keep their proper domain, the place that God had assigned them. The spirit of antichrist releases a pressure to be dissatisfied with God’s calling and seeks to fuel carnal ambition to find a “better place”. Many saints have been deceived by the desire to be the center of attention. The faith of many has been shipwrecked as they desired to be the head pastor when God called them to be a deacon. No matter what God’s calling, the spirit of antichrist argues that it is not the best, that there is something better and that you deserve to have it. Rather than be patient and wait on God’s dealings and timings to be released into proper position, proud “Christians” go out from among the true Church and enter under the spirit of antichrist. They constantly promote themselves and seek to rule wherever they go. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:7-11 True disciples of Christ are perfected in patience, waiting on the Lord to release them into their place of ministry and harvest. The spirit of antichrist pressures us to make it happen, launch out in presumption and take matters into our own hands. The Lord commands us to be patient and wait on Him for everything. King Saul lost his kingship because he failed to wait for Samuel to arrive and offer the burnt sacrifice as commanded6. Selfish ambition and impatience are two major characteristics of the spirit of antichrist and we must overcome them by following the pathway of Jesus Christ. Jesus waited thirty years before performing any ministry. He gave Himself completely to do God’s will and waited on the Father for everything 7. We must die to ourselves daily and only do what the Father shows us to do. We must abandon ourselves to prayer and wait on God’s release for all ministry! The Measure of Faith For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3 We combat the spirit of antichrist by thinking soberly and accurately as to God’s call on our life. The Lord gives to every man a measure of faith. In this context, the Lord is 6 7

I Samuel 13:8-13 John 5:19

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telling us that there is a grace given to every person to accomplish the things God calls them to do. Grace is not given to you to accomplish what God calls someone else to do. In Greek, “metron” is the word translated “measure”. The metron is a term meaning the portion or degree of responsibility that a person is given. The metron includes geographic and or cultural boundaries. Jesus knew His defined boundaries. “But He answered and said, ‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’” (Matthew 15:24). Jesus only had active ministry on earth for less than four years. He completed His mission exactly according to God’s plan. The Father did not have any other works for Jesus to do or He would have done them. Today, if a person only had active ministry for four years, we might judge them as a failure. If a powerful minister only worked within a one hundred mile radius as Jesus did, we might think that person wasn’t that important. We often don’t think in the ways of the Spirit of God. Jesus obeyed God perfectly and spent thirty years in preparation. He went into the wilderness to fast and pray and overcome Satan before being released into ministry. How much better off would the Church be today if we all followed Jesus’ example? The Lord is calling His people into the wilderness to overcome Satan through prayer and fasting. Those who grow in faith and obedience will overcome and walk in the power of God as Jesus did. They will have power over the spirit of antichrist and may have fairly brief ministries before being murdered by that same spirit that killed Jesus. No matter how brief our ministry season is, our work on earth will be done as we perfectly walk with the Holy Spirit. But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. II Corinthians 10:13 Paul was given a responsibility to travel and minister to many peoples including the Corinthians. God assigned Paul a wide metron of influence and Paul was faithful to God’s calling. The Lord certainly does not call many to live as the apostle Paul lived. God gives a special grace to a man who received thirty-nine lashes five times and was in tribulation often. God does not call us to die on the cross for the sins of the world either. We have a specific cross to bear and pathway to follow. It is essential to die to self and seek God earnestly to find our place. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Ephesians 4:7 God created us for a specific purpose and gives us the abilities, skills, gifts and power to accomplish the things we are assigned. It can be a challenging adventure to discover exactly what your “metron” is in the kingdom of God. We all get into trouble when we begin to go beyond our measure of influence and authority. We can also create “Ishmaels” when we get impatient and try to help God accomplish His plans for our lives.

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Some young converts, like myself, enter into the kingdom of God with considerable baggage. When I was saved at age 20, I had the carnal ambition to become the next Billy Graham. After a few years of doing limited evangelism in the inner city, I was painfully aware that evangelism was not my strongest gift and I certainly did not have the grace or the metron of authority to become a great evangelist like Dr. Graham. Fortunately, our missions’ leadership recognized my gifts in teaching and assigned me to develop and write bible curriculum for children and teenagers. I soon discovered that I enjoyed working in the office more than witnessing on the streets. The tedious work of writing curriculum supplied the missionaries with excellent resources to reach inner city children. I flourished in this work, which started in 1976, and the Lord still has me writing a form of training curriculum today through my books. Other missionaries loved to witness on the streets and had no grace to sit in an office and write curriculum. Every joint in the body of Christ has an important supply for the rest of the body to accomplish His purposes. God has appointed a metron for each one according to His perfect wisdom. It is foolish and prideful to attempt to step beyond one’s measure of faith and grace granted by God. Yet many believers fall into the enemy’s trap by desiring to ascend and rule in a place that God has not appointed. The antichrist spirit often flows discontent and carnal ambition to tempt a zealous Christian to oppose anointed leadership and rise into a self-promoted leadership. The pathway of the Spirit is to humble oneself and wait on God to direct. In due season, the Lord will promote you to the place that you belong as you walk in the Spirit. Appoint Leaders Wisely This is a faithful saying: if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, soberminded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. I Timothy 3:1-6 Paul instructed Timothy not to appoint new believers into leadership positions too quickly. A novice can become puffed up with pride because of position and his character has not been prepared to walk in holiness, humility and love. Anointed leaders are humble servants not haughty tyrants. Satan attacks leaders with false accusations and all manners of spiritual warfare. It is important for a leader to have a good testimony in the community so as to minimize the

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ammunition the enemy can use. The Adversary is a relentless accuser and we must grow strong in character, in spirit, grace and truth before tackling bigger challenges. As you follow the Spirit, the Lord will develop your character and gifts so that you can expand in your ministry. In the early 1980’s, the Lord put a desire in my heart to train and equip missionaries for works of service. I was involved with our missions training program for many years and headed up new missionary training for several years. After the Lord led us out of that mission, He began further equipping me in the ways of the Spirit through extended seasons of prayer, bible study and much waiting. This included seasons of isolation, fasting and great trials. It has been my hearts desire to establish a missionary training school, but the Lord has not brought me to a place of release in that purpose yet. If I wanted to “make it happen” sooner than God’s perfect time, I would have to get into the flesh and work apart from God’s grace at that point. This would be utter foolishness and an act of rebellious pride. I have run ahead of God several times in the past due to pride and an eagerness to perform. This is rooted in basic insecurity that places more value on performance than an intimate relationship with God. The Lord’s refining fire is still burning away my desires to be doing ministry more than my desire to walk in perfect fellowship with Him. I have discovered that all ministry apart from the anointing of the Holy Spirit and His grace is a work of my own flesh to build my own ego or earn some money. God has completely shut down my outside ministry several times during the past years in part to deliver me from performance orientation. During long seasons of being set apart unto the Lord, He has taken out the old junk and has imparted revelation and aspects of His divine nature. We need to be renovated by seasons of being with God and beholding His face. With a wife and six children who are attending universities, paying the bills when you only stay home and pray is quite an adventure 8. God has given me a grace and a measure of faith to stay home and pray. Not everyone has this calling. The only thing I know to do is fast, pray and seek God for wisdom. Until He releases the wisdom, I stay home and pray and study what He shows me from the word. By His grace, I am becoming completely bound in the Holy Spirit 9. That is a wonderful thing, but it is a hard life. In order to overcome the spirit of antichrist, we must begin by renouncing all selfish ambition and desire to rule. We must die to our self-rule, take up our cross and obey God’s perfect will for our lives. We must forsake all fleshly comparisons, jealousies or desires to be in a place other than our own calling. It is essential to learn to wait on God and hear and obey His voice. As you learn to only walk by the Spirit, you will experience an extraordinary adventure and grow to bear maximum fruit to the glory of God.

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Please see my book, FAITH FOR FINANCES for detailed teaching on this topic. Acts 20:22

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CHAPTER 2 – THE TREE OF ANTICRHIST Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Genesis 3:1-7 God allowed Adam and Eve to have the option to rebel against His Lordship. God wants voluntary worshippers. In His perfect wisdom and goodness, God commanded the first couple not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said that if they ate from that tree, they would surely die. The serpent challenged God’s word and tempted Eve to eat so that her eyes would be open and that she would be like God. Eve doubted the goodness of God and was deceived into eating from the tree. Adam was not deceived, but he chose to rebel against God and ate anyway10. Understanding what happened in the garden at the fall is another key to overcoming the spirit of antichrist and the way he works in our world today. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents the willful choice of man to reject God’s revealed word and operate independent of God and His standards and commands. When man eats from this tree, man then becomes like god in the sense that he can establish his own little throne and determine what he thinks is good and what is evil. Secular humanism is a perfect example of eating from this evil tree. Man worships his own ideas about his world. What folly! Americans are especially prone to the spirit of antichrist as our nation has been led to worship independent thinking. We pride ourselves on having “free speech” and the right to believe whatever we want to believe, worship whatever god we want to worship and pretty much do whatever we want in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. In reality, those who operate independent of the leadership of the Holy Spirit are in bondage to the spirit of antichrist and are under his deception at some level. Satan is a liar and the father of lies11. All who eat of his tree think they see, but they are blinded. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents operating by sight, human natural wisdom apart from the Holy Spirit. “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic” (James 3:15). Many people pride themselves in earthly wisdom and some are greatly rewarded financially for worldly wisdom. Eve was tempted 10 11

I Timothy 2:14 John 8:44

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to lust in the flesh (a tree good for food), lust in her eyes (a tree pleasant to the eyes) and fall into the boastful pride of life (a tree desirable to make one wise). As Eve ate from the tree along with Adam, their eyes were opened. This was not a good thing! A person whose eyes are opened to “see” by natural wisdom becomes “blind” to the things of the Spirit. Operating by natural wisdom leads one to love the world, lust in the flesh, lust in the eyes and feeds the boastful pride of life. Living by earthly wisdom allows the enemy to build various strongholds in the mind. If faithful church attendees live by worldly wisdom and feed from this tree they will be greatly deceived. Only those who completely abandon themselves to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, seek God’s voice and obey Him in all things will avoid deception. Let’s dedicate ourselves to live by the Holy Spirit in all things and walk in grace and truth as Jesus did! Unfortunately, there are many in “Christian” leadership who often operate by natural wisdom rather than by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. This is an aspect of soul realm living where the mind rules. Brilliant men have led the Church into a subtle rebellion against the Holy Spirit and have taught doctrines of demons to make people afraid of the Holy Spirit. Many years ago, as a young Christian, I confided in a conservative pastor that I was hearing the voice of God in my prayer times. He looked at me like I was crazy and in effect said, “You’re hearing voices”? He strongly corrected me and implanted seeds of doubt in my heart. After that encounter, I was afraid to hear God’s voice that way for many years. Even though pastors may teach that the Holy Spirit indwells a believer, they often deny that the Spirit of Christ is available to do in and through us what occurred in the life of Jesus. We are supposed to be the body of Jesus Christ, the bone of His bone and the flesh of His flesh. We were created to walk holy before God, walk in love and do the works of the Father. This requires an absolute commitment to prayer and hearing God’s voice to be led by the Spirit of Christ. Some Christian leaders still teach that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are no longer given to enable the saints to walk in the anointing power of God. They reject gifts that enable us to hear God’s voice such as the gifts of the word of knowledge, word of wisdom, prophecy and interpretation of tongues. These doctrines that eliminate the gifts of the Holy Spirit for today are of the spirit of antichrist! Many Christian leaders fail to teach the truth that the Holy Spirit dwells in believers to enable them to walk holy before God, in perfect yoked agreement with Jesus at all times. Many have developed a form of godliness but have denied the power of the Holy Spirit to bring the individual life into conformity to the life of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, the Seed of Jesus Christ, the infinite power of God dwelling in believers is given to enable one thing only in the believer and that is to become like Jesus in heart issues, character, nature and ministry life. This supernatural life will flow and include miraculous healing power, words of knowledge, wisdom, faith, miracles, discerning of spirits and other gifts. A large portion of the Church has denied that these gifts even operate anymore and consequently have denied the Holy Spirit access to flow His life in them and through them to set captives free. Worse yet, many “Christians” have been led

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by blind leaders into a pit of religiosity that has no power against the spirit of antichrist. These kind of people can become extremely mean and hateful just as the first century Pharisees became. The Natural Man Does not Receive the Things of the Spirit But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. I Corinthians 2:14,15 The Bible is clear that the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God. Yet every week, preachers study the Bible using their natural minds and teach people doctrines that come from their own minds. Those doctrines are pieces of fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and sow spiritual death into the hearers. This is how the spirit of antichrist is bringing a strong delusion into churches. The world is already under his power, but even much of the Church is being influenced by religious devils. Many Christians have been taught falsely about the doctrine of salvation. I have written extensively on this in my book THE NARROW GATE and I encourage you to read it carefully. Your eternal destiny may be determined by it. It really doesn’t matter what any one thinks God’s word teaches, the only thing that matters is what the Holy Spirit says the Bible teaches. Man’s reason has come up with many interpretations, doctrines and “theories” of what the Bible teaches. God wants to release revelation to us as we seek Him with all our hearts, pray in the Holy Spirit and depend upon Him to teach us His word. As I pray in tongues often, I pray mysteries back to God and eventually He opens up a door of revelation to me 12. After much prayer, the Spirit begins speaking to me phrases from the Bible and shows me what to study and write on. This book began when I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Balaam Built an Altar”. That is a dark saying that required further study and prayer. I started studying the story of Balaam for several weeks and released two messages from the pulpit about his life. As I have continued to pray and study, the Lord keeps giving me more on this topic. The Blind Leading the Blind Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch. Matthew 15:14 Jesus taught us that the Pharisees of His day were blind leaders leading blind people into hell. What a horrible reality! When Jesus first came to earth, the condition of the leadership of the house of God was horrendous. It was full of the spirits of antichrist with a few exceptions like Nicodemus. Will Jesus find faith on earth when He comes again? Will the Church be in better condition than Israel at His first coming? 12

I Corinthians 14:2-5

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And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. John 9:39-10:6 Jesus healed a man born blind on the Sabbath and religious leaders reacted contending that He was an evil lawbreaker. Jesus taught us that those who think they see are blind and those who are blind can see. He taught about hearing His voice and not that of a stranger. The disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about and neither have most Christians. Remember that Satan said that Eve would have her eyes opened when she ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Bible says that when she ate, her eyes were opened and she saw her own nakedness. This was a terrible calamity. Having her eyes opened was evil! God did not want her natural mind faculties to open to living by human reason rather than by heavenly revelation. The Pharisees took the Old Testament scriptures and formed their doctrines through natural reason and intellectual studies. Their prideful eyes were opened as they lived their lives by natural sight. They lived by the spirit of antichrist, that serpent who kept telling them they would not die and that they could be like god. So they kept eating from that tree and thought they could see what was happening. From their eyes, Jesus was sinning by healing on the Sabbath. Because they lived by the natural mind in the things of God’s word, they were blind to the One who was talking to them and performing miracles. The Pharisees memorized large portions of the Old Testament and were diligent to keep all the laws and festivals. Yet when the Creator Himself stood in front of them and walked in perfect love by the Spirit of God, they did not see Him. They were blind. What a horrible tragedy! Could it happen to Church leaders today? Christians who refuse to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil are blind to the worry, fear, unbelief and pride that comes from that tree. They are blind to living by natural sight. God opens their eyes to see and enables them to hear His true voice. They

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feed off the tree of life, a living relationship with Jesus Christ empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus modeled this perfectly. Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind but My servant, or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, and blind as the LORD’s servant? Isaiah 42:18,19 Isaiah prophesied about Jesus and His anointed leaders. Perfect leaders are blind to natural reason and live by revelation from above. Jesus never ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His holy eyes were never opened to allow His mind to operate independent of the Holy Spirit. The enemy could find no place in Jesus because His mind only allowed the revelation of the Spirit to fill His thoughts. Jesus was blind to seeing through the eyes of rebellion and pride. Walking in complete trust in the Holy Spirit’s leading, Jesus was perfect. He did not listen to the world’s ways of doing things and was deaf to the voices of strangers. Jesus meditated on God’s words day and night so that He could fulfill His destiny and be successful in His mission13. All of God’s children are called to live as Jesus lived. We are to be completely blind to human wisdom and reason which is earthly, sensual and demonic. We are to be separate from the world system and all the evil that is in it. We are to be deaf and even run from strangers’ voices and know the voice of our good Shepherd and follow Him only. This can only happen as we completely repent, change our minds, and believe in God’s word as taught by the Holy Spirit. We must reject the spirit of antichrist that appeals to us as Satan did to Eve. We must learn to trust the Lord with all our hearts and live as Jesus did14. As we do, we will overcome the spirit of antichrist and we will not be deceived by doctrines of demons. The anointing of the Holy Spirit within us will teach us all things we need to know to avoid falling into the pit with blind leaders. It will require that we worship and pray a great deal. A doctrinal check list will not give us the discernment of the Spirit to perceive error, but a daily living relationship with Him will. One of the lies the serpent told me for many years was that living completely abandoned to the leadership of the Holy Spirit was not practical. Statements like being “so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good” struck me hard. Fear of man issues in my heart caused me to seek to please others and be on top of everything, dot every “i” and cross every “t”. I was insecure and didn’t want to be seen as foolish in the eyes of man. Foolishness was being too spiritual, too impractical. I was taught some doctrines of demons, believed them and taught others. I have gone through much repentance. God has given me a deep love for Himself and His people. I cast no stones at the Church. I love the Church of Jesus Christ and my heart’s desire is to see her become the mature body of Jesus Christ walking in perfect agreement with her Head, walking as Jesus walked. 13 14

Joshua 1:8,9 See my book, PRAYERS TO WALK AS JESUS WALKED, for help in this area.

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In order for the Church to walk as Jesus walked, we must be delivered from the spirit of antichrist. We must understand how that spirit works in various ways and learn to repent and believe God, relying on the Holy Spirit for everything. We must learn to hear God’s voice only and not follow the voice of strangers. There are many strange voices in our world and our own hearts can be pulled by them if we are not walking in the Spirit. God wants His people to come out of Babylon15. To understand how the spirit of antichrist works in history, we are going to study the life of Balaam the prophet who attempted to curse God’s people. Satan works today through vessels who speak “in the name of Christ”. They may not be prophets in the office level sense, but they speak from pulpits and from a broader definition, they can be the false prophets Jesus talked about. Just as the prophet John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus’ coming, Satan is sending false prophets to prepare the way for the Antichrist to come. Those false prophets will have many of the characteristics of Balaam and unfortunately, many of them will have gone out from among the true Church because they ate from that wicked tree and fell into greed.

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II Corinthians 6:17

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CHAPTER 3 – TESTING THE SPIRIT OF ANTICRHIST Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us--eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. I John 2:18-27 (underlining mine) The beloved apostle John wrote about antichrist(s) in his first two letters. He used the term five times and is the only writer to mention this term in reference to the spirit of antichrist. This is the spirit of Satan that rules the world system, the kingdom of darkness. John exhorts us not to love the world or anything in the world because it falls under the dominion of the spirit of antichrist16. John told us that the way to properly discern the spirit of antichrist is by the anointing of the Holy Spirit who abides in a believer’s heart. This is where many “Christians” go astray. They tend to use a theological grid to determine orthodoxy and right teaching. In some cases this may point to obvious cults, but overall, John taught us that we needed to rely upon the Person of the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the spirit of antichrist working through people. This evil spirit will continuously try to deceive us and the Holy Spirit will always lead us into truth as we pray and wait on His counsel. Test the Spirits Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 16

I John 2:15-17

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They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. I John 4:1-7 (underlining mine) This is love that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. II John 6-11 (underlining mine) These two passages summarize John’s teaching on the spirit of antichrist and give us a test in order to recognize the working of this spirit. Few understand this test or how to actually apply it. It is incredibly simple when you read the context of John’s letters carefully. The apostle is teaching us to walk in the light, to walk as Jesus walked, to love God, obey His commandments and to love one another. He calls us to abide in God and allow the anointing to abide in us and enable us to walk as Jesus walked. The anointing is the Spirit of Christ who comes to live inside true believers both to will and to work for God’s good pleasure17. It is God’s pleasure that we love Him with all our heart, obey His commandments, love others and walk exactly as Jesus walked 18. God commands us to walk in perfect love for God and to reject all love for this world system. The spirit of antichrist is against the Holy Spirit. Obviously, any cult or religion that does not teach that Jesus is God incarnate in human flesh falls under the spirit of antichrist. John clearly teaches that. But there is a more subtle meaning to John’s test as well. The antichrist spirit denies the teaching that “Christ comes in the flesh” by teaching that you cannot really walk as Jesus walked. Christians know that the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of their inmost being. True believers in Christ are the temple of the Holy Spirit 19. Christ lives in true Christians as the hope of glory20. Christ still comes to live in human flesh inside His people. He comes in so that we can be completely transformed to love God with all our hearts, obey His commands and love one another. That is exactly what John taught. The spirit of antichrist teaches a compromise saying that we cannot really live as Jesus did, in essence saying that Christ does not come to live out His perfect and sinless life in human flesh. 17

Philippians 2:13 I John 2:3-6 19 I Corinthians 6:19 20 Colossians 1:27 18

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Jesus’ life was completely governed by the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Jesus always walked by faith and never walked by sight. We are commanded to love as Jesus loved and walk as Jesus walked. The infinite power of the Holy Spirit has been placed within our hearts to enable us to walk before God blameless and do the good works which the Father has prepared beforehand. This may include preaching, teaching, healing, delivering, miracles, signs, and wonders, confronting modern Pharisees, equipping disciples and glorifying God in all that we do. The spirit of antichrist moves against religious leadership in churches and teaches them doctrines to distort and discount the power of the indwelling Christ, the Holy Spirit. The antichrist spirit teaches us to operate by human reason (sight) rather than by the revelation of the Holy Spirit who abides within to teach us. The spirit of antichrist often works based on an academic model of education, information and intellectual knowledge that puffs a person up in religious pride. The antichrist spirit is an extremely powerful deceiver and we must know his tactics to avoid deception. Do Not Love the World Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. I John 2:15-17 John summarized the three primary ways the spirit of antichrist deceives and rules the world. We saw these three aspects when the serpent deceived Eve. Satan must rule the minds and hearts of people to establish his wicked throne. The three primary ways he works include the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life. Most American Christians that I know tend to struggle with all three areas. I used to struggle with this verse and had to rationalize it away in order to tolerate my sinful behavior. Then God visited me with His manifested presence and put a temporary endowment of supernatural faith upon me. God promised to give me whatever I asked Him and His Spirit led me to ask, “Lord, I want to be holy”. From that moment on, I have had “God faith” that He would make me holy. The fire of God began to be released into my heart to reveal areas that the Holy Spirit wanted me to repent of and change. His fire is still working on me powerfully and He has delivered me from a love of this world system. Now I see the spirit of antichrist working in the world system seductively trying to lure Christians into a web of death. We must run from those voices. Unfortunately most “Christians” are so in love with the world system and deceived that they only have a form of godliness and no power of anointing to heal the sick, cast out demons or get earnest prayers answered. If You Live According to the Flesh, You Will Die

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For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13 Churches that believe in the power of the Holy Spirit often deny His power to enable them to live a holy and blameless life. Many have believed the lie that getting into the flesh once in a while is normal behavior and that it won’t kill them. Satan keeps lying to us that if we eat from that tree, we will not die. Adam and Eve were cut off from the life flow of God’s anointing and their bodies began to die also. Paul said it perfectly clear by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If you live according to the flesh you will die! Most pastors never teach this passage. Most “Christians” live according to the flesh every week. They don’t think they will die. At the altar call, many “received Jesus”. They didn’t have to repent of their sins and convert their life over to God’s rule. No! They simply slipped up their hand as a good consumer would who wanted a free gift. And they received what? A “Jesus” who would allow them to continue to live under the spirit of antichrist? I don’t think so. Most churches don’t give altar calls, but those who do usually forget to mention the word “REPENT” because that might be insensitive to some seeker. There is no forgiveness given to the unrepentant heart. The message of John the Baptist and Jesus began by preaching repentance21. Why doesn’t every altar call today follow the pattern of Jesus? Have we learned to do it a better way than Jesus or John did? Yes! And we learned it from the spirit of antichrist! The Church today has learned to do altar calls by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We have decided how best to bring people into a relationship with God and have rejected the way of Jesus. We are deceived by so many religious thoughts and ideas from that wicked tree! For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14,15 Jesus taught the simple truth that forgiveness was conditional on forgiving others. I have met so many wounded and bitter “Christians” who are locked up in their hearts, filled with tension and anger because of circumstances of childhood and so forth. They regularly get into outbursts of anger which is a clear work of the flesh. They may say they are sorry but continue to live in anger, bitterness and rage from time to time. According to Jesus, they are not forgiven unless they forgive. A person who has forgiven others has a life characterized by love and mercy. God’s love is a river that flows from His throne. It must flow through us to benefit us. If we make it a swamp by withholding forgiveness and love for others, it will not be able to cleanse us. When God gives the gift of godly sorrow into the heart to bring repentance and faith in the cross, all the bitterness and unforgiveness gets loosed from the walls of the heart and begins to flow out of the mouth in expressions of forgiveness and mercy. This releases 21

Matthew 3:2; 4:17

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the person from so much evil and starts a powerful cleansing process and the impartation of God’s love. Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loved us. Most churches are so full of superficiality in terms of relationships that people don’t even know each other let alone love one another. Those that do work closely together often come into conflicts and bitter disputes. Pastors are fired in anger or fire other staff members in anger. There are many battles in churches hidden in the back rooms. The spirit of antichrist is ruling all religions including cultural Christians who live by the forbidden tree. Judge Not Lest You Be Judged Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus made it very clear that we were not to judge anyone, especially our brothers. It is only God’s job to judge. We do not know all the details of anyone’s life and we are not supposed to become critical, accusatory or judgmental towards anyone. All attitudes of judgment are rebellion against Jesus’ command and lead to eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil once again. We eat from that tree and we decide who is good and who is evil. We express opinions and statements of gossip, backbiting, and faultfinding and make the accuser of the brethren quite happy. Many church attendees fall to the spirit of antichrist in this department. It is sad to say that we have many faultfinders and judges in our pews. I once fell under this spirit powerfully. I was so zealous for the Lord that I criticized everyone who was not as zealous as I was. I was religious, proud and a hypocrite. My heart was in some darkness. I thank God that He has been delivering me from all my sins. By God’s grace, I have been delivered from making judgments towards others. I still discern by the Holy Spirit whatever He shows me and usually that is for the purpose of intercession or writing. Sometimes, the Lord shows me what is happening in other Christians so as to avoid that error, but most of the time, God calls me to pray for them. Some believers that I am close to have some ongoing weaknesses. Rather than talk with them directly about it, I pray and wait on the Holy Spirit to lead me whether I should say anything or not. In this way, I am seeking to stay in the flow and timing of the Holy Spirit. When we move out hastily to correct someone apart from the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are operating in a religious spirit of pride and judgment. We have probably all done this on occasions, but the Lord wants us to love each other and love covers a

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multitude of sins. We are not to talk about our brothers in gossip but to talk to God in prayer. By openly talking about the spirit of antichrist influencing church leaders, my heart is not in judgment but in mercy. I admit that I have operated under various levels of the influence of that spirit for many years. My heart’s desire is to set God’s people free from the spirit of antichrist and to walk in the liberty of obeying the Holy Spirit. That is a true liberty from slavery to sin and self.

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CHAPTER 4 – CAMPED IN THE PLAINS OF MOAB Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. Numbers 22:1 The story of Balaam can only be fully understood in its historical context. The lessons learned in this context are powerfully applicable for today. Israel had been following the leadership of God for thirty-nine years in the wilderness. The cloud of God’s presence moved and the children of Israel moved with Him. The Lord led them to camp in the plains of Moab on the east side of the Jordan across from Jericho. This was to be the final stop in the wilderness journey. After nearly forty years of wandering, trials, training and the deaths of unbelievers, the people of God were nearly ready to cross over and take hold of the Promised Land of their inheritance. They still needed to pass one vital test. The Church today is in a similar place in the journey of the Spirit of God who is taking us to a place of maturity in Christ. The Lord has delivered us out of Egypt by the Passover Lamb, but He is still seeking to get Egypt out of us so that we can follow the Angel of the Lord into the land of our inheritance, which is to walk in the mature anointing of Jesus and bear much fruit for the glory of God. On the journey to maturity in Christ, the Lord leads us into various tests22. God led the people to camp in the plains of Moab. He planned to test them a final time and get the spirit of Moab out of their midst so that could go into the land. Most of the Church is now prophetically camped in the plains of Moab and is being tested. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:2-4 The purpose of the wilderness season is to expose our hearts so that we will repent before God, be humble before Him and learn to only live by the revelation of His word. Again, we are reminded that the natural man does not receive the revelation of the word of God. It is revealed by the Spirit to humble hearts who worship, pray and wait patiently on the Lord to speak to them. Lot, the Father of Moab Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the 22

I Thessalonians 2:4; I Peter 1:6ff

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lineage of our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day. Genesis 19:30-38 The Moabites were the descendants of Moab who was created by the incestuous relationship between drunken Lot and his oldest daughter. Moab means “Seed of a father” and prophetically points to the fallenness of our fathers after the flesh. Moabites had the DNA seed characteristics of Lot and his oldest daughter who got him extremely drunk with wine. The DNA seed of Lot included a low level of righteousness and a high level of mixture. The weaknesses and sins of parents tend to be magnified generationally unless checked by the Lord. Lot’s descendants greatly magnified his sins. Lot believed the promises given to Abraham and went along with his uncle from Ur to Canaan, a journey of over 1,000 miles. Lot’s father Haran died prematurely and Lot looked to Abraham as his father figure. Lot means “Covering; veil; covered; concealed; myrrh; to cast over, to wrap in, a wrapping”. There is much hidden in Lot’s seed that we will uncover so we can understand Moab. Everything that is hidden will come to the light 23. After years of walking together in unity, strife arose between Lot and Abraham over grazing rights. Abraham graciously gave Lot the choice of which land to take. Lot lifted up his eyes, an expression of prophetic vision and lusted over the most fertile part of the land. Lot chose to take his herds down to the Jordan valley near Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot wanted prosperity, chose by natural sight and mixed into the world 24. Lot chose to dwell in the greener pastures below and not the higher rocky places of promise where Abraham raised his herds. Lot moved his herds gradually toward Sodom and pitched his tents on the outskirts of the infamous city. When a man or woman catches a vision of sinning, they gradually move their tents closer to the point of no return. Lot’s wife longed to live in Sodom and eventually Lot gave up the nomadic life of a shepherd and bought a house inside the city. The shepherd’s life represents being flexible to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit ever searching for that city whose founder and builder is God. Lot found a city built by Satan and dwelt there.

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Mark 4:22 Genesis 13:9-13

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We recall that those influenced by the spirit of antichrist go out from among us. Lot was with Abraham, a great man of faith and went out from among his company. After Lot was rescued by Abraham, I believe Lot could have gone back to live with Abraham or at least nearby. Even after the angels rescued Lot from Sodom, I believe Lot could have gone back to dwell close to Abraham. But when a carnal heart starts down the slippery backsliding slope of sin, it seldom comes back to the place of mature faith. Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. I Corinthians 15:33,34 Lot did not realize how much the evil company of Sodom would corrupt his family’s life. Lot’s family and goods were taken into captivity in that region until Abraham rescued him. Christians who choose the worldly path are brought into captivities and must be rescued by men and women of true faith. Lot was a leader and had some righteous qualities of hospitality and justice. But he was willing to give up his two virgin daughters to a perverse mob of Sodomites to protect the heavenly visitors25. At the angels’ commands, Lot hesitated to leave Sodom. He did not want to go to the mountains, but chose to go to Zoar which means, “Little, insignificant; a place of compromise”. Lot did not want to go all the way to the mountains because of fear of evil and death. Christians who do not obey the voice of God to ascend unto the mountains in praise and worship will compromise and dwell in a place of insignificance and smallness instead of praying and obeying God’s voice. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. Luke 17:28-33 Perhaps Lot’s wife struggled with the nomadic life and longed to settle down and have a house of her own. She looked back at Sodom with an unrighteous longing and sadness in her heart. They did not have time to take their worldly possessions with them. The sinner saved by God’s deliverance must not long for their carnal past or it will draw them back into captivity and destruction. But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”. Luke 9:62 Lot’s wife lost sight of a walk of faith and loved the world. She looked back with a longing in her heart for the sinful pleasures of Sodom. She sought to save her old life and lost her future life. Christians that get into mixture with this world system are going to be 25

Genesis 19:4-22

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corrupted by the bad company they keep. Some will get trapped in sin and will not fulfill their God given destinies. Lot lost his wife and went to Zoar instead of the mountains. He was only there a brief time and left Zoar in fear and finally went and dwelt in the mountains in a dark cave. Lot’s daughters operated by natural sight in the dismal cave. They thought that they would never get married and have children. They were afraid to be in shame and wanted offspring. Rather than talk to their father about this, they got into an evil agreement. They planned to get their aging father Lot extremely drunk and then have intimate relationships with him to be impregnated by his seed. In his fear and depression, Lot was far too eager to drink excessive wine and passed out. The oldest daughter went into incest on the first night. The next night, the youngest daughter did the same thing after Lot got smashed again. Lot was so drunk that he did not know what had happened26. The first born had a child named Moab. The Moabites grew up to have the DNA seed of their origins. Their hearts were bound up in fear, lust, drunkenness and sexual immorality. The Moabites worshipped Chemosh, a wicked war god that demanded child sacrifices. The Moabites had ritual prostitutes, worshipped idols and were constantly at war with Israel. Eglon was an extremely fat King of Moab who oppressed Israel until Ehud thrust a sword into his belly. Moabites worshipped eating and drinking and sacrificed their food to demon gods. They loved to party and gorge on food. The Ammonites worshipped Molech, a wicked devil god similar to Chemosh that also demanded child sacrifices. Lot offered both daughters up to the depraved mob of Sodomites and their children literally offered up children to be burned to death in horrifying ritual sacrifices27. What starts as a seed grows into a tree. The Ammonites were powerful in witchcraft and determined to ascend the throne. They strategized to destroy Saul, David and Solomon and partially succeeded. Reheboam, the son of Solomon who took the throne after him was born of an Ammonitess. He ruled in witchcraft and fell far away from the righteousness of David. Although Lot was called righteous by Peter 28, the mixture in his heart, was like gaping holes in a roof. When the rain of evil came down through generations, the mixture increased to a flood of evil. The lasting fruit of Lot’s fear and compromise is the testimony of an evil posterity that worshipped devils and hated God’s people. “Therefore, as I live,” says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab shall be like Sodom, and the people of Ammon like Gomorrah--overrun with weeds and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation; the residue of My people shall plunder them, and the remnant of My people shall possess them. This they shall have for their pride, because they have reproached and made arrogant threats against the people of the LORD of hosts.” Zephaniah 2:9-10 26

Genesis 19:31-38 Genesis 19:8; Jeremiah 32:35 28 II Peter 2:7,8 27

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Moab and Ammon became like Sodom and Gomorrah, overrun with the sins that plagued those two evil cities and their judgment would be alike as well. Moab was full of prideful threats against the people of God and attacked Israel many times throughout history. Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit. Ezekiel 16:49-50 These evil spirits continue to assault the Church today and try and lure compromising Lots into the mixture of fullness of food, abundance of idleness, hardened against the poor and practicing lawlessness. God led His people to the plains of Moab to test them and deliver them from the seed of their earthly father, the remnants of Moab that was left in their fallen heart. God had told Abraham to leave His country and to go out of his father’s house 29. In the cleansing wilderness season, God wants to get us completely out of our earthly father’s house along with all those weaknesses and besetting sins. Some earthly fathers are more carnal than others and the seeds sown in children can grow deep. God wants to remove every remnant of sin out of the human heart and make room for the seed of our heavenly Father to grow into full fruitfulness. What was hidden in the seed of your ancestors? There was probably some pride, deception, fear, carnality, smallness, drunkenness, immorality, strife, walking by sight, compromise with daughters, slow to obey God, love of money, lust for sensuality and hidden wickedness in a dark cave or two. Some have lost a spouse who turned back to the world and would not follow Christ. Many have seen their children wander into major sin as a result of their own indiscretions. It is painful to repent fully but it must be done. We must get every carnal attachment out of our hearts before we can go into the Promised Land of mature Christ-like living. What will happen to you as you are camped in the plains of Moab? The King of Moab will look to curse you and bring you into destruction. But God will cause everything Satan seeks to bring against you to work together for good as you love Him, obey His voice and live according to His purposes. We are camped as the body of Christ on the plains of Moab. The Lord is positioning us across from Jericho and preparing us to go in to take our destiny in Christ. False prophetic voices are trying to confuse us, but God will not let the enemy triumph over us. God will not allow our sinful habits to remain. Numbers 25 tells what happens under the influence of Moab and Midian. Balaam counseled the kings to send in their most beautiful ritual prostitutes to seduce the men of Israel into sin. Food and wine flowed freely as they offered sacrifice to gods on the

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Genesis 12:1

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outskirts of the camp. Many leaders indulged in sexual immorality against the seventh commandment of God30. The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. Leviticus 20:10 Moses was commanded to put to death those who had been joined to Baal of Peor through fornication. A powerful plague, perhaps a sexually transmitted disease, killed 24,000 children of Israel. It appears that some women were involved as well. The sins of Moab reveal most of the aspects of the antichrist spirit that lures us into carnal mixture with the world system. Let us summarize the sins of Moab that God wants to purge out of our hearts: Fear, anxiety, worry and unbelief Sensuality, self indulgent eating and drinking, fullness of food Compromise in the work place to maintain employment which is the same as eating food sacrificed to idols Turning back from running after God with a longing for the pleasures of Sodom Sexual compromise including lust, fantasy, porn, adultery, wickedness Sensuality, drunkenness, carnal entertainment, medicated with the world’s wines Contention, strife and raging over stuff Willing to give up your own children unrighteouslly Pride, arrogance and threats Self-centered - lack of compassion for the poor Love of money We all have the carnal seed of our fathers in us. Our parents, grandparents and cultural heritage have bound most of us up with earthly carnality. Our heavenly Father wants us to live by His Seed and become like Him. He brings us to repent and be free of the sins of our fathers and be loosed to become righteous like our heavenly Father. You can be camped at the plains of Moab a long time until God deals with you. The Lord of hosts is not going to take the whole body of Christ over Jordan until Moab is purged out of our hearts. The King of Moab is looking to take you captive and bring God’s judgment against you. Demonic scouts have gone through the body of Christ looking to bring leaders into sexual immorality and making compromises to have more money. Many leaders have fallen and have been hung out in the sun before the whole world in the media. There is an abominable plague assaulting the body of Christ right now. We have a form of godliness but little power to heal the sick, cast out demons and walk holy before God. People are dying of cancer, heart disease and getting all kinds of sickness because the body is weak and we open the door to the enemy through bad choices. 30

Exodus 20:14

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Do not be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals. Most Christians invite evil company into their own homes by way of a cable or satellite dish into an electronic box. David said, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3a). God wants our eyes to be full of light. There is a powerful seduction in the lust of the eyes. You will reap what you sow31. If you lust with your eyes by setting wicked things before you, it will defile your heart! Adultery, murder, lust, violence, sex, drugs, drama, romance and other forms of carnal entertainment visit with millions of “Christians” every day in the privacy of their darkened caves as they over eat and drink. We are worshipping the idols of Sodom and are too dull of heart to even know it! What kind of company do you keep? What do your eyes behold? What do your ears listen to? What do you do in the hidden places of your life? In the cave? Do you take pleasure in the things of this world? Do you set television before your eyes and watch wicked things? Do you walk through the mall and look at the people and lust for them or for more stuff? Do you walk in anger, rage, manipulation and control? Balaam could not curse Israel because there was no iniquity found. Once iniquity was sown in by Moab, the judgments of God were loosed and many died. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I Corinthians 5:6-8 A little bit of leaven, representing sin, spread to impact the whole loaf. We cannot tolerate a little bit of sin in our life. We must earnestly seek the help of God’s fire to burn out all remnants of sinful behavior from our lives. How the Sinful Heart is Cleansed For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. II Corinthians 7:10 The Church desperately needs the outpouring of godly sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation from sins grip. The children of Israel wept before the tabernacle in godly sorrow for their carnal mixture with Baal of Peor 32. Godly sorrow is vital to bring the intense conviction of the Holy Spirit and the hatred of the sin committed. Without true repentance, the dog returns to its vomit and the sow goes back to wallowing in the mud33. Some of the Church leaders of our day have changed the essence of the gospel from “Repent and Believe” to “Receive and Believe”. This is nothing short of a work of the 31

Galatians 6:7,8 Numbers 25:6 33 II Peter 2:22 32

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spirit of antichrist as we mentioned before. The sinful heart can be purged by the blood of Jesus, but not without repentance. Like most children, I got caught by my parents doing something I was told not to do. At that moment, I diligently exclaimed, “I’m sorry” with great enthusiasm, repetition and dramatic emphasis. My parents knew that I was not repentant. I was only sorry that I had been caught. God is infinitely smarter than parents and He can see your heart. We have loved our sins and yet want His forgiveness. He calls us to repent and forsake the sin. He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Proverbs 28:13 So much cheap grace has been taught by the spirit of antichrist that most Christians confess a sin and fall back into the same wicked pattern within a short time. We call it “struggling” rather than what it really is, “lawlessness”. We practice lawlessness and religiously say “I’m sorry” to God as a wimpy “Please have pity on me in the weakness of my flesh” type prayer. God tells us we must confess and forsake our sins to obtain mercy. The revolving door method of confession and sin is not based on any kind of true Biblical repentance and does not exercise faith in the power of the cross of Jesus to deliver us from the power of that particular sin either. The blood will cleanse the heart of the repentant confessor to the point where there will be little or no “struggle”. If you have an ongoing besetting sin, you are living in a lawless condition and are in danger of hellfire and damnation. The Lord has called me to fast for extended times over the last years as I’ve pressed in to know Him better. In nearly every fast longer than three days, the Lord starts floating hidden sins to the surface. I have become so desperate to want deliverance from those wicked deceivers that I have called upon the Lord many times to baptize me in godly sorrow and open my eyes to see the sins that are hidden. As I keep throwing myself on the brazen altar of God, He exposes the sin, brings me to godly sorrow and repentance that leads to life. After that I no longer struggle with the sin although I occasionally am tempted. Unfortunately, I don’t get to rest long before the Lord is dealing with my heart at another level of mixture, fear, carnality and ugly flesh. I have “God faith” to be made holy by a supernatural visitation of God’s presence. That does help a lot, but the process is still painful and humiliating at times I might add. The Lord will have you confess some of your faults before one another so that you may be healed. We were in a restaurant after church one night and I confessed that I still had an evil desire to be rich locked in my heart. My dear wife Glenda was sitting next to me and what she did next shocked everyone. Glenda is extremely loving and gentle most of the time. This time she was not gentle. Glenda reared back and slapped me right in the chest and ordered, “You get that thing out of your heart tonight and don’t come home until you do!” I was stunned and in pain. It was exactly what I needed. We went back to church and I prayed at the altar and cried

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out to God to deliver me. I not only had godly sorrow, I had the fear of the Lord through my bride’s action. That’s the only time in our whole married life she’s ever hit me, although I deserved it a few other times. I pray that this book will slap you in the heart beloved like my loving wife smacked me. It can be the most loving thing anyone can ever do to wake you up and place an urgency on your life to get free. The days ahead are going to be full of the glory of the Lord. When the glory comes, darkness will be covering the whole earth as well 34. The darkness comes from the spirit of antichrist. If you maintain any ground of sin in your heart, you will be deceived and overcome by the flood of darkness. I urge you to cry out to God for godly sorrow that leads to repentance. I exhort you to fast at least seven days and ask God to reveal hidden sins. I have no doubt He will, especially if you fast 21 to 40 days. There is so much more God wants to do in us and through us if we would only allow Him to set us free. As He sets us free from sin, our heart opens up for more impartation of His character. The seed of our earthly father decreases and His Seed increases in our lives. As this process continues, you will gain momentum and grow strong in the Spirit. Then you will earnestly desire every remnant to come out of your heart. The Lord will allow you to get under tremendous pressure at times to expose your carnal weakness. He will often allow the enemy to assault you with pin point accuracy to your hidden flesh. The Lord wants to take the holy spear of Phinehas 35 to that flesh and put it to death at the cross of Jesus. Once it’s dead, keep it under the cross and you will grow faster than ever. I do believe the process is like the journey Abraham went through and we will study that in the last chapter on overcoming the spirit of antichrist. For now, just start slapping your chest and commanding sin to come out in Jesus’ name!

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Isaiah 60:2 See my book, THE SPEAR OF PHINEHAS for a detailed study of this anointing.

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CHAPTER 5 – BALAAM THE PROPHET Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” Numbers 22:1-6 Balak, the king of Moab, was terrified of God’s people because there were so many. Balak was sick with dread because he feared that Israel would take away his prosperity, power and rulership. Balak is a picture of Satan who wants to curse and destroy God’s people. Balak hired the second most powerful prophet on earth to oppose Moses and the people of God. Balaam was known throughout the ancient world as having the power to bless and curse decisively. Whomever Balaam blessed would experience the favor of almighty God. Whomever he cursed would experience hell’s fury. The story of Balaam’s life is so incredible that we will look at it carefully in the scriptures. The Honor of Man So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’” And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.” And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

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Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’” Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.” And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you -- that you shall do.” So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. Numbers 22:7-21 underlining mine Balak was determined to hire Balaam’s services to curse Israel. While Balaam obeyed God’s voice the first time refusing to go, his heart was turned by the desire to be honored greatly. Balaam prayed fervently out of his own heart and heard God accordingly36. Balaam declared that he could not go beyond “the word of the Lord my God”. Balaam had a relationship with the God of the universe even though he was not part of the covenant people of Israel. He understood the realm of the spirit and God came to him and had dialogue with him. Balaam was no ordinary prophet. He knew the ways of the spirit world including divination, sorcery and various demonic arts. He was a powerful seer that had amazing prophetic encounters. Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” And Balaam said to 36

Ezekiel 14:3

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the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.” Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.” And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.” Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. Numbers 22:22-35 God was angry with Balaam because He saw the perverseness of Balaam’s heart. Balaam was determined to get the reward and honor that Balak offered. The Lord established the rules in the spiritual realm and He knew the gifting in which Balaam moved. If Balaam were allowed to curse Israel, then Satan would have been allowed to hinder God’s plans. The Angel of the Lord withstood Balaam and his donkey had enough sense to discern Him. The Angel of the Lord represents the Lord of Hosts, the King of Kings, the Man of War, even Christ Jesus in His warfare manifestation. The donkey’s mouth was opened by the supernatural presence of the Lord. God was making a fool out of Balaam and going to great lengths to reach out to him before judgment. Balaam partially repented and received the exhortation to only speak the word the Lord put in His mouth. Balaam Builds Seven Altars Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?” And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

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So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe the extent of the people. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. And he took up his oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’ “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; there! A people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his!” Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!” So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?” Numbers 22:36 - 23:12 Balaam went to a desolate height after making sacrifices. When God met him, Balaam reported that he had built seven altars and offered on each a bull and a ram. Apparently, God has instructed Balaam to approach Him in this fashion 37. God’s mercy is everlasting. In each encounter with Balaam and the word of the Lord, the mercy of God is being proclaimed in the sacrifice. The gospel is preached that our sins can be covered by the blood. We must approach God by building an altar of prayer through the blood of Jesus Christ. We must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Seven represents the divine requirement. Jesus fulfilled that on our behalf. When we seek the Lord for a prophetic word, there is a divine requirement of prayer, praise and worship needed to get a pure word from God. At times, the Lord brings conviction of sin that we must confess before He releases the word. At other times, our extended time of prayer, especially in tongues, plows up the soil of our hearts dealing with rocks, roots and weeds that would keep the word from being fruitful38. 37 38

Job 42:8; I Chronicles 15:26 For a complete discussion of this, please see my book, THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE HEART.

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When we seek the Lord for a prophetic word, we must continually humble ourselves and die to our own fleshly desires. If you yield to the Spirit of God, you will be made willing and empowered to do whatever He asks you to do. God has helped me humble myself before Him over the years through fasting and prayer. He told me nearly three years ago to write this book. Every time I tried to write it, spiritual warfare resisted me and I gave up. I knew that I would have to pay a price of fasting to be able to finish the book and in my flesh, I didn’t want to fast. Writing this book is a warfare against the spirit of antichrist and I have to overcome it in my personal life in order to get the revelation and authority to write with His anointing. It has been an arduous task and I pray that God helps me walk with Him each day in His new mercies. God works on His prophets to make them pure vessels of honor. Balaam wanted the honor and prestige of man and failed to learn the lessons of God. We must never seek the approval of man in prophetic ministry or we are in great danger as Balaam was. A Curse Without a Cause Cannot Prosper Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.” Then the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?” Then he took up his oracle and said: “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them. God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox. For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’ Look, a people rises like a lioness, and lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.” Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!” So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the LORD speaks, that I must do’?” Numbers 23:13-26

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As Balaam got the second word, we recognize that God had purified His people to such a point that no curse could land on them 39. God caused Balaam to bless Israel each time because God’s word said they would be blessed if they followed His voice 40. If you walk holy before God and follow His voice, He will cause even your enemies to be at peace with you41. He will cause attempted curses to turn out to be blessings. Balaam was astounded at what God had done in Israel. He saw the Lion of Judah in the midst of the people and saw them rising up in great authority and power to devour their enemies. This was bad news to Balak and the devil he served. We must recognize that Satan is continuously trying to curse us and cause destruction to our lives. When a curse appears to land, as it has on me several times over the years, we should ask the Lord what the cause is. If you sincerely humble yourself before the Lord, He will reveal the cause and through repentance and faith in the cross of Jesus, you can be delivered from every curse that comes your way. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. John 14:30 The ruler of this world is coming after the body of Christ in this hour. We must seek to be like Jesus so that the enemy can find nothing in us. Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that God is able to take every sinful area out of your life so that you can walk in victory as Jesus did. It is a process, but you can do it with His help! Blessed is He who Blesses You, and Cursed is He Who Curses You Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar. Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, the utterance of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open: “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens by the riverside, like aloes planted by the LORD, like 39

Proverbs 26:2 Deuteronomy 28:1-14 41 Proverbs 16:7 40

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cedars beside the waters. He shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones and pierce them with his arrows. ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.” Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the LORD has kept you back from honor.” So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD, to do good or bad of my own will. What the LORD says, that I must speak’? And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.” So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; The utterance of him who hears the words of God, and has the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open: “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult. And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob one shall have dominion, and destroy the remains of the city.” Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: “Amalek was first among the nations, but shall be last until he perishes.” Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said: “Firm is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock; Nevertheless Kain shall be burned. How long until Asshur carries you away captive?” Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall live when God does this? But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus, and they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber, and so shall Amalek, until he perishes.” So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way. Numbers 23:27 – 24:25 God used this mixed up powerful prophet to prophesy the great destiny of the nation of Israel. He saw that in the latter days, Israel would rise up and be exalted. Israel would have the strength of a wild ox able to throw off any enemy that tried to subdue him. Israel would become like the great Lion of Judah and overcome all enemies.

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Balaam was allowed to see the rise of Jesus Christ, the Star of Jacob and the Scepter of Israel. The power of the body of Jesus Christ, the Church, is also included in this incredible prophecy. Even though he prophesied accurately and understood that those who curse Israel would be cursed, Balaam was torn because he lost his earthly reward. On his way back to Mesopotamia, the devil worked on him and helped him form a plan. Balaam’s Evil Counsel But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Revelation 2:14,15 Balaam realized that God could find no iniquity in Israel so that there was no weakness and no doorway for curses to land upon them. Balaam realized that if they could get the people of Israel to sin, a cause would be opened for curses to land. Balaam taught Balak to send in the most beautiful women under a disguise of making peace with Israel. The women offered them delicious pagan food and flattered them by offering their bodies to be enjoyed in ritual prostitution. The plan began to work and 24,000 men fell for the trap of hell. In the midst of this, God rose up a holy young priest named Phinehas to end the plague42. We will look at this in more depth in our next chapter. The children of Israel also killed with the sword Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, among those who were killed by them. Joshua 13:22 Balaam hung out with the children of Moab and enjoyed their honor for a short season. When Israel invaded the Promised Land, Balaam was among those killed by the vengeance of God. He could have avoided the curse and become part of the children of God but he longed for the honor of man. He delighted himself in the pleasures of this world and his soul was lost for all eternity. It is a tragic fate that many have fallen into. The warning today is clear for all gifted men and women of God. Do not seek the honor or favor of man over the honor and favor of God. Do not let your heart be trapped into desiring the riches of this world. Do not prostitute the gifts God has given you in order to serve the Balak’s of this world. Use your gifts for God’s glory and trust Him to honor you on the Day of Judgment.

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Numbers 25

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CHAPTER 6 – BALAAM’S DOCTRINE But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Revelation 2:14,15 (underlining mine) The life of Balaam forms a doctrine that the spirit of antichrist preaches to those who will listen. Satan seeks to influence many gifted souls to believe Balaam’s doctrine. Balak is a type of Satan in this story. Balak, the Moabite king observed the children of Israel and grew afraid and was “sick with dread” because of them. Balak’s name means “wasting; licking up; to make empty; to lay waste”. Satan wanted to use Balak to lay waste to Israel and formed a plan. Balak hired Balaam to come and curse Israel. Balaam’s name means, “destruction of the people; swallowing up the people; disturber of the people”. He represents a genuinely gifted man or woman of God whose heart has been captured by love for this world, for money, prestige and power, and by such the gift is perverted over time and he becomes a false prophet. In his greed, he wants to flatter, manipulate and use people for large offerings to support his lavish lifestyle. Balaam declared that he was from Aram, a region of Mesopotamia which means “high; elevated; lifted up, exalted”. Balaam was consumed with pride and self-focus. Whereas nearly all the prophets start their messages with “thus says the Lord”, in great contrast Balaam said, “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, the utterance of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open” (Numbers 24:3,4). In spite of the accuracy of the words Balaam spoke in blessing Israel by the Spirit of God, his heart deceived him for love of money and the honor of man. Balaam practiced sorcery, enchantments and soothsaying along with some genuine prophetic gifting as a seer. As we carefully observe Balaam’s life, we can understand “Balaam’s Doctrine”. The downfall of Balaam is instructive for those who esteem to operate in the prophetic and we will look at it closely. Balaam’s Doctrine 1. As Balaam’s name indicates, his nature is to destroy people rather than build them up. 2. Being from Aram, he comes from a place of pride and elevation desiring position and high visibility. 3. Son of Beor – comes from the root “to consume; to burn up”. Balaam is a taker not a giver. 4. His seer gift is mixed with sorcery and soothsaying (Numbers 24:1; Joshua 13:22). 5. God clearly told Balaam not to go with Balak’s men (Numbers 22:12) and spoke through Balaam that God does not lie nor repent (Numbers 23:19)

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6. Because of greed, Balaam was willing to make an unholy alliance with Balak; (Jude 11; II Peter 2:15). 7. Desire for riches in his heart caused Balaam to seek God for a word a second time. “If the men come to call you, rise up and go with them” (Numbers 22:20,21). But Balaam did not wait for the men to call for him and rushed impulsively to meet them in the morning. 8. Balaam heard “God” according to the idol in his heart (see Ezekiel 14:3,4), and God was not sending him to Balak. 9. God was aroused to kill him for disobedience and the war with the talking donkey ensued. The donkey was more perceptive and honorable than the man in the things of the Lord. The Angel of the Lord declared his way was perverse and warned him not to curse Israel and Balaam partially repented. 10. God’s effort to restrain Balaam is instructive. The power of anointed prophetic declaration has been established and is honored by God. He would not allow Balaam to curse them. At the same time, God’s Spirit was striving to bring Balaam to repentance. 11. On three occasions Balaam attempted to collect the diviner’s fee for cursing Israel but God only allowed him to bless Israel. 12. Balaam was frustrated that he could not earn the honor of Balak which included a big pay day. “The Lord has kept you back from honor” (Numbers 24:11b). 13. Balaam knew enough of the ways of God, and wanted the money, so he counseled Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality (Balaam’s doctrine – Revelation 2:14). Balaam apparently received compensation for this. 14. In spite of declaring that he would go home to Aram, Balaam went to the Midianties and sold his counsel to them as well (Numbers 31:16). Balaam was in love with self and money and was angry with God. 15. Balaam became deluded with greed and loved the wages of unrighteousness (II Peter 2:12-17; Jude 11). 16. Moab and Midian followed Balaam’s counsel and demonic mixture was sown into the children of Israel resulting in the wrath of God being loosed. 17. The people of Israel “began” to commit harlotry or sexual immorality through ritual prostitution. “Began” infers they would have continued unless checked by the Lord. Satan assaults God’s people today through lust, fantasy, and immorality. Jesus taught us that lust was an act of adultery in the heart and caused mixture (Matthew 5:28). 18. Israelites made sacrifices to their gods which were demons. This worldly mixture and compromise is forbidden to God’s people (see I John 2:15-17). 19. They indulged in special meals and worldly pleasure, eating and drinking as in the days of Noah (Luke 17:26,27). 20. They bowed down in idol worship and their heart affections turned from the Lord to demons (Proverbs 4:23). 21. Phinehas zealous action of execution stopped the plague. 22. Later Phinehas and 12,000 men warred against Midian and killed all their kings and Balaam (Numbers 31:1-11)

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In summary, Balaam’s doctrine is taught by an individual who has been gifted by God but uses those gifts perversely for unrighteous monetary gain and sensual pleasures. Though God’s Spirit strives with him to correct him, eventually he is deceived and becomes a “false prophet” and a pawn of the enemy. Pride, the love of money and sexual immorality are prominent characteristics of Balaam’s offspring. The doctrine teaches compromise in the work place for prosperity. This false doctrine teaches that lust and some immorality is normal and tolerable. After all, he rationalizes, God will forgive you. Balaam’s doctrine does not pursue holiness but allows for compromise and mixture to please the people. Modern Balaams “turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). The Anger of the Lord So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. Numbers 25:3 Demonic sacrificial offerings, eating, drinking and ritual prostitution allowed demonic spirits to be transferred from Moabite women into Israeli men. God observes His people as a whole and declared that “Israel was joined to Baal of Peor”. What affects one affects all. Baal is the chief Canaanite god whose name means, “master, husband, Lord, possessor; controller; owner”. Peor means “Opening, to open; gape – wide open mouth”. Forty years of wilderness preparation and severe pruning had prepared a people to go into the Promised Land and take possession by faith in Almighty God. But some hearts were still impure and Satan found fertile ground to sow his seed. God could not allow His people to be destroyed by the rapid spread of this new compromise so He severely judged His people. The Lord is the Holy Judge! God commanded Moses to hang the offenders in the sun and to kill all who joined to Baal of Peor. Those they missed were killed by plague, and in all 24,000 died. This was a transition moment in the history of God’s redemptive purposes and in those seasons there is swift judgment on sin. We are entering a transition period in the body of Christ, and much of the body has been joined to Baal of this world system. God is already judging the household of faith, and some leaders have fallen into sexual sin and have been hung out in the sun by the media. The plague of Numbers 25 is upon Christian homes as many families are torn apart by divorce (carnal men getting into adultery and so forth), and children are growing up without fathers; wives live without husbands. Satan has assaulted the men and women in the area of impurity and compromise just like the days of Phinehas. Phinehas’ Violent Action And indeed*, one of the children of Israel (Zimri) came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman (Cozbi, the daughter of Zur) in the sight of Moses and

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in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Numbers 25:6 (underlining and star mine) We should underline and star the phrase “and indeed”. In the Hebrew, the meaning is more exclamatory. We might say it, “And in the midst of this suffering, can you believe what happened next?” or “Behold closely what happens next. It is just unbelievable!” While women were weeping, men were dying and leaders were hanging in the sun, Zimri had the arrogant audacity to escort a “call girl” from hell past Moses and the tabernacle and entered the tent to have immoral carnal pleasure. Zimri means “song of the Lord; celebrated; vine. My psalm.” He had a good name and probably would sing in the church choir today. His motivation might be simply to meet women, but this was a wicked man who entertained Cozbi, whose name means “false, to lie, deceive, to be found a liar; to fail”. Her father was a king in Midian named Zur, which means “to cramp, confine, assault, distress, lay siege, a cliff or sharp rock; adversary”. Any person of good name or reputation who gets intimate with a lying deceiver whose father is the adversary is in big trouble. He is destined to perish. There was no manual available on how to stop brazen sinful behavior let alone a plague. Phinehas was stirred by a holy zeal for God and took dramatic violent action. Phinehas broke into the tent where Zimri was apparently fornicating with Cozbi, and with all his might thrust a spear through them both. This extraordinary act of holy violence stopped the plague. The entire congregation heard of it, and every man feared Phinehas from that day forward43. The Lord highly honored the zeal of Phinehas, and he became a leader of war and a high priest of God. The Lord is willing to pour out the spirit of Phinehas on believers today who will stand against Satan, the queen of heaven and her evil consorts. Phinehas’ name means “mouth of brass” which represents the judgment fire of God’s word proclaimed against sin. God hates sin and is being provoked to great wrath by the sinful actions of wicked people on the earth. His jealousy for His bride will not tolerate sinful mixture. The Everlasting Priesthood of Phinehas Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’” Numbers 25:12,13

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Joshua 22:13ff

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God blessed Phinehas’ action and declared an everlasting priesthood with a covenant of peace. The famous Hebrew word for peace is Shalom meaning, “safe, well, happy, friendly, welfare, i.e. health, prosperity peace, favor, rest; safety, all is well, secure, whole, complete, fulfilled”. It includes the idea of being safe in mind, body or estate, to be made complete. Shalom means soundness, tranquility, perfectness and harmony. It is the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom is much more than the absence of war or problems, it is the wholeness that every human spirit longs for. “Let the Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity (shalam) of his servant” (Psalm 35:27). God delights in those who pursue His holiness with passionate zeal. Like Phinehas, they shall receive a covenant of peace that leads to soundness and wholeness. The New Testament Greek word for peace, “eirene”, includes the meaning to join in peace or to make one, to set at one again. It is a perfect well-being of quietness and rest. The Lord Jesus was bruised and chastised for our peace 44. His blood sacrifice satisfied God’s holy demands on our life and brought God and those with faith into harmony and completeness. We have been justified with the Father through the sacrifice of the Son. This legal transaction must be worked out experientially so that we let the peace of God rule in our hearts and preach the gospel of peace to those around. We are called to love one another and be at peace with the brethren. Biblical peace is the heart cry of every human being. It is the deep inward longing to be right with God and have peace with people. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men” (Luke 2:14)! Jesus’ life on Earth brought the possibility of peace to every creature. We will have to fight to experience that peace in day to day living. We will also have to confront sin in the body of Christ with the zeal of Phinehas. Those who war against the enemy, take possession of their own souls in holiness and are zealous for the house of God with violent passion, discover His covenant of peace. It seems ironic that we must war for peace, but there is no other way. Phinehas’ violent action brought peace with God and an end to the plague on all the tribes of Israel. All of God’s people are called to step up into the holy priesthood of Phinehas since Peter tells us that we are a “royal priesthood, a holy nation” (I Peter 1:9). God is raising up a ministry of holy zeal and violence against sin, a priesthood of spiritual warfare. Those who learn to war like Phinehas, Joshua and David will find God’s peace and prosperity.

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Isaiah 53:5

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CHAPTER 7 – PROPHETIC MADNESS They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. II Peter 2:13-17 As anointed prophets, teachers, and ministers of all kinds yield to the spirit of this world, they gradually fall into prophetic madness like Balaam did. They still may be able to give accurate words from God, but their eyes are full of adultery. Their desires are out of the control of the Holy Spirit. They become the lawless ones that Jesus condemned 45. All believers are in danger of falling away into the deceptions of the antichrist spirit if they give themselves to personal pleasure. God calls us to come out from among the world and be holy. Those who don’t heed His warning are in great danger of falling away. The enemy targets prophets and ministry leaders more than anyone else since they have such great influence over the souls of people. Leaders will incur a stricter judgment because they can lead people into light or darkness46. Many Christian leaders have yielded to the powerful pressures of the spirit of antichrist and have fallen into sin. From biblical history, we see many prophets turned from purity and truth and gave in to the spirit of this world. The bible is full of verses condemning them and exhorting us to keep away from them. I have included many texts for your instruction. They Prophesy out of Their Own Heart And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’” Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD. They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The LORD says,’ but I have not spoken.”

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Matthew 7:23 James 3:1

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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord GOD. My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace--and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar-- say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down. Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?” Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it. So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it, that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’” says the Lord GOD. “Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, and keep yourselves alive? And will you profane Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies?” Ezekiel 13:1-19 Many prophetic people prophesy out of their own hearts. They do not spend the time required to build a wall of intercession to protect God’s people from the wolves of the enemy. The false prophetic moves in when we prophesy what we hope or think will happen rather than what God has clearly revealed to us. God’s revelation comes to those who press in with sustained intercession and careful study of His word. Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them? Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.”’ Ezekiel 14:1-5

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When people are given to idolatry and seek the Lord, they will hear the voice of God filtered by the idols in their hearts. If a woman is in fear and desiring a husband with impatience, she may pull on the Lord or a prophet to hear the answer she wants to hear. She may be seeking a word to confirm what she wants to do in her loneliness for companionship. A genuine prophet with mixture may pick up the signal of her heart and be led to prophesy that she is to marry that man in so many days. It is a dangerous thing to have idols in your heart when it comes to hearing God’s voice. Bitter Prophets “For both prophet and priest are profane; yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the LORD. “Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery ways; in the darkness they shall be driven on and fall in them; for I will bring disaster on them, the year of their punishment,” says the LORD. “And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: they prophesied by Baal and caused My people Israel to err. Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness. All of them are like Sodom to Me, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah. “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: ‘Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem profaneness has gone out into all the land.’” Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD. They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You shall have peace”; and to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’” For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD has gone forth in fury--A violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly. “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. “Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD, “and not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the LORD; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD. “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ “How long will this be in the heart of the prophets

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who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal. “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the LORD. “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,” says the LORD, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ “Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the LORD, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” says the LORD. Jeremiah 23:11-32 There are many today who are flowing in prophetic ministry and some are called to be office level prophets. Their gifting by the Spirit may be genuine, but if they get into mixture, they can easily lead God’s people astray with flattering words and false teaching. Some are just bitter and angry like the prophets in Jeremiah’s days. I’ve met angry prophets and they are hard to bear. Prophetic gifting can operate independently of the leading of the Holy Spirit. When it does, a person may be operating under that prophetic gifting, but there will be mixture in their teaching and prophecies because the Holy Spirit is not the source of everything coming through them. Sources of Mixture in “Prophetic” Flow The heart represents an emotional desire to see a word happen (see Ezekiel 13:1-14:12; Jeremiah 23:11-21 esp. 16; 23:26,32). I have a bi-vocational pastor friend whom I love and care about. My heart’s desire a few years ago was that God would favor him to be able to pastor full time without having to work in a second job. As a result of my emotional desire, I spoke a word that within six months, God was going to enable him to be in ministry full time. That word was given over four years ago and the man is still working a secular position. The word came from my own heart and I have repented before the Lord for releasing such words. In the passages quoted above, the Lord rebukes prophets who prophesy “peace” where there was no peace coming from the Lord. The heart of the prophets may desire peace, prosperity and blessings for every person they pray for, but God’s word may be for correction. Many prophetic people get into flattery with their words because they prophesy out of their heart words of “peace” and blessings. The human spirit can give a word by reading the spirit realm and the spirit around the person and projecting a word based on what we perceive by our spirits rather than what the Holy Spirit is showing us. A trained human spirit under demonic influence can astral travel and discover information about a person. The trained and gifted human spirit can

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violate a person’s privacy and “peep” into their lives and read them like a book. The information may be accurate but the person is violated in the process. The Holy Spirit never violates a person in this way. When operating by the human spirit, the prophetic person is getting into pride and unauthorized waters. The soul realm is a source of impurity in the prophetic that taps into the powers of the mind God did not intend for us to use in the prophetic. The use of soul realm may include mind reading, psychic reading, vain imaginations, envisioning and so forth. This is used by many in the occult and focuses primarily on use of the mind. Evil spirits of divination imitate the voice of angels, the Holy Spirit and humans living or deceased (see I Kings 22:22,23). When a prophetic person has deep insecurity or other major character flaws and wants to be noticed, he or she can easily be deceived by demonic spirits of divination that pretend to speak in the voice of God. The gifted prophet has the ability to hear what is going on in the demonic realm at times. I have heard some prophetic people operate strongly under spirits of divination. We must learn to listen by the spirit in our belly rather than by our mind to discern the difference. True prophetic tends to flow from the inmost being up rather than come directly into the mind. Spirits of divination speak to the mind. I can often hear them in one ear or the other. As I check in with the Lord and test the spirits, I can discover that they are not from God. We need to learn to hear His voice. God Himself sometimes answers us according to our heart idolatry in order to bring judgment to the idolatry of the heart (Ezekiel 14:1-5). God does not flow in mixture, but our heart idolatry can garble His message or He may just give us what we are demanding to our own judgment. In the wilderness journey, the people craved meat and asked God desperately for it. The Bible says God answered their request but also sent them leanness of soul (Psalm 106:15). Prophetic gift with impure character is a source of mixture as the minister has a heart in bitterness, jealousy, pride, covetousness, fear of man and so forth. A prophet may be going through a severe financial trial and project that trial on people he prays for. He or she may allow financial need to be a filter through which the prophecy flows. Churches usually don’t give big offerings to prophets who bring hard words and intense correction. This may influence the prophet to give “peace” words and flattering nonsense. As one bitter prophet was boldly declaring the “word of the Lord” in a church where I had some leadership influence, a brother practically crawled up to me from behind and begged, “Could you please get that woman to shut up! She’s full of bitterness!” I knew the word was flowing in bitterness, but I was not the senior minister in charge of the prophetic flow and I waited on the Lord for His wisdom. In reality, most of the words the woman were speaking were accurate scripturally, but her attitude was rooted in woundedness and anger which was not of the Spirit.

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Problems in Prophetic Ministry There can be many problems associated with prophetic ministry because of all the potential sources of mixture. Let me assure the reader that there is a powerful, true prophetic that is flowing through the hearts of pure prophets and Spirit-filled believers. The prophetic is so powerful that Satan has pulled out all the stops to mix it up and counterfeit it. The genuine prophetic gift has great power to destroy Satan’s kingdoms. That is why historically he has always killed as many true prophets as he could. Information that is received from the flesh of man or spirits of divination cause problems. All of this kind of “revelation” will tend to be rooted in the prophetic person’s immaturity, pride and deception. It will not truly edify, encourage or exhort the body. We must examine the fruit of the person’s life who gives prophecies and the prophetic words that they give. Let the prophets carefully judge the words given. In my experience, a “prophet” who flows in this kind of mixture is generally dreadfully unteachable. When you judge one of their words, they tend to get defensive and think that they are being persecuted as a prophet. A prophet under the anointing desires to be pure above all things so as to please the Lord. Pure prophets do give the pure word of the Lord and are hated and criticized even to the point of persecution and martyrdom. Religious people and false prophets will often try to correct a true prophet. The true prophet cannot accept that correction or go back on a pure word because they fear God more than man. There will usually be a powerful anointing on pure prophets that the discerning listener will recognize as the Holy Spirit. Pure revelation that is not properly interpreted causes many problems. Great skill and wisdom is needed to properly interpret revelation. It may take a long time before the interpretation and application are clearly known about some dreams, visions or words. Pure revelation that is not properly applied may cause pride. Once we get some revelation, we want to try to make things happen, especially prophetic words. The timing may be off and God may plan to deal with our character for many years before we actually walk in the word. David was anointed as the next King of Israel by Samuel and ended up being persecuted by Saul for many years. When David had the chance to kill Saul twice, he did not do it and waited for God to establish His word. Wisdom allows God to fulfill His words in His time. As we wait on Him patiently, ready to open the door, He will come in due season and exalt us to the place He declared. The season in between can be long and extremely hard to train our character so that we can walk in His power without pride. Character Problems in Prophetic People All problems in prophetic ministry stem from people, not from God. Common problems of prophetic people include the following: 1. Pride - Prophesying out of a desire to be noticed or to promote ones own ministry

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2. Poor discernment - Psychic windows open that allow all kinds of vision and words from the spirit realm. Hearing spirits of divination and thinking they are the Holy Spirit 3. Rebellion - Poising one’s soul above the leadership 4. Self-focus - Feeling a need to prophesy and declare everything they see or hear to gain approval from man and be seen and heard 5. Immaturity – Impulsive sharing of revelation without discerning its origin, seeking interpretation or application wisdom 6. Independence – Think they are unique, operate in aloofness, don’t participate in any local church 7. Bitterness – Lack of forgiveness towards those who reject them 8. Isolation – Often stems from rejection and an attitude of pride 9. Witchcraft – False spiritual authority centered around position, power and gifting rather than love, humility and servanthood 10. Lawless – Don’t submit to the word of God or the timing of the Holy Spirit. Don’t know the ways of the flow of the Spirit and are governed by the flesh and demonic impulses rather than the Holy Spirit 11. Audience’s desires – Pull for entertainment, flattering words – (see Isaiah 30:9,10; II Timothy 4:3,4; Jeremiah 5:31) Growing in Pure Prophetic Ministry To grow in pure prophetic ministry, every believer must be clearly taught about prophetic ministry from the word of God. All revelation must be confirmed by the word of God and where possible judged by other prophets. We must willingly submit to leadership and prophetic protocol. There is no shortcut to studying the word of God, especially the Old Testament prophets. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is developed just like fruit trees. All fruit trees begin as seeds and mature as fruit bearing trees over the years. If you are new in the prophetic ministry, you need to take things slowly. An intimate relationship with Christ and Christ-like character is far more important than gifting. If you desire the anointing more than character development you will fall into error. Leaders need to lovingly provide correction when prophetic people get into error. For most prophets, the only way to grow in the prophetic ministry will be through making mistakes, some serious. We need to learn to keep the baby growing and throw out the bath water. Prophetic people need to be held accountable, although many of them resist accountability since they seek to fear God more than man. Some are just stubborn and proud. Jesus said that “many” would stand before Him on the Day of Judgment and think they were going to be saved because they had prophesied in His name 47. The prophetic ministry is extremely dangerous to the immature because it taps into the dynamic spiritual realm where power flows. As prophets focus on the power and manipulate the 47

Matthew 7:21

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people by “wow” services, they get out from under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and become lawless and ungoverned. Avoid Deception and Properly Discern God’s Revelation It is vital for prophetic people to learn to discern God’s revelation and avoid deception. In this section, I want to give you many suggestions that I have learned over the years and I pray that God will help you walk in pure prophetic anointing. The first principle of prophetic purity is that we must be devoted to prayer, including praise, worship and intercession. Prophets must consistently study the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You should meditate on the Bible daily and memorize portions that the Spirit highlights. You must be completely dedicated to loving and serving God with your whole heart desiring above all to bring Him all the glory, honor and praise. This will guard your heart from much deception. Cry out to God for a spirit of truth in your inmost being. I have done this for many years now and it is amazing how much clearer things are as a result. You should submit revelations to prophets and apostles for help in discernment. Always pray asking God for interpretation and application before releasing revelations. Test the spirits through prayer and the blood of Jesus (I John 4:1-3). Ask God for confirmation of the revelation and wait on Him patiently. Don’t ever be coerced to release words before testing the spirits. Walk in love seeking only God’s glory. Be completely secure in the Lord. Trust the Lord with all your heart and seek to be intimate with Him. Allow the Lord to teach you to hear His voice and distinguish His from others. Focus on what God is doing and not on what the devil may be doing. Journal your prophetic experiences and hold them up to the light of God’s word and additional prayer. Learn the ways of the flow of the Holy Spirit in services. Don’t cross current the flow just because you want to operate in your gift. Pray and ask God to alert the leader of the meeting to call you out to give a word when you have one. Wait on God’s timing. Don’t be afraid to miss it, have faith in God. If you mess up repent and move on. Ask God for a scripture to confirm the revelation. Ask God to repeat the revelation or ask interpretive questions and application questions. Let the peace of God rule in your heart. If you abide in peace and love, your spirit will be uneasy when spirits of divination try to coerce you to give a word. When your flesh is active, the prophetic often flows from a desire to be noticed. Take the back seat, wait on God and His pure flow. You may need to put your desire to operate in your gifts under the cross and let God raise it at the proper time and place. Pray a sealing prayer by the blood of Jesus over demonic spirits of divination and reckon your flesh to be dead. Be careful not to prophesy out of wishful thinking to a person you know. Take the back seat at prophetic meetings and allow the Spirit to call you into the

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action through leadership. Stay in the flow of the meeting seeking to learn and hear God. Humble yourself to receive from others and drink from the grace that is in them. Don’t interrupt another person who is ministering or jump in too quickly into the flow. Learn the (jump rope) rhythm of the Spirit. Timing is critical or you may stop the flow. Don’t feel like you have to give a word or prophesy at meetings to get into the flow. Submit to prayer teams for ministry prayer, deliverance, and discernment of spirits to help set you free. Characteristics of Words with Mixture Most of you reading this book have received prophetic words. Some people have gone from one meeting to another seeking a “word”. Unfortunately, most of us have received words that were not from God or had serious mixture in them. God has graced me to be zealous for the prophetic, and I have made some mistakes. The main reason I can write this section is because I have tried to learn from all my failures. As a result, I have learned to better discern the characteristics of impure words. Impure words are often flattering to the soul. They may be spoken with great enthusiasm saying that we are going to raise the dead, perform many miracles and have millions of dollars. Many times, people will comment, “I got an awesome word!” If you study the Old Testament carefully, most true prophets gave extremely strong corrective words They never flattered anyone. The Holy Spirit will not confirm mixture words as you pray for them over time. You will find that you will have no unction of the Spirit to pray bad words into existence. Some prophets teach that all prophetic words are an invitation of God to partner with the Holy Spirit in prevailing intercession. There is some truth to that, but I believe some prophetic words will simply come to pass. If you are interceding to bring an “awesome word” you received into reality and can barely generate any prayer, that is an indicator that the word was not from God. It is certainly possible to pray in the flesh and pull on God for the fulfillment of something He never said in the first place. Mixed words or bad words simply do not come true as prophesied. They often produce stress in relationships. Several couples have received words that declared that the wife was the key to receive great financial blessings for the family. The husband can then begin to put great pressure on his wife to come up with the money. This can create incredible stress and place the wife in an unrighteous position. Impure words can lead a person astray, bind up or cause confusion, pride and so forth. Bad words can lead you to pray in futility. They do not lead to holiness and fruitfulness. Some words may even loose demonic assignments that try to keep you believing their lies. These assignments must be broken off through prayer. Bad words can cause great harm to the individual or body of Christians in a region. False words tend to make the prophet look good rather than glorify God. False prophetic ministry will lead to God’s judgment.

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As I mentioned before, I have made most of the mistakes mentioned above and have learned from them. I have given bad words and false prophesies. A few people stoned me with their words, but several gracious prophets have covered me with love and taught me where I went astray. We are not to stone prophetic people who give bad words! We are to love them and pray for them. Pastors, evangelists and teachers all make serious mistakes in ministry and we never talk of stoning them. A true, mature prophet should only give accurate words under God’s anointing. However, every prophet I have talked with has made mistakes in the maturing process to becoming a recognized true prophet. Sadly, there are not that many mature, true prophets to learn from as you wander through the wilderness trying to hear God and avoid the serpents. In order to flow in God’s anointing, we all must learn to move in the prophetic flow of His Spirit. We don’t have to be office level prophets, but we must hear His voice and sense His leading to flow properly. As we learn to flow in the anointing, we will make mistakes. God is gracious and just. He will forgive us, and He will discipline us for our correction. The important thing is not to lock up and shut down what God puts in you. Many called into prophetic ministry stop flowing because of a controlling pastor or making a foolish mistake or two or ten. I have shut down many times and have gotten to the point where I never want to prophecy again. But God has a way of putting the word in your spirit like a mighty volcano that cannot be contained. He also has compassion on His people and wants to minister His life to them through accurate prophetic words. I join with Paul to encourage you to be zealous for the gift of prophecy and persevere through the trials (I Corinthians 14:1). Characteristics of Pure Words There is a pure stream of the prophetic anointing that is well worth paying the price for. Pure words edify, comfort and encourage people. They can provide loving correction or vital direction. The Holy Spirit will confirm pure words and they will come true as prophesied. Pure words produce healthy relationships and often lead the recipient closer to Jesus. God’s pure word is the sword of His spirit to set captives free from sin and liberate them into a glorious walk of life in Christ Jesus. They often help bring clarity, humility and blessing as they lead an individual to holiness and fruitfulness. Pure words can loose angelic activity and break demonic assignments. Prophetic words from the Lord may facilitate great blessings to the individual or body of Christians in a region. Words have the power to bring impartation of vision, hope and faith. When a genuine word is received, it remains in the human spirit and produces true hope and expectation of God’s work. True words bear witness to other prophets and they always bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ

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Different Methods of Prophesying The Spirit of Prophecy – During corporate worship, the Spirit falls on those who are open to Him and willing to be used by Him, who are willing to step out in faith and move with Him ( I Corinthians 14:31). This is an anointing released so all may prophesy. It usually happens during strong worship when God manifests His presence. Prophetic song is a good example of how this flows. The Gift of Prophecy – This is a gift of the Holy Spirit that God gives to whomever He chooses. Generally, this gift will be given to those who earnestly desire it and pray for it for the Father does give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (I Corinthians 14:1; Luke 11:13). As a gift, it comes by grace and faith. The gift of prophecy is not based on spiritual maturity or knowing correct doctrine. We don’t earn or buy God’s gifts. The gift of prophecy’s purpose is edification, exhortation and comfort and can produce deep conviction in the unbeliever (I Corinthians 14:24). This gift is often operational during ministry prayer times at the altar but can be used in many different ways. Prophetic Presbytery - A team of those established in the prophetic minister together as a team. This often includes the laying on of hands. They may meet to seek prophetic revelation and confirmation of those called to be leaders in the church (Acts 13:1-3). The presbytery may be used to ordain someone in five-fold ministry (Titus 1:5). This team of prophets can confirm and activate someone’s gifting and place of ministry in the Body (Acts 6:3,6). The presbytery may be called to minister to an individual in a time of need and seek the Lord for more revelation. Prophetic Preaching – Spontaneous biblical preaching flows under this anointing with unusual unction and power. The speaker will be under anointing to speak precise words and give illustrations to pierce the hearts of the hearers and accomplish God’s will. This anointing generally flows from someone of five-fold office. Stephen’s message in Acts 7 is an excellent illustration of prophetic preaching. Jesus taught us about this type of spontaneous preaching that would come from the Father (see Matthew 10:19-20). The Office of Prophet The office of prophet is described in Ephesians 4:8,11 and is not a gift available to all believers. It is an office of government over God’s Church. The office of prophet is one of headship over His church. Jesus held all five offices and He functioned in the office of prophet. God’s offices are extensions of Jesus’ headship ministry for leadership. Office level prophets may function in some or all of the ministries of Old Testament prophets as well as being New Testament prophets in the flow of Jesus, the Prophet. Therefore, their prophecies touch on areas of guidance, instruction, rebuke, judgment, and revelation although not at the level of scripture and must be confirmed by scripture. Office level prophets release the words of Jesus under strong anointing to purify and perfect His bride. They have the authority and anointing to provide direction (I Kings

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22:7 and 2 Kings 5:10). They give words of correction (Ezekiel 3:18) and may pronounce divine decrees of God’s judgments or blessings. Prophets move in high revelation knowledge (e.g. Isaiah 44:28-45:3, fulfilled in Daniel 10, 150 years later). Prophets give accurate words about the future. God calls them to work with apostles in laying foundations in the church (Ephesians 2:20). They may be used for the impartation of spiritual gifts to other believers (I Timothy 4:14). Prophets often are used to anoint ministries (I Samuel 10:1; Exodus 28:41, Psalm 133:2, I Kings 19:16). They are told the secrets of God (Amos 3:7) and have the anointing to discern times and seasons (I Chronicles 12:32). We earnestly need pure prophets in the body of Christ to fulfill His call for the Church in these days. God blesses those who treat prophets with respect and honor. Most office level prophets have to endure tremendous resistance and persecution. The Church needs to learn to love and support them with great grace. Three Aspects of Prophetic Understanding There are three aspects to the prophetic that we must learn in order to assure purity and accuracy. They are as follows: 1. Revelation – The dream, vision, dark saying, prophetic word, scripture, picture, sense or knowing by word of knowledge is received. You must confirm all revelation with the word of God and the agreement of apostles and prophets. 2. Interpretation – Discover the proper meaning or understanding of what has been revealed by waiting on the Holy Spirit in prayer. 3. Application – Seek the wisdom of God by administration of the Spirit as to apply the revelation and interpretation accurately and with proper timing, personnel, etc. Illustrations of this Threefold Principle You can study out these two illustrations on your own. In Genesis 41 we see Pharaoh’s dreams as the revelation. We observe that Joseph gave the interpretation and application of the revelation, which became a form of salvation to Jacob’s family and the forming nation of Israel. 1. Revelation – Seven fat cows eat seven gaunt cows. Seven full heads of grain followed by seven thin heads of grain. 2. Interpretation – Seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. 3. Application – Let Pharaoh select a man, discerning and wise and set him over the land of Egypt, store up food during the good years.

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In Daniel 4 we observe that Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was revelation from God. Daniel, the prophet, gave the interpretation and application. In the case of Joseph and Daniel, the prophetic gift enabled the individual to be honored before the most powerful human leader on the earth. Briefly we see the threefold principle again below: 1. Revelation – The great tree is chopped down. 2. Interpretation – The tree is you O king, seven seasons of judgment are coming upon you. 3. Application – Repent of your sins. Nebuchadnezzar did not repent of his sins and went through the seven years of judgment. When he came through the judgment, his mind returned to him and he gave glory to God. There are many books being written on prophetic ministry that are worthy of careful study to learn more. The most important thing we must do to insure purity is to focus on loving God with all our hearts and bringing Him glory. I have cried out for the fire of God to purge my heart many times over the last years. Under the fire of His presence, many ugly things have floated to the surface of my life. The Lord has shown me how foolish and reckless I have been at times in prophetic ministry. His discipline has been strong to bring correction and I am so thankful for His rod, which really does comfort me. I know that if I get a little off the track, God will discipline me back into line. As a perfect Father who loves His children, He always provides that discipline. Don’t run from His scourging, ask Him for His correction and be zealous therefore unto repentance so that you can open the door of your life to more fellowship with Jesus Christ. As you grow through His discipline, He will flow more of His anointing through you to minister His life.

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CHAPTER 8 – THE GREAT FALLING AWAY Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. II Thessalonians 2:2-12 There is a great falling away from true faith coming along with the arrival of the man of sin. This man will exalt himself above God and demand to be worshipped. This lawless one will be in one accord with Satan and be able to move with all power, signs and lying wonders. He will flow in an unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive a love of the truth. It is essential for every believer to devotedly love the truth of God’s word. We must long for truth, study God’s word and hold fast to the truth. We must yearn for truth in our inmost being. We should desire and pray for the examination light of God to reveal the truth of those sins which are still hidden in our hearts so that we might repent of them and be cleansed. Those who don’t love the truth are in danger of coming under the strong delusion that God will allow to be released through Satan at that time. God has warned us and commanded us to love the truth. Those who have pleasure in sinful conduct deny God’s voice and walk by their flesh. They will be swept away by the river of deception in that evil day. Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. I Timothy 4:1,2 Sadly, some ministers and believers will depart from the faith in God’s voice and put their trust in the voice of deceiving spirits. They will interpret the scriptures according to demons or their own reason and will become like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. The religious leaders of our Lord’s time knew the word of God, but they did not know God when He looked them in the eye.

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If you don’t get your heart purified from lust, fear of man, the desire to be rich and other evils, you will fall into believing doctrines of demons and will shut down the witness of your own conscience. Having a form of Godliness but Denying it’s Power But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, Disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. II Timothy 3:1-9 Last days religious “Christians” will have a form of godliness but deny its power. Since many of them will flow in lying signs and wonders, the power Paul was talking about is the power to make them holy. There is power in the Spirit, the word and the blood to make every person who walks with God holy. These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. Jude 16-19 Those that fall away and lead others into deception will walk according to their own lustful desires. They will make flattering prophesies to entice the people and gain favor. I have heard some of the most outrageous prophetic flattery in years past. Flattery is smooth affirming talk that falsely compliments a person in order gain influence over them. Many are flattered by false prophets to give big offerings to their sensual ministry. But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not

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spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) -- then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” II Peter 2 Peter gives us the clearest warning in scripture of these evil false prophets that will come. We must love the truth and know the voice of our God by the Holy Spirit to discern when a wolf is dressing in sheep’s clothing. We have need to look for the fruit of the Spirit in a minister especially if they are making great flattering promises. If a minister draws attention to himself and talks at length at all the ways God uses him, then I would have major red flags going off in my spirit.

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The true minister will exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and bring all glory to Him. He or she will walk in purity and their life will exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit in every aspect of their daily life. The Spirit that Suppresses the Truth For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man -- and birds and fourfooted animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:18-32 underlining mine The pattern Satan uses to deceive us is as old as the Garden of Eden. He seeks to suppress the truth and exchange it for a lie. He tries to bring us into small sin and then lead us into increased sin if he can until we have a debased mind and are completely servants of hell. In the garden, Satan suppressed the truth and exchanged it for a lie with Eve when he said, “Did God really say?” and “You shall surely not die”48.

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Genesis 3:1-6

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While visiting my daughter Mary, who is attending the extremely liberal University of California at Berkeley, I had a profound experience that helped me understand the spirit of this world. We don’t have television in our home and I rarely have access to television. When I’m at a hotel, I have usually chosen not to watch any TV. Mary’s new apartment included a television with cable connection. The NBA Finals was on and I tuned in to watch the game. Since I was to sleep on an air mattress in the room that had television, I channel flipped to see what was on after the game. I ended up watching way too much television and observed some sensual and demonic television programs as I flipped channels. When I finally started falling asleep, I was suddenly awakened by the presence of a demonic entity in the room. It was a large female spirit that stood in mid air over the foot of my bed just staring at me. It freaked me out and I prayed fervently against it calling on the mercy of God and it left. The next day while reflecting upon this encounter, the Lord enabled me to discern this spirit and how it works. He showed me the passage in Romans quoted above and revealed that this powerful spirit seeks to rule over the brilliant minds at Berkeley to suppress the truth and exchange it for a lie. Berkeley is a city across the bay from San Francisco. This beautiful area has been lusted over by Satan and he has built a stronghold there that promotes secular humanistic ideals including the radical homosexual agenda. This spirit is assaulting young people all over America by suppressing the truth and feeding lies about human sexuality, decency, purity and so forth. A great deal of this assault comes through television, movies and the internet. The Bible teaches us that we have to wrestle with principalities and powers with the full armor of God on in the power of the Spirit to overcome. The spirit that God allowed me to see was, I believe, a powerful principality such as the queen of heaven. As I wrestled through the slime of this being over the next few days, I was assaulted in the area of lust of the eyes. I was strongly tempted to view unrighteous television and felt pressure to view online pornography when I returned home. The soul realm of a human is complex. We can be doing well in 90% of our soul and have 10% still influenced by demons. There may be old doors that were once opened to the enemy as there was in my life. I viewed porn magazines as an unsaved teenager and some addiction formed. When I got saved at age 20, the Lord set me free, but I would struggle from time to time in certain situations like being at the beach in southern California. I have fought for many years against this evil and the area of the lust of the eyes. I wish I could say that I’ve had perfect victory. But I have not. At times I failed quite miserably and felt all the guilt, shame and condemnation that goes with it. God has been helping me gain victory through repentance and faith in the blood of Jesus to cleanse me. He is teaching me how the enemy works and how to overcome. Without the power of God

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helping you, I don’t believe anyone can stand against Satan’s flood of evil when he brings really strong pressure. Fortunately, God’s power is available to help us! The river of God’s spirit is increasing from ankle deep to over your head as Ezekiel saw in his vision49. I believe the counterfeit river of Satan’s deceptive spirits are also developing into a powerful river. Years ago, I could step into watching certain movies that had ankle deep power to pull me into sin. I could watch the movie and easily shake off the bad scene or two without falling into sin. The power of the movie industry and the strength of the demonic river today is such that I cannot step into watching certain movies without it starting to activate my flesh and try to capture me in a waterslide towards sin. If your flesh is not crucified daily and you are not filled with the Holy Spirit, the enemy can bring pressure to bear to knock you off your feet and you can be swept into sin. I confess that this has happened to me at times in the past years even though I have diligently pursued God and sought to perfect holiness in the fear of God. Our flesh is addicted to sin like a hard core alcoholic. Our flesh wants another drink and if left uncrucified just one day it will start to long for a drink of the spirit of this world in some fashion. For me, television and movies was the main tempting wine. For you it may be something completely different. Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart. Hosea 4:11 Most entertainment products have been wine to my flesh. If I drank them, I would start to get a desire to drink more and become drunk with the pleasure of this world. The Lord has had a strong restraint on me and I have been careful in what I chose to watch, but commercials can be very sensual and one extra long look can feed the flesh and activate a terrible addictive pull to satisfy the carnal thirst. What I understand now is that the spirit that suppresses the truth will put pressure on an individual in an area of their soul to temporarily suppress the truth and exchange it with a lie such as, “it’s ok to look at some entertainment pictures” or a certain show. The enticing beauty of Hollywood stars is a powerful magnet that tries to pull individuals into lust and idolatry if possible. Many stars are idolized in the hearts and minds of many fans. Some movie stars have powerful principalities influencing them and a host of demons working on the adoring public to bring them into bondage. After watching a movie with a beautiful starlet, the next step might be to look at some of the fan web sites of a certain movie star and look at sensual pictures which may include various levels of pornography. I put a strict filter on my computers to protect myself and my children from being exposed to porn. But there are still sensual pictures available through the filter that have spiritual power. A little bit of lust is still sin and seeks to enslave the heart. If you have children or any temptation at all towards pornography on line, you should get a porn filter and install it today! 49

Ezekiel 47:3-6

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Children can take one drink of online pornography and be addicted for many years to come. I personally believe it is irresponsible for a parent not to have a filter on the computer to protect their children. Social computer networks like MySpace are also potentially dangerous and we must use great wisdom in raising our children today. After being slimed through the assault at Berkeley, I asked a powerful prophet who specializes in deliverance to pray for me to loose me from a demon that was assaulting me in the lust of the eyes. She prayed powerfully and I was set free. I needed deliverance. I needed to be honest, walk in the light and ask for help. Satan wants you to hide your sin in embarrassment and shame. God wants us to walk in the light. It doesn’t matter if that demon was in me, on me or around me, it was attacking my mind and seeking to activate lust in the eyes. It was working with that spirit that suppresses the truth and seeking to feed me the lie that a little look was not going to hurt. That evil spirit was working to reopen an old door of sin in my life and bring me into death in my ministry. Without God’s grace and power and the help of His people, I could never stand alone. We all need the Lord and His people to help us overcome. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:13 The truth of God’s word declares that if we live according to the flesh, we will die. Just as God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the evil tree lest they die, we are not to eat of sin and live by our flesh. Satan keeps whispering to us as he did Eve, you shall surely not die. He tells us that we can manage and control our sin, that our sin is not as bad as someone else’s and other lies. There are thousands of ways Satan can tempt you to sin. Your area of weakness may be completely different than mine. You may never struggle with lust in the eyes, but perhaps pride and jealousy has been an issue. Do you struggle with anger and rage? Most people struggle with impatience, worry over money or selfishness. The enemy does study us and look for our weakest area. He sets up schemes to trip us up. Stay on the alert, guard your heart and walk in the light with His body. Let the Peace of God Rule And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:15,16 God has given me the spiritual gift of discerning of spirits. That gift is being developed more all the time. I believe all spirit-filled Christians have access to that gift at the level needed to walk in personal holiness. The primary way I discern what spirit is assaulting

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me or is in the atmosphere is to practice the presence of God by getting into His perfect peace. I experience tremendous peace and rest in the presence of God most of the time. Under demonic attack, I can become agitated, offended, frustrated, fearful and so forth. As I use the plumb line of God’s peace in comparison to what I’m feeling, I can almost always identify the spirit within a short time. I often talk it out. I might say, “It feels like a heavy wet blanket that just wants to put you to sleep. It’s real heavy and makes me want to give up”. I could then discern that it is spirit of slumber that is trying to close me down and lead me to go to sleep rather than work or press in to hear God. Once I discern the spirit, I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me in binding it and gaining authority over it. Sometimes I can clearly feel that spirit of lust working. It feels like fleshly thirst that wants to be satisfied by a drink. It’s a desire that pulls to be fed. It feeds the mind with ideas on how to satisfy it. Rather than entertain this demonic line of thinking, we need to recognize it as a demon and war against it. We must learn to take these thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ 50. Recently, I encountered a spirit of offence related to finances that was trying to get me to be offended at a church that did not take an offering for me when I spoke. We were needing some money when this assault hit. The way we overcame it was to give all of our money away as the Spirit led us. We literally gave all of our money away. It wasn’t all that much, but it was all that we had. Within a few days God supplied way more than we had given including a large gift from the church that forgot to take an offering for our ministry. The enemy was attacking me to get me into offence. The spirit that suppresses the truth and supplants it with a lie was trying to assault my mind, but it could not find a place there and my wife and I acted in the opposite spirit in order to completely over come it. In order to overcome the lust of the eyes mentioned earlier, I repented, received prayer, fasted and prayed and decided to fast until I finish this book as I’m writing it. I’m also fasting renting movies and am seeking to become a Nazarite that does not touch the wine of this world. Christians who maintain a consistent relationship of indulging in the wine of this world are in great danger of falling away in days ahead. God is challenging us to come out of our double mindedness and put our lives on His brazen altar so that He can burn up all of our flesh.

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II Corinthians 10:5

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CHAPTER 9 – YOU MUST BE HOLY When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Genesis 17:1,2 The father of faith was taught to walk in the light of the presence of Almighty God and be blameless. God would not have commanded Abram to be blameless if he could not have chosen to live a holy life. Abram was not perfect, but Abram believed in God and it was accounted to him for righteousness51. Abram became Abraham and was transformed into a blameless man who walked in purity and holiness before the Lord. Before the Law, before the cross and resurrection, before the Bible was written, our holy God demanded that Abram walk before Him and live blameless, without sin. The first line of spiritual warfare for every believer in battling the beast and all powers of evil, is to live a holy life. The one who lives holy will not be swept away. We have many advantages over Abraham and the same God commands us to walk before Him and be blameless. In Christ, we can live holy! You Must Be Holy But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” I Peter 1:15,16 God’s word is absolute that we are commanded to live a life of moral and ethical purity in every facet of our lives at all times. We are to walk before God and be blameless. God would not command us in the New Testament to be holy if it were impossible to live that way. We must believe that God’s Spirit in us can and will enable us to be holy as we cooperate with Him and walk with Him daily. Jesus said that it was not enough to have an outward form of righteousness like the Pharisees. “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount to obey the commandments of God, live holy lives full of mercy, love our enemies, pray, give, have faith and bear fruit. He commands us to become perfect like our heavenly Father is perfect 52. Most Christians are so overwhelmed by their personal struggles that they are completely underwhelmed by God’s ability to perfect holiness in their lives.

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Genesis 15:6 Matthew 5:48

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The devil depends on us sowing to the flesh and reaping a harvest of unbelief when it comes to living holy lives. Countless believers walk in denial of the power of Jesus’ cross and resurrection when it comes to holiness. The Holy Spirit lives in the heart of every believer to empower us to become like Jesus. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. II Corinthians 7:1 It is our responsibility to cleanse ourselves and perfect holiness in fear of the Day of Judgment, which is certain to come to all of us. God says that we can do this important work as we confess and forsake our sins53. While I firmly believe that by grace we are saved through faith (Ephesians 8:9), I also believe that faith is worked out in a lifestyle of pursuing holiness. Paul said to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). God’s will and pleasure is that we live holy in His sight by His Spirit. If we are saved by praying a simple prayer at a crusade, then why do we have to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling? Paul exhorted the Philippians to be blameless and live holy “so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain” (Philippians 2:16). Paul certainly believed that his converts could fall away from the faith, and not everyone who started to run for Jesus would finish the race and receive the prize of eternal salvation in heaven. A careful study of the New Testament teaching of the apostles is consistent in this regard. Salvation is much more than a bowed head, a raised hand and a whispered prayer. The inspired writer of Hebrews told us to “pursue…holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Saving faith is worked out and demonstrated in pursuing a life of holiness. People who “receive Jesus” as their Savior and continue to live a worldly lifestyle are probably not saved. Only the righteous Judge knows for sure, but each individual must grapple with the Apostle’s doctrine and reject all the man centered, doctrines of demons. The Lord will work in and through us to help us become holy by His grace and power, but we must have faith in His ability to transform our lives as we behold Him. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. II Corinthians 3:18 God calls us to focus on Him, to behold His glory, to study His attributes and characteristics. As we behold Him and develop an intimate relationship with God, our lives are transformed to His image from one level of glory to another. God is holy! Therefore, as we behold Him as holy, we will be transformed or perfected in holiness. It is certainly a process of development, but it is our responsibility to pursue holiness and 53

I John 1:9

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purity with all our heart in fear that we might fall away and enter into delusion and stand before God on the Day of Judgment and hear those horrid words, “Depart from Me, I never knew you!” Jesus Died and Rose to Make Us Holy Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him. Ephesians 1:3,4 God chose us to walk before Him holy and without blame. Through faith in God’s word and humble repentance, God transforms our lives by the mighty power of the blood of Jesus so that we live without sinning. Many Christians focus on their sinful tendencies and the weakness of the flesh rather than beholding God. The fallen nature doesn’t want to stop sinning so many believe a lie that we must live on earth in a “struggle” every day. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:7-9 The Apostle John teaches us that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and that we have all sinned at one time or another. God is not expecting us to have a revolving door experience of sin, confession, sin and confession for the rest of our life. A careful study of I John teaches us that “whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:4-6,8). The Father honors the sacrifice of Jesus with the power to destroy all the works of the devil in our lives including all tendencies and traces of sin. While the fallen nature is not eradicated and the potential to sin is very real, the power of the cross is so great that if the believer reckons himself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, he can learn to walk in freedom and victory at all times54. John teaches that holy living is the normal Christian life. God is not limited by our fallen condition, only by our unbelief and misplaced affections. As we grow strong in faith in His ability, beholding Him and placing all of our heart affections on Him, we perfect holiness in the fear of God. We understand that God allows for “perfecting holiness” through a process of time.

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Romans 6

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The Holy Spirit governs the sanctification process or the experience of the believer becoming more like Jesus, becoming holy. The new convert may bring with him assorted evil habits and tendencies. Jesus calls him to a radical repentance and change of life saying as He did to the adulterous woman, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Jesus does not condemn the guilty sinner but calls her unto Himself for a radical rebirth and transformation process. It would have been unmerciful for Jesus to command the adulterous woman to stop sinning if it was impossible for her to do it. Jesus was full of mercy in not condemning her and in commanding her to transform her life by no longer sinning. Jesus told the paralytic that He healed to “sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (John 5:14). God loves us too much to allow us to suffer the crippling affects of sin throughout our lifetime. He sent Jesus to pay the price to forgive us for our sins and to deliver us from our sins now. His power is available to enable every believer, no matter what his past, to live a holy life before God. There is no sinful life so bad that God cannot transform it by the power of His cross through His mercy and grace. God is absolutely all-powerful! Have faith in His ability to transform you. The Romans 7 Paradox For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. Romans 7:14,15 This passage along with most of Romans 7 is often quoted to verify the argument that life on earth is a continual struggle and we all go through it in an endless effort to make it to paradise where we will no longer sin. Romans 7 is in the context of Paul’s argument about the ineffectiveness of the Law to produce righteousness and the inability of the flesh to keep the law. Please notice in the above passage how many times Paul uses the personal pronoun “I”. Seven times! The conclusion is that “I” cannot keep the Law but thanks be to God that Jesus did and can enable me to walk holy. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:2 Paul teaches that only through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit can we walk holy before God. Jesus fulfilled the law, condemned sin in the flesh so “that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). The Holy Spirit indwells us to enable us to overcome the lusts of this world and walk in newness of life. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. I Corinthians 3:16,17

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The infinite and all-powerful Holy Spirit, the third Person of the trinity, dwells in every born again believer in Christ. To think that I am so sinful that not even the Holy Spirit has enough power to transform me is a prideful delusion and a denial of faith, the kind of faith that saves! We are not to defile the temple of God with sin, we are to yield to the government of the Holy Spirit and allow God to produce righteousness in us from faith to faith one step at a time. The Holy Spirit is completely competent in doing this marvelous transforming work. Our responsibility is to trust Him and obey His leading and the word of God. The Loving Bridegroom Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27 God is growing the bride up to be glorious and holy before Him. This honors the power of His grace for He shall do it by drawing His bride to Himself in love. He will not force any person to choose holiness, but he calls every one of His children to be holy. He is well able to transform us and wash us as we place our faith in His blood and word, obeying all that the Holy Spirit tells us to do. Jesus reconciled us by his holy life and death “to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard” (Colossians 1:22,23). The salvation of our souls is conditional upon our continuing in the faith to be holy, standing fast in purity and holding onto hope in God’s great ability to bring us through this life without continuing to sin in the old patterns. Put Off the Old – Put on the New That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24 Paul taught us that the process of becoming holy is the act of first putting off (stopping and forsaking through genuine repentance) old-nature behavior. As our minds are changed by focusing on God and His word, we then put on the new behavior God commands as we are now recreated in true righteousness and holiness. We have become free from the power of sin and empowered to be slaves of God so that we experience “fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life” (Romans 6:22b). Notice that holiness is directly connected to eternal life. This agrees with Hebrews 12:10 cited earlier that we will not see the Lord unless we are holy. John tells us that the one who

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continues in sin is lost and is of the devil and that we should now walk just as Jesus walked55. Holiness Is Loving And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. 1Thessalonians 3:12-13 God establishes our hearts blameless in holiness as we love one another. There is no holiness without love. I John teaches that we must keep His commandments and love our brothers. If a person does not love His brother, he is deceived and walks in darkness. “Whoever does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in Him” (I John 3:14-15). There is great division, control and selfish competition in many areas of the Church. This is hateful and there is no eternal life, according to John, to those who manipulate and control others for selfish gain. Faith That Remains and Bears Fruit For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth, which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. Hebrews 6:4-8 When the word of God sown in the human heart is choked by worries and cares or does not find root and bear fruit, the individual falls away from shallow rooted faith into unbelief. Perhaps they never had true “saving faith”, but they did not bear the fruit of holiness and rejected the Son of God by living a life of mixture with the world system. Many Christians, I observe, seem dangerously close to this tenuous position. Paul was deeply concerned for the Thessalonicans so he “sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain” (I Thessalonians 2:5). Paul prayed fervently that “we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith” (I Thessalonians 3:10). Paul understood that while faith is a gift from God, it must be properly exercised and matured to stand fast in Christ Jesus. Faith is like a tender germinating seedling given by God that we must tend by cultivating our hearts with repentance, prayer, worship, Bible study and fellowship with saints. God will provide the rain and cause the growth, but we must tend the garden of our heart. If we fail to tend our hearts, the plant of faith will die and will not bear fruit. 55

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Paul exhorted these disciples to abstain from sexual immorality, to possess their bodies in sanctification and honor “for God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit” (I Thessalonians 4:7,8). The person who rejects the call to holiness rejects God and denies the power of His saving faith. His standing on the Day of Judgment is in great jeopardy. Faith Overcomes the World And this is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the son of God? I John 5:4,5 We do not overcome by works of the flesh but rather by faith in Jesus who gives us the ability to overcome the world as we put our trust in His great saving power. In the seven letters to the churches in Revelation, Jesus calls His disciples to overcome until the end of their lives so that they might receive a crown of life. We are called to overcome the pressures of the flesh, the world and the devil and live holy before God. “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelations 3:5). Jesus promises not to blot out the name of the overcomer from the Book of Life. Does Jesus have a blotter that removes the names of those whose faith is shipwrecked, who fall away into sin and fail to overcome? The Bible appears to teach so. If God in His grace who lives in us to will and to work His good pleasure gives us all that we need to live holy in Him, and if we choose not to walk in holiness, we are denying our faith in Him. When we stop perfecting holiness in the fear of God and give in to the world, the flesh and devil, we deny the power of the cross, become lawless and fall away from the faith that saves from eternal judgment. If a Christian consistently and willfully chooses to forsake the path of holiness for the path of sensuality, he is disobeying God and rejecting His will. Jesus told us that a branch that does not abide in Him and bear fruit is thrown into the fire and burned 56. The fruit of the Spirit is holiness, which manifests in “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24,25). The fruit of a life by the Spirit is evidenced by fleshly passions and desires being crucified with Christ. Paul is contending for absolute holiness by the almighty power of the Holy Spirit. We must appropriate this power to work in our lives today!

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John 15:1-6

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Put a Knife to Your Throat When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you; and put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven. Proverbs 23:1-5 In order to overcome the antichrist ruling spirit, we need to put a knife to our throats if we are given to desiring his delicacies. We must take violent action to arrest our fleshly desires so that we do not eat his deceptive food. One day as I was running some errands around town, I clearly heard the Lord say, “Put a knife to your throat”. That is a strange thing to hear from the Lord and I didn’t have a knife with me nor did I take the saying as literal. While I went to the post office, bank and office store, I kept hearing the same word, “Put a knife to your throat”. Later that day, I found the passage quoted above and began to ponder what the Lord could be saying to me. The next day happened to be Super Bowl Sunday. We had a glorious church service including three hours of incredible worship. After church, we went with several others to a member’s home that had television and we had lunch and watched the ball game. As I sat on the couch, still under the anointing, I saw the ruler of Babylon offer his delicacies by way of the commercials. Portions of some of the beer commercials were nothing short of soft core pornography with the obvious intent to get carnal men to lust and buy more beer. Other commercials included scenes of graphic violence and action from new movies. Portions of the half time show were also demonic and I felt completely slimed by the experience. At the same time, my wife Glenda retreated far away from the ball game to seek the Lord. She spent two days seeking revelation and missed the Super Bowl and all the king’s delicacies. I truly envied her for her wisdom. The Lord wants us to overcome the spirit of the world system, the spirit of antichrist. I have been a man given to various carnal appetites in the past. The Lord was calling me to take further dramatic action to separate myself from the kings table of worldly indulgence. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Daniel 1:8 Daniel put the knife to his throat and would not defile himself with the meat sacrificed to idols provided by the King of Babylon. Daniel would not drink the wine either and was allowed to separate himself from the world even while he lived and worked in the world.

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Shadrach, Mescach and Abed-nego also joined Daniel in a fasted lifestyle to keep themselves pure and undefiled by the world they lived in. As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. Daniel 1:17, 20 The result of consecration for these pure men of God was the release of divine knowledge, wisdom, skill and Daniel was given the gift of understanding all visions and dreams. These young men became ten times better in all matters of wisdom and understanding than all the magicians and astrologers in Nebuchadnezzar’s realm. God wants us to walk in His supernatural wisdom and knowledge so that we can prosper and endure in the midst of Babylon. Daniel was ultimately thrown into the lions’ den but his faith shut the lion’s mouth. The other three were cast into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to the golden idol and God delivered them as well. It is not easy to put the knife to your throat and live a consecrated fasted lifestyle, but it is the only pathway that leads to the anointing of wisdom from above. By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. Hebrews 11:24-28 Moses had every opportunity to make it big in the world of Egypt, yet he responded to the call of God on his heart and put the knife to his throat and walked holy by forsaking the pleasures of sin. Moses experienced astounding revelation from God because he separated himself from the world and allowed God to train him during a harsh forty year wilderness season. He became the greatest deliverer the world has ever known. God has a purpose and plan for your life. He wants to set you free and use you to set many others free. If you put the knife to your throat and perfect holiness, God will use you in a mighty way to set captives free and you will be greatly blessed on the Day of Judgment. If you persistently choose the pleasures of sin and embrace a man pleasing spirit you will be swept away by the strong delusion that is coming. Say yes to God and choose to walk holy!

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CHAPTER 10 – OVERCOMING THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy one, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. I John 2:18-21 John, the beloved Apostle, warned us that it was the last hour and that the Antichrist is coming. The time and season of the rising of the Antichrist is much closer today than it was in John’s time. Many believe that this evil man will arise within the next 20-30 years. We certainly need to be prepared as the Bride so that we can be caught away from this terrible time. We must be ready to preach the gospel and rescue as many souls as the Lord enables before it is too late. John notes that antichrists go out from us. Many leave the church to start their own independent work. We have the anointing presence of the Holy Spirit to teach us who is of truth and who is of the lie. We must develop a close relationship with the Holy Spirit to avoid deception. Have faith that God will reveal all things to you that you need to overcome when you pursue Him in holiness. In this book, I have tried to give you an accurate picture of the way the spirit of antichrist works to influence individuals to fall into deception and sin. There are many books out that talk about the Antichrist, the false prophet, 666 and other apocalyptic themes. I have not felt led to discuss any of that. I don’t think we have clear revelation of everything that is going to happen in days ahead. What is needed most is to be prepared to meet our Bridegroom in the air. We must be prepared to overcome and walk in truth. I pray that all of this book is helpful in preparing you to overcome. It has helped me greatly just to press through to write it. The beloved apostle John said that he had no greater joy than to see his disciples walk in truth57. We need to let John be our spiritual father and allow his teaching to instruct us how to overcome the spirit of antichrist. I have summarized John’s teaching in eight points that enable us to overcome. Principles of the Overcoming Life From John’s Writing 1. Walk in the Light But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and 57

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just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. I John 1:7-10 2. Walk as Jesus Walked Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. I John 2:3-6 (see also 2:28-3:15; 5:2) 3. Walk in Love Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. I John 2:7-11 (see also 3:10-18; 4:721) 4. Do not Love the World or the Things in the World Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. I John 2:15-17 5. Abide in the Anointing58 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy one, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

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Please read my book, ABIDING IN THE ANOINTING for detailed teaching on this topic.

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Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us -- eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. I John 2:18-27 6. Test the Spiritual Source of Prophets and Preachers Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. I John 4:1-3 7. Walk by Faith to Overcome This World For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? I John 5:4-5 8. By the Blood, Testimony and Self-death Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” Revelation 12:10-12 The End of the Beast and the False Prophet The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:10 Satan’s end is clear along with all those who follow in his steps. Multitudes will end up in the lake of fire along with Satan, the beast and all the fallen angels. The word of God is plain that wide is the way that leads to destruction and many are those who choose that

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pathway. God calls us to walk through the narrow gate which is defined by the life of Jesus59. It is the heart, mind and will of God that we learn to walk as Jesus walked and overcome the world, flesh and devil by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. As we live and move and have our being in Him, by Him and for Him, He will help us overcome each day. Stay in close fellowship with a solid local body of Christ with pure leadership. Learn to submit to proper spiritual leadership and walk in the light with those whom you can trust and talk with. It is necessary that we confess some sins to others so that we may be healed60. Build the house of your life upon the rock of revelation Jesus gives you as you pray and study His word. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. If you need prayer for deliverance, humble yourself and seek it out. You are welcome to come to our church and we’ll pray for you. God is using us to set many captives free. He loves you and your family and wants you to overcome. God wants to anoint you and use you to set many captives free in days ahead. Let’s love God with all our hearts, love each other and get the harvest for whom Christ died.

CONTACT INFORMATION: The Gathering Place Pastor Scott McConaughey www.scottmc.org/ Email: [email protected]

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See my book, THE NARROW GATE, for a complete teaching on this topic. James 5:16

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