(tm)The third trumpet
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And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from the heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. (Revelation 8:10,11)
This marks the fall from the heaven of secular wisdom and knowledge.
The "lamp" speaks of wisdom and knowledge. The rivers and fountains of waters refer to the mental and spiritual life of which man partakes. The "waters" of human and satanic wisdom and knowledge flow from the educational institutions, from the media, from entertainers, from teachers, scholars, and philosophers, from government leaders, and sometimes from the Christian churches, but their point of origin is the fallen princes in the heavenlies.
The science of psychology has had a profound effect on the sources of information. Yet the origins of psychology and psychiatry are tainted with a materialistic view of the universe, and with the occult in some instances.
People "drink" of all this guidance and information and of the spirits promoting them without being able to discern what is helpful and what is harmful.
Along with these many sources of "water" there also is the water of life—that which is coming from the throne of God. Today it is not always possible for people to discern the difference between the waters that cause death and the waters that bring life and health.
As part of the judgment of the trumpets the Lord will turn a large part of earth’s various forms of "water" into wormwood, into bitterness. That which proceeds from the babylonish [man-centered] churches, from the public schools, from teachers, scholars, and philosophers of the world, from government leaders, from psychologists and sociologists, from playwrights, from the media, will become manifestly harmful.
Multitudes who do not drink of the only pure water, the water of life that comes from Christ, will die. The spirits coming from the fleshly churches, from the teachers of the world, from the editors of the media, will be bitter in the "mouths" of the drinkers and they will die—spiritually and, in some cases, physically.
For example, the public schools of our day teach children to ignore fixed moral standards, such as the Scriptures, and to develop their own values through experimentation. The lingering godliness in our culture has to the present hour prevented the death and torment that reside in such corrupt values to be revealed.
In the days to come, those who ignore the fixed standards God has given, such as conscience and the Scriptures, will find that the "waters" they were given to drink in the public schools have become bitter indeed and have led to spiritual and physical torment, sickness and death.
This already is taking place. We are beginning to reap the harvest.
Mankind does not understand the proper use of the human brain. God did not give us a brain so we would become a God separate from Himself. Our brain is a blessing by means of which we are able to comprehend and enjoy our environment and especially to appreciate and understand God and His Word to us.
When we attempt to use our brain to control our destiny we are employing the brain in a manner contrary to the purpose of God. Education will form a large part of the antichrist system, second only, perhaps, to the role of money. Through education the brain is strengthened in the hope that man will be able to provide a better environment and destiny for himself.
But the Scriptures teach that God has not given the brain to us for that purpose.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5,6)
The above verse is the opposite of the scientific method of solving the problems of living. The scientific method is employed properly when it is used for the investigation of the material world. But when it is used to guide the human being through life it is usurping the role of the Spirit of God.
We are to trust the Lord and lean not to our own understanding. This is the commandment of the Word of God. We are to acknowledge God in all our ways, that is, our ways of conducting our life. If we do that, God will direct our paths.
Paul taught us that the brain of the natural man, of the adamic personality, is the enemy of God.
Because the fleshly mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:7)
Educating the human brain does not lead us to God. In order to perceive the will of God for our life we must be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). Our mind is renewed as we cast ourselves upon the Lord, trusting in Him. Then we receive the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is a different mind from the mind of the adamic nature.
The sons of God are not led through the problems and purposes of life by their minds, by education, but by the Spirit of God.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)
God desires that every believer press into the place in Christ that is his destiny. Only the Holy Spirit can guide and strengthen the believer so he continually and surely moves toward the mark God has set for him. Education can give the believer a fuller comprehension of his environment and an understanding of God’s workings in the past, in the present, and in the future. But the plan for the believer’s life, the manner in which he is to spend each day, can come only from the Holy Spirit.
As we have said, the witness of Jesus must "lose his head" (Revelation 20:4). The only way in which any person can become a true witness of Jesus is by setting aside his own thinking, his own judgment, and entering the mind of Christ. God’s servant is blind and deaf to the wisdom of this world, but he sees and hears that which the Lord is doing and saying.
Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant? (Isaiah 42:19)
The true knowledge of God never can come through educating the human brain.
The only light of men is the Life of Jesus (John 1:4). Jesus is the Truth and the only truth. His Life is our light.
As Christ is formed in us the truth is formed in us. The truth of God is not a series of impressions on the brain. The truth of God is the Life of God that is in us. We have knowledge by that Life. We have wisdom by that Life. We have understanding by that Life.
There is no shortcut, no quick method by which one can come to the knowledge of the Lord. The truth is formed in us as we learn to live by eating the flesh of Christ and drinking His holy blood.
God has made man upright but man has sought out many inventions. Ecclesiastes comments that "much study is a weariness of the flesh." To fear God and keep His commandments is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:12,13).
The Lord enters us in the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles and He becomes our way, our truth, and our life. Our brain serves only to gives us understanding of what the Lord is saying to us. It is the Lord Himself who is our wisdom and knowledge.
The educational systems of Antichrist bring bitterness and death to the human spirit. Blessed is the individual who comes to the realization of this inevitable consequence, who then turns away from reliance on the fountains of human wisdom and knowledge and in a childlike manner places his faith and trust in the Lord His Creator.
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