26 God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him.

Elisha threw a stick into the water and made the iron float.

The stick is the cross of Christ. When we preach cross-carrying obedience, the Lordship of Christ, the rigorous discipleship of the true Christian life, and throw that "stick" into the Christian personality, the iron of the Holy Spirit will float.

The authority and power of the Kingdom of God will return to the churches of Christ along with the cross. Then the conquering saints will tear down and destroy all the works of Satan because the power of the saints will not be the efforts of the human flesh and soul. The saints will minister through the authority and power of the Lord Jesus Christ working in the fullness of the anointing of the Spirit of the God of the whole earth.

Antichrist will assist the Laodicean churches of the last days. Those "Christian" believers will happily receive the mark of the Beast in their right hands (behaviour) or in their foreheads (minds) as they do today.

The mark of the Beast is the spirit of the world, of money, of education, of entertainment. Today’s television programming reflects the values of Antichrist.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)

The mark of the Beast (and there actually may be a literal mark in the right hand or in the forehead) is conformity to the world spirit. A large part of the world spirit is the worship of the God, Mammon (money).

Money is worshiped in the Christian churches of today as it was worshiped by the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Money, music, and education are today’s substitute for the power of the Holy Spirit. Christian programs are accomplished by money. The believers already have the mark of the beast—666 (three sixes represent the divinity of man). Man making himself God is in their deeds and in their minds.

The Laodicean churches will be filled with contented "Christian" believers enjoying beautiful music, listening to sermons that are theologically accurate in some respects, just as it true of today.

But those churches will be void of the Holy Spirit. However the congregations will assume the Holy Spirit is in their midst.

The Holy Spirit is warning us today concerning the deceptions that prevail in the Christian churches. The Spirit is pointing out the danger of uncrucified believers attempting to build the Kingdom of God by their own wisdom and strength. The Spirit is crying to the Christian churches, "Repent!"

Whenever the Laodicean churches hear the words of the Spirit they say, "It is the devil"; or, "It is a cult." Because many Christian teachers of today are preaching material prosperity, their followers are rejecting the traditional Christian message of repentance and discipleship.

When Christian churchgoers of our day state that a person who is preaching repentance is teaching "legalism" and "works," and therefore is starting a cult, we can understand the hold Satan has on the minds and hearts of many of God’s people. Whoever would depart from the undemanding, "unconditional grace" teaching of our day, and insists on righteous conduct, indeed makes himself or herself a prey.

A person can be theologically sound in doctrine, as were the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, believe in redemption through the blood of Jesus and the born-again experience, be concerned with the spiritual and physical welfare of people, and still speak the words of Satan.

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