Now it is,
Now it is,
"We can't have that, can we? Things might get out of control. The devil might take over," we imagine. </p>
It was a short time after the Pentecostal outpouring of the twentieth century that the believers became several different denominations.
This reminds me of the Latter Rain movement. It was glorious at the beginning, when the Hawtin party came from Canada down to Los Angeles. Audrey and I were there.
But immediately the "kingdom builders" joined the parade so they could capitalize on this fresh form of Pentecostalism.
Due perhaps to this "commercialism" and I do not know what else, "Latter Rain" has been given a bad name by people who were not present in the beginning.
However, the Latter or Spring Rain is a promise of the Bible, and we now are in the latter days of the Church Age. "There is healing and power in the rain, Lord," as we used to sing. If you want to be blessed and healed, do not sit in the "seat of the scornful." There are enough people around who will tell us what God did wrong in the twentieth century. Do not join them if you want the Presence of Christ in your life.
The people are starving under the supervision of elders, being fed the unscriptural "rapture" and "lawless grace."
Can you imagine one of the old Prophets returning to Israel? I can. If the Jews obeyed their Prophet, they would become the head and not the tail among the nations of the earth.
Since God does not change, there may be a young prophet in Israel today who is about to come forth. If the elders are wise, they will evaluate his (or her) credentials. Having found a morally pure vehicle whose word is accurate, if they will listen to that the Lord says through the person, and do what is commanded, they will prosper and be invincible.
He will cry in the streets of Israel: "This is what God is saying. Repent and turn from your wicked ways so I may help you!"
But if the Israelis run true to form, they will sit in the seat of the mockers, scorn their Prophet or Prophetess and look for help from the nations who do not know the God of Israel.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the living Word of the living God.
The Jewish elders, as Pilate understood, had Him, the Lord's Anointed Deliverer, murdered because of their envy . The elders had memorized the Torah. But this Man who went about healing the sick of Israel, telling them about the Kingdom of God, had to be done away with.
Thus Israel has been punished and despised throughout the years. Their King had been among them; but the religious leaders want no king except themselves .
It always will be true of religious organizations. If Christ begins to move among us today, the people He uses will be despised and rejected by the mighty of Bashan, the "oaks" of political skill, the "giants."
Bashan always will gaze with envy at the true, eternal Israel of God. But God will save us from Bashan.
Mount Zion is the hill that God has chosen. There God will dwell, for He has chosen it.
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, (Hebrews 12:22,23)
Babylon, the great end-time religious organization, will be burned by fire by the people she seeks to govern. Babylon always is drunk with the blood of God's holy people, the blood of those who bear testimony to Jesus.
"Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you." (Revelation 18:20)
The passage above signals the end of all Christian denominations.
This is a good thing, isn't it? How would you like to die and go to Heaven, and find that the people there were divided into Baptist, Catholics, Pentecostals, Episcopalians, and thirty other groups?
I'll bet you would say to yourself, "I never thought the Church would be like this in Heaven!"
There is only one Body of Christ. Isn't that true? Only one true, eternal Israel, the Royal Priesthood? Only one Kingdom of God? Only one Wife of the Lamb?
If such is the case, why are we divided into many competing denominations? Something must be amiss.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:15,16)
"The whole body." Think of all the competing denominations. We are supposed to be one "whole body."
I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. (Ezekiel 36:22)
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. (John 10:16)
The expression "every supporting ligament" started me thinking of Ezekiel's army.
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. (Ezekiel 37:7,8)
I believe the dry bones of the thirty-seventh chapter of the Book of Ezekiel are portraying an awakening of the Body of Christ in the last days. We may not realize it, but compared to what God envisions in Christ for His Body, we are spiritually dead.
I will tell you what I think is going to take place.
In our day, the Spirit of God is speaking to the members of the Body of Christ. "Wake up and put away your sins. I will assist you."
"The Redeemer will come to Zion , to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the Lord. (Isaiah 59:20)
The Christian Church is the true and eternal Zion, the Body of Christ.
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, (Hebrews 12:22)
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion , and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1)
When the members of true eternal Israel among the Gentiles have been purified from their sinning, then they will go to the physical land and people of Israel and break their bondages of sin.
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved . As it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." (Romans 11:25-27)
The expression "all Israel" is interesting. I reminds us of the two sticks, doesn't it?
Say to them, "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph—which is in Ephraim's hand—and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick. I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand." (Ezekiel 37:19)
"Judah" stands for the Jews and Ephraim represents "many nations," according to the prophecy that was given concerning him.
But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations." (Genesis 48:19)
So we have the Jewish people and a group of nations becoming "one flock" with "one Shepherd."
88888Here we have "all Israel" experiencing God's salvation.
There is another point I wish to make, and this is crucial to our thinking:
Notice above "turn godlessness away from Jacob"; and "take away their sins."
Because of the emphasis in the New Testament on the "forgiveness" aspect of redemption, we do not think too much about the actual taking away of our sinful bondages.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13)
However, the Kingdom of God is not as much in forgiveness as it is in deliverance, in freedom from sin, in the doing of God's will.
Notice that the redemption that will come to the Jewish elect by the hands of the Gentile elect, is the removal of sin, not just the forgiveness of sin.
They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 37:23)
Can you see that the above has to do with deliverance from sin?
So, as the writer of the Book of Hebrews stated, "they (the Jewish heroes of faith) cannot be made perfect without us (those of true, eternal Israel who already are believers in Christ and have, through Christ, gained victory over the sinful urges of the members of our body)."
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39,40)
The army that has been formed from the "dry bones" are the Kingdom of God that will enforce righteousness in the earth.
The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty is the army that obeys his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? (Joel 2:11)
The Holy Spirit has given supernatural gifts to us that are designed to bring us to spiritual maturity. If I am correct, the gifts and ministries of the Spirit are not, for the most part, working as they should. Therefore the members of the Body remain spiritually dead and there is no dwelling place for God.
The Spirit of God gives gifts consisting of people in order to build a dwelling place for the God of Heaven.
When you ascended on high, you took many captives; you received gifts from people, even from the rebellious—that you, Lord God, might dwell there. (Psalms 68:18)
But God has said that we are to prophesy to the bones, and they will come to life. Now how do we do that? We pray. We do not just try to revive the bones, we pray. A great deal of prayer took place at the beginning of the twentieth century, and speaking in tongues and other gifts were added to the believers who sought the Lord.
The Bible commands what must be true of us as believers. If we are not wholly righteous and obedient, God will not be with us. But the Spirit of God must direct every detail of the battle. If He does not, nothing of eternal value will be accomplished.
Fruitfully following the Spirit of God is an art that requires mastery. Long, trouble-filled Christian experience is required if we are to be successful in learning to live by the Spirit without being deceived.
The members of the congregations of Christians never are going to learn how to obey the Spirit of God unless the stigma of being "mystical" is removed by the pastors and teachers, and the people are taught what to do and what not to do.
The elders of the church, when they see things getting out of hand in manifestations, must not be afraid to "quench the Spirit." When the assembling is not being done decently and in order, the elders must put a stop to that which is not building up the saints.
There is a movement among Charismatic believers that is encouraging all sorts of weird behaviors. If godly elders to not put a stop to this exhibitionism, the movement will become the False Prophet, of Revelation, Chapter Thirteen, who will assist the Antichrist.
I do not say this so the elders will not permit people to launch out and try to exercise a gift or ministry. Being decent and in order does not mean that the routine of the service never is altered. Having the people sit quietly while the pastor preaches is not always appropriate. Experienced elders will detect when the Spirit of God wants to do something new and fresh.
Next Part There is an old saying,