God's Servant Executes the Judgment of God

The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. (Isaiah 42:13)

And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? (Joel 2:11)

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment on all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 1:14,15)

We cannot describe in detail the rebellion of angels against God because the Scripture references concerning this wickedness are not comprehensive. We do understand, however, that sin originated in the heavenlies - in the spirit realm, in the very Presence of the Father.

Sin was not created by humans but by evil spirits. It is Satan, not Adam, who is the father of lies. The Lake of Fire has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

Sin did not originate in Eden. Sin was introduced into Eden by a cherub who already was in rebellion against God. Whenever we begin to think about God's judgment, about redemption and deliverance from sin, we are confronted with the kingdom of darkness. This is where the problem is. One cannot occupy a strong man's territory without first dealing with the strong man himself.

One of the principal tasks of the Servant of the Lord is to destroy totally the kingdom of darkness. There will be nothing left of wickedness when the Lord ceases working. Even the memory of sin and rebellion will have been blotted out of the heavens and the earth.

Speaking prophetically of the wicked rulers in the heavenlies:

But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed. And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them. (Deuteronomy 7:23,24)

In the present hour we are struggling against the lords of darkness who rule the earth from their thrones of power in the heavenlies (Ephesians 6:12). But in God's time every one of them shall be forced down to the earth and crushed under the feet of the saints.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9)

And the God of peace shall bruise {crush} Satan under your feet shortly. . . . (Romans 16:20)

There is coming an end to the wrestling match. Christ will destroy His opponent without mercy. He will do it through His Church.

The total destruction of wickedness will be accomplished by the Lord God moving through His Church. "The Lord shall roar out of Zion." In order for the saints to be available for such employment they must be living victoriously in the Spirit of God.

The three qualities that must be true of the saints before they can exercise the judgment of the Lord are guiltlessness (justification), righteousness and holiness of behavior (sanctification), and joyful, strict obedience to the Lord (consecration).

The saint of God must be justified by the blood of the Lamb. He must be made holy by the power of the Holy Spirit. He must be consecrated to the point where he loves not his own life to the point of death - totally obedient to the Father. If there is a problem with one of these three areas the saint is disqualified from participating in the coming assault upon Hell.

Guiltlessness. It is impossible for the Lord to execute judgment through a Church that itself is under condemnation because it is not abiding under the blood of justification, is not walking in righteousness and holiness, and is not obeying the Spirit of the Lord.

God's war against Satan is not a question of who has the greater power. God always retains all power. When the appointed moment arrives it will require only one angel to bind Satan and cast him into the bottomless pit.

Rather, the requirements for victory in the war against the enemies of Christ are the protection, cleansing, and virtue of the blood of the cross, holy motives and behavior, and obedience to the will of God. Each of these elements is critically important in spiritual battle.

Our concern is not with obtaining enough power to conquer Satan, it is with our own state of acceptability before the God of Heaven. The necessary power will be forthcoming when we are eligible to receive it.

God's first warfare is against the saints. When God's saints have been reconciled fully to God it will be time for the destruction of Satan. First, Satan in the Church; after that, Satan outside the Church.

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:2)

For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. (Isaiah 54:7)

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. (I Peter 5:10)

Guiltlessness (justification) comes to us by way of the blood of the Lamb. "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him" (Romans 5:9). We are justified fully (held to be without guilt in the sight of God) through the gift of God's righteousness that comes to us on the basis of our faith in the atonement made by Christ on the cross of Calvary.

No accuser can win his case in the court of Heaven against those who are justified by the blood of God's Lamb, Christ.

The authority of the blood in spiritual warfare is demonstrated by the fact that the armies of Heaven follow the Commander in Chief whose robe is dipped in blood. The blood of Christ remains in front of His troops throughout all the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged.

We overcome the accuser through the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11).

Righteousness and holiness of behavior. Not only must we be guiltless through the blood of the cross but our being and conduct must be righteous and holy as well. Guiltlessness is imputed (ascribed) to us on the basis of the sacrificial offering of Christ on the cross. But righteousness and holiness of thought and conduct are created in us through the Word of God, through the Life that is in the body and blood of Christ, and through the resurrection Life of the Holy Spirit who is working in us.

Righteousness and holiness of personality and behavior are wrought in us as the Holy Spirit leads us in putting to death the deeds of our body (Romans 8:13). The Holy Spirit is the Law of the Spirit of life. He enables us to conquer the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Each day of our discipleship we must bring our deeds, words, and thoughts under the control of the Holy Spirit. By so doing we keep on growing in the power of righteousness and holiness. If we are to fight against the kingdom of darkness, executing the Lord's sentence of judgment on wickedness, we must do so in righteousness and holiness.

The Servant of the Lord is called in righteousness.

It is the pure in heart who will see God. An unholy person never shall behold the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

We cannot fight successfully against Satan when we are yielding to the lust of our flesh, the lust of our eyes, or the pride of our life. When we are practicing sin we are spiritually weak. We go down in defeat. We are deceived and led astray. We are distracted, double-minded, weak from guilt and fear. If we are walking in darkness we cannot possibly fight victoriously against the darkness. If we are full of Satan we cannot overcome the armies of Satan.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelite men of war marched under Joshua. But the sin of one man - Achan - brought all Israel into condemnation and defeat (Joshua 7:5).

The armies of Heaven are clothed in fine linen, clean and white. The white linen is the righteous conduct of the saints. The saints are shielded by the atoning protection of the blood of the Lamb and they themselves are clothed in their own righteous conduct (Revelation 19:8,13).

Both imputed righteousness and actual righteousness and holiness of personality and behavior are necessary if we are to serve the Lord in spiritual battle. Satan cannot not cast out Satan. It is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous (righteous in deed) man that avails much in the Kingdom of God.

We overcome the accuser by the word (not words , plural) of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). The living of a godly life is an important part of our testimony (Matthew 5:16). The "word of our testimony" is that which our personality is declaring to be true of the God of Heaven and of Christ His Son. We are the flesh being made the Word of God. This is the new covenant.

Another important aspect of our testimony consists of the words and works of power exercised through the saints by the Holy Spirit of God. A pure life plus spiritual power are the two horns of the testimony. A holy life and works of power both come from the Holy Spirit, not from the adamic nature.

Joyful, strict obedience to the Lord. The third state that must be attained by the saint before God can employ him in the execution of judgment is that of strict, stern obedience to Christ, to the Spirit of God, to the Father. Obedience is wrought in us as God requires distasteful duty of us and we remain faithful. Obedience calls for the sacrifice of Isaac, the imprisonment of Joseph, the afflictions of Job, the crucifixion of Christ, the martyrdom of the early Christians and of numerous believers throughout the history of the Church.

Obedience demands that we love not our lives to the death. Obedience and faithfulness are closely related.

We can be progressing in righteousness and yet have some important lessons to learn concerning absolute obedience to the Father. If we are willing to suffer with Christ we will reign with Christ. If we are to experience the full power of His resurrection we must experience also the fellowship, the sharing, of the sufferings of Christ.

We learn obedience, as did Christ, through the things we suffer. The Servant of the Lord accepts the sufferings God sends, and as much as possible, maintains a cheerful, uncomplaining attitude. The Servant does not blame God or people for his problems. He looks only to the Lord. He continues in prayer in his prison until God brings him forth.

It is the quality of strict obedience to the Father that finally will bring the Church to the level of spiritual strength at which the kingdom of darkness can be destroyed. The Church, as Samson of old, will tear down the temple of sin and rebellion by means of its own death - the death of total obedience to God.

The true Church, the refined remnant, will learn to bow in obedience before Christ, dying to its own ambitions and self-aggrandizement. When it does, the entire structure of sin and rebellion will be crushed by the authority and power of Christ. The honor and responsibility of executing the sentence of Divine judgment has been given to the saints of the Lord (Psalms 149:9).

We of the Church are learning obedience today. As we become increasingly willing to obey the Lord, no matter what He requires of us, no matter whether or not we understand what He is doing, and walk in obedience without complaining, then the Lord becomes increasingly able to destroy the kingdom of darkness in us and in those to whom we are ministering.

As God's people become willing to obey God perfectly and completely He shall proceed to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:14)

Speaking of Adam and of Christ, Paul states:

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)

Notice in the preceding passage how the power and authority of redemption flowed from the obedience of Christ, as contrasted with the terrible consequences of the disobedience of Adam. Disobedience to God always brings death. Obedience to God brings eternal life. God will not tolerate disobedience on the part of any of His creatures.

God is extremely pleased when we are obedient under painful, difficult conditions. Both fruitfulness and dominion flow directly from strict obedience to God.

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the Heaven and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:17,18)

Abraham received imputed (ascribed) righteousness on the basis of believing what God said to him concerning children yet unborn (Genesis 15:6).

Abraham grew in holiness and righteousness as he walked before God and became perfect in behavior (Genesis 17:1).

Abraham received blessing, fruitfulness, victory over his enemies, and the power to confer blessing on the nations of the earth because he obeyed God throughout an excruciating trial of his faith.

God does not change and His ways with His saints do not change. The moral law remains eternally the same because its principles are based on spiritual realities, not on transitory circumstances or environments. The spirit of murderous hatred is sinful. Covetousness of the possessions of another is sinful. False testimony is sinful. Sorcery is sinful. Envy is sinful and produces the image and works of Satan. All these behaviors are sinful because they proceed from unclean spirits - spirits that have been driven from the Presence of the Father.

The difference between the old covenant and the new covenant is not, as is taught commonly, that we no longer are required to practice righteous and holy living. Rather the difference is that under the new covenant we receive more help (grace) from God so we can attain righteous, holy, and obedient conduct of living.

God did not change the eternal moral law when the new covenant was instituted. God does not change and His standard of right and wrong does not change. Under the new covenant God is making it possible for us to keep the moral law, not only in the legal, imputed sense but also in the actual, visible sense. The moral image of the Lord Jesus Christ is the standard of personality and behavior to which every creature of the new world is to aspire.

The church is destined to destroy out of the earth every trace of sin and rebellion against God. The Lord has determined that even the memory of sin and rebellion shall be removed. It is the responsibility of the Body of Christ, as enabled by God's Spirit, to destroy the tendencies and effects of sin out of the creation. Then the creation will be brought into the liberty of the glory of the children of God (Romans 8:21).

The Body of Christ possesses, through the Holy Spirit, the keys of the Kingdom of God, the key of David, the authority and power under Christ to loose and to bind, to forgive sin and to bind over to judgment. These are awesome responsibilities and many of us are not quite ready for them.

To the Servant of the Lord - Head and Body - has been assigned the authority and power to open to God's creatures the way into the Presence and blessing of God; and also, as long as sin and rebellion continue to be practiced, the authority and power to remove from God's Presence those who defy Christ.

Satan will be crushed beneath the feet of the saints.

It is the Servant of the Lord, Christ - Head and Body, who will judge the world and also the angels.

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we will judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (I Corinthians 6:2,3)

It was mankind that opened the door to Satan in the earth, and it is mankind, through the Spirit of Christ, that is responsible to drive Satan out of the earth. This is true for mankind as a whole and also for the individual believer.

Although it is helpful to the embattled saint to have his brothers and sisters pray for him, final deliverance from Satan can come only as the individual who allowed Satan to enter him is willing and able, through Christ's help, to drive him out.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

Man forfeited his inheritance because of his inability to resist the counsel of the adversary. Through Christ man can regain his inheritance, treading on the head of Satan in the process.

Satan has bruised the heel of man so he cannot walk uprightly. Christ destroyed the authority of Satan on the cross of Calvary, and through the saints Christ will destroy every trace of the adversary's power.

Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Daniel 7:22)

In the Book of Revelation emphasis is placed on the wall of the new Jerusalem. The wall portrays that in the holy city, which is the Church, the Wife of the Lamb, there will be no sin. Sin will be driven out by the Spirit of God working through the saints and will be walled out for eternity.

The wall against sin and rebellion is being constructed now, in the spirit realm, as Christ is being formed in the personalities of the victorious saints. One day the completed and perfected new Jerusalem will descend from Heaven and be installed on the new earth, where it will abide forever.

Sin originated in the heavens and then entered the earth. The wall against sin is being created in the saints. After the Day of Judgment has been completed, the walled city, which is the glorified Church, will descend from Heaven to the new earth.

One of the main tasks of the Church, the Body of Christ, in the present hour is that of rebuilding the wall - the defense against sin - of the city of God. The current rebuilding is typified by the activities of Nehemiah (Book of Nehemiah). It is time now for the saints of God both to build and to fight.

We are building the Church's eternal defenses against sin. We are standing against every spirit and person that would attempt to discourage us or prevent us from establishing the righteousness, holiness, and obedience the Lord requires on the part of those who would live in His Kingdom.

When the saints return to the earth with Christ they will complete the work of destroying the kingdom of darkness by removing it altogether from the earth (Revelation 19:19-21). The Prophets have much to say about the war against the kingdom of darkness (Joel 2:3; Micah 5:9; Habakkuk 3:13; Malachi 4:1; etc.).

Total victory will come through the Servant of the Lord.

The Lord God will go forth as a fierce man of war. His Spirit of indignation and vengeance has been awakened. He will roar through the Church and will prevail over His enemies. God's enemies are the wicked, rebellious spirits that introduced sin into Eden, that plague God's saints and accuse them night and day, that deceive the whole world, that destroy the earth, and that have been assigned to the Lake of Fire. The church is God's instrument of warfare against His enemies.

God has an army. He will utter His voice before His army. The heavens and the earth will shake before Him as He marches against the kingdom of darkness.

God is in travail in the present hour in order that Christ may be formed in the saints, that righteousness and holiness may be established on the earth. As soon as Christ has been formed in the members of His Body, God will be able to go to war in and with His Servant.

The Day of the Lord is great and very terrible. The Day of the Lord will be executed through the saints. We are being prepared to be the Arm of the Lord. We are to bring justice to the nations by crushing the oppressor who has kept the peoples of the earth in the chains of sin and death, and then by teaching and healing the inhabitants of the earth.

In order to redeem the prisoners of the earth, God first must deal with the jailer. This He has chosen to do through Christ, the Servant of the Lord.