-by ANDREW STROM.
COPYRIGHT (c)
ANDREW STROM, 1996, 2004.
First Published on the World
Wide Web by A. Strom in 1996.
PERMISSION IS GRANTED to
'link'-to, photocopy and pass around this work. However, if you wish
to 'publish' it or parts of it, you will need to obtain permission from the
author first.
This book can be found at-
http://www.revivalschool.com
CONTENTS:
- Chapter
One. Visions of Reformation and Revival.
- Chapter
Two. The
- Chapter
Three. Religious Extremes - Legalism vs. License.
- Chapter
Four. Revival!
- Chapter
Five. The Sin of Rebellion.
- Chapter
Six. Two Revivals?
- Appendix.
Tommy Hicks' End-Times Vision.
"Learn from me, how difficult a thing it is to throw off errors
confirmed by the example of all the world, and which, through
long habit, have become a second nature to us."
- MARTIN LUTHER, THE REFORMER.
About three years ago I entered a period in my Christian walk of some of the
deepest dealings of God that I have ever experienced. Along with this deep
dealing came an anointing the like of which I had never before known, even when
newly baptized in the Holy Spirit some years before. I would often spend whole
evenings just basking in the awesome presence of God, tears coursing down my
face, as I beheld Him again, in all His majesty and holiness. The one message
that kept coming through again and again at this time was a very simple yet
profound one: "Revival is coming!" I had been praying - often
agonizingly - for Revival for about ten years up to this point, including seven
years of the most shattering "wilderness"-type experience. And suddenly,
it seemed literally as though the heavens had opened!
Each time I received anew this promise of "Revival" I sensed that
it was an imminent - even urgent - message. And it was at about this time too,
that God began to bring me across many other Christians who had been through a
similar process to my own - praying and prophetic people from all kinds of
backgrounds, each with a similar message from God. A number had even been given
amazingly specific dreams and visions concerning what was to come. At that time
I had very little idea of what had been said by prophetic ministries overseas
about Revival coming to New Zealand, but right from the beginning, I was aware
that God was showing us that in order to prepare His people for worldwide
Revival on a huge scale, massive `change' and Reformation would first have to
be visited upon His church, just as with many great moves of God in the past.
If we expect to be involved in the great last-days `harvest', then surely it is
logical that God would have to bring correspondingly huge `Reformation' upon
His church in order to prepare her for such a harvest? This is especially true
if the church is in the kind of inward-looking, `Laodicean' state that we
generally see her in today.
I have been studying Reformation and Revival history now for over twelve
years, and when I began to realize what God was saying to us here in
Some of the aspects that God has spoken about in detail here in NZ are: The
great "shaking" and total Reformation of the church that lie ahead,
the incredible "street-church" of tomorrow (a new `street-based'
Revival movement, absolutely saturated with the glory of God), the `violent'
new Revival ministries (apostles and prophets, etc), the powerful, piercing
"repentance" preaching with tremendous conviction of sin, the
healings and miracles, with thousands of young people gathered in the streets,
and the glorious new `battle' and praise music that He is about to raise up,
etc. All of these aspects will be discussed fully in this book.
There will be many who will find the implications of what I am about to
share quite shocking at times. This is not surprising. Have you ever heard of a
"comfortable" Reformation? For those who have a vested interest in
the status quo, true Revival and true Reformation have always been the most
"uncomfortable" of sub- jects. And yes, many will be shocked by the
picture that I paint within these pages. I believe that we are about to witness
the greatest upheaval in the history of the church.
However, there is nothing that will be presented here that has not been
thoroughly tested against the precedents and principles found right through the
Scriptures and also church history. For over twelve years now, God has led me
to study and take careful note of the ways in which He has moved amongst His
people in the past, from the beginning of the Old Testament right down through
the history of the church. These are the precedents and principles by which we
must judge every new movement. There is no such thing as a Revival or new move
of God that exists in isolation. Every Revival is built on the foundations laid
in previous Revivals. And there are familiar patterns running right through all
of the great moves of God that I have studied. Even Jesus felt the need to use
the Scriptures to prove the validity of His ministry.
In recent years there has been considerable controversy over the movement
known as the "
As well as looking at Reformations and Revivals down through history, we
will also be discussing a large number of recent dreams and visions given to
praying people in
It is my belief that every one of the dreams and visions described in this
book passes each of these tests with flying colours. True Reformation and true
Revival have always been the most revolutionary, the most earth-shattering, the
most `violent' spiritual events of their time. It is my belief that we live in
the most momentous days in the history of the church. Incredible events are
about to unfold before our very eyes. In the many dreams and visions given in
Surely, if we are in the `last days', then the extraordinary times that we
live in call for an unusually powerful and sweeping Revival? And surely, in
such times as these, it makes perfect sense that God would send the
greatest-ever Reformation in order to prepare His church for what must surely
be the greatest `harv- est' (the final one) in all history? We only have to
look around us to see the urgent need for such a great move of God. Both the
church and the world are desperately poverty-stricken spiritually. And right
down through history, God has always brought an outpouring of great mercy
before He has brought great judgement. May not this present desperate hour be one
of those times?
VISIONS OF
REFORMATION AND REVIVAL.
For generations now, God has been speaking to His people all over the world
about the great end-times Revival, the final "harvest" that will come
before the tribulation and judgement that will close this present age. On the
day of Pentecost the apostle Peter declared, "In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit upon ALL FLESH. Your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream
dreams..." (Acts
Jesus spoke of the harvest as being the "end of the age" (Matt
Some Christians have opposed the idea that there will be any great Revival
at the end of the age. They point out that according to the Scriptures, the
end-times church will be in a state of almost complete spiritual bankruptcy -
materialistic, carnal, lukewarm - "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of
God". Surely such a church would be in no state to bring in such a great `harvest'
in Jesus' name? And in this respect we have to admit that WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
IS ABSOLUTELY REASONABLE AND CORRECT. Indeed, the Scriptures on the subject are
universal in the picture they paint of an end-times church that is virtually
apostate and Laodicean in every respect. How can such a church ever be part of
the greatest Revival in history? The answer to this question is very simple: IT
CAN'T!
Just as with many previous moves of God right down through the ages, God has
made it very clear that once again, only a "remnant" of believers,
who have willingly gone through the necessary preparation, will have a part in
the coming Revival. Those who refuse to submit to this preparation process,
preferring to remain in their present `Laodicean' state - will clearly have no
part whatsoever in the coming move of God. Rather, just as Jesus has promised,
the lukewarm are to be "spewed" out of the mouth of God (
The Bible makes it very clear that God cannot live with a `blessings'
-obsessed, Laodicean-type church. And in this world of increasing darkness, it
becomes doubly imperative that God has a people in the earth who are shining
forth His light with the greatest possible effectiveness. This is what the
coming Reformation is all about - finding and cleansing and anointing such a
people so that they can shine forth His light in all the earth. This is why
such a massive `shaking' and repentance must first come upon the church. God
must find and raise up such a people.
And as always, only a "remnant" who embrace this dealing of God
will make it through into the coming move, just as only a remnant of the
Israelites who left
It is interesting to note in the parable of the tares and the wheat (Mt 13),
that at the end of the age it is the `false wheat' in God's kingdom that is
bundled together (unified) first and separated from the true wheat. When this
separating process is complete, we see God's judgement fall upon these `tares'.
As history clearly shows, God is very patient, but the time must come for the
`sifting' and judgement of His people. While there is still true wheat amongst
the tares, the tares are relatively safe. But as soon as this separating
process is complete, the tares are in imminent danger of falling under the judgement
fire of God's holy wrath. He will not forever stand for a people who cause His
name to be mocked and brought into an open shame.
Meanwhile, God's true remnant will be being purified, tried as by fire,
until every impurity is gone - prepared as a Bride fit for her King - pure and
holy, "without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing" (Eph 5:27). This
will be the company of saints who will bring in the great last-days harvest of
souls, and who will preach the gospel of the kingdom in all the earth with
great au- thority and power, and with signs and wonders following, before the
end comes.
AN OPEN VISION OF THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
The following is a vision that was given to a friend of mine who is very
experienced in this `prophetic' area, late in 1993. This gentleman has many
years of Christian ministry behind him, and in the last few years has been
given a number of stunning dreams and visions about the coming move of God.
However, he told me that this particular vision was one of the most powerful of
all. It unfolded before his eyes like a movie in technicolor, with God speaking
to him about aspects of it as he watched.
Basically, it was a traditional wedding scene. The radiantly beautiful Bride
had just stepped out of the Cathedral and was standing on the top step, just
outside. My friend was told that the Bride was LEAVING `CHRISTENDOM' (AND ALL
THAT GOES WITH IT) FOREVER, leaving the `church' system behind. The Groom (who
was Jesus) took her arm, so that He could lead her down and proudly display His
beautiful Bride to all the world.
Still inside the Cathedral were all the relatives (these were the various
`streams' and denominations of the church as we know it). Suddenly, while the
Bride was still on the top step, an invisible hand gave her a beautiful lily
(which had been plucked out by the roots). This was her bridal `bouquet' (her
new anointing, perhaps?) and for some reason it seemed to be given to her
rather late. She threw this bouquet backwards, and some of her relatives in the
church, who had been watching her with great jealousy and awe, made a grab for
the bouquet. Two of them seemed to snatch it up. The Groom then led the Bride
down the steps and through the huge crowd of cheering people down below, who
had been unable to get into the Cathedral. In a later vision, my friend was
shown that after they had made their way through this huge throng, the happy
couple were then taken away on their honeymoon, which was to last for a
thousand years.
When speaking of the `end of the age', Jesus Himself often used `wedding'-
type analogies. In the parable of the five wise and the five foolish virgins,
for instance (which is again obviously referring to CHRISTIANS), Jesus again
divides the believers into two groups. When the watchman cries, "Behold,
the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!", fully HALF of the
(supposedly `Spirit-filled') Christians suddenly find that there is a severe
lack of "oil" in their lamps! Because of this, they are completely
shut out of the marriage feast. Again, in Jesus' parable of the wedding feast
(Mt 22 v1-14), the King sends out His servants to tell those who have been
`invited' that everything is now ready, and that it is time to come and
celebrate His Son's marriage. But these `invited' ones make light of it,
maltreating His servants and refusing to attend. The King then sends His armies
to destroy their city and raze it to the ground, and sends out His servants
once again, into the highways and byways, compelling everybody, `both good and
bad' to come in and rejoice with Him at the marriage of His Son.
Like that last parable, I believe that we now live in days of tremendous
danger for those who have already received their `invitations' to the coming
wedding feast. As in every Revival, many who have been invited, many who
`should be there', never make it, and their places are taken by the unknowns,
the outcasts, the meek, the despised and the rejected. So let those who have
`reputations' to protect, those who are counted amongst the "wise and
prudent", those who are seen as 'somebodies',- let them all beware! For
these are days not only of great opportunity, but also of great danger.
"For many are called but few are chosen" (Mt 22:14).
It is my belief that God is going to delight in using the "foolish
things of this world to confound the wise" in this Revival. As always, He
is going to use the "little" people - the people who are of no
account - to humble the powerful, the successful and the mighty. He is going to
take the unknowns and the outcasts, the praying solo mothers and the
ex-gang-members, the "fishermen and the tax-collectors", and He is
going to anoint them and raise them up into the mightiest army of
miracle-working apostles, prophets, evangelists, etc, that this world has ever
known. And all they will be interested in doing is glorifying Him in every
conceivable way.
When this happens, many of today's Christian leaders will marvel, just as
the scribes and Chief Priests `marvelled' at the boldness of Peter and John
when they saw that they were "unlearned and ignorant men... and they took
knowledge of them, that THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS" (Acts 4:13). That is the
secret: "THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS". And thus it will be of everyone
that is used of God in this Revival. "I thank you, O Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and
prudent, and have revealed them unto babes" (Mt 11:25).
I believe that many forgotten and hidden Christians, whom God has been
quietly preparing for many years, will make up this radiantly lovely Bride of
Christ in these last days. Like a hidden army, they will suddenly spring forth
as if from nowhere, to take the field in the name of the Lord and of
righteousness. Thus it has always been, and always will be, with the greatest
moves of God. Hidden preparation and sudden, aggressive mobilisation have been
the keys to many of God's greatest victories in the past, and this time will be
no different.
Be assured of this: Jesus must have His virgin Bride. He cannot return until
a Bride is prepared for Him that is literally "without spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing". That is what this Revival is all about: to bring into
being and display His beautiful Bride to all the world. In physical terms, this
`Bridal' company of saints will not look particularly amazing or special. Like
the original apostles, they will be ordinary people with an extraordinary
calling and anointing. Many of them will no doubt seem a little rough or
`ill-suited' (from an outward point of view) to be endued with such power, but
this will only serve to bring God all the more glory. They may not look like
much on the outside, but these men and women will have hearts that are
literally "as pure as snow". They will be a people who know exactly
what it means to walk in total heart purity before God. To Him, they will be
vastly more precious than all of the "gold or pearls or costly array"
of this entire Universe. And they will go forth with great power,
"destroying the works of the devil" in His name.
THE INCREDIBLE "STREET-CHURCH" OF TOMORROW
For the past fifteen years or more, all over the world God has been warning
His people of the great "shaking" and Reformation that are about to
come upon His church. In 1982, for instance, in a very powerful visitation, one
well- known American intercessor/leader was clearly spoken to by God: "I
am going to change the understanding and expression of Christianity IN THE
EARTH in one generation". As we have seen in the vision of the Bride, she
was seen leaving `Christendom' (and all that goes with it) forever - leaving
behind the `church system' as we know it. From this and many other visions and
prophecies, etc, in New Zealand, it has become obvious to us that IN ORDER TO
BE PART OF THE NEW MOVE OF GOD IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO COMPLETELY LEAVE TODAY'S
CHURCH SYSTEM. This is not "rebellion". (In fact we will discuss the
subtle dangers of rebellion later in this book). What God has said to us in
this regard actually has a tremendous amount of historic precedent, both in
Scripture and in church history, as we shall see. The reasons and the timing
for this move will become much clearer as we go along.
Of course, those with a vested interest in maintaining the present church
hierarchies and systems will be violently opposed to such an idea. Many
reformers, such as Martin Luther, John Wesley and William Booth faced enormous
opposition from the established church leadership of their day for precisely
this reason. This is why true Reformation and Revival are often the most controversial
and the most persecuted spiritual events of their time. And this is also why it
has often been the CHRISTIANS (particularly the leaders) who have persecuted
new moves of God the worst.
Something that God has made very clear to us in NZ is that the coming
Revival is to be a "street-based" (or `open-air' based) move of God.
Today we have a "meetings and buildings" oriented church, a church
that is hidden away in `boxes' from the eyes of the world. But, like the early
church (where they met daily in the huge open-air temple courtyard - probably
the most public place in all Jerusalem), and also like the mighty Wesley and
Salvation Army Revivals, the coming move of God is to be truly street-based.
(There will also, like the early church, be gatherings of the saints from
"house to house" (Acts 2:41-47).
God is also going to use this Reformation and Revival to smash down the
dividing walls that separate the Christians. Jesus has never stopped desiring
that there be only "one" undivided body. Today, however, just amongst
the Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians alone there are so many divisions,
"streams" and denomina- tions that it is almost impossible to count
them all. Each division has it's own `label', and in many ways they operate
like competing corporations, selling the same "product" under
different labels (with slight variations). It's ridiculous! And the whole
church system today is set up in such a way that it just ensures that these
divisions continue. These are `structural' divisions that have been virtually
set in concrete - "institutionalised" divisions that are simply
accepted and perpetuated by each new generation of Christians.
God is going to smash down these `walls' in this Revival. How? By bringing
His people out from underneath all these "labels"! In one very
significant vision several years ago, a NZ prophet saw God firing "flaming
arrows" into the churches. These flaming arrows were `on-fire' ministries,
speaking the word of God. Howev- er, the Pastors were rushing around trying to
damp down the flames! God then sent a "mighty wind" to fan the
flames, and suddenly the doors of the churches burst open and all the people
flooded out onto the streets to become one huge throng. I believe that this is
an exact picture of what is about to take place, and in many ways it also
illustrates the whole concept of "Reformation" very well (as will be
seen from later chapters).
Another local intercessor was also shown a vision relating to this several
years ago, while deep in prayer. The first thing she saw was church buildings
of every kind - stained glass, steeples, plain and modern, etc. This part of
the vision was in black and white. The churches all looked abandoned - like a
ghost town, with birds nesting in them and doors and windows askew, etc. And in
each church, the intercessor saw a huge old curtain or `veil' that was in
absolute tatters.
The second part of the vision was all in colour. She saw hundreds of
Christians outdoors (with guitars, etc) fellowshipping together in the open
air. She knew that these Christians had abandoned their church buildings and
`divisions', and were now fellowshipping freely out-of-doors. When she asked
God what the huge tat- tered curtain in each of the abandoned churches
represented, she was told that when Jesus was crucified, the veil/curtain in
the temple was rent, thus allowing the people free access to the `holy of
holies'. However, the churches had raised up this veil once again. But now
these structures had been abandoned, thus al- lowing the common people free
access to God's holy-of-holies once more. What an astounding vision!
One of the best examples I know of a truly "street-based" Revival
movement was the early Salvation Army (1860's to the 1890's). In those days,
the Salvationists were largely a bunch of `on-fire', praying zealots, given to
holding open-air street meetings in which their brass bands would crash away
raucously and their preachers would exhort the people to repentance under a
mighty anointing. Their motto was, "Go for souls, and go for the
worst!" Many early Salvationists were arrested, and there were often
full-scale riots involving huge mobs, etc. The newspapers were full of it. The
Salvationists were both controversial and notorious. And thousands upon
thousands of people were converted. With- in days of the first tiny contingent
of Salvationists arriving in New Zealand, the following cable-gram was
despatched to General Booth in England: "Dunedin, Auckland blazing.
Christchurch shortly. Reinforce sharp."
There can be no doubt that God desires a loving, militant
"street-level" Church today. After all, isn't that what the early
church was all about? I believe that it will become common for incredible
signs, wonders and miracles to be performed on the streets as a result of this
coming Revival. In fact, I believe that we are about to see a demonstration of
God's glory in the area of the miraculous that will be even more powerful than
the book of Acts.
Enormous love, enormous boldness and `joy unspeakable' will be just some of
the characteristics of this Revival. And everything will be bathed in prayer.
In fact this Revival is going to be BUILT on prayer. As Charles Finney said,
"Revival comes from heaven when heroic souls enter the conflict determined
to win or die... `The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take
it by force.'" There is no substitute for faith-filled, Spirit-fired
"agonizing" prayer. Only those who are prepared and praying will be
involved in this Revival from the beginning. As history shows, great blessing can
only ever fall when the people of God learn to seek His face with all their
heart.
THE "VIOLENT" NEW MINISTRIES
Along with the picture of a radiantly beautiful Bride, God has also often
likened the coming move to an army being prepared for battle, and then
attacking the enemy with great violence. I myself believe that spiritual
aggression and daring faith are all part and parcel of the Bride's radiant
beauty. She will "love not her life unto the death" (Rev 12:11). All
over the world, there have been numerous dreams and visions that speak of the
great army of God that is about to arise and do battle.
About two years ago, for instance, a New Zealand prophet was given a vision
of the `vanguard' of the army (those at the front), who were in a long column
advancing slowly towards the enemy with measured steps. They were slowly
forcing the enemy back, but the reason they didn't rush forward into battle was
because they were waiting for the rest of the army behind them to get into
formation so that they could all rush forward together. In this vi- sion, there
was a sudden `roar', like a great shout of victory, and the whole army suddenly
charged forward into battle, utterly decimating the enemy with a great
slaughter. This went on for some time. Suddenly the prophet realized that in
the vision, Satan himself was now isolated and completely surrounded by the
armies of God. And there was a sudden awareness that Jesus was now present, and
that Satan was about to be bound in chains and cast into the abyss.
While I am certainly not a believer in `dominion theology' or other extreme
teachings, it cannot be denied that the Bible clearly states in Heb 10:12-13:
"But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He
sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until his enemies should be
made a stool for His feet." It seems clear from this and other Scriptures,
that Jesus is waiting at the right hand of the Father until His enemies are
defeated and placed `under His feet'. Of course, in a very real way, the devil
is already a defeated foe, having been defeated by Christ at Calvary. However,
it seems that he has remained in his position as the "prince of this
world" for the time being. Isn't it logical that in the last days God
would raise up an army of believers who would truly enforce Christ's victory
over His enemies (as the Scriptures declare)?
It is my belief that the army of God that is now in the final stages of
preparation on the earth, will pursue the devil's forces across whole
continents, razing his strongholds to the ground, laying waste to all his
works, and slaughtering his armies across a broad front. This will truly be a
people that will "destroy the works of the devil" with exceeding
violence. After all, did not Jesus Himself say, "I will build my Church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail (Greek: `stand strong') against
it"? The gates of hell simply cannot stand against the Church that Jesus
builds! We are to smash down the gates and invade Satan's territory, destroying
every devilish work as we go. We are to be a "violent" people,
fiercely intent (as Joshua's people were) on "taking the kingdom by
force".
The following is a dream that was given to a prophet friend of mine, who has
received a large number of stunning dreams and visions about the coming move of
God over the past four years or so. This particular dream was given to him four
times. It is probably the most `unusual' one that he has ever been given, but
he knows that it is of God. I believe that it may well give us vital insight
into God's battle strategy for the last days. The first thing that he saw was
what seemed to be fallen angelic princes, drifting high above the earth. Though
they were obviously very evil, they had the appearance of loving, `saintly'
angels. They appeared to be gloating at the ease with which they held sway over
the people of the earth. Under their direct command were much uglier beings
with huge swords - the `strongmen' over nations - who were sent down to earth
literally to cause men to kill one another, to make them willing to lay down
their lives for nationalistic causes, etc. Basically, these `strongmen' would
use any possible means to cause human beings to die young, particularly on a
large scale.
Now here comes the really bizarre part. It appeared in the dream that
somehow, the highest demonic princes were able to `feed' on the spiritual life
that was released when these people were killed. It was brought up to them in
the form of `manna' by the strongmen. In the dream, my friend heard the fallen
princes say to the strongmen, "Go down and kill as many humans as you can,
for it is the last days, and we must store up as much `manna' as possible
before the end." Suddenly, in the dream, a spaceship appeared, full of
mighty men and women of God. They saw exactly what was going on, and for a
while they tried to warn the people of the earth. However, this achieved very
little, so they mounted a direct attack against the strongmen. They didn't
bother with the lower-ranked demons. They went directly for the `palace' in the
heavens in which the strongmen themselves were based.
When the spaceship reached this palace, the captain and the other leaders
(the `five-fold' ministries) from the ship stormed into the palace, leaving behind
a support crew. Using space-age weapons (hand-held lasers, etc), they attacked
the strongmen with deadly skill and great daring. These were highly trained
specialists. They worked as a team, and they were utterly fearless in battle.
The strongmen were terrified. They were trying to kill the five-fold ministries
with their swords (not their guns for some reason), but were unable to do so.
The strongmen were destroyed one by one, and soon the corridors were littered
with their dead bodies. The demonic princes over them were panic-stricken,
knowing that their support and protection was fast evaporating. It was a total
rout, a complete victory for God.
Now some of you may have found the above dream a little `unusual', to say
the least. However, when my friend, who was given this dream four times, prayed
about it, he realized that some of the concepts contained in it would have been
almost impossible to understand if they had not been put across in such a way.
I have noticed that in dreams and visions, God often uses the most simple
illustations to shed light on the most profound truths. I believe that this
dream and others like it, give significant insight into the great spiritual war
that is about to be waged.
We are told in Heb 12:26, "But now He has promised, `Yet once more I
will shake not only the earth but also heaven.'" And in Rev 12:7 we read:
"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, and did not prevail, neither was
their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, that
old serpent called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world: He was
cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
I believe that the dream recounted earlier is speaking of the vital role
that the end-times ministries will also play in this victory over Satan. We can
tell that humans (not just angels) will have an integral part in this victory
because just two verses later we read: "And they overcame him by the blood
of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives
unto the death" (Rev 12:11). I do not believe that what is spoken of in
the dream is merely a `prayer' battle - to be fought out by the intercessors
(though prayer will be vital, of course. In fact, the battle must be won in
prayer first). Rather, I believe that somehow, in the coming Revival, when the
new ministries have been raised up and anointed by God, there will be direct
confrontations between certain of these `five-fold' ministries and the
`strongmen over nations' that we have spoken of.
When these strongmen have been destroyed, and Satan and the rest of his
angels have been cast down to earth by God's angelic armies, then I believe we
will see the period on earth known as the "Great Tribulation", where
unprecedented deception, darkness and persecution will arise. Right through the
last days `harvest' period, I believe that there will be persecution,
earthquakes, natural disasters, `wars and rumours of wars', etc. But when the
real Tribulation begins, darkness and persecution will greatly increase. In
fact, I believe that many Christians will be imprisoned and killed towards the
end. "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 his time is
short" (Rev 12:12).
It is clear that the entire Bride of Christ will be actively
"destroying the works of the devil" at various levels, in the coming
Revival. But what exactly are these `works of the devil'? To me, they are
anything that keep people bound in sin, misery, sickness or oppression. Jesus
said that the `thief' comes to "steal, kill, and destroy. I am come that
they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (Jn
10:10). So how exactly did Jesus `destroy the works of the devil' from out of
peoples' lives in His day? Well, one obvious aspect of Jesus' ministry was His
consistent preaching of a very strong and direct repentance message. He also
said of His ministry, "The blind receive their sight and the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor
have the gospel preached to them" (Mt 11:5). Truly, His was a ministry of
forgiveness, cleansing and liberation aimed especially at the poor, the sick,
the broken-hearted, and all who were `oppressed of the devil'.
At times, Jesus also found it necessary to bring a "searing
rebuke", because of the hardness of heart present in a group or an
individual. Obviously, at such times He perceived that a piercing, anointed
word of rebuke was the only thing that would break down the strongholds of sin,
compromise, religion, unbelief, etc, that were holding these people captive.
One thing that seems to have been coming through again and again in NZ, is
the fact that the army that God is now preparing will attack the kingdom of
darkness with incredible violence - with reckless daring and ruthless
aggression. They will make no `treaties' and they will take no prisoners. In
one way, as we have discussed, I believe that Jesus is waiting at the right
hand of the Father until His enemies are made a `footstool' for His feet. In
another, very real way, He will truly be with us by His Spirit, triumphantly
leading His people into war.
A prophet friend of mine, who until recently has only rarely received dreams
or visions, was given a particularly powerful vision about two years ago. He
said that it was so real that it was literally just like being there. This
vision only lasted a short time, but it had a very powerful impact on him. What
he saw was this: He was standing in what appeared to be a valley, staring at
something the size of a mountain that had just burst up through the surface of
the earth. But this was no mere vol- canic eruption. What my friend saw was, in
fact, the head of a gigantic white horse that had literally burst up through
the ground. Around it's head, molten lava was spurting. My friend said that he
was frightened by the look of sheer ferocity in the eyes of the creature. There
could be no denying that this was truly a `war' horse, fiercely intent on the
battle to come.
One of the things that strikes me as very significant about this vision is
the fact that THE WHITE HORSE'S HEAD HAS NOW BROKEN THROUGH THE SURFACE OF THE
EARTH. "... and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow;
and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering and to
conquer" (Rev 6:2). "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white
horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
He judges and makes war... and His name is called The Word of God. And the
armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in white
linen, white and clean..." (Rev 19:11-14).
All over the world in the past fifteen years or so, God has been speaking of
a distinct grouping of ministries that would again arise in great power in the
last days. These are the end-times "Elijah" ministries, who are about
to be raised up, as prophesied for thousands of years, under a mighty anointing,
"preparing the way of the Lord" and making straight `a highway for
our God' (Is 40:3). As we are told in Mal 4:5-6, "Behold, I will send you
Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of
the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a
curse." Jesus Himself stated that "Elijah comes, and will restore all
things..." (Mt 17:11).
There are at least three great men of God in history who have walked under
this mighty mantle and anointing of Elijah: Elijah himself, the prophet Elisha,
and also John the Baptist (who came `preparing the way of the Lord' at His
first coming). Now that we are approaching Christ's return - the "great and
dreadful day of the Lord", we can expect that God will once again raise up
bold and anointed messengers, just as prophesied, who will go forth `in the
spirit and power of Elijah', preparing the way of the Lord once more. "And
this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Mt 24:14).
To get some idea of the rugged and even `violent' nature of these Elijah
ministries, it is necessary to go back and look at the `Elijahs' of the past.
There is no question that these were blunt, uncompromising, fearless messengers
of God. They attacked the sin and compromise of their day with cutting power,
for the full authority of the Living God was behind every word that they spoke.
Their words were like a consuming fire, a piercing two- edged sword, a `hammer
that breaks the rock into pieces'. And they stood unbending in the name of
truth and of righteousness, to put to flight God's enemies, to rebuke His
wayward people, and to again lift up His `standard' amidst the darkness of
their time.
Witness the fearless prophet Elijah on top of Mt Carmel. (1 Kings 18). At
his word there has not been one drop of rain in all Israel for three and a half
years. And now here he is, the only man who dares openly oppose the evil
Baal-worshipping empire under cruel queen/witch Jezebel. Hear Elijah lay down
his mocking challenge to the Baal priests and prophets: "Perhaps your god
is on a journey. Or perhaps he sleeps and needs awakening!"(v27). And then,
at the time of the evening sacrifice, we see Elijah, that fearless prophet of
God, call fire down from heaven right before the startled eyes of all present.
"And when all the people saw it they fell on their faces: and they said,
the Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the God. And Elijah said unto them,
Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: And
Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there" (v
39-40).
Now we jump to 2 Kings chapter one. The rebellious and evil king of Samaria
has just sent fifty soldiers to bring the prophet Elijah down from the hill on
which he sits. "And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I
be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume you and your
fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his
fifty" (v10). Rather foolishly, the king then sends another fifty soldiers
to bring Elijah down. These too are consumed by fire in exactly the same way.
It is not until the next captain of fifty comes to him on his knees, begging
and pleading, that Elijah agrees to go down with him to see the king.
The above incidents, which are typical of the kinds of things that took
place in the lives of both Elijah and Elisha, demon- strate not only their
power and authority under God, but also the spiritually `violent' nature of
this kind of ministry. One Scrip- ture that has been given to myself and others
again and again in relation to the new move of God is Mt 11:12:- "... from
the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent take it by force." I believe that the entire coming
Revival worldwide is to be a spiritually `violent' move - probably the most
aggressive that this planet has ever seen. The `Elijah' ministries will lead
God's armies into battle - a glorious army, "terrible with banners",
and no weapon that is formed against them will stand.
Who could doubt that we live today on the verge of the most momentous days
in the history of the church? The Revival that is coming will surely be the
greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit that the world has ever known. It will
be "the former rain and the latter rain in the first month, and the floors
shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil"
(Joel 2:23-24). We live in a time when God's mighty `men and women of valour'
will once again roam the earth, and when "the people who do know their God
shall be strong and do exploits" (Dan 11:32). The apostles, prophets and
evangelists that are about to arise in these last days, will be amongst the
most anointed warriors of God that have ever trod the earth. They will
literally walk in the resurrection glory of Jesus Christ. Endued with `power
from on high', they will go forth, a fearful army, "conquering and to
conquer", and nothing will stand in their path.
APOSTOLIC TEACHINGS AND PRACTICES
Like the early Church, the new move of God is to be built on the
`foundation' of the soon-to-emerge mighty "apostles and prophets"
that He is about to raise up for this hour (Eph 2:20). This is to be an
`apostolic' move. As it was in the beginning, so it will be also at the end.
Just as with every great move of God, this one is to be built around the new
leadership that He is raising up specifically for this hour. Thus it will
clearly be "WHEN THE NEW APOSTLES ARISE" that true Reformation and
Revival will begin. It is these `apostolic' ministries who will be the
`violent' ministries, raised up by God as Joshua was, to lead His people into
war - to "take the kingdom by force". And with the return of true
apostolic leadership will come a restoration of many basic "book-
of-Acts" type apostolic teachings and practices.
One of the most basic and obvious of these apostolic teachings, I believe,
will be to restore the original meaning and purpose of the Lord's Supper and
also Believer's Baptism. Both of these are seen by many Christians merely as
something akin to a symbolic ritual, performed in `rememberance' or just out of
obedience to Scripture, rather than because they have tremendous spiritual
impact from God's point of view. In reality, there is actually NOTHING that
Jesus has instituted in the New Testament that is merely a "symbolic"
act or a `ritual' that we are to perform. Such things belong to the Old Covenant,
not the New. Everything that Jesus has instituted in the New Covenant has
tremendous spiritual value and life-giving power, if only we can partake of
these things by faith, as He intended.
When we partake of the Lord's Supper, we are supposed to be partaking afresh
of the "bread of life" (the word of God) and the cleansing power of
the "blood of the new covenant" (see Mt 26:26-28, Jn 6:48-58, 1 Cor
10:16- 17, 1 Cor 11:23-30, etc). We are to take this fresh impartation of
spiritual life to ourselves by faith, as we eat and drink of the Lord's Supper.
Why do you think the early Christians partook of the Lord's Supper
"daily" in their gatherings `from house to house'? And why do you
think Paul warned the Corinthians that some of them were `weak' and others had
died because they had not discerned the "one body" that they were to
be partakers of, and were therefore "eating and drinking judgement"
upon themselves? (1 Cor 11:27-33). There is real spiritual power in the Lord's
supper! This is not just some symbolic ceremony. We are clearly to be continual
partakers of the "one body" of Christ, broken for us (and divided
amongst us at Communion), and also the cleansing, empowering "blood of the
new covenant".
Believer's Baptism (by immersion) is another thing that has lost it's true
significance over the centuries. We are told often that this is essentially a
"symbolic" death-and-burial ceremony for the believer. There are many
believers today (even `Spirit- filled' ones) who think so little of baptism
that they haven't even "got around to it yet" at all. But what is
God's view of believer's baptism? Does He regard it merely as `an outward
symbol'? I think not! We are told in Rom 6:3-6, "Do you not know that all
of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We
were buried therefore with him by baptism into death... We know that our old
self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we
might no longer be enslaved to sin." It is clear from this and many other
Scriptures that from a spiritual point of view, baptism is an event of
tremendous impact and importance.
Can we claim to have truly "died with Christ" if we have not been
baptized by immersion? No, we cannot. Can we claim to have been spiritually
`cut off' from our sinful body, so that we might no longer be enslaved to sin?
No, Scripturally we cannot. And how else can we "reckon" ourselves to
be `dead to sin'? I believe that rather than being some kind of
"symbolic" death, God sees believer's baptism as being a very
"literal" spiritual death - a `cutting off' of the sinful body of the
believer. Why else would Peter tell the assembled crowd on the day of
Pentecost, "Repent, AND BE BAPTISED in the name of Jesus Christ FOR THE
FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS..."? (Acts 2:38). And why else would Paul be
told, on the day of his conversion, "Arise and BE BAPTISED, AND WASH AWAY
YOUR SINS, calling on the name of the Lord"? (Acts 22:16). And what
exactly did Jesus mean when He declared that, "Unless a man is BORN OF WATER
AND OF THE SPIRIT he cannot enter into the kingdom of God"? (Jn 3:5. See
also Mk 16:16-18, 1 Cor 10:1-2, Gal 3:27, Col 2:11-12, Titus 3:5, 1 Pe 3:20-21,
etc).
Today, when people want to become a Christian, they are told to simply
"ask Jesus into their heart", or "give their heart to the
Lord". You might be surprised to learn that there is literally NOT ONE
example of anyone in the New Testament being told to do anything like this at
all. For instance, there are many, many examples in the book of Acts of people
becoming Christians, and yet NOT ONCE are any of them told anything that even
remotely resembles, "Just give your heart to the Lord". Instead,
people in Bible days were told, "Repent, and be baptized... and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38. See also Acts 8:12-20,
Acts 8:35-39, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 19:1-6, Acts 22:16, etc). In the coming
Revival, just like the book of Acts, repen- tance, water-baptism (by immersion)
and baptism in the Holy Spir- it will be expected to occur IMMEDIATELY someone
believes the gospel. Until all of these things have occurred, they will simply
not be considered a true, New Testament Christian. This is clearly the only
tenable Scriptural position on the matter. What a shockingly inadequate and
unscriptural gospel the church has been preaching up until now!
I believe that another huge change in emphasis that will come in with the
new move of God will be in the area of sacrificial giving to the poor. In the
book of Acts the writer (Luke) devotes a tremendous amount of space to the way
in which the early believers sold any excess land, houses or possessions, and
gave to the poor (especially to the orphans and widows, etc). From the space
that Luke devotes to this subject it is clear that this was a major emphasis of
the early Church. And of course, it had always been a major emphasis of JESUS
in the first place! To the `rich young man', Jesus had said, "Sell what
you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,
follow me" (Mk 10:21). To his disciples He had said, "Sell your
possessions and give alms" (Lk 12:33), and, "How hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!" (Mk 10:23). And to the
multitudes who accompanied Him He had said: "Whoever of you does not
renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple" (Lk 14:33).
If we are to follow the clear teaching of Jesus, then we are to renounce
ownership of all that we have, and our possessions are to literally become
God's, to do with as He wills. It is interesting to note that after Jesus had
eaten with Zacchaeus the Tax Collector, the little man declared, "Behold,
Lord, the HALF OF MY GOODS I GIVE TO THE POOR, and if I have defrauded anyone
of anything, I restore it fourfold" (Lk 19:8). This was the fruit of genuine
repentance in Zacchaeus' life.
You have to admit, none of this sounds like much of a "prosperity"
doctrine, does it?
And now we come to the book of Acts, where the apostles passed on the clear
teachings of Jesus concerning riches and possessions, to the new converts:
"And all who believed were together, and had all things in common; and
they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had
need" (Acts 2:45). "There was not a needy person among them, for as
many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds
of what was sold and laid it at the apostles feet; and distribution was made to
each as any had need" (Acts 4:34-35). What a tremendous demonstration of
brotherly unity and love! For, as Jesus had said, "By this shall all men
know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another" (Jn
13:35). Such sacrificial giving must always `come from the heart'. It must
never be `forced' or legalistic. However, as the Scriptures clearly show,
giving of this kind really has to be a major emphasis of any true
"Revival" movement. And I am convinced that it certainly will be, in
the coming move of God.
The above are just some of the more obvious and fundamental apos- tolic
teachings that I believe will be restored in the coming Revival. These are not
obscure doctrinal points. They involve some of the most basic and fundamental
questions of the New Testament: What do we tell people to do to become a
Christian? Why do people need to be baptised in water? Why do we partake of the
Lord's Supper? What does Jesus require us to do with our possessions? All of
these are PRACTICAL questions which impacted hugely on the everyday life of the
early Church. No doubt there will be other fundamental teachings that will also
be restored, when the new apostles arise to establish a true "New
Testament" Church once again, in our time.
THE "NEW MUSIC"
About nine years ago I became greatly inspired by things that God was
showing me about the early Salvation Army Revivals. My wife and I are both
musicians, and God began to particularly draw our attention to the concept of
anointed "street-music" - a kind of "Revival" music, to be
taken out onto the streets just as the early Salvation Army had done a century
before. As I have said previously, in those early days the Salvationists were a
bunch of on-fire, praying zealots (mostly very young), who took the world by
storm with a street-based Christianity totally unlike anything that was around
at that time. The early Salvation Army was truly a `Revival' movement in every
sense of the word - born out of the great Awakening of 1859-60 in Britain. And
they carried this tremendous `Revival' anointing with them, out onto the
streets.
One of the most controversial aspects of this new movement was the rather
loud, "uncouth" praise-music that they employed in their street
meetings. What they had done, in fact, was to take the `pub' music - the
`drinking' music of their day, and transform it into loud, glorious praise
music that the street-level people of those times absolutely loved (though you
can imagine the storm of controversy in religious circles!) However, there was
really nothing new in this concept. Both Martin Luther and John Wesley, as well
as William Booth, have been credited with the saying, "Why should the
devil have all the best music?" Street-level Revival requires street-level
praise music! If it utterly glorifies God, what does it matter if it is a
little `noisy'? (Actually, one eyewitness commented of an early Salvation Army
band that, "It sounds as if a brass band's gone out of it's mind!")
This was truly `battle' music - a call to repentance and to war.
Having been so inspired by all of this when I first read up on it, I photocopied
some of the information and gave it to other Christian musicians that we knew
at the time. My wife and I also became more and more involved in music, and in
1989 we began our first street-band. However, it was clear from the outset that
we were lacking the most important thing of all - the "Revival"
anointing that the Salvationists had had. Despite this, the whole concept had
taken hold in my heart so strongly that I just couldn't leave it alone. I KNEW
that it was of God. Perhaps it was just the timing that was wrong?
In 1992 we finally gave up on the whole idea. Less than one year later,
however, we received some amazing confirmation from a source that we had never
come across before. In the meantime, too, God had taken me through a massive
overhaul of my entire Christian walk, and I had come under a prophetic
anointing the like of which I had never before experienced. The confirmation we
received in 1993 came in the form of a taped message by American preacher James
Ryle, who had been given a series of dreams and visions several years earlier
which spoke at length of the new "street-music" that would arise with
the coming Revival. What amazing and specific confirmation these tapes were! I
was literally in tears as I listened to them.
It was after this that I began to learn that God was speaking to a number of
prophetic people in NZ about the coming "new music" also. One local
intercessor was given the same amazing vision on three seperate occasions while
deep in prayer. In it, she saw thousands upon thousands of (mostly young)
people gathered in the streets, praising God with all their might to a new,
modern kind of praise-music. Non-Christians coming near would fall to their
knees under great conviction, the presence of God was so strong. This anointed
vision was so real that the intercessor wept whenever she received it. She
believes that it's fulfillment is very near now.
Another NZ prophet was given a very powerful vision in which he found
himself in vast stadiums all over the world. He said that in each place, the
same team was on stage, ministering to the people. He said that in one stadium
(which he could tell was somewhere in Asia) he remembers looking over at the
rest of the team (which included a band of musicians and singers) and then out
at the vast crowd, and he noticed that instead of watching the platform, the
people in the stadium were all staring up into the sky. In other words, they
were looking to JESUS, rather than to the human vessels that God was using. It
is JESUS who must get all the glory. There have been numerous dreams and
visions all over the world of stadiums full of people, gathered to hear the
gospel and to see and experience the great `latter rain' outpouring of God's
Holy Spirit.
Of course, music will only be one part of this overall picture. There will
be incredibly anointed preaching and dramatic healings and miracles that will
glorify God in the most profound way also. But the interesting thing about
`music' is the impact that it has, especially amongst the youth. No doubt we
are all aware of the tremendous way in which the devil was able to use popular
music in the late 1960's to literally "eastern-ise" the thinking and
spiritual beliefs of an entire generation. (A `cultural revolution' from which
the West has never fully recovered). Isn't God more powerful (and more
`creative'!) than Satan? Therefore, shouldn't true Christian music be the most
stunning music that you or I have ever heard? And shouldn't it be used to take
territory away from the devil?
I believe that many, many `new music' ministries are about to arise in true
"Revival" power, to glorify God on the streets of every city. In the
dreams and visions that James Ryle was given, he was shown that a "new
sound" will arise that will sweep the world - a new `street-level' praise
music, mightily anointed of God. I believe that music itself was originally
created for the purpose of praising and glorifying Him. So why shouldn't such
mu- sic be heard in the earth again? I am convinced that the devil's own guns
are about to be turned upon him. I believe that the mu- sic that is about to
arise will help destroy many `works' that have taken years for him to build.
After all, why SHOULD the devil have all the best music? This is part of the
devil's territory that will definitely be "taken" in the coming
Revival, I believe.
The new music that is about to arise will contain many of the same themes as
the other forms of `Revival' ministry. All the different types of ministry will
work together. This new music is to be a Bride's songs of love and praise to
her glorious King, and also the sound of an army preparing for war - a kind of
"battle" music - raw, powerful, even `violent' at times. It is to be
a `war cry', calling sinners to repentance and rallying God's people to battle,
as well as publicly lifting high the name of our glorious Saviour and Lord.
This `new praise' will not be suited to a comfortable, peace-time church, but
rather to a warlike people - a people preparing to "take the kingdom by
force". I believe that it will shock a lot of Christians. It will be SO
SIMPLE, yet powerful, and above all else it will exalt the name of JESUS
CHRIST, our Warrior King. Do not expect this music to be something of
mind-blowing complexity. Rather, expect something of an almost child-like
simplicity and `catchiness', but also with real power.
It will not be the slick "professional"-type musicians who will
unearth this new sound. No! Many of these lack the necessary humility - too
busy seeking technical polish and perfection. Rather, it will be those with a
simple heart after Jesus - a great love and a hunger for Him - this is by far
the most important factor. It is SPIRITUAL PREPARATION, not musical perfection
that God is looking for here. Only those who have died to pride, died to slick
"showmanship" and died to the desire to glorify themselves, can ever
hope to have a part in this anointing and this `new sound'. Like other end-time
ministries, I believe that God is about to raise up many unknown and `hidden'
Christians into this music area. Truly, "many that are first shall be
last, and many that are last shall be first" (Mt 19:30).
HOLINESS AND FAITH
In the coming Reformation and Revival, God is going to deal very deeply with
sin, compromise, conformity to the world and materialism amongst His people. As
stated earlier, the Scriptures show that Jesus cannot return until a Bride is
prepared for Him that is "without spot or wrinkle or any such thing".
Today's church is crippled by sin and compromise in the lives of individual
Christians (eg: unforgiveness, gossip, backbiting, "white" lies,
pretense, lust, financial dishonesty, worldliness, etc). However, when God
really begins to move, the repentance that will occur will go very deep. As
Frank Bartleman (a leader in the 1906 `Azusa Street' Revival) stated, "I
received from God early in 1905 the following keynote to revival: `THE DEPTH OF
REVIVAL WILL BE DETERMINED EXACTLY BY THE DEPTH OF THE SPIRIT OF REPENTANCE'.
And this will obtain for all people, at all times." Anyone who has studied
Revival history will acknowledge the obvious truth of this statement. In fact,
historically speaking it would be fair to say that DEEP REPENTANCE LIES AT THE
HEART OF EVERY TRUE REVIVAL.
Several years ago, a prophet friend of mine was given a whole se- ries of
stunning visions of the coming move of God. In several visions, he saw vast
numbers of people gathered to hear the most searching, anointed repentance
preaching. The conviction of sin amongst the people was just incredible,
bringing tremendous `Godly sorrow' and deep repentance. Such scenes have been
very common in many great Revivals of the past. And the coming move of God will
be no different.
The (almost unheard-of today) experience of "justification by
faith" (as the old Revivalists such as Wesley and Finney used to preach
it) will also be proclaimed once again in this Revival. Speaking of his own
experience, Charles Finney wrote: "In this state I was taught the doctrine
of justification by faith as a present experience... I could not feel a sense
of guilt or condemnation by any effort I could make. My sense of guilt was
gone, my sins were gone, and I do not think I felt any more sense of guilt than
if I never had sinned... I felt myself justified by faith, and, so far as I
could see, I was in a state in which I did not sin."
It is clear from the Scriptures that the above experience is to be regarded
as "normal" for all Christians (see 1 Jn 3, etc). In fact, this will
be seen as `elementary level' Christianity by all who are to be involved in the
coming Revival (ie. walking in a state of having "no knowledge of present
sin"). If this seems bizarre to you then please read `Romans' again! This
is totally "normal" stuff. The believers in the coming Revival will
walk in a state of total heart-purity before God. Their consciences will be
completely clean, and they will WALK in this state by faith. They will not need
to strive to maintain it. This will simply be the normal state of their heart
before God. This is what walking in true "justification by faith"
really means.
THE LAODICEAN
CHURCH.
For many years now, numerous prominent Christian leaders have been quite open
with their opinion that we live today in the age of the lukewarm or `Laodicean'
church. In the past fifteen years or so, however, this recognition of the
church's alarmingly low spiritual state has taken on added urgency, as God has
spoken again and again to prophetic ministries around the world, warning that
the church is indeed `Laodicean', and that judgement is about to "begin at
the house of God" (1 Pe 4:17). Clearly, a tremendous "shaking"
and judgement are about to come upon today's church.
The Laodicean church is the last of the seven churches that Jesus addresses
in the book of Revelation (Rev 3:14-22). During this passage, Jesus makes the
following "promise" to the lukewarm church: "So then because you
are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I WILL SPEW YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH... Be
zealous therefore, AND REPENT." It is clear from this passage that the
Laodicean church exists under imminent threat of judgement - of being
"spewed out" of the mouth of God. The only hope is deep repentance,
and that immediately. Please remember that this is a PROMISE of God. It is not
an idle threat. Unless there is swift and deep repentance, then God PROMISES to
spew the lukewarm church out of His mouth. It is my belief that the role of a
prophet is to be a kind of `watchman on the walls', to loudly warn those who
sleep of ap- proaching danger. In the current situation, there can be little
doubt that a prophet's job would be to `sound the alarm in Zion' - to loudly
warn the people until they are awakened to the very real danger of imminent
judgement. Prophets are never supposed to be `comfortable' preachers. As A.G.
Gardiner said, "When a prophet is accepted and deified, his message is
lost. The prophet is only useful so long as he is stoned as a public nuisance
calling us to repentance, disturbing our comfortable routines, breaking our
respectable idols, shattering our sacred conventions..." I have to say
that I have been a little disappointed with some of today's prophets in this
regard. It seems to me that a number of them have chosen to emphasise all the
`positive' aspects of the coming harvest, rather than warning of the present imminent
danger. Surely, if a prophet is shown that judgement is imminent, then he must
use every available means to urgently warn the peo- ple? Otherwise he is not
fulfilling what God has commissioned him to do, surely?
It is very clear, both prophetically and from the Scriptures, that today's
Laodicean church faces imminent and severe judgement, and that the Christians
must be warned with great urgency. There is an old saying: "The people
will not flee danger until they see it". That is the express purpose of
this chapter: seeing the danger. I make no apologies for the directness or the
urgency of the message contained herein.
Some people today believe that the `Toronto blessing' has renewed the
church. From my observations, however, the manifestations and experiences
associated with Toronto seem to have made little significant impact on the
overall `Laodicean' state of today's church. (As I think should become evident
from this and later chapters).
Some years ago I made a study of the difference between the New Testament
Church as described in the book of Acts, and today's church. I was alarmed to
find that in nearly every respect, today's Christianity is so different from
that of the Bible as to beggar belief. In New Testament times, the Church was
like a `consuming fire' that swept over the whole world, "destroying the
works of the devil". Led by fiery, anointed men of God, the early
believers constituted a bold, militant, uncompromising force, dedicated to
pulling down the devil's strongholds wherever they could be found. These were
the `ground assault' troops of the Most High. They endured much suffering,
hardship and persecution in order to see the gospel preached `in all the earth'
in their day.
Today, however, we seemingly prefer to set sail for the kingdom of heaven
with a little more "style". We are told in the Bible that in the last
days, men will be "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God". We
are also told that, "the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears" (2 Tim 4:3). Isn't it true that we twentieth- century
believers have invented for ourselves a kind of instant, convenient, `fast-
food' Christianity? A Christianity where all too often the preachers feel it is
their role to entertain and cajole, rather than to convict and awaken? A
Christianity where for many years now, seeking after `blessings' has seemingly
replaced `hungering and thirsting' after God? A Christianity that is seemingly more
concerned with "happiness" than real holiness? Who could deny that
this century finds itself home to what is probably the most comfortable, the
most materialistic, the most `fat' and well-fed church in recorded history?
Jesus reported the cry of the Laodicean church as being: "I am rich and
increased with goods, and have NEED OF NOTHING" (Rev 3:17). Incredibly, as
we see from this statement, the Laodicean church DOES NOT EVEN RECOGNIZE HER
OWN APPALLING SPIRITUAL NAKEDNESS AND BANKRUPTCY. She honestly believes that
"all is well"! Certainly, no-one could imagine an era when the church
has had so many `toys', both physical and spiritual. "Rich and increased
with goods" we most certainly are in these materialistic days:- lavish
church buildings, costly radio and TV programmes, book- shops crammed with
every conceivable teaching aid and religious gift, expensive conferences and
seminars supplying yet more ear- fattening teaching to those with enough
dollars to attend. Who could deny that Christianity is `big business' these
days? Several years ago it was announced in the US that one of the largest
Christian music companies was suing another for as much as $20 million in a
dispute arising from a distribution agreement.
On an individual level, things are almost as bad. The Bible says, "Love
not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, THE LOVE OF THE FATHER IS NOT IN HIM" (1 Jn 3:15). But who could
deny that many Christians today are seemingly more devoted to their `career'
(or to their possess- ions, or their television) than they are to God? Jesus
clearly stated, "You cannot serve God and mammon", yet how many
Christians today expend all their energy trying to keep both camps happy? The
Bible tells us, "Be not conformed to this world", yet how many
Christians today have lifestyles, ambitions and possessions that are literally
identical to those of the covetous, materialistic world all around them?
As Jesus Himself stated, "Not every one who says to me, `Lord, Lord,'
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is
in heaven. On that day many will say to me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your
name?' And then will I declare to them, `I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME, YOU
EVILDOERS'" (Mt 7:21-23)... "Behold, this was the iniquity of your
sister Sodom: pride, fulness of bread, abundance of idleness was in her and in
her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and
needy..." (Ez 16:49).
Rather than give our money to the poor, today we Christians seemingly prefer
to give it to the `church building fund' or other big, glossy ministries. And
while 40,000 children die each day of starvation and disease, and the world
goes to hell all around us, we sit comfortably `at ease in Zion', singing our
happy songs about how much we love Jesus and long to be like Him. "Why do
you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?" is still our
grieving Saviours lament. "This people draw nigh to me with their mouth,
and honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me," says the
Lord (Mt 15:8). Probably more than any other, this generation of Christians has
been guilty of diluting (or betraying) everything that Jesus stood for, and
watering down what He said. Little wonder that we have become the laughing-
stock of men and of devils. Instead of preaching `death to self' and `taking up
the cross', today we prefer a more "comfortable" message: "Jesus
loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" (while the music gently
plays, of course). A convenient, selfish `Santa Claus' gospel for a
convenience-loving, self-obsessed generation. Is it any wonder that we have a
lukewarm church, when the gospel we preach is so lukewarm?
Today the whole of western society is in disarray: Broken mar- riages, youth
suicides, teenage pregnancies, gang violence, drugs, etc, etc. Every year, it
seems like the devil is gaining more and more ground, while the influence of
today's sickly, "happiness club" church just keeps growing smaller.
We are supposed to be the `salt of the earth', salting the world with Godliness
and truth. Surely then, a good portion of the blame for this disastrous mess
can be laid directly at the feet of the church? Jesus stated that salt that has
lost it's savour is "good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be
trodden under foot by men" (Mt 5:13). The world is desperate for answers,
but all we have to feed them is insipid, watered-down rubbish. And yet what do
we hear today's `Laodicean' church cry?: "I am rich and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing!" Sick, insipid, lukewarm church - how
will you escape the judgement that God has promised you?
Today it seems almost as though the church has made some kind of pact with
the devil: We won't attack you too hard, if you won't attack us! (I tell you
now, the new move of God will have no such treaty!) It makes no sense for the
devil to bring real persecution upon today's church: Better to let them sleep!
After all, we are certainly not doing him a lot of harm in our present state.
How easily ignored is today's church! Almost the only time the world sits up
and takes real notice is when there is some big scandal or something else to
laugh at. As I said before, we have become the laughing- stock of an entire
generation, both of men and of devils.
It is well-known that "music" often accurately represents and de-
picts the culture it comes from. And it doesn't take too long, when listening
to today's Christian radio, to come to the conclusion that if the music is
anything to go by, then today's Chris- tianity is in a pretty sick and tepid
state. If we were to be brutally honest, we would have to say that very often,
our music seems to be little more than `muzak' - wallpaper music with Christian
lyrics,- music that wouldn't seem out of place in a lift or a supermarket. But
in a supposedly lively, vital Christianity? In my opinion, even the local
`Easy-listening' station seems more musically adventurous than the local
Christian station! Even so-called `contemporary' Christian music often seems to
be either a desperately "cool" - or tamed-down - rehash of secular
styles from one or two years earlier, again with (vaguely) Christian lyrics
over the top. Where is the creativity, the vitality, the life? Why are we
musically so far behind the world, if the Creator of the whole Universe is on
our side? Why isn't the world following our lead, instead of us following
theirs?
It is high time we acknowledged the sorry fact: Today's Christian music is
largely embarrassing, predictable and lukewarm. This is simply due to the fact
that today's CHRISTIANITY is largely embarrassing, predictable and lukewarm.
But such things will not be said of the coming move of God. When true Revival
comes, the music will be alive with the creativity and the fire of God, be-
cause that is exactly how His people will be.
JUDGEMENT AND REFORMATION
It is significant to note that when the people of Israel fell into a state
of serious spiritual decline, God often held the kings and spiritual shepherds
of Israel directly responsible for the nation's degenerate state. Often, the
judgement that fell upon the leaders at such times was far harsher than that
which fell upon the nation as a whole. We see this principle at work right down
through the Old and New Testaments. It is interesting to note that Jesus spoke
essentially the same message to the religious leaders of His day, as had been
spoken to the disobedient king Saul: "The kingdom shall be taken from you
and given to another" (1 Sa 28:17 and Mt 21:43). As we shall see, this
replacement of one leadership with another - the "kingdom" being
taken away from one and given elsewhere - is the very essence of true
"Reformation".
Throughout the history of both Israel and the church, every new move of God
has involved the raising up of new leaders, with God often bypassing or
bringing judgement upon the existing leadership. So it is not surprising that
it has frequently been the ex- isting leaders who have persecuted new moves of
God the worst (often out of jealousy). And the coming Reformation and Revival
will surely be no different.
It is time to face the obvious and brutal truth: It is simply not possible
to have a lukewarm church unless the leaders are lukewarm, just as Israel was
not able to fall into a state of worldliness or idolatry unless her kings and
shepherds were men of compromise. The Bible is very clear that those who are
raised up as leaders or teachers amongst God's people will be subject to a much
"stricter" judgement (James 3:1). However, I do not believe that God
can even afford to have such men leading His church for long. This is why He
has been so clearly saying that the coming Revival (like many before it) has
been designed to LARGELY BYPASS AND SIDELINE THE CURRENT CHURCH LEADERSHIP.
This is not "rebellion". It is simply a statement of obvious truth,
backed by the history of Revival and Reformation right down through the ages.
God has been forced to take such drastic action many times in the past, and
this Revival will be no exception.
Like Israel, many of today's church leaders have clearly been guilty of
compromising (diluting or toning down) God's word to His people over many
years. They have surrendered, in varying de- grees, to the `fear of man'. Many
of them are afraid to preach uncompromising truth to their congregations, for
fear that some of the people will become "offended" (not forgetting
who pays their salary!) Instead, in their preaching, it almost seems as if they
have adopted the modern marketing creed: "accentuate the positive and
eliminate the negative" (complete with jokes and amusing anecdotes, of
course). No `sin, righteousness and judgement' preaching here! And of course,
no desperately-needed REPENTANCE for the lukewarm church, either.
As history shows, God must very often have entirely new leaders and a new
movement to go with His new outpouring. This is what true
"Reformation" has always been about. And sadly, whenever God is about
to do something completely new, many leaders, feeling threatened, oppose it
with every ounce of their being. This has unfortunately always been the way.
As Frank Bartleman noted, "A revival almost always begins amongst the
laity. The ecclesiastical leaders seldom welcome reformation. History repeats
itself..." And indeed, the history of the church is full of instances of
respected Christian leaders persecuting the `new move' of God. As has often
been the case, today's preachers are largely way too comfortable with the
status quo. They have their cosy organizations and their church machinery,
their governing bodies and their `keep the people happy' routines. And God is
about to "SHAKE" it all to such a degree that much of it will be
literally `shaken to pieces'.
What God really needs in times of Revival are bold and anointed `Joshuas',
who will urge the people onward to "possess the land" - to `take the
kingdom by force'. For God's people in these last days are to be a people of
war, and they must be led by men of war. And this is exactly the kind of
leadership that He is about to raise up, to lead His people on in the coming
great Revival.
SOULISHNESS IN THE CHURCH
For the past twenty years or so, I have had first-hand involvement with the
Charismatic/Pentecostal movement. And I have to say that it has greatly
saddened me over that time, to watch the gradual decline of this movement into
what I felt was an evermore shallow, `feelings, emotions and experiences'-based
Christianity. The preaching seemed to become ever-more laden with warm `positive-speak'
and hype, the music became ever-more slick and entertaining, and the people
seemed to be more and more interested in `having a good time', seeking a
blessing, or seeking an emotional `touch from the Lord', rather than seeking
God for His own sake. The preachers and worship leaders obviously began to feel
that they had to `entertain' the people to keep them attending, and the people
began to EXPECT to be entertained.
What this actually represents is a huge swing away from `Holy Spirit-based'
Christianity to a Christianity that is based in the "soul" area of
man. As is well-known, the soul is the seat of man's feelings and emotions,
etc. What makes `soulish' Christianity so dangerous is that mere feelings and
emotions (which can come through just playing the right kind of music, or from
any number of sources) begin to play a more and more pivotal role in the walk
of the believer. He or she begins to rely on the weekly church service to get
that emotional `lift'. A Christianity that starts to revolve around such
feelings and experiences is wide open to deception (as history demonstrates
again and again). The soul area of man is notorious for it's ability to be
manipulated. Any movement that cultivates "soulish" experiences is
simply opening it's people up to what could easily become demonic delusion.
+This is why the Bible exhorts us to `be not carnally mind- ed', and speaks of
`death to self', etc. The fallen soul area is the area that most needs to be
`crucified' in us.
This is not to say that we should become joy-less or `emotionless' by any
means! But what it does mean is that we need to be able to recognize and avoid
soulish manipulation or false `spiritual' experiences of this kind. We must
seek to worship God `in spirit and in truth', rather than with this kind of
soulish excess. For where there is `soul-power' operating, the devil will
always get involved. Some of the most well-known cults, pagan religions, and
New Age therapies, etc, revolve around soulish experiences that open people up
to demonic forces. And as is well known, soul-power is also at the heart of
witchcraft. This is real `Jezebel' territory.
An intercessor that I know was recently given a very significant dream which
relates directly to this subject. In it, she found herself in the "control
room" of a large Pentecostal church. She was there because she was to lead
the worship in the church that week, and she had already chosen the songs she
felt were to be used. However, there was a woman in the control room - a rather
`brazen', painted, sensuously-dressed woman (Jezebel) - who acted as if she was
in charge, and began to go through the songs, replacing many of them with her
own choices. The intercessor then discovered that the songs this woman had
chosen were very `sensuous', off-colour, worldly songs! And this was supposed
to be for the worship service! With righteous anger, she said to the woman,
"This place is full of the spirit of Jezebel, and you're more full of it
than anyone!" The woman then sobbed pathetically (not out of repentance,
but rather because she had been exposed - `Jezebel' will often react in this
way). When the intercessor asked the name of the pastor of the church, she was
told that he was called `Pastor Greymouth'.
She believes that what God was showing her in this dream was that the
strongman of `Compromise' which is dominating much of today's leadership, is
allowing Jezebel to bring her sensuous, controlling influence into the church,
and this is seen particularly in the worship. (Remembering that `sensuous'
means "appealing to the senses").
Along with the rise of `soulishness' in the church over the past twenty
years or more, have come a whole raft of new methods and techniques for keeping
the people "happy and involved" with the church. It seems like hardly
a year has gone by without the arrival of some `new, improved' church growth
technique or youth programme. After all, the people must be kept
"entertained", mustn't they? The church has been loaded down with
man-made activities, methods and seminars, all organized, funded and run
according to the "brilliant ideas" of men, and yet claiming the
blessing of God's hand. Let's be honest here. Very little of this has been
God's idea at all. Like almost everything in the church today, much of it has
been essentially man-pleasing, man-centred and man-entertaining.
In a very real way, today's blind, "Laodicean" church could well
be likened to a crippled, cancer-ridden woman who has learnt how to apply
clothes and make-up in such a way as to disguise her terrible condition, and
has convinced herself that if she keeps up the "blessings", keeps
herself active and puts on a good outward `show', then all will be well.
"I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing," is
her cry, but much of her `happy' organizing feels ominously like `re-arranging
deck chairs on the Titanic' to me. Like the Emporer with his new clothes, it
matters little how active we are, or how much "noise" we make, the
fact is, today's church is, in reality, utterly spiritually naked. And only
when the great `shaking' and Reformation come, will the full extent of this
nakedness be revealed.
As stated previously, the Laodicean church will clearly have no part in the
coming move of God. Rather, as has occurred many times down through history,
God is going to bring a cleansed and purified "remnant" out from the
current church system, `tried as by fire', to help gather in the great
end-times harvest. Before this great Revival truly begins, however, I believe
that the Laodicean church will be given one last chance to repent. God will
raise up ministries and `voices' to call the lukewarm church to her knees, and
then out onto the streets. I believe that many will heed this call and will
repent before it is too late. God will bring them out onto the streets, to
become part of the great "street-Revival" that is about to explode
around the world. In many ways, it could be said that the coming `harvest' will
first begin within the church. This has always been the way. True Revival has always
been aimed firstly at "reviving" God's wayward people, and then
sending them out with great power to display His grace and glory to a dying
world. And so, repentance must first begin with the Christians.
However, there will also be many who will refuse to heed this `repentance'
message, thereby placing themselves in severe danger of imminent judgement. It
surely cannot be long before all that God has promised is fulfilled, and
judgement truly "begins at the house of God". In fact, it is my
belief that this time is now very near. The stormclouds are gathered, and a
great `dividing' or polarisation is about to occur in the church. No-one will
be able to sit on the fence. They will have to choose whether to cling to
Laodicea, or throw in their lot with the `violent', controversial, new
"upstart" preachers. Such has always been the choice facing God's
people in times of Revival. However, because we are in the `last days', I
believe that this time the two groups will be even more clearly distinguished
and separated than usual, just like `tares and wheat' (Mt 13). One group will
go on to great blessing, and the other to certain judgement. I do not believe
that God can live with a Laodicean church. And all over the world, God has been
saying that this judgement is now `imminent', even at the doors. The tremendous
"SHAKING" of the church is about to begin.
RELIGIOUS
EXTREMES:- LEGALISM vs. LICENCE.
Human beings are unfortunately creatures of extremes, and the devil has used
this many, many times over the centuries to bind and deceive the church. If he
cannot push us too far one way, then he will try to push us as far as he can in
the opposite di- rection. There are many different forms of bondage and
deception that the church has succumbed to over the years. Two of the most
prevalent of these have been in the area of "religious" extremes:
Pharisee- style legalism and spiritual pride on the one hand, and
"hyper-grace", the casting off of restraint, and `experience- centred'
Christianity on the other.
Over the past ten years or so, there has been a tremendous amount of
teaching exposing the "legalism" side of religion, and this has been
a very good thing. However, not surprisingly, the pendulum seems to have now
swung right over to the opposite extreme, particularly in many
Pentecostal/Charismatic churches, and we are now seeing what I believe is an
equally dangerous over-emphasis: Hyper-liberty or `hyper-grace' teaching, which
can also lead to great error (as it has done many times down through history).
The purpose of this chapter is to expose in detail the often- subtle (yet
deadly) snares of the devil at both extremes of this religious spectrum. It is
interesting to note that both extremes are largely just a distortion of good,
solid Christian truths. The `legalism/condemnation' extreme is often just a
harsh distortion of true repentance/holiness teaching, while the `hyper- grace'
extreme is largely a distortion of true teaching on the liberty that we have in
Christ, etc. What happens is that these genuine truths are pushed to extremes
through over-emphasis, and they end up becoming so unbalanced that they in fact
become dangerous error. Even though the `hyper-grace' extreme is the one that I
believe is currently predominant in many churches, I do want to take a detailed
look at both extremes, beginning with the "legalism" side.
The most well-known proponents of this `legalistic' form of religion were,
of course, the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' time. Many people think that the
legalism of the Pharisees largely just revolved around `tradition', but there
was far more to it than that. Religion of this kind is often very subtle,
taking on a large variety of shapes and forms. Jesus spoke of it as being like
`leaven', which spreads like a cancer until everything it touches is affected.
I think that many Christians would be very surprised at the degree to which
Pharisee-type religion has been present in the modern church, in one form or
another. It is truly deadly stuff! This section is designed to expose many of
these aspects of legalistic religion that have so influenced the church in
modern times.
Without a doubt, one of the most obvious elements of pharisaic religion is
"conservatism" (a love of the old ways, and a resistance to anything
new). It is apparent that there are still many Christians (though far less than
there used to be) who have still not come to terms with the 1960's, let alone
the 1990's. Their Christianity is still greatly oriented towards a "respectable,
middle class, conservative" approach to life, and they tend to judge
people (particularly the youth) by whether or not their hairstyles, their
clothes, or their music styles, etc, conform to their own rather drab,
conservative standards. In other words, they are tremendously prone to judging
people by their `outward appearance' rather than by the `heart'. To them, these
outward factors are issues of the utmost importance.
What impression do worldly people get when they enter the churches of such
Christians? (Remembering that these visitors may well be gang members, drug
addicts, New Agers, etc). All too often, I believe that the impression they get
is that the only type of people God really likes are the
sugary-"nice", neatly dressed, clean-cut, respectable kind. They get
the feeling that they would first of all have to change the way they dress, the
way they express themselves, their hairstyle, their whole way of doing things,
before they could ever come and be truly accepted by God. Because, as everyone
knows, God only likes "nice, respectable" people, doesn't He?
And tell me, what is the unspoken message that some church leaders are still
sending out today? Isn't it that you must be slick, well-dressed and (usually)
Bible-college trained if you want to minister in front of others? These are
just some of the lies that still influence many peoples' view of Christianity.
And very often they have been passed on without us even opening our mouths!
Many worldly people still see Bible-believing Christianity as being dreary,
conservative and backward-looking. (Either that, or rather "weird").
It just doesn't seem `relevant' to them at all. I tell you now, such unspoken
messages are going to change in the coming Revival. In fact, in many ways they
will be the exact opposite of what they have been. What people are really
looking for is a relevant, down to earth, yet miraculous and Spirit- filled
Christianity. This is what the early Church had, and this is exactly what the
coming move of God will bring in also.
It is very clear from the Scriptures that Jesus deliberately identified
Himself with the poor and the "sinners" during His time on earth.
Both He and His message were extremely `relevant' to the street-level people of
His time. Born in a filthy stable, He also chose to die the death of a common
criminal, strung up between two thieves on a wooden cross. The Pharisees
bitterly criticized Him during His ministry for His apparent `lax-ness' in
enforcing the religious codes of conduct on His followers. Jesus didn't seem
strict enough, or outwardly "holy" enough for them! He didn't look
right, He didn't dress right, and He didn't sound right, and His disciples were
even worse! What a motley, low-life bunch they must have seemed to the
cultured, educated religious leaders of their day! After all, "Can any
good thing come out of Nazareth?"
The Pharisees spoke scathingly of Jesus as being a "friend of
sinners". But Jesus didn't mind. He had come to `seek and save that which
was lost'. He said, "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say,
`He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating AND DRINKING, and they say,
`Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!' Yet
wisdom is justified by her deeds" (Mt 11:18-19). Jesus was a friend of the
common people. He spent most of His time with them, sharing both their joys and
their sorrows. He understood them and spoke their language. It was the
religious types who persecuted Him the most. Eventually they crucified Him.
Like many Revivals, I believe that the coming one will meet the same kind of
response as always from the religious and the judgemental. John Wesley was
scathingly denounced in his day: "... He and his lay-lubbers - his ragged
legion of preaching tinkers, scavengers, draymen and chimney sweepers, etc. -
go forth to poison the minds of men." Wesley's policy was much the same as
that of the Salvation Army: "... go always not only to those who need you,
but to those who need you most." His was also a `street movement' in every
sense of the term. And it was Wesley (along with Martin Luther and William
Booth) who was quoted as saying, "Why should the devil have all the best
music?" These men wanted a Christianity that was vital and relevant to the
street-level people of their day. That is why they used the `pub' music of
their time for their praise and battle hymns!
To me, one sign that someone may have a legalistic `religious' stronghold in
their life is that they cannot see how God could possibly use today's Rock
music in any way. In fact, these people are no different to the religionists
who opposed the early Salvation Army's music on exactly the same grounds. What
they are often guilty of is judging this style of music by it's `outward
appearance', rather than seeing how the changed `heart' of it could be greatly
used to glorify God. In actual fact, I cannot think of a better form of music
to use for `battle-hymns' myself!
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
It is still true of much of Christendom today that "keeping up
appearances" has become an integral part of many believers' lives. All too
often, new converts seem to get the impression that the first thing they need
to learn about the Christian walk is how to look and act "the part"
in front of others. They seem to conclude that it is the `outward' things that
really matter. And so, to fit in, they begin to unconsciously obey our unspoken
list of modern Christian do's and don'ts: Thou shalt smile and look `loving' at
every opportunity in church, thou shalt raise your hands and clap with everyone
else (lest they think that something is `wrong' with you), thou shalt not
smoke, say "sh_t", or pick thy nose, thou shalt look and act like a
"good Christian" at all times. What are we passing on to these new
converts? Very simply, we are establishing within them what has, in many cases,
become one of the great foundations of modern Christianity: `PRETENSE' (ie. How
to put on a good `outward show').
In the Bible, pretense was known by another name: "HYPOCRISY".
Jesus said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are
like white- washed graves, which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but
within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness" (Mt 23:27). It is
still true today that many of our churches are quite literally packed with
"great pretenders" - people who know how to dress nicely, to smile
warmly and say `bless you', to seem outwardly like real, `spiritually together'
Christians - yet who have little deep relationship with God at all. The church
has been like this for years. Surely this is nothing less than Pharisee-style
hypocrisy wrapped in a modern cloak?
In much of modern Christendom, this kind of pretense is still considered to
be "normal". Many believers have been pretending to be "good
Christians" for so long now that they have actually come to believe their
own lie! Whenever they are around other Chris- tians, they suddenly become
unbearably "nice", joyful and `loving'. This is not true, `Holy
Spirit' love at all, but rather an out-and-out, self-manufactured forgery. I call
this `pseudo' or false love. It has nothing to do with the fruit of the Holy
Spirit. It is totally manufactured. And who could deny that this kind of
pretense is right through today's church? I am convinced that false love, false
humility, and false spiritually are still rampant throughout Christendom today.
Having to be "seen" to do and say all the right things, etc, is still
one of the great strongholds of Pharisee-type religion affecting modern
Christians.
I am convinced that what God really wants is a people who, rather than being
"great pretenders", are actually one hundred percent `real' in every
way (ie. no pretense at all). In fact, I believe that God wants us to be truly
transparent, not only in our words, but also in the way we act around others.
We are to be "real", down-to-earth people in a world that is crying
out for reality and truth. Putting on a false `Christian' front is actually
just another form of dishonesty or lying.
The idea that `walking in love' involves being unbearably "nice"
to everybody all the time is also, I believe, one of the most harmful and false
things about modern Christianity. Because this kind of "love" is so
desperate not to offend anyone, it often ends up compromising the truth just to
keep people happy. In 1 Cor 13:6 we are told that true Holy Spirit love
"does not re- joice with iniquity, but rejoices with the truth". This
is a good test. Very often, today's Christians are afraid to strongly challenge
sin or lukewarmness in the church, because to do so would be "unloving".
And so they compromise the truth by staying silent when they should be speaking
out. The fact is, this is not true "love" at all. It is compromise!
True `Holy Spirit' love will always care enough to speak vital truth, even if
some people may be offended by it. After all, it is better to risk offending
others, than to risk them going to hell. We see this principle at work many
times in Jesus' own ministry.
You can be sure that those whom God is going to use in the coming Revival
will be extremely "real", down-to-earth type people. They will also
be absolutely fearless in `speaking the truth in love' without compromise, no
matter what the cost. They will be tremendously misunderstood and persecuted at
times, but will literally "love not their lives unto the death". This
will be God's holy army - a glorious, spotless Bride, totally befitting a
husband who is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. As I have said
before, many of these cleansed and anointed `Bridal' war- riors will seem quite
rough and `unsuitable' to many people from the outside, but to God it is the
"inside" that counts. (Remembering that some of His greatest apostles
were rather `rough' ex- fishermen, etc). On the inside, these men and women
will have been washed "whiter than snow", and they will walk with
total transparency and heart purity before God. Their one desire will be to
love and glorify Him with all their `heart, mind, soul and strength'. And they
will go forth with great power, "destroying the works of the devil"
in His name.
THE DAM BURSTS
Some time ago, an intercessor sent me a copy of a vision that she had had,
in which a huge dam that was holding back a vast quantity of water, crumbled
from the top downwards, layer by layer, thereby releasing a great flood of
water. God had shown her that the dam in the vision was "man's
structure", which was holding back His appointed ministries (and His
anointing) from flooding out over the nation. At the appointed time, this
structure will be unable to hold back the `bursting forth' of ministries that
God has ordained for the last days. These will be ministries that have been in
hidden preparation for years, awaiting God's time.
Who could deny that today's church structures do indeed seem almost
purpose-designed to largely thwart God's purposes for His people? In fact, I
would go as far as to say that the devil himself could hardly have thought up a
better way of keeping the church bound and in chains, than our present church
structures and set-up! Essentially, what we still have today is a
"priesthood/laity" system, in which a small number of men are sent
off to Bible college to gain knowledge, degrees and diplomas, and are then
appointed to be the professional, "qualified" leaders of church
congregations. This is totally unscriptural. In fact, it would be very doubtful
whether many of the original apostles would have even been able to pass today's
entrance exams, let alone gain a full `degree in divinity' or diploma of
theology!
The "priesthood/laity" system was greatly used of the devil to
keep the Catholic church in bondage for centuries. As soon as you have one man,
or a small group of men appointed as "professionals" to run
everything, then much of the simplicity and the vitality of primitive
Christianity is lost. The church itself (not the "accredited"
Bible-college system) is supposed to be a perpetual breeding ground for new,
anointed ministries to be continuously rising up, "full of faith and of
the Holy Spirit". (See for example, the cases of Philip and Stephen, in
the book of Acts). In today's church, however, the "qualified
professionals" tend to run around doing everything (for this is what
they're paid to do, after all!) while the congregation sit and watch. Anyone
who is likely to bring a truly convicting or `uncomfort- able' message is not
welcome to speak because the leadership have a vested interest in keeping
everything "running" smoothly. The people must be kept `happy' after
all! (Lest they go someplace else).
What we have today is really a whole bunch of "happiness clubs"
rather than real churches. The people pay their `fees' and sit back while the
"professionals" do the work. We have ruined the church by turning her
into something that she was never meant to be: an `institution'. And
institutions almost always feel threat- ened by large-scale change or
Reformation. It is very clear from what God has been saying, that He has no
desire to merely "revamp" today's church structures. They are well
past that kind of remedy. He cannot afford to have the new Revival ruined by
being crammed into the old, suffocating `boxes'. Rather, He is simply going to
"spew" these structures out of His mouth (along with all who choose
to cling to them). This is not an idle threat. In fact, as I have already said,
I believe that this great "shaking" is very near now.
THE MANY GUISES OF "PHARISEE-TYPE" RELIGION
So far in our discussion of this `legalistic' religious extreme, we have
spoken about conservatism, `keeping up appearances', and also some of the evils
of the present religious structures and systems, etc. The following is a list
of some of the other major strongholds of Pharisee-type religion that have
greatly affected the church in modern times:
1. SPIRITUAL PRIDE. This is the "biggie" from which many others
spring. Basically, spiritual pride is an attitude of self- satisfaction, based
on the fact that we do all the "right" things, or believe the
"right" doctrines, or belong to the "right" church or
stream, etc. It is the opposite of being `poor in spirit' (ie. recognizing
one's own spiritual poverty). And it often tends to look down rather smugly
upon others who don't seem as outwardly `spiritual' or correct, or perhaps
don't belong to the same `group' as we do.
2. JUDGEMENTALISM. Closely related to spiritual pride, this basically
involves judging people by outward appearances, rather than discerning the
`heart'. The Scriptures tell us that "man looks on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Sam 16:7). This is a very important
point to grasp. Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged." (Mt
7:1). Judgemental people often harshly `categorise' people by the way they look
or the `group' they belong to, etc, rather than whether or not they have a real
heart after God. There is often little `mercy' in their attitude. They also
tend to "strain at gnats" (judging others over small, trivial points
of law, etc).
3. LEGALISM. This involves imposing rules, laws, or "do's and
don't's" upon oneself or others (even unconsciously) from the `outside'.
(True change occurs when the Holy Spirit transforms people from within).
Legalism concentrates on correcting outward things by making little
"laws" against them, but this has no value whatsoever in God's eyes
(for He is concerned about purifying men's "hearts" first and
foremost). Legalism can be strict and condemning. It often involves using the
Scriptures as a kind of `rule-book' (which is an Old Testament approach. The
New Testament advocates `heart purity' and being `led by the Spirit' instead).
Two examples of Old Testament laws that are often imposed today are Tithing
and Sabbath-keeping. However, the New Testament is very clear: "If you are
led by the Spirit, you are not under the law" (Gal 5:18. See also Col
2:14-17, Rom 8:1-16, etc). This is why I believe that many of today's Morals
Campaigners and Christian Politicians are actually achieving very little for
God's kingdom at all. They are seeking to pass laws that may change people
outwardly, but will never cleanse their hearts.
4. KNOWLEDGE. This is often a great source of spiritual pride. Those who
have gained extensive knowledge of the Bible or of certain doctrines or
teachings, can tend to look down upon others who don't have the same
`understanding' as themselves. They seem to forget that Jesus chose most of His
disciples from amongst the poor and uneducated members of society. It was the
Pharisees who were famed for their study and technical knowledge of the
Scriptures, and their arguments over quite trivial doctrines and theories, etc.
There is nothing wrong with reading and seeking to understand the Bible, but
it is important to remember that it is not just by study or reasoning that we
discover the hidden truths of God, but by revelation from the Holy Spirit (1
Cor 2:4-16). Remember, the Pharisees killed the very Messiah that they had been
theorizing and studying about for years! (See Jn 5:39-47). "Knowledge
puffs up, but love edifies" (1 Cor 8:1). Spiritual knowledge of any kind
has the potential to puff us up with pride, and this can be very subtle. Those
who have received great revelation, etc, from God are likewise in great danger
and must beware of pride creeping in. Secretly regarding oneself as a kind of
`spiritual expert' in any area can be extremely dangerous. And judging people
primarily by what is in their `head' rather than their heart is still
wide-spread in modern Christianity.
5. LOVING THE "CHIEF SEATS". Jesus said of the Pharisees that they
"loved the chief seats in the synagogues", etc. They loved to be `seen'
to be persons of real spiritual importance. This was a source of great pride to
them. (They also loved to be "seen" praying long, `holy' prayers and
giving money to the poor, etc. These things are not wrong in themselves, but it
is the MOTIVES behind them that are important). Many Christians even today love
to put on a "holy, loving and humble" act in front of others. There
are also many who love to be `seen' associating with the "famous visiting
speaker" or sitting on special chairs on the platform, etc. Again, MOTIVES
are the important thing here.
6. FLESHLY STRIVING. This is a very common one, especially for the more
active or `zealous' Christians or leaders. I am speaking here of the kind of
people who are always busy "doing" things for God, and who often look
down on others who don't seem quite as `devoted' as they are. They are often
working very hard for one particular Christian organization, striving to
"make the vision happen". They honestly believe that they are
`pleasing God' through all their efforts, their activities, their zeal and
their good works, etc.
In actual fact, large numbers of these Christians are serving `Religion'
rather than God. Jesus said that the Pharisees would "compass land and
sea" to make one convert. THEY were `busy for God' as well! There is no
"rest" in this kind of striving. People who are caught up in it often
feel guilty if they are not "out there, doing something for God".
This can eventually lead to total burn-out. Jesus clearly told His disciples to
wait until they were "endued with power from on high" before they
went out to evangelise. But those who are into striving cannot bear to `wait'.
And thus they end up serving "Religion" instead of God. The religious
striving that I am speaking of here is anything that works hard to please God
using man's own methods, efforts or abilities.
7. ASCETICISM. This can be a particularly dangerous religious deception. It
basically revolves around the idea that we can make ourselves more
"holy" simply by denying our body of food, rest, etc. Again, it is an
`outwardly- centred' doctrine. It focuses attention on bodily self-denial
rather than on true "holiness and purity of heart". And again it is a
distortion of true Biblical practice (genuine Spirit-led fasting, etc). Those
who have fallen under this delusion often believe that if they can bring their
body under more and more `subjection' through fasting, suffering and other
forms of self-denial, then they will be able to conquer their base desires and
become more "pure". This is actually no different to what many Hindu
gurus teach, and in it's extreme form it will open a Christian up to real
demonic bondage and deception.
Self-control is a good thing, but even extremes of "keeping one's body under" can never truly bring about `death' to our fallen desires. These desires actually have their roots deep within our hearts and souls, not merely in our physical bodies. If we wish to truly deal with them, then we must use SPIRITUAL weapons, rather than mere bodily self-denial (for this will actuall