WHO ARE YOU, Chapters 1-7 [George H. Warnock] ~ BOOK

7/29/2019 WHO ARE YOU, Chapters 1-7 [George H. Warnock] ~ BOOK

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WHO ARE YOU, Chapters 1-7 [George H. Warnock] ~ BOOK 1

WHO ARE YOU?BY: GEORGE H. WARNOCK

First Printing: March 1985Fifth Printing: (Enlarged) August, 1995 - Printed in Colombia, South America

CHAPTERS 1-7

CHAPTERS TITLE SUBTITLES PAGEINTRODUCTION 1

1 THE ARMIES OF HEAVEN Samsons Ultimate Victory 2

2 THE DAY OF THE LORD This is a Day of MixtureThis is a Day of DeceptionGods Glory Comes To His TempleThe Day of the Lord, a Day of DarknessThe Day of the Lord, a Day of FamineThe Day of the Lord, the Day of ConfusionThe Day of the Lord, a Day of HumblingThe Day of the Lord, a Day of CleansingThe Day of the Lord, the Day of Vengeance

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3 THE BATTLE IS THE LORDS There Are Two PanopliesKeeping The Unity of the Spirit

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4 THE SECRET OF OUR VICTORY The First Star WarsThe Last ArmageddonThe Destruction of Sennacherib

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5 DISCERNING GOOD AND EVIL The Origin of EvilThe King of BabylonIs God the Author of Evil?Does God Use the Devil?God Made Everything GoodGod Is LightWhence Then Cometh Evil?God Is Sovereign over All the Works of EvilThe Nature of Adams TransgressionThe Process of ApostasyThe Temptation of JesusWhy Is It Wrong?Satans Quest for WorshipThe Nature of Babylon

A New World ChurchThe Two Women of Shinar

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6 PENETRATING THE HEAVENLIES 407 THE WISDOM OF THE CROSS The Cross, a New Way of Life

The Mystery of the CrossGods Judgment of the WorldThe Triumph of the CrossThe Meek Shall Inherit the EarthWhy A Lamb on the Throne?The Travail of God

A Manchild is to be BornThe Burnt OfferingThe Happy MediumThe Sons of Sceva

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For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of thedarkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armo

of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand(Ephesians 6:12,13)

INTRODUCTION

This writing is about SPIRITUAL WARFARE, but with particular reference to the Day of the LORD, that greatDay of God Almighty, when God assembles all the hordes of evil together in open confrontation with Him whois called Faithful and True, who leads the armies of Heaven into battle.

I do not write on a regular basis, but only as I feel definitely impressed of the Lord to do so. Therefore I haveconfidence that God has a people out there who are going to be helped and encouraged and challenged by


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this word.

These are very awesome times, and it is not mere knowledge or understanding that we really need - not evenof the Bible. But we need that creative Word out from the mouth of God, if indeed we are going to be able toembrace it as a living seed that will become PREGNANT within us, and bring forth after its kind.

It was after ministering the substance of this message some weeks ago that I felt very much impressed to put itin writing. I did not know what I was to call it. It was not till I wrote the very last line (though I did add portionshere and there throughout the book later) that I suddenly realized what the title was to be. It is a challenge from

heavenly places as to our identity. Let us search for our identity in the heavenly Zion. If we do not find it there,whatever we are down here will not matter that much.

- George H. Warnock - March 15, 1985.

CHAPTER ONETHE ARMIES OF HEAVEN

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 doth judge and make war.

His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written, that no man

knew, but he himself.

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them witha rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.(Rev19:11-16)

In this day of fear and anxiety, and distress among nations, how assuring to look into the scriptures and catcha glimpse of Gods war plans, and to know that the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of Heaven is about tobreak forth on the scene of human depravity and futility, riding upon a white horse of righteousness and powerand leading His armies to battle and to total victory!

How assuring to know in this hour, when mens hearts are failing them for fear, and kings and rulers andpresidents of nations are frustrated in their attempt to solve the nuclear arms crisis, and to lay a foundation forpeace... to know that there is One who has conquered, and who by Gods decree sits even now at Gods righthand of power and authority, ruling and reigning in the midst of His enemies...but who simply awaits Godstime-schedule, and the signal from the throne of the eternal Jehovah-God, to charge forth into battle againstthe Enemy, and put an end to the reign of evil.

And to know also that we, if we are accounted to be faithful and true shall be a part of that army that will followthe Son of God as He goes forth to battle in the great Day of God Almighty. These are the people who not onlyprofess to have FAITH and TRUTH; but faithfulness and truthfulness have been wrought into their very being,as they have learned obedience by the things they have suffered, and have followed the Lord in all His ways.

The Church of Jesus Christ was destined and equipped with the armor of God to be a warring Church. We arenot denying that she has fought many a valiant war with the forces of evil throughout her long history, but in toomany cases she has suffered defeat, either because she knew not the strategy of the Enemy, or because shedid not confine herself to those spiritual weapons which God had given her for warfare and for eventual victoryNevertheless, in and through it all God has not forsaken the declaration of His Son:


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I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.(Matthew 16:18)

The defeats of the past (and there have been many) do not alter the purposes of God; for in the wisdom of theCross, God will yet take all the devices of the Evil One, whose intention is to destroy the people of God, andentwine these into His own purposes so that the Enemy will be trapped in his own devices and snared in thevery evil that he thought to bring upon Gods chosen ones.

SAMSONS ULTIMATE VICTORY

The story of Samson is going to take on beautiful meaning for those of us who live in the last days. Right nowwe are almost ashamed to admit that we are part of the Church when we see ourselves like Samson: boundby the world-systems of the Philistines, grinding out the corn for the enemies of God, and so blinded in ourhearts that we think we are victorious and triumphant in the midst of it all. But one day - and we believe it isbeginning to happen - the hairs of Samsons head will grow again, and his strength will be renewed. We arebeginning to recognize that God wants us to be distinct and separate people in the earth, in the world, but notof it. We are beginning to realize that our calling is heavenly, that our warfare is heavenly.

One day as Samsons heart began to turn back to God - in his weakness and in his blindness and in hisbondage - he comes to the place where he is prepared to lay down his life, if so be he can be avenged of the

Philistines, and bring deliverance to the people of God. Let me die with the Philistines, he cried, as he leanedupon the pillars in the House of Dagon, and destroyed the hordes of the Philistines in one massive blow. Theresult was that he slew more in his death, than he had slain throughout his whole life - spectacular anddramatic as many of his activities were in his former years.

Dear ones, we are going to see the true meaning of all this, when the Church of Jesus Christ begins to come tothe realization of the greatness of her bondage...

When she realizes she has been so blinded in her understanding, that she did not even know she was a willingtool of the world-system...

When she realizes that she has been grinding out corn for the Philistines, all the while thinking she was

working for God...

When her Nazarite vow of separation unto the Lord is renewed, and her hair of glory is restored...

When she suddenly realizes she is the laughing-stock of the world and not her friend...

When she realizes she has been led about by a lad of the Philistines, and not by the hand of God...

And when she is finally prepared to lay down her life, if so be she might know the power of the risen Chrisworking within her.

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made

manifest in our mortal flesh(2Cor. 4:11)

God is preparing an army, beloved, who will go forth in the Day of the LORD to put an end to the reign of Evil,and to deliver the people of God from their oppressor. They are not being conscripted because they havemilitary or political skills, and know how to get involved in human programs; but because like Samson of oldthey have discovered the folly and the futility of all this, and are now prepared to learn Gods secrets ofwarfare. They are a people who are being taught the art of war, and whose only weapons are SPIRITUAL ANDHEAVENLY, and mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds(2Cor. 10:4)

And we are going to discover, as we proceed with this message, that if we are not clothed upon with spiritua


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armor, and engaging in battle in the Spirit of God in heavenly places, we are not going to know anything butdefeat down here in the realms of earth.

CHAPTER TWOTHE DAY OF THE LORD

Generally the teaching concerning the coming of the Lord are associated with doctrines about the greattribulation, and controversies as to whether He comes before, during, or after the tribulation. Tribulation seemsto be the whole issue. Do we miss it, or do we not? It is clear from the scriptures that the tribulation coincideswith the Day of the Lord. It is a time of great trouble and darkness, yes, but it is the dawning of Gods new day -something that Gods people often overlook. Paul tells us:

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on thearmor of light(Rom. 13:12)

Is it not clear from this that the Day of the LORD is more to be desired than the night in which we now live?Who would want to miss out on the light of Gods new day? Especially when He tells us clearly that He hasprovided for us The armor of light? Sure, there will be darkness in the world about us in that day. But it is notcalled The night of the Lord. It is Gods DAY! This alone should cause Gods people to stop and consider intheir hearts: Really, now... why do I want to miss that DAY to which all the prophets referred, and which ismentioned frequently in the New Testament as the hope of Gods people?

For yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the LORD so cometh as a thief in the night. (1Thess. 5:2). Buwe must not stop there. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that DAY Should overtake you as a thiefYe are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Thereforelet us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and theythat be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate offaith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtainsalvation by our Lord Jesus Christ (vs 4-9) Is it not very clear from this passage that we have no appointmentwith the wrath of God, because of the armor that we put on, the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet ofsalvation? Because we are fully equipped with Gods armor, and not because he snatches us out of the battle?

Note the battle dress of Gods people in the Day of the LORD: It is the armor of light, the breastplate of faith

and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. GOD HAS PROVIDED ARMOR FOR HIS PEOPLE - NOTWINGS! And if we know these things, God help us all to put on the whole armor of God. God wants a peoplewho are prepared for battle, and the armor He provides is totally sufficient for us to stand in the evil day. (SeeEphesians 6:10-18)

THIS IS A DAY OF MIXTURE

The Day of the LORD will deal with this horrible corruption that abounds in the land, and especially with theMIXTURE that has characterized the people of God. Often are we tainted with the corruption of the world,because we dwell in the very midst of it, and are not always aware of the effect it is having on our minds andspirits. Jesus warned us that because of the abundance of iniquity about us, the love of many would waxcold. It is easy to slip into the way of the world, not realizing the world and its systems are the enemies of God,

and he that would be a friend of the world is the enemy of God(Jas. 4:4)

We need to pray that God will show forth such a display and weight of His glory in our midst that we will beable to reprove the world of sin, as we ought to be doing. I do not mean by much talk, and pointing the finger ofaccusation: I mean by so living and expressing the life of Christ in the world, that the world is confronted withthe all-seeing eye of God, and knows that it is God Himself who is reproving them of sin, and orighteousness, and of judgment(Jn. 16:8) Without this display of His glory, how helpless we are! And so thebest we know is to try to get the legislators on our side, and try to cut off the little twigs and branches ofdegradation that continue to break forth on the corrupt tree of our society. But unless the tree is cut down - forevery twig of corruption we try to nip in the bud, two more will grow in their place. Gods plan is to cut down the


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tree! And we who know our God, and know what the Day of the LORD is all about, will rejoice when the Lordcreates darkness and evil for the workers of evil, and brings forth light and peace, to the lovers of truth. For Hehas declared:

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. Dropdown, yea heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let thembring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together (Isa. 45:7, 8). This is what the Day of the LORDis all about!

God hates a mixture, and He appeals to His people to make a difference between the clean and the unclean,to know the nature of good and evil, and to draw the line between light and darkness:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that putbitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter(Isa. 5:20).

Once again, in this Day of the LORD that comes swiftly upon us, God is going to divide the light from thedarkness. Once again the light will be called day, and the darkness will be called night.

Only the revelation of His glory can do this. Try as we may to get into the political arena with a shovel, toshovel out the darkness, the darkness will remain... and will continue to get darker. Try as we may to agitate,and march, and harass the workers of iniquity, we accomplish nothing. When light is rejected, darkness is the

inevitable result. And as we shall observe later in this message, if light is persistently rejected, God Himself willsend even greater and greater darkness, to the point where men do not know the difference, and evil is calledgood, and darkness is called light.

THIS IS A DAY OF DECEPTION

God tells us that the time will come when He Himself will send strong delusion, that they should believe a lie(or, THE LIE). (2Thess. 2:11) And the reason is clearly stated: Because they received not the love of thetruth that they might be saved (vs 10). Consistent and persistent rebellion against God causes God towithdraw His restraining hand of grace, thus adding to and multiplying the darkness that is already there. In thissense only does God create evil. It is Gods Judgment against iniquity. And whether we are believer orunbeliever, this ought to impart within us all a godly fear. A little bit of disobedience on our part can produce a

measure of darkness. God be merciful unto us in that hour - that we might recognize the darkness, and hurryback into His arms, His outstretched arms of love and forgiveness. It is frightening to behold men and women,whom we thought to have known the Lord in a very real way... slipping away into areas of deception anddarkness that are utterly foreign to the love of the truth. Somewhere Satan found a foothold, and graduallyenlarged upon it, until it might almost appear there is no longer any hope for them.

How endless a task we would have on our hands if we were to begin naming all the different areas ofdeception! Gods provision and antidote for this danger is for you and me to walk in truth. Jesus said, And yeshall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free(Jn 8:32). But we do feel to mention this evil of divorcethat is running rampant these days; and to warn Gods people especially that Satan is promoting thisavalanche of divorce and unfaithfulness that is overwhelming the Church. The Christian home is a miniaturechurch, and the Enemy knows if he is victorious in the home, he is automatically victorious in the Church. We

must guard against the deception that is overwhelming many, as husband and wife are believing the lie thatthey do not have their proper spiritual mate - that God never did really join them together - it was their ownmistake, and they must find the one that God ordained for them. We have been told from different sources thatwitches and wizards are praying and fasting for the break-up of the Christian home. Let us not be found in thenumber of those who are blaming God for the attack of witches and wizards.

I do not stand in judgment on Gods people. I know very often an innocent party is involved, and innocenchildren are often the victims. Complex situations have come as a result of marriages that took place when oneor both parties were not born again. All I can say is, if you are caught in tangled situations where you do notknow the way out...God is still able to bring order out of chaos, and bring you into a place of REST in Him as


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you seek His will for your life, and come to that place of total commitment. And if you are the guilty one, there ishope for you too - and grace. But the first step out from your bondage will be your admission that God is right,and you are wrong. And then we have this conditional promise, -

God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recoverthemselves out of the snare of the Devil (2Tim. 2:25, 26) If you insist on your innocence, and hold to thedeception that God led me to do it - this can only lead into greater deception. Once you can say from yourheart, God you are RIGHT and I am WRONG, then the Bible says, peradventure you will discover the graceof repentance. For remember, repentance is not something you can do just anytime you feel like it... or

postpone it until you have acquired what you want in your disobedience. God must provide the grace for it, if itis to be truly redemptive and genuine in nature.

We are talking about one area of deception that has overwhelmed many of Gods people, and how prevalent ithas become in the Church. And I think it is evident that this tendency to unfaithfulness in the home has comefrom the enticements of the world about us. Paul tells us that through the working of the Cross he wascrucified unto the world, and the world was crucified unto him (See Gal. 6:14). This is the real problem. Mostof us in the Church have not known, or recognized, or cared enough to pursue this kind of identification withthe Cross of Christ. The offence of the Cross has just about ceased! Modern evangelism has pretty welrepresented the Cross of Jesus as the easy way out for you and me. Jesus died on His cross... so it isassumed there is no cross for the rest of us to carry. The word offence is skandalon in the Greek, fromwhich we get our English word scandal. The scandal of the cross is scarcely there any longer - especially in

our western world. We do not want to become an object of the scandal that comes when we take up our crossand follow Him. And so we join the world, thinking the world will like us, and will no longer consider that we arereally too much different from them. You can join our church, and still have lots of fun. You can serve God,and still have a good time... God intends it that way. But James warns us:

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoevertherefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God(Jas. 4:4). What an indictment! We say we must befriends of the world in order to win them. God says if you do that, youre His enemy!

When the king of Moab could not persuade Balaam the sorcerer to curse the people of God (for God tookcontrol of his tongue, without changing his heart...God can do that, you know... Just the day before He hadtaken control of the asss tongue without changing his heart...) - Do you know what Balaam did? He suggested

that Balak invite the people of God to one of their wild parties, and get them that way. And it workedThousands of them fell into the snare, as they corrupted themselves with the charms and the snares of thegods of Moab, and the people of God were defiled.

He who stands in the midst of His people with eyes as a flame of fire, is coming to purge the people of Godfrom the doctrine of Balaam. Lord, baptize us afresh - with the baptism of the Holy Ghost and of fire!

GODS GLORY COMES TO HIS TEMPLE

People of God, let us continue to cry out for His glory to return to His Temple... for the shining forth of HisPresence in our midst. But beloved, let us understand the implications of Gods glory coming back to dwell inthe midst of His people. He can bless us from Heaven, and pour forth His gifts upon us, in our carnal condition

But when He comes in the fullness of His abiding Presence in our midst, IT IS THAT HE MIGHT BE OURCAPTAIN AND LORD. He comes to cleanse and purge His people. He comes to take control. And thereforedesirable as all this may be, let us understand it is also a very fearful thing.

It was just after the glory of the LORD had passed through the hosts of Israel (in the mighty baptism of thecloud), that Egypt was suddenly confronted with Gods Judgments. The glory that was a light to the people ofGod suddenly became gross darkness to the enemy. God had divided the light from the darkness - so that theenemy came not near the people of God all night long.

It was right after the glory of the LORD had appeared to the congregation in the wilderness, and Gods fire


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burst forth from His presence to consume the burnt offering of His people... that Nadab and Abihu decided theywould make a little fire of their own. They took either of them his censer, and put fire therein... and offeredstrange fire before the LORD. Immediately they were consumed by the devouring fire of Gods glory. (SeeLev. 10:1, 2.)

Now what was wrong with the incense they offered? Were they not doing it before the Lord? But thats not thequestion. They were doing something that God had not directed them to do... something which Hecommanded them not (vs. 1). God had not authorized it!

When, beloved, are we going to come to the place where we recognize we are here only to do what God bidsus to... nothing more and nothing less? Whether you or I think it would be a good thing to do matters nothingWhat is Gods will in the matter? How do I know Gods will? someone may ask. It comes to us as we seekHim. Sometimes we know not how: the still small voice of God, something from the Word, some kind oconfirmation from this source or another. But it is something that God is honor-bound to show us when wepresent our bodies a living sacrifice and are totally committed to do His will.

I really believe if Gods glory were to suddenly come into our midst in this hour, we would have multitudesfalling dead in the pulpit or in the aisles of our churches, as happened to Ananias and Sapphira in the earlyChurch. Have you ever considered how insignificant their sin would be looked upon today in our eyes? Theysold some property, and gave most of it to the Church... perhaps nine-tenths of it! But they kept the smallerportion for a rainy-day, and brought the rest to the apostles. What was their sin? That they did not give it all?

Not really. It was just that they gave the impression they were giving all. Peter told them that they lied not tomen, but to the Holy Ghost! In their silence concerning what they did, they were giving the impression theywere giving their all as the others were doing. They were lying to the Holy Ghost!

O if Gods people could only recognize the implications of the Day of the LORD, and of His glory coming toabide in His Temple! Gone would be the entertainment and the gimmicks that are used today to bring people toJesus! Satan fears nothing when he sees the people of God going forth TO BATTLE with carnal weapons...musical groups doing their thing to the applause of large audiences... rock musicians skillfully using the art ofSatan all nicely cloaked with words about Jesus and Heaven and the Bible... drama troupes coming forth frommissionary training centers with a cast depicting God and Jesus and the Devil on the same platform, trying totrick people into hearing the gospel... puppet ministries acting out the gospel with little puppet monkeys orpuppet devils, and the like... magicians showing their illusionary tricks to the applause of an audience that

some church group hired to trap people into hearing the gospel. I know of one instance where a young boyin a Sunday school class had to be delivered from the oppression of spirits, after he had watched the clevermanipulations of a puppet-ministry in a Sunday school class. And all this - not in some old, dead apostatechurch, but in large charismatic churches where people love to praise and worship and sing in the Spirit anddance before the Lord!

O Lord, how can these - and even greater abominations than these, come into your temple, and the people ofGod who know and have experienced your blessings, and have spiritual gifts functioning in their midst - sit inthe congregation and applaud and laugh, and think they are promoting the work of the Lord?

The Day of the LORD is at hand, the day of His glory, and eyes like a flame of fire are going to consume thedross from the silver pot of Gods refining flame. God says that His judgments must first begin at the house o

God. We anticipate the day of His glory. But even as we do, let us humble ourselves now in His presence lestHis light shine upon us suddenly, and we be found naked. For He says to you and me and Gods peopleeverywhere who have known His workings in times past....

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come untothee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. (Rev. 2:5)

I speak not as a judge, but as one who grew up under the shadow of Pentecost, and had a little understandingof what happened in those early beginnings, and the glory that was there. I do not mean from personalexperience, because it was before my time - but I was close to it. I was born in a second generation of


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Pentecost, and regretted that I had missed out on the original glory that I knew was there. This used to botherme until I came to realize many years later that God had something for His people that was beyond Pentecost.I still cherish that Hope, and I know that God will do exceeding and abundantly above all we can ask or think. Itis difficult to sense the reality of the anointing and presence of God just by reading about it; but for those notfamiliar with the glory of those early days, let us reprint an excerpt from the writing of a man whom the Lordused in those times. (The Azusa that is mentioned was the name of a street in Los Angeles, where thisparticular outpouring took place).

The spirit of song given from God in the beginning was like the Aeolian harp in its spontaneity and sweetness.

In fact it was the very breath of God, playing on human heart strings, or human vocal chords. The notes werewonderful in sweetness, volume and duration. In fact they were oft-times humanly impossible. It was indeedsinging in the Spirit.

...We had no pope or hierarchy. We were brethren. We had no human program; the Lord Himself was leading.We had no priest class, nor priest craft. These things have come in later, with the apostatizing of themovement. We did not even have a platform or pulpit in the beginning. All were on a level. The ministers wereservants, according to the true meaning of the word. We did not honor men for their advantage in means oeducation, but rather for their God-given gifts. He set the members in the Body.

Now a wonderful and horrible thing is come to pass in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely and the priestsbear rule by their means, and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?(Jer. 5:30

31)

The services ran almost continuously. Seeking souls could be found under the power almost any hour of thenight or day. The place was never closed nor empty. The people came to meet God... He was always thereHence a continuous meeting. The meeting did not depend on the human leader. Gods presence became moreand more wonderful. In that old building, with its low rafters and bare floors, God took strong men and womento pieces, and put them together again, for His glory. It was a tremendous overhauling process. Pride and self-assertion, self-importance and self-esteem could not survive there. The religious ego preached its own funeralsermon quickly.

No subjects or sermons were announced ahead of time, and no special speakers for such an hour. No oneknew what might be coming, what God would do. All was spontaneous, ordered of the Spirit. We wanted to

hear from God, through whomever He might speak. We had no respect of persons. The rich and educatedwere the same as the poor and ignorant, and found a much harder death to die. We only recognized God. Alwere equal. No flesh might glory in His presence. He could not use the self-opinionated. Those were HolyGhost meetings, led of the Lord. It had to start in poor surroundings, to keep out the selfish, human elementAll came down in humility together at His feet. They all looked alike and had all things in common, in that senseat least. The rafters were low, the tall must come down. By the time they got to Azusa they were humbledready for the blessing. The fodder was thus placed for the lambs, not for giraffes. All could reach it.

We were delivered right there from ecclesiastical hierarchism and abuse. We wanted God. When we firstreached the meeting, we avoided as much as possible human contact and greeting. We wanted to meet Godfirst. We got our head under some bench in the corner in prayer, and met men only in the Spirit, knowing themafter the flesh no more.

All obeyed God, in meekness and humility. In honor we preferred one another. The Lord was liable to burstthrough anyone. We prayed for this continually. Someone would finally get up anointed for the message. Itmight be from the back seat for from the front. It made no difference...

Someone might be speaking. Suddenly the Spirit would fall upon the congregation. God Himself would givethe altar call. Men would fall all over the house, like the slain in battle, or rush for the altar en masse to seekGod. The scene often resembled a forest of fallen trees...

When God spoke, we all obeyed. It seemed a fearful thing to hinder or grieve the Spirit... God was in His holy


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God said He would take away the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, themighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent and the ancient, the captain offifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. (Isa. 3:1-3)

Theological seminaries and schools of religious training will be empty. No longer will the ministry be somethingthat our young people will aspire after. The prophets and the seers will be ashamed to be called one of Godsministers, or a leader of the people. They will excuse themselves by saying, I will not be a healer; for in myhouse is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. (Isa. 3:7) He is confessing, Im sorrybut I cant help you. And the reason for this kind of famine? Because their tongue and their doings are against

the LORD, to provoke the eyes of His glory.(vs 8)

Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shallnot divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall theseers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer ofGod (Mic. 3:6, 7)

What kind of prophets were these? The kind that are telling Gods people that all is well, that they will not seetribulation, - God loves them too much for that... the kind that have discovered the ministry to be a financiabonanza when they give prophecies of peace. The kind that will prophesy good things to those who putsomething in their mouths, but show contempt for those who refuse. And he that putteth not into their mouthsthey even prepare war against him.(Mic. 3:5) Listen to this: Now everyone in the audience who wants me to

pronounce the blessing of the Lord upon your life, just stand and come forward with a thousand dollars, andGod will give you the blessing of Abraham. Then the amounts are reduced, for a somewhat lesser blessing.Who will bring five hundred dollars, for the blessing of David? or, Who will bring two hundred... onehundred... Perhaps a small blessing may be available to the one who can only afford a ten dollar bill! Thetragedy is that there are so many gullible people out there in the Church, who love to have it so.

Dear ones, God has to send a famine in the land when He sees abominations like these. But in the midst of itall there will be the true prophets of the LORD, like Micah of old, who are full of power by the Spirit of theLORD, and of judgment (justice), and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin(Mic. 3:8)

THE DAY OF THE LORD, THE DAY OF CONFUSION

Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are come upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, thathe who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit,shall be taken in the snare.(Isa. 24:17 ,18)

Go ahead and build your bomb-shelters, and your mountain hide-outs, and stack them well with food and waterand guns. In that day you will discover that the treasure you have accumulated for the day of trouble will avainothing. Far better if you would distribute your excess wealth now to places of need, and in so doing lay uptreasure in Heaven, and find your habitation in God:

Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for alittle moment, until the indignation be overpast (Isa. 26:20)

Your refuge in doctrines about the second coming that promise safety and security will be swept away whenthe hailstones of God begin to fall. No wonder the teachers and the prophets and those who assure the peoplethat God will snatch them away from it all, will scramble for safety in that day, and find none:

And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. (Isa. 28:17)

And yet in the midst of all the tribulation the people who have found their refuge in God shall rejoice in theiGod...


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Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goethwith a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the Mighty One of Israel... (Isa. 30:29) When andwhere is all this joy? In the very time of the LORDs wrath: And the LORD shall cause His glorious voice to beheard, and shall show the lighting down of His arm, with the indignation of His anger, and with the flame of adevouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.(vs. 30)

THE DAY OF THE LORD, A DAY OF HUMBLING

The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD

alone shall be exalted in that day.(Isa. 2:11)

It is the day when God brings all men down to one common level. Every mountain and hill shall be madelow...whether it be in the Church, or in the world. (See Isa. 40:1-5.)

The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorableof the earth.(Isa. 23:9) There are some honorable men who bow at the foot of the Cross, but Paul tells usthey are few in number: For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, notmany mighty, not many noble, are called.(1Cor. 1:26)

When the glory of the LORD comes to His Temple, it is to stain the pride of all glory in His people, in each ofus... not only by bowing once at the foot of the Cross for the remission of sins, but in taking up our cross and

following Him.

THE DAY OF THE LORD, A DAY OF CLEANSING

And the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant... Butwho may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like refiners fireand like fullers soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, thatthey may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. (Mal. 3:1-3)

Gods Holy Spirit has been given to us to make us HOLY; and His people are yet to become holiness unto theLORD. How and when is this to happen? When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters ofZion... by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. (Isa. 4:4)

Do we really want to manifest the light of God to a world that sits in darkness? We are not going to do it,beloved, by preaching and talking about it; but only by submitting ourselves to the SPIRIT OF JUDGMENT,and THE SPIRIT OF BURNING. Then will the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives be a flaming fire that willshine forth in this world of sin and darkness.

And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud andsmoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night.(Isa. 4:5)

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darknessshall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shalbe seen upon thee.(Isa. 60:1)

Darkness and light, brethren, and at one and the same time. His glory shall be seen, and not merely talkedabout. And when men see it, one of two things will happen: they will walk in the light, or they will turn away intogreater darkness than they have ever known. His glory will draw the line that separates day and night, truthand error, good and evil.

THE DAY OF THE LORD, THE DAY OF VENGEANCE

Vengeance for what? For His Temple. God has a controversy with Zion. And after the cleansing of Zion He willdeal with Babylon... that system that has captivated His people and prevented them from becoming His own


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dwelling place in the earth. God through eternal ages has desired a dwelling place for Himself, and that is whyHe made man in the beginning. Any teaching, any structure, any system (name or no name, denominational ornon-denominational) that promotes any kind of mediator between the individual and his God, other than theone Mediator, who is the Lord Jesus Christ... you can be sure it bears the stamp of Babylon. And Godcontinues to cry, Come out of her, my people... Babylon wants to keep the people of God unified under somesystem, to keep them together, and to keep them under her control. Babylon wants unity. Babylon wants tomake a name for herself.

God wants a people for Himself, and for Himself only. He is a jealous God, and will not share His glory with

another.

Jesus said, For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. (Luke21:22)

Vengeance for what? It is the vengeance of His Temple: Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver everyman his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORDs vengeance... because it is thevengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of His temple. (See Jer. 51:6,11.)

Babylon is the whole world system, religious as well as political. She has brought the people of God under hersway, so that they are no longer able to serve Him in His holy Temple, and worship Him in Spirit and in Truth,free from the rulership of kings... and giving the Lord Jesus total Lordship in their lives. The purpose of true

ministry before the Lord is to bring this about, to enhance ones individual freedom and relationship with theLord. The spirit of Babylon would seek to extend the lordship of MAN, under the guise of Divine order.

CHAPTER THREETHE BATTLE IS THE LORDS

In this great conflict that rages between the forces of good and evil we must understand the simple pattern ofwarfare that God has sent forth in His Word for the ultimate triumph of the people of God. And we must beassured that the battle is the LORDs, and not ours. Failing to see and understand some of these simpleprinciples can only lead to prolonged frustration and perplexity, as we seek to stop the flood of iniquity that hasbroken forth upon the people of God.

Too long has the Church of Jesus Christ been on the defensive. In fact, victory for Gods people has generallybeen looked upon from a negative standpoint, even by the positive thinkers in the Church. Just know how toward off the attack of the Enemy... just hold your own... find how to get healed from some physical ailment, orecover from some spiritual setback. Well and good. But the hour is at hand when God would mobilize Hisarmy for a final and decisive onslaught against the gates of Hell, so that His Church may come forth from thebattle in total victory and triumph. We should say... that the forthcoming battle is the conclusive one, for thedecisive battle has already been fought and won. When Jesus died on the Cross, He there and then spoiledprincipalities and powers, and made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Col. 2:15) It wasthere on the Cross that Christ through death destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil.(Heb. 2:14) But the battle we speak of is the conclusive battle... the day and hour in which God will EXECUTETHE SENTENCE that was passed at the Cross, and crush the hosts of evil under our feet:

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.(Rom. 16:20)

THERE ARE TWO PANOPLIES

The scriptures speak of two complete sets of armor: that of Gods people, and that of the Enemy. The Greekword is panoplia, from which we get our seldom used English word panoply. The word is used only twice inthe New Testament: its first occurrence referring to Satans panoply, and its second occurrence referring toours.

When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall


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come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor (panoplia) wherein he trusted, anddivideth his spoil.(Luke 11:22)

Put on the whole armor (panoplia) of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil...Wherefore take unto you the whole armor (panoplia) of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,and having done all, to stand.(Eph. 6:11, 13)

Notice that there are two strong men, and the stronger man does three things:

(1) Overcomes the strong man.(2) Takes away the panoply of the strong man.

(3) Divides the spoils of the strong man.

(1) Overcoming the Strong Man

This kind of victory goes far, far beyond the ordinary concept of victory - somehow just surviving, just holdingour own, making a successful excursion against the Enemy and then scurrying back to the fox-hole for safety.Our Lord is not coming for a defeated Church, but for one that is glorious and triumphant. Now I know thatChrist triumphed at the Cross, but His Church still grovels in defeat - much as she may enjoy her victorymarches, and sing about her victories.

Now Christ fully triumphed at the Cross. There Satan was robbed not only of his power (dunamis), - his abilityto perform his works of evil; but also of his authority (exousia), - his right to dominate the Adamic race, and thekingdoms of this world. And so Jesus said to His disciples, Behold, I give unto you power (exousia) to tread onserpents and scorpions, and over all the power (dunamis) of the enemy. (Luke 10:19) And before He wenaway He promised that they would be endued with power (dunamis) from on high. (Luke 24:49) Satanspanoply has been taken from him; for Christ spoiled principalities and powers, when He died on the Cross(Col. 2:15) The word spoiled means He unclothed them - He took away their battle dress... He denudedthem.

How then can he continue to harass and torment the world, and the people of God? He has done so bymagnifying the darkness that is in him, and in this way devastating the world and the people of God with althose attributes of darkness: fear, torment, unbelief, strife, contention, malice, hate, division... and we could go

on and on in this; and it is all a kind of DECEPTION of one form or another. Of course this has been veryeffective from his standpoint; and the whole world lies in the grip of the god of this world (his religious title)and the prince of the power of the air (his political title). His real panoply of POWER and AUTHORITY hasbeen taken away; so now he continues to strengthen, even since the Cross, his panoply of DARKNESS; but itis all a lie, and it is only in the area of darkness and deception that he can do this. He succeeds, because menlove darkness rather than light. He succeeds, because even we as believers find ourselves entertaining ideaswhich the enemy plants their in our carnal minds. Our warfare, therefore, consists of putting on the wholearmor of God. and thereby denying the Enemy any foothold within us. And with this divine panoply from God,this total battle dress, this complete armor... God has assured His people of total victory. The whole world liesin the lap of wickedness, or more emphatically, the evil one (1Jn. 5:19); and the god of this world hathblinded the minds of them which believe not.(2Cor. 4:4). Only the ministration of the gospel in the power othe Holy Spirit can remove this blindness from the hearts of men, enabling them to believe. And may God help

us to understand (and we will be enlarging upon it later)... that the ministration of the gospel goes far, farbeyond declaring a message, or writing and talking about it. It involves a people penetrating the world ofdarkness by coming into association with the powers of the heavenly realm, and becoming acquainted andknown of God in the citadel of Zion. Only then are we able to loosen the shackles from the hearts and minds ofmen. You cannot talk men out of their blindness... and certainly you are not going to do it by entertaining themwith frivolity. There has to come about a healing... scales have to be removed from their eyes.

(2) Taking Away the Strong Mans Panoply

This is what Jesus did at the Cross. But in his defeat, Satan continues to cloak himself with the armor of


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darkness and deception; and these have become very formidable weapons in his hands. Not understandingthat these are Satans only weapons, the people of God have gone all-out in their efforts to acquire great andformidable (?) weapons to oppose him, and his kingdom remains as strong as ever. With all our efforts,coupled with all the resources of our modern technology (over which the Enemy continues to hold dominion),we have failed to make any real impact upon the forces of evil that rule the world. The reason is quite evidentwe have not realized that his only weapons are those which operate in areas of deception and darkness: fear,hate, torment, contention, strife, and so forth. And yet we go our way preaching the gospel, with theseattributes of darkness still in our hearts. And thinking He has great power, we go about seeking to matchweapon with weapon, numbers with numbers, resources with resources, tactics with tactics, strategy with

strategy. He calls the shots, and Gods people get excited and begin to snipe back. If he comes against us withwhat appears to be a powerful weapon, we will try to outmatch him. If he comes against us with some newtechnique, we are right there to meet his challenge, hopefully with something comparable or better. If he risesup against us with a great host, we will do what we can to rally a greater host to come against him. If hemarches... we will organize a greater march, hoping to out-maneuver him. In other words, we try to comeagainst him with his own kind of weapons, and he is not at all impressed. What does he care about your littleshows, and entertainment, and your cute dramatic presentations of the gospel? He is only slightly amused, andsits in the congregation applauding with the rest of them.

We have yet to discover the way of the Cross. We have yet to know that one man can chase a thousand, andthat two can put ten thousand to flight, if we are walking in the ways of the Lord. We have yet to learn that apeople of God, clothed upon with the armor of light is Gods only antidote for evil.

(3) Dividing the Spoils of the Strong Man

This is the third aspect of the victory of the Cross. We are to take the spoils out of the hands of the EnemyThe spoils are nothing less than the bodies and souls and spirits of men. Satans goods are in peace as longas Gods people are in turmoil... as long as he is able to hold dominion over the hearts of men. He knows hiskingdom is sure as long as the people of God mix religion with entertainment and gimmicks and politics andkeep very much involved with the ways of the world.

But our Lord has triumphed, and patiently does He rule and reign upon the throne of His glory in the midst ofHis enemies - even as God has decreed. He waits expectantly for the day when all His enemies are subduedunder His feet...the day when His people shall be willing - the day of His power.

The people of God are not only to enter their Canaan heritage, and then stand on the border of it and boasabout what they have got. They must drive out the Enemy, and POSSESS that territory, and PARTAKE of thefruit of their spiritual heritage. Caleb exhorted the people in so many words...dont be afraid of the Enemy... ifGod delight in us He will bring us in... they shall be our bread and butter. How little have we known of the fruitsof victory in Christ Jesus!

How quickly would God bring us into our inheritance if we would but humble ourselves in His presence, andwalk in obedience: in love, in truth, in meekness, and in the unity of the Spirit. Of course, we all acknowledgethat these virtues would be nice to have. We will keep these things in mend and hopefully some day get moreof them. But in the meantime we are in a war against the Devil, and we are not going to get too involved abouthose things right now - we are too busy fighting the Devil. And all the while we have this attitude we are failing

to realize that these attributes of light, and love, and truth, and obedience - these are the only weapons that aregoing to defeat the Devil. He fears nothing when we seek to tear down his kingdom with our own human zeal,our eloquent sermons, our Church activities and programs - entertainments, nice musical presentations,dramatic renditions - all these carnally devised schemes and gimmicks that are formulated today for thepropagation of the gospel.

But he fears greatly when he sees a people learning to walk in the way of the Cross!

KEEPING THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT


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There is a divine order in the scriptures for coming into the full stature of Christ; and the apostle admonishes usto keep the unity of the Spirit as God progressively leads us on to the fullness of the truth. (See Eph. 4:1-15)In all of our seeking for more and more of the fullness of Christ in His people, we are assured of Gods helpand direction if we will walk in the Spirit, and learn how to foster and maintain the unity of the Spirit in ourmidst. First and foremost it means that we must acknowledge the Lordship of the Spirit in our lives and donothing that will grieve Him.

But let us remember: it is not just unity that God is after. Babylon wants that too. God wants the unity of theSpirit. He requires that we walk in union with the Spirit of Christ. This means we are to be speaking what He is

speaking, doing what He is doing, protesting against the evil in His people when He is protesting against theevil in His people; it means we are to weep over the erring ones, when He is weeping over the erring ones.God wants us to be ONE in the Spirit; and like the dove which represents Him, he wants us to fly away from itall when His people refuse to walk with Him. When the Spirit of God has been crowded out of His temple, wehave no choice but to follow... yet as true priests of the Lord we long for the day when once again we willbehold the beauty of the Lord in His house.

CHAPTER FOURTHE SECRET OF OUR VICTORY

Israel was a natural nation, a natural people, and they indulged frequently in natural warfare, even at thecommand of the LORD. They were simply executing the judgments of God upon the idolatrous practices of the

heathen nations round about them. In our day we might be inclined to view ancient Israels wars as genocidaland it is hard for a lot of people to believe that the Christians Jehovah-God was the Jehovah-God of war in theOld Testament. The fact is that God had a plan for the earth for many centuries to come, and had He notintervened in that day to wipe out the almost unthinkable and unprintable practices of heathen nationssurrounding Israel, any semblance of an orderly society might have ceased to exist long ago. The same can besaid of the day in which we live. If God does not intervene shortly to put an end to the abominationsperpetrated today (not in heathen, Muslim, or Communist regimes, but in our so called Christian democracies)our society could very quickly be swallowed up in total anarchy and corruption. It is only His grace thatforestalls the inevitable doom awaiting this generation, as He prepares a people to show forth His glory and Hispower in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation.

As Christians of the New Covenant era we must be assured that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal

but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. (2Cor. 10:4) Yet even as we look into the OldTestament we can discover the art of spiritual warfare, and the secret of victory that God has for us in thishour. We will learn that the Captain of our salvation goes before us, and that the plans and strategies of ourwarfare are His, and His only. We will learn that Gods ways are vastly different from ours; and that, foolish asthey may seem to be, it is only as we walk in His ways that we are going to emerge triumphant in the day ofbattle. So let us observe the strategy of our warfare and the secret of our victory, as typified in some of Israelsnatural struggles in the Old Testament:

(1) Israel at the Red Sea

When God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, and bore them on eagles wings from the clutches ofthe enemy, He led them to a dead-end in the wilderness - right up against the Red Sea. He did so on purpose;

and His purpose was twofold. First, He would entice the enemy to their doom, for they would boast, We havethem now! Theres no place for them to go...! But secondly, He would test the obedience and faith of thepeople of God. All they could see was the Red Sea, and the menacing hordes of the Egyptians behind themGod wanted them to see and behold His faithfulness and His wisdom, and to know that the way of the seawould also become the way of victory.

Now the secret of the LORD is with them that fear Him, and as we consider Gods pattern of victory here,may the Lord cause us to know that every dead-end in the pathway of obedience will lead us to a new way oflife in the purposes of God. He wants us to discover the secret of standing still, and seeing the salvation of theLORD. But He also wants us to know that our encampment at the Red Sea in the will of God, where there is no


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place to go, no way to turn, is intended in the plan and purpose of God to bring about a defeat of our enemies,which we would not have known without this wilderness experience. He could have led them a different way;and you and I would perhaps not have chosen the way we have walked if we had been in control of our lives,and could have seen the end from the beginning. But somehow He led us this way, and the purpose is that Hemight be glorified. There may have been failure and disobedience on our part. And Let us be quick toacknowledge that. But He would teach us also that out of every failure and disobedience He will yet beglorified, if we will now learn to walk in obedience... if we will stand still and see the salvation of the LORD.

And consequently they were able to sing the Song of Moses:

I will sing unto the LORD,For He hath triumphed gloriously:

The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea (Ex. 15:1).

Where were they overthrown? In the Red Sea! In the place of their dead-end walk with God. In the place otheir extremity... In the place of their perplexity... In the place of their utter hopelessness...

(2) Israel at the River Jordan

When Israel crossed the Red Sea, they were in fact being baptized unto Moses, in the cloud, and in the sea.(1Cor. 10:2) In type, therefore, it speaks of our baptism into Christ: in water, and in the Spirit. But when this

generation failed to enter into the land of their inheritance through disobedience, God raised up a newgeneration that would succeed. They were now under new leadership, Joshua; and before they could possesstheir inheritance some very detailed instructions were given them concerning the crossing of the Jordan, inpreparation for the conquest of Canaan. The priests bearing the ark of the Covenant were to dip their feet inthe waters of Jordan, and as they did the waters would be swept back so the people could go over on dry land.The priests would then stand in the bottom of the Jordan while the people passed by. Twelve stones were tobe erected on the bottom of the Jordan as a pillar, and twelve stones likewise were to be taken up from thebottom of the river and erected as a pillar on the western bank. In type we have a picture of the nation beingidentified with Christ in His death and resurrection. But there was more to this baptism than that. For whenthey had set up camp on the western bank there had to be a new circumcision. This new generation had notbeen circumcised in the wilderness, and they still carried the reproach of Egypt with them. The stain, thereproach, the burden, and the very memory of the old life in Egypt must be rolled away at Gilgal, for that is

the meaning of the word Gilgal. Circumcision, then, becomes another aspect of Christian baptism. Waterbaptism (especially here in the Western world) is presented as a beautiful ceremony, and the crowds areespecially invited to come and witness it. It can only be because the true meaning of baptism is not known orealized, or fulfilled in the lives of Gods people. We can accept Christian baptism, and get along very happilywith the world about us. Not so in the early Church, and in some of the nations of the world today. In that day itmeant a cutting off. It meant in actual fact and experience, identification with the Cross of Christ.

Circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by thecircumcision of Christ: buried with Him in baptism...(Col. 2:11, 12)

It meant from that day forward you were an enemy of the world, because the world was the enemy of God. Itwas in fact a marriage ceremony in which you said, I take you, Lord Jesus, to be my lawfully wedded

Husband, to have and to hold, to love and to obey... and forsaking all others... How often have we committedadultery with the world in this relationship!

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoevertherefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.(Jas. 4:4)

The soldiers in Gods army have got to experience the full implications of baptism. Coming out of Egypt meantfor Israel a baptism in the cloud and in the sea. Perhaps it was sufficient for them in their wilderness journeys.But to conquer the seven strong nations of Canaan we, like Israel of old, must know and experience thedreadful implications of our baptism: identification with Christ in the cutting off of the old Adamic life, that we


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Ehud was a left-handed Benjamite whom God raised up to save Israel out of the hands of Eglon the king ofMoab. (Judg. 3:15) Literally it reads, He was bound as to the right hand. His right hand was a problem withhim. Being left-handed, so I am told, can be rather frustrating at times. The left-handed man doesnt quite fit inour society. He has to learn to do things the hard way. Society is geared for the right-handed person.

Benjamin, however, as named by his father Jacob means Son of my right hand. I used to wonder about thiswhen I discovered how God would use the left-handed Benjamites. But I discovered the secret one day when realized that when I place my weak left hand in Gods strong right hand, suddenly I am linked up with the

strength and might and power of God Himself. Now if I try to put my right hand in Gods right hand, I am introuble. I will have to turn in the opposite direction to do that, and of course that means self-will, disobedience,going my own way. Can we not be content to take our insufficiencies, our lack, our weaknesses (our LEFTHAND), and walk side by side with Him in the same direction, and in the POWER OF HIS RIGHT HAND?

Of course this may well mean that at times we will be walking with a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted withgrief. And often the Church will think of us as a sad lot. But then I recall how Rachel looked upon her son alsoso I do not want to condemn people for the impressions they might get. Rachel would have called this child,The son of my sorrow. But Jacob said, No, not Benoni, but BENJAMIN... He is going to be the SON OF MYRIGHT HAND! There is no real joy that is not born of sorrow. There is no real joy that is not birthed at theCross.

Weeping may endure for a night,But joy cometh in the morning (Psa. 30:5)

But Ehud had a dagger with two edges. Sharpen your sword, you left-handed Benjamites! Get ready for thebattle of the LORD! Thats all we need: a living Word that is sharper than any two-edged sword. You may nobe able to use the right hand of proficiency, of eloquence, of intellectual excellence. But you will discover, if youcontinue to let Him hold you in His strong right hand, what Isaiah discovered in His weakness:

And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me; and made me apolished shaft, in His quiver hath He hid me.(Isa. 49:2)

Let Him keep you there! Young people, zealous to work for God, let Him keep you there! You do not need to

fret about preaching, or teaching, or evangelizing, or trying to do something ecclesiastical or ministerial innature. Just keep your left hand in His right hand; and as you stand face to face with the enemies of God, youwill find you can reach forth your hand and draw forth that sharp sword hidden away like Ehuds dagger..under a garment of weakness, and humility, and meekness. And because of these very virtues you have beenable to pass through the guards undetected. Who is he? Hes got nothing! He cant do any harm!

But Ehud had a secret message for the king, the fat Eglon who sat there in his parlor in peace andcontentment. His goods were in peace, because the people of God were under his dominion. The secremessage that Ehud bore to the king was this: God has brought an end to your oppression, you fat oldmonster. God has brought deliverance to His people. And one fell swoop of the dagger by the left-handedweakling brought deliverance to the whole nation!

(4) Consider Shamgar

Gods warriors-in-training are not out there in seminaries and places of learning trying to sharpen theirweapons at the grindstones of the Philistines. They are ordinary people, trying to make a living for themselvesand their families in some routine, ordinary occupation. They are to be found in all walks of life: fishermen, andfarmers, and plumbers, and carpenters, and loggers, and factory hands. White collar workers, and blue collarworkers. Perhaps a few professionals and intellectuals, but not too many of these, as the apostle Paul tells us.

Shamgar apparently was just a farmer. What did he know about the art of war? The army of the LORD that Heis mustering in this hour will not be loaded with professional ministers. I know there are many precious ones


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out there whom God is going to use. But they will have to take their place with the rest of us, and learn theways of God, in order to qualify for this army.

Shamgar had an ox-goad. He was no shirker. He wanted to put in a good days work on the job, and he usedan ox-goad to make sure his oxen kept pace with him. Gods warriors-in-training are not lazy men - out therelooking for a soft job. They are diligent, honest, reliable, trustworthy, hard-working. At the right momentShamgar grabbed his ox-goad and slew six hundred Philistines with a startling blow, and delivered the peopleof God.

God has His Shamgars out there on the job. Many of them are wondering what they were born for, and whythey are still alive. One day God will conscript them for active duty in the army of the LORD. Right now theyneed no other weapons than the ones they are using: faithful on the job, honest, diligent, hard-workingreliable... and following the Lord in all His ways. With these weapons they will be able to face any enemy thatcomes against the people of God.

(5) Consider Deborah and Barak

Deborah was a prophetess. God had given her a sure word, for this is the ultimate test of true prophecy. Thepeople of God came to her for the word of the LORD in their hour of distress and need. The gift she had fromGod did not cause her to be exalted. What tremendous grace God must work in the lives of His chosen ones inorder that they might speak that pure word, with power and authority, and with prophetic insight... and still that

vessel remain humble and meek in His presence and before men. Many of our women feel they have tovindicate their ministry because it seems they live in a mans world. They want to prove that they have a giftand a calling from God. Deborah didnt even have to travel around in ministry - she dwelt under a palm tree,symbol of peace and rest and victory in God. But the people recognized the word of the Lord that was in hermouth, and they came to her home to hear what God had to say to them. She was just a house-wife, like anyother woman in Israel.

When God told Deborah to call Barak out of Kedesh-Naphtali, and command him to raise an army of 10,000men from Naphtali and Zebulun to deliver Gods people out of the hands of Sisera, her only desire seemed tobe just to stay right there at home. She simply considered herself to be a mother in Israel. Mothers arealways content just to stay at home, and look after the family. It was Baraks insistence that she go with himthat caused her to change her mind. And rather than glorying in the fact that she was needed out there at the

front of the battle, she chided Barak a little for the fear that he seemed to have. In her reply to Barak there wasa prophecy that would seem to imply something like this, If the man is unfaithful, God just might use a womanto do a mans job. This is what she said:

I will surely go with thee; notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for theLORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.(Judg. 4:9)

Mothers in Israel! You have a very high calling. Do not glory in the fact you have gifts, or can prophesy surewords from the Lord, or perform miracles. But glory in the fact that God has made you a weaker vessel thatyou might know. like Deborah of old, the strength and the wisdom of the mighty God of Israel. Rejoice in theministry that God has given you in your own home and family, and under your own palm tree. And as youinstruct your little ones in the ways of the Lord, may they rise up to call you BLESSED!

THE FIRST STAR WARS

Do you want to get involved in Gods Star Wars? In the war that is now getting underway in Heaven? No, yousay, Im too busy fighting the Devil down here. Sounds good. But if you will follow through with what we haveto say, you may come to understand why you are getting nowhere here in your battle against the Devil downhere. It is because you are not known UP THERE in the heavenly ranks of Zion.

In the first Star Wars, nothing was left to human organization and strategy. O how long will the people of Godgo about wasting their time sniping at the Enemy from tree-tops and church-steeples? God has a master plan,


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and He wants you and me to come into His secret counsels, that we might come to know His way, and thesecret of victory.

God considered the hearts of His people and found 10,000 men whom He knew would offer themselveswillingly when called to battle. They were from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. Naphtali means wrestlingand Zebulun means dwelling. Gods warriors must learn how to wrestle against principalities and powers,and they have to know that they can only do this under the power and canopy of the Spirit of God. They aregoing to have to discover that it is the way of the Cross, of reproach, of suffering, of misunderstanding, ofweakness, of foolishness. Zebulun means dwelling. It is not enough to be zealous for battle, and wrestlers.

They have got to know Gods REST. They must learn to abide in the True Vine. They must make the LordHimself to be their habitation. And therefore they can have no high towers, or fortresses, or kingdoms of theirown.

When Barak called them to the battle of the Lord they willingly offered themselves.(Judg. 5:2) Not just theimoney. Not just their tithes, or their double-tithes. Not just their services. But EVERYTHING! They jeopardedtheir lives unto the death in the high places of the field (Judg. 5:18), as they fought by the waters of Megiddo(vs. 19) Dr. Young the Hebrew scholar says that Megiddo means Place of God. It was Gods war; andMegiddo was the place of Gods appointment. God had prepared an army that was known and recognized inheavenly places. He had prepared their hearts, and He it was who had KNOWN them and called them to thebattle. Therefore the heavens themselves were aflame with the mighty warriors of the heavenly realms whorose up on behalf of the people of God:

They fought from Heaven;The stars in their courses

Fought against Sisera. (Judg. 5:20)

THE LAST ARMAGEDDON

Baraks battle was the first Battle of Armageddon. The last one is just on ahead. Baraks battle was the first ofthe Star Wars. The last Star Wars are about to take place. Once again God is mustering a people for battle.They are wrestlers (Naphtali means wrestling). But we wrestle not against flesh and blood. We arelearning to abide in Christ (Zebulun means dwelling). And because we know the rest and confidence of theLord, as we abide in Him we will know how to wrestle against the powers of the heavenly realm.

Again they are a people who are offering themselves willingly: not just their talents, a little of their silver andgold, a portion of their resources - but THEMSELVES.

And they overcame him (the Dragon) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. And theyloved not their lives unto the death.(Rev. 12:11)

Where will this last and final battle of the Lord take place? In the earth, and in the heavens...but it will start inHeaven.

And she (the woman clothed with the sun) brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod ofiron: and her child was caught up to God, and to His throne... AND THERE WAS WAR IN HEAVEN. (Rev

12:5, 7)

Notice this, beloved! When this corporate SON comes forth, it is a declaration of WAR IN HEAVEN! But it alsoembraces the whole earth. For when Michael the archangel (who is in charge of the angelic forces) warsagainst the Dragon, the Dragon (Satan) is cast out of his heavenly stronghold... that place of dominion in theheavens from which he would harass, and captivate, and torment the people of God and the inhabitants of theearth. And now that he relinquishes those high places of dominance to the victorious sons of God, he comesdown to earth, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. (Rev. 12:12) Theinhabitants of the world will not understand. There is disaster and calamity everywhere. The woman in thewilderness will not understand... because there is tribulation, and anguish, and persecution. But there is a


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celestial shout of triumph: Rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell therein! The people of God are walking inheavenly places, and warring in heavenly places, even while their feet are on the earth where the Dragon isNow they are able to crush him under their feet, as Paul said they would. (See Rom. 16:20.) But what aboutthe earth, now that Satan has been defeated in battle, and cast down from his lofty heights?

Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea! For the Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath,because he knoweth that he hath but a short time (Rev. 12:12) And it is all because the victory has beenfought and won! It is the Day of the LORD! It is the great Day of God Almighty!

Baraks armies fought in the high places of the field, and by the waters of Megiddo (Judg. 5:19). Megiddohas therefore taken on a symbolic name for the last great battle of God that will be fought in Heaven, withspiritual weapons, but will cause wars and dreadful repercussions all over the world. I am told Har-Megiddo(Or, Armageddon) means Place of God. It is the place of Gods appointment for all the forces of evil that havearrayed themselves against the people of God, and which God will destroy in the Day of the LORD. God tellsus that these unclean spirits that come forth from the mouth of the Dragon, are the spirits of devils, workingmiracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of thegreat Day of God Almighty. (Rev. 16:14) Then there is this very solemn warning to Gods people, who are inthe earth, and who must be alerted and prepared for this hour. Far from giving Gods people the consolation ofbeing snatched away from these dreadful times, the Lord sounds a clear call to holiness and watchfulness:

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and

they see his shame. (vs. 15) God saw fit to insert this special warning to His people in the time when theforces of Armageddon are being assembled, WARNING AND ENCOURAGING US TO BE ALERTPREPARED, AND WALKING IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF JESUS CHRIST. Then after this parenthesis,John continues writing, -

And He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue ARMAGEDDON.(vs. 16)

Let us not be confused with the fact that different facets of truth are presented in the Book of Revelation overand over again, in different settings, and by different symbols. The Book will have more meaning to us whenwe understand that John saw things as related by the Angel, not always from a chronological standpoint, butfrom a panoramic standpoint: not as one standing before a high board fence, and peeking through a knot-holewatching a race as the horses ran by; but watching from a watchtower above the fence, and seeing clearly that

portion of events that God was showing him from His own perspective, in some particular phase of Godsmighty workings in the earth and in the Church. Nevertheless all events were progressively moving forward tothe glorious climax of a New Heavens and a New Earth. Let us see ourselves with John, not walking in astraight line chronologically toward the ultimate goal; but observing the unfolding of truth much like you wouldsee the circles progressively stirring the waters in one circle after another, after casting a stone into the pool. Acircle, then another circle, and another... until it progressively reaches its glorious climax. And that is why althrough the book we will behold trouble, tribulation, victory, and the kingdom... repeated over and over again.And that is why the Book has had real meaning for Gods people in every era of the Church, according to theiparticular circle in the time-frame of Gods purposes.

And now we come to the day of harvest, and this wonderful book will have special meaning for those who walkin His ways in this hour. But we must not look at the harvest scene and think that everything before that is a

thing of the past. Or see ourselves at the time of the seven thunders and feel that everything before that ismere history for us, and everything mentioned later is still future. John was told to Write the things which thouhast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. (Rev. 1:19) But we musunderstand that the things John saw in his day, are also things which we are witnessing here and now. Thethings pertaining to the seven churches are certainly historical, but they are also very present here and nowand they will continue to be meaningful to the Church even to the time of the end. And the things which shalbe hereafter may very well be, from our viewpoint, things that have already happened on a certain level ofGods workings... even though they are yet to be revealed in another phase of His workings. As Godprogressively moves in the earth throughout this era of the Church, it is not just a past-present-future situationfrom Gods standpoint. Many of the things which John saw, and the things which are, and the things which


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shall be hereafter... have been enacted and re-enacted many times in the earth, as one circle after another hasissued forth in the outworking of Gods purposes, from the beginning until now. In and throughout every era ofthe Church there has been the conflict of Good and Evil, of Light and Darkness... until in the consummation ofit all we see the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with the overcomers who have followed Him, and all enemiesare subdued under His feet.

The Book of Revelation begins with the statement that God made it known by signs. The angel sign-ified untoHis servant John... made it known to him in sign language. If we are not real familiar with the Old Testament,we can read the Book of Revelation and fail to realize that the sign-language that is used is largely from the

types and shadows of the Old Testament - not only from the books that relate to the sacrifices and ceremoniesof Israel, but to the words of the prophets as well. There are approximately 400 direct quotations or otherreferences to the Old Testament in the Book of Revelation, as the Holy Spirit saw fit to clothe the Revelationin terminology that would be something very hidden from those who continued to walk in disobedience andrebellion against God. The mysteries of God are secrets, revealed to Gods chosen ones, but secrets thatthe world about us cannot know or perceive, except as the heart is laid bare before Him. For He tells us clearlythat the secret of the Lord is to them that fear Him.(Psa. 25:14)

Armageddon, then, derives its significance from the Old Testament Megiddo, where on two particulaoccasions God assembled the hordes of evil together to bring about their destruction by His own mightyintervention. Both the wars of Barak and of Gideon were fought in the area of Megiddo; and so God in theBook of Revelation tells us that it will be at Armageddon where God will draw the evil forces of this world

system together, and bring about their destruction. (See Rev. 16:14-16.) It is that great Day of God Almightywhere God sits in judgment upon the whole world. Joel therefore calls it a battle in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.This is not the same valley as Megiddo, but the meaning is clear. Jehoshaphat means God is Judge. It is thatday when God sits in judgment upon the whole world. Joel is the Old Testament alarmist. When Godsservants start talking the way Joel talked, they are despised as alarmists. So were Gods prophets of old.May God raise up a few more Heaven-sent, anointed watchmen to sound the alarm - in this day when theChurch is being taught to settle down, be at peace... Because God will not let us see those dreadful days oftribulation and darkness that the alarmists are talking about. And so Joel was the alarmist of his day, who criedout:

PREPARE WAR, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat yourplowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble

yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about... (Joel 3:9-11)

God declares war against all nations for their rebellion against Him. Get together, He says, I am ready fobattle... Prepare for War! I have an appointment for all men at Armageddon, the Place of God... in the Valley ofJudgment. Have your international conferences, and your summit meetings! Have your World Church councilsand your Ecumenical gatherings! And UNITE! God says He is releasing the unclean spirits of devils to hastenon the task that men in high places have in mind, of uniting the peoples of the earth together in alliances oPEACE, and all the while rejecting the Prince of Peace. Let the World Church come together and exalt theleadership of Man. God is preparing a Body in the earth that is exalting the Lordship of Christ. Let the super-powers strive for peace based on human power and strength... based on the false premise that a majorholocaust will be averted as long as each block of nations understands that a first-strike would mean mutualdestruction! In the midst of it all God is preparing a people, and arming them with weapons of truth, and

poverty of spirit, and meekness, and righteousness, and love - and they shall overcome all the hordes of Evil,by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony!

(6) Consider Gideon

Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and cried unto God for a deliverer. In answer totheir cry God raised up a man by the name of Gideon. Gideon was threshing grain by (or in) the winepress inorder to hide it from the Midianites, when the angel of the LORD greeted him with strange words:

The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.(Judg. 6:12) God knew Gideons problem. He knew that


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Gideon was filled with fear because of the enemy. He knew he was but a weak man in one of the poorestfamilies of Manasseh. He knew that Gideon was the least, and not the greatest, in his fathers house. Just thequalities that God was looking for! And so the angel said,

Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel.(vs. 14) His strength was not to be in his own resources, buin his weakness. And the fact that God SENT him would be the only authority and power he needed.

We all know the story... how God had to whittle down the original army of 32,000 men to a handful of 300.Beloved, why can we not learn from the multitude of witnesses, in both the Old Testament and the New... that

strength is not in numbers, that riches consist not of silver and gold, that wisdom proceeds from the way of theCross, and not from the halls of learning?

Gideon demobilized his army at the command of the LORD, by ordering all the fearful ones to go home. Hewas left with only 10,000 men. These were all anxious for battle; but God said, The people are yet too many.God took the matter in His own hands and sent another 9,700 home... discharged them from the army of theLord! And for what reason? Perhaps many of them wondered why, when they were so anxious to fight for theLORD. Whatever the reason was for the discharge of these 9,700 soldiers, I think God would have us knowthat in the very ordinary things of life, in and about our daily tasks and occupations, we are being tested andtried of the Lord every day, and we are not always aware of it. They were just down at the water quenchingtheir thirst; but God was watching from Heaven, and trying their hearts, and they did not know it! There issomething else very s

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WHO ARE YOU, Chapters 1-7 [George H. Warnock] ~ BOOK