Grassley Investigation—Demonic or Divine

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee has recently begun a probe into the financial practices of some religious organizations claiming Non-Profit Tax-exempt status under federal laws. Senator Charles Grassley, the Committee's ranking Republican member, as part of the larger probe, has launched an investigation of six of the nation's most prominent charismatic ministries: Benny Hinn, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, David and Joyce Meyer; Randy and Paula White; Creflo and Taffi Dollar; and Eddie Long.

The Iowa lawmaker, who spearheaded past whistle-blowing crusades of secular non-profits such as the American Red Cross, based on citizen complaints received by his office, sent letters to these six organizations demanding they provide him within a few weeks various types of audited financial records documenting lavish purchases, extraordinary expenditures, and inordinate compensation amounts, among other financial activity, along with governing board meeting minutes authorizing them. In the letters released this past Tuesday the Senator indicated his purpose was to verify the ministries' compliance with U.S. tax laws. Among his requisitions were:

• Documentation of the financial transactions of Benny Hinn Ministries' purchase of his $3 million home in California;
• Accounts of Eddie Long's purchase of his $1.4 million, sprawling 20-acre estate outside Atlanta;
• A receipt for Tampa-based television preacher Paula White's reported gift of a Bentley convertible to celebrity pastor, T.D. Jakes;
• Records delineating the source of funding for posh furnishings in iconic Bible teacher Joyce Meyer's Missouri headquarters—including a $30,000 malachite table, a $23,000 marble top commode, and a $19,000 pair of Dresden vases;
• Explanation of Pacific island vacation trips by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland using a plane purportedly owned by their ministry;
• Clarification of high-profile Atlanta faith preacher Creflo Dollar's role in raising a major portion of a $2 million donation to his mentor, Kenneth Copeland.

A top associate speaking on behalf of Grassley reportedly indicated the senator has no hidden agenda, and is not conspiring to deny anybody of religious freedom, but that he is seeking assurance that these six organizations are not misusing charitable contributions to pay for mansions, plastic surgeries, and other lavish perks. "The Christian public should have demanded a higher level of accountability a long time ago."

This public probe comes on the heels of a rash of scandals in 2007 involving high-profile church leaders and TV-evangelists, the latest of which is allegations of financial mismanagement and other misconduct by ORU president, Richard Roberts, forcing his resignation and the bifurcation of ORU from Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, which has been its parent organization since its founding. These along with the many other well-publicized disgraces involving well-known preachers, clergy, and church officials over the last few decades have produced an at least partially deserved blight upon modern Christendom. Per usual, the improper conduct of an errant few has disgraced the whole Body of Christ, and in the eyes of the world tarnished the service of thousands of upright, law-abiding, modestly-living, and modestly-compensated ministers in this country, who daily carry out their typically selfless and sacrificial servitude in relative obscurity and little recognition.

The view I have held privately for years going back to the days of the widely-publicized Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart debacles is that while the world and worldly-minded Christians judge such rogue preachers on the premise of financial malfeasance, moral failures, and their sundry legal violations, God Himself is judging many prominent ministries against a much loftier standard, having to do with attitudes of ascendancy and elitism manifest in their blatant lack of compassion and benevolence toward the thousands of other, lesser-known ministries in this country whose missions and ministry endeavors are no less worthy of financial support than their own. Few of the "mega-ministries" that began emerging in the 1950s and '60s have shown significant desire to "share the wealth" with other worthy ministries. When they have contributed to other ministry organizations, often a major part of their motivation is to curry some sort of favor and/or reciprocation from the receiving minister and/or his/her ministry organization. What makes this the height of hypocrisy is that these are the same well-known and well-healed ministers who constantly, and in some cases obsessively, demand sacrificial benevolence of their supporters toward their own coffers.

Personally, I believe that from the Divine perspective, ministries who have been afforded a prominence and platform that enables them to draw millions of dollars in annual contributions—and there are now scores upon scores of them in our nation—bear a responsibility, if not a Divine requirement, to help other ministries who are just as dedicated and devoted to the calling and ministry mission they've been given by God as those mega-ministries. Frequently and shamefully, however, the leaders of the mega-ministries become as arrogant and haughty as the mega-moguls of the world, hoarding, or in some cases, squandering their burgeoning treasuries on the further expansion of their own private kingdoms and the aggrandizement of their ministerial monarchs. Moreover, instead of having a sense of corporate responsibility toward other members of the Body of Christ, in direct contradiction of Scripture, they adopt the mindsets of the corporate world wherein they regard other ministries as competitors and mortal enemies. It is just an unfortunate and shameful fact that precious few of the mega-ministries and mega-churches regularly donate any substantial amount of the scores or hundreds of millions of annual income to help other ministries other than the obligatory "missionary" ministries or projects in some way related to their ministry or denomination, which often is motivated more by the PR benefits than genuine benevolence. Exceptions do exist, but they are relatively rare.

A Stricter Judgment!

The Holy Spirit makes it clear in Scripture that spiritual leaders "incur a stricter judgment" by God (Jas. 3:1), and that to whom much is given, much is required, and to whom much is entrusted, much is demanded both by God and men (Lk. 12:48; cf., NAS, AB, KJV). Nevertheless, in every age there are those like "Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them" (3 Jn. 1:9), who push and shove their way through the sheepfold in ambition-driven ascension to ascendancy and the accoutrements it affords. Unfortunately, self-aggrandizing charlatans do exist, and are always among us—tares sown amidst the wheat, wolves in sheep's clothing—"who suppose that godliness is a means of gain" (1 Tim. 6:5). In fact, the Holy Spirit through the prophetic pen of the Apostle Paul warned that the times in the last days would become laden with severe difficulty resulting first and foremost from of a pervasion among humans of rank narcissism and self-aggrandizement:

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (2 Tim. 3:1-5)

Notice that every one of these ungodly, carnal traits Prophet Paul delineated are rooted in self-centeredness and self-love. The very first two traits he named as being culpable for the "difficult" or "perilous" times that would prevail in the last days is that mankind would be "lovers of self" and "lovers of money," followed by boastfulness and arrogance, two other leading markers of self-centeredness. Such an apostate spiritual atmosphere for the end-times as the Spirit describes should not be surprising to students of biblical sociology and eschatology, but what is often surprising to the average Christian is that the end-times church, following the lead of self-absorbed leaders, will be swept up into this perfidious prevailing wind of worldliness propelled by the ultimate idolatry of gross narcissism, with which the "millennium generation" is so thoroughly permeated.

Both the Apostle Peter and Jude through indignation-charged inspiration of the Spirit directed some of the most stinging and utter rebuke in all of the Bible toward this ilk of false prophets and false teachers that existed in every Church age and yet captivates massive portions of the current Church by means of corrupted charisma. Peter wrote:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Pet. 2:1-3)

...enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet. These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. (2 Pet. 2:14-19)

Jude's entire Epistle is a divine-diversion from his intended topic and -diatribe against unscrupulous counterfeit ministers, messengers of Satan transformed as angels of light:

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.... Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties....But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever....But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, "In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. (Jude 4-19, excerpts)

But, what a rude awakening is coming, and is indeed just on the horizon for today's lukewarm Laodicean church. There is a shaking that is coming in which EVERYTHING that can be shaken will be, and every mountain and hill (human kingdoms and dynasties) shall be made low, and every valley shall be lifted up or exalted, and the rough ground shall be made a plain, and the rugged terrain, a valley (Isa. 40:3-5). It shall be a fierce day of accounting and reckoning, a day when God sets up His scales and weighs against His holy standard the works of the ministries he finds at work when He returns. Indeed, it shall be on that day when Jesus' prediction, "many who are first will be last; and the last first" (Mat. 19:30), shall have some of its greatest application to this ilk of church leader who has been corrupted by the love of money and prostituted himself and his ministry in pursuit of a purely monetary "prosperity" and financially-measured "success."

I remind you that nearly two-thousand years ago the Spirit expressly warned, "THE TIME IS COME that judgment MUST BEGIN at the house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17, KJV). If the time had come then, how much closer are we to it today? And, notice that God's judgment MUST begin with God's household, meaning the church, the betrothed to Christ, who Christ will return to claim as his Eternal Bride. That Day of Judgment of the house of God has been fast approaching for many years, and I believe shall begin to suddenly take place in the year ahead, 2008. The suddenness of it shall catch many unawares and overtake them like a thief in the night. "In one day," many covetous Christian leaders shall begin to inherit judgment from God in various forms that shall result in major reversals in their ministries, and many shall lose the fortunes they have amassed from the tithes and offerings they have extruded, and in some cases extorted, from the hard-earned money of hard-working and sacrificially-giving donors, and along with it the excessively luxurious lifestyles to which some of them have become accustomed and reliant.

Coming Soon: Day of Reckoning!

A "Day Of Reckoning" is surely coming to many irresponsible and unscrupulous ministries. I believe we are about to see a fulfillment of the Prophet Malachi's prophecy in the Church that will begin with the leaders (Levites, "sons of Levi"):

Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. "He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me," says the LORD of hosts.

I will be devoting a series of forthcoming posts to what I believe the Lord is speaking regarding the sundry matters raised in this article. But, the paramount point here is that it is a shameful indictment on the modern church, as well as on purporting neo-prophets that a Senator's spokesman has to be the spokesman God uses to issue the prophetic rebuke concerning the excesses found in some portions of the Neo-Pentecostal Church, "The Christian public should have demanded a higher level of accountability a long time ago."

May God in His mercy forgive us, and send us true prophets like the selfless and uncompromised prophets of old pronouncing a penetrating "Thus saith the Lord" no matter the cost, in contrast to the plethora of selfishly-ambitious and self-aggrandizing profiteers of today promising personal wealth, health, and happiness through the latest revolutionary self-help discovery or program!

Release and Sending of True Prophets

There is no question in my mind that beginning in 2008, God is going to call forth many John-The- Baptist-type prophets to be voices crying out in the wilderness to make straight the way of the Lord, proclaiming piercing prophetic messages that will penetrate the lukewarmness and complacency, and in some cases the apostasy, presently pervading the Church at-large. Their central theme will be the same as that of the original John-The-Baptist and Jesus Himself — the first word of the Gospel — "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!"

God will soon send unto the Church those prophetic voices it so desperately needs! Fearless and fierce deliverers of the Spirit sent by God with a mandate to upset the idols men have set up, to call into line all who have gotten out of line, to bring down what humanism has built up, to destruct what idolatry has constructed, to root up what vain human philosophy has planted in the minds of men, to overcome the complacency, apathy, and pacifism that has come over the Saints of God. These prophets, when they are released from their holes and caves, deserts and wildernesses, will not come promoting and pimping for a corrupted, counterfeit "prophetic movement" for their own selfish-gain, but will come as servants and sacrificially employ the anointing of their office to build and plant the Church Jesus is building and planting (Jer. 1:10; Is. 61:1-3).

Beware of the false prophets, who come to you wearing sheep's clothing, but inwardly are self-serving wolves with ravenous appetites of every kind of lust and avarice. You will know them by their fruit, not their prophetic gifts (cf., Mat. 7:15,16).

Send us, O God, those true prophets Leonard Ravenhill envisioned who know no compromise, have no price tag, cannot be bought out or bought off; who daily breathe the rarified air of divine inspiration; who march to a different drumbeat; seers sent to lead the blind; those that are unabashedly forthright, unashamedly outright, having lives that are upright, but who claim no birthright; dwellers in splendid isolation in the natural realm, yet in the heights of God in the spirit realm; firebrands possessed with passion, purpose, and pugnacity of the Spirit; sent-ones sent into the valleys of spiritual malaise and waywardness with a heart-piercing, conscience-pricking, "Thus saith the Lord!" God, send us, true prophets!

Tricks Only; No Treats!

For more than half a century the debate has continued in American churches regarding if it is right or wrong for believers to participate in Halloween. The tragedy of the enduring controversy, however, is that the issues of overriding importance regarding Halloween are overlooked in the heat of the debate and almost never discussed even among anti-Halloween believers. Those oft forgotten issues are the focus of this post.

A plethora of pages debating the origins of Halloween, its beneficence or maleficence, and advocating for or against the observance of Halloween and its associated practices populate the Internet. All of that has its place, I suppose, though my experience is that people are going to basically believe what they want to believe about the matter, especially those intent on personal participation in Halloween festivities. Relative few are those who are convinced by the evidence and consequently change their position. But, to me, the tragedy of all the controversy is the issues that are almost never discussed even among anti-Halloween believers. This post is not a rehash of all the pros and cons of Halloween, but rather a discussion of the oft forgotten issues of overriding importance regarding "All Hallows Eve."

As we begin this discussion, I want to make it clear that I'm really not addressing my comments to unbelievers or those who claim to be agnostics or atheists, but rather to believers. My goal here is not to debate the matter with unbelievers, but rather to appeal to believers to consider some matters rarely taken into account.

There are thousands of documents on the Internet espousing every possible perspective concerning Halloween, so it is not within the scope of this post to merely recite all of the facts and information available about it. But, if you are interested in a primer on Halloween from a Christian perspective one of the great sources for information regarding Halloween for believers available on the net is at:
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/halloween.html.

Halloween as it has evolved to what it is in this country is largely a post-WWII, "boomers" phenomenon. In fact, in the early years of the genesis of our nation, there were laws prohibiting the practice of Halloween because the early founders and political, social, intellectual, and religious leaders wanted to ensure that there was no proliferation in the new republic during its formative years of "the influences of the east" that had been so injurious and detrimental sociologically in the "old country." The observance of Halloween with its macabre and occult practices only began gaining traction following WWII as the troops came home from the various eastern theaters in which they had been deployed.

Whatever Halloween has been in the past, for many participants on the extreme end of the spectrum it has evolved now into a day of hedonism, debauchery, and unrestrained revelry; in essence a nationalized Mardi Gras. Some of the benumbing events in the news in last couple of weeks leading up to this year's Halloween, such as those occurring in San Francisco, in which demon-possessed and deranged debauchery-costumed sodomists and gomorrhists invaded a Catholic Mass to partake of the Holy Eucharist sacrament, and other incidents elsewhere, testify to that. Although, happily there are an increasing number of communities across America who have taken a stand against the diabolical side of Halloween and have instituted limitations on Halloween practices for the sake of protecting and looking out for the best interests of their children. Hopefully that trend will continue and expand.

There is nothing merely accidental or coincidental about the fact that Godless, hedonistic "Hollywood" has over the years become inextricably linked with Halloween. Satan has played Hollywood and other distribution media like a fiddle in using entertainment and the arts to condition children to accept Satan as being a good and benevolent person, and that all the things associated with his kingdom are good -- calling evil good and good evil. People become "bewitched" as a result of their fascination with the elements of darkness and of that which is "hidden," i.e., the occult. The Harry Potter series is another sterling example of Satan's handiwork in indoctrinating children and preparing them for his final coup de gras of accepting the Antichrist as the ultimate super-hero who will suddenly emerge out of nowhere on the international scene to save the world from destruction and (they believe) from those evil "Christians" who have been the source of so much damage worldwide and throughout human history.

All this is part of Satan's scheme to deceive people concerning the Antichrist and the establishment of his kingdom on the earth, especially the end time generation. One of Satan's elementary yet most effective "tricks" is to brainwash people into believing that everything associated with his kingdom is benign, harmless, or only mythical. "It won't hurt you, it's just play and pretend, it's not real." Artists have long caricatured him as a fantastical part animal, part human, horned, cloven-hoofed creature, with a long tail and a goatee, wearing red pajamas, and wielding a tri-tined pitchfork (trident). No reasonable and reasoning person in their right mind could possibly place credence in the existence of such a creature if that is what he looks like, thus such a creature could only be a myth. This, along with a multiplicity of schemes of deception Satan is orchestrating in these last days to mask the existence and operations of his demonic cohorts on the earth and to brainwash the extant generations into accepting demons as friendly and benevolent beings, is all part and parcel of Satan's ancient plan to deceive the unbelieving of the world into receiving the Antichrist whom he himself incarnates in his last-gasp effort to seize control of the world (2 Thes. 2:1-12).

The Bible warns against being taken captive through the vain philosophies of man, the world, rather than according to the principles of Christ and the Kingdom of God: "Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ" (Col. 2:8). Capturing people's minds is the essence of Satan's master-plan.

The Spirit also admonishes not to be ignorant of the "schemes (strategies) of the devil" (2 Cor. 2:11). We are also told that the result that will inure unto those who continue to trifle with and/or buy into Satan's strategies and schemes of deception, will be "strong delusion" or a "deluding influence" that God Himself actually sends upon those who refuse to separate themselves from and participation in Satan's Antichrist and anti-God plans and purposes (2 Thes. 2:1-12). Finally, after so much divine grace, mercy, and longsuffering has been extended, God will finally give the defiantly unbelieving over to a reprobate mind and to believing the lie! That's the essence of Satan's ultimate plan.

Despite all the debate and controversy, including the plethora of documents on the Internet regarding its origins and its beneficence or maleficence, and advocating for or against the observance of Halloween and its associated practices, the preponderance of credible evidence comes down on the side that all the philosophies and theories, genesis, history, paraphernalia, accouterments associated with Halloween are predicated in the occult, Satanic, demonic, and "the kingdom of darkness" (Satan's kingdom), out of which the Word of God specifically states that the believer has been translated. Certainly there is no Scriptural support for the observance of Halloween since there is nothing in the Bible about it, but rather only numerous admonitions against such pagan practices. Even the colors associated with Halloween are the unmistakable signature of Satan, whose colors (according to ancient traditions of pagans, occultists, and devil worshipers) are black, red, and orange.

On and on we could go delineating the long litany of reasons opponents often cite in opposition of the observance of Halloween and participation in its satanically-inspired and -associated practices. But for most bona fide Born Again believers of any tenure at all, all this is to varying degrees "old-hat," and they have some measure of awareness, if nothing more than generally and cursorily, of the pros and cons that have been out there for a number of decades. Nothing new here, essentially, and most believers have already drawn their conclusions one way or another.

The focus of this post is not the rehashing of the usual arguments regarding the origins of Halloween practices, nor to further debate the controversy of whether or not Christians and children of Christians should participate in the traditional revelry of Halloween or whether participation in an alternative "festival" provided by a church or other entity is a good option. All that to me is really a no-brainer and not worthy of the effort and energy required to write about it all. As I say, most informed bona fide believers have already made their decision in that regard.

Although, I will throw in at no additional charge my observation that Scripture admonishes in several places not to even make mention of or acknowledge the false gods of and practices of pagans and worshipers of false gods. Additionally, believers are told by God in His Word not to elevate one day above another, for every day is alike to the Lord and is the day that He has made, and thus we are to rejoice and be glad in each and every one, because it has been made by God. All the festivals of the Old Covenant were made obsolete, ineffectual, unnecessary, and void by virtue of having been fulfilled in and by Christ with His life, death, resurrection, and exaltation. Jesus also stated categorically that the observance of the traditions of men invalidate the Word of God (Truth) in the life of the person who observes them. While the Apostle Paul by inspiration of the Spirit adjured believers not to participate in the evil deeds of darkness but rather expose them, and to separate themselves from the world and their evil practices, and come out from among them, for there is no partnership of righteousness and wickedness, believers with unbelievers, no communion or cohabitation of light with darkness, no harmony between Christ and Satan, and no unity or union of God's temple with the temple of idols. Paul also said that if you drink the cup of demons you cannot also drink with effectualness the cup of the Lord, referring to the sacrament of Holy Communion. The Holy Spirit also warns against believers allowing themselves to be taken "captive through the philosophy and empty deception, according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ."

But, again, none of that is the focus of this post. Rather what I feel impelled by the Spirit to write about in this post is the effects participation in the macabre and demonic practices and revelry associated with Halloween engender due to the demonic incursion to which it opens participants and, by extension, their children. To me, as someone who has worked for more than three decades to deliver people from aberrant, abnormal, and improper behavior through the casting out of the unseen demonic forces behind it, I can testify with extensive firsthand knowledge of the adverse spiritual impact Halloween practices can have upon participants. This is the real, oft forgotten issue regarding Halloween.

The first myth that must be debunked is the prevalent notion that I hear all the time from counselees is that they never really took any of it serious or put any stock in all its demonic associations and connections with witchcraft and devil worship, and all that. Rather, they just considered it a game, kind of a form of entertainment or amusement. Their theory is that because of their attitudes about it all -- i.e., not taking it serious, and not doing it to invoke evil spirits or to worship Satan, etc. -- their participation in it therefore was benign; a "no harm, no foul," kind of thing. Well, that theory may sound good and right, but it is not at all how it works. The problem is that that theory is predicated on what would be right in a system where everything operated according to what was right and just. But, what people fail to understand is that Satan is the original outlaw and rebel. Satan vehemently defies everything that is right and just. He has no propensity whatever to do what is right, just, and proper. His rebelliousness exceeds all human imaginations of evil, wickedness, and lawlessness. The Hitlers of history, the most insane of megalomaniacs, could never in their wildest imaginations conjure up the diabolical schemes of wickedness Satan muses upon routinely.

By the Spirit, the Apostle Peter warned concerning the master of madness, "Your Adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Since he was evicted from his glorious status and estate in heaven, and cast down to the earth as punishment for his utter perdition and insurgency against God, Satan has been relentlessly roaming throughout the earth in search of every human-being he can possibly deceive and seduce into alliance with him and his supremely dastardly scheme of rebellion and revolt against God and his eternal plans.

Bottom-line is: SATAN DOES NOT PLAY FAIR! I know that is a shock to many people's system, but it is the undeniable, indisputable fact!

So, it matters not whether in one's participation with the deeds of darkness, it was with subscription to or rejection of the beliefs and demons behind the practices, the door of demonic incursion was opened none the less. That is the "tricks" that Satan hands out to unsuspecting victims, not just on one day of the year, but every day, and the "treats" he dispenses are nothing but an illusion, dirt painted gold.

We are admonished in Scripture, "Give no place to the devil." The devil can go no where, enter no place, where he has not been given permission, whether intentionally and deliberately with knowledge or inadvertently and unwittingly, whether proactively or by passivity. It makes no difference. Satan and his demonic cohorts always enter through open doors, either those opened by the host individual themselves, or by the ancestry of the individual. One of the worst problems with all that, especially in the context of our topic, is that many people who are now parents unknowingly opened their children up to demonic influence by their participation in Halloween practices and revelry when they were a child and then passed those influences on to their children.

A parent's worst nightmare! But it happens all the time. A great percentage of the demons that need to be cast out of people who are being troubled by demons are those that are "inherited," that is, passed on from one generation to another. This to me is the ultimate reason why demonized people should come forth and be willing to repent of whatever it is that is allowing demons to have a place in their life, and seek real deliverance from the demons operating in their lives -- to ensure that their CHILDREN and their CHILDREN'S CHILDREN are not affected by demonic influence. The overwhelming desire of every loving parent should be to see the captives set free, especially when the captives are their own children, and by extension, their entire posterity.

Though polemic preaching about such things as judgment from God is far from vogue today in the atmosphere prevailing in much of the church which requires preaching be candy-coated and of the "easy-listening" variety, there is a strong and sobering admonition from the Savior Himself applicable to all those who would so casually expose young and innocent children to the vile evils and stark wickedness of the "kingdom of darkness," especially those of the households of the believing:

"but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!" (Mat. 18:6,7)

Just a few of the evil influences associated with Halloween: are death; fear of death or fright, and therefore all manner of fear, because all fear is rooted in the fear of death; fascination with "the deeds of darkness," meaning all the things associated with darkness (occult, hidden); fascination with the macabre such as vampires (blood, death, defilement, damnation, sadism and abominable sexual acts); fascination with fantasy (play world, never-never land, Disney World, make-believe, living a fantasy, thespianism, play-acting, no reality, denial of reality and truth [unbelief, agnosticism, atheism]). All these involvements can potentially lead to numerous psychological disorders such as: neurosis, psychosis, DID (formerly, MPD), schizothymia, schizophrenia, and others. They are also a doorway to involvement in a multiplicity of forms of divination, sorcery, witchcraft, necromancy, familiar spirits.

That's only the beginning, there are so many more that space and time simply won't allow. And, remember, none of what I have written is theory, rather it has been proven out in deliverance counseling sessions and deliverance ministry I have personally conducted in private sessions and public meetings. Some of the things I experienced in deliverances would be incredible and unnerving to most people.

In the vein of our topic, I remember one woman to whom I ministered deliverance and all the demons that came out of her that were associated with Halloween. One of the first spirits the Lord had me to call out of her was a spirit of harlotry, which the Lord showed me by the Spirit had entered her when her mother had her to masquerade on Halloween when she was only ten years old as Marilyn Monroe who her mother thought she looked like and wanted her to grow up to be like to gain fame and fortune. Frequently this now grown woman of thirty years old, who was genuinely Born Again and even Baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, would be taken over by this spirit of harlotry during her normal course of life and her entire body, her gestures and body language would dramatically change to mimic a seductress, her manner of speech and voice would also totally change and she would speak exactly like Marilyn Monroe when Betty Jean was "being" Marilyn Monroe. I'm telling you, no impersonator ever sounded so perfectly like Marilyn Monroe, and none could, unless, like her, they were giving themselves over to a familiar spirit like the one that operated through Marilyn Monroe that was behind her supernatural seduction. But, what was so strange was that when I called that spirit out and told it it must leave her now, first it began crying, then when I told it I didn't feel sorry for it and it had to go, it then began its seduction trying to seduce me. Then when I told it that was not going to work and COMMANDED it to LEAVE NOW, it let out one of the loudest and most blood-curdling ROARS I've ever heard...out of this petite, barely five-foot, 110 pound, blue-eyed, blond-haired, young woman, no bigger than a minute, as they say. It was so loud and eery sounding that another Christian couple part of my ministry team who were in another room on the other side of the some 4,000 square feet home we were ministering in said it was the eeriest and scary sound they'd ever heard and it made the hair stand straight up on the back of their necks.

In another deliverance session with this same woman a year or so later, when I was walking out of my office in our home to meet her and my wife in the living room where they had been waiting on me, the Holy Spirit said to me, "Take your Thesaurus with you." "My Thesaurus?" I asked in incredulity. "Yes, your Thesaurus," the Spirit answered. The long and the short of it is that as I prayed before ministering to her, the Lord said that today, the stronghold we would be casting out of her was the spirit of fear. As I began ministering to her, the Lord told me to open up the Thesaurus to "phobias," and discovered to my utter amazement that there were some 265 human phobias, or fears, identified and recognized by modern psychology. Then the Lord also told me that a great many of the fears this woman had had come in through years of bizarre Halloween practices at the insistence of her mother who herself had a strong spirit of harlotry, fascination with the macabre including with vampires, witches, warlocks, and deviant sex, and other kinds of associations with the kingdom of darkness. As the Lord identified the fears my deliveree had and I asked her if she had that fear, she would manifest with extreme body language and manifestations that reacted to the thing named. In the end, I cast out some 200 devils of fear from that same woman, and her life was forever revolutionized, as God demonstrated that truly, "GOD has not given us a SPIRIT of fear" (2 Tim. 1:7), but rather that fear is a SPIRIT, an evil spirit, sent by Satan.

Participation in such ungodly and worldly traditions as Halloween has the effect of invalidating the Word of God (Truth) in the lives of even those who have been genuinely Born Again, and the workings of the Holy Spirit in the Born Again believers life, because one cannot drink the cup of demons and partake of the "delicacies" of the table of the devil, and contemporaneously drink the cup of the Lord and partake of the food on His table. Either make the tree and its fruit good, or make it bad, Jesus instructed, but it cannot be both simultaneously. With the Lord, there is no black mixed with white to make gray. Rather, it's either black or it's white. Period! You can call that polemic, but God calls it TRUTH!

Have you ever considered how confusing it is to children for an authority figure in whom all their security and trust is entrusted and ensconced to encourage or require them to dress up as and emulate people who have become caricatures, icons, or symbols of certain values and behavior, mostly evil and bad, one day of the year, and then teach and preach principles of character, morality, and integrity the other 364 days of the year? You know, it wasn't the kid's idea; he or she did not wake up on October 31st and say, "Mom, Dad, I'd like to dress up today like a vampire from Transylvania, or a witch, or a warlock, or an immoral Hollywood star, with a mask to conceal my real identity, so I can go out tonight after dark and scare and startle some people, and go knocking on the doors of strangers, saying, "Trick or Treat!" so that I can extort a bunch of candy and goodies from them under threat of mischief and vandalism if they refuse!" Kids know nothing about such tom-foolery until they are introduced to the whole concept of Halloween BY THEIR PARENTS!

Have you ever stopped to think how strange and bizarre some of the traditional practices of Halloween are? How about the one of having your children masquerade as someone who they are not (deception) in order to deceive complete strangers as to their real identity and sending them to those strangers' doors throughout your neighborhood (or a wider swath of the city or area you live in, today) to beg for food and treats? Something you would never even dream of doing any other time. Most would be mortified at just the prospect of sending one of their children next door to ask a neighbor who they KNEW to BORROW a cup of flour for a recipe they were cooking, as was fairly common still when I was a child. The whole practice of begging is not something Christians should be modeling for their children considering in light of such passages of Scripture as King David's testimony concerning the fact that in his life he'd never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging for bread. Children, especially young children, become very confused when their parents have them to do things that are contradictory to their beliefs. Practically no mother in America would allow her children to eat food given them by some stranger out in public no matter how sweet, kind-hearted, and benign they appear to be, yet they allow their children to eat the "treats" handed out by complete strangers whose doors they've knocked on and posed as beggars. The whole scenario makes no sense! Even when you say, "Oh, it's only play; it's only a custom; it's not really real!"

Truth is: there is no GOOD reason to participate in Halloween celebrations and practices; certainly no Scriptural reason, since there is nothing in the Bible about Halloween, but rather only many admonitions against such practices.

Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. (Eph. 5:7-16)

If you have in the past participated in Halloween, whether before or after you accepted Christ, there is a strong possibility that you could greatly benefit from deliverance. That also applies to your children. I have ministered to hundreds of "boomers" who into their fifties and sixties still carry with them the effects of participation in Halloween as a child. There is no scriptural evidence that once demons gain entrance, they subsequently leave on their own without being driven out through deliverance. So, if demons ever entered, whether in your soul (mind, will, or emotions) or your body, if you are a Born Again believer, and your spirit, if you are not, then they are still there and affecting your life, and will continue to do so until they are cast out of you by a believer operating through the anointing of Jesus, the Deliverer.

I urge you to visit DeliveranceNow.Com to learn more about deliverance. It contains a lot of information about the matter as well as information about where you can obtain more information about deliverance.

Leading or Lording?

Multitudes of sincere and trusting believers are caught in the virtually invisible web of religious captivation in Charismatic and other Neo-Pentecostal churches, and don't know it. They are unaware victims of spiritual abuse and exploitation under the heavy-hand of hyper-authoritarianism. That is to say, the leadership of the church-group of which they are a part is dominating, controlling, and manipulating their followers, and exploiting them for their own personal gain and private kingdom-building.

Horror stories of authoritarian abuse and exploitation and psychological enslavement in certified Christian churches abound. From time to time, particular isolated incidents have erupted in highly publicized news stories. However, those high-profile cases really are only the tip of the iceberg. The truth of the matter is, I know from my twenty years of ministry, ecclesiastical enslavement and exploitation is widespread in certain sectors of Christendom in this country. And, it is vital to understand, I am not talking about radical, fringe religious sects and cults, but well-respected church-groups espousing orthodox Christian beliefs, whose membership is comprised of a cross section of average Americans, individuals and families, of every race, education level, station, and walk of life.

Charismatic Control!

Though religious predomination is certainly nothing new, and hyper-authoritarianism is by no means limited to the Neo-Pentecostal branch of the Church, it has, however, especially flourished in the Charismatic and so-called "second, third, and fourth wave" (i.e., Neo-Pentecostal) groups since it was infused into the very fabric, foundation, and functions of that branch of the Church in the early- to mid-seventies. Moreover, it is the Charismatic branch of which this ministry has been a part since its inception, which gives me not only the "right" but also the duty to bring reproof of error and errancy in that realm (2 Tim. 4:1-5, et al.).

This kind of "Charismatic captivation" is prevalent among Charismatic and other Neo-Pentecostal churches and groups primarily as a result of widely-taught and -accepted hyper-authoritarian doctrines and practices first introduced in the 70's by an alliance of five ministers who rose to prominence, and spawned what became known as the "Discipleship/Shepherding Movement." Those doctrines and practices remain an integral part of the governmental foundation of many churches and groups yet today.

This elite ministerial Quintumverate had somehow concluded that the newly-created and burgeoning branch of the Church generated by the Divinely-orchestrated Charismatic Movement birthed in 1960, was in disarray and needed to be "organized." Somehow they also determined it was they God had appointed to accomplish the task of "organizing" the Charismatic church. The purportedly inspired and Bible-based organizational structure they advocated and eventually instituted was virtually identical to the modern pyramid marketing structure so popular and prevalent today. The "Fab Five" placed themselves at the top of the pyramid of interrelated Charismatic leaders, which quickly expanded into a "down-line" of thousands of "submitted" ministers.

In the mid-seventies the entire matter of this "movement" erupted into a highly-publicized international controversy. The result of the maelstrom was that the relevant doctrines and practices were repudiated and denounced by many well-known church-leaders, and the ministers who invented and promulgated them fell into disrepute.

However, despite the controversy and the public chastisement, those ministers and their followers initially remained unbowed and undeterred. They defended themselves, as well as the hyper-authoritarian teachings and practices and philosophies of church-government they advocated. For many years afterward, they continued to teach those patently false and unScriptural doctrines, and to develop what came to be an expansive multi-level "network" of ministers and churches. Though, it was now done less overtly, and there was a concerted and deliberate effort to take the whole matter underground to lessen as much as possible the negative effects of the controversy and to give the appearance of repentance.

The unfortunate consequence of that move toward covertness and esotericism was that instead of being eradicated, those patently false doctrines and Scripturally-prohibited practices were infused into the very fabric and foundation of the Charismatic/Neo-Pentecostal Church at-large, and are still espoused and practiced by many churches and groups in operation today. This stems partly from the fact that many of those ministries are headed by leaders who were a part of that network, and adopted or adapted many of the doctrines and governmental philosophies advocated by its principals.

Many church-leaders themselves do not realize their leadership methodology is actually a hybrid form of hyper-authoritarianism, and amounts to domination and control. The proper role of human under-shepherds is to lead people to the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and teach them how to be His followers, in submission to Him and His authority. Hyper-authoritarian leaders, instead, lead people to themselves, and indoctrinate them to be their followers, in total submission to them and their authority.

The mechanisms of psychological manipulation, domination, and control employed in these groups are virtually identical, to those employed by certified cults. Indeed, the stark truth is that many of the groups and churches who employ these techniques and mechanisms are themselves at the very minimum quasi-cults, and in some cases, bona fide cults.

So what are the consequences and effects we are talking about here, a scant few slightly disillusioned people with their feelings a little hurt? FAR FROM IT! We are talking about an immense number of broken and destroyed families, marriages, and friendships, multitudes of unpretentious, formerly trusting people who are now psychologically traumatized and marred, and spiritually shipwrecked, potentially for life. Added to that are substantial numbers of failed businesses, bankruptcies, lost fortunes, nervous breakdowns, contracted health maladies, suicides, and premature deaths by various related causes, and the like, just to name some of the consequences experienced by victims. Indeed, the details of the havoc and decimation wreaked upon victims' lives is far too extensive and, frankly, morose to possibly be able to relate here, but suffice it to say it is sweeping, mind-boggling, and, sadly, in some cases, barring the miraculous, irreversible.

Click here to read the full article

If you would you like to know more about this matter of spiritual abuse in the church, I have written a book, entitled, Charismatic Captivation, that has already been read by thousands of people as a source to help them understand the "schemes of the devil" and how he is able to gain control over their lives and severely limit their power over him.

Charismatic Captivation answers scores of the most frequently asked questions people have this matter, including the signs and symptoms of spiritual abuse, and the steps victims of this dastardly scheme of Satan need to take in order to recover from the psychological and spiritual damage they experience. I have published an entire page on what the book contains which I urge you to read right away. And, perhaps, the best news is that the book is available in E-book form for IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD.

Click here to discover what's inside this amazing and anointed book that is setting the captives free!

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There's also a new book I wrote, Dunamis! Power From On High!, that is all about the mighty power available to every believer through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. All my books are available in print and E-book form, and are listed on the Catalog Page.

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Prophets -- God's Change Agents

This edition is Part 2 of a series regarding the new things God is decreeing for the days ahead. I believe the topic of this series is both prophetic and timely, in that God is right now is decreeing and effecting major and in some cases paradigmatic changes both in the world and the church, and is causing particular events to transpire that have never happened before; i.e., "new things." God is "suddenly" releasing and launching much that has been held in abeyance for many years. He is also bringing a sudden end to much that has been for a many years as well.

Isaiah 42:9
Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.

Isaiah 43:18,19
Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 48:6-8
I proclaim to you new things from this time,
Even hidden things which you have not known.
They are created now and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard them,
So that you will not say, 'Behold, I knew them.'
You have not heard, you have not known.

One of the tribes of Israel, the sons of Issachar, were "men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do" (1 Chrn. 12:32). Prophets are spiritual "sons of Issachar." The spiritual inheritance of that tribe is alive within them. They have a special anointing for discerning the times and knowing when God is bringing forth new things, new paradigms, and bringing the Church into new dimensions of the Spirit.

Because they are discerners of these things, they frequently "see" things before others do, including other leaders. Also because they see and discern things before others do, there is a pioneering aspect to the personality and gifting of prophets. They are also predictive, rather than reactive, vis-à-vis most other people. Most people believe it when they see it. Prophets believe it before other people see it, because they've already seen it and its outcome in the Spirit. Prophets are still "seers." They perceive things in the Spirit realm others do not, at least not yet. They specialize in revealing the "secret counsel" of God in His timing.

When a prophet prophesies over you, he is speaking of those things that be not as though they were. Many people do not understand prophecies spoken over themselves or others because they do not understand this about prophecy. Prophecy is often predictive, and in fact that is one of the most important aspects of prophecy. I mean, hey, you already know what things are right now, right? What you need to know is either why some things happened that have happened or you need a new "vision" for the future as a guide in your pursuit of God and His purposes for your life. That's what prophecy does. That's why I'm not impressed when people say, "Hey, there's this prophet at such and so place who is telling people their names and addresses!" Well, friend, if you don't already know your name and address, you're suffering either from Alzheimer's or amnesia, and what you need is a healing, not a prophecy! Now I suppose God could use such things as a sign to confirm the person who is prophesying, but that may not be reliable because psychics can also tap into that kind of information, but their source is Satan. Primarily, legitimate prophecy deals with what we don't already know through our own natural knowledge and reasoning. Legitimate prophecy tells us what we don't know and only God could know, supernaturally!

The main point I'm trying to make is that prophets, like God, specialize in "new things." They are change agents. Prophets are spiritual marines -- they're always moving on from vanquished territories and enemies to charge new beachheads for God. As I said before, because they see discern things before others do, there is a pioneering aspect to the personality and gifting of prophets. They are spiritual Daniel Boones -- always looking forward in search of new spiritual frontiers and forging Wilderness Roads through Cumberland Gaps into new territory for God. They are antsy, and others often misjudge them as being impatient. They are easily bored with the status quo, are almost obsessed with movement, and detest stagnancy.

They are instigators, "stirrer-up-ers." The prophetic personality and presence seems to stir up the human spirit without trying or intending to. The prophetic personality and presence certainly stirs up demon spirits and all the powers of hell wherever it is manifest. Prophets are forever stirring things up. They'll sometimes stir things up, just because they can't stand inanimateness and lifeless atmospheres. The prophetic personality and anointing is about movement. Just the prophet's presence stirs things up. Just their presence elicits reaction from people, and it is never indifference. Wherever they go, demons, likewise, always react; it's as if they have no choice.

When a prophet walks into a room, his presence is always felt. The prophetic anointing operating through a bona fide prophet charges and changes the atmosphere. Like the Apostle Paul, wherever they go, they either start a riot or a revival, because their anointing is such a strong threat to the forces of hell, satanic strongholds, and the status-quo. I say again, prophets are quintessentially change agents.

Genuine Prophets are provokers. They are constantly provoking people to good works and continual advancement. The prophetic perspective and personality is well captured in the quotation Ted Kennedy, in his emotional eulogy of his slain brother, said that Bobby often quoted: "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."

These characteristics are what make prophets so needed in many ecclesiastical institutions and ministries, and entrepreneurial enterprises as well, and worth their weight in gold. People with a prophetic personality are advancement agents. They will keep whatever entity they are involved with moving in the direction of new things and constant improvement and advancement. They prefer evolution, but in places where, for whatever reasons, that has not been occurring, they will initiate revolution! They are relentless motivators of movement. They're going to move something, or somebody! And, if you refuse to move in the direction of advancement they are motivating you towards, they will move -- over, on, and away, and find someone who will! They can't help it! That's who they are!

In the Church, we erroneously "anoint," appoint, and "knight" some people "leaders," who are not leaders at all. The word "lead" implies movement. A true leader is a visionary, and thus a motivator. He has an internal vision of where he wants to go, and he motivates others to get on the bus and go with him. They are forward-thinking; always looking into the future to new vistas of advancement.

Many people in the ministry, including those who are the chief leaders of churches and ecclesiastical organizations are not really leaders, because their mindset and modus operandi does not fit the definition of a leader, and I don't mean that in a pejorative or critical way. They are really managers, and managers are very much needed. But, managers are just that, they manage what already exists, what's there now, the status quo. They are caretakers. They will take good care of what is there now and manage it well, but they are right now where they are always going to be. A manager-type will never advance the organization toward new horizons and into new territory, because he is incapable of seeing it. Vision is not his forte. Now, every entrepreneur-type needs good managers. But, manager-types make terrible entrepreneurs, because the entity under their leadership will eventually die because it failed to continue to advance and was not forward-thinking.

Accountants, for example, are great at accounting for what you have obtained, but someone who has strictly an accountant mentality, will never advance the entity because advancement involves risk and adventure, and accountant-types think in terms of safety, security, and the known. Risk and adventure scare them to death. Entrepreneurial-types, on the other hand, give about as much thought to risk and adventure as they do breathing. Both types have their upsides and their downsides. Now, when entrepreneurial-types connect and partner together in tandem on an enterprise, the result is generally success! Prophets are spiritual entrepreneurial-types.

If the manager-types leading our churches and ecclesiastical institutions would begin to recognize the critical need for the spiritual entrepreneurial mindset that prophet-types bring to the entities they lead, and begin to "receive a prophet in the name of a prophet," not trying to "quench the Spirit" by resisting the unique ways He operates through the prophetic personality, gift, and office, but actually "receive the reward (benefit)" of the prophet's ministry, then the Church would begin to see an unprecedented dimension of "success" in the accomplishment of the purposes and plans of God! And, that is precisely where God is taking us in the new dimensions that lie ahead. New, advanced concinnity among Fivefold Ministers is the only thing that will bring the ultimate fulfillment of the Ephesians Four Objective -- "a (singular) mature (spiritually perfect) man, according to the measure of the stature of Christ!" The results of that Spirit-produced concinnity will exceed by light years anything the most advanced "church growth" concepts ever conceived in the mind of men could possibly ever achieve.

Another reason prophets are the quintessential change-agents is because of some things God Himself declared in His Word concerning prophets that distinguish their ministry from all others. One is found in Amos 3:7, where God declares that He does nothing without first revealing His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. As indicated in the passages of Scripture quoted at the outset concerning the "new things" God does, He always brings forth those new things by declaring it, decreeing it, first, and prophets are His special messengers He uses as His spokesmen to declare and decree those things. And, again, because prophets are seers, they are going to see and know the "new things" God is declaring and decreeing before the vast majority of the rest of the Body of Christ. The "secret counsel" God shows prophets also includes new strategies He wants to reveal to churches and ministries that will enable them to destroy strongholds and defeat "the schemes of the devil" (literally, strategic battle plans) he has been perpetrating in their geographic territories in which they operate and assigned spiritual spheres that have been heretofore precluding advancement and vanquishing of the enemy.

If the leadership of churches and ministries really understood the ministry of the prophet, they would be doing all they could to seek out the true, tried, tested, and Spirit-trained, prophets who God has anointed to speak into the atmosphere and the heavenlies to decree change and to reveal the secret counsel of God that will enable those churches and ministries to fully comprehend and apprehend the purposes and plans of God for those believers in their sphere of operation. Let us pray that God emblazons this critical need for the blinders to come off the spiritual eyes of leaders around the world upon the hearts of every believer throughout the world called to intercession. For the need is so great and the hour is so late.

The following is a prophetic word that the Lord gave me concerning the matter of the unique anointing and ministry of the prophet.

In this hour the cloud of My Spirit is moving in a different manner than in times past. I am restoring the ministry of the Prophet to My Church. I am building My Church.These two work in tandem -- the pillar of fire (Revelation and Purity in Truth and Doctrine) in the darkness and the cloud of My very Presence (My Glory) by day.I shall reveal more of myself in this coming Glory. I shall release more of My Glory unto the perception of the eyes of men. They shall see more of Me. I shall do it through the revelation which has been stored up and hidden until now, revelation which can only be revealed by My Holy Apostles and Prophets. They can see it. They shall reveal it. Teachers cannot reveal it. Pastors cannot reveal it. Evangelists cannot reveal it. They had not been anointed or appointed unto this work. It is reserved for this time and for
My Holy Prophets.[Click here to read the rest of the above prophecy]

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If you have not been to the website in a while, be sure you visit and check out the prophetic articles in the Prophetic Perspective and the Real Truth Digest. There's also a new book I wrote, Dunamis! Power From On High!, which is all about the mighty power available to every believer through the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Those interested in the prophetic may also want to check out the prophetic course with the textbook I authored, The Prophetic Gifts and Office, for which you can get a certificate of completion.

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A Vision: Recent Florida Fires and US Drought

In 2004, as I was traveling down I-95 and praying, I began experiencing an open vision in which I saw large plumes of fire suddenly erupt, here and there, along the east coast of the state of Florida. Then, I seemed to be taken above the state and was seeing it from an aerial view. Soon, it seemed like large sections of the state along the east coast were on fire, from Jacksonville to Miami.

Then, as I passed through several main junctures along I-95, I saw the state of Florida as if from tens of thousands of feet up and was looking down on the entire state, and I saw seven "hot spots" where the Spirit had ignited "fires of revival" at different times in different regions of Florida during past eras ranging from the 1950s to the 1990s. In each of those regions where revival fires had broken out sometime in the past that He showed me, the face of a man would rise up out of the fire in a particular region whom God had sent to those regions and used either to spark a fire or to decree things that would come to pass at an appointed, future time. Some I knew, some I did not.

In each case the move that these men were used by God to initiate was prematurely foiled and spoiled. He showed me a very stark overview of the scheme the enemy used to bring cessation of the work God had started through those men. Each of them met with supernatural adversity and affliction, suffering tragic events and circumstances, and experiencing severe brokenness and brokenheartedness that waylayed their attempts to complete the calling. In each case, "a great price" (I heard in the Spirit) was paid as a result of merely obeying God's calling. Some had actually experienced spiritual and emotional breakdowns rising out of the frustrations and opposition they experienced, mostly from a resistant Church.

Each had been given a prophetic vision and mission, what was really a "mission impossible" in that each had been speaking of things and calling for changes that were "far ahead of their time," relative to the spiritual status quo and understanding of their peers while they were here laboring. In each case, it was the "spiritual separation" of these people from the rest of the Body of Christ, "because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation," that these men suffered what they did. Because the Body did not understand them or their message, the Body failed to surround and support them in the Spirit. They were spiritual "amputees" that the Body rejected, saying, "I have no need of thee."

Then, the Spirit comforted me in the sorrow and sadness I was feeling in my Spirit for these men telling me that they all now have received healing of their brokenness and brokenheartedness, and entered into the joys and rewards stored up for them, for God is faithful and will never forget the labor we have labored on His behalf, and though they suffered much, not one was lost. This too made me weep, but also exalt God with great exultation at the same time.

Then, as I traveled farther southward, and reached certain of those junctures, the Spirit would move upon me to lower the window and begin to shout out into the air prophetic decrees that those revival fires be rekindled in those places where the Spirit had started "a good work," declaring that God would yet finish what He had started, and what had been temporarily "lost" or foiled due to the schemes, plots, and plans of the enemy, would be restored and finished.

"Restore! Restore! Restore! FIRES OF THE SPIRIT that no one and no plan of the enemy can stop!" the Spirit shouted through me.

I then saw in the Spirit these fires begin to flare up even greater, and to move westward toward the middle of the state. Soon, it appeared that much of the state was being consumed by fire. And, from my aerial view in the Spirit, I saw the smoke of these fires rise high into the air and nearly cover the state, and strong wind currents then began to blow them toward the adjoining southern states of the US. As I watched this scene, I heard within, "The Glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. The manifestation of God's Glory shall now be released through the church Jesus is building!" (Of course, the physical fires and smoke are not the Glory of the Lord, which is the tangible manifestation of the Spirit or Presence of God, but they symbolize it and its manifestation in the Spirit.)

I've never published what the Lord showed me that day. But I have been feeling the prompting of the Spirit to do so in the last few days. Though, I don't have much revelation as to why or why now, other than to say that I have been hearing within only a rather vague "bulleted version" of a word about the historic-proportioned drought that much of the southern US has been experiencing, and how that God will soon be calling upon some Elijah-type prophets to come forth out of their caves of secreting and obscurity, commanding, "Places!" like the director of play. Many of them, though they have pledged obedience to God, loathe the spotlight, like an owl loathes the daylight. Yet, God will use them and this multi-state drought to underwrite their credibility and underscore the credence of the restoration of the prophetic office today.

I don't profess to know all of what God said or is now saying. But I do know that something, something dramatic and demonstrative, is about to happen. It shall be of national and international proportion. The world shall be astounded, but unfortunately those among the churches shall be also. These droughts are not merely the result of global weather changes or phenomena. They are of Divine Design.

With great reservation due to how many will misconstrue these words, I am compelled by the Spirit to also say, God is about to use some prophets as He used Moses, granting them power even over the elements. God shall call forth Elijah- and Elisha-type prophets out of their hidden places where He has been keeping and protecting them for "such a time as this." They shall come forth like John The Baptist out of the wilderness, "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Lk. 1:17), proclaiming prophetic words, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and being used by God as vessels of His power "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Ibid.). Many Moseses shall also be called forth out of their Midians to lay down their personal ambitions to deliver many who for many long years have been living under the oppressive captivity of the enemy.

And, yet another thing I hear in my spirit, though without liberty to expound upon it at this time, is that what shall soon manifest in this respect shall also have a significant and strategic part in a paradigmatic shift in the Body of Christ that shall position many to begin to experience in earnest the turning of wealth of the wicked, or the world, unto the righteous, the redeemed, that has been prophesied by so many for so long. God is about to suddenly and sovereignly shift us into a new, higher dimension in this regard, a dimension much more expansive and extensive than what most people are thinking at this time. God has a plan that is "exceedingly abundantly beyond all we can ask or think," and that plan shall indeed be according to the power that works within us, for it shall be supernatural and of the Spirit.

The fires shall increase and the drought shall continue in the natural realm in certain strategic places as a precursor and reflection of what God is doing and is about to do in the spiritual realm. Let us pray that God's purposes for the fires and related circumstances be fulfilled, and that the Body of Christ begins to get the revelation of its responsibility to cover His chosen vessels on the leading edge with strong intercession of the Spirit so that His plans and desires be no more waylayed or hindered. We must receive the revelation of the Spirit that God's anointed and appointed Davy Crocketts and Daniel Boones—the "free radicals" of the Spirit—who do not fit into the prototypical modern molds of spiritual leadership also require our spiritual and financial support in order to accomplish the missions to which they've been called on behalf of the entire Body. Relative to the rest, they may be "far out," but that grants no right to ignore and marginalize those individuals, nor their ministries. We must not be guilty of saying, "I have no need of thee!" We also must cease making "amputees" of those whom the Lord has Himself set in to the Body for spiritual government, construction, and advancement of His Body (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 2:20, 4:7-16).###

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Reclaiming Fatherhood and Restoring Fathers - Part 2

Sunday, June 17, 2007 (Date written)

This edition is Part 5 of the series I began a few weeks ago on the phenomenal promises contained in Psalm 112. If you did not read the previous editions, I urge you to do so. Please understand that I am not one of those "prosperity preachers." I do believe the modern "Prosperity Gospel" has brought immeasureable spiritual harm to the Body of Christ at-large on a global basis. However, too often we tend to "throw out the baby with the bathwater." There are a great number of passages of Scripture telling us how much God indeed does want us to "prosper and be in (good) health even as our soul prospers." But, the last part of that Scripture is the weightier and balancing part. Prosperity, success, and divine healing and health taken out of context of the rest of Scripture that speaks of seemingly antithetical and counterbalancing matters becomes erroneous teaching that is an abomination to God because that is precisely what God calls "a false balance," which is "an abomination to God."

There is no doubt that the pendulum has swung too far to the extremes concerning prosperity and success in the preaching and teaching of some, especially among the "name it and claim it," "blad it and grab it" crowd — the so-called "Word of Faith" camp. Unfortunately, when that happens the swing of the pendulum is equidistant in the other direction as well. I'm for the true or correct balance in all things; and I believe God is too.

The problem is that when writing about such matters where there is controversy, error, and excess on both ends of the spectrum, it is difficult to speak the truth without sounding to those who favor one extreme of the pendulum swing that you are part of and aligned with those favoring the other extreme. In my own case, I'm not part of any camp except God's. My desire is to be aligned with the Truth. Of course many would make the same claim, but any truth taken to extremes becomes error, yet the error of the extemists does not make the truth any less true.

I really believe the only safeguard against error in matters of truth is that we must have a contemporaneous co-existence of the Spirit with the Truth in order to come down on God's side with a correct, rather than false, balance. As the Spirit said through the Apostle Paul, matters of truth are "spiritually-appraised" or "spiritually-discerned." That's why Jesus called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. May we all seek and possess the "Truth" of the Spirit in all these vital matters of the Kingdom.

With that preface, let's move on to the message of this post. For those who have not read it in previous posts, here again is this powerful Psalm 112, on which this series is based, in its entirety.

Psalm 112
1 Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.
2 His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.
7 He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
10 The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

The entire Psalm 112 is speaking about the righteous man who fears the Lord and who finds great delight in his commands. Yet, in speaking about this man and his life, the focus is not only on him, but also on his children, his household, and the inheritance and legacy he leaves behind that continues to live long after he is gone. Thus, this man is a father and grandfather, and the patriarch of a lineage that follows after him.

As I was musing upon what I would be writing next in this series, the Lord suddenly and unexpectedly began giving me some prophetic revelation concerning the topic reflected in the title of this post. On this Father's Day of 2007, I am making a start at sharing some of what He showed me, in the context of the current series.

Reclaiming Fatherhood and Restoring Fathers!

It simply cannot be an accident or coincidence that the Old Testament concludes in the last two verses in the last chapter of the last book, Malachi, with this prophecy:

"Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse."

As I stated at the beginning, I believe the primary purpose of the prophetic, or at least the Elijah-type of prophetic ministry, those who operate in the "spirit and power of Elijah" (Lk. 1:17), is to restore fatherhood and reclaim fathers, both in the spiritual and natural realms (more on this in the next post).

Reflected in the substance of this Malachi prophecy that culminates the Old Testament is the fact that the primary purpose of the prophetic, despite the fact that the modern prophetic restoration movement seems to focus on everything but, is to restore fatherhood and reclaim fathers, both in the spiritual and natural realms. As we discussed in the previous post, there is a major dearth of fatherhood manifest in the land today that is producing numerous curses in the land, just as Malachi's prophecy predicted.

The purpose of the restoration of the prophetic is not to use it for self-aggrandizing purposes such as to build a large ministry base of people who share an interest in the prophetic, or prophetic organizations and networks comprised of "prophetic people," as some have seen it as being. In fact, my personal view is, all that is a bastardization of the prophetic restoration. I personally believe it is blasphemous to "use" any move of God for self-aggrandizement, and that those who do so heap judgment upon themselves.

Historically, self-aggrandizement was the primary reason for God writing "Ichabod" over former movements and so-called "revivals" of that past after only a few years of duration or less. Most former moves were only short-lived, though those who "hitched their wagons" to what God was doing attempted to "ride the wave" many years after God brought cessation to a movement and the cloud by day and fire by night had already moved on. Unfortunately, there are always those who believe God has delegated "ownership" of a move, revival, or emphasis of the Spirit, that leads them to construct man-made wooden carts through which to capitalize all they possibly can on what God is doing. And, inevitably such attitudes of entitlement and ascendency opens the door wide to evil spirits that eventually will corrupt both the movement as well as its principals and participants.

Virtually all former movements of the Spirit were attended with "camps" who refused to break camp long after the Spirit had moved on, but continued to build the three tabernacles per the "Peter Principle" proffered by Simon Peter as he, James, and John were "coming down" (both physically and emotionally) following the Mount of Transfiguration experience: "let us build three tabernacles." There are always those who want to capture and incarcerate the Spirit in their man-made tabernacle of dwelling, and confine Him to their exclusive and elite camp. But the Spirit will have none of that! He no longer dwells in human tabernacles and temples, organizations and networks, made with human hands, but in human hearts. The Glory of God still cannot be carried on wooden (symbolizes man-made), ox-drawn (oxen typify human ministers) carts, but must be carried on the shoulders of the Levites, for the government (of the Church Jesus is building) "shall be upon HIS shoulders" [Is. 9:6] (apostles and prophets, in particular).

The purpose of the prophetic is far greater and of a much higher level than what many claiming to be prophets are operating in today.

As I stated in an article I authored and published in 2003 concerning prophetic purpose:

"It's not to use the prophetic to build a name for oneself, or to promote and proliferate a ministry, a minister, or a movement, or to develop a means of support or income for a ministry or minister, or to sell books, or to become well-known or famous, or to build a church, a following, or a prophetic organization, or to achieve personal ambitions. The true Purpose of the prophetic is none of those things."

The foundation of the Kingdom of God is fatherhood. In essence, all Kingdom principles are fathering principles, rooted in fatherhood. There is no higher office or function than fatherhood. Our relationship with God is a relationship between a Father and His children. Yet, God delegates to human parents the role and tasks of parenting His children while they are minors. Though it seems to be such a difficult concept for human parents to grasp, "children are a gift of the Lord." Children come from the Lord. Human parents are not the "owners" of their children, but they are merely on loan to them while they are minors, and are given the assignment from God to rear them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. In the final judgment, parents, will have to give account to God for how they reared their children.

So also, as it is in the case of the natural family here on earth, there are those in the Church to whom God assigns the task of spiritually rearing His spiritual offspring, i.e., Born Again believers. Just as God designed the human family with parents, so also He designed the spiritual family with spiritual parents. There are numerous scriptures that support the concept that the Church is the family expanded and the family is the Church in miniscule. The government God has ordained for the Church is the same as that for the family — that is the import of the Apostle Paul's dissertation in Ephesians 6. The role of human parents with their children while they are minors and living under their covering and care is fourfold: 1) govern; 2) guard; 3) guide; and, 4) prepare. The role of spiritual parents in the Body of Christ — Fivefold Ministers — is similar (cf., Eph. 4:7-16; 1 Cor. 12:28). Morever, as human parents are the foundation of the natural family, Apostles and Prophets are the foundation of the spiritual family of God, the Church (Eph. 2:20).

Fathering failure, or the dearth of fatherhood, produces dysfunctional and self-destructive familial relationships, both in natural families as well as spiritual families, i.e., churches. The profile of dysfunctional families is fraught with rivalry, competition, jealousy, contentions, strife, and such things. Beyond the pews and behind the platforms, churches, because they are spiritual families, are likewise fraught with such things. So it is also within the ranks of fivefold ministers. The primary cause of the lack of collegiality and collaboration, or colabor, that God intended to be manifest among fivefold ministers is the lack of godly and effectual spiritual fathering in the Body of Christ. Indeed, the blame for dysfunctional spiritual relationships and families must be laid squarely at the feet of Fivefold Ministers. Dysfunctional leadership produces dysfunctional progeny (offspring). The unfortunate result of the dysfunctional leadership in the Body of Christ is the spiritual immaturity, impotence, and poor productivity now generally manifest in the Body of Christ (cf, Eph. 4:7-16).

There is so much more God has shown me about fatherhood that will bring abundant blessings into your life if you will simply receive it, believe it, comply with it, and decree it; in other words, if you will GET INTO AGREEMENT WITH GOD! Be sure to stay connected to hear the rest. It has the power to revolutionize your life.

To be continued....

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Reclaiming Fatherhood and Restoring Fathers - Part 1

Sunday, June 17, 2007 (Date written)

This edition is Part 4 of the series I began a few weeks ago on the phenomenal promises contained in Psalm 112.

Before I get into this message of this post, I feel it necessary to preface it with some comments because of the controversy of the subject matter.

Please understand that I am not one of those "prosperity preachers." I do believe the modern "Prosperity Gospel" has brought immeasurable spiritual harm to the Body of Christ at-large on a global basis. However, too often we are wont to "throw out the baby with the bathwater."

There are a great number of passages of Scripture telling us how much God indeed does want us to "prosper and be in (good) health even as our soul prospers." But, the last part of that Scripture is the weightier and balancing part. Prosperity, success, and divine healing and health taken out of context of the rest of Scripture that speaks of seemingly antithetical and counterbalancing matters can become an abomination to God because that is precisely what God calls "a false balance." There is no doubt that the pendulum has swung too far to the extremes concerning prosperity and success in the preaching and teaching of some, especially among the "name it and claim it," "blab it and grab it" crowd -- the so-called "Word of Faith" camp. Unfortunately, when that happens the swing of the pendulum is equidistant in the other direction as well. I'm for the true or correct balance in all things; and I believe God is too.

The problem is that when writing about such matters where there is controversy and error and excess on both ends of the spectrum it is difficult to speak the truth without sounding to those who favor one extreme of the pendulum swing that you are part of and aligned with those favoring the other extreme. In my own case, I'm not part of any camp except God's. I have no denominational or protodenominational affiliations, alliances, or alignments. My desire is to be aligned with the Truth. Of course many would make the same claim, but any truth taken to extremes becomes error, yet the error of the extremists does not make the truth any less true.

I really believe the only safeguard against error in matters of truth is that we must have a contemporaneous co-existence of the Spirit with the Truth in order to come down on God's side with a correct, rather than false, balance. As the Spirit said through the Apostle Paul, matters of truth are "spiritually-appraised" or -discerned. That's why Jesus called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. May we all seek and possess the "Truth" of the Spirit in all these vital matters of the Kingdom.

With that preface, let's move on to the message of this post. If you did not read the previous editions, I urge you to do so. For those who have not read it in previous posts, here is this powerful Psalm again in its entirety.

Psalm 112
1 Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.
2 His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.
7 He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
10 The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

The entire Psalm 112 is speaking about the righteous man who fears the Lord and who finds great delight in his commands. Yet, in speaking about this man and his life, the focus is not only on him, but also on his children, his household, and the inheritance and legacy he leaves behind that continues to live long after he is gone. Thus, this man is a father and grandfather, and the patriarch of a lineage that follows after him.

As I was musing upon what I would be writing next in this series, the Lord suddenly and unexpectedly began giving me some prophetic revelation concerning the topic reflected in the title of this post. On this Father's Day of 2007, I am making a start at sharing some of what He showed me, in the context of the current series.

Reclaiming Fatherhood and Restoring Fathers!

Note: Though all the writing experts say to do so is a major no-no, I need to preface this article with a bit of a disclaimer, which is that I am not supplying a lot of Biblical citings to support what I say here, as one usually does in writing articles or books. I felt that the Lord wanted me to post this article pretty much in the form I received it -- as a prophetic revelation. It is more revelational than it is instructional, meaning didactic, or given in the form of teaching. Albeit, I certainly believe it to be Biblical, that is, in agreement with the Bible, or I would not be publishing it. What I pass on here was revealed through the Spirit (prophetic revelation) and thus is spiritually appraised, and cannot be understood through the natural or carnal mind (1 Cor. 2:6-16).

It simply cannot be an accident or coincidence that the Old Testament concludes in the last two verses in the last chapter of the last book, Malachi, with this prophecy:

"Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse."

As I stated at the beginning, I believe the primary purpose of the prophetic, or at least the Elijah-type of prophetic ministry, those who operate in the "spirit and power of Elijah" (Lk. 1:17), is to restore fatherhood and reclaim fathers, both in the spiritual and natural realms (more on this in the next post).

The state of affairs in the world today makes it evident that the land has been smitten with a curse as the Malachi prophecy predicts. Corruption and criminality is ubiquitous. We see revealed in this one passage of Scripture culminating the Old Testament, the fundamental root-cause of all that corruption and criminality -- a dearth of fatherhood.

History and sociological statistics tell us that wherever and whenever there is an absence of fatherhood there is an increase in sin and rebellion, along with the resultant crime and corruption sin and rebellion engender societally. The produce of a dearth of fatherhood, both in individual lives and collective society, is disobedience of all sorts and kinds, both to God's authority and God's delegated authority -- human authority (Rom. 12). Indeed, fatherhood is the expression or manifestation on earth of God's authority. God is a Father -- the ultimate Father. He created the human race out of His need for fellowship with someone other than Himself, that is, the Trinity.

The void of fatherhood can be filled by nothing else. Fatherhood is comprised of unique properties and characteristics, and it produces unique results that cannot be produced through any other office or function. There is no substitute for fatherhood; when it is absent there is a void. When there is a void, there is the absence of the things that fatherhood provides.

Motherhood, though needed and necessary, is no substitute for fatherhood. Mothering cannot replace or substitute for fathering. When and where there is motherhood but no fatherhood, there is a stark lack of what fatherhood provides, along with the inevitable and unavoidable fruits of that lack. One of the most significant and impactful of those voids is that manhood and all God intended it to entail is not modeled. In that vacuum, a male child cannot see what Godly manhood looks like and has nothing to emulate, and so the vacuum is often filled, in some respects, instead with traits and thought patterns modeled by the women who are the authority figures in his life.

God is Love. God is "THE" Father. Fatherhood is synonymous with Agape-Love, the God-kind of love. Fathering is the ultimate expression of love (God, who is a Father, is love). Fatherhood love is the purest love. Love, that is, Fatherhood, never fails. God never fails. Nevertheless, human fathers fail. Yet, though human fathers fail, fatherhood never fails. God is a Father and He cannot fail. The failings or failure of fathers is not a failure of fatherhood.

God is Spirit. Fatherhood is of the Spirit, spiritual, though not ethereal, meaning not of this world or non-substantial. Fatherhood is a manifestation of the Spirit of the Father. Fatherhood is a spiritual and therefore a supernatural thing, not a human, natural thing. Yet, fatherhood cannot be merely "spiritualized," that is, be manifest separate from the natural. While it is intrinsically spiritual, of the unseen realm, it is manifest in the natural, the seen realm. Fatherhood is the reflection of the Father. Jesus said to the disciples, Philip in particular, "He who has seen me has seen the Father," demonstrating that the Son was a reflection of the Father.

The foundation of the Kingdom of God is fatherhood. In essence, all Kingdom principles are fathering principles, rooted in fatherhood. There is no higher office or function than fatherhood. Our relationship with God is a relationship between a Father and His children.

Fathering failure, or the dearth of fatherhood, produces dysfunctional and self-destructive familial relationships, both in natural families as well as spiritual families, i.e., churches. The profile of dysfunctional families is fraught with rivalry, competition, jealousy, contentions, strife, and such things. Beyond the pews and behind the platforms, churches, because they are spiritual families, are likewise fraught with such things. So it is also within the ranks of fivefold ministers. The primary cause of the lack of collegiality and collaboration, or colabor, that God intended to be manifest among fivefold ministers is the lack of godly and effectual spiritual fathering in the Body of Christ. Indeed, the blame for dysfunctional spiritual relationships and families must be laid squarely at the feet of Fivefold Ministers. Dysfunctional leadership produces dysfunctional progeny (offspring). The unfortunate result of the dysfunctional leadership in the Body of Christ is the spiritual immaturity, impotence, and poor productivity now generally manifest in the Body of Christ (cf, Eph. 4:7-16).

Fatherhood is an exclusively male office or function. Only SONS can be fathers. Even illegitimate sons can become legitimate fathers. Females cannot father. The most spiritual female cannot father.

Fatherhood is intrinsically an internal not an external matter, albeit, it is manifested externally. Fatherhood cannot be externally worn like a shirt. Buying a T-shirt with "Super Dad" on it, does not make you a Super Dad or father. Fathering is not mere sentiment, but actions, actions of servitude. A father is simultaneously the ultimate servant, laying down his life for his family, and the ultimate source or gateway of agape-love to his family.

The awful legacy of the Garden of Eden was a fathering failure. Adam was created by God in the Image of God the Father. God intended for Adam to reflect Him even in his relationship with his helpmate suitable, Eve. Yes, Adam was to be a father to his wife; that is, God desired that he manifest the Heavenly Father on earth to his wife and family. Ultimately, Adam's FAILURE was not in his following of deceived Eve, but in the FATHERING of his helpmate (wife). In fact, it can be rightly said that the ultimate cause of "original sin" was a failure in reflecting the Image of the Father. When God created Adam in His own Image, He created a Father, because God is a Father. Adam failed as the first human father of the first family. The first result of that failure was Adam and Eve's precipitous fall into perdition, and the second result of his sin and rebellion against God was the rivalry mentioned before, in this case the contention was murderous, in that his first offspring, Cain, was a murderer, who slew his brother Abel. Right from the beginning of the human race we see demonstrated the irrefutable fact that when fathers fail, families fail. When the effectual function of fatherhood is absent, whether through abrogation or ignorance, families are dysfunctional.

Husbandhood is synonymous with fatherhood, in the Spirit. The characteristics of fatherhood are the characteristics of Godly husbandhood. After the fall, God placed in the woman (females), an innate desire for her husband's headship or authority over her (Gen. 3:16), as a covering or protection against demons, the fallen angels (1 Cor. 11:10), by whom (the serpent, Satan) she was deceived in the Garden of Eden. Though modern psychology paints it as a bane and something to be avoided, women are "wired" by God, in looking for a husband to look for a FATHER, because subconsciously she is searching for a man who will be to her what her father had been to her (if he was a righteous man and father) and she is also looking for the man who will be the father of their children, sons (fathers) and daughters (helpmates), who will continue the cycle of human reproduction.

Whether they know it or not, and though those steeped in modern feminism will bristle and gnash their teeth at such a statement, women are subconsciously looking for a man to be a father to them in their search for their lifemate. Though, it must be understood that when a woman is operating only or predominantly in the flesh, rather than "walk(ing) in the Spirit" (Gal. 5) and therefore being led by the Spirit, they will not be guided by those internal, God-placed desires.

Jesus said one of the primary reasons for His coming in the flesh was to show us the Father, and He said that he who has seen Him, has seen the Father. He was the Father come in the flesh. Jesus was the exact representation of the Father. He was not The Father, but He was the pure reflection or replica of the Father. And, whatever He saw and heard the Father doing, Jesus did. That was the model He came to present to us. He was the prototype of the Sons of God, the Holy Race, the People of God, who were born of the Spirit, and whose ultimate quest and goal is to emulate or reflect the Father in their living as well as innermost-being.

Though He had no human wife and laid with no woman (and certainly no man, per the blasphemous allegations of homosexual reprobates of recent note), meaning He had no sexual relationship with any human while here in the flesh on earth, He was the incorruptible Seed of the Father, who died and was buried in the earth, in order to undergo the miraculous metamorphosis of life and thereby become the Progenitor (Father) of the Holy Race, the people who once were not a people, but now are the People of God, the Holy Remnant, the Chosen Few, the Betrothed Unto Christ. It was not only an immaculate conception but also immaculate reproduction. Thus, Jesus, while He is the Son of God and God the Son, was the Spiritual Father of the Holy Race, the Redeemed Humanity.

Here's some Good News about fatherhood, fathers, and fathering:

• Human fathers are imperfect, but fatherhood is not imperfect, especially that of the Heavenly Father.
• Human fathers have faults, but the faults of human fathers is not a fault of fatherhood.
• Fatherhood can be delayed and/or suspended, but it can be reclaimed and restored.
• Fathers who were not themselves truly and properly fathered as sons can truly and properly father, because God said, "And all your sons will be taught of the Lord (God), And the well-being of your sons will be great" (Is. 54:13; Jn. 6:45), and God is the ultimate Father.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers!

There is so much more God has shown me about fatherhood that will bring abundant blessings into your life if you will simply receive it, believe it, comply with it, and decree it; in other words, if you will GET INTO AGREEMENT WITH GOD! Be sure to stay connected to hear the rest. It has the power to revolutionize your life.

To be continued....

email: slambert@slm.org
web: http://www.slm.org/