We noticed in our previous article on the Pavilions of Darkness that God hides Himself in the most unlikely places of the universe; namely, in darkness, in dark waters, in thick clouds. These are His secret places wherein He abides; where the hidden riches of His treasures are held in reserve. Psalm 18:11 & 45:3, 15

It is strange that the church system has taught its people to look for Him somewhere in the heavens of outer space, rather than where the scriptures make it clear — in the pavilions of darkness, in the dark waters of His people, in the thick clouds of His many membered body. And herein He will remain until the hour of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ!

Some who know the truth of the matter claim that the time of His appearing, that is, their appearing, has come; that the dawn of the Sun’s rising has arrived, that there is nothing more awaiting, all we have to do is to realize who we are and stop identifying with Adam. But the sad fact is, we see nothing more than what’s been in times past. For that matter, we see less than that which was in the past, such as in the days of the outpouring in 1948 which is known as Pentecost, or Latter Rain. And as great as that manifestation was, it did not establish the Kingdom of God in the earth. It did not to put an end to sorrow and death.

What we hear can be enticing; for the words of man’s wisdom are often very convincing; but that which is claimed has had no spiritual strength, vitality, or impact. It hasn’t shaken the foundations of the world inwardly or outwardly that we can see. There hasn’t even been so much as a breeze blowing through the mulberry leaves of the kingdoms of men. Ill winds are certainly blowing, and fiercely in certain areas. They are surging through the religious, economical, and governmental kingdoms; but the winds are not that of the manifestation of the sons of God, not by any stretch of the imagination. The winds that are shaking things are, no doubt, of God; but they are in no way that of the appearing, the apocalypse of our Lord coming in holy myriads of Himself. It will come, but only to those who meet the conditions and qualify for that mighty company of overcomers. There awaits the real demonstration of the Spirit and power that’s given without measure. It is then that the incomprehensible ministry of the sons of God will be seen after everything that hinders and has sealed us tight is broken by the One found worthy to do so. It is then that our carnal coverings are removed, revealing from deep within that which has lain dormant. It will come forth with vibrance to reveal the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Many of us have been with Him in those obscure places, in those thick clouds, dark waters, even that dark cave of Adullam. For some it has been a long time; but we will not lament because we know the purpose, and we will have our day in the Sun/Son. And the beauty is, no man or religious regime can stop its shining at the time of the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. It is then that our Lord will be seen coming in the clouds of holy myriads OF HIMSELF to execute judgment! Jude 1:14-15. It is then that wisdom will excel folly and light will excel darkness. Ecclesiastes 2:13.

To be reminded, this apocalypse will come by none other than by the might and Spirit of our Lord Jesus. And it will certainly not be in need of special men and women to orchestrate it. There will be no need to keep it hemmed in and bound by religious creeds, doctrines, and rituals. Men will not be able to promote it in order to let the world know that God is on the move; for as it is with the Sun, no one has to go to be told by an astro-physicist to know it is shining, and also with the wind. No one has to be told when it is blowing. We may need weather forecasters to tell us when it will be a windy day in certain regions, such as when they forewarned Galveston, Texas that Hurricane Ike was on the way; but no one had to be told once it’s fierce breath began to blow hard upon them. And so it will be with the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ. No one knows the day and hour; but you are being told that it is coming, and once it arrives, nobody will have to be told, and no one will have to make claims or spin a good yarn to convince the world that it is so; for a blast of fire in the face is convincing of itself.

Moreover, as this fire-storm blows, there will be no personalities standing in high places over the people of "their" churches and TV audiences. Wherever the sons of God are, there will be the manifested Church of Jesus Christ. This Church cannot be wrangled or owned by enterprising entrepreneurs, and neither will there be in this company those seeking their own glory. It is all Jesus Christ in those who are conformed and transformed to the express image of their Father.

Frankly, this unveiling is already dawning in the secret pavilions of people’s lives. They are not known by the world nor by those of mainstream religion, and it is no mystery as to why this is. They are scattered throughout the world. There is a handful here, a few there; but as a whole, they are not visibly collected together, and they are not pushing themselves to the forefront to be seen by anyone. Yet, things are taking place with these derelicts and misfits in the secret pavilions of darkness with David, that is Jesus, in the cave of Adullam. Although standing by, unseen and unheard, their Commander is building them into a mighty army of soon to be glorified sons of God with which to be reckoned! These members of the body of Christ, like vapor particles of dark clouds, are being joined together in the Spirit of their Lord, awaiting the first command, the first charge, the first lightning bolt, His blazing word that will bring them cohesively together and send them earthbound as mighty torrents of consuming fire. What a blazing apocalypse!

Although obscure and weak, they are obedient to the call, which qualifies them to be mighty men of valor. They await the command that will release and reveal them like a flood-tide of fire all over the earth. The three and a half years Jesus was manifested as the Son of God was tremendous; but what do you suppose it will be when He comes in the clouds of holy myriads OF HIMSELF to execute Judgment? There will be much greater works than what He did as one Son. It will bring an end to all revivals; for this will not be to revive people to their former estate when they were first saved, but to transform them to a new State called the Kingdom of God. Religious movements as we had known will cease, along with secular and political schemes. This is the apocalypse of Jesus Christ gathering into Himself His Ecclesia, the called out ones, the true assembly of the living God and His Christ! From temporary tabernacles we will see this MAN moving into the Temple! No more booths, pavilions of darkness, but the glorious Temple of God wherein dwells Christ Jesus and His body. And please know, this Temple is not one to be built in the land of Israel. It is His body of many members. It is where He presently dwells and from where He rules and will always rule.

Out of weakness, like a helpless worm in a cocoon, we come forth from the confines of Adullam, transformed and made new. God will measure out His power upon those who walk through the deep valley of the shadow of death, who are weakened by disease, who are weakened by hardships, or who are weakened by being overrun by varied pressures, tragedies, and deaths. Some will judge our adverse circumstances and inactive lives as being out of the will of God; but they do not understand the basic principle, when we are weak He is strong. You see, Jesus became poor that we, His body, might become rich, and as we become poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven becomes ours.

We do remember, don’t we, that in order for Jesus to become the Lion of the tribe of Judah, He had to be led in humility as a sheep to the slaughter? (Acts 8:32). And before all men could drink of the River of Life, He had to empty Himself. He divested Himself of power and authority so He could come forth with greater power and authority in holy myriads of Himself. In death, He ceased from the Father’s works so greater works could be done by those of His corporate Body. He sounded no call to arms to his followers. He did not call legions of angels to defend Him in His most crucial hour. He opened not His mouth. Rather than arraying Himself in glory, He submitted to the humility of being stripped naked and beaten. Rather than taking His rightful place upon earth’s regal throne, He relinquished it to endure the anguish of being nailed to a rugged cross. Not a likely seat of the Royal Master. But rather than taking His position as the King of kings, He divested Himself and became the servant of all. The richest man in the universe became the poorest of all, having no place to lay His head or call His own. In death, he had no hallowed mausoleum to enshrine His pierced body. He was not laid in repose where the bodies of men of honor are committed. No eternal flame was lit for Him. A tomb had to be borrowed for His burial. At His birth, a stable was borrowed for His delivery, and the animal’s feed-trough took the place of a goose-down bed, symbolizing that His body would feed the nations of the world. He was not born in the midst of great men who would marvel at His majesty, but among the beasts of burden. They were his companions in birth, and throughout his life, such were also his friends. What a wonder to say the least! Out of Darkness where He was hidden came forth the Mystery of the ages — and that Great Light shined in a dark world! The Apocalypse of God’s firstborn Son!

He was crucified in the weakness of flesh as the son of man, but "He was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Romans 1:4. Men destroy their enemies by killing them; but Jesus destroyed his enemies by dying for them, and even at their own hands. He set the precedent for every son to follow. Go thou and do likewise.

It doesn’t make sense to the natural mind that one must die to live, weep before he can laugh, know sorrow to be filled with joy, to be humiliated to be lifted up, to become naked to be clothed upon, to know darkness to come forth as light. What a paradox! To the natural mind it doesn’t make sense. But God’s mind is not natural!

Seeing, therefore, that Jesus became weak and suffered the death of the cross that we could live, can we expect it to be different with us? Are the servants greater than their Master? Not at all. Paul spoke of this difficult road that we must walk: "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead" Philippians 3:10-11.

After we are conformed to His death, what comes next? Resurrection, of course! For that is the principle of life. A seed must fall into the ground and die before it can sprout as a plant and live. We have fallen into the carnal ground of our minds and bodies, and as the plantings of the Lord, we too shall rise out of obscurity and live.

We have long vaunted the fact that we are the anointed sons of God; but our understanding of this anointing may have been lacking. We had assumed it was the anointing of life and power, the anointing to rule and reign, the anointing to do exploits and to raise the dead, and this is not altogether wrong. For God hath wrought us for the selfsame life and power of Jesus. However, He not only made us for the selfsame life, but also the selfsame death. We see this anointing when the woman anointed Jesus with a precious ointment from an alabaster box, and the anointing was on behalf of HIS DEATH and BURIAL, and Jesus said what she did was good! (rf. Matthew 26:7,10,12).

Can we say the same concerning our own anointing? Has it been unto death? That’s a difficult one; but don’t we want the power of resurrection in our lives? Then let us receive the anointing of not only life, but that of death as well. We are not mandated to enjoy it, but we can endure it as our Lord before us "...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame" Hebrews 12:2. We will, therefore, rejoice for the joy that is set before us while being swept over by the shroud of death and we descend into hell. Its dominion of darkness will and has embraced us sorely, this is sure, yet it can neither hold nor destroy us! But after it has worked its purpose, we shall turn and command it! We shall ascend with power and dominion over death, hell, and the grave.

Moreover, when we hear these words by the Spirit of revelation, we can say: "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." With confidence, we will know that God’s grace is sufficient; for our strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9. Truly, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and hath chosen the weak things to confound they who are mighty. 1 Corinthians 1:27. Therefore, my friends, if you happen to be among those who are acquainted with the bitter waters of grief, and the lonely pavilions of darkness, take heart — you will shine on the morrow as He comes in the holy myriads of Himself to execute judgment!

There are various ways that God brings judgment. Some of those ways are by His right hand; by Christ being manifested in His word and in His saints of glory, bringing people to a godly sorrow that works repentance unto salvation. One, I am sure, will be much more pronounced, the apocalypse Jesus of Christ toghether with the sons of God. Other forms of judgment are by His left hand. This judgment may entail rogue rulers, enemies of the State, wars, world class bankers, failing economies, terrorism, wars, and countless other circumstances beyond man’s control.

With the present political and economical situations of this nation, many are very concerned. Millions have been gripped by fear. They feel that all might be lost: homes, jobs, retirement, even their freedom. Some are saying that the greatest depression the world has ever known is on the horizon. Some have a degree of hope by believing the president-elect has the answers. He is looked upon as their savior — a black man riding from the east upon a white horse to save the day. Some are too busy with games and entertainment to have thought about him one way or the other. Many are in such a stupor from drugs and alcohol addiction that they can’t think at all. While others believe this mysterious man who came out of obscurity is not their savior, but the antichrist.

The notion could be equally applied to numerous U.S. presidents, not to mention many cabinet members and Supreme Court justices, as well as those who occupy the halls of congress; yet not in the sense of what is commonly thought about the antichrist. According to the Bible, and I am sure to the surprise of many, there is no such thing as "the antichrist"; that is, not as it has been so commonly taught, and with such rigor that most people assume it is a primary tenant of faith that is rooted deeply in scripture. But there are no scriptures on which to base this presumption when the scriptures are taken in context and the greater picture is seen.

Even so, with this being one of the foremost thoughts in so many minds since the election, Barack Obama seems to be the closest man so far to fit that infamous character’s assumed image. None of the other supposed antichrists had such charisma as to command a world-wide following, nor were they worshiped so greatly. Other figures of days gone by who were tagged as this man of infamy include Henry Kissinger, Anwar Sadat, Pope John Paul II, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan to mention a few; but none have taken center stage and have been so gloriously arrayed as this young man. It is no small wonder that he has so polarized the people with either being seen as the savior or the antichrist. He certainly is a very interesting individual to say the least. And I have no doubt about it; he has been raised up to serve God’s purpose that no other could fill, whether for good or evil. Moreover, as His sovereign plan unfolds — I believe those of the world will first be affected with wonder. They will then be astonished, and later on, stunned, if you please!

But let us back off a bit and scan this idea of the antichrist a little more closely by seeing what the scriptures have to say about it. There are only four verses that use the word: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that *(the) antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is *(the) antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:18, 22. "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of *(the) antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come (Grk, is come, present tense); and even now already IS it in the world." 1 John 4:3. "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an *(the) antichrist." 2 John 1:7.

Since each verse contains the definite article, the or of the, does this mean that the antichrist is one specific man of the future who will be the devil incarnate and who will deceive and rule the entire world? Not by any means! For the context of these verses in no way suggests such an idea.

Let us, therefore, take into consideration the context:

But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is *(the) antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."1 John 2:18-22. The antichrist(s) were the ones John was talking about at that time which he called the last hour. He was not remotely talking about 2,000 years or so down the road, and neither was he mistaken about what he was saying. Namely, that the antichrist was the same as the many antichrists and that they were already on the scene. He was saying that the many antichrists were they who went out from them, they were not of them, if they had been, they would have continued with them, but they went out so they could be revealed for who they really were — the antichrist. And whoever denies the Father and the Son, he is the antichrist.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." 1 John 4:1-6.

Again, we have the same scenario. The plurals, many false prophets and they who are of the world, are synonymous to the singular he who was at that time not of God and could not hear what the apostles were saying by the Spirit of Christ. Nowhere do these verses suggest the antichrist would be coming two or three thousand years later.

"For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This IS a deceiver and an (the) antichrist." 2 John 1:7.

John was equating the singular and plural as being the same, and the context was no different in this verse than it was with the others. It was for that time period, for that day, for that hour, and he was not saying that the many deceivers were a man called the antichrist two thousand years later.

The apostle was referring to people who denied Jesus had come in the flesh of His physical body. Neither did they believe the Spirit of Jesus Christ had come in the flesh of His many-membered body, nor did they confess or manifest His Spirit in their own lives, as a confession suggests.

Satan and all who are one with him are deceivers. They appear as light but are not of the light. It is impossible for them to confess, or manifest the light, the anointing, the Christ. They are the opposite, or instead of Christ. They are actors, imposters. Again, they are the antichrist(s).

There is a many-membered body of Christ, and there is a many-membered body that makes up the antichrist (not one man). This antichrist is comprised of all the religious systems and people who are void of the Spirit of Christ. They are also those who may be embraced as secular saviors, those who embody the political ideals that people look to for their safety, prosperity, and welfare. You see, in the same manner that those of the body of Christ are inspired by the Spirit of Christ Who makes blind eyes see, the body of the antichrist is inspired by the god of this world who blinds eyes that could see.

Antichrist, from the compound Greek word, anti-christos. Anti means, opposite of or instead of, and christos means anointed. The Antichrist is principally the spirit of the religious, political, and economic systems of the world. It is that which takes the place of Jesus Christ! Anything that exalts itself as a solution to the pollution (as our late friend, Stacy Wood used to say) is instead of Christ. It is a pretense! It is something that can suggest a supreme answer to the question of extreme problems. It is a deceiver. It is also, of course, anyone who rises in self-exaltation to be a superior guide for people when it is Christ who is to be the principle guide. The antichrist is not a political leader, although many of the rulers of the kingdoms of men are certainly antichrists.

People have voiced their grave concern about Barack Obama being our president, and they believe he is the antichrist. It may be noted that most of our presidents and politicians have been deceivers (antichrists) in one fashion or the other. How else could they have been elected? Even at that, they were playing into the hand of God, of course, they didn’t know it.

A deceiver is one who transforms himself into an angel of light. He is, therefore, anti-light, or instead of light, darkness, a lie. He is an antichrist. The world is full of them, and I do not doubt that the people will suffer greatly in the days to come. However, we should not be shaken over it.

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