Part 96
THE FOUR WINDS OF
JUDGMENT
“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the
earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the
earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel
ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a
loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the
sea, saying,
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed
the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Rev. 7:1-3).
There are many beautiful truths and deep mysteries hidden in the symbolisms of
this passage, but I am sure the reader can discern in the action of the four
angels the ministry of judgment. Four is the number of that which
is world-wide or universal, and the winds which blow with devastating force are
the symbol of judgment. Everywhere in scripture the winds are revealed as
divine agents and used either for blessings or for judgments. Here, the
four winds are significant of judgments which for the time, the four angels are
holding back in order to permit the Seer to have a vision of something that must
be brought forth and established before the winds are permitted to blow!
Let not the winds blow — until! Hold the winds back — hold
everything in restraint for a season — endure the corruption, UNTIL THE SONS OF
GOD ARE SEALED IN THEIR FOREHEADS! Bring no judgment upon the earth realm,
or the sea realm, nor upon the trees, representing those activities, works,
creations, and institutions of men which grow and are produced out of the carnal
mind (earth) — let there be no judgment upon any of these things until
the sons of God have put on the mind of Christ! As I write these things
and meditate upon them it becomes crystal clear within my spirit that there can
be no righteous judgment out from God’s elect until we all have been
imbued with the
nature of the Father and the mind of Christ. Any man, apart from the
mind of Christ, is unqualified to render any kind of judgment — and he will
never be able to judge even his own soul, or his body, or the trees that grow
out of his earth, apart from the understanding and wisdom of the mind of Christ.
Much less is he prepared to administer righteous judgments to those realms
outside himself — the world of mankind. Righteous judgment comes only out
of the heavens of the spirit of the Lord! Thus the divine fiat issued by
the word of the Lord that the four winds be restrained from blowing upon the
earth, the sea, or any tree, until the mind of Christ has been fully formed in
God’s kings and priests!
The true judgments of God by which the world learns righteousness, proceed out
from the seven spirits of sonship, of which the prophet Isaiah says, “And
the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom
and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit
of knowledge and fear of the Lord; and shall make Him of quick
understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the
sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but
with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with
equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod
(authority) of His mouth (word), and with the breath (spirit) of His lips shall
He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins,
and faithfulness the girdle of His reins…for the whole earth shall be full of
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:2-5,9).
Through the cunning of the adversary,
both the world and the popular church have been robbed of the blessed assurances
of the time when God’s RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENTS break forth in the earth. Most
people know that the Bible tells of a “judgment day,” but the average person,
believer or unbeliever, regards it only with a certain sense of fear and dread.
Because of this fear there is, to them, no more unwelcome tidings than
that the Lord is coming to JUDGE THE EARTH! Many tremble inwardly at the
thought of God’s judgments, and in this mind put them far from them, preferring
not to even hear the subject mentioned. They have absolutely no idea of
the wonderful blessings in store for a sin-weary and death-ridden world under
the glorious reign of the sons of God filled with all the nature, wisdom, glory,
and power of God!
How differently did the holy prophets and apostles regard that promised DAY OF
JUDGMENT! Note the expectation in Isaiah’s spirit as he announces: “Yea,
in the way of THY JUDGMENTS, O Lord, have we waited for Thee…with my soul
have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee
early: for when THY JUDGMENTS are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world
will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:8-9). Here Isaiah assures us
that the day when God’s judgments are in the earth will be a most glorious and
desirable day, a day in which the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness! If the desire of your heart is anything like the desire
of my heart, this is a blessed thought and a wonderful assurance: the
inhabitants of the world WILL LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS! How my ransomed
soul longs to behold such a thing! Every time I scan the headlines of the
morning paper, or watch the evening news on television, I am seized with an
intense yearning that the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness. As I drive across this great land of ours; as I
walk the streets of our cities and towns, beholding the condition of those
about, my spirit groans with unutterable supplication that the inhabitants of
the world will learn righteousness! What a marvelous
provision of our wise and loving Father that, to this very end, He has ORDAINED
JUDGMENTS to come forth in the earth. Bless His name!
Hear the note of triumph and exultation when David speaks by the inspiration
that the Spirit gives, saying,
“Let the heavens be glad
And LET THE EARTH REJOICE;
And let men say among the nations, the Lord reigneth!
Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof;
Let the fields rejoice,
and all that are therein.
Then shall the trees of the forest
Sing aloud at the presence of the Lord,
Because He cometh TO JUDGE THE EARTH.
O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy endureth forever!” (I Chron. 16:31-34).
Why will “the trees of the forest” sing out when He is coming to JUDGE
THE EARTH? One would think they might weep, or shrink in fear and
consternation at the thought of His judgments, but why all the singing?
Why the
rejoicing? Because God’s judgments are an expression of His
goodness
and everlasting mercy, designed to teach the inhabitants of the world
righteousness! Ah, this would not be the case should the sons of God
unleash judgments upon the world before they have been sealed in their
foreheads with the precious mind of God’s Christ! Who knows how misguided
and ruthless some might be in their efforts to establish righteousness in the
earth! But our wise and glorious Father has even now issued the edict:
“Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, TILL we have sealed
the servants of our God in their foreheads!” The earth shall rejoice
because this means that mankind has reached the turning point in
our degeneration, and have come to the times of regeneration. This is true
even now for the body of Christ, but must ultimately reach unto the whole world
and the entire creation! His presence, while it speaks of His utmost
holiness, and will not tolerate the continuance of evil, brings the changes
needed for peace, joy, and righteousness. There shall surely be those
severe prunings, crushing, shattering, melting; but when they shall have
accomplished their desired results, His new life shall flow in cleansing,
quickening, restoration, and victory!
This same ecstatic exclamation of joy and gladness at the prospects of the
coming of God’s righteous judgment into the earth is found all through the
psalms and the prophets. If you are truly destined to stand among the
company of the manifest sons of God, the long-awaited liberators of creation,
you will most assuredly share the thrill of the heavenly vibration in the
psalmist’s inspired song: “Say among the nations that the Lord reigneth: the
world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: HE SHALL JUDGE
THE PEOPLE RIGHTEOUSLY. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be
glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the field be
joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the forest
rejoice before the Lord: for He cometh, for He cometh TO JUDGE THE EARTH: HE
SHALL JUDGE THE WORLD WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS, and the people with His truth” (Ps.
96:10-13).
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, ALL THE EARTH: make a loud noise, and
rejoice, and sing praise. Let the sea (raging, surging
multitudes of humanity) roar, and the fullness thereof; THE WORLD, AND THEY THAT
DWELL THEREIN. Let the floods (armies) clap their hands, let the
hills (small kingdoms, third world nations) be joyful together before the
Lord; for HE COMETH TO JUDGE THE EARTH: WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL HE JUDGE THE
WORLD, and the people with equity” (Ps. 98:4,8-9).
If you will take the time and make the effort to look up the words judge,
judgment,
and judgments in a good Bible Concordance, reading down the lists of
scores upon scores of passages in which these words are found, you will quickly
make the enlightening discovery that only occasionally do these terms denote the
negative aspects of judgment: condemnation, wrath, and destruction. In the
vast majority of cases judgment is presented as something altogether desirable,
beneficial, and glorious! Consider these examples: “The Lord shall endure
forever: He hath prepared His throne for judgment. And He
shall
judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the
people in uprightness” (Ps. 9:7-8). “Sing unto Him a new song…for the word
of the Lord is right; all His works are done in truth. He loveth
righteousness
and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord” (Ps.
33:3-5).
“Justice and judgment are the habitation of
Thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before Thy face.
Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound” (Ps. 89:14).
“I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto Thee, O Lord, will
I sing” (Ps. 101:1). “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in
whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth
judgment
to the nations. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be
heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking
flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth:
and the isles shall wait (expectantly) for His law” (Isa. 42:1-4). “The
Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations
shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory” (Jer. 4:2).
The passages above, and many more, reveal the great truth that the judgments of
the Lord are unto truth, righteousness, and glory! Anyone judging
righteous judgment must be able to judge out of the mind, heart, nature, wisdom,
and spirit of the Lord! That is why our all-wise Father has restrained the
winds of judgment until all those blessed ones who are apprehended to reign with
Christ in His kingdom, to judge the nations, have been sealed in their
foreheads
with the mind and nature of the Lord! As we go forth in the land to bring
God’s righteous judgments to all men, we will not be zapping people with
lightning bolts out of our finger tips, but we shall speak the wisdom, counsel,
and commandment of the Lord out of the mind and heart of the Father in every
situation!
A beautiful example of what this
means is given us by brother George Warnock as recorded in his book Seven
Lamps of Fire. He writes, “I recall a story about William Branham, a
prophet of the last century. One time in a large congregation there were
one or two in the congregation causing some kind of disturbance. As he
sought the Lord quietly as to how to deal with it, the angel of the Lord (who
accompanied brother Branham) said, ‘Speak the word, and I will stand behind it.’
He knew at that moment he had authority to pronounce whatever judgment was
necessary, and that it would come to pass. But he sought the Lord in the
matter…and suddenly he knew what he was to say. So he turned to the people
who were causing the trouble, and said something like this: ‘The angel of the
Lord told me he would stand behind the word that I will speak. But in
asking the Lord about it, I believe I am to say this: I forgive you.”
He mentioned the tremendous blessing that came upon him that evening when he
went home, and how he sensed God’s pleasure in the decision he had made.
In the one and only private interview I had with this prophet, he said, “Now no
matter what I tell you, or what any prophet might tell you — you must always go
by what the Lord shows you…because even a prophet of God can be wrong…you know,
Elisha was wrong when he cursed those children, and a bear came out of the woods
and killed them…he shouldn’t have done that’” — end quote.
In the Bible the ones whom God raised up as judges for His people did more than
just settle disputes between individuals or hand down and execute judicial
decisions. Those judges were actually THE DELIVERERS OF GOD’S PEOPLE!
There is one book in the Bible that is specifically named “Judges.” As a
book it is a thriller! Therein we read of the fearless exploits of those
mighty men whom God, “the Judge of all the earth,” raised up for the salvation
and deliverance of His oppressed and afflicted people. Hail the day of
judgment that began when God raised up a judge to execute judgment for His
afflicted ones! for these judges were, indeed, “saviours” of Israel by a special
anointing of the Spirit of the Lord.
Throughout the administration of the judges the people were blessed. Note,
for instance, how, when under oppression by their enemies because of a
transgression against the Lord, Israel was again and again released and blessed
by the raising up of judges. Thus we read: “When the children of Israel
cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer, who delivered
them…and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel,
and went out to war…and prevailed…and the land had rest” (Judges 3:9-11).
And again, “The Lord raised up judges that delivered them out of
the hand of those that spoiled them. And when the Lord raised up judges,
then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their
enemies all the days of the judge” (Judges 2:16,18).
Those wonderful judges were raised up long millenniums ago for the deliverance
of Israel from their physical enemies; but now, in this glorious new age of the
kingdom of God, the Lord is preparing a mighty COMPANY OF JUDGES whose
responsibility it shall be to JUDGE THE WORLD in righteousness! It is not
from natural enemies such as Nazi Germany or Al Qaeda that these judges shall
deliver the people, but from the real, true enemies of mankind — the
carnal mind, the flesh, self-will, ignorance, sin, disobedience, rebellion,
retaliation, war, bloodshed, brutality, immorality, unfaithfulness, greed,
hatred, strife, anger, deceit, lying, ego, pride, sorrow, pain, sickness,
weakness, limitation, fear, and the last and most powerful enemy of all — death!
“And he that overcometh…to him will I give power over the nations: and he
shall rule them with a rod of iron (divine strength)” (Rev. 2:26-27). “To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne” (Rev.
3:21). “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
given unto them…” (Rev. 20:4,6). “The ancient of days came, and
judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came
that the
saints possessed the kingdom” (Dan. 7:22). “Do ye not know that
the
saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged
by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” (I Cor. 6:2).
So, though the church and the world have long been under the power and
oppression of the adversary, yet He who paid for the sins of all with His own
precious blood will take His great power and reign in blessing over realms that
hitherto have not known Him. He will judge and deliver all
those whom He so loved as to redeem! With this ALL the prophetic
declarations agree!
Thank God! The very thought of an age governed by the sons of God who are
filled with the seven-fold intensified Spirit of the Lord leaves me absolutely
breathless! Words become totally inadequate and human ability to
articulate the wonder of such a thing fails completely. Our faltering
minds cannot totally appreciate nor comprehend the glory that God is bringing to
us in this hour, yet we have heard His word and received His promise in and by
the Spirit, and His preparations are mighty within us. It is indeed
wonderful!
Earlier I quoted the scripture passage wherein David said of the Lord, “The Lord
shall endure forever: He hath prepared His throne for judgment. He
shall
judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to
the people in uprightness” (Ps. 9:7-8). God is preparing His throne for
judgment! His throne is a people that is emanating His authority, His
life, His wisdom, and His power. He sits within them; they are His
enthronement. And He is our enthronement! These kingdom-thrones are
sat upon by people who have been sealed in their foreheads by the Spirit of the
living God. They neither think nor act like the human judges of this
world! We know that His throne is a people that has realized within
themselves the Father’s mind, nature, heart, and will. Judgment has had
such a limited meaning, but it is a broad and expansive word, and what it means
for us is that by the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord within us we can see all
things as they really are — then we can judge all things!
Thus the word of the Lord says,
“Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a law shall
proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the
people. My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and
mine arms shall judge the people” (Isa. 51:4-5). He will cause His
judgment to be light. That is what we need — LIGHT! Light is
understanding. You see, my beloved, when there is a people that can
correctly see into the true nature of things, all nations will receive the
wisdom of God and yield to His righteous rule. Just as the wisdom in
Solomon brought peace and blessing and prosperity to the kingdom of Israel, so
shall the wisdom in the sons of God bring peace, blessing, and prosperity to all
mankind! Let me tell you something — the people of the world today are not
rejecting Christ — they are rejecting the impotent, superstitious Christ
of religion! The people of the world, the Russians, the Chinese, the
Moslems, the Hindus, the Buddhists, the atheists — none of these have ever
beheld the glory of the living Christ of God! They have heard sermons and
platitudes, they have seen good works and ceremonies and rituals, they have seen
missionaries and preachers and Christians doing all their religious things, and
sermonizing about Jesus and the gospel, but they have never beheld HIM!
They have never seen the revelation and manifestation of Christ in His glory,
power, and majesty! But the real Christ, in the hour He appears, in the
moment He speaks, men fall like dead men in the presence of His blazing glory
and cry out, “Lord! What wilt Thou have me to do?” Before His
awesome majesty men are transformed into new creation men!
“He hath prepared His throne for
judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister
judgment to the people in uprightness” (Ps. 9:7-8). No man spoke more than
David about the judgments of the Lord coming into the earth, and the universal
rulership of Christ the King. Truly king David had a keen understanding of
ruling, reigning, and judging, because he was a king! But when David saw
by the Spirit into these words, he wasn’t speaking as a king — he was
speaking the mind of God on behalf of all of us who would see the same truth.
“He will judge the world in righteousness.” The question follows — how
will God judge the world in righteousness? Has anyone read the newspaper
lately? Has anyone listened to the television lately? Have you seen
what is happening in our society today, not to mention the wickedness and
atrocities that are taking place all over the world? How can David look at
God and say, “He shall judge the world in righteousness!” How can there
ever be righteousness in this world? How will God judge the world in
righteousness?
When Paul was taking up the issue of
truth with the world of His day he went to a city called Athens, one of the
great centers of learning in the ancient world. He went up on Mars Hill
where there were philosophers and Epicureans and Stoics who liked to babble on
and on about a great many things of which they had little understanding.
As Paul spoke to these Athenians, the first thing he told them was, “Ye men of
Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I
passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO
THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto
you! God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is
Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is
worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed any thing, seeing He giveth to
all life, and breath, and all things. At the times of this ignorance God
winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because He
hath appointed a day, in the which He will JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS BY
THAT
MAN WHOM HE HATH ORDAINED;
whereof He hath given assurance unto
all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:22-31).
The answer to the fact that God will
judge the world in righteousness is that not only has He appointed the righteous
Judge, but He has appointed a DAY. Notice — He did not appoint a NIGHT.
It is the Day of the Lord, not the Night of the Lord! If you
listen to the eschatology of the popular churches today the judgment day is a
terrible, horrendous, heart-wrenching time of gloom, doom, disaster, and
destruction — but it is not an experience of doom and gloom, for
it is God’s DAY. The day comes by the rising of the sun — the experiencing
of LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION! The superstitious religious thinking is that
one day the world is going to burn up and all the saints are going up to heaven;
and then one by one we will each present ourselves before St. Peter and he will
search our record, the video is going to play, and everyone will be embarrassed.
But I’m telling you that the judgment is going to happen right here on earth
in the flesh. That is what will make it so very real! God
has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness and He has
given absolute assurance about this in that He raised Christ from the dead.
Why didn’t Paul tell the Athenians about Christ’s miraculous birth? Why
didn’t he tell them about His marvelous ministry, His wonderful teaching, and
the mighty signs, wonders, and miracles? Why did he not tell them about
His vicarious death? Why didn’t he relate to them the gospel story?
Why did he skip from philosophy right over to the resurrection of Jesus from the
dead? Because that is what was on Paul’s mind. That’s it.
THAT’S THE ISSUE!
Jesus Christ is the revelation of the
Father, the Father’s expression, the Father’s word, who has all power in heaven
and in earth! He sits upon His Father’s throne and has power to change
every one and every thing! He has the power to put all enemies under His
feet and solve the sin and death issue once and for all for mankind! This
is the resurrected Lord! He ever liveth to accomplish all that the Father
purposes for this world! God has appointed a day in which He will judge
the world by that man whom He hath ordained, and the assurance He has given to
all men is that He has raised Him from the dead! The lovely Christ who
forgave sins, who conquered hearts, who healed the sick and raised the dead, who
commanded the elements, has overcome death itself and now lives to bring forth a
glorious body in the earth, a people empowered by His resurrection to deliver
creation from the bondage of corruption. Just “saving souls” is not the
issue for the body of Christ, the sons of God. Just “healing the sick,”
“meeting needs,” “blessing hearts,” and “doing miracles” is not the issue for
the sons of God. God will do much more than that for mankind!
“The bondage of corruption” is the issue for the manifest sons of God!
That is the only ministry designated to the sons of God in the context of their
manifestation
(Rom. 8:18-23). Only an incorruptible people in spirit,
soul,
and body can deliver men from both sin and death! The
manifest sons of God are the only people called, chosen, and ordained to rule,
reign, judge, redeem, transform, and make holy, incorruptible, and immortal
every man and everything upon the face of the earth! The resurrection of
Jesus Christ is the assurance to all men that Christ our Lord will raise
up in the earth His own glorious body in the power of His resurrection to
DELIVER CREATION FROM THE BONDAGE OF CORRUPTION! Isn’t it wonderful!
We have a calling in the kingdom of
God that is greater and more expansive than anything we could ever have
imagined! The Lord chose this calling for us, and He will also see to it
that we lay hold upon it, not with these old worn-out bodies of flesh and blood,
but with our new, incorruptible and immortal bodies that are just like HIS!
“We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile
body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the
working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself” (Phil.
3:20-21). The thought of being incorruptible and immortal, possessing a
body like Christ’s body of glory, is beyond us. It is a mystery that is
unknown to mortal man. Yet it is our Father’s promise for every one of us
who has received the call to sonship! And despite the mystery of it, our
Father is able to bring it to pass in our lives, for His glory!
This mighty change has nothing to do with the health of our present bodies, or
any vitamins, minerals, herbs, or supplements that we can take! Our
natural, earthly, fleshly bodies are corruptible and dying! All who read
these lines are continuing to “age” every day of your life! These “vile”
bodies must be changed
by the power of Christ’s resurrection, and this is a pure work of the
Spirit, which shall also be fulfilled by the Spirit!
The flesh and man’s ministry will
have no part in that glorious work of the Spirit! The promise is, “The
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality” (I Cor. 15:52-53). What a wonderful promise this
is! There can be no manifest sonship short of this great work of the
Spirit in us. “For the earnest expectation of the creation
waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God…because the creation itself
also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty (from sin and death) of the children of God. For we know that the
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not
only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption (placement as
sons), to wit, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:19-23). Our
Father has given us assurance that the hour is wonderfully nigh at hand when the
sons shall be
changed in spirit, soul, and body into the likeness of Christ in the
power of His resurrection! Our deliverance from sin, carnality,
corruption, and mortality is the very thing that will release the “salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time.” This great spiritual work has
already begun within us, for we are progressively and continually being
transformed into His image and likeness. What a wonderful future we have
in Christ! What a grand and glorious hope all mankind has in Christ!
God is preparing a people, a transformed people, a qualified people, a
victorious people, an incorruptible people in the nature of God — prepared as
His judgment in the earth. Oh, the wonder of it!
How is judgment going to come to the
world? Not by some fire-ball crashing out of the sky with a whip saying,
“Ah-ha, I’m going to get you now!” That is the mentality of the church
world. But that is not what is going to happen! God is going to
bring forth Christ in His people. When Christ appears on earth again
in the fullness of His power and resurrection in His many-membered body, it will
bring judgment and it will bring truth and life. It will be judgment, but
it will
rest for a light to the people! It will be judgment, but it will
cause the inhabitants of the world to learn righteousness! It will be
judgment, but it will deliver creation from the bondage of corruption!
The body of Christ bears a message and manifestation of LIFE, not destruction!
That’s righteousness — judgment!
The Lord is coming in a people,
and through this people all the people of the world shall at last be
convinced of the error of their ways and of the correctness of the ways
of the Lord! The apostle Jude says it plainly, “And Enoch also, the
seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with
ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to CONVINCE
ALL THAT ARE UNGODLY AMONG THEM of
all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard
speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him”
(Jude 14-15). Every mouth will be stopped! All the evolutionists,
atheists, humanists, scientists, educators, politicians, along with all the
wicked of every class will be forever silenced, speechless before the glory of
His power! While the King James Bible says, “the Lord cometh with ten
thousands of His saints,” the Greek text actually reads, “The Lord came
in holy myriads OF HIMSELF.” HOLY MYRIADS OF HIMSELF — a people of His
own image! Man in the beginning was created in the image and likeness of
God and commanded to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with the image
and the spirit of God. And today the Christ spirit in union with the new
Eve, the bride of Christ, is reproducing His image in the earth and the hour is
upon us when they are going to stand in radiant glory and HE SHALL APPEAR IN
HOLY MYRIADS OF HIMSELF — TO
EXECUTE JUDGMENT UPON
ALL AND CONVINCE ALL!
Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who hath made us kings and priests
and judges unto God and we shall reign on the earth!
Now in saying, “Hurt not the earth,
neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God
in their foreheads,” it becomes evident that a work must be accomplished
within the judges before they are qualified or commissioned to judge. You
see, there can be no righteous judgment out of us in a heavenly realm until we
have been sealed in our foreheads — until we have put on the nature of our
Father and the mind of Christ. The day which God has appointed, in the
which He shall judge the world, is now at hand. The judges
for this day are now in preparation for their awesome task! Yes, you shall
judge the world, saints…but you will do it in humility and with a broken heart
full of compassion and love. The first aspect of the ministry of the
judges in this new kingdom day is judgment. This work, however,
shall be swiftly followed by the second ministry of mercy, deliverance,
and
restoration, for God’s judgments are ever unto correction and redemption.
Praise God!
After six millenniums of sin, sorrow,
tyranny, war, oppression, pain, and death mankind needs DELIVERANCE! The
NATIONS need a change! For six thousand years the earth has been governed
by the will of carnal men and the will of man has been usurped by the mind of
Satan. The nations have been governed variously by kings, emperors,
dictators, prime ministers, and presidents, but the net result has always been
the same, for the corrupt nature of man ever asserts itself, seeking its own
purposes, fulfilling its own desires, and doing its own will.
Are the people not deeply
disappointed and perplexed today by the political and judicial systems that
operate in this hour, even here in the United States of America? Truly I
can say to you that in our time, as at no previous time, is when the words of
the Psalmist have come true as a prophecy in respect to men in a political and
judicial capacity who are like “gods” but have betrayed the people in their
office: “They know not, neither will they understand: they walk on in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are out of course” (Ps. 82:5). Or,
as the Amplified Bible so aptly translates, “The magistrates and
judges
know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in the darkness; all the
foundations of the earth (the fundamental principles upon which rests the
administration of justice) are shaking.”
Can anyone possibly imagine what
would happen to a nation if all the members of its government were completely
selfless instead of completely selfish,
if they were sons of God walking in the mind and spirit of Christ,
instead of handshaking, baby-kissing, politicians seeking to curry the favor of
men for personal advantage, or if the judges judged by the spirit of wisdom and
discernment from God instead of by the tricky technicalities of the law!
What if the leaders of the world were filled with the Holy Spirit of God and
moved under the power of His anointing turning men to God instead of building
larger armies and navies, more sophisticated missiles, and more destructive
bombs? What if judges and social workers had the word of God in their
mouths and power to cast the demon spirits out of men instead of carrying them
off to some ungodly psychiatrist, psychologist, mental hospital, or prison?
To even contemplate such things in this age of darkness only serves to bring a
sad smile to our faces, but I can assure you in all confidence that this present
day of darkness is even now merging into God’s glorious DAY OF JUDGMENT where
all things shall be made new. The whole system is rapidly sinking and
collapsing around us and God is even now preparing a righteous government of
holy sons of God to replace it!
Destruction of the demonized systems of this world will certainly call for a
change of judgeships over mankind. According to our Father’s gracious
provision, then, new thrones of judgment come into existence! Nothing else
but a better body of judges could be expected to occupy those
thrones of judgment, which are established by God’s authority in the heavenlies!
God’s judges will not be men in judicial robes sitting on a bench in a
courtroom. Oh, no! God’s judges shall be men possessing the mind
of Christ, clothed with the omniscient wisdom, omnipotent power, and
incorruptible life
of God, sitting upon the throne of God’s glory, speaking the words of God
with divine authority and creative energy. Mighty deliverance
and
transformation will come upon misled, misruled, and misjudged
mankind! Isn’t it wonderful!
“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of
the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the winds should not
blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another
angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried
with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the
earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees,
till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Rev. 7:1-3).
Gazing down through the telescope of the spirit of revelation John sees at the
four points of the compass four angels striving with the four winds of the
earth, which are about to rush in. The four mighty angels stand like four
living watch-towers on the four corners of the widespread earth. And these
four august spirits hold a special command from God to keep sleepless watch and
command at the four gates of the earth. So vigilant are those four
heavenly sentinels that not so much as one breath of angry air passes through
their gates until they are released by the mind of Christ in God’s sons.
The three-fold repetition of the number four in the “four angels, four
corners of the earth, and four winds,” emphasizes the number of the earth.
The four angels are standing on the “four corners of the earth.”
They are holding, not the “four winds of heaven,” spoken of in other
prophecies, but the “four winds of the earth.” The four winds of
the “earth” under a different figure are the seven spirits of God “sent forth
into all the earth.” How very significant that in Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew, all three languages which have played so prominent a part in the history
of the written scriptures, the word “spirit” is closely linked with the “wind.”
To the writers of the Old Testament the wind that blew down from the mountains
and came in from the sea seemed like the breath of God; in it they saw a
parallel to the mysterious, invisible action of the Holy Spirit. The
record of creation in the book of Genesis opens thus, “The earth was without
form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God
was moving over the face of the waters.” The Spirit, or breath of God,
which moved over the waters in the creation of nature, also gave life to man.
“Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.” It was the Spirit, or the breath, or
the wind of God that gave man life! The relationship between wind and
breath is still expressed today when someone says, “I had the wind knocked out
of me!” They mean their breath. And the breath of God is the spirit
of God which is also the wind of God! That is the mystery!
The four angels are four messengers, or a four-fold message, a four-fold word,
sent forth from God respecting the moving of His Spirit across the earth!
The angels represent an administration and activity of the Holy Spirit by the
word of the Lord! These are not four literal angels holding the literal
winds of the earth. These are symbols, word pictures of mighty spiritual
operations and workings! The use of God’s “winds” to bring either judgment
or deliverance and life to His people is not new. Consider the work of His
winds in the following passages:
“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: He heard my voice
out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His ears…and He rode
upon a cherub and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the wings of the wind” (Ps.
18:6,10). “Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the
harp unto our God: He sendeth forth His commandment upon the earth: His word
runneth very swiftly. He sendeth out His word…He causeth His wind to
blow…He showeth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments unto
Israel”
(Ps. 147:6,15-19). “Then
said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the
wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe
upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me,
and the breath came into them, and they lived…” (Eze. 37:9-10).
“And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and
will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither
the outcasts of Elam shall not come” (Jer. 49:36). “And with the
blast of Thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood
upright as an heap…Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them: they
sank as lead in the mighty waters” (Ex. 15:8,10). “Behold, I will
make thee (into) a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt
thresh the mountains (kingdoms) and beat them small, and shalt make the hills
(small kingdoms) as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry
them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in the
Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel” (Isa. 41:15-16).
Webster’s dictionary defines wind as “air in motion; a strong, fast moving
current of air; gale.” Thus the four winds of the earth denote a spiritual
movement as air in transit, the mighty power of the breath of God sweeping
across the face of the earth and the sea, bringing either blessing or judgment.
It is the power and manifestation of the kingdom of God by the Spirit of the
Lord! Jesus said, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest
the sound thereof, but canst not tell from whence it cometh” (Jn. 3:8).
He could have even gone on to say, “thou hearest the sound thereof, thou seest
the trees bending, thou seest the leaves and dust flying before it, but canst
not tell whence it cometh.” Although the wind itself cannot be seen, we
bear witness by the results that it is a mighty power! It is a
power that can move and change things! When God moves by His Spirit you
cannot see Him moving in any tangible way, but you see the effects as things
begin to happen and move and change. That is exactly how the kingdom of
God works by the moving of the Spirit of the Lord — God making His rule
effective! It comes “without observation” into the hearts of men by
the invisible yet powerful action of the Spirit of God. As the Lord moves
sovereignly and mightily by His Spirit, the
effect goes out and things everywhere begin to change!
The wind can accomplish positive things by helping plant life to proliferate
through pollination and the distribution of seed across the countryside.
It can blow the smoke and smog out of a valley, bringing wonderful relief to the
people with breathing problems. It can cool the day, giving respite from
the stifling heat. Or, it can be destructive, as we have seen in the case
of hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis! The force behind these winds can
be tremendous, absolutely breath-taking to experience, leaving behind a trail of
desolation, trees plucked up by the roots, houses left as rubble, and some
things disappear entirely from their location. That is what the Lord was
talking about when He prophesied through the prophet Jeremiah that He would send
His “wind” and scatter Elam until there would not be a nation on earth that the
people of Elam had not been scattered into! Of course it was not the
literal wind that scattered Elam, but the moving of God by His Spirit, creating
the conditions that caused their scattering. The Lord can bring beautiful
blessings through His mild and gentle winds, or He can root out and destroy
kingdoms with His fierce and mighty winds. In the early 1990’s God sent
His powerful winds and demolished the empire of the Communist Soviet Union!
Oh, yes, it was our God and Father who did this! Who could possibly hold
back the winds, prevent them from blowing, or send them forth in whatever
power and force needful? None but God! He alone is the Master of the
Winds!
The Argentine prophetess known as Annie has shared the following experience she
had in the Spirit. “Having a painful sore throat that day which made it
very difficult to swallow, I thought that I would not be able to enter into the
Spirit. But the urge to get alone with Him and pray was too strong to put
off even for sickness, so I went to prayer. Suddenly I was THERE and I saw
Jesus. His whole body was suspended high in the heavens and as always, His
whole being and raiment was radiant with that light that ever accompanies Him.
A number of angels were there with Him but took no part in this vision; they
were but spectators. All around Him and enveloping Him, there was a most
strange and powerful wind blowing. There was no debris in this wind
but it was fully visible: it had substance and consistency and was full of life
and light. But its most marked characteristic was its great manifestation
of POWER. It blew with great power and might! It not only enveloped
Jesus and the angels, but me also. At first I saw it from a distance, but
then I was moved to be within this great wind and I found myself beside Him.
“With all this tremendous manifestation of power in this living wind, I was not
afraid because Jesus spoke to me telling me not to fear. His word filled
me with great peace. The wind was blowing with great velocity, although I
could not tell from whence it came. After a while, in the midst of this
most strange and invigorating wind, Jesus spoke to me saying that soon
there would be a taking hold of His strength and power, and a marching forth in
the paths that He had already marked out, promising that He would accompany His
own throughout these paths. Returning to my natural state, I found
myself bathed in sweat though the day was cold. My throat was entirely
healed and the infection did not return” — end quote.
The number four in Biblical numerology bespeaks the earth, or
that which pertains to the earth. It also denotes the world,
and that which is world-wide. The earth and the world have four
regions: north, south, east, and west. There are four elements: earth,
air, fire, and water. Our atmosphere experiences four seasons: spring,
summer, autumn, and winter. There are four kingdoms: mineral, vegetable,
animal, and spiritual. And there are four winds — from the four directions
of the planet. Our heavenly Father controls the winds, both the natural
and the spiritual. At this very moment His winds of judgment are
restrained. Don’t buy into the notion, dear ones, that God is actively out
there judging the nations today. Oh, no! His word has gone forth,
and throughout this age of grace the heavenly sentinels have stood at the gates
and held those winds in their fists during all this time that the Lord has been
forming His body in the earth. The winds of judgment will not be released
until all the holy sons of God have been sealed in their foreheads! Then
the winds shall sweep across the earth in mighty power, with irresistible force
to bring a new age and a new order of righteousness, glory, and life into the
earth for all mankind!
Hold those winds, angels — God is finishing His work in us — the manifestation
of God through His sons is drawing nigh!
