"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..."
FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part 191
MYSTERY BABYLON
(continued)
THE WOMAN RIDING THE BEAST
SITTING UPON MANY WATERS
THE KINGS OF THE EARTH
“And there came one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication” (Rev. 17:1-4).
It was our purpose in Part 190 of this series to point out how very necessary it is that we be able to see the great truth that individually the great harlot John beheld in his remarkable vision is none other than our very own soul. Our soul does not want to be faithful to our man — Christ within our spirit! From the time of our entrance into this world of sin and darkness our soul has sought union with the flesh. It rides seated upon the scarlet colored beast of the fleshly nature! Can we not see by this that the root of Mystery Babylon lies right within each of us! The great harlot sits upon many waters — peoples, multitudes, kindreds, tongues, and nations. I understand that Babylon is a system — but the root of the system is the mother of harlots, man’s own soulical life. Every man has a soul, matters not who he is, where he is, what nationality he is, what race he pertains to, what culture he comes from, and every soul has departed from Christ, and joined itself to the desires, passions, emotions, and lusts of the flesh. In regeneration Christ, the spirit within, our true man (identity, reality) in the image and likeness of God, is woken and quickened and arises within us and begins to woo the soul unto Himself. This is a new experience for the soul! As the soul vacillates back and forth between spirit and flesh, between Christ and Self, the soul becomes manifested as the great harlot and the mother of harlots when she mingles the things of God with the spirit and ways of the world within herself, thus birthing — religion!
The great whore, at her deepest root and in her inmost reality, is indeed our very own soul. This is the internal reality of that which we see in the external world of the carnal church systems of man. I cannot reiterate with too much emphasis that in the truest sense the mother of harlots is not the Roman Catholic Church. The mother of harlots is a lot closer home! The mother of harlots is still birthing her children! The mother of harlots is the soulish dimension of man’s life that through her carnal human reasoning and soulish zeal births what she believes is pleasing to God, what she feels is the worship of God, what she perceives to be the work of God, and what she determines to be the way of God. The mother of harlots is our very own innate religious mind, will, emotion, and desire! Where did the Roman Church with all her false doctrines, pagan practices, and carnal rituals, ceremonies, and sacraments come from? Did it not proceed right out of the soulish heart of man? You see, my beloved, carnal church systems, creeds, rituals, methods, programs, and hierarchies are not really birthed out of a previous church system at all — they are, one and all, at their root, birthed out of the mother of them all — the soulish heart of man!
Now it’s interesting that this woman commits fornication with the kings of the earth, that is, the kings of carnality and flesh. Though espoused to Christ, she continually has a fling with the flesh! This woman, who is your own soul, commits fornication with the kings of the earth, the fleshly kings (powers, passions) that seduce and dominate the soul. She goes out on a date with pride, self-will, envy, sectarianism, heresies, witchcraft, idolatry, forms, worldliness, self-effort, human government, control, and a thousand other fleshly kings that rule men’s lives and activities. What’s even worse is that not only does she go out on a date with these tawdry lovers, she gets pregnant by them! She conceives and brings forth in the visible realm works, activities, efforts, programs, movements, organizations, systems, churches, seminaries, and a whole world more of things which are all the daughters of her harlotry.
This harlot of Babylon is the ultimate manifestation of the false prophetess Jezebel who first revealed her nature in the midst of the saints in the church at Thyatira (Rev. 2:18-24). She called herself a prophetess and seduced the Lord’s servants to commit fornication by mingling the truth of Christ with pagan idolatries. I think this understanding will give much greater meaning to the words of the writer to the Hebrews wherein he says, “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright” (Heb. 12:16). Did you know that the Holy Spirit calls Esau a fornicator? What made him a fornicator — for there is in scripture no record of Esau ever having sexual relations with any woman other than his wife. The Holy Spirit reveals that Esau was a fornicator because he was willing to sell his birthright for a bowl of soup! And today a person is a fornicator who is willing to settle for something less than the call and purpose of God in his life! Oh, yes, as God’s called and chosen elect, members of the church of the firstborn, whose names are inscribed in the roster in the heaven’s of God’s Spirit, we, like Esau, have a birthright, and that birthright is our sonship to God! When one “sells out” his vision of the high calling of God for pleasure, convenience, acceptance, spouse, family, honor, blessing, recognition, finances, security, fellowship, or a ministry on a lower plane — he is a fornicator! It’s amazing to me how many people in this world will sell their soul for a few minutes of pleasure, and then have to face all the shame it puts them in, all the hell it puts them in, all the wilderness and sometimes even death it puts them in. Others, of the Lord’s own people, sell their very birthright — their call to sonship and the kingdom — for a mere morsel of religious porridge!
Patricia (“Gus”) Savas, a dear sister with whom we have corresponded over many years, was led by the Spirit out of a nun’s life in the Roman Catholic Church. She has such a beautiful testimony in connection with the things I now write, and I am moved to share a brief portion from her book Gleanings from Gussie. She writes, “Frequently I get asked what has happened to me since I wrote Gus: A Nun’s Story. The following is a brief update. After my husband moved into the invisible realm, Father placed me in a beautiful senior apartment in Laguna Beach, approximately half-way between Los Angeles and San Diego. Even though it is small, the Presence makes it a garden enclosed, and I have a gorgeous beach to walk and play in. The earthen vessel has 72 years of wear and tear (this was written in 2009), but the heart is still young.
“I was called out of Roman Catholicism 40 years ago. After years of hanging around with Protestants, I saw that the daughter harlots bear a very close resemblance to the mother, and whereas many Roman Catholics worship their religion, many Protestants worship the Bible. At that point I was given the grace to hear and heed the call, Come out of her, My people, so that you will not participate in her plagues. I knew this meant religious, political, and economic Babylon. Although there was a high cost, I obeyed, leaving a very active ministry and family and friends who accused me of being uncaring, lazy, heretical and wasting the talents God has given me.
“When the GUS book came out, I was frequently asked to give my testimony. Sometimes I would look at the audience and say, ‘Some of you out here have been delivered from drugs, from alcohol, from pornography or sex perversion, but I have had a major deliverance. I have been delivered from religion.’ When you are under the control of most addictions, during moments of sobriety or lucidity, you know you have a problem. Religion, however, is a blinding spirit; it’s actually like having a blindfold on. You’re following these rules, this program, doing ‘good works,’ so you must be okay, right? I’ve got my religion; don’t confuse me with the truth. I am a good person.
“As I pressed on in solitude to know God deeply, intimately, passionately — I was given more LIFE (John 7:3). In answer to my child’s prayer, Dearest Father, I just want to know You better, so that I can love You more (still my daily prayer), Inner Teacher began to reveal His heart, putting in the pieces of the puzzle one at a time, then confirming them in the most unexpected and unusual ways. Perfect Parent is also Perfect Teacher. Among the revelations I was given is that the Word of God is a Person Who speaks in many ways; one of them is the scriptures. I have been like Elijah in the wilderness, crying, ‘Woe is me, I’m all alone out here.’ Then that great El Shaddai/Mother responded with food from above — sometimes chicken soup, occasionally filet mignon. ‘Oy vey! Stop complaining already. There are at least seven thousand out there who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ Well, they weren’t next door or down the street, but they were out there — and I began to feel less alone, as I was sovereignly connected to God’s remnant throughout the world. We all have only in-part knowledge, but I’m always willing to look at another person’s perspective, and take it to the Holy Spirit to make alive the kernels of truth and blow away the chaff.
“Having been delivered from all the ‘ologies’ and ‘isms,’ I do not fit into any ‘ist’ category. Out of the box, outside the camp, I am simply a child of God, crazy-in-love with Jesus Christ, engaged in a divine romance and joyfully walking in the liberty of the sons of God. We are at the culmination of this present, evil age. I’m sure you have your seatbelt of faith fastened for the very bumpy ride, as our Sovereign LORD cleans up the mess man has made, preparing for the coming of His Kingdom Age. Father’s judgments are always unto correction. God in Christ, in His saints, shall bring His Kingdom into the earth, as He has promised. He is faithful and true. Keep seeking His Face” — end quote.
THE WOMAN RIDING THE BEAST
“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns” (Rev. 17:3).
Picture the scene. A harlot is sitting on the back of a fearsome beast. The beast has seven heads and ten horns. The woman sitting on the scarlet-colored beast was a spectacle to behold. John marveled at her appearance and at that of the beast she rode upon. Now — what would a woman seated on a beast symbolize? Understanding John’s great wonderment, the messenger rhetorically asked, “Why didst thou wonder?” He then proceeded to reveal the mystery of both the woman and the beast — a revelation that exposes the real significance of the amazing vision.
The one sitting on the beast — is the great harlot. She is gorgeously arrayed, excessively adorned. Precious stones and pearls are her ornaments. Kings of the earth-realm are her paramours. Earthly-minded people are made drunk with the passion-inducing wine of her whoring. In her hand she holds a glittering golden cup filled with abominations — the unclean, polluted, filthy, corrupt things pertaining to her whoredom. Not only are her lovers drunk, she herself is also drunk, with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. John wonders greatly. Astonished, intrigued, fascinated, he does not immediately grasp the meaning of this picture.
We have seen that in scripture the woman is a sign-picture of the human soul (individually, inwardly) and of the false church (collectively, outwardly). The beast is a sign-description of the flesh or the carnal nature (individually, inwardly) and of the worldly system (collectively, outwardly) that supports and carries her. The soul is being carried along by the flesh nature just as the church is being carried along by the world! The beast is described as being full of blasphemous names (natures) and having seven (fullness of) heads (authority) and ten horns (power). So both the soul and the church are carried along by the bestial carnal and worldly nature and accrues to itself great authority and power in the lives of men. Observe then that there is only one mystery. The messenger tells John, “Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her” (Rev. 17:7). Notice that there is but one mystery for these two. They belong so intimately together that to know one is to know the other! Individually, the woman is the soul. Individually, the beast is the body realm, the fleshly Adamic nature. Corporately, the woman is the false church. Corporately, the beast is the fleshly, worldly, bestial church system of man. As in the words of the old song about “love and marriage,” you simply “can’t have one without the other!” That, precious friend of mine, is the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her! The woman sits on the beast, ruling over it, guiding and directing it, but at the same time she is one with it and dependent upon it for success because it carries her. Here, then, is a picture of the essential interdependence between the popular churches and the world!
No truer words have been written in this connection than the following statement by David Wilkerson published a number of years ago. “Martin Luther and other Reformation preachers taught that Babylon was the Catholic Church, and the Pope, the beast. Many believers at that time were martyred for leaving the church — multitudes murdered by orders from the Pope. Anyone who knows church history can verify that the Catholic Church in the past has been stained with the blood of multitudes of godly souls. But Protestants have also killed Catholics and others — as in Ireland today. They are killing each other like madmen!
“But the Babylon John is talking about is something beyond the Catholic Church! The beast is something more powerful than the Pope! Babylon is still a great world power visible before our very eyes today. Its power and influence have grown incredibly in the past decade — until today it boasts tremendous might. Babylon is not a physical city, it is a spiritual condition — even as Zion is not a city in Israel, but also a representation of the true church of Jesus Christ. Babylon is the harlot church!
“A professor Milligan, in 1885, wrote: ‘Babylon is not the church of Rome, in particular. No doubt that church has deeply sinned…but it is not the spiritual harlot. Babylon is ALL professed Christians who love the world! It consists of those who love the world’s favor, rather than its reproach. It is those who esteem the honor of the world, rather than its shame. It is those who love ease rather than sacrifice; self-indulgence rather than self-denial; grasping, covetous. Babylon is all who anywhere profess to be Christ’s ‘little flock’ but who are not, because they deny Him by their actions.’
“Babylon, as far as I am concerned, is any church — any ministry — any Christian — in league with the world! It is made up of certain pastors, evangelists, and multitudes of Christians — all who have been seduced by covetousness and worldly-mindedness. It is religion that has been polluted by its ungodly methods — and a sanctuary corrupted by ungodly alliances” — end quote.
According to the spiritual symbolism of the book of Revelation the woman riding the beast signifies the soul acting upon the will, instigation, prompting, and motivation of the flesh; or the church influenced, carried about, bolstered, and supported by the world. Are not the church systems of today soulical and worldly? Instead of the mind of Christ, do they not think with the mind of the world? Do they not use every means to imitate, curry the favor of, and obtain the support of the world? Are not their programs, plays, dramas, theatricals, sports teams, trained psychologist counselors, puppet shows, concerts, banquets, fund raisers, Christian rock groups, Christian hip-hop, television talk shows, and a hundred other things patterned after the entertainments and methods of the world? Do they not organize with state-chartered, non-profit religious corporations just like the corporations and charities of the world? Do they not build temples of magnificence, crystal cathedrals, with plush pews, stained glass, gilt frescoes, polished wood, costly music, highly paid orators — just like the institutions of the world and is it not all designed to impress the world? I ask — could the church systems survive if all these worldly means and methods were withdrawn?
Is it not true that the world is the principal spirit and power undergirding all the lavish programs of the churches? Is not all of this nothing more nor less than the church seeking the favor and support of the world, rightly symbolized by the WOMAN SEATED UPON THE BEAST? The reader must be blind indeed if he or she cannot see that the church systems of man are wholly apostate; that the popular church as an outward, visible, human institution is wretchedly carnal and corrupt to the core — MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH! “Abominations of the earth” speaks not of planet earth, but of the religious “earth-realm,” the realm of earthly-minded and carnal-minded Christians. Ah — but God has a people, a little flock, His beloved people, His jewels, scattered throughout the land and around the world, having no outward organization, no man-made bond of union, no outward program of pomp and splendor, no flesh-oriented appeal to attract the carnal-minded crowd, but only the indwelling life of Christ, the anointing and unity of the spirit, the power of a renewed mind, the divine revelation of Father’s purpose and will, and a living hope and a divine faith by which they are being transformed into the likeness of Christ our Lord! “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).
Individually, the beast is the mystery of sin dwelling inside of every human being alive today, evidenced by most people living a totally fleshly life without regard for God, His ways, His word, His will, or His judgment. Either we overcome this beast or it overcomes us, and in fact, it has overcome all of us somewhere in our spiritual journey! God has allowed the flesh and its bestial system to make war against us for His greater purpose: to cause us to seek Him for HIS VICTORY to be raised up in us! This interplay between flesh and spirit is what eventually makes us strong in God! This is the blessed experience of all God’s called and separated elect, called to sonship. The picture in chapter seventeen of the Revelation may seem dark and depressing, but it is a vital part of God’s dealing purpose to bring forth the bride without spot or wrinkle and the manchild upon the throne!
SITTING UPON MANY WATERS
“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters…the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Rev. 17:1, 15).
The whore sits upon the beast which has the dragon’s power and she sits upon the waters, and the waters where the whore sits and fornicates with the kings and the inhabitants of the earth, are peoples, mark, peoples are waters; and the waters where the whore sits are nations, nations are waters; and the waters where the whore sits are multitudes, multitudes are waters; and the waters where the whore sits are tongues (languages), the waters are tongues; and this is the great whore that fornicates with all the kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the earth are made drunk with the wine of her fornication! This is not Jerusalem in the days of the apostles, as some teach, for the authority and power of this woman and her beast are universal, and the authority and power of Jerusalem barely reached beyond the tiny land of Israel, and was indeed at that time subdued and subjected by the mighty power of Rome! This woman cannot be, in fact, any limited city or kingdom recorded in history, for her seat is upon many waters!
Once your spiritual mind is able to grasp the great truth that the Revelation is given to the church about the church, you will see that this woman sits upon many waters, that’s where she sits, that’s what she thrives on, and it is the “peoples” who support her and give her her throne in the world. She sits astride all man-made, flesh generated religion — anywhere where souls are ruling, where souls have come together to do things for God, where the soulical powers are on display in the name of the Lord. She sits upon the waters! The great beast of Revelation chapter thirteen came out of the sea, but Mystery Babylon sits upon the sea, enthroned at that level where the sea, the lowest realm of human nature, and the earth, the soulical religious dimension of man’s life, meet. She reigns where body and soul are joined, rooted and based not in the heavens of the Spirit of the Lord, but in the carnal realms of flesh and soul.
On the one hand, the pure, virgin woman, the one who brings forth the manchild, is exalted high in the heavens of the spirit, clothed with the sun of Christ’s own glory, with the moon of carnal commandments, ritual, ceremonies, and all outward sacraments and ordinances under her feet, and crowned with the twelve stars of divine government. But on the other hand, this lewd woman, the great whore, is seated upon the turbulent waters of the restless sea of man’s carnality. The heavenly woman receives her life and seed from Christ and in turn brings forth Christ. The unclean woman draws her life and seed from the flesh and in turn brings forth the spirit of harlotry. She is joined to all her uncleanness, and the energy flowing from her is the fruit of her lewdness, and all nations are drunk on the wine of the passion of her fornication. Just consider this, dear friend — is there even one nation in the earth today where there does not exist what is called the church? Even in the most ruthless, tyrannical, despotisms and in the most radical Islamic governments you will find the church, and it is a factor to be reckoned with! And in most countries of the world the church exerts great power! All who consort with her are unable to think straight, or see clearly with true spiritual understanding, or walk straight in the Spirit of the Lord! For all are drunk, all are in a stupor, confused about God, foggy in their comprehension of His nature, deceived as to His plan, purpose, and will, disoriented concerning nearly all things spiritual!
The prophet Isaiah spoke of this condition thus: “But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts” (Isa. 28:7-9).
It is not a pretty picture, for it uncovers the condition of those who would seek to feed you. The error of the Babylonish system is as vomit spued forth from the priest and the prophet that are drunk on wine that has altered their discernment and understanding and perverted and corrupted their word. They handle the word of God and so mingle it with carnal understanding that, as they fill the tables whereon they feed those who have come to them for spiritual sustenance, vomit is the ideal characterization of the word they speak forth. Vomit is that which the body rejects, and the drunken ministers of Babylon fill their tables with the kind of teachings which the true body of Christ rejects. And then Isaiah reveals that this Babylonish state is rooted in immaturity, spiritual childishness, for he asks the instructive question, “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine?” The answer follows at once, “Those that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts!” So, then, we see that the only solution for the childishness and foolishness of religion is SPIRITUAL MATURITY! Only by growth unto the full stature of Christ is one truly enabled to be taught of God and understand the truth of God!
Religious Babylon is running rampant today and perverting and corrupting the truth until people have no idea what truth is and what it is not. Its organizations, teachings, and indoctrinations are running swiftly over land and sea trying to make proselytes. Babylon has infiltrated government, finances, education, social services, the military, and every phase of national and community life. It is destroying men with its corrupted ways and teachings, and only the mighty power of God, by the universal outpouring of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, and the manifestation of God’s celestial army of divine sons, can accomplish its destruction. It will be as the messenger told John, “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow (she thinks she is joined to Lord, her husband), and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: FOR STRONG IS THE LORD GOD WHO JUDGETH HER!” (Rev. 18:7-8). Ah, it looks like an impossible situation, but those holy sons of God who have been refined, processed, matured, perfected, and made strong in the power of HIS MIGHT shall arise to bring down the towering bulk of Babylon and bring order out of such massive confusion. For it is not the world system, you see, that will destroy Babylon, but the strength of our Almighty Father in His own people — “FOR STRONG IS THE LORD GOD WHO JUDGETH HER!” “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints…until 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. 7:21-22).
THE KINGS OF THE EARTH
“And there came one of the angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication” (Rev. 17:1-2).
While men and women remain bound by their church traditions, truth kept secret from the foundation of the world remains hidden to them. They read, but perceive nothing. Eyes they have, but they see not. Ears they have, but they hear not. Hearts they have, but they do not understand. Natural-minded men read of the “kings of the earth” and can only conceive of the outward and the literal. To them it bespeaks the actual kings, prime ministers, and presidents of the visible nations of earth. Though there is on one level a fulfillment in the outer world of appearance, the quickening of the spirit upon the truth so vital for God’s elect bids me look beyond the letter of the word, and receiving of the spirit of the word, and turning inwardly, we find that all that pertains to the kingdoms of this world lies within the heart of man, and there have been so many kings which have ruled within us, and as His kingdom unfurls its banner over our lives, these kings are subdued and brought to nought.
In the symbolism of the book of Revelation “heaven” answers to the realm of the spirit, “earth” answers to the dimension of the soul, while the “sea” signifies the body realm of flesh. Armed with this understanding, the kings of the “earth” signify the kings of carnality, soulishness, and fleshly religion, that is, the sovereign rulerships and dominions — the very foundations of power in the soulical life of man. The soul is our inner, psychological part which as we have previously shown includes our desire, emotion, will, and mind. The desire is the organ for fancy, lust, inclination, drawing, and aspiration; the emotion is the organ for pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy; the will is the organ for formulating opinions, making decisions, and inciting actions; and the mind is the organ for thinking, reasoning, and considering. The senses of the soul are PSYCHOLOGICAL SENSES and comprise man’s ego or self, giving him self-consciousness and enabling him to contact the psychological world around him.
There have been within all of us many usurping kings, possessed of the bestial spirit of this world, who are so very subtle, very powerful warriors, and very acute disputants. Each of us is like a huge, elaborate palace just full of these kings! Beloved! Examine yourself — do you not find this to be true? What mighty, powerful, persuasive, unwearied rulerships and dominions exercise their authorities within the courts of our souls and bodies, what strange, strong, and subtle reasonings are there? Insomuch that the old Adamic man carries all before him, and these lusts, these desires, these emotions, these imaginations, these reasonings, these habits, these religious inclinations, these compromises, these selfish and self-serving tendencies, these ruling kings of carnality bear away the day of it, and tread down all that stands in their way; by their false logic, their cunning sophistry, their deluding craftiness, and their powerful affection they run rough-shod over the voice of the spirit, over the word of God, over the ways of righteousness, and right over the revealed will of the Lord.
And this you know is, and has been of old, and shall be, my beloved, until Jesus Christ be revealed within His saints, until He be pleased, with His almighty power to arise within the soul and command obedience, and that He will now manifest Himself, and comes forth with regal, conquering power, else our lusts, and thoughts, and reasonings, and emotions make such a noise, such a blustering, such a clamoring in the soul until Christ cannot be heard. But when the King of kings within our spirit commands all the kings to gather on the field of battle He marches forth to command them all, to put them all to silence, answering, convicting, judging, and banishing every fleshly lust and every soulical, religious sentiment, with every vestige of carnal understanding, self-effort and self-will, and then great Babylon falls, the captivity of the spirit is ended, and then His kingdom comes in great power and glory, and He reigns in soul and body, becoming the King of the life. You see, precious friend of mine, before God will judge that great Babylon in the world, He must first bring it to judgment within the firstfruits, the company of His called and chosen elect. What He first makes true within us He shall then manifest mightily through us unto all the ends of the earth. Great is the mystery!
With keen spiritual insight Ray Prinzing wrote: “How we desire that He REIGN IN US until every fragment of that which would rise up against the truth is subdued, until every desire within us is wholly purified, until every root that would defile us has been burned out — yes, until He shall have thoroughly dealt with all of our ‘internal enemies.’ It is not the man on the street, the raging nations around us, but our own INTERNAL REALM that needs to be fully subdued. The kings within us that war against His will. Yes, until we are brought to that place where we can say with Jesus our Lord, ‘the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me’ (Jn. 14:30). Praise God! Then He shall be able to look upon us, and declare — not just from a prophetic point of view, but from our experiential position in Him, ‘He hath not beheld iniquity in this vessel.’” — end quote
There are kings of self-will, of worldly ambition, of fleshly zeal, of ruling thoughts, of compelling desires, of religious dogmas, creeds, and traditions and commandments of men, of soulish emotions and impulses spirited by the world, of fleshly appetites dominated by the five senses, of fears, doubts, anger, rebellion, pride, weakness, and sin. The still small voice speaks a word, and immediately carnal reason tries to argue us out of it. We sense His direction and leading to “stand still,” but human sympathy and sentiment tell us to get involved in things He has not led us to do. Oh, how those kings do rule! So we yield and obey these emotions and impulses, and wonder why we miss the joy and blessing of the Lord. But, praise God, in the days of these kings — while they flourish, control, and bear heavy in their rule — shall the God of heaven set up His kingdom and all authority and power shall be subdued before it. Into the midst of these kings has rolled THE STONE, and it is breaking in pieces, consuming all these, bringing all into submission to Him!
Again, Ray Prinzing has so beautifully expounded along this line that I am compelled to share a portion. “Many a battle has been fought and won, though devils were not rebuked, and there was no writhing on the floor in intense travail, nor any challenge by an antagonist against the truth believed — it was all INTERNAL. Battles of the mind, battles of inner spirit conflict, a warfare against the vision, against the thing which God had personally revealed, but which the flesh was not ready to receive and walk in. And while we would ‘reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord,’ yet only HE can complete this work in us and make it an experiential reality. So we surrender, and He works it out. ‘Now why dost thou cry aloud? IS THERE NO KING IN THEE? Is thy counselor perished?’ (Micah 4:9). Israel was desperate, she was in travail, in pain to bring forth, and was crying out in her distress. God answered back, ‘IS THERE NO KING IN THEE?’ Praise God, there is One in the midst of us who shall take the reins of the government, and He shall rule in righteousness, so that we eagerly await the emergence of His kingdom. It is our own little INNER KINGDOM that needs the King, so it is to this realm that we ask the question, and praise God, can answer back positively, YES THERE IS A KING WITHIN!” — end quote.
I do not hesitate to tell you that the sphere of His kingdom is the individual heart. God’s kingdom can never come in all the earth until it has been thoroughly inworked in each and every individual heart of man. It is impossible to have a reality corporately until it has been established in each member of the corporate body. There is no “mass miracle” by which the individual is somehow by-passed. Oh, no! This is the end for which man was made, the final cause of his creation, that he might be a province and principality of God: the King eternal septering him throughout his whole nature — spirit, soul, and body. When I pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,” I do not feel that I am praying solely for my city, my nation, the world, or anything beyond. I do not think first or foremost about harlots, drunkards, drug addicts, criminals, atheists, Moslems, communists, Catholics, Protestants, or the masses of sinners and self-righteous religionists throughout the world. When I pray, “Thy kingdom come,” I am not content with adding to the thought my unpleasant neighbors, those who call me a heretic, or those in our government who I believe are leading our nation to hell. No! When I utter the prayer it is with the deep conviction that I am praying for myself. I am praying that God’s rule may come fully and powerfully in my own heart, mind, nature, and life. Each man and woman of the billions who have lived and died on this planet will be brought to pray that prayer in the same way and in the same spirit as I — and only then shall the kingdom come and God’s will be done in all the earth as it is in heaven! Oh, yes! The “kings of the earth” are within us!
There is no doubt about it, this prayer has reference to ourselves. There is a problem and that is that we have our own kingdom, the kingdom of man. Within that kingdom is the kingdom of man’s religion. It is my business, my enterprise, my family, my church, my ministry, my elders, my belief, my people, my thing that I am doing, that we are concerned with. I hear these frothy preachers all the time, including some who proclaim this word of the kingdom, sonship, and reconciliation, speaking of “my church” and “my elders” as though they were the Lord Himself. I have news for them. They don’t have a church, nor do they have any elders; if indeed they do have these, then the church they have is not Christ’s church nor are the elders ordained of God. And over against all that, Jesus sets His “Thy.” “THY kingdom come.” When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we pray, “Father, come in Thy Lordship into my own heart and mind; rule there; take Thy throne there: make me completely Thine.” See what it means! It means that we are asking that every wicked way, every cherished sin and passion, every self-serving desire and ambition, every soulical religious inclination, every carnal thought, word, and deed may be cast out of our hearts. It means that neither money nor pleasure nor prestige nor the way that seemeth right should have any power over us. It means that the Father’s will and not our own may dictate fully our lives. It means that neither the allure of the harlot, nor the nature of the beast, nor the authority of his seven heads, nor the power of his ten horns have any more place in us. It means that the precious mind that was in Christ Jesus so possesses us until all death is swallowed up into HIS VICTORY. Oh, that is a great prayer!
There is no department of human life where the kingdom can rule unless first God rules in the heart. God cannot rule nations until first He rules in the hearts of the citizens of those nations from the king, president, or prime minister all the way down to the garbage collector and the shoeshine boy. God cannot rule over things or institutions until first He rules in the hearts of those who form, own, and control those things and institutions. “The kingdom of God is within you.” Imagine God trying to rule over an army without first winning the allegiance of the general who commands that army and the soldiers who fight in it! Let us henceforth begin to see all things as God sees them. God does not rule anything or anyone by external force, from without. He does not rule by commandments or laws, nor by arms, nor by soldiers, nor by any external compulsion. He rules only by the power of an indwelling life, by the strength of an inner nature. Aren’t you glad!
As brother Paul Mueller has so aptly written: “Indeed, God does not change the world by man’s armies, nor by any of man’s carnal systems of government. The Lord is beginning to change the world by first changing the hearts, souls, and minds of mankind. People shall be changed, not by human agreements or by war, but by the operation of the Spirit of God in their lives. The Lord also is beginning to dispel the darkness in the world by imparting the greater Light of His presence in the hearts of His elect. This is the method by which the just and righteous rule of the kingdom of God is coming to the earth. In this way alone, all the evil and darkness in all the earth shall be completely dispelled. Then the blessings and benefits of the kingdom of God shall be fully manifested in all the earth for the glory and honor of our sovereign and omnipotent Father. And His glory shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea!
“The kingdom of God has been planted as a seed in the fertile garden of the hearts of His people. And His kingdom has been growing in the hearts of His people ever since. His kingdom began in His faithful sons as a word or seed that sprouts in the ground. The kingdom seed is the very life of Christ that was planted within us. As a seed in the natural soil sprouts or explodes by its inherent life-force, so the seed of the Christ within us has burst forth with His life to manifest the fruit of the kingdom of God. The seed is Christ, the word of God and the word of His kingdom. The same kingdom that began in us has burst forth as a germinated seed to become a tender plant. When we receive the seed/word, and it grows within us, the kingdom of God will grow, and indeed has grown, to become the greatest tree on earth so that the birds of the air will find lodging in it. That seed/word within us has sprouted, bursting forth by the Life of Christ to manifest first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear, until its abundant fruit shall fill the whole earth. That plant is growing until the power and glory of the King who reigns within His elect begins to spread His influence far beyond into all the earth. With enlightened spiritual eyes, and the mind of Christ, we can see that as He continues to reign in us and in the earth, all things shall be gathered into the kingdom of God and nothing will be left outside of it!” — end quote.
Now let us return to our thought regarding the harlot sitting upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. We know, of course, that the harlot is not only the soul of our individual life, but she is also an outward and corporate expression in the earth as the carnal church systems of man. This realm has its “kings,” too! And then there are the kings of the nations with which the wanton harlot also commits fornication. You see, my beloved, we are dealing here not merely with the specific kings of any particular one of these realms, but with the divine principle that includes and applies to them all! Hers is a long career of harlotry, spread out over long centuries of time, and experimented with in many different realms and on various levels of experience.
She has loved to mix in the politics of this world and to influence the course of politics for her own ends, in fact, to control and dominate politics in the belief that she is superior. To the political leaders and systems who will play with her, she gives religious satisfaction upon her bed, to make them feel comfortable and fulfilled in their worldly course. Sons of God, too, must watch this! It is easy to think that we are somehow establishing righteousness by voting at the ballot box for a particular politician, or by calling our senators and representatives to influence certain legislation. I do not believe it is wrong to vote or to speak up for a good law or ordinance, but we must know that neither our government nor any government on earth today in any way represents the kingdom of God! You cannot legislate righteousness, for the kingdom of God is righteousness in the Holy Ghost, not righteousness by a man-made law. A good president is better than a bad president, but in the vast majority of cases, after we have voted for the man we thought was the better of the two, we came to see that in reality we only voted for the lesser of two evils. Can we not see by this that we were still voting for evil? None of this is the kingdom of God! A good law is better than a bad law, but no matter how good the law, it will not change the heart of even one man, it will not redeem even one poor soul, and it will only fill our jails and prisons with more and more offenders! Oh, yes! What then are we to conclude, seeing the futility of all of man’s government and rulership. I admonish you to vote if the Lord so leads, but do not try to mix God’s word, God’s ways, and God’s will with the carnal systems of man — for the joining of man’s carnal system with the holy things of God is just the whore sitting upon her beast while fornicating with the kings of the earth!
As the harlot fornicates with the kings of the earth-realm, she prays for heaven’s blessings upon their selfish, ambitious schemes; she blesses their military adventures as they go forth killing and to kill to promote their political or commercial or military agenda; she makes them feel they have heaven’s approval and are in some way doing God’s work, promoting His just cause. And for those who make the supreme sacrifice in this endeavor she holds impressive funeral services to make their life in the next world guaranteed to be in the bliss of God’s favor on account of their heroics and patriotism — highly esteemed of the Lord. In fact, she carries on her prostitution with the governmental powers of man as a religious service, as a form of worship, to the god whom she worships, just like the ancient temple prostitute. This has influenced the inhabitants of the earth so that they view religion and politics as “bed-fellows” for the enrichment, uplifting, and blessing of society, and earth’s inhabitants have been made drunk with the wine (teachings, influences) of her prostitution!
In closing, I would mention the “kings” within the church systems themselves which is but another facet of the harlot’s fornication. Oh, let us once for all grasp this one great fundamental truth. Christ’s church is not an organization, but an organism, a living body of many spiritual members. He, and HE ALONE, is the Head! But when man builds an organization of which he himself is the head, when he establishes for that church a man-made head-quarters, and when he begins to legislate and pass church laws and formulate creeds and disciplines, and institute rituals and ceremonies, he is merely manifesting that both the system and he himself are spurious. Of course there are many of the Lord’s people in these organizations: let us not lose sight of that fact. How could the Holy Spirit send forth the call, “Come out of her, my people…” except that they are indeed HIS PEOPLE! And let us not lose sight of the fact that many of the founders of these organizations were honest and sincere believers in Christ. Yet they were ignorantly sincere. The whole trend of organization is to lead away from Christ the Head of the organism, and it induces men to look to man, the head of the organization, thus making them the harlot, and the system the beast she rides upon.
Only such as obey Christ’s command to become separate from all defilement can ever be entrusted with the true riches of His everlasting kingdom and glory. Only such as reject the flatterings, the seducings, the lies, and the deceptions of the harlot system can ever come to honor and power and majesty in the heavenly administration of God’s ruling sons. Rebels and turncoats and spineless compromisers who have not the courage to walk in the righteousness of the kingdom of our Father, can only come to demotion and humiliation. Only such as faithfully serve the King of kings now, can ever be exalted to honor in His kingdom. Heavenly politics demand that those who will reign in the glory of God’s great and eternal kingdom must now prove themselves true to the principles of the kingdom over which they are to reign. And while at the present time ear-ticklers and men-pleasers are popular with the apostate masses, yet all these shall come to shame. God cannot honor those who are working against His cause, no matter how loudly or lustily they may proclaim their own professions of sanctity and authority and their attainments. Our God does not consort with harlots, but He is even now preparing a wonderful feast of glorious things for that little virgin church which He presents to His firstborn Son at the marriage supper of the Lamb! Oh, the mystery of it! Oh, the wonder of it!
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To be continued… . PRESTON EBY |
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