“And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The
seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And
there are seven kings…” (Rev. 17:9-10).
As we approach this portion of
our study of Mystery Babylon we will note
in our text
that there are two sources of sevens listed here — seven heads which are
also seven mountains. The messenger showing John these things informs
him that “here is the mind which hath wisdom,”
that is, the mind which is enlightened by the spirit of wisdom
from God will be able to understand the mystery of the seven heads which
are also seven mountains upon which the woman sitteth! Seven is the
primary number signifying fullness and completeness. Heads denote authority as
well as wisdom and knowledge. Mountains
stand for kingdoms, thus signifying dominion, strength, and power. Verse
ten further
informs us that there are seven kings. The kings are authorities. The
message is clear — The woman, the false church, sits astride the fullness and
completeness of carnal, fleshly, earthly, and worldly knowledge, wisdom,
authority, strength, dominion, and power!
“And there are seven kings:
five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh,
he must continue a short space” (Rev. 17:10).
The Revelation is a metaphoric
drama. The organization of the book is that of a drama in three acts. At first
sight it does not appear to be a practical or experiential book. Most
commentaries on it seem to be explanations of prophetic world history since the
cross or yet to come. There surely is much in it that will inform us about
history and there is foretelling in it as well. But if all we see in it is
history and foretelling of events in the outer world, we will altogether miss
the great purpose in the fact that it proclaims spiritual blessings upon
those who “read, hear and keep what is written
therein” (Rev. 1:3).
As we consider this truth, we
should notice that there are seven kings or authorities associated with the
woman, and we are particularly informed that five of the seven
are fallen. It is significant to note that in the Greek text
there is the definite article — it reads, “the five are
fallen,” designating to “the five” a unique and specific identity and
meaning. Therefore, these cannot represent five separate kings or authorities,
each with his own character, manifestation, and significance. “THE five”
reveals the great truth that the meaning of the mystery is not to be found in
the individual
kings, but in the grouping together, that is, the number five. Five
in scripture is the number of grace, but it is an incomplete number. It
is five out of the seven. Thus, in this realm of authority connected with the
harlot, the false church, there is NO GRACE — grace has fallen, grace is
perverted and limited, grace has departed, grace is no more. Look not for any
mercy here! Can we not see that in the church systems of man where sin is
constantly denounced, where even a salvation sermon cannot be preached without
first reminding the hearer of what a despicable and hell-bent sinner he
is, where law is laid upon the people, where a sense of condemnation is
continually instilled into men’s hearts, where for the least infraction of
righteousness the flames of hell and the fear of eternal damnation are
threateningly dangled before men’s consciousness — right there, my beloved,
GRACE HAS FALLEN!
Bear in mind that we are
dealing here not with outward kings somewhere over in Europe or the Middle East
or in some imagined “end-time” confederation of nations — ah, no, for this has
to do with a harlot — a “Christian church,” and the beast she rides,
indeed a “Christianized beast,” in whom grace has fallen! Does not
church history and our own experience confirm this fact? Do not 99% of all
Christian denominations in some way teach the limitation of God’s grace? Most
Christians believe that once a person dies, his or her fate is sealed forever. If
anyone has been fortunate enough to have repeated the “sinner’s prayer” moments
before death stole the spirit away, he is guaranteed that, according to the
“orthodox” teaching, he will go straight to heaven. Matters not whether he was
truly drawn to the Son by the Holy Spirit; as long as he by faith muttered the
correct words before the final beat of his heart yielded to the stillness and
silence of death, his salvation is eternally secured.
The question is, does
physical death end the availability of God’s grace? The death that came to Adam
was first and foremost a spiritual death, and all men enter this world
already “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). Does physical death
render either our moral character or our ability to repent changeless? Does it
irrevocably fix our eternal destiny? Are the grace and mercy of God truly TIED
TO OUR HEARTBEAT? Here is a young man driving along the road on his way to an
evangelistic meeting where he will hear an anointed message of
salvation. Conditions are such that he may be saved this very night. His heart
is tender. His mother is praying. The Holy Spirit will be mightily
dealing. But — enroute to the meeting there is a terrible accident. The brakes
are slammed on, the car skids and careens wildly, spins uncontrollably off the
highway, rolls down the embankment, crashing violently into a tree. Death is
instantaneous. Abruptly the young man is gone “out into eternity.” The
question follows…was the mercy and redemption of Christ tied to his
heartbeat? Was God’s great redemptive purpose thwarted by the state of the
physical body or even by the condition of one single physical organ within that
body? Was there mercy for this young man IF HE WOULD HAVE MADE IT TO THE
MEETING, BUT ETERNAL DAMNATION INSTEAD BECAUSE A DRUNKEN FOOL PULLED OUT IN
FRONT OF HIM IN THE DARKNESS?
I do not hesitate to say that
there is not one passage of scripture in the whole Bible that indicates
that the grace of God is limited to physical life, or that the mercy of God is
tied to one’s heartbeat. I am sure that my reader recognizes that it is the spirit of
man that is of the greatest importance to God! Why should there be salvation
provided so long as the weak material body remains animate, but no
salvation for the much more valuable spirit of the same man or woman as soon as
the last mortal breath is drawn? Oh, I know that the writer to the
Hebrews states, “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the
judgment” (Heb. 9:27), but that proves nothing relative to the question under
consideration. It merely establishes the fact of judgment — not the process of
judgment or the result of the judgment. The passage is conspicuous for
what it does not say. It does not say, “It is appointed unto men once to
die, and after this eternal damnation.” The entire theory of
eternal torment rests upon a faulty translation of a couple of Greek words, and
actual distortions and perversions of what the scriptures actually say.
So the church system concludes
that God has both the will and the power to save a breathing
man, but no will and no power and no grace to save a non-breathing man. It
teaches that God has both the will and the power to regenerate a spirit which
has a body of dust, but no will and no power and no grace to regenerate the same
spirit without a body of dust. God’s grace and God’s power are thus limited by
the temporary function of certain animal organs! Good heartbeat, good mercy and
grace! No heartbeat, no mercy and no grace! Ah, GRACE HAS FALLEN!
If, instead of bringing every
sin into judgment — punishing that sin and correcting the sinner — we imagine
the poor sinner suffering the eternal torments of hell with its unbearable
anguish, the pangs of conscience, the taunts of fiendish demons, one hour of
which is more than all his earthly sorrows rolled into one — lengthen this out
to endlessness and season it with hopeless despair — and its horrors will be
absolutely inconceivable. Though our lips may be afraid to frame the words, our
hearts will whisper, “Can such be the final fruit of God’s glorious
plan?” Is this the response for which He hungered when He purposed that
sin should estrange His creatures from Himself? (Rom. 8:20-21). But
this is far from all! Multiply this single case by scores of billions of
human beings who, age after age, have been hurdled into this hopeless hell — all
tortured and tormented forever while the ages roll, and roll, and roll into
infinity…without mercy, without grace, and without remedy. Yes, GRACE HAS
FALLEN!
If the above scenario be true
then something horrid must have happened to both God and His saints in
heaven. Before the death of these people God loved them all, and in many
instances they loved each other, saved and unsaved alike, and would have
performed a great number of kindnesses for one another. Many of these had
Christian friends and loved ones who were very concerned about them and prayed
earnestly for them. But now that both saint and sinner are out in “eternity,”
God and all the saints in heaven have either lost their love and compassion for
their lost loved ones, or else God has brainwashed all the saints so that they
have erased from their memories the fact that their beloved mothers and fathers,
their lovely sisters and brothers, their precious daughters and sons, and their
dear friends and neighbors are constantly suffering the most terrible pain and
hideous torture for all eternity. So we see this: there is MORE LOVE,
COMPASSION, AND GRACE in the physical world in God and His saints, than there is
in the spirit world. Furthermore,
there is MORE LOVE for sinners while they have bodies than there is for sinners
without bodies. In addition, there is more SAVING POWER in God for unbelievers
possessing a mortal body than there is for unbelievers who have no mortal
bodies. Think of it!
What has happened to cause God
and the saints to turn from love and pity for the lost, to a feeling that the
lost are now getting just what they deserve — unendingly! What, I ask, has
happened to God and the saints to cause them to love and seek the lost as long
as their frail, mortal bodies endure, but to turn from that love for the
precious unclothed spirit of the very same man or woman? Can we believe that
God, having created all things for His pleasure, having so loved His
creation that He freely gave heaven’s most precious gift, after a few paltry
years, the brief span of a man’s mortal existence, throws up His almighty hands
in futility and disgust, saying that He has done all that He can and men would
not respond, so He must cease all effort, seat Himself upon His golden throne,
consign His creation to everlasting hell, and forever erase any feeling for them
from His heart and from the hearts of the saints? Yet this is exactly what we
are told today. But how foolish! God is not that fickle, God is not that weak,
and God does not give up that easily. In fact, God does not give up! He
started the whole program of creation and redemption and, blessed be His
wonderful name! He will not cease His work until He is Victor — “All in All”
throughout all the vastnesses of infinity for evermore! “For He must reign,
till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death. For He hath put all things under His feet. But when
He saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He (the
Father) is excepted, which did put all things under Him. But when all
things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be
subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be ALL-IN-ALL —
EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE!” (I Cor. 15:25-28).
How often we have heard
preachers warn people that “the day of grace will soon be over forever.” Now
where, in God’s name, did they ever get such a ridiculous idea? Nothing could
be farther from the truth! For as long as God exists the grace of God will
be with us. The end of the grace of God, were it possible, would mean the
destruction of God Himself, for grace is one of His eternal, immutable
attributes. Please notice that Paul
shows that the grace of God is going to be displayed, revealed, and made known
IN THE AGES TO COME through those who have received it here and now in
this present dispensation. “And hath raised us up together and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ, THAT IN THE AGES TO COME HE MIGHT SHOW (Greek:
exhibit, put on display for all to see) THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE in His
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7-8).
Not only does the above
passage tell us of the great revelation of God’s grace in the ages to
come, but it also shows us that it is for this very purpose that God is
saving a firstfruit company now. The unveiling of the grace of
God to the whole creation is the true reason for the manifestation of the
sons of God. God has no intention of bringing all the world into the
fold now. If that were His purpose He would surely bring it pass, for He is the
omnipotent God who worketh all things after the counsel of His own
will. The whole purpose of this present age is to GATHER
OUT A PEOPLE THROUGH WHOM TO DISPLAY HIS GRACE IN THE COMING AGES. James also
declared this great truth when at Jerusalem he
said, “Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles to TAKE
OUT A PEOPLE FOR HIS NAME…that the residue (rest, remainder) of
men might seek after the Lord and ALL THE GENTILES upon whom my name is called…known
unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts
15:14,17,18). This so-called “age of grace” is coming to an end, but the good
news is that grace will be more manifest and appropriated in the future than in
previous times! This age which is presently coming to a close should more
properly be called “the church age,” for grace will not end, but the present
formation and administration of the church will end. In the age and the
ages to come God will move from “calling out” a body from among the nations, to
the reconciling and saving of the nations themselves. That is why we read of
the New Jerusalem, “And the nations of them that are saved shall walk in
the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into
it…and they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it” (Rev.
21:24-26). In ages beyond that God shall deal with the residue (rest) of men
unto all the reaches of His vast creation — “That in the dispensation of the
fullness of times (at the conclusion of all ages of time) He might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which
are on earth, even in Him” (Eph. 1:10).
Ray Prinzing once wrote,
“GOD’S PURPOSE ANTEDATES TIME, for He purposed it in Himself before time began,
and then arranged for the times in which He will fulfill it. Therefore His
purpose is not in bondage to any man’s time, be it a day, or a thousand years,
but all time has to serve that purpose. Furthermore, God’s grace, whereby this
purpose shall be accomplished, also antedates time, for we read, ‘Who hath saved
us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in
Christ Jesus before the world (ages) began’ (II Tim. 1:9). The
sufficiency of grace was freely given before time began, hence God’s grace is
not bound to time either. Grace can take all the time it desires for its
manifestation, for it is not subject to the confines and limitations of
time. The religious traditions of some speak of an ‘age of grace,’ as if all
other ages would be devoid of grace. This is utter nonsense. You cannot
possibly limit the grace of God to any one age, for it is manifest in all ages,
and is not bound to any certain age alone.
“Since man is saved by grace,
and not of self-works, and grace is a gift of a sovereign God, then obviously He
can administer that grace to man whenever He chooses. The length of time has no
claims upon that grace, but is a servant to His grace, to reveal by degrees the
wonder and glory of God’s bountiful grace and mercy. Should God so arrange this
to be the hour when He gives grace in your life, then bow low before Him in
worship and praise. Yet if you have loved ones who have not yet been given this
inflow of grace, do not despair, for ‘in Christ shall all be made alive. But
every man in His own order’ (I Cor. 15:22-23), and God has fitted the ages so
that there is an appointed time for grace to work in every life. We do not know
HIS times and seasons, therefore we warn every man to turn to God now, knowing
that we reap what we sow, and to continue sowing to the flesh means more
harvests of suffering and sorrow. And we thank God for each heart that is
opened to receive of God’s grace now” — end quote.
“And there are seven kings:
five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when
he cometh, he must continue a short space” (Rev. 17:10).
The description goes on to
say, though the authority of grace has fallen within the bestial religious
systems of men (because first it fell within each man’s heart) — there still
exists some of this carnal religious authority. John is told that one king is
yet to come, exists for a short time — he being the seventh. However, note that
the one who IS, is the SIXTH! Five are fallen, and one is — 5 + 1 = 6. SIX IS
THE NUMBER OF MAN! The message is just this — today, in the church world, MAN
IS IN CONTROL! Can any deny it? Man is in control and grace is fallen! Is not
the wisdom of
God in this spiritual revelation absolutely striking and utterly remarkable!
“And there are seven kings:
five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and
when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is
not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth
into perdition” (Rev. 17:10-11).
At this point the scene
becomes a bit perplexing and rather confusing to the natural mind. Observing
the seer’s wonder at the sight, the messenger proceeds to explain; and as he
speaks the symbols undergo a change, like dissolving views in a movie or like
the inexplicable changes in a dream. Truly, to get at the meaning of this
complicated mystery, we need to have not merely intelligence but also divine wisdom,
the spirit of wisdom
and revelation from God. At the outset we are told that the beast which
carries the woman, having seven heads and ten horns, was, and is not, and yet
shall ascend out of the abyss, and go into perdition. Even that is
strange! Most Christians view the pit (abyss) itself as a place of
destruction. They look forward to the devil and all his demons being destroyed
by being sent into the pit. They anticipate the antichrist, or the beast, and
all other wicked powers meeting their end — their destruction — in the pit. But
this beast has to ascend out of the pit in order to go into
destruction! Isn’t that remarkable!
Then the messenger explains
that the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. By a sort of
verbal transubstantiation, now, instead of the woman sitting on the beast, she
is sitting on the seven heads, but the heads are mountains! And even before
this we see the woman sitting, not upon the beast, nor upon the heads of the
beast, but upon many waters! (vs. 1). To further
complicate the issue, verse eighteen informs us that the woman is a city. And
now we find that the beast that was, and is not, AND YET IS, is the eighth
head — the whole beast is now one of the heads! But this new eighth head is
actually out of the seven! What is all this? Seven heads, five are
fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, the beast which was and is not is an
eighth and is of the seven — what is this? The messenger’s explanation confuses
us as much as the vision! Who can make sense of all this? Who can understand
it? Where is the person who can intelligently and adequately explain the
mystery? Ah, the Spirit of God Himself supplies the answer! “And here is
the mind that hath wisdom” (vs.
9). That is the inspired preface to all the confused, mixed-up, jumbled,
perplexing scenes that follow! All the convoluted scenes, all the scrambled and
contorted pictures can be understood ONLY BY THE MIND THAT HATH WISDOM!
Is it not phenomenal that the Holy Spirit uses
precisely the same terminology in regard to understanding the mark of the
beast. “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count
the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is
six hundred three score and six” (Rev. 13:18). Here is wisdom: Let
him that hath understanding count. The wise
king Solomon said, “Wisdom is
the principal thing,” but, in the same verse he hastily adds, “and with all thy
getting get understanding” (Prov. 4:7). Paul
prayed for the saints in Ephesus,
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ…may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation…the eyes of your understanding being enlightened” (Eph.
1:17-18). This beautiful prayer of the apostle demonstrates vividly the truth
that wisdom is
a state of being. We could say it has a “passive” quality — this wisdom
comes only from the inworkings of God!
“HERE IS WISDOM:
let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast.” The key
is this beautiful expression: “Here is wisdom.” And
then in our current text: “Here is the
mind which hath wisdom.” If
it’s wisdom
we’re talking about, then it’s not philosophy, it’s not intellect, it’s not
training, it’s not mathematics, it’s not a study of history. Notice that our text
does not say, “Here is a riddle; let him that is bright solve it,” but plainly
states, “Here is the mind that hath wisdom.” Therefore
we must have something different! Though one might study and search forever,
plying endlessly through mountains of musty volumes, in an effort to decipher
the enigma of the constantly changing scenes, he would never
come close to the correct conclusion, for the carnal man sees through carnal
eyes, and having eyes, he sees not, neither does he understand.
There is therefore only one
word of advice that I can give. Do not try to figure out by much study the
marvelous mysteries of God’s word, but CONCENTRATE ON CHRIST. Christ Himself is
the truth and beside Him there is no truth. Christ is also the wisdom
of God and the apostle tells us that HE is made unto us wisdom. Oh,
yes! Wisdom is a Person, and wisdom
is a state of being. It is the state of being of the Christ-man. Our knowledge
of God and our understanding of the things of God depend entirely upon where we
look. Paul penned these significant words to the
saints in Colosse, “IN HIM are HID all the
treasures of WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE” (Col.
2:3). If you are looking anywhere else beside Christ Himself to understand the
mysteries, you are surely looking in the wrong place. Christ Himself is the
great treasure house where all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge are concealed and garnered up. In Him, and in Him alone, are to
be found all the rich blessings which wisdom
and knowledge bestow!
The more intimate and vital
your relationship with Him, my beloved, the more the truth of the deep
things of God will unfold within your heart. But like a choir of bewildered
voices, ascending in pitiful petition to God, so those who try to understand the
mysteries of God with human reasoning come to cry at last, “Lord, how can we
know the truth? Which among this confusion of voices can we believe? Which
among this conglomeration of interpretations is right?” There is, thank God!
one answer and one only. It is the answer given by Jesus centuries ago. “I
AM…the truth!” Seek not the truth from the learnings of men. Seek
Christ, for He is the truth! I spent the early years of my life and ministry
praying and seeking God for revelation. I did not then understand that the
revelation would not come by a sudden, sovereign dispensation from God, but only
as the result of my intimate communion with Him. You see, it is in the fellowship of
Christ that He day by day whispers and breathes into our spirit of that truth
which He is. If the Christ Himself does not bear witness within you of the
things written even in this message, then lay it aside, put it on the shelf, or
file it in file thirteen. As you live in blessed communion with HIM, there will
come that inward sense of knowing; the words of life and light
that then cross your path from the pen or lips of God’s anointed servants will
strike a responsive chord in the deepest recesses of your spirit, bursting forth
with the harmonious melody of understanding! This much is clear —
the mystery has a spiritual meaning. If we have the spirit of wisdom
and understanding we will be able to discern the meaning of the woman and the
beast and the heads and the horns and the mountains and the kings!
We must ever keep in mind that
we are viewing things which are intricately interconnected in the nature of the
beast system. Whether it be the beast itself, the heads, the mountains, the
horns, the kings, or the harlot riding the beast — all are parts of the whole
and in various circumstances and at different times we confront the beast, the
heads, the horns, the mountains, the kings, or the harlot riding the beast. In
one experience we come face to face with the issue of worldly wisdom, at another
time we are challenged by worldly knowledge, in another situation we confront
worldly authority or again worldly power. Depending upon what aspect of this
picture you meet in your experience, you will recognize a head of beastly
authority, or the five heads that are fallen, or a horn of the beast’s power, or
a mountain of his dominion, or the spiritual harlotry of the brazen
woman. There are those experiences in which we encounter the beast’s wild,
ferocious nature as he turns on us to rend us to pieces. Then there is a
different kind of experience in which we are wooed, allured, and enticed by the
cunning seductiveness of the whore. And sometimes various combinations of
these! These manifestations of the harlot and the beast we may discover
personally within ourselves, or we may confront them in the church
systems. And just as it was while John looked upon it, the forms keep
changing — though there are seven heads now the beast itself becomes the eighth,
but we find that the beast who is the eighth is of the seven. Let
us UNDERSTAND!
Eight is the number of new
beginnings. Every time there is new light, a fresh moving of God, a mighty
reformation, a great and glorious revival in the midst of the Lord’s people who
dwell in Babylon —
there is a separation, a coming out, and a new thing is birthed. We see it in
the Waldenses, the Huguenots, and various other groups throughout church
history. We see it in the Reformation when the Protestant churches came out of
the Roman Catholic Church with the great truth that the just shall live by
faith. The Anabaptists, the Quakers, the Methodists, the Plymouth Brethren,
the Puritans, the Pentecostals, and many, many other groups came forth out of
the historic Protestant church systems as they received new truth and sought to
follow the Lord into new realms in the spirit. Each of these is represented by
the “eighth” — a new beginning. And yet, as church history
unerringly confirms, every new move of God has subsequently gone into
apostasy!
It is a great and terrible
mystery — the eighth is OF THE SEVEN. There is the key to
the mystery! It does not mean that the eighth is “one of the seven.” Oh,
no! The preposition “of” is from the Greek “ek” meaning
“out of,” and must be understood, as so frequently in John’s writings, to
denote origin and identity of nature; this eighth beast is not
different in nature from the seven, but is the concentrated essence of them, and
therefore destined to not maintain its cuddly innocence and childlike purity,
but to go into apostasy — into perdition. It should be
very evident to us all that this “eighth” beast, this new beginning, when
a people are drawn out of a religious system into a new walk in the spirit, in
most cases contains right within it the seed of the Babylonish
system out from which they came. Thus they are the eighth — but the new
thing is of the seven — same old business under a new regime — and the
latter is of the same spirit as the former! Now tell me that isn’t a mystery! The
new move has the same potentiality and proclivity for carnality and sectarianism
built right in from the very beginning because both the nature of the harlot and
the nature of the beast lurk within the heart of every man. So through the
generations, rising up in many expressions, the harlot and her beast are within
us! And that, my beloved, is the mystery! The various religious
kingdoms of man have brought to the full (seven heads, seven mountains,
ten horns) the workings of Mystery Babylon the Great!
George Hawtin elaborated on
the truth of which I now write in his little booklet titled Mystery Babylon. I
share a portion of his words here for our instruction and edification:
“Full forty years Israel had
wandered in the wilderness, but at long last they had passed over Jordan and
were now in the glorious land promised Abraham in the long ago. The manna of
the wilderness ceased as soon as they passed over Jordan and
they rejoiced in the fruit of that wonderful land of promise. From here on they
were to have a new Captain, even the captain of the Lord of Hosts. The
directions for capturing the city of Jericho were
simple, indeed, and without the loss of a man
the city fell into their hands. Greatly did they rejoice over their victory,
and it was with joyful confidence that they sent a small army of men the day
following to capture the little city of Ai (Joshua
7). But their joy was short-lived, for the men of Ai came out and fought
against them and beat them back, and thirty-six men of Israel fell
before them. There was a reason for this defeat, and with what breath-taking
interest is the story told in Joshua, chapter seven. ‘Israel hath
sinned,’ said God, ‘and therefore cannot stand before their enemies.’ So lots
were cast to find the sinner and Achan of the tribe of Judah was
taken. And Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, give I pray glory to the Lord God of Israel and
make confession unto Him, and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from
me.’ And Achan answered Joshua and said, ‘Indeed,
I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel,
and thus have I done: When among the spoils I saw a goodly Babylonish
garment and two hundred shekels of silver and wedge of gold, I coveted them
and took them, and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent.’
“So here it is so very soon! A
goodly Babylonish garment together with the other two things that always go with
it — silver and gold. Here is the garment of Babylon throwing
confusion and disorder into the ranks of the people of God and making them lose
the victory and flee before their enemies. Five times in the seventh chapter of
Joshua God spoke saying, ‘Israel hath
sinned in the accursed thing.’ I must speak with utmost solemnity
here. I must invite all men to sober thought. Did you ever see it fail? The
moment God begins a mighty work of grace and power and unity, someone begins to
covet the Babylonish
garment. He secrets it away into his tent to hide it there. The very thing
that was to have been destroyed he secretly saves, and with it he starts to
build another tower, another language, and another kingdom to add to the
universal confusion and disorder that is manifest everywhere in the church.
“The thing which fills my
heart with consternation is this: no sooner has the revelation of God delivered
us from the power of Babylon than we begin to
cast our eyes about us, and count noses to find out who is with us and who is
against us, and what material we can find to build another tower of Babel. This
in itself is the Babylonish,
sectarian spirit reaching out another of its octopus-like arms to enfold us and
bring us back to itself. We wake up to find we have not come to Mount Zion,
the city of the living God, but have just
wandered down another street in Babylon itself. We
have changed one Babylonish
garment for another and we are still part and parcel of the same devouring
monster. To call ourselves undenominational is not enough. We must have the
name of Babylon erased from our foreheads by the
mind of Christ and a new name written there, even the name of the City of God.
“The call of the Lord today
is, ‘Come out of her my people, and be not partakers of her sins.’ But
verily I say to you that you will need much more wisdom
than the wisdom
of man to be set free from this octopus that holds Christendom in its many
entwining arms. The wisdom of man will praise
God for its deliverance from one of the harlots
of Babylon even
while it is fondly embracing another. While men are praising God for deliverance
from one arm of the octopus, they are being enfolded by another, and while they
rejoice that they have found their way out of the darkness of one of the streets
of Babylon, they awaken to find they are walking down another” — end
quote. And may I hastily add — what a graphic picture this is also of the eighth beast
which is OF THE SEVEN!
“And the ten horns which
thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive
power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give
their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb,
and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of
kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful…and the
ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and
shall make her desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire. For God hath put it in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and
give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be
fulfilled” (Rev. 17:12-14,16-17).
When the judgment of darkness
within man and man’s systems has fulfilled its divine purpose, there comes at
last the wonderful hour of man’s full redemption — spirit, soul, and body. The
time arrives for man’s very nature to be regenerated and all carnality,
darkness, and death to be swallowed up in victory in preparation for that race
of men who throughout the centuries and millenniums of time would be made in the
image of God. When a man’s soul and body have been fully quickened,
regenerated, and transformed, all the inward kings of his nature are
brought out from under the dominion of the whore and her beast and are joined in
willing surrender and happy union with the will of the spirit. Then it is, my
beloved, that the same ten kings who had one mind and gave
their power and strength unto the beast, now experience a wonderful change
of mind, heart, and purpose and all the powers of man’s life turn on the
harlot, and make her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire. O my God, how great are these things! Can we not see the mystery?
The ten kings in the mystery
are but the governing powers of your natural life, the ten inward kings of man’s
flesh nature. It is these which gather together in this spiritual battle of Gog
and Magog to MAKE WAR WITH
THE LAMB WITHIN YOUR SPIRIT, BUT THE LAMB OVERCOMES THEM: FOR HE IS LORD
OF LORDS, AND KING OF KINGS! All the power and policy of the flesh shall at
last yield their power to Christ and shall join in the just judgment of the
whore within and without. And they that are with HIM (once this victory is
complete) are called, and chosen, and faithful! That is the kind of people God
is able to make out of those who formerly were sold under sin, bound by
carnality and flesh, and in captivity in Babylon! Hallelujah
to the Lamb! THE LAMB SHALL OVERCOME! The kings of man’s life are conquered by
the Lamb! This is the fruit of the mighty work of Christ within us. With what
exhilaration we ponder it! With what excitement we anticipate it! God’s Lamb
will be the Victor within us — within all His precious people! Is not
this the crux of the entire book of Revelation? After all the tears and
heartache, all the suffering, all the warfare, all the dealings and processings
— the Lamb shall overcome.
Special attention must be paid
to this word “overcome.” The Greek word is nikao, the word used in the
peculiar statement of the elder in Revelation 5:5 wherein he says that the Lamb
has “prevailed” to open the book with the seven seals. The word means to
“prevail,” to “overcome,” or to “conquer.” It is the same word used when the
Rider on the white horse goes forth “conquering and to conquer.” It is the same
word used repeatedly in chapters two and three of the overcomer where
at the termination of each of the messages to the seven churches the Spirit
proclaims, “To him that overcometh…” “ To him that conquers!” “To
him that prevails!” Ah, the Rider on the white horse is going
forth overcoming and to overcome, prevailing and to prevail, conquering and to
conquer! The term denotes grammatically AN UNENDING SERIES OF CONQUESTS,
UNINTERRUPTED BY ANY DEFEATS, WHOSE VICTORIES SHOULD BE PERMANENT AND LAST
FOREVER! That is the victory of the Lamb!
So throughout the Revelation
our Lord Jesus Christ is in an activity where He is perpetually celebrating a
victory. His march is a victorious march! His warfare is a winning
warfare! His movements always meet with success! His plans are fulfilled, and
His campaigns unfurl to the breezes the banners of triumph. The Lamb of God is
going forth as a conqueror, and He does so with great determination and
power! The action in which He is engaged requires the greatest power, even the
power of the spirit. Ah, precious friend of mine, are there ruling kings
in your life which seem unconquerable? Have you struggled with attitudes,
fears, doubts, lusts, emotions, desires, circumstances, weaknesses, habits,
shortcomings? Have you despaired of ever truly being conformed to the image of
God’s Son; have you questioned whether you can really share in the glory of
manifest sonship? Hear the word of the Lord today! The kings within you have
had one mind, and have given their power and strength unto the beast. That is
no surprise to you, is it? Furthermore,
they have made war with the Lamb, for the flesh continually wareth against the
spirit, and the spirit against the flesh! Has that not been true within
you? Now hearken to the word of the Lord! “THE LAMB SHALL OVERCOME
THEM!” “FOR HE IS LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS!” It is Christ Himself who
is taking up the battle within you — it is Christ the Lord, THE KING of all your
kings, who has stepped upon the battlefield of your heart, soul, and
body. Here upon this field He is roused, every faculty focused, every source of
strength summoned, and He is bearing forward for the purpose of conquering every
foe within you! He that is within you is mighty! Expose yourself to His
wonderful presence, yield yourself to His powerful word, cast yourself upon the
pathway of His conquest — He is moving down upon the enemies, charging all the
opposition, overcoming by the impetuous energy of His movements within your
life! It is indeed
wonderful!
The purpose of your quickening
by Christ was to make you consciously a part of Himself, to give you a calling
to glory, a place where God by His Spirit can express Himself through you, so
that you can bring righteous judgment in the earth. That is what the battle
with the ten kings is all about! Your life and everything that happens to you
is given to train and equip you for a royal
position in God. The only reason the heavenly Father sent you here from the
realm of spirit, lowered into the bondage of corruption, was to process you, to
groom you for a position in God, to be one in the Saviour and to become a
saviour. Believe it or not, the outcome of this victory within you will qualify
you as one who is described in these words following the conquest of the ten
kings — “…and the Lamb shall overcome them…and they that are with Him are
called, and chosen, and faithful!” Isn’t it wonderful! This is the day
when everything we have hoped for and dreamed of in God will be realized in our
experience! We have so limited God in the way we have thought about Him. I’m
telling you that we stand on the threshold of an outworking of God that is so
powerful that it will bring an absolute end to the downward spiral of sin and
death. It will put an irremovable blockade in the road of the flesh.
The manifestation of God
through His sons which is immediately before us will turn creation around! We
shall manifest unto mankind a life and victory and power that will shake the
very foundations of the earth, an action that will alter the course of the
world, bringing correction and righteousness. A people in this hour is being
raised, not out of the cemetery, but out of the grave of their mind, out of the
tomb of carnal, mortal consciousness, out of the crypt of religion and vain
traditions, raised up to the place where they can be the manifestation of the
totality of the personality of God. We are being raised to become the
expression of the substance of His Person. This company is Christ the Head, The
Lord of all the lords, the King of all the kings, together with all who are with
Him, the called, the chosen, the faithful — all the holy sons of God by the
strength of righteousness bringing the rule of the kingdom of God among
men. Oh, the wonder of it!
Today, however, the battle is within
us, and the Lamb is engaged on the battlefield of our lives, in warfare
with the kings of our flesh and soul. One of several methods of interpretation
of the book of Revelation is called the “symbolic and allegoric.” Now, I do
believe that the Revelation is symbolical and allegorical. But according to
this established view everything in the book is symbolic and allegoric only in
the sense of depicting the generic battle of God against Satan — of good
against evil, of the church against the world. I will tell you why this is
wrong. This system contains some vital truth within it, but yet, as a
foundation it misses the mark. The book is much more focused and specific than
that! It is not about the universal conflict between the forces of good and
evil — it’s about THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST! It’s about what HE is
doing to come forth Himself in triumph within His people, not about what God is
doing out in the darkened world to cause good to triumph over evil. In
connection with the revelation of Jesus Christ there is no battle between good
and evil — there is only the arising of the Son of Righteousness with healing in
His wings! The book of Revelation is indeed
symbolic and allegoric, but the symbology is about HIS APPEARING and the effect
and result of that appearing in the hearts and lives of men and women! Not
“good” shall overcome “evil” — THE LAMB SHALL OVERCOME THEM!
The arrows of Divine Truth are
piercing our hearts, and every ruling king within us falls down before Him; all
opposition is shattered to pieces; the strongholds and defenses are torn away as
paper walls; the radiant brilliance of His glory flashes its dazzling light upon
the eyes of the understanding, piercing effectively every cherished tradition,
human interpretation, and carnal concept; swallowing up even every sin, all
self-will, every fleshly desire, and the sorrow, pain, sickness, fear, and
death. I see the Lamb conquering! Though all men are His by right of creation
and redemption, yet He must do battle to make conquest of the human heart which
has been occupied by the enemies of His mind, His heart, His will, and His
life. He must fight His way inch by inch into the human soul until He possesses
that which He has purchased, until the citadels of mind, will, emotion, and
desire have been taken and led away under the dominion of Truth and Divine
Nature.
The kingdom of God is
the rule and reign of God over all. The foundation of this kingdom is in the
human heart. “The kingdom of God is
within you.” The world has not yet witnessed anything like the total and
absolute government of God, except in the life of Jesus. But there has been an
increase of His kingdom from generation to generation and from age to age. A
new order is now coming forth in the earth! The hour of the completion of the
body of Christ that has been forming in the earth for the past two millenniums
is now at hand. The age of the reigning of Christ through the perfected,
matured, empowered manifest sons of God is now ready to be revealed.
This, then, is what it means
when John the beloved is shown that the kings of the flesh-life have one mind,
and give their power and strength unto the beast, and thereby receive power
as kings for one hour, that is, a limited time and degree — with
the beast. Thank God, our beastly life, our servitude to the beast system,
is as it were but for a moment — “one hour with the beast.” “FOR GOD
HATH PUT IT IN THEIR HEARTS TO FULFILL HIS WILL, and to agree, and give
their kingdom unto the beast, until THE WORDS (PLAN, PURPOSE) OF
GOD SHALL BE FULFILLED!” (Rev. 17:17). In this is the judgment of the Lord
within them, that they should altogether repudiate and hold accursed the harlot
and the beast and destroy it root and branch out from among themselves. “And
these (the ten horns, the ten kings within) shall (now that the Lamb has
conquered them) hate the whore, and shall make her desolate, and naked,
and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.” Great is the
mystery! Thus shall be fulfilled all the things that God hath spoken! Has
this happened within you, my friend?
In closing this article I
cannot do better than to quote again from the true and heart-searching
admonition of brother George Hawtin wherein he exhorts:
“In these days of confusion (Babel means
confusion), when multitudes are being sucked into the whirlpool of Babylon’s
vain and worthless striving, how good it would be if God’s dear children would
get off the system’s merry-go-round and get alone with Jesus Christ their Lord,
shut out all the din and noisy commotion of Babel’s activity and the bondage it
brings, and there in the light of His cross and with an open heart request that
He would grant to their searching spirits the knowledge of what the true
church really is, and what eternal hope He had in mind when He foreknew and
chose them as a special habitation for Himself! If God’s dear people
would do this, I think it would not be long before they would lose their love
for this antichrist system, now rising to new heights in the earth.
“I suppose tens of millions of
sermons have been preached to show people how they ought to live, what they
ought and ought not to do, what they should wear, what they should eat, where
they should go, and just about everything that can be imagined. But there is a
simple remedy for all this that is utterly contrary to the multitudinous
traditions and the idle philosophies and teachings of our day. It is found in
Psalm 19:2-3. ‘Blessed are they…that seek Him with the whole heart. They
also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways.’ That is a simple
answer to all godliness, for men who seek Him with all their hearts will never
need to be told how to live righteously. They will do no iniquity and they will
walk in His ways.
“During the past years a
desire has come into my heart that has filled me with longing to see a remnant
of God’s people in this, the end of the ages, put the Babylonish
harlot away and be joined to Christ in the spirit and joined to Him
alone. Everywhere I have advocated that even small groups of people should
drop their usual church meetings and spend the time in coming to know Him,
partaking of His mind, seeking His will, and growing in Him. Perhaps some
have been greatly afraid that this course will give opportunity for an occasion
to live after the flesh. No doubt it will in the lives of some, if that is
where their treasure lies, for if a man is a spiritual goat, his goat
nature will show up sooner or later and in my opinion the sooner the
better. But if a man is a spiritual sheep, then he will follow Christ,
for ‘my sheep know my voice and they follow me and a stranger they will not
follow.’ The traditions of the centuries have taught us to keep sheep and
goats, wheat and tares together, BUT IN THE END OF THE AGE THEY WILL BE
SEPARATED” — end quote.
