“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her…” (Rev. 18:3).

             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 that realm, 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 considering that the book of Revelation is a spiritual book addressed to a spiritual people, we find that all that pertains to the kingdoms of this world lies first and foremost right 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 naught.

            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.  Thus “earth” denotes the soulical realm both within and without, which is also the religious realm of man and the world.  We know, of course, that the harlot is first the soul of our individual life which abandons its union with the spirit and fornicates with the flesh, but she is also an outward and corporate expression in the earth as the carnal or soulish church systems of man.  This realm has its “kings,” too!  And then there are the kings or rulers 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 or 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 political party, or by calling our senators and representatives to influence certain legislation.  I do not believe it is wrong to vote or speak up for a good law, ordinance, or proposition, but we must know that neither our government or any other government on earth today represents the kingdom of God!  You cannot legislate righteousness or spirituality, for the kingdom of God is righteousness in the Holy Ghost — not righteousness by a man-made law!

            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 — it is an organism, a living body of many spiritual members!  Christ, and CHRIST 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 establish a man-made system of church government with its hierarchy, legislate and pass church laws,  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 hundreds of 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, trying to do God’s work in the only way they knew how.  Yet they were ignorantly sincere.  Having themselves been tutored by the “kings of the earth-realm,” they understood not how to live, walk, and reign from the heavenlies.  The whole trend of organization is to lead away from Christ the Head of the organism, and it induces man to look to man, the head of the organization, thus making the system the harlot and they themselves the kings of the earth-realm, the two together lying in one bed of spiritual fornication!

            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 accomplishments and attainments.  Our God does not consort with harlots, but He is even now preparing a wonderful feast of glorious things for that beautiful 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!

THE MERCHANTS OF BABYLON

            “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” (Rev. 18:3).

            We are on familiar territory here for we have met all these before in various parts of the Revelation — the harlot, the Great City Babylon, her wine, her fornications, the inhabitants of the earth who have been made drunk on her wine and passion, and the kings of the earth who fornicate with her.  But now we are introduced to an entirely new reality not mentioned or seen anywhere before in John’s visions — the “merchants of the earth” and the “merchandize” they traffic in.

            These are not merchants of the heavenly or spiritual realm, nor are they even merchants of the lower realm of the sea, that is, of the gross sins of the flesh.  They are the merchants of the EARTH, the soulical or religious realm of man.  It is out of this soulical realm that the leaders of the carnal church systems have “made merchandise” of the gospel.  In different ways throughout history it has taken the things of God and used them for gain or outright sold them for money.  Babylon in scripture is prominently the symbol for merchandising — buying and selling.  The symbol applies both literally and spiritually.  In other words, Babylon represents the buying and selling of literal merchandise between men and also represents the buying and selling of spiritual favors between men and God.

            Years ago Ralph Woodrow published a little booklet titled “Religious Fraud” in which he chronicled the following: “During the 16^th century, in order to raise funds for construction work on St. Peter’s Cathedral at Rome, a special drive was instituted to sell indulgences.  Now an indulgence, though a mere piece of paper, carried with it the promise of special blessings — a quicker release from purgatory and a pardon for certain sins of the past or future.  John Tetzel, a man of poor character and  morals, but with ability as a quack fund raiser, was hired to sell indulgences in Germany.  He preached that these indulgences were the most precious gift of God.  We are told that he even went so far as to say that these certificates would pardon all sins which the purchaser should afterward desire to commit and that ‘not even repentance’ was necessary!  His fervent appeals caused the rich to give large offerings and the poor to give their hard earned money — to obtain a piece of paper ‘blessed’ by the Pope, with promises that are contrary to both reason and scripture.  Though Tetzel claimed to have orders from the Pope to burn any heretic who might oppose these ‘most holy indulgences,’ Martin Luther recognized the selling of such as religious fraud and spoke out against it.  These things are of special significance, for it was this very protest which ultimately led to the Reformation!

            “Another form of religious fraud, especially successful during the Dark Ages, was the selling of relics.  Many Catholic cathedrals throughout Europe and other parts of the world claimed to have a piece of the original cross of Jesus.  Were all of these pieces put together, however, many crosses could be made!  Yet, and let us note this, these little pieces of wood were bought and sold  over the centuries and miracles were attributed to them!  Many have been the relics associated with the Virgin Mary — her skirts, wedding ring, slippers — and various churches in different parts of the world claimed to have a specimen of her hair, the folly of such claims now being seen in the fact that some are red, some brown, some blond, and some black!  There have been times in history when immense quantities of skulls and skeletons were dug up and sold — sometimes a bone being represented as that of Peter, Paul, or some special saint or martyr!  In Spain, what was claimed to be a part of the wing of the angel Gabriel, was under scientific investigation found to be a magnificent ostrich feather!

            “We turn now to the present.  On different occasions, we have known of preachers sending out little bottles of water to those who would send an offering.  Possibly this water was taken from a pool in which certain people were baptized, or from the Jordan River or the Sea of Galilee, or it may have been ordinary water that the preacher had ‘blessed.’ Nevertheless, those who would send an offering to get some of this water, were promised great blessings and special favor with the Almighty as a result!  Is this really any different than the Romish belief that water ‘blessed’ by a bishop is ‘holy’ water?  One man said that ‘God’ told him to go to the bank and get brand new one dollar bills, pray over them, and write ‘Philippians 4:19’ on them.  Each person who would give him $100 would get one of these ‘blessed bills’ to put in his wallet for special prosperity.  Some years ago a preacher was sending out what was called a ‘miracle light bulb.’  Those who sent an offering of a certain amount, could obtain this blessed light bulb which he had prayed over.  Upon receiving the bulb in the mail, it was to be placed in the light socket.  As the person flipped on the switch he was to shout ‘hallelujah’ real loud to obtain the miracle needed.  When no miracle happens, many still do not see that fraud was involved.  They just figure their own faith was ‘weak.’

            “One of the common methods of getting money by such men is for them to say ‘God told them’ to raise money for this or that.  They know this will impress some people to give like nothing else!  In a Revival Center type church, for example, before the service began, a couple preachers were discussing what they would raise money for that night.  One said, ‘We can’t raise money for the radio programs, we got more than we needed for that last night.’  ‘What about missionary pledges?’  ‘No, we can’t do that tonight, we did that night before last!’  ‘I know,’ the other said, ‘let’s tell them we need a big offering for our building program.’  Then going before the people, after he felt they were emotionally stirred to the point that a good offering could be received, he said, ‘GOD has just spoken to me!  He said, Son. tell my people to give largely tonight; tell them to give into the building fund; tell them I will reward them one hundred fold, so folks, I have to obey God — GOD has spoken!’  Our Lord says: ‘I have not sent these prophets…I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied…they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart…behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith…’ (Jer. 23:21-31)”   — end quote.

            I doubt any will deny that those described above are among the MERCHANTS OF BABYLON.  Such are obviously religious con men, deceivers, liars, shysters, crooks.  They are the lowest of the low — yet — there are many more respectable merchants of Babylon who are highly esteemed among the Lord’s people!  Religion today is BIG BUSINESS.  We are reminded of what one man wrote concerning Christianity.  He said, “It started with Jesus and the twelve.  Jesus preached the message of God’s love as a message to be preached to the hearts of people.  Then this message went to Greece and became a philosophy (Origen, Augustine, etc.).  Then it went to Rome and became an institution, the Roman Catholic Church.  Then it went to Europe and became a culture, the British Christian Culture.  And then it came to America and BECAME AN ENTERPRISE.”  How true!  Numbers and finances are the essential ingredients of enterprise.  The predominate feature of most religious programs is that they are based upon numbers and the need for dollars.  Yet how contradictory this is to God’s priority of bringing forth the firstfruits of His creation order, only a small remnant, through whom He shall fulfill HIS PURPOSES proposed upon the WHOLE EARTH!   

            Have today’s ministers never read the wondrous invitation penned by the faithful seer of Patmos?  “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.  I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.  And let him that heareth say, Come.  And let him that is athirst come.  And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life FREELY” (Rev. 22:16-17).  FREELY!  Jesus, the Water of Life, hath given freely, freely, freely, freely for every man.  It falls like the rain upon the evil and the just.  “The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works.”  “The eyes of all wait upon Him, and to good and bad alike He openeth His hand, and freely supplieth the need of every living thing.”  We speak the truth in saying that GOD NEVER SELLS!  Any gift or ministry that wants to sell God’s gifts or God’s word must be apostate.  “God so loved the world , that He gave His only begotten Son.”  “My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He that cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”  “Trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”  “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.”  “But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal.  For to one is given by the Spirit…”

            Many years ago, in the early days of our kingdom walk, the Lord dealt with us very powerfully concerning the WAYS OF HIS KINGDOM.  One of those kingdom principles is just this: “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Mat. 10:8).  That is always God’s way!  Give — not sell.  This is in contradistinction to religious Babylon’s ways and practices.  Merchandizing religion is BIG BUSINESS these days.  A man claims to have received a special revelation from God on how to prosper, or receive healing, or fix your marriage, or lose weight, or raise your children, or move in the gifts  of the Spirit, or become an overcomer, or attain to sonship, or whatever, and then he writes a book, preaches a sermon on  CD or DVD and SELLS IT TO YOU.  He freely received it, but he does not freely give it!  Rather, he says, “God has revealed to me the secret of the seven steps to sonship, and I’ll sell it to you for $15.00.”   Wonder what he will do when GOD POURS OUT HIS SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH and they don’t need this man to sell them any revelation any more, because the LORD HIMSELF HAS FREELY GIVEN TO THEM “without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1).  Think of it!

            There will be tremendous manifestations of God’s power and glory in the days to come, but let it be through purified vessels, that all glory and praise be given to God and no man misuses it for his own ends or gain.  Let it be as the Lord instructed the prophet, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it” (Hab. 2:2).  How dare we take the vision and write it out in a book,  and SELL IT, as though it were “our vision” and “to be sold.”  When it is God’s truth imparted into your heart, don’t place your stamp on it, as though it originated with you and is therefore your possession to be dispensed with as you please, for  financial gain or to build your own kingdom.  It is not yours!  We are what we are by the grace of God and everything from His hand is His free gift to us.  So Paul writes, “I am not a peddler of God’s message, like the most of them, but like a man of sincerity, like a man that is sent from God and living in His presence, in union with Christ I speak His message” (II Cor. 2:17, Williams Translation).  

            Where will those stand in the day of judgment who put a price on God’s glorious blood-bought gospel?  I have in my hand the account of one healing preacher who wrote thus: “When God impelled me to set a price on my instruction in healing, I could think of no financial equivalent for an impartation of a knowledge of that divine power which heals; but I was led to name $300.00 for the price of each pupil in   one course of lessons.”  I will tell you, preacher, God had no hand in your mercenary fee, and you are a liar.  It is a lie to tell me or anyone that the great God and Father in heaven told you to charge in money for what, if you were really His servant, is God’s free gift — divine healing.  When Jesus sent forth His disciples, He said, “Preach the gospel, heal the sick… FREELY you have received, FREELY GIVE,” and He never took that back, never!  Where did you get your revelation from, preacher, to charge $300.00 for twenty lessons on healing?  Considering the multitudes that followed Jesus and the apostles, think how wealthy they could have become had the Father given them such instructions!

            I have heard all the excuses from even some in this kingdom message who seek  to justify their putting a price on  their CD’s and books.  They claim that people just don’t appreciate something that is handed to them free, that they have not paid some price for.  Hogwash!  If that were  generally true, then no saint under God’s heaven would  appreciate his salvation, his healing, his baptism in the Holy Ghost, his answered prayers, or any of his multiplied blessings — because each and every one of them has been received without money and without price.  If it is wrong to give things out free because people won’t appreciate them, then God Himself is the biggest fool of all!  That very thing is THE LAW OF HIS KINGDOM!  Don’t feed me that foolishness.  Some place their books in the Christian book stores where they are compelled to charge for them so the publishing house and the store owner can make a profit.  Their excuse for this is that that is a good way to reach people — put the message out there where Christians are shopping for something good to read.  Sounds logical.  The only problem is, you are then adopting the very method and way of Babylon which you profess to be crying out against!  Sin is no excuse, no justification, preacher!  We don’t deliver people out of Babylon by becoming like them!

            Some of the best known “born again” Hollywood personalities, should you inquire about engaging them to give their testimony at a meeting, will send their business manager over with a contract guaranteeing them several thousands of dollars for their forty-five minute appearance.  This is not ministry, beloved — it is BIG BUSINESS!  Furthermore, it is an abomination.  “Come out of her…lest ye be a partaker of her sins.”  The local Christian bookstore has become quite a showcase for what is called “Christian bric-a-brac.”  They are crammed full of every imaginable trinket, plaque, statue and artifact that they can sell with a religious flavor.  Christian music albums sell for $10.00 to $20.00 apiece.  The country is swarming with those who call themselves Christian speakers, musicians, bands, and singers who charge an admission fee to their seminars and concerts.  Verily, I say unto you, the ticket prices are set and collected by the MERCHANTS OF BABYLON and they are a stench in the nostrils of a holy God and a spike in the hand of our dear Saviour.  There is no biblical or spiritual foundation whatsoever for SELLING THE WORD OF GOD OR MERCHANDISING ONE’S MINISTRY — be it a Bible, a recording of songs and praises to God, a sermon, book, seminar, concert, or any other thing.

            When God moves His mighty hand of judgment against Babylon we will see with our  own eyes the very scene John beheld in that long ago in vision by the Spirit of the Lord.  “And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning.  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; FOR NO MAN BUYETH THEIR MERCHANDISE ANY MORE” (Rev. 18:9,11).

            Many years ago I was inspired, encouraged, and instructed by the testimony of that great man of prayer, George Muller.  George Muller was the man of faith from the orphanages in Bristol, England who literally “prayed  in” every dime and dollar for that vast work.  He never solicited funds, He never revealed the needs to others, He never asked anyone for a dime.  He simply prayed!  At the end  of his life he writes, “For nearly seventy years every need in connection with this work has been supplied.  The orphans, from the first until now, have numbered 9,500; but they have never wanted a meal.  Hundreds of times we have commenced the day without a penney; but our heavenly Father has sent supplies the moment they were actually required…seven million, five hundred thousand dollars has been sent to me in answer to prayer (this was in the 1800’s!)…tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered.

            “When I first began to allow God to deal with me, relying on Him, taking Him at His word, and set out fifty years ago simply relying on Him for myself, family, taxes, traveling expenses and every other need, I rested on the simple promises I found  in the sixth chapter of Matthew.  I believed the Word, I rested  on it and practiced it.  I took God at His word.  A stranger, a foreigner in England, I knew seven languages and might have used them perhaps as a means of remunerative employment, but I had consecrated myself to labor for the Lord, I put my reliance  in the Lord who had promised, and He has acted according to His word.  I’ve lacked nothing — nothing.  I have had my trials and difficulties, and my purse empty, but my receipts have aggregated.  I have received thousands and thousands of dollars, while the work has gone on these fifty-one years. 

            “Now, this is not, as some have said, because I am a man of great mental power, or endowed with energy, and perseverance — these are not the reasons.  It is because I have confided in God; because I have sought God, and He has cared for the Institution, which, under His direction, has one hundred schools, with masters and mistresses, and other departments of which I have told you before.  I do not carry the burden.  And now in my sixty-seventh year, I have physical strength and mental vigor for as much work as when I was a young man  in the university, studying and preparing Latin orations.  I am just as vigorous as at that time.  How comes this?  Because in the last half-century of  labor I’ve been able with the simplicity of a  child, to rely upon God.  I have had my trials, but I have laid hold upon God, and so it has come to pass that I have been sustained”   — end quote.

            I can add to this my own testimony.  I have never in my life made a bargain for any spiritual service I rendered.  I never received a salary, excepting for one six month period when I was among brethren who did not understand the principles of the kingdom, and then I did not ask or bargain for anything, I accepted what they were accustomed to give until I could expound to them more perfectly the way of the Lord.  Then I told the brethren to cut off the salary and let me receive  only the free-will offerings that the saints would be led of the Lord to hand to us, and it was done.  In years past we served as ministry to several churches, traveled as an evangelist, took our family to three foreign countries, living and laboring for a total of six years on the mission fields, and for the past  forty years or more have devoted our full time to writing and publishing the message of the kingdom of God, sending  out from this office free of charge untold hundreds of thousands of articles and booklets all around the world.  Never have we sent out any letter or gone to any meeting mentioning any need or asking or begging for money for either ourselves or the work. 

            Never in all these years have we gone hungry, or naked, or defaulted on any payment, or been foreclosed upon, or been stranded in any city or place, and though the expenses each month are large and increase every year, yet no bill has gone unpaid.  I have trusted God, but I have worked hard, harder many times than I would have worked out in the secular world.  And we have never charged for a book, or article, or sermon, or tape, or CD, or DVD, or any other thing we have shared with the saints.  And our Father has graciously supplied every need — day by day.  This is God’s way, the principle of the kingdom of God, “Freely you have received, FREELY GIVE!”  Oh, how good it has been to publish the gospel  of the kingdom freely!  That way the poorest widow woman on a small fixed income or the most destitute saint can receive in the same measure as those who have thousands of dollars to contribute to the work.  No matter what anyone says, the contrary is a sham and a lie, and no evidence in the world can be given to prove otherwise.

            The mark of a harlot is that she sells her affections.  To receive her love you must pay!  With a harlot nothing is free.  There is always a price.  And let me say it kindly, brethren, but let me also make it clear — one of the first marks of a ministry slipping back into the precincts of Babylonian religion is when they begin to sell the word of God so freely given them.  When a price is put on their books, CD’s, seminars, etc. — if you look closely you will soon begin to see other marks of Babylon upon them.  True men of God minister the word and place no price, make no demands, seek no control, nor do they use any gimmicks, for their trust is in the Lord who called them and sent them.  Putting a price on God’s word is spiritual wickedness.  It is wicked to put a price on that for which God Himself charged you nothing!  Sure, it costs money to print and send out the word, and yes, even a minister of the Lord has to live.  But if a man is doing God’s work the Father Himself will see that it is supported in whatever fashion He chooses to supply.  The moment a price is set, the poor among God’s people, the widows, the unemployed, the elderly on fixed incomes, the prisoner, the little family struggling just to get the bills paid and put food on the table for the children, are all at once denied the word of God due to their inability to pay for it!  And that is criminal! 

            Let me ask all who charge for their ministries, books, magazines, or CD’s: If Christ sent you to do the work, why did He not supply its needs without you charging or begging?  Why would the sovereign Lord of the universe not lay the need of His work upon the hearts of the faithful if the work is of Him?  Has His word not told us that the Lord will supply all our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus?  If the Lord sent you to preach, to pray, to heal, to write, would He not supply your need as He did for His first disciples?  “And Jesus said unto them, When I sent you out with no purse or provision bag or sandals, did you lack anything?  They answered, Nothing!” (Lk. 22:35, Amplified).  If He will not supply your need would you not be justified in closing your doors and folding up the ministry?  I certainly believe so.  Oh, ye of little faith!  That is the root of the matter.  If God is going to apprehend me to do a work and then leave me to my own resources, to sell the gospel, to put a price on the incorruptible word of the omnipotent God, or to beg and plead with men to accomplish it, then there is undoubtedly something very wrong somewhere.  Woe unto them that make the house of the Lord a place of merchandise!  “Oh,” they excuse themselves, “you can never accomplish anything great for God that way.  If you do not remind, coax, stimulate, inspire, entice, and prod the people to give, they simply will not give.  If you do not impress upon them the urgency of the need and pass the offering plate before their noses, the supply will dry up.  You cannot do any great work without asking for money; it is simply impossible.”  God’s people should never be deceived by these self-appointed promoters of God’s work.  They are merely men without faith, with no comprehension of the power of the kingdom of God!  They are the merchants of Babylon.

            Why should it be thought a thing impossible that God who heals the sick and raises the dead, and sustains the vast universe of hundreds of billions of stars and suns and planets and moons should supply the means of His own work miraculously in response to His servant’s faith?  It is so great a thing that if we did not have the assurance that we have a faithful God who is able to do it, we should simply say the thing is impossible.  We should say that with the Indian Chief, who said, in the early days of this country, when Brainerd, the missionary, took the gospel to him and told him its requirements, “The thing is impossible, it cannot be done.”  “Yes,” said Brainerd, “it can be done.  You can be delivered from all your sins, and you can be meek, and humble, and lowly, and yet brave.  You can cease to do evil.”  “I cannot,” said the Chief,  “it is impossible.  The thing cannot be done.”  Walking up and down and to and fro in exceeding trouble of mind, at last the Chief stopped, and, looking at Brainerd, said, “It can be done, Missionary, if the Great Spirit will give me a new heart.”  “That is just it” said Brainerd.  “The Great Spirit will give you a new heart.  If you will ask God for Jesus’ sake, the Great Spirit, the Holy Spirit, will come and give you a new heart.”  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”  “Then,” said the Chief, “let us ask Him.”  And that was how he first began to pray.  He asked the Great Spirit for a new heart, and he got it that day. 

            Oh! if only God’s ministers would get a new heart and learn this great principle of the kingdom of God — “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU” (Mat. 6:33).  “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret SHALL REWARD THEE OPENLY” (Mat. 6:6).  It works.  ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM THAT BELIEVETH!  God is still true, so I am willing to let every man be a liar.  Today the Lord is shining the searchlight of His glorious presence into every nook and cranny of the house of the Lord, exposing all that is not of Him.  All of man’s perverted religion must go!  All of religion’s man-made schemes must end!  I declare to you by the word of the Lord that the house of the Lord is being cleansed, and God is calling upon His elect to repent and turn from man’s perversions.  The Lord has come to His temple and is judging His house, even as He did during His earthly ministry, casting out those who buy and sell, overturning the tables of the moneychangers, purging His temple (church) of all those who have turned it into “a house of merchandise” and “a den of thieves” and no longer “the house of prayer” (Mat. 21:13).

            I feel to share a couple testimonies from other brethren which I believe will prove both edifying and instructive to those who read.  The first is from brother Bob Torango.  “I’ll never forget the time that I preached in a big-time church in Downy, California.  This was in the early 1970’s and I was preaching the sons of God and restitution message at a little store-front church.  It turned out that the people from the big church down the road started to hear the message and packed the little place out.  After about a week of this, the pastor of the big church paid me a call and asked me to come to his church since most of his people were attending my services anyway.  I prayed about it and the Lord told me to go.  I was scared to death!  T. L. Osborn was supposed to be following me the next week, and I hadn’t ever preached to so many people at one time in my life.  Like John, I was viewing all of this with great admiration (Rev. 17:6).  All the musicians were very professional, the people all dressed sharp, the pews were padded, the carpet was luxurious, the pastor and his wife looked like movie stars.  I was in awe!

            “I proceeded to preach for a couple nights and about the third night the pastor got me alone in his study.  He started out by telling me that He knew I was preaching sons of God and reconciliation and that he believed in this message himself, but he couldn’t risk preaching it from the pulpit because he would lose his church.  He then told me that he would like to sponsor me to start preaching on the big-time circuit, but I had to get some gimmicks incorporated into my ministry.  He asked me if I couldn’t start some orphanage somewhere just so I could present it to the people as something to give to, the understanding being that the money would never reach the fake orphanage, but would be used for my own needs.  He said that he admired my ministry and that I had great potential on the ‘circuit’ of large churches he was affiliated with, but I had to do a lot of work on my offering taking.  He said he would be willing to train me in the art of getting money out of the people, and before long I would be driving a big fancy car just like him and all the other big-time evangelists.  Needless to say, I shut my meeting down with him and told him he wouldn’t have to worry about losing his church because he had lost it already, along with any decency he might have had!

            “When I left that office I was so sick I had to struggle to keep from throwing up.  MONEY!  More preachers have sold their souls for it than any other single thing.  The reason is simple.  MONEY in itself is not evil, such as an act of fornication, drunkenness, and other vices.  Everyone needs MONEY and therein lies the subtleness of its seduction.  Don’t think I wasn’t impressed with the splendor of that church, because I was!  I actually thought God was going to allow my ministry to reach more people and that the message of life could be heard and believed upon by the masses.  Along with this I got to thinking that maybe I deserved  to live a better lifestyle, since my wife and I had struggled with our finances for so many years; and after all, the laborer was worthy of a greater hire.  My eyes were fixed on the wonder of the Whore, and I was finding all kinds of justification for getting connected to the CIRCUIT!  As a young evangelist, it was the invitation to the big dance, an offering of the big enchilada, and  I could have arrived at the top of the world!

            “The big wake-up call came when I realized what I would have to do in order to get that greater hire.  Something happens to a person when confronted with riches.  A change comes over us when put in a position of possible wealth.  I know we all swear we would never change if we suddenly were made wealthy, but invariably we do.  There  is a root of evil in us all, and the Bible declares it to be ‘the love of money’!  The church today has sold out its heavenly inheritance for a  little earthly lucre.  God has offered us a ‘far more exceeding weight of glory,’ but our eyes are filled with the things being offered to us by a seducing spirit that has convinced many a prophet to become her paid servant.  Woe to the prophets that prophesy for money, and do not speak the words that come from God!

            “Everything that Babylon concerns herself with is a business venture cloaked in religion.  She is a harlot.  What is the difference between a wife and a harlot?  They both have physical relations with a man, but one is an act of love and the other is an act of business.  The act is the same, but the difference is in the exchange of MONEY.  Babylon is in love with only  one thing — MONEY.  She uses everything else to get more wealth and thereby she spends money to make more money.  Think about it!

            “The biggest money-making machine in the modern church is the world-wide satellite TV networks.  They run twenty-four hours every day and reach millions of people with the message, ‘Tis more blessed to give than to receive.’  I know they do good works and all of that.  I know that they reach souls for the Lord, but with what hidden motives?  They look like one big happy family on television, don’t they?  Smiling and joking and bragging on each  other.  Call me a cynic if you want, but I would dare to say that the conversation off camera isn’t quite so congenial!  I would venture to say that their time is spent on the following questions.  Who’s No 1?  Who’s getting more air time than the other?  Who draws more money?  Who gets more mail?  Who’s on the host’s right hand this week and who is on the left, and who gets dropped because of poor ratings?  Without question, these are the topics of discussion in the back rooms of the studios, and they involve positioning and posturing for the opportunity to make more MONEY!

            “Cutthroat competition is on the religious shows just as much as on the worldly shows.  That’s Entertainment!  And it is money that speaks the loudest.  When the bills come due, and we are taking in millions of dollars here, men and women do strange things to keep from losing the almighty dollar.  Beg, borrow, and steal are just a few of the things.  God help us all to guard against the stench of this Harlot system.  Yes, they preach the word, they sing beautiful songs, they pray for the sick and the sick recover, but notice that nothing is done without the mention of MONEY!  If we all knew how much money was brought in by the Christian Networks we would all be amazed.  Bob Tilton, Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Bakker and others were thrust into the spotlight by their escapades in schemes to make more MONEY.  They opened up a Pandora’s box in a system that produced mansions worth millions of dollars, bank accounts known and others never known filled with thousands upon thousands of dollars, and lifestyles worthy of the rich and famous.  All of this is on public record.  Why would we believe that anything is different with those that are in that same arena but haven’t been exposed?  I hate to say it, but the present church system has sold itself out for MONEY!

            “‘Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house o f Israel…the heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.  Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest’ (Micah 3:9-12).  Notice that the word of judgment is to the HEADS, PRINCES, PRIESTS, and PROPHETS.  It is the leadership that is making merchandize of the house of God!  Mystery Babylon has made a league with the ‘merchants’  and the ‘kings’ of the earth!  They all love Babylon because Babylon has made them rich!  She is the answer to their lust for MONEY!  The apostle Paul ran into this same love for money when the makers and sellers of idols in Ephesus caused a riot among the people because Paul’s preaching put fear in their hearts that their craft of making silver idols to the Goddess Diana would dry up.  Their concern was the making of MONEY, not in truth or error.  You can be sure that the same concerns are in the leaders of the modern Fundamental Church.  When faced with truth that doesn’t profit them financially they will suddenly grow very fervent in their fight against heresy.  In truth they are seeing a financial risk in preaching things that demand the people to do  more than sit in their pews and ‘Amen’ the preacher and pay their tithes and offerings.  The concern is over MONEY, not heresy!

            “There have been some ministers who are supposedly preaching a kingdom-lite message (of the low-fat, low-substance variety) that have been allowed on the Christian television networks with high hopes of reaching many more people with the message of the Kingdom.  Sadly, they start out full of alarming statements of truth, then after a period of time, just enough time to get used to a more luxuriant lifestyle, their message becomes milky and barely discernible as Kingdom.  Oh, the power of MONEY!  It must never be underestimated!  If I could have the ear of every minister of Present Truth I would cry aloud to them of the danger of MONEY.

            “I have seen the henchmen of the television networks that try their best to convince God’s people that Jesus preached that we should all be millionaires.  It would be downright hilarious if it wasn’t so sad to see these business people flashing diamond rings and Rolex watches at the screen while telling us that Jesus loved money and we should too.  If we would just sow a little ‘seed’ their way, in the form of cold cash, why we would have a harvest of Cadillacs and mansions in no time.  A flash of white teeth, an honest Abe face, slick Hollywood settings, and who wouldn’t believe them and send in your name and address to receive your free set of teaching CD’s, absolutely free, for a ‘love offering’ of $50.00!  Heaven help us.  What will be these poor minister’s state of mind if the money market collapses?  People threw themselves out of high-rise windows during the Great Depression.  MONEY is their god, and if it is taken away they will be without hope.  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name  of the Lord our God!

            “If you doubt that the church is in this bad of shape, let me remind you that religion has the history of spawning some of the greatest con-men and con-women known to mankind.  Out greatest test will not be devils, or men, or dragons.  Our greatest test is going to be how we handle the finances of the Kingdom.  One cannot imagine the lure of filthy lucre!  It will cause your message to change, your ministry to lose its edge, your vision to dull.  If not handled with extreme care, it will impair your judgment of right and wrong.  Over the years my wife and I have had many preachers of the present truth tell us that they are going to go to the harlot system and deliver it from its Babylonian ways.  Unfailingly, each one has changed his message just enough to be accepted among the princes and merchants of Babylon.  How easy it is to become a star to the lesser orders!  The people are so hungry in the pews, you could throw them crumbs of the Kingdom and they would think they are eating steak!  Each preacher who has gone to the Whore has been wooed by her compliments and favors.  They soon wind up driving better cars, living in nicer homes, getting larger offerings.  What’s wrong with that? you ask.  Don’t they deserve all those things?  Yes, they do.  My question is, from my own experiences, What did they have to do to get them?  ‘Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.  Let not thine heart decline to her (the harlot’s) ways, go not astray in her paths.  For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.  Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death’ (Prov. 7:24-27).

            “Let us be perfectly honest and frank about what we preach.  It is a message that is contrary to the nature of men.  It grates against the religious spirit.  It reveals the man of sin in the temple of God, puts the spirit of Antichrist on the judgment seat of God, shines a piercing light upon the hypocrisy of a corrupt leadership, says ‘Woe, woe, woe’ to the prophets who prophesy to please the flesh of men instead of God, demands the beheading of every priest who stands in the Holy Place and declares himself to be the mouth-piece of God, expounds on the futility of men who preach about God without ever having a personal experience of His all-saving love and grace.  God is out to get a generation for Himself!  Let the children play, but you priests of the Most High get yourselves up into the mountain and wait upon the Lord!  In the stillness, in the quietness of the secret place of the  Most High, there is a Word that will change our lives.  If we will avail ourselves of this word, Babylon will have no power over us.  Our eyes will be for the Lord only.  Our only purpose will be to bring honor and glory and majesty to His name!  When we have been delivered from the love of money, then we will be ready to lead the people to the next summit.  Otherwise we will only lead them to hell”   — end quote.

            The second testimony is that of brother Gary Sigler.  He writes, “My wife and I have given much of our lives helping men build their kingdoms.  We literally have worked 14, 15, 16 hours a day, working to build other ministries.  And because out hearts were to serve God, then even though we didn’t understand that we were helping men build their own kingdoms, we have been abundantly blessed in our life.  Do we have a lot of money?  No!  But we have everything we need, and we are now sending thousands of Kingdom books and CDs all over the world every month.  There is no lack in the Kingdom of God!  We know that.  If the money ever stops, then I will know that God wants me to do something else.  And to be frank with you, what we are doing now is a lot of work.  If God wants to take me in another direction, that’s fine.  But we are so happy.  Our household is ecstatic every day.

            “I had a minister call me here recently, and he said, ‘How do you do what you do?  How do you offer to give away all this stuff?  We tried this a few years ago and we couldn’t make it, giving the stuff away.’  Well, this won’t work for everyone, and the reason for that is, the principles are going to work, but if you are not doing what God wants you to do, then the finances are not going to come.  That is your protection.  If I think God is sending me to Africa, but I have to go raise the finances for it, then I shouldn’t  go.     

            “It’s only been since 1995 that I have been introduced to all those other ministries that operate this way.  I didn’t know there was anybody else that operated like we did — (here he named several) — there are so many men and women in the earth today that are moving in the realm of the Kingdom.  I know a lovely couple that have a ministry, and their writings go all over.  He just recently sent me every one of his manuscripts and he said, ‘Gary, they are yours, you can send them all over the world.’  He said that he just felt that I should have them.  Would you please show me just one Christian author who is buying and selling books who would give me his manuscripts to do that with?  But you see, these men and women whom God has raised up today really do know their source!

            “I was in Elwin Roach’s home a few months ago and I wanted to make a phone call.  As I pulled out my calling card, he said, ‘Brother, don’t do that.’  I said, ‘Elwin, I don’t want you to pay for my phone call.’  He said, ‘Gary, there’s only one treasure house.  The same God who pays your bills pays my bills; don’t you believe  He can pay for that phone call?’  This  is Kingdom!  This is what our hearts have longed for year after year.  And it’s here.   You’ll find some of the most precious people, if you haven’t met them yet you will be so blessed by people who are not manifesting anything but Christ.  And folks, this is something I’ve said for years — you had better be careful if you are going to let a man teach you and minister to you — you’d better be careful and know that he’s a godly man because, like it or not, men who believe what they say will reproduce in you that which they are.  We are so blessed today to have so many ministers who know their true identity and can reproduce Christ within those they minister to”  — end quote..

            In closing this article I am impressed to share the following illustration which someone sent my way.  It hits the nail squarely on the head, revealing with unmistakable clarity just what spirit the “merchants of Babylon” are of!

                                                            To:       Jesus,  Son of Joseph

                                                                        Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop

                                                                         Nazareth, Israel

                                                       From:        Jordan Management Consultants

                                                                        15 Zion Road

                                                                        Jerusalem, Israel

                                                   Subject:        Staff Team Evaluation
 

                                    Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have

                        picked for management positions in your new ministry organization.  All of

                        them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the re-

                        sults through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each

                        of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant…

                                    It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in

                        background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise

                        you are undertaking.  They do not have the team concept.  We would rec-

                        ommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in man-

                        agerial ability and proven capacity.

                                    Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper.

                        Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership.  The two brothers,

                        James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above com-

                        pany loyalty.  Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would

                        tend to undermine morale.  We feel it is our duty to tell you that Mat-

                        thew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bu-

                        reau.  James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical

                        leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive

                        scale.   

                                    One of the candidates, however, shows great potential.  He is a

                        man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen busi-

                        ness mind, and has contacts  in high places.  He is highly motivated, am-

                        bitious and responsible.  We recommend Judas Iscariot as your control-

                        ler and right-hand man.  All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

                                    We wish you every success in your new venture…

To be continued                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 J. PRESTON EBY

https://www.godfire.net/eby/

J. Preston Eby
P.O. Box 371240
El Paso TX 79937-1240

All writings are distributed on a free-will offering basis.