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From the book:
GREAT TRAGEDY book, pg 46. Written by Rev. E.Frank
The
Climax of the Deception
The spirit of deception is about to fill the measure of
iniquity to the point of
overflowing. Things are reported, which never happened in the
ministry of our Lord or
the apostles. Meetings are altogether taking on a very strange
character. The
atmosphere is being created artificially by modern music. It
is apparently not an
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, not a direct work of God, but
rather a meeting which is
deliberately focused on a specific “charismatic person” or
“miracle worker” and his
special features. Astonishing things are being reported, even
that people received
fillings made of 24-carat gold in their teeth in a
supernatural way. In recent times, the
claim is being made that the dust from the golden streets in
heaven fell upon the black
shirt of the preacher, stirred up by the white horse galloping
through heaven. The rider
was reportedly holding the sceptre in his left and the sword
in his right hand! Those
kinds of unscriptural things are being preached and this is
assumed to be “the third
revival wave”.
Among all the eccentricities appearing in charismatic
meetings, the falling on one’s
back during prayer is the most peculiar. It is being termed as
“slain in the spirit” and
presented as a special spiritual experience. Let us hear what
the Scripture has to say
on this subject. They refer to Isaiah 28: 13, but that is
actually meant as a threat, “...
that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and
snared, and taken.” Since
they did not want to listen and did not enter into God’s rest
(v. 12), the threat was
given, that they would fall backward. First the Lord brings to
the surface, what
condition the ministers of the church are actually in and
indicts them, “The priest and
the prophet have erred though strong drink; they are swallowed
up of wine, they are
out of the way through strong drink, they err in vision, they
stumble in judgement.”
(Isa. 28: 7).
This description applies fittingly to all who drink from the
Babylonian cup and
therefore have lost their spiritual orientation (Jer. 51: 7;
Rev. 17: 2). Thus saith the
Lord, “For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so
that there is no place clean.”
(Isa. 28: 8). Not only one table, not only one church, not
only one denomination, but
all tables are soiled by the falsified word, being dished out
through the mouths of
ministers.
In view of this situation, the following question is
appropriate, “Whom shall he teach
knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? ...”
(v. 9). Where the
tables are soiled, it is impossible to convey true knowledge
or the correct doctrines,
much less to receive a true revelation. They continue to say,
“For precept must be upon
precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line;
here a little, and there a
little” (v. 10). The same people say, “... when the
overflowing scourge shall pass
through, it shall not come unto us: ...” All are very sure of
themselves, “... for we have
made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid
ourselves.” (v. 15). They do not
recognise that they walk in their own ways and pass on their
own explanations of
Scripture. They are not aware, that they make their own
imagined building, which is
decorated with religious lies, their refuge. But hear the Thus
saith the Lord, “Justice
also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet;
and the hail shall sweep
away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the
hiding place.” (v. 17).
If the refuge of lies is hit by the hammer of the Word of
Truth, people should take heed
and return to God. There is only one valid guiding principle
given unto us by God for
our journey. Paul writes to his co-worker Timothy, “But thou
hast fully known my
doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering,
love, patience ...” (2 Tim. 3:
10). Who is prepared today, to take the doctrine and life of
the apostles as an example?
No one should be mistaken: God will not allow to be mocked for
ever. In His Kingdom
and in His Church only His Word is valid. Man’s word belongs
into man’s
institutions, but not as a substitute for God’s Word. That is
the twofold sin: to
forsake the Word and to calm one’s own conscious by replacing
it with man’s word
(Jer. 2: 13). This is the case in the denominations
world-wide, without anyone noticing
it.
Those who proclaim deliverance and freedom catch the people in
their net and their new
organisation resembles the old prison houses. In actuality,
things remain as they were,
for Thus saith the Lord, “But this is a people robbed and
spoiled; they are all of them
snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they
are for a prey, and none
delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. Who among
you will give ear to this?
Who will hearken and hear for the time to come?” (Isa 42:
22-23). But there are chosen
ones everywhere, that take this to heart and are called out of
all the spiritual prison
camps by the Lord, according to what the Scripture says, “My
people, come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not
the unclean thing ...”
(2 Cor. 6: 16-18; Rev. 18: 4 a. o.).
In the presence of God no one ever fell on his back during
prayer, but rather on his
knees and face: Abraham (Gen. 17: 17), Elieser (Gen. 24: 48),
Moses (Ex. 34: 8),
Joshua (chapter 5: 14), Daniel (chapter 8: 17) and also our
Lord in Gethsemane (Mt.
26: 39). The prophets and all of God’s people fell on their
face, “And when all the
children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory
of the Lord upon the
house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground
upon the pavement, and
worshipped, and praised the Lord ...” (2 Chr. 7: 3). Even
Nebuchadnezzar, the heathen
king, did so after he saw what God had done (Dan. 2: 46).
Whenever the Holy Spirit is
moving through the gift of prophecy, people fall on their
faces, too (1 Cor. 14: 25), and
not, as it is being practised in the arranged “fire
conferences”, on their backs. Also in
the New Testament, all in reverence before the Lord fell on
their face. It started with
the three wise men, who came to worship the new-born Christ
(Mt. 2: 11-12), right to
the Apostle John on the isle of Patmos.
In all revival meetings and evangelistic crusades people
stream together to hear the
sermon, because they have a longing for God. But what our Lord
said in Mt. 22: 14
also applies, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Only
the elect will hear His
voice, come out and get prepared and walk without compromise
in the ways of the
Lord. The others point to their experiences and continue on in
their own ways.
The time has come for all these things, which are now
happening, to be pointed out
and clearly examined in the light of God’s Word. As the Lord
particularly addresses
the miracle workers with the statement “Depart from Me!”, this
subject has to be
seriously dealt with. Many misuse His Name, they prophesy,
cast out devils and
perform miracles. They are celebrated before the multitudes of
thousands upon
thousands. What is wrong with them and with what they do? It
all looks so biblical!
They themselves are wrong in their prophesying and their
doctrines, because they
disregard the true apostolic doctrines and the true Word of
prophecy.
The power of God is efficiently working through the name of
Jesus Christ, whether the
preacher is right or wrong, for it is connected only to the
faith of those who believe, not
to the life or the teachings of a preacher. Our Lord said,
“And these signs shall follow
those who believe ...” (Mk. 16: 17-18). It is also written,
“... for he maketh his sun to
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just
and on the unjust.” (Mt.
5: 45).
The Truth does also still exist and we have the promise of our
Lord, “Therefore also
said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles
...” (Lk. 11: 49). To
those who the Lord Himself sends forth he says, “Behold, I
send you forth as sheep in
the midst of wolves ...” (Mt. 10: 16). But, “He that receiveth
you receiveth me, and he
that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that
receiveth a prophet in the name
of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward ...” (Mt. 10:
40-41).
That is a mighty promise God gave, to reward those who accept
the ones He directly
sends as His messengers! The Lord emphasises once more,
“Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he
that receiveth me
receiveth him that sent me.” (Jn. 13: 20). “Then said Jesus to
them again, Peace be
unto you; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” (Jn.
20: 21). Every man
God sends knows the day, place and the exact words of the
Divine commission he
received when he was called.
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