Apr 17, 2014

Last night the Father sent us another foot of snow. So I am writing this from home.

Job 38:22, 23 says,

²² Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,  ²³ Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle?

This week I have written about the saints of the Most High who are about to receive the dominion mandate of the Kingdom. These are the same saints who were persecuted and even overcome by the "little horn," as seen in Daniel 7:21, 22. In the New Testament we receive a hint of this in John 16:2, where Jesus told His disciples, "an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God." Again, He says in John 16:20,

²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.

These prophecies were fulfilled in the first century, when the apostles were indeed persecuted by the synagogue. However, the same verses were later fulfilled in the iron beast of Imperial Rome, followed by the "little horn" extension of Rome. The "war against the saints" has continued with few intermissions throughout history to the present time.

But I believe the time of the little horn is ending in 2014. The transfer of authority is to be decreed on the eighth day of Tabernacles, October 16, 2014. Meanwhile, however, when the little horn sees that his end is near, would we not expect him to stir up his agents to cause trouble in a last-ditch effort to retain power? 

Indeed, we received revelation yesterday, confirmed by the snowfall, that we have indeed entered such a time of warfare. It began as we ended the second 76-day cycle at Passover. The time is particularly appropriate, because the saints are part of the body of Christ, Who was offered up as a sacrifice on Passover. When the chief priests of Jerusalem crucified Him, they thought they were "offering service to God" (John 16:2). In fact, they were indeed doing this, but not in the way that they imagined.

Likewise, the little horn of Religious Rome believed the same fallacy as they persecuted the saints (along with those who held wrong opinions) for so many centuries. They believed it was their Christian duty to stamp out "heresy," and they did so with the spirit of malice. Whoever disagreed with the official position of the church's creeds, which had been determined by a Council of Carnal Minds, was labelled an "enemy" and could thus be treated without love or kindness. In fact, church officials ordered their church members to carry out the sentence of the hierarchy as if it were God's command. The seven spirits of God in Isaiah 11:2 were amended to include the spirit of malice. Likewise did they do with the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22, 23.

This same spirit of the little horn was not altogether rejected by the Protestant denominations when they left the Roman Church in the 1500's. John Calvin, for example, burned Michael Servetus at the stake, something he later regretted, but nonetheless, by that time Servetus was dead.

We would not need to look hard to find traces of the spirit of the little horn in virtually all of today's churches as well, even in churches that claim to believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. All one has to do is bring up the topic of the Restoration of All Things, and suddenly the scene becomes dark. The leaders immediately appeal to the old Roman church councils and go into heresy-hunting mode. I have been treated unkindly many times by those who are possessed by the spirit of the little horn.

I am not complaining, of course, because I know that God has allowed this to happen for my own good. I have learned many things by negative example. How could Jacob have become Israel without Esau driving him with malice to learn the ways of God? What would David have done without Saul to train him in the art of how NOT to rule the Kingdom? The same evil spirit that came upon Saul, which caused him to throw a javelin at David (1 Samuel 19:9, 10), is the spirit of the little horn. How do we know? Because Saul was crowned on the day of wheat harvest, which is Pentecost (1 Samuel 12:17). Saul is the Old Testament type of the church in the Age of Pentecost (since Acts 2:1). It is strange, but Saul had a genuine anointing and even prophesied, but he also persecuted David, the overcomer. Though he had been filled with the Spirit and had been "changed into another man" (1 Samuel 10:6), yet he persecuted David by the power of an evil spirit.

By comparing Saul with the church--and especially with the little horn--we can see plainly that in both cases the persecution was done by the spirit of malice. This is the religious spirit that pervades the church just under the surface. The perception of "heresy" is its trigger mechanism, for it is offended when anyone disagrees with them. Each denomination has its own creed, and each prioritizes its doctrines in order of importance. Often, the name of the denomination reveals its most important doctrine, though some are named after their founders. If a person questions the foundational doctrine by which the denomination is named, the spirit of malice immediately comes forth to "defend the faith."

But what is "the faith," really? What are the "essentials for communion?" What actually defines a believer? In my view, there are few essentials, and all other topics are open for discussion. One must believe (have faith) that Jesus is the Christ, that He died to pay for the sin of the world, that He rose again, and that He ascended to the right hand of the Father. It is hard to form a denomination out of those essentials. Denominations are named according to other church creeds, which somehow have been added to the list of essentials.

One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are ye saved through faith and belief in hell" (Revised Little Horn Version). I have heard it said that if you believe in heaven, you will go there; and if you don't believe in hell, you will go there. Since when did one's belief in the nature of hell become part of justifying faith? One will never find that taught by any biblical writer. We may say the same about all other doctrines that have been added to the list of essentials.

The spirit of the little horn is alive and well even today. It is seen primarily in its persecution of the saints, as Daniel tells us, but the reasons for such persecution are seen more fully in the story of Saul and David. Those who function by this spirit of malice have joined the side of the little horn, choosing to be part of Saul's kingdom, rather than of David's. Unless they repent, they will not inherit the dominion mandate that is coming. God will not set up more tyrants to rule in the Kingdom. The beast systems have had their opportunity to rule the kingdom for a very long time. Those individuals--even Christians--who act like malicious beasts will be replaced by the saints of the Most High. These are the ones who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.