An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages
The Ephesian Church Age
INTRODUCTION TO THE CHURCH AGES
66-1 In order for you to fully
understand the message of the Church Ages I would like to explain the various
principles that allowed me to arrive at the names of the messengers, the length
of the ages, and other factors involved therein.
66-2 Since this study was to be the
most serious one I had ever undertaken up to this time, I sought God for many
days for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Then only did I read the
Scriptures on the Church Ages and delve into the many church histories written
by the most unbiased historians that I could find. God did not fail to answer
my prayer, for while I read the Word and the histories, I was enabled by the
Holy Spirit to see unfolded a pattern that runs through the centuries and right
into this present, last day.
66-3 The key given me of the Lord whereby I was able to determine the
messenger for each age is a most Scriptural one. In fact it might be called the
Keystone of the Bible. It is the revelation that God never changes, and that
His ways are as unchangeable as He is.
In Heb. 13:8 it says "Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and today, and for ever".
Ecclesiastes 3:14,15, "I know that, whatsoever
God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken
from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him. That which hath
been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that
which is past."
Here it
is: an unchanging God with unchanging ways. What He did at the FIRST He will
have to keep on doing until it is done for the LAST time. There will never be a
change. Apply that to the Church Ages. The kind of man that God
chose for the first age, and how God manifested in that man's ministry, would
be the example for all other ages. What God did in the first church age
is what He wants to do in all other ages.
66-4 Now we know exactly from the Word which was recorded by the Holy
Spirit how the first, or original church, was founded and how God manifested
Himself in her. The Word can't change or be changed because the Word is God.
John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God."
To change one word of it, as did Eve, brings sin and death, even as it says in
Revelation 22:18-19,
"... If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words
of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of
Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this
book."
Thus, what
the church was at Pentecost is the standard. That is the pattern. There is no
other pattern. No matter what the scholars say, God has NOT changed that
pattern. What God did at Pentecost He has to keep on doing until the church
ages close.
67-1 Though scholars may tell you the
apostolic age is over, don't you believe it. Such a statement is wrong on two
counts. First of all, it is wrong to suppose there aren't any more apostles,
just because the original twelve are dead. An apostle means a 'sent one'; and
there are many sent ones today, but they are called missionaries. As long as
men are being called and sent forth with the Word of Life there is an apostolic
age going on. Secondly, they refer to an age of 'manifested Holy Ghost power'
as being over since the Bible has been completed. That is untrue. There is not
even one Scripture that suggests that, but many conclusively state otherwise.
Here is our proof that both of these charges are false. Acts 2:38,39. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto
you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the
Lord our God shall call." The promise of power with which the apostles
were endued at Pentecost is to "you (Jews), and to your children (Jews),
and to all that are afar off (Gentiles), and to as many as the Lord our God
shall call (both Jew and Gentile)". Until He stops calling, the
Pentecostal message and power will NOT CEASE.
67-2 What the church had at Pentecost is her inalienable right.
Originally, she had the pure Word of God. She had the power of the Spirit
manifested in divers signs and wonders and gifts of
the Holy Ghost.
Hebrews 2:1-4, "Therefore we ought to give the
more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should
let them slip. For if the Word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every
transgression and disobedience (to the Word) received a just recompence of
reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the
first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that
heard Him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with
divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will?"
That original
church was not organized by men. It was led by the Holy Ghost. It wasn't very
big. It was hated and despised. It was oppressed. It was persecuted unto death.
But it was true to God. It stayed with the original Word pattern.
68-1 Now don't get led astray here.
When I said that God and His ways never change, I did not say that the church
and its messengers could not change. The church isn't God. So she can change.
But what I said was that because of the unchanging God with unchanging ways we
can go back to the beginning and see the first and perfect act of God and then
judge by that standard. That is how it is done. The
68-2 With this key, so simple, yet so
wonderful, I was able, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to read the Book of
Revelation and the histories and find therein each age, each messenger, the
duration of each age, and the part each played in the purpose of God from
Pentecost to the consummation of those ages.
68-3 Since you now understand how we
judge what the
69-1 Now out of this first key that we
have received of the Lord, there comes another and slightly less wonderful
truth. I said that the
69-2 Now let us be very careful that
we are not confused at this point. Thus we will seek the Word to validate this
claim. Let us go back to the Book of the beginning, Genesis. In the Garden of
Eden there were TWO trees. One was good; one was evil. One produced LIFE, the
other produced Death. There were two children who originally offered sacrifices
to God. Let me repeat that, they BOTH offered sacrifices to God.
Genesis
4:3-5, "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of
the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of
the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect
unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect..." But one (Cain) was evil, being of his
father (that Wicked One), while Abel was righteous before the Lord. Again,
there were two children from the flesh of the same parents. They were the twins
of Isaac and Rebekah. One was the elect of God and the other was reprobate.
Both worshipped God. In every single case there was worship of God involved. In
every case the evil hated the righteous and persecuted the righteous. In some
cases the evil destroyed the righteous. But notice. They were planted together.
They lived together. They both made claims upon God and worshipped God.
70-1 These illustrations depict
perfectly the parable of the Lord Jesus Christ when He said that the kingdom of
heaven was like unto a man who sowed good seed, only to have an enemy come and
plant tares amongst those good seeds. God did not plant the tares. Satan
planted those tares right amongst the good seed of God. Those two kinds of
plants (people), from two different seeds, grew up together. They partook of
the nourishment in the same earth, they shared in the same sun, rain, and all
other benefits, and both were harvested in their turn.
Do you see it? Don't ever forget these truths as we study the church ages and
later the seals. And above all, don't forget that it is in this last age, when
the tares are getting bound for their burning, that they will shove out the
wheat that is to be garnered by the Lord.
70-2 I want to carry this thought all
the way through, so let us go a step further. Have you ever studied the history
of revivals? Now a revival signifies a move of God in power. And every time God
moves, Satan is there to move also. It never fails. In the days of the great
Welsh revival (and most people don't know this), the insane asylums filled up
quickly, and there was a great display of devil power to take away the
attention from God. It is written that in Wesley's day the people would do most
peculiar things that were definitely of Satan to try to mock the goodness and
power of God. In Luther's day it is said that the miracle of his ministry did
not lie in the fact that he successfully protested the Roman Catholic Church,
but the miracle lay in the fact he could, and did, stay sound and sane amidst
the fanatics who were often filled with, and guided by, wrong spirits. And if
you have been aware of this last day ministry, you will have noted the same
invasion of false and wicked spirits. It has to be that way. Now I hope and
trust you are spiritual minded enough to get that, and capitalize on it.
70-3 Just to seal this point on the True and false vines mingling and
demonstrating the two spirits that are at work, let us look into I John 4:1-4,
and Jude 3,4,12:
"Beloved, believe not every
spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false
prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of
God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it
should come; and EVEN NOW ALREADY is it in the world. Ye are of God, little
children, and have overcome them: (antichrist spirit) because greater is He,
(God's Spirit) that is in you than he that is in the world."
Jude 3,4,12. "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of
the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you
that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto
the SAINTS. For there are CERTAIN MEN (not Saints) crept in unawares (these
have not come into the fold by means of the DOOR and are therefore robbers),
who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, UNGODLY men, turning the
grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our
Lord Jesus Christ. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast
WITH you, feeding themselves without fear..."
It cannot
be denied in the face of these Scriptures that the
71-1 Now then, I think there is
something else you ought to know. The seven churches which are addressed by
John are in
Acts 13:44-48, "And the next sabbath
day came almost the whole city together to hear the Word of God. But when the
Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those
things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and
Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the Word of God should
first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so
hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the
Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the Word of the
Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed."
Romans 11:1-8, "I say then, Hath God cast away
His people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the
seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away His
people which He foreknew. Wot ye not what the
Scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession
to God against
Romans 11:25-29, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant
of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in
part is happened to Israel, until the Fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And
so all
72-2 These seven churches located in
THE MESSAGE TO THE EPHESIAN CHURCH AGE
Revelation 2:1-7
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These
things saith He That holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, Who walketh in
the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear
them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and
are not, and hast found them liars:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for My Name's sake hast laboured, and
hast not fainted.
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first
love.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first
works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick
out of his place, except thou repent.
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I
also hate.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree
of Life, Which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
THE MESSENGER
73-1 The messenger (angel) to the
Galatians 1:12-19, "For I neither received it of
man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye
have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond
measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the
Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly
zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, Who separated
me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, To reveal His Son in me,
that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with
flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles
before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after
three years I went up to
Galatians 2:2, "And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them
that Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were
of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain."
Galatians 2:6-9, "But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever
they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they
who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: But contrariwise,
when they saw that the Gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as
the Gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter: (For He That wrought effectually
in Peter to the apostle-ship of the circumcision, the Same was mighty in me
toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be
pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas
the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they
unto the circumcision."
Romans 11:13, "For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the
apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office."
74-1 Paul founded the church at
74-2 His manner of ministering set the pattern that all future messengers
were to aspire to, and actually sets the pattern for every true minister of
God, though he would not attain to such heights in the prophetic realm as did
Paul. Paul's ministry had a threefold quality and was as follows:
74-3 First of all, Paul was absolutely true to the Word. He never
deviated from it no matter what the cost.
Galatians 1:8-9, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye
have received, let him be accursed."
Galatians 2:11,14, "But when Peter was come to
I Corinthians 14:36-37, "What? came the Word
of God out from you? or came it unto you only? If any
man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the
things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord."
75-1 Notice that Paul was unorganized, but Spirit-led, as when God moved
upon Moses to lead
Galatians 1:1, "Paul, an apostle, (not of men,
neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, Who raised Him from
the dead:)"
Galatians 2:3-5, "But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek,
was compelled to be circumcised: And that because of false brethren unawares
brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ
Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by
subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the Gospel might continue
with you."
75-2 Secondly, his ministry was
in the power of the Spirit, thereby demonstrating the spoken and written Word.
I Corinthians 2:1-5, "And I, brethren, when I came
to you, came not with excellency of speech or of
wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know
anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in
weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in
the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
Acts 14:8-10, "And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his
feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: The same
heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had
faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he
leaped and walked."
Acts 20:9-12, "And there sat in a window a certain young man named
Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he
sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not
yourselves; for his life is in him. When he therefore was come up again, and
had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day,
so he departed. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little
comforted."
Acts 28:7-9, "In the same quarters were possessions
of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and
lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the
father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul
entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this
was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were
healed."
II Corinthians 12:12, "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among
you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds."
76-1 Thirdly, he had the evident fruit of
his God-given ministry.
II Corinthians 12:11, "I am become a fool in glorying; ye have
compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I
behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing."
I Corinthians 9:2, "If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I
am to you: for the seal of mine apostle-ship are ye in the Lord."
II Corinthians 11:2, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy:
for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may
present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."
Paul had
been the means of bringing in multitudes of the Gentile sheep; he fed them, and
cared for them, until they brought forth righteous fruit and were
prepared to meet the Lord as a part of the Gentile bride.
76-2 At the time of the giving of the
Revelation, according to tradition, Paul had already died a martyr, but John
was carrying on in his stead exactly as Paul had done in the days of his
ministry. The death of Paul, before the Revelation was given, does not at all
annul the fact that he was the messenger to the Ephesian Church Age, for the
messenger to every age, regardless of when he appears or goes, is the one who
influences that age for God by means of a Word-manifested ministry. Paul was
that man.
THE CITY OF
76-3 The city of
I Timothy 1:1-3, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, Which is our
hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God
our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. As I besought thee to
abide still at
77-1 The very name,
77-2 The very religion of
77-3 The order of temple service is
also very revealing. There were, first of all, priests who were eunuchs. This
sterile priesthood presaged the sterility of a people who would drift from the
Word, for a people who claim to know God apart from the Word are as barren of
life as is a sterile eunuch. Secondly, the temple had within its confines the
virgin priestesses who performed the religious acts of the temple. This showed
forth the day that ceremony and form, ritual and works, would take the place of
the Holy Spirit and no longer would charismatic manifestation fill the
JESUS, HIS MESSENGER AND CHURCHES
Revelation
2:1, "... These things saith He That holdeth
the seven stars in His right hand, Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks." This is He of Whom it is said, 'This Same Jesus is BOTH
Lord and Christ.' There He is, the One and Only Lord God Almighty, and beside
Him there is no other. There He is, the Saviour ("... salvation is of the
Lord", Jonah 2:9) walking in the midst of the churches throughout the
seven ages. What He was in the first age He is in all ages. To every believer,
He is Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, and today, and forever. What He did
once He is still doing, and will keep on doing.
78-2 Now you will notice that Jesus is
walking alone in the midst of His churches. There is no one else with Him.
Neither indeed can there be, for He alone wrought her salvation, and having
purchased her with His own blood He owns her. He is her Lord and Master. She
gives Him all the glory and that glory He will not share with another. There is
no pope with Him. There is no archbishop with Him. Mary, the mother of His
earthly body, is not with Him. He does not speak and turn to a Father, for He
is the Father. He does not turn to give orders to a Holy Spirit, for He is God,
eternal Spirit, and it is His Life that is flowing and pulsating in the church
giving her life, and without Him there would be no life. Salvation is of the
Lord.
79-1 There
was no one with Him when He trod the fierceness of the wrath of the fiery
furnace. It was not another, but HIM Who hung upon the
cross and gave His blood. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is the
Alpha and Omega of our salvation. We are espoused to Him and not another. We
don't belong to the church. We belong to Him. His Word is law. Creeds, dogmas,
by-laws and constitutions have no effect on us. Yes, it is Jesus ALONE Who walks in the midst of the churches. It is God in her,
willing and doing of His good pleasure. Never forget that. You have only one
relationship to God and God has only one relationship to you--that is JESUS, and JESUS ALONE.
79-2 There He is with the seven stars
in His right hand. The right hand or arm signifies the power and authority of
God. Psalms 44:3, "For they got not the land in possession by their own
sword, neither did their own arm save them: but Thy right hand, and Thine arm,
and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them."
In that right hand of power are seven stars, who, according to Revelation 1:20, are the seven church messengers. This signifies that
the very power and authority of God are behind His messengers to every age.
They go forth in the fire and power of the Holy Ghost with the Word. They are
stars because they reflect light. The light they reflect is His light. They
have no light of their own. They kindle not their own fires that men may walk
in the light of their sparks. Isaiah 50:11. It is night, for that is when the
stars come out. It is the night of the blackness of sin, for all (even the
whole world), have sinned and are constantly falling short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23.
79-3 These seven messengers are making
God known to the people. He that receiveth them,
receiveth Him That sent them. John 13:20. They speak and act upon His
authority. He stands behind them with all the power of Godhead.
Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, ALL POWER is given unto Me in heaven and
in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I AM WITH YOU ALWAY, even unto
the end of the world (consummation of the ages)."
So there
they are, full of the Holy Ghost and faith, on fire with the fire of God,
holding forth the Word of truth, and there He stands to back them up. And think
of it, not one believer of any age need cry in his heart, "Oh, that I might have been back there in the first age when
the apostles were first sent out." There is NO need to look back. LOOK UP!
Behold Him Who is even now walking in the midst of the
churches through all ages. Behold Him Who is the same
yesterday and today, and forever; and Who never changes either in essence or in
His ways. Where two or three are gathered together in His Name, there He is in
their midst! And not only in their midst as a complacent onlooker, or as a
recording angel; but there He stands expressing exactly what He is--the Life
and Sustainer and Giver of all good gifts to the church. Hallelujah!
80-1 "Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks." How meaningful are those words when viewed in the light of the
Scripture, which describes Him as "Christ Who is our Life". For
Christ, indeed, is the life of the church. She has no other life. Without Him
she is simply a religious society, a club, a meaningless gathering of the
people. As a corpse bejeweled and dressed is still a corpse, so the church, no
matter what her programs and her gracious efforts might achieve, without Christ
she is a corpse also. But with Him in her midst, with Him motivating her, she
becomes to the wonderment of all "His body, the fulness of Him that
filleth all in all." And this very hour He is walking in the midst of the
last age's golden candlestick. What He was as He walked in the first age He is
even now in this last age. Jesus Christ the SAME, YESTERDAY, and TODAY, and
FOREVER.
80-2 "Seven golden candlesticks." In Exodus 25:31, it says, "And
thou shalt make a candlestick of PURE gold; of BEATEN work shall the
candlestick be made; his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his
flowers, shall be of the same." The true
81-1 But not
only is the candlestick of gold, it is of BEATEN gold. Hand-crafted
of beaten gold, according to her blue prints which were Spirit-given.
Outside of her Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, was ever a people so beaten and
purged as the bride of Jesus Christ? Surely she is filling up the sufferings
that Christ has left behind. Her goods are despoiled. Her life is in jeopardy.
She is accounted as sheep for the slaughter. She is killed all the day long.
She suffers much, but in it all retaliates not, neither does she cause others
to suffer. Worthy of the Gospel is this lovely bride of Christ. And as gold is
malleable, whereas brass will break with the beating, this gold of God will
bear her suffering for the Lord, not bowed, not broken, not destroyed, but
formed as a thing of beauty and a joy forever by the trials and testings of
this life.
CHRIST PRAISES HIS OWN
Revelation 2:2,3, "I know thy works, and thy labour,
and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou
hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them
liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for My Name's sake hast laboured,
and hast not fainted."
81-3 How beautifully the Saviour
praises and commends His children. He takes full account of their fine
spiritual attitudes and behavior. He knows that there is weakness amongst them,
but as yet He does not cry out against it. Isn't that just like the Lord? He
knows how to encourage us in the right matters and discourage us in the wrong
matters. We could all learn a good lesson right here in running the church and
our families. And better still, we could all learn a good lesson in that God
deals with each one of us in exactly this way. Don't ever be discouraged, Saint
of God, for God is not ungracious to forget your labors of love. Whatever we
do, even giving a cup of cold water to some one, has a reward and blessing from
the Lord.
82-1 "I know thy works, thy
labour, and thy patience." As He walks in the midst of His church, He is aware of
the suffering of His people, and He cares. As it was in the days of the
captivity in
82-2 I think we ought to stop here and
deal with the thought that God's people have always been and always will be
persecuted. You know that Genesis is the book of beginnings, and what you find
started there will carry right on through the Revelation and never change.
There we see that Cain persecuted and killed Abel because the latter pleased
God. Then we see a perfect picture in Abraham's son of the flesh, Ishmael, who
teased and fought the son of promise, Isaac. And there was Esau, who hated
Jacob and would have killed him, had not God intervened. In the New Testament
we find Judas betraying Jesus, while the religious orders of the first century
attempted to destroy the early believers. The children of this world,
controlled by the devil, hate the children of God who are controlled by the
Spirit.
82-3 No matter how just and upright a
Christian is before the public, and how gracious he is to his fellow man, doing
naught but good, let him confess Christ as his Saviour and acknowledge the
operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in tongues, prophecy, healing and
miracles, and he will be condemned. The spirit of this world hates the Spirit
of God, and because it can't overcome the Spirit of the Lord it tries to
destroy the vessel in whom the Spirit of Truth dwells.
82-4 Persecution and trials are a
natural, normal part of the Christian life. There is only one thing you can do
about them. Commit them all to God, judge not, and leave their outworking and
final judgment to Him.
82-5 "Thou canst not bear them
which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are
not, and hast found them liars." These Ephesians believed that God's
people ought to be holy. According to this verse they took steps to keep the
body unleavened from sin. Most evidently the apostasy had already started. Sin
had entered into the church. But they were obedient to the words of Paul when
he said to put away the wicked from amongst them. They were a separated people.
They had come out of the world, and now they weren't going to let the world
enter amongst them. They would not put up with sin in the church. Holiness
wasn't a phrase with them or a figure of speech; it was a way of life.
83-1 "Thou hast tried them that
say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars." My, that is a blunt statement.
"Thou hast tried them who call themselves apostles." Isn't that
presumptuous? What right has a people to try those who call themselves
apostles? And how do they try them? Oh, I love this. Here it is in Galatians
1:8, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than that which we have (already) preached unto
you, let him be accursed." It was the apostles who brought the original
Word to the people. That original Word could not change,
not even a dot or dash of it. Paul knew it was God Who had spoken to him so he
said, "Even if I come and try to give a second revelation, try to make one
little change in what I gave originally, let me be
accursed." You see, Paul knew that first revelation was correct. God can't
give a first revelation, then a second revelation. If He did, He would be
changing His mind. He can give a revelation and then add to it, as He did in
the Garden of Eden when He promised the Seed to the woman, and then later
designated that Seed had to come through Abraham, and then later said it would
come by the same blood lines in David. But it was the same revelation. It only
gave the people more information to help them receive and understand it. But
God's Word can't change. The Seed came exactly as revealed. Hallelujah. And see
what those false apostles were doing. They came with their own word. Those
Ephesians knew that Word as Paul had taught it. They were full of the Holy
Ghost by the laying on of Paul's hands. They looked those false apostles in the
eye and said, "You are not saying what Paul said. You are, therefore,
false." Oh, that sets my heart on fire. Get back to the Word! It is not
you that really tries the apostle, and prophet and teacher, IT IS THE WORD THAT
TRIES THEM. One of these days there is going to come a prophet to the Laodicean
Church Age and you will know if he is the real one sent from God or not. Yes
you will, for if he is of God HE WILL BE IN THAT WORD EXACTLY AS GOD GAVE IT TO
PAUL. HE WON'T DEVIATE FROM THAT WORD FOR A MOMENT, NOT BY ONE IOTA. In that
last age, when there will be many false prophets appearing, watch and see how
they keep telling you that if you don't believe them and what they say, you
will be lost; but when that LAST DAY PROPHET comes on the scene, if he is truly
that prophet, he will be crying out, "Get back to the Word or you are
lost." He won't build on a private revelation or interpretation, but on
the Word. Amen, and Amen!
84-1 These false apostles are the grievous wolves that Paul spoke of. He
said, "Once I am gone they will try to come and claim equal revelation;
but their purpose is not to help you, but destroy you."
Acts 20:27-32, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath
made you overseers, to feed the
84-2 John knew of them, also, for he
said in I John 4:1, "... many false prophets are (already) gone out
into the world." That antichrist spirit was already infiltrating the
church, and it was doing it by going against the Word. Why here is where it all
started. Right here in the first church age. Already they were denying the Word
and setting up their own creeds and philosophies instead of the Word. That is
antichrist, for Jesus is the Word. To be anti-Word is to be anti-Jesus. To be
anti-Word is to be antichrist, because the Spirit and the Word are ONE. If you
are anti-Word, you will have to be antichrist. AND IF IT STARTED IN THE
85-1 Now it is easy to get a wrong impression of what we are talking about
because I am making this so strong. It could sound to you as though this
anti-Word, antichrist spirit, is a complete repudiation of the Word, a denial
of the Bible culminating in its rejection. No sir. It is not that.
What it is, is Revelation 22:18,19, "For I testify
unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man
shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written
in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the
holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."
It is the
changing of even just ONE word by taking away or adding to it. It is the
original trick of Satan in the Garden of Eden. He just added one little word to
what God had said. That did it. It brought death and destruction. And in
85-2 Did you get it now? There are
those twins again. There are those two trees again, growing side by side in the
same earth, partaking of the same nourishment, drinking in the same rain, and
benefiting by the same sun. But they come from DIFFERENT seeds. One tree is FOR
the Word of God, exactly as God gave it, and loves and obeys it. The other tree
is from the seed that is anti the Word of God and changes it where it wants to.
It substitutes its own creeds and dogmas for the living true Word exactly as
did Cain, who ended up killing Abel. But fear not little flock. Stay with the Word. Keep that Word between you and the
devil. Eve did not do that and she failed. And when the church lets down on the
Word she goes into the depths of the darkness of Satan.
85-3 "And hast borne, and hast
patience, and for My Name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted."
This is just about the same as was said in verse two. But in verse two the
work, labor, and patience were from guarding the sacred Word which was
committed unto them. How they kept away the adversaries. What a credit they
were to Paul. But in this verse their persecutions and trials and patience are
over the blessed Name of Jesus.
86-1 You know
that is not at all strange, for it is the Word and the Name that brings the
enemy pouring after us like a flood. That mighty Word
which was manifested in healings, signs, wonders, and other demonstrations, caused
the Pharisees to scream out for the death of the true believers. And now that
Name, hated and despised by the Jews, is mocked by the cultured as they laughed
to think anyone could be so foolish as to believe in a man who died and rose
again and is now seated in heaven. So here were the religious persecutors, the
Jews, cursing this Jesus, Who to them was a false Messiah; and here were the
others laughing with delight and mocking sarcastically at the Name of a new
god, Who to them wasn't a god at all.
86-2 Now here
is something else that started in that age and will continue right down through
the ages, getting deeper and darker. That is, people were repudiating that
Name. It was not the true
86-3 They knew the power of that Name. They saw
that Name was so powerful that even aprons taken from the body of Paul and sent
in Jesus' Name to suffering people could deliver the sick from all manner of
diseases and cast out evil spirits. So manifestly wonderful did that Name
perform that reprobate Jews at
Acts 19:11-17, "And God wrought special miracles
by the hands of Paul; So that from his body were
brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from
them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Then certain of the vagabond Jews,
exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the Name of
the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus Whom
Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the
priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and
Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on
them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of
that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks
also dwelling at
87-1 They knew the righteous life that
accompanied the bearing of that Name, for whosoever nameth the Name of the
Lord, let him depart from sin. Be ye holy, ye that bear the vessels of the
Lord. Thou shalt not bear the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. These Ephesians were CHRISTIANS. They bore a Name, and that Name
was Christ, Who was the Spirit of God within them, and Which
was one of the threefold Names of their Lord.
87-2 "... And for My Name's
sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted."
These believers weren't laboring for Paul, or for an organization. They weren't
committed to programs and institutions whereby they built up holdings of value.
They worked for the Lord. They were His servants, not the pawns of
organization. They didn't go to church on Sunday and talk about that Name and
then forget it the rest of the week. They didn't give lip service to that Name.
No Sir. It was their lives that were given.
87-3 All they did, they did in that
Name. In that Name they acted, but if they could not act in that Name, then
they refrained from acting. These were heavenly placed Christians whose
behaviour was in the Lord.
87-4 But that false vine group that
wanted to defile that Name hung like skulking wolves in the dark, waiting to
get in and tear down. But the saints stood the test and kept the Word and the
Name.
THE COMPLAINT OF GOD
88-1 Revelation 2:4, "Nevertheless
I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
To understand this you must realize that the Spirit is not speaking to the
original saints of
88-2 The fervent desire to please God,
the passion to know His Word, the cry for reaching out in the Spirit, all
begins to fade and instead of that church being on fire
with the fire of God it has cooled off and become a bit formal. That is what
was happening back there to the Ephesians. They were getting a bit formal. The
abandonment to God was dying out and the people weren't too careful about what
God thought of them as they began to be careful about what the world thought of
them. That second generation coming on was just like
89-1 That cycle of revival and death
has never failed. All you have to do is recall this last move of God in the
Spirit when men and women dressed like Christians, went to church, prayed all
night, took to street corners and weren't ashamed of the manifestations of the
Spirit. They left their old dead churches and worshipped in homes or old store
buildings. They had reality. But it wasn't too long a time until they began to
get enough money to build fine new churches. They put in a choir instead of
singing unto God for themselves. They put gowns on the choir. They organized a
movement and ran it by man. They soon began to read books that weren't fit to
read. They let down the bars and goats came in and took over. The cry of joy
was gone. The freedom of the Spirit was gone. Oh, they kept on with a form; but
the fire had died down and the blackness of ashes is about all that is left.
89-2 A few moments ago I mentioned
that John understood what it was to love God. That great apostle of love would
certainly see it when the church began to lose that first love of God. In I John 5:3, he says, "For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments (His Word)." One little deviation from
that Word was a step away from Christ. People say they love God, they go to
church, they even shout and rejoice and sing and have
a great emotional time. But when it is all over, watch and
see if they are in that WORD, walking in it, living in it. If they go
through all the other and then don't walk in that Word, they can say they love
God but their lives tell another story. I wonder if John didn't see a lot of
that before he died; people saying they loved God but not obeying His Word. Oh,
89-3 But as usual people don't heed
God's warning. That revival fire built upon the sacred Word is so wonderful,
and the manifestation of the Spirit so blessed, that a little fear creeps in
and a whisper in the heart says, "How can we protect this truth we have?
What can we do to see this revival goes on?" That is when the
"antichrist spirit" comes in and whispers, "Look, you have the
truth now, see that it doesn't get lost. Organize and set up your creed of what
you believe. Put it all in a church manual." And they do it. They
organize. They add to the Word. And they die just like Eve did for taking One wrong word. It's God's Word that brings life. And it's
not what we say about the Word that counts, but it's what God said.
THE WARNING OF GOD
Revelation 2:5, "Remember therefore from whence thou
art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee
quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
90-2 God tells them to REMEMBER.
Evidently something had left their minds. They had forgotten something. He told
them to turn back in their minds to their point of origin. The origin of the
first age was Pentecost. They had fallen from it. They had forgotten the glory
and wonder of it. It was time to go back in mind and then in reality. Back to
when they could say, "For me to live is
Christ." Back to purity when Ananias and Sapphira were
dealt with. Back to the Gate Beautiful. Oh,
what a reproach it is to drift from God and countenance those acts that defile
His Name. Let those who name His Name depart from sin and keep their vessels
pure for God. Look at what you once were in your heart, and mind, and in your
life. Then go back to it.
90-3 And what is the way back? The way
is the way of repentance. If a sinner has to come to God by way of repentance
then the lukewarm or backslider will have to repent that much more. Repent!
Bring forth fruits meet for repentance. Prove it by your life. "If you do
not repent," said God, "I will remove your lampstand." Certainly. A church in that condition can't give light to
the world. Its light has turned to darkness. God will then take away its
faithful messenger and its faithful shepherds and leave them to themselves, and
they will go on talking about Christianity but be bereft of it.
90-4 Repent quickly! Don't hesitate!
Evidently
91-1 Now it does not mean that she
could not have repented. It does not mean that we cannot repent. We can. But it
must be quickly. It must be a true heart cry to God in sorrow, and then God
will restore. The glory shall come again.
THE SEED OF NICOLAITANISM
Revelation 2:6, "But this thou hast, that thou hatest
the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate."
91-3 Now there are two thoughts on
what the Nicolaitanes were. It is said by some that they were a group of
apostates who had as their founder, Nicholas of Antioch, a proselyte, who
became one of the seven deacons at
91-4 But the problem about this belief
is that it is not true. There is absolutely no history for it. It is at best tradition.
To adopt such a view would make the church age of
92-1 What are these Nicolaitanes? The
word comes from two Greek words. Nikao, which means to
conquer, and
92-2 What was it that God hated that
was happening in that church? What was going on then, and is now going on
today, is exactly what the word Nicolaitane means. The people were being
subjected somehow in a way that was absolutely contrary to the Word of God.
92-3 Now to get the real meaning of
what we are about to go into, I must caution you to ever keep in mind that
religion (spiritual matters if you like), is composed of two parts that
intertwine but are as opposite as black and white. Religion and the spiritual
world are made of those two trees which had their roots in
92-4 All right. Now what was the
spiritual climate of that church? It had left its first love. Leaving its first
love of the Word of God was revealed to us as having fallen from its origin,
which was Pentecost. In plain English, that means this church was in danger of
being taken away from the leading of the Holy Spirit, the control of the
Spirit. This was exactly what took place after Moses led
93-1 See how it started out in the
early church. It was called deeds. Then it became a doctrine. It became the
standard. It became the unbending way. It finally took over and God was pushed
aside. Oh, it started so small, so quietly, so inoffensively. It looked so
good. It seemed so sound. Then it caught a hold, and like a python, it squeezed
out the very breath and killed all the spirituality there was in the church.
Oh, that false vine is subtle. It is like an angel of light until it gets a
hold on you. Now I want to say that I believe in leadership. But it is not the
leadership of men I believe in. I believe in the leadership of the Holy Ghost
coming through the Word. I believe also, that God has set men in the church,
men who are gifted by the Spirit; and they will keep the church in order. I
believe that. I believe also that the church is ruled over by men that God
sends to take charge. But that rule is BY THE WORD, so that it is not men
really ruling but the SPIRIT OF GOD, for the Word and Spirit are ONE. Hebrews
13:7, "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto
you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their
conversation."
93-2 But see what was happening back
there. That false vine was getting a hold and it was teaching that rulership by
man was right. It taught that the church had to be governed. It taught a
control over the people, but instead of doing it God's way, they simply took
authority and vested all the spiritual power in their own hands and came out
with a holy priesthood standing between God and the people. They went right
back to the old Aaronic system. They became antichrist for they disposed of His
mediator-ship and imposed their own. God hated that. The Ephesians hated that
and any true believer will hate it too. We would have to be stone blind not to
see that same thing at work all through the ages and right now it is the worst
of all. What it was, was organization. That separated
the people. God's people are supposed to be one. By ONE Spirit are they ALL
baptized into one body and EVERYONE is to be moved upon by the Holy Ghost and
EVERYONE is to participate in the worship of God. But men wanted the
pre-eminence, so they took over control, and bishops became archbishops, and
with imposing titles they by-passed the Word of God and taught their own
doctrines. They got the people to obey them until the time came that their way
of worship did not in any way at all resemble the early days after Pentecost.
These deeds were the beginning of apostolic succession. From apostolic
succession it was one easy and quick step to "church membership" as
the means of saving grace. The Word was reduced to a creed. Antichrist by his
spirit was predominating the church.
94-1 Look at
it today. If you read Acts 2:4 the way some do, you could read it this way, "Now
when the day of Pentecost was fully come, there came a priest with a wafer and
said, 'Stick out your tongue,' and he laid the wafer upon it, and he himself
drank some wine and said, 'You have now received the Holy Ghost.'" Incredible? That is exactly what Nicolaitanism has come to.
They say, "Never mind what God's Word says. You can't understand it. We
have to interpret it for you. Furthermore the Bible is not finished. It has to
change with the times and we will tell you what the changes are." How
contrary that is to the Word of God that emphatically states, "Let God be
true, but every man a liar," whenever there is a conflict with the truth.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but NOT ONE WORD of God will fail. So the
people are led by people who presume to be what they are not. They say they are
vicars of Christ, but what they are is antichrist.
94-2 Here is
another sad story. It is the story of water baptism. In Jesus' day and after
Pentecost they were immersed in water. No one can deny that. Educated men say
that all they did was pour water on them because it was easy to find little
holes of water in many places. And when they pour water on them, they do it in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, as if those titles were
real names, and as if there were three Gods instead of just one. But stay in
that organization and try and preach the truth of immersion in the Name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and you will be put out. You couldn't be led of God and stay
in there. It is impossible.
95-1 Now Paul was a prophet, taught by the Holy Ghost. If Paul baptized in
the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and said anyone that did different from his
preaching was accursed, then it is time to wake up and see that the church is
no longer controlled by the Holy Ghost but it is controlled by the
Nicolaitanes.
Acts 20:27-30, "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
95-2 Paul saw it coming. But he warned
them about this subtle priesthood that would come and take over with its false
doctrines. He knew they would implement a way of worship that excluded the
people from any part in a Holy Spirit ministry. And even right today among
those who claim to be free and full of the Spirit there is not too much freedom
in the laity, and the best we can see is a few preachers with inspired
preaching while the flock just sits there and tries to absorb it. This is a far
cry from Paul who said that when all came together, all had the leading of the
Spirit, and all participated in Spiritual worship.
95-3 And the church corporate has
never learned this lesson from the Scripture nor from history. Every time God
gives a visitation of the Holy Spirit and people get free, after awhile they
bind themselves right back to the very thing they came out of. When Luther came
out of Catholicism, the people stayed free for awhile. But when he died, the
people simply organized what they thought he believed and set up their own
creeds and ideas and repudiated anyone who said opposite to what they said.
They went right back to Catholicism with a little different form. And right
today many Lutherans are ready to go all the way back.
95-4 Oh, yes! In Revelation 12, that
old whore had many daughters. These daughters are just like mother. They set
the Word aside, deny the work of the Spirit of God, subjugate the laity, and
make it impossible for the laity to worship God unless they come through them
or through their pattern, which is nothing but a blueprint of unbelief from
Satan himself.
96-1 Where, oh where, are we
spiritually? We are in a wilderness of darkness. How far we
have wandered from the first church. Pentecost is nowhere in view and
the Word cannot be found. Apostolic succession, which today abounds, is not
found in the Word. It is a man-made device. It supersedes illegally the truth
that GOD, NOT MAN, has set His leaders in the church. Peter was not even in
96-2 Get back to God. Repent before it
is too late. See the handwriting on the wall. It is writing judgment. As the
sacred vessels were desecrated and thus brought the wrath of God, now the
sacred Word has been desecrated and the Spirit grieved, and judgment is here,
even at the door. Repent! Repent! Go back to Pentecost. Back
to the leadership of the Holy Ghost. Back to the Word of God, for why
will ye die?
THE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT
Revelation 2:7, "He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches: To him that overcometh will I give to
eat of the Tree Of Life, Which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
96-4 "He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." It may be that millions
will hear these words or read them. But how many will pay heed to them? That we
do not know. But he who will lend his ear and want to know the words of truth
will find the Spirit of God enlightening him. If your ear is open to the Word,
the Spirit of God will make the Word real to you. Now that is a work of the
Spirit. I can teach you the truth, but if you don't open your ear to hear it
and your heart to receive it, you won't get the revelation.
97-1 Now notice, it says that the
Spirit is speaking to the churches. That is plural, not singular. The Spirit
did not have John write this down for a local Ephesian church, nor for the
first age only. It is for all church ages. But this is the church of
beginnings. And thus it is like the Book of Genesis. What started in Genesis
holds true throughout the entire Word and finally closes out in Revelation.
Thus, this church beginning in Acts is God's blueprint for all ages until she
closes out in the Laodicean Age. Watch it carefully. Let every age take heed, for
what is going on here is only the start. That little tree that was planted is
going to grow. It is going to grow through the ages. This, then, is a message
for every Christian through every age until Jesus comes. Yes, it is, for it is
the Spirit speaking. Amen.
THE REWARD PROMISED
Revelation 2:7, "...To him that overcometh will I
give to eat of the Tree Of Life, Which is in the midst of the paradise of
God."
This is
the future reward to all overcomers of all ages. When the last call to battle
has been sounded, when our armour has been laid down, then we will rest in the
paradise of God and our portion shall be the Tree of Life, forever.
97-3 "The Tree Of Life." Isn't that a beautiful figure of speech? It is
mentioned three times in the Book of Genesis and three times in the Book of
Revelation. In all six places it is the same tree and symbolizes exactly the
same thing.
97-7 But what is the Tree Of Life?
Well, first of all we would have to know what the tree itself stands for. In
Numbers 24:6, as Balaam described
97-5 Now in the Garden of Eden there
were two trees standing in the midst of it. One was the Tree Of Life, the other was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil. Man was to live by the Tree Of Life; but he was not to touch the other
tree or he would die. But man did partake of the other tree, and when he did,
death entered into him by his sin, and he became separated from God.
98-1 Now that Tree back there in
98-2 Some have an idea that the two trees in the garden were just two more
trees like unto the rest of those that God had placed there. But careful
students know that this is not so. When John the Baptist cried that the axe was
laid to the root of all trees, he was not talking of simply natural trees, but
of spiritual principles.
Now in I John 5:11 it says, "And this is the
RECORD, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His
Son."
Jesus said in John 5:40, "And ye will not come to Me,
that ye might have life."
Thus the record, God's Word, states plainly and clearly that LIFE, ETERNAL
LIFE, is in the Son. It is no other place.
I John 5:12, "He that hath the Son hath LIFE; and he that hath not the
Son of God hath NOT Life."
Now since the record cannot change, be taken from or added thereunto, then the
record stands that THE LIFE IS IN THE SON... Since this is so, THE TREE IN THE
GARDEN HAS TO BE JESUS.
98-3 All right. If the Tree Of Life is
a person, then the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is a person ALSO. It
can't be otherwise. Thus the Righteous One and the Wicked One stood side by
side there in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Ezekiel 28:13a "Thou
(Satan) hast been in
98-4 Here is where we receive the true
revelation of the 'Serpent's seed.' Here is what really happened in the Garden
of Eden. The Word says that Eve was beguiled by the serpent. She was actually
seduced by the serpent. It says in Genesis 3:1, "Now the serpent was
more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made."
This beast was so close to a human being (and yet was pure animal) that he
could reason and talk. He was an upright creature and was somewhat in between a
chimpanzee and a man, but closer to a man. He was so close to being human that
his seed could, and did mingle with that of the woman and cause her to
conceive. When this happened, God cursed the serpent. He changed every bone in
the serpent's body so that he had to crawl like a snake. Science can try all it
wants to, and it won't find the missing link. God saw to that. Man is smart and
he can see an association of man with animal and he tries to prove it out of
evolution. There isn't any evolution. But man and animal did mingle. That's one
of the mysteries of God that has remained hidden, but here it is revealed. It happened right back there in the midst of
99-1 Notice what God said to them in
the garden. Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her Seed, It shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise His heel." If we give credit to the Word that the woman
did have a Seed, then the serpent must have surely had a seed also. If the Seed
of the woman was a man-child apart from the man, then the seed of the serpent
will have to be in the same pattern, and that is another male must be born
apart from human male instrumentality. There is no student who does not know
that the Seed of the woman was the Christ Who came by the instrumentality of
God, apart from human intercourse. It is also just as well known that the
predicted bruising of the serpent's head was in actuality a prophecy concerning
what Christ would accomplish against Satan at the cross. There at the cross
Christ would bruise the head of Satan, while Satan would bruise the heel of the
Lord.
99-2 This portion of Scripture is the revelation of how the literal seed
of the serpent was sown in the earth, even as we have the account of Luke
1:26-35, wherein is set forth the exact account of how the Seed of the woman
came into physical manifestation apart from the instrumentality of the human
male.
"And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent
from God unto a city of