Tainted Influence

Here stands this powerful man of God before the Angel of the Lord, perhaps not even fully aware of what he was fighting within. There were so many troubling things that could not be understood. Why do I struggle with feeling guilty, or even filthy, yet I know I am not? I am a servant of the Most High God. I feel this sense of shame, and yet I know I am doing well. I am not aware of any sin in my life, yet I feel as though I am a sinner. Could it be that my ideas and expectations of a spiritual life exceed what true spirituality really is? Is there anything good within me? Can I even expect God to understand and help me when I am so needy? We can only imagine the thoughts this prophet of God may have contended with. Paul expressed similar experiences to us in his writings. 1 Corinthians 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair. V. 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. Many questions seemed to pervade these men, an apostle, and a prophet of God, as they continued in their faithfulness to the burden and calling upon their life.

Zechariah 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. V. 4 And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel. The unseen truth that stands as absolute reality is unveiled here, and we see how God addressed this issue with His servant. Joshua was about to discover a startling reality. There was an enemy that had soiled his garments. Zechariah 3:1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Satan stood on his right hand as an accuser, resisting him in all that he did for Almighty God and His people. This evil presence had positioned itself as an influence within the mantle that he carried. It made him appear as a guilty, filthy man. This influence was present while Joshua was in the very presence of God and in the midst of his calling as he prevailed in faithfulness. Joshua was called by God for service and ministry as a high priest in the ancient days. It was the highest of callings on this man—a spiritual battle warrior, minister, and priest to the King of heaven and earth. Now this man of God finds himself clothed with filthy garments as he stands before the Holy Angel from Heaven. Was he filthy with sin issues? No, he was one of God’s saints and chiefly laden with purpose and responsibility. Joshua was called to higher purposes and heavenly duties. But as the task lay before him, there was a resister that stood on his right hand and the effects of a filthy, enemy-tainted influence upon him that felt completely ungodly.

There are many genuinely blood-washed saints today walking in the power of the full provision of Christ who yet wrestle with this mind-set. But they wrestle not against flesh and blood. The attacks of Satan can make the saint look as un-saintly as the filth of the enemy himself. This is the story of so many true children of God. When the enemy pursues the demise of these children he tries to taint them with filthy influences and dominate them through feelings of defeat and corruption. He does this because he knows they are the saints of God. When these true children of God see themselves as filthy, they become almost frozen in their duties. It causes great defeat in their walk with God. They fight discouragement and live in a state of crisis, feeling their relationship with Christ to be disjointed. They are tempted to think that perhaps God is their enemy.

In my 33 years of ministry I have never witnessed an outpouring of this unholy mess of dismay upon God’s people as I have in these last years. It seems to be the tool of the hour for discouraging the true children of God. These people are not wicked, but that is exactly how they feel about themselves. They are not hiding sin or justifying sin but living a life of purity and holiness before God. However, they become dismayed by a filth that has been cast upon them by the enemy. They are not sinners, yet they feel as though they are. They are not adulterers, yet they feel like they are. They are not liars, yet they feel like they are. They are told lies by an evil influence, and they carry around this complex, diminishing all hope and joy that they could rightly have.
The Lord said to the angel that stood before Joshua, ‘take the garments from him, and give him a change of raiment’. May God allow you dear people to see the spotless garments He has provided for you. In Heaven they will be clearly seen as the holy garments they are—clean, pure, and white!
Revelation 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? They came from earth and out of great tribulation, having blood-washed robes. And that is us, my dear friends.

Moments of Importance

We can suppose Adam and Eve may have met their temptation with thinking along these lines—we’re the only ones here, nobody else will ever be affected if we taste of this fruit or if we don’t. Surely it would take more than one little thing between God and us to ruin such a perfect relationship. God’s kindness and understanding would never allow us to be separated; He is very indebted to us, He created us! If only they had known the condition of the world and the effects shown in everyone’s personal life, 6,000 years later. How can that one moment in the Garden be so enormous? Was it that much more significant than the decisions we face today?

I have observed that it seems the smallest and most insignificant events, produce the greatest life-altering circumstances. The fruit of the tree of knowledge was not to be tasted or touched. How small is that? A fruit! How can a small fruit change the entire future of billions of souls, plunging them into corrupt adulteration? How powerful and vast are the small things! How can touch and taste be so powerful? How can that one moment of suggestive logic be so devastating? Was it the serpent or was it disobedience?

Israel was in the midst of a huge spiritual defeat, defined by a final threat from a Philistine giant. There was no one powerful enough to take down this adversary of God’s people. A young, inexperienced shepherd boy from the hills of Hebron, near Bethlehem, was delivering cheese, corn, and bread to his brothers at the warfront on the ridge of Elah, when he heard about Goliath. He was scorned by his brothers because of his inexperience and stature. David should have never approached this confrontation; it was not in his category of duty. The moment seemed all wrong.

Lodged deep in the experience of time there was a moment when a prophet poured oil upon the life of a young lad in the hills of Judea. His life was never same from there forward. 1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. Then he became an armor-bearer for the king. Among his grand duties, he still fed the sheep of his father, and amongst the carrying out of tasks insignificant, here was this moment when he saw the giant man with a 5-gallon-sized head, being almost ten feet tall.

I’ve stood on this hill in the valley of Elah several times to envision the conflict. There was a moment when David remembered the oil of anointing upon him—it was in the valley of Elah, when things came alive by the mighty hand of God upon a lad of no recognizable significance. There was oil upon him from the hand of God; It was the equipment he needed in that moment to trust the Lord with power and faith in His purpose. He was transitioning from shepherd to heavenly warrior. A lad transitioning to a king of highest cause, directed by Almighty God himself! It was the earliest preforming of a rising emperor. It was a moment of importance and purpose, much deeper than the grasps of highest human wisdom could comprehend. David’s mighty work started with a stone. It was a defining moment in world history and still is to this day. God’s moment with you and a stone could break the tallest and strongest of human strength.

Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested. Forty days later, He came out of the wilderness, empowered by the Holy Spirit. We read that Jesus had four specific encounters with Satan. Three times in the desert while being Spirit-led; once while walking with His most useful disciple, Peter. It was after Peter suggested to Jesus that He would not have to die on the cross that Jesus said to Peter, “Satan, get thou behind me”. Satan always tries to get in front of us and influence us wrongly. The place for Satan is never in front of us, he must be ordered to get behind us, in the name of Jesus. If Jesus would have yielded to any one of these suggestions, it would have obliterated the plan of salvation for humanity.

Moments of great importance nearly always appear as instances of no great significance. We tend to allow our minds to deviate from the consequential reality of our decision-making moments. All moments are assigned to accomplish the will of God, and all opportunity is a gift released alone by His grace! Hallelujah!

Contusions in the Sanctuary (3)

While Satan desires to make us feel like continual failures, the truth remains secreted within the sanctified ones. It is the quiet voice of the shepherd that acknowledges the treasure in our earthen vessel. There are simply no devices nor contrivances which Heaven has designed to devastate that which He fills the saints with. These are purified ones, having their vestures dipped in the blood of Jesus for constant redemption. These saints of God don’t worship upon other altars. Their cry is deeper than a shallow soul can perceive. They are the neediest of spiritual humanity. They have forsaken the criticism of constant disapproval from the treacherous souls of men and devils. These sanctuaries of God could be focused entirely on pain, hurts, and the utter rejection which has been inflicted upon them, leaving contusions as evidence of their woundings. Instead, their heart speaks of healing, blessing, and overcoming victory. This is their victory cry, and their mission. It is what flows out of them because it is what is within them. The true saint often faces trouble on every side of life because there is so much life within him. The fullness of the flow of life within him comes from having overcome so many obstacles and clever traps that were set up for his demise. He is hated by opposing forces that seek to destroy his inner life.

These sanctuaries of God do have faults at times, especially in the eyes of the carnal man. Faults are simply interpretive, that is why they are not really classified as sin. I do not believe God classifies mere faults as sin. James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. Here it never suggests that faults need forgiveness from God. Faults cause personal hurts and pain at times. The tender conscience that has developed within the saint receives extreme crushings and buffetings from Satan at times. This is usually accomplished through persons in whom the saint has placed their trust. Peter did this very thing to Jesus when he suggested that the death of the cross was nonsense. These darts are designed to wreak heavy destruction upon the heart. But the one who surrenders to the cross does not go into distress easily. He often becomes bewildered by perplexities, but his trust in the Lord will not let him fall into hopeless despair for he knows the cross well. While persecution is a close companion of his, he does not forsake nor is he forsaken. This spiritual man is often cast to the ground but not by his own sin; these sanctuaries suffer for righteousness’ sake, not for evil doings. He survives, and with some time and patience will overcome the intended destruction. Yes, he may suffer and tangle with difficulty for extended periods of time, but will prevail because of His master shepherd who already knows how to overcome.

2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; V.9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; V.10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. V.11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. V.12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

Paul’s experience was identical as he writes to the Corinthians. What is often so difficult for the saint is to have understanding and spiritual comprehension as to why he is going through these valleys with shadows of death all around. Sometimes we must die to our need of understanding. Can we rest in the fact that we might never know nor understand? Maybe that is in itself the trial we are to endure. Is it the fact that the Holy Spirit wants to walk with us to deepen our dependence with Him? One thing is clear: the Holy Spirit is our comforter and glorious strength through joy. The Holy Spirit will never, never, leave the saint alone because within him is His sanctuary. One of the supernatural attributes of the Holy Spirit is that He can be fully at rest and in complete power within His sanctuary; in His silence, He can seem completely hidden, yet the next moment He is gushing forth in power, purity, and the heavenly overflow from His fountain of love and excellence. A human that is wrapped around the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit is like the wind, not knowing for sure what’s next. The wind is blowing and you hear many sounds, but you don’t know for sure where it’s coming from or where it will end up going.

Contusion of the soul or complete healing, however it may be at this moment with you, there is one thing you must fully know: The Holy Spirit is always completely present within His sanctuary when He is welcome to set free His power to fulfill all the promises of God for His glory. John 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.    

Hallelujah!

Within the Heavenly Sanctuary (Part 1)

I want to write a series of messages on what transpires within the heart of the true saints of God. Throughout 32 years of ministering to these saints of God, I have found a mass of concerns that have defeated far too many well-meaning saints. I have noticed that in the last four years there is an overpowering plague that has troubled the finest of God’s people. These are things we need to understand lest we be brought to a place of complete despair.

The marvel of the holiness of God reigning in a previously sin-plagued human being, is one of the great achievements of the power of Jesus. This heavenly ambiance within an earthen vessel where the righteousness of Christ reigns, is an exhibition so powerful that Satan relentlessly pursues to bring heavy destruction upon it. God will at times use these abrasions in times of trouble and even sorrow, to bring sanctification to a saint through the Holy Spirit. However, we must take note that not all is sorrow and heartache within the heart of the redeemed. Often, the saint of God can lose his joy when the enemy pursues his soul. The idea that God is constantly chastening us and finding fault with us is simply not the truth of His ways. God Almighty from Heaven is all about building us up and bringing us to a deeper walk with Him through His redemptive ways. If the god you listen to is always tearing you down and overpowering you with inductions of guilt and irrelevant pressure against your soul, know one thing clearly: it is not the Father Elohim.

Satan can transform himself to appear as an angel of light, making us think that it is God that is speaking or chastening us. When God chastens us, He corrects us; this is exactly what He achieves. God truly does chasten those whom He loves, but that is not all He does. Some saints allow themselves to go through a continual beating for years until even their desire for God becomes jeopardized and soured. My friend, this is simply not God!  God’s love does not damage your passion for Him. God’s loving conviction does not tear you down. Jesus said, “I will give you rest under my yoke”. God’s love does not spiritually destroy His saints. God chastens us when we need to be correctively loved, then He moves on leading us into deeper things of faith, joy, hope, grace, and love. God does not damage the saint. Satan is out to destroy, damage, kill, and deceive. When God corrects us, He does it by convicting our soul through the Holy Spirit. When God rebukes us, He does it with a full disclosure of love and perfect timing. Yes, God does lead us to brokenness but not by obliterating us into a cloud of constant condemnation of despair.

There are angels that are transformed, appearing as light that can speak swelling words of understanding or pretense of light. They seek to destroy the soul of God’s effective ones and bring them into the bondage of condemnation. They inflict words that cause great harm and offer nothing redemptive. These thoughts pursue the slight faults of the saints seeking to obscure their view of God. These thoughts from the disguised are utterly sinful and they seek to tarnish the spirit of a clean saint. The Holy Spirit always has the right timing when He speaks, instilling trust in His care. The angel of light has the wrong timing, inflicting despair.

Why does God call Satan a pretending angel? These angels seem super-spiritual whether in thoughts or in ability to speak into a situation. The problem is clear — that it brings the heart into deep constant despair and condemnation. These thoughts, whether they come through man or to man, are very destructive and anti-Christ. They hold themselves as bearers of light or revelation. These punitive thoughts appear to be out of concern, therefore going easily undetected because they seem so spiritual. The saint in his purity has a sensitive conscience to reverence God in honor and to maintain the fear of God. This makes him vulnerable and an easy target.

These people or thoughts are ‘wondering stars’, as Jude describes them. They rove and move but are wanderers in the desert of defeat and ensnarement. There is a carnal tendency for the saint to sense that God is constantly against them. This is never the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will never issue such antagonistic influence of constant despair upon the saint. Satan, as an angel of light, will certainly do so, but it needs to be quickly understood that this it is not the Holy Spirit. Does a godly loving father castigate his son for several years in an unrelenting way? Then how could we perceive that God does this to us? These are tactics to rob the joy of the saint and can never be received as being from God, regardless of how spiritual they may seem.

Proverbs 3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: V. 12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth, [Greek: convicts] even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Permissive Conditions Before a Fall (Part 4)

I understand that the permissive conditions in the heart before a tragic failure are pride and envy. It seems that pride and envy are the highest forms of iniquity, and nurture secret rebellion even in the presence of Almighty God. I understand this to have been the element of iniquity in the being of Lucifer before the greatest fall known to man. It was a desire to be that which he admired, worshiped, and paid service to. He was a covering angel and was the music-maker of Heaven. He was created in beauty and full of wisdom. He walked upon the holy mountains of God’s glory. Ezekiel 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. This angel with majestic ability and heavenly prominence, was created perfect in all his ways. In his perfection, his heart was lifted up because of his splendid magnificence. In the midst of this high calling, within him was found a devious sin. It came from a desire formed in a secret place. The desire was to exceed his calling and what he was created for. He realized his created ability, or as the Bible calls it, “his merchandise”. His heart was lifted up because of his beauty. This perfect angel now corrupted his wisdom by his ability to reason. Ezekiel 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness. How can something so perfect become so corrupt?

Now this angel had corrupted wisdom. He came to the first two perfectly created human beings in Eden. He asked questions of Eve and it tarnished her trust into reasoning. Ezekiel 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick. Here we see that Lucifer had now accumulated a substantial amount of iniquities and he defiled God’s hallowed places by peddling reasonings. This is the most evil strategy of Lucifer. He desperately pursues the defilement of holy places. He seeks to stake out where God is doing marvelous works. He hates the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Satan does not need a lot to cause horrific evil. He just needs a stitch of thread inside a heart to cause pride or envy. These anti-Christ insults within a heart can evaporate the love of God in a heartbeat without a dramatic sense of the presence of evil. Actually, it might seem assertively spiritual and even reasonable. It only explodes after it gains capacity in trafficking. Look at the Garden of Eden. What would the number one opponent of God want with a tree that man was told not to touch and not to eat?

When the natural man is forbidden of something, he becomes curious in his imagination. Once curious, he becomes a lucrative target for failure. This is the intensely vulnerable point of entry to the imaginary. There is only one escape for the saint in this profound yet subtle heap of temptation: it is the cross. The unwillingness to lay down our life in this susceptible state will create an open door for the grand deception of reason. The reasoning powers of the human mind now become infected with the overshadowing of Satan’s influence amid considered reasonableness.

When a spiritual picture is so clear that faith is no more needed, then we can be assured that Satan is in the details. Eve had faith to obey what God said until she was overshadowed by her reasoning of it. All Lucifer needed to do was to suggest. That single question, “has God said?”, seemed so reasonable to respond to. The response caused human reasoning against the spoken word. Satan knew that with reasonings he could control all of God’s human creation, bringing them under his authority, if Eve could be beguiled. Satan’s response to Eve was that God knows if you eat, you will be as gods. Eve said wow, rather than woe is me!

Satan hides in the things that are forbidden by God. In Eden, it was a tree of knowledge. This tree of knowledge was the inflammation of Eve’s imagination. It is within this flattered heart that lies the passion to become someone we are not. Here we want someone else’s calling, gifts, treasure, purpose. Satan wanted to sit in the seat of God. Eve wanted to be like gods.

What are the permissive conditions hidden before an epic fall? They are pride, and envy that is saturated with reason.

1 Peter 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: V.9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Understanding the Basic Truth of Eternal Life (Part 3)

As we continue to seek understanding on the permissive conditions that exist within a creature before a tragic fall, we have accumulated some conclusions. I am not giving reference to the common failures of man. I do believe if we better understand where the enemy’s deceptive strategies thrive, we will become more aware of where he tries to negate against us, the redeemed. Let us recognize some fundamental and foundational truths that are often deemed unimportant to acknowledge. We want to continue to find answers as to why Lucifer, the anointed cherub, had an eternal fall from the very presence of God in heaven. We also want to have a deeper understanding on why the fall of Lucifer, as well as the fall of mankind, both happened in the presence of God. We know that Lucifer, the serpent, had influential power over Eve in the first known place of God’s creation. He used the written word, which is eternal. Can the written word be misinterpreted, causing a massive fall from eternal life into a spiraling hell of death? The answer is clearly, yes. Let us learn by analyzing several things.

The only overpowering source over death, darkness, and evil, must be eternal, having accomplished victory over all opposition throughout all eternity. This foundational life source is eternal in nature and eternal in existence. It must have outlived a framework of continued endurance so vast and powerful that it cannot be conquered by any form of opposition. It would have to be a superpower to overcome all sources of destruction that age, revolt, compromise—one that eccentric opposition cannot taint or destroy. It would have the power to triumph over any obstacle or enemy or anything that would oppose in any way. It would have to be an almighty powerful force called eternal life! We have a name for this being: Elohim, meaning, God, The Eternal Creator!

This eternal life must be made available to receive as a resource to live by or else all would be doomed in death. This eternal existence was created for the purpose of relationship with created man in the beginning. The one who holds the title of eternal life has framed a created time substance He called the beginning. He created this beginning for Himself to express His glory before all that exists. We humbly confess that we have been created within this timeframe to reveal His glory to the entire creation on earth as it is in heaven!

Everything that has a beginning is not eternal unless it is imputed from one who is eternal. This eternal being, God Elohim, is the highest of all because He is eternal. So, there is none higher, none more holy. He is proclaimed King of eternity! I confess and acknowledge Elohim as the only God and that He has a Son and a Spirit who are holy and complete within the eternity that He inhabits, and that He is entirely predominant and the master chief of all eternity! All subordinates that He created were or are part of His Kingdom. This King of eternal life is found as the only truth.  This truth has been given through Him who holds the title of truth in whom we find the name Yeshua—Jesus. Hallelujah!

As we all understand by faith, God is the creator of all life. God translated portions of that life at the creation in the beginning. For this to happen, God had to first separate light from darkness. Life-form after the creation comes from a seed, not so with death. Death seeks to destroy life and it is a complete enemy at all times. Life and death are forces of extreme opposites. They cannot mix in any way because one gives life and light and the other death and darkness. One builds with creativity from a seed that spurts life, and the other always seeks to dominate with evil death against life, conception, love, creation, and many more attributes of God. 1 Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

We, as saints of Elohim, are imputed with the just requirement of Elohim’s eternal righteousness by faith in the only provision, the one sacrificial lamb, the Messiah who conquered all death. The acceptance of this truth is Abrahamic faith. Abraham is the father of all them that believe. This is where we are part of a kingdom in complete conflict with fallen Lucifer, the once-anointed angel, serving among the highest in ranks.

This is the limit of my space constraints for this letter. I will sign off with the verse that will lay the foundation for the next message.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

How are the Mighty Fallen? (Part 2) 

How can a heavenly anointed angel living in the presence of Almighty God, fall from his assigned place and function and end up spending eternity in Hell, completely banished from The Creator and Holy God? How can one third of Heaven’s holy angels fall in chaos and be thrown into the same pit? How are the mighty fallen?

When man comes to a place of independence and needlessness, he declares himself self-sufficient, needing no-one to draw from. Independence is very dangerous; this is why God placed a head over the body which is called the body of Christ. This placement in the body of Christ brings the purpose of many gifts that function as assistances and servants to one another.

The rage of this century’s modern church is to make leaders; it places everyone in a position of importance and demands output and skills to preserve its physique. Many of these leaders are not disciples. You can be a great leader and know nothing of servanthood. Leadership is not spiritual nor is it required. Kingdom servanthood is spiritual and it is what Jesus instructed us to attain to. The escalation of the two is an obvious contrast. Leaders go up and need no cross, while servants go downward which is the work of the cross. This push of the teachings of synthetic motivational intellectualism, or leadership, is one that can never be confused with true cross-bearing discipleship. The Webster definition of intellectualism is: the exercise of the intellect at the expense of the emotions. This is where it becomes a doctrine that is extremely dangerous to spiritual church structure. There is a significant difference between being made a leader and being made a disciple. I completely believe that the anointing from the Holy Spirit is the strength that makes effective kingdom servants. David was anointed king long before he was a king. He had to learn servant-hood next to the jealous anointed king.

I understand the writings in Ezekiel 31 to point to Lucifer’s fall from influence because of his greatness. He “shot up” because of the large river that watered him. Ezekiel 31:7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters. V.9 I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him. The pride of Lucifer produced an element of envy in the smaller trees in the garden. Does one’s envy produce a defense of pride, or does pride produce a dominance that causes someone to envy?

It is the accuser toward someone’s ego that acknowledges his own ego. It is an almost perfect analogy to conclude: that which one accuses in another, is also a proficient problem in the accuser himself. This rule of resemblance seldom fails. How are the mighty fallen? Is it the secret tangling of envy against pride? I do understand this to have been the cause of the fall of Lucifer and one third of the angels. This gives us a glimpse of understanding into why the kingdom of darkness is divided against itself.

We learn it to be of great importance that any disciple of Christ under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, guard themselves against pride in spiritual gifting. This is why we need to understand God’s chastening and buffeting at times. 1 Peter 2:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. The problem is that God does not set us down and inform us that we will now be chastened or buffeted. Herein is often a great misunderstanding in the saint. There is no one so perfect that he does not make mistakes. Everyone does so and to be buffeted for it is seldom a season of encouragement. It is to be taken with patience, knowing that all will be well again one day. We also need to discern whether it is Satan the accuser, or Jesus the chastiser.

The sovereignty of God uses these measures to keep His mighty servants of valor from a complete fall. Herein lies the making of true disciples. This element of truth is where Lucifer could not bow because of the strength of his pride. He could not yield his position as any lower than God’s placement for him.

The carnal instincts of man always fight for position rather than yielding to assignment. When one’s eyes focus on self-desired position, as in pride of leadership, he loses his assignment and a fall becomes imminent. Our eyes can never desire position. Position is what Lucifer desired and he even threatened to take God’s seat from Him.

2 Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election stable: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Understanding the Fall of the Mighty (Part 1)

One of the ways to understand the enemy is to know from where he has fallen, and what is his agenda. In the following few messages I would like to bring some understanding on this subject. I believe it has a certain importance, that our lack of knowledge does not destroy us.

In Ezekiel 31 we clearly read how Pharaoh, King of Egypt, fell from his position among the nations. In verse four it says the waters made him great and his feeding program went out and watered all the trees of the garden. It says that the abundance of water shot him up into the heavens and caused all the fowls of heaven to make their nests in his towering branches. Some have understood the fowls of the air to be subordinates under the assignment of certain influences, perhaps being evil in nature. This king-tree was so great that under his shadow dwelt all great nations.

Ezekiel 31:7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters. V.8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. V.9 I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.

This was by far the greatest, highest, and most magnificent tree in Eden—the garden of God, yet it is speaking about the fall of the Egyptian king. God made him fair by his many branches which caused two significant things to happen. It brought envy from all the smaller trees in the garden, and his heart was lifted into heights beyond his calling. This is the problem with all kingdom conflict to this very day. If this tree was God-created and pomp in stature, why then did it go wrong? Was envy or pride the problem?  Both are attuned to each other and yet are enemy companions that bring down some of God’s greatest habitations of the Holy Spirit in a person or in the body of Christ. This happens in heavenly places and it took Lucifer, the anointed one, right out of Heaven and directly into the Hell of his future pit along with a third of the angels. Why did a third of the angels fall? Was it that they envied his place? I believe so. This is the reason there is so much chaos in the kingdom of darkness. They are not one with each other at all. I am not aware that we read anywhere that Satan persuaded the one third to be against God, but we understand that they fell with him. Pride of position and envy for position are the greatest of opposing forces and they destroy more kingdom unity than anything I know. One feeds the other, like Ahab feeds Jezebel and Jezebel feeds Ahab. It is raw Hell-strength against the body of Christ. Consider the suggestion of the serpent to Eve in the garden. God knows that if you eat you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Eve ate, thinking it could escalate her to a higher position.

Can God make something so great that it turns against Him? Can greatness, importance, and prominence destroy a man even if God brought him to that place? Can destruction come by voluntary humility as was the case with the mighty Pharisees?  V.18 To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and his entire multitude, saith the Lord God.

How can a created angel adorned with anointing and God’s own holiness, fall and become a hell-devil destroying nations, lands, and multitudes that God made for Himself? How in all of God’s intended creation is this possible? The word is a complex and yet simple one—pride. Does this have anything to do with the pursuit of self-power, self-dependence or self-righteousness? Somehow, Lucifer came to a place where he thought himself needless of dependence. He thought himself equal with God, and furthermore proclaimed that he will be like God and sit in the seat of God. Even the king of Egypt from the garden needed no one else.

Was there a Pharaoh of Egypt way before there was Egypt? The answer seems to be yes. Why was Daniel’s prayer hindered for 21 days by a ruling king of Persia while Daniel was praying from Babylonian territory far away? Are there kings set over things that are invisible, having territorial dominance in the heavens? We might never know all the spiritual technicalities nor understand the oracles of God. However, this is what Lucifer is—he is a legal expert and knows the Word of God far better than many humans.

The root word for Lucifer means: a light-bearer, morning-star. The position, importance, and anointing that he once held is obvious. He had brilliance and intensity so great that it got his attention off his purpose, even in the very presence of God. He considered himself at once to be invincible. He considered himself not in need of God but rather independent of God. He thought himself in a place where he could neither be wrong nor go wrong.

He did it all because he became gifted and of high stature. God made him in that specific way. “I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.” Can we now see a purpose with Paul’s thorn in the flesh?